Special Sta f f Appreciat ion Issue Volume 49, Issue 1

ARB OR DAY BE AUT I FI E S BR ID GE !

May, 2007

Special points of interest:

• New PTA Officers!

• Spring Fling Coming

• Spirit Week Info

• Staff Appreciation

• Lots of Student Articles,

Photos, Poems

• Tons of Other Great Stuff

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Brake’s Take 2

May Calendar 3

Students of the Month 5

Honor Roll/Perf. Att. 6-7

Thank You! 8-11

News from the Grades 12-17

30,000 Challenge 18

B R I D G E B U G L E

“Bruno”

An Illinois Honor Roll of Schools “Academic Improvement Award” & “Spotlight School Award” Winner

A CPS “Rising Star” school, a “School of Distinction”, an

“Autonomous Management Performance School” (AMPS) and

- F I F T H A N N UA L -

BR ID G E SPR IN G FL ING CAR N IVAL

May 17th-20th

Details on page 4

If you really want to do

something, you’ll find a

way. If you don’t, you’ll

find an excuse. -Jim Rohn

Chicago Public School

Arbor Day was a good day for Bridge School. Second grade teacher Mrs. Loise wrote a De-

partment of Forestry horticulture grant which resulted in six new trees being planted in front of

Bridge School. Mrs. Loise’s second graders, along with 38th Ward Alderman Thomas Allen,

had fun participating in the Arbor Day festivities. The new tree plantings include two Autumn

Blaze Red Maples, two Flowering Pears, and two White Oak trees.

Page 2 Volume 49, Issue 1

Do you have any

ideas, suggestions,

or comments on

ways to improve our

school and the ser-

vices that our chil-

dren receive? If so,

please call, write a

letter, or see me to

share your ideas.

Your input is greatly

appreciated.

Thank You!

Dr. Brake

Students/Teachers

Staff/Parents

Would you like to

have a poem, article,

short story, event, or

other item of interest

published in the

Bridge Bugle?

Submit your item to

Dr. Brake

on computer disk

(Microsoft Word format preferred)

no later than the third

week of the month for

publication in the next

month’s school news-

paper.

BRAKE ’S TAKE

May Non-Attendance Days for Students

Monday, May 1st, 2007

&

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 Are half-day CPS Professional Development Days

Students are dismissed at 11:30

Monday, May 28th, 2007

Is Memorial Day Holiday

No School

To our newly elected

2007-2008 PTA Officers:

President Mrs. Lora Niewinski

Vice-President Mrs. Paula Guy

Secretary Mrs. Debbie Horowitz

Treasurer Mrs. Jeannie Doyle

Great People Make Great Schools!

Indicates day of non-attendance for students

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 1/2 Day

Professional

Development

11:30

Dismissal

2 3 4 5

6

7 8 Teacher

Staff

Appreciation

Day

9 10 11

School Play:

Snow White

and the Sev-

en Dwarves

12

13 14 15 16 17 18

Junior

Achievement

Day

K-4 & 7/8

19

20

21 LSC/PTA NCLB PAC

Meetings

5:30 PM

22 23 1/2 Day

Professional

Development

11:30

Dismissal

24 25

Sports

Day

26

27 28 29 Junior

Achievement

Day

5/6

30

Student

Council

Field

Trip

31 Variety

Show

May 2007

Spring Fling Carnival

Spirit Week (see page 4 for details)

Memorial

Day

Holiday

No

School

Spring

Fling

Staff Appreciation Month

Indicates 1/2 P.D. Day - 11:30 AM Student Dismissal

Learning First Testing 3rd—8th

May 17th-20th Thur. & Fri. 5:00—10:00 PM

Sat. & Sun. 12:00-10:00 PM

Ride Specials-Unlimited Rides:

Thur., 5/17 from 5:00 PM until closing

$12.00 per wristband

Sat. & Sun., 5/19&20 from Noon until 5:00 PM

$15.00 per wristband

Carnival Rides — Games — Food

Family Fun For Our Community !

