The Fitness Test

The Fitness Test

By: Alex Nelson, Natalia Teta, and Lauren Cox, 4-5 School News Team

Are you in fifth or seventh grade, and nervous about the Fitness Test? Well here is some information about the fitness test that you should know! It starts in February and ends in April.

What is the Fitness Test?

The Fitness Test includes six areas. You will get multiple choices for 3 of 6 tests. Students will be tested on each and the best score is the one that goes to the State of California. These tests determine if you are in the Healthy Fitness Zone. You will be scored on each of the 6 fitness areas. The goal is to pass all 6 out of 6.

How Many Tests are in the Fitness Test?

• Aerobic

1. PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run)

2. One-Mile Run

• Upper Body Strength                

1. Push Ups

2. Flexed Arm Hang

• Flexibility

1. Sit and Reach

2. Shoulder Stretch

• Curl Ups
• Trunk Lift
• Body Mass Index (Height and Weight)

How Can You Keep Yourself Prepared

Here at Design 39, 4/5 grade MiM teachers have been preparing the students for the Fitness Test. Students are practicing curl ups, push ups, & trunk lifts. One day out of your MiM, the fitness teacher, Mrs. Zingg, will visit your MiM class. She will help you practice all the tests in the fitness test. Since this will only happen once in each of your MiM classes, you should practice these at home.

If you are willing to devote your time to practice at home, then feel free to practice doing 10 or more push-ups, curl-ups, and trunk lifts. Try and see how high you can get with trunk lifts. If you don’t do more than 10-12 inches for the trunk lift; don’t worry, you will still get a lot of time at MiM to do exercising.

Fitness Test Scores

To completely be in the Healthy Fitness Zone with other students of your age and gender, you will need to pass all of the 6 tests. Your results will then go to the State of California if you are in 5th or 7th grade.  

Last year, here at D39C, only 53% of our school passed 6 out of 6 tests. 26% passed 5 out of 6 tests. The fifth and seventh graders really need to step it up this year. 

“Being healthy when you’re young leads to a healthy lifestyle. The goal at D39C is to have 80% of our fifth and seventh graders pass 6 out of 6 this year.” -Mrs. Zingg.

Design39Campus Candy Buy Back

Design39Campus Candy Buy Back

By Lauren M. and Tori E

This year was D39C’s second annual Candy Buy Back. Students dropped off all of their unwanted candy in a bin near The Welcome Center. The candy was then taken by Moser Orthodontics and then donated to the Military Troops and The San Diego Rescue Mission. For every pound of candy that D39C collected, Moser Orthodontics gave Design39Campus $1.

Moser Orthodontics have been doing this for 7 years. Twenty other elementary school participate in the candy buy back with Moser Orthodontics. Each year they try and beat their record, and last year they did. Last year, Moser Orthodontics collected 4,000 pounds! That’s a lot of candy!

This year Design39Campus collected 246.5 pounds! Good job D39C’ers! That means that Moser Orthodontics gave D39C $246.50! That is a lot of money! Sadly, this year, Moser Orthodontics did not beat their record. But, they were very close. They raised 3,170 pounds in all.

Thank you to all the kids who donated their unwanted candy to D39C. You guys really are making all the Military Troops and San Diego Rescue Mission happy!

DIY Secret Message in an Egg

By Bria Gilliam and Ashika Palacharla, 4-5 School News Team

Do you want something “eggciting” for your friend’s birthday! Well we have something “eggscellent” for you...a DIY secret message in an egg! It’s easy, quick, inexpensive, and it’s “eggsactly” what you are looking for! It will be “eggstravagant”. 

It will turn out to be an “eggstraordinary” gift for any occasion with the easy-to-follow video and written steps.

Step 1: Take a bowl and place it on a flat surface.

Step 2: Bring out your needle or nail and your egg out of the refrigerator

Step 3: Hold your egg over the bowl and take your needle or nail and poke it through the egg on the top and bottom of the egg. (It might not go through the first time, so start hitting your egg with your needle or nail hard so it makes a hole.)

Step 4: Through one of the holes made by the needle or nail, clasp your mouth around the hole and blow. The egg yolk inside of the egg will begin to ooze out.

 

Step 5: Once all the yolk is out, rinse your egg thoroughly.  Once done rinsing, dry it and make sure no drops of water are left.

Step 6: Now that your egg is dry you can paint it with any color you wish, let the paint dry, and decorate after.

Step 7: Take your sticky note and scissors.

Step 8: Cut off the sticky part off of the note. You might have to cut some of the sides to get the sticky note to fit.

Step 10: Write any note you wish on the sticky note.

 

Step 11: Roll up your note thin enough to go through the hole in your egg.

 

Step 12: Take your note and slide it through the hole in your egg.

And your secret message in an egg is done!!!!

Here is the How-To Video to help with your creation!

