Spartan Insider Issue 2: December 2010
Ms. Puliafico’s Interview Inside this issue: STEM Kids
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Recipe
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Change Brownie 3 Twin Days
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Community of
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1. What made you decide to become Assistant Principal?
standers feel comfortable and want to help others.
I think it was to make a bigger difference to more students at once, and I couldn't really do that in the classroom.
4. What makes you love being Assistant Principal?
2. Why do you feel that we should have "No Bullying" rules? Everybody should feel happy and safe here at Whitin. 3. What did the "Rachel's Chal-
Caring Fun & Games
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Art & Comics
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Ask Kamal
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Reviews
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lenge" make you feel and want to change? It made me feel hopeful, and it made me want to help by-
I think the excitement that I see in the students and the teachers when they're learning. 5. Is there anything that makes you feel comfortable in your work environment? My sense of humor and the way I can laugh at myself. 6. What's your favorite thing to do at work? Be at lunch duty!
Staff: Kyle Alger Steven Alger Abishek Arokiadoss Courtney Bond Callie Bucchino Lucais Cannalonga Olivia Caldwell Cameron Cyr Brianna Doherty Kyle Gauthier Cailee King Alanis-Lou Langlois Sophie Lynch Jessica Rice Jacob Robbins Matthew Robertson Kamaldeep Sidhu Cassie Snay
Manguito Band
**Bonus!** What do you do special? I know a lot about dogs! By: Cassie Snay
by Ally Langlois, Jessica Rice and Kayte
Rooney
We talked to Mrs. Penza about the Latin American band that performed for us. This is what she told us: they are all from Latin American countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Mrs. Penza told us that she found them through the Young Audience of Massachusetts. Mrs. Penza thought they provided cultural enrichment throughout the state. She also told us that every year she applies for a grant from the
Uxbridge Education Foundation to pay for the groups to come and perform. The last thing Mrs. Penza told us was that she would love to have them come back and perform for us in the future!
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STEMKids Conference By Drew Abbott and Allison Cotter th
On Saturday, October 30 , eleven Whitin Middle School students had the opportunity to attend the STEMKids Conference at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University School in Grafton. The following 7th and 8th grade students were participants: Drew Abbott, Allison Cotter, Cailee King, Lucas Pomeroy, Robert Wondolowski, Jackson Wright, Osvaldo Luna, Mikayla Rooney, Abigail Centrella, Justin Pickering, and David Lozeau. These students were accompanied by the Whitin science teachers, Mrs. Beane and Ms. Daugherty. The STEMKids Conference invited advanced science students to explore a variety of possible science careers for the future. Participants attended three workshops that involved science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (S.T.E.M). One of our group’s favorite workshops was Forensic Science with James Jabbour. Forensic Science examines in-
vestigating crime scenes. One thing we found surprising was that identical twins have the same DNA but different fingerprints. We enjoyed this workshop because it taught us what a forensic scientist does and the many careers available. Another workshop we enjoyed was Electrophysics of Music with Mac Andrews. We learned about the different vibrations and the scales of hearing different tones. This was interesting because it taught us something about what we listen to every day. Later that day, we attended an assembly with a Microsoft Evangelist, Edwin Guerin. He talked about technical jobs and futuristic forms of technology that Mi-
crosoft will be inventing to improve how we communicate. He made this lecture fun and interesting for the whole auditorium by including everyone and showing interesting videos. As a last activity, we created a PowerPoint presentation about our day and how we enjoyed it. All in all, the day was fantastic and everyone learned something new and maybe got a new idea about a possible career path.