Please

Support

The 5TH ANNUAL BRIDGE

SPRING FLING CARNIVAL

School Spirit Week

May 21st-25th Monday: Crazy Hair & Hat Day

Tuesday: Crazy Clothes Day

Wednesday: Flannel Pants Day

Thursday: Crazy Shoes Day

Friday: Jersey Day

Please Note: Students who participate in Spirit Week do not have to wear

uniforms during Spirit Week.

May Students of the Month

Fabian Martinez

Briana Santiago

Kienna Bariso

Nicholas Armijo

Alexandra Lopez

Allen Namrood Brian Kwiatkowski Natalie Hanek Eric Platt

Tiffany Myszkowski Veronika Piszczek Daniel Delgado Iriam Garcia

Jovanee Mejia Konrad Michalek Megan Szajna Maciej Myszka

Rafal Burgiel Anna Sczech Justyna Pikul Adrian Skobelski

Thomas Frackiel Kamil Michalek Analiss Diaz

Bridge Elementary School Students of the Month are selected for their outstanding attendance, academic performance, and conduct.

Binderiya Mitirkhangai Arsalan Muneeruddin

Room 001

Nicholas Guy

Patric Hruswicki

Room 002

Piotr Lesniak

Megan Szajna

Room 106

Angelica Jaje

Alexandra Lopez

Nara Solis

Room114

Dawid Babula

Adrianna Goral

Room 202

Azhar Deeb

Martha Gebala

Briana Green

Mark Miceli

Room 203

Amy Harenberg

Jenna Jurewicz

Paulina Kocon

John Si

Jessica Smith

Room 207

Zbigniew Pasierbek

Nicole Swiderski

Room 208

Paul Dubicki

Room 209

Dawid Bobro

Sylvia Gebala

Room 211

Dominika Duda

Filip Duda

Saul Zamora

Room 212

Agata Chojan

Dominika Wroblewska

Room 203

Leslie Aispuro

Nick Armijo

Ricardo Reyes

Kaitlyn Scanlan

Damian Wysocki

Room 204

Ezdhar Deeb

Thomas Frackiel

Room 205

Kamil Kieras

Nelson Santana

Adrian Skobelski

Freddie Villegas

Room 206

Eliana Malmin

Paul Si

Room 207

Scott Calderon

Desiree Dejesus

Steven Galiardo

Ryan Harenberg

Jessika Warjas

Room 208

Katarzyna Grolle

Anna Kielich

Karolina Krol

Kamil Michalek

Victoria Paprzycki

Aleksandra Ryndak

Room 209

Augusto Estrada

Nicholas Santos

Michael Sockol

Room 210

Patricia Delgado

Dominick Dworak

Olivia ODonovan

Erika Santana

Room 211

Bartosz Kozminski

Room 212

Arsalan Muneeruddin

Room 001

Matthew Bock

Christopher Delgado

Alejandro Gonzalez

Ricardo Herrera

Robert Jurewicz

Eryk Kania

Lauren McGuire

Maciej Myszka

Dana Rudzinski

Joshua Santos

Wayne Sobotka

Room 002

Daniel Allegretti

Anthony Barsano

Corbin Bowen

Anthony Jarvis

Katarzyna Koperny

Artana Sherifi

Room 106

Jessica Conneely

Mariusz Gorlicki

Anna Pukala

Room 114

Remah Abuhashish

Patricia Kania

Alyssa Polanco

Marcelina Puc

Cheyenne Reza

Jazmeen Rivera

Mateusz Wiechetek

Room 202

Francisco Alcantar

Angelica Gacek

Adriana Jusino

Khrystyna Kozak

Kristyn Krajewski

Jovanee Mejia

Congratulations

To Our

Scholars!

