Summer 2013
Amity Interns at Ben Frank
By Juliana Acevedo
and Lilly Rausch
“You will open your eyes and your
mind by traveling abroad. And if
you are afraid, don’t worry, you
should try, home will always be
available to go back to.”
“Learning a new language
doesn’t only mean learning
new words but also gestures,
expressions, rules, and many
more things.”
“I decided to accept
Franklin’s offer because
I found the setup of so
many immersion classes
simply wonderful.”
From left to Right: Marco Corrao, Emilie Delacre, Laura Wilhelm, Sandra Binner, Raul Blanco , Paula Capilla Lorenzo , Susana Campesino Chacon, Matthias Faust
You see them everywhere, in the
halls, classrooms, on the playground,
and in Homework Club. Who are these
foreign angels? These young adults
are from an organization called Amity
Institute.
They come from all over the
world to help teachers and students at
Franklin, and in return, learn about life
in California. Many of them help the
students individually, or they work in
reading groups as they teach in their
native language. There are eight interns
total. Four Spanish-speaking interns:
Laura, Raul, Paula, and Susanna. Two
German-speaking interns: Sandra and
Mattias. The French intern is named
Emily, and the Italian intern is Marco.
Most of the interns, like the one in my
class, were shy at first, but after a few
months they began to joke around and
have a little more fun.
Mrs. Jones told us how she chooses
the interns. She goes on Skype to
interview them with Gillian Bonacci,
the president of the Benjamin Franklin
Elementary Foundation. Then, Gillian
and the Magnet Committee, Mrs. Jones,
Nicole Peineke, Simona Montanari,
and Muriel Gassan, tell Amity the type
of interns they are looking for. The
Magnet Board interviews them, and
after that, they discuss who would be a
good fit for the job.
Who do the interns live with? We’re
going to tell you! They usually live with
Franklin families who live in the area
and who have a spare room in their
home. After they’ve lived with them for
awhile, they become part of the family.
We are planning to keep the interns,
and we’re guessing that you want to
keep them too. The interns love to help
Franklin kids, but they can get strict
sometimes so be careful! They are still
very kind and they like every single
student no matter who you are.
WHAT’S INSIDE
Franklin Book Club.......... 2
Carnegie Hall Debut....... 3
Teacher Corner.............. 4
Student Submissions:
Try the Crossword........ 5-8
Point/Counter-Point......... 9
A Carnegie Hall Debut
Have you ever wondered how
you would feel if you actually had the
chance to perform in Carnegie Hall?
Well, two kids here at Franklin had the
opportunity to perform in New York at
Carnegie Hall, one of the most famous
concert halls in the world.
Andres Engleman, who is in
kindergarten in Senorita Carbajal’s
class, is six-years-old and played the
violin. Bianca Howitt, who is in first
grade in Maestra Petriella’s class, is
seven and also played the violin in the
By Angela Torres
same orchestra as Andres. Andres and
Bianca loved it in New York.
They won gold in a competition in
Los Angeles, so their orchestra got to
play at Carnegie Hall. They were both
nervous, but at the same time excited.
They played several songs such as El
Toro, Russian Music Box, and Corn
Pipe. There were other instruments
in their orchestra including the viola,
bass, and the cello. Andres and Bianca
both practice at least an hour a day,
sometimes two.
The “New Girl” at Franklin
At the end of the last school
year, I found out I was transferring
to Franklin. The problem was that I
loved my school, St. Robert’s. I had
been going there since kindergarten!
Just the thought of being “the new
girl” made me shudder.
Nobody would know me, and
public schools are scary! (Or at least
that’s what I’d heard.) Then I realized
the worst part; I’d be leaving my
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After the concert they saw the
Statue of Liberty and actually got to
visit Julliard. As their week went by
they got to go to Little Tokyo and the
Empire State Building! On their way
back to Los Angeles, Bianca watched
television on the airplane, and Andres
said the sandwiches weren’t very
good. Their visit to New York and to
Carnegie Hall was an exciting trip
they won’t forget.
