Special Valentine’s Issue Volume 6, Issue...

Special Valent ine’s Issue Volume 6, Issue 1

February, 2005

Special points of interest:

• Larry retires after 19 years

• Congress Recognizes

Bridge!

• Report Card Distribution

Day Info

• Book Review

• Sports Columns

• Monthly Features

• Other Great Stuff!

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Brake’s Take 2

February Calendar 3

Congressional Kudo 4/5

AYC Champs 6

Student of the Month 7

Jump-A-Thon 9

25,000 Challenge 16

B R I D G E B U G L E

B R I D G E S T U D E N T S N A T I O NA L B O O K A W A R D F I NA L I S T S !

“Bruno”

A mistake is evidence

that somebody has tried

to accomplish some-

thing.

John E. Babcock

A CPS “Rising Star” “School of Distinction”

8th grade student Hinasahar Muneeruddin poses with her certificate and homeroom teacher Mrs. Iammartino.

3rd grade student Batmanlai Ontogtokh holds his finalist award certificate with classroom teacher Mrs. Kelly.

Two Bridge students were re-

cently honored by their selec-

tion as national book award

finalists. Their Student Treas-

ures books were selected by

Nationwide Learning as final-

ists in a national competition.

The Bridge School family is

very proud of our budding au-

thors and wishes them well in

the upcoming finalist competi-

tion.

Larry Wasik

After 19 years of dedicated service

to the Bridge School community,

school custodian Mr. Larry Wasik

is retiring. Larry (he always insist-

ed everyone call him Larry and not

Mr. Wasik) was always here for

the children, parents, and staff .

Anything, and everything, that

needed to be done always was with

Larry around. Larry always had a

kind word and a helping hand for

everyone. His retirement will be a

great loss to the Bridge School

family.

Your Bridge School family loves

you Larry, and wishes you well as

you enter a new phase in your life.

Thank you for being a part of our

lives for so long. We’ll miss you

Larry.

Best Wishes & Good Luck!

2005 is starting off as

a great year. The U.S.

Congress has taken a

moment to recognize

the achievements of

the Bridge School stu-

dents, staff, and par-

ents. On January 25,

2005, Illinois 8th Dis-

trict Representative

Rahm Emanuel recog-

nized our school’s

achievements in the

Congressional Record

(see Bugle pages 4 &

5).

CPS CEO Arne

Duncan also rec-

ognized our

school’s achieve-

ments at an hon-

ors dinner on January

26, 2005 held at the

Chicago Cultural Cen-

ter (see Bugle page

13).

All the hard work and

effort displayed by

Bridge students, par-

ents, and staff is really

receiving the attention

we have always de-

served. Let’s continue

to work together to

make our school the

best.

Great people do make

great schools!

J A N UA RY A T T E N DA N C E C H A M P S !

BRAKE ’S TAKE

Do you have any

ideas, suggestions,

or comments on

ways to improve our

school and the ser-

vices that our chil-

dren receive? If so,

please call, write a

letter, or see me to

share your ideas.

Your input is greatly

appreciated.

Thank You!

Dr. Brake

Students/Teachers

Staff/Parents

Would you like to

have a poem, article,

short story, event, or

other item of interest

published in the

Bridge Bugle?

Submit your item to

Dr. Brake

on computer disk

(Microsoft Word format preferred)

no later than the third

week of the month for

publication in the next

month’s school news-

paper. January attendance unavailable at press time.

Volume 6, Issue 1

Current school attendance: 96%

Remember:

Come to school everyday

And don’t be late!

Attendance Counts!

Unity

Assembly

February 24th

Please note: 2nd Quarter Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance

student names will appear in the March Bugle.

