By Silas P. & Ms. Patek

• Sometimes you just need to be patient.  Whether the internet went out, or Schoology was down, or microphones weren’t working, teachers and students learned how important it is to just be patient.  Sometimes the problems weren’t easily fixed, but we were able to make it through them if we gave it some time.
  
• There’s always a solution. We’ve had many problems, but we’ve found a way around all of them. The problems can be challenging but they’re all solvable.
  
• We could still have fun with our friends.  Even though our classmates and teachers were not always together in the same room, we were still able to do some fun things together.  Whether it was Bingo for a Halloween party, or making up funny Memes on Fridays, we still had lots of chances to connect.
  
• You can get your work done. No matter the assignment it is possible to get it done, whether you're by yourself or with others.
  
• It’s important to be kind. It’s important to always help others out, to be kind and respectful. Even if you don’t get something back from them you’ll still have a friend.
  

                                                              By Penelope K. & Silas P.
 
   In celebration of International Museum Day on May 18th, some of our staff members had the opportunity to speak with Karen Via, an External Programs Manager, from the Maryland Science Center to learn more about the programs there.

    The Maryland Science Center is an interactive museum with lots of opportunities for kids to get excited about science.  It is located at 601 Light Street in Baltimore.   The Maryland Science Center is open on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Admissions for adults are $25 and Maryland students are free. To reserve a spot you can sign up online under the “visit” tab on the Maryland Science Center's website.

      The science center has lots of hands-on activities.  Their projects rotate every two weeks. There are interactive activities on the floor.  Some activities they have done before are Shrinky Dinks, paper marbling, and turtle racers.  There are pop up activities that are available on carts dispersed throughout the museum and there are also drop-in activities in The Shed. They also have shows twice a day. These include experiments that are not safe for everyone to do, but super cool to see.  Usually, the science center hosts students for field trips, but they have been unable to do that because of Covid-19.  However, they do have virtual field trips that schools can play for their students.

     Because Hampton is celebrating careers this month, our staff members decided to ask about some different types of careers at the Science Center. There are so many different types of careers!  Mrs. Via writes the curriculum and programming and she thinks of ways to present the information. There are also researchers. For example, there is someone who researches the stars and the universe and uses that plan for the planetarium presentations. There are also people in charge of the movies in the Imax theater.

    Our staff members asked Mrs. Via why she thought museums were important.  She said that the people creating the museums and presenting you with the information are equally as interested in it as you are and you can catch on to their excitement.

    Since there are so many different museums in Baltimore, we wanted to know why people should choose to come visit the Maryland Science Center.

    “I think the museum is so unique because we have lots of hands-on experiments right here in the museum,” said Mrs. Via.  “Hopefully, everyone can learn that they can be great as science.  It can be a whole lot of fun.”

                                                                    By Penelope K. & Silas P.
​
    The Hampton PTA is sponsoring a virtual race between April 24 and May 1. Registration began on April 19. Students who register get a sneaker hung on the main entrance of the school.  Families are invited to participate in the race during those dates. Participants are welcomed to finish a mile however they please.  

    The Hampton PTA has had Fun Runs before but this year they had to do it virtually for COVID-19 regulations. The PTA wanted to make his a family event where people could spend time outdoors.

        “The goal of the Virtual Family Fun Run is to promote healthy and active lifestyles while at the same time trying to help financially support different areas of the school,” said Mrs. Jessica Williams, the Vice President of Fundraising for the Hampton PTA .

     Students can register for the race online, and then they can get sponsored by family members and friends to fundraise for the school.

“The money that is raised will all be used during the remainder of the school year,” Mrs. Williams said.   “It will help with purchasing the 2020-21 Yearbooks, classroom supplies for teachers, Teacher Appreciation Week in May as well as the Fifth Grade Farewell / Field Day.”

  In addition to doing the race, students can also win prizes. There are different tiers for fundraising, for example students who raise $25 get an HES magnet.   Students who raise a certain amount of money will also be entered into a raffle for some additional items.

   The PTA is looking forward to see the members of the Hampton Community unplugging from work and school and taking some time to reconnect with each other.  
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Fun Run Link

