Star of the Week in the Papasan Chair: Emma's 3rd Grade Tradition

What classroom traditions do you remember from grade school? I remember getting to write about a Piranha fish instead of doing something else and I loved cleaning the blackboard. None of those, though, were formal traditions that the entire class participated in. Luckily, as we are learning from Emma's classroom experiences, Kinnelon School has developed plenty...

Here is a wonderful tradition that Emma experienced in third grade with her teacher, Doreen Kolster: Star of the Week.

When a student becomes Star of the Week, s/he gets to bring to class something special each day and gets 10 to 15 minutes to talk about what makes that item special and answer questions. For example, the student might invite someone to come in and read a book or talk about careers with the class, share a collection or favorite book, create a poster, or share a favorite snack with the class....

Emma was chomping at the bit for her turn to come. And it did... at the end of the school year! She brought in her State Quarter Collection, a snack that Ted made and... me to read a favorite book, I Crocodile.

The Fourth Grade Tradition is called "Spotlight On...". It lasts one day, says Emma.

In the meantime, here is Emma's [brief] account of life as Star of the Week in the Papasan Chair in Mrs. Kolster's 3rd grade class.

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Aaah! It is so relaxing to sit in the Papasan chair.

The Papasan chair is in my third grade teacher's classroom. It is big, yellow, comfy and fun. Whenever you are Star of the Week, you can sit in it.
When I was Star of the Week, I got to sit in it!!!

Mrs. Kolster, my third grade teacher, used to have a green one, but now it is yellow. I find yellow a very soothing color. Now, that is my opinion and you can have your own!

Just picture yourself sitting in this awesome chair, after a long hard day, coming home to sit in it!

Did you ever have a chair in your classroom like this?

Do you have a chair like this at home?

I would love to hear what it is like.

Thank you.

Emma and her 3rd grade teacher, Doreen Kolster

As sad as Emma was about 3rd grade ending, she is loving 4th grade with her teacher, Carol Moore, in the same classroom she had for third grade.

Back to my original question, what were your favorite grade school traditions and memories?

2011 Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour Bike Event, Kinnelon on 5/7

Preparations for the fourth annual BRAKE the HUNGER CYCLE TOUR charity bike event are in full swing! This year's event takes place on Saturday, May 7th, 2011 at St. David's Episcopal Church, 91 Kinnelon Road in Kinnelon, NJ, and includes 5 bike routes to choose from:

• 4 miles [which we did in 2010]
• 12 miles [this year's choice]
• 25 miles
• 40 miles
• 62-mile Metric Century

According to Rodger Pisani and Mike Odian, co-chairs of the Hunger Cycle Tour bike event committee: "we have already established ourselves as the largest charity bike event in northern New Jersey. More importantly, our event has led to $120,000 in donations to the cause of hunger both here in New Jersey and throughout the world." 

Here's what Emma writes about the Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour Bike Event:

On May 7th, Saint David's in Kinnelon will be sponsoring a Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour. They will raise money and give the money to the people who need food.  My parents and I just started last year. We did the 4 mile bike ride.

This year we will be doing the 12 mile bike ride. Since I got a new bike over the summer, it will be a good ride.

You will get your very own back pack that has water, sunscreen, a T-shirt, and some lotion. In the beginning, you will get some tickets. If your number is on a helmet, gloves and other things you get to keep it. My Dad won a helmet for me.  I now wear the helmet every time we go bike riding.

Also there is a barbecue at the end of the ride with some music.

I don't know what the 12 mile bike ride is like, but I know I can do it. I hope that you can come!

Note: Click on this link for my post about last year's event: St. David's 2010 Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour Bike Event - Recap.

Friend, Kinnelon resident and Girl Scout Troup 951 Leader, Dina Fanelli, shared that her Girl Scout Troup would be supporting the 2011 Brake the Hunger Cycle Tour Bike Event. According to the release that Sondra Odian forwarded me [available on Kinnelon Patch]:

The girls in Troop 951 will be biking one of the routes as a team, and have designed their own T-shirts for the ride. Each girl in the troop has taken responsibility of one aspect of supporting the event; making school announcements, informing other troop leaders about the event, designing flyers, baking and organizing a bake sale table and recruiting other troops to host one of the four rest stops along the various routes which support the riders with food and fuel for their rides.