TH I R D QUA RTER S I LV ER HON O R RO LL

GO L D EN HO N OR

RO L L

Room 001

Alejandro Gonzalez

Nicholas Guy

Patric Hruswicki

Robert Jurewicz

Alexandra Kania

Eryk Kania

Karolina Lukasiak

Maciej Myszka

Room 002

Waleed Abughoush

Anthony Barsano

Corbin Bowen

Iliana Cato

Jehad Khrawish

Katarzyna Koperny

Kevin Mustafa

Justyna Szczech

Room 003

Manal Abughoush

Aman Haidari

David Hruswicki

Nur Hussein

Julia Troszczynska

Damian Pikul

Room 004

Kienna Bariso

Evelina Jaje

Daniel Lozeau

Samuel Martinez

Katarzyna Pukala

Room 101

Katherine Gacek

Julia Konieczna

Mateusz Ogorzelec

Sandra Pajda

Paulina Ryndak

Dawid Sobus

Monika Zawislak

Mateusz Zieba

Room 102

Morad Deeb

Eric Martinez

Jonathan Mejia

Liam Simmons

Christine Sprogis

Room 103

Samantha Alanis

Jocelyn Bonilla

Jakub Koperny

Eduardo Martinez

Karol Pisanko

Sandra Santhosh

Melanie Sobenes

Emily Swiderski

Room 105

Owais Abuhashish

Alexis Allen

Samantha Armijo

Justin Cruz

Konrad Gondek

Kayla Jurewicz

Shyla Solis

Kelly Tarasiewicz

Room 106 Klaudia Dobosz

Colleen Doyle

Mariusz Gorlicki

Angelica Jaje

Ewelina Krystopa

Alexandra Lopez

Ronald Orlando

Dominik Pikul

Marquez Rivera

Prespa Sherifi

Nara Solis

Yasmean Suleiman

Marlena Warjas

Mariusz Wojcik

107 AM. Daniel Alcantar

Stephanie Anguiano

Fernando Caballero

Sebastian Gembis

Anthony Guy

Nicole Hanek

Justin Munoz

Bruno Myszkowski

Konrad Strzalka

Juliette Drewniak

107 PM. Olivia Harcarik

Roberto Hernandez Jr.

Maya Konieczna

Adrian Sherifi

Alexandra Zugaj

Room 108

Patrycja Dobosz

Piotr Szczech

Bartek Zadzilko

Room 109

Sasha Aponte

Theodore Nickson

Giovanni Ramirez

Ofelia Romero

Room 111

Jose Rivera

Room 114 Remah Abuhashish

Nicholas Acevedo

Dawid Babula

Grzegorz Chlebek

Christian DeJesus

Patricia Kania

Marcelina Puc

Jazmeen Rivera

Tomasz Tutka

Room 202 Francisco Alcantar

Kielvin Bariso

Azhar Deeb

Khrystyna Kozak

Daniel Mozdzierz

Edyta Zadzilko

Room 203

Leslie Aispuro

Nicholas Armijo

Alison Cappy

Ashley Egan

Jenna Jurewicz

Kaitlyn Scanlan

Jessica Smith

Damian Wysocki

Room 204

Viviana Atempa

Thomas Frackiel

Marco Silva

Room 205

Anthony Amato

Martin Banasik

Aide Garcia

Nelson Santana

Adrian Skobelski

Room 206

Raul Gonzalez

Chad Johnson

Room 207

Edwin Castaneda

Teresa Danko

Ivan Gonzalez

Maciej Kalwajtys

Sebastian Mozdzierz

Justyna Pikul

Nicole Swiderski

Nicholas Wdowiak

Room 208 Mark Babilonia

Paul Dubicki

Kyle Enriquez

Katarzyna Grolle

Mateusz Kaczowka

Anna Kielich

Karolina Krol

Joanna Ogrodnik

Filip Palka

Lukasz Pikul

Aleksandra Ryndak

Mateusz Wilk

Room 209

Dawid Bobro

Aida Garcia

Jacob Jaroszewski

Aidan Preston

Desiree Ramos

Jakub Rogoz

Michael Sockol

Julia Starczewski

Room 210

Jomana Abuhashish

Dorian Hryniewicki

Melissa Koenig

David Lopez

Binny Mijirkhangai-Kotas

Erika Santana

David Vazquez

Room 211 Tomasz Chlebek

Dominika Duda

Jonathan Figueroa

Bartosz Kozminski

Furqan Muneeruddin

Andrew Page

John Samek

Saul Zamora

Room 212

Jeda Abuhashish

Robert Anderson

Jacob Castillo

Krzysztof Chlebek

Arsalan Muneeruddin

Jonathan Pedersen

Mercedes Reyes

Marcin Szczapa

Zinnia Vazquez

Third Quarter

Perfect Attendance

Mrs. Dotson

Kindergarten

-Super Teacher Staff-

Mrs. Anderson

First Grade

Ms. Argiris

First Grade

Mrs. Baron

First/Second Grade

(Bilingual)

