With countless deaths and over ten thousand missing, fear and devastation are streaming through Japan. On March 11, Sendai was hit with a 9.1 earthquake followed by over 300 aftershocks that could be felt by the citizens of Tokyo, nearly 200 miles away.  

Minutes after the earthquake, a 30 foot wall of water slammed into the coast causing more damage as it pushed houses from their foundations and swept cars and boats away as if they were toys.  

After the flood waters began to recede, the true devastation became clear. A nuclear power plant on the North Coast of Honshu was damaged and is currently overheating. In a last-ditch attempt to cool the radioactive core, sea water was hauled in and poured into the reactor. Teams of employees, including the famous Fukushima 50, the  first wave of workers to reenter the plant, has been working tirelessly to restore power and reengage the central cooling system.  

The emperor of Japan has released a message to his people saying to not give up hope and to stay strong. As they battle diminishing resources, the people of Japan are forced to salvage what they can. Food and water are scarce, and trucks carrying stock and supplies are often deterred by damaged roads. Amazingly, the people of Japan have maintained their compassion; coupled with every report of devastation is a story of humanitarian understanding and respect.

Two of Mable's fifth grade girls had an idea to help the people of Japan.  What if they put piggy banks in each classroom?  Would people contribute enough money to fill them?  After talking with their mothers, Alyssa Goh and Nathalie Song put together a plan and presented it to Mrs. Calabria.   

On Thursday, March 24, banks and fliers were distributed to every classroom on Mable Campus.  Posters, made by the girls, went up in the well-traveled areas, like the library. Their goal?  To end up with $1 per student.  Judging from the enthusiastic response from students and teachers alike, they will have much more to present to the American Red Cross to benefit Japanese relief efforts. Banks will be collected on Thursday March 31. This is citizenship in action, and we are proud to say these girls are a part of our Fairmont Community.

Article contributor: Mrs. Marla Kuka, 5th grade teacher 

Listed below are the Mable second trimester honor roll receipients.  We are very proud of these students and offer our sincere congratulations.   

4th Grade Honor Roll

Riya Beri

Brandon Byon

Jamie Chang

Brandon Chao

Jacqueline Chen

Jenny Han

Lauren Ju

Emma Kailiponi

Daryuish Khashayar

Lina Kim

Kyle Kishimoto

Rebecca Lee

Vivian Ly

Malina Sekhon

Jeevika Singh

Sarah Sporn

Nicole Tabio

Dayne Tran

Taylor Tran

4th Grade Director's Honor Roll

Ariana Chow

Brianna Dinn

Audrey Hsu

Mei Johnson

Tiffany Kao

Joseph Kim

Joyce Kim

Samantha Oh

Ethan Pham

Emaad Razzak

Raj Sawhney

Stephanie Su

Stephanie Yeo

Savana Zand

5th Grade Honor Roll

Vivek Bansil

Ethan Eils

Alyssa Goh

Madeline Gorrie

Lauren Kang  

Kira La Scola

Adnan Lebada

Nicole Nguyen

Sophia Ota

Tejal Patel

Kayla Shikina

Lina Song

Nathalie Song

Samantha Tan

Darsh Thakker

Rhiston Yu

5th Grade Director's Honor Roll

Ashley Ahn

Sahej Chawla

Matthew Dam

Alexis Duke

Victoria Feng

Adnan Ismail

Michael Kao

Caleb Lee

Michelle Lee

Samuel Lin

Morgan Lui

Tammie Nguyen

Isabel Shiao

Gurveer Singh

Christopher Su

Lauren Tran

Yasmin Veys

6th Grade Honor Roll

Han Chin

Justine Guzman

Bernard Kim

Ethan Ko

Ronik Kothari

Jyothii Kulasingam

Lulin Liu

Victoria Nguyen

Jessica Pan

Ethan Phan

McKenna Sainburg

Caroline Yeo

Alec Zhu

6th Grade Director's Honor Roll

Justin Ahn

Justin Chang

Ejay Cho

Tara Falt

Alison Oh

Leena Surapaneni

Iris Wu 

Thursday, April 7
6:00pm - 7:30pm   
           
Fairmont Edgewood Campus
12421 Newport Avenue
Santa Ana, CA

iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, Droids...I'm Lost
Today, cell phones do so much more than make phone calls and send text messages, but how do we know which of the thousands of apps are actually worth downloading? And once they're downloaded, how do we use them? Join Bob Cohen, Smartphone expert and esteemed technology coach, for an interactive workshop to learn how to make the most of these new technologies.

RSVP at www.fairmontschools.com/chalktalks