Volume 6, Number 1
Spring 2014
Inside this Edition Featured Stories..........................1 Middle School Scoop ..............12 Charitable Contributions.........16 Travel Guide..............................17 Opinion......................................20 Arts and Entertainment...........22 Randomness..............................26 Foodtastic..................................27 L33T Gamer..............................28 Tech Bytes.................................29 Sports..........................................30 Art Corner.................................34 Student Spotlight......................36 Comics........................................39 Last Word..................................40
What happened to the Music Program? Page 8
A New Swampscott Elementary School By Ben - Grade 7 and Odin - Grade 6 The idea of a constructing new elementary school was proposed by members of the Swampscott School Building Committee in 2013 in response to the severe physical conditions in the current elementary schools, such as unstable walls, floors, and ceilings. These conditions have Photo: Swampscott School Building Project March Presentation greatly hindered the education of k-4 stuschools - Hadley, Stanley, Clarke - for a dents; students have even been forced to total of around 635 students in grades 1 evacuate or school has been abruptly through 4. Students in Preschool and closed for unexpected repairs. The proKindergarten will go to Clarke. The Hadposed new elementary school is designed ley will be given to the town, allowing for (Continued on page 4) to hold all the students from the current
Slanted Views The Great Economic Debate: Communism Unmasked
By Tenley - Grade 8 In my opinion, political parties have made a mockery of the “values” to which they supposedly held so dearly. Morals have become of an entire party, not just to an individual, making the idea of a decision made alone far-fetched. As time progresses, being a singular
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person with one’s own mind has become a rarity. In a classroom setting, this theory is transparent demonstrated through the child who can’t write a sentence without looking towards the teacher for approval. The biggest execution of a singular group controlling peo-
ple’s beliefs subconsciously in America today is with our political parties and media. The first time I heard the phrase “communism” was in 2008, when Barack Obama was running for President, and Republicans reacted by calling Obama a communist. I assumed it was negative, since it had come from the other party. When did our political system turn into a game of chess? Why had I grown up, learning instead
of the political parties being used to assist and support each other, they were there only to slam each other? Was this what our founding fathers envisioned when they started our country? Nonetheless, I immediately believed that since Republicans had used it against Barack Obama, it must mean communism was a terrible thing. I couldn’t believe Republicans could slay (Continued on page 3)
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Swampscott Middle School 207 Forest Ave. Swampscott, MA 01907 www.swampscott.k12.ma.us Advisors Ms. Paine Mr. Lewis Staff Writers Grade 5: Nick, Morgan, Ava, Ella, Abigail, and Aislinn Grade 6: Jack, Tyler, Maanik, Joel, Odin, Ronin, and Ciara Grade 7: Alessandra, Isaac, Ben, Ian, Harry, Lori, Annie, Meredith, and Michelle Grade 8: Tenley Logo Design Noah (alumni), modified by Wyatt (alumni) Additional artwork supplied c/o Mrs. Harris’ 2013/2014 art classes
Photo: Ms. Paine
Comment? Praise? Question? Let us know! atlanticcompass@swampscott.k12.ma.us
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him with such an evil term. I truly didn’t understand the term communist. In deeper research, I understood a communistic society to be one which attempts equality. Communism operates on the idea that everyone in a society would receive equal shares of the benefits from labor. It was created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as a mechanism to support the poor so that they could receive the same economic and social status equal to the middle class. In the late 19th century, communism began to develop in Russia, since many workers felt exploited by the current political system. With communism, the wealth was redistributed so that the rich were brought to the middle class. T h e thought of an equal society did appeal to me in many ways. I couldn’t help but admire the fact that for once something wouldn’t be driven by money and greed; elements all too powerful in today's world. I mean, by no means was it perfect. In order for communism to work, all mean of production are controlled by the state, which gives a small group of people too much power, in my opinion. However, the concept did not hold all the evils I thought it would. It was my first realization the information I was being exposed to wasn’t the whole truth. The newspapers, the TV, everything,
The Atlantic Compass was giving me a slanted view. Freedom of speech held a new meaning for me. I was allowed to say what I wanted, yes, but whether my message would ever be heard or if I would even understand the message of which I was communicating was doubtful. All that I could be sure of is the fact the majority of people would make their “decision” to agree or disagree based on what their party's stance on my idea was. Our refusal to accept outsider's assistance and ideas has become a toxic, raging problem, which is
ideas cling to the political parties as if for life, until other people's beliefs become their own. They become reliant on others for their thinking. Even the savviest people begin adopting other people's ideas, projecting the idea people of a certain political party must believe one way and people from the other, an-
other. But to what cost are the parties and government willing
Sketch: Mrs. Harris
greatly affecting our nation today. Perhaps, if people spent less time working to find a problem with other's solutions and more time on working towards the solution, our country would already be stronger. The main division of parties was started by ignorance. When something awful is occurring in our country, such as unemployment rates rising or the U.S. digging deeper into debt, people search for who to blame. Those not strong enough to form their own
to keep these barriers in place for? Think about it. I highly doubt all republicans support pro-life and all democrats support pro-choice, yet if they announced their differing stance from their party, they might as well be exiled. We are being hidden from so much, and we form “views” and “opinions”. Yet, how educated are we when we are making our decisions? How much are we being hidden from that is affecting how we see the
3 world? I feel as though we are blindly making conjectures and standing for different causes that we may not even understand. How many people held up “Obama is a communist” signs without knowing what communist meant. How many people, like I, we offended by such a hideous term without understanding what the campaign even meant. We are under a cloud of ignorance, yet, usually, instead of informing ourselves, we accept the fastest answer and continue on with out lives. How many of our views would change if we saw the whole picture, or had no party telling us what we are supposed to believe? H o w many people can honestly say they understand what is truly happening with Russia and the Ukraine right now? When a vote was conducted, the majority of people in Crimea voted they wished to join Russia. The U.S. is debating whether or not to step in, believing the voting may have been forged. Yet, if one is to ask a citizen of Crimea he/she would most likely reply he/ she would like Russia to adopt them. Still, and understandably, the U.S. is scared of Putin viewing his capture of Crimea as an opening to take any other European nations. Many fear if Russia takes over Crimea, who is to say they cannot take other nations? What if their power (Continued on page 4)
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only keeps growing in the world? How concerned are we about the citizens' of Crimea's rights, versus The United States' stance as a world power? Putin could gain an immense amount of power, and it could be dangerous to have one country (Elementary continued from page 1)
many possibilities. Since the idea of a new school was introduced, many townspeople have discussed their concerns and issues in the public forums hosted by the building committee. Some concerns in particular are traffic, what
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host that many territorial leaderships as well as financial abilities. Before reaching decisions and beliefs, we need to perform research of our own, keeping an open mind all the while. Out politics need to stop being a game of tug of war; we are all one nation
and should be working towards the bettering of our country not the destruction of our own people. No matter what stance one takes in a situation, they should be able to back up their thoughts, and not simply accept other beliefs as their own. When we can form our
own ideas, questions, opinions, and no longer fear the rejection of political parties', family's, friends' nor anyone else's acceptance, and have done extensive research on causes we wish to promote views on, then we will be a nation which flourishes on truth and justice.
