! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
Monthly Mustang
THE WUES INVITATIONAL
TRACK MEET
ENDANGERED AUTHORS
By: Peyton Howard & Katie Kopel
BY: SAPPHIRE THOMPSON
Authors Jacqueline West, Geoff Rodkey, Curtis Jobling, and Adam Gidwitz
being introduced to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at WUES during the
Endangered Authors visit on April 15.
Q: What interested you in
being an author?
A: Curtis Jobling- The
Wereworld series.
A: Adam Gidwitz-‘I liked
scaring children.’
Q: What inspired you to
write children’s books
instead of adult books?
Q: How did you come up
with different characters?
A: Adam Gidwitz- I looked
for the worst parents.
Which would be Hansel
and Gretal’s.
Q: How many books have
you written?
A: Adam Gidwitz- “Three
picture books, and six
chapter books.”
Q. What is your favorite
book that you have
written?
A: The idea was geared
more toward went more
toward children’s books.
Q: How long did it take you
to write each of your
books?
A: Jacqueline West: The
first book took 8 years,
the second book took 2
years, and my last book
took 1 year.
Q: How long have you been
writing?
A: Jacqueline West- since
third grade.
Houston Independent School District!
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4th Grade students Sydney Schwartje and Eva Petrulis bring home
the trophy for West U.
“Go West U Go!”
People cheered from the
bleachers. And guess
what? We just finished in
first place!
The track meet was held
April 26th at Butler's
Stadium. The whole 5th
grade class came to watch.
There were many runners.
Everyone did a good job.
There were helpers, too.
They helped set up the
events for the runners.
One helper, Libby Decker,
said,"It was really hot,
sweaty, and fun!"
were or the type, like a
relay. There were two
field events, too. The field
events were softball throw
and long jump. One girl
said,"The long jump was
sandy, the races were
tiring, the team was
exhausted, but the meet
was so fun!"
Overall, West U kept
its place at the top by
making first place, again,
bringing home the
championship trophy. The
runners did a great job, the
helpers helped a lot, and
The runners were
there was a whole crowd
exhausted after the races. to cheer the team on.
There were lots and lots of Hopefully we will win
races. The races were
next year and continue to
named by how long they
dominate the field!
http://westues.org!
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! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
THE CROODS BY KATE CARLIN
Have you ever done something that got you in
trouble but also saved your life? Well, this is
exactly what happens to Eep Crood, the main
character, in the fun animated film, The Croods.
It’s a story about a cave dwelling family in prehistoric times and their big adventure.
One night when Eep leaves the cave
without her father’s permission, she not only
comes across fire for the first time but also
meets a teenage boy named Guy and his pet,
Belt. Guy tells her that he is going to higher
ground because the land is about to fall apart
and there will be fire and lava destroying
everything in its path. Eep’s father, Grug,
discovers that she has snuck out of the cave and
she is in big trouble.
While the whole family is out looking for
Eep, their cave collapses and their world as they
know it is changed forever. Now the Crood
family must find a new cave. A decision must
be made to trust Guy’s advice to travel to a
distant land or listen to Grug’s advice, which is
simply to find another cave. Follow the Croods
as they work through this.
If you are looking for a fun-filled,
animated adventure movie, then The Croods is
the movie for you. It is a good movie for all
ages but a bit predictable. I give this movie ***.
BOOK REVIEW BY BETH ATHAIDE: JONATHAN SWIFT’S GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked numerous
times and discovers lands unknown on each
voyage. Not many know about Lilliput,
Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the County of the
Houyhnhnms, the places he lands on each time
he is cast ashore.
Gulliver accepts a position as a surgeon on a
ship. When the ship is wrecked against a huge
rock, he alone swims ashore to the land of
Lilliput. There, he discovers the people are 6-8
inches tall. To them, Gulliver is a giant.
Sometime later, he returns home and sails off
again, this time to a place called Brobdingnag.
Here, even the children are more than 60 feet tall,
and Gulliver is like a Barbie doll to them. On his
third voyage, Gulliver finds a floating island,
Laputa. The people here are absentminded,
sleepy, and forgetful. He wants to leave
immediately, as he doesn’t like it there. Finally,
Gulliver lands in the County of the Houyhnhnms,
a place where horses are masters and humans
(called “yahoos”) are inferior.
