All News Stories

Movie Review

 

Belleville kid reviews Harry Potter again

Teenager Eddie Szewczyk is back again to review the latest Harry Potter movie. His review of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is the third Potter movie he's reviewed for Young Saint Louis.com.

Eddie does a speedy job on this YSL.com reviews. In this review, Eddie will attend a preview showing of the movie at the Creve Coeur 12 Theater on Tuesday, June 1. By Wednesday afternoon, he has his review sent to YSL.com for editing.

Then, after editing, the review goes to the YSL.com webmaster in Columbia. It will be on-line in the June edition before the film opens to the public on Friday, June 4.

Eddie will do all this while taking care of his regular school classes at St. Louis University High School.

The 15-year-old Belleville, Ill., kid is a natural for reviewing the blockbuster Harry Potter movies.

He is a regular on-air reporter and reviewer for Radio Disney's station in St. Louis. He also is a representative for the Disney station.

He's active in movies, the theater and TV. He's appeared in many Muny musical productions. Also, he's appeared in TV commercials and voice-overs as well as in industrial films.

Eddie reviewed "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in November, 2001. In November, 2002, he reviewed the second Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

YSL.com thanks Eddie for his good work in bringing you fine reviews with a local flavor.

Stock Market

Local team wins twice in stock market competition

The team of Justin Hoffmann, Corey Jenkins and Alex Giovanoni last month did much better than author Mark Twain’s observation about playing the stock market.

Famed Missourian author always was skeptical about stock market investing. He once said, “I don’t want a return on my investment principal; I just want my principal returned.”

The “Tom Sawyer” author thought, if he invested any money, he’d most likely lose it.

But, three 8th graders from LaSalle Springs Middle School first won a regional award for their stock picking. And, they won first place in a state stock-market research contest.

Fourteen-year-old Justin said the team went into the competition with a goal not much different from Twain’s. Justin said, “We just wanted to break even” during the eight-week spring stock-picking period.

But, they did better than that.

In the stock-picking, each team started with an imaginary $100,000 in an investment account. They researched and picked stocks. Then, they waited to see how much they’d earned or lost in the Feb. 9-April 16 contest period.

At the end, their team had $101,558.12 in their account, just beating a team from St. Raphael the Archangel School by less than $100. The LaSalle team finished 43rd among more than 900 teams entered in the state competition.

Several other St. Louis area teams had better investment results. (For those regional results, see sidebar below.)

But, the LaSalle team’s statewide win came in the Stock Market Game Research competition. There, they won first with a report on the retailer Abercrombie and Fitch.

Their report was a “power-point” presentation recommending company’s stock to other investors. They had picked the stock in their own portfolio.

Fourteen-year-old Alex Giovanoni was the presentation’s narrator. Corey said Alex was picked because of his “announcer voice” and his acting experience. Justin and Corey prepared the charts and graphs that explained Abercrombie and Fitch’s business and financial results.

The Missouri Stock Market Game program is a statewide program that helps kids learn more about investing. It’s run by the Missouri Council on Economic Education with headquarters at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

(To learn more about the Stock Market Game and other economic programs for kids, click on www.umkc.edu/mcee. A complete Spring 2004 winner list is on the website.)

Thirteen-year-old Corey said they were conservative even when investing “play money.”

The spring contest period was a pretty trying time in the stock market. There had been big stock market gains in 2003. But, this spring, the markets have been going lower.

All three said they were “lucky” they ended up with a portfolio worth more than the original $100,000.

The team made sure to investigate stocks well before buying. They had a rule they couldn’t buy anything until they spent at least three days studying a stock.

They ended up making 10 different buys. But, they kept some stocks only a short time before deciding they’d made a mistake. All of the stock they bought were ones that made products they knew about.

That’s considered to be one important investing principal. Invest in companies you know.

Their portfolio included big companies such as Nike, Pepsi Bottling Co. and MacDonald’s. They bought a lot of clothing companies such as American Eagle, Quicksilver and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Corey said he buys most of his own clothes from Hollister. That’s a division of Abercrombie and Fitch. Quicksilver makes and sells surf boards and surfer gear.

They did try a couple tricky investment moves that didn’t work. But they got out of the stock quickly to minimize their losses.

For one thing, they “sold-short” Martha Stewart stock during the time she was on trial for investment fraud. “Selling short” means you sell stock you don’t own. You hope the stock price drops so you buy at a lower price before you deliver the stock to the new buyer.

But, although the news from Stewart’s court trial was bad, the price of her stock went up. That meant the team had to buy the stock at a higher price to cover their “sell” position. Buying stock at a higher price than you sold it for means you lose money.

Justin made another mistake when he thought he was selling SMX stock “short.” But, he punched the wrong computer button and the team ended up buying the stock.

This time, the stock went down and the team lost money again.

But, in the end, they had more winners than losers to finish first in their region. Their best stocks turned out to be smaller clothing retailers, like Quicksilver and American Eagle.

All the boys said they got more interested in business and stock investment while they were handling their imaginary $100,000.

 

Other St. Louis area regional winners

Washington Middle School had the best investment results in the five St. Louis regional competitions. The school won Middle School Region 3 with a finishing portfolio of $146,948.11.

Second in Region 3 was North Kirkwood Middle School, with $103,083.30.

Other regional results were:

• St. Louis Elementary: 1. Bellerive Elementary, $105,493.52; 2. Shenandoah Valley Elementary, $$103,873.86.
  
  
• St. Louis Middle, Region 2: 1. Fox Middle School, $104,707.21; 2. Fox Middle School, $102,869.53.
  
  
• St. Louis Middle, Region 4: 1. Our Lady of Fatima, $101,006.79; 2. Parkway West Middle, $100,896.48.

 

Profile

First in a series

Collinsville kid wins Achiever award

Thirteen-year-old Kalina Kutriansky wanted to be a part of her school’s political scene. So, when she didn’t win the first time, she tried again.

The seventh grader at North Junior High School in Collinsville, Ill., didn’t win the race to be her room representative. So, she entered the student council race and was selected.

Participation in school politics was just one of Kalina’s accomplishments. Her well-rounded school and community life last month earned her a 2004 Gateway Young Achievers of the Year award.

Again this year, Young Saint Louis.com will be profiling Young Achiever winners. Kalina’s profile is the first of five articles of 2004 elementary and middle school winners. For more about the Young Achiever program, visit www.youngachievers.us.

Kalina said, “I was planning to be the student representative for my class. But, I didn’t win. I wanted to be involved in student government so I ran for the student council.”

To run for the council, Kalina had to get a signature of 20 fellow students and three teachers. Then, she made posters and flyers and a campaign speech. She was picked for the student council and now serves as vice-president.