will happen to the old schools, and the overall idea of change. Although traffic is a large issue, it also carries the least emotional value. Townspeople are also worried about what will happen to the old schools, because many have positive memories from their own time
there. The overall idea of change has people worried because they are unsure of what will happen and how it will affect them and their children. On the positive side, construction of a new school is estimated to be far cheaper than renovating the current schools and will
greatly improve the education of future students. In order to get a complete understanding of the situation we interviewed members of the Swampscott School Building Committee and Swampscott Public Schools’ Superintendent. Our first interview involved the Superintendent, Ms. Angelakis. It was important to determine what initially prompted discussions to create a new school and what is wrong with our current buildings. Ms. Angelakis stated that, “It all started because of the age of our buildings, Hadley is over a century old, Stanley is around 85 years old, and Clarke is 62.” Ms. Angelakis also informed us that there is an opportunity with the state to submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) if you feel your buildings are in disrepair and you need them to be rebuilt or construct a new school with a large amount of money given by the state of Massachusetts. It was also important to discover what the overall benefit of building a new school was versus improving the old ones. What will be the specific benefits to students? Ms. Angelakis said that “They would have the educational spaces we (Continued on page 5) Photo: SSBC April Traffic Report
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should want in a 21st century school. For example, there is no place to create a STEM learning center, and there would be in a new school building.” Through further discussion, a timeline was produced. If the Town of Swampscott voted to fund the new school this fall, construction would begin immediately and end in 2017, opening for school that fall. A critical question involving middle school stu-
school students and families, but it is not something we have discussed in detail.” Many staff members who currently work at the elementary schools are most likely concerned about their jobs, since the plan would be to take the three schools and condense them into one. Ms. Angelakis stated that no one would be cut, but if someone retired, a new person might not be hired for that position. The new elementary school will have a
dents was understanding how the construction will affect middle school students, teachers, and nearby residents. The plans showcased by the School Building Committee show that the parking lots, back fields, and nearby streets will be affected. What does this mean for getting to school in the morning and leaving in the afternoon? Ms. Angelakis addressed concerns by explaining, “In terms of coordinating with facilities around here, we would hope it would be the least intrusive to the current middle
Principal and Vice Principal, and the new Early Childhood Center, located at the Clarke School, will have a Principal. Our second interview was with Joe Crimmins, Chairman, and Glenn Paster, of the Swampscott School Building Committee. Discussion with them provided more construction and location facts. It was critical to discover how they narrowed down the options to building a new school behind the Swampscott Middle School instead of renovating the current schools from a more
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technical perspective. Mr. Crimmins and Mr. Paster explained that, “We started by looking at all the options from renovating to rebuilding. We looked at what the cost would be in all the different options, and also looked at what we would need to do to comply with new state laws of renovation. And after analyzing all the option from an educational, financial, and feasible perspective, we concluded that a completely new ele-
5 bedrock that would take extensive blasting and dynamite to work through before construction could even begin. This would be greatly disruptive to the surrounding neighborhood. Other important question asked involved townspeople’s opinions at the forums. Mr. Crimmins and Mr. Paster said that opinions were positive overall, but there were a few financial problems, leading to an additional question of how will
Photo: Swampscott School Building Project March Presentation
mentary school was the best solution for the poor conditions at the current ones.” As for why they chose the middle school area instead of somewhere else like the Stanley school site, they claimed that it was better to build near the middle school because it had several entrances and exits that could help with the increase of cars and traffic in the area, and clearing the Stanley site could make more room for town sports fields. It was also interesting to hear that the Stanley site had a lot of
construction affect taxpayers. It is shocking to discover that renovation of the current schools would cost around 20 million dollars more than construction of one new school. A hardship felt by taxpayers in the two would be that they have to pay $550 a year in addition to normal taxes for around 20 to 30 years, however this is still cheaper than renovation, since Swampscott would only be paying for about 60% of all the costs and the State of Massachu(Continued on page 6)
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(Elementary continued from page 5)
setts would be paying for the rest. If Swampscott chose to instead renovate the schools, the State would not pay for any of it, and the taxpayers would be paying a lot more per year. Mr. Crimmins and Mr. Paster were clear that they
feel it is important that everyone is aware that the longer we wait to do something about the schools, the more expensive it will become, and student education would not be what it could be. They believe that Swampscott is in the best position possible to build a
new school since the town has been approved by the State for additional funding, which took years to achieve. Despite all the facts, there are still many mixed opinions on the subject. There will be several more public forums by the Swampscott School Building Committee,
Spring 2014 and the townspeople will all vote this Fall on the proposal. It is important that all voters are educated on the facts involved, and weigh the benefits and disadvantages of the new school proposal before voting.
