Santa Rita Times: Volume 6

Santa Rita Times

Monday March 20, 2023

About this publication

Students in Journalism Club collaborate, design, and create the Santa Rita newspaper. We hope you enjoy Volume 6.

In Person or Virtual Schooling

When it comes to deciding which schooling option is right for you, which would you choose? Attending school in person or doing your classes completely online? Our Journalists have some opinions that just might help you make that tough decision.

Image provided by IDDworld.com

"School in Person is the Place to be"

Written by Kamryn Daniels

School in person is a better option than learning online in my opinion. Every child should believe physical presence in the classroom is superior to virtual school and there are many reason why.
First, if you have a question, you don't have to wait twenty minutes for your teacher to notice you. If you don't understand what is being taught, your teacher can show you in person and help you understand right away.
Second, if you do school in person then you can get a good visual of what your supposed to do. You can prevent yourself from having to squint your eyes and try to read a small little box with words that are barely half of a centimeter long. That is not good for your eye sight.
The last pro to in person schooling is that you can socialize. Getting recess with your friends, talking with your friends in person, doing group projects, working together on assignments and asking each other questions. You can also eat lunch with your friends and talk with them while you eat.
These are all of the reasons why school in person is a better option to school online. You can receive help right away, actually see what you are supposed to be doing in real life, and be with your peers. What is better than that?

"Virtual School is Right for Me"

Written by Isela Lopez

School online is superior to learning in person. Every kid should believe online schooling is better and I am going to share with you just a few reasons why!
To start, if you get hungry you can ask your mom to get you something from the kitchen. If you aren't on a video call, you can just go get the snack yourself! No one should have to go hungry from school.
Second, if you don't have a zoom or video call, you can sleep in and get up whenever you want. You can also take as many brakes as you want, as long as you get your work done. Kids need sleep and fresh air in order to do well in school.
Lastly, whenever you finish your work, you could hang out with your friends or do whatever you want. Even if you don't get to see them during the day, you can still see them after the school day is over. You can still have social time, just not during the school day.
This is why virtual school choice is more superior than in person. You can eat whenever you want, sleep in, and still be social. It's a win-win in my book.

What would you choose? Results on what our Santa Rita 5th graders had to say on page 2.

Local News & Opinions

The Results Are In...

Results Gathered by Kamryn Daniels & Isela Lopez

School Wide Poll: Summer Fun

Written & Collected by Rebecca Webber

According to our 5th grade data, approximately 91% of students preferred in person schooling, while roughly only 9% preferred schooling to be online or virtual. Does this data surprise you? I guess it's true what they say: You just can't beat the feeling of being at good ol' Santa Rita, the best school in town!

"I prefer being at school because to me it's easier to focus. With online learning, if you don't understand something in schoology, you have to wait to ask the teacher the next day which puts you behind on work. Also, going to an actual school building, I get to see and meet my teacher rather than learn through a screen." -5th grade student

"I preferred virtual school because you could learn from the comfort of your home and not have to wake up really early. It also takes less time and no homework, so I'd have more free time." -5th grade student

Santa Rita Falcons have cast their votes! Rather than being stuck at home all summer break, wouldn't you want to go somewhere fun? Our Santa Rita Falcons decided on where the best place is to be this summer.

First up is the beach. Beautiful blue waves crashing against the rocks and ending at the sandy ground. 48 students voted for the beach as their top choice.

Next up is camping. Sleeping under the stars and roasting marshmallows while singing campfire songs. 32 students voted for camping this summer.

Our third option is an amusement park. Riding roller coasters and experiencing the feeling of flying out of your seat. Just to wait 30 minutes to ride it all over again. 26 students voted for the amusement park as their top pick.

Who doesn't love a good water park? Sliding down a super slippery slide or getting splashed with water. 93 students voted for the water park making it extremely popular among the Falcons.

Last but not least is the aquarium. Seeing beautiful and majestic animals and getting to know more about them. 21 students voted for the indoor experience of an aquarium.

View full results on page 3

Opinions cont.

Journalist Farrah Browning and Isabelle Perez share some reasons on why YOU should choose Journalism Club next year!

Results from the school wide poll are shown on the graph to the left. The clear winner this year was.... (drum roll please).... WATER PARKS! This comes as no surprise to us as summers in San Angelo are blazing hot.

