The firefighters talked about things like how to know when to call  911.  They also talked about how at home, families should have an emergency plan for an escape route in case of a fire.

“I thought it was very cool and exciting,” Pre-K student Kellen Hampton said.

Kellen also said that there was a game played and it was about  a re-enactment of what to do in a fire.

One of the firefighters put on their suit and showed the students how staying down on the floor and crawling below the smoke can help save your life.

The Oakland Fire Department taught the students so much about fire safety. They took time out of their day to teach about safety and the students loved to learn with them.

by: Alyssa Hampton-Merino, 5th grade
Reporter
THE LION LEDGER

The league expects to open the season with a tripleheader on Christmas Day. Despite missing almost eight weeks of the season, the NBA is aiming to squeeze in a 66-game season for each team, which would require extending the regular season by approximately two weeks and condensing the playoffs. A typical NBA season begins about Nov. 1 and includes 82 games.

The 76ers are scheduled to open training camp Dec. 9 at the team’s practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“I was surprised about the news,” the Sixers’ Andre Iguodala said. “I’m not sure if guys are ready, because they were in limbo about when things would start. The biggest challenge is going to be dealing with injuries and how practice is handled. We can’t go too hard in practice with so many games (in a shorter period of time).”

In recent seasons, the Sixers held camp at St. Joseph’s University, but the last-minute timing and scheduling conflicts forced camp to the more low-key environment at PCOM.

The deal was reached about 3 a.m. EST and is pending approval of both the league’s labor relations committee and the NBA board of governors — a collection of all 30 owners — as well as the players union, which must re-form to hold a vote among its 450 players.

To ratify the deal, a majority vote is needed from each side. Both NBA commissioner David Stern and players union chief Billy Hunter said they expect the agreement to be ratified and become the league’s next collective bargaining agreement. The proposed 10-year deal would allow either side to opt out after the sixth year.

Stern said the agreement was “subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we’re optimistic that will all come to pass.”

The full process is expected to take as long as 10 days.

“We thought it was in both of our interests to try to reach a resolution and save the game and to be able to provide the kind of superb entertainment the NBA historically has provided,” Hunter said during a joint news conference early Saturday morning.

The NBA is scrambling to devise new schedules for each team. The Sixers will begin the abbreviated season on the road because their home arena, the Wells Fargo Center, is scheduled to host Disney on Ice shows during the last week of December.

On the league’s original 2011-12 schedule, the Sixers were scheduled to play at the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 26 and remain on the road until Jan. 6, against the Detroit Pistons. It’s unclear whether either of those games will be on the new schedule.

Because of the tight time line, the start of preseason camp will coincide with the start of free agency. During a typical NBA season, there is a lengthy free-agency period well before the start of training camp.

Once the Sixers sign first-round draft pick Nikola Vucevic, they’ll have 12 players under contract. The NBA limit is 15 players. With the Sixers’ current payroll at about $55 million — the salary cap is likely to be about $58 million — they will have very little flexibility during free agency.

One area of concern will be re-signing the team’s two restricted free agents — forward Thaddeus Young and center Spencer Hawes. The Sixers have extended qualifying offers to both Young and Hawes, meaning they’re two of the 12 currently under contract, but other NBA teams can extend either player an offer.

Under the proposed collective bargaining agreement, if another team signs Young or Hawes to an offer sheet, the Sixers will have only three days to match it. Under the old agreement, they had a week.

During the league’s lockout, which began July 1, the players missed only their Nov. 15 paychecks, about one-twelfth of their yearly salary. For max-contract players such as the Sixers’ Elton Brand and Iguodala, that was more than $1 million in pretax money.

The NBA owners entered the labor dispute fighting for a more even split of basketball revenue, saying they had lost about $400 million last season. Players had been guaranteed 57 percent of basketball-related income under the old deal. Also, the league said it wanted more “competitive balance,” which it felt could be achieved with additional restrictions on how much each team spends.

The union disagreed, but ultimately the league achieved a victory on givebacks. The new deal’s target is a 50-50 split. The league did not, however, achieve the exact “hard cap” system it desired.

At Saturday morning’s news conference announcing their tentative settlement, both Stern and Hunter said they felt urgency to strike a deal because “others depend on us.”

Some of those dependent others include employees at the Wells Fargo Center, whose hours have been slashed. In addition, every NBA game pours money into surrounding establishments such as hotels, restaurants, and bars.