History teacher Robert Reeves said in her Young Achiever nomination that the vice-president position is “traditionally held by an 8th grader.”

She serves as the council’s historian. “That involves taking pictures to be used in the school scrapbook,” she said.

Kalina said she has been interested in government since she was in elementary school. “And I had debate in junior high,” she added.

The student council gets involved in projects around the school. Her favorite was the Hoops and Jumps for Heart program. That’s where kids participate in basketball and rope-jumping to raise money for the heart association.

“We had a pretty good turnout,” she said.

Other fund-raisers include Teddy-grams at Christmas, Flower-grams at Valentine’s Day and Bunny-grams at Easter.

But, politics is just one of a number of activities in which Kalina participates. They range from art competitions to sports to music and dance. Also, she’s been on her school’s academic honor roll since 1996.

She has had art entries in the Illinois PTA “Reflections” project advance to the nationals. Each year, the Illinois PTA announces an “I’m really happy, when...” theme and kids create artwork to match that theme.

The entries can be in any type of literary or visual art. Kalina does her’s in watercolor crayons. The family has several of her entries framed and hanging in the stairway leading to their home’s second floor.

In one of her entries, her artwork was titled, “I’m really happy when ...my parents tell me about Bulgaria.” She was born in this country but her parents, Boyko and Ena Kutriansky, come from the European country of Bulgaria.

Kalina’s entry was a watercolor painting of the mountainous area of Bulgaria where her father grew up.

She has been very active in music. She plays alto saxophone in three school bands. She’s in the overall school band and then also plays in the Pep and Jazz bands.

Kalina started music lessons on the piano when she was six. But, in 5th grade, she shifted to the alto sax. “We were given a choice of instruments and I thought alto sax was the neatest,” she said.

Her music schedule is a full one. Each band has weekly practices and then she has private sax lessons on Wednesday. She said she likes to practice. “I’ve played up to three hours at a time on the weekend,” Kalina added.

Last year, she participated in basketball and cheerleading. But, she said, “I had to quit because I couldn’t have been in Pep band.”

She hopes to continue her band participation in both high school and college. The Jazz band is her favorite. There are about 20-to-25 members, including four alto sax players.

Kalina also has had dance lessons since she was two. She’s participated in community dance shows such as “Grease,” “The Nutcracker,” “Cinderella” and “Newsies.”

Last year, she served as a “before school” reading tutor, helping younger elementary kids learn to read better. This summer, she wants to volunteer at the library.

 

Books

This month's book reviews

A long way from Chicago

Joey Dowdel and his sister, Mary Alice, lived with their parents in Chicago. Every August, from 1929 until the end of the 1930’s, the two spent a week or more with their grandmother, who lived in a small town between Chicago and St. Louis. Grandma Dowdel lived at the edge of the town, which was cut in two by the railroad tracks running through it. Of course, Grandma’s house didn’t have indoor plumbing and nobody had air conditioning in those days.

The two kids weren’t very thrilled about spending time away from the city, especially Mary Alice. She griped that they were being “dumped” on their grandma so that dad and mom could go fishing for a week up in Wisconsin. She really hated having to go outside to use the “privy”. There was a big old tomcat out there that would jump at you as you came out the door.

Each chapter in the book tells a story from one of the years that the kids spent with Grandma. These were depression years, which meant the country’s economy was in bad shape. Lots of people were losing their jobs and nearly everyone was poor. Grandma gardened and canned much of her food, so the kids saw a life quite different from their life in the big city.

The kids found out that their Grandma was very independent. Everybody in the small town knew Grandma Dowdel and tried to stay out of her way. She had a sharp tongue and didn’t like people who “put on airs.” It took Joey and Mary Alice more than one visit to realize that Grandma really was good-hearted and went out of her way to help those in need. Although she had a hard time showing it, she really loved her grandchildren and was protective of them.

Each story or chapter in the book focuses on one incident of what appears to be outlandish behavior on Grandma’s part. In many cases, however, Grandma is turning the tables on somebody who is trying to take advantage of her or of her grandchildren. Gradually, the two kids, especially Joey, come to appreciate Grandma and look forward to their visits with her.

If you are looking for a book that makes vivid what it was like during the depression and gives you a glimpse into small town life during that era, this is the book for you. Author Richard Peck knows how to keep you laughing as he tells a serious story.

 

Life for a young girl in Afghanistan under the Taliban

Parvana was just in sixth grade when the Taliban took over in her home country of Afghanistan. As religious extremists, the Taliban had ordered all girls and women to stay inside their homes. Girls were no longer allowed to go to school. Women were not allowed to work outside their homes. So Parvana lived with her mother, an older sister of high school age, a five-year-old younger sister, and a two-year-old baby brother. Their father had also lived with them until he was seized and thrown into prison by the Taliban.

All of the family lived in one room on the third floor of a bomb-damaged building. Their home had been destroyed in the war many months earlier. They lived in Kabul, the capitol city of Afghanistan. Much of the population had either been killed or had escaped into neighboring Pakistan. Parvana’s parents, because they were university educated, had wanted to stay and help rebuild their war torn country.

When Parvana’s father had been arrested, Parvana had to disguise herself as a boy and go out into the city and try to make enough money for food to keep her family alive. She had tried to take over her father’s little business. He had set up a spot in the marketplace where he offered to read and write letters for people, since most of the population was illiterate. He had also displayed for sale what few possessions the family had salvaged from their former home. Parvana found out that she could make more money by trying some other jobs. One of the most gruesome was when she joined a group of boys who sold the bones from the bodies of people who had been killed earlier in the war.

The author of this book, Deborah Ellis, had been to Afghan refugee camps and heard many true stories like the one she relates in her book. A reader comes away from “The Breadwinner” with a deep feeling for what it was like to live in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Any young reader should be aware that American soldiers are still in Afghanistan today trying to help out families like Parvana’s.

 

Real life becomes as dangerous as
the adventures in made-up stories

Archie Jones is eleven and his kid brother, Oggie, is just six. Their dad had moved out of their house about a year before. So their mom and dad were in the process of getting a divorce. Mom had sold their nice home in Ansley Park and the three were living in an apartment in a not-so-good neighborhood. The boys spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at their dad’s apartment. Tuesday through Thursdays were spent with their mother in her apartment.

Little Oggie was pretty stressed out over the changes in their lives. Archie knew how to help calm Oggie down by telling him stories that helped keep his mind off of things that were bothering him. During one of the more troublesome periods, Archie started a series of stories about the Mysterious Mole People who lived underground. Archie got so fascinated with his own stories that he intended at some future time to write all of them in book form and try to get them published.

