Garfield Elementary School

Students Helping Students

Send us your problems, we’ll try to help!

Situation

First Grader: My friend tells me they don’t care about me even though they play with me during recess. They sometimes run away and say I can’t play with them and sometimes we play together and have fun and it makes me sad.

Advice

Student 1: Well, if they say they don’t care about you, why play with them? And if they run away, find someone else to play with! They still play with you! Even if they run away from you, they still play with you, right? Take it from someone who’s actually had this happen to them. It might blow over in a week or so. Just give it time, they’ll play with you.

Student 2: Just close your eyes and take a deep breath and just walk away. Then the next day just play with them or hang with them and then if they are still saying they don't care about you then just walk away and then let them come to you, don't go to them.

Student 3: You should walk up to them and say ‘why are you running away from me?’. If that does not work tell them what it makes you feel like and why you don't like that. If they don't stop just say ‘I won't play with you if you keep doing that’ Then find something else to do that’s fun. 

The Technology Fair - Competition

By: Varshana Horback

The tech fair competition was at Capital High School in the auditorium. The lights went dark as me and my dad walked in, we sat in Garfield's seating. Just as we sat they announced Garfield was going first. They said “Will you please show me and the other tech judges your future dog park?“. As Garfield’s team got up they looked jittery and jumpy. As they walked up I whispered to my dad “These kids are 5th graders, three of them are in Mr. Finny’s class and the last kid is in Mr. Mac’s.” Their dog park used a lot of tech, but still was believable. Mr. Chertok described it by saying “I was able to watch this group collaborate as they developed and created their plan, using a variety of software applications. Their plan stood out from other presenters in a variety of ways. It included very practical ideas of composting of waste with a meandering river where dogs could get a drink, take a dip and play. It also included a very creative idea of using a ‘Hamster Wheel’ device for dogs to generate electricity. They each spoke on stage with clarity and in my view won over the audience (and judges) with a smart and thoughtful design.”  When the other schools went I felt scared because one or two of the schools were good. I was panting and, eww, I admit, I might have been sweating! Wow that was ewwy! Can you believe! Now that's gross. I did not really think Garfield would win. I wondered, are they going to win are they? I asked my dad, I kept talking, I said “I think they are, oh no oh no what are they going to say!” “I don’t know, why would I Varshana, do you?” My dad asked “Sorry Dad i'm just scared”. He wasn’t really mad, but I was nervous. Then we waited.

As we waited we moved to the section for the high school my dad works at. The school was Avanti High School. Right as we went to the Avanti section they announced Garfield was the winner. I was so excited that Garfield won I didn’t want to say goodbye to everyone leaving. We watched the high school present and went home. I was so happy Garfield won that it made the whole day happy. When I asked Mr. Chertok about it he also said “My favorite part was watching them as the audience broke out in applause as they were awarded the top prize. A very proud moment for Garfield. I want to thank Mr. Roper and Mr. McIntosh for their leadership and supporting students in this great event.”

Tech Fair Booths

By: Stephanie Bradley

There were a lot of people at the Tech Fair to see the different booths. I think Garfield’s was the most visited, it was really exciting to be helping with a booth. If you do not know, a tech booth is the place where you show off different technology as a part of the tech fair. I went because I was helping, but you can go to see what other schools are doing or what people are learning about. It was a lot of fun to help and to see everyone who came. I think everyone should come if they can! 

Book Character Day

By Jaileigh Jennings

For book character day Mrs. Beattie was a mouse from ”If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. I asked Mrs. Beattie if she liked her birthday celebration. She said, “Yes, I loved my birthday celebration!’’ The mouse was her first choice for this year. Something you might not know is that she actually doesn’t love dressing up as much as you think she would. I asked her why this was how she spent her birthday then and she said, “I am not a dress up person, I do a lot of things that I don’t want to do for this school’’ I think Mrs. Beattie likes seeing other people dress up and knew we would have fun with her plan. I appreciate all the things that Mrs. Beattie does for the school and the effort she makes for us all.  

MLK Jr. Day - Community Dinner

By: Stephanie Bradley

Recently, we had a community dinner in honor of MLK Jr. Day. The dinner was open to students, their families, and staff from the school. It was on a Thursday evening, January 25th, at 6:30. There was dinner, talking with friends, an unplanned hallway party, and cookies. 

For the dinner Mr. Ben and Ms. Nicole made spaghetti and got salad and pasta donated. Mr. Chertok helped them make garlic bread. There was also lemonade, oranges, cookies, and other food brought by families. There were a lot of families from the school. Everyone got to get seconds if they wanted to.  

Ms. Nicole said they wanted to have a community dinner because “We hoped to give families a time to build community and have a meal together. MLK jr. Day is a great opportunity to serve in honor of his dreams, we chose to focus on bringing people together and creating common ground. It was a lot of work and successful because of the work Ben did and support from Mr. Chertok and our Olympia Reading Corps members. They did so much work for the day to be successful, they deserve a huge thank you!”