“Our fans and the support from the people and (their) patience through a large part of this process — that’s where a lot of this credit goes to,” said the president of the former players union, Derek Fisher. “The efforts that have been made have been largely with them in mind.”

Technically, Saturday’s agreement was a “settlement” because each side had filed a lawsuit against the other. On Nov. 14, the union dissolved and filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA. Because the NBPA no longer exists, these latest talks were characterized as “settlement talks” and not “collective bargaining.” The union, which became a trade association upon dissolution, hired high-profile lawyer David Boies, who represented the NFL during its lockout earlier this year.

Back-channel discussions between lawyers for the players and lawyers for the NBA began in earnest on Monday of last week, but weren’t reported until Wednesday.
___
© 2011, The Philapdelphia Inquirer / Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

by Kate Fagan
The Philadelphia Inquirer / (MCT)
MCT CAMPUS

MCT is a joint venture of McClatchy and the Tribune Co.

If you are in 8th grade, you were about 3 or 4 years old. The youngest you could have been to remember watching the movie in theaters and remember anything.

Everybody else in school (except for the adults) has probably seen the first Harry Potter film either on TV or on DVD.

When the first film came out, no one was really interested in it but young kids and mostly readers of the books.

But soon the movies slowly evolved into a more exciting movie series and almost everybody, even adults, wanted to watch.

Harry Potter fans are either just people who like the movies, or people that like the movies and have also read the books. (There are probably people who are just fans of the books and not the movies, too).

There are seven books but eight movies because, as most of you know, the last movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was split into two parts.

It’s been so long since the first Harry Potter film came out that the actors don’t look like they did back then. But thankfully, pretty much all of the main characters from the first movie stayed until the end for all eight films.

What you might not know is that the actor who plays Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is not the original from the first film. What? Yes, believe it or not, it’s true!

If you go back and watch the first film, you’ll see that Professor Dumbledore looks different. That’s because the original actor was Richard Harris. He played the part for the first two films but died in 2002 so they needed to find a new actor to replace him.

Which is Michael Gambon, the one most people know today.

If it has been awhile since you last saw the first Harry Potter movie, now is a good time to check it out again on the tenth anniversary of the film.

Anyone who watches it might feel like they’re watching a whole new Harry Potter film because the actors playing Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were just kids back then and don’t look anything like they do in the recent movies.

If you’ve never seen the first Harry Potter movie, what are you waiting for?

by: Hiwot Dereje, 7th grade
Senior Editor
THE LION LEDGER

The reason why they are protesting is because a large group of Oakland residents believe that their needs have not been met. They believe that 99% of the world is poor and 1% are celebrities with all the money.

They say that the media, citizens, and others have been favoring the needs of the 99% without listening or responding to the needs of the 1% regular people who are in the lower and middle classes.

The protesting began on October 10. On that day their group was formed and they started to sleep outside. They want the people of Oakland and everywhere else to recognize that they are not going to stop until their requests have been met. (The protesting actually started with the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and then it spread around the country and to other parts of the world!).

The Mayor of Oakland, Jean Quan is very worried. She and her supporters are trying very hard to make sure that the City of Oakland is safe and that this protesting is under control. On October 25, the protests got worse. So much and so severe that police came and brought tear gas to evacuate the protesters from Downtown Oakland.

You can see proof of “Occupy Oakland” right across the street from the school. If you walk down on Piedmont Ave. at Gaylords coffee shop, there is a sign with big lettering that says “OCCUPY OAKLAND. DO WHAT’S BEST.” (The school choir also had to cancel a field trip last week because of the protests going on in Downtown Oakland).

Hopefully soon, the protesting will stop and everyone will find a way to solve the major issues. To read more about all of this, please go to: www.occupyoakland.org

by: Hiwot Dereje, 7th grade
Senior Editor
THE LION LEDGER

MCT is a joint venture of McClatchy and the Tribune Co.

You may remember your parents telling you about the big earthquake on October 17, 1989. That earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and took place on the San Andreas Fault. Scientists say we are going to have another earthquake similar to that or maybe even worse.

If you watch the news you will remember two very large earthquakes around the world recently. First the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, then the one in Japan at the beginning of this year. This isn’t the reason why scientist think that a large earthquake will be heading our way. (And it’s not because of 2012 either).

There is no way for scientists to predict when an earthquake will happen. What they can do, is look at all of the earthquakes that have occurred in the past and find patterns. They look at how many major earthquakes have happened and the distance of time between them. Of course, this isn’t exactly a precise way to determine when an earthquake will happen but it’s the best thing we’ve got so far.

