MAKE MILLIONS IN WEEKS!
by mckenna keef
7th grade student
may 27, 2014
Imagine this, you are a new 7th grade student, it is the first day of class, and you walk into an old, dusty computer lab to find a room full of students' laughter and talking. How do you picture the teacher running the show? Teachers have a hard enough job just to get students to listen, but they also have to do their best to make learning fun and not lose control of the class. Here at Norco Intermediate there are plenty of bright-eyed, smiling teachers that leave their home with a positive mindset, but there is one particular thing that separates the greatest teacher of all time from the rest. Having a teacher that motivates you to do your highest quality work is extremely important because our education forms the foundation, good or bad, of what our lives are going to be like. Mrs. Wescott’s approach not only applies to 7th grade math students, it can apply to everyone that desires success. How does one teacher manage to inspire and educate over thirty rambunctious students?
Mrs. Wescott, a math teacher at Norco Intermediate, has done the impossible, and has made math exciting. In her 7th grade accelerated math class, she has chosen a project that will teach her students not only math, but life lessons for the not so distant future. One day seemed typical; we walked in the class and copied down the night’s homework. It was when she whipped the projector to the “Daily Reminders” slide that the day hit a dramatic change in events. There in big, thick, and black letters read “Stock Market Game”. Since that very day Mrs. Wescott has sacrificed every Wednesday class period for her class to compete head to head. For every three students a stock marketing account, with $100,000 in virtual money, was created. Students race against the weeks to beat their peers. It’s a brutal job monitoring stock, purchasing stock, and selling stock all within a thirty-five minute period. However, it taught us, and could teach you, about math, the real world spending habits, and encouraged students to chase after the grand prize and bragging privileges over classmates. All three of these concepts are crucial to anyone that wants to become someone in life, get their dream job, or just live a productive life.
This stock market project has taught students about math, the real world spending habits, and encouraged us to chase after the grand prize. All three of these concepts are important for children to understand because they will use them all throughout their lives. Even adults have to understand these concepts in order to calculate their money debts, keep track of how much money they have to spend, and go after their dream job or life. Mrs. Wescott’s approach toward this lesson will be forever imprinted into the brains of over thirty students. Would you like to become a stinky, homeless person because you failed to manage your money correctly, or follow Mrs. Wescott’s approach toward a better future?
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Fifty male and female NIS students were surveyed about what their favorite core class is. They could have chosen between science, history, math, or language arts. 22% chose science, 20% chose history, 50% chose math, and a whopping 8% chose language arts. Clearly math was the favorite core class of those who took the survey. Not a lot of NIS students enjoy language arts, while both science and history were almost split evenly. A few NIS students left some interesting comments. Emily Cardenas stated, "The stock market game was exciting and unpredictable." Another student, Jessica Brown, voiced her opinion, "Science is the best subject ever!" Jordan Eide explained, "Mrs. Wescott was the only teacher to introduce stock marketing to 7th graders!"
Mrs. Wescott, a math teacher at Norco Intermediate, has done the impossible, and has made math exciting. In her 7th grade accelerated math class, she has chosen a project that will teach her students not only math, but life lessons for the not so distant future. One day seemed typical; we walked in the class and copied down the night’s homework. It was when she whipped the projector to the “Daily Reminders” slide that the day hit a dramatic change in events. There in big, thick, and black letters read “Stock Market Game”. Since that very day Mrs. Wescott has sacrificed every Wednesday class period for her class to compete head to head. For every three students a stock marketing account, with $100,000 in virtual money, was created. Students race against the weeks to beat their peers. It’s a brutal job monitoring stock, purchasing stock, and selling stock all within a thirty-five minute period. However, it taught us, and could teach you, about math, the real world spending habits, and encouraged students to chase after the grand prize and bragging privileges over classmates. All three of these concepts are crucial to anyone that wants to become someone in life, get their dream job, or just live a productive life.
This stock market project has taught students about math, the real world spending habits, and encouraged us to chase after the grand prize. All three of these concepts are important for children to understand because they will use them all throughout their lives. Even adults have to understand these concepts in order to calculate their money debts, keep track of how much money they have to spend, and go after their dream job or life. Mrs. Wescott’s approach toward this lesson will be forever imprinted into the brains of over thirty students. Would you like to become a stinky, homeless person because you failed to manage your money correctly, or follow Mrs. Wescott’s approach toward a better future?