A New Swampscott Elementary School: A Teacher / Parent View By Ian - Grade7 Ms. Bucklin 2nd Grade Teacher Ms. Bucklin is a second grade teacher at Hadley school. She believes that the condition of the Hadley school building right now is “pretty grim” and that it is not in good condition right now. Recently the Hadley was closed for a day due to needing emergency roof repairs. Her classroom was extensively affected by rain that came in through the ceiling, causing everything in the room needing to be moved around quickly. Ceiling tiles fell and the floor bucked as a result of water coming into the room. Ms. Bucklin also explained that the Hadley school does not have good wiring and wireless internet connections because the school was not originally built to support them. She feels sad about leaving Hadley because she has been teaching there for a long time, but she would be excited to move to a new
building and says “it would be great for the teachers to share resources and to have an updated building that we could do a lot more with. It would be nice to collaborate more with your colleagues from around the district” Ms. Bucklin thinks that the challenges at the school will be to still create a small school feeling through pods or groups, while still working as one large school. Ms. Bucklin is looking forward to walking in a school that is safe, but will miss the Hadley. “The Hadley is like my home, so it is like moving out of a home you grew up in. It is the first building I started at, and I’ve been teaching there a long time. It’s a charming school, and I would miss the charm of the building, but not all of the problems that go along with the building. So it’s like moving into a bigger and better home, but when you leave your home its still sad, because you leave memories and little things like that behind.”
Ms. Bucklin Elementary School Parent Ms. Bucklin currently has children in the middle and elementary schools. If the new school proposal goes through, she will have at least one child at the new elementary school. She said that the new school would affect her child by giving her opportunities that “she wouldn’t have in the buildings now”, such as up-todate technology that is wirelessly connected. She thinks that losing “the small school feeling” is a bad thing, and that many parents are concerned about how kids will be able to “foster friendships and make close friends” with 160 students per grade. It is important to her and other parents that the principal knows all of their students. C o n trary to many other parents, Ms. Bucklin is not concerned about a possible traffic issue, “traffic could be a problem, but in the scheme of things, we’re not that
large of a town that it’s going to be crazy.” She believes the staggered release time between the middle school and the elementary school will help. Overall, Ms. Bucklin is in favor of building a new school. She wants a new building so that “our kids can learn and our teachers can teach and have an atmosphere that is conducive to learning in the new age we are coming into. We want to be technology savvy, we want to be able to provide the best that we can. And when you’re looking at a town like this, we should be able to provide those opportunities for our kids.”
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Student Opinions of the Proposed Elementary Five students undertook the difficult process of investigating the proposed building of a new elementary school. These students - Ben (grade 7), Ian (grade 7), Odin (grade 6), Ciara (grade 6), and Joel (grade 6) - interviewed members of the Swampscott School Building Committee - Joe Crimmins and Glenn Paster, Swampscott Schools Superintendent - Pamela Angelakis, and a Hadley teacher and parent - Ms. Bucklin. These students thoughtfully composed questions for the interviews and discussed the results following each meeting. Here are their views towards the building of a new elementary school as a result of gathering a variety of information from the interviews, online news articles, and publicly available documents presented at previous school building forums. - Ms. Paine ODIN While repairing the buildings are to hard, a new elementary school sounds reasonable. However, I think it should be relocated away from the middle school. This is because regardless of how many roads and entries they put in, I believe that traffic will be horrendous. Speaking from observations, another reason is a majority of the middle school students are bad role models for younger kids. Finally, if they are getting money to build a new school then they should have enough to fire a librarian for the Middle School. But this is just my opinion. However, with each interview, my view did change on the new school being built next to ours. However, I’m still skeptical for reasons in which I explained. IAN At first, I thought the new school was a big waste of money. But I can see that this choice is more reasonable than it sounds. As a result of the interviews, I found out that the proposed school would cost less money than fixing up the current schools, and it would be better in many ways. While I believe that, I do still think that traffic for the area will be a big problem. My point of view did change because I found out about the amount of money the town would be saving with this plan.
JOEL Now that I'm educated on the subject, I think it would be a good idea to give the kids and new and safe building. After these interviews, and becoming more educated on the debate, my views have changed to be in favor of the project. BEN After examining all of the facts provided by the interviews, I believe that a new elementary school could overall be beneficial to the students of Swampscott from a technical and education point of view. However, I know that many people are concerned about the overall idea of change. In my opinion, the new elementary school will help improve the education of students in Swampscott. From the beginning of this assignment I was uncertain about my opinion, mainly because I like to have all the facts before deciding to have anything. The interviews and research led me to believe hat this was a promising solution to the problems in the current elementary schools. CIARA Even though I know it will cost the town more money, I believe it is better, overall, for the children to be in separate, local, school buildings. My point of view towards this action did not change after our professional interviews.
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The Music Program: What Happened? By Lori and Annie - Grade 7 Music is many things. It is an art, a culture, an escape, and it influences our lives in ways we may not know. Music promotes creativity and thinking through difficult situations. It also improves vocabulary skills, understanding visual information, and math skills. Unfortunately, many schools do not consider music to be the art form that it is, perhaps because of the fact that it is not tested by the state. Schools in Chicago, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Washington D.C, and Massachusetts are making cuts to their music programs. Why is this, when music can help us in so many parts of our lives? Music helps us when we exercise, because it makes us more energetic. It decreases our stress levels, which can help students take tests and learn more efficiently. Also, music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function. Cutting music programs decreases kids' time for creativity, and takes away something that they love. Here is what some of the music students at our school had to say about the cuts to made to our music program: "If music is something lots of people at our school love, then why take it away?" Meredith, Grade 7, a chorus and band student. "I think that if people want to become musicians or join the music business, then they need to learn more about music itself! This is not possible at our school, because
there is not even enough time to fully learn our music, much less about music theory." - Grace, Grade 7. The band is suffering from the cuts because we have 20 minutes every 4 days to try to put together multiple songs. This Clip: Ms. Paine
results in us having to put on less complicated pieces and results in students not gaining much skill with their instrument." - Harry, Grade 7. Obviously, the kids at Swampscott Middle School feel very strongly about music!
INTERVIEW Here is what our Principal, Mr. Murphy, and Vice Principal, Mr. Calichman, had to say on the matter. What is it like to manage the budget of a whole school? It’s a difficult problem, at the same time it’s an enjoyable problem. I know that all programs at the school require different financial devotion, but how do you determine what programs get what kind of funding? We try to give each program equal amounts of money, if one year we get new Science books then the next year we give a little more money to Math or English or something.
