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Farewell to the Tucson Citizen

Since April 2006, Young Reporters have enjoyed the privelege of being published on the pages of the Tucson Citizen every week.

While it’s sad to say goodbye to the Arizona’s oldest newspaper, kids can continue writing for Bear Essential News for Kids.

The Tucson Citizen was one of the longest running newspapers in the state. It had been operating and giving Tucsonans their news since 1870, when Ulysses S. Grant was president. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick and John Wasson.

Unfortunately, due to the poor state of the economy, the Citizen’s last day of publication was May 16.

I was lucky enough to be a part of the paper. Although it shut down, I will remember the Citizen forever.

The first time I was printed in the Citizen was when I was chosen to be a Jr. Reporter of the week. This was at the start of my Young Reporter career with Bear Essential News. Citizen Editor Gabrielle Fimbres called my mom and told us that my article would be published in the Tuesday family section. I was so shocked that the Citizen thought my article was good enough. Would the rest of Tucson? I was a little nervous but excited that so many people around town would be reading my article. It was an amazing feeling.

And last summer, people at the Citizen picked me to be a Teen Movie Critic. As a teen critic, I got to attend screenings for upcoming movies throughout the summer and write up reviews for the Citizen. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I was asked to review “The Dark Knight” at a screening the week before it came out! When I got there, it was my mom and I and two other pairs of critics. It was indescribable. Normally I wouldn’t have been nervous reviewing movies because that is my element, but I was so nervous that the general public wouldn’t like my review.

When I was published, my picture was right next to the faces of Indiana Jones, Hellboy and the Incredible Hulk. This program made 2008 the most exciting summer of my life.

It’s such a shame that the Citizen is shutting down. But if it has given anybody else the memories that I have, the hard-working and talented staff should feel proud of what they’ve accomplished. I am proud to have been a part of such a great publication and will remember the Tucson Citizen forever!

When you’re a kid, lots of things excite you. The main thing that excites me is writing, and one of the greatest things to happen with my writing is being published in Bear Essential News and in the Tucson Citizen.

While being printed in a kids newspaper is a lot of fun, it’s super special that some of my stories got to go in the Citizen. I would go to school and one of my teachers or friends would tell me about how they saw my name in the paper and how they really liked my stories. That really motivated me to write. I didn’t know what adults thought of my writing until I got feedback from being published in a paper like the Citizen. I’m really glad I had such an honor.

My writing skills have definitely improved since I’ve been writing for the Citizen. Being published is one of the best feelings a writer can have. I’m really glad I got the chance to be in the Tucson Citizen, and I’m proud of myself for making it. Thank you, Tucson Citizen!

Quinceañera Party Better than a Dream

Guess what? I went to a quinceañera—a coming-of-age party for 15-year-old girls! A limo arrived after church, and the quinceañera almost burst into tears.

To her surprise, she was allowed to invite 10 people in the limo, and I was one of them. It was a dream come true! I took pictures all over the limo.

The music blared inside. One of the teens accidentally pushed a button and four plasma screen TVs came on. On the outside, the shiny black limo was lit up with multi-colored sparkling lights. Everyone on the street was stopping to say hi! It was the best thing ever!

Afterward, we headed downtown on the freeway and stopped at a McDonald’s. One of the kids that was in there was hilarious, a real comedian. I was red from laughing so much and almost cried.

Everything was so incredible and unexpected. I danced like crazy under a disco ball with all my friends surrounding me. Talk about fun.

The fun ended at midnight. I hope you have an adventure as amazing as mine!

GATE Kids Sharpen Skills at Camp

March 16 was a very special day for fourth- and fifth-grade GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) students at Lineweaver. That’s the day we left for Camp Cooper. It’s an educational field trip where you explore the outdoors, have fun and learn new things. Best of all, it’s a camp so you get to stay overnight with your peers in a cabin.

In the morning, I arrived at school with my pillow and sleeping bag. My mom helped with the water bottles. It took about a half an hour to get to Camp Cooper. There, we split up. My fifth-grade class went on a two-hour hike druing which we observed many plants. My favorite was the palo verde tree, which was still alive even though its roots were exposed. Smaller palo verdes grew out of its exposed roots.