I recommend Gulliver’s Travels for
advanced readers who love adventure. Some
parts, like where the laws of each land are
described, may be hard to understand, but overall
it is a great book! You can find a copy in the
school library.
A REVIEW OF UCHI BY CASEY PROPST
Uchi is a modern Japanese restaurant
located in the old Felix Mexican
Restaurant building on Westheimer near
Montrose. It opened about 1 year ago here
in Houston.
The décor at Uchi is mostly modern.
The focus is on the sushi bar where you
will find many chefs carefully preparing
sushi and other items. The food at Uchi is
extraordinary. It is different because the
chefs make modern versions of some
traditional Japanese dishes and also use
unusual ingredients. The dishes are neatly
presented and some can even be abstract.
The portion size is moderate but
satisfying.
The menu has many selections. It is
divided into Hot and Cool Tastings,
Specials, Tempura, Sushi and Sashimi,
and Makemono rolls. The Cool Tastings
are all based on seafood. The Hot
Tastings include a variety of meats, fish,
and poultry. Tempura is traditional
Houston Independent School District!
Japanese batter-fried food and Makemono
are special sliced sushi rolls.
Some of my favorites from the Cool
Tastings include the refreshing and
invigorating Yokai Berry. That dish is
made of cold atlantic salmon, blanched
dinosaur kale, asian pear and yuzu. Yuzu
is a traditional Japanese citrus similar to a
sour mandarin orange. The kale was thin,
crunchy and simply amazing. Another
Cool Tasting that I really like is called
Machi Cure. Crunchy yucca chips,
smoked baby yellowtail, asian pear,
almond and garlic brittle all make up this
divine dish. The components of that dish
go together so well!
From the sushi menu, I love the
unagi. Unagi is grilled (not raw)
freshwater eel with a traditional Japanese
barbecue sauce. You can pick it up with
your hands but if you try to eat it too
slowly, it might fall apart. The same
advice goes for the Ikura. Ikura is salmon
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roe which
means salmon
eggs. The eggs
look like orange
Orbeez on rice,
wrapped in
seaweed. When
I bite into the
ikura sushi, the
little eggs burst
open like a
fireworks show
in my mouth.
One of the specials that I recently enjoyed
is called Karasu Garei. The components
of that dish are halibut and 3 different
kinds of cauliflower with raisins and pine
nuts.
Uchi has a moderate selection of
desserts. The times we have been there,
all of the desserts have been either sorbet,
Semifreddo, sherbet or gelato. Don’t be
fooled, though. Their desserts are out of
the ordinary and are delicious. I give Uchi
4 ! out of 5 stars!
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! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
ADVICE FROM THE 4TH GRADE STUDENT COALITION EDITED BY KIRK WALLER
Q: Someone wrote a mean note to me and signed
someone else’s name. I tried to talk to the
person the note said it was from, and she
promised that she didn’t write the note. I believe
her, but I want to know who really sent the note.
How can I find out? - Hurt
A: Sometimes people try to upset others or hurt
their feelings in order to make themselves feel
better. You may never learn who really wrote the mean note,
but you can make a choice to be nice to everyone and show
that you didn’t let the note affect you. - Coalition
Q:I had to stay in for recess recently, and my friend was upset
that I didn’t show up on the playground to spend time with
him. Now he seems annoyed with me and we argue a lot more
than we used to. What can I do to smooth things
over? - Worried friend
A: Ask your friend to explain why he seems upset with you
lately. Explain why you had to miss recess that one day, and
assure him that you weren’t avoiding him. If he is still upset,
IF YOU ARE
BEING
BULLIED YOU
CAN . . .
STOP THOSE
FIGHTS!
By Tess Padon
By Kiera Swiger
I see a lot of people
getting into fights
about silly things, like who will
play with me or people getting
picked on by what they look like
or what they wear. Lets stop that!
Play with everyone and if you
don’t have anything nice to say
don’t say anything at all. Try to
make friends and if someone is
hurting your feelings walk any
and cool off. Make sure you come
back to your friend cool.
