December 2016

Volume 14 Issue 1

CMSCourier

CASE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Photos courtesy of Communications

The Story of Mulan Comes to Life at Dillingham Theatre

By Kiera Dolan 21

Mulan Jr. was shown in

Punahous Dillingham Theatre to an
almost sold out audience on
November 10-13, 2016 is based on
the Disney classic, Mulan. It was
directed by Middle School Electives
teacher, Ms. Vanessa ManuelMazzullo. She was assisted by Ms.
Heather Taylor and choreographed
by Ms. Ahnya Chang.
The costume team comprised
Ms. Dvorah Neubauer, Ms. Athena
Keehu amdMs. Vickie Van Wagner
created lovley costumes for the cast
of 53 students.
Mr. Travis Flazer and Mr. Brian
Gilhooly designed the sets, sounds
and lights. They also directed the
backstage crew of 8 students.
The nine-week rehearsal process
took place in Twigg-Smith Pavilion

and Dillingham from September to

November.
The overarching theme is about
perseverance, and we see that with
many characters, not just Mulan.
Mulan is a heroine that saves the
day, not one who waits for Prince
Charming to rescue her. Many
people, especially middle-school
students, can identify with that, said
Director Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo.
The title role was played by
Kailee Brandt 21 who makes her
starring debut in Dillingham Theatre.
However, she is a veteran on the
stage. She has also performed in
community theatre in Honolulu and
New York.
There was a lot of preparation
for this role. I was in nearly every
scene which gave me the

opportunity to be in a lot of songs

and a lot of dances. I wanted to get
to a point where all of the things the
script told me to do as Mulan was
automatic. Once I got to that point
then I could actually start acting and
putting meaning and emotion into
the things that I was doing on
stage, said Kailee Brandt 21.
There were many other middle
school students who made their
debut on the Dillingham Stage.
Kainoa Maruoka 21, who played
Fa Zhou commented, This
production of Mulan Jr. has been
such a wonderful and amazing
experience for me. It was Mrs.
Mazzullo who inspired me and
encouraged me to try out for the
production. I tried out for Mulan Jr.
and I got the role of Fa Zhou
(Mulan's father). During this

Kainoa Maruoka 21, Fa Zhou and Kailee Brandt 21

Mulan during the song Reflection.

experience, I have learned that I have a passion for

theater and that this is something I would like to pursue. I
learned that making a play is a continuous creative
process. There is never only one way to do something
and things can constantly change.
I learned to take a step out of my comfort zone.
Even if it is nerve-wracking at times, I have needed to get
through it for a greater good. This has made me stronger
because now I am more confident and I am up to trying
new things, remarked Kate Ellis 22 who made her
stage debut played a Hun.
In preparation for the show, Ms. Manuel-Mazzullo
brought a Tai Chi practitioner Ms. Linette Char, Academy
Chinese Language teacher.
Kamalu Ogata who played Captain Shang
commented, I learned about Tai Chi and how to calm
the mind and body through meditation. The Tai Chi
helped me control my balance and center my body.
Meditating and centering was also a big part of the
process. Theatre students are naturally crazy-like me. As
a director I wanted to help actors channel that crazy
energy and focus it through meditation.
The cast members appreciated the meditation.
I learned about people, and got to connect with them
better. I learned how to become more mindful through
our meditations, and reflecting on my life as well as

making connections. I've met and gotten to know so

many wonderful people, and I hope that I'll be able to
perform with them in future shows. I'm so grateful and
happy to be able to be a part of this cast, remarked
Seth Okumura 21 who played Yao, one of Captain
Shangs sidekicks.
There were new students who were also part of the
Mulan cast. The Courier asked Sabina Lum 21, who
came to Punahou from an International School in
Vietnam, about her experience. She said, I have
learned how easy it is to appreciate people, and how
good it feels to be appreciated. During Mulan I was
surrounded by people with such talent and compassion. I
watched as my fellow cast members would help each
other out. If someone forgot a script, a new one would
be offered. If someone needed help with a mic, five
people would jump to help. And if someone was
hungry... even though food was a precious commodity,
even that would be shared. It was so heart-warming to
watch how quickly we all became a family who looked
out for each other.
The cast members reflected on their process and all of
them cherished the bonds they formed.
During this experience, I learned the importance of
teamwork, kindness, and gratitude. This show has taught
me not only to think about myself , but to appreciate
what has been done for you inside and outside of the
show. I feel so grateful of the outcome of being in the
show whether it's because of my new made experiences
or making new friends and meeting people that you
never imagined to meet. Overall, I am so happy that I
am in this production and will look back at it as one of
the best experiences in 8th grade, said Nicole Hanna
21.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Domion