Indicates day of non-attendance for students

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 Report Card

Distribution

Day

3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14

PTA/LSC

Meetings

6:00 PM

15 1/2 Day

Professional

Development

11:08

Dismissal

16 17 18 19

20 21 Presidents

Day

No

School

22 23 24 Unity

Assembly

25 Jump-A-Thon

26

27 28

Market

Day

Pick-Up

Spring

Vacation

Is

March

21st-25th

Spring Book Fair

Is

March 28th

Thru

April 1st

ISAT Testing

Is

March

8th -11th

February 2005 Happy Valentine’s Day!

BR I DG E ST U D E NT S #1 AT AYC CH A M P IO N SH I P S !

R O O M 2 1 4 S T U D E N T S H E L P B R I D G E C E L E B R A T E T H E C H I N E S E N E W Y E A R

Volume 6, Issue 1

Second grade students in Room 103 hold up their Chinese lanterns while celebrating the Chinese New Year.

On December 2nd several Bridge students competed in the American Youth Cheerleaders National Championship held in Or-

lando, Florida. Our girls did fantastic sweeping the competition away with first place awards in several categories. The Bridge

School family would like to extend congratulations to all our students who worked so hard to be the best! Way to go!

1st Place - Midget Division

Amber Chevalier (108)

Felicia Barbosa (212)

1st Place - Jr. Midget Division

Maggie Hoffman (212)

Ewelina Kopiczko (206)

Margaret Polka (206)

Dana Valenti (210)

Dorta Wojciechowska (106)

1st Place Pee Wee Division

Marie Barbosa (003) Congratulations!

Monday, Feb. 21st

Is Presidents Day

No School

Room 214 students parade around in their Chinese dragon while celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Room 214 students brightened up

Bridge by celebrating the Chinese

New Year. The students constructed a

Chinese dragon and paraded through

the Bridge hallways and primary

grade classrooms. The older students

also took time to visit the lower grade

classrooms and help the younger stu-

dents construct Chinese lanterns to

celebrate the Chinese New Year. This

year, under the Chinese calendar, cel-

ebrates the “Year of the Pig”.

February Students of the Month

Angelica Gacek

Julia Troszczynska

Patricia Delgado

Dawid Purczyk

Levonte Hargrove

Matuesz Wicha Kamil Obrochta Kevin Mustafa Lukasz Boufal

Brianna Vasquez Tomasz Chlebek Angelika Zmiejko Kienna Bariso

Marek Gorzkowicz Brianna Green Rebecca Feliciano Arsalan Muneeruddin

Gizelle DeRamos Zachary Tollakson Joel Martinez Peter Kopczyk

Estefania Garcia Alex Gallegos Katlyn Tenold

Bridge Elementary School Students of the Month are selected for their outstanding citizenship, academic performance, and conduct.

Tiffani Kilmer

The First Grade goes to Symphony Center

Volume 6, Issue 1

Docents from the Chicago

Symphony Orchestra visited

first graders.

They prepared the children for

the symphony – Peter and the

Wolf.

Rooms 101 and 105 viewed the program “Peter and the

Wolf” presented by members of the Chicago Symphony Or-

chestra on January 15, 2005. We all had a wonderful time.

Everyone had nice things to say about their day downtown.

“They played beautiful, beautiful music.” –Juan Sanchez

“The whole orchestra was fantastic.” –Danielle Walsh

“It was very interesting because there was a lot of things

happening. There was music, instruments and people being

the characters.” –Kala Geralds & Rikeya Hargrove

“It was my first time going there. The music was really beau-

tiful” –Destiny Domico

Be kind to people of different skins

Red, black, white, orange, blue, it

doesn’t matter what color we should all

get along

Other people should not be judged by

the color of there skin

The Civil Rights are for everyone no

matter what race

Her demonstration by taking a seat on

the bus Rosa Parks name is remembered

Everyone deserves justice, no matter

what color or race they are

Rosa Parks sat down refused and got

arrested and blacks stated a boycott

Hopefully soon people will be treated

equally

Other people in the past got kidnapped

and took for auction for slavery

One person should have the same equal-

ity of everyone else

Does everyone get along? No, Dr. Mar-

tin Luther King Jr. said hopefully every-

one does

By: Eric Pearson

Brotherhood Poems from Room 002

Boycott

Remember to like someone for who

they are, not for their skin color

Our world is filled with brother-

hood!