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Fifty male and female NIS students were surveyed about what their favorite core class is. They could have chosen between science, history, math, or language arts. 22% chose science, 20% chose history, 50% chose math, and a whopping 8% chose language arts. Clearly math was the favorite core class of those who took the survey. Not a lot of NIS students enjoy language arts, while both science and history were almost split evenly. A few NIS students left some interesting comments. Emily Cardenas stated, "The stock market game was exciting and unpredictable." Another student, Jessica Brown, voiced her opinion, "Science is the best subject ever!" Jordan Eide explained, "Mrs. Wescott was the only teacher to introduce stock marketing to 7th graders!"
HER STORY ABOUT HISTORY
By Daniella Murillo
7th GRADE STUDENT
May 29, 2014
Imagine walking into room 8 at Norco Intermediate and seeing the towering seventh grade world history teacher, Mr. Martin looking suspicious. The horrid smell of Crayola crayons fill the room, and you can see that it looks like someone threw a wild crayon party in the classroom. The only homework last night was to bring in 3 crayons of any color, which is very abnormal for this brown-haired teacher. All of this sounds weird right? Believe it or not, what we did in those 45 minutes is actually part of history. We wrote down our homework and waited for instruction. After that, we began an activity that would forever change us. This was to be an activity that would do the unthinkable! We were about to learn, have fun, AND the lessons learned would be forever imprinted in our long term memory...which is the ultimate goal of teachers. It is that very point that makes this article noteworthy. After we waited for instruction, he told us to whip out our crayons and get some tape that was hanging on the wall while he passed out a sheet of paper to everyone. On the projector, there was a picture of one hand touching another hand, which we recognized from the Sistine Chapel ceiling that Michelangelo had painted. We still had no idea what was going on… but we were excited. Little did we, irresponsible seventh graders, know that this project was to put us in the shoes of one of the most famous painters during the Renaissance, but I think that this task taught us another important lesson… learning can be fun. Yup, even history can be fun and interesting at some points. So, some may ask what made numerous kids bump their heads on the bottom of gum covered desks. Well, this is where history comes into play.
Now, all of this might sound a little bizarre, but trust me it all has a purpose… a historical purpose. About fifteen minutes into the class, Mr. Martin’s whole 6th period was lying under desks, drawing on a piece of paper that was taped to the bottom of it. We were doing our best to draw the masterpiece named “Adam and God”, which is one of the most famous pieces on the Sistine Chapel, with crayons. This assignment was meant to educate us fellow “scrubs” about the painter’s point of view. We experienced how hard it is to reach a ceiling, and how difficult it is to paint a masterpiece on a ceiling. The task was one of the most difficult yet fun things I have ever done in a classroom. Let’s think about this, if I sat at an art desk, in a comfortable chair, I can barely draw a hand that looks human, can you imagine how it would look if I was drawing, practically upside down...on a ceiling (underside of a desk). You actually don't have to imagine what my drawing would look like, it's featured below! Most of the “masterpieces” looked like potatoes; potatoes with little stubs. Also, having little arms like me, it was so burdensome to reach the bottom of the desk while lying down on my back. Can you imagine how difficult it was for Michelangelo, painting a ceiling for four years? Another lesson that I think this assignment taught us is that learning can be enjoyable. A lot of kids think that school is this dreaded place for torture, but if you're creative, you can amuse yourself while having fun.
This project taught Mr. Martin’s seventh grade students many things about renaissance art while being interesting. It taught us how challenging it is to reach and draw on a ceiling. It also demonstrated how hard it is to create a beautiful piece of artwork, and also to enable ourselves to view other artists differently. This project is a great example of having fun and learning many new things without making it boring. No matter how old you are, how smart you think you are, you are always going to be learning something new. Why not learn something spectacular instead of something that isn’t so amazing? Who would like to see a whole bunch of yawning seventh graders looking like they are about to die of boredom because someone is teaching something dull? By what magic can students learn AND remember what they were taught...complete a fun activity using the skills and principles they were taught!