Designing the Future

Photo by Stan Kimura

By Kaelah Kimura 23

Children are the worlds most valuable resource

and its best hope for the future, said John F. Kennedy
at a UNICEF appeal in 1963. There are so many
programs that support this former presidents
statement. First Lego League (FLL) gives students from
grades fourth through eighth a valuable experience in
STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math).
FLL is educating young minds in engineering, coding,
and finding innovative solutions.
One of the 32,000 FLL teams is named the Buff n
Blue Crew (B2C). This team consists of Alex Kinoshita,
Cole Shimamura, Connor Allen, Joey Misailidis,
Kaelah Kimura, Keon Sagara, Marcus Herrera,
Matthew Chee, and Wyatt Okikawa, all from the class
of 2023 at Punahou School. The coaches are Heidi
Okikawa and Mark Okikawa. All coaches at Punahou
are parent volunteers.
All children within the grades fourth through
eighth can compete, but there are a few reasons why
some teams do not compete. EV3s (the brain of the
robot) are expensive and some are not financially able.
It is also difficult to find parents who have the time to
coach a team.
The team B2C builds robots with lego pieces and
an EV3 as the brain of the robot. B2C team member
said, My favorite part of FLL is programming the
robots. and Marcus Herrera, also a member from the
B2C says, I feel that the most fun part about robotics is
building the attachments. These robots must complete
some of the various tasks that are created specifically
for each seasons unique theme, for example, this
years theme is Animal Allies. The robots do these tasks
by using coding blocks on the Lego Mindstorm coding
program and using creatively designed attachments that
are added onto the robot.
Another part of FLL is the Project, each team has to
come up with an innovative solution to improve a
situation. This year teams must come up with a solution
to improve the relationship between any living animal
and people.
Teams used the process of Design Thinking. During
brainstorm team members write down any animal on a
sticky note. Once there are at least two ideas from each
person, they categorize. By categorizing a team will
find which animal they want to focus on. Once the
team finds the main focus, they brainstorm ideas for an
innovative solution. Finally, after categorizing the
solutions, the team will find a possible Project topic. The
teams discuss how that project might work out. Teams
research on the topic.

Some attachments are strong enough to lift the robot off the ground.

When the final Project is set in place the team

discusses how to present it. The B2C team has done skits
every year of FLL. Other teams decide to do tri-fold
board presentations. Whatever you do just make sure
you can clearly explain what the Project is, which
animal it affects, why its better than what exists now,
and the details, like how much it costs and what
materials it is made of, said our coaches.
As competitions get closer the coaches are able to
register for a district tournament they can attend.
Competitions are held at various schools around the
state. For example, Kalani High School, Le Jardin, and
The University of Hawaii.
District tournaments in Hawaii are held during the
beginning of November.
FLL has incredible opportunites to offer, Keon
Sagara 23 says his favorite part about FLL is,
Learning to work together as a team and learning
good skills for the future in teamwork.
The B2C has always believed that doing FLL and
the Project will make you a more cooperative person
and you will be able to lead others in finding solutions.
Most importantly, you make friends you will know a
lifetime. Some peoples favorite part about FLL is in fact
the friendships they make. My favorite part would be
the experience I have had with my team over the past 3
years. It has been an amazing journey, filled with many
laughs. I couldn't ask for a better team.- Connor Allen.
Sources:
http://www.firstinspires.org
Heidi Okikawa

