Go Green Tips- Fishy Business

By: Christine Toorinjian

               Hello and welcome to this month’s go green tip! Warning: This month’s tip is a little out of the blue, so don’t get confused if you realize that you are starting to read about super markets and dolphins. Remember, this blog is based on not only things our school has to offer to you to stay green, but many non-related tips to help you become part of the solution to many global problems. With that being said, let’s move on shall we?

This month’s tip: “Tune in to Tuna”. Okay, so by now, I know what you’re thinking. What the heck does that mean? Well, here’s the break down. This tip is more pushing towards animals, not really the planet in particular, but hey, this month’s tip is this month’s tip. Moving on here’s the problem. You know how you’re in the super market (or a store that sells food), and you’re like, hey, I feel like buying some cans of tuna. It may seem like you know what you’re doing, and your just buying some fish that you may, or may not eat later, right? Wrong. For 50 years now, it has been estimated that around 7 million dolphins have drowned due to being entangled in fishermen’s nets. How you may ask? Well the answers simple. First off, tuna like to swim beneath, where I like to say “the dolphins play”- hey that rhymes! Anyways, because of the fact that dolphins are easier to see than the tuna beneath them, they’re often mistaken to be the tuna FISH. Isn’t that crazy? I mean, how can you get confused with a cute, energetic marine MAMMAL (underline mammal, twice), that goes “Eeh-eeh-eeh”, with a scaly, gilled, blank staring, and usually multi-colored FISH- not to call out fish or anything. Well, that’s what this month’s tip is for, so let’s get to the actual tip.

Fast fact: Tuna have some of the highest mercury levels within them, which is given off by pollution in the ocean. So, on a totally unrelated  note, don’t litter the ocean with any harmful chemicals or just plain out litter!

Now that you know the story behind the tip, it’s time for you to actually know what it is! Here it goes. Check the label of the tuna cans you buy, it may just save a dolphins life. What I mean by this is, that ever since the “dolphin-in-the-net” problem came up, the people who truly, really care have decided to speak for the dolphins, who apparently haven’t developed means of communication between us. It’s time that you know the ugly truth. Dolphins sometimes dive (see what I did there?), their way into our tuna cans, but there is no need to worry. The people that I have mentioned before, who speak for the dolphins, the loraxes of the sea, have come up with a simple solution. By looking at the label of a can, closely, you will find an area where it says “Dolphin-safe”. This means that no dolphins were harmed in the making of the tuna. If you don’t see this, then I suggest that you put that can back on the shelf where it belongs, for the dolphin’s sake.

Benefiting not only you from not eating cute, innocent marine mammals, this tip also helps out the dolphins roaming around the big blue. I mean, who wants their remains going through the human digestive tract, taking a one way ticket to the porcelain express, in a quite unmentionable form, if you know what I mean, and then going into the great beyond, having  to experience that first? I don’t. Give dolphins the satisfactory of at least not getting eaten as their last “earthly form’s” moments. So check the can and make sure it’s dolphin free! Don’t be mean and eat dolphin spleen, be the loraxes of the sea and eat dolphin free!

               This blog is based on the book “You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways You Can Make a Difference”, written by Jacquie Wines.   

    

Extracurricular Activities

By:  Zachary Jove Caday

     Hello every one!  Did you know that our school has a lot of extracurricular activities?!  Currently we have volley ball, running club during recess, and after school golf. Participating in extracurricular activities can be very beneficial to your health. It helps you keep a sound mind and keep you physically fit. In addition to the activities mentioned before, we also have track and field. Track and field is a very competitive sport and it promotes friendly competition between participating students. It is also one of those sports that is sure to get you heart beating and keep you on the right track to being fit, which also contributes to you feeling good and positive about yourself. In track, you can participate in 3 activities which are running, softball throw and long jump. Try outs are also open to 5th and 6th graders and still start during the end of year.  More information on our upcoming volleball tournament coming soon! 

Book of the Month: Uncle Jed's Barber Shop

 By: Jayar Kipling

       Hey guys, want to know the book of the month?  Yes?  Ok!  The book of the month for August is Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop.  It’s a great book!  The story is about Uncle Jed wanting to start a professional barber shop.  The author of this book is Margaree King Mitchell.  This is a very good book for everyone to read.