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Now, your probably wondering if I'm the only kid at NIS who thinks that this history project can be fun... right? Well, not quite! You see, 50 seventh grade students here at Norco Intermediate were surveyed if they experienced a fun classroom activity this school year, and 72% said that they had. In addition, 14% of students said that they hadn't done a fun project in the classroom, and another 14% reported that they participated in a somewhat-fun classroom project. This means that there are a lot of good teachers at Norco Intermediate and a lot of students are lucky to learn while having fun! These students had some interesting things to share too. For example, Nick Ramos stated,"Mr. Martin did a lot!" Also, Victoria Bodner thought that Mr. Martin and Mrs. Kiehl's science class offered fun learning activities. Mason Tejeda keeping it short and simple, stated "Mr. Martin." Parker Knopf commented by saying "many in all my classrooms." Liliana Vergara disagreed when she said, "Naahh!" to having done any fun projects in class. Nancy Assaf commented, " Mr. Martin's class is the Hall of Fame project." Last but not least, Hope Hecht commenting with a stunning quote of her own when she wrote "potato."
Now, all of this might sound a little bizarre, but trust me it all has a purpose… a historical purpose. About fifteen minutes into the class, Mr. Martin’s whole 6th period was lying under desks, drawing on a piece of paper that was taped to the bottom of it. We were doing our best to draw the masterpiece named “Adam and God”, which is one of the most famous pieces on the Sistine Chapel, with crayons. This assignment was meant to educate us fellow “scrubs” about the painter’s point of view. We experienced how hard it is to reach a ceiling, and how difficult it is to paint a masterpiece on a ceiling. The task was one of the most difficult yet fun things I have ever done in a classroom. Let’s think about this, if I sat at an art desk, in a comfortable chair, I can barely draw a hand that looks human, can you imagine how it would look if I was drawing, practically upside down...on a ceiling (underside of a desk). You actually don't have to imagine what my drawing would look like, it's featured below! Most of the “masterpieces” looked like potatoes; potatoes with little stubs. Also, having little arms like me, it was so burdensome to reach the bottom of the desk while lying down on my back. Can you imagine how difficult it was for Michelangelo, painting a ceiling for four years? Another lesson that I think this assignment taught us is that learning can be enjoyable. A lot of kids think that school is this dreaded place for torture, but if you're creative, you can amuse yourself while having fun.
This project taught Mr. Martin’s seventh grade students many things about renaissance art while being interesting. It taught us how challenging it is to reach and draw on a ceiling. It also demonstrated how hard it is to create a beautiful piece of artwork, and also to enable ourselves to view other artists differently. This project is a great example of having fun and learning many new things without making it boring. No matter how old you are, how smart you think you are, you are always going to be learning something new. Why not learn something spectacular instead of something that isn’t so amazing? Who would like to see a whole bunch of yawning seventh graders looking like they are about to die of boredom because someone is teaching something dull? By what magic can students learn AND remember what they were taught...complete a fun activity using the skills and principles they were taught!
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Now, your probably wondering if I'm the only kid at NIS who thinks that this history project can be fun... right? Well, not quite! You see, 50 seventh grade students here at Norco Intermediate were surveyed if they experienced a fun classroom activity this school year, and 72% said that they had. In addition, 14% of students said that they hadn't done a fun project in the classroom, and another 14% reported that they participated in a somewhat-fun classroom project. This means that there are a lot of good teachers at Norco Intermediate and a lot of students are lucky to learn while having fun! These students had some interesting things to share too. For example, Nick Ramos stated,"Mr. Martin did a lot!" Also, Victoria Bodner thought that Mr. Martin and Mrs. Kiehl's science class offered fun learning activities. Mason Tejeda keeping it short and simple, stated "Mr. Martin." Parker Knopf commented by saying "many in all my classrooms." Liliana Vergara disagreed when she said, "Naahh!" to having done any fun projects in class. Nancy Assaf commented, " Mr. Martin's class is the Hall of Fame project." Last but not least, Hope Hecht commenting with a stunning quote of her own when she wrote "potato."