Try hard to be kind to others

Helping each other

Equality

Remember the Civil Rights

Happy to be together

Old or not, everyone should have

justice

Others expect you to treat them with

respect

Demonstrate to other people how

important brotherhood is

By: Nicole Swiderski

Boycotts began a long time ago

Remember to always be equal

Our brotherhood is great

The congress passes the civil

rights act of 1964

He showed justice to the people

Everybody should get along with

each other

Remember always to respect one

another

His demonstration showed the

crowd his own feelings

Other people don’t believe in

brotherhood

Our Nobel Peace Prize winner

was Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.

Don’t ever quit on brotherhood

By: Richard Schulz

Bridge Bugle

SAFETY FIRST!!

EXCITING SCIENCE

The students in room 001 had a blast ex-

ploring mass. The students took every-

day classroom objects and predicted

how much each object would weigh in

grams. Then they tested their predic-

tions by using a balance and gram stack-

ers. The students found that most of

their predictions were way too low.

Everyone had a great time finding out.

Dear Parents,

We are actually having a REAL winter in Chicago this year. This inclem-

ent weather has caused a large majority of our parents to pick up their children at

the end of the day. We realize that there is a lack of parking spots around the

school.

Parents, please know that our main goal is the health and safety of all the

students at Bridge Elementary. We are all concerned about the traffic congestion

at the end of the school day. One of the reasons that Grace Street is closed off to

traffic is the fact that a student was hit by a car a few years ago.

For those of you with older children, it would be great if you could pick a designated meeting spot.

Byron Avenue is usually less crowded than New England or Newland Avenues. For those parents with

smaller children, please try to get here a little earlier when there are more parking spaces available.

Also, parents, please don’t encourage your children to cross in the middle of the street. We have

school aides posted at the four corners of the school to cross all students safely. Thank you for your pa-

tience and understanding.

The Safety Patrol

Please Support the

American Heart Association

Jump-A-Thon

Fundraiser

February 25th Sponsored by P.E. Teacher Mrs. Page

FINE ARTS NEWS By Mr. Friend

B R I D G E S T U D E N T S E N J O Y F R E E C O N C E R T B Y T H E P E O P L E ’ S M U S I C S C H O O L T R I O

Volume 6, Issue 1

The People’s Music School Trio en-tertains and educates Bridge chil-dren.

On January 26th K-8 Bridge students were treated to a free concert by the Peo-

ple’s Music School Trio. The People’s Music School was recently featured in

the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday magazine. The concert funded by the Interna-

tional Music Foundation entertained and educated our children in the differ-

ences within classical music genres. The musicians played varying selections

from classical to ragtime jazz. Students were also given the opportunity to ask

questions about the various types of music presented. The Bridge School family

would like to thank the People’s Music School Trio and the International Music

Foundation for providing this experience to our children.

Fantastic Fun For Everyone (FFFE)

By School Librarian Mrs. Jolanta Banaszak

Did you know giraffe’s hooves are as sharp as axes and can kill a lion?

Did you know that one bite from an African Black mamba snake releases venom powerful

enough to kill up to 200 humans?

Did you know that the average adult reticulated python is about 17 feet in length, which is almost

the length of an average school bus?

Did you know that deer have 32 to 34 teeth?

Did you know that brown bears are born while their mother sleeps?

Did you know that the baby raccoon does not have its black mask or the tail ring until it is ten

days old?

Your librarian learned these facts from the reports done by 3rd and 4th grade students. She be-

lieves that one of the greatest parts of being a teacher is that the teacher and students can learn

from each other. The librarian was very very impressed with the projects that the students had

turned in. Now we await the projects from 5th and 6th graders about the different countries of the

world. Next time I will share some interesting facts from those projects.

P.S.

