Upper Elementary News, Student Submissions - Rice and Beans, The Abintra Stock Exchange, the Symphony, and More!

This blog post features student submissions, with Alice as assistant editor.

Rice and Beans

By Anabel, Mallie, and Marissa      

The UE Rice and Beans Crew is so generous. Every Friday, they make a nutritious meal for the school. They go to each classroom and start the rice and cut and prepare the sides. In doing this, they learn how to make a meal, which is a very important life skill. 

Sherry has provided us with sweet potatoes for the last couple of weeks. 

Kristen Slocum helps the UE Rice and Beans Crew make lunch every week. 

The rice is made fresh at school. We make delicious sides, including a fruit and a veggie. 

Half-way through the year, students at Abintra Montessori decided that they wanted to add tortillas, so we did. Students and staff who eat rice and beans are provided with corn and flour tortillas. The students advocated for themselves and they got what they wanted.

Every two weeks, the rice and beans crew changes. We also have mentors to teach the new crew how everything works. First, Kristen shows the crew how to start the rice in each classroom. Next, Kristen demonstrates how to cut the fruits and veggies properly. Then, the crew is set free to go cook the rice and cut the veggies and fruits in the different classrooms.

Finally, at lunch time, the students chow down on some delicious rice and beans!

A special clean up crew helps clean up the rice and beans. If we have leftovers, one of the guides delivers it to someone who is in need. Anyone who has been on the crew can tell you that it is an experience they will never forget. “I enjoy working on the rice and beans crew because you get to be a role model,” said Mallie, who has had the rice and beans experience multiple times this year.                                                                                                                 

Here are some quotes from the students who eat rice and beans:

• "Rice and beans is a good opportunity for me to not bring lunch, and it's delicious and nutritious." -Reina  
• "I like the salsa with my rice and beans." -Max
• "I like the fruit."  -Lily S.      
• "It's really good and I like that you can get seconds." -Jack
• "I like how every week there is a different side." -Mori and Alice H.
• "I like the rice and how much the students volunteer and help keep things organized." -Jodi 
• "I like the extra food that they prepare for the rice and beans people. I also like being on the preparation crew and helping." -Sidney                              
• "I enjoy rice and beans. I would like more options though." -Hazel

Photos Credits: Anabel, Mallie, and Lily L.

  

Thank you goes to this week's rice and beans crew for letting us take photos: Ruthie, Olivia,  Rosemary, Kiki, Arlo, Olive, and the interns Alia and Marissa.   

Breaking News in the Stock Market!

By Max

The police of the stock market, Garrett Farley, is closing banks with students’ Abint Coins in them. He has been policing the stock market while participating in it, which is totally illegal. A group of kids (Max, Ben, and Ansel) are suing Garrett for closing a bank with $10,000 Abint Coins. They have decided to sue Garrett for $10,000 Abint Coins. Many people believe that Garrett should be sued, so a group that call themselves “The Brotherhood” stand by Max, Ben, and Ansel while they do this honorable deed. The court case is taking place this Friday so we can finally get Garrett out of the Stock Market. Max, Ben, and Ansel have retained a noble lawyer, Connor, who should help them succeed. Stay tuned to find out the verdict next week.

Publisher’s Note: The litigation process will begin on Friday, which will follow due process and may take more time than the author anticipates.

The original Abint Coin, created by Ben, photographed by Anabel

The Symphony Experience

By Olivia, Sidney, and Lillie C.

This week on Wednesday, February 27, 18 of the UE students went to the Schermerhorn to see the symphony perform ‘‘Composers of Hope.” They played six beautiful pieces by different composers from all around the world. The conductor explained how some of the composers had to conquer obstacles just to get to do what they love and are passionate about, and how their music inspired hope in others. All the different instruments played a different role in the performance. We all enjoyed this extraordinary performance very much. One of our Abintra parents, Chris Farrell, played a part in the symphony. Chris played the viola, and we all got to see him play.

The composers were so passionate about their music. Amy Beach learned how to play piano before she could talk, but her husband only allowed her to do two concerts a year because he thought that it was improper for girls to perform. After her husband passed away, she started to write more and more of her own music for other people to enjoy. Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from loss of hearing, but despite his deaf situation, he still composed and continued to write other pieces of music. Even though he faced many, many obstacles, he continued to show people that he could still do what he loved even though he had lost something. John Williams is a very, very, gifted man. He had composed the music in Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Schindler's List, which was performed in the Composers of Hope Concert, and many more. Other composers whose works were performed were Jean Sibelius, Felix Mendelssohn, and William Grant Still.

Comments:

"I really liked that when they were talking about Ludwig Van Beethoven, they said that he couldn't hear anything, so they played their instrument but they didn't make a sound so it would feel like we couldn't hear anything just like Beethoven. It was really cool." -Olivia

"I loved the symphony because it was very, very, peaceful and the people who did it were very, talented." -Reina

"I think that even if you aren’t on the school grounds, you should be able to enjoy music in your own time. I am so glad that everyone who wanted to go got to enjoy the experience. We are so glad that a lot of other children got the opportunity to attend the symphony and experience what we did. This was truly an amazing experience." -Sidney

HELP WANTED!

By Dot

We are going to start having comics in our newsletter, but our artist needs some help thinking of characters. Therefore, we need YOU to decide! You, yes YOU, can enter a character for the comics! Here are the rules:

1. The character must be old enough to be in UE, but CANNOT be a real student.
2. Said Character does not need to be human, (ex: Anthropomorphic Fox, Water Nymph, Elf) but must stand on two legs and be able speak/talk.
3. You are REQUIRED to describe how they look, give them a name, and they must fit into one of the following categories

• The Silly One
• The “Normal” One
• The Overconfident One
• The Shy One

You can either hand in a paper copy to Dot, or send an email to jonell.smith@abintra.org.

Contest ends on March 8th, 9:30 AM