Journalism 101

Written by Farrah Browning & Isabelle Perez

When it is time to sign up for clubs, are you always stumped on what to pick? Do you toss and turn at night wondering what club is right for you? Art, drama, cheer, sports. There are so many to choose from! Although there is a lot of different club options out there, we think you should join journalism. Farrah is a 2nd year journalist and Isabelle has been in journalism for 1 year, so we know what journalism is all about!

First off, if you join journalism, you get to learn about different heritages, cultures, and history. You get to know the expectations of a real life journalist. You will learn plenty of things when you join journalism, like quotes, historical events, popular landmarks and interesting facts.

One fun part is that your articles will end up becoming well known and get shared on different platforms. One of our articles even ended up on the San Angelo School District's website! You now can go and look at it on the SAISD facebook page. How cool is that?!

Another exciting part about being in journalism is that your work will end up being displayed in the 5th grade hallway. You get to express your amazing toughts and ideas, and it gets printed so everybody can see your hard work. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Lewallen will help you achieve these goals if it is something you dream of doing!

Finally, there are plenty of different jobs to apply for. Some of the jobs are: editors, journalists, interviewers, designers, or photographers. If you are a editor, you get to go through all the articles and make sure they put punctuation in the correct places and the article is understandable before anyone else even sees it. Journalist get to write fun articles, that are sometimes about why you should or shouldn't come to school or why you shouldn't eat candy all the time. Interviewers go out and interview people around the school or community and can end up being broadcasted onto the morning show or the next edition of the newspaper. Designers design and add the articles onto the final layouts and then they are printed and showcased for everyone to enjoy. Photographers take and find extraordinary images to go along with each writing piece.

These are all of our opinions on why you should join journalism the next time you get a chance. This means no more tossing and turning in bed at night. Maybe next year, you will be the one saying this newspaper is “hot off the press!”

Local Events

Kinlee Thomas takes us inside the action to share some exciting backstage information on the upcome Aladdin performance.

Santa Rita Students & Staff Prepare for Spring Aladdin Performance

Written & Interviewed by: Kinlee Thomas

Ready...Set…Action! As clubs come to an end for the 2022-2023 school year, Drama Club is cooking us up another amazing performance of Disney's Aladdin. We interviewed some of the Drama Club members and the directors to see what's in store for us this season & give us a behind the curtain look at what it takes to prepare for the upcoming performance.

August Aycock (L), Emma Mikeska (C), & Braxton Belmont (R) get stage directions from Co-Director, Ms. Sanchez

Why did you join Drama?
Madelyne Darby: “I love to act, sing, speak, and be in front of people.”

What is your role in the play?
Addison Bagwell: “I’m the Sultan. I love my part but at first I auditioned for Jasmine.”

Why do you think you got the part of Jasmine?
Izzy Melendez: “I think I was the best singer and dancer for the part.”

Students rehearse on the stage in preparation for the upcoming performance.

What was your first-choice role to audition for?
August Aycock: "My first choice was to be cave guardian but then I got the much bigger part of Jafar and I’m very happy with it.”

How do you relate to your character in the play?
Emma Mikeska: “It relates to my home hobbies with my siblings.”

What is the hardest part of the role of Aladdin that you play?
Braxton Belmont: “The hardest part of my role is memorizing all of my lines.”

Local Events continued

Why did you pick drama as your club to teach?
Mrs. Zwiebel: “I think it is important for kids to be able to speak in front of a crowd and I've loved drama ever since I was in drama club in high school.”

What is the process for choosing who gets what part?
Mrs. Zwiebel: “Based on who can project their voice the most and the most confidence, and the role level goes down from there."

What is the most rewarding part of teaching drama club?
Mrs. Zwiebel: “Seeing all the happy faces of the actors and the finale performance. I love watching all their hard work pay off.”

In your opinion, what is the students favorite part of drama club?
Ms. Sanchez: “Getting their part and getting to perform the play in front of the school. I think they love to see their friend's faces glow with a wave of excitement!”

What are some quality traits that the kids in drama club have?
Ms. Sanchez: “Being able to show emotions on command, being musically talented, and being able to adjust to changes quickly.”

Well, there you have it folks! At the beginning of next school year when you sign up for clubs, keep drama club in mind as one of your top picks. There are so many roles to choose from and is a wonderful opportunity for students express their true talents!

