Volume 1, Issue 1
February 2017
The Forgotten Courtyard
By: Varshini Gokul
What’s the one place in school that everyone has forgotten about? The Courtyard! Most of
you would think the courtyard is boring and useless, but really it’s a beautiful place to enjoy
lunches with your friends on a nice sunny day.
Countryside’s courtyard before the redesign. Countryside’s courtyard after the redesign. Last year’s 5th grader’s One to the World
project was designing the Courtyard. The fifth
graders dug pathways, put tables in, planted
plants and made a vegetable garden. The fifth
grade would work almost every day at FLEX,
when students can study and do homework.
But you can’t give all the credit to 5th
grade. A high school student named Anthony
from Broad Run High School, built and designed the stage for the Courtyard.
Our current fifth grade may be wondering if they will get to help with the Courtyard.
The answer is yes! Fifth grade will add onto the Courtyard. I wonder how we will add to this
amazing space!
What would you like to add to the Courtyard?
“I would like to
add bird feeders
and a bird house”
“I would like to
plant trees and
bushes.”
“I would like to add
more plants and
trees.”
-Sonia Alam -Gabriel Smith -Maggie Kennerly Spelling Bee
By: Sophia Antezana
Countryside Elementary took part in the national spelling bee on the 18th of January.
The contestants were Maryam, Ryan, Theo, Zohaib, Erick, Varshini, Brian, Josie, Lia, Sofia,
Jessica, Eliana, Nischal, Avery, Haley, Nora, Mason, Krishna, Jay, David, Sonia, Ceena, Lisa,
Caitlynn, and Janessa(absent).
Round 1—In round 1 the following words were spelled incorrectly: climbed, nonsense,
performance, bemused, invisible, vocabulary, contestants, fortune, dimension, caterpillar, innocent, digested, and settee. Thirteen contestants were out, with 11 contestants left.
Round 2 —In round 2 the following words were misspelled:
daunted, moisture, gymnastics, inlet, mildew, and peculiar. Six contestants were out, with five contestants left to go.
Round 3—Maryam and Krishna in Mrs. Lucchino class. David
and Nischal in Mrs. Redenburg class, and Brian in Mrs. Slattery’s
class were in round three. Maryam misspelled modhopper and Krishna misspelled dangler. Three boys were left.
Round 4, 5, and Runner –up —David, the winner of the Geography Bee, misspelled Procrustes, Brian misspelled infuriating, and
Nischal misspelled partridge. This moved all three on to round 5. In
Nischal, the winner of the Spelling Bee. round 5, David misspelled algae, Brain misspelled marionette, and
Nischal won the spelling bee! David and Brian continued on to determine the runner-up, and
Brian succeeded. Congratulations to all contestants, and good luck to Nischal as he goes on to
the county level at Stone Bridge High School on Thursday, March 2nd!
The Dabbing Dinos Stomp in!
By: Eliana Safarian
A club that is known now as the “Dabbing Dinos” hop into recess fun! It actually only began as a “Sweetsaurus Challenge” attempt and somehow transformed into a fun hopping recess
team.
“How does it feel to hop around all day?” asks creator of the article, Eliana Safarian.
“It can get really hard sometimes with your shirt stretched over your knees while you hop
kneeling down.” Says leader of the group, Theodore Tunnessen. “But it can be fun if you know
what you’re doing.”
On Wednesday, February 8, the “Dabbing Dinos” started something new. Theodore (or
Theo) spotted a jump rope left alone at recess and an idea sprouted in his head. Theo started jump
roping while in his “Dino” form. Though he only made one jump, he rolled around on his back
and laughed until he ran out of breath. In fact, it looked like so much fun that Evan Diaz, another
member of the club, tried it too. He also only made one jump, followed by Carson who also made
one. Soon, Eliana had a pile of boys in front of her feet, rolling around, laughing and most of all,
having fun.
When they’re not doing their dinosaur hop, the three members of the club put their arms on
each others shoulders, with Theo in the middle and Evan and Carson dabbing while running
around on the field. That gave the three Dinos their name.
Evan, Carson, and Theo certainly made recess a hopping good time!
February 2017 Inside or Out?
By: Anieesh Saravanan
“From reviewing recess games, we have
found that most people play freeze tag and football,” Jaden and Patrick said.
Jace says, “[I like] outdoor recess because
there is more space and it has equipment unlike
recess indoors, when you have to play board
games or draw.”
Ali does not agree with that, he said,
“Indoor recess is better, because outside it’s pret- Jaden takes in the view, before sliding down! ty cold and I like the classroom board games.”
