THE HAWK’S HERALD - Medford Township Public … kindly picked Mr. Dishong to play the keyboard in...
Transcript of THE HAWK’S HERALD - Medford Township Public … kindly picked Mr. Dishong to play the keyboard in...
learn technology when he was young. He said that he loved it when he
first got an email! He would email his uncle who lived in Florida and it was
like having the ability to connect to the outside world. He believes that if
you practice using technology, “you just get better.”
During the summer, in addition to work, he plans to hang out with his
family and also plans to go to Disney. The Damon family is a lso going to the
Outer Banks, North Carolina. He said, “We also like to watch our daughter
do gymnastics.” Mr. Damon’s favorite season is spring because he says,
“It’s not too cold, not too hot.” He loves steak and his favorite restaurant
is Barclay Prime in Philadelphia. His birthday is September 7th and his
favorite color is blue.
He hopes to visit Kirby’s Mill a lot next year and said he will miss us all
very much.
By: Luca Pinto
Have you heard that Mr.
Damon is not going to be the
principal of Kirby’s Mill next
year? He is switching jobs to
become the technology
coordinator of the Medford
School District.
Mr. Damon has already
started to do work as the tech
coordinator of the district. He
has been working with other
staff to rollout 1,000
Chromebooks into the
district. He has already been
working with administrators
to plan a number of details
about the chrome books:
where the chrome books are
going to go, how they are
going to be distributed to the
schools, researching where to
buy them, and how to teach
teachers how to use them. “I
have always been very
passionate about
technology. I love computers
and I love working with
them. When this position
became available, I thought
the job was right for me. I
think I’m going to miss being
around kids so much.” He
said that he is also is going
to miss being around the
teachers at Kirby’s Mill. Mr.
Damon said, “I will probably
be arriving at 8:00, same as
this year, but I have a
feeling that my hours are
going to be a lot later.”
When they find the next
principal, he will have to
help train that person too.
Mr. Damon started to
The Damonator: Technology Coordinator
2nd Graders Climb To New Heights By: Chloe Dunleavy
The 2nd grade field trip to the
Barnegat lighthouse is one of
people’s favorites. The entire
second grade goes on the trip
including most of the parents. The
second grade has been going on
this trip for 12-13 years. They get
to the lighthouse around 10:30 and
they have to get back on the bus at
12:30.
Each of the classes gets their
own bus so this year they had 3
busses take them there. All of the
classes go at the same time. The
bus ride to get there is around 1
hour. When they get there they
answer questions about the
lighthouse which they try to relate
it to some of the things that they
are learning in social studies. They
also climb up it and explore around
the Barnegat lighthouse.
The lighthouse has 217 steps
and most of the kids climb up
them. Some of the kids also walk
the nature trail. The lighthouse
is 172 feet above sea level and
when you get to the top you
have a great view.
Ms. Saporito says that most of
the second graders favorite part
is either being outside, digging
in the sand, finding crab shells
and climbing up the lighthouse.
T H E S TUD EN T N EWS PA PE R OF KIR BY ’S M IL L EL EM EN TA RY SC HO OL
HAWK’S HERALD
THE
T H E H A WK’ S H E RA LD June , 201 6
By: Elena Garistina
Do you know Mrs. Kelley? Well she might
even be your 2nd grade teacher! I’m going to
tell you all about her teaching history and
other cool things about her. You will probably
learn facts you did not know about her and like
her even more!
Mrs. Kelley went to Mansfield University of
Pennsylvania for college and used to student
teach 2nd grade as part of her college courses.
In her former school, she used to teach Kinder-
garten through 5th grades; but, she did not
teach school her whole life. She used to teach
dance and was also a Target cashier. Mrs. Kel-
ley said that her 11th grade teacher inspired
her to be a teacher because she really cared
about all of her students even though she was
very strict. That is Mrs. Kelley’s teaching ex-
perience.
Mrs. Kelley has a husband and a dog named
Gurtie! She and her husband usually walk their
dog through the neighborhood, where they
recently bought a home. Sometimes in the
summer, she hikes and kayaks with her hus-
band. You’re not the only one who enjoys ice
cream! Mrs. Kelley also LOVES ice cream…. it’s
her favorite food! Her favorite restaurant is
Chipotle.
Mrs. Kelley is new this year to Kirby’s Mill.
She likes this school because she said
“Everyone is so nice here.’’ I bet you can’t
wait to see Mrs. Kelley next year! Don’t forget
to say “Hi” to her!
Second Grade Welcomes Mrs. Kelley!
2009. Ms. Kelly’s favorite color is purple and she loves
a restaurant called Akira. Akira is a Hibachi
restaurant, one of Ms. Kelly’s favorite food.
