Mentos and Pop: A Chaos of Chemicals!

By Drew Smith and Natalie Stangis

It was the thing most 5th graders said was one of the best activities in their last year at Barnard. The only activity that combined math and science into one classroom. This project could only be known as: The Mentos and Pop Experiment!

If you are wondering how this works then let us tell you! First, you set up your pop on your sheet of butcher paper that is on the wall then you mark the top of the bottle so you know where it starts! Then youget three mentos and plop them in your geyser tube and make sure the red tab is pushed in. Then go screw it onto your pop and get ready for an awesome show! Make sure that the paper is up against the wall and then pull the red tab! Then hopefully your pop sprays up against the wall and it kind of looks like a Vegas water show! Then all you have to do is measure from start to finish! The picture below is an example what should happen.

People really loved this project, in its entirety. Ayaan Syed, of Mrs Huang's class, said "The best part was the big chemical reaction that happened inside the bottle that made the explosion!" But the only thing he would change was the amount of time that his group took to pick their jobs. Mrs. Dutts had some responses too. When she was asked the questions, "How do you feel this project benefits kids?" and "How do feel about combining math and science in one big class", she first responded. " It teaches them responsibility. I give kids a standard, and they have to preform it with their team. It's Great." For the second question, she said, "I always look forward to this. It gives chances to rise and overcome challenges!" Our last question was, if there was one thing you could change about it, what would it be? She said, "Of course the weather. It was so windy!" I would too! I'm sure that the group struggling with the wind would also change that!

And that's that! The very exciting Mentos and pop experiment astounds yet another group of fifth graders! And just as this group looked forward to this before they were fifth graders, many will also look towards this in the lower grades! I guarantee that is experiment will be something that the fifth graders will never forget!

A is for Autism

By Sofie Palmcoek and Samantha Steiner

Have ever wondered what it is like to be autistic? We all have seen our beloved autistic students walking around the school, so how are they different than us? We are Samantha Steiner and Sofie Palmkoeck and we here to teach you about autism awareness.

Autism is a disorder that controls your body and it makes it difficult for you to speak out what you think and feel so you show it. For example if something is wrong, an autistic child might cry or a child is happy then they might laugh. Some of the symptoms are, poor eye contact, repeating movements, unaware of others emotions or depression, sensitivity to sound, and fidgeting with hands and other body parts. There are more than 200,000 US cases per year. It is mostly detected in males more than females, and it affects most kids ages 3 through 60 years of age. Autism cannot be cured but treatment can help it doctors say. Treatment normally includes a tutor that helps an autistic person learn mental skills and life skills, as well as his or her education. So autism is a disorder that can't be cured and can make it difficult to react to things that non autistic people find easy.

We interviewed Mrs. Beena who has multiple students who she works with. We asked how it feels to work with an autistic child she responded "It feels very rewarding and it is a special job and a experience for me. I see my student as my friend or son or daughter and I like being in this environment it is fun and interesting to see how they work out there problems."

Our next question asked what she teaches the kids with autism she said "We teach them to stay calm, like when we do yoga to relax them." She also said, "We try to teach them small things to help with life skills, and we try to encourage them to speak with their words not their actions." Some tools to help is a talker and carts or a tricycle. These tools help them talk and the cart and tricycle help them go around the school.

Mrs. Beena's last question was have you seen growth in your students she exclaimed "I have seen growth in Jackson by like doing his work but in the beginning he did not understand what to do in the beginning he could not understand the computer and now he is a pro. We also award the kids with tokens and sweets when we think they showed growth and did something well."

We hope you learned something about autism. We hope you can use this knowledge to better understand some of our students at Barnard and befriend them.

3,2,1, It's Egg Drop Time!

By Cassie Wilson and Nabehah Surti

3,2,1 BLAST OFF!!! That is what you would yell out at the Egg Drop. You may be wondering what the Egg Drop drop is and what it's all about. The Egg Drop is a project fifth graders do in science.

