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Highlighting activities in and around 246 Warren St.
Shrieks of delight 
Annual Cunniff Halloween party
another successful evening
-- despite a frightening start
By MAIREAD W.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporter
The Cunniff School Halloween party on Oct. 30 was very exciting.
It started off with an unexpected fire drill. Everyone evacuated safely, but it was really loud. A smoke machine in the basement set off the alarm.
 When everyone went back in the building, it was very crowded. Mrs. Munger, Miss Ciarlone, Mrs. DiMascio, Mrs. Lacy, and Mr. Billhardt were part of the Haunted House. 
The cafeteria was full of kids and crafts. The front hall was crowded with people getting wristbands, getting their picture taken, and people signing up for the scavenger hunt.
If you didn’t go this year you should go next year.
QUITE A SIGHT! The annual Cunniff School Halloween Party brought out all sorts of costumes and plenty of spooky sights to behold, including (above left) a witch and skeleton at the end of the Haunted House. Also seen were (below, clockwise from top left) Miss Ciarlone, Mrs. Munger, and Mrs. DiMascio, who greeted students at the end of the Haunted Hallway; Mrs. Lacy, who enjoyed her time in the teachers’ lounge inside the Haunted House watching TV, chewing gum, and reading Captain Underpants books; a plate of eyeballs; a raven as it kept an eye on Baby, one of the many decorations adding to the unique atmosphere in the Haunted House; Mr. Billhardt (obviously in the party moooooooo-d!); and Caitlin Donovan as she helped capture the evening at the PTO photo booth.
 
 
-- Nov. 8, 2009--
Costumed guests help make the Cunniff's Halloween party head and shoulders above the rest.
The fright stuff
Annual Cunniff Halloween party set for Oct. 30
By ALEXIS C., RYAN L., TJ P., and JACOB D.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Calling all boys and ghouls! 
Are you looking for something to do this Friday night? If so, come to the Cunniff School!
This Friday, Oct. 30, the Cunniff School PTO is hosting its annual Halloween party. The party will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and is open to Cunniff families.
There will be games, like the Monster Walk, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and the haunted house. Come show off your costumes, but please leave costume accessories (such as weapons, sports equipment) at home.
Marie Gendron, a Cunniff parent and chairperson of the party, said, “[The haunted house] might be scarier than last year!”
She also said that there will be two paths at the haunted house, one scary and one less scary. She said there will be allergy-free snacks.
Admission is $2 per child with a $5 maximum per family. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
For additional information, please contact Marie Gendron (pictured at right, with hat), at 617-923-1114 or Eileen Walsh at 617-926-3804.
--Oct. 27, 2009--
Some of the Cunniff's fourth-grade class tackle a display on pulleys at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum.
Shipping up to Essex
Museum carries visitors away into history
BY SHANNON M. and PATRICK W.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
If you are looking for a good time, then you should go to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. That is where the fourth-graders from the Cunniff School went Friday, May 22. The museum is educational and extremely fun.
The bus ride took one hour from Watertown. The students brought books, gimp, word puzzles, and riddles to pass the time
At the museum, there were four stations to go to: simple machines, trunnel making, steam bending, and scavenger hunt. There were groups of students that went to each station with a guide.
Some of the buildings didn’t have air conditioning because the museum tried to re-create what it felt like long ago. Plus, it was an 80-degree day, so it was really warm.
The simple machine station was all about simple and compound machines. Students experimented with a lever, a wedge, and a few pulleys. They saw a very complicated compound machine.
The second station was trunnel making. First, the guide showed the children a movie about a ship being built. The students went to a shed and got to make a trunnel, which is basically a wooden peg that would be driven into a ship to hold  the wood together. The guide told us that in the olden days, shipbuilders got 5 cents for every 100 trunnels he made.
The third station was steam bending, which is where you take a long piece of wood and heat it. It was steaming hot! Then the students got to clamp it down so it bends.
The last station was a scavenger hunt. It was set up in an old school house. There were many questions the students had to answer that were hidden in the schoolhouse.
One of the exhibits showed all the tools that were used to build the ships. All of the other exhibits showed different ships. One exhibit showed a ship with colorful strings that pointed to the person’s house in Essex that helped build that part of the ship.
After exploring all four stations, the students ate lunch. Then they went back on the bus for another hourlong ride back to the school.
--June 5, 2009--
Juniors achievement
Brownies to celebrate bridging with camping trip, ceremony
BY RENEE S.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporter
Brownies. They’re not the brownies you eat! They are Girl Scouts!
The Brownies are a community group. Troop 1988 is made up of 15 Cunniff students. Every year they do something that helps the community. This year they did a food drive, last year they collected towels and rags for an animal shelter.
