March 2016 PS11 Paper
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MARCH 2016 VOLUME VIII PHOTO BY NANDINI BAINS a rancher four years ago. Argentina is in South America. One day, while the rancher was searching for one of his lost sheep, he stumbled upon an old and mysterious bone. Once the ranch- er found the bone, he went to a muse- um and asked paleontologists to help him look for other dinosaur bones. Of course they said, “yes,” because there have been lots of dinosaur finds in Ar- gentina and one bone usually comes along with other bones. When they were finished, not only did they find one Titanosaur, but they found six of them in the same area. In order to get them out, they had to build a new road, so all the bulldoz- ers, tractors, cranes, etc. could travel from the main road to the site and back. This large machinery was used to dig down and around faster. Then, once they got near the bones, they had to transition to small tools, like small picks, chisels and dust brushes, because they might break the very fragile bones by crushing them with big tools. They knew when to tran- sition because the outer layer’s color and texture changed. The Titanosaur was the biggest animal to ever walk on the plan- Terrific Titanosaur et. It was 30 feet longer than a blue BY LUC BASMA AND JENSEN KREBS whale, and it could reach the top floor of a 5 story building–that’s 46 Have you ever wanted to discover a exhibit space. Nobody knows what feet. It would have been even bigger new dinosaur? Try going to Argen- color it was. It could have been red, if it hadn’t died as a young adult. It tina. A rancher there discovered a yellow, black, green or some other weighed as much as 10 African ele- 122-foot long Titanosaur. Assembled color. What we do know is that it’s phants. It lived 100 million years ago from 84 fossil pieces, it is now held one titanic discovery. and it was a herbivore. That means in the American Museum of Natu- The Titanosaur was discovered in it was a plant eater. It is the best pre- ral History and is a bit too big for its the Patagonia region of Argentina by continued on page 2 1 PAPER MARCH 2016 PHOTO BY PAULINA BODIN TITANOSAUR continued served Titanosaur because it had all its bones when it was found. January, 2016 was the first time they showed the Titanosaur in the Muse- um of Natural History. It’s so big that it can’t fit in a single room of the mu- Questions seum. Part of its 39-foot neck sticks with... out of the exhibit room. The display is made out of fiber glass because the real fossil bones are made out of rock Stephen Roylance and are too heavy to display. They scanned the real fossil bones to make 3-D models that are not as heavy. It 1. How long have you been a science teacher? took the scientists 6 months to com- science teacher at P.S. 11? I love to work with kids. I love plete the scanned model. There are 5 11 years. science. I want to express my real fossil bones in the museum, and excitement with kids. at the end of 2016, they will be given 2. Do you have a science degree? back to Argentina, where they found I have an arts degree. I took lots 8. Do you think Leonardo da the bones. Scientists will use this di- of science courses in college and Vinci was more of an artist or nosaur to learn new things about oth- astronomy courses. scientist? er dinosaurs like their size, weight, He was both. He was a creator, so color, the foods they ate, and the size 3. What is your favorite branch of you create in art and science. of their brain. science? A. Physics/Astronomy. When you 9. Who is your favorite scientist think about the universe and how in history? big it is, and how we came to be, it Albert Einstein. St. Patrick’s blows the mind. contest! 10. Tell me about one of your 4. What is your favorite book? proudest moments in life. Please print out the Paper, Whatever book I’m reading now. I have lots of moments I am proud staple it and read every The Elegant Universe. A Wrinkle of. The first one is the teaching I page. Wherever you see in Time, when I was a kid. do. The second one is that I can the word “green,” CIRCLE do the yoga pose “Scorpion.” I IT, including the ones 5. What is your favorite place to play the piano every day. I’m not we’ve written here. When travel in the world? really proud of that, but I’m getting you’ve found 11 “greens,” Wherever there are lots and lots better at it. Also, long, silent please write your name of birds, like in Central America retreats. and class number on the and North America. front page and drop the 11. Why does meditation help you? whole thing in the office 6. Do you have any advice for It’s something I do every day. It Paper Box by Monday, future scientists? helps me have a peaceful, open April 11. We will draw from Start wondering and never stop. and aware mind. It helps me live the entries, and if correct, in the most important time of day, the winners will get a 7. Why did you want to become a which is now. prize! Good luck!” BY JULIETTE CARASSO 2 PAPER MARCH 2016 PHOTO BY MEERA WILLIAMS Overheard at LUNCH: BY LAUREN ESHELMAN & CAROLINE STÖHRER “Well, what I think is the chick- en on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays tastes like rub- ber and plastic.” – Leila “Yes, please. I love pizza with or without toppings.” – Charles “Since I don’t like school lunch really, I just go asking for some parts of friends’ home lunch.” – Briana, Grade 4 “It was good. The mac and cheese was really tasty and the apple went well with it, although halfway through, I had a stomachache and had to go to the Ryan Center.” – Liliana “I don’t know. I didn’t have Leprechauns on the Loose school lunch.” – Huck BY JAMIE KAURI “It was pretty fine, but [one kid] was running around asking for P.S. 11 pre-K students were on to celebrate the life of a man who food because he was lunch- the lookout for green leprechauns helped convert many people to less.” – Chamal rumored to visit the school on St. Christianity by using green, three- “I didn’t like the lunch today be- Patrick’s Day, March 17. They made leaf clovers to explain the holy trin- cause there was only a cheese traps to catch the leprechauns, but ity, which consists of the three most sandwich, and Ms. D. told me to the traps broke and did not work. important figures in the religion. In eat the cheese, but I don’t like One of the students, Harry, said, “It Ireland, people put a green clover in cheese.” – Sam was made of a box with string and their drink to celebrate, and either “Who’s saying I have pizza? I when it went under, it [was supposed swallow the clover or throw it over have home lunch!” – Ian to have] got trapped.” Now, that’s not their shoulder for good luck. St. Pat- PHOTO BY ELI PARMETT very strong. So, you can understand rick’s Day parades started in Amer- what happened next. Harry’s class- ica in the 18th century and spread to mate, Nate, said, “The trap broke and Ireland in the 20th century. all the chairs fell.” The children said Coach Rocky, a P.S. 11 after school that even though they did not catch teacher, said he “wears green” and any leprechauns, it was a lot of fun goes “to the parade.” Ms. Leon- setting up the traps. hardt, the guidance counsellor, said Class 214 students were not the she “wore green and had Irish soda only ones having fun. St. Patrick’s bread.” Parent, Stephen Harding, Day is a very popular Irish festival continued on next page 3 PAPER MARCH 2016 Leprechauns continued marches in the parade every year P.S. 11 Lego Robotics because he is a chaplain with the NYC Fire Dept. “I like marching with people I work with,” Harding Team Wins Award said. “I like marching in a big pa- rade. I like waving to all the peo- BY OWEN KIVETT ple on the sides and it’s just fun.” Strangely, Otis, another after school The P.S. 11 Lego Robotics team grammed. teacher, said that he “bakes cookies took home the Inspiration Award at Each team got three chances to run and hides $100” for himself! the FLL NYC Regional champion- missions in front of the judges. There ships held at the Javits Center. This was a huge crowd of spectators competition is the year’s biggest Lego watching. The crowd chanted, “3-2-1 event in NYC. A total of 80 teams Lego,” and then the team pressed the from all five boroughs competed in button to start the robot. the 4th to 8th grade age group. The Coach Melinda Dibner comment- P.S. 11 team included just 4th and ed, “Learning to cooperate and be 5th graders. Teams had to qualify at there for each other and respect each a local tournament, first.