4 Last Minute Christmas Treats

By Sophia Woofter 23 and Troy Brandt 23
At the last minute, you plan a Christmas party.
Everything is going well, until you get to the grocery
store. Every dessert is sold out! Now, your only choice
is to make your own desserts! Dont panic, because
these Christmas treats are easy to make, and take a
small amount of your time. Lets get baking!
There are many different treats you can make. Here
are some that will be taught to you: Peppermint
Cookies, Christmas Tree Brownies, Oreo Penguins,
Marshmallow Reindeer and Chocolate Chip Cookie
Dough Truffles.
I liked the Christmas tree brownies the best because I
love brownies, and I think it is a cute idea to make them
into Christmas trees. says Katerina Im 23.
The treats are perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth.
You can easily make them at home, and you do not
need any special equipment. A regular oven will do.
You can even make them with your friends. These
recipes have been made before, and they are proven to
be delicious!

The Peppermint Cookies taste just like Christmas!
says Isabella Ford in Ms. Kobayashis class.
The desserts are very simple, and can be made with
household items. The supplies can be found at your
local supermarket.
I would definitely make these treats. They sound so
cute and tasty. says Marlie Asato in Ms. Chongs class.
These treats match the theme for Christmas. They
have to do with the cold weather, and the Christmas
colors. Each recipe has a different amount of time to
make.
I feel like I would make these because they are
perfect treats that are creative and taste good at the
Peppermint Cookies take 15 minutes to make. The Christmas Tree
Brownies are so fun to decorate!

Photo By Sophia Woofter

The ingredients for the Marshmallow Reindeer are so tempting to eat.

same time. said Kylie Moniz from Ms. Kobayashis

class.
These treats are in snack proportions, so they are
easy to make in tiny batches. They taste so good, and
they are perfect for sharing.
The tiny proportions are so useful! I would definitely
make these for my family and friends. says Sophia
Espinoza from Ms. Kobayashis class.
Here are the recipes:
Peppermint Cookies
You will need:
Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
Minty Candy Canes
What to Do:
1. Put candy canes in a plastic bag, and crush them into
tiny pieces
2. Mix candy cane pieces into sugar cookie dough
3. Follow directions on cookie dough can and youre
done!
Christmas Tree Brownies:
You will need:
Brownie Mix
Food Coloring
Icing
Sprinkles
Christmas Tree Cookie Cutters
What to Do:
1. Follow the directions on your brownie mix box, and
bake them
2. While the brownies are in the oven, mix green food
coloring into white icing
3. When the brownies are done, use the cookie cutters
to cut out Christmas trees
4. Spread icing on the Christmas tree brownies and
decorate with sprinkles!

3. Beat the brown sugar, granulated

Oreo Penguins
You will need:
Oreos
Hersheys Chocolate Bars (2 big
sizes)
White Candy Melts
Regular M&Ms
Candy eyes
Airheads Xtreme Sweetly Sour
Candy, Rainbow Berry
What to Do:
1. Melt the chocolate bars until
liquid
2. Dip Oreos in the chocolate
3. Place Oreos on a plate and
stick 2 M&Ms on each side of
the Oreo
4. Peel one color from the
Airheads Xtreme Candy and
attach from one M&M to the
other
5. Put 2 candy eyes on the
Oreo4. Peel one color from the
Airheads Xtreme Candy and
attach from one M&M to the
other
5. Put 2 candy eyes on the
Oreo
6. Stick 1 candy melt on the
Oreo below the eyes
7. Let the Oreos cool, and then
enjoy!

sugar, butter, yogurt and vanilla

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Truffles
You Will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour

with an electric mixer on mediumhigh speed in a large bowl until

well combined, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the flour mixture, and mix on

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

low speed until well incorporated.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

(Turn off the mixer and use your

1/4 cup granulated sugar

hands to help combine if needed.)

5. Fold in 1/3 cup of the chocolate

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at

chips with a rubber spatula, or

Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles make great presents.

Marshmallow Reindeer
You will need:
Jumbo Sized Marshmallows
Photo by Troy Brandt 23
Hersheys Bar (1 big sized bar)
Candy Eyes
room temperature
Red M&Ms
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Pretzels
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
What to Do:
1. Melt the Hersheys bar until liquid
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate
2. Dip marshmallows in the
chips
chocolate
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
3. Put on the candy eyes
or coconut oil
4. Put one M&M under the eyes for
a nose
What to Do:
5. Break one pretzel, and stick the
1. Line a baking sheet with
two pieces on top of the
parchment paper.
marshmallow
2. Whisk together the flour, baking
6. Let them cool, and you did it.
soda and salt in a medium bowl.

mix them in with your hands.