Let's discuss the issue of class time. What merits giving band and chorus combined 40 minutes a week, while at the high school, they get as much time for chorus and band in 3 weeks that we get for the whole year? The high school has completely different needs. They also have more staff, more classes, and more time. Do you care about all programs at the school equally? Yes. Do you feel that the music program has enough time and money to operate? It’s not ideal, but it’s the best that we can manage will trying to balance all the other electives and classes We are trying to start band at the elementary school, so that students can arrive here with at least the basic understanding of their instruments. That way we can spend more time focusing on the music, instead of learning how to put a saxophone together. What cuts have you had to make to programs at the school this year, if any? There have been no cuts this year, we have actually tried to give the kids more time.
Have you taken any backlash from the parents of band and chorus students, regarding the lack of time dedicated to this class? Of course, parents and kids both. But with so many people with all different interests you can’t please everybody. Not so much complaints as concerns. How are the band and chorus teachers supposed to grade us if we only have 40 minutes a week to be judged? Chorus is easier to grade than other classes, you are graded more by growth than day to day stuff. But if you are a kid who can’t be graded because your growth is slower in certain areas or faster in others, than it does feel a little unfair. Do you have any other comments about the music program in general? We are trying our hardest to bring it into the school day. We see all this talent and love for music and we want the kids to be able to express themselves and get more exposure. * * * * * Now, here is what our music teacher, Mrs. Bowler, had to say about the music program: ` What was the music program like when you first worked here? It was kind of desolate, there (Continued on page 9)
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was only 28 students in total from grades 6-8. There were only two boys. It was hard, really hard for the kids. How has it changed? It’s become bigger in the sense of the amount of kids, I am able to do more pieces with these groups. But it has become more difficult because with a lager group, it is harder to teach individuals especially the younger grades. How much time are you able to spend with chorus every week? About half an hour to forty minutes with each chorus.” How much time do you need to sufficiently teach the music to your
students? I would love to have the same amount of time as a regular class does, however I know that that is next to impossible with our school days.
more time to understand the students and what they have trouble with and what are their strengths and weaknesses.
How much money do you spend on the music program yearly out of your own money? It depends on the year, but not a lot. I’ve bought music for the chorus a couple and that adds up but not too much.
Do you think that the amount of time you have to practice is reflected in your performances? I am proud that we are able to perform new songs twice a year, and the quality of our songs are definitely good for the amount of time we have to practice and learn the pieces.
What would you be able to accomplish if you were given more time with your students? If I had more time, I would be able to get to know the students better In a regular class, the teacher will get
Do you think that that the principals care as much about the music program as they do about other programs at the school? I think that they try their hardest to make sure that each program at this school
9 gets equal amounts of attention. How do you feel about the changes to the music program? There haven’t technically been any changes but I think that the kids and I would love it if we could have more time per week to work. * * * * * As you can see, our principals and our music teachers have quite different views on the music program. Will there be changes made to the program? We don't know. But we do know this: music is not what we do. It’s who we are.
Content ID By Harry - Grade 7 I’d like to ask you to imagine something: a show comes on and explains why a particular product is horrible, when all of a sudden the show is cut off and the director is warned that for showing, using, and even daring to mention this particular product that they could be permanently taken off the air. Welcome to the new Youtube. With this new system, the developers of this product, in this case videogames, can instantly take down any
videos they feel interfere with their copyright. Once this has happened to a particular content maker they receive a strike; receive three of these and your account will be immediately deleted with a difficult and elongated appeal process which warns that there could be “adverse legal consequences” to what Youtube deems a “false counternotification” - quite a risky process. In addition, new networks, which in the past
Photo: youtube.com
would take on new people, now face the threat of termination should one of their members post content ID’d content. This has prompted many large networks such as Polaris and Machinama to
take on few to zero new clients. With Youtube essentially acting as a monopoly over online videos, these new rules could severely affect the way that many videomakers make their live-
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Martial Arts By Isaac - Grade 7, and Morgan - Grade 5 There are several longterm benefits to participating in martial arts. One of the most important benefits is gaining confidence in oneself. Also, a benefit is knowing how to defend yourself, because one would not be afraid or as afraid as before. Another benefit of mart i a l art s would be growth and maturity. The rigorous strengthening and precision that martial arts insists on requires a certain level of maturity in order to advance to higher level belts. We go to The Body Mind Systems Martial Arts Center in Swampscott. This center is located 1005 Paradise Road. We asked our martial arts instructor, Assistant National Instructor John, a few questions to learn more about why he became involved in the martial arts. Why did you start learning martial arts? I wanted to build confidence and self-defense. What are the long term benefits for kids who want to learn martial arts? The biggest benefit is confidence. Some other benefits are focus and discipline. Do you think that it’s dangerous to teach kids to use weapons such
as swords or nun-chucks. No. If one is being bullied, the bully is gaining something. But if the victim knows how to defend his/her-self the bully will not gain that thing.
Photo: Morgan
How long did it take you to get to fifth degree black-belt? Sixteen years. Instructor John - Long Fist
H o w did you find out about this martial arts school? I started at the Arlington location in 1996. I found it in the yellow pages. Who got you into learning martial arts? I learned martial arts from Head National Instructor Frank who is an 8th degree black belt. Why do you think it’s important for kids to know how to defend themselves? I think it is important for kids because of our current society and violence - it’s better to be a tougher kid.
Photo: Morgan
How many katas can you perform? (“Kata” is the Japanese word for form. A kata is a series of defenses and attacks. The most basic katas are performed in an “I” shaped pattern.) Hundreds. Throughout my training I have performed hundreds of forms from many martial arts, such as kung-fu and kim-soo-do.
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What can we take away from this? Building confidence is necessary for a child to have. Staying active and learning how to defend oneself is also important. In conclusion, for both of us, taking martial arts was a great choice. We both feel confident that we could defend ourselves, even though neither of us have never been in a situation where we have needed to. Also several of our friends were participating in martial arts. Taking martial arts was a great choice and will be for any others who join.
