1. education
2. school

October 2014 Issue
WISH
INSIDER
Leadership
FIYA Sports Coaches
Operations
Annual Fund
Upcoming Calender
Community
Partnerships
Pitfire & Scooters
Jungle Fundraiser
Garden Beautification
Student Life
Art Update
Music Update
FLL Tournament
Kid’s Corner
Book Reviews
Kids Craft
Middle School Electives
LMU Greeks and Community Members
Get Down and Dirty with the Garden Committee
by Kimberlie Traceski
WISH benefits in so many ways from our community partnerships— those who give to our community with their time
and energy, and these partnerships nourish us and help us bloom. Our move last year to the Orville Wright campus
enabled WISH to create a new partnership with the Emerson Community Garden (ECG). From our quaint garden
boxes by the kinder rooms at 8820 Sepulveda Eastway, we've graduated to the use of an enormous garden space in
the Emerson Garden. WISH is privileged to have approximately 22 plots within the one-acre community garden where
our students have the opportunity to cultivate and learn.
But gardening takes a lot of work, certainly more than our students can dedicate to it in the course of their academic
day. It’s also physically taxing and while we want our children to have the opportunity to sow seeds and reap the
rewards of growing their own fruits, vegetables, and flowers, many preparations need to be taken care of first. Soil
must be turned and nourished, weeds must be pulled, and plot areas cleared in order to allow our students prime
gardening time.
Oct. 5 was dedicated to doing this toilsome work. ECG members, our own steadfast garden committee members
Melissa Susman and Gregg Goldfarb, along with WISH grandmother Lynda Tutt (Malcom grade 5 and Mehkai grade
7) and mom Elesena Potachnik came to sweat it out in the dirt! But this was a job much bigger than this team!
This brings us to another cherished WISH partner: LMU. The benefits we receive from our partnership with LMU are
immeasurable, but on this particular Sunday we benefitted particularly from the LMU Greek organizations as they
toiled the soil as part of their Greek Week activities. LMU's Greek week is not devised as a mere competition between
Greek houses. Instead, LMU fraternal organizations strive to build ‘innerfraternalism,’ by uniting Greek chapters of the
IFC, NPC and members from cultural Greek fraternity or sorority organizations for a series of community outreach
activities and games. The students work together toward a greater end, earning points for their teams. “Greek
organizations are often thought of with negative connotations, but we want people to know that Greeks want to help,”
says senior and Sigma Epsilon house member Sean Ferney, who organized the Greek Week Garden Clean Up.
continued on page 5
Leadership
W I S H Te a m S p o r t s
Grows With New Sports,
Sponsors, and Coaches
by Ivey Steinberg
Over 150 athletes have competed in WISH Team Sports
since the Owls’ inaugural season last spring and the program
has only been growing since then. Three generous sponsors
have signed on this year — Zacha Homes, Taylor Whitley
Realty and Michael Goldstein, Attorney at Law. Combined
with the award of a national DICK’s Sporting Goods grant,
our program was perfectly positioned to add three new sports
— Cross Country, Flag Football, and Volleyball — and new
head coaches for each.
DRESSWISH
CODE
Sandra Prieto, head coach,
D1CLARIFICATIONS
Girls’ Volleyball:
Coach Prieto played volleyball at Culver City High School.
She also played club volleyball for five years with CCVC
(Culver City Volleyball Club), as setter and opposite. She also
played varsity for three years and was captain in 2007, her
senior year. She won the Ocean League Championship in
2006 as a junior. “This was the highlight of my volleyball
career,” she says. She also was athlete of the week for
serving 15 serves in a row with 6 of them being aces. Adds
Coach Prieto, “Out of the three sports I played, volleyball was
my passion. I’m excited to be this year’s D1 volleyball coach.”
Merrilee Kaszacs, head coach, WISH D2 Girls’ Volleyball:
Coach Kaszacs played volleyball all through high school. She
went to college on a softball scholarship and played both
softball and volleyball all four years at Pacific Union
College. "It is such an honor to be able to coach my daughter
Continued on page 6
Meet the Coaches:
Scott Westerfield, head coach, WISH Cross Country: In the
past two years, Coach Scott has completed two marathons,
12 half-marathons, and a handful of other races at various
distances. In March, he will compete his third marathon. The
things he likes about distance running are setting goals
and competing against himself. He’s passing on his love of
running to his two sons, both of whom are on his team. "It's
strange to be coaching my two sons because I took up
running to run away from their lovable brand of wackiness,"
Coach Scott said jokingly (maybe).
