The Rambler Harvey Middle School’s Official Newsletter Issue 3, Volume 6
By Sarah Fisher Every year in the spring, the whole school participates in our annual Poetry Contest. This year the contest took place through videos. The winner was Beatrix Mackil (right) in the 6th grade. She recited the poem “Lines Written In Early Spring” by William Wordsworth. Every year in the winter, the whole school participates in our annual Speech Contest. Usually, one person wins in middle school, but this year there were three winners. The winners were Ryan Byrne , Maeve Lazzaro, and Sarah Fisher. Ryan’s speech was about creativity, Maeve’s about the importance of self-care, and Sarah’s about education for girls. (Continued on page 2)
The middle school speech contest Middle Schoolers Win Speech Contest Written by Isabella Wang From January to the end of March, there was a speech contest in the middle school. This contest contained a bunch of speeches where people showed their opinions. With this, there were three winners; one for each grade (6th, 7th, & 8th). These winners were Sarah Fisher, Maeve Lazzaro, and Ryan Byrne. However, this article will not be about them, but about their speeches. Here are the short summaries of the winning speeches: “I Believe” (Sarah): From what the speech was about, Sarah was talking about how girls should have education. Some women around the world don’t get education and some are fighting for it, as Sarah said in her speech. In her speech, it mentioned Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, and Sarah talked about how Malala was fighting for education and how she still is. As the speech continued on, Sarah pointed out the benefits of having women be educated, which includes being able to “problem solve, having more social skills, think more critically, and being less likely to be discriminated against”. The main message of the speech was to spread awareness to women about the problem about female education and to be able to change it eventually. A quote from Sarah that she said in the interview was, “I wanted people to realize how important education is.”
“Self Care” (Maeve): There are days when we are stressed. Maeve’s speech talks about how important it is to take care of yourself on those days. It is really important to take off a part of our days to relax. Maeve talks about how it’s fine to not be able to hang around people all the time and say no when you need time by yourself. She also talks about how you should use your alone time with doing whatever makes you the most happy and relaxed like listening to music. In Maeve’s speech, she includes how exercising also helps you with your stress. As she says, “People really need to realize that taking time for yourself makes yourself better for others because you are in the right mindset and relaxed.” “Creativity” (Ryan): In Ryan’s speech, he talks about how hard it is to be able to have all of that for art, but at the same time, shows some techniques of how to. From the speech, being able to be creative is a choice. It has benefits, but it is extremely hard to do original art. However, from what Ryan said, the original art you make from your creativity and imagination will make you care more about it, so if you work hard and care enough, your original art will at least be treasured by you. The last thing he said in his speech was that to be able to make original art, you have to use your own mind and references instead of the internet. As Ryan says, “The only way to achieve that is by throwing away the internet and taking creativity and imagination by the hand and using those skills you’ve developed and create a reference from life that is raw and emotional, that has beauty, and has soul, because only then you can put something you care about and that matters, down on the canvas.”
1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
4. Vicimus - We won
2. Take your own route, not the route everyone is taking.
3. A triangle has three sides, three angles, and three vertices.
6. What has four legs 5. BEEP but no body? BOP CLINK CLANK BOOP
7. Believe that you can and 8. Security is 9. The markings of the ones knowing you're you're who were halfway there not alone
last here
Our Rotten Town
by Katya Stephens
When you write an adaptation of some of the most iconic and notable plays, it’s really easy to mess up. But since it's an adaptation, there are some connections, references, and jokes about the original text that you need to understand. In the play, there are five Shakespeare plays in a one act play. King Lear, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. Sort of a mashup of all the plays. Another thing you need to understand is that the general shape of the play is Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’, just with Shakespeare characters. So without further ado, explanations of the connections and references of ‘Our Rotten Town. OthelloIn the plot of the original Shakespeare play, Othello is a general for the Venetian army. He is in love with a young girl named Desdemona. The two are secretly married behind Desdemona’s father's back. Another man Iago is upset at Othello for promoting someone else so he plots to put a strain on the marriage between Desdemona and Othello. All I can say without spoiling it is that a handkerchief is involved in the process. Romeo and JulietAlthough you may know the general plot of this play, there are some empty pieces I need to fill out for you. So, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet come from each other's rival families. And one day, the Capulet family decided to throw a masquerade. Romeo and his friends decide to go to the masquerade ball where Romeo sees Juliet and is immediately in love. Star-crossed lovers blah blah blah and an ultimate death. You know the deal. HamletOne of Shakspeares’s most notable plays is Hamlet. To understand the play you need to know the background of it. Hamlet's father gets an “ear infection” and ultimately dies. So Hamlet’s uncle Claudius steps into the role as King of Denmark. When the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him, he goes mentally ill on a quest to avenge his father which pretty much leads to the death of everyone. King LearAlthough he only appears briefly in ‘Our Rotten Town’ his story is important to his appearance. In the story, King Lear divides the kingdom between two of his three daughters that flattered him, and then banished the third one who loved him but was simple about showing it. And when the two older daughters reject him at their home’s he goes insane and walks through a storm. MacbethIn the story of Macbeth, the brave scottish general, Macbeth, receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become the king of Scotland. When his wife, Lady Macbeth, empowers him to fulfill the prophecy, he kills the king and soon, he becomes the king. Paranoid, he kills anyone in his path who could possibly get in his way, causing a civil war to overthrow him. More and more people die and bodies pile up in the Shakespearean pit. This is all a long winded way of saying that almost nobody survived this play. So sit back, relax, and enjoy, ‘Our Rotten Town’.
