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By Seth Smith, 3rd grade
At Murch we have different sports such as basketball and track. Mr. Berger, Murch’s physical education teacher, coaches some of these sports. Mr. Berger has been a physical education teacher for 15 years. He has been at Murch for four years and his favorite sports are floor hockey and tennis. His winning strategy is to get children to believe in themselves, follow direction, and become champions. He believes they can face any challenges.
In the winter, Mr. Berger coaches boys and girs basketball. As of January 27, the girls basketball team had won eight games and lost only one. The boys basketball team had won six games and lost only one. Murch looks forward to a great end of the season for both teams.
By Julia Arnsberger, 5th grade
For the past seven years Murch fifth graders have put on a play called “Jubilee” about the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Smith, the Murch music teacher, wrote the play and a couple of the songs. The play takes place during the Harlem Renaissance and is told from the perspective of a character named Dorothy West, who this year is played by Sierra Johnson.
The play brings together many people from the Harlem Renaissance to create this huge story. Some characters include Bessie Smith played by Sammy Schwartzman, W.E.B Dubois played by Zachary Lordan, and Langston Hughes played by Chris Bond. In total there are about 15 fifth graders putting on the play.
The actors and actresses are taking the emotions of their characters seriously, and they are doing a really great job acting the way their characters would act. Sierra shared this acting tip: “Make sure you’re in your character’s personality, because then you will feel like your character and be more comfortable with the crowd.”
In the past, the directors were Ms. Robinson and Ms. Smith, and for three years now it has been Ms, Otten and Ms. Smith. The play is very fun, and you learn about the Harlem Renaissance and the challenges people faced.
By Kelly Harris, 5th grade
Edited by Nadav Oren, 4th grade
You may have seen the notices about the Murch Auction in your Friday Folders but have you ever wondered what it really is? The Murch Auction is a fun night for parents of Murch students to go and bid on many fun things so Murch can be a better place. It will take place on March 17, 2012, at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Parents Kirsten Anderson and Courtney Bergeron are running the auction this year.
The purpose of the auction is to raise money for field trips, supplies and for teacher salaries so kids can get a better learning experience. Adults will bid on tickets to various plays, movies, and sporting events gift certificates to restaurants and dinners with interesting people such as Tom Freidman, a journalist for The New York Times, and Tom Daschle a former US senator, and much, much more.
As a bonus this year, parents can also purchase Murchandise — key chains and coffee mugs imprinted with the Murch logo.
By Sarah Marie Tilghman, 4th grade
You might have noticed the new flat screen monitor mounted on the wall in the front hall. The HSA purchased this piece of technology for the school to provide a place for displaying the latest news and information.
Teachers can give Lukas Marshall, the technician for Murch, photographs from recent exciting events or class projects. Mr. Marshall can then upload the photos on the computer and put them onto the flat screen. You may see yourself up there, but don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.
So, why spend time writing up something on a poster board when you could simply tell Mr. Marshall what’s going to be going on and have him post your news so people can know what’s going on in your class. Get the next inside scoop on what Murch keeps inside these school doors.
Posted in News, Technology
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By Sofia Acajabon, 3rd grade
There are different troops of Girl Scouts at Murch and they all have different activities like ice skating, the Brownie Ball, camping, and much more. These activities cost money, especially when it’s for a whole troop. The parents have to pay their share, but it’s still not enough money.
So how do we get enough money? By selling Girl Scout Cookies, of course! If you have not bought any cookies yet and would like to help the Girl Scouts, Troop 882, lead by Kirsten Anderson, will be selling cookies in front of Child’s Play on Saturday, March 3, from 12–2 pm and also in front of Politics and Prose on Connecticut Avenue on Sunday, March 11, from 12-2 pm.
There are eight different types of cookies:
- Savannah Smiles – which are a new cookie this year. They are crisp, zesty, and lemony bite-sized cookies. There are 28 in one box.
- Trefoils – which are light delicate-tasting shortbread cookies; there are 36 of them in one box.
- Do-Si-Dos- which are crisp and crunchy oatmeal cookies with creamy peanut butter filling; there are 20 of them in one box.
- Samoas- tender vanilla cookies, covered with caramel, rolled in toasted coconut, and striped with a rich chocolaty coating; there are 15 cookies in one box.