There was a gang called the “Night Riders” that hung out around the neighborhood. Archie did everything that he could to stay out of their way. Poor little Oggie was frightened to death of the mean looking gang members. Unfortunately, gang members caught little Oggie alone one afternoon when he was counting money that he carried in an old billfold. Naturally, they jumped him and stole his billfold and all the money he had carefully saved over the months. To calm him down, Archie had to promise Oggie that he would get his billfold back from the gang members.

How Archie gets involved with the Night Riders and his attempts to reclaim Oggie’s billfold and money makes up a big part of the rest of the story. Of course, we keep finding out more and more about the Mysterious Mole People as well, since Archie can’t tell his little brother about all the real trouble he is getting into with the gang members and Cat Man, their vicious leader. Archie doesn’t really want to be a hero. He just wants to write stories about heroes that he makes up. Can he do both?

 

Lizzie, age 9, finds mother’s old typewriter
and decides to become a writer

Lizzie at nine is between her brother Norman, who’s twelve, and sister Ellie, who’s just two. Winston, the dog, is six, but that’s pretty old in dog years. Lizzie feels kind of left out in the family. Norman, because he is older, gets to do more things than she does. Ellie, because she is so little, demands a lot of attention.

In December, just after her ninth birthday, while looking for some winter boots, Lizzie finds her mother’s old portable typewriter. Its battered case is covered with stickers from places like France, Greece, Brazil, and Australia. It seems Lizzie mother, on graduating from college, took a trip around the world. She helped pay her way by writing stories about her travels for the hometown newspaper. Today, she has a job working for that same newspaper. The father of the kids is divorced from their mom and lives in another nearby state.

Since Lizzie had already learned how to type on a computer, she found that she could type on the old typewriter with no problem. She liked the click, clack noise that it made. With the typewriter set up on a card table, Lizzie decided to write about her life and the family’s activities for each month of the next year. And that’s what the book “By Lizzie” is - each chapter is Lizzie’s account of what went on in each month from February to the following December.

In the last chapter we find out that Lizzie changed some of the details to make the writing more interesting than by simply telling what actually happened. But, as Lizzie points out, that’s what all good writers do. And for us, as readers, we get quite a few laughs from reading about her life as Lizzie “jazzes” it up.

 

 

Sports

Jefferson County kids lead skateboard project

Northwest Valley Middle School kids are getting an insider’s look at how county government works. They also are helping finance a new county skateboard park.

A total of 180 Northwest Valley eighth graders participated in a University of Missouri-St. Louis program that shows how local governments work. It’s more than textbook learning.

The semester-curriculum in the Citizenship Education Clearing House (CECH) program includes getting involved in local government.

Northwest Valley’s project included getting involved in developing a Jefferson County sports complex. The kids are focused on helping finance a county skateboard park.

Fourteen-year-old Bobby Propes said the project taught him that “it takes a lot to get simple things done in the community. You have to talk to lots of people to get approval.”

But the High Ridge kid added, “We’re just a bunch of kids and we’re getting a lot done.” Bobby gave most of the messages over the school intercom about the skateboard project.

A delegation of kids was at the groundbreaking for the park, held earlier in May.

In late May, a student delegation presented the Jefferson County Commissioners with a petition requesting more financial support for the park.

Fourteen-year-old Ashley Bruce drew up the petition asking for a grant from the commissioners. She also made a petition asking for a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation. Hawk is a professional skateboarder who supports skateboard park development across the country.

Ashley said she composed both petitions at home and got them approved at school.

The House Springs kid said the petitions were circulated throughout the school to get signatures. Kids were asked to sign while buying raffle tickets and at a professional skateboard demonstration.

The skateboard raffle and demonstration were a part of the kids’ fund-raising efforts.

Another student fund-raiser was a Walk-A-Thon early in May. For a donation of at least $3, kids were excused from history class to walk or run on the school track. That school fund-raiser brought in over $1,000.

Fourteen-year-old Brandon Null turned the Walk-A-Thon into a run. He ran most of his 16 laps (or four miles). He said he’s planning to go out for track next year in high school.

Null said he felt the new county skateboard park will be more valuable to him because he had a personal hand in financing it.

Fourteen-year-old Mitchell Gossage said his personal involvement in the government project has made him “a whole bunch more interested” in the way his county works.

The Fenton student said he takes part in skateboard competition. He traveled to the skateboard park in the St. Louis Mills shopping center in northwest St. Louis County. “I really liked it,” he said.

Fourteen-year-old Jackie Glick was one of the students who got to visit the county courthouse in Hillsboro. The sat in on a commissioners’ meeting and visited the jail and county offices.

Fifty kids were winners of an essay contest to determine which kids got to go to Hillsboro.

The High Ridge student said she was impressed with the amount of work that goes into every government project. However, she said she doesn’t want a career in government.

She said she’d like to be a writer or a professional musician. She’s been practicing with the guitar for a year and is “looking to get into a band.” Jackie said her interest in music “grew out of listening to music since I was a little kid.”

Fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowley was glad to be a winner in backing the skateboard project. His earlier one-man effort to change a school rule didn’t turn out so well.

The Fenton student said he circulated a petition to try to get a later start to the school day. He was asking to change the school’s “early out” day to a “late start” day. On the monthly “early out” day, kids come to school at the regular time but get out shortly after noon.

He proposed starting later, maybe 11 a.m., and get out at the regular afternoon time.

“I got over a 100 eighth-graders to sign but I didn’t get enough seventh-graders,” he said. The school administration didn’t approve the “late start” day.

But, Christopher said his skateboard experience made him “much more” interested in government.

 

History

Local kids set for national history day

Seventh-grader Lexi Panopoulos had added motivation for her team’s History Day exhibit on pioneer Daniel Boone. She’s a distant relative of that famous frontiersman.

Thirteen-year-old Lexi teamed with classmates Kristin Wahl and Rachel Ampleman on a entry entitled “Daniel Boone: Wilderness Explorer.” The three-panel exhibit earned the kids a trip this month to the National History Day competition in Maryland.

They will represent St. Raphael the Archangel School, located in south St. Louis. Their teacher-advisor Christy Conner has a reputation of producing outstanding history competition entrants.

Lexi said her relationship to Daniel Boone comes from through her great-grandfather.

“His name was Brown. The Browns and the Boones were neighbors in Virginia. Both families lost their land and moved to Missouri. One of the Boones and one of the Browns got married,” she said.

Lexi and 13-year-old Kristin took a trip to Daniel Boone’s former home at Defiance, Mo. It was part of their research for their second-place Junior Group Display in the Missouri History Day competition.