Photos by Ms. Lombardi
Interview with Mr. Morgan
=================================== Interviewed and edited by Beatrix Mackil
What is your favorite Shakespearean tragedy? - Oh, Macbeth is my favorite, and here’s why. When I was in English, I used to always watch the movie for every book. Until I got Macbeth. And I loved the challenge of first translating it into language I could understand, then I really loved the story of this anti-hero, this guy who you think is the lead, a good guy, but he ends up being bad. What is your favorite character in this play? - Hm, I might have to be biased and say Romeo, because I played Romeo. But I do like all the characters, the stage managers are really awesome, in action. I remember the stage managers can actually do a lot, maybe not on the page, but in the big picture it is really fun, the energy that a stage manager can bring. Have you ever been in a Shakespearean tragedy? - I was in Othello as Rodrigo, I played Graciano in The Merchant of Venice, I was Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, yeah, those are the three that I’ve been in. What surprised you most in auditions? - The sixth grade entirely, I’d say. I think at auditions, the ability for people who I’d never met to be able to cold-read something so naturally, and be able to just add so much character on the spot without ever having seen the script before. That surprised me. What color do you think Desdemona’s hair should be? - I think Desdemona should have blue hair, because it gives that feeling of rebellious youth. I think that a lot of Shakespeare's characters are rebellious youth. The bluer, the better! How do you feel about Our Town/Thornton Wilder? - I saw our town once, it was good, not one of my favorite plays. It makes a good play to spoof.
& by Amani Carty DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO TRAVEL, SO
I ASKED
AROUND THE SCHOOL IF THERE WAS NOT; IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
WE ALSO ASKED "WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET, IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE?"
SPRING SPORTS By Sarah Fisher Volleyball In volleyball, everyone has definitely had a lot of fun so far. Coaches are Denis Arautovic and Cece Belcher. Students have learned a lot of different things, like how to spike, how to throw a perfect pass, how to stand athletically, how to set up the net, how to form their hands to get a good hit, how to set, and finally how to have good teamwork. At the beginning of each practice, students practice a couple of skills like quick reflexes and passing the ball. Students also watch videos of pro-volleyball players playing. The coaches do this to explain the game and demonstrate skills that professional volleyball players have. Sometimes at the end of practice the coaches let the students do a scrimmage to practice teamwork and the way to stand.To conclude, everyone has had a lot of fun in volleyball! Baseball Every day in baseball the students warm up by running around the field. Then, everyone practices their passing skills with a partner. The coaches for baseball are Mr. Bellucci and Mr. Fink. So far, the group have played one scrimmage against each other. But mostly they practice skills to become better and more improved players. As they continue on they will practice more skills and learn more of what’s needed to be a great player. Baseball sounds like a fun sport to try!
Cross Country In cross country all the students warm up by stretching out their muscles to be prepared for a long run. Then they start running around the school. In between running, everyone stops to take breaks and drink water. Everyone runs at their own speed and has a good time. At the end of practice everyone meets up to stretch again, to get themselves loose. If you think you would enjoy cross country, let Mr. Delaney, Mr. Plasket, and Ms. Matero know.
Photos by Mr. Bellucci and Talya Langer
by Ava Pfluger
1 cup salted butter* softened 1 cup white (granulated) sugar 1 cup brown sugar (is suggested but normal sugar works too) Mix 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 large eggs Mix 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Mix in Slowly
Extra: do these for extra fun Add 2 cups chocolate chips Roll them into balls and then dip them in sprinkles Add crushed up Oreos Add vanilla chips Add chocolate and vanilla chips Add food dye Whatever you think would taste good!
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Ladidi Abdul-Wahab Lee Birch Amani Carty Elan Coutroulis Natalie Delessio Sarah Fisher Riley Franck Helen Katis Eli Klagsbrun Editors : Gillian Klares Amani Carty
Emery LaGattuta Talya Langer Beatrix Mackil Ava Pfluger Nick Ritenis Katya Stephens Eva Veneable Isabella Wang Luke Weidner Eva Wilkerson
Beatrix Mackil Isabella Wang Ava Pfluger Photography: Amani Carty, Sarah Fisher, Talya Langer, Beatrix Mackil, Ava Pfluger Faculty advisor: Dr. Moser
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Rambler Staff
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by Eli Klagsbrun