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What is Annoying? By Meredith - Grade 7 We all know our personal opinions on the subject, but what really make us annoyed? There are many things that can annoy a certain person. Something that is super annoying is all in the brain. The sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, annoying universally, may trigger a vestigial response to the sound made by a prehistoric predator. Skunk stink, impossible to re-
move and long-lived, is the very definition of an annoying smell. I took a survey of the school during lunch and the results are in: Many people, as you can see chose “Other”. Apparently, most people don’t like people who act a certain way. So, in conclusion, people don’t like you if you act stupid…so don’t!
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Middle School Scoop New Technology at SMS! By Ms. Paine In the late Spring a group of teachers decided that they wanted to take action about the serious lack of updated technology in Swampscott Middle School. While we have a great set of Macbook Airs, a newer upper lab in the library, and an older set of Macbooks, there is definitely not enough technology to go around for all students to benefit. This group of teachers consisted of Ms. Ardman, 6th grade Science, Mrs. Szatkowski, 8th grade Science, Mr. Sweeney, 8th grade Math, Ms. Paine, Computers, and Mr. Scharfenberger, STEM. After researching many possibilities, they created a plan that would allow new technology to affect the whole school next year. This plan was presented to the Swampscott Middle School PTO, who awarded the middle school with $17,000 (OMG!) to put the plan into action.
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Next year the 7th grade English teachers, Ms. Mast
and Ms. Mullins, will be piloting Chromebooks between their classrooms. Chromebooks are awesome for an English class, because their best uses are in research, writing, and collaboration. Chromebooks can turn on in less than 10 seconds, and are vastly cheaper than regular laptops. You could actually buy four Chromebooks for every one Macbook Air - not that Macbook Airs don’t have their place; for teachers that need the capabilities that Apple can offer, they are amazing! Students in 7th grade will all receive Google Drive accounts, which will allow them to access all of their work in school on any computer and at home, without the use of flashdrives. In class, students can look forward to submitting work paperlessly, and sharing documents with others in class. Students can peer edit each others work, and even work on the same document together at the same time. There are many more possibilities that will become available to these classes over the course of the year as the teachers gain more and more knowledge with using the Chromebooks in the classroom. If this is a successful pilot pro-
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gram, it will likely be pushed to other grades and teachers in the building. Also next year the middle school will have 30 Nexus 7 tablets for use in Math and Science class in all four grades. Students in grade 6 through 8 are using a new math curriculum which has an extensive online component. The tablets will become a perfect method of accessing these online math instructions, which are tailored to each student. In Science, tablets offer teachers so many app to use in the classroom. There are apps that deal with concepts too large for a classroom, such as the creation of a solar system, as well as concepts too small to view, such as investigating RNA strands. These tablets have a wide variety of possibilities to offer, and allow each student to learn a lesson at their own pace since they have the lesson in front of them. Lastly, a corner of the library will be converted into a Linux Lab next year. Linux is an operating system like Mavericks on a Mac or Windows 8 on a PC. Linux can be installed on older computers and allow them to run faster without the un-
necessary software that is usually installed automatically. This lab will provide another research and word processing option for teachers and their classes to use. The amount of up-todate technology in the building next year is almost doubling, and even better, students will be able to use a variety of tools and systems in order to complete work. Students will be exposed to not only the Apple software they are used to, but also Google Drive, Chromebooks, tablets, and the Linux system.
Photo: geebzor.com
The impromptu teacher technology committee, along with the PTO, is extremely excited about the directions the middle school is moving towards as we strive to become a cloud-based school working with 21st century technology.
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Middle School Scoop Student Stress By Abigail and Aislinn - Grade 5 Stress is a tension felt by the body caused by too much pressure from outside or internal forces. People can reflect on this in many different ways. For example, some people can start to cry or can’t compete the simplest of tasks when under a lot of stress and pressure. Stress can negatively affect students, which can be reflected in their school work, possibly causing lower grades, resulting in additional stress. We unfortunately noticed some student stress in school and out of school. Some stress levels are different than others. We talked to students and staff of the Swampscott Middle School (SMS). For privacy we are not mentioning any names. We did a survey of two 5th grade homerooms. Many
students said that they were stressed with their extra curricular activities and with homework. The survey consisted of three questions: 1. Are you stressed in school? 2. Are you stressed outside of school? 3. Why? Many kids in the survey said that they had many things to do outside of school, such as various sports, dance, etc. In our opinion, we think that students should have a break from their outside activities at least once a week in order to focus on homework, even if it means dropping an activity. Also, teachers should not give out homework on Fridays, unless it is an ongoing project. In response to out of school stress, one student wrote that One student, out of the many, said “I have lots to do outside of school, like sports and than I have to finish homework.” We both agree with this student, since we both are club soccer players who have additional activi-
ties to complete along with homework. Another student said, “I am sometimes put under pressure to finish my homework on time.” Many students said that they were stressed in school. Many wrote that when a test is handed back to them, they become anxious or nervous when the teachers talk about test results. For example, if a teacher says “I know most of you tried hard and did get good grades, but some of you didn’t do very well”, it causes a lot of stress on students in the class while they wait for their tests. One student wrote, “I have stress when I hand in or get back a test because I am afraid I will get a bad grade.” Another student wrote, “I am stressed in school because of test results because I don’t want to get a bad grade.” We talked to SMS’s Vice Principal, Mr. Calichman, to get his opinion on the topic of stress, and some causes of stress in school. He stated that, “I am all for lowering the amount of homework students receive, but I still think you should get homework. I also think that students shouldn’t get homework on weekends, vacations,
and Fridays so that they have that time to spend with their families.” We also asked him what he thinks would help relieve stress. He said, “I think kids should get outside and run around, get enough sleep and eat nutritious meals.” We agree with Mr. Calichman because we know, as kids, that all of those things mentioned do make us feel better. We think that all students reading this should listen to our tips and Mr. Calichman’s tips, and we hope that other teachers listen as well. We hope that students know they are not alone in what they feel stressed about, and that they can take steps to reduce the stress they are feelings. A special thanks to homerooms 207 and 205 for participating in the survey. Also a very special thanks to Mr. Calichman for his interview with us.
