Spire Crier April 2012

The 100th Year Anniversary for the Titanic

By Anna Bauer and Brezlan Malina

On April 10, 1912 the Titanic set sail from England, with almost 1,800

people on board. In the early hours of April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank to the bot-

tom of The Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg. Only 675 people, mostly

women and children, survived in this tragedy. The Titanic weighed more than

46,000 tons and measured nearly 883 feet long. The Titanic was more than two

football fields in length. Of the 2,223 people onboard 1,517 died. The Titanic is

resting on the bottom of the ocean more than 2 miles below the surface. Its loca-

tion was a mystery for about 73 years. The person who solved this amazing mys-

tery was scientist Dr. Robert Ballard and his team from the Woods Hole Oceano-

graphic Institution.

Dr. Ballard’s search for the Titanic was really a cover story for a secret

naval operation, to map and gather data on the two ship wrecks for the U.S. nu-

clear submarines, the U.S. Thresher and the U.S.S. Scorpion, that sank during the

1960s. The cover story of Dr. Ballard’s Titanic hunt was so believable because

both of the subs are located in the around the same area as the Titanic. Dr. Bal-

lard says that The Scorpion ended up in about 11,500 feet of water and The

Thresher 8,000 feet. These are all Dr. Ballard’s entire discoveries.

The Britannic and the Olympic were the Titanic’s sister ships. The Olym-

pic was involved in four ship collisions. The Britannic had an explosion on the

ship. So that is how the sister ships of the Titanic sank.

I ns i de t h i s i s s ue :

T h e S p i r e C r i e r S t . T h o m a s E p i s c o p a l P a r i s h S c h o o l

School news 2-5

Ask Lulu 6

Legends 7

Middle School

Perspectives

8

Trayvon Martin,

Awkward Phobias

9

April Birthday

Biographies

10

Palm Oil 11

Reviews of books,

movies, and games

12-

13

Art Contest Winners 14

Make Her Laugh At

That: Humor Page

15

A pr i l 2 0 1 2

Vo l u me 2 4 , I s s ue 2

Descendants of the Titanic’s victims and survivors as well as people all over the

world are commemorating this historic anniversary. The story of the Titanic has

inspired hundreds of books, songs, poems, movies, and even a Broadway musical.

P a g e 2

A Night in the Big Apple Gala

By Anna Bauer and Mackenzie White

A Night in the Big Apple Gala of 2012 took place on Saturday,

March 3. All of the money we raise at the auction goes to raising funds

for the school and to be able to enhance teacher and student programs.

Over 400 people came to this auction and bid for children’s art, parking

spaces, paintings, and the opportunity to be a St. Thomas school teacher

or go to lunch with them. Some of the examples the auction has provided

for the school are The Sue Nichols Playground, The Bridget Morley

Stage, Smart Boards, Spanish Room, and a whole lot more. So many peo-

ple come to this auction like parents, alumni, teachers, parishioners, and

of course friends. Many parents came in costumes representing the ways

of life in New York. Some people dressed up as members of Studio 54,

Phantom of the Opera, members of the New York Giants, members of

China Town, New York Sewer Rats, and Donald and Lvanna Trump the

real estate people, but this is only just a few. So as you can see the Night

in the Big Apple was so much fun, so if you didn’t go to the gala this

year be sure to go next year.

T h e S p i r e C r i e r

Español Ole

By Mackenzie White and Luis Mendez

This year for Español Ole there were many different reasons for

doing the places that were chosen. The Spanish teachers chose these

places because they are all the places that speak fluent Spanish. Some

of these places were Honduras, Panama, Spain, Peru, Guatemala, Costa

Rica, and many more. After interviewing the Spanish teachers, we

learned why it’s important to learn about Spanish-speaking countries.

It`s important because we live in Miami where there are many people

from other countries. Also, many Spanish speaking people like to visit

Miami. The teachers, students, and parents who visited Rantz hall on

the day of Español Ole all liked all of the Spanish places, and one of

the favorite foods was Empanadas from Colombia. The fifth graders

are assigned this project so the students learn the traditions, symbols,

national research, arts and crafts, and sports of the Spanish speaking

countries.