Orlando Bishop, head coach, WISH D1 Flag Football: Back
in Brooklyn where he grew up, Coach Orlando played four
years of high school football for Poly Prep, a relatively small
school with a big time football program. Playing halfback on
offense and defensive end on defense, he always loved to
learn the "Xs and Os," the strategy of the game. He got to
apply all he'd learned when he returned to Poly after college
to teach English and serve as an assistant coach for the
football team, serving as the position coach for defensive
ends and outside linebackers for the varsity squad and as
defensive coordinator for the freshman team. Nearly two
decades later, he still enjoys having his old players, who now
have families and careers of their own, reach out on
Facebook to reconnect and reminisce. "There's nothing like
being a part of a real team,” says Coach Bishop. “Nothing."
He hopes to bring that experience to every WISH athlete who
steps onto the flag football field.
Kenneth “Coach K” Bell, head coach, WISH D2 Co-ed Flag
Football: Kenneth Bell "Coach K" was born and raised in Los
Angeles, CA. He played Pop Warner football growing up, as
well as playing football for Fairfax High School in Los
Angeles. Says Coach K: “Sports is in my blood and I want to
pass on my knowledge to our young student athletes at
WISH.”
Al Hernandez, head coach, WISH D2 Co-ed Flag Football:
Coach Al returns after a winning season as WISH Team
Soccer’s head coach last spring. Two of his own boys who
played for him last spring return this fall to take the gridiron.
2
OPERATIONS
GiVing
by Mike Steins
It’s a safe bet to say that most of us brought our children to WISH because we believed it was the best place for them,
a place where they would receive the care, support, and attention that they deserve. And I, for one, have seen it. But
what makes WISH so different?
Giving!
The Annual Giving Campaign is the biggest fundraising effort of the year, and the goal is to get 100% of us involved in
Giving!.
Those things we have come to love about WISH come with a price tag, and the Annual Giving
Campaign closes the giant gap between what the state provides and what we hope to get for our children.
Tangibly, though, what does that money turn into? Well, as a public school teacher myself, I’ll tell you what I see. Our
kids get smaller class sizes, more classroom assistance, more time for teachers to collaborate and develop
professionally, more communication with us, more technology, more supplies, better and cleaner facilities and
equipment, and most of all, a community that surrounds them with unwavering support. Closing those gaps is why I
give!
think we all want to
Even a donation of $10 helps us tremendously: it increases our percentage of
participation which helps us to qualify for more grants.
The campaign ends Nov. 14th, with the results announced on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the International Festival. So
please get to it! There are some great campaign promos coming up, and you can find a lot of info in the weekly
Monday WISH blasts. This year, we're adding something new, a "Make a Change for WISH Day" where students will
be encouraged to get involved and bring in some change from home to contribute. 5 Star Sports is going to do a
matching promo for the last week of the campaign, to double those last few donations that come in so the money goes
twice as far. Plus new prize drawings to keep the enthusiasm as high as possible. We're very excited about all that
we've got going on this year and hope the campaign will continue to grow, just as it has every year so far.
ACHIEVE
WE CAN
TOGETHER
GIVE:
Closing the gap
The suggested amount is $1,200
per student, if you can give more
THANK YOU! If you cannot give
$1,200, please give what you
can - EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS
towards 100% participation.
100% Participation:
Giving any amount
WISH understands that families
vary in how much they are able
to give financially. Foundations
like to see a high percentage of
giving participation by families
because it is an indicator of a
community that is involved and
invested in their school. If every
family donated even $1, this
would give us our 100%
participation and will help us
greatly when WISH applies for
grants.
Make a one time
donation or pledge
Make a one-time donation for
whatever you can give.
Make a pledge and give smaller
amounts throughout the year.
Donations can be made by
writing a check to WISH
CHARTER SCHOOL or you can
put money in an envelope
marked “Annual Giving” with
your child’s name on it and turn
it into your teacher. You can
also pay online via Paypal. For
PayPal, go to the WISH website
under the Giving tab:
www.wishcharter.org/giving/
giving-to-wish.aspx
You can donate one lump sum
or schedule monthly donations.
*Any funds that you give to
WISH are tax deductible.
SUCCESS
Where does the
money go?
