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June 2019 - Volume 3, Issue #3

6th graders on their end-of-year trip to Milwaukee! This is Decatur’s last time saying farewell to 6th graders,

since expansion should be finished in time for current 5th graders to stay through the 8th grade!

The cast of Annie Jr, the school’s amazing spring show!

Farewell to 6th Graders! Have a Great Summer!

4th graders having fun at Field Day!

Students playing orphans in Annie!

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By Rubaa Maryam, Amina Khurram and Janiya Diaz

Almost a year after the expansion was first announced in July 2018, the blueprints have been finalized and were presented by CPS and the Public Building Commission (PBC) at the expansion meeting which took place on May 1st, 2019.

Construction will begin this summer, and many changes will be added when we come back in the fall of 2019. The new, one-

story annex will incorporate a full-sized gym/cafeteria with a divider for gym and lunch to take place at the same time, additional classrooms, kitchen, restrooms for students and staff, new lockers, a new library, fire lane, and more! Some changes will also be made to the existing building such as fixing the roof, and changing up two spaces for dance and music! Additionally, the new inclusion will let us get programming for students,

kindergarten through 8th grade. The expansion is scheduled

to finish in August 2020 so that Decatur can welcome seventh graders for the 2020 - 2021 academic year.

Some things may be different next year as construction continues during the school year. In an interview, Ms. Luna said, “Although this is an exciting process, some changes will have to be made to some of our existing routines.”

Expansion Update with Ms. Luna

By Zoe Newton and Janiya Diaz Field Day was a huge success,

mainly thanks to Coach C and Ms. Luna.

Activities included face painting, dunk tank, petting zoo, a sponge relay, a plunger relay, and a bouncy house obstacle course. After lunch, a Latin awards ceremony took place. Then

students laid down on their blankets and watched Coco.

Several teachers, including Mr. Brennan, Ms. Schmittle, Ms. Askounis, Ms. Busch, and Coach C, volunteered to get dunked into the dunk tank, all came out soaking wet. Students were thrilled! When asked if he was worried about being dunked,

Mr. Brennan jokingly replied that he planned to catch himself on the walls of the tank, spreading out his arms and legs like what they do in American Ninja Warrior on the spider wall. “I’ve been practicing,” He said. In the next rotation, room 109 dunked Mr. Brennan multiple times.

Field Day A Huge, Wet Success!

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By Charlie Duggan, Faryn Aaberg, and Elizabeth Worley

Decatur’s student musical this year was Annie Jr. and was a big hit according to teachers and students!

Annie starred Julia Kwiek as the titular role, with Domi Norborg, Aubree Stephens and Alexis Keener as Mr. Warbucks, Ms. Hannigan, and Grace Farrell, respectively.

One audience member, June from kindergarten said that the whole time she was watching the show thinking, ”Please tell me this is not the end. Why would they ever end this thing?” She said that it was better than she thought.

Ms. Branch and Ms. Shmittle both gave it a five star review.

Third-grader Mia Song, who played Molly the orphan in the show said that she had never had a large role in a show, which caused a new and different experience.

Ms. Branch’s and Ms. Schmittle‘s favorite show moment was when during the last performance a tiny child in the audience unplugged the lights and sound system and the whole cast sang Tomorrow Reprise acapella.

When asked about how Annie had improved from last year’s musical Seussical, they said that Annie was more student-run than last year, which helped a lot.

Annie Wows Decatur Audiences

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By Susan Tang Science Club was started by

Mr. Cherry, who teaches science class for 5th and 6th grade.

The first Science Club session was focused on coding (javascript) and the current section is focused on Architecture and Botany.

Science Club has set up four planter boxes in front of the school, with various experiments set up for each one, such as testing the effects of decomposers (organisms that break down dead matter and turn it into soil, such as slugs, sow bugs, and mushrooms) and

Math Club Outscores Other Schools By Rubaa Maryam

Math club is an after school club that is led by Mr. Brennan and has participated in eight competitions.

One of the awards the Decatur Math team has achieved is “High Achievement Award” which is an award given to the team who overall outscored 80%-90% of the other teams in the competition.

In another competition meant for 6th graders, 5th graders Tiannie Wang and Tom Greenwald were in the top 20 competitors! The team as a whole also received some medals.

Mr. Brennan says he feels great about leading Math club. He says the team keeps beating the previous scores they had at certain competitions, which

indicates the team keeps getting better and better. Mr. Brennan also says this year is the best the team has done and he plans to continue it next year and welcomes students who are interested in learning/solving challenging math problems. He says, “The most successful students in my club are the students who engage in hard work and practice all the time.” Mr. Brennan thinks this club will help

kids in the future because it’ll give them techniques and the basics of competitive math problems for the future.

“My hope is that the students in the club learn to love math and continue to have a passion and drive to solve complex math problems,” Mr. Brennan said. Math club is a great place for students who love math to engage with other students who share the same passion.

Science Club Grows testing the growth difference between seeds and pre-grown marigolds and petunias.

Science Club has a website in progress, in which they want to display their progress on the planter boxes set up by the gate.

At first, the club was planning to make some changes to the garden next to the kitchen, but because of complications, this idea was canceled. However, Mr. Cherry hopes that the planter boxes in front of the school gate will transform Decatur into a more beautiful place to learn.

Latin Club Attends State Convention

The Latin Club attended the Illinois Junior Classical League’s state convention in February. Mina Chung-Hawke and Olivia Zou won awards for the examination, and Tyler Weigand won an award in the cartoon contest.

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In Theaters Now- Avengers: Endgame - PG-13 A marvelous (pun intended)

culmination of over 10 years of storytelling, Avengers: Endgame is an action-packed epic starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and so many more that pulls no punches and makes three hours of storytelling worth your while. Do not see this movie without at least skimming the Wikipedia articles of all the previous ones, or else it won’t make much sense. But if you understand what’s happening, this movie rewards every theory and ties up all loose ends, and will make you cry on the way.

Rocketman - R An amazing musical with

stunning acting and visuals, Rocketman is the breathtaking musical biopic on singer Elton John, starring Taron Egerton as Elton. While it has a very mature subject matter that is only fit for very mature audiences, this is ultimately a story about hope and acceptance (with great music)!

Coming to Home Video Soon Missing Link - July 23, PG Missing Link is a fun Stop-

Motion animated adventure starring Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, and Zoe Saldana that is charming and very funny. While it is not the best that Laika Studios, the company behind most of the modern Stop-Motion movies like Kubo and the Two Strings, has ever done in terms of storytelling, this is a beautiful film that will have wondering how everything was done, and how it looks so seamless. This is a fun movie for younger and older audiences, though sometimes it leans towards the younger.

Shazam! - July 16, PG-13 Shazam! is a funny and

heartwarming family movie starring Zachary Levi and Asher Angel that is one of the best recent DC movies. It is very funny and sweet, but sometimes has scary moments.

Summer Suggestions Spider-Man: Far From Home

July 2, PG-13 Because Spider-Man:

Homecoming was so good, this is a surefire hit, that looks very funny and a great follow up to Endgame.

The Lion King- July 19, PG Even though Disney remakes

aren’t always great, the cast alone makes this something that is sure to be interesting. Though, I would look at the reviews when it comes out before you go.

Movie Reviews: Charlie’s Choices