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Change Chapter 2 Okay this was too weird. I went up to my room and turned back into myself. Okay it’s just a
dream… I fell asleep when my mom left just pinch yourself and you’ll wake up…
Sadly not true. I reached for my cell to text my friend what happened. Two things stopped me: one) she was in school two) I had a feeling I should show her or she’d think I was delirious and tell my mom. The rest of my day was as boring and uneventful as ever but I still couldn’t get it out of my mind. Honestly who could? I grabbed my journal and wrote about it; getting it off my chest then ripped it out and threw it in the fire my mom made to keep me warm before she left. When I looked out the window later to see if the mouse
A Fiction Story By Sophie Lynch
had lived through its shock the world was covered in a quilt of white sparkling snow. Well, I guess I won’t have to go to school tomorrow either. I noticed a sparrow in a tree I was watching it closely and zoning out while I stared. Next thing I know the sparrow disappears and I’m it. Do I
REALLY want to do this again…? Yeah. I do. I flapped my
wings trying desperately to fly. It’s REALLY hard. I got nowhere. I figured out how to search the sparrow mind and watched its lesson on flying. It wasn’t really a lesson but I sort of watched its instincts and they became a part of me. I flapped my wings but instead of just up and down it was folding on the up stroke and straightening on the down stroke. I was lifted into the air and hovered there for a
while really processing that, wow, I was flying! I was a bird with human intelligence so I figured out how to open the window I flew to the tree in my yard and perched on the highest branch that would hold me. The bird was super hyper and scared; at every noise of movement I fought the urge to flee. Then a huge winged shadow passed over me and I panicked. I heard a hawk’s cry. My first reaction was to fly but the human part of my new the hawk was much, much faster. So I changed. I am so stupid! The branch could barely hold the sparrow never mind me! I fell into the snow in nothing but my pj’s. I got up sputtering; snow filled my mouth and stuck to my face. I walked into my house and sat in front of the fire.
Then a question occurred to me which I should’ve thought of before. Were there any others? What’s happening and why? (I honestly hadn’t thought of that before.) How was I supposed to find out? I couldn’t use the computer. (Yeah, like I’d find anything! Sarcastically.) My mom checks the history and she would ground me for life if I erased it. She doesn’t want anybody bullying me to the point where I’d end up like that girl on the news. Did a radioactive spider bite me? Struck by lightning? No, I think I’d remember that… Then again, I did just turn 13…could that have something to do with it?
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Twin Days Hi, my name is Sara, when I was seven I found out that I had a twin! Her name is Megan. We both look identical, because we both have brown hair, green eyes, big cheeks, and crooked teeth. It was like looking in a mirror! Megan went to Hawaii when we were born. Ever since we met we have spent every second together. The only thing that’s different about us is that she can tell the future and I can go back in time, so if I get a bad grade on a test I can go back in time and do it over. She can look in the future so if she wants to know something that’s going on tomorrow she can see it. The only bad thing is that she knows that she is going to die when she is 39. I tell her not to get her hopes up too far. But the best thing is that we are twins! Written by Jessica Rice
Community of Caring: Trash Pick-Up Day On Sunday, October 24, the Community of Caring did the Blackstone Valley river way trash pick up. The event took place on River Road next to Little Texas. Uxbridge was not the only school participating in this event; a Mendon school and a Northbridge school were there picking up trash, too. Mendon and Northbridge started to pick up trash down one end, and we started down the other end then we would meet up in the middle. There were about 10-15 kids from the Community of Caring and about three adults helping, too. Mrs. Clifford and Ms. Puliafico were there helping to clean the environment, too. When we finished cleaning, we went over to Riverbend Farm to have pizza and soda. They also gave everyone who helped clean up a free T-shirt. It was a team effort the way everyone came together to help clean. It was a very productive day. I hope that the clean up helped us get one step closer to saving the polar bears and the ozone. By Kayte Rooney
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Fun Games Across
4. Newest song is a year without rain Down 1. California Gurls 2. One of her hits is Tik Tok 3. Short and 16 5. She has two lives
S I O L G N A L Y L L A Y X R Y E N O O R E T Y A K H A V O B I J F P L A O S V E H N A S R E G L A N E V E T S I S W O K Y L E A L G E R K L A E V U A D F X C Z U V L X H U I J X F R J G F N I G C O R F S K E C O U R T N E Y B O N D S E T J E S S I C A R I C E Y A M Q G Z X Z S E Y R T G L C C U M
ALLY LANGLOIS COURTNEY BOND CASSIE SNAY
JESSICA RICE
KAYTE ROONEY KYLE ALGER
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Art and Comics
by Matthew Robertson
Hailey Muggeo
By Steven Alger
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Ask Kamal Dear Kamal, I am doing really bad in school because all I do is play video games. I feel like I don’t do good in school because all I do is play video games. I feel that if I don’t do good in video games then no one will like me, and I also feel that if I do good in school then all my friends will make fun of me. So what should I do? Answer: Well, if you think about it, playing video games will not get you anywhere in life. Studying and trying your best in school could get you into the college you want to go to or a really good
job that pays well. Without these things you could end up living with your parents forever playing video games. Your friends making fun of you doesn’t really matter, but you can stop them. You don’t have to tell them your grades just keep it to yourself, and just because you go home do your homework and then play video games doesn’t mean you won’t make it to the next level in Call of Duty. The rest is up to what you want to do with your life.
