Tigers Get A Taste of Old California At Olivas Adobe

by Carly Barlow and Anna Girolamo

This year, La Mariposa’s 4^th grade classes went to the Olivas Adobe for a field trip.  One of the reasons we liked this field trip was the guide.  We liked the guide because he talked like a cowboy and made everybody step in the gross, disgusting, dirty mud pit.  We stomped around in the mud, picked mud up in our hands, and put it in wooden molds to make adobe bricks.  Another worker hosed us off afterwards.

Also while we were there, we made delicious tortillas.  First we put corn on the matate (a stone table) and moved it back and forth with the mano (a rock) while pushing it at the same time.   After we did that, we rolled the masa (smashed corn) into a ball.  When we were done with that, we put these balls of masa into the tortilla press.  Next workers cooked them on the old-fashioned outdoor stove.  Finally we got to eat them!  They were the best tortillas we had ever tasted in our life.

When we took a tour of the house, we saw lots of rooms.  One room was the girls’ bedroom.  Almost all the Olivas girls slept in this one room at a time.  The babies slept in the parents’ room.  The boys slept outside on the balcony.  The Olivas family had 21 children, so there were lots of girls in one room.  Next we toured the parents’ room.  They had chamber pots to go to the bathroom.  The boys’ job in the morning was to empty out the chamber pots.  Then we toured their very own chapel.  They had a picture of what the chapel looked like when the Olivas family lived there, and the chapel looks almost exactly the same now.

Cattle was important on the rancho.  They had a lot of cattle, so they had to make their own cattle brand.  To make a brand and get it on the cattle, you had to first make your own brand iron.   Then you have to place the brand end in the fire.  Lastly you put the hot iron brand on the animal’s body, and then you have your brand on the animal.  We got to look at the cattle branding iron and other tools.  We also saw rawhide and tanned cattle hide.

Another thing we did at Olivas Adobe was lasso a fake cow.  It was so fun!  Carly got zero points, but Anna got one point.  To get a point, you had to get the rope around one of the cow’s horns.  If it went around both horns, you got two points.

These are just some of our favorite things we did at Olivas Adobe.

How to Make Paper Mache Piñatas

By Alex M., Caitlin F., Teagan D., Colin W.

On Friday, May 3^rd, our class (Mrs. Sadowsky’s class) made paper mache piñatas. You can make them right at home! Here is how we did it.

1. Take a balloon and blow it up.
2. Attach a string to the bottom of the balloon.
3. Tape six cones to the balloon. (Cut the top off one and pull the string through it.)
4. Dip newspaper into a starch + water mixture and stick onto the balloon and the cones. (3-5 coats of newspaper on the balloon and 1 coat of newspaper on each cone. Do the balloon before the cones so the cones don’t cave in.)
5. Let the piñata dry overnight or until is hard.
6. Paint the piñata any color you want and let it dry overnight or until the paint has dried.
7. Cut off all the tops of the cones and staple streamers to them. (Don’t attach streamers to the cone with the string through it.)

Now you are finished with your piñata! If you want to you can cut a hole in the piñata, fill it with candy, and tape it to make an awesome piñata. Or you could just use as a decoration in your room. These are some easy steps on how to make a cool piñata.

Some photos from Miss Lopez’s class:

Tigers On Track For Success

By Caitlin, Kailyn, and Karolina, student contributors

Coach Thompson’s 4^th and 5^th grade track team is in gear at La Mariposa. The sprints that the athletes have been trying out for are the 50 meter dash and the 75 meter dash. The jumps are long jump and high jump. To practice the long jump, we run and jump into a pit of sand.  For high jump, you run and jump over a bar and land on a big mat.  We have also tried out for the 800 which is two laps and the 400 which is one lap. There are two people that qualify for each race in each division to go to the Rotary Track Meet on June 1^st at Camarillo High School.  If you aren’t on the track team or didn’t qualify for the track meet, you can still come and cheer your school on.

Science Week: A Student’s Persective

By Marley T., Student Contributor

I LOVE CALAMARI!

A couple of months ago, La Mariposa School had Science week. Every class had 2 days in Science Week. They gave Mrs.Hudacko’s class Tuesday and Friday. Both days were different; one day we learned about sea animals, the other about gravity and water. Both days were held near the E rooms on the blacktop.

On Tuesday we went out on the blacktop. We were going to dissect a squid and learn more about other sea animals. I learned a lot of new things from the scientist.  Did you know that people used squid ink for writing with a feather? Or did you know that sea cucumbers look rough but are really soft and squishy? Most say this was a fun day.

On Thursday we learned about water pressure .They had big tubes of water connected to the ground. We connected tiny tubes to the big tube then lead the other side to a bucket, the water flew right into the bucket! The other thing we did was finding out what floats and what doesn’t. My partner and I were the first ones to find a device that floats with 20 weights and water! Over all everyone liked Science Week.