• 37 % Small Class Sizes
• 15% Technology
• 13% School Site
Improvements and
Playground Supplies
• 9% Physical Education
• 7% Committee-Led
Curriculum Enrichment
• 6% Visual Arts
• 6% Music
• 3% School-wide
Professional Development
• 2% Library
3
Upcoming Events
October
November
19 - 24
5
(Dad’s football day on Sunday)
WISH Community Association Meeting
Library @ 6:30 pm
20 - 24
11
Tony P’s Fundraiser
4445 Admiralty Way, MDR
Parent Teacher Conferences
Early Dismissal all week: K-2 at 12:50 p.m.;
grades 3-5 at 1 p.m.; 6-7 at 1:10 p.m.
24
Elementary Award Assembly
No School - Veteran’s Day
13-15
Scholastic Book Fair
Imagination Movers Concert, School Rocks benefiting
WISH and other schools
15
29
School Portrait Make-up Day
31
Fall Storybook Parade
Short Day: 12:30 Dismissal
Middle School awards assembly
International Fair and Fall Sing
21
Monthly Award Assembly
24 - 28
Fall Break - No School
MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND DON’T
MISS OUT ON SOME COMMUNITY
BUILDING EVENTS!
4
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
continued from front page
Eighteen different fraternities and sororities came together in shifts throughout the course of the afternoon with twentyfive students per group. Before it was over, approximately 300 students came through the Emerson Garden helping
with WISH plots, STEAM plots, and community plots. They dug and hoed, pulled weeds and turned soiled and made a
pristine garden for our children to sow and reap.
There is no stopping the WISH Garden Committee! They have more plans in the works, with hopes to install garden
boxes in the Kinder yard.
Round Up: WISH Community Partnership Fundraisers
by Julia Alter
Pitfired Up!
The scent of yeasty-fresh dough wafted a welcome
through the air as we entered Pitfire Pizza for WISH's
first community partnership fundraiser of the year.
Pitfire generously agreed to give WISH 10% of all sales
from 5-9PM on September 29th. Given the long line out
the door most of the night, it's no surprise that we
raised $500!
We joined our WISH friends, seated at a long wooden
table, shortly after five. The kids sipped berry-infused
lemonade and played with little rainbow packages of
clay that Pitfire gives to its young customers as their
pizzas baked in the wood-fired ovens. The DJ began to
spin "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals, as the
Pitfire crew weaved about, deftly delivering hot Burrata
& Big Sur pizzas to our table. WISH families continued
filling the room with warm greetings and healthy
appetites. We stayed well after the sun had set on
Washington Boulevard. And the party continued on.
Many thanks to everyone who came out to Pitfire!
Welcome to the Jungle!
The only thing better than being a kid and bouncing with
your friends in a gigantic two-room bounce house with
slides and basketball hoops is doing it on a school night!
Scooter's Jungle played host to WISH students on Oct. 8
and 9, donating a portion of the sales back to our school!
My kids flitted between the Ultimate Arena and the Village
Arena, free to climb through the heights of the netted jungle
gym and slide down their choice of sky-high slides. I also
caught up on some much-needed grown-up conversation
on the sidelines, as did many other WISH parents.
Our little monkeys dined on the ever-so-popular jungle
food, pizza, and nibbled cookies and cupcakes to fuel their
next rounds of bouncing. This high energy event earned our
school $1200!
Thank you to the families that came out and added a dash
of wild to their weekday nights at Scooter's Jungle!
5
STUDENT LIFE
continued from page 2
Middle School Electives:
Big News, Lots of Drama,
& Simply Delicious
by Ivey Steinberg
This just in – one of our sixth grade classes is
producing their own newscast!
WISH Middle School boasts an array of electives,
including Broadcast Journalism. Students came up with
and voted on the name of their newscast, The Owl Daily
Report and a logo was created, combining their
artwork. They’ve been shooting, directing, producing
and reporting on events around campus, including
WISH Team Sports. An impressive list of guest experts
have joined them in the classroom as well. Students
have gained knowledge in local and national TV news
broadcasting as well as hearing about what it’s like to
work on shows like The Deadliest Catch and America’s
Most Wanted. LMU professors from the Film and
Television department have also appeared, along with
documentary filmmakers, directors, and editors. In
December, Joey Travolta, creator of Inclusion Films, will
be on hand to teach them and critique their work. Stay
tuned for the finished project!
The Drama elective class has been teaching theatrical
skills such as role development, improvisation
techniques, and stage presence. This class also
supports such social skills as teamwork, brainstorming,
and innovative thinking. The curriculum is linked to the
WISH Social Studies unit on Ancient Civilization to
create hands-on learning projects such as character
exploration and improvised scenes.