Mrs. Garcia

Second Grade

Mrs. Loise

Second Grade

Mrs. Lewis

Third Grade

Mrs. Schmeisser

Third Grade

Mrs. Janiszewski

Second/Third Grade

(Bilingual)

Mrs. Harrison

Fourth Grade

Mrs. Cutler

Fourth Grade

Ms. Bermeo

Fourth Grade

Mrs. McGuire

Fifth Grade

Ms. Brown

Fifth Grade

Ms. Gilana

Fifth Grade

Mrs. Bowen

Sixth Grade

Mrs. Quintana

Sixth Grade

Mrs. Iammartino

Seventh Grade

Mrs. Naughton

Seventh Grade

Mrs. Aguilera

Seventh Grade

Ms. Hrenko

Sixth Grade

-Super Teacher Staff-

-Super Resource Staff-

-Super Ancillary Staff-

Mrs. Banaszek

Eighth Grade

Mrs. Newport

Eighth Grade

Mrs. Barshop

Eighth Grade

Mrs. Jackson

Special Education

Mrs. Green

Special Education

Mrs. Dudek

Bilingual Education

Mrs. Natale

Special Education

Mrs. Dabrowski

Bilingual Education

Ms. Fergus

Special Education

Mrs. Fenley

Bilingual Education

Mrs. Banaszak

Librarian

Mr. Friend

Art/Music

Mrs. Page

Physical Education

Mr. Metzdorff

Counselor

Mrs. Miarecki

Computer Lab

Ms. Malloy

Speech

Mrs. Bangs

Nurse

Dr. Frishman

Psychologist

Ms. Moore

Social Worker

Mr. Hickey

Occupational

Therapist

Photo

Not

Available

Photo

Not

Available

Photo

Not

Available

-Super Educational Support Staff

Mrs. Castro

School Assistant

Mrs. Pappas

School Assistant

Mrs. Enriquez

School Assistant

Mrs. Johnson

School Assistant

Mrs. Selim

School Assistant

Mrs. Cartagena

School Assistant

Mrs. Urquhart

School Assistant

Mrs. Rocco

School Clerk

Mr. Vera

Security Officer

-Super Lunchroom Staff-

Mrs. Lally

Assistant

Mrs. Guziec

Assistant

Mrs. Swanson

Manager

-Super Custodial Staff-

Mr. Presley Mr. Rios Mr. Pizano

Ms. Perez

Mrs. Dubicki

Vice-President

Mr. Walsh

Secretary

Mrs. Doyle

Treasurer

Mrs. Niewinski

President

-Super LSC Members-

Mr. Doyle

President

Mrs. Kulach

Parent Rep.

Mrs. Sparks

Parent Rep.

Mrs. Rakoczy

Parent Rep.

Mrs. Zabiega

Parent Rep.

Mrs. Walenga

Community Rep.

Mrs. Majewski

Community Rep.

Mrs. Miarecki

Teacher Rep.

Mrs. McGuire

Teacher rep.

-Super PTA Officers-

Great People Make Great Schools! Thank you to all the staff, parents, and community

members who help make Bridge School a great school!

Thank You!

Mr. Henmueller

Parent Rep.

Photo

Not

Available

Coming Soon - Bridge School Website

We are happy to announce that our Bridge School Website will be up and running and accessible to you this month. Although we

have been anticipating this event for quite a while, we know that it is just a beginning. As we post our first version of the website,

we anxiously look forward to updating it and improving it continuously. It will be a constant work-in-progress, with contributions

and ideas from many individuals, so please be patient. Also, although we will start out with FrontPage web development software

for our first iteration of this project, over the summer, we will advance to a more sophisticated software package for next school

year’s site. It will have more creative design capabilities, and we are eagerly preparing for this upgrade.