First and second-place winners at state qualify for the National History Day competition June 13-17 in College Park, Md. The University of Maryland hosts the event.

All three of the girls are excited about the trip. It will be the first time for all of them to make a trip to the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. With family members along, the kids said they plan side-trips to historic sites.

Thirteen-year-old Rachel Ampleman said, “I want to see the battlefields.” The sites of many Civil War battles, including the crucial Battle of Gettysburg, are located nearby.

Included in the Panopoulos family group will be Lexi’s grandparents, Richard and Gloria Barrett. It’s her grandmother’s family that provides the Boone connection.

The kids said they uncovered all sorts of interesting things about Daniel Boone. They did much of their research on the Internet. Their three-panel group exhibit includes lots of downloaded pictures along with historical data.

Kristin said the most interesting thing about Boone’s life was when he was captured by Indians. “While he was in captivity, he learned the language and found out about a planned attack on Fort Boonesborough, Ky.,” she said.

“He escaped and ran 160 miles in four days to warn about the attack,” she added.

Rachel Ampleman said the thing about Boone’s life she found most interesting was when he was “adopted by the Shoshoni Indians.”

Asked if she could be a frontier explorer, Rachel said, “I’d be okay. I like the woods.”

Lexi was asked what she found most interesting about her distant relation. “I liked it so much that he was a family man. He had 10 kids,” she said.

This was the second year both Lexi and Kristin have entered the History Day competition. Last year, with a third partner, the team had an exhibit, “Don Muir: Defender of the Wilderness.”

Kristin said, “We didn’t make it to state last year.”

She said, “I think our subject on Daniel Boone fit this year’s ‘exploring’ theme better.” Last year’s experience also helped the new team understand what judges were looking for. They did a better job in preparing and presenting his year’s exhibit.

Rachel said she knew the third member of Lexi and Kristin’s previous team wasn’t in school this year. She said, “We were talking about history day and I asked if I could join the team this year.” It is her first history day competition.

The team won second place in the local history day competition. They finished second to another team from St. Raphael’s. Then, after making some improvements, they finished second in the whole state at Jefferson City.

The girls said they plan to make further improvements in their entry before the nationals. Contest rules encourage entrants to keep improving between different contest levels.

Kristin said, “We’re going to add a new picture and some more quotes to our conclusion.”

Their exhibit consists of three wooden panels which is coated with fabric. The panels are joined together with the type of door hinges with removable pins. That allows the display to be dismantled for easy transport.

Also, the fabric on the panels allows for attaching parts to the exhibits with velcro strips. That means they can easily add , subtract and rearrange elements.

 

Environment

Kids help develop conservation area

Fifth graders from Sappington Elementary School are helping to develop a local conservation area near their school. Their latest project is to add a butterfly garden.

That’s just the latest development in the Claire Gempp Davidson Conservation Area in south St. Louis County. The area already has nature trails and a wetlands area.

The butterfly garden is part of a prairie that will feature only native Missouri plants.

Eleven-year-old Taylor Noce said a few weeks ago he and his classmates put in three to four hours on a butterfly garden. He said kids put in plants to house and feed butterflies.

He said teachers also “gave us bird feed and we put that in a bird feeder.” During a nature hike, he said he saw a bluebird and two cardinals. “I also saw a hawk’s nest,” he said.

The development of the Gempp conservation area was mentioned last month during an regional environmental awards dinner. The Gempp project was an entry in the school category of the 2004 Environmental Excellence Awards competition for Choose Environmental Excellence, Gateway Region (CEEGR).

The path to development of the Gempp site started in 1992 when land in an estate was donated to the Missouri Conservation Department. In turn, the MCD asked the City of Sunset Hills if it would take over development.

Sunset Hills officials recruited the Lindbergh School District to help make an outdoor science laboratory.

Sappington Elementary School Principal Joe Sartorius said, “If we hadn’t done something, the land would have been developed commercially and lost forever.”

Most conservation development has been in the last five years. The largest project was putting in an acre of wetlands. That includes a 200-foot earthen dam and a wooden boardwalk so kids can walk right over the wetlands.

Eleven-year-old Madeline Sartorius is the daughter of her school’s principal. She was on the work team to develop the butterfly park. “Each kid planted a tree or a plant all for the butterflies,” she said.

She also learned about the growth stages of a butterfly. That starts with a caterpillar, “who eats a lot and then makes a cocoon.” Later, the butterfly breaks out of the cocoon.

Ten-year-old Will Richards said he liked the nature hike that was included during their butterfly garden work experience. “I saw a salamander but he got away. I also saw the tail of a hawk,” the fifth grader added.

The Gempp conservation area is used throughout the year for ecology and science trips.

Also, kids will be helping with future development. Recent developments include covering the nature trails with material to make them handicapped-accessible.

There are interpretive signs that explain different parts of the area. Then, every years, kid crews go through the pull weeds and clean up trails.

All of the Sappington kids said they enjoy playing in the outdoors.

Will said, “I like to explore the creek that is practically in our backyard.” He said in the summer, he hunts crawdads in the creek. “We only eat the claw meat. The rest we use for bait when we go fishing,” he said.

Madeline said she has a pond in her yard, along with three bird houses and a birdbath. “We also have woods right behind our yard,” she said.

Asked about keeping the two birdfeeders filled, she said, “That’s my dad’s job.”

Taylor Noce said his family has a backyard garden, with both flowers and vegetables. He said he likes to eat vegetables and “fresh from the garden is best.” He said the cherry tomatoes are likely to be the first home-grown vegetables he’ll get to eat this summer.

Will Richards said his family had a garden when they lived in Houston, Tex. “But, since we moved here, we have two dogs,” he said.

When they tried a garden in St. Louis, “ the dogs trashed it.” As soon as the flowers bloomed, the dogs dug up the plants. He said they liked the white flowers the best.

He said the family does have two mulberry bushes. They use the berries to make pies “if we can pick them before the bluebirds get them,” he said.

The kids say they try to improve the environment with recycling at school and at home.

Sappington School has a recycling program for the kids’ work papers. At home, the kids recycle newspapers as well as aluminum cans.

 

Music

University City girl gets aid with music lessons

Saidah Kindell got interested in the violin when she transferred to the Parkway School District. She joined the school orchestra and found a program that helped her afford private music lessons.

Fourteen-year-old Saidah transferred to the Parkway District when she was in fourth grade. She was too late for the mandatory violin lessons all third graders take in Parkway.

But, she immediately got interested in joining the Bellerive Elementary School’s orchestra. She also picked the violin as her instrument.

