Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy

By Ian Holbrook

The Hunger Games Trilogy symbols.

The Hunger Games Trilogy is a popular book series by Suzanne Collins. The series is about a dystopian society, made up of twelve districts, a capital and one secret underground city in the place of a no longer existing district. Every year the capital picks two children, one boy and one girl, from each district, in what is called “the reaping.” The kids are between the ages of twelve and eighteen. The twenty-four children are set up to fight to the death in an arena.

The main character is Katniss Everdeen. She is best friends with Gale Hawthorne. They go out to hunt together when they need food. Gale wants to run away with Katniss on the day of the reaping, to get away from the society that kills children for entertainment and pleasure. At the reaping, Katniss’s sister Primrose is chosen; Katniss volunteers in her place. Peeta Mellark is chosen in the boy’s place. At the end of the first book, the capital decides that a pair of children from a district can win. Both Peeta and Katniss survive, but when the capital goes back on its decision, Katniss and Peeta decide to kill themselves.  Right before they do, the capital declares them the winners. This sparks a rebellion and the start of the second book of the series, Catching Fire.

In book two, the capital decides to put only the victors of previous games into the choosing pot instead of new tributes. So Katniss, Peeta and their trainer Haymitch Abernathy are the only ones in the choosing pot. Katniss, being the only female victor from district twelve is picked and Peeta volunteers for Haymitch, who is getting old. Once in the arena, they notice that it is a clock and that every hour in a different section of the arena there is a different disaster. At the end, Katniss ends the games by shooting an arrow into the force field around the arena. It is connected to a wire that is about to be electrified by the lightning tree which is the 12:00 disaster, which causes the arena to collapses. This causes the capital to firebomb district twelve and start the full-on rebellion. This sets up book three, Mockingjay.

In book three Mockingjay, Katniss and her family move to the underground city of district  thirteen where Katniss joins the war and acts in “propos,” video propaganda that is streamed through regular television programs using hacks. While Katniss is doing this, Peeta is in captivity and being tortured by the capital to go against Katniss. The ending is not entirely happy but satisfying.

I really liked this series because the action never seems to stop. The suspense is also a major positive, because it makes things more believable in some cases. The details were good because the books told us, not just about violence, but also about nature-inflicted dangers of the games; for instance hunger, thirst and fatigue.   

I would recommend this to people ages 11 and up because of violence that may not be suitable for younger people. Readers who like stories like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and the Olympians will enjoy the Hunger Games. An overall rating for this series is 8 out of 10.

Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society

By Penny Rhoads

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?”   

   When this peculiar advertisement appears in the  local newspaper of Stone Town Harbor, in the book, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, hundreds of children apply to take a series of mind bending tests. One 11 year old boy named Renard “Reynie” Muldoon, is puzzled by the ad. Mr. Nicholas Benedict, creator of the tests, has been using them to find extraordinary children to help resolve a problem that could affect the world drastically. While Reynie is undergoing his tests the reader is being tested as well; challenged to think about life and how other people think.

   There are multiple rooms to take the same test and in the end Reynie is the only one who passes the test in his group. As Reynie takes the second test some of the other kids start freaking out and running out of the room. As Reynie reads he soon finds out the test is impossible and he knows none of the answers, but he is determined. There are 30 questions, and as Reynie comes to the 15th question, he pauses. The 1st and 15th question answer each other, this is the same for the rest of them. This is an example of the types of fun loopholes you, the reader, will find.

    Reynie is again the only child who passes the second test in his group. The woman in the room with them escorts Reynie to a hall where two other children; George (Sticky) Washington and Kate Wetherall are also waiting. From then on the three children go through two more tests together. Along the way the children meet a fourth gifted child, who is particularly advanced for her age, named Constance Contraire.

   The four children are recruited to investigate the strange brain messages coming from the “The Learning Institute for the very enlightened” or L.I.V.E, which has also used the extraordinary children to use their gifts to control people.  

    The Mysterious Benedict Society can be a very complicated and confusing book. I would suggest it would be best for 10 to 12 year olds. If you want to challenge yourself and you’re younger than ten then this could be a great book.

    I always thought the abbreviation for the academy was a little cheesy. If you write it backwards it spells E.V.I.L. This was not revealed in the book but I believe the author did this on purpose.  This is the first in a series of three books about these four kids, along with a puzzle book and a prequel book on Mr. Benedict, the organizer of these tests, who you will learn more about as you read.

   There are many puzzles and secrets ready to be read in The Mysterious Benedict Society. I would rate this book a four star out of five because it can be a little unorganized at times.

Teachers Switch It Up

By Fae Lobron

    Aubrey DiSanto, who taught the younger middle group students, had a baby in June and decided to take a year off. Jane Laties, the youngest group teacher (K-1), was running one day and thought it would be an exciting change to teach the younger middle groupers. So began the teacher switch up.

     Jane says that she is “having fun” working with the 2nd and 3rd graders (Team Polar).