Remember don’t be the bully! Try
to fix problems and if you see
someone getting bullied report it
to a adult or tell a student
coalition member. At recess I see
tag problems like who will be
“it” or tagging people too hard.
Remember a nice thing to do is
volunteer to be ”it.” Sometimes
it’s not our words that are the
problem, rather, it’s our tone of
voice. When you want time alone
or your mad just say it in a nice
way. Help make our school NO
PLACE FOR HATE!
Have you ever been bullied? If you
have you should read this article.
Think of a problem with a bully as
a tree growing. The seed is the
bully. Each day the seed will sprout
more and more just like a bully will
get more and more mean. If you are
bullied it is better to report to an
adult when the bully is a seed not a
grown tree.
When I am outside at recess I see a
lot of problems. An example of a
problem is on the zip line. I see a
lot of pushing and shoving to throw
it back to a person. We sometimes
bully using words but don’t know
we are bulling. We sometimes speak
without thinking. This can be bad.
Sometimes we think that someone
meant something but really didn’t.
We need to be slow to anger and
make sure we understand before we
make things worse by speaking
meanly. This is a No Place For Hate
school so help keep it that way.
Houston Independent School District!
suggest that the two of you give each other a little space. - C.
Q: My friend is threatening to end our friendship if I become
friends with someone else. How can I widen my circle of
friends and keep my old friend?
- Worried
A: Make it clear to your friend that you value the friendship
that the two of you share, but that you also feel that it is
important to include others and to branch out a little. Let your
friend know that you never want to exclude her, and
encourage her to reach out to others too.
- Coalition
Q: My friends and I like to be aggressive when we play
basketball. When we play with others at school, they always
say we are fouling. How can we all play the same game if we
have different rules?
- Being aggressive
A: Try to remember that not everyone has the same level of
experience and ability. Aggressive play can be scary for kids
who are still learning the game. Agree to the rules before you
start the game, and try to keep the game friendly. It’s just for
fun on the playground! You can also ask a teacher to be a
referee.
- Coalition
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http://westues.org!
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TOP 10 THINGS ABOUT THE
TEXAS STATE FAIR
BY ANDREW TAN
10. Cool topics about famous people,
places, events and other Texas history.
9.Great variety of costumes, tri-boards
and projects (videos, models, games,
diaries, big books, PowerPoint
presentations, & dioramas)!
8. Parents got to see all our hard work in
the MPR.
7. Food samples from Whataburger, Blue
Bell & Dr. Pepper.
6.Creative floats and banners for each
class made by parents.
5. Parading down University in front of
the school in our costumes for the
whole school to see.
4. Mr. Threet, Coach Jones & Mr. A
cooked up the best burgers and hot
dogs!
3. Delicious Chuck Wagon Lunch with
Dr. Pepper & Blue Bell Ice Cream,
plus the burgers and dogs Mr. Threet,
Coach Jones, and Mr. A cooked up!
2. Fun activities and games after lunch:
cow feeding leather working, bull
riding, lassoing and roping, horseshoe
throwing, and country western
dancing!
1. No class work all day!!!!!!
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! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
SNAPSHOTS FROM THE TEXAS STATE FAIR
Sarah Angier
Mrs. Wi&iams and Joe Thompson
Alex
Paxton DeWett
Coach Jones, Mr. A. and Mr. Threet gri&in’ hamburgers & hot dogs.
AJ Bradshaw & Tre Fon
Rachel Yang
Houston Independent School District!
Aiden Blair
Camila Genemares-Cruz
Ethan Nissimov
!
E&ie Slaughter
Brock McEldowney
Nicholas Fenouil, James Leishman, Emerson Chisholm, Luke Peters
http://westues.org!
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! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
SUMMER FUN - A CROSSWORD PUZZLE BY BETH ATHAIDE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Across:
1. What you wear at the pool
5. Coral _____________
7. A place for doing activities during summer
8. A vehicle for road trips
9. Where the sea meets land
11. A pass to explore Europe by train
12. A water body
13. A heavenly body that gives off heat
14. Parasailers look like they’re flying in ____
15. At parties, kids like to ______ ______
(2 words)
Down:
1. Something you make on the beach
2. A delicious cooling dessert
3. The season of June, July, & August
4. To visit other places
6. To catch sea life
9. Riding a two-wheeler
10. A relaxing sea voyage
Answers on school website.