Saidah said, “I like the challenge of the music.” Most of what she plays is classical music.

“We also do folk tunes of all kinds. But, I like the classical music the best,” she said.

She admits her parents sometime have to urge her to do her practicing. But, she said that one of her strengths is her dedication.

“I’m serious about my music and I don’t like my parents to nag me.” She said the desire to avoid the criticism “makes me more dedicated about my practicing.”

Now, Saidah practices about 45 minutes a day. That’s in addition to her music classes in school.

She admits that she “can get bored once in awhile with practice, particularly if she doesn’t like the piece she’s working on.

On the recommendation of her Parkway music teacher, Saidah applied for and earned a music scholarship from the Whitaker Foundation. The scholarship goes to selected students from low-income families to underwrite up to 90 per cent of the cost of private music lessons.

Her music tutor is Brian Kellum. He’s also the director of the Cameron Youth Orchestra. By showing good progress, Saidah was able to join the Cameron orchestra in December, 2002.

Between the Cameron and her school orchestra, Saidah gets a lot of chances to perform. She is now at Parkway Northeast Middle School.

Late in April, she was with her school orchestra when it performed in Kansas City.

The biggest audience that has seen her perform was during the All-District concert at Queeny Park. All the orchestras in the Parkway district performed in the arena at Queeny.

She said her best experience in music was being accepted into the Cameron Youth Orchestra. That is a select orchestra for African-American kids in metro St. Louis.

Her most embarrassing musical experience came in the middle of an orchestra concert.

“We had a rest period when everyone quit playing. But, I counted too fast and started to play again before everyone else,” she said.

But, she said she generally isn’t nervous when she’s playing a concert. “I get nervous before the concert starts. But, I’m not nervous while I’m playing,” she added.

Saidah said that all the kids in her family have played musical instruments.

One older brother, Hameed, 22, played the saxophone and clarinet. Another older brother, Mustafa, 21, played the trumpet. She said they didn’t continue music after school.

Her younger brother, 10-year-old Yusef, plays the violin also.

He started playing the violin when he transferred to the Parkway district in the third grade. That made him a part of the mandatory violin program at Parkway. Now in 4th grade, he has continued his violin playing.

Saidah said she doesn’t plan to make a career out of her music. She said she wants to stay active in music “but it’ll probably be a sidelight.”

She said she wants to go into nursing as a career. “I want to be a neonatal intensive care nurse,” she said.

Asked about that career choice, Saidah said she had a cousin who gave birth of a premature baby “who didn’t make it.” She said, “I was fascinated by how the nurses and doctors tried to help the baby.”

Besides her interest in music, another activity for Saidah is designing jewelry.

She has a little company called Aisha Designs. The company name uses her middle name. The word Aisha means life, she said.

She has been naming necklaces, earrings, bracelets and anklets since she was 10.

 

Broadway Diary

Broadway Diary, Part 2

Neil’s Broadway debut is “awesome”

(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part interview by Young Saint Louis.com with 11-year-old Neil Shastri. Last month, he opened in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Broadway musical, “Bombay Dreams.”)

St. Louisan Neil Shastri said there was only one word to describe his opening on Broadway: “Awesome”.

Neil has been in New York for several months since winning a role in “Bombay Dreams.”

Webber’s play tells the story of a guy from the slums who “makes it” in Bollywood. That’s the name for the film-making community in India.

Neil has the role of Munna, a 10-year-old slum kid who is the friend of the play’s star.

His actual personal debut on Broadway was on the second night of the play’s run.

He shares the role of Munna with another kid, Tanvir Gopal. The Munna role requires two performers because of their young age. Under labor rules, neither Neil or Tanvir can work enough hours to handle the role alone.

Tanvir got the call for opening night on Thursday, April 29. Neil was in the role on Friday, April 30. The kids alternate every other performance. Sometimes, they both perform the same day because there are both matinee and evening performances.

On the night of his first performance, Neil said, “When I went into my office, you couldn’t even see the desk. It was covered with opening-day presents. One of the presents was a model of a Tony award. Of course, it wasn’t a real one.”

He added, “I also got a decorative plate from the guy who rewrote the play.” The musical has been a success in London for some time. Then, Webber created an American version for Broadway.

After the show, he went to a “grand opening” reception that filled four floors of a nearby building. He also goes to press conferences to promote “Bombay Dreams.” One themed press conference even introduced a “Bombay ice cream” and “Bombay martini.”

Neil said now the audiences are bigger and more lively than they were at earlier preview shows. Before the formal Broadway opening, there were several preview shows to try out the musical in front of live audiences.

Those early days were very busy ones for Neil. He’d have a tutor to help him complete class lessons he brought from St. Louis’ Sperreng Middle School. Then, he’d have rehearsals in the afternoon and a preview performance in the evening.

Now the show has started its formal run, Neil’s life is a little easier. There are less rehearsals and more free time.

Neil’s changed his school situation. He’s pretty much finished with his Sperreng lessons.

So, he’s enrolled at MS 131, a middle school in Chinatown.

“I’m participating in the classes but I’m doing it for fun,” the sixth grader said. “I’m making lots of new friends.”

He said most of the kids at his new school are Chinese-American. “But, there are some Americans and African-Americans. All sorts of different kids,” he said.

If “Bombay Dreams” is still running in the fall, Neil said he’ll probably transfer full-time to a New York school. He can go to school during the day and then perform at night. Of course, on matinee days, he’s have to get excused from classes.

Neil still hasn’t been able to do much sight-seeing around the New York area.

But, he said he did have one unusual sight come to him. He said the new Queen Mary II ocean liner is docked in the river “right down the street from our apartment.” The Queen Mary II recently finished its maiden voyage across the Atlantic and docked in New York.

Neil said, “It’s really big. I feel like an ant next to it.” He added, “They tell me it takes it 1 1/2 hours just to turn around.”

Asked about his reaction to New York, Neil said, “In Saint Louis, you don’t see very many people walking. In New York, the streets are like a carnival. You never know what you’re going to see.”

Neil and his mother, JJ, have been staying in an apartment right off of Broadway. Neil walks to his work at the theater.

He said he’s seen dancers and musicians on the street and in the subways. “I even saw rats running on the subway tracks,” he added.

(If you’d like to read the first Broadway Diary article, click here. If you’d like to learn more about the musical, visit www.broadway.com. If you click on “Bombay Dreams” segment, there’s a picture of Neil at the grand opening.)

 

St. Louis History

This Month in St. Louis History

Famous St. Louis birth dates in June

June was a month with lots of birthdays of both prominent people and lasting institutions.