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 2 4 , I s s u e 2

Mystery Student

By Sarah Steinhour, Olivia Byrd & Philip Staeding

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Mac and Cheese

Halloween Costume: Hermione

Favorite Activity: Art

Favorite Animal: Cat

Mystery Teacher #2

By Luis Mendez

Favorite color is Green.

Favorite animal is a dog.

Favorite subject is social studies.

Favorite food is artichoke.

Favorite app is the Publix app.

Guess who this teacher is….

By Nathalie Han and Maggie McDowell

This teacher is kind, smart, and a pleasure to be around. This teach-

er moved to the U.S when she was nine and a half. She grew up in Minne-

apolis with five sisters and not a single brother. She recently became a

grandmother. Her grandson’s name is Kesav which means life. He loves to

grab flowers. He also enjoys reading but gets frustrated and angry when he

can’t get the book off his face. If she could have two wishes they would

be… 1. Not having to make report cards because not everything in life

needs to be graded. 2. That people were more accepting of others for all

their differences. This teacher is compassionate about everything she does.

Her real name is Saraswathi.

Party Rock: a Pleasure to See

By Maggie McDowell

This year’s dance recital was a performance nobody should have missed. This year’s performance

included ten dances performed by St.Thomas students, and three dances by the alumni. Party Rock took place

at 6:00pm on March 29th and 30th .This year’s finale song was Shake It Up, which was chosen by Bianca Del-

gado. Martina Maietto’s drawing was chosen for the program cover and Julia Johansson’s design was put on

the back. This year Abigail Roberts and Coco Sell were chosen to be stage managers, which is a great privi-

lege. Maggie McDowell was chosen to be note book girl. Carly Wood and Julia Johansson were finale man-

agers. Isabella Del Rio and Brezlan Malina were the runners. Martina Maietto, Victoria Leal and Marian

Alcentara were in charge of kindergarten. Carolina Alegrett, Mackenzie White and Mila Kylensterna were in

charge of first grade. Anna Bauer and Olivia Angutia were in charge of second grade. Nathalie Han and Julia

Irvin were in charge of third grade. Ada Hevia and Emily Turner were in charge of fourth grade. Ms. Bridget

told all the fifth grade girls that the dance performance and backstage management were both AWESOME.

She even said that she thought the fifth grade dance was one of the best ones yet. All of the girls had a blast

performing and I think everyone that watched had a blast too.

T h e S p i r e C r i e r P a g e 4

The Microscope Fair

By Nathalie Han

The Microscope Fair was an integrated Language Arts and Science project. It was very time

consuming, but worthwhile. This project was done by all of the 5th grade students, and coordinated by

Mrs. Rosen our science teacher, and Mrs. Schaul our Language Arts teacher. All of the 5th graders had

to make a recyclable microscope in science. They also had to learn about two different scientists. For

the Language Arts section the 5th graders had to choose a bacterium, virus, a microscope, or an inven-

tor that helped with the improvement of the microscope. We all had to choose a different topic for our

project, and once we had them we began researching and writing. Some of them were Lactobacillus

Bulgaricus, Plaque, Amoebas, Pneumonia, Helium atoms, Hydra, and Eukaryotic cells. When we fin-

ished our projects we presented them to our families and the fourth graders in Rantz Hall. All of our

parents were very impressed with our topics, and what we wrote about them. When we finished with

our fair, we took our projects home. The Microscope Fair was a great way to show our family and

friends the information we learned about the microscopic world.

Diocesan Festival

By Maggie McDowell and Nathalie Han

The Diocesan Festival was a great experience for 24 fifth grade students. It took place at St.

Andrew’s School in Boca Raton on March 2nd. There were 10 categories you could apply for. The cat-

egories were the following: Problem Solving, Art, Drama, Technology, Trivia Bowl, Science, Creative

Writing, Community Service, Spanish, and Chorus. St. Thomas was not the only school who attended.

Nine other Episcopal schools attended the festival. The Diocesan Festival was a great way to meet new

people that shared your same interests.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

By Maggie McDowell

This year on March 30th the church was over filled with grandparents and special friends. They

day started with a great church service. After the service the children took their guests to their classes

and showed them projects they have been working on. Once the grandparents had seen what their

granddaughter/son or friend wanted to show them, they headed down to Rantz Hall for food and enter-

tainment. This year’s entertainment included two Irish dances, a tap dance and two routines from the

5th grade play Annie. I think that all of the grandparents and special friends enjoyed it and hope to

come again next year.