This is the Troop 1988’s last year in Brownies. They will be bridging on June 10. “Bridging” means moving from Brownies (first, second, and third grade) to Juniors (fourth, fifth, and sixth grade).
To celebrate, they are going camping at Cedar Hill in Waltham. They will do water games and cook over a fire.
To pay for it, they are using their money from selling cookies. The Troop sold 1,165 boxes of cookies this year and earned $699.
They will also have a bridging ceremony at the Cunniff. At the ceremony, they will get Junior sashes and make a recipe. Family and friends are going to come and stay for food.
(Editor's note: To read about Troop 1988's food drive, see story below; to read about Troop 1988's work for the animal shelter, see Archive: Corridors and classrooms at left).
--June 3, 2009--
Quite a feat!
Jump Rope for Heart clears $5,000 in donations
BY BETH P. and RYAN L.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
The third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders at the Cunniff School were jump roping to help prevent breast cancer and stroke.
Greg Marcotte, the Cunniff’s physical education teacher, ran Jump Rope for Heart.
“This was the second year doing Jump Rope for Heart,” he said.
The third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders went around and asked family and friends to donate money. They raised over $5,000, which was the goal, then they had a jump rope competition.
Here are some amazing third-grade records: Wenston did 206 backward jumps and Timmy C. did 15 big rope pushups, which is where he does a pushup and the rope swings under his hands.
In fourth grade, Shannon and Elizabeth did 72 partner face-to-face jumps and Tatum did 159 backward jumps.
In fifth grade, Christian did 15 minutes 25 seconds of nonstop jumps and Sarah L. did 63 criss-crosses, which is when a person jumps and then crosses the rope and then jumps again and so on.
Danika Johnsky held the teacher record: 5 minutes 15 seconds of timed jumps!
Mr. Marcotte told us next year he might add the second-graders to this exciting fun event.
A few weeks after this year's event, students got prizes for how much money they raised.
“But it doesn’t matter about the prizes, it matters about helping people,” Mr. Marcotte said.
--May 31, 2009--
Some of Watertown's veterans watch as Cunniff third-graders raise the flag as part of the
Memorial Day assembly.
Honoring our heroes
Cunniff third-graders host veterans at Memorial Day program
BY ALEXIS C., MEAGAN K., and KATHERINE L.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
The third-grade classes had an assembly May 22 to honor the veterans who fought in wars. Over a dozen veterans came to the assembly in the cafetorium, along with Cunniff staff, students, and parents.
Most of the third-graders had a speaking part, along with poems and songs. The songs were “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” and “This Land is Your Land.”
The poems were “Americans in Strength,” “The American Hero,” and “Freedom is not Free.”
The common theme in these songs and poems was freedom, because the veterans fought and died for our freedom.
The veterans wore their uniforms and hats that they wore the time they fought. They sat below the stage as they were being honored. Their names and where they fought were announced.
The assembly went well because everyone remembered their lines and the audience was very respectful.
--May 29, 2009--
A look inside
Candling lets students see chicks before they hatch
By CAROLINE D. and RENEE S.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Have you ever seen the inside of a chick egg? Mrs. Munger’s third-grade class has by candling the eggs!
The first thing Mrs. Munger did was get green construction paper and cover all of the windows in the upstairs supplies closet. While she was doing that, the students did their morning cursive.
When she came back, she picked one of the groups and that was Group 2. She got a green egg out of the incubator and Group 2 went upstairs with her into the supplies closet. Fatima brought a flashlight and an oatmeal container with a hole in it.
Then Mrs. Munger closed the supplies closet door. It took Mrs. Munger a couple of times to get the flashlight working. But she got it working and put the flashlight in the oatmeal can and then took the green egg and held it in front of the oatmeal can.
Fatima said, “I can’t see anything,” so Mrs. Munger went downstairs, back to Room 161, and got a white egg out of the incubator. She came back to the supplies closet, shut the door, put the white chick egg in front of the oatmeal can, and turned on the flashlight.
Fatima said, “I can see a black spot.”
Mrs. Munger said, “That black spot is the chick.”
When the class was done with cursive, the students went out to the Cunniff playground for recess. Group 2 came down from the supplies closet for recess.
After recess, Mrs. Munger took the rest of the class to the supplies closet to see the chick
Now everyone knows how to candle an egg.
--May 27, 2009--
Warming to the task
Third-graders don't raise a fuss when it comes to eggs
By TIMMY C., KAITLIN P., SYDNEY P., and CHRISTINE S.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
In the third grade, the classes are hatching chicks!
The eggs are in Mrs. Munger’s classroom. There are two white eggs, two green eggs, and two brown eggs. The chicks hatch in 21 days.
Only three eggs can fit in one incubator, so there are two incubators. The incubators keep the eggs warm so the chicks won’t die. The incubators are round, like a bowl. They are in the back of the classroom on the sink counter. On the top of the incubator there is a glass window so you can look at the eggs. There is a little light in the incubator.
