Written by multiple South Loop Scoop 7th & 8th Graders
The South Loop Scoop is excited to be back in action and we thought we’d start our first blog of the year with a recap of the first quarter and some of the exciting things we’ve been up to!
Harvest Day: We had a very good harvest day and plenty of students showed up in costume. We had lots of groups and funny costumes. The middle school teachers and staff dressed up as expo markers with the eraser being Mr.LaCoco. At the primary building, one group of teachers were Rock, Paper, Scissors! We hope everyone had a fun time dressing up and showing their costumes to everyone!
Fall Clean and Green
The clean and green was on Oct.30, 2021 from 9:00 to 11:00 and it hit off really well at Mary Richardson Jones park or also known as the school park. They did things such as raking leaves, landscaping, cleanup, and maintenance. They used items such as rakes, brooms, trash bags,shovels and more. They also had a visit from the Alderman, Pat Dowell. Thank you too all that helped, we appreciate all your help.
After School Clubs and Sports Have Begun!
Beta Club: Keep your eye out for Beta Club applicants, as Ms. Allababidi and Mrs. King have decided who will be inducted into Beta Club this year! There were huge numbers of applicants this year and the interviews went smoothly. You might’ve heard our President, Katie Boone, and our Vice President, Ruhi Agrawal making morning announcements. That’s because Ms. Allababidi has decided to have the Beta Members do the morning announcements again.
Remember, Beta Club is currently hosting the Thanksgiving Food drive so remember to bring your grade level assigned food. Mrs. Shelton announced there would be a PIZZA LUNCH for the class who brings in the most donations (one class from each building)! As a refresher, this is what each grade should bring by Friday, November 19th:
- Preschool: Canned greens
- Kdg: Canned green peas or green beans
- 1st: Box of mac & cheese
- 2nd: Box of stove top stuffing
- 3rd: Canned corn
- 4th: Box of cornbread mix
- 5th: Canned cranberry sauce
- 6th: Box of mash potatoes
- 7th: Canned gravy
- 8th: Canned sweet potatoes
Guitar Club:
Guitar Club just started a couple of weeks ago and is running smoothly. Host, Mr. Charlie is said to be one of the best guitarists and guitar teachers out there. He is encouraging his students to help each other perfect their technique and learn more about guitar. Guitar club has only had 2 sessions, and enrollment has already doubled!
Homework Clubs:
We have a few Homework clubs this year! One is run by Ms. Welch for extra math help. Mrs. Welch helps with anyone who doesn’t understand the homework that is given. She also reviews the tests that we have done in class and helps overall on anything you are stuck on or need help with. Mr. Yang, our newest 6th grade teacher, is also hosting a homework/tutoring club for 6th graders, focusing on math and ELA. Mr. LaCoco and Ms. Allababidi are doing an after school homework help club for all 4th-8th graders who might need additional help on any subject!
Cross Country:
While the season is over, the Cross Country team had a great run (no pun intended)! At last month’s meet, the team received 3rd place overall! Some of our runners were in the top 50 participants who were then qualified for the city meet that happened on November 6th. Everyone worked really hard to have a fun and successful season.
Debate Club:
CONGRATS to our debate team. It was the first tournament of the year and it went great. The topic for the 2021-2022 school year is fracking, agricultural runoff, and water infrastructure. We only had a small number of debaters for the first tournament but they still did amazing! They placed as the following:
For awards:
- 8th place speaker award – Ruhi Agrawal
- 3rd place speaker award – Brandon Barroso
- JV 2nd place team award – Ruhi Agrawal & Brandon Barroso
- Novice 12th place team award – Ignas Petrus & Parsa Koucheki
- Our next debate tournament is coming up on December 4th!
Drama Club
Would you believe we have THREE Drama Clubs!? Two Drama Clubs are run by Ms. Dillon for our K-3 students, and the other Drama Club is for Middle School. A group of 5th grade students advocated for a Drama Club. They found a teacher sponsor and have been working hard to plan a future performance. We have so many talented students at South Loop, we hope to see what they have in store soon!
Art Club:
The Art Club is run by Mrs. Baldwin. Since the Art club has started recently they have been doing art journal entries, watercolor painting, projects and more. They are having fun learning and playing around with different aspects of art.
Dance team:
The dance team has been doing great, they have 30 students ranging from 4th to 8th grade. Ms. Clemons is the coach and really loves seeing all the teamwork and different age groups helping each other. Later this week the dance team is celebrating their team captain, Damia Gordon, and co captain, Jaila Taylor with a pizza party.
South Loop Scoop & Yearbook Club:
Last but not least, the Scoop is back! We’ve combined forces with the Yearbook Club. We will be working on posting to our Instagram (follow us @slooplions), adding fun stories to our blog, and planning our 2021-22 yearbook. It will definitely be a year to remember. Stay tuned for more stories soon!