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The Denver Post • 1
CK Reporter of the WeekMegan Lindsey, Fort Collins
May 31, 2016
Champions at meetingpersonal challenges
Learning to survive ina competitive world
You will enjoy “Rising Above,” by Gregory Zuckerman and his two sons, Elijah and Gabriel, if you are
a sports fan. You will also enjoy
this book if you like to encourage people of all ages to overcome their challenges.
In today’s society, professional athletes such as LeBron James (basketball), Tim Howard (soccer), Althea Gibson (tennis), and Jim Abbott (baseball) have a claim to fame through their sports, but what many people don’t know is the hard times that many of these athletes have gone through.
This book is an educational and inspiring collection of stories about 11 professional athletes who overcame extreme challenges in their youth.
Racism, physical disabilities, fi nancial struggles, obsessive compulsive disorder, and Tourette syndrome are some of the challenges described in detail in the book.
One of the good things about this book is the fact that there are so many
diff erent stories. You can skip around or read them in
order; it doesn’t matter.However, I did not like
the fact that a 245-page book does not have any pictures of the athletes other than the front jacket.
Still, I would rate this a 9 1/2 because not only does it touch your heart very often with the ways these athletes turn their lives around, but it makes you aware of many bad things that can happen to people in diff erent parts of the world.
Before reading the book, I thought that the stories would only be about athletes with physical disabilities, but I was surprised that most of the disabilities or challenges that these athletes overcame were mental.
Twelve-year-old Jayson Barnes is forced to live on his own after his mother dies. Having been left
with nothing, Jayson tries to keep a low profi le so he doesn’t get picked up by Child Protective Services.
“Fast Break”, by Mike Lupica is about how he uses basketball to keep himself out of trouble.
Jayson basically lives on the old beat-up basketball court at the Pines. The only family he has is his friends/teammates.
To make it through life Jayson is forced to overcome problems that might not be so easy for a twelve year old and, through it all, basketball is the one thing that will stick with him.
After his mom dies and his step-dad takes everything but the apartment, Jayson is forced to fi nd a way to survive.
He has to fi gure out a way to make it on his own, when he should be having fun.
In order to survive, he begins to steal. He steals in order to eat. He steals
basketball shoes when his coach tells him he needs new ones.
When Jayson gets caught stealing, he is forced to go live with a foster family.
Things are a struggle for Jayson for quite awhile, with a new family, new school, and new team.
It isn’t always easy for Jayson to overcome these obstacles, but somehow he does.
“Fast Break” was really captivating.
I loved this book due to how Mike Lupica makes his writing sound
somewhat like a sports announcer. Jayson is a competitive kid, and
through Mike Lupica’s writing it shows how and what type of player Jayson Barnes is.
When educators connect, we do great things for students.REGISTER NOW FOR ISTE 2016
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Alice has grown up. She has found her way in life by becoming a ship’s captain, but quite suddenly the ship is sold by her mother to help pay debts and her life’s plan is thrown off course.
Heartbroken, she (Mia Wasikowska) walks through a looking glass after following the Caterpillar, who has since turned into a butterfl y (Alan Rickman).
Once back in Wonderland her old friends tell her of a deep sadness that has been tugging at the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp): The fact that his “dead” family may still be alive.
She then goes on a journey to help fi nd Hatter’s parents, who, supposedly, were killed by the Jabberwock.
After meddling with time and encountering many things from Wonderland’s past as the movie comes to an end, will she be able to part with her childhood and Wonderland?
For many of us, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass,” encompass our childhood.
From the Mad Hatter to the Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit, the absurdity is the beauty of what makes Alice in Wonderland such a unique spectacle.
“Alice Through the Looking Glass,” has to be one of the most spectacular movies that has come out in quite a while.
Director Tim Burton and actors Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Alan Rickman, were able to bring the pages and words of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, truly to life.
With breathtaking special eff ects, Tim Burton’s unique directing style is evident throughout the whole movie.
The acting was a major component in cultivating the story into reality and these well-known actors did a fantastic job bringing the characters to fruition.