After lunch we had two slithering guests—a king snake and a gopher snake. Don’t worry, these two species aren’t venomous. After learning about the snakes, we sharpened our observation skills. We touched different parts of a saguaro, dissected owl pellets and even got to adopt a rock.

Dinner was really exciting because we got to cook it ourselves. I had delicious hamburgers! After dinner came the main attraction. We put on plays, sang songs and did lots of other stuff. We had a drummer and did skits. Then an astronomer stopped by and showed us many things in the night sky.

The next morning we ate a very good breakfast. Then we all had to pitch in to clean up the entire camp before heading back to school.

Fast Feet Featured at a Feis

An Irish dance competition is called a Feis (pronounced Fe-sh). It is an exciting event with lots of elaborate costumes that are very shiny and have intricate designs.

I danced at a Feis on May16–17. There were more than 300 dancers—almost 100 of them championship dancers—and their families. There were also about 25 dancers competing for the first time, so they were very nervous.

By the end of the weekend, many dancers left with trophies and medals.

I did not dance till Sunday, but I helped the beginners on Saturday, so I had fun! Unfortunately, I did not do too well on Sunday—I placed just third and fourth in my solos. However, I did get fourth place (out of 16) in a t-shirt special, which is hard to place in! This was a fundraising competition in which everyone danced without costumes, just in a plain t-shirt and shorts. We raised more than $300 for Tucson’s Community Food Bank.

There are various levels of competition from beginner to open championship. When you win a competition, you move to the next level. There are seven different dances. Some are done in soft shoes, or gillies, which are similar to ballet shoes except with laces. Others are done in hard shoes, which are similar to tap shoes, but with fiberglass tips and heels. The music is different either in timing or rhythm for each dance. It takes a while to learn to hear the differences between a reel and a jig, and then between the different kinds of jigs.

Bear Essential News, one of the sponsors of the competition, provided issues of the newspaper, coloring pages and activities for a kids table. My little brother and sister and I certainly had fun.

Author Visits Ft. Lowell School

Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for Fort Lowell Elementary students. Local author and illustrator Chris Gall came to visit our school and share his experiences during Love of Reading Week. He is a really cool guy, and his books are awesome.

Gall says he tries to make his books funny because he thinks comical books are more fun to read. He uses a lot of puns in “Dear Fish,” a book about fish that come to visit people on land. His illustrations have lots of lines cut into them. That is because he cuts his pictures out of a special board with a sharp tool and prints them. Then he uses a computer to add the color. He wants his pictures to look like comic book images.

A silver trailer called an Airstream appears in two of his books. In “There’s Nothing To Do On Mars,” the Airstream is a rocket ship. Gall also likes to fix up classic cars. Some of them turn up in his books as well.

Since one of his books takes place on Mars, we wanted to know if Gall had ever seen Mars through his telescope. It turns out that he has. He also told us that he had to do a lot of research about Mars to make his story believable. He looked at actual pictures of Mars. He found out there is a formation there that looks like a lady, and he included her in his illustrations.

Gall doesn’t show a lot of adult faces in “There’s Nothing To Do On Mars” and “Dear Fish.” He told us that he wanted his readers to focus on the main characters, who are young boys. He borrowed this idea from the Charlie Brown and Snoopy specials on television. In those programs, you never actually see grown-ups; and when they talk, all you hear is “Wah, wah, wah. . .”

Finally, we wanted to know if Gall has a favorite among his own books. He says he likes all of his books the same. He is especially excited about his new book, called “Dinotrux,” which came out this spring. He recently found out that this book is going to be made into an animated movie. If you are patient, you’ll be able to see it in the theater in five years.

Ranch Sorting Lots of Sporting Fun

Ranch sorting originated in California many years ago for the purpose of sorting out cattle to be branded. It became a sport several years ago. Ateam of two on horseback has to cut the herd of cattle in a specific order, moving cows out of one pen and into another in 60 seconds or less!

Being such a fun sport that an entire family can participate in, it’s no wonder that it’s fast becoming a top equine event. It’s truly a sport that reflects our Western heritage.

Any kid interested in learning this fun sport can call Ranch Sorters at (520) 360-4996 and speak with Bob Bishop or David Williams. They are always willing to teach and give kids hands-on experience.

