All Booked Up

15 days left until the school year is over, well no, there has been a change of plans; now there are 12 days of school left! At EBV as well as all of the Maracaibo private and public schools, classes have been suspended for the last few Fridays due to “energy saving ordered by presidential decree published in Official Gazette No. 40890” (ahorro energético, ordenado por decreto presidencial 2.294 publicado en Gaceta Oficial Nº 40890), as stated by Venezuelan newspaper, La Patilla. Due to all of this, EBV has taken different actions to ensure the best for all students at EBV. On Wednesdays classes will end at 3:10 like a normal day rather than 2:10 as stated in an email sent by Dr. Rosie herself, “All Wednesdays in May and June will be full days (no early release).” In addition, final exams that would take place on the last Friday of the school year have been rescheduled. Actions have not only been taken for Secondary students but also for the ones in Elementary. For example, the 5th grade graduation has been also changed from Friday, May 10 to Thursday, May 9. Even though, there is no school on Fridays teachers are doing there best to ensure that they can accomplish all of their goals for the school year!

Go Field Day!

June 9th here we come, Field Day is here and you didn’t mishear

At Escuela Bella Vista, it is a tradition to do an annual Field Day; every student participates in a plethora of fun games fit for everyone. There are two Field Days, an elementary and a middle school Field Day. Doctor Rosie was informed by a fellow student about our tradition and we have our Field Day! It is extremely important we don’t abuse of this privilege so we can enjoy many more years of this. STUCO has kindly volunteered to plan our Field Day so make sure to thank them too. As a student I wish you the best of luck but try to beat my team and you will lose. As STUCO representative Diego Sampieri said, “ It’ll be the best one ever”.

Fifth Graders; Shadows for a Day

  

Last Wednesday May 18, the fifth graders shadowed the 6th graders, now middle school experts. This day is called 'Shadow Day' and has been done for various years in the EBV community. It is now considered  a tradition for fifth graders. Consists of experiencing how is to be in middle school and preparing for the years to come. For the six graders, it consist of being role models and demonstrating how is the ordinary middle school life. According to Paula .M., this was an exciting day that allowed them to feel more than they are, making them feel like middle schoolers. For both grades, this is an exciting day full of activities that might seem ordinary for the 6th graders but extraordinary for the soon-to-be middle schoolers.

The Bold, The Young and The Murdered, a Successful School Play…

Thursday 26, the secondary EBV play debuted on our auditorium, starting at 6:30 pm, not failing to demonstrate how talented Middle School and High School students are. With the genre of humor and the plot about the soap opera, it was said that the play was hilarious and shocking (TAN, TAN TAAANNNN). The plot was about the actors inside a soap opera who are struggling to arrive to Hollywood finding themselves stuck on daytime TV. The crazy characters are forced to work hard to keep their show going, when it is on the verge of being cancelled. Through the play, the actors amazed the audience with their crazy characters and traumatic scenes. According to Ms. Toro and Mr. Oviol, this play is worth watching.

                            

Washington, D.C.: Mission Impossible

Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, is a very historical and meaningful place because it is home to many important monuments such as the Capitol Building and the Arlington National Cemetery. Each year, the 9th grade students from Escuela Bella Vista take a trip to Washington DC to learn about the history of the United States. On April 3rd, the 9th graders took off to Miami, but their flight got delayed and they missed their connection to Washington D.C. After figuring out what they were going to do, they were divided into different groups. Some students went to Orlando, while others went to Alabama, and others stayed in Miami. In the end, everyone was able to arrive to Washington and they had a very fun trip. “It was all worth it, even going to Birmingham, Alabama!” stated Lara Garcia, a 9th grade student. The 9th graders enjoyed their short trip to the maximum and ate their Georgetown cupcakes happily!