6.Scoop tablespoonfuls of the
batter, and roll them into smooth
balls.
7.Put them on the prepared
baking sheet, and refrigerate until
chilled, about 1 hour.
8.Melt the remaining 2/3 cup
chocolate chips and the
shortening in a medium
microwave-safe bowl in the
microwave in 30-second
increments, stirring in between,
until the coating is smooth and
thin.
9.Drop the chilled balls into the
coating, and roll them around
with a fork to fully coat.
10.Remove each truffle with the
fork, letting any excess coating
drip off, and return to the baking
sheet. Refrigerate the truffles until
the coating is completely set,

about 1 hour.
Now that you have all of these
Christmas treats, you dont have to
fear because you will have the best
Christmas ever.

Check List for Tako

Tako is the Hawaiian octopus

Fishing:
1. Spear
2. Snorkel and fins
3. Weight belt (optional)
in case you cannot sink to the bottom
of the sea floor
4. Gloves (optional)
so you dont cut your hands on the
rocks

Tako Fishing
By Noah Sagon 23

This is the largest tako I have caught, weighing in at

3 pounds. The average weight of a tako is 1 pound
to 1 1/2 pounds. I caught this in Punaluu without
my Dads help.

Tako are Hawaiian octopus found in little caves in the ocean.

They are good to eat and hard to find. Sometimes it is hard to find them
so you have to guess if they are in the cave. You poke with a spear
around in the cave. If you feel a tug, then you look inside the cave. You
have to tickle the tako tentacles in order to attract it out of the cave.
Once the tako comes out, pull it out of the hole with your hand. Then
you spear the tako as quickly as you can. Finally, you have a yummy
tako to eat.

Tako season runs from October through December. They come in

to breed in shallow water because the water is usually calmer closer to
shore. Some people say that when the Hala tree fruit is ripe, the season
starts.

Punaluu and Kualoa beach parks are two places where you can
find the most tako for beginners. The waters there are calm. It can take
from one hour to two hours to find tako. If you are lucky, you might be
able to find one in as short as thirty minutes.
Mokuleia is where most experienced divers go to catch tako.
The water is rough and murky so it is more dangerous. My Dad who is
an experienced diver enjoys catching tako here. You can ride the
current down, but you have to walk back, commented my dad, Aran
Sagon.

The way you prepare the Tako is not to wash it off with fresh
water. Washing with fresh water washes off all the natural salt that
makes it tasty. You can put it on the grill. The tako will curl up and turn
red when it is ready. You could also cut it up and make tako poke.

D.I.Y. Christmas Craft

Anyone Can Do
By Isabel Cheever 23

The best Christmas gifts are the

ones that come from the heart. My
grandma always tells me that she
would rather me give her something
I made, rather than something that I
would buy her. For Christmas you
can even give someone an early
Christmas gift, like a personalized
ornament they can put on their tree.
If you dont have time to make
something for someone, give them a
board game, or something you can
do together.
I personally love when people
give me things I can actually use. In
middle school most people have
grown out of toys. So I came up with
the idea to make ornaments! Almost
everyone has at least one ornament
on their tree that someone made for
them. If its either made by a child in
preschool, or given to them by a coworker.
This ornament is very hard to
mess up, even for someone like me
that can mess stuff up really easily.
All youll need is:
1. A styrofoam ball
2. Hot glue
3. Sequins (any color of your
choice)
4. And piece of wire.

Step 4:
You can get all of these supplies
from Ben Franklin. There are a
couple Ben Franklins on Oahu. The
closest to Punahou is in Market City
Shopping Center on 2919 Kapiolani
Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96826,
(808) 735-4211.
Step 1:
Place a sequin wherever you want
the bottom to be on the styrofoam
ball, and glue it with hot glue. Place
the next sequin slightly overlapping
the first sequin. Continue this step all
over the ball until the entire ball is
covered, except for a small space at
the top.