The librarian would like to thank Mrs. Selim for her help with writing the matching

found grant and beautifying the library. Also, big thanks to Mrs. Rocco who processed the librar-

ian’s book order in no time. THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Read

Read

Read

Read

Spring Chorus has begun with a group of wonderful,

dedicated voices in grades four through eight. Class-

rooms are preparing for the February Unity Assembly.

Bridge School was treated to the sounds of People’s

Music School Trio, which included a violin, cello, and

piano performance. People’s Music School appeared

in the Chicago Tribune Magazine on Sunday, January

23, with an eight-page article, as well as front cover!

See story below.

Bridge Bugle

S P O T L I G H T O N S P O R T S X 2

R E D U C E - R E U S E -

R E C Y C L E I N R O O M 1 0 3

Students in Room 103 bring joy to our feathered friends with their pop bottle bird feeders.

Students in Room 103, with

the help of parent volunteer

Mrs. Paula Guy, made bird

feeders out of recycled plastic

water bottles. Thank you, Mrs.

Guy! The finished product should be a big hit with the birds.

Road to the Final Four by Alan Pearson

Finally the people of Chicago have a team to root for. The University of

Illinois basketball team, the Fighting Illini, have a perfect 20-0 record (6-0 in

their conference). They are the number 1 ranked team in the nation and averag-

ing 81.1 points per game.

C- James Augustine-7.7 rpg

F- Roger Powell Jr.-5.2 rpg

G-Deron Williams-7 apg

G-Dee Brown-13 ppg

G-Luther Head-16.9 ppg

Be sure to watch the 11 games left of the Illini season and maybe follow them to

St. Louis for the March Madness Final Four.

Chicago Bulls: Will They See Playoffs??? by Jonathan Martinez

With a difficult start in the beginning of the season (0-9) the Chicago

Bulls are now 21-19. With 15-4 in there last 19 games the Bulls are in 3rd

place in the Central Division. In all, the Bulls are in 7th place in the Eastern

Conference. With breaking records such as winning streaks the Chicago Bulls

may see the playoffs. They have won 4 straight games and their highest win

streak is 9.

With a powerful rookie team, the Bulls are averaging 96.8 ppg and

allowing 89.8 ppg. The starting line up is Kurt Hinrich, Chris Duchon, Luol

Deng, Antonio Davis, and Eddie Curry. Each of these players and others such

ad Ben Gordon, Tyson Chandler, and Andres Nocioni, are having a great sea-

son. The Bulls best rookies are Ben Gordon (18 ppg), Luol Deng (15.8 ppg),

Andres Nocioni (7.8 ppg) and Chris Duchdon (4.6 ppg).

Could the Chicago Bulls see the playoffs? Could they break more

records? That’s for you to find out. Watch the rest of the season and support

the Bulls. GO BULLS!!!!

THE HISTORY OF VALENTINES DAY BY: MICHAEL TERMAR room 210

B O O K C H A T B Y P H Y L I S S E F U N C H E S

Expert on affairs of the heart and 8th grade student Michael Termar.

Volume 6, Issue 1

Noted Book Critic and 8th Grade student Phylisse Funches.

Princess Diaries is an excellent book for girls of all ages. This

book is about a girl named Mia Thermopolis. She has just learned

that she has inherited the throne of Genovia (which isn’t a real

country). Mia also has to take princess lessons with her Grand-

mother (the Queen). Read this book to find out how Mia copes

with her problems. After you read the book, you might want to

check out the movie. Sorry boys, Princess Diaries is only for girls. I will write a book

review for you next time.

There are different legends behind the story of Valentines Day but this one

seems like the most popular of them all.

Every February across the country flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved

ones. But do you know the reason why this special day is celebrated?

The legend of Valentines Day says that a man named Valentine was a priest dur-

ing the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men

made better soldiers than those with wives and younger children, he outlawed

marriage for young men. Valentine realizing the injustice of the decree defied

Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When

Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

These days we celebrate Valentines Day on February 14th. It is a day of loving and

caring for people all around the world.