Soon we will send out an announcement, giving an exact date, and the particulars of how to navigate to the Bridge Website. As you

browse the various pages, you will notice that we will cover some of the same topics that are included in the Bridge Bugle. Howev-

er, you’ll also notice that unlike in the Bugle, we will eliminate full names of students. If you don’t see your student’s full name or

room number, be assured that we haven’t had a memory lapse, but realize that information on the Internet is accessible by many indi-

viduals – and we want our school families to be safe from online predators.

Remember – the version of our website that comes out in May – will be totally revamped and remodeled by September 2007, but the

URL (web address) for our site will not change. That means you’ll be able to check out the site over the summer for updates and

information concerning the beginning of the new 2007-2008 school year.

Our hope is to have something of value on the website for our entire school community. There will be links for students, parents,

teachers, staff, etc. If you have items or links that you feel might be useful, please send them to us. We look forward to browsing

with you!

Technology News

Fine Art News

When: Thursday, May 31st

Where: Bridge Auditorium

Who: 5th-8th Students @ 8:30 AM

K-4th Students @ Noon

Parents/Families of Variety Show

Student Performers @ 6:00 PM

Special Guest Appearance by

Dr. Christopher “Elvis” Brake

&

Mrs. Linda “Hound Dog” Barshop

ANNUAL BRIDGE VARIETY SHOW

First and Second Grade News Plants

The first grade rooms are having so much fun learning all about

plants! Each student was able to choose seeds to plant in our

very own classroom gardens. Throughout the next few weeks

they will be able to observe each of the plants as they

grow. They are also working on fun experiments such as using

food coloring to watch water move through a plant and compar-

ing seeds planted in sand to those planted in soil.

Architects For our social studies project on houses, each student was

asked to design a replica of his or her own house. The stu-

dents and families worked hard and created some amazing

homes! The students also practiced their listening and

speaking skills as they presented their houses to their class-

mates. They did a wonderful job learning about each oth-

er’s homes and gaining some creative building ideas for

their next project. Bridge students, parents, staff, and visi-

tors enjoyed viewing these houses while they were on dis-

play in the hall.

Bridge School Students Do It Again!

Our students have participated in the NetDay Speak UP survey for three years in a row, and have been recognized for at least two of

them. NetDay Speak Up is an annual national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow. The purpose of the project is to:

Collect and report the unfiltered feedback from students, parents and teachers on key educational issues.

Use the data to stimulate local conversations.

Raise national awareness about the importance of including the viewpoints of students, parents, and teachers in the education

dialogue.

This annual recognition program highlights schools that are effectively incorporating Speak Up data into their local decision-

making. Each year, finalists are selected based on total student participation, length of time involved with Speak Up, and use of data

in local decision making. Speak Up 100 schools:

Receive national recognition through Project Tomorrow website and presentations.

Join a national network of educators who use student voice to include local decisions.

Share their success in their local community.

There are 100 schools chosen for this honor nationwide. Bridge School has been 1 of 10 CPS schools that has earned the designation

as a Speak Up School for two consecutive years! Last year we won a Canon Digital Camera. This year we won an LCD Digital

Projector. Project Tomorrow is interested in hearing suggestions from Bridge Students in preparation for next year’s survey.

WAY TO GO BRIDGE!!

More Tech News

More First and Second Grade News

During the second week of April, students from Room 101

studied body parts. They learned how important it is to

keep their body healthy. To promote health, students be-

gan a walking marathon around the school, walking 1 mile

each day. The progress is recorded on a bulletin board.

Students are pretending that their first destination to

reach is Six Flags Great America and the next stop will be

the Milwaukee Zoo. So far, they walked 13 miles. They are

hoping that the weather will allow them to reach their

goals.