Community Gathers in Park to Pray

On May 7, I went to the National Day of Prayer—a movement to remind Americans to pray for our country and leaders—at Reid Park. There were people on a stage singing and praising God. Next to the stage was a Children’s Wall of Prayer, on which children drew pictures and wrote about their most important prayer. When I got there, Frank Colvin, who was a speaker for the National Day of Prayer last year as well, was coming on. He talked about the many blessings of the Lord. He then blew the “shofar,” or ram’s horn. The kids area had different activities, such as making a prayer cube. Kids would sit in prayer circles and roll the prayer cube to choose what they were going to pray for. There was also a puppet show that featured a song called “Lean On Me.” The song says that sometimes we need friends to lean on when we are in need.

‘X-Men’ Premeire Shows Off Arizona’s Star Power!

Move over Hollywood—make room for Tempe! The city hosted the world premiere of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The energy at the Tempe Marketplace on April 27, was electric.

The movie’s producer, Hugh Jackman, who also stars as Wolverine, expressed his enthusiasm about hosting this huge event in Tempe. Back in March, Jackman conducted an online voting contest to determine which U.S. city would earn the right to premiere the movie. Tempe beat out dozens of other cities!

A sea of people lined the barricades that evening. Some fans had waited outside of the theater since 3 a.m. just to catch a glimpse of Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and other cast members as they strolled down the red carpet. Before the celebrities arrived, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Harkins owner Dan Harkins welcomed fans. A group of ASU cheerleaders and the Mountain Point High School band performed a few numbers for the crowd. JohnJay and Rich from KRQ 94.7 played music and kept the audience entertained with random contests while everyone waited for the stars to arrive.

The public screamed and cheered when Jackman made a dramatic entrance on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. This was his first visit to the Valley, but he says it won’t be his last!

“I love this place! I’m moving here. It’s awesome!” he says. “These are the real fans. These are the ones we do the movie for.”

There would be no Wolverine without fans like this, he adds. “Some of these fans slept out for two nights to be here. I need to at least buy them a cup of coffee.”

Hallman proclaimed April 27 as “X-Men Day.” He also poked fun at the city’s parking problem and presented Jackman with a “Wolverine Parking Only” sign to be used anytime the cast needed to park.

Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Lynn Collins (Kayla), Will.i.am (Wraith) and Taylor Kitsch (Gambit) also walked the red carpet. Reynolds commends letting the public decide where the movie should be premiered. “I think this is how they should do it from now on,” he says. “L.A. has had their fair share of Hollywood premieres. And so has New York.”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” opened nationwide on May 1. But Tempe “X-ceeded X-pections” that evening when it turned on the lights, camera and action. Many hope the premiere’s success will have the entertainment industry taking a closer look at Arizona for showcasing new movies in the future. The theme of the evening was superpowers, but Tempe proved that when it comes to hosting a premiere it certainly has star power!

‘Earth’ Moves

I liked all three animal families—the elephants, polar bears and whales—in the movie “Earth.” The new Disney film, which opened on Earth Day, April 22, follows the lives of these amazing animals over the period of a year. The polar bears are a favorite because of the curiosity of the baby bears. The size of the elephants is surprising. They seem huge—even bigger than what I’ve normally seen in zoos!

The whales are cool. Although they make the longest mammal migration, they make it look easy. (It probably isn’t.)

Due to its sensitive nature at times—animals kill each other and die of natural causes—kids ages 8 and older might be the best audience for this movie.

Fun Films at the Fox

On Saturday afternoons this summer, the Fox Theatre will be showing special movies for kids and families that originally aired as part of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1930s. I had a chance to see some of these classic films, which are called “serials” and were originally shown on Saturday mornings. A serial is a movie that is broken into 15-minute parts that were shown each week.

The serials to be shown this summer are: “The Wolf Dog,” from 1933, “The Undersea Kingdom‚” from 1936 and “The Green Archer,” from 1940.

My favorite is “Green Archer” because there’s lots of action involving cool trapdoors and hidden passageways leading to the next-door mansion. I also like the robots (Volkites) from “Undersea Kingdom” because they look weird but cool at the same time, and their tank car looks pretty cool, too.

I have spent a lot of time at the Fox Theatre downtown because my dad was the one who brought it back to life again after it had been closed for about 30 years. I hope you will enjoy these as much as I have.