fight with the other one. What should I do? Answer: You shouldn’t get in-between it and if they tell you to, just simply say I don’t want to get inbetween it. Also, try to ignore them when they talk bad about the other. Most importantly, don’t favor one over the other. If you do, you could lose a friendship.
Kamaldeep Kaur Sidhu
Dear Kamal, My two best friends are fighting, and they want me to get in-between and
Attention all Writers, Artists, and Computer Freaks!!! We are looking for drawings, stories, and fun games/ websites. So in the cafeteria, by the windows, we have a yellow box for submissions to put into the newspaper. If you have talent for writing or drawing, we’d love to see it! Contact Ms. Roche for more information about these submissions. So please submit your drawings or stories in the box, and you might have your submission in the next Spartan Insider!!!
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Reviews of the month This Month’s Movie Review By Cameron Cyr
Mega Mind is played by Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and David Cross. This movie, directed by Tom McGrath, wants families to carry away some important messages from a PG– rated movie. A Lex Luthor-like villain named Mega Mind (voice by Will Ferrell of “Elf”) challenges a Superman-like hero (voice by Brad Pitt of “Fight Club”) and is attracted to a Lois Lane-like reporter (voice by Tina Fey of “Date Night”). During the colorful tale, MegaMind finds no joy in conquering his enemies. He just feels lonely and depressed. “We all have choices in life,” McGrath said during a telephone interview to promote “MegaMind,” which opened on November 5. Ultimately, the takeaway from the film is that it’s never too late to change your ways and never too late to make the right choices. This Month’s Video Game Review By Jacob Robbins This week’s video game review is based around the game Star Wars: The Force Unleash. If you like Star Wars and game play that keeps you standing and moving your arms like you’re playing the Wii, this is for you. The game is based around “StarKiller” Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. During the clone wars, your objective is to destroy Vader’s enemies without being discovered. This game offers a variety of light saber colors. The enemies in this game are pretty decent foes. If you are like most people, you won’t want an enemy who is gone with four hits. In this case there are four difficulties. The easiest one is apprentice, in this one there are no decent foes. In the second one, there are some decent ones here and there. Now the third one is the way Star Wars is supposed to be played with people who don’t take no for an answer. Finally, the fourth one is called Sith Lord. In this mode, the storm troopers are as tough as the Jedi, and the Jedi are like facing Vader. This game is sold at WalMart, GameStop, and Target. It is already out, so enjoy and have FUN!
This Month’s Book Review By Steven Alger
Al Capone Does My Shirts/Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko. It’s 1935.
Moose Flanagan lives on Alcatraz with his family, the other families of the guards, and a few hundred no-name hit men, con men, mad dog murderers and a handful of bank robbers, too. One of those cons has just done him a big favor. You see, Moose has never met Al Capone, but a few weeks ago Moose wrote a letter to him asking him to use his influence to get his sister, Natalie, into a school she desperately needs in San Francisco. After Natalie got accepted, a note appeared in Moose’s freshly laundered shirt that said: Done. As this book begins, Moose discovers a new note. This one says: Your turn. Is it really from Capone? What does it mean? Moose can’t risk anything that might get his dad fired. But how can he ignore Al Capone?