Place the two feet on the ball, in the

small uncovered space. Put a bit of
hot glue on one of the feet, and
place a sequin on top. Do this on the
other side.

Step 5:
Continue to fill in the ornament until
it is entirely covered with sequins.
If you want it to be more original
you could try:
1.

Placing the sequins in a

pattern.

2.

Instead of using hot glue,

use sewing pins with colored
heads. Just poke the pin
through the hole in the
sequin.

3.
Step 2:
Take the wire and make a narrow
rainbow shape with it.

Step 3:
Take one end of the wire and bend it
into a foot shape, repeat on the
other side.
Photos by Isabel Cheever 23

Get sequins that are

different shapes and colors.

4.

Cut the sequins into different

wacky shapes.

Source:
www.woohome.com

The Joy of Experiencing Musical Theatre

By Jelene Sanidad 23

The joy of Musical Theatre for a lot of people is
just being able to perform in a group, that is large or
small, that acts, sings, and dances. It lets people express
their feelings in their own way. Some people like to do it
for fun, either alone, or with friends.

I chose Musical Theatre because I enjoy acting,

dancing, and singing. -Isabella Estes 23
Musical Theatre is an exploratory course for 6th
graders. Giving the students in 6th grade a chance to
open up and let loose. Or helping people become more
confident being on stage, and/or doing performances for
a crowd.
Many teachers help with Musical Theatre, it isnt just
Mr. Roberts doing everything. Some teachers that help
are... Mrs. Asahina who plays the piano, Mrs. Taylor
who helps with the acting, Mrs. Ahnya who does the
choreography, Mr. Tam who plays in the band and so

many more. The process is a lot of fun, and really

easy with everyone helping.
The most amount of kids Mr. Roberts has had in
Musical Theatre is about 100, and the least amount
is 35 students.
Mr. Roberts is a great teacher and I love having
him as a music teacher this year, commented
Jaynie Fu 23
When doing shows there are always solos or
group parts. Mr. Roberts never chooses who can
sing the best overall. He first lets the students pick if
they want to audition for a solo or stay as a group.
And then he chooses the student (if they audition)
by if they would rather sing harmony or have a
type of solo. And if they want a solo he also
chooses them if they can hit the notes or their
voices match the song.
Another thing that is really fun is the wacky warmups Mr. Roberts comes up with, said Taylor Merrifield
23.
He loves to
change them
around is
because when
he was
younger and
was in choir,
they always
sang the same
old warm ups
every class and
also he wants
to be a fun
teacher for us.
When I was
there we
learned a new
warm up and it
went like this
Bee a bae. It
is fun to do and
it warms you
up at the
same time.
Musical Theatre meets during lunch time
When we
to practice and memorize their solos and
were learning
it, everyone
was laughing
trying to figure it out without words.
Rehearsals and performances are held in TwiggSmith.
The December Musical was on December 16th at
8:15 am and 9:30 am for the, and is May 26th at 8:15,
9:30, and 6:30 for the Spring Musical.

Trolls is A Must See

By Michael May 23

Trolls has set the standard

for the best animated film since
Minions, another Dreamworks
success. It is a highly rated fun
kids movie for everyone to enjoy!
It hit the theaters November 4th
and since made over $100
million.
Photo from http://tinyurl.com/gn7euve

On the way to Bergen Town

she has to overcome many
problems. One of the biggest
problems for Poppy is realizing
the world is not only flowers,
hugs, rainbows, and love.
Instead as she will find out soon
the world has dangers and
troubles. Branch on the other
hand knows all about danger. He
has a survival bunker that he
uses to make sure he never gets
found by a Bergen. Can they
stop Trollstice, or will every troll
be in danger of being eaten?

deformations and death, Xolotl,

while the most commonly
accepted translation is "waterdog" (from "atl" for water, and
"xolotl", which can also mean
dog). There's so many Reasons
why this is such an amazing
creature. I Think that one of the
truly amazing features of the
creature is how it has the ability
to regenerate parts of its body
like its arms and legs. And that is
just one of incredible and
amazing features.
http://tinyurl.com/oc7kcsu

Top Three Most Incredible

Animals
By Cooper Beall 23

Poppy and Branch are the main characters in

the movie Trolls.