The Egg Drop is included in the variables unit. The goal all students try to reach is to construct a package that will not only keep your egg from cracking but also for it land on a 4 by 4 foot landing pad. Mr. Germansky and a Barnard Dad loaded all the packages that reached the requirements on the roof from 5th grade special to lunch. Then finally the fifth graders went out as a grade to watch the packages fall from the roof. The first five people went on the wall so they could go get their package after it drops. Mr. Germansky threw the packages according to a meter stick so the data is precise and not more than one variable is being changed. Mr. Germansky gave a count down then dropped the package, let's say it was your package, you would watch it fall then after it has fallen and lays still on the ground, you go pick it up and go back to the wall, while Mrs. Dutts records the data. After everyone in your set has had their packages fall from the roof, you would go to Mrs.Huang and open your package to see if your egg survived.

Egg Drop was a awesome experience for the 5th graders, and a good way to end their elementary careers. All in all, The Egg Drop was awesome.

H is for Hero

By Phineas Stothers

Have you ever wanted to be acknowledged for something you did? Well in fifth grade hero time we acknowledge a person who was the best person that they could be for a week.

Most recently, Ted won the award and people clapped out his name. In the meantime, he got his cape and his certificate and dropped by them photo section to get awarded with the other hero's this time.

The following are qualities of a fifth grade everyday hero:

-Helpful

-Encouraging

-Role Model

-Opportunist

We all love to be noticed so when you get into 5th grade make sure to be the best you can be and have fun!

Warning: Only Fun is Allowed!

By Ayaan Syed and Kaustubh Singh

Excitement, emotions, and most of all, fun! All of that happened on the Barnard Elementary's 5th Grade Fun Day which was June 9th. Children gathered in the cafeteria with their faces beaming with joy. After a walk of graduation, words of wisdom by Mrs. Morey and 5th graders Alex Marine and Benjamin Dannug, and a remarkable performance from dancers, the children left the school and headed to the Warren Community Center.

The 5th graders had a blast as they were swimming with each other in the pool, relaxing in the lazy river, and getting splashed by a giant bucket of water! Just swimming with the whole entire 5th grade would be fun, wouldn't it?

After swimming came games like Minute to Win It where you had to put a spoon in your mouth and drag ping pong balls from one bowl into the other. The first person to get all the balls in the other bowl won. There was also Pictionary. There were all sorts of fun games!

Finally at the end, the 5th graders were given a treat from ZOYO and they all together watched a video about all of their adventures from Kindergarten to 5th grade!

So all I can say is that the 5th graders had excitement, happiness, and most of all, Fun!

Warning: Only Fun is Allowed!

By: Rachel Holle and Jessica Wong

Big plump water balloons, a toy hamburger, a very large string, and popsicles. What do these have in common? They have field day in common. What is field day you ask? Well if you are new to Barnard, then you may not know that field day is a day at Barnard Elementry where you play fun games at about 20 stations. They include, water balloon passing, tug of war, and many more!

At Barnard's Field Day, you can dump water on your head during some of the first stations of field day, you compete to get the most water in a jar. But its not that easy, one of the water activities has a pool full of water, but the cup you use, has holes in them! You must find a way to get the most water into the jar with the water not coming out. Quite challenging! The other one is like the other except…… You have to use a sponge! Barnard sure knows some wacky ways to have fun! You might be wondering, with all this fun, where will I gay water? Well, don’t worry there are water stations with cups of water waiting for you! Or you can fill the cup or water bottle yourself! But, after all the fun and you have been through all the stations, that's not all the excitement, because after you get in a circle and sit with your grade level and eat popsicles for all the hard work! And after that you can watch the teachers do a tug of war. But in reality the kids go wild an yell, "Tug of war! Tug of war! Tug of war!" Its like watching the super bowl! Now the day ends with you packing up and going home with a ribbon that says field day. It would be the color of the shirt you were suppose to wear, like kindergarten would wear white, fifth grade would wear blue, and third grade would wear red. They would have to get that color ribbon to remember the day by. What do you think of field day? Would you enjoy this day? I sure would!