Totoket Valley News. Did you know...? Students informing students. Inside this issue: TVN Reporters

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1 Totoket Valley News JUNE 2013 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 Students informing students Look out for our new page number character throughout this edition of the newspaper, designed by Luke Scala, Grade 3. Did you know...? Luke Scala, Grade 3 Think you know everything about your teacher? Student reporter Taylor Kamienski interviewed teachers to learn more about their lives outside of school. Ever wonder what kinds of things your teacher does outside of school? Do you think your teacher might live a boring life filled with correcting homework, creating assessments, and ing parents? If so, throughout this edition of the Totoket Valley News, pay close attention to the sidebars on each page. You ll find random facts about the teachers in our school, and begin to realize that the teachers at our school have hidden talents, accomplished amazing feats, and have visited some pretty interesting places. We hope you understand that teachers do fun things, and that they are human beings, too! Inside this issue: Feature Teacher: Mrs. Sobo 2 Feature Teacher: Mr. Matt 3 Animal Shelter 4 Word Search 7 TVN Reporters Luke Scala, Grade 3 Mikey Ricci, Grade 4 Elisabeth D Albero, Grade 4 Lucia Nuzzo, Grade 4 Taylor Kamienski, Grade 4 Cameron Fisco, Grade 5 Mr. Amodio, Grade 3 Teacher The Totoket Valley Newspaper was written and designed as part of a special project of our After School Enrichment Newspaper Club. Article ideas, artwork, and other features in this newspaper are all original ideas of our student writers, editors, and designers. The following newspaper is a result of their hard work over the last 6 weeks. We hope you find this information useful!

2 Upcoming Events: Field Day June 7th Band Assembly June 11th Band Performance June 12th D.A.R.E Graduation June 25th Father s Day June 16th Grade 3 Japan Day June 17th Last Day of School June 25th Summer Camp Begins July 1st Summer Camp Ends August 23rd 64 days of Summer vacation! First Day of School August 29th Summer Reading Reading this summer will help keep your skills fresh for next year. Find a good book, magazine, newspaper, comic book, or other reading material you can get wrapped up in during our break. Let s try to beat our number of books read goal from last year! Read! Read! Read! Mrs. Sobo: A teacher whose life is worth knowing about. Written by Cameron Fisco, Grade 5 Mrs. Sobo (short for Mrs. Sobocinski) is a 5th grade teacher here at TVES. Mrs. Sobo always knew she wanted to be a teacher. It s what she loves best! She is very close to her class and cares deeply about their learning and behavior. She likes to refer to them as the Super Sobos and to herself as Queen Weirdo. She also calls them her kids. Speaking of kids, right now she has one adorable son named Tavin. She and her husband, Jason, enjoy taking Tavin to the park along with their Great Dane, Brisket. They also like to go to the aquarium, library, and the museum. She is also pregnant with her second baby that she thinks will be a boy. Mrs. Sobo also loves food. Her husband owns Caseus Formaggerie and Bistro that is located in New Haven. The restaurant is all about cheese! Other than this, Mrs. Sobo has some other pretty interesting things about her. One, is that she hates sour cream so much that she can t even eat vanilla yogurt! Two, is that her son Tavin s middle name is Superhawk. Third, is she likes to call her husband The Big Cheese and Tavin The Little Cheese. Lastly, Mrs. Sobo told me that she wants to continue her education and get her doctorate degree. She said that she loves to be a student as much as a teacher. You can probably see from my article how Mrs. Sobo has changed this school and the lives of her students with her caring personality and awesomeness! 2

