The Bear Facts

"My teacher is nis," writes kindergartener Andrew Leventhal about Mrs. Abboud.

The following students were selected as Writers of the Month for April.

Congratulations to all of you for being Write on Target!

Kindergarten: Josh Camia, Andrew Leventhal, Elias Shamma.

First Grade: Samantha Bouzikian, Ethan Dyckman, Kaitlyn Regan, Gabriel Venezia.

Second Grade: Ava Imburgia, Nathan Kilgore, Brandon Koch, Christopher Leventhal.

Third Grade: Isabel Ma, Vivian Mirzakhanyan, Rachel Park, Lauren Ryder, Alex Zargarian.

Fourth Grade: Grace Baek, Nathan Lee, Aren Ouzounian.

Fifth Grade: Rebecca Song, Amber Stonerook-Ferguson, Zoe Turchin.

Sixth Grade: Marley Gang, Nicole Manssourian, Maddy Martin.

Fremont looked a lot like a page from an American history book last Wednesday as the fifth-graders participated in the first annual Colonial Day.

“The students, donning colonial costumes, were transported back into colonial times with the Fremont halls transformed into Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon,” says Brenna Bash, a fifth-grade room parent and PAC President. “There were even ‘cobblestone’ streets to walk on!”

The event was a “huge success,” says Bash. “Mrs. Downer, Mrs. Stedman and Mrs. Wooldridge created a fun-filled environment that really brought history to life for the kids.”

Here’s a rundown of the day’s activities:

*The students began their day by playing traditional colonial games such as Game of Graces, Rolling Hoop, Cup and Ball, Ninepin, and Quoits (Ring Toss), notes Bash.

*Next, they had their picture taken in front of a larger-than-life Declaration of Independence. They signed their own parchment with quills.

*The students attended an assembly in which “Paul Revere” rode into town to talk to the students about the events that led up to the American Revolution.

*Lunchtime included traditional chicken and dumplings (a staple in colonial times, since most colonists always had the ingredients), scalloped potatoes (a Pennsylvanian creation), corn (plentiful!), biscuits and apple turnovers, says Bash.

*And finally, Bash notes, “the kids retired back to their classrooms tired, with full bellies, to finish off the day with colonial crafts.”

Check out some photos of the event:

Girls and their moms were ready to roll at the Skate Date.

About 130 Fremont girls along with their moms skated the evening away at the Mother/Daughter Skate Date last Saturday.

“The mothers and daughters showed up ready to skate in matching shirts and hairdos!” says event organizer Christina Martin, who serves at PTA’s Social Chair. “The roller rink was full of smiles and fun.”

Besides rolling around and around the rink at the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale, the gals took part in the Hokey Pokey and the “Four Corners” skate game, Martin says.

Check out some photos from the event:

Congratulations to the April Citizens of the Month!

The theme for the month was Loyalty.

Here is the list of honorees:

First Grade: Josie Bryan, Jackson Greninger, Maia Krusee-Leaver, Raymond Mirzayan.

Second Grade: Emily Aghajani, Brian Hyun, Rachel Park, Reese Sion, Sammy Villasenor.

Third Grade: Heidi Apkarian, Joey Blumberg, Mason Faunce, Leif-Ansell Shomali.

Fourth Grade: Nathalie Lai, Eva Marta, Dylan Wilbur.

Fifth Grade: Alyssa Kim, William Moosakhanian, Jonathan Sanchez.

Sixth Grade: Sasha Clark, Maria Dzulfyan, Roxy Raad.

Ms. Anglin’s Class: Zachary De Vera-Drew.

Mrs. E. Rivera’s Class: Andrew Arellano.

How do you make the best tie-dye milk? Read below to find out.

At this year’s Science Fair, students displayed projects on topics ranging from plant growth and tsunamis to static electricity and “tie-dye milk.”

“It’s really wonderful to see the imagination and critical thinking skills the students have to utilize to produce such impressive projects,” says Mrs. Christin Walley, Principal.

The annual event showcases science projects created by students in grades four through six.

Here’s a look at some of the big mysteries that piqued the curiosity of the sixth-graders:

*Which soda — Sprite, Coke, Crush Orange or Mountain Dew — will spew the most liquid when shaken up? Students Princie Kim and Maddie Bunting found that Sprite spewed the most liquid because of its higher pH level and carbonation.

*What’s the best way to stop the browning of apples? Lemon juice works better than apple cider vinegar, according to an experiment conducted by Hannah O’Keefe and Jenna Savona.

*How do you make the best tie-dye milk? Kelly Moore and Catherine Boss experimented with whole milk, 2 percent milk, fat-free milk and almond milk to see which one interacted the most with dish soap and food coloring to create the greatest explosion of color. The winner: whole milk. “The secret is the FAT in the milk!!” the students concluded.

*If you put a hunk of meat in Pepsi and another hunk in Coke, which piece will dissolve faster? Coke worked better, according to Christian Keith and Hughie Keith.

*Do different colors of hair affect how much static electricity is produced? Martin Adamian, Aaron Wilson and Zander Bakunowski rubbed balloons on hair of different colors and determined that color doesn’t matter so much as whether the hair type is thin or thick.

Check out some more photos of the science projects that were recently on display in the auditorium:

Students dressed up like folks from the Gold Rush era.

Dressed in bandanas and boots, the fourth-graders stepped back in time during the annual Gold Rush Day last Friday.

“Gold Rush Day is a great way to ‘live’ the history of the Gold Rush era,” says Melanie McKinnell, a fourth-grade room parent. “And this year, all three classes did the event together — very fun for all.”

Among the day’s highlights:

*Local Sparr Heights resident Dave Griffith, aka the “Montrose Miner,” showed the children various mining tools, says McKinnell. “He himself goes gold mining often in search of the next big find,” she notes.

