News Stories Written by Kids -- for Kids

D’Backs Star Shines Among 50,000 Lights

Home Schooled

The 10-year-old Christmas light tradition of the Cristia family received a bright surprise from Luis Gonzalez, star outfielder of the 2001 World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

At 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, people gathered to see the annual lighting of the 50,000 Christmas lights and elaborate decorations, including 302 teddy bears, a mini Ferris wheel and dancing Santa.

Johnjay of KRQ radio was invited weeks before by Robert and Klara Cristia and their guard dog/reindeer, Diamond, to turn on the lights for the first time this season. As an early Christmas present, John Jay brought Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez’s son had the honor of flipping the switch. The crowd was very excited!

My friend Joel Johnson and I just happened to have our baseball cards with us (being big baseball fans) and so we each got a few cards signed.

Gonzalez was very patient and signed autographs for everybody waiting in line. I asked Gonzalez how it felt to hit the game-winning ball in Game 7 of the World Series. He told me that he was so happy he jumped really high in the air, and that on TV it didn’t look as high as he really was.

The 50,000 lights on the Cristia house are spectacular! It’s a sight that 500 cars drive by every weekend—plus tour buses and limousines from as far as Nogales. Putting the lights up takes three to four weeks, while taking them down takes only a few days!

The Cristias ask each person to bring a can of food for the Marana Food Bank. Last year they collected 3 tons of food. They also gave out 250 gallons of hot chocolate to wash down 120 pounds of cookies.

If you want to see the lights, they are on every day from 6–10 p.m. and weekends from 6–11 p.m. until Christmas Day. The address is 2866 Ribera Place, which is on the east side of Shannon between Overton and Lambert. “We do this as our gift to the community,” says Mr. Cristia.

El Tour Fun for Kids and Adults Alike

by Reporter Natalie Hall

Immaculate Heart School

Do you love riding bikes? Since I love riding mine, I was excited to be part of this year’s El Tour de Tucson and the Kids Fun Ride—not only as a participant but also as a representative of Bear Essential News for Kids. One of the best parts about covering this event was being able to interview Jeannie Longo and Greg LeMond.

Longo is the greatest female cyclist ever and has dominated the sport for almost 30 years. She is a sports superstar and a French legend. She has won the Women’s Tour de France three times as well as many Olympic medals.

Longo lives outside Grenoble, France, but likes Tucson because it’s sunny and warm. I asked Longo what it felt like to win an Olympic Gold Medal. “(It’s a) very good memory—a good souvenir,” she says. “I was much younger. Don’t worry, don’t be discouraged if it takes you many years to get a medal.”

LeMond is considered to be the greatest American cyclist of the 20th Century. He has won the Tour de France three times. He’s a friendly guy who still likes to ride and be involved.

I asked him if he plays sports or exercises with his family. “I try to,” he says. “I like to ski, fish, hike and golf. Sometimes my kids don’t like the sport we’re playing, and sometimes they can’t keep up, but we like doing sports together.”

Then I asked him if he had always liked bicycling. “It was kind of an accident that I came to bicycling,” said LeMond. “I always liked to ski a lot, and one day someone told me that I should try riding bikes to train for skiing. Ever since then I loved it.”

It looks like lots of kids in Tucson like to ride their bikes, too. In fact, 263 kids rode in the Lisa Frank El Tour Kids Fun Ride, and I was one of the excited riders! I rode with members of my Junior Girl Scout Troop, #786.

It was cool riding in a pack of cyclists. It was nice riding on the road and not having to stop because the police were there waving us on and keeping us safe. After a while, we got to go fast and the morning air was cold on my face.

I interviewed some of the kids at the finish line, and they all liked the 4-mile ride a lot. Most of the kids practiced for the ride in their neighborhoods, on bike routes or in big parking lots with their friends and family.

Everyone agreed they had a great time. Christen Sheffer said, “It was fun. I liked looking at the buildings.”

According to Jenny Rojewski, “It was fun, easy and hassle-free.”

Colby Webb reported, “It was challenging and fun.”

Jessica Luebbering said, “The whole ride was great fun from start to finish.” The part that everyone liked best—every single kid got a medal!

Jim Kolbe Talks to Kids at Gridley

Congressman Jim Kolbe signs autographs for Gridley students.

by Reporter Sarah Lupo

Gridley Middle School

“This war on terrorism isn’t going to be short,” said Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe recently. Kolbe was speaking to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Gridley Middle School.

Kolbe’s speech wasn’t all fun and games. He vividly talked about Sept. 11 and how it affected our country, giving a first-hand experience of the terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C.

Kolbe was in his office preparing for a conference when he heard a plane crash into the Pentagon. Kolbe and his colleagues rushed to see what had happened. “Our daily life was changed forever,” he said.

Students shared their own memories at the assembly. “I was really scared,” said one eighth-grader.

Others said the events of Sept. 11 renewed their patriotism. “I feel that everyone is getting more patriotic, and we are realizing what a great country this is,” said a seventh-grader.

Everyone agreed with Kolbe on one point: “We’ve got great challenges ahead of us as a country.”

Big Birthday Balloon Event a Real Blast

Mario Maza prepares his balloon for liftoff.

by Reporters Tasmin & Taylor Claridge

Home Schooled

Mario Maza is a retired Air Force navigator and has been a balloonist for the past 18 years. In 1984, Maza went to his chiropractor to fix his back and was asked if he wanted to help crew the chiropractor’s balloon. Maza has been a balloonist ever since.

Maza has flown over 5,000 hours and in November the Saguaro Aerostat Association held a show to celebrate his 70th birthday.

A hot air balloon is a registered aircraft and is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Maza rented his first balloon, and bought his own three years later. He named his balloon Arriba Rie. His balloon holds 90,000 cubic feet of air. It’s two burners produce 17,000,000 BTU (a BTU is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit). On a good day, Maza flies about an hour.

To open the balloon up, the crew unfolds it out of this big bag. It’s over 30 feet long! They open up the end and put a fan in front and blow it up as they stretch it out.

Some members of the crew blow up the balloon while others set up the burners. While the basket is on its side, Maza gets in and tests the burners. Then the crew lifts the basket slowly as Maza turns on the burners to fill the balloon with hot air. When they are done for the day, the crew lays the balloon on its side, takes a big metal ring at one end and squishes out the air.

We got to take a ride in the tethered balloon along with our little brother, Avery. Tethering a balloon is when ropes are attached to the hot air balloon so it doesn’t blow away. The balloon will just go up and down and side to side.

The Saguaro Aerostat Association has balloon events about once a month.

Students Volunteer for a Disaster Drill

Emergency workers attend to student volunteers during a mock disaster at Gridley Middle School.
by Reporters Jay Hall
& Chris Nguyen

Gridley Middle School

As seventh-grader Danielle Scumaci lay helplessly on the grassy field of Gridley Middle School, she waited to hear what the paramedics had to say about her injuries. Would she live or die?

Danielle would not die. She was pretending to be injured as part of a mock citywide disaster response drill conducted by Tucson Fire Department.

Thirty Gridley students volunteered to participate in this drill on a cold and drizzly day. They would be the “victims” of the tragic accident—the collapse of the metal bleachers at the east side of the school. All of the students who participated in this drill had a red T-shirt that said what type of injuries they had.

Emergency workers in more than 10 emergency vehicles, including a helicopter, conducted the drill. One of the “victims” even got to go up in the helicopter.

Danielle says her shirt indicated that she had internal bleeding in the stomach. Another student, seventh-grader Sarah Lupo, says she had a brain injury. Danielle was fortunate enough to live, but some students like Sarah did not survive.

The school principal, Sharyn Graf, says this is a wonderful drill to help our school become more prepared in case of an emergency.

During the drill, the fire department was helping the school learn more about preparing for this type of emergency.

Adviser: Nan Friend

Field Trip Chock-Full of Fun

by Reporter Cassie Madril

Little Red School House, Nogales

In November, the Little Red School House went to see the Banana Slug Band. The Banana Slug Band is made up of two men from Santa Cruz, Calif. who have been performers for about 18 years. All of their music relates to the environment and how people can fix problems in the environment.

They taught the students some of their songs and dances. One of their dances was about the water cycle. The Banana Slug Band also taught us a dance to a song about a fish, and we had to act like fish. The group got their name because the Santa Cruz College mascot is the Banana Slug.

After watching the Banana Slugs, the junior high left to go see the Tumacacori Mission and the Tubac Presidio. At the Tumacacori Mission, we walked through the old church and went on a scavenger hunt using photos people working there gave us. We matched them up with places around the building.

Overall the field trip was very fun and exciting. I wish every day could be so fun.

Adviser: Amanda Dupuy

Chocolate Party a Lip-Smacking Treat

Party-goers enjoy tastey treats at a birthday party at Choc-A-Lot.

by Reporter Bridgette Larsen

Khalsa Montessori School

My friend Markleigh Swanson celebrated her 13th birthday in a very unique way. This wasn’t just any usual party, it was a chocolaty birthday party. We all met at Choc-A-Lot, a gourmet chocolate store that my mother owns, located on Broadway and Wilmot. Most of the other kids’ parents planned on dropping off their kids and returning in two hours, but they decided to stay when they found out the party was in the kitchen.

There were eight kids, total, at the party and five of their parents asked if they could stay and participate. We all entered the kitchen and received a plastic spoon to dip into milk or dark melted chocolate. After we had all licked our warm, yummy melted chocolate spoons, we each picked our favorite lollypop mold out of a huge selection. Molds are plastic containers that warm chocolate is poured into which then hardens into different shapes like computers, cars, dogs, golf bags and thousands of other shapes.

After pouring our chocolate into the molds, we tapped the molds on the table (to remove air pockets) and then put them in the refrigerator for the chocolate to harden.

Next, we were each given a giant marshmallow on a stick, which we dipped into a giant pot of melted chocolate. Then, right from the pot we put it into our mouths! Even the parents dipped into the chocolate—actually, they did everything we did and seemed more excited than us kids!

After this we poured chocolate from a machine into a plastic bowl and mixed it with Rice Crispies.

We even got a lesson on how chocolate is made. We sampled cocoa beans, nibs and cocoa butter, which was kind of bitter. Then we took our creations out of the refrigerator and hand-decorated them with melted white chocolate in different colors. We even decorated chocolate pizza slices with cheese, pepperoni and mushrooms all made of chocolate.

After singing “Happy Birthday” and opening the presents, we each got a huge bag to fill up with our own chocolate creations. The partygoers all had different things to say about the party. “My favorite part was the dipping spoons,” said Cody. Emma said “My favorite part was making a chocolate pizza.” Jamie said “My favorite part was decorating our creations.”

Treasure Planet Soars

by Reporter Brian Erickson

Manzanita Elementary School

All aboard! In the new Disney film “Treasure Planet,” a misunderstood boy named Jim Hawkins goes on a galaxy treasure hunt along with a female captain, a humble doctor and an absent-minded robot to stop a seemingly evil Cyborg named Long John Silver from getting all of the treasure on Treasure Planet.

There were some really funny parts in this movie! Especially the flatulence monster, the kid eating worms, and a robot named B.E.N. (Bio Electronic Navigator.)

It might be a little scary for kids under 5. There were even a few 2-year-olds screaming at the screening!

This was one of my favorite movies, although some of the beginning was a little unclear. This movie had everything; a great song, an interesting story, good characters, lots of humor, and best of all, lots of action.

This movie was adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel “Treasure Island.” It’s rated PG and runs for 95 minutes. Now I want to know if there is going to be a “Treasure Planet 2.”

Advisers: Kathleen
& Eric Erickson

Students Celebrate Peace

Harelson Elementary

During October at Harelson Elementary, students from 11 different schools joined in this community-wide event. The students made a unity circle, had a peace conference, tied ribbons on the fence around the school, and had assemblies with the Canyon del Oro basketball team and Sgt. Pepper and Goober.

The CDO basketball team came to tell us how to replace violence with sports. Sgt. Pepper and Goober are DARE clowns from Mesa. They were new to Peace Week this year. The Harelson students, faculty and guests made a unity circle and spelled out UNITY with a peace sign on the soccer field.

Adviser: Beth Carter

No Horsing Around! Riding Lessons Are Serious Fun

Home Schooled

We know someone who trains all kinds of horses—lame horses, wild horses and horses that have bad habits. Her name is Vickie Logan, and she gives great riding lessons, too. She started her business because the parents in the neighborhood asked her if their kids could have riding lessons.

Logan has saddles of all sizes and for all ages. Our sister, who is 3, got a ride and she loved it.

Logan has seven horses. One is called Lucky. Lucky is a mare (or a girl horse). Once Lucky belonged to a man. He was murdered and a neighbor of Logan’s took Lucky to Logan. She trained Lucky and now kids ride her.

It takes a long time to train horses. Each horse needs a different amount of training. You have to ride all your life to become a great rider. Logan’s secret to training horses is love, time and patience. She has trained hundreds of horses.

Sometimes you can get hurt training horses. Logan has gone to the hospital before. If you take a horseback riding lesson, don’t worry. Logan picks the right horse for each kid, and kids wear helmets. If you want a fun, personal and safe riding lesson, call Logan at 883-3602. She also gives great western birthday parties.

Big Bugs Bemuse Elementary Kids

Sixth-grader Sam Afronti holds a giant hissing cockroach.

by Reporters Shriji Shah
& Sachi Patel

Hidden Hills Elementary

It isn’t that often that a humongous green praying mantis, sitting atop an enormous colorful truck, greets students as they come to school. That’s the first thing astonished students saw last month at Hidden Hills Elementary. What was it? Why was it there? Would it grab the children and eat them?

The giant praying mantis was part of the Smithsonian Orkin Insect Safari that came to present a workshop to the students (thanks to a $4,500 grant that was entered by teachers at Hidden Hills).

The Smithsonian Insect Safari is 26 feet tall with the praying mantis on top of it. It’s 53 feet long and 22 feet wide. The truck is so huge that it needs an area as big as a basketball court to park!

The truck’s sides fold out making it a mini-museum filled with exhibits, movies, displays and samples—all about insects. This is the second year that the Insect Safari has been visiting schools. It has visited 118 cities throughout the United States.

The Insect Safari includes a staff that is very knowledgeable. Larry Gross, the tour manager, says, “I like traveling and seeing new places and meeting new people. I love teaching kids and it is fun.”

Jennifer Buchanan, who travels with the Insect Safari, says the worst thing that has happened to her on the job is “I got stung by a bee in Nashville, Tennessee.”

How did the students and teachers react? “It was different than I thought it would be—it was smooth,” reported extended day teacher Lynn Mollica when asked how she felt about holding a cockroach.

When first-grader Tanner McClure was asked about holding the cockroach, he replied that it was “pretty good.” By day’s end, the children had learned that insects are not disgusting and gross, but are helpful to us.

Advisers: Lois Farlin
& Cindy Currence

Healthy Mom Enjoys Her National Title

Young Reporter Corey Shea Wilkison and America’s Healthiest Mom, Jyl Steinback, get milk!

Home Schooled

Jyl Steinback was dubbed America’s Healthiest Mom by Lady’s Home Journal in 1995. Before she was given that title, her whole family was dubbed America’s Healthiest Family. She has been known by that title for seven years now.

Steinback involves her children in everything she does. The children don’t always eat what she cooks. When they go to the store, the kids pick out what foods they get, and that’s what they eat. They actually eat by colors. One day they’ll eat orange foods, and then the next day would be red or green foods.

I asked if she likes being America’s Healthiest Mom. “Absolutely, absolutely,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun.” She loves teaching healthy living, and it gives her an opportunity to help people be healthy.

Steinback is the spokesperson for Shamrock Farms and has written a lot of healthy and delicious cookbooks. She is also a lifestyle trainer. She works one-on-one with people. She says the secret to staying healthy is moderation. You shouldn’t eat just dairy or just vegetables and fruits. You should vary what you eat: some dairy, some vegetables and so on. Steinback says she doesn’t believe in diets—it’s all moderation.

Tuffy Tells All About Stay at PetsHotel

Kevin Heatherington and his dog Tuffy

New Vistas Academy

“It was great!” says Tuffy, my 18-month-old English springer spaniel, after his third stay at PetsHotel.

“When I first got there I remembered the pet care receptionist lady from my previous visit. She was really nice and I felt safe and comfortable. But the best thing is the playtime with so many other dogs and toys,” according to Tuffy.

The PetsHotel, located inside PetsMart on Elliot Road in Tempe, opened in October of last year.

During the holidays, the hotel serves up to 300 pet guests with activities that range from snack time to playtime, as well as watching the “Animal Planet” on TVs in their private suites.

The suites have smooth wooden floors, fluffy pillows, a poochy cot and even a scent box (a place where an object from home can be placed to provide the smell of home). Some suites even have their own phone so that owners can call and “talk” to their pets. Eileen, a PetsHotel receptionist, says that 30 percent of their guests get personal phone calls from their owners during their stay.

Tuffy and his sister Tasha say, “Make sure you get your dog ‘Yappy Hour.’” It’s a treat made of vanilla frozen yogurt and a dog cookie.

Adviser: Cynthia Green

Chinese Moon Festival Is Fun for All

Granada East School

Going to the Moon Festival is a fun and exciting way to learn about the Chinese culture. The Moon Festival is held every year. It usually starts at around 6 p.m., but sometimes if you’re early you get gifts.

The Moon Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn festival has been a Chinese tradition for many years. The Moon Festival is always on the 15th day of the eighth month by the lunar calendar.

People eat moon cakes at the festival. The cakes are square and some of them have egg yolks, coffee or chocolate in them.

People from all over the world celebrate the Moon Festival. Many people celebrate the holiday with lanterns and the lion dance (which is very fun and exciting to watch), or Chinese stories about the holiday.

Everyone has his or her own special way to celebrate the Moon Festival.

Nutcracker Ballet, a Holiday Tradition

Val Vista Lakes Elementary

The fantastic ballet “The Nutcracker” was choreographed by Lev Ivanov to music composed by Peter Tchaikovsky. Marius Petipa wrote the story, which he based on a German tale by E.T.A. Hoffman.

The first performance of the ballet took place at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1892.

The story takes place at the home of the Stahlbaums, who are giving a big festive party. Clara, who is the main character, receives a nutcracker doll from her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer.

After the party, it is time for Clara to go to bed. But when everyone is asleep, she creeps downstairs to check on her nutcracker. When she looks up, her nutcracker is bigger than she is!

The rest of the ballet has mice, soldiers, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Prince and many other characters.

“The Nutcracker” is being performed this holiday season by Ballet Arizona, Dec. 13–27 at Phoenix Symphony Hall, 225 E. Adams. To purchase tickets or for more information go to www.balletaz.org

Dancers’ Dreams Realized

by Reporter Alana Grace Terry

Terry A–Z Home School

Have you ever wanted to be a ballerina? Summer Ybarra is a champion ballet star who has won many trophies. She first became interested in ballet at age 2 when her older sister took dance. She just couldn’t wait to go to dance class!

Ybarra has been in ballet since she was 3. After a couple years, she decided to take gymnastics. Ybarra came back to ballet in seventh grade. She was 12 when she started to do competitions, which she quit at 21. That’s where she met Stephanie Ceu. They’ve been best friends ever since!

Ybarra and Ceu also went to high school together, so they’ve been friends for 13 years. After they graduated, Ybarra taught ballet for high school kids, while Ceu taught first-graders. Ybarra says that little kids like ballet because they see a lot of ballerinas and because kids like to dance to music. She says that ballet is a very elegant and pretty dance.

If you’re not careful, you can get hurt. That happens when dancers don’t stretch enough, or from overusing their knees.

Ballet can be very good for your muscles. It’s especially good for your long muscles. Ballet uses more muscles than any other sport! A ballerina also has to learn to do the splits, as it is part of the dance. Ybarra recommends beginning dance as early as 3, but you can join at any age.

Ybarra and Ceu wanted to open their own dance academy since they were 12! It was always a dream, and one day they said, “Let’s give it a try and see if it works out.” That was three years ago. They now own a dance academy called Prestige Dance Academy in Surprise, Ariz. They hope to do this forever!

Kids & Food Bank Team Up

by Reporter Haylee Poncy

Moon Mountain

During the holidays, food drives take place at schools, stores and many other places. Westside Food Bank collects food all year long. Moon Mountain also participates.

Every November, the amounts collected get bigger and bigger. The people who started the school food drive were the student council members.

Each year, the food goes to the Westside Food Bank. Some schools give prizes for the class that gives the most cans to the needy. So if you can help, you’ll put a smile on someone’s face and food in their belly.

Resort Food a Hit with Kids

by Reporter Morgan Lutich

Copper Ridge Elementary

In November, a few select kids were invited to the Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. We were asked to taste test the food on the kid’s menu. The resort opened Nov. 30.

Did you know that this is the biggest hotel in Arizona? The 950-room hotel is located at 14500 N. Northsight Blvd. in Scottsdale.

The ballroom is so big it’s called the Grand Canyon Ballroom. There are nine gigantic kitchens, and the one we toured has ovens the size of a big closet.

Our chef was Robert Fallon. Choices for lunch included Desert Dogs, Lizard Tails (chicken strips), Pasta Party, Buzzard Burgers, P-Nutty Buddy, Wild Fire Melt & the Jackrabbit salad. The Desert Dog was tasty and the fries were yummy.

We were asked to create a special drink that they might put on the kid’s menu. We used milk, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, soda, gummy worms and licorice for straws. The names of the drinks were blood, worm juice and mud surprise. We also decorated cactus sugar cookies.

I highly recommend the food.

Russian Dancers Perform

by Reporter Angelica Madrid

Mountain View, Rio Rico

People from Russia visited schools in Rio Rico, including Mountain View. They came to my school and performed very silly but interesting dances.

There was a blond-haired man that scared some boys. There was another man who did magic. Another man did his dances well. A woman modeled the clothes that they used to wear, and another lady danced well and was the stage manager.

They were great! They’re traveling all over the world, and I hope you get a chance to see them before they go back to Russia.