By Bethany Sahagun
best friends. Over summer break I
anticipated the upcoming school year
at Franklin. Was public school going
to change me? Were my friends and I
going to drift apart?
The first day I walked into
Franklin I knew it wasn’t going to be
easy. Kids were shoving each other
and everything was so loud I couldn’t
even hear myself think. It was a huge
change from my old private school.
My private school was old-fashioned.
The halls were painted warmly, but
still made me feel like I was taking
an exam. Then, I thought about my
best friends, who helped me make
my uniform more stylish; or simply
helped me with anything. I shoved
that thought away and held tight onto
my dad’s hand.
I was looking for other new kids
to be my allies. There weren’t any kids
who looked out of place. When my new
teacher was taking roll, I realized that
I was the only new kid. It scared me to
think that everybody here knew each
other but me. Then two girls came and
made me feel really welcome. They
made sure I was never alone, and I
was happy throughout the rest of the
year. They became my best friends.
Being the new kid was hard. But
it came through in the end. I still
see my old friends, but I noticed that
we’re growing apart. And my new
friends aren’t going anywhere. This
is my second year at Franklin and the
struggle in the beginning definitely
paid off.
Franklin Starts a Book Club
The book club is one of the many activities that
you can do at Ben Franklin. The book club was
started by the one and only Principal Atikian! She
started the book club because she wanted to get kids
exited about reading. The title of the book she chose is
“The Beef Princess of Practical County”. Mrs. Atikian
chose this book by reading the back cover of many
books and picking the most interesting one.
The first book club meeting was on March 24,
2013. During each meeting, Mrs. Atikian talked to
the kids about what they read. The kids had a specific
date to read a certain amount of pages. In the book
club, they made the kids share their favorite quote
from the book. They also asked them to draw their
favorite part of the book. The kids also got to meet
the author of “The Beef Princess of Practical County”
and ask questions.
Mrs. Garcia is also part of the book club and a
friend of the author. She is the administrator. She
takes attendance and makes sure the parents and
teachers know when they are meeting. Mrs. Garcia
does a raffle and brings prizes. “The 4th-6th graders
were not to be outdone. They were fabulous,” said
Mrs. Garcia, adding: “I was followed in the hallway
by a flock of 2nd and 3rd graders asking me just
exactly what are we going to do and when. It was a
great day to be a teacher, simply a great day.”
Meet Author
Michelle
Houts
By Macy Smith
Michelle Houts wrote a lot when
she was young. She wrote letters to her
grandmother every Thursday for five
years. Then, before her grandmother died,
she received all of the letters back. Michelle
has written a lot of books. Some are in a
drawer, some are with her agent and some
are half written on her computer. But she
has published two: “The Beef Princess
of Practical County” and “Winter Frost”
(coming out next year), which is about a
couple of gnomes in Denmark.
She started writing the book “Beef
Princess from Practical County” in 2006.
Then, she finished and sent it to an editor in
2007. Finally, it came out in 2009. For those
of you who know the book, Piggy, Mule
and Franny’s invisible grandchildren were
inspired by real people and animals. The
author’s daughter, Margaret Francis, had
By Alex Diaz-Infante
make-believe grandchildren when she was
four. But instead of just two grandchildren,
like Franny, she had around 100 and they
did not have names.
Michelle lives in the middle of Ohio,
which is very close to Indiana. She lives
on flat farmland. Every year there is a
big county fair. Michelle also told me the
story was inspired by her life. When her
kids were old enough to take animals to
the county fair, she thought about taking
something you can pick up, like a chicken.
But her husband grew up showing cattle so
her oldest daughter showed cattle as well.
Also, Michelle learned that at the end, the
kids have to sell the cattle at an auction
and she thought, “Oh my goodness! This is
such an emotional story! Someone should
write a book.” And that is what she did.