- Dulce De Leche- which is a rich bite-sized cookie with milk caramel chips; there are 22 cookies per box.
- Thank U Berry Munch is another type of cookie that has cranberries and creamy white fudge chips; there are 14 cookies per box.
- Tagalongs — a popular cookie topped with creamy peanut butter and covered with a luscious chocolaty coating; there are 15 cookies in every box.
- Thin Mints- a thin wafer covered with a smooth chocolaty coating and made with natural peppermint; there are 28 cookies per box.
So no matter your taste there is a cookie that is just right for you!
Written by Sydney Schwalb, 4th grade
Edited by Sofia Acajabon, 3rd grade
 Nurse Krista Hallford has been a registered nurse for seven years. She became the school nurse by applying through Children’s Hospital. Before she came to Murch she work in pediatric ICU — a children’s intensive care unit. Her favorite part of Murch is getting to know the students. Nurse Krista says that the most common reasons students go to her are stomachaches, sore throats, and paper cuts. She says that some ways to prevent these are drinking water, eating good meals, and washing your hands.
By Imogen Stephens, 4th grade
Have you ever found yourself with a problem and had nowhere to go? The Peer Mediators at Murch are here to help! So who are the Peer Mediators and how can they help you? Peer Mediators help students solve all sorts of problems including ones about friendship and sharing.
“Peer Mediators started with a Murch school nurse,” says Ms Otten. She thought, “how about we encourage kids to solve their own problems?” This spread through all DC public schools and we all have our fifth- and sixth-grade problem solvers.
Students become Peer Mediators for a number of reasons. Sally Philpott, fifth grader, says,“I’m a Peer Mediator because I love helping people with their problems.” When asked whether she has not solved a problem, Sally said, “No.”
If you didn’t know, the peace posters started with the Peer Mediators. “We thought we need something else to get them enthusiastic about peace. Then we had the idea of students making a creative poster of their perspective of peace,” says Ms Otten.
Now you know where to go if you have a problem. You can always find a Peer Mediator in the blue hats or Ms. Miller.
 By Anna Arnsberger, 3rd grade
As Murch Mustangs, we have things called Horseshoes. Whenever a teacher notices a kid helping out, a class being silent in the halls or other good behaviors, they get a horseshoe. By the end of the week Ms. Lauren Miller (counselor/creator/head of horseshoes) collects the horseshoes from every class, adds them up, then adds that to the amount of horseshoes the school has earned in the past. If the school earns a certain amount of horseshoes they get a special event such as pizza parties, a pajama day or extra recess.
Next to the hot lunch line is a big poster with a thermometer on it. The thermometer tracks the amount of horseshoes the school has earned. I asked Ms. Miller how she came up with horseshoes she said, “Other schools have similar things so they gave me an idea.” The horseshoes are part of a larger program at Murch called Responsive Classroom. She adds that Murch students rack up between 40 and 100 per week.
If you like special events at school you should listen to teachers, be silent in the halls and help out, because those are the best ways to earn horseshoes for the school!
 By Adelaide Kaiser, 5th grade
On Wednesday, January 11, the Murch fifth graders welcomed Whole Foods Market to the school for an interesting presentation on cornbread. You might ask why cornbread is interesting. It turns out cornbread originated in the 1600’s when the Pilgrims came to America and discovered corn. Native Americans had their own version of cornbread, but the Pilgrims’ type is the closest to what we bake today. Cornbread is a true America food.
We also learned that cornbread requires very few ingredients and is really easy to make, so try this recipe at home, courtesy of Whole Foods.
 
Starting this week on Jan 11 and 12, the Murch Mustang Student Blog will hold weekly and monthly meetings. We will always begin those meetings in Mr. Patterson’s classroom, BEN 6.
The weekly meetings will be held during recess periods:
- Third graders will have their meeting on Wednesdays at 12pm.
- Fourth graders will have their meeting on Wednesday at 12:30pm.
- Fifth graders will have their meeting on Thursday at 12:30pm.
The monthly “staff meetings” will begin at 3:15pm on the third Thursday of the month starting on Jan 19. These are for the entire blog team.
Students who are interested in joining the blog team, should contact Mr. Patterson for a permission slip and to receive instructions and updates.
Thanks!
Tim Patterson
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