An example of this is the 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Their studies showed that large earthquakes happen on that fault line about every 140 years. If you add up the years it has been since 1868, well, that’s one of the reasons they predict that we are due for “the BIG one.”

Last week, two moderate earthquakes shook the Bay Area (on Thursday, October 20), the first one hit at  2:41 PM and the second happened that evening at 8:16 PM. The earthquakes were small but those that felt it and were near the earthquake’s epicenter — where the earthquake started from — were really shaken up. And both of the earthquakes by coincidence took place on the same fault.

The other odd thing is, that Thursday morning, at 10:20 AM, was the set time for the statewide duck and cover earthquake drill, or “The Great California ShakeOut.” Also, just three days before that was the 22nd anniversary of the 1989 earthquake.

Here at St. Leo the Great, while we students were still at school, it felt so strong that everyone went to “duck and cover” and evacuated the building after that for safety. It was only a magnitude 4.0 but many students and even the adults were in shock. Tiara Chinn in 8th grade, who was in the gym at the time of the earthquake, said, “I was really scared!”

An earthquake happens when two blocks of earth, called tectonic plates, slide past each other. This causes the earth to shake. California just happens to be where two tectonic plates are, which is why we have so many earthquakes all the time.The result of this shaking can cause great damage and can also kill. This is why people in California must always be prepared and why we have events like the “ShakeOut” drill.

There are plenty of ways you can prepare for an earthquake like knowing safe places to take cover and having supplies ready in case something goes wrong. Just remember to be prepared and educate yourself so that if an earthquake does strike, you know what to do. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

(Source: “The Science of Earthquakes“)

by: Saba Kinfe, 8th grade
Editor-in-Chief
THE LION LEDGER

Starting this year, we have a new WEEKLY features section with new content to check out each week. This will contain content from the MCT Campus newswire service which will currently include (and expand later on):

     • Music Downloads
     • Movie Picks
     • Healthy Living
     • “Try This!” (science experiments)
     • Comics

These will appear each and every week and can be found at the section link at the very far top right of the page (next to VIDEOS).

Speaking of videos, we plan to expand that feature this school year with more clips posted online from various school events like sports games and some mini news broadcast-style updates from the reporters here at “The Lion Ledger.”

As far as the improvements go, we’ve increased the font size of the stories and headlines so that they’re easier to read and pop out at you on the page. (Well, we think they do more than they did before with the font size that was being used). Also, photos will now have captions underneath them.

These are just some of the small things we’ve done that we think will make your experience much more enjoyable.

Our student news organization continues to grow each year with this school year having the largest staff ever. We welcomed seven new reporters to the staff in addition to welcoming back all of those that returned from last year for almost 20 total.

Compare that to when we first started out with a team of about eight students. (We can’t even remember that far back, but who wants to look back at the past?).

Next year we have big plans for celebrating our fifth anniversary. We can’t tell you what they are yet but we hope you’ll be here with us when we do. In the meantime, see what’s new with our OCT 2011 “issue,” the premiere edition for the 2011-12 school year. Enjoy!

from Staff Reports
News Team
THE LION LEDGER

Promethean Boards are basically like dry erase boards but bigger and better versions that connect to a computer and can be interacted with by teachers and students. They are also known as interactive whiteboards. Each classroom in the school (including the science and of course, computer lab) will be getting a Promethean board.

(In the photo above, Bluffton Elementary School fifth-grader Paula Lusena touches the Smart Board in her science lab classroom, July 17, 2007 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Smart Board operates as an electronic blackboard that allows students and teachers to project and manipulate graphic displays by touching and moving items around on the board).

The computers will be for the computer lab, the laptops for the teachers, and it is planned to get a set of iPads for students to share in the classrooms.

Getting all of this cool new stuff does not just come from a tree and neither does money. Having the opportunity to get all these new electronic devices is a true blessing. Our school applied for grant money and also had many fundraisers. With these funds we were able to pay for the new technology.

Many students are excited about this news. The students of St. Leo really cannot wait until next school year because having class is going to be so much fun!

There are some students who are not so excited about getting this news. You are probably thinking: who wouldn’t be excited? Well… when you think about it, it’s kind of obvious. It’s the eighth graders. They are not excited because they will not be here next year. (Sorry guys).