One of the most played games in Ms. Balla’s class and generally the whole of 4th grade
is tag, you might think tag is bad and mumble to yourself, “Tag makes recess noisy, they yell a
lot when they get scared or close to the tagger,” but actually, tag is a good game for kids. It is a
team sport and gets people to run a lot! Tag can improve health, but simultaneously, people can
get hurt because once close to the tagger, they tend to run fast. They can also run into people
while looking at the tagger behind them. However, if you make sure you have the appropriate
space to play in, this isn’t usually a problem. Recess Games
By: Patrick Ragsdale
Hey kids, do you like recess? You probably do (I do) so let’s see what your fellow students are doing for recess! Here are some games that are played and how many students normally do it:
Catch- 5 students
Jump rope- 6 students
Parkour (climbing)- 3 students
Chase- 4 students
Sharks and Minnows- 15 students
Hide-in-seek- 15 students
Tag- 7 students
Monkey bars- 2 students
Reading- 2 students
Soccer- 7 students
So if you’re bored at recess, try playing some of these games!
Jokes and
Riddles!
By: Nadia Freidson
and others
1: If 12=6 and 6=3 then
what does 10= to?
A:5
B:3
C:7
2: Two boats started at
the same time, leave at
the same time, and arrived at the same time/
place. The first boat arrived in 90 minutes. The
second boat arrived in 1
hour and 30 minutes.
How is that possible?
3: Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?
4: Why are ghosts such
bad liars?
Answers: B, 1 hour and 30 minutes is
equal to 90 minutes, he didn’t have
the guts to do it, you can see right
through them! Ha! February 2017 An Incredible
Game
Book Review on
Canterwoood Crest,
Take The Reins
By: Mason Turner
If you’re a Star Wars
fan and enjoy playing
games, then Huzzah Hobbies is the place for you.
Every month, on the
third Wednesday of the
month, they host a game
tournament for a miniatures game called “Star
Wars X-Wing”.
At the store you can
buy the corset of the game
as well as expansions. After the game you will receive a participation award,
and if you score in the top
two, you get an even bigger award.
If you want to learn
how to play or have any
questions, please contact
me at school!
By: Josie Frickman
The Canterwood Crest series is an awesome series. Although I’m still on the first book, Take The Reins, I am really enjoying it! The book is about, Sasha Silver, and her horse Charm.
They recently arrived at the campus of Canterwood Crest Academy. Sasha is roommates with, Paige Parker. Although Paige
bakes and Sasha rides horses, they are really close friends.
At the beginning of the year Sasha tried out for Canterwood’s horseback riding team. She told her parents she was
lucky enough to be on the beginner team. Her parents, being
supportive parents, said she was going to do great, but Sasha
didn’t think that. She knew that Canterwood Crest was much
harder in everything then Briar Creek and Union Middle School.
She switched schools and barns because her old instructor couldn’t do anything else for her. Her instructor even told her to
switch to Canterwood!
At Briar Creek none of her friends there went to UMS
(Union Middle School) Everyone at UMS thought she was just a
weird horse girl. Everyone at Briar Creek went to their nearest
private school. She made the intermediate team, she was very
surprised.
I like this series because it is in Sasha’s perspective. It is
also is really funny. I also like it because Sasha is brave and has
a funny personality. You will have to read the book to find out
what a group of girls do to make her leave Canterwood and her
adventures there! What are you reading? Do you buy lunch?
Check out these favorites! “I’m reading The Map Trap.”
-Shannon Arias Pedroso “I’m reading Riding Freedom.”
-Emily Finelle Rocket League
By: Conor Wilson
In Rocket League you control little rocket powered cars in third person, while you try to
play soccer with/against other rocket powered cars. You can also play Basketball and Hockey
[Basketball is Hoops and Hockey is Ice day]. Matches are normally 5 minutes, but if you're
still tied, you go into sudden death overtime. Which is where the game keeps going till one
team scores.
There is season mode, where you can play with/against other cars, but they’re controlled
by the computer, your seasons can last 9 to 36 weeks (games) then you can go into the
playoffs or championship. In season mode you can change your team name, and change your
team logo. You can play with friends offline (playing with people on the same exact system)
and online, in that you can change the ball mass, the ball, the area you play in, and the amount
of gravity.
Countryside’s Creative Corner
By: Maddie Pugh and Jaden Speight
Each newspaper we are featuring artwork from students in each grade level. Check out this issue’s artists! K: Jessica
1st: Elijah
2nd: Sydney
3rd: Jimmy
4th: Zahra
5th: Sophia
Ms. Bigg’s class
Mrs. Rochester's class
Mrs. Garcia’s class
Mrs. Dudas’ class
Ms. Massung’s class
Mrs. Lucchino’s class