APPLAUD FOR
ACTING
KNOW YOUR MEMORIAL DAY
BY NICHOLAS MCINTOSH
• Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday
in May.
• It was first celebrated to honor Civil War
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casualties. Many Southern states call it the
Confederate Memorial Day.
Waterloo, New York is credited with
celebrating the first Memorial Day on May 5,
1866.
The Indy 500 is a Memorial Day tradition.
An American tradition is visiting the grave sites
and honoring the dead soldiers.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration
Day but the name changed in late 1880s.
The holiday is considered the beginning of
summer by most Americans, with Labor Day
being the last weekend of the season.
There is a National Memorial Day concert on
the West Lawn of the United States Capitol
building.
Memorial Day is officially observed at 3:00
p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
On Memorial day, the American Flag should be
lowered to half-staff from dawn until noon on
Memorial Day.
Houston Independent School District!
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BY ANNA COOPER
Do you think your talent is acting
on stage? Then join Joy Kids Studio!
lt's fun, exciting, well-priced, and
convenient! You'll have the most fun
you've ever had. A few of the things we do are direct, work the
camera, do fun acting warm ups, make scenes, and much, much
more! Joy Kids provides fun summer camps, after school lessons,
and privates! We use costumes and props (such as hats, wigs, jewelry,
and masks) in our scenes! If all this acting starts to wear you out,
then we have just the thing! We always have a healthy snack after
our warm ups. Each month we have a movie night! There is a
cotton candy machine, snow cone machine, comfy bean bags,
drinks, popcorn, and a family-friendly movie with surround sound!
Last but not least, after all of that tiring acting, your work pays off !
We have a Joy Kids premiere! We rent out the River Oaks Theater.
You'll feel like a real movie star! There is a limo, a red carpet,
paparazzi, and a bunch of yummy treats! You can bring as many
people as you desire! We go all out, and you won't believe what kind
of dresses and tuxedos people wear. I can't even tell you what kind
of memories you'll make! You will have more fun in eight sessions
than I could ever explain to you! Joy Kids is a perfect treat for all
ages. Joy Kids is located in the Writers in the Round building right
across from our school! Spread the word, and applaud for acting!
http://westues.org!
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! WEST UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOL. XIII ISSUE VIII !
MAY 2013
NAM-NOODLES & MORE
INTERVIEW OF GENERAL
MANAGER CHI NGUYEN BY:
CAROLINE COLE
Over the past weekend I went to
NAM-Noodles and More, located
on 2512 Rice Blvd, in Rice Village.
I asked the following questions to
the general manager, Chi Nguyen.
Q: What type of cuisine do you
serve? !
A: Vietnamese
Q: The name is Noodles and
More, what do you mean by
"More"?
A: Most of our food comes with
rice noodles, but we also have
rice platters, Vietnamese
baguette sandwiches, and salads.
Q: What is the NAM specialty
dish?
A. The Un-PHo-gettable Pho. It's
eye round beef, beef balls and
noodles in beef broth.
Q: What is the spiciest dish on
the menu?
A: The HUE spicy noodle soup.
Q: What is the healthiest dish?
A: We have many healthy choices
including the V-Bowl. We do
not use any MSG. We have
different green teas, and we
have green tea cookies and
green tea tiramisu.
Q: Do you have a kids'menu?
A: Yes, we have Kid-NAM-ese
menu.
Q: Who founded NAM-Noodles
and More?
A: NAM is in the Kim Son family
of restaurants. It is casual
dining with 850/0 of the same
food as Kim Son.
Q: Do you enjoy working here?
A: Yes, I enjoy it very much.
Q: What is your favorite dish?
A: I really like the NAM
Whitefish Salad.
My meal was deliciousl! My
favorite was the pot stickers.
You should really come here.
Houston Independent School District!
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http://westues.org!
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