One thing to keep in mind, is that though this movie is PG, there are extremely dark elements in the story and I would suggest that kids younger than seven should not watch it.
I highly recommend, “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”
By Clarise Reichley,11, a CK Reporter from Denver
By Ashley Gaccetta,12, a CK Reporter from Longmont
By Ben Vanourek,10, a CK Reporter from Littleton
Mad magic continues for Alice
The Denver Post • 2
People trying to make sensible decisions about the food they eat will begin to get some help, as new
labels will start providing better information.The Food and Drug Administration has announced
new labeling requirements that make some sensible changes in how nutritional information is provided.
One big change is that foods will now show “added sugar,” which will help people see what foods are sweetened beyond the natural sugars that they may contain to begin with.
Labels will no longer list calories from sugar, because the FDA has realized that calories which come from those natural sugars are not the same as those that come from added sweeteners and other sources.
Another very important change is more sensible portions.
In the past, for instance, a half-cup was considered one serving of ice cream, but very few people ever eat such a small amount. Now it will be two-thirds of a cup, still small but more realistic.
And a can of soda will be a single serving, as will small bags of chips. In the past, they might be consider two servings, but the FDA recognizes that very few people get two servings from those small packages.
Don’t look for these new labels tomorrow: The FDA is giving food manufacturers a few years to make the changes.
But better labels, and better nutrition, are coming.
Nutritional labels changing to make more sense
Illustration: FDA
Rules: Every row across, every column down and each of the six smaller boxes must contain numerals 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, one time and one time only.
The solution to this week’s puzzle is on Page 4.
On this day in 1927, the last of 15,007,003 Ford Model T cars was made, so our answers this week will begin with “F.”
1. Four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer from Regis High School
2. A family of woodwind instruments that includes the fi fe and piccolo
3. Park County town that hosts a famous burro race each summer
4. Company that makes a wearable activity tracker, often worn on the wrist, to help people know how much exercise they’re getting
5. Mascot of the United States Air Force Academy
6. US President from 1974 to 1977, he was never elected president or vice-president
7. Type of fi replace with bellows where a blacksmith heats metal so it can be pounded into shape and made into tools, horseshoes and other things
8. Group of islands near the southern tip of South America claimed by both Argentina and Great Britain
9. Author of the “Ranger’s Apprentice” and “Brotherband Chronicles” series of novels
10. Part of a river shallow enough for wagons and people to cross over safely and easily(answers on Page Four)
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When John Magafuli’s government was elected in Tanzania last November, young people throughout the country were delighted to
think real change was coming to their nation.The new president promised an end to dishonest
government where the rich and powerful made all the money and ran things the way they wanted.
He promised to stop wasting money on things that Tanzania did not need, and began by cancelling the normal celebrations that would have greeted a new government.
He also decided the government did not need to spend money printing special Christmas cards that taxpayers would have to pay for.
Young Tanzanians had supported him because he promised to work on helping them fi nd jobs and on making high school and college more aff ordable, and they danced in the street when he won the election, celebrating for free the joy they felt.
They even began tweeting about funny ways to save money the way Magafuli did, with joking solutions like making jewelry out of dinner forks.
But for one member of John Magafuli’s government, the jokes ended last week, and so did his powerful job in the Tanzanian government.
Charles Kitwanga was Minister for Internal Aff airs, and was considered very close to Magafuli.
However, he had already been criticized for a deal he made with a company that supplies fi ngerprinting equipment to police departments across the country.
It was said that he might have secretly been paid to recommend that the company be named to provide that equipment, which is the type of dishonesty Magafuli had promised to stop.
Then Kitwanga showed up to testify before a gov-ernment committee, and it was plain that he had been drinking.
Magafuli moved quickly, fi ring Kitwanga as Minister and removing him from the government.
The move came as a surprise to many in the region, since having powerful friends in government often protects people from having to follow the rules.
But it was welcomed by Magafuli’s young fans as another reason to trust their new government.
In Magafuli’s nation, even friends have rules
John Magafuli’s young supporters danced for joy when he was elected; many are now happy to fi nd that he is keeping his word to run an honest government in Tanzania.