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Frau Sandy Avetic By Sophie Peineke
Frau Sandy Avetic is our school’s German 3rd /4th
grade teacher. She loves to teach German and loves her
class and science projects. She was born in Tehran, Iran
but she is Armenian. Her birthday is December 23rd.
She enjoys having a birthday so close to Christmas
because she gets to celebrate a lot. Her favorite color is
yellow. Her favorite foods are pasta and rice. Her favorite
book in English is “Harry Potter” because she thinks the
magic is really cool. Her favorite book in German is “Der
Schimmelreiter,” which is a ghost story.
Before she taught German, she was a flight attendant;
she loved it because she always got to travel. She loves to
travel in Germany, the United States, and Italy because there
is a lot of old history. In 1998, she came to the United States.
She studied linguistics and German literature. Now, she lives
in Glendale with her husband.
Franklin
Welcomes
a New Baby
Baby girl Lia Mariana
Gargiulo was born
on Feb. 18, 2013 in
Burbank, CA. Our
very own Maestra
Gargiulo and her
husband Ivano are
the proud parents.
Congratulations!
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Mrs. Dombroski By Ian Smyth
Mrs. Dombroski was born in Los Angeles,
and she has lived here for her whole life except for
two years. She always wanted to be an elementary school teacher because she likes teaching
children. She has been teaching for eleven years
and she has had a great time at Franklin.
Mrs. Dombroski is getting ready to retire at
the end of the school year. She has been teaching
a 5th grade English-speaking class. She thinks
she is really going to miss the school, but she is
also looking forward to retiring. After she retires,
she plans to play with her kids and do more
scrap-booking. All the students at Franklin will
miss her and hope that she enjoys her retirement.
Mrs. Dombroski,
Mrs. Waddell
and Mrs. Otero we will miss you!
We wish you the best
of luck as you begin
your new adventures.
Baseball Talk By Harry Stoltz, 4th grade German
Spring in the Forest By Emi Moses, 3rd grade Italian
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
My Field Trip to
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
By Romeo Portillo, 2nd Grade Italian
When I came back from my
field trip to Cabrillo Marine
Aquarium my mom asked me a
million questions. Here is how
it went:
Mom: Did you have a good
time?
Romeo: Yes, I had a great time.
Mom: What did you see?
Romeo: I saw an Abalone, a
seahorse, a sea snail and a jelly
fish… and a dead bird!
Mom: Where was the dead
bird?
Romeo: Between two rocks. It
was a little bit scary because it
had one wing up and its face
to the side with his eyes open.
That was weird!!!
Mom: What did you like the
most?
Romeo: When I was jumping
from one rock to another
because I felt like I was having
an adventure.
Mom: That’s great! What was
the funniest part of the trip?
Romeo: When the biologist
said that seahorses are not
fast swimmers. It made me
laugh because I thought that
seahorses should be as fast as
land horses.
Mom: That’s funny! And what
else was fun?
Romeo: A very fun part was
when we were on the bus.
Every time the bus would stop
we would bounce back and
forth on our seats and that
made us all laugh. Another very
fun part was when Arianna,
Gianpaolo and I were scaring
the ducks away.
Mom: Was there a not nice part
of the trip or something that
you did not like?
Romeo: Yes, I wish I had a
swimming suit so I could swim
in the ocean or at least get
wet. Everything else was really
good.
Does your mom ask you
a million questions too
when she picks you up
from school?
Answer: YES NO
(Circle the one that applies to you!)
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STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
Ainsley’s Outdoor
World: Eaton Canyon
Waterfall Hike
By Ainsley Ghaman, 1st Grade German
The Crocodile
By Maya Checchi, 2nd Grade Italian
This picture represents a crocodile opening his
mouth. He is coming towards the water to see
our boat. I took this picture on Rio Usumacinta
in Chiapas, Mexico. Rio Usumacinta is a long
river with crocodiles and monkeys on the trees.
Go through the Pinecrest Gate off Altadena
Drive. Trail goes downhill first to a bridge.