Katherine Dunham, undoubtedly the most famous dancer in St. Louis’ history, was born on June 22, 1910. So was former St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Lou Brock, born June 18, 1939.

Two famous institutions also came into being in June.

The Hilltop campus at Washington University was formally dedicated during commencement ceremonies in June, 1905. And on June 18, 1920, a 170-acre hayfield became what is now Lambert International Airport.

These are just some of the historical events that have shaped St. Louis’ history.

Of course, there are also lesser events--some serious and some trivial--that helped flavor St. Louis’ colorful history.

For instance, in 1849, St. Louis was in the midst of a tragic outbreak of cholera. In the past, that disease was a killer of many persons. For instance, on just one day--June 25, 1849--records show there were 99 burials of cholera victims in St. Louis.

In a lighter vein, in June, 1944, the St. Louis Cardinals faced the youngest player to pitch in the major leagues. The Cincinnati Reds’ Joe Nuxhall appeared in his first game on June 10, 1944.

He pitched 2/3rds of an inning, when he was just 15 years, 10 months old.

The Cardinals won, 18-0, and Nuxhall walked five and gave up two hits. He went on to a long career in Cincinnati as both a player and radio announcer.

Katherine Dunham (1910- )

Katherine Dunham’s life has been associated with East St. Louis, Ill., for 40 years. And she still lives there.

But, she was born in Chicago and was known internationally as a dancer and civil rights advocate even before moving to the St. Louis area.

She first came to the St. Louis area in 1964 when she accepted an artist-in-residence appointment from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Three years later, she moved to East Saint Louis to open the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC).

There, she offered local blacks an opportunity to learn about African cultural history and the arts. During the hectic 1960s, she had numerous run-ins with local police when she actively recruited gang members and black militants to her PATC.

In addition to work in East St. Louis, Dunham was active in civil rights work in the East and South, in the African country of Senegal and in Haiti. For a time, she ran an unlicensed medical center in Haiti to provide care in one of the world’s poorest countries.

For more about Dunham,, visit www.toptags.com/aama/bio/women/kdunham.htm.

Lou Brock (1939- )

Lou Brock gained most of his fame as a St. Louis Cardinal centerfielder. He came here in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, who got Cards’ pitcher Ernie Broglio.

That trade is considered to be one of the most one-sided trades in major league baseball. Brock went on to lead the Cardinals to a World Series championship in 1967. He also set the MLB stolen base record (938) before it was broken by Rickey Henderson.

Brock was named to the Hall of Fame in 1985. He is now a businessman in St. Louis.

For more on Brock, visit the Cardinals website at http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Then click on to History.

Washington University

From 1853 to 1905, Washington University was located in downtown St. Louis. But, the school long considered a move to a western campus. The Hilltop Campus west of Forest Park was purchased in the mid-1890s.

In 1899, a national competition for an architectural firm to design the campus was held. The winner was a Philadelphia firm, Cope and Stewardson. Construction began in October, 1900.

Even in its new buildings, Washington University retains that original architectural vision.

During the 1904 World’s Fair, a total of nine buildings were leased for use as administrative offices and exhibit space. Construction of four of the nine buildings was funded by lease payments from the fair organization.

First use of the Hilltop campus for classes began in January, 1905, just two months after the World’s Fair closed. Formal dedication of the campus was at commencement in 1905.

For more about the campus, visit www.wustl.edu/tour/hilltop/intro.html

Lambert International Airport

What is now Lambert St. Louis International Airport started out as one man’s dream. Major Albert Lambert purchased 550 acres of land which contained Kinloch Field.

At first, it was a balloon launching location. Then, St. Louis was the site of the first experimental parachute jump in the world.

Lambert had taken his first airplane ride with flight pioneer Orville Wright. He was the first person in St. Louis to get a private pilot’s license.

He established Lambert field on June 18, 1920. At his own expense, he cleared, graded and drained the land. He also built the first airplane hangers. Eight years later, Lambert Field was a base for passenger and freight service.

On Feb. 7, 1928, the city of St. Louis purchased the airfield from Lambert for $68,000. That was the cost of the land before Lambert made all the airfield improvements.

For more about Lambert Field, visit www.lambert-stlouis.com/about/history.htm

 

Place to go, Things to do

Places to Go, Things to Do

Lots of outdoor fun events ready in June

There are lots of outdoor fun activities available for kids and families during June in the St. Louis metro area. Why not sign-up for your favorites today.

Outdoor skills training ranges from fishing to hunting to orienteering. There are lots of neat bike rides in the St. Louis area.

But, if you like indoor activities, the St. Louis Art Museum has a series of Sunday family programs. If you’re a spectator, the “Battle by the Arch” tournament offers some great girls’ basketball.

Missouri Conservation Department

The Missouri Conservation Department’s various areas have a number of “themed” weeks scheduled in June.

The “themed” weeks allow you to take lessons in related subjects in the same week. For instance, the Outdoor Skills Week at Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County has three subjects during the week of June 21-25.

There are programs on fishing, beginning orienteering and archery in the same week.

Other “themed” weeks at Busch in June are Aquatics Week and Lewis & Clark Week.

The new Columbia Bottom Conservation Area will have an Aquatics Week as well as a Finding Your Way Week and ‘ology Week. The “Finding” classes include beginning compass, beginning map reading and beginning orienteering.

‘ology Week includes Entomology (insects), Ichthyology (fish) and Mammology (mammals).

Rockwoods Reservation has an ‘ology Week, Predators of the Wild Week, Survival Games Week and Outdoor Skills Week.

At the Powder Valley Nature Center, there will be Maze Days, Lewis & Clark and Kids’ Outdoor Skills weeks.

For details on these and other fun programs, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas

St. Louis County Parks

One of the highlights of summer activity in St. Louis County Parks are the week-long Youth Fishing Day Camps. These provide lots of fishing instruction by county park rangers.

One camp is Monday-Friday, June 7-11, at Queeny Park in west county. The other is the next week, June 14-18, at Suson Park in south county. The days are from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Cost is $130 per person. Advance registration is required.

This is especially designed for kids 9 to 14. Kids go to a different fishing location every day. Also, every afternoon, there’s swimming at a county pool. And each camp ends with a Friday pizza party.

For other county park offerings in June, check www.stlouisco.com/parks.

Trailnet’s Kids Fun Rides

The first Kids’ Fun Ride for June is the Route 66 Bicycle Ride & Festival. It will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, from Edwardsville, Ill.

Riders can pick from routes ranging in distance from 16 to 66 miles. All of them return to Edwardsville, where the Route 66 festival will be in full swing.

One main feature of Kids’ Fun Rides is that routes don’t have steep hills. And most of them end up at a festival or a good place to eat.