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Middle School Scoop Public vs. Private Schools By Ella and Ava - Grade 5 Have you ever wondered about the differences between private schools and public schools? Many kids have been leaving and entering the Swampscott school district. Some private schools have nice facilities and more up-to-date technology. Other private schools offer ways for students to focus on a specific course of study. On the
other hand, public schools create a fun learning experience while you’re still learning new information. In Swampscott, 46 new students have entered Swampscott High School in the past year while 26 students have left to go to a private school or a vocational school, or moved. Students who chose to go to a vocational school instead
A Day in the Life of Diana By Morgan - Grade 5 Diana is a girl who has a normal life. This girl was b or n on M a y 1 6 t h , 2003. She’s shy around new people, crazy when with friends, and artsy all the time. In her free time she
likes to draw, listen to nightcore, sometimes read a book, and go to the beach. Her favorite school subjects are math and science. She wakes up at 6 am every morning and goes to bed at
Project Adventure By Tyler - Grade 6 Project Adventure is a class that promotes leadership and promotes the responsibility to trust classmates in your group. Up until a few years ago, we had Project Adventure as a class at Swampscott Middle School. This class was taught by Ms. Rushton, who currently teaches Health class. Ms. Rushton stated that, “All students benefit from outdoor adventure; physi-
cally and mentally they solve group problems and they are involved with many personality traits that they would never experience in a regular classroom setting.” Ms. Rushton also said that Project Adventure includes the activities that most people haven’t done or have ever done before, and explained the importance of any school having the special. Project Adventure was dropped for Health by a
of a public school can focus on what they want to do for a job. Both private and public schools offer different things. There are also some kids that go to private schools that also focus on a religion while also learning. Swampscott High has a college placement rating of 92%, which means that 92% of SHS graduates go to college. If you have parents that went to a private school and they had a good experience,
you will probably be more likely to go to a private school, and the same goes for public schools. The district administrators including the Superintendent Pam Angelakis and the Assistant Superintendent Lois Longin declined our interview to further discuss why students might leave the system. So what’s your opinion, would you rather go to a public or private school?
9 pm. After school she likes to go to swim team at the YMCA. She may sound like a sporty girl but she only is involved in swimming, tennis, and sailing. She is an only child and has no pets. She loves her best friends Morgan and Meredith. When she grows up she wants to be artist and scien-
tist. She thinks that art is important because she thinks it can increase knowledge and concentration. She also thinks that schools all around the country should have swimming pools and kids should swim during physical education.
former Principal, but there are many parts of the program that are important to bring back. Than I later talked to Mr. Calichman about what Mrs. Rushton said, giving him the most important question, which was: Would you bring back Project Adventure? And if so, how will it fit it? Ms. Calichman did not know much about how the program was here before, since it was before he became a Vice Principal, but he was interested in the concept. He said, “I may take a special away or it may be after-
school, whatever is best if we pursue this in the future.” He said it may come back depending on finances. I think it is a benefit to have Project Adventure because it shows courage, trust, and leadership. Ms. Rushton believes that, “Everyone needs to experience Project Adventure. I personally enjoy the challenges, the low elements, and of course the high elements in the woods where one must meet their fears head on!”
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Middle School Scoop Theater Club By Michelle - Grade 7 Do you like to act? Do you want a chance to perform in front of the whole school? Then you should join theater club. It was started and is currently run by Mr. Kane. It is great chance to perform and learn great acting techniques. I have made a lot of friends in theater club and other members will as well because everyone in the club shares a love of theater. In theater club you will learn techniques such as projecting, which is making your voice heard throughout a theater. In the fall, Mr. Kane took theater club members on a trip to New York where we saw Peter and the Star Catcher and took a Broadway class. Every year he also takes the students to compete in Dramafest where you perform a play and watch a bunch of other plays.
I have interviewed Mr. Kane and asked him plenty of questions about theater club and what he expects members to get out of it: Did you start the theater club? Yes Do you think it is important to have a theater club? Why or Why not? Yes, because the students need an outlet to the arts. What is the main thing you think students will get out of theater club? Confidence and friendship is the main thing. What is your favorite play or musical that you have directed so far? Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat When did you start taking students to drama fest?
Photo: sweetclipart.com
I started taking them 5 years ago. Do you know of any future trips that you might take the members on? I want to take them back to New York. Do you know what plays or musicals we are going to do in the future? No, I do not. What is the main goal of the theater club? To present quality productions that students will enjoy.
What is your favorite thing about the theater club? The fun we have while putting on a show. What kind of people would you suggest theater club to Everybody! In conclusion, Mr. Kane is always looking for new members for theater club. It is a great club to join if you have a love of theater and acting and would like to get to know others who share your same feelings.