The mountains are very high and at the bridge
you can hear the water. Now, we go down
under the bridge and into the canyon. It’s
very rocky, bring good shoes. I like this hike
because you have to go creek crossing—on
rocks or a fallen tree and you can balance
beam across it. Sometimes, you’ll see black beetles and horses, people and
dogs and lizards. When it hasn’t rained in a long time, the creek has less
water but the waterfall is usually still there. If you want, you can go swimming
at the end, but if you do, you should bring an extra change of clothes and a
towel. If you stop for snacks it will take two hours and 10 minutes.
Thomas
By Brayden Pope, 1st Grade German
Thomas is a Pinto colt. That means he is a boy Pinto horse. He loves
to play with his friend, Isabella. Isabella is an Appaloosa filly. That
means she is a girl Appaloosa horse. Thomas’ mama doesn’t like
him to play with Isabella. Thomas’s mama wants him to go to school.
But Thomas wants to play with Isabella all day. Thomas’ mama said:
“Thomas, you have to go to school.” Thomas said: “But I don’t
want to.” Thomas’ mama said: “Thomas, you have to go to school
because you have to learn to run really fast.” Thomas said: “But I
know already. Like this.” And he galloped away really, really fast to
play with Isabella!
My Friend Elena
By Sophia Checchi, 3rd Grade Italian
I am going to talk about a girl named Elena. Elena is a girl
from Italy that came to Franklin Elementary School when I was
in 1st grade. When I first met her she didn’t talk so much but
now her favorite thing is talking. When she came into our class
she didn’t know anything about how Franklin worked. When I
was in class with her, our teacher was Mrs. Hartel. Mrs. Hartel
was very nice with Elena and let me sit next to her. In Italy,
they don’t write on the same paper as we do, which meant
I had to teach her. She learned as fast as a lightning strike. I
was impressed by how well she wrote and how nice she was.
We became friends really fast and got to know each other
better and better every day. I was happy to become friends
with her because she was always honest. Whenever she asked
me something she always told me the truth. Now we are
inseparable and BFF, TI VOGLIO BENE ELENA!!!
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By Violet Schade,
1st Grade German
Franklin Teacher Crossword Puzzle
By Kellar Black, 2nd Grade Spanish
“Poule” by Sylvain Deboissy, Kindergarten French
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STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
Summer Reading
Guide
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
recommended by Angela Rozul
The 39 Clues by various authors
recommended by Anthony Henriquez
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J.K. Rowling
recommended by Brandon Wilson
Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
recommended by Escandar Santos
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
recommended by Yalila Castro
The Code By Julian Levy, Kindergarten Italian
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Let Girls Play Football!
By Macy Smith
One day I read an article in the sports section of the
newspaper. When I read the article, I thought, “This is crazy!”,
and I wanted to change it. Here is the story. A girl named Ella
Wood is in high school and she plays on a flag football team
at Sequoyah School in Pasadena. All she wants to do is play
football, but there is just one problem. Her team has to forfeit
every single game for letting a girl play. Ella can play just fine,
if they would let her.
I play football and I’m tougher and stronger than some
boys on my team. I don’t think Ella’s team should have to
forfeit just because she is a girl. It doesn’t mean she is weak or
fragile. She can be just as tough as the boys or tougher.
Every football season Ella is meant to play, but not allowed
to play. The school made a girl’s football team, but only two
people have signed up. So, that’s the story. What I am trying
to say is that if a person, no matter what gender, wants to play
football or any other sport, they should be able to.
POINT
COUNTER-POINT
Girls Shouldn’t Play Tackle Football
I, Adrian Diaz-Infante, play on a flag football team in
the Pop Warner league. This league allows girls to play
flag football, however, I do have an issue with girls playing
tackle football. Historically, football is a boy’s sport. I don’t
think girls should play tackle football because girls could
get hurt. Some boys are bigger, tougher, and weigh more.
