The Sandburg Scoop Volume I, Issue 5 April 2017 SIX FLAGS - A SANDBURG ‘GREAT ADVENTURE!’ On Friday, April 21st, the Sandburg delegation hit the road to Six Flags-Great Adventure for at least the 24th time in school history. (No one here can say for sure beyond that, but it definitely goes back that far!) Originally, the Sandburg trips to Six Flags were a 9th grade trip that was taken on a Saturday. Needless to say, a lot of things have changed. Mrs. Welke, our 7th grade Science teacher, gave the Scoop a little background on the history of the trip. “I have been here for 24 years and there has been a Six Flags trip every year. It started (before I came to Sandburg) as a 9th grade trip the Saturday after the 9th grade dance. This was always the first weekend in June. It remained a 9th grade exclusive up until the 9th grade was moved to the high school. I became a teacher on an 8th grade team and we continued the trip for our team. It was moved to one of the ‘Physics Days’ which are during the week. Very shortly after that it became a whole school trip.” As they say, “ . and the rest is history!” According to Mrs. Kelly, 650 students were a part of this year’s excursion - a large number to keep track of in a huge amusement park! Park-goers loaded onto 15 buses to make the trip. With the exception of a minor accident with one of the buses on the way home, there were no incidents. Mrs. Kelly and Mr. Albarran were extremely proud of the way students handled themselves throughout the day. Even the dreary weather didn’t dampen the Sandburg SPIRIT! There is so much that goes into planning a trip of this magnitude. Planning begins as the school year begins. Information is gathered about dates, times, transportation, and prices. Fundraising is a huge part of making the trip a reality. Students who took part in the Magazine Drive in the fall were able to lower the cost of their trip based on the amount they sold. Chaperones had to be organized. It is important to acknowledge that this trip would not have been possible without the wonderful chap- erone volunteers. All of the ladies in the office played important roles in getting everything ironed out that needed to be. Mrs. Kelly wanted to be sure that Mrs. Jackson was thanked for being the one to deal with all of the kinks and unexpected problems that may have otherwise gotten in the way of the trip’s success. She is grate- ful for such supportive people who worked with her daily to make the trip happen. Just checking out the pictures we received, it was obvious that everyone who went on the trip had a great time. When Sandburg does something . it does it right! SANDBURG’S READING OLYMPIANS ROCK! On Thursday, April 20th, Sandburg’s 7th and 8th grade Reading Olympics team - One Book,Two Book, Red Book, Blue Book - scored an impressive Second Place finish earning a Red Ribbon in the competition held at Cecelia Snyder Middle School in Bensalem. Their rib- bon will join those earned by the 5th and 6th grade teams - the Bookworms and the Reading Warriors - which competed on March 29th at the high school. The two grades competed as one team in the competition. The 7th graders who com- peted were: Parneet Dhillon, Lydia Ermer, Corinne Lobecker, Joseph McManus, Khushi Patel, Prapti Patel, and Kaitlyn Saaybe. The 8th grade team members were: Alyson Czechura, Brian Lee, Madison Neiman, Skye McDermott, and Samuel Zercher. All of the participants from 5th through 8th grade can be proud of all the hard work they put into the SIX FLAGS T-SHIRT CONTEST preparation and participation in the competition. Once again - you have all shown Sandburg SPIRIT! You SHOWS OFF MORE SANDBURG TALENT have made us all proud. Several months ago, Sandburg students had the chance to design IN MASON’S HONOR a t-shirt that was to be worn by all of the students who were going on In March, Sandburg lost one of its brightest the Six Flags-Great Adventure trip. The design competition was open to any student from 5th through 8th grades. stars, Mason Allen. To honor his memory, Al- pha Kappa Alpha Sorority - Omega Zeta Ome- Design entries were received from more than a dozen students. ga Chapter donated two books to be added to The competition was tough, with all entries showing off a great deal of talent. After viewing some amazing entries, sixth grade student Tara the school library in his name. Knowing Mason Bogansky’s design was selected. Above you can see Tara and the loved sports, the books selected are both bulletin board