Although it’s not listed as a Kids’ Fun Ride, another June bike event you and your family might like to try is the Bridge Birthday Bash and Bicycle Ride. That one is on Sunday, June 26, starting at 9 a.m.

The ride starts at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis. It is in celebration of the 75th birthday of the bridge. Bikers can follow relatively flat routes of 14, 27 or 32 miles.

For the full lineup of Trailnet rides, check out www.trailnet.org/events.org.

St. Louis Art Museum

The St. Louis Art Museum features family programming every Sunday. There are also Ford Free Friday programs.

For details on the St. Louis Art Museum’s programming, visit www.slam.org.

Gifted Resource Council

The Gifted Resource Council’s Summer Academies 2004 provile a lot of chances for kids to explore neat subjects.

The June academies include such subjects as the Ancient Academy: Ancient Egypt, the Space and Advanced Space Academies and Academy Americana. The latter one is an exploration of the 1904 World’s Fair which was held in St. Louis.

The academies involve fees but a limited number of scholarships are available.

For information, call (314) 962-5920. Or you can visit www.cybam.com/grc

“Battle by the Arch” basketball

In June, the St. Louis Comets host one of the best girls basketball tournaments in the country. Dozens of teams from across the country will take part in the June 18-20 meet.

The games are played at a variety of arenas and all are open to the public.

YSL.com featured an article about the St. Louis Comets in May, 2004.

For details on the “Battle by the Arch” tournament, visit www.eteamz.com/aauozark

 

Math Puzzler

Angles play a big role in the Mr. Math Puzzler questions for June.

Questions 3, 5 and 6 all involve figures with different types of angles. Knowing how to figure angles will be a key to a successful entry. There are basic formulas about angles in a polygon and the relationship of the sides in a triangle.

Then, you’ll need some understanding of principles concerning circles and cubes.

More kids entered the May competition and there was one winner. The number of entries probably went up because everyone was back from spring break. There were schools on spring break for much of April.

But, Mr. Math Puzzler says there’s room for lots more entries. Mr. Math Puzzler is Wayne Hesse of Green Park Lutheran School in south St. Louis County.

He’d be happy if kids from every school in the metro St. Louis area were to enter. Of course, judges for the Young Saint Louis.com contest might not be quite as happy when faced with a deluge of entries.

But, YSL.com encourages everyone to tell their friends about the competition. Maybe you can get together and have some fun trying to figure out the answers.

Before trying, however, you ought to check with some of answers to past questions. You can do that by clicking on Past Stories on the Home Page. Then, pick any month from September, 2001, on.

Each month, there is a story that gives the answers to the previous month’s questions.

Then, after some study, you’ll be ready to enter this June contest.

A reminder: These Math Puzzlers can be quite challenging, especially for younger kids. Remember, we don’t mind if you get help from a parent or older brother or sister. In fact, you might want to make this a family activity.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Print out the following entry form.
2. Fill out your name, address and telephone number.
3. Give your answers to the six Math Puzzlers.
4. Put your completed entry into a stamped envelope.
5. Mail your entry to:
   
   Math Puzzler Contest
   Young Saint Louis.com
   231 So. Bemiston Ave., Suite 800
   Clayton, MO 63105
   
   
6. All entries must be postmarked by the 15th of the month to be eligible.

------------- Clip here to make entry -------------

Entry for June, 2004, Math Puzzler Contest:

Name: ____________________________________ Age: ___

Address: ______________________ School: _____________

City:_____________________, State:______ ZIP__________

Contact phone no.(____)____________________

The Math Puzzlers
(June, 2004)

1. What is the speed in miles per hour (rounded to the nearest mph) of a race car that travels the length of a football field (100 yards) in one second?

Answer: _______________

 

2. Segments AB and CD are diameters of the circle and their lengths are 2 inches each. Find the perimeter of the shaded region (see diagram).

Answer: _____________

 

3. Find the measure of each interior angle of a stop sign.

Answer: _____________

 

4. One step is missing from the following directions. (1) Start with your age as an integer, (2) multiply it by 2, (3) then subtract 3, (4) multiply that result by 3. At this point (5), a step is missing. Finally (6) divide by 6 and obtain your age as an answer. What is the missing step?

Answer: _____________

 

5. What are the possible lengths for the sides of a triangle if the triangle’s perimeter is 13 and the lengths of the sides are integers?

Answer: _____________

 

6. Find the lengths, in feet, of the sides of three cubes. (If using decimals to express your answer, round to the nearest one-hundredth.) Cube A’s surface area equals its volume. Cube B’s surface area equals the square of its volume. For Cube C, square of the surface area equals its volume.

Answer: Cube A:________

Cube B:________

Cube C:________

 

After going a month without a winner, there was one in Mr. Math Puzzler’s May competition

Eleven-year-old Zachary Bian from Grace Christian Academy got all six May Puzzlers correct. There had been no winners in the April contest.

Mr. Math Puzzler is Wayne Hesse from Green Park Lutheran School in south St. Louis County. He said he had eased up a bit on the May questions, after there were no winners in April.

But, he must not have eased up too much since Zachary was the only winner in May.

In addition to having his name published in this article, Zachary wins a $10 Borders book certificate. Young Saint Louis.com awards certificates to up to three winners. Of course, since there’s only one winner, Zachary will get the only certificate.

After spring breaks in April, there were more entries in the May contest. But, there’s lots more room for entrants in the June Puzzler contest.

Why don’t you tell some of your friends about Mr. Math Puzzler. Also, you could ask your math teacher if she would give some “extra credit” if you and other classmates enter the contest.

As we’ve said in the past, first time entrants don’t win very often. It helps if you practice some before sending in your June entry form.

The Math Puzzler contest has been on YSL.com since September, 2001.

That’s about 200 Puzzlers that have run in previous issues. Also, for all of those past editions, there has been an answer story the next month.

By going to the Past Stories tab at the top of the Home Page, you can get access to all past Puzzlers. Pick a sampling of months, look at the questions and then see how Mr. Math Puzzler figures out the answers.

A review of all those Math Puzzlers also may help you understand more math principles.

After reviewing previous questions and answers, come back here and enter the June test.

The May Math Puzzlers answers:

1. What day would yesterday be if Wednesday was five days before the day after tomorrow?

Answer: Friday

The explanation: This answer is best found by using a linear chart:

 

2. Susie is throwing darts at a dart board shown. Assuming that all her darts hit the board, how many darts will she need to throw to get 100 points exactly?

Answer: Six

The explanation: There are several possible combinations: (1) 15, 15, 16, 16, 19, 19; (2) 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; (3) 15, 15, 17, 17, 18, 18. But, all of them use six darts to get to 100.