A Cold Friday

        Out of all of the places in the world, we live on one of the “warmest” countries in the world, as stated by https://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/hottest-cities-in-the-world.php (a website that has the normal temperatures, sunshine, rainfall for many places all over the world). Therefore, High School STUCO planned a thoughtful Cepillado Sale on Friday, April 15. It took place outside of the Cafeteria, in front of the field. The HS Stuco representatives had a cart that sold two cepillado flavors, lemon and kolita; “the best flavors”, said fellow 8th grader, Marcella Finol. The cost for one cup of cepillado was 250 bsf. “It was a very interactive, well-organized event organized by Student Council because it was something creative and unique”, exclaimed 6th grader, Pamela Pineda.

Public Speaking is Just One of their Qualities

Passionate, young, and imaginative; everything you need to make a Ted Talk truly appreciative! Ted Talk is a club with many creative participants who shared their ideas of specific topics. On March 11, at the Escuela Bella Vista Auditorium a group of 8 students talked about different, intriguing themes that had to do with their lives and how you can get through hard things in life by using unique tactics. Ted Talks are not only a way to talk about something that dramatically impacted your life, but a way to express your point of view on an specific idea. Paulina Maurovich, a 12th grader, focused on gender equality and how she believed women were not treated like men. Many students believed her Ted Talk was a success, for example, Marcella Finol, an eighth grade student stated that: “Her Ted Talk not only focused on her daily life, but on the daily struggle of many women.” This means that many people from the EBV community can relate themselves with Ted Talks.

Beware, this is only the first Ted Talk and there are many more creative ones to come! In this inspirational talk there were many topics completely different. For example, Elena Mangialardo, a 12th grader, talked about how she believes disabled people should have more chances and opportunities in life. Rosie Abuin, a 7th grader confessed that “This was a very important topic that showed how people with discapacities are the same as people who don’t have discapacities.” Another significant topic that many people can relate to is Sabrina Mangialardo’s, a senior. It talked about how one great idea can lead into something that can change your life completely. Just be creating a fun idea, her twin sister: Elena Mangialardo and herself own a “great shop called The Rack”, as said by Pamela Pineda, in Maracaibo with 15.4k followers on Instagram.

Another member of Ted Talk was Nicole Castellano, and she talked about mindfulness. According to Psychology Today (www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness), mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. Alesia Sanchez, which attended the Ted Talk, said that “I enjoyed very much the Ted Talk because it was very creative. Nicole Castellano gave very good tips about relaxation and stress because her topic was mindfulness.” The Ted Talk was a huge success because it inspired students to express their ideas and opinions through Ted Talks and the whole event encourage students to join the Ted Talk Club next year.

Estefania Perez, Juan Simon Perez, and Marcela Pineda

BOOM! POW! BANG! OUCH!

For Spanish Class with Ms. Avila, the 7th grade students are working on a Comic Project. The idea is for students to express ideas by using pictures, often combined with text or other visual information. They have to create a story using onomatopoeias, characters, and different elements .In order to meet the standards; the comic should have at least two characters and the 5 parts of a story (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Conclusion). Students can choose if they want to do it by hand or using any of the websites chosen by Ms. Avila. The rubric for this project, according to http://msavilalenguayliteratura.weebly.com/semana-28-31-el-coacutemic.html, Ms. Avila’s website, is the following:

Take a stand. Lend a Hand.

       As many other schools around the world do, Escuela Bella Vista celebrated the annual Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. The school has been motivated to support this special cause by creating a remarkable "in-school holiday". Pink Shirt Day is a very important day at EBV, where students wear pink shirts to support anti-bullying and take action against bullying. An elementary teacher, called Ms. Riley, was the one who initiated this activity at EBV. According to Wikipedia and www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/, this event was first organized by David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, in 2007 who bought and gave 50 pink shirts to students in their school, after a ninth grade student, Jadrien Cota, was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Therefore, in Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald (the school where this event happened) recognized the second Thursday of September as a  "Stand Up Against Bullying Day".

"Free" day?