Trolls stars Justin Timberlake

(Branch) and Anna Kendrick
(Poppy). This action packed
movie is a blast. Theres
everything from comedy to songs
that make you want to sing and
dance. Justin Timberlake has
raised awareness for the movie
with his heavy hitting song Cant
Stop the Feeling.
King Pappy saves all the trolls
from the treacherous Bergens
who love eating trolls. Every year
they used to have trolls for a
special day they called Trollstice.
But 20 years later Poppys
friends are captured by the
bergen, Chef who wants to put
troll cuisine back on the menu.
She says the only way to be
happy is by eating trolls. She,
with the help of Branch a troll
who is overprotective of himself
must save her friends.

The goblin shark

(Mitsukurina owstoni) is a deep
sea shark that is extremely rare
and because of that it is called
the living fossil This pink-skinned
animal has a distinctive profile
with an elongated, flattened
snout, and highly protrusible
jaws containing prominent naillike teeth. It is usually between 3
and 4 m (10 and 13 ft) long
when mature, though it can grow
considerably larger. Its long
snout is covered with ampullae of
Lorenzini that enable it to sense
minute electric fields produced by
nearby prey. The goblin shark
was discovered in 1898 off
Yokohama, Japan.
Australians and New
Zealanders frequently refer to
the Axolotl as the Mexican
Walking Fish, though the Axolotl.
is not a fish but an amphibian.
The name "Axolotl" comes from
the Aztec language, "Nahuatl".
One of the most popular
translations of the name connects
the Axolotl to the god of

Axolotls are on the endangered species list.

Sea pigs are 4-6 inches long

and they can fit in the palm of
your hand they have puffy legs
and oval shaped bodies. Sea
pigs are a type of sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms,
this includes sea urchins and
starfish. Sea pigs live all over the
world they comprise more than
95% of the total weight of
animals on the deep-sea floor.
But most people never even see a
sea pig which is crazy because
there are so many of them. This
animal was discovered more than
100 years ago.

Top 4 Most Critically Endangered Animals

On The Planet
By Matias Durkin 23

Did you know there are 41,415 animal species that

are endangered right now? There are four animals on
the most critically endangered list. Some of these
animals could be extinct by the end of this year. Are
there ways for us to help stop the animals from becoming
extinct?
An estimated 46,000 to 58,000 square miles of
forest are lost each year. It is like losing 48 football fields
every minute. Forests are essential for the balance of the
ecosystem.
Sources:
www.savetherhino.org
www.allaboutwildlife.com
http://www.worldwildlife.org
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com

The Golden bamboo lemur lives in Madagascar. It eats mostly shoots

and leaves. 1994 is when its population really started to decrease.
By 2004 they were labeled as critically endangered. They are
endangered due to deforestation, and to human activity in their
habitat. This mainly, caused a problem because humans started to
become more prone to animal attacks, in the areas that they built
houses in, and the animals had less territory to breed, hunt and live.

The most critically endangered animal is the Amur Leopard.

The Amur Leopard lives in far east Russia. The Amur Leopard
eats mainly deer and badgers. They became endangered in
1996, scientists estimated only 26 survived 2008, according
to World WildLife Foundation a direct cause of its
endangerment is deforestation.

The Western Lowland Gorillas habitats include: Africa swamps,

Republic of Congo and Cameroon. By 1991 they were labeled as
endangered, and there are only 100,000 individuals left on the
planet. The WLG is endangered due to poaching and
deforestation. People poach them because the gorillas meat is
considered god like. The most common causes of endangerment in
the world, and to the Western Lowland Gorilla are deforestation
and poaching. We can help by cutting down on our paper use,
and by donating to organizations that can stop the illegal
poaching.
The Javan Rhino is mostly found in Vietnam. However, we cannot
identify exactly where they range, because there are so little of them left. The Javan
Rhino started going extinct in 2010. The Javan Rhino is going extinct due to illegal
poaching. People are poaching the Javan Rhino because they know how to make
their horns into medicine. About three Rhinos are killed each day. Thats 1,095 Rhinos
each year! We can help by raising awareness of the illegal ivory trade throughout
the world.