THE ROCKING TEACHER
BY JULIE GABALDON
7TH GRADER
MAY 24, 2014
Do you have a teacher that’s made you want to cry, made you want to go to sleep, cracks you up so much you almost pee your pants, a teacher that should be in an insane asylum, or a teacher that inspires you to achieve your dreams? Are any of your classes taught by a teacher that you don’t want to go to the class, or you just want to fall asleep in their class? Everyone wants a teacher that makes learning fun and inspires them to learn. This article is about a special teacher that makes learning fun, has lessons that aren't boring, and does fantastic, weird things in the class that helps students remember the facts related to the subject. That teacher is Ms. Hewett. She makes life science fun and you just want to learn about it more. Ms. Hewett teaches you in cool ways and does strange activities with her classes. Ms. Hewitt is a rocking teacher that most kids love because she is weird, funny, and she does a great job teaching the science curriculum.
Picture this, the most popular kid in the class decked out in Hollister clothes and vans, a smart student wearing a large backpack, and both kids are given the same chance to learn and show their science skills in front of the class. When Ms. Hewett teaches, she doesn’t merely stand up and talk to the whole class. She teaches us in ways we remember what we’re learning by telling us jokes, dancing, singing, encouraging student presentations, and giving hands-on activities. She often says, “music is my SOUL!" She shows us things and allows us to teach each other by going in front of the class and singing science songs, performing funny dances, and conducting interviews...all covering what we're learning about. She lets us look at things through the microscopes and feel the things we're learning about so we remember what they are and how they look and feel. In addition, Ms. Hewett shows us video’s and she assigns projects on scientific concepts we are covering in class. When we’re watching a movie she would pick student to pretend to be in the movie and say they went to audition but didn’t get the part just to make the movie fun to watch.One thing I really like about this great science teacher is that she isn't so formal in class and she isn't afraid to be herself. In her life science class, she doesn't assign homework often. The only time you get homework is if you don’t finish your classwork. When Ms. Hewett notices that someone is sad or a little down she’ll ask you what’s wrong and “Do I need to beat someone up?” but she is just joking to make the student laugh. She would never beat anyone up. When you need someone to talk to, she is there for you. She will help students if they're going through a rough time by telling personal stories, listening to their situation, and really caring about her students' feelings. She loves her students, not in a weird or creepy way, but as if they were her own kids.
Ms. Hewett is a fun, cool, nice, loving teacher who cares about her students and loves them. Later on in the year she will start giving nicknames that go with her students' personalities for example happy, sleepy, smiles, bulls, and many more! If you ever need help with homework she offers to help during class, before school, and after school. She keeps students accountable by checking their homework and she is really fair on her tests. Ms. Hewett loves to teach her classes and loves what she teaches about. She’s a teacher that some kids can’t wait to go to class. She always wants her students to get good grades and never to do badly in school. These are all the things that make Ms. Hewett a Rocking Teacher!
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Fifty NIS students were surveyed about how they felt about Ms. Hewett. Forty-seven percent of her students surveyed (23 kids), said they loved her, unfortunately 36% of all the students I surveyed didn't have Ms. Hewett as a teacher. Out of 50 students surveyed, 18 students didn't have her as a teacher, 23 students loved her, and (10%) 5 students liked her. Andrea Olmos said, “She is the best science teacher.” Emily Gonzalez remarked, “She is funny and caring.” While Nora Abuelkhair proclaimed, "She is the best and she is hilarious!” Mia Chanphimarn agreed by writing, “She is funny.” Ashley Baltes said,“I love her so much” Dakota Kimpton commented, “She's really cool.” Chantal Carrillo said, “I wish I knew her.”
Picture this, the most popular kid in the class decked out in Hollister clothes and vans, a smart student wearing a large backpack, and both kids are given the same chance to learn and show their science skills in front of the class. When Ms. Hewett teaches, she doesn’t merely stand up and talk to the whole class. She teaches us in ways we remember what we’re learning by telling us jokes, dancing, singing, encouraging student presentations, and giving hands-on activities. She often says, “music is my SOUL!" She shows us things and allows us to teach each other by going in front of the class and singing science songs, performing funny dances, and conducting interviews...all covering what we're learning about. She lets us look at things through the microscopes and feel the things we're learning about so we remember what they are and how they look and feel. In addition, Ms. Hewett shows us video’s and she assigns projects on scientific concepts we are covering in class. When we’re watching a movie she would pick student to pretend to be in the movie and say they went to audition but didn’t get the part just to make the movie fun to watch.One thing I really like about this great science teacher is that she isn't so formal in class and she isn't afraid to be herself. In her life science class, she doesn't assign homework often. The only time you get homework is if you don’t finish your classwork. When Ms. Hewett notices that someone is sad or a little down she’ll ask you what’s wrong and “Do I need to beat someone up?” but she is just joking to make the student laugh. She would never beat anyone up. When you need someone to talk to, she is there for you. She will help students if they're going through a rough time by telling personal stories, listening to their situation, and really caring about her students' feelings. She loves her students, not in a weird or creepy way, but as if they were her own kids.