On February 26, NHS and NJHS hosted a Non-Uniform Day. Non-Uniform Day is the day of the month where students can wear anything they want, but they have to follow the dress code. Many students don’t agree with this, because the dress code at Escuela Bella Vista is very strict. Some students pay for Non-Uniform Day because they want to wear whatever comfortable clothes they want, but others actually pay to support the charity and help collect money for those in need. Teachers also had to follow the dress code, so students were able to call them out as said in an email sent by NHS Historian Nicole Pineda. One reason that students are not allowed to break the dress code on Non-Uniform Day is because students are supposed to be encouraged to dress for charity, not just for their benefit. Even though there is a lot of controversy on this, NHS and NJHS raised a lot of money for charities who really need it. If the ticket for Non-Uniform Day was bought between Monday and Thursday, it cost 50 bsf. If it was bought on Friday morning, it was 70 bsf. It was a great Non-Uniform Day for the Honor Society and there was only 1 dress infraction!

“Sorry I’m latte…”

“Sorry I’m latte… I should have taken the Espresso Lane. Good thing this wasn't a race, otherwise he'd have been thoroughly creamed by all of his friends.” Escuela Bella Vista students should take less time drinking their early morning coffee and instead, should come on time to school. On February 24, more than 50 students arrived late to Escuela Bella Vista. Dr. Rosie sent an email very dissapointed to the middle and high school students about how on February 22 only 10 students arrived late. That day, she sent an email congratulating everyone for promptness. In the email sent, she talked about how traffic cannot be blamed for being late and that the goal is not for students to be entering school at 8:00 am. Students are affected by being late because then they have to do the Daily Assessment in their time outside of school. In contrast in other cultures, Venezuelans don’t take being on time very seriously, which is why Dr. Rosie wants students to arrive early, to the teach them the importance of being on time. So if you are one of those students arriving late, don’t be the one to say “’I’M on time–everyone else is early.”

Second Semester Shopping

With a new semester comes new rules; the EBV Physical Education Department has decided to make changes to the P.E dress code

For many years, the EBV dress code has been the same. For elementary, middle school and high school there has never been a change. However, at the beginning of the third quarter, middle schoolers are told that the shorts they’ve been wearing for years are no longer valid. The old uniform consisted of a simple white T-shirt that could contain a small logo and shorts (dark blue or black) with a stripe, a logo, or both. Now, the children must wear a white T-shirt which may contain a small logo and shorts (black or blue) with not even a small stripe.

What is the problem? Students have already bought their striped shorts as always and now they have to go back to school shopping again. If students fail to meet the dress code standards, they will get points taken away from their grade in P.E that day; the third day will result in a Falta Leve. I’m not stating the new rule is good or bad; however multiple middle schoolers like Estefania Perez and Daniela Haack suggest it would have been a better idea to change the rule at the beginning of the next school year. This rule is only to make our EBV community better and make all of our students look as wonderful as they are.  

Spirit Week Too Spirited

After a week of creativity, Middle School Student Council, summed up all the points from each grade regarding participation for Spirit Week at EBV. Many students had inspiration from actors, for example, an 8th grade student, Luciana Fernandez, dressed as Selena Gomez. The schedule for Spirit Week was: Monday—Favorite book character, Tuesday—Twin Day, Wednesday—Pop Culture, Thursday—Throwback, and Friday—Pajama Day. As expected, on Friday there was the most participation from the students due to the theme.  Who doesn’t like to be Pijamas? According to an email sent by Ms. Coulson, the results were:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Grade 6	29%	71%	68%	64%	79%
Grade 7	31%	64%	74%	79%	67%
Grade 8	27%	62%	31%	40%	76%

        The winner was: 7th grade and as a reward they will be receiving a prize!

Careful, the 8th graders know a lot about security!

For the past few weeks, the 8th graders have been very busy with a project about copyright, phishing, netiquette, copyright, security, and hacking. The 8th grade Computer Class has been watching videos and discussing with Mr. Coello about the dangers of the Internet. Most people don’t know what phishing or copyright is, but many people do it without knowing. “Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works.” according to Copyright Kids. Mr. Coello talked to the students in class about how people steal each other’s work and think that it is okay. The students have to make an essay about all 6 topics due February 17. Good luck to the 8th graders!

New Rule, New Measures Taken!