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Charitable Contributions SMS Pasta Dinner By Mr. Lewis Ms. Larson, the Social Studies teacher on our team, and I started the Pasta Dinner event 5 years ago. We sat down the summer after my very first year of teaching and talked about how although our job is to teach the curriculum, there must be something that we could do that would teach our students the value of being not just good students but also good members of the global community. We saw an ad for Feeding America on television that said 1 in 6 Americans are struggling with hunger. After confirming the problem with some extensive research it seemed that all we had to do was design a project; the dinner was born. In English I started to introduce students to hunger through literature and talked to them about how even though they may not see it run so rampant in Swampscott, it doesn't mean that it's not present. Students have a beautiful sense of optimism; we played off of that because we really believe that they will rise to any occasion if you set the bar high enough. Also, they love knowing they can help, and we wanted to
prove to them that even though they're just kids, they could make a big impact on their community. Students apply for their jobs at the feast, so it's cool to weave in life lessons like that too; never too early to prepare them for the rigors that they will soon face. Ultimately we all as humans have a moral obligation to love and care for our fellow humans. The people who this dinner will benefit have come across hard times; don't you want to say that you helped them? Won't it feel good to know that someone somewhere in this country is eating a meal that they wouldn't have had if it weren't for your care and compassion? After this year, our fifth annual, we are at a total of around $9,500 dollars in donations. That translates into just over 86,000 (86,000!) meals at a local s o u p kitchen or food bank. The students always love hearing that num-
Photo: Margot
ber, to which I say to them; don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't make a difference. You won't ultimately be judged in this world on how many times you made honor roll, or how strong of an essay you can write, or how quickly you can recite your math facts, people will judge you on the size of your heart and your willingness to care and show compassion for others. Photo: bellevuefishandloaves.org
Photo: Margot
Donations Caffe Paolina - fresh vegetables for the sauce
The Porthole Restaurant Over 40 loaves of fresh Italian bread
Castle Creek Adventure Land - 10 Gallons of ice cream for our dessert course
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Travel guide Arizona By Ian - grade 7 Arizona is a beautiful state with so many great natural sites to see. Although it is a nice place to visit, it could be very expensive to get around because it is such a big state. When I was there, we had to stay at three hotels in order to see the entire state. The first area you need to see is Phoenix. It has everything from dune buggies to miles of cacti. The northern Flagstaff and Sedona area has the star attraction of the trip: The Grand Canyon, where you can take road tours or horseback tours, and also watch the Photo: Cliplip.com
shallow clouds on the tip of the canyon. You can also see the Red Rocks of Sedona, which holds the iconic Montezuma’s Castle, which is embedded into the rock. At the
end of the trip, you can go towards the bottom of the state where Tucson is. There, you can see Saguaro National Park and Tombstone, which depicts a real 19th century western town. Arizona offers so much to do, and I recom-
Photo: solarfeeds.com
mend this as a wonderful vacation spot.
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Travel guide 7th Grader in China By Alessandra - grade 7 In 7th grade, many students begin taking a foreign language. I decided to choose Mandarin Chinese. Over April vacation this year, students from our class and the Mandarin classes at the high school were given the option to go on a oncein-a-lifetime 9-day-trip to China led by our Chinese teacher, Ms. Yang, whom we call Yang Laoshi (Laoshi means teacher in Mandarin). I was extremely excited about this possibility and was able to go on this trip. While we were there, we went to three cities: Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai. Each of the cities was completely different. In Beijing, we saw most of the major landmarks. We walked around Tiananmen Square, then walked through the whole Forbidden Citythe former home of the em-
Terracotta Warriors
perors and their families. We also climbed part of the Great Wall of China. It was very steep and the stairs almost seemed upside-down. They were very tall and weren’t very wide. You can even go into the small towers where the soldiers would keep watch for the Mongolians and sleep. Some couples put engraved locks on the railings to symbolize their “everlasting love”. We even went to the zoo and saw the pandas! The food in Beijing was very different from the food in the other cities. There was a lot of meat and fried foods. There was also some sort of fish at most meals. My favorite meal we ate in Beijing was the Peking duck. The chef would cut the duck into small slices, and you would roll it into a wrap with cucumber, onion sprouts, and a red bean
sauce. We spent five days in Beijing, and then traveled on to Xian. We only spent one day in Xian, but we still had a lot of fun. First we visited a factory that makes clay replicas of the Terracotta Warriors. Then we went to see the real Terracotta Warriors. There were three buildings of excavated ground, filled with clay warriors. Each warrior was completely unique. After that, we went to the Xian City Wall. We rode bikes on top of it and could see everyday-people’s houses below. The food in Xian was very light. There were a lot of vegetables and rice. There was very little meat- chicken or fish at the most. The morning after our day in Xian, we traveled on to Shanghai. We spent our final three days in Shanghai, the capital
city of China. We went to some temples and saw statues of spiritual figures. We also saw the Jade Buddha, but there was no photography allowed. We also went to a silk factory, and saw how they pull the silk and turn it into pillows, quilts, and clothes. After that, we went to a presentation about different kinds of tea. On our last night, we went on a walk along a famous bridge in Shanghai and got a perfect view of the skyline. The food in Shanghai was my absolute favorite. There were a lot of meats and fish. My favorite things to eat were the soup dumplings. They were either fried or steamed, and had a little bit of soup in them. My trip to China was an amazing and unforgettable experience.
Photos by Alessandra
Photos on the opposite page: Left row, going down: 1. Refreshments that could be purchased in the hotel room; 2. Dumpling soup and fried soup dumplings for breakfast; 3. Shanghai skyline; 4. Buddha statue in a temple Middle row, going down: 5. The Big Front Gate in Beijing ; 6. Entrance to the Forbidden City; 7. Temple of Heaven; 8. Once section of the Terracotta Warriors Right row, going down: 9. Yuen coin; 10. Italian Meat flavored Lay’s; 11. View of the Great Wall; 12. Peking duck set up
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Opinion Popularity By Michelle - Grade 7 What is popularity? Is it how many friends you have? Is it based on what you wear or what kind of phone you have? Well if you ask me, popularity is just some idea that was invented a long time ago to make people feel bad about themselves. I always hear people crying about that if they don’t do “this” or have “that”, they won’t be popular. Well I have two words for those
people: WHO CARES?????? I think that people should stop worrying about doing stupid things that supposedly makes you fit in. I see kids crying that their parents can’t get this designer clothing or that new game console, and then the “populars” make everyone else feel sorry for themselves and I’m sick of it. I also think that people who believe that they are popular
make others feel bad and rub it in because they are insecure to begin with. I think that people should start being themselves and as a result will fit in with the friends they make. People should also stop trying to fit in with the “populars”, who aren’t actually popular and instead just love the idea of popularity. In my opinion it is better to not be popular or else we
will all be the same and it will be boring. The perfect world, in my opinion, would be if everyone would just be themselves. I wish that popularity was never invented because it gets into people’s heads and they worry about things they shouldn’t need to worry about. In conclusion, popularity is an idiotic idea invented to judge people.