Giant Prehistoric Turkey

By Opal Shafer 23

Cassowaries look like giant prehistoric turkeys have

many other strange features, such as feathers and feet.
A cassowary may appear to have hair instead of
feathers, but they do have feathers its feathers are
stiff and similar to porcupine quills, although they do not
have the same defense mechanism. A cassowaries feet
is what to look out for, they have three toes including an
especially long dagger-like claw on each foot that can
be as long as five inches. They have a nearly deadly
kick, not to mention a powerful beak.
Cassowaries are usually shy creatures, although if
challenged, they can make a pretty tough opponent.
Cassowaries usually eat natural food ranging from small
animals (including roadkill), to large fruit.
Cassowaries live in Papua New Guinea and
Australia, and there are three different species. The
southern cassowary is endangered. Cassowaries were
probably discovered by the native people around their
habitats. No one really knows how long cassowaries
have existed, or who and when someone first
discovered them.

Cassowaries may also be

known to hold world
records like; lowest birdcall
in the world, and second
largest bird in the world.

Baby Cassowaries have a daddy day care (for more than a day), because
the male cassowaries sit on the nest at the maximum of nine months, and
take care of their chicks until theyre old enough to go out on their own.

In less than a second, a cassowary can deal a kick that brakes bones,
with their powerful feet and long claws.

Cassowaries may also be known to hold world
records like; lowest birdcall in the world, and second largest Did you know a Cassowary can jump up to 7 feet in the air and
grow up to 6 feet tall?
bird in the world.

Another interesting fact about Cassowaries, is that
they have no tongue, so they throw their food to the back of
Photos from
their throat and swallow it whole.
www.savethecassowary.org.au
www.arf.net.au

A Fun Fest for All

By Harley Wolters 23

On Friday September 30, 2016 the

sixth grade participated in a fun way
for students to get involved in books
called Harris Fest. After reading Harris
& Me in class the teachers and parent
volunteers created and supervised fun,
imaginary games.
Im so excited for Harris Fest!
said Sophia Woofter 23, before the
festival. I cant wait to experience all
the fun activities planned.
The students played jacks and
Farmer Tam, dressed in overalls explained the days adventures to the anxious
marbles, where they were divided into
children.
small groups. To play jacks, you toss up
bars) and shot bow and arrows at Buzzer (threw balls at
a ball and then try to pick a certain amount of jacks. The
large targets) in the field.
better you get, the more jacks you try to pick up at once.
My favorite part of Harris Fest was when we went
To play marbles, you make a circle and put marbles in.
through this course of things that had happened like we
You then pick one marble as your shooter. You can flick it
had to dodge the tetherball, (which was Ernie) and
or squeeze it out of your hand. Your goal is to knock
tackle a football dummy which was fun to watch, says
another marble out of the circle. If you do, you keep it.
Davina Li 23.
The game ends when all the marbles have been bumped
After the students had all had their fair share of fun,
out. Whoever has the most marbles at the end wins. Both
they gathered back in the team space to eat some
of these games are really fun and easy to play.
delicious treats. The students were served cookies and
There were also line dances in the team space. The
orange pop. It was a delicious way to end such a fun
students had a fantastic time dancing to cowboy music.
festival.
The sixth graders tried to avoid Ernie the evil rooster
I think that it was a great learning experience
(a tetherball), tackled a 300 pound pig (football pad),
because when I read the book Harris and Me, I got to
performed the Tarzan leap (swung across the monkey
know about the characters a little bit but I didnt get to
experience what they were doing. But when
Photos by Erika Ireland
we did Harris Fest, it made me understand
more and become closer to the characters,
says sixth grader Alana Shigekane when
questioned about Harris Fest. My favorite
part of Harris Fest was tackling the pigs.
I believe this is an important activity
because it forces kids to use their
imagination and have a lot of fun at the
same time. Thanks to all the teachers and
parents this will certainly be something I will
remember forever.

Mrs. Umeda led us in fun line dances including the Electric Slide.