Q&A on CLCS’ Academy Program

By Evan M., fifth grade

Many people have different opinions about the K12 learning program. Let’s see what a teacher and one of her students think about the K12 program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade in a Q and A.
The first person interviewed is the K-8 Blended eLearning teacher Ms. Carry Michaels.
Q: Do you enjoy teaching K-8 Blended eLearning?
A: “The benefits of a Blended eLearning program is that working off of a computer-based curriculum frees up my instruction time for one-on-one mentoring compared to direct classroom instruction.”
Q: Why did you switch from a regular classroom to the K-8 Blended eLearning classroom?
A: “I wanted a change. The individualization of the program coincides with the philosophy of child-centered learning that supports personal best achievement because what the difference is is that with the program, students are able to work at their own pace as opposed to working at the same pace as everybody else.”
Q: What is your favorite part about K-8 and what is your least favorite part of it?
A: “My favorite part is teaching the individual. My least favorite part is lack of community. Students are never all together in one setting it is hard to build a community of learners where individuality is a stronger drive to be here versus the experience of being with a group of peers.”
Q: If you could change one part about K-8 Blended eLearning, what would it be?
A: “I would like to see more bonding and development of friendship.”

The second person interviewed is one of Ms. Michaels’ students, Elija Miskic.
Q: Do you enjoy being in the K12 program?
A: “I somewhat enjoy it.”
Q: Why did you switch from being homeschooled to K12?
A: “Because my mom made me switch.”
Q: What is your favorite part about K12 and what is your least favorite part of it?
A: “My favorite part is the flexibility. My least favorite part about it is the heavy workload that they give me.”
Q: If you could change one part about the K12 program, what would it be?
A: “I would decrease the workload that they give me because what they currently give me is very overwhelming.”

Students Anticipate PARCC Testing

By Elija M., seventh grade

When fifth grader Maya Janowski was asked what she thought of PARCC testing, she said she “hated it.”
When she was asked about what she thinks of PARCC testing and how it runs, she said that she is tested for fifth grade math, while she is doing seventh grade math. When she was asked if she knew that she was able to opt out of PARCC testing, she said that she did not know.
When seventh grader Missy Kirschner was asked the same question, she also said that she was not aware that she was able to opt out of the government testing.
Neither student liked PARCC testing and both students shared similar opinions.
When asked what she thought about PARCC testing, Missy said she “doesn’t really like it, but I know that it is mandatory.”

Students Participate in Academy Student Council

By Missy K., seventh grade

What does the Academy Student Council do? The members of the council help plan and create events for the students at Cambridge Lakes Charter School.
By joining, students can meet new people and have their own say in what kind of events, projects and fundraisers they would like to have at CLCS. If someone has an idea, the group will listen.
“In my opinion, I think so far the best part has been finding out ideas for fundraising and seeing what other people can add on to the idea,” said Maria Mohammed, member of the council.
Some people join because it looks great on college applications. By participating, students are improving the school. On an application, it shows that students care about their community and are happy to volunteer. The Academy Student Council is planning volunteer and charity events to take place within the next year.
One upcoming event that the Academy Student Council has organized is with Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. Council members will be delivering frozen yogurt to classrooms during the Mastery/Workshop period. When asked what Student Council event she was most excited for, Maria said “it’s our Menchie’s project. It has ice cream involved!” The event is planned to take place this May.
Do you want to join the Academy Student Council?
“JOIN US! It would be nice to have more perspectives in the council and we would love to hear your ideas,” Maria said.

Families Enjoy Fun Fair

By Aliya K., fifth grade

On Saturday, March 5, was the Cambridge Lakes Charter School annual Fun Fair. There were activities like raffles, games and food. Alina and Amna Fasihi were two people who went.
“In a rating of 1 to 10, I would say 8,” Amna said.
“Some of the games were the beanbag toss, food and prizes,” Alina said. “The one with the longest line was for the fish tossing station.”
When families played some of the games, they could win tokens, which lead to prizes. “Some of the prizes there were little candies and small toys like yoyos and slinky,” Amna said.
Students said there could be some parts improved for next year’s Fun Fair.
“They should’ve had cotton candy and the henna should have cost less tickets,” Amna said. “Otherwise, I liked it.”

Girls Basketball Earns First Trophy

By Aisha K., seventh grader

A trophy comes home for the first time for the Cambridge Lakes Charter School girls basketball team. The program has been in place for several years now.

