Mike Artell, author

Mr. Artell visited our students today, and he is a funny guy! We enjoyed learning more about him, listening to parts from some of his books, and learning some tips on drawing.

We learned that he lives near New Orleans, Louisiana, and that he can talk in a great Cajun accent!

A great drawing tip Mr. Artell gave us is: "Don't draw what you know. Draw what you see."

Team Impact

This morning we had an awesome assembly to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.  A group named Team Impact came and performed some awesome things to show how strong they are.  They did things like bend a steel bar, break a baseball bat in two, and rip a phone book in two.  Their strength was very impressive!  Then they spoke to us about working hard to achieve our goals and dreams and to not let anyone or anything steal our dreams.  You can do anything if you work hard enough.  They also talked to us about bullying and how it will NOT be tolerated in our school.  We learned that hurting someone physically is bullying, but using unkind words can also hurt them emotionally, and that is bullying, too.  Here are some things we learned from today's assembly:

Zarko:  Don't let people steal your dreams.

Ivana:  Real friends won't be mean to you or bully you.

Renee:  You can't let anybody take your dreams.

Emily:  If somebody is bullying you, tell someone.

Tara:  Don't be a bully.  Don't make fun of people's names.

Ayden:  Words can hurt people.

RJ:  If you see someone being a bully, go tell someone like a grown up.

Kathryn:  It doesn't matter if you're different.  Just be yourself.  If someone is calling you names, tell a big kid like your brother or sister.

Nicholas:  Be yourself.  Don't be a bully to anybody.

Vedant:  Don't give up for your dream.  Words are powerful.

Ian:  Drugs can steal your dreams.

Christian:  Don't use drugs to make your muscles big.  Tell an adult if someone is bothering you.

Kevalya:  If someone calls you names, just ignore them.

Trevor:  Don't let people bully you.  Think before you say things.

Arundathi:  Think about making the right choice.  Say no to drugs.

Ella:  If someone is bullying you or laughing at you because you're not perfect at something, just pretend they're not even there.

Nandhini:  Don't take alcohol or drugs.