WALKING FOR OUR HEALTH

Third and Fourth Grade News Rainy Day Stories

The Day It Rained Cats and Dogs

When we went to the store, a cat fell on me and started scratching my head. It tore out

almost all of my hair. Then it clawed my head because it was so fat. It was falling off my

head. Then a dog fell on me and made me crush the cat. The dog bit me and ran away.

By Bobby Jurewicz

Money Falls

There once was a boy named Enrique. It looked like it was going to rain, so he stayed inside.

Then he saw that it was raining money. So he went outside and took all the money he could. He

bought a big net and caught all the money.

By Enrique Morales

The Day It Rained Chocolate- Covered Marshmallows

It all started when I was lying on the couch watching TV. Suddenly, it

started raining marshmallows. I got up from the couch, turned off the TV. and

called my younger brother.

Do you want to eat chocolate- covered marshmallows?

Would I ever!

Let’s go!

We bolted out the door with buckets. We jumped happily into the air catch-

ing marshmallows in our mouths and buckets. “Hooray for today,” we shout-

ed.

We went back home when we got tired with full buckets of marshmallows. I heard my mom call. I woke

up. It was all a dream. My mom asking- what are these buckets of marshmallows doing in the dining room?

By Patric Hruswicki

HIGH-TOUCH HIGH-TECH COMES TO BRIDGE High-touch high-tech is a company that offers fun and educational 90 minute hands-on, interactive and sensory

in-school science based “field trips.” The fourth grade students were fortunate to participate in a program

called Finally Fun Machines. This program tied in greatly to our study of simple machines. The students

made a screw out of a carrot. They engaged in pulley power, wedge wonders, and incline plane antics. They

discovered potential and kinetic energy. As a culminating activity each student made their very own level to

take home. All of the students had a great time.

Social Studies in Room 108 Students from Room 108 are presenting Chi-

cago skyscrapers and single-family houses

constructed out of cardboards, wooden

sticks, wooden blocks, plastic foil, and other

materials. This project is a part of a larger

Social Studies unit regarding Chicago. All

students were very excited to participate in

that project and everybody had a lot of fun

too.

More Third and Fourth Grade News

Fifth and Sixth Grade News Fantasy Baseball

The whole sixth grade has been doing fantasy baseball since the baseball season started. We are really enjoying it. We got to pick our players from Major League Baseball and the salary cap was $40,000,000. We picked twelve players. Each week we are getting stats and using the information to make graphs. We choose each player’s best game of each week. Every week we see who’s team got the most points. We use decimals and fractions with the stats to get the total number of points. Home runs, hits, runs, etc. are all worth different amounts. The winning class will get a pizza party and the best individual person will get a prize at the end of the year. This is really fun and we hope that we will do it in seventh grade. By: Brian Miklas, Danny Fricano, and Mario Valenzuela Room 209

Diamante Poems by the Fifth Grade The fifth graders have been studying poetry to honor April as National Poetry Month. Here

are some samples of diamantes that Room 202 has written as a class. A “diamante” is a 5-line

or 7-line poem that comes from the French word for “diamond.” In a 5-line diamante, the poet

uses different parts of speech to describe a person, place, or thing. In a 7-line diamante, 2

opposite objects or concepts are compared, while showing the transition from one extreme to

the other.

Dr. Brake

outstanding, intelligent

speaking, watching, representing

clever, caring, playful, joyful

Principal

Bears

famous, rough

running, practicing, intercepting

confident, proud, nervous, excited

Players

“A”

supreme, excellent

outstanding, encouraging, hardworking

gold, perfect, failing, terrible

disappointing, flunking, crying

horrible, weak

“F”

Washington D.C. Hey Bridge School! My name is Jenna Jurewicz from Room 203 and I am writing about my recent trav-

el experience to Washington D.C. The flight to Washington D.C. was about an hour and a half or two hours.