“For me as a coach, it’s a wonderful feeling to see the girls gathered around each other (jumping, screaming, laughing, hugging) holding a first place trophy up in the air in front of all their parents and fans,” said their coach, Mr. Latimer.

Each of the teams had their fair share of wins.

“Our fifth grade team had three wins,” Mr. Latimer said. “Our fifth/sixth grade team also had three wins. Our seventh grade team had one win and four losses. Our seventh/eighth grade team had 16 wins and three losses.”

Altogether, the teams put up 23 wins all season.

“I do recommend this for other girls,” said Aleeshba Shahid from the seventh/eighth team.

CLCS will have girls basketball in the future.

“Girls basketball will continue to be part of an athletic program (at CLCS) that is growing bigger and better all the time,” Mr. Latimer said.

CLCS Students React to New Lego Series

By Maya J., fifth grade

Students at Cambridge Lakes Charter School who have been fans of Legos for years are looking forward to the latest series, Lego Nexo Nights.
“I haven’t tried it out yet but I think it might be interesting,” said seventh grader Elija M. “It’s weird that Lego would mix medieval times with modern. But I am sure it is gonna be awesome.”
Some students weren’t so enthusiastic.
“I have seen commercials for it and honestly, it is not the best,” said fifth grader Evan M.
Even though some students are excited for the new series, they still like the old sets. Many of them like their very first sets because of the memories.
“I have always liked Legos, but I have been playing with them for so long I don’t remember my first set. I think it was a set from Lego Batman,” Evan said.
“I have always loved Lego,” Elija said. “I got my first Lego set when I was about seven. It was a police station. It is cool looking at the Lego Nexo Nights sets because they are so modern.”
But their first sets aren’t necessarily their favorite sets.
“Set 7783, The Batcave because of the cool features, many figures and vehicles (is my favorite),” Elija said.
“I like the Lego Superheroes, set 6867,” Evan said.
Those are these students’ favorite sets but how about their favorite series?
“Lego Star Wars because I like the simple and complex designs of the ships,” Elija said.
“Lego Batman because I have always been a fan of Batman,” Evan said.
It’s not just building these sets that Elija and Evan enjoy.
“Both, I like to build and play,” Evan said.
“I like to build and play with the Legos,” Elija said.
Both these students have gone off the instruction book and created some masterpieces, such as Elija’s ”three tumbler combination safe made from 100 percent Lego bricks.”
“Honestly, I only build from the instruction books,” Evan said.

CLCS Science Teachers Discuss Global Warming

By Aliya K., fifth grade

Most experts say global warming is dangerous to everyone worldwide. Although it is a global catastrophe, two science teachers at Cambridge Lakes Charter School, Mrs. Kamp and Mrs. Heeter, say it can be a risk even students should be concerned about.
“Some human risks include rising water levels, lack of resources, and increased normal temperatures,” Mrs. Kamp said. “The water levels could impact areas for human settlements and remove some important natural resources. Increased temperatures could lead to increased radiation and possibly cancer.”
The likely most dangerous part of global warming is when the ice and/or snow start melting, especially in places that have a cold climate, as in the North Pole and Iceland. When they melt, the sea level rises.
“I know we have sea level rising due to three main issues: thermal expansion, glacier and polar ice caps melting, and ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica,” Mrs. Heeter said. “While the sea level is rising, it is not very noticeable because it’s a little bit each year. But it’s estimated that the sea level will rise 2.5 to 6.5 feet by 2100.“
Mrs. Kamp said the impact could be seen in the United States sometime soon.
“The water levels will rise enough to cover each of the states on both coasts,” Mrs. Kamp said. “So California, Oregon and Washington on the West Coast and all of the coastal states on the East Coast. That is a very scary thought.”
People aren’t the only creatures in the world that’ll be affected, Mrs. Kamp said.
“There are lots of everyday things being affected by global warming,” Mrs. Kamp said. “Animals are unable to adapt to the new temperatures so some species are becoming extinct. This affects the rest of the food chain that rely on those animals, which eventually affects us.”
One critical way to slow down global warming is to get the government involved, Mrs. Heeter said.
“Government needs to make this a priority,” Mrs. Heeter said. “I think we should investigate those companies or organizations that burn fossil fuels excessively. We need to research alternative energy uses and actually put them into use here in the USA. Our nation is very technologically advanced, so we need to make it a point to find ways to combat global warming. We can no longer just wait for the next generation.”
Ms. Kamp said the government needs to admit global warming is happening.
“I would say that there is a lot of evidence to support the idea of global warming that needs to be considered before saying it is untrue,” Mrs. Kamp said. “Theories take a long time and lots of evidence to be accepted as true, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t correct from the beginning. If there are other explanations for some of the evidence (higher water levels, animal extinction without other explanation, etc.) then those scientists have not explained it well enough to the rest of the public. I would like to see the global leaders come up with a worldwide initiative that helps ALL countries rather than just the ones that have a lot of money.”

Student Q&A on Minecraft

Students at Cambridge Lakes Charter School are expressing their opinions on the game Minecraft. Following is a Q&A with fifth grader Maya Janowski.

Q: On a scale from one to 10, how would you rate Minecraft in general?
A: “11.”

Q: What do you feel is the best system to play Minecraft on?
A: “PC but not the light version.”

Q: What is your favorite part of Minecraft?
A: “Servers are awesome. People from around the world play them. There are many different maps and games you can play on servers. The most common ones are: CTF, CTW, DTM, DTC, TDM. Personally, one of my favorites is CTW. There are two teams and they try to go into the other team’s wool room to pick up a block of wool. When they pick it up, they have to bring it back to their base to place it. The only bad thing about servers is that a lot of people hack. Luckily, servers usually have moderator or admins, which can ban those stupid hackers for life.”

Q: How do you feel about mods for Minecraft?
A: “I have a STRONG opinion about mods. They can be fun sometimes but if you get way too many of them, it gets boring cause it is like a totally different game.”

Q: What was your favorite update to Minecraft?
A: “I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention to the updates.”

Q: How long have you been playing Minecraft?
A: “I have been playing Minecraft PC for over two and a half years. When I first started playing Minecraft, it was the light version. I started playing that about three and a half years ago. Then I moved on to Minecraft PE for a little then I finally moved on to PC.”

Q: What is the best thing that you have ever built in Minecraft?
A: “Me and my friends have been working on a Minecraft server for over four months. I have all my greatest builds on there. Some of my favorites are the Monster Logos and different ranks.”

Now an interview with seventh grader Elija Miskic.

Q: On a scale from one to 10, how would you rate Minecraft in general?
A: “9.5.”

Q: What do you feel is the best system to play Minecraft on?
A: “PC.”

Q: What is your favorite part of Minecraft?
A: “My favorite part of Minecraft is adding mods to the game so that I can enhance my game experience.”

Q: How do you feel about mods for Minecraft?
A: “Mods enhance the Minecraft experience for all players. Some mods add new places to travel to, where some mods just add a few mobs or items which can be beneficial to both survival and creative game mods. If I had to choose three mods that I like the best, it would be Mr. Crayfish’s furniture mod, instant blocks and galacticraft.”

Q: What was your favorite update to Minecraft?
A: “1.7.10.”

Q: How long have you been playing Minecraft?
A: “Two and a half years.”

Q: What is the best thing that you have ever built in Minecraft?
A: “Combination lock door.”

Students Complete Second Round of MAP Testing

By Elija M., seventh grade

Students at Cambridge Lakes Charter School just wrapped up their second round of MAP testing.
Mr. Shaylon Walker said the purpose of MAP testing is to assess how students will do when they reach college. And also to fill the “gaps” in their education.
However, fifth grader Maya Janowski says differently. She said that MAP testing is a “waste of time”. She said that it is taking time away from learning.
While Mr. Walker said that it’s important to take the MAP tests, so that the school can assist students with areas where they are struggling.

Students Clamor for Lockers

By Missy K., seventh grade

Students are calling for lockers at Cambridge Lakes Charter School.
Seventh graders Aisha and Elija from Miss Michaels’ class said they’re much needed.
“Lockers are more independent and wardrobes can get crowded, especially in winter,” Aisha said.
Elija said that they are more secure because they would have a lock on them. He said it would be less likely that students’ backpacks or books get stolen, but that doesn’t seem to be an ongoing problem at CLCS.
Elija said that “we could put them in the hallways since we have so much space.” But would this be enough space?
The main issue is the cost of the lockers. Elia suggested students fundraise, but they would have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. For a single locker, prices can range from $60 to $130. If the school paid for every student at CLCS to have a locker, that price would add up fast.