Miss Karam

By Maggie McDowell and Nathalie Han

Our third grade math teacher Carolina Karam has a very interesting

life. She was born in France. Both of her parents are Brazilian so she moved

to Brazil when she was one, and lived in Boston for 9 years. She enjoys tutor-

ing kids in Portuguese. She loves teaching math, and she is very good at it.

When she was in elementary school her favorite subjects were Portuguese and

History. Also, her favorite elementary school teacher was her kindergarten

teacher. Miss Karam’s favorite food is sushi, and her favorite desert is a Bra-

zilian treat called brincaderos. Her favorite colors are blue and red (she says

that she is very attracted to red.) She adores dancing (her favorite is jazz), and

she is currently taking Sumba classes. Miss Karam is a creative and funny

teacher that can always put a smile on your face.

Jules Verne

by Carter Freeland

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in Nantes, France, to Sophie

Allote de la Fuÿe and Pierre Verne. His first book was Le Salon de 1857

(The 1857 Salon). One of his most famous books is 20,000 Leagues under

the Sea. He also wrote The Mysterious Island and Around the world in 80

days. He created a variety of different characters and names such as Pileas

Fogg, Captain Nemo, and the Nautilus.

The Borneo Shark and The Round Island Boa: Unusual and

Endangered Species That Need Our Protection

By Philip Staeding

The Borneo Shark is extremely rare. Can you believe that we are one

of its problems towards extinction? Some parts of the world are fishing them

even though they have almost died out. They live in shallow waters in the

indo-Western Pacific ocean. The Borneo Shark is successful at hunting. It

also has a few Natural Predators. Its diet is unknown. We know little about

the Borneo Shark because they are almost extinct!

The Round Island Boa is a rare snake. It lives on Round Island in the

Indian ocean and is seldom seen. It is dark gray above and lighter below. It

has keeled scales. It doesn’t give birth to live young unlike other boas. There

are about 500 left in the wild.

A very special

third grade

math teacher!

Ask Lulu: Help With Your Problems


Write to Lulu by putting your questions in The Spire Crier mailbox in the office.

Dear Lulu,

My little brother is really competitive. He has a fit if he doesn’t win

in any games we win are playing. I have been letting him win,

which is what my parents do. How can I play with him without

going crazy?

Love, Good Sport

Dear Good Sport,

Lulu thinks you should just tell your little brother that he can’t win

everything.

Love, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

I am in the fourth grade and I really want to go see the Hunger

Games but my parents say I am too young. How can I convince

them I should be able to go? All my friends are talking about going.

Love, Likes Violent Movies

Dear Likes Violent Movies,

Lulu thinks if any of your other friends are going, to tell your parents

that they are and maybe they will say yes.

Love, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

After spring break, I am really bored with school. How

can I make the time go faster?

Love, Counting the Days

Dear Counting The Days,

Try to play a sport that you like so you aren’t bored.

Love, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

A friend told me a secret. It got out, and now she thinks it was me

who told, but it wasn’t. How can I convince her to trust me again?

Sincerely, Secret Keeper

Dear Secret Keeper,

Lulu thinks if you told her that you didn’t do it then you really didn’t do

it. If she doesn’t believe you than she isn’t a true friend.

Sincerely, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

I want to have a big party but my mom says I can only choose four

or five of my friends. How do I choose without hurting their feel-

ings?

Love, Party Planner

Dear Party Planner,

I think you should ask your mom to help you choose and then make a

list of your best friends, and then you think of the things they have

done for you and check them off, if you think it is nice. Then if some-

one that was not invited asks when you party is or what it is just say “I

am not having one this year” and don’t talk about it and tell the people

invited to not talk about it and if they do just say it is your birthday

dinner.

Love, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

I really want a dog but my mom says no. how do I prove to her

I’m responsible and get her to change her mind?

Love, Puppy Love

Dear Puppy Love,

You should tell your mom to watch you to see if you are responsible

enough to have a dog.

Love, Lulu

Dear Lulu,

Ever since kindergarten I’ve been in the back of the line up in

Miss. Bridget’s dance class. I’m not the shortest in the grade but

definitely not as tall as the tallest. I want to tell Mrs. Bridget but

I’m scared she is going to get mad at me.

Love, Medium sized Dancer

Dear Medium sized Dancer,

I know you’re scared but still you have to speak up! The worst that

could happen is that she’ll say that you can’t come to the front but if

you ask politely I’m sure she’ll say yes. I know that your dance is over

and you already had the positions but maybe you’ll get to go to the

front next year. So keep your hopes up and speak up for yourself and

you’ll be okay.

Love, Lulu


The Legends of Atlantis and Bigfoot

By Jacob Murphy

Atlantis has been a legend eluding mankind for hundreds of years.

Some say that it is a city that a disaster submerged in the ocean, others say it

is the undersea kingdom of Poseidon, a lost city of Greece, and still others

say it was a civilization that disappeared along with an enormous island lo-

cated in the center of the Bermuda Triangle. Of course this legend goes back

to the time of the great philosopher Plato who is rumored to have written it.

Books, movies, and even theme parks have been based on this underwater

kingdom. These movies and books include Disney’s The Little Mermaid and

SeaWorld’s Journey to Atlantis attraction. As to be expected this legend has

fallen prey to mass marketing and has been placed with the fallen cryptids

such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and Mothman, who because of com-

mercialization no longer strike fear and wonder into the hearts of people eve-

rywhere.

Bigfoot is a mythical ape infamous for his rather large feet. The over-

grown chimpanzee is probably the most well known legend since stale

Twinkies. The many movies, footprints, pictures, claims, droppings, hairs,

skulls, etc. should have “proved” the existence of the evasive primate, but all

evidence has been proven fake. Sadly Sasquatch is another one of the legends

that are now subject to the terrible fate of mass marketing.

“Books, movies, and

even theme parks

have been based on

this underwater king-

dom.”


Double Trouble By Brezlan Malina

Getting into any middle school is very challenging for many fifth graders. Not everyone gets in

to their first choice school. Some people have said “Ransom only wants six grade math kids or kids

that are above level.” This is not true. It is just that Ransom, like most middle schools, receive more

applications than they have spaces. I have interviewed a girl in fifth grade who had her opinion about

how people felt when they didn’t get in.

She said she was excited but very nervous when she applied to Ransom Everglades. After this

girl got her test score she was relieved but wanted to get in to Ransom. After she didn’t get in she was

upset because she had to leave her best friend. I also asked if she had had this anxiety before and she

answered yes because she had to take a test to get into St. Thomas.

If you are in any grade and you have a friend in fifth grade that didn’t get into a school cheer

them up. You can say that this was not the right school for you. Also you can cheer them up by saying

you want to go to the school they got into. Another idea you can use is have fun with them because you

might not see them if you are going to a different school. Lastly you can say you keep in touch with

them when they leave. I have had middle school troubles so I understand what the other fifth graders

are going through.

My Middle School Experience

By Helen Murphy, St. Thomas ‘11, Palmer Trinity School ‘18

My first year in Middle School has been one of the best of my life.

The teachers are awesome and everyone in general is polite. People work so

hard to make sure you’re happy!

Some tips and advice for Middle School:

Stay organized: You have a lot of papers, notebooks, and binders.

Study: The tests are harder. You may think you know it but you may be

surprised. At least review the topic.

During the first days: Talk to everyone. Even if it is just saying hi. Every-

one there is new and looking for a new best friend. The first day is one of

the best days to make one.

Use your locker: You have a lot of books and you’ll have sore back mus-

cles if you don’t use it.

Try out for sports: It’s a good way to make new friends and just have a

good time. Learn the sport in 6th grade! Then you can continue on through

High School! (I myself joined Cross Country (Two-Three mile races),

Soccer, and Track and Field (100 meters, 200 meters, hurdles, long jump).

I only played soccer before this year. I learned both Track and Cross

Country. I used to not be the fastest runner. Now I am one of the fastest in

my grade!)

In all, try hard, make friends, have fun at a sport, but make sure you keep up

with studying and homework. Remember, Middle School is a great time to

try new things and find your talents!

Middle School is

a great time to try

new things and

find your talents!


Trayvon Martin Case: What the Teachers Think

By Cornelia Ehlebracht, Luis Mendez, and Olivia Byrd

Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman on February, 26,

2012 at 7:11 pm. He was shot in Sanford, Florida, a community near Orlando.

This story is important because a lot of people are offended by George Zim-

merman shooting Trayvon because he was black. We went around school and

asked teachers what they thought about the case.

These are the questions we asked: “Do you think George Zimmerman

was acting in self-defense?” “Should George Zimmerman go to jail?” and

“Do you think the law on guns should be changed?” For the first question all

the teachers said no. For the second question all the teachers said yes. Lastly,

for the third question half of the teachers said yes and half of the teachers said

no. This case is important to you readers because it shows you what racism

can do.

Awkward Phobias

By Mackenzie White and Connor Bass

There are many different and awkward phobias. There is Hippopoto-

monstrosesquippedaliophobia, which means fear of long words. Two more

phobias are Optophobia, which means fear of opening one’s eyes, or Didaska-

leinophobia, which means fear of going to school. Some people love the color

yellow, but some people have Xanthophobia, which means fear of the color or

the word yellow. Two more phobias are Thaasophobia, which means fear of

sitting, or Telephonophobia, which means fear of telephones. There are fears

for outside areas also, such as fear of standing or walking (Stasibasiphobia),

Fear of stars (Siderophobia), fear of dirt (Rupophobia), and in some circum-

stances, the fear of looking up (Anablephobia). There is also a fear of Eng-

land (Anglophobia), or fear of money (Chrematophobia). Some fears having

to do with your mind are fear of ideas (Lacldeophobia), fear of memories

(Mnemophobia), or fear of feeling pleasure (Hedenophobia).

A survey on campus one recent afternoon revealed some interesting

phobias in our own community. A few common fears of six students are the

dark (Nyctophobia), sharks (Selachophobia), snakes (Ophidiophobia), dogs

(Cynophobia), monsters(Teratophobia), and Friday the 13th

(Friggatriskaidekaphobia). More common fears of adults are Spiders

(Arachniphobia), guns (Hoglophobia), attacks (Scelerophobia), rollercoaster

(Veloxrotaphobia), loneliness (Isolophobia), and rodents (Musophobia).

There are hundreds of other phobias but these are 12 common ones.

Skittles have become a

symbol of the case because

Trayvon had just bought

some at a convenience

store when he was shot.

Caution! Don’t read

this article if you have

Hippopotomonstroses-

quippedaliophobia,

which means fear of

long words.

http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/nyctophobia.htm

T h e S p i r e C r i e r P a g e 1 0

Important Birthdays in April

By Brezlan Malina and Anna Bauer

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743. He was our third pres-

ident of the United States of America. He was not a good speaker. In the

House of Burgesses and in the continental congress he was known more for

his pen than his mouth. When Thomas Jefferson was president he bought the

Louisana Purchase and sent Lewis and Clark on their expedition.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. He was a scientist of

the Renaissance and the painter of the Mona Lisa. He made inventions far

ahead of his time. Some of his inventions were the eight barrelled machine

gun, a flying machine, and a parachute. He made many painting in his life, a

total of thirty paintings.

Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926. She is the Queen of the

United Kingdom. The royal monarchy recently celebrated her Golden jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth gave the Beatles the MBE medals from the queen. She had

three sons, William, Andrew, and Edward.

Kelly Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982. She was the first winner

of the American Idol in 2002. In high school she wanted to be a marine biolo-

gist but turned out to be a musician. She recently got the American Music

award for favorite Pop/ Rock artist.

Kurt Gödel was born on April 28, 1906. He was an Austrian-

American. He was a mathematician, known best for his two incompleteness

theorems. He died January 14, 1978 by starvation and malnutrition.

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758. He was fifth president of

the United States of America. He was the last president of the US who was a

founding father. He died in 1831 by tuberculosis or heart failure.

P a g e 1 1 V o l u m e 2 4 , I s s u e 2

Lelani’s Take on Palm Oil

By Corne l ia Ehlebrach t , Mia Wi l l iamson , Ol i v ia

Byrd , and Sarah S t e inhour

Palm Oil is a threatening subject. It is hard to understand, but here is our

good friend Mary Catherine Lorie‘s (4th grade) brother’s friend, Lelani’s view

on everything concerning palm oil.

What is the main your main concern about palm oil?