Browning Hills to Lush Green Valleys

Browning Hills to Lush Green Valleys

By Riva Rainer and Hannah Riggins, 4-5 School News Team

“The day the trade-winds grew weak and their icy breath ran dry, unfathomable darkness lurked and pondered upon the United States.  It painted the sky an envious grey, and casted a honeyed sheen upon all. Tears sliced down the clouds’ faces as they roared in anger. Electrons raced down, generating powerful bolts. Like a rip in the inky night, it forked down silently to the unsuspecting ground in a flash. BANG, goes the thunderous boom, always calling its warning too late. The El Nino had begun.”  

-Hannah Riggins

The El Nino Begins

The term ”El Nino” has been virtually unknown outside of the scientific community, but not this upcoming winter. Weather experts have informed San Diego city leaders that there is a probability of 95 percent chance for an El Nino to occur in the upcoming winter. Theoretically, if the El Nino were to occur, it would bring an especially wet winter to the region, and cause an abundance of damage. Flooding is also a concern, and this may damage the flood surges.

       The upcoming El Nino is predicted to be one of the strongest and most brutal compared to an event that occurred in 1997. This occurs when the trade winds grow weaker and the water becomes warmer in the pacific ocean. The cold water doesn’t have the ability to reach the surface. The storms are expected to start in late December and go on until March, is what the prevalent information tells us. There can possibly be a weak, medium, strong or extreme El Nino. Viewing the current meteorology patterns in the weather, we are awaiting a strong event. There are 3 main elements needed to cause an El Nino. These include air, water, and soil. Of course, the atmosphere is also a vital element. The upcoming storms will unfortunately not completely save San Diego because we are currently 1-2 rainfalls behind.

The Impact on Our City

According to research, the El Nino is going to cause flooding and our famous LAKE 39. Lake 39 was founded in 2014 by a famous lady, mother nature. D39C students made boats with little supply and harsh restrictions.( Not a lot of restrictions towards the end) This boat had to survive in the water.  Lake 39 was at its deepest when an average-sized fourth grader hopped into the water and it measured knee-high.  This will also make an impact on our community. There will be slippery sidewalks because of the thunderstorms, and muddy grass affecting outdoor activities. Because the El Nino is recorded to be a strong event, this suggests that there will be some damage done to buildings and landscaping around our community.

So get prepared to see the effect of browning hills to lush green valleys!

Troopin’ with the Teachers

    Troopin’ with the Teachers    

By Anjali and Meghna, 4-5 School News Team

If  you get stung by a bee, or a scrape on your knee, where do you go? Ms. Tara! We all know Ms.Tara as the school health technician or the one you go to to get a band-aid, but we wanted to know more about her.

          We decided to go out and ask D39’ers about our very own health technician. We interviewed a few students and one of her office peers, Mrs. Stone.

          Ms. Tara is always very fun to go to because she is always smiling. Ms. Tara is not just the health technician at our school, she also has a HUGE fun side as well. Mrs. Stone had a story to share, ”I pulled up next to Ms.Tara one day after school and I mouthed “let’s race.” Once the light turned green Ms. Tara squealed ahead in her car.” Ms. Tara probably knew it was a joke but did it for fun anyway.

“She’s a good team player and makes coming to school fun,” said Mrs. Stone. She is the “energizer bunny” and provides  kids with what they  need when they need it.  Calista, a 5th grader at D39C , said, ”Ms. Tara is a very kind hearted person.”

Another question we asked people was what would you do if Ms. Tara was not a part of our D39C family?  Many said that they would feel uncomfortable not seeing the same familiar face everytime they go to the nurse. “ The school would feel empty,” said Payton, a 5th grader at D39C.  

Ms. Tara has made many kids comfortable by making them smile and laugh when they are injured. “She always has a happy tone of voice and she always smiles, and by always I mean ALWAYS,”Anjali said. Thanks Ms. Tara!

Next time you  get a scrape on your knee, or get stung by a bee, remember who to call, MS. TARA !

 

School News… What We Do in Our Class

School News… What We Do in Our Class

                                           By: Maya, School News Team

This year at Design39Campus we are offering many different deep dives, and one of them is School News.  If you don't already know, School News is a class where kids can write articles or make videos about interesting things that are going to happen on campus or that are happening on campus.

In School News, there are steps to making a proper school article or video. First, you have to pick your topic that you want to do an article on and if you have a partner pick something with your partner.  Next, if you need to, you can interview the teacher that teaches the class and ask them some questions.  Then, you have to take all your information and put it into a interesting article or video.  Finally, you edit your article or video, making sure everything makes sense. For your final touch, your teacher checks it over making sure it is ready to be posted on the school blog.  Once she approves, it is ready to be put on the blog.

There are many interesting and exciting things going on around our campus, such as our other amazing deep dives and explorations on campus.  Also the school sometimes holds movie nights, beach clean ups, carnivals, and other school activities.  

