Santa Rita Times: Volume 7

Santa Rita Times

About this publication

Monday November 13, 2023

Students in Journalism Club collaborate, design, and create the Santa Rita newspaper. We hope you enjoy Volume 7.

BAAAAATTLE OF THE SHEEP!

"Sheep-Poat-Lay"

In the vote for the best dressed sheep in San Angelo, who will come out on top?

"MEG"

"Ram Chop"

Written by Madison Deremo

San Angelo's sheep are one of the rarest things about San Angelo. Did you know San Angelo is the wool and mohair capital of the world? These sheep help preserve the "Sheeptacular" history of San Angelo and tribute to the sheep industry for helping grow our beautiful city. The artists who paint these sheep have given of their time and unique talents to create these amazing sculptures for us to enjoy. One of these artists includes Ashley Perales, a graduate from Central High School, who paints many murals and sheep around our town. From Ram Chop to Page Turner, these statues and their artists are the real heart of San Angelo.
These sheep sure are amazing. Starting with Greeting “Ewe” located on West Conch Avenue and painted by Scott Sustek, this sheep is here to welcome newcomers to the history downtown area. Hello B”ewe”tiful is located on North Magdalen and painted by Sylvia Garcia, while MEG is located on Kearney Boulevard and designed by Jose Duran. Next we have Ram Chop located at our local Market Street and painted by Clay Hegl. The Hero in “Ewe" at the SAISD Administrative Building is painted by Sue Rainey. Finally, we have Sheep-Poat-Lay located at, you guessed it, Chipotle on Jackson Street. This colorful sheep was done by the amazing artist and Santa Rita parent, Gabriel Lucky.

"The Greeting Ewe"

"The Hero In 'Ewe'"

Images all taken from Downtown San Angelo

Local News

Take a Sheeptacular tour around the city and see what these statues are all about.

The Results Are In...

Results Gathered by Madison Deremo

According to our data, Hello B'ewe'tiful is the most well liked sheep on our campus. It was followed by MEG in 2nd place and Sheep-Poat-Lay in 3rd. What was your favorite sheep?

Next time you are bored and need something to do, or simply just want to explore your beautiful hometown, try taking a Sheep Tour! Challenge yourself to find all 100+ statues listed on the maps and begin your sheeping adventures today!

"Hello B'ewe'tiful"

Print your own copy of the provided maps at www.downtownsanangelo.com/ sheep-spectacular

Maps provided by Downtown San Angelo & Q's Printing and Design.

Local News

Do YOU want to design the next San Angelo sheep? Read below to find out how!

Did you know that you can design and purchase your own San Angelo sheep statue to be displayed outside of your local business or organization? Wouldn't it be cool to have our very own "Falcon" sheep to showcase our school spirit and pride?

The Santa Rita Times is asking students to participate in our Design a Sheep Contest! Students are asked to decorate and design a sketch that represents our beloved Santa Rita and all our pride. And who knows! Maybe it will turn into an actual sheep statue outside campus some day.

To participate, pick up a sheep template from the newspaper display at the end of the 4th & 5th grade hallway or from the main office. Decorate and design the winning sheep! Turn all submissions into the art mailbox by the front office by December 15th. The winner will be selected by our staff and showcased in the next Santa Rita Times Edition!

Sheep Template provided by Downtown San Angelo

Community Events

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

Nutcracker Set to Return to San Angelo Stage

Words By Hailie Parks & Hattie Wehner

The Nutcracker is a popular ballet performance that is considered a holiday essential across the world. The original story of the Nutcracker was a German fairytale called, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1916. This version was too dark and scary for children. Now, it is a beloved ballet production for both audiences and dancers of all ages to enjoy!

Ballet San Angelo (BSA) is a ballet company located in San Angelo, TX. Every winter it puts on the famous ballet before Christmas time. The ballet company is lead by artistic director Erin Lane. Dancers audition for the part they want to play. Auditions begin in August. There are two ballerinas who play Clara. Clara is the main character in the ballet who receives a nutcracker doll for Christmas that soon comes to life.