Mrs. Munger got the eggs so she can teach the third-graders about the life cycle of the chicks.
The chicks arrived three weeks ago. The third-graders were very excited when the chicks arrived.
In class the chicks chirp and it gets very distracting.
The students can’t touch the eggs because the shell might crack and the chick might die.
--May 26, 2009--
Big results from Mini Dells
By DANIEL D. and PATRICK W.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Have you ever seen a laptop smaller than your lap? Well there is!
It’s called a Mini Dell. The fourth and fifth grades at the Cunniff School have been using them for about two months. They are mostly used for recording and researching. The keyboard is smaller than a normal computer keyboard.
Fourth-grade students Jillian Russo and Christopher Baccari both agree that the Mini Dells are fun to work with.
Fourth-grade teacher Mena Ciarlone said, “I love the Mini Dells because they are so small that you can have one on one side of your desk and have a project on the other side.’’
If you want to see the Mini Dells, then come to the Cunniff School!
--May 2, 2009--
Two Cunniff Kids News reporters pose with WBZ meteorologist Todd Gutner (center) during his
recent visit to Cunniff Elementary School in Watertown.
Blue skies, green screens
WBZ meteorologist points out secret to being on television
By SHAY D. and MAIREAD W.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
One of the most interesting things about being a meteorologist on television is the green wall.
Todd Gutner from WBZ news on Channel 4 came to the Cunniff School to teach the students about weather. He spoke to the second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders about pressure systems and the different symbols on the television weather map.
He explained that the green wall is a big screen that shows people watching TV the weather map. The meteorologists point to the empty green screen and the computer fills in the map for the people watching.
Mr. Gutner said it’s important to not wear green clothes on a work day because people at home can’t see you!
Mr. Gutner is 33 years old and has loved weather since he was in high school. He has been on television for nine years, but has been working at WBZ for only 1.5 years. His favorite part of his job is visiting schools because he gets to see kids and because he gets out of the office.
Tune in to WBZ from 6:30-7 a.m. to see Mr. Gutner report the weather, with the help of his cameraman Terry.
(To learn more about meteorologist Todd Gutner and the WBZ news team, go to http://wbztv.com/bios/todd.gutner.wbztv.9.566575.html.)
--May 1, 2009--
Members of the Watertown Girl Scouts Troop 1988 pose with food donated by the Cunniff School community.
Food drive a success
Cunniff scouts help neighborhood pantry
By MEAGAN K. and SYDNEY P.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Walking through the Cunniff School, you could see boxes everywhere. Why? Because the Girl Scouts had a food drive.
Troop 1988 of the Watertown Girl Scouts, made up of students from the Cunniff School, had a food drive recently. The scouts said they wanted to help people who didn’t have enough food.
First, the scouts made signs and put them up all over the school walls. Then the scouts put the collection boxes everywhere. Some kids read the signs and then brought in food the next day.
At the end of February and the beginning of March, when the food drive was over, the scouts collected all of the boxes. The troop delivered all of the food to the food pantry at St. Patrick’s Church.
According to troop co-leader Marie Gendron, the scouts collected “four big, plastic bins” filled with food for the pantry.
(The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry is located at St. Patrick's Church, 26 Chestnut St., Watertown, Mass. The pantry is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10–11:45 a.m. For information about the pantry, please call, 617-926-7121.)
--April 1, 2009--
Everybody profits
Popular second-grade store benefits school, needy families
By SHAY D. and JULIA F.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Shannon Sauder's second-grade class started the first school store at the Cunniff School. The school store began  because the second-graders wanted to raise money for families in Africa.
The class voted on different ani-
-mals it could send to people who needed them. The animals the class chose were a llama for Peru, a goat for a village in Africa, and chickens for Guatemala.
“The students decided that a goat would eat pretty much anything and that they could keep it anywhere, so that would be the best bet,” said Mrs. Sauder. “The students also decided that any money above the goat and chickens would go to purchase recess toys for the second grade at the Cunniff.”
The school store sold $270 worth of merchandise and made $142 in profit.
Kids could come to shop before school, between 8:05 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Each classroom received two coupons for students that had good behavior. One coupon was for 10
cents and one was for 25 cents.
Jump ropes, crayons, and yo-yos were the most popular items. However, each time the store was open, it sold out of its inventory.
This class will not be reopening the school store, said Mrs. Sauder, but, “there is a rumor that Mrs. Uccello's class will be starting it up again.”
--March 17, 2009--
In a land far, far away
Second-grade teacher goes on a family vacation -- to Japan
By ELIZABETH A. and MAIREAD W.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Would you travel 14 hours to eat fried octopus? Elizabeth Uccello did. It was one of the interesting things that she did when she went to Japan for the first time.