Santa Rita Drama Club proudly presents:
Aladdin
A unique rendition of the old Disney classic filled with magic carpet rides, a wish-granting Genie and new friendships.
Come experience "A Whole New World"
April 11th 2023 at 1:30 pm

4th Graders Emma Mikeska (L) & Braxton Belmont (R) practice their lines at a recent drama club rehearsal.

Community Events

Take a closer look at some events happening this summer near you!

Summer Fun in San Angelo

Words by Lilliana Gaitan

BBBBBRING ! The final bell has rung for the end of another school year and it’s time for a rockin’ summer. But where do you want to go and what is there to do in this town? Well, you’re in luck! Here is a list of the top activities in San Angelo that are sure to keep you busy all summer long.

Top 8 Activities for Families This Summer in San Angelo

1. Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue
2. Ultimate Air Trampoline Park
3. San Angelo State Park
4. San Angelo Nature Center
5. Railway Museum of San Angelo
6. The Bosque
7. Kids Kingdom Park
8. Stadium Lanes Bowling Center or ICON Bowling

San Angelo Blues Festival

If music is more your thing, you can come on down and check out the 14th annual San Angelo Blues Festival! You can bring money to shop at the local markets, listen to live music, eat some amazing foods and stay up way past your normal bed time. And the best part? It's free to attend!

This festival will be held in downtown on Saturday May 20th, 2023. For more information head to: https://www.sabluessociety.com/simply-texas-blues-festival

"I never had the blues; the blues always had me." -Brownie McGhee

Picture provided by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Featured Sports

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
-Wayne Gretzky

Falcons Will Once Again Participate in San Angelo's Little Olympics

Written by Emma Heilman & Estelle Skinner

BANG! It’s go time! Runners take off from their starting lines. The wind rushes over their faces as they jump across the finish line. "Fal-cons! Fal-cons!" The crowd goes wild! It's the biggest and baddest competition of the school year: The San Angelo Little Olympics. We sat down and interviewed Coach McGee, the Physical Education teacher at Santa Rita Elementary School, to hear all about his experiences with the San Angelo Little Olympics and Santa Rita athletes, and to give us some history about the event. You might have some questions about the Little Olympics and what it is all about, so we are here to hopefully answer so of those burning questions.

The Little Olympics is a track & field meet for 3rd through 6th graders held each year in San Angelo, TX. The events in the Little Olympics include the 60 yard dash, 75 yard dash, long jump, chin up competition, arm hanging, and relays. The Little Olympic competition is hosted locally at Bobcat Stadium, and schools from all over San Angelo come to participate.

A way you can get involved with the Little Olympics is by trying out for the top 2 spots of any of the events. There are many ways to prepare for the Little Olympics, including the most important ways to prepare: practicing during PE or free time.

Coach's favorite event is the relay race, which can get quite competitive! According to Coach, he enjoys training the athletes and going to the event every year. The Little Olympics is a great way to get started with athletics and a good way to meet new friends. It's also a fun way to start competing with your fellow peers or athletes.

Santa Rita students participate in the opening ceremonies of the 2021-2022 Little Olympics.

The Little Olympics takes place each year on the first Friday in May at San Angelo's Bobcat Stadium. Grades 3-6 are encouraged to come out and participate!

Trivia & Games

Your teachers sure know a lot about you, but how well do you REALLY know them?

How Well Do You Know the Santa Rita Staff?

Collected by Ben Barton & Avry Samaniego

Did you know that one of Santa Rita’s teachers has been struck by lightning? Or how about a teacher who enjoys riding dirt bikes & motorcycles in their spare time?

The Journalism Club challenges you to guess some of our amazing falcon leader's juiciest secrets. Here is an activity for you to try out your luck! Match the teacher on page 1 with their secret on page 2. You will definitely be surprised by some of these answers. Good Luck!

A. Mrs. Springer
B. Coach
C. Mrs. Barrera
D. Mrs. Wood
E. Mrs. Terrill

F. Mrs. Zwiebel
G. Mrs. Boser
H. Mrs. McGee
I. Mrs. Guerra
J. Ms. Hendricks

K. Mr. O
L. Mrs. Hall
M. Mrs. O'Dell
N. Mrs. Scott
O. Ms. Sanchez