Lately in school news, kids have been making videos about what has been going on around campus, the up coming stuff that is happening in class, and the events on campus.

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about all that we do in our deep dive, School News.

Fall Foods For Everyone

Fall Foods For Everyone

By: Julia and Eurielle, School News Team

Whipped Cream:

Things you will need are...

• Heavy whipping cream
• Sugar
• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Spoon or spatula

Directions-

For the whipped cream, pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream in a large mixing bowl with half a cup to 1 cup of sugar depending on how sweet you would like your whipped cream. Mix it on medium speed until you see soft peaks in the cream and it starts turning into a cream like texture. The last step is to put the whipped cream in a and your done!

Need Help? Here is a video link down below!

https://youtu.be/q7IHZfSwfd8

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino without coffee:

Things you will need are…

• 1 cup of milk

• 

  www.virtualhomemade.com

  ½ cup Decaf coffee (Coffee without caffeine)
• ¾ cup canned pumpkin
• ¼ to ½ cup simple syrup - or to taste* (recipe below)
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 to 2 cups crushed ice
• Whip cream

Directions-

Pour the first 5 ingredients into a bowl then stir the best you can. After you have stirred your mix, put it into a blender to mix it more. Mix on medium until thoroughly combined. Freeze this mixture in an ice cube tray and blend them when frozen, this produces a more intensely  flavored drink.

Add ice and blend until the frappuccino is smooth and without chunks of ice. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and you're done!

Need Help? Here is a video link down below!

https://youtu.be/XBDoodOa6iM

Adapted from:  www.virtuallyhomemade.com

Simple Syrup:

Things you will need are…

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup of sugar and one cup of water.  Heat on medium until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and store in refrigerator (you will have lots of extra syrup but comes in handy when preparing other drinks).

Apple and Sugar Croissant:

Things you will need are...

• Apple
• brown sugar
• Croissant dough
• Oven
• Pan
• non-stick spray

Directions-

Spray your pan with the non-stick spray. Then, lay out your croissant dough on the pan. Sprinkle some brown sugar onto the dough and lay a slice of apple on top. Roll it up as directed on the packaging like a croissant, don’t worry if it doesn’t look right, remember there is an apple inside! Put the croissants into the oven at the temperature given and until they turn golden brown. Take them out and let them cool for 10 minutes and you're done!

Need Help? Here is a video link down below!

https://youtu.be/mDhdz3zrwB8

Musical Theatre Exploration

Musical Theatre Exploration

By Eurielle and Riley

6/7 School News Team

Our exploration for 12 weeks for the 6th and 7th graders is Musical Theatre, taught by Del Norte High School students Rachel Downs and Angelica McDaniel.  We have been rehearsing every Monday and Wednesday to get ready to perform flawlessly. The Wizard of Oz, our current show has encouraged students to perform with confidence.

“I volunteered for musical theatre because I have a background in it and I really enjoy teaching and have never been on the director’s side.  So it was like a different view for me,” said Miss Angelica.  “I did it because my dad told me they needed people to do musical theatre.  I had not known what I was going to do, but then I started it and I was glad to teach you guys!”  Miss Rachel said. The students have tons of fun singing, acting and dancing.

They chose Wizard of OZ because it has a lot of roles for a variety of people and it's a fun classic musical that everyone loves!

In this exploration, students learn how to project their voice, and it can help them with improv. Improv is when you make up something on the spot. If you forget your line, you can improv it to make it seem as if it were part of the show!

Some of the shows that Miss Rachel and Miss Angelica have performed in are Hairspray, Legally Blonde and Beauty and the Beast!   They perform in a musical theater group called BTAA.

Good Man Charlie Brown may be the next show. Good Man Charlie Brown has spots for many characters. When Miss Rachel comes up with the choreography, she typically tends to just listen to the beat and just think of how the character would act. “So I just kinda come up with it on the spot as I'm teaching you guys.  Sometimes I come up with it beforehand but a majority of the time I change it and make it better when you guys are there!” says Rachel.

What is the most exciting thing to you? “I think being in front of a huge crowd, I love the rush! When your like, scared and excited at the same time,” says Angelica. “I like watching you guys perform at the end  to see how much you have conquered and how much you've grown as a student!” says Miss Rachel. From the past classes of musical theatre, we have been working hard to show our audience what we have learned so far.

What has changed from the past and now? “From the beginning, I did not know how to teach you guys, we had no clue! Now we can actually find a way to connect with you guys and get your energy out before you start doing something or plan ways to get you guys interested in doing something.”

When they pick characters they look for energy.  They don't really care about who's more talented.  They just care if you want to be there and you get to do something!  Miss Rachel told us, “My expectation was actually very low because I didn't trust myself to teach you guys enough, but now the reality is that you guys can do a lot more then you get credit for.”

Thank you Miss Rachel and Miss Angelica for teaching us Musical Theater.