3 North Branford Recycling Program Update Did you know... (continued from p.1) by Mikey Ricci All About Mr. Matt by Elisabeth D Albero Mr. Matt is a TVES, FRC staff member. Here are some interesting facts about him. Mr. Matt works at Camp Menunkatuck, Guilford Park and Recreation over the s u m m e r a n d N B H S throughout the school year. He also has worked at FRC for 5 years. I asked Mr. Matt and he told me he hopes to have the same amount of kids at FRC next year. You see, these are some of the interesting facts about Mr. Matt. Since our last edition, the town recycling program has continued to be a success. I was able to get a brief update on the program from Mr. John Bozzuto of John s Refuse & Recycling, also known as Global Environmental Services, here in Northford. I wanted to know if there has been an increase in the number of people that are participating in the recycling program. Before the new program with the separate recycling pail, approximately 40 50% of town residents recycled. The current percentage of residents complying with the recycling program is at 60 65%. The hope is to get that number to at least 75 80%. While he didn t have the exact current numbers for the increase in recycled material that normally would be put in the trash, he was able to give me the amount for one specific day. It was a Thursday, which he said is normally a slow recycling day, but that day there was an increase from 3,000 tons to 5,000 tons. That is a lot of trash that doesn t have to go to the landfill, and that was only one day. Imagine how much less trash our town is sending to the landfill now! I hope that you are interested in this program and continue to recycle at home. I know that my family and I are trying to do even more recycling now. 3 Mrs. Sobo had a tornado happen on the day of her wedding? Mrs. DiStefano once won a hot dog eating contest? Mrs. Seiden grew up in California? Mrs. Scigliano got a brand new golden doodle puppy named Lola? Mrs. Sabetta once kissed a dolphin? Mrs. Ayotte performed in the Disney version of American Idol? Mrs. Morton pet a beluga whale s tongue? Technology Corner Geo Dash Wild Animal Adventure App Check out this free National Geographic app to learn interesting facts about animals across the world. Download it for free on your ipod, ipad, or iphone device!

4 Did you know... Mrs. DiLella s daughter s pet rooster, Tyson, almost pecked her to death? Mr. Rice once rode a motorcycle, but never got out of first gear? Mrs. Pantalena loves to go to NYC to see Broadway shows? Mrs. DeAngelo zip lined in Costa Rica? Mrs. Michalowski is a good dancer? Mrs. Trinkaus is a great baker? Miss Reyher loves to eat clams? Mrs. Gresham sailed through a hurricane? Mrs. Johnson has a brother who is a lieutenant colonel in the army? Mr. Amodio once auditioned to be the UCONN Husky mascot in college, but surprisingly didn t make the cut? Brandon Fratta says Work hard and take Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter By Mikey Ricci, Grade 4 Since my mom, sisters and I volunteer at the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter, the local animal shelter for Northford, North Branford and Branford, I thought it would be important for people to know about the many nice things they do for animals and people that live in our towns. The Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter has been helping homeless animals along the Connecticut shoreline since April Their mission statement is to protect the public, provide excellent animal care, find good homes for our animal guests, to promote responsible pet guardianship, to work to end the overpopulation of feral cats in our community, and to run a well-organized, efficient shelter with rehabilitation through education philosophy. Rescue, Rehabilitate, Rehome. Hundreds of animals come through their doors each year in many different ways, and it takes a lot of time, rehabilitation and veterinary care so that they can eventually be placed in their fur ever homes. Here are a few of the cool rescues/accomplishments they have done so far this year: Spot, a rescue dog from Missouri Bambi, a baby fawn A blind baby skunk A Muscovy duckling, which are not native to this area and are usually found in Mexico, Central and South America A raccoon found napping in someone s bay window Fourteen abandoned newborn puppies found in a cooler And that is just to mention a few! As you can imagine, all of this costs a lot of money. They get support from the Town of Branford, but always appreciate any donations that they receive money (you can make a one-time tax-deductible donation on their website) or items (please see the list at the end of this article). They also depend on the people that volunteer at the shelter. They are always looking for serious and reliable volunteers. A volunteer can do any number of things from dog walking and bathing, shelter cleaning, and lots of other important shelter duties. They are always looking for anyone with special skills to volunteer including computer skills, painting, or animal training just to name a few. (continued on page 5) 4