        No more lunch deliveries! According to an email sent by the Middle School Principal, Dr. Rosie on February 4, EBV students will no longer be able to receive food from home during school hours. Meaning that they will have to bring the food with them in the morning or eat from the school cafeteria. You might ask yourself, why these strict measures have been taken. However, they are for the students’ safety. This new rule has been added in order to avoid unidentified people from entering the school campus.

Help the dogs not to yelp!

Since January 25, Paulina Maurovich, the organizer of CSE, has been sending emails about the recollection of plastic bottles for dogs and cats in ASODEPA. ASODEPA is an animal shelter in Maracaibo that is home to about 500 dogs and cats. ASODEPA provides care and shelter to unwanted cats and dogs, but it prime motive is to encourage people to adopt and care for these poor animals. CSE has planned to help ASODEPA build a recycled wall so the animals don’t escape. There are boxes all around Escuela Bella Vista were 2L plastic bottles are being recollected. The grade that helps and brings the most plastic bottles get a tequeños and soda party. Each grade has its own box in different classrooms. Below is a list of the classrooms. Help these loving animals receive the love they need!

6: Ms. Possamai

7: Ms. Vielma

8: Mr. Brougham

9: Ms. Riddle

10: Mr. Gleason

11: Mr. Brougham

12: Mr. Perez

Buy a Book in the Book Fair

Old favorites! 

New books! 

Plan your school life!

For all ages!

HS S(tuco)pirit Week

              Starting Monday, February 1 High School Stuco will be sponsoring the Spirit Week. Stuco spent a lot of time thinking of new ideas to do because they want Spirit Week to be very creative. They spent the Tuesday meeting discussing different ideas and came up with the best ones. Monday is PJ Monday, meaning you can come with your pajamas! Many people are sleepy on Mondays, so Stuco wanted it to be a comfy Monday. Thursday is different music genres: 12th grade is rap, 11th grade is rock, 10th grade is pop, and 9th grade is reggae. Wednesday is school cliques: 12th grade is geeks, 11th grade is preppy, 10th grade is jocks, and 9th grade is emo. For Tuesday, it will be twin day, meaning that you dress the same as someone. Lastly, Friday is different costumes: 12th grade is cowboys, 11th grade is bikers, 10th grade is italian gangsters, and 9th grade is pirates. This year Spirit Week will be very creative and super fun!

Hypothesis + Data + Conclusion = Science Fair!

On January 6, the Science Fair annual project was introduced to the students from 6th grade to 10th grade. The Science Fair is an experiment yet known as a research effort that represents students’ investigation into areas of interest and provides a creative way to show what they know. By doing the Science Fair, students can gain information and knowledge of scientists’ discoveries and how one day they might find something that could impact life. The first checkpoint was due January 14 and it was a document where students had to put their 3 main ideas and had to check if it was a valid option. This Science Fair is also very special because students from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade will be participating! We wish good luck to everyone and that their project is a success. Down below is the Science Fair Time Line:

DATE	WORK TO BE DONE
Checkpoint 1 January 14-15	Write a proposal with 3 possible projects to work on (use Document #1. Science Fair Proposal Form to organize your ideas).  This document MUST be signed by your parents before turn it in. Science teachers will approve one project and publish a list with all the titles by January 29. After that day, start working on the Document #2:  ”Experimental Investigation Planning and Approval Sheet”
Checkpoint 2 February 10 -11	Show your progress on Document #2”Experimental Investigation Planning Sheet”.  It is your job to gather as much information as you can to support your hypothesis. Remember to cite all your sources using MLA format.
Checkpoint 3 February 25-26	Show your progress on Document #2 ”Experimental Investigation Planning Sheet”. At this point you should have: ·         Hypothesis ·         Bibliography ·         Variables ·         Procedure (Including list of materials)
Checkpoint 4 March 30-31	Present data, graphs and results. Also, send 5 pictures of you and your partners working on the project to possamail@ebv.org.ve
Checkpoint 5	Present data, graphs, results, and conclusions for final corrections.
Checkpoint 6 April 14-15	Display boards are due. Check Document #3. Display Board Layout.
Checkpoint 7 April 15 and April 20	Practicing presentations during class.
April 21-22	SCIENCE FAIR