With the really cool new ways to experience learning with all of this new technology, such as using the Promethean Boards as a replacement for plain-old white boards — or even iPads — this will really make the students enthusiastic about learning and also enhance the different way St. Leo’s students can learn!

by Hiwot Dereje, 6th grade
Associate Editor / THE LION LEDGER

MCT is a joint venture of McClatchy and the Tribune Co.

Have you heard about the whooping cough and wondered if you should be worried about it? Did you know that if you are going to be in 7th or 8th grade next year, you have to get a special shot for it?

(Image: www.eziz.org/new_rule_banner.html)

The whooping cough is a contagious bacterial disease that gets in the respiratory system. Not many kids older than 6 months of birth are affected by the whooping cough but kids 11 to 18 years old can get the whooping cough because their immune system is not as strong as when they were 6 months old or younger.

According to a newsletter from Kaiser Permanente, it is a state law that parents have their child get the booster shot for the whooping cough before going to school. The reason for kids to get the booster shot is to help keep the infection from spreading.

So how do you know if you may have it? The symptoms are a runny nose, low fever, small cough, and sneezing. Next you get coughing spells where you have a cough that last about 2 minutes or more and you may turn blue or purple. Some coughs sound a little hoarse when they start and end with gasping for air or vomiting.

Whooping cough can last usually about 7-10 days but sometimes can last three weeks. If you do get any of these symptoms you need to let your parents know and see a doctor right away to see what they can do to help you.

How do you not get the whooping cough? Always wash your hands for one thing, and make sure you get your booster shot today!

SOURCE: “kidshealth.org— Infections: Whooping Cough (Pertussis)”

by: Jordan Coleman-Stithz, 6th Grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER

The St. Leo’s girls teams in grades 4, 5, and 7 made it to the final round!

All the girls teams made it to the playoffs this year! (Except 8th grade since they didn’t have a team this year). Sadly, 6th grade made it to the last playoff game, but lost to Holy Spirit, 26-32. They did their best though.

Also, the 5th grade lost in the championship against St. Bede, but they made it that far and their coaches were very proud of them.

The 4th and 7th grades won the championships this year! For the 4th grade, it was 19 to 17 against St. Lawrence O’Toole (SLOT) and the 7th grade, it was 51 to 17 against Holy Spirit. Congratulations to the Lady Lions!

by: Cameron Gill, 5th Grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER

It is now the 20th anniversary of that big win. There were many great players on the team like Jason Kidd who’s been in the NBA for 16 years. But did you know that Kirby Harris was also on this awesome team?

Yes, the same Kirby Harris (you may know him as “Coach Kirby”) that coaches the 7th grade boys at St. Leo the Great, CYO champions for 2009 and 2010.

Coach Kirby first started as assistant coach in 2002, when one of his co-workers, Lloyd Facen, parent of a St. Leo student, wanted someone with experience to help out coaching the boys. His team (the Class of 2007) did very well that year, making it to the championships, but unfortunately they lost in triple overtime.

He decided to continue coaching at St. Leo’s after that. “I found that I enjoyed the challenge of teaching basketball,” Coach Kirby said. He’s been coaching at St. Leo for 9 years now! “The students and parents at St. Leo are the best and Mrs. Simril and Coach O (Principal Sonya Simril and Athletic Director Olaf Pollard) are fantastic and very supportive so I come back every year.”

Coach Kirby, obviously, has skills and could probably coach professionally but he never thought about doing it.

“I like coaching CYO because the emphasis is on the players, teaching, working together, and citizenship, whereas to be a professional coach you’re in a business relationship and you have to win at all costs. And that means putting your players after winning and I don’t know that I would like coaching in that environment,” he said.

SJND’s back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992 are an inspiration. The school had only about 450 students and they played against some schools with thousands of students. “It was wonderful to be part of a team that accomplished so much,” he said.

“The best part of being on those teams were the friendships that we formed. I still talk to the guys on the team regularly. I am still friends with Jason Kidd and Kevin Bremond — who was on the team that won the championship in 1992 — has been my assistant coach for the last two years at St. Leo,” Coach Kirby said.

St. Leo’s teams are the only teams Coach Kirby has coached. He has been the head coach of the 7th grade boys basketball team since they were in 3rd grade and also has been an assistant coach for a few of the girls teams. He said he plans to keep coaching after the 7th grade boys graduate next year.

by: Saba Kinfe, 7th grade
Editor / THE LION LEDGER