 

3. A car-rental agency charges $37.50 per day and 23 cents-per-mile to rent a car. How many miles (whole miles) can be driven in a day before the charge reaches $100?

Answer: 271

The explanation: This answer is best arrived at with a formula:

     37.5 + .23m < 100
    -37.5          -37.5
    -----          -----
                         .23m <  62.5

 

    .23m ÷ .23 < 62.5 ÷ .23

    m < 271.73913
    Rounded to m = 271

 

4. How many terms (or numbers) are in the sequence that follows?

3, 7, 11............439

Answer: 110

The explanation: The gap between the numbers in the sequence is four. Therefore, there should be 110 terms (or numbers) since 439 divided by four (with 1 added) is 110.

 

5. Find a number X that makes this statement true?

(x ÷ 3²) - 4 + (3 times 2³) = 36

Answer: 144

The explanation: Here’s how the completed formula answer looks:

(x ÷ 3²) - 4 + (3 times 2³) = 36

(x ÷ 9) - 4 + 24 = 36

(x ÷ 9) - 4 + 24 -20 = 36 - 20

9(x ÷ 9) = 9(16)

x = 144

 

6. What is the sum of ALL the prime factors of 1,260?

Answer: 22

The explanation: You need to divide 1,260 by prime numbers to get to 1.

1260 ÷ 2 = 630
630 ÷ 2 = 315
315 ÷ 3 = 105
105 ÷ 3 = 35
35 ÷ 5 = 7

7 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 22

 

Fun & Games

Fun & Games

Trivia - Bird Fun

When you're done, click here for the answers.

1. What are a Kentucky Colonel’s favorite birds?
2. Caught crooks are what kind of birds?
3. What kind of birds show up each year on the same date in a famous old Spanish Mission in California?
4. What kind of “birds” hang out at the Vatican?
5. Which birds especially hate Thanksgiving Day?
6. Which birds are supposed to be scared off by hanging old clothes in the cornfield?
7. Hiding its head in the sand when frightened is said to be the behavior of what kind of bird?
8. What birds have long been famous for going from ugly to beautiful as they grow up?
9. “The early bird gets the worm” is likely to apply to what kind of red-breasted birds?
10. What kind of bird is supposed to be the “bird of happiness?”

 

Crossword Puzzles

When you have completed the puzzles, you can click here to find the answers!

Young Saint Louis.com #1

Across	Down
3. a response 6. practices 8. outdoor show 9. one of several	1. a replacement 2. provides commentary 4. doubtful, suspicious 5. the main one 7. daytime performance

 

Young Saint Louis.com #2

Across	Down
4. to guarantee 5. make smaller 7. low risk 8. required 9. a cheater, liar	1. commitment 2. sells to public 3. stock collection 6. eraly infancy stage

 

Young Saint Louis.com #3

Across	Down
7. a pioneer 8. a formal request	1. emerges from cocoon 2. taken apart 3. a string instrument 4. how one is known 5. put in new order 6. balance in nature 9. prose writing

 

Rhymes with June

Across	Down
2. old fashioned favor 3. after short wait 4. sing softly 5. inflated 8. an ancient rime 9. mid day	1. dumb but tough 3. eating utensil 6. water bird 7. dried plum

 

Potter Puzzle Revisited

Across	Down
3. wizard school 6. a house elf 9. rugular people 10. school's headmaster 11. Dumbledore's bird	1. Harry's "house" 2. evil villain 4. Harry's family 5. flying sport 7. serious student 8. Harry's owl

 

Some school jokes for openers

Father: Son, do you like going to school?
      Son: Dad, the going is fine and the coming home is okay, too. It’s the in between I don’t care for!

Mother: What was the first thing you learned in school?
      Daughter: How to talk without moving my lips!

Why did the pioneers cross the country in covered wagons?
      Because they didn’t want to wait forty years for a train!

What are you going to be when you get out of school?
      An old man!

Now some bug, bird, and animal jokes

What do you call an ant from overseas?
      Import-ant!

How many ants are needed to fill an apartment?
      Ten-ants!

Why should a polar bear be cheap to keep as a pet?
      It lives on ice!

Why do bees hum?
      Because they’ve forgotten the words!

What kind of bee can’t be understood?
      A mumble bee!

What’s another name for a clever duck?
      A wise quacker!

What happened when the owl lost its voice?
      It didn’t give a hoot!

What do you call an ant whose eaten your mother’s sister?
      An aunt-eater!

What do you get if you cross a centipede and a chicken?
      Enough drumsticks to feed an army!

And now some knock, knocks for a big finish!

Knock. Knock.
      Who’s there?
Carl.
      Carl who?
Carl get you there quicker than if you walk!

Knock. Knock.
      Who’s there?
Ben.
      Ben who?
Ben knocking at this door all day!

Knock. Knock.
      Who’s there?
Butter.
      Butter who?
Butter bring an umbrella, it looks like it might rain!

Knock. Knock.
      Who’s there?
Avenue.
      Avenue who?
Avenue heard the good news?

 

 

Answers to Fun & Games

Trivia - Bird Fun

1. Chickens
2. Jail birds
3. Swallows
4. Cardinals
5. Turkeys
6. Crows
7. Ostriches
8. Swans
9. Robins
10. Bluebirds

 

Crossword Puzzles

Note that the words used in Young Saint Louis.com crossword puzzles are all taken from the articles appearing in this months issue.

Young Saint Louis.com #1

Across	Down
3. a response 6. practices 8. outdoor show 9. one of several	1. a replacement 2. provides commentary 4. doubtful, suspicious 5. the main one 7. daytime performance

 

Young Saint Louis.com #2

Across	Down
4. to guarantee 5. make smaller 7. low risk 8. required 9. a cheater, liar	1. commitment 2. sells to public 3. stock collection 6. eraly infancy stage

 

Young Saint Louis.com #3

Across	Down
7. a pioneer 8. a formal request	1. emerges from cocoon 2. taken apart 3. a string instrument 4. how one is known 5. put in new order 6. balance in nature 9. prose writing

 

Rhymes with June

Across	Down
2. old fashioned favor 3. after short wait 4. sing softly 5. inflated 8. an ancient rime 9. mid day	1. dumb but tough 3. eating utensil 6. water bird 7. dried plum

 

Potter Puzzle Revisited

Across	Down
3. wizard school 6. a house elf 9. rugular people 10. school's headmaster 11. Dumbledore's bird	1. Harry's "house" 2. evil villain 4. Harry's family 5. flying sport 7. serious student 8. Harry's owl