Hungry? The Culinary Arts elective has been serving
up some delicious lessons in how to make such crowdpleasers as apple crisp, chocolate parfait, and more
multi-ingredient dishes. The chefs-in training also learn
important safety-in-the-kitchen skills as well as crucial
measuring techniques.
The art of non-verbal communication is the focus of the
Dance Elective. Students are provoked to not only
demonstrate movement, they apply choreography
principles, processes, and skills to create through the
improvisation, composition and performance of dance.
in a sport that I love and played for so many years,” says
Coach Kaszacs. “I hope she develops the same passion
for the sport that I had."
Cecily Mullings, head coach, WISH D2 Girls’
Volleyball: Coach Mullings played varsity volleyball all
four years at Culver City, where one of her teammates
was Coach Prieto. She also played for the club team
CCVC for two years. She was a defensive specialist,
playing libero for both teams.
Kerry Hinsche, head coach, WISH Spirit Squad: Coach
Hinsche grew up dancing ballet, tap and jazz, taking
cheer classes through her school. During her late teen
years, she enjoyed dancing routines with her dance gym
group at her high school to encourage the school
community. As a returning head coach, she says, “I love
seeing the WISH Spirit Squad grow and I am proud of
their hard work and commitment."
Isabel Alvarez, head coach, WISH Spirit Squad: Coach
Isabel has always loved to dance and took jazz, afrojazz, and salsa as electives in college. In high school,
she led the cheer squad as spirit commissioner and was
in charge of coordinating and planning spirit activities
and programs. She was voted most spirited of her high
school by her classmates and is now hoping to bring her
spirit to WISH. Last spring, Coach Isabel was a driving
force during the launch of the WISH Spirit Squad. This
year, she was invited by Coach Hinsche to act as CoHead Coach. With two of her six children in the Cheer
squad, Isabel saw coaching as a great opportunity to be
involved in her children's activities. "I love that cheer
involves being athletic but more than anything I love the
positive attitude it brings to a school,” says Coach
Isabel. “Cheering people up and showing others you
support them is something I want all the children at
WISH to be a part of."
These talented coaches have been joined by an equally
dedicated team of assistant coaches:
Simo Tagoai,
Steve O’Loughlin and Bayano Kamani (Co-ed Flag
Football), and Lamont Hendrix and Jaclyn Petty (Girls’
Volleyball).
In January, WISH Team Sports will add even more
sports, coaches and athletes to the roster: Girls’
Basketball, Boys’ Basketball, Co-ed Bowling and Co-ed
Golf. If you’re interested in coaching any of these sports,
please contact WISH Team Sports Coordinator, Ivey
Steinberg, 310-409-5732, iveyv@ca.rr.com
Go Owls!
Other electives such as Fitness, Horticulture and Media
Arts are making this fall’s electives offerings a truly
meaningful experience for our Middle School scholars!
6
Robots Ready!
to Host FIRST
League Tournament
WISH
Lego
by Danielle Busse
We are very excited to announce that on Saturday, Nov.
1, 2014, WISH Charter will host the annual FIRST Lego
League (FLL) World Class Qualifying Tournament. With
concessions and the like, this will be an amazing
fundraising opportunity for our little community!
“We are very proud to host the annual FIRST Lego
League World Class Qualifying Tournament,” says
Principal Shawna Draxton. “When we started organizing
this event last summer, we knew it would be popular,
but our expectations have been surpassed. I think that
shows how many of our young students are creative
problem solvers and enjoy technology challenges. We
hope to foster that interest with this program.”
Mindstorms to solve a set of missions in the Robot
Game. They will also choose and solve a real-world
question in the Project challenge. Teams will be judged
on robot design, robot performance, project
presentation, and Core Values.
The robots are only one part of the FLL Championship.
The teams will also compete for best robot design, best
innovation project presentation and best overall
teamwork awards. In addition, teams will be judged on
their adherence to the FLL “Core Values,” which include
“friendly competition” and “gracious professionalism."
Expect the excitement to be electric, as team members
motivate each other, parents cheer and the spectators
watch the scoreboard. It’s a sporting event for the mind!
Organizing the WISH’s first FLL Tournament is a
collaborative effort by the entire community. Volunteer
coaches created self-organized teams of up to 10
students each. Teams have worked for months to build
their robots and program them using Lego Mindstorms
technology. While sponsors and event organizers will
manage logistics at the event on Nov. 1st, as hosts of
the FIRST Lego League (FLL) World Class Qualifying
Tournament, the WISH community will also need to
provide about 200 volunteers.