(AP Photo)
The new “X-Men Apocalypse” is full of action, comedy, and suspense.
It begins in ancient Egypt, where a ceremony is about to commence. The pharaoh, Apocalypse, is believed to be the world’s fi rst mutant. The ritual is interrupted and a long, epic fi ght happens.
This ends when a comatose Apocalypse is buried under tons of rock.
Thousands of years later in the 1980s, worshippers of the ancient mutant-pharaoh unintentionally uncover his body, which has been in a stasis.
This awakens the evil mutant and he escapes the tomb with the idea that he needs to cleanse the world by killing all non-mutants.
It is up to Charles Xavier and his team of teenage X-Men to stop the evil Apocalypse and save all of humanity.
I had been pretty hyped for this new X-Men movie. I have read most of the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics and it is always a joy to see old characters like Cyclops and the Beast be reinvented in a tremendous movie like this one.
The movie starts with an ambitious fi ght scene that is also pretty violent. Thankfully, it is not this intense the whole movie.
The overall plot line of the movie was so mind-bogglingly marvelous (pun intended), that I actually fell out of my chair.
I like that the movie shows several origin stories for characters such as Wolverine and Cyclops.
One of the best parts of this movie is the comedy. A great example of this is Quicksilver: This superhero
has been given lighting-fast speed and can practically stop time, resulting in several great scenes.
While this movie can be hilarious, it can also pull at the heartstrings. There are various death scenes and this could easily scare a child.
In some of these scenes, foul words are used so I wouldn’t recommend this movie for kids 12 and under.
A plus of this movie is the CGI. The eff ects look so real that you could swear that it is really happening in front of you.
Example: A hero named Nightcrawler has the ability to teleport to any place he can see. This results in some pretty amazing shots in the movie, like being on top of a huge pyramid, or falling from the sky at 90 miles an hour.
I think this movie was great, although not appropriate for all ages.
If you get the chance to see this new X-Men adventure, I implore you to do so!
New X-Men intense and worth it
By Thomas Krumholz,14, a CK Reporter from Denver
The Denver Post • 3
is produced by Denver Post Educational Services
Executive Editor: Dana [email protected]
CK Editor: Mike [email protected]
We welcome your comments.
For tools to extend the learning in this feature, look under “Youth Content” at:
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Stories without bylines were written by the editor.
(see Page Three)
10 right - Wow!
7 right - Great!
5 right - Good
3 right - See you next time!
1. (Missy) Franklin 2. fl ute 3. Fairplay 4. Fitbit 5. falcon 6. (Gerald) Ford 7. forge 8. Falklands 9. John Flanagan 10. ford
Hot Links to Cool Sites!
NASA’s Space Placehttp://tinyurl.com/ckspace
NIE Special Reporthttp://tinyurl.com/ckniereport
Headline Geographyhttp://tinyurl.com/ckgeography
Pulse of the Planethttp://tinyurl.com/ckpulseplanet
How to become a NextGen Reporter!http://tinyurl.com/colokidsreporter
To read the sources for these storiesJohn Magafuli and Tanzania
New nutritional labels
go to http://www.tinyurl.com/ckstorylinks
Chapter Three: Farewell to FordsburghOur story so far: After being beaten for drawing sketches instead of doing his chores, Caleb tells his
stepbrother Alex he wants to run away to the army. But now, after being defeated by the British at Ogdensburgh, the army has come to their trading post.
The soldiers remained at Fordsburgh for three more days, as more retreating soldiers,
walking south from Ogdensburgh along the river, found their encampment.
Major Forsyth had gone directly towards Sackets Harbor along the rough road north of Black Lake, and Sgt. Adams sent a messenger to let him know where and how many they were.
They hoped the messenger would return with orders to join Forsyth to drive the British back across the St. Lawrence River, but they prepared, instead, for the long trek through the snowy forests to the military base at Sackets Harbor.