5 I like volunteering there and have been doing it for a couple of months. I had to take a special class to be able to be a volunteer and because I am only 9, I have to have an adult with me who also had to take the class. There are two more classes that I will have to take in order to be a dog walker and an adult would have to take those classes also. Right now we spend most of our time working in the cat room, playing with them, learning about their different personalities and socializing them. We also clean out dishes and cages if they need to be done. This really is so much more than just a normal animal shelter. They offer a lot of programs and services to help and inform people on how to take care of their pets responsibly and with the kindness that they deserve. Some of the services that they provide are: Low or No Cost spay/neuter certificates Rehabilitation to the most abused, neglected and sickly animals Adoption counseling and basic training for new adopters Lost and Found Community Internet Board Rabies and Micro-chipping Clinics Pet Food Pantry for people going through hardships Education through orientation provided on a bi-weekly basis with Volunteer Coordinators Outreach Programs with Off Site Adoption and Animal Care Fairs Internships for High School and College students looking to gain experience working with animals, learning about investigations and providing services to enhance both public and animal safety or stop by the shelter at 749 East Main Street Branford, CT. How to be a Good Fisherman by Mikey Ricci, Grade 4 Fishing is a fun, relaxing sport. Hey, my name is Mikey Ricci and I thought it would be fun to share my facts about fishing and give you some tips. The key to becoming a good fisherman is to know what kind of fish are in the area and to learn what they like to eat. Here are some basic items you will need: A good sized fishing pole Something to hold your bait and lures (a tackle box or fishing vest) Some sort of bait (worms or lures depending on what type of fish you are trying to catch) Make sure your line does not snap because they put up a good fight. And reel your fish in. Once you reel your fish in, you can either keep your fish on a stringer or release your fish. How to catch a trout: The trout that you will find around here are rainbow, brook or brown trout. Key spots for finding them are in rivers near rocks and fallen down trees. You can use worms or lures, which ever you prefer. To catch a trout you use the same technique as for the bass but the trout do not put up as much of a fight as the bass. These are some items that should be in your tackle box: Fishing line Scissors for cuing the line if needed Hooks Sinkers/weights Needle- nosed pliers for removing hooks Bait Bobbers Sun Screen Fishing ruler Here are some safety 8ps for fishing. Always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to return When walking in the water (wading) start shallow and slowly work your way deeper if you need to Check the weather and keep an eye out for storms When fishing from a boat or canoe follow all the boapng safety rules Always be aware of your surroundings so that you don t hook your friends We are lucky to live in an area where we have the Farm River for fishing, but for more informapon on fishing you can go to the ConnecPcut Department of Energy & Environmental ProtecPon Hooks Fishing line Stringer to carry your fish home and to rest it in the water to keep it fresh. And a good fishing spot How to catch a largemouth and small mouth bass: first you need to find a fishing spot they like to hide under Lilly pads, branches, trees and other things. They usually are in shallow waters 5 feet or less in ponds or lakes. Some tackle you will need are night crawlers (a type of worm) for bait, some weights, hooks and a fishing pole. You will need to tie your hook to your fishing pole then you put your weights on then your worm on and cast your pole. Wait until you get a bite and hook your fish. 5

6 ! Big Nate In a Class by Himself Book Review by Taylor Kamienski, Grade 4 The book, Big Nate in a class by himself, by Lincoln Pierce, is a funny classic novel about a day in [destined for greatness] Nate s life. This book starts off with Nate s daily morning routine. Then it is off to school. As Nate passes through his boring day detention slips start to fall into his pocket. Will Nate ever make it through his day? Read the book to find out. My favorite part is when Nate is in gym class with his substitute teacher [the arch enemy]. I like this part because Nate has to survive gym class and use his bold, destined for greatness mind to solve a water problem. If you like comics or laugh-out-loud funnies, this is the book for you. If you also do not like long novels, I recommend this book to you.! Long Island Sound Estuary by Taylor Kamienski, Grade 4 The Long Island Sound Estuary (where salt and clean water meet) is polluted and is putting animals in danger. The ocean trash affects us, as well as the poor animals. Food is low, and the trash is affecting animals like wolfish, seals, moon jellyfish, lobsters, crabs, sand-tigers, muscles, and green sea turtles. They all live in mostly trash with oil polluted water. Birds are affected, but not as much as sound dwellers. Most animals are hurt by the pollution so experts are tagging animals to see how many of them are left. Tagging is a way of tracking a specific animal s diet, location, and population. You should volunteer to pick up trash on the beach. If you see animals on the beach, avoid contact and tell others to stay away. What do TVES students think about school lunches? by Lucia Nuzzo, Grade 4 I interviewed a few kids at our school and discovered that the students had different opinions about the school lunches. Some like them and others do not. Personally, I think the turkey on the grinder is frozen, but the turkey dinner is very good. Here is what I found out about some other students opinions: 1. One kid said I like them because they are healthy. 2. Others said they kind of liked the lunches. 3. Another student did not like the chicken nuggets because they taste frozen. 4. One last student said she loved the lunches because they taste amazing, and because she loves the chicken the cafe serves. 6

7 FUN PAGE Congratulations and GOOD LUCK to all our fifth graders entering NBIS next year! Weather Strip created by Elisabeth D Albero. This is last week s forecast, but we thought we d include it in our paper to show off Elisabeth s creativity!