These days we like to exchange gifts and cards with our loved ones. It

makes us feel good inside that someone cares about us. We can thank St. Valen-

tine for our peace, love and harmony that we celebrate on this special day-

February 14th.

Report Card

Distribution Day Is Wednesday, Feb. 2nd

Wednesday, Feb. 2nd is a regular school day

for students. Students will bring report cards

home on this day.

Bridge Bugle

B R I D G E “ R I S I N G S TA R ”

B R I D G E H E L P S T S U N A M I V I C T I M S

B Y D A N N Y S P A R K S & M I K E A L L E N

International News Correspond-ent and 8th grade student Danny Sparks.

International News Correspond-ent and 8th grade student Mike Allen.

I’m sure by now you have all heard about the tragic events

that have occurred in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa on

December 26, 2004. Waves as tall as 34 feet high and traveling

up to 600 miles per hour completely washed away these little

Asian villages killing more than 150,000 people and there are

still about 170,000 people missing. In other words 300,000

people have been confirmed dead or still missing.

There are many ways that you can help out these people.

Whenever you have some spare change you can donate it into

the tsunami relief fund. During the past week our students have

been donating any spare change that they had, they put it into

the tsunami relief fund. Room 210 has raised about $30.00.

Editor’s note: Bridge students collected $475.02 for the

American Red Cross Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund.

Technology activity for the coming month will include both teachers and students getting their e-

mail accounts and using them. Students who returned their e-mail permission slips will be getting

their accounts in early February.

Lower grade students have been working on Graphics and keyboarding and upper grade students

are learning how to use Microsoft EXCEL to do calculations for them. Also, students in grades 3-8

are using Study Island to help gear up for upcoming standardized tests. In addition to using Study

Island in the Computer Lab, students may use it in their classrooms or from home.

Also, Bridge School students will have some excellent websites available for research projects.

These resources are available on-line and can be accessed both from home and school computers.

If you are curious about them, ask your Homeroom Teacher or Computer Teacher. You’ll be glad

you did!

TECH TALK B Y M R S . J O A N M I R E C K I

C O M P U T E R L A B I N S T R U C T O R / T E C H N O L O G Y C O O R D I N A T O R

On January 26th at a CPS Honors dinner held at the

Chicago Cultural Center, Bridge School was award-

ed a “Rising Star” banner (pictured right) and a

$2,000 incentive award check. LSC President Mr.

Bill Doyle, CTU Delegate/LSC Teacher Representa-

tive Mrs. Ideria Page, Assistant Principal Mrs. Mar-

garet Taylor, and Principal Dr. Chris Brake proudly

represented Bridge School. Bridge School hopes to

make this an annual event!

PO ETRY F ROM TH E WR I TI NG CLU B Puppy Love

It started long ago

When we met in second grade.

You shared your cheetos

I shared my Koolaid.

And now we’re starting college

Away from home so far.

I knew that you would find me

When I wished upon that star.

By Mystery Writer

Crows

Ten black crows

Sat in two rows

They sat and talked loud

And complained of a dark cloud

It started to rain

So they used their brain

And flew away

By Lidia Bronkowska

Me

Who am I?

Anna

Where am I?

Everywhere!

Why am I here?

I don’t know.

Can you tell me?

Not yet.

You’ll find out soon enough…

I’m mystic, artistic, holistic,

simplistic, altruistic, futuristic,

optimistic, realistic, animalis-

tic, antagonistic, idealistic,

opportunistic and realistic.

By Anna Kielich

Inspiration

There are days

When hands are raised

And all the pieces fit into place

Energy soars

As the chorus

Of students pass my way

Teachers feed

The delicate seeds

That weave into each other

Ideas create

A laborious state

Of children working together

Some may think

That teachers only teach

And students learn and rehearse

But we all know

That many a time

Those roles are often reversed.

By Mystery Writer

My Ride The Bike

The car has grift, I saw a bike

the car has wheels, that I like.

the car has rims It looked tight

made out of steel. for my eye sight.