The preschool school calendar is a little different
than the regular school calendar, but Ms. Kelly and
her students have vacations for all of the holidays
that we do such as; Christmas, Winter Break,
Memorial Day, etc. Some of Ms. Kelly’s students go to
kindergarten next year and she said, “Yes I will miss
my kids when they go to kindergarten, I will be very
sad when they leave.” She said that she will be sure
to keep in contact with the students’ kindergarten
teacher and find out how the children are doing.
So, now that you know a little more about Ms.
Kelly, make sure that you say “Hi” to Ms. Kelly when
you see her around Kirby’s Mill!
EXTRA ! EXTRA ! READ ALL ABOUT IT !
PRESCHOOL HAS A NEW TEA CHER , MS .KEL LY
By: Kylie Kenny
Have you met the new teacher for preschool? I
have and I can tell you that Ms. Kelly has a
fantastic job!
Ms. Kelly loves to teach preschoolers because
they are so fun to work with and are really
creative. She was inspired by her mom and dad
who were also teachers and was also inspired by
her kindergarten teacher because she was really
kind and nice. Ms. Kelly said that she likes Kirby’s
Mill school because everyone is so friendly and
welcoming and that it is like a family here. At
first, she worked at a children’s daycare as an
assistant. Then, she went up a level to where she
started to teach students in the daycare. Ms. Kelly
is currently working on getting her Masters of
Education degree with a specialty in reading from
the University of New England.
Ms. Kelly does not have kids of her own yet.
During the summer, she works in the Medford
Summer School and also for a company called
Autism on the Seas. For this company, she goes on
cruises and vacations and supervises children who
have autism. Her birth date is September 16th 1988
just like my sister except my sister was born in
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T he Ha wk’s He ra l d
Hawks are Hiding!
How many Kirby’s
Mill Hawks can you
find hidden in the
newspaper?
Ms. Kelly in front of her
students’ artwork.
Photo by: Kylie Kenny
Mrs. Kelley is getting ready for class.
Photos by:
Elena Garistina
By: Jules Barrett
Did you know that Mr. Dishong is more than just the Kirby’s Mill music teacher? He is also very involved in the middle school productions at the
Haines and Memorial Schools here in Medford. If you didn’t get to see Shrek, you missed out on an awesome show!
Mr. Dishong was one of the people who worked very hard to bring Shrek together as an amazing play. He rehearsed for Shrek for sixth months. That’s
a lot of rehearsing! The Haines/Memorial Drama Club performed at Lenape High School. Mr. Dishong says, “We performed at a high school so we could
have bigger audiences and more people to come and see our shows.” There were about 65 performers in Shrek. Shrek was performed 6 times in April. Do
you think it was easy picking the people to perform in Shrek? Mr. Dishong thought it was really hard. He said, “It’s always hard, but that’s why we do
auditions and do them very carefully starting back in October, and we listen to the kids singing and reading the scripts mult iple times. Then, the people
who figure out who gets each part sit down and carefully decides who gets each part.” Do you ever see kids you used to know i n plays that you’ve
watched? Students from Kirby’s Mill in the past performed in Shrek. There was Tori DiGennaro and Sami MacDonald who were both Donkey in Shrek,
John Oleniacz who was Pinocchio, Emily Wright who was the Fairy Godmother, and Sarah Beitel who was the Ugly Duckling. If you happened to see Shrek,
then you must have thought it was an amazing performance. The whole Shrek “crew” worked very hard, and it totally paid off. Mr. Dishong thought so,
too. Mr. Dishong said, “The shows turned out the way we wanted it to, maybe even more so. We practiced a lot and it really pa id off. It really did exceed
our expectations.”
At Kirby’s Mill, Mr. Dishong is the music teacher. But did you know that he joined the Shrek “crew” to perform in the pit ban d? The conductor, Mr.
Sheffer, kindly picked Mr. Dishong to play the keyboard in the pit band for Shrek the Musical. He said, “I play the keyboard, so I vocal-direct the show. I’m
known as “Keyboard 1” for the pit band.” Do you ever wonder how the actors/actresses and the pit band perform together so they match? If you ever
thought about it, you would probably think it was a huge challenge. Mr. Dishong thought it was one of the biggest challenges during Shrek. He states,
“The hardest thing we did was get the actors/actresses and the pit band to play together so we match. We all rehearse alone t o get it right, then, when
we finally get together at the end, it all comes together smoothly.” All of the songs in Shrek were pretty wacky, funny, seri ous, or songs that you’ve
probably heard before. Mr. Dishong loved the most wackiest song in Shrek: “Freak Flag.” As you have probably heard, the multi -talented singer, Prince,
died in 2016. So, in honor of him, the pit band in Shrek played a song by him called “Purple Rain”. It was a huge success, an d the big audience loved it. Mr.