Another reason girls shouldn’t play football is because
their parents won’t let them play, because they think it’s
too tough for them. Also, the team will probably have to
forfeit games, because there might be a rule that states
girls shouldn’t play football. Another reason girls shouldn’t
play tackle football is because the other team will treat the
girls like boys and they will knock the girls down hard.
Even if girls do sign up, SOME girls won’t understand the
rules, won’t take football seriously, will show up late to
practice, won’t bother to show up to games or practice,
and won’t pay attention. Also, girls won’t be able to play all
of the positions because of their size like on the offensive
line, for example. These are the reasons why girls shouldn’t
play tackle football.
By Adrian Diaz-Infante
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It’s time for Summer!
Look for these words :
Beach
Summer
Fun
Relax
No School
Friends
Vacation
Heat
Sports
Swimming
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Wordsearch by Brandon Wilson
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Meet the Newspaper Club
TOP ROW:
Angela Torres, Bethany Sahagun,
Alexi Drosu, Macy Smith, Juliana Acevedo,
Heather Ragsdale, Ian Smyth, David Diaz-Infante.
BOTTOM ROW:
Sophie Peineke, Acacia Hand, Adrian Diaz-Infante,
Alex Diaz-Infante, Brandon Wilson.
Not pictured:
Lilly Rausch
Mrs. Smith, teacher liaison,
Jessica Zavala, teacher specialist
Caroline Halili, graphic designer
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By Sophie Peineke
Leaving Franklin
By David Diaz-Infante
My name is David and I am a sixth grader at Franklin Magnet School.
Being a sixth grader means I will not be returning next year. I am going to
middle school. I am ecstatic because I am going to a new school and I get
to meet new friends while seeing some old friends too. But I have mixed
feelings about leaving Franklin and going to Toll. I’ll also be unhappy because
Franklin is the place where I grew up and I have so many good memories.
I remember one time when I was little, recess was almost over and my
shoes got untied, so I quickly ran over to my teacher so she could tie my shoes.
Of course, I could tie my own shoes but my teacher tied them faster than I did at
that time and if she tied them, I would have more time to play. I also remember
celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday. In my class, we would read Dr. Seuss books,
which was a lot of fun. When Mr. Williams was principal, we would sometimes
have Disney Days. I remember when artists from Disney came to draw the
mural in the auditorium. One of the volunteers came into my classroom and
asked my teacher if they could borrow a few sharpies. My teacher only had the
colors red, blue and black so that’s why the colors are up there.
5
(well, technically it’s my dad’s because
he does the coffee, but I say my family
because they serve it).
2
We love the BOUNCY BALLS and
the HAMSTER WHEEL. To jump
in the jumper. It is all so fun. We feel the
emotion in our heart, pounding like it has
never pounded.
Things
We Love
About
Worldfest
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We love a little ENTERTAINMENT.
There is the singing, the dancing,
and the comedy. Don’t forget the magic
tricks! All really cool things, like me, I’m
doing Gangnam Style.
By Acacia Hand
Our annual festival supports Franklin
Magnet School’s Amity Intern program,
newspaper club, teacher supply closet,
music/art/garden classes, computer
lab assistant, vegetable gardens, and
campus improvement projects.
Soaring to
ne w heights
BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN
ELEMENTARY
FOUNDATION
1610 Lake Street
Glendale, CA 91201
franklinmagnetschool.com
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1
We love the FOOD. It’s delish.
Flavor bursts into our mouth.
Juicy. So flavorful. Your favorite food
with different kinds of flavors from all
over the world. Then, guess what? There’s
the booth where they serve cold drinks
and coffee. That’s my family’s booth
We love winning the PRIZES. Right?
The prizes are fun. The ones that
are the best are the sunglasses! They are
so worth it. It always is so hot.
5
We love to spend time with our
FRIENDS. They crack jokes, they
help you, and they especially do things
with you even when you’re scared. Your
friends can be funny, they can be silly,
and they can also be encouraging.