Related Stories:

• PTA Brings Marine Life to School For Science Week
• Tigers Solve Problems & Answer Questions With Group Challenges
• Science Week Videos 2013: “Water”

Cinemagic was A Whole New World

By Mia, Kaili, and Teagan, Student Contributors

This year’s Cinemagic experience was really fun.  Not only did we get to sing and dance, but we also got to act.  The show was called “A Whole New World.”  It was about a group of school kids who were going on an amazing class trip.  One group did not really care about learning about anything.  They just wanted to have fun.  The other group wanted to learn about different cultures.  The teachers and parents decided they needed a trip to the Polynesian Islands to force them to learn about nature and how people live off the land.  The kids finally realized that there are more things in life than just being rich.

Each performer had several different costumes because they were in at least four different numbers.  Costumes were designed and made by former La Mariposa parent, Keiko Chun.  She did a good job creating the detailed and colorful costumes.  The Bollywood costumes were especially amazing.

Teagan’s favorite part was the Reflections song because it is where the girls realize what is really important and accept themselves for who they are.  Mia’s favorite part was the fire dance number because it was colorful and had a lot going on to keep the audience entertained.  Kaili’s favorite part was entertaining the audience while having fun and making friends.  The audience was amazed by the choreography involved in numbers like Bollywood and Synchronized Swimming.  The swimming number was very comical and made the audience laugh as the girls pretended to be swimming in a pool on a cruise ship.  It was amazing how much it looked like they were really diving in the water.

We would highly recommend the Cinemagic experience for other students.  This year it was open to 4^th-8^th grade students.  The practices were twice a week at the old Camarillo Library until the week of performances which were at the Pacifica High School Performing Arts Center.  We hope to do it again next year.

The Cinemagic Program is sponsored by the Pleasant Valley Education Foundation.  Learn more at http://www.pvef.org.

Free Parent viewing of the film “Bully” Tonight!

The Camarillo Council of PTAs is hosting an anti-bullying event that will feature the movie“Bully“ and a live performance by the band “Breaking 27“. The event will take place on March 9th beginning at 10am at the Roxy Theater in Camarillo. In conjunction with that event there will also be a pre-screening of the movie tonight at 6:30pm. It is free and open to the public. Our friends at Roxy Stadium 11 are also giving away free popcorn to all moviegoers.  We recommend arriving between 6 and 6:15pm for the event tonight. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FLYER

NOTE:This movie is rated PG-13, and due to graphic images, language, and content “Bully” is not recommended for elementary age children. If you feel your 4th or 5th grade student is mature enough to attend Saturday’s event with you, please take advantage of the PARENT ONLY pre-screening tonight.   This is not just an educational tool for children middle school age and up, it is a great resource for all Parents to better understand the problem of Bullying which has long term consequences for children who are bullied as well as though doing the bullying.

Our Trip to the Olivas Adobe

By Karolina, Haley, Jenna, Emily, and Alex

In January, fourth grade classes went on a field trip to the Olivas Adobe. The first thing we did was learn about the house and how it was made of adobe bricks. Later we got to go into the freezing mud and make adobe! First we took a handful of mud and put it in a box that would shape it. Once it would be dry, it would be hard enough to build your house with. We learned that water destroys adobe, and the Olivas family that lived in the house had to protect it by grinding limestone into a powder and then put it in water which makes paint. The family then had to paint it over the adobe house so that when it rains, the paint will protect it from collapsing.  

NOAA Instrumental In 5th Grade Science Lessons

By Katie M. & Brinley F., Student Contributors

Recently, all the fifth grade classes took a field trip to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), to learn more about meteorology.  The reason for this field trip was to teach us more about the atmosphere unit we learned about in science class.

At NOAA, we learned lots of new facts.  One thing that we learned was how to stay safe in any natural disaster.  

4th Grade Field Trip: Dolphin Days

 

By Haley, Talia, and Karolina, Student Contributors

Fourth grade read the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins. After we finished reading the book, fourth grade went on a field trip to Carpinteria State Beach. We met the tour guides. They showed us pictures of sea otters and other paintings in the book. The tour guide gave us chia seeds that we ate. She told us that in moisture the chia seeds expand so you would stay full, and that if someone got sand in their eyes, the chia seeds got slippery, and

Tigers Travel To 18th Century California

Santa Barbara Presidio
“I felt like a real Spanish Explorer. There were tin cups, pans, pots, canons, and a shirt maker.”–Michael B.

 

This month 4th Grade classes visited the Santa Barbara Mission and Presidio to learn about eighteenth century mission life.  Students learned about life on a fort and what it might have been like to be a soldier or a soldier’s family at the Presidio.  They saw some of the everyday tools soldiers used and the places where they slept, ate, and amused themselves.