“The main concern about palm oil is what a powerful force it is. Palm oil de-

stroys animal habitats so quickly and without a home, animals have nowhere

to live. The saddest part about that is that animal extinction can be directly

traced to human actions. If palm oil plantations continue to be made illegally

like they are, animals like Orangutans, Tigers, Frogs, Toucans, and other rain-

forest animals. My biggest fear used to be that these animals would be extinct

for my children in the future, but the issue has progressed so quickly that the-

se animals could go extinct by the time my little sister even gets to high

school.”

Do you know when this concern started?

“Palm oil has been an issue for a long time, but people turn a blind eye to it.

Even though it affects so many animals and people, it is ignored. Palm oil is

found in everything, and before we know it, the problem will get out of con-

trol. My mother is a scientist who used to study a type of plastic that caused

birth defects in people and animals. It started out as a small issue, just like

palm oil, but it became too big to handle, just like palm oil might.”

What do you want to do about this?

“I do not eat palm oil. Not only is it bad for animal habitats, but it is bad for

human heart health as well. I check all my household cleaning products, all

my shampoos, conditioners, and bubble baths, and all my make up to make

sure that it does not have palm oil. There are a few companies, though, who

use palm oil that is produced legally. These companies I still use and are all

part of a group called RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). These

companies include Kelloggs and Nestle to name just a couple.”

I hope this helped you understand palm oil.


Mirror Mirror

By Anna Bauer

MirrorMirror is a more grown up movie of the old Snow White sto-

ry. My friends and I went to see it and it was a fun classic tale. Ohh and it

was also funny, very funny. Here is your cast for Mirror Mirror. Julia Rob-

erts played The Evil Queen. Lily Collins played Snow White. Armie Ham-

mer played Prince Alcott. Nathan Lane played Brighton the queen’s right

hand man. Robert Emms played Charles Renbock the prince’s right hand

man. Mare Winningham played Baker Margaret. Sean Bean played the king

who was also Snow White’s father. Now that we’re done with those people

you get to hear who plays the awesome seven dwarfs. Jordan Prentan played

Napolean. Mark Povinelli played Half Pint. Joe Gnoffo played Grub. Danny

Woodburn played Grimm. Sebastian Saraceno played wolf. Martin Klebba

played Butcher and of course last but not least, my personal favorite Chuck-

les was played by Ronald Lee Clark. Now you know the cast. I would love

to tell you more about this amazing movie but in order not to spoil it you’ll

have to go see it yourself. I hope you enjoy it and have a lot of fun watching

it with all your friends, but until you see it you will never know what hap-

pens and how this totally different version of Snow White ends. So go see it

before it’s too late. Yikes I forgot to tell you who the makers of this wonder-

ful movie are: let’s give a round of applause for Tarsem Singh and the writ-

ers Jason Keller and Mellissa Wallack. Goodbye and remember to read the

next Spire Crier so that you can hear about another cool and fun movie to go

see with your family.

Dying to Meet You

By Nathalie Han

Dying to Meet You is a really comical book. The story is about a best

selling author named Ignatious B. Grumply, who has writer's block as he is

moving into a mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road. Instead of finding some

peace and quiet he finds an eleven-year-old boy named Seymour, his cat

Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive. Olive, Shadow, and Seymour

have no intention of sharing the house with Mr. Ignatious for the next couple

of weeks. During the next couple of weeks Ignatious goes through a lot with

Olive and Seymour, but in the end they become a family. Written by Kate

Klise, this Sunshine state book is an extraordinary story.


Minecraft

By Carter Freeland

Minecraft is a 3-D world where you can do anything. You can build a

house, play in survival, or just play out with friends. But be careful, there are

monsters. Creative mode is where you start out with nothing, but in your in-

ventory you have everything. Survival mode is where you start out with noth-

ing and have to collect your materials to build. Characters in the game include

Mobs, in categories such as Creepers, Spiders, Skeletons, Zombies, Ender-

man, Slime, Ghast, Blaze, Magma Cube, Chickens, Pigs, Cows, and Sheep.

There is a boss of the game in a place called The End but you will have to dis-

cover that yourself.

The Hunger Games

By Connor Bass

The Hunger Games features many excellent actors such as Jennifer

Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Willow Shields, Liam Hemsworth,

Elizabeth Banks, Paula Malcomson, Josh Hutcherson, and Raiko Bowman.