I think you should read this book because it shows that Uncle Jed uses his money on Sarah Jeans’ emergency operation, and then he lost all his money, but still has a good attitude and does not give up his dream.  In this book, Uncle Jed also has an IB attribute which I think is principled. I think it is principled is because Uncle Jed is a very honest and compassionate.  I think he is principled because when he lost his money he knew that he would get it back and didn’t make a big fuss about it, that shows that Uncle Jed is a well-mannered guy and knows what to do and when to do it. My final reason for Uncle Jed being principled is because he paid for Sarah Jeans’ operation before opening up his barber shop. So Uncle Jed thinks of others before himself. That is why Uncle Jed is principled.

My favorite part of the story is when Uncle Jed lost all his money in the bank but he didn’t make a big deal about it.  It’s always nice to know that someone in your family is a person that you can always rely on. I say that because you know that person is a good person, and is always happy, so his actions won’t conflict with your actions. 

DLWOP

  
By:  Ethan Gagnon
                           
Do you think we should have DLWOP days?
                      
BEFORE READING

YES/NO (Leave your answer in comment section, share your thoughts!)    
Do you think we should have DLWOP days? That would would mean one less day of learning.  You might be thinking yay, and your parents might thinking boo. But, did you think about how you might have more work to do throughout the week? You might have more homework to do, and that would not be cool. DLWOP is directed leave without pay. We shouldnt have DLWOP because one less day of learning means more homework. It's also not fair to teachers.So think about it. Should we have DLWOP?


AFTER READING

YES/NO (Leave answer in comment section.)

JPO: VIP!

By: Zarren Oasay

What does JPO mean? Well if you don't know, then you're in luck. Why? Beause I'm the guy! JPO is an acronym for Junior, Police, Officer. JPO is a job available for 5^th and 6^th graders. Though it is absolutely NOT easy to get in. And if you think JPO is all about telling kids to sit down or put those petty little Pokémon cards away then oh, man you are WRONG!!!!!

I interviewed the most fabulous JPO advisor, Mr. Chung!

Q: What is JPO all about?

A: JPO's maintain the safety of students and staff before and after school. They do this by monitoring different areas around the campus.

SIDE NOTE: That means to listen to your fellow JPO's or else you'll get a big nasty bruise on your legs, arms or even your face!!!!! (Because of running)

Q: What are some quality traits a JPO has to have/demonstrate?

A: JPO's need to be respectful, responsible, a good listener, a good role model, and an absolutely very hard worker.

Q: How do you get into JPO?

A: You get in by filling out an application, and by having a positive teacher recommendation. Also, JPO applications go out in May of every year.

Well, there you have it. And remember that JPOs are not always about telling kids to put there Pokémon cards away (You shouldn't even have them) or to sit down. No, JPO's are out there to keep you safe. They are like angels. Okay, Okay, the main reason is that JPO's are not out there to be all bossy, but they're there to keep you safe, so I ask kindly to please listen to JPO's and you won't come home with a bruised leg. So please listen. Or else you will have a serious talk with Mr. Chung , and you should know, that you won't like it.

 

Go Green Tips

 By: Christine Toorinjian

     Welcome to go green tips! This part of the blog tells you about simple and easy ways on how to well, go green! There is almost always something new to try out, so keep on visiting for more tips on how to be green.

     This month’s tip: Donate your food scraps to some of the classes who have started vermiculture. If you don’t know what that is, here’s a simple run through on how it works. Basically, it’s raising worms and using their waste to help enrich the soil for healthier plants. Anyways, some of the classes who have started this is Ms. Firestone F-205, Ms. Correia F-204, Mr. Matsaura F-207, and Mrs. Lactaoen F-104, and they’re all in F building. Just tell them that you’ve brought some food scraps from home for the new vermiculture project, but before you do, there are some requirements on what the food needs to be and their conditions:

     #1: The food cannot be meat. It has to be all natural food, found in the ground or on trees. So, basically vegetables and fruits will only be accepted to feed the worms. Why? Because when the worms eat meat products, their waste won’t be as nutrient filled and will have developed an unpleasant smell.

     #2: The food has to be cut up into small pieces, so the worms can digest it easily and quickly. This helps us out because then we will have more worm feces. Even though this may not sound so exciting to you, it is for us, because that is the exact reason why we started this vermiculture project!