The view going to Washington D.C. and back was AMAZING! Flying to Washington D.C. we had really bad

turbulence on the plane, coming back wasn’t so bad. I saw tons of monuments and memorials. Including the

Washington Monument. I got to go to the capitol and I got to meet our representative for Illinois in the House

of Representatives (He wasn’t there so I got to meet one of his staff members). I also saw the Holocaust Muse-

um and the National Archives Museum. In the National Archives Museum, I saw the Declaration of Independ-

ence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. I saw many things, and it was a great educational experience to

last a life time. By: Jenna Jurewicz, Room 203

More Fifth and Sixth Grade News Rooms 203 and 205

Have Enjoyed Making Noise

Mrs. McGuire and Miss Brown’s classes have been

on a “drum role”. Every week we have had two in-

structors come to our rooms and teach us African

rhythms on real African drums. We’ve learned inter-

esting facts about Africa and that there are hundreds

of languages spoken there. Drums are used for talk-

ing too. We hope the primary grades enjoyed our

concert. Playing drums is much more than just bang-

ing; it’s communicating and having fun! By Ashley Egan and Diane Bendik, Room 203

DNA This month the Sixth Grade has been learning

about Reproduction and Heredity in Science. We have

been learning that everyone has different DNA. We

thought it would be fun to make DNA’s to show that

we all have different DNA. We put beads on a string in

any order we wanted, but we had to follow the pattern

with the color pairs: red with yellow and blue with

green. We also planted corn seeds to investigate the

variation in corn seedlings. We examined the corn

seeds and predicted if the seeds will grow into identical

plants. We watered and covered the seeds and we will

be observing for the next few days, the differences in

the leaf color of the plants. It’s been cool and a lot of

fun learning about our DNA, traits, and heredity. -Eric Pearson, Sixth Grade Room 211

Sixth Grade News

From The Bridge School Family

Ivan Gabriel Capifali First Place in Competition Speech!

Mrs. Cartagena, a Bridge School Career Service teacher

assistant, was thrilled when her nephew Ivan won first

Place in Competition Speech. Ivan, a sixth grader, at-

tends Sayre Language Academy. His speech was titled

“Perils of Indifference”, by Elie Wiesel.

Congratulations Ivan!

Seventh and Eighth Grade News U-505

On May 25th, the 8th grade classes went to The Museum of

Science and Industry. The eighth graders had been learning

about World War II, and the capturing of the U-505. At 8:30 the

8th grade boarded the busses and prepared for an awesome

experience.

We boarded the submarine with a group and a tour guide who explained all of the

different parts of the submarine and why they were important. She also explained that the

museum had spent a ton of money and time on getting the REAL submarine into the muse-

um.

Outside the submarine there were a ton of activities that people could take part in.

There were also a lot of artifacts that were found on the submarine. One of the things I

found cool was the old torn up American flag from the war. It only had 48 stars instead of

50.

The 8th grade had a great time. I would go back to see the U-505 anytime. By: Ryan Ruffino Rm. 210

Visit to the Genetics Exhibit

On April 24th, the seventh grade class went on a field trip to the Museum of Science and In-

dustry. We viewed many exciting exhibits. The most interesting exhibit for most of the students was the before birth development exhibit. This exhibit showed when a fertilized egg forms into an em-bryo, becomes a fetus, and grows into a baby just before birth. The museum has real-life samples through donations from science. We also saw Java chicks that the Museum of Science and Industry saved from extinction. This exhibit showed real Java chicks hatch and play around with each other. We also saw mice and hamsters that the Museum of Science of Industry cloned genetically. The Museum of Science and Industry learned that if you are trying to clone something, 20 percent of the time it will be successful and 80 percent of the time unsuccessful. We had a lot of fun and it was a very educational trip. We can’t wait until our next field trip! By Alex Wojcik Room 208

The DEA Visits

Bridge Elementary School

On Thursday April 19, 2007, two foren-

sic chemists came to Bridge School to educate

us on their careers and what their job entails

while working for the DEA (Drug Enforcement

Agency).

What do forensic chemists do? Well,

they actually help in the support of on-going in-

vestigations, and testify in court against crimi-

nals. The chemists asked us if we ever watched

CSI or Law and Order since their job is similar

to the ones seen on these programs.