Troop Leader Dina Fanelli explained that this is a service project for the girls who are working toward their Bronze award, on their way to earning the Gold Award, the highest in Girl Scouting, equivalent to the Eagle Award in Boy Scouting. Assistant Troop Leader, Patricia Abderhalden, pointed out that to earn the Bronze Award the girls must complete four preliminary badge projects plus a 15-hour service award project.

Although Emma already made the point, I'll remind you that at the end of you ride, you can enjoy the all-you-can-eat backyard BBQ, with live music from Nth Degree. Even non-riders are welcome to join the post-ride BBQ for $10.

A few other highlights from Rodger Pisani and Mike Odian:

• Paul Miller BMW of Wayne is the featured sponsor!!!!!!
• Stretching tables and professionals will be staffed by Kessler Rehabilitation, a new event sponsor, to show you proper stretching techniques and help loosen those tired muscles after the ride
• A masseuse will be available for the cyclists at the BBQ
• A new meal replacement drink will be available for tasting
• A GPS station will be available for downloading routes onto your cycling GPS.
• Ham radio operators will be located strategically at the Rest Stops and SAG Wagons to provide rapid communication to our support team
• WDHA, a local radio station will be with us with games and giveaways
• Free photos for our riders

Ted, Emma and I have registered and are ready for our 12 mile Brake the Hunger Cycle Bike ride on May 7th, 2011. [As we did last year, we'll be biking to St. David's from home...] Any chance you might join us?

To learn more or to register, click on www.HungerCycleTour.com.

Kinnelon's 2011 Poetry Contest: April 28 Deadline

Are you ready - for the fourth annual Kinnelon Library Poetry Contest? The deadline is April 28th. 

The Poetry Contest is great fun and definitely worth getting your child involved in. In case you're still considering, here are details from Emma Whittemore, long-time veteran of the Kinnelon Poetry Contest...

Kinnelon Poetry Contest

On April 28, the Kinnelon Library will be sponsoring a Poetry Contest. This will be their 4th year doing it.  I have done it ever since.

Two years ago, I won the written poem part of the poetry contest in the Kindergarten - 1st Grade category.  My poem was titled "Oh, how I love Spring."

There are two choices that you can compete in for the Kinnelon Poetry Contest. You can submit a written poem. You can also do the Oral Recitation of your or someone else's poem.

I have done both every year. The poetry contest helps with my writing. Reciting poetry has helped me with speaking in front of people. I like the clapping at the end of the oral recitation.

If you choose to do the Kinnelon Poetry Contest, all entries must be in by April 28th.

Check out some of the older blogposts about past Kinnelon Poetry Contests. My Mom wrote about the winners and in one I'm reciting my poem.  I hope you like it:

• Kinnelon's 2nd Annual Poetry Contest
• Kinnelon's 2010 Poetry Contest

Good luck to all poets!  Remember, no one is a loser. We are all winners.

Thank you.

For more information check out the Kinnelon Library where you can get an entry form.

Per the flyer above, the April Kinnelon Poetry Contest coincides with National Poetry Month celebrations. [Poets.org offers ideas for celebrating, including an iPhone app that flows poems to your phone. Also check out the free Poetry Foundation iPhone app which I've just downloaded.]

Kinnelon's Fourth Annual Poetry Contest started on April 1st, 2011. Deadlines are as follows:

Written Poetry must be submitted by April 28, 2011.

Sign up for Oral Poetry Recitation by Thursday, April 28, 2011.

The Oral Poetry Recitation Competition takes place Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 5pm in the Kinnelon's Children's Library. Winners will be announced and prizes [which include a $100 Savings Bond] given out after the oral poetry recitation.

Kinnelon Poetry Contest Categories:

• Kindergarten - 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade - 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade - 5th Grade

You can obtain an entry form from the Kinnelon Library.

I hope to see you at the Kinnelon Library for the 2011 Kinnelon Poetry Contest.

Albino Deer: Kinnelon Critter File

In the latest Kinnelon Critter File entry, here is one about an Albino Deer. 

Reporting for this story is Emma Whittemore.

This Winter, Chuck Mougalian - a Smoke Rise neighbor - saw an Albino Deer in his backyard.  He said that it was living there for three weeks. Mr. Mougalian explained that this deer didn't look like the other deer. It was mostly white with some other markings.

Lots of people on Fox Ledge Road in Smoke Rise have seen the deer many times.

I was lucky one day when I saw it from my school bus stop, just up the hill from where we were standing.

