Try to Remember, Never Forget
By Angelina Canedo
“Holocaust means destruction of human life.” For many people, the word will be forever linked to the 1930s and 1940s. During that period, millions of Jews, gypsies, mentally ill, and others in Europe were rounded up. They were murdered and killed for no reason. The horrifying event was worse than any other example of its kind. It became known as “The Holocaust”.
During an assembly on March 14, 2019, fifth and sixth graders had a guest speaker named Sandra Scheller. She was best known for creating a book with her mother named Ruth Sax, a survivor of the Holocaust of 1941- May 8, 1945. Sadly, in December 2018 Ruth passed away, but she is now laid at the Home in Peace Cemetery by her beloved husband of 62 years, Kurt.
Ruth Sax and her daughter Sandra Scheller.
In the assembly we talked about what it was like before the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and forced people into hard labor or death for 4 whole years. Ruth had a mom, dad, grandfather, and her grandmother living with her. One day, they were listening to the radio and heard that the Nazis were going to take over Germany and kill all Jewish people. She was only 11 years old at the time and wanted to survive and live her own life. They Nazis took and broke what they could and forced them out of the home. She ended up on a train and most of her family was split apart. Consequently, she was forced to grow up fast. Ruth fortunately survived these awful circumstances.
Ruth was reborn again on June 15th, 1945 after she was in a quarantine for about 30 days. She was woken up at 6 am and was told they were free to go. She went to the Red Cross and wanted to ask if her family was alive, she was nervous that someone could have been killed. Oskar (the father) came to pick he whole family up after reuniting again. By train it would have taken them about 5 hours, but it took them 3 days instead. There wasn’t a lot of food and not hardly materials to keep them living. At Red Cross they were providing a meal and food for everyone as much as they could and loved and cared for them.
Everyone was happy to be alive and wealthy. It was Ruth’s dream to sew and knit. Years later, she won a contest for 2nd place in a sewing competition with many other women. I believe we must be grateful that this isn’t happening now and to remember the people who have passed on. And NEVER FORGET you can be your own survivor.
Newspaper columnist Angelina Canedo holds the dress worn and marked during the Holocaust.
It Takes Heart to Be a Hero!
By Alexa Valenzuela
Every year Valley Vista Elementary hosts an event called Jump Rope for Heart. The fundraiser is managed by the American Heart Association. This is a fun and exciting event where students learn about their heart while helping others. The Kids Heart Challenge prepares your child for success through physical and emotional well-being. Students raised money while at the same time enjoying physical fitness. Everyone jumped to fun music while getting their hearts pumping. We were able to get our pulses racing while raising awareness for heart disease especially children afflicted with heart disease. Remember to be heart healthy not just during this wonderful event, but throughout your life!
Both teachers and students showed off their jumping skills during Jump Rope for Heart!
Are you a fan of Captain Underpants? If so, then Dog Man, Lord of The Fleas is probably right up your alley!!
By Joshua Boulytchev
Dav Pilkey is a pretty famous children’s author. I am sure you have read Dogzilla, Cat Kong, Dog Breath or Captain Underpants. One of his newest books Dog Man, Lord of The Fleas will not leave you disappointed.
You will have fun laughing because the plot is super funny! So, why do I think it’s great? Well, if you have read other Dog Man book series, then you can probably see why I like this one. Even if you haven’t, you will surely enjoy this entertaining chapter book. It is full of comedy, suspense, heroes, and villains. To top it off, they have Accelerated Reader quizzes. So you can have fun reading while reaching your reading goals.
The Tether Ball History and How to Play the Game by Katelyn Bautista
Tether ball is an amazing and fun sport. It has a weird, twisted and interesting history. Tether ball was invented back in 1875. The game was originally made to practice strokes in Lawn Tennis. Lawn Tennis is like Tennis, played with a softball and on an open court. You are probably wondering why Lawn Tennis? And how? Because you’re supposed to use your hands. Well, the pole was the same, but the rope was just a rope with no chain at the top. Also, the ball was a softball and you had to use a racquet to hit the ball. The court was just a line that separated the 2 sides. Now, who invented tether ball? According to research, nobody really knows who invented tether ball, but it was invented in Britain. The tether ball in modern times was likely developed after 1895. That was after Volley Ball so that is where they got the idea to make the ball like a volleyball. As you can see tether ball has an interesting history!
Here are some of the rules for tether ball. Some of the rules may seem weird or confusing to you if you play the game. The player may only play and beat three other players in a row.
- No “ropeys” or “bottle caps”. The ball can only touch the players hands.
- No time outs, except for injuries.
- Interference stops the game.
- No kicking the ball.
- Students must use a fist or flat hand to hit the ball.
- Majority rules for dispute over play
- NO HANGING/SWINGING ON THE BALL!
KINDNESS MATTERS
By Briella Fernandez
Have you ever thought of how important kindness is? It’s very important! To celebrate this, Valley Vista recently hosted Kindness Week. During Kindness Week, students were challenged to complete a list of special kindness tasks, such as smiling at 25 people and giving a friend a nice letter. Student Council also set up a booth that you could visit during morning recess. At the booth you would write a word on a paper heart of what you think kindness means. Shortly after Kindness Week, we had an assembly for the Speech Contest. At the Speech Contest, the students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades listened to speeches by their peers. The presenters talked about how kindness and cooperativeness is important. But why is being kind important? Well, being kind is important because if everyone was rude to each other, it would be horrible! Many more wars would probably occur, friendships would break, and your feelings would be hurt. So, don’t you see why you should be kind and cooperative with others? Start a ripple of kindness with one random act of kindness!
Sixth Grade Scientists Go to The Floating Sea Lab
By Victoria Arancibia
This year, like in past years, the Valley Vista 6th graders took field trips on a boat that was a floating marine science lab. I, as a sixth grader went on such trip and I can personally tell you that it is a very fun experience. On a cool, crisp morning, our Viking crew left from H & M Landing in Point Loma. The boat we took was called The Odyssey. We did many experiments where we tested water, drew ocean samples and saw animals. One of the experiments was a mud sample, we lowered down a type of bucket that took some mud from the ocean floor and then we looked at was in the mud, such as seaweed and small crabs and other crustaceans.
Students identifying plankton.
Another experiment we did was testing how far down the sea floor was by lowering down a rope marked with black paint every meter. We even took samples of the plankton in the water by throwing down a big net and catching the plankton. Afterwards, we put the plankton on a microscope, watched it move and identified it.
Lastly, the students dropped a huge net to the bottom of the bay and hauled up all sorts of interesting sea life including an octopus, different rays, and a guitar fish. Students were given the opportunity to observe these creatures in the tanks on board and if you were brave enough…pick them up gently!! We also went around the San Diego bay and got to see the sights of the estuary and the coast. This field trip was extremely fun and informational!
Valley Vista Good News Reporter 