FLL Introduces younger students to real-world
engineering challenges by building Lego-based robots
to complete tasks on thematic playing surfaces. FLL
teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches,
discover exciting career possibilities and, through the
process, learn to make positive contributions to society.
More than 400 students, ages nine to 16 from
throughout Southern California, are expected to
compete in this event, which combines Lego robots,
teamwork and an energetic, tournament atmosphere to
promote science, technology and innovation. These
students will put their engineering skills to the test to
redesign how we gather knowledge and skills in the
21st century.
Following the opening ceremony, teams will compete in
a series of unique challenges. The centerpiece will be
24 teams taking turns navigating their robots on
thematic playing fields. Judges award points for
successful completion of missions defined to represent
bioengineering innovation.
What is FIRST?
Founded by inventor Dean Kamen founded in 1989,
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology) hopes to inspire an appreciation of
science and technology in young people. Based in
Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible,
innovative programs to build self-confidence,
knowledge, and life skills while motivating young
people to pursue opportunities in science,
technology, and engineering. With support from over
200 Fortune 500 companies and more than $20
million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit
organization hosts various robotics and tech
leagues and competitions for students K to 12. To
learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
During the FLL World Class challenge, teams will build,
test, and program an autonomous robot using Lego
7
Art Update:
Capturing Autumn, Creating Perspective
by Ms. Courtney Coleman
TK is working on their goal of using lines, shapes, and
colors to make patterns. They practiced their different
lines and will be applying their knowledge of lines and
pattern sequences to decorate a fall picture.
Kindergarten is working on their goal of making a collage
with torn paper forms. They practiced tearing paper into
appropriately-sized shapes and gluing so the shapes filled
specific spaces on their fall tree. They finished by adding
details to their background.
First grade is working on using texture in two-dimensional
works of art to make a fall tree. They first did the base of
the tree and grass using a pointillism method with Q-tips.
Next, they added the fall leaves, dipping bath 'poofs' in
warm colored paint to create the texture of leaves.
Second grade is demonstrating the use of basic artmaking processes and using stencils to make a leaf
collage. They will be filling their paper with different leaf
shapes and overlapping to create a dynamic design. They
will finish the picture by filling in the spaces with warm
colors.
Third grade is learning how to create the illusion of space.
They learned about how to make a foreground, middleground, and background in a picture. They will use those
overlapping concepts to create a spatial landscape.
Fourth grade is working on the interaction between
positive and negative space in their works of art. Their
first project is to create two similar trees, adding the
designs to one tree and background on the other to
emphasize the positive and negative space.
Fifth grade is working on linear perspective to depict
objects in space. They first practiced one-point
perspective on shapes to make geometric forms look
three-dimensional. They will then be working on a fall
scene that will show depth of space.
Sixth grade is working on the concept of balance in art,
value shading, and radial symmetry. They are utilizing that
knowledge to create an optical illusion using radial
symmetry and value shading.
Seventh grade is working on space in art, creating a onepoint perspective street scene. Practicing as a class, we
started with a horizon-line and vanishing point and then
they used their knowledge to create their own realistic
street scenes that show depth of space.
8
Music
update
by Mr. Draxton
WISH Charter School students have been working hard and enjoying their music classes.
TK is working on their goal of recognizing various patterns of rhythm and identifying the sounds that different types of
instruments make. Students take what they have learned about rhythm and practice on hand drums and shakers.
Kindergarten students have been working hard on learning how to identify different rhythms by ear, then imitate what
they hear with rhythm sticks and hand drums. Kindergarten students have also been rehearsing their song for the
upcoming International Fair.
First grade students have been hard at work recognizing patterns of rhythm by ear and by sight using Gameplan
rhythm cards and various percussion instruments such as rhythm sticks, hand drums, and shakers.
Second grade students have been learning about the concept of melody through woodwind instruments and have
taken what they’ve learned and put it to practice by playing recorders. They’re working hard to demonstrate their use
of recorders at the upcoming International Fair.
Third grade students have been busy “actively” listening to various genres of music, and have been learning how to
use their voices as melody instruments, as well as learning about different rhythms and melody through the
glockenspiel.
Fourth grade students have been learning about the relationship between rhythm and melody through the ukulele, as
well as learning about the cultural importance of music all over the world by learning an Irish Folk song for the
upcoming International Fair.