The car has seats It was nice and red

where you can sit. with silver pegs.

The car has a wheel It was so fast

to spin with one hit. that it would not last.

By Jeff Ziga By David Rosado

Say You Love Me The first time I saw you,

I was afraid to talk to you.

The first time I talked to you,

I was afraid to like you.

The first time I liked you,

I was afraid to love you.

The first time I loved you,

I was afraid to lose you.

By Flavio Huizar

Jennifer Lopez pictured with her project “Killing the Unseen Enemy”

Regional Science Fair Winners

Kaya Cuper pictured with her project “Mold Keeps Growing”

Kamia Dear (pictured left) with her project “Which Soil Affects Plants”

Ninety-nine sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students from all Area One elementary schools participated in the Area

One Science Fair held on Friday, January 14th at Wright College. Jennifer Lopez, Kaya Cuper, and Kamia Dear presented their

projects to numerous judges and were able to view other students’ projects.

Kaya and Kamia both earned a Honorable Mention medal and ribbon for their projects. Jennifer earned an Excellent

ribbon and medal for her project. All three girls had a wonderful day, were able to talk with students from other schools and

were able to get new ideas for next year’s projects.

Bridge school is so very proud of Kaya, Kamia, and Jennifer. We appreciate all your hard work and congratulations on your

wonderful achievement!

Good-Bye Larry, We’ll miss you!

Bridge Elementary School 3800 N. New England

Chicago, Illinois 60634

773-534-3718

Principal:

Dr. Christopher Brake

Assistant Principal:

Mrs. Margaret Taylor

Special Valentine’s Issue

LSC Parent Representatives:

Mr. William Doyle

Mr. Michael Herrity

Mrs. Yvonne Majewski

Mrs. Wioletta Rakoczy

Mrs. Pamela Sparks

Mrs. Renata Zabiega

Community Representatives:

Mrs. Cheryl Filippini

Mrs. Pat Walenga

Teacher Representatives:

Mrs. Linda Barshop

Mrs. Ideria Page

Administration:

Dr. Christopher Brake

PTA President:

Mrs. Karen Dubicki

Vice-President:

Mrs. Lora Niewinski

Secretary:

Mrs. Jeannie Doyle

Treasurer:

Mrs. Kathy Herrity

25,000 Book Challenge

An egg.

Riddle of the Month

What is more useful when

it is broken?

Answer:

Where’s Bruno? Look on page 7

Room 107

Kindergarten

161

Year-to-Date

601

Room 114

Pri. Sp. Ed.

24

Year-to-Date

92

Room 101

1st Grade

55

Year-to-Date

272

Room 105

1st Grade

241

Year-to-Date

1,305

Room 204

1st/2nd Grade

287

Year-to-Date

885

Room 102

2nd Grade

555

Year-to-Date

1,966

Room 103

2nd Grade

260

Year-to-Date

1,341

Room 108

3rd Grade

141

Year-to-Date

556

Room 109

3rd Grade

145

Year-to-Date

565

Room 203

3rd/4th Grade

274

Year-to-Date

1,529

Room 001

4th Grade

35

Year-to-Date

312

Room 002

4th Grade

75

Year-to-Date

433

Room 003

5th Grade

99

Year-to-Date

507

Room 004

5th Grade

138

Year-to-Date

558

Room 211

5th Grade

120

Year-to-Date

628

Room 207

6th Grade

73

Year-to-Date

309

Room 209

6th Grade

139

Year-to-Date

840

Room 214

6th Grade

35

Year-to-Date

101

Room 205

7th Grade

65

Year-to-Date

205

Room 208

7th Grade

69

Year-to-Date

483

Room 106

7th Grade

126

Year-to-Date

246

Room 206

8th Grade

20

Year-to-Date

140

Room 210

8th Grade

44

Year-to-Date

116

Room 212

8th Grade

43

Year-to-Date

110

School

Total

14,100

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