I had the opportunity to try on a gas

mask and experience how it feels when using it. It was pretty cool! When inside the laboratory they use a

full suit with a gas mask for protection. Their job involves weighing the confiscated narcotics, performing

research, and testifying in court. They perform color tests which will then lead them to performing chroma-

tography, which is a laboratory technique used for separating mixtures to identify the drug they are re-

searching.

Overall, we all learned a lot from the chemists’ presentation and we’re very happy that they shared

their knowledge and expertise with us. We’d like to thank both forensics chemists for visiting our school

and Mrs. Iammartino for inviting them. We’re looking forward to another visit from them soon.

By Jonathan Pedersen-Room 212

World War II Comes Alive Over the past few weeks, the Eighth graders have been learning about World War II. To conclude our study, we

had a special presentation, guest speaker Mr. Chip Buerger. He thoroughly explained how American air pilots carried

out their mission. To give students a better idea of how the soldiers lived on the battlefield, he brought authentic WWII

artifacts such as helmets, uniforms, and food-ration packages. Curious students asked various questions on the battle and

survival strategies of our brave fighters. Our guest speaker gave explanations that helped shine light on the atrocities of

war and how people worked together to help give us the comfortable lifestyle we have today. By: Eliana Malmin (Room 206)

Editor’s note: Mr. Buerger volunteered his time to present to the 8th graders. Rather than taking compensation for his

time, he asked that people make a donation to the USO. If you are so inclined, please go to www.uso.org for more infor-

mation. We thank Mr. Buerger for enhancing the education of our students.

Bridge Elementary School 3800 N. New England

Chicago, Illinois 60634

773-534-3718

Principal:

Dr. Christopher Brake

Assistant Principal:

Mrs. Margaret Taylor

Special Staff

30,000 Book Challenge

LSC Parent Representatives:

Mr. William Doyle

Mr. Paul Henmueller

Mrs. Martha Kulach

Mrs. Wioletta Rakoczy

Mrs. Pamela Sparks

Mrs. Renata Zabiega

Community Representatives:

Mrs. Yvonne Majewski

Mrs. Pat Walenga

Teacher Representatives:

Mrs. Catherine McGuire

Mrs. Joan Miarecki

Administration:

Dr. Christopher Brake

PTA President:

Mrs. Lora Niewinski

Vice-President:

Mrs. Paula Guy

Secretary:

Mrs. Debbie Horowitz

Treasurer:

Mrs. Jeannie Doyle

NCLB PAC

President:

Mrs. Pamela Sparks

Vice-President:

Mrs. Herlinda Macias

Secretary:

Mrs. Catherine McGuire

Corresponding Secretary:

Mr. William Doyle

Room 107

Kindergarten

280

Year-to-Date

1,365

Room 111

Pri. Sp. Ed.

85

Year-to-Date

470

Room 101

1st/2nd Grade

476

Year-to-Date

2,051

Room 102

1st Grade

357

Year-to-Date

2,653

Room 105

1st Grade

357

Year-to-Date

3,057

Room 103

2nd Grade

363

Year-to-Date

2,990

Room 109

2nd Grade

279

Year-to-Date

1,960

Room 108

2nd/3rd Grade

163

Year-to-Date

1,236

Room 003

3rd Grade

224

Year-to-Date

1,348

Room 004

3rd Grade

200

Year-to-Date

1,035

Room 001

4th Grade

200

Year-to-Date

833

Room 002

4th Grade

40

Year-to-Date

1,177

Room 114

4th Grade

135

Year-to-Date

738

Room 202

5th Grade

168

Year-to-Date

1,033

Room 203

5th Grade

248

Year-to-Date

1,283

Room 205

5th Grade

135

Year-to-Date

1,517

Room 207

6th Grade

86

Year-to-Date

723

Room 209

6th Grade

83

Year-to-Date

630

Room 211

6th Grade

127

Year-to-Date

597

Room 106

7th Grade

53

Year-to-Date

632

Room 204

7th Grade

20

Year-to-Date

239

Room 208

7th Grade

106

Year-to-Date

585

Room 206

8th Grade

87

Year-to-Date

336

Room 210

8th Grade

70

Year-to-Date

386

Room 212

8th Grade

9

Year-to-Date

201

29,075