located outside the office which has the original design sports-related. Catching the Moon– The Story that was submitted, and one of the t-shirts displaying her winning of a Girl’s Baseball Dream (by Crystal Hub- work! Tara was overjoyed when she found out she won. She never bard), and Baseball Genius (by Tim Green and thought she would win. “No, it was crazy. I just entered thinking I was entering, not that I would win.” GREAT JOB, TARA! Derek Jeter) have been added to the shelves for all to enjoy. Many thanks! MARCH STUDENTS OF THE MONTH IT’S DEBATABLE! In This Issue: On Thursday, April 27th, Sandburg’s Debate Club proved they knew their ‘stuff’! In the Neshaminy Middle April Events & Trivia page 7 School Debate Competition, Sandburg competed against both Poquessing and Maple Point Middle Schools. Every member Athletes in Action page 5-6 brought home a prize ribbon! Club Clatter page 2 For those who don’t know, debating is not an easy task. There is a lot of preparation involved in order to be successful. Coaches Corner page 5 Members practiced by researching chosen issues, and had to be prepared to argue both sides of that issue. For the compe- Headline News page 1 tition, the statement the teams had to debate was whether the United States should ban all experiments on animals. They Musicians on the Move page 6 had to be ready to support or defeat the statement, regardless of what their personal feelings might be. Opposing Sides page 7 Team members Aneesh Hiremath, Gracie Johnston, Aly- son Czechura, Ryan Baker, Jennifer Okwara, Christina Davis, Sandburg Poetry page 2-3 Back (l-r): Norah Duffy, Aiden Hastings, Aneesh Hiremath, Owen Krapf. Joseph McManus, Cassidy Fencl, Jillian Fuhrmeister, Reilly Super Staff page 2 Front (l-r): Ethan Olson, Vivienne Evans, Alexis Ocasio, Elizabeth Kollock. Parker, Tyler Dowis, Rebecca Kim, and Victoria Marciano, brought home one blue ribbon, three red ribbons, and one yellow ribbon. Now you’re talking! SUPER STAFF TUNING IN WITH MRS. PHILLIPS SHE’S HERE, SHE’S THERE, SHE’S . MRS. FILOON By Rah’asia Corzen By Ran’asia Corzen Tucked in down at the end of A Hall is a talent powerhouse. From September For the last 7 years, Mrs. Filoon has been a well-known face around the Sandburg building. through March she can usually be found after school in the auditorium. If you haven’t She has worked with a majority of the teachers in the building, and is always on the move. Mrs. guessed yet, I’m talking about Mrs. Phillips. Filoon can usually be found helping a student, having fun at Buddy Since 1993, Mrs. Phillips has dedicated her life to exposing kids to different kinds of Club, or playing ping-pong with the students in the club after school. music in the Neshaminy School District. Mrs. Phillips has been teaching here at Sand- She has been a part of the Neshaminy School District since 2001. burg since 2004. Prior to that, she taught at Poquessing Middle School in Neshaminy, She worked at Herbert Hoover before coming to Sandburg. She and Lanoka Township High School in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey (near Tom’s River) decided to be a teacher’s aide because it worked with her children’s for one year. schedule. She was able to work while they were in school, and be at Mrs. Phillips’ love of music all started when she was five years old and learned how home in time for them when they came home. Her favorite part of to play the piano. That, combined with her love of teaching others how to play music, her job is when the students understand her sense of humor. shaped her goal of becoming a music teacher. Everyone who knows her knows that her family is very important Mrs. Phillips grew up in the Neshaminy\Langhorne area. She graduated from to her. Every day she goes home to her husband, John, and her pet Neshaminy High School and then went on to study at dog. She has three sons and the oldest one just got married. Millersville University. She earned her Bachelors de- Mrs. Filoon is a big help with ping-pong and Buddy Club. This is gree in Music Education, and a Masters Certificate in because Mrs. Filoon thinks of Buddy Club as play and not work. She Music Technology. likes to do activities and to help the students with them. Ms. Alberts, Each year, in addition to teaching classes, she has who runs the Buddy Club with Mrs. Filoon and Mrs. Klemick, had this to say about her: “She is a been involved with every Sandburg Musical production joy to work with. She is so helpful and creative.