When the Floodwoods began to arrive, it was time to go. The Floodwood company had been raised nearby in Madrid and had no uniforms, which made them the perfect volunteers to leave behind in Ogdensburgh to tend the wounded and to hide or destroy whatever supplies they could. The British might hold a Floodwood overnight but would have to release him when they couldn’t prove he was a soldier.
The Floodwoods brought news that General Jacob Brown had met Forsyth on the road and ordered him on to Sackets Harbor, then went to Ogdensburgh himself to gather whatever military supplies the British had not captured. Ogdensburgh would no longer be defended.
Life at the trading post had been quiet. Some of the men went out with their rifles and brought back venison to help feed their fellows and to barter with McKenzie for coffee and tobacco. The ones who had money bought a few things at the store and paid Caleb’s mother to cook for them and do their laundry.
The quiet woman became popular with the men, who gave her too much money for what she did, and praised her cornbread until she laughed.
“That’s nothing but plain old Johnny cake you could make yourself just as good,” she’d protest, but, whether they were from down in North Carolina or up in New England, they’d each insist hers was just like their own mothers’ recipes.
And they chuckled over McKenzie’s cheapness, until the morning of the third day, when one of the wounded men who had been brought down on the sledge died.
Caleb’s mother said she’d be proud to have him buried in the clearing back among the birches, next to Caleb’s father, but all McKenzie did was mumble that they’d best be careful, digging in that frozen ground with his shovel and pick.
“So, let me get this, now,” Corporal Daley said to Caleb, as a group of soldiers were gathered in the barn after the little funeral. “Your ma and pa used to own this store? And then he died, and McKenzie married your ma? And that’s how he got the store?”
“Yeah.” Caleb was sitting cross-legged, his sketchbook in his lap, copying the insignia of Forsyth’s Rifles from the front of the tall soldier’s hat, which sat on the dirt floor in front of him.
Daley looked around at the other soldiers. “What did he do before?”Caleb spoke without looking away from the hat. “Ran the stables at the public house.”Daley shook his head. “From stable boy to storeowner! If I didn’t like your ma so much, I’d
laugh.”The door opened and McKenzie walked in. “Caleb, you need to be working,” he said.
“There’s wood to be cut and water to be hauled for the horses.”“We tended your horses when we did our own,” Daley said. “As for wood, Private Clark was
just about to cut and split some for our fires. He’ll do yours as well.” He half turned and a dark-haired soldier stood and walked to the door, glaring at McKenzie as he passed by him.
“Well, the boy still has to be working,” McKenzie insisted.“He’s working, as you can see,” Daley said. “He’s practicing our insignia so he can scratch it
into my powder horn proper-like. I always wanted some scrimshaw, and I’m paying him to do it for me.”
“Me, too,” another soldier said, and another said, “Me, too.”Caleb kept his head down. This was the first he’d heard of doing any scrimshaw. “The boy is my responsibility …” McKenzie began, but stopped as Daley stood, a head
taller than the storekeeper.McKenzie bent down and took the journal from Caleb’s lap, but the two men continued to
stare at each other as he did so. “You see our insignia in that book?” Daley asked, in a calm, steady voice. “That book is
part of our regiment now, and we’d take it bad if anything happened to our insignia or the book it’s drawed in.”
McKenzie paused and the corporal spoke again. “Or the boy that drew it there.”The other soldiers began to stand up. “You’d best go tend to your wife’s store,” Daley said.McKenzie dropped the journal back into Caleb’s lap and stormed out of the barn.Daley sat back down and the other soldiers also settled back as they’d been. “Now, here’s a problem,” he said to Caleb. “We’re leaving in the morning and I don’t think
you’ll have time to scratch that insignia into our horns by then. But I think, once we’re gone, your stepdad will find time to scratch a few new stripes into your back.”
He looked around at his fellow soldiers. “I reckon we’d better let you tag along like you wanted, after all,” he said, “and if you forget to ask McKenzie for permission, we’ll forget to ask Sarge.”
Text copyright 2012, Mike Peterson – Illustrations copyright 2012 Christopher Baldwin
For a teaching guide, go to http://tinyurl.com/ckserial
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