Mrs. Uccello, a second-grade teacher at the Cunniff School, flew there during winter vacation with her husband, mother, and father. They went to see her younger brother, Zack, who is there teaching English. Her dog Molly and her cat Zoe did not make the trip with the rest of the family.
“Molly stayed with my husband's sister, and Miss Doherty watched Zoe,” said Mrs. Uccello.
Mrs. Uccello and her family did many things during their week in Japan. They went to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. They saw statues of people and a statue of Buddha. They went to a place where deer ran wild.
“One even stole a map out of my mom's hand and tried to eat it!” said Mrs. Uccello.
They also ate interesting food, including fried octopus, fried chicken, and sushi.
It was a very exciting vacation.
--March 10, 2009--
Now there's plenty to do
Signups for afterschool programs close Jan. 15
By SHANNON M.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporter
Have you signed up for one of the many great courses offered after school at the Cunniff? If not, let’s get to it. There is still time and many to choose from.
The first group of courses is called Courses for Kids and is run by Watertown Community Education. The courses offered are:
* Drama Club on Mondays for grades K-2
* All About Animals on Wednesdays for grades K-2
* Karate on Wednesdays for grades K-5
* High Touch High Tech on Fridays for grades K-2
All of these courses begin the week of Jan. 26 and run for eight weeks. The Drama Club is free for all students. However, there is a fee of $115 for all of the other courses.
Rita Foglia of Watertown Community Education said about the afterschool program, “It is very popular. It gives kids a chance to learn new things and have fun after school.
“The favorite courses at the Cunniff are Karate, Drama, and Science.”
Another afterschool activity offered is the Cunniff Afterschool Sports program. This program is for grades 2 and 3 run by Greg Marcotte, the Cunniff’s gym teacher, on Mondays.
It will start Jan. 26 and run for 10 weeks. The fee is $65.
Students will participate in sports activities such as soccer, football, volleyball, lacrosse, basketball, and floor hockey. They will even get to use the new climbing unit.
Each course has a different limit to the number of kids.
If you are interested in signing up, return the registration forms to your teacher soon. Deadline for signups for all courses is Jan. 15.
If you didn’t receive the information about either Courses for Kids or the Cunniff Afterschool Sports Program, you can find information flyers just outside the front office at the Cunniff School.
(For more information about Courses for Kids, contact Rita Foglia at
--Jan. 12, 2009--
A (crawly) hands-on experience
A giant African millipede (above), a giant Asian praying mantis (below), and a tarantula (bottom) at the Cunniff.
BugWorks visit
a touchy subject
By TAYLOR N., MEAGAN K., and BETH P.
Cunniff Kids News Staff reporters
It had 288 legs.
It was big, scary, and black.
And when she took it out of its case, everyone was grossed out.
It was a millipede that Maire Anne Diamond from BugWorks brought to the Cunniff School Oct. 16.
Diamond and Andrea Kozol went to all of the classes to show students bugs and teach about them.
Diamond told Mrs. DiMascio’s class that insects have three body parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen. The different kinds of bugs are millipedes, insects, centipedes, and crustaceans. Bugs are all anthropods.
First, she showed the class a praying mantis and the students got to hold it. Then she showed the students a baby mantis.
The class saw a grasshopper with all of the warning colors. The warning colors are black, yellow, red, and sometimes orange. 
Then the class saw a giant hissing cockroach. She told the students that the cockroaches make a humming sound. So she took a cockroach and started to tickle its legs, which looked like she was squishing it.
When she was done, she took out a tarantula, but it is not as scary as you think! It was very hairy. It had hair on its eyes. She didn’t let the students touch it.
When she was done, she put all the bugs away and let the class ask more questions. When everyone was done, the students said goodbye and thank you and she left and went to another class.
(To learn more about BugWorks, go to http://www.bugworks.net/)
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So much fun to be had, it's scary
By RENEE S. and ISABELLA V.
Cunniff Kids News staff reporters
Beware of ghosts!
There will be a Halloween Party at the Cunniff School on Friday, Oct. 24 from 6:30-8 p.m. for Cunniff kids and their families. It will cost $6 per family at the door, which covers the rest of the night.
At the Halloween Party will be a haunted house, Spooky Boo-tique disco, bean bag tic-tac-toe, monster walk, ghost scavenger hunt, and lots of crafts.
Nut-free, milk-free, egg-free snacks and drinks will be available.
Kids are encouraged to wear a Halloween costume, but you don’t have to. Please don’t bring any weapons (knives, swords, axes, guns, and light sabres).
Marie Gendron, who is one of the people helping to run the event for the PTO, said, “The reason we have a Halloween Party is to have fun and celebrate Halloween.”
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