Fifth graders have been busy “actively” listening to a variety of cultural music from around the globe and also learning
how music in different cultures has multiple meanings to it’s people. Fifth graders have also been focusing on the
voice as an instrument and the relationship of vocal harmonies.
Sixth grade students have been learning about American music from the mid 1800s as well as the cultural
significance of tribal music from Africa. Sixth grade students have also been focusing on their own musical likes and
how family plays a very important part in their own musical culture.
Seventh graders have been busy creating their own imaginative rhythms as well as interpreting various other styles
and genres of music. They have also been having wonderful class discussions about the different components of
music and how personal and powerful music is to them.
The International Fair will be upon us very soon so WISH students are eagerly preparing and practicing songs from
their countries. Thank you to all WISH students for working so hard to learn and explore the world of music!
Kids Corner
Book Reviews: Halloween Edition
by Allison Grover Khoury
I Am A Witch’s Cat
The little girl narrator of I Am A Witch’s Cat
is convinced that she is a black cat
belonging to a witch who also happens to
be her mother. Her proof is all the typical
witch activities she and her mother do
together, like mixing up potions and growing
magical plants. For this sweet Halloween
tale, author/illustrator Harriet Muncaster has
created beautifully-illustrated pages of
collage that young readers will love poring
over.
Bone Dog
Bone Dog is a great Halloween book— one
of my favorites. A little scarier than younger
readers might like at some points, but
skeletons with a sense of humor and the
loyalty of a dog— a bone dog no less—
soften the narrative just enough. Ideal for
older picture book readers, Bone Dog is also
a visual pleasure: there is much subtlety in
the illustrations supporting this alternately
heartbreaking and heart-warming story.
The Invasion of the Pumpkin People
Steven Tuttle’s funny and scary Halloween
adventure of two boys planning a trip through
the dreaded pumpkin patch. A great readaloud for young readers and an enjoyable
read with plenty of laughs for older— in this
case third grade-ish— readers.
A to Z Mysteries Super Edition #4: Sleepy
Hollow Sleepover
The popular A to Z Mystery Series, from
author Rob Roy, and our three protagonists
came back with super edition books a few
years ago. Book four is Sleepy Hollow
Sleepover, in which Dink, Josh and Ruth
Rose find that a Halloween adventure is
turning into what might be a real haunting
from a headless horseman. Good reading,
especially for fans of the series.
Newsletter Team
EDITOR IN CHIEF
CHRISTIE KOBATA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ISABEL ALVAREZ CONTENT EDITOR
OLIVER JONES
WRITERS
ANGELA JONES
ALLISON GROVER-KHOURY
IVEY STEINBERG
JAYME YOUNGER
JULIA ALTER
KIMBERLIE TRACESKI
MIKE STEINS
PAULA TOMIZAWA-MENDOZA
SARAH WHITNEY
If you would like to be part of
our team, send letters to the
editor, submit materials or
photographs to be considered,
please contact Christie Kobata
at christiekobata@hotmail.com
9
Creating a Salt Ice
Sculpture
by Paula Tomizawa-Mendoza
Materials
Milk Carton
Water
Kosher Salt
Food Coloring
Baking Pan or Tray
Directions
•
•
•
•
•
1. Fill an empty milk carton with water and
then freeze the water. Then remove the ice
block from the carton and place on a
baking pan or tray.
2. Have children sprinkle salt on the block of
ice.
3. Add drops of food coloring onto the salt.
What happens?
Watch the salt melt the ice and the food coloring
seep into the ice. It will create a pretty fantastic
sculpture. Here in sunny Los Angeles, it doesn't
snow. However, this is a great activity to teach
why salt is spread on snowy/icy roads to melt ice
in places where it does snows. The salt works by
lowering the melting or freezing point of water.
The effect is termed "freezing point depression."
Vampire Fang Cookies
by Paula Tomizawa-Mendoza
Last year, Hillary McFarland made these adorable
treats for our classroom Fall celebration. They
were a huge hit. Enjoy!
Here’s what you'll need to make two dozen:
• 24 chocolate chip cookies
• 48 almond slivers
• 144 mini marshmallows
• Red frosting
What to do:
1. Cut each cookie in half so you have 48
halves.
2. Frost the bottoms of all cookie halves with
red frosting.
3. Place six marshmallow teeth around curved
perimeter of 24 halves.
4. Top with remaining 24 halves.
5. Finally insert two almond slivers in between
marshmallow teeth for fangs.
2nd grader Saffron Collins shows off
her scary fangs.
10