*Students saw a live presentation from History Comes To Life. “The actor was very talented and informative and not only told the children about the Gold Rush but also about the California Missions and how they came to be,” McKinnell says.

*In the classrooms, students performed plays about various people of the Gold Rush, and their performances “were received with thunderous applauses from the watching parents,” says McKinnell.

*Students feasted on a festive lunch of hot dogs, baked beans, corn bread and molasses cookies.

*In the afternoon, students participated in a fun “shaving” activity, with the kids using Popsicle sticks and shaving cream to “shave” each other’s faces — leading to lots of giggles, says McKinnell.

*The day concluded with a video of the Gold Rush era.

Gold Rush Day was indeed a golden day for this year’s fourth-graders.

“We’re are lucky to have such a dedicated team of fourth-grade teachers who put in the countless hours of work to make it happen,” says Betsy Wilbur, another fourth-grade room parent and next year’s PTA President.

Check out some photos of the event:

Congratulations to the following students for being Write on Target!

Here is the list of students selected as the Writers of the Month for March, followed by some of their writings about favorite traditions, places and school days:

Kindergarten: Natalia Jimenez, Audrey Kim, Devon Li.

First Grade: Jovie Ayranjian, Liam Macasaet, Ginny Spiotto, Edwin Vartanian.

Second Grade: Jack Bunting, Ben Elster, Lori Mehdikhani, Tyana Tran, Jacob Zimmer.

Third Grade: Sophia Avelar, Griffin Moralls, Ciaran Pierce, Aaron Voskani.

Fourth Grade: Claire Farmer, Niko Pravikoff, Keegan Schmit.

Fifth Grade: Roy Ernster, Michael O’Gara, Tristan Schmit.

Sixth Grade: Alvin Kang, Nick Mazen.

“My favorite tradition is Easter. I like Easter because there is so many fun things to do.

First of all my family and I have an Easter egg hunt and it is really fun. My parents hide the eggs and they are really good at it. My sister and I have a race to see who has the most eggs.

After that all my cousins come over and play a game with eggs. How you play the game is to crack the other person’s egg without cracking yours. The person who has the cracked egg loses.” – Aaron Voskani, Third Grade.

“My favorite family tradition is when we all drive up to Knott’s Berry Farm to spend time with each other and enjoy ourselves. We love the dry rides, wet rides, and we all spend the night at a fancy hotel…” — Ciaran Pierce, Third Grade.

“My favorite place is my back yard. My back yard has green grass and a huge pool. It looks very huge and very pretty. It is very lovely and very buttyful. I like my back yard because it is fun.” — Jovie Ayranjian, First Grade.

“My favorite place is my house. It is a fun and cool place to be. It has a grey tV and a small door. It looks like a beautiful and pertty house. I like my wonderful house because it has large beds.” – Liam Macasaet, First Grade.

“My favorite place is Descanso Gardens. It is hot, fun and beautiful. Descanso Gardens has a lot of green and plants and a lot of friendly creatures. It looks fun and exiting. I had a good time at Descanso Gardens.” – Edwin Vartanian, First Grade.

“The time I had the best day ever was at school durring Valentine’s Day. First of All, The class passed out treats and candy after lunch. I brought lemon cupcakes my mom and I made. And another kid, Andre brought pretsls to share with the class. The pretsl Andre made were great…” – Tyana Tran, Second Grade.

“My best day at school was the first day. To begin with I nervously walked into class. I had to look for my desk. After that we where told what we would be learning. Now we know a little bit more about room 29. Finally we get to work. I thought most of our activities where fun. That was my best day in school because we learned many amazing things.” – Jacob Zimmer, Second Grade.

Thank you to everyone who donated canned and boxed food goods to the Spring Food Drive!

The Fremont community donated five large boxes of food last month, which were then collected by the Salvation Army to be distributed to families in need in the Glendale area, says PTA Food Drive Chairperson Yvette Caudillo.

The Fremont PTA participates in a biannual food drive in coordination with the Glendale Council PTA, she notes. The Fall Food Drive was held in November.

Congratulations to the March Citizens of the Month!

The theme for the month was Trustworthiness.

Here is the list of honorees:

First Grade: Tristan Caluag, Brandon Kim, Aurora Snyder, Sanjana Sudhir.

Second Grade: Nicholas Cabalo, Makayla Graham, Mercy Prather, Ryan Raad, Summer Ruyle.

Third Grade: Catie Gallagher, Sierra Greninger, Devon Medina, Lauren Ryder.

Fourth Grade: Aren Ouzounian, Grace Suh, Aline Zargarian.

Fifth Grade: Polin Crete, Devon Keshishian, Shaelin Pierce.

Sixth Grade: Maddie Bunting, Christian Keith, Kaitlyn Ryder.

Ms. Anglin’s Class: Shane Johnson.

By Jim Schmit, PTA Blood Drive Chair

The Fremont community partnered with the American Red Cross for a record-setting blood drive on Wednesday that was dedicated to the memory of Fremont mom Sue Savona.

Loyal PTA parents helped with sign-ins and set-up, trustworthy K-Kids and moms provided child care, and friendly Red Cross staff took blood as painlessly as possible during the school’s fourth annual blood drive.

Our former record of 40 usable units of blood was exceeded by one, proving that every person makes a difference.

More Red Cross staff and equipment meant much less (or no) time waiting and a more pleasant blood-giving experience. The presence of an ALYX machine for the first time allowed qualified blood donors the option of donating two units of red blood cells.

Girl Scout cookies, Dr. Livingston’s birthday cake, and the usual assortment of Red Cross goodies gave donors a rare opportunity to eat sweets without guilt.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the blood drive a success, and especially to all those people who took time out of their busy day to give blood, or at least try to do so.

See you next year!