Once my Mom and I saw an Albino Turkey.  At first I didn't know what it was, but then my Mom told me.

My friend told me that she has seen an Albino Hawk.

The Albino Deer lives in a herd of other deer with normal colors. Albino Deer are known to have some spots on them, but not always. The other deer don't hurt the Albino Deer. They don't really care if they are white. The deer treat it like any other deer.

Please tell us if you have seen any Albino Animals. We would love to know.

Thank you.

According to Buck Manager: All About Albino White-Tailed Deer, "only about one deer in 30,000 is an albino! However, not all white deer are true albinos. Some white whitetails have normally pigmented noses, eyes and hooves. In that instance, it would only be a genetic mutation for hair color but not other pigments." From the photo above, courtesy of Chuck Mougalian, this deer doesn't look to have pink eyes, so it may not be a true albino.

Here are a few other interesting articles I came across about Albino Deer:

• Big Buck Zone: The Mysterious Albino Deer Herd in Wisconsin
• Baby Albino Deer
• Wikipedia entry on Seneca White Deer
• Facts About Albino Deer

Thanks, Chuck, for sharing your photo and story.

If you come across other Albino Animals, as Emma asks, please do let us know.

Ice Fishing on Lake Kinnelon in Smoke Rise: a Kid's Perspective

Chuck Mougalian with friends

On a cold Saturday morning recently, my dad and I decided to go to Lake Kinnelon to check out the ice fishing. We had heard from some of the dads at the bus stop that there would be people out on the lake probably for the last time this year. When we got there some ice fishermen could be seen out in the distance by Chapel Island already fishing. And we thought we could see them catching a fish!

We ourselves weren't there to fish but we did want to go out onto the ice and see what they had caught. Unfortunately, the previous couple of days we got about 2" of rain and the ice was as smooth and slick as glass. We walked slowly out towards the island but mostly we slid. As we got past the last dock we started hearing cracking in the ice. This did not sound good to me, and I didn't like it. We went farther and farther out and heard even more cracking. Finally, I had had enough and I turned to my Dad and said, "Lets go back."

"No, don't worry, it's just the top layer," my Dad answered. I wasn't so sure about that so I took a few more steps forward, but there was even more cracking. This time I put my foot down and I convinced my dad to turn around. He nodded and said, "OK."  We turned around and when we got back to shore some fishermen getting ready to go out on the ice told us that we needed cleats. Not soccer cleats but ice cleats. We didn't have them because we don't go ice fishing that often. We went home and I decided to ask an ice fisherman neighbor of ours some questions about ice fishing. His name is Chuck Mougalian and this is what he told me.

Q. How many inches of ice does there need to be?

A. We like to go with at least four inches of clear solid ice, and that is the minimum generally recommended.

Q. Why do you like ice fishing so much?

A. I like being outside in the winter time and I like catching fish.

Ice fishing off of Chapel Island

Q. What's the biggest fish you caught this year?

A. I caught a 23 inch pickerel.

Q. Where is your favorite place to fish?

A. I like to go near the chapel but some of the other fishermen like to go near the cove.

Q. Do Evan and Eric ice fish?

A. Yes, they do ice fish.

Q. When did you start ice fishing?

A. I started six years ago; my son Evan started last year and Eric started with me five years ago.

Q. What time do you get up to go out fishing?

A. I would like to be out by 6 AM or even earlier if possible

Q. Do you take the fish home for supper?

A. No we catch and release.


So I don't think there will be any more ice fishing this year, but I'm looking forward to doing my ice fishing next year even if I do have to get up early on a frozen morning to do it. Maybe we'll even have cleats!

Emma Whittemore

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To put into perspective this story that Emma has shared with you, here is an excerpt from the March 15th, 2011 update from the Smoke Rise Fishing Club:

"The S.R.F.C. hosted its first "Family Ice Fishing Party" and "Ice Fishing Tournament" on Saturday February 26th with huge success. There were over fifty people and three friendly dogs out on the ice enjoying a beautiful day on the lake.  The Club served hot cocoa and grilled cheeseburgers and hotdogs all afternoon.  After the party a group of adventurous members headed out to deeper water for a four hour evening tournament near Chapel Island.  Tom Braden won the tournament with the most combined weight of five fish and largest fish. John Roberts won a side bet later in the evening with a seven pound catfish. The ice has since melted away..."

Christine & Ted