Kidsday: Learning to play the bagpipes
Some people play the piano, others play the flute, and still others the drums, but I play the bagpipes.
I play this unusual instrument with the Glor na nGael, a band (glornangael.com) that marches in parades all over Long Island and New York City. Bagpipes are very complicated instruments, so most people start by playing the chanter, which is similar to a recorder, to learn where the fingers go and to learn the tunes. As you become more proficient on the chanter, you are given harder tunes to play.
When you can play most tunes well, the pipes are introduced. To march in a parade, memorizing all the music is a must; there are no music stands on a parade route. I have been playing the chanter for about six months, and can play several tunes, such as "Danny Boy" and "Amazing Grace." Hopefully, I will soon be ready for the pipes. The band practices every Monday at the Lynbrook Knights of Columbus. If you are interested, come on over.
Babysitting for Bryn
Babysitting for Bryn is a program designed to give students the opportunity to help people with Down syndrome. It was started in 2011 by an eighth-grade girl from Rockville Centre, Michaela Hulbert.
She was looking for a way kids could help other kids with special needs. She knew a young girl, Bryn Kirley, who was born with Down syndrome. Bryn goes to a school known as ACDS, the Association for Children with Down Syndrome, in Plainview. Michaela started donating her baby-sitting money to the school, and has expanded the program by encouraging other kids to do the same.
Through donations, the sale of Babysitting for Bryn bracelets, and profits from selling food and drinks at Rockville Centre sporting events, the kids have raised more than $2,500. Babysitting for Bryn is an example of how kids like you can help others in need. It can be as simple as skipping a snack at lunch and donating the money, or offering to do chores for your family and neighbors and giving the money you earn to a charitable organization. It doesn't take much for kids to make a difference. I think Michaela and Babysitting for Bryn are great examples of that.
--Kidsday Reporter Grace Cullen
Three more funny ones
A pony goes to the doctor and says, "I think I'm sick."
Doctor: What's wrong?
Pony: I'm a little horse.
What do you call fake pasta?
An impasta.
How did the hammer head do on his test?
He nailed it.
--Julian Mercante
CLASS OF THE WEEK: Clara Villani's students, BROTHER JOSEPH C. FOX LATIN SCHOOL, KELLENBERG, Uniondale