Jane Laties in her classroom.

The first thing that Jane noticed about this group that is different from the K-1 was that these kids can tie their shoes and clean up after themselves. She also says that since these children can already read and write, she gets to help them grow as readers and writers by talking about the books they read, reading different kinds of books and writing a variety of stories. This is a wonderful change for Jane since she has been teaching K-1 for 23 years and she had been teaching the youngest group  at Project Learn School (PLS) for 13 years. Jane says that her way of teaching has not changed because of the different age but the curriculum has.

    At PLS the name of the group is very important to the students this was especially true for the kids in Jane’s Group (K-1) from last year. It was important to them that they not be called “Jane’s Group” because they didn’t want to be known as the youngest students in the school.  Since a lot of people are used to Jane’s group being the youngest kids at PLS, it was important to change the group name. When the kids were choosing the name for the group Jane realized that the older kids didn’t mind if Jane picked the name for them but the newer, younger kids wanted to pick the name themselves. All together they decided that they would be called ‘Team Polar’, which seemed to fit perfectly since Team Polar will be learning about Antarctica and the Antarctic explorers this year with Liam Gallagher, the science teacher at PLS.

     When Jane was in second grade she had a teacher named Ms. Sokena, who she absolutely loved and that was the year that she realized that she wanted to be a teacher but in third grade she had the teacher who she “most disliked” because she cracked her gum.  Jane went to a public school when she was in 2nd and 3rd grade which was a  very different way of teaching compared to how she teaches at PLS. When Jane was in first and second grade they were always given what they had to do. She was taught at a desk, in front of chalk board. This is very different in comparison to how she teaches now at PLS, which is often on the floor with arts and crafts and small plays. For homework, Team Polar keeps their reading book and a journal to record things in the book that they thought were funny through pictures or words. For math usually the students bring home an activity that they did in class.

    Last year Jane had a helper, Dorian Dean, who was a great help. When Aubrey decided to take a maternity leave and Jane took her job, Dorian accepted the opportunity to teach the youngest (K-1) kids on her own.

Dorian Dean with one of her students, Alma.

    Dorian likes teaching K-1 and thinks it will make her a better teacher in the future. When she is talking to the kids or explaining something to them she talks clearly, firmly and with short sentences so that they know what’s happening and they do it in the time that they have. She loves teaching this age because they are full of wonder and curiosity and the love to learn.

    When Dorian took the job she knew it would be hard but she didn’t realize how much effort and practice it would take to teach this age group. Dorian thinks that the most exciting part of teaching the K-1 students is being part of their learning experience and getting to see them grow.     

    Dorian has been teaching for eight years as an after school art teacher.  She did a residency as a professional artist and worked with the K-1 group at Wissahickon Charter School in their after school program. Last year was the first time Dorian taught full time.

    She says that there is a different schedule and she has more time to do the activities and she has to prepare for a full day instead of one or to projects.

     When Dorian was this age she went to a Waldorf school for half of the year and then went to a public school the other half. She remembers Waldorf being more relaxed and in the public school there was a lot of chaos with 35 students in her class. This is one of the things Dorian likes about PLS - there is a lot of time for the kids to work in a relaxed way. This year the kids in Dorian’s Group are looking forward to their theme, Birds, this year.

     All of the teachers seem to be very happy with the rearrangement and everyone in the community is very happy for Aubrey and her family for having her baby, Lucien.

Blogging a Hit on the Third Floor

By Nadja Anderson-Oberman

One post! Two posts! Many posts - each week! This year Jane Laties is taking on the 2nd and 3rd grade group, and has decided to create a blog for her class,Team Polar. They decided to name themselves Team Polar, because in past years Jane has taught kindergarten and first grade. Her group didn't want to be thought of as Jane’s group, and the youngest group in the school. Also they’re studying Antarctica, so the group name choices had to tie into that.

A post from Team Polar's Blog by Maggie.

   Team Polar are avid bloggers. With Jane by their side, in case they need help. On the blog, the children post pictures instead of  long entries. Usually they post short comments about the pictures. Jane’s goal is for everyone to be able to post their own comment by the end of the school year. The blog is on a Google Doc that Jane has shared with all the Team Polar parents. Parents can comment but can’t edit.

    On their blog, the kids can post anything school appropriate. With two new bloggers each week they’ve been blogging for about two months, and so far they've posted everything from pictures of the class’s pet guinea pigs, Oreo and Reeses, to pictures of kids presenting their summer focus projects. Sydney J, one of Jane’s fantastic bloggers said, “My favorite pictures to post are landscapes. I haven’t posted any yet but next time it’s my turn to blog I’ll post lots of landscapes.”

   Blogging is a job on Team Polar’s job chart, which they do in pairs. The blog helps the Team Polar parents get to know some of the children in that group. It also helps them see what their kids are doing in class, like the group living agreement, cooking, and writer’s workshop. The parents love seeing their kids posts, and learning about their classes and classmates. One parent, Elmeka Henderson,  is especially excited about the blog. “I love that the kids are the ones who get to blog. Seeing what the kids are doing in class is really cool,” Elmeka commented.