     These are the only requirements for the food that you bring in and it should be easy rounding up the food. All you need to do is ask your parents every night, or during the weekends (breakfast, lunch, dinner etc.), if they have any leftover vegetable and/or fruit scraps, or maybe even old, slightly spoiled vegetables and fruits and then put it into a plastic bag for the next day (after making the preparations to it of course!) and bring it to school. This won’t only benefit us or the worms, but it will benefit you too. By bringing in your food scraps, you will be reducing the amount of items you put into your trash and this will leave more room in your trash bag for actual trash, which will also reduce the amount of trash bags you use, also reducing plastic usage (depending on what type of trash bag you use), saving you money, and by taking up less space in landfills, by using less trash bags.

     Simple right? Well that’s it for now! Come visit again for even more go green tips.      

BOX TOPS ARE FUN!

Written by: Taryn Kanai  
Dear teachers, parents, and students,

This whole year, our school will be collecting Box Tops. If you were wondering what Box Tops are, they help our school get money for more P.E. equipment, more books, and maybe more electronics.

Before you turn it in to your teacher, make sure the Box Tops are cut out neatly and check to see if they are expired or not. This year we will be having 2 contests. The first contest will run from July 30, 2012 until December 14, 2012. The second contest will run from January 1, 2013 until May 17, 2013. Last year with the Box Tops, we got school supplies and other things teachers needed to teach their students. Last year we earned about $1,400 from all the Box Tops we collected. You can find the Box Tops on kleenex boxes, tissue boxes, binders, cereal boxes, ziplock bag boxes, cookie boxes, Nestle juice packs, fruit roll-up product boxes, Fiber-One chewy bars, fruited flavored snacks, and Hefty trash bag boxes.

An easy way to collect Box Tops are when you see one, you can cut it out then keep all of your Box Tops in a ziplock bag.  Leave the ziploc bag somewhere you will easily see and remember. For example, my grandma collects it by making little envolopes out of regular envolopes and separates the Box Tops by their expiration dates. Each time she finds one, she automaticlly cuts them out and puts the Box Tops in the correct envolope. Now go start cutting out those Box Tops, bring them to school, and help us win money!

http://www.boxtops4education.com/

Aquaponics

    By: Dasia Burr

   Have heard the news yet?! We are building an aquaponics system in the back of E building next to the peace garden! How does the aquaponics help the environment and our school you say? This helps the environment because the plants are all organic with no pesticides. It helps our school because when the plants grow we can get fresh oxygen, we can sell the vegetables when it’s ready to harvest, and have a vegetable market and make money from it, and maybe our school will be known for our healthy living style. If you could, can you please come by to see what our outdoor learning center looks like so far, or donate time to help us? If you can donate time it will be a big help for our school. There was a form sent out to your child that tells you what you can do to help. Hopefully you signed up!

Working with Light Bulbs

By:  Leialoha Bugarin

Want to save electricity and our earth? Of course you do! How will we help save electricity and our earth you wonder? Well first of all start using CFL light bulbs (swirly light bulbs) because it lasts 10x longer than the incandescent light bulbs (round ones). CFL also uses 75% less electricity than the incandescent light bulbs.

         

          In fact our school, Keone'ula will help. All you need to do is bring in your old incandescent light bulbs to our school. Then we will give you CFL light bulbs for free! Or you can give it to a student in Keone'ula who is in 6th grade, then they will exchange them for your FREE CFL light bulbs. So if you give us 3 old light bulbs we give you 3 CFL light bulbs.

          Now for some fun facts! Did you know that Hawaii uses more oil in one day than the U.S.? This is actually bad because this oil is a fossil fuel and it takes a long time to be created. So if we use too much and we run out, we won't be able to use it in a very long time. Another reason why it is bad is because we get this oil from foreign countries. Which means the oil travels on ships and if the ship sinks, the oil will spill into our ocean. If the oil spills in our ocean, corals will die, fishes will die, and then there won't be a big population of fish any more. The last reason why is because it comes from our earth, and where do we live? Earth! So please try and help our earth by participating and doing other fundraisers to save our earth.

 Thank You for Reading and for Saving Our Planet!

Vermiculture is Cool

By: Victoria Bermudez

At Keone'ula Elementary School, we have 4 worm bins for our vermiculture project.    Here are the steps to feed the worms: First you have to put in scraps of fruit and salad without the dressing on it , then you put one inch strips of newspaper (Hint : if the worms see sunlight then they might die because they will get over heated . It's a good idea to put the worm bin in the shade.). The 3rd step is to fill a bucket up with water half way and pour it in your bin evenly, then BOOM! It's finished!  What do the worms do to the food?  They eat the scraps of fruit, and when they are done with the scraps of fruit, the worm's castings make the fertilizer which we will use for the plants.