SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE - THE BIG BANG!
By John C.

The universe was born in an enormous explosion called the Big Bang, about 15 billion uears ago and it created not only mass and energy, but also space and time. So.... there was none before.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MRS. LAHNER
By Julia P.

I meet with Mrs. Lahner several times a week to help me with my reading. She is a very nice reading teacher. I read for her at school and she gives me books to read at home with my mom and dad. Her are some questions I asked Mrs. Lahner:

Q: What do you do for District 10?
A: I teach boys and girls in 2nd through 5th grade who need help to be better readers.

Q: What do you like about your job?
A: I love to see when boys and girls do better in reading and learn to like reading.

Q: What other jobs have you had?
A; I have worked as a sales clerk, a secretary, a telephone operator
and taught 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade.

Q: How long have you lived in Itasca?
A: I have lived in Itasca for 34 years.

Q: Are you married?
A: Yes.

Q: Do you have any children?
A: Yes, I have three children, two boys and one girl. Their names are Kerry,
Scott and Chris. I have four grandchildren. Both my sons are getting married,
one in November and one next September.

Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: Yes, I like to sew, play Bridge and golf.

Q: Who is your favorite Board of Education President?
A: Mr. Peacock was certainly one of my favorites.

He is my favorite because he is my daddy!

WHO ARE THE NEW CHICAGO BEARS?
By Ryan C.

The new 1999 Chicago Bears’ record is three wins and five losses. The Bears have a new president. His name is Ted Phillips. The new head coach’s name is Dick Jauron.
The Bears are doing better this year than last year because of new players. Shane Matthews #9 is the starting quarterback. Colde McNown #8 is the backup quarterback. Curtin Enis #44 is the running back. These are some of the new players that help the Bears win!

THE POKEMON CRAZE
By Martin S.

There are 150 Pokemon people in the Pokemon game. A lot of boys and girls love Pokemon. Pokemon comes in all sorts of ways. They come in trading cards, stuffed animals, games, keychains, video movies, video games, and many more. You can find the in any store, but they are always sold out lately as all of us kids want Pokemon cards.
They all have different names like Charizard, Eevee, Wiggleyturf, Pikachu and Raichu. They even have names that if you spell them backwards spell another word like Ekans spells “snake” and Arbok spells “kobra,” I like trading cards with my friends. It is exciting to get different kinds of Pokemon cards.
I really want to get Pokemon Pinball and Pokemon Snap. I am putting it on my birthday list and Christmas list. I hope I get these. I love everything about Pokemon.

THE BULLS’ PRE-SEASON START
By Brian K.

The Bulls have not had a very good preseason start. Their record is 2 wins, 4 losses. One of the reasons they were not so good in preseason is Toni Kokoc is injured. Other reasons that the Bulls have not played well are they turn over the ball a lot and they don’t score a lot.
Hopefully they will get better because they got new young players and with Toni Kokoc injury they are getting a lot of experience, and some championship Bulls have returned. So maybe they will be better than last year.

THE BACKSTREET BOYS
“BRINGING IN THE MILLENIUM” TOUR
By Andrea P.

On Thursday, October 7, 1999, I was going to the Backstreet Boys concert but it was a school night so I couldn’t go. My cousin got to go with her sister and mom. The Backstreet Boys flew in on their space boards and sang “Larger Than Life.” I heard Nick was throwing stuffed animals down to the crowd. 5 moms and daughters got to go on the stage with them while they sang “The Perfect Fan.” Some of their songs are on my CD. I hope next year I can go see the Backstreet Boys concert.

GOOD MANNERS MAKE GOOD KIDS
By Jennifer L.

Having good manners is important for kids because it shows respect for other people. "Please", "thank you", "you're welcome" and "sorry" are always nice things to say. It shows good manners when you don't push or cut in line at school. You should never make fun of people or steal their stuff. It would be bad manners to hand out birthday party invitations at school if you can't invite everyone because you might hurt someone's feelings. If someone is talking to you, you should listen to them because they might have something important to say. But if your teacher is talking at the same time, you better listen to the teacher because what she is saying is probably more important than talking to your friend about your new house.
If you're at someone's house, you shouldn't just go in the kitchen and get yourself something to drink without asking. And if you have to go to the bathroom don't just wander around the house opening doors looking for the bathroom -- ask your friend where it is. It is nosy to look around someone's house like that.
When you have a friend over at your house, let them pick what they would like to play and don't boss them around. If you're at a store, hold the door open for other people to come in, especially older people. And when you answer the telephone ask "Who's calling please?" instead of saying "Who is this?". Then don't scream for your mom or dad to come to the phone. Go find them and tell them they have a phone call.
I think good manners are important because you should treat people like you want to be treated.

SCHOOL WORD SEARCH
by Shane D.

school
gym
teacher
principal
recess
office
park
art
snack
science
chalkboard
pencil
eraser
crayons

MEET AN “AMERICAN GIRL”
By Kara F.

Last week my Mom, Marisa and I went shopping downtown and shopped in an awesome store - the American Girl Place - the home for six American Girl dolls! You can shop for books, dolls, dresses, and other neat things there.
The American Girl Collection is a collection of six dolls who represent girls that lived a long time ago. The fun part is getting to pick out a doll that is most like you. You can choose Felicity, a colonial girl; Josefina, a Hispanic girl; Kirsten, a pioneer girl of strength and spirit (that’s the girl I chose); Addy, a courageous girl of the Civil War; Samantha, a Victorian beauty (that was Marisa’s match); and Molly, a schemer and dreamer. Each doll is dressed in a very special costume and comes with its own book that lets you find out what it was like growing up long ago.
You can read all about your American Girl doll and her family, friends, special holidays, and lots of other stuff. It’s almost like you were there. You can even dress like her if you want. There are lots of cool clothes to pick from.
If you can’t find an American Girl doll for you - you can choose an American Girl like you. You get to pick out her face, her hair, and the color of her eyes. Her life is your life. Don’t forget to check out the Bitty Baby Collection, little American Girls and their furry friend Bitty Bear. They are the cutest baby dolls you have ever seen!
Oh yeah, if your Mom can’t take you downtown, get on-line at americangirl.com. So don’t wait - because I can’t wait to hear which American Girl doll you chose!

ASHLEY AND MRS. GEORGAS RESPECT
By Gio G.

I respect my mom because she is nice. She is best mom I ever had. She takes me places like
McDonalds. I have a lot of fun there. Then we go to other fun places, too.