Bear Essential News for Kids

Bees Foundation Inc

Young Reporter's Story Ideas

 

Arizona's leading newspaper for kids, families and classrooms

peter piper pizza Bookmans
Proud Sponsors of the Tucson Young Reporter Program

Scuba Rangers

by Reporter Matthew M. Coy
Sonoran Science Academy-Sunset
Scuba Ranger

Matthew learns to scuba.

Do you want to breathe under water? If you’re 7–12, you can! Planet Scuba at 4837 N. First Ave. offers an exciting scuba civing program to prepare you to take the plunge!

The program is called “Scuba Rangers.” Scuba Rangers starts with a week-long camp followed by monthly meetings to add to your scuba skills. The current lead instructor is Vance Tanner, who has more than 20 years of scuba experience! When asked what experience a prospective ranger should have, Tanner replies, “The ranger candidate should be comfortable in the water and should be able to stay afloat. You do not have to be a good swimmer to be a Scuba Ranger, but the parents have to decide if they are comfortable with their child doing scuba.” The Scuba Ranger starts with five sessions that include both book learning and pool time. Each session expands on the knowledge and water skills until, at the end, the Ranger can demonstrate his or her favorite skills to family and friends. For example, I demonstrated how to achieve buoyancy in the water as well as assembly and disassembly of the diving equipment. After these sessions, the Ranger is a member of the Scuba Rangers club, which holds meetings every month or so to give members a chance to earn specialties in scuba diving, such as Shark Ranger, and advance to Master Ranger. After 10 years of age, the Ranger can take a class and become a Junior Scuba Diver. This allows for diving in the ocean as well as the pool. When asked what’s his favorite part of working with the kids, Tanner replies, “I like working with kids because they are more open to try new things than adults and they do not hide problems they are having. But mostly, they love what I love, which is being under water.”

I loved the camp so much that I was able to come back and help out a little at the next session. I am sticking with it so I can become a Junior Diver when I turn 10 next year. If you wish to join, just have your parents call Planet Scuba and sign up for the next camp. I know I’ll be there!

Drum and Drummer

by Reporter Konrad Brayer
Academy of Tucson

Have you ever dreamed of being a rock star drummer? Well now you can. There’s a great new place downtown called Drum and Drummer.

Drum and Drummer is a school of percussionists. But before you say, “No thanks, not another school,” you gotta check it out! The instructors are some of the best drummers in Southern Arizona, including Erik Truelove. Erik has won many awards, like most accurate drummer in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

When you walk inside, this is what you'll see. There are two private lesson rooms, a group learning room and two sound proof private practice rooms. They also have this new program called The Colored Stick Program. This optional program is like karate for drummers. You start with white sticks and every time you show you have improved greatly, you can move to the next colored stick in the program. To finally get your black sticks, you must perform in a solo recital. Drum and Drummer will even rent you a set of drums for your house. The best thing is that Drum and Drummer is for all ages, whether you are 6 or 60.

Teachers at Flowing Wells Jr. High Talk Shop

by Reporter Rachel Curran,
Flowing Wells Jr. High School

TeachersI’m doing an article on careers to help readers decide what they want to be when they grow up. The first career I chose was a teacher because that’s what I want to be! I interviewed eight of my favorite teachers: Samantha Slugh, Jennifer Anglin, Taryn Burlison, Christine Mullahy, Julie Stapelton, Ashley Hayes, Tara Stevenson and Megan Larson.

Here’s what I came away with from these inspiring teachers.

Some of the good things about teaching are getting satisfaction, being appreciated, having fun and getting the chance to impact someone’s life. Other positives are working with and watching students exceed, having summers and holidays off, doing what they love, and meeting new people.

Some tough things about teaching are learning how to motivate students, the fatigue factor and all the papers you have to grade, getting students to behave, and the disappointment of having to fail a student. There’s also a lot of work away from school, and the hours don’t end when the school b. Stevenson says it’s hard when you meet a kid with a difficult life and can’t help fix it. Most teachers teach not for the money but because they love teaching, helping the community and impacting students’ lives. Interestingly, only half of these teachers originally wanted to teach middle school. But all of them love teaching and care about their students.

They also point out that teaching is a big commitment. Tasks they have to do are teaching, planning, grading, helping students, working with other “team players,” setting up the room, attending school events, making tests and taking teacher classes. On average it takes four to six years for teachers to earn their degree. Helpful character traits for teachers are patience, being understanding, compassionate, open-minded, funny, flexible, organized, intelligent, ethical, creative, confident and persuasive. Four of the teachers say they’d never change their job or the age group that they teach. Two others say they’d change what they teach but not their grade level, and one of these teachers says she will change both!

A Day at the Los Reales Landfill

by Reporter Angel Fuentes, Nash Elementary

Los Reales LandfillWhen I went to the Los Reales Landfill, it was a fantastic big pile of trash. Did you know the Los Reales Landfill takes furniture, bad tires, and other items? The waste gets buried into the ground. And there is a little area that has buried trash. Did you know your waste turns into electricity? And the landfill has a groundwater lake that has ducks. It is cool.

© 2003 - 2012 Kid's View Communications Corp. | Tucson Web Design by Go Web Solutions.