https://app.99pledges.com/fund/HamptonESFunRun2021/addme

                                                                By Penelope K. & Silas P.
    On April 6th Hampton Elementary School welcomed third through fifth graders back into the building for hybrid learning.
    Four hundred thirty three students choose the hybrid learning option, and 212 students chose to remain virtual.  The students are separated into three cohorts.  Cohort A comes to the school building on Mondays and Tuesdays and Cohort B comes to the school building on Thursdays and Fridays.  Cohort C students remain virtual, just think of it as “C stands for computer.”  Wednesdays remain asynchronous for all students.  Cohort C students continue to use the Google Meet platform to learn from their teachers while Cohorts A and B learn in the classroom and the Google Meets  are projected on Promethean Boards.  Hybrid students attend their special area classes, such as art and music, in those classrooms.  Students attend lunch with the grade level in the cafeteria.
    Hampton is taking a lot of safety precautions for their hybrid students.  Everyone in the school building must wear a mask during the school day, except when eating lunch in the cafeteria.  Students maintain social distance in the hallways and in the classrooms.  There are footprints in the hallways to encourage appropriate space and smiley face stickers in the cafeteria to keep students spread apart while eating. Visitors are not allowed in the building .
    Despite the precautions and the excitement to be back in the building, hybrid learning has presented some challenges.  Students must remain masked all day, which can be a big adjustment for students who were not used to wearing them.  It can also be difficult to hear each other talking. It’s difficult for teachers to teach two groups at the same time. 
    “It’s hard to juggle both online and in person students but it’s great to see the kids,” said Mrs. Towner, the art teacher at Hampton.
  Another huge challenge is issues with technology.  One issue is that virtual students and students in the building have difficulty hearing each other.  Another issue is the bandwidth that it takes to operate Google Meets for all students.  Last week, the internet in Baltimore County schools went out and virtual students had to work asynchronously.
    Although there have definitely some challenges, the Hampton school community is happy to have teachers and students back in the building.
    “I have heard that our children love being back and seeing friends,” said Mrs. Kaiser, the principal at Hampton.  “We have a lot of new children who have never attended Hampton, so they are excited to be in the building.”

                                                                  By Amany A. & K.B.S.I.
In celebration of Earth Day, two of our reporters came up with a list of ten things to do to help the Earth.

1.Try to ask mother/father to record you talking  about earth.
2. If you go to the beach and see something like trash or plastic in the sea pick it up before a sea animal gets hurt.
3.DON’T dump trash into the water that’s why turtles are choking.
4.This is a very serious topic. Be careful to make sure to pick up your trash or earth wouldn’t be our baby bear from goldilocks.
5.please restrict yourself from fracking this causes pollution.
6. If you are using  paper. Use the entire paper before you throw it out because if you're doing that you're wasting trees.
7.Try to regrow plants.
8.Try to refrain animals from plants they are destructive.

                                                                    By Penelope K.


A great way to celebrate Maryland Day on March 25 is to hike one of the many scenic trails in Maryland. One great hiking spot in Maryland is the Billy Goat Trail. This hike is located in Potomac, MD. There are three sections. Section A has near-vertical rock scrambling and ledges for about 2.75 miles long. Section B has some moderate scrambling for approximately 1.4 miles. At last, Section C is roughly 1.6 miles long with a light walk through the woods. 

Another great hiking spot is Cascade Falls. You will find this hike in Patapsco Valley State Park, Howard County. This hike is a 2.3 mile walk in the woods to a small waterfall and a swimming hole.

Lastly, another great set of trails in Maryland are the Prettyboy Reservoir trails located in Hampstead, Maryland. On these trails, you can hike, walk, fish and walk your dogs. Go outside and have fun!

                                                             By Silas P. & K.B.S.I

(These facts were provided by 35 interesting facts about Maryland)
Since the 25th is Maryland day, we’ve compiled a few facts about Maryland. Enjoy!

1. Maryland was originally the capital of the United States of America
   
2. Maryland is the 7th state of the United States of America.
   
3. Maryland was granted statehood on april 28th of 1788.
   
4. Maryland’s state crustacean is the blue crab.
   
5. The first successful passenger balloon flight in the United States took place in Baltimore on June 24, 1784.
   
6. Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland.
   
7. Baltimore is home to America’s first dental college.
   
8. Maryland Ranked 9th in popularity.
   
9. The first long-distance telegram was sent to Baltimore.
   

Maryland holds the honors as the first state in the nation to designate a state exercise. Walking became the State Exercise of Maryland on October 1, 2008.

                                                                 By Penelope K. & K.B.S.I

     Hampton Elementary School performed a read-aloud on Google Meets for “Hampton Reads” on Wednesday, February 24th, at 7:00 p.m.  When students logged onto the Google Meet, Mrs. Francis, who was the reader last night, greeted them.  She introduced the book called The Boy Who Loved Math: Improbable Life of Paul Erdos.  She chose the book because she loves math and loves teaching math and also because she felt that he was not well-known as a mathematician now, but that he had a remarkable life.  The story was about the mathematician, Paul Erdos, and how he fell in love with math.  When he was younger, Paul really liked numbers; he could instantly tell how many seconds someone was alive just from the time and date they were born.  Although he was a smart boy when it came to math, he wasn't great at being independent because his mother did everything for him. As an adult, he had many friends to help him. In thanks he helped them with their math problems. As Mrs. Francis read the story, she stopped to ask the students questions such as “what is the next prime number?” and “what are you passionate about?”  Students had the opportunity to unmute and share their thoughts.  Next Mrs. Francis read a few amusing facts from a book called “Weird But True.”  For example, “there are 32 trillion trees in the world” and “prairie dogs say hello with kisses.”  If students are interested in joining another read-aloud, they can  join “HamptonReads” on Google Meets at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights.