Have you ever wondered about the history of Estabrook School? How it got its name? What it looked like when it was first built? Estabrook is forty years old this year, as it opened in 1961. This makes Estabrook a fairly old school, built with different ideas in mind.

Estabrook was built to hold 621 students but it holds only about 475 students now. Classrooms have been taken away to make the library bigger and to make room for the computer lab and the art room. Estabrook was built for grades one through six, which were divided into three teams (1st –2nd grade Phi, 3rd-4th grade Delta, 5th – 6th grade Kappa). The teams would eat together in their classrooms, which is why there is no cafeteria in our building today. They would have a group meeting in the assembly room once a week. The assembly room is where the Lextended day room and music room is now. Each team had their own playground area. For instance, the Kappa playground was from the end of the current fifth grade playground to the road.

Estabrook was built to have a 15% to 20% larger capacity than the previous 3 schools built in Lexington. It had smaller classrooms for teachers to take small groups of students to work on different subjects. The assembly room (now the music room) was built with the idea that teachers could teach one lesson to more than one grade at once. Teachers would go around and help children who were having trouble with the lesson and to make sure all the students were doing the lesson correctly. In a way, Estabrook was a lot like Diamond is now. First graders would go from class to class just like middle school students, although fifth and sixth graders were the only ones who actually had different teachers for different subjects. Students would carry around little bags, (which parents would make for them at the beginning of each year) to carry their pencils and erasers from class to class.

Estabrook was built with the ides of team teaching, which was another purpose of the assembly room. They wanted teachers to work together. Estabrook was one of the first schools to use team teaching and we still use team teaching today at Estabrook.

Estabrook has experienced a lot of changes since it first opened in 1961 -- the changing of the school’s ideas and ways of teaching, the changing of classroom size and addition of the second grade wing. All of these changes make Estabrook the great school it is today.

Who was Joseph Estabrook?

Captain Joseph Estabrook served as a member of Captain Parker’s minutemen, but that’s not why our school was named after him. Joseph Estabrook was the first school teacher in Lexington and taught for five months in 1716 while being paid 15 pounds for his work. Later, he became an important man in society as he took up such jobs as Towns Clerk, Selectman and served several terms as representative to the General Court.

We were finally at Cedar Hill Girl Scout Camping Grounds in Waltham, Massachusetts, site of Circus Camp. The first thing we saw was a huge white circus tent. While Mrs. Finneran went to find out where we would be staying, we played a game called caterpillar and eagle. In this game everyone makes a Conga Line. One person is not in the line and is the eagle. The eagle tries to catch the last person in the Conga line, which is the caterpillar. Finally, Mrs.Finneran came back and told us we were going to stay in Foxwood, which is one of the cabins. Unfortunately, we had to carry all our gear to the other side of camp. By the time we got there, I was exhausted.

That night we watched a video called "How to be a clown." In the video, they showed us how to make balloon animals, costumes, and how to juggle. Then we had pizza and met Brady and Goldie. Goldie (who is a white faced clown) talked to us about the history of clowns and the different kinds of clowns. We learned about two different types of clowns. The White Faced is elegant and usually the one that pulls chairs out from under people. The Agust clown is the dummy and usually the one who gets pied. Then we had a lesson on clowning from Brady. Brady is a professional Agust clown and went to the Barnum and Bailey Clown College. Goldie and Brady then taught us how they put on their makeup and costumes. After their demonstration, we got to try on costumes and pretend to be clowns.

The next morning, we woke up at 6am. Next, we got ready and ate breakfast. At seven o'clock we went to the tent. The tent was different than a real circus tent because it was white. Usually circus tents are multi-colored. First we went inside to help set up. Basically, we picked up trash. By the time we finished, it was time to try out the trapeze. We sat in a semicircle of chairs around a mini trapeze. One at a time, we put on the harness and went up to the trapeze. Then a lady showed us how to move our legs to get momentum. You need momentum to swing when you're not being pushed. After we had gone once on the mini trapeze, we walked to the big one. As I climbed to the top, I got really scared. I had a hard time climbing the forty-foot ladder, I was shaking so much. We waited on a very narrow platform while another person was swinging. As I watched I almost chickened out. Then I knelt on the assistant's knees and held the trapeze. After I was given the signal I jumped. At first I was scared of being so high but after about three seconds it was really fun. After I came down I was shaking so much I collapsed on the net. Jumping on the net was fun.

Then we moved to the web. On the web you have your hand in a loop of thick rope and your legs are dangling in mid-air. The workers tell you special positions to put you feet. Later, we tried the tightrope and juggling scarves. Then it was time to leave. Circus camp was really fun. I hope I can go again!

The score was 48-48 as Mr. Banks, the referee, blew the whistle at the end of the game. Everyone cheered and clapped!! And while the teachers had been winning during all 5 periods, the fifth graders worked hard at the end and tied the game.  It had been a good game but also funny.  The teachers were given funny names like Ms. Giggles Quebec (Ms. Quebec), The Jolly Green Giant (Mr. Greene), Ms. Pass the ball Petner (Ms. Petner), and Ms. Pampers Kelliher (Ms. Kelliher).  The numbers on the shirts were also funny. There were numbers like -12, 932, .32, and _.  Mr. Richardson, the tar for the teachers, had some funny shots.  He tried to turn 360 degrees and put the ball in the hoop but always missed. He also tried to bounce the ball off the wall so hard that it would go in the hoop but, of course, missed. Pampers Kelliher did her famous "diaper" shot and scored (A diaper shot is when you do an underhand throw from between your legs).  It was a three- pointer shot but we didn’t count three-pointers. All of the kids were good but some really stood out.  Their names were Rachel, Taylor (who was good at three-point shots), Vanessa, Bill, Caroline F., Tiffany (even though she was an alternate she made very good shots), Ethan, Michael O’N., Jessie, and Mariah (who made the first shot for the kids).  It was a great game!!

The Report From Diamond:

Trisha D. is finishing her first year at Diamond Middle School and has some advice for students who will be going there. Trisha says, "Diamond is a good school. It’s really fun." Yet she also points out, "Homework levels are very high. You should get your homework done as soon a possible. I’ve had days when the homework level is so high it takes me a whole day to finish."

At Diamond there are four majors, Science, History, Math and English. Usually the most homework is assigned in these subjects. In sixth grade English, you learn to connect reading, thinking and writing. You also review and extend English skills taught in elementary school like spelling, vocabulary, paragraph structure, punctuation and grammar. In sixth grade there are two Maths, Math I and Math II. Math I continues building skills from K-5. Math II increases in depth and expands in coverage and complexity. In both Maths you learn to reason mathematically and think abstractly. In sixth grade Science you learn the basic principles of science, and also build from K-5. In addition you learn about life, earth and physical science. In Social Studies you explore the depth of history. In sixth grade you learn about ancient civilizations, which will be a review from fourth grade. You will have world geography in seventh grade and U.S. history in eight.

At Diamond you have teams. The teams are Omega, Sigma and Delta. A lot of people don’t know what team they want to be on, and if they do, why do they want to be on that team? Maybe because it has good teachers. To find a team that’s right for you look for the team that has the best teachers in the subjects that you’re good at or you like. Trisha’s preference on teams, "It’s Omega all the way!" Her last bit of advice? "Have fun at Diamond!"

My friend Steve, who is the Estabrook custodian, makes a big difference to the Estabrook community. How??? He is friendly with the kids; he is humorous and keeps the whole school squeaky clean. After I interviewed Steve, I figured out that he likes our school and likes being a custodian.

Steve travels all over the place. He told me he and his father have traveled to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica, Mexico, Florida, Dallas and Quebec. Once he drove cross-country from Lexington, Massachusetts to Colorado then flew through the Grand Canyon and ended up in Juarez, Mexico. Steve would like to be a truck driver because he likes to travel. I suggested that New York would be a good place to visit because the Yankees are my favorite baseball team.

In 1984 Steve got the job of a custodian because his good friend Richard, a custodian also, convinced him to be a custodian. Since Estabrook was located right near Steve’s house, he could go to work quickly.

Steve told me that the most secret place in our school is the basement, which is underneath the kitchen. It has 3 boilers and Halloween props. Steve took me down very steep stairs, and it was just a regular room, not very scary, as I had thought.

Besides traveling, Steve loves to golf and ice-skate and is a gourmet (fancy) cook. When I interviewed him, he was going to visit his brother on Cape Cod for Easter. They were going to deep fry a whole turkey!

Now that I have told you all about Steve Cuniff, what do you think of him? I think that he is a pretty interesting man. Do you agree with me?

Are you feeling lousy because your mother is nitpicking? Well, if you had lice this would literally be true. Lice are small bugs that live on your scalp and suck your blood. They lay small eggs called nits that are each glued to a piece of hair. The word lousy to most people means crummy but it actually comes from the word louse, which is singular for lice. The same goes for nitpicking. Nitpicking is an expression for "worrying about every little detail." Nitpicking is also a word used for pulling nits out by hand.

After February vacation, five classes and thirteen kids at Estabrook had lice. About 85 percent of the students who got it were girls, according to school nurse Mrs. Johnson. This is probably because girls have more head-to-head contact and share brushes more than boys do. Long hair doesn’t help either.

Lice are annoying, say students at school who have had them, but they can’t harm you. If you get them, you have to get single nits out, because the shampoo doesn’t always kill all of them. To do that, the nits have to be combed out or pulled out by hand. Everything has to be washed, dried or bagged. It sounds pretty time consuming!

You can greatly reduce the risk of getting lice by not sharing brushes or combs. It is also wise to avoid touching your head to other peoples’ heads or to anything that has been touched by other heads.

If you do get lice it doesn’t mean you’re dirty. In fact, some people think that lice prefer clean hair because clean hair is fluffier and the lice have more room to move around! Just keep in mind that many people get them and if you do, you will sooner or later get rid of them.

Rating Scale: 1 to 10 (worst to best)

by American Girl

This product is easy-to-use, but the price is a little bit high. It costs about $65.00. It has a telephone book, a web site list, a calculator (with converter to metric system), a calendar, a clock showing times around the world, and a translator to 7 different languages.

The translator can't translate from a different language to English, but the calendar is neat and easy to learn, and very organized. The telephone book has many options for numbers, including cell phone numbers and work numbers, and is a very helpful feature. You press things on the screen with a plastic pointer, much like a Palm Pilot. The web site list is very simple to use. There are also sections for entries you only want to be able to access with a password.

2) The CFD-SRR CD Radio Cassette Recorder

This CD player can be programmed to select from 10 different radio stations. These 10 stations can be the ones whose signals are automatically picked up best and therefore sound the best; or they can be 10 stations you choose and program on your own. You can also use the Recorder to record a CD right onto a tape, and then press numbers to go right to a track. The only bad thing about this product is - that with all these good things - it can be confusing to work.

3) The Age of Empire Computer Game

For this game, expansion packs are available, allowing you to oppose other kids through the internet. The program doesn't take up a lot of disk space.

To play this game, you start by having an ancient civilization. Then, you have to try to conquer all other civilizations. You will go through the Stone Age to the Tool Age to the Bronze Age and finally to the Iron Age. You gather food, hunt and keep guard. The only downside is that it is gruesome when the characters shoot elephants because you see the carcass slowly rot. When you attack other civilizations and they attack you, the warriors die in the same manner as the animals. This game is fun and challenging, but not suggested for young children.

As we cross over into the new millennium, most libraries are switching to an automated system to make organizing, finding and checking out library materials faster and more efficient for teachers and students. As of this year, Estabrook made the transition to a computerized library system, too.

According to Ms. Hayner, School Librarian, the move to a computerized system offers many advantages. First, the automated system allows students and teachers to get information from the computer about what the library has in its catalogues, rather than flip through many, many paper cards by hand. Also, Internet access can allow people to find out what the library has right from their own computer! Further, the computer lets the library staff keep much better track of what everyone in a class has checked out. The old card catalogue system only let people know that the library had a certain book – it couldn’t say who had checked out each one. To find out who had checked out a book, the library staff had to look through all the cards of the checked out books – whew! Most importantly, the new system already seems much easier to use than the old one, and students seem to enjoy using it. Following is an interview with Ms. Hayner, who tells us more about the new system.

All the schools computerized the libraries.

Lauren F. (a 5^th grader in Mrs. LeFave’s class).

A picture book. Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.

Yes. Because there are different reasons the book may not be in the computer and sometimes it takes a while to figure it out.

Some people will, but the card catalog is not being updated so the computer is the best way to find information about our books. Many students seem to be using the computer a lot and enjoying it.

Thanks, Ms. Hayner. What’s my conclusion after learning more about the library computerization? I think you should use the computer!