Dishong loved being part of the pit band in Shrek the Musical. “It’s really fun being part of the pit band. It’s not just that, it’s being part of the production
and working with the actors and actresses that counts. I really enjoyed being part of Shrek the Musical.”
Maybe someday when you’re in middle school, you’ll be into drama and want to audition for the middle school production. Hopefully someday we’ll
see you on the stage at a high school performing another great musical. Lastly, when you see Mr. Dishong at Kirby’s Mill, just simply say, “Shrek was
awesome!”
Best Musical Ever: Shrek!
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T he Ha wk’s He ra l d
Photos from the Medford Township School District pro-
duction of “Shrek the Musical”.
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T he Ha wk’s He ra l d
MR. TONY: WHERE WOULD WE BE WI THOUT H IM ?
By: Jules Barrett Do you know Mr. Tony? He is our dedicated custodian that does so much for Kirby’s Mill. You will learn all the interesting things that Mr. Tony does at Kirby’s Mill and the cool things he does outside of school. Mr. Tony takes good care of Kirby’s Mill School. He works there “to keep the school clean and be around kids.” He gets there a quarter after six in the morning. Mr. Tony has some challenges. Three of his most disgusting duties are “throw-up, clogged toilets, and now I have to dump out the compost food in the cafeteria.” Mr. Tony has various responsibilities throughout the day. His responsibilities are “doing up the school in the morning, keep it clean, and make sure everything’s running alright.” He’s also an expert at changing the air filters and the heaters; making sure the toilets are working and the sinks as well. In summertime, the Kirby’s Mill custodial team cleans the whole school by cleaning the rugs and washing the windows. Also, did you know that Mr. Tony puts extra effort into preparing for the Valentine dance and the holiday parties at Kirby’s Mill? He says, “I like setting up for the parties and all the concerts, because the whole school gets satisfaction out of that. I just want to make everyone happy.” Mr. Tony isn’t just a regular custodian. He’s a risk-taker! One time he went onto the roof! What a daredevil! He says, “I go up there to get all the playground balls down. Actually, a couple days ago I went to put the clock tower in near the entrance.” When you’re at Kirby’s Mill, he’s pretty much always there. But have you ever thought about some of the other things Mr. Tony does? He stays at Kirby’s Mill during the winter to shovel the snow. Luckily, he brings his snow blower. Mr. Tony has been working as a custodian for about fifteen years. His wife inspired him to become a custodian. Mr. Tony says, “I like every part of Kirby’s Mill. I really like my office and the cafeteria and the gym. I like the whole school, really. It’s a pretty building.” Mr. Tony does so much for Kirby’s Mill.
Mr. Tony doesn’t just work at Kirby’s Mill. “I have another business. Cherry Hill Janitorial Service, that’s what it’s called. I clean offices, house windows, and clean carpets. I’ve been doing this for forty something years.” Mr. Tony works at his business every day except for Sunday. Aside from all of the work he does, he’s a dad! He has three grown children; a daughter and identical twin sons. In the summertime, he goes fishing on his boat in LBI. Mr. Tony’s favorite food is steak. When you see Mr. Tony, did you ever realize that he wears different baseball caps? He says, “I like to change them all. My sons just got me a German hat from Peddler’s Village. They got me one from Hawaii, Malibu, too, it’s a nice one.” As you can see, there’s more to learn about Mr. Tony besides him being a custodian at Kirby’s Mill.
Isn’t Mr. Tony a fascinating man? So, when you see Mr. Tony in the hallways or in the cafeteria or anywhere else just say,
“Thank you for everything you do at Kirby’s Mill.”
Thank You,
Mr. Mortimer!
PUZZ L ING PUZ Z LE SOLUTI ON S
Unscramble!
Beach
Pool
Hot
Camps
Sports
Fun
Boats
Ocean
Boardwalk
Rides
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T he H a w k ’ s H e r a l d
By: Elena Garistina
Have you noticed how old our
computers in the tech lab are? Well,
they are probably older than you are…..they are 12 years old! It is
really time for an upgrade! That is
why Mrs. Green and other people in Kirby’s Mill School are creating the
New Fab Lab! Read more to learn
more about it! The whole tech room is going to
be changed. There are going to be
new decals on the walls and on the windows in the room are going to
celebrate STEM ideas! (Science,
Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) Even the paint on the walls and the flooring will be new.
Instead of the uncomfortable chairs
that used to be in the lab, there will be work stools to sit and work on.
Instead of desk top computers, there
will be Chromebooks in the new tech
lab! Read the next paragraph to learn
more details!
Technology lessons, taught by Mrs.
Green, will also be different. The students will be doing more STEM
(Science. Technology. Engineering.
Mathematics) projects and when they are doing STEM units, they will be
working all over the room! The
students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will each have their own Chromebooks and the
children in grades PreK through 2, will
be learning how to use the Chromebooks so they are more
prepared when they get into the higher
grades. The lessons will be more
science-based and the students will be doing a lot of higher level thinking and
problem solving.
Mrs. Green is so excited about all of the new upgrades. She will be teaching
new lessons and helping to make the
Tech Lab be new and improved!
THE NEW FAB LAB !
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T HE H AWK ’S HER AL D
STEM units include: Designing a Maglev Train, Improving the Play
Dough Process and Cleaning Up an Oil Spill.
By: Kylie Kenny
Have you heard about Preschool Field Day? This year, Field Day for the 6 preschool classes
happened on Friday June Third. Mrs. Penz, Mrs. Moir, Mrs. Lafferty thought of the games for
Field Day.
The preschoolers participated in 5 stations: rubber ducky relay, parachute games, scooter
-board riding, a chalk drawing wall, and a throwing game where the target was a GIANT in-
flatable fish. While moving between stations, the preschoolers got to go through a tunnel,
jump on frog mats, and walk on a balance beam! They knew to wear play clothes and sneak-
ers but they did not have teams. Field day took place indoors, in half of the gym, because it
was raining that day….maybe next year the students will be able to be outside. The teachers
helped the kids at each station and there were 5 or 6 students in each group. In total, about
55 kids participated in Field Day and they were all between 3 and 5 years old. Each station
lasted at least 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of Field Day, the children got to eat popsicles!!!!
Here is what some preschoolers thought about field day: They said that they were ex-
cited to have field day and they were so enthusiastic about the parachute. The preschoolers
said that they had fun participating in the activities with their friends. All of the preschool-
ers loved, and I mean loved, the duck station because it had water! Some of them thought
that eating popsicles was the best part.
Mrs. Moir said, “Field Day is a great day because the children love it so much and it is
rewarding to see the smiles on their faces when they try a new activity.” Next year I am sure
that the preschoolers will look forward to having Field Day!
Preschool Goes Wild for Field Day!
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The Ha wk’s He ra l d
By: Chloe Dunleavy
Do you know everything about Mrs.
Rathman? Well, I’m going to tell you many things about her. I’m going to tell you
about why she became a teacher, some of her favorite activities and food, and why
she likes it here at Kirby’s Mill. At the end, I hope you know Mrs. Rathman a
little more.
Mrs. Rathman wanted to teach at the Medford School District because she grew
up here and went to school in this district. She wanted to teach at a school district
that meant so much to her. When Mrs. Rathman was younger, she either wanted
to be a veterinarian, a lawyer, or a teacher. She also said that she wanted to
help the kids learn. Mrs. Rathman has been teaching for 15 years.
Now I am going to tell you about some of Mrs. Rathman’s favorite hobbies and
activities. Mrs. Rathman’s favorite color is
blue and her favorite food is Chinese food. Her favorite season is spring because she
loves how everything is blooming and how the weather gets warmer. Mrs. Rathman
has two daughters, one in 4th grade and
one in 8th. Her favorite thing to do in the summer is to go to the pool with her
daughters and go on a vacation with her
family every summer. Mrs. Rathman arrives at school
around 8 o’clock every morning to prepare for the school day. She has
three hobbies; she loves to decorate, she loves to read with her family, and
she enjoys exercising! Lastly, I am going to tell you why
Mrs. Rathman loves Kirby’s Mill. Her favorite part of teaching here is the
kids. She has taught all grades from pre-school to 5th grade and enjoys the
fact that every time she changes a grade
level, there is a new challenge. 5th grade is her favorite grade to teach
because she loves getting the 5th graders ready for middle school. The main
reason that she likes Kirby’s Mill is that everyone is helpful and makes her feel
welcome. She also said that everyone is so friendly and she loves how the kids
want to learn!
Meet Mrs. Rathman!
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Medford
Township
School
District
Kirby’s Mill
Elementary
School
Preschool students are having a great time with
the parachute!
Page 9
Th e H a w k ’ s H e ra l d
CONGRATULAT IONS TO THE
F IFTH STA FF OF THE HAWK’ S HERALD!
This group of dedicated reporters completed the monumental task of
publishing Kirby’s Mill School’s student newspaper! They learned
about newspaper articles, selected a topic, conducted interviews,
took photographs and composed these outstanding articles!
Job well done!