Martin Luther King Jr. is well known for a speech he made, known as the I Have a Dream speech. MLK Jr. worked towards equal rights his whole life and helped make positive changes in our lives. He was a great person. Teacher Nicole says MLK Jr. Day is a day many people participate in service projects because his life was dedicated to service. 

Advice (Cont.)

Student 4: Well I would maybe get some new friends who has the same interests as me, and care about me and like me.

Situation

Third Grader: There is a new kid in my reading group who keeps talking over our teacher and yelling or making a mess and the teacher tries to have us work and I can’t with someone so distracting.

Advice

Student 1: What you can do is tell them that if they don’t be good you will have to get sent to Mrs. Pigues office and that won’t be fun. It’s only fun to go there when you want to.

Student 2: Ask them to stop. If that does not work tell the teacher that they are distracting you, if that still doesn’t work and they do another thing then move away from them. And tell them you feel like you can’t work around them and you want to.

My Interview With Mr. Roper

By: Kaden Ferguson

Q: What is your favorite color? 

A: I love all shades of blue, green, and gray.  These are the major colors of the ocean.  At least when it is stormy.    

Q: What is your favorite book? What is your favorite book from your childhood?

A: My favorite book now is When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris.  My favorite series is the Dune series.   

My favorite childhood book from my childhood was From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  My 4th grade teacher helped me to fall in love with that story.

Q: What is your favorite movie? 

A: This is a hard question.  I enjoy watching a lot of different types of movies in my “spare time”.  I guess my favorite movie would be Jupiter Ascending.  

Q: How long have you been a teacher? How long have you been a teacher at Garfield? 

A: I have been a teacher for five and a half years.  The first four were in Utah.  I have been at Garfield for a year and a half.  

Q: What grades have you taught? What grades do you want to teach? 

A: My first year I taught 6th grade. Then I moved to 4th grade, and I have been teaching there ever since.   

Q: What was your favorite subject in school? 

A: Definitely science!! We didn’t have computers in my schools very much growing up. But if I had, I would also love technology!

Q: What is your favorite subject to teach? 

A: Science again! It helps that so many of my students also enjoy learning with science.  

Q: What are your hobbies? 

A: I love to read and write stories.  I LOVE being outdoors with my puppies.  We go hiking, camping, kayaking, swimming, and off-roading.  I am interested in photography. I enjoy visiting new people and places while going on road trips.  I am also learning how to surf (since I live in Westport.) 

Q: Why do you work in Olympia? Was this where you wanted to teach? Why? 

A: Olympia has a very strong commitment to the community.  They help community members in need, they invite the community to participate with activities, and they look for ways to be strong community leaders.  Olympia is also an artistic and eclectic community.  Olympia School District is also a very progressive district.  They pass most, if not all, the bonds and levies to bring more money and resources to public schools.  

This was where I wanted to teach. I like working in an urban setting, but huge cities, like Seattle, were too big.  Olympia is the right size.  Large, but not too large, with a strong focus on building community. Plus, this is the capital!

Q: What do you like most about working at Garfield? 

A: The amazing staff and students. Garfield invests a lot of money and time into human resources. The minute I walked into the doors here at Garfield, I knew that this school values children, their education, and their future. The people here are amazing! 

I chose to interview Mr. Roper because he is the tech guy and his is also my teacher, and he is just a nice guy in general. What I learned from this interview is that Mr. Roper had more than one dog! The most interesting answer I got was that his favorite book was When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I did not know what his favorite book was. I would suggest more people get to know staff or teachers better. There might be some interesting facts you didn't know about them.

Q&A With Mr. Finney

By: August Ackley Speights

We all wonder how Mr. Finney makes the popcorn for popcorn friday. I have been wondering myself, and have decided to interview Mr. Finney. The result is below.

Q: How do you make the popcorn?

A: I have to power up the popcorn machine, wait for it to preheat, then I add the kernels, flavoring, and sunflower oil. In about six minutes, all the kernels are popped. And then I make about ten batches a friday. Then I have to bag the popcorn. I use a scoop to bag the popcorn.

Q: Do you come to school at a certain time? If so, when?

A: Yes. I have to get here about 5.30 to make the popcorn and be ready for school.

Q: Why do you make the popcorn?

A: To raise money. I make it so the PTA can do movie nights, things like that.

Q: Finally, when did you start making the popcorn and what gave you the idea? 

A: Well, I got the idea when I made popcorn in Seattle! They had a popcorn machine there. And I just thought it would be a good idea. Plus, kids look forward to Popcorn Friday.

Now we know why Mr. Finney gives us delicious, tasty .50 cent popcorn.