My opinion of the performance of the actors is excellent! All of the

battle scenes were performed with an exorbitant amount of bravado. The ac-

tors were very good at making blood-curdling screams and crying on the

spot.

The movie’s plot, according to IMDb (www.imdb.com) is:

In a not-too-distant future, North America has collapsed, weakened

by drought, fire, famine, and war to be replaced by Panem, a country divid-

ed into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year two young representatives

from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger

Games. Part entertainment and part brutal intimidation of the subjugated

districts, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 par-

ticipants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens

required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected

as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her

place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, will be pitted against bigger,

stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

In my opinion, the movie achieved all of its goals and you should see

it after you read the book. The moral of the story is that no matter what hap-

pens, you should always be yourself. The film is rated PG-13 and I give this

movie four out of four stars.


Winners of The Spire Crier Art Contest

Organized and judged by the fourth grade Spire Crier staff

First Place, 4th grade division:

Michelle Larriet

Second Place, 4th grade division:

Juan Larriet

Third Place, 4th Grade Division:

Sloan Cole

First Place, Pre-K through Grade 3 Division

Piper Foote, Kindergarten

Second Place, Pre-K through Grade 3 Division

Pablo Joseph, Grade 3

Third Place, Pre-K through Grade 3 Division

Harrison Miles, Senior Pre-K


Poor Yorick

By Jacob Murphy

Make Her Laugh At That!

By Jacob Murphy

There once was a man named Jack who was the greatest actor to ever live and the king said to him “Jack you

will act a play out for me in two days or you will be fired from acting forever.” Of course Jack forgot about the play and

spent all the time working at a bookstore. So when the play came around he was fired and sought out work at the pickle

factory. The lesson is all work and no play makes Jack a dill boy.

***

Anonymous comedians:

When you dream in color, it’s a pigment of your imagination.

***

What do you call the seat that’s in charge? The chairman.

***

What do you get when you cross a cream cookie with a bird? An oreole.

***

What’s long fuzzy and has three eyes? I don’t know but it’s on your shoulder.

***

What do you call a cracker that leads an Arabic country? A salten.

***

What did one banana say to the other banana when he needed to leave? Let’s split!

***

There’s a grasshopper and an ant; the ant spends his days storing food for winter while the grasshopper just

played and played. When winter came around the grasshopper drove his sports car to Florida and the ant got stepped on.

Wait what?

This newspaper is published by the fourth and fifth grade

Journalism students of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish

School.

Fifth Grade Staff: Connor Bass, Anna Bauer, Carter Freeland,

Nathalie Han, Brezlan Malina, Maggie McDowell, Jacob Murphy,

Mackenzie White.

Fourth Grade Staff: Olivia Byrd, Cornelia Ehlebracht, Luis

Mendez, Philip Staeding, Sarah Steinhour, Mia Williamson.

Journalism Advisor: Mrs. Katrina Murphy

Graphics Layout by Jacob Murphy

W E ’RE ON THE WEB

AT S TEPSMI A . OR G

5692 North Kendall Drive

Coral Gables, FL 33156

(305) 665-4851

Email us at

[email protected]

T h e S p i r e C r i e r

V o l u m e 2 4 , I s s u e 2

S t . T h o m a s E p i s c o p a l

P a r i s h S c h o o l

A Note from The Spire Crier’s Advisor

Answers to Mysteries:

Student: Meghan Keller

Teacher #1: Mrs. Samudrala

Teacher #2: Mrs. Dean

We hope you enjoy this second issue of the year. The Spire Crier writers showed initiative in pur-

suing interests and trying a variety of reporting styles and strategies. They became more attentive

to the technical aspects of submitting properly edited and formatted stories. The 4th graders learned

about how to more effectively organize and promote a contest, and the 5th graders made strides in

collaborative research, interviewing, and reviewing. Their improved skills produced a better news-

paper, and will be enduring assets for the students. — Katrina Murphy

To watch for in our next issue:

Getting ready for Graduation

Spring Concerts

What’s happening in Pre-School

Interviews with the Technology Staff

More reviews and opinions

P a g e 1 6

Spire Crier April 2012

Documents

Transcript of Spire Crier April 2012