Focus on a Student: Dannan Murphy

By Nadja Anderson-Oberman

 

Dannan M. in her classroom.

This school year, Lisa Pack, the fourth and fifth grade group teacher at Project Learn School (PLS) has a class of only eight kids. One of the new, younger students, Dannan Murphy, likes being in such a small class. “When there are less kids in my class, I feel  like I have more focus than when there are more kids,” Dannan commented. “With less kids, Lisa can focus more on me than she could if she had 15 other kids that also need help,” she added.

  One thing unknown about Dannan is that this isn't her first year at PLS. Dannan went to PLS in 2009, but left in 2010 to go to Greene Street Friends School. “I didn't like going to Greene Street Friends. The teachers were really strict. That’s one of the reasons that I left and came back to PLS this year (2014-2015),” Dannan said. Even though Dannan was at Greene Street Friends, her brother, Jimmy Murphy, continued to go to PLS.

  Outside of the classroom, you can often find Dannan hanging out with her friends or dancing. Dannan is currently taking jazz lessons at the Wissahickon Dance Academy. She used to be interested in ballet, but now she is more interested in jazz. She’s been dancing for about three years.

 Inside the classroom, you can find Dannan enjoying herself the most during Social Studies and Geography. Overall, she loves all of her classes. So far, she really likes Lisa’s group, and Lisa of course. Dannan loves Lisa’s classroom, and feels like it’s an ideal learning environment for her. She is happy that she decided to come back to PLS and enjoys laughing, playing, and learning with Lisa and her group.

Climbing to New Heights!!

By Ian Holbrook

Years ago there was a metal climber at Project Learn School (PLS), which was removed in the summer of 2009 after a tree fell onto it. The loss of this climber upset the students. Last year, the Development Committee held some fundraising events intended to raise money for a new climber. There are four people on the committee:  Aubrey DiSanto, teacher of 2nd and 3rd grades at PLS who is currently on maternity leave, Laurance Rosenzweig, father of Mei R, sixth grade student at PLS, Melissa Klein, mother of Tani K, 3rd grade student at PLS, and Kathleen Karhnak-Glasby, mother of Tim and Alma K-G, fourth and second graders at PLS. First there was a book fair, but this did not work to raise money because the committee did not know that it would only get Scholastic credit. Next the Development Committee asked for donations by using letters given out at grandparents day; this fund raised $3,500 when they were only looking for $3,000.  The money was raised very fast.

A dome climber was what the students were interested in. It was to be installed before school started this year but there was not enough clearance space. Clearance space is the safety space needed so kids do not bang their heads on the nearest object if they fall off the climber.  The committee's solution for this problem was to add to the existing climber instead of purchasing a new one. This extension will need to be installed by a specialist from Kompan, the playground experts. The committee is investigating what kind of extension can be bought with the amount of money that was raised. New insurance will not be needed to get the new climber. 

Students at PLS hope to see a new climber soon and also appreciate the Development Committee’s great efforts to work towards this goal.  

Fridays Are Lunch Sale Days

By Tia Simone

Donna Waxler in line for mashed potato and topping sale.

Mashed potatoes, spaghetti, taco’s, and soup - oh my! These are the things that you can buy on Friday’s at Project Learn School (PLS). The eighth graders Ma’ayani GK, Kennedy AL, and Jim M, host weekly lunch sales in order to raise money for their trip to Costa Rica in April. These weekly sales have been going on for about four years. Going to Costa Rica requires a certain amount of money and these sales help provide that money.

      Food sale ideas are generated by the kids and when there’s one that everybody likes, then the sale is repeated. This years have been tested, with the help of the teachers, Liam Gallagher and Joan Fox. They all run smoothly. Last year, there were ten eighth graders and this year there are three, so it is a little bit easier to cook. However, since there are so few eighth graders, the seventh graders help serve.

      Joan is in charge of buying the ingredients. She uses some of the profit from the week before to purchase them. The teachers try to make it a goal to have a reasonable price for the sales, plus make enough profit that helps the cost for Costa Rica. The cost of each weekly meal is five dollars. The teachers make it a goal to not go over that price.

    Project Learn has recently gotten a new kitchen. Teachers and students have said that it’s a great help to the lunch sales, and using the kitchen in general, because it’s more spacious. The new stove, because it is a six burner, helps also because some of the meals require big pots. The old stove was too small, so the pots wouldn't always fit. Now that there is a bigger stove with six burners, cooking with bigger pots runs a lot smoother.

    “It’s kind of happier in there. More cheerful. The space just makes your spirits higher, you know, cooking is more fun in there. The sink also has been more helpful because it’s easier to wash dishes.” Joan says.

    Check out the weekly sale - it may just be the perfect meal!