This year is BSA's 40th year performing this famous ballet. Every year The Nutcracker gets more creative and fun for audiences to watch. You can learn more about this year's performances and purchase your tickets on www.sanangelopac.org or www.balletsanangelo.org.

Performances are Friday December 15th through Sunday December 17th, with two performance on Saturday the 16th. There are 2 different casts performing 2 shows each. Ticket prices are $15-$45 depending on where you would like to sit.

Picture provided by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Friday December 15, 2023 @ 7:00 pm Cast A
Saturday December 16, 2023 @ 2:00 pm Cast A
Saturday December 16, 2023 @ 7:00 pm Cast B
Sunday December 17, 2023 @ 2:00 pm Cast B

*All shows will be at the Murphy Performance Hall

"A family experience you won't want to miss!"

World News

With the holidays fast approaching, did you know that not everyone celebrates the same way? Read about some different holidays celebrated in Africa.

Holidays on the Other Side of the World

Researched & Written By Tiana Williams

With the holidays fast approaching, excitement is in the air. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Every year we celebrate these holidays on repeat in the United States. But not all holidays are the same for those living in different countries.

Africa is a continent located between The Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is also the second largest continent in both size and population. People who live in Africa celebrate many holidays, but they may be different than what you would expect.

National Freedom Day (27th of April)
National Freedom Day in South Africa is celebrated for all the heroes that made sacrifices so they could have the ability to vote. Their first non-racial democratic elections were held in 1994. There are no official ways to celebrate, like parades, big dinners or a festival. The people of South Africa decide to honor this day that changed the fate of their nation how they want to.

Anniversary of Barthelemy Boganda’s Death (29th of March)
This national holiday is important to Africa. The holiday aims to honor Barthélemy Boganda, the nation's first prime minister. On the anniversary of his death, they celebrate by letting most businesses and schools have the day off.

Christmas (25th of December)
Christmas in Africa is not all that different from Christmas in the United States. They give each other gifts, like a Secret Santa, and they have a big feast. Kwanzaa is also a holiday similar to Christmas, but it is celebrated for 7 days and is only celebrated by the African-American culture.

As you can see, holidays are celebrated all over the world in many different ways. Not all are the same, but they all do have one thing in common: families getting together to celebrate.

The 2nd largest continent in the world: Africa

Picture provided by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Photo provided by Exoticca Blog

Featured Opinions

Recess - Does the Time Matter?

Read up on some Falcon opinions and see if you agree.

Junior Editor Sutton Boling shares some of her thoughts on the longer recess debate.

Recess is one of the most valuable aspects of a child’s social life. Many students have a one, 15 to 20 minute recess per day. But the question remains: is that enough?

There are many pros and cons for students in having a longer recess. A pro for students includes having more social time with friends, which could then result in students having a longer attention span when they are in the classroom. Even though recess has many pros for students, there are also cons. A few include bullies having more time to strike and less time overall spent learning, which is why students go to school in the first place.

There are also pros and cons to longer recess for teachers as well. Some of the pros include having longer time to plan lessons and possibly having a higher patience level due to less restless kids. With these pros there also comes cons. Some include teachers having less teaching time, which leads to students not learning as much.

All of these reasons have me pondering what is best for both teachers and students. Keep recess the same or add more time? What do you think?

Sunshine or Snow: Which does our Santa Rita Falcons Prefer?

Data Collected by Ariana Armendariz

The Santa Rita Journalism Club recently gave the students of Santa Rita Elementary a survey on what their favorite season was. These were the final results:

Surprisingly, 46.9% of students chose Winter as their favorite season. Fall came in second place with 21.9%. Next, we had Summer with a shocking 20.4%, making it a close third. Finally, we had Spring coming in at 10.7%.

All of this data was collected from a large group and put into a pie chart (to the left). It shows that not everyone's favorite is the same. What do you think? Is this data surprising? What is your favorite season?