Ms. Hewett is a fun, cool, nice, loving teacher who cares about her students and loves them. Later on in the year she will start giving nicknames that go with her students' personalities for example happy, sleepy, smiles, bulls, and many more! If you ever need help with homework she offers to help during class, before school, and after school. She keeps students accountable by checking their homework and she is really fair on her tests. Ms. Hewett loves to teach her classes and loves what she teaches about. She’s a teacher that some kids can’t wait to go to class. She always wants her students to get good grades and never to do badly in school. These are all the things that make Ms. Hewett a Rocking Teacher!
NIS NUMBERS AND NOTABLE QUOTES:
Fifty NIS students were surveyed about how they felt about Ms. Hewett. Forty-seven percent of her students surveyed (23 kids), said they loved her, unfortunately 36% of all the students I surveyed didn't have Ms. Hewett as a teacher. Out of 50 students surveyed, 18 students didn't have her as a teacher, 23 students loved her, and (10%) 5 students liked her. Andrea Olmos said, “She is the best science teacher.” Emily Gonzalez remarked, “She is funny and caring.” While Nora Abuelkhair proclaimed, "She is the best and she is hilarious!” Mia Chanphimarn agreed by writing, “She is funny.” Ashley Baltes said,“I love her so much” Dakota Kimpton commented, “She's really cool.” Chantal Carrillo said, “I wish I knew her.”
fROG DISSECTION LAB IN MS. HEWETT'S CLASS
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY Mia Chanphimarn
Keep Your Eye on the Eye
BY ADAM KENNEDY
7TH GRADE STUDENT February 3, 2014
Not one 7th grader among the 28 students in class knew what was about to happen. “Bam!” the door flew open with the shiny black haired Mr. Bojorquez, our 7th grade Life Science teacher, carrying a transparent bag of greenish-brown eyeballs. It smelled like a kid after his baked bean plate didn’t agree with his stomach, causing a loud roar from the bottom of his pants, that could be heard from around the world. Yes! The stench was that bad! Everybody was looking at the teacher with a disgusted face! “I can’t believe you are going to make us even go near that!” is what I was thinking in my head. Was I really going to risk my nose to learn about a cow eye ball?
The day was September 24, 2013, and this would be a time when twenty-eight 7th graders would experience an eyeball dissection for the very first time…myself included. The class was screeching with disgust! All of the students put their clear plastic gloves and round clear goggles on. In no more than 1 minute, the whole class got a round, smelly, and slippery eyeball. First, we cut into the eye. Gel popped out like a water balloon. Next, the class got tweezers and pulled out the lens. After we cut the lens open the class got to see a teal colored retina. When everything was finished, we forgot about our burnt nose hairs because this eye dissection was really smelly.
All in all, I think you should try the eye dissection because it was really cool. Mathew Fletcher stated “It was a very interesting dissection and I hope to have another one.” Most students liked the smelly, slippery, and white eyeball dissection. So if you haven’t dissected an eye do it!
The day was September 24, 2013, and this would be a time when twenty-eight 7th graders would experience an eyeball dissection for the very first time…myself included. The class was screeching with disgust! All of the students put their clear plastic gloves and round clear goggles on. In no more than 1 minute, the whole class got a round, smelly, and slippery eyeball. First, we cut into the eye. Gel popped out like a water balloon. Next, the class got tweezers and pulled out the lens. After we cut the lens open the class got to see a teal colored retina. When everything was finished, we forgot about our burnt nose hairs because this eye dissection was really smelly.
All in all, I think you should try the eye dissection because it was really cool. Mathew Fletcher stated “It was a very interesting dissection and I hope to have another one.” Most students liked the smelly, slippery, and white eyeball dissection. So if you haven’t dissected an eye do it!