Missing Time in Music By Lori and Annie, Grade 7 As music students we have our own point of view of the subject of the music program and the lack of time given to use. We don't think that we have enough time to learn music. Because of this, we aren't able to learn more complicated pieces. Also, we can not progress as musicians, because we are not given enough time in
class to do so. We can remember when we had a longer period of time to sing and play music, and it was wonderful. We could be more relaxed about learning our music, and learn it more thoroughly. Now we have to rush through our music, and we can't learn our parts as well. In band, we can't learn more
about our instruments and how to play them, because we have to practice our music, and we don't even have enough time to do that. We feel that music is just as important as my other classes, and we are angry about the cuts made to this class. We should have the same amount of time for band and chorus as we do
for any other class because we not only love learning about it, but it also helps us excel in different areas of school. In conclusion, music is important to the kids at this school. We deserve to be able to do the thing we love.
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Opinion Bastille’s Pompeii Bares High Similarity with Boston After the Marathon: Analyzing the Lyrics By Jack - Grade 6 And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love (Pretty self-explanatory, the city had been beat up physically.) Great clouds roll over the hills bringing darkness from above. (The smoke from the bombs exploding.) But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing has changed at all. (Despite the destruction we were still the same Boston that we always were.)
And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you’ve been here before (While it didn’t look 100% the same it’s still the same place we love.) How am I gonna be an optimist about this? (At the time there was no way to look at this positively)
In your pose as the dust settled around us (We got caught doing our daily activities.) Oh where do we begin, the rubble or our sins? (Do we repair the damage done to the city, or do we help those affected.) *
We were caught up and lost in all of our vices. (This happened when we were just living our normal lives)
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We were able to move forward as a city. In many ways Boston has returned stronger than ever. When
focusing on sports, the Red Sox won the World Series, but so far the chemistry that led them to victory has near vanished thanks to new catcher A.J Pierzynski. The Bruins and Patriots made the playoffs, and had great seasons before early departures in the playoffs. The Celtics are going through a rebuilding phase. However we moved forward, Boston Strong.
Mistakes
Should Older Kids Have Recess?
By Harry - Grade 7
By Nick - Grade 5
Mistakes are known by many names and have many effects. For example, the fact that the first sentence of this article sounds like a thesis is a mistake. To be honest, mistakes are what makes us human, which can make it all the more confusing when we feel embarrassed about them. Recently I realized something about myself that I do the same as what I
critique others for doing, and it made me realize just how hypocritical I seem, which annoys me. So, I suppose that this article is me admitting that I make mistakes and acknowledging them. I hope that this if nothing else acts as an apology for all the things I have or haven’t done and set the record straight.
Do you think older kids should have recess? In my opinion they should. I interviewed a fifth grade teacher and she said “I personally think that every child should have recess because all kids need a break from schoolwork, and need a opportunity to have downtime with friends, physical activity, and fresh air.” I definitely think all of these reasons are a perfect example why
kid should have recess. There are some downsides as well. Making schedules would also be difficult. The same times for different grades could be a problem. The teacher that I interviewed said that “It makes me sad that some adults don’t appreciate how important recess is. Do you think older kids should have recess?
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Arts and Chicago By Michelle - Grade 7 This year, the high school performed Chicago for their spring musical under the direction of James Pearse. I saw it on opening night and I thought it was amazing. The vocals were incredible and I’m impressed that a bunch of high school students were able to perform something like this. Chicago takes place in the 1920s and is about a woman who cheats on her husband, kills her boyfriend, and goes to jail. It is song
filled and has fabulous dance numbers. I think anyone who comes to see this will love it just as much as I did. I do however have one critique. I think that the hatred between the main characters is over expressed. I give this musical four out of five stars. I think that people under the age of 13 shouldn’t see it because it has a few inappropriate scenes and adult language. I hope you got a chance to see this awesome show.
Photo: itemlive.com
The Fault in Our Stars
Casablanca (1943) Movie Review
By Michelle - Grade 7
By Joel - Grade 6
This is the book that got everyone crying. The author, John Green, expresses the romance of two kids with cancer who make the love they have for each other last forever. It is about a girl named Hazel with stage 4 typhoid cancer and a boy named Gus who has Osteosarcoma cancer. They meet in a support group and instantly fall in love with each other. The only problem is that Hazel is dying and she doesn’t want to hurt Gus. Gus makes Hazel’s final days last forever. The ending is surprising and you have to read the book to find out. A movie that is based off the book comes out June 6. I
Photo: wilipedia.com
already noticed a few major differences, which I’m not happy about. I am excited to see how this movie plays out. I loved this book and I recommend it to girls twelve and up.
Casablanca is one of the most quotable, iconic, and acclaimed films of all time. Based on the book “Everybody Comes To Rick’s”, this drama tells the story of a love between the easy on the eye’s Humphrey Bogart as he struggles between a girl and a war. The Oscarnominated cast is one of the best sets of actors in an “Outstanding Motion Picture”. Which was what the Best Picture award was called in the year 1943, and it won that award along with two others. On a story level it’s impressive, but on a technical it is even more amaz-
ing. I used to think black and white had the same quality of cinematography as the next one, but this cinematography is far superior to other black and white pictures. It is interesting to note, that President Barack Obama publicly stated that Casablanca is one of his favorite films. And it is one of mine as well.
Photo: wilipedia.com
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Entertainment Not a Kid’s Show!
The Beatles
By Morgan - Grade 5, and Meredith - Grade 7
By Jack - Grade 6
Yes, I know what Applejack is the you’re going to element of say. “ Why do honesty. She you watch loves picking that, its such apples and a baby being with her show”. First I family. And must correct lastly, Twilight you, NOPE this is Sparkle, the pronot a kids’ show. tagonist, is the Though it is element of aimed toward Magic. She younger kids, it has loves books, Photo: Wikipedia.com attracted a large crowd spells and being of older ones. with her friends. Next, to introduce the People like this show lovely characters, Princess because of the characters Celestia is the ruler of and it takes you to another Equestria. And a royal pony world you really want to be indeed. Pinkie Pie is the in. There are even people element of laughter. She who hold conventions for loves happiness jokes, men (bronies) and women pranks, and having fun. She (pegasisters). Still don’t get works at Mrs. Cake and Mr. what we’re saying? Just unCake’s bakery. Rarity is the derstand what we are sayelement of generosity. She ing: MY LITTLE PONY IS loves fashion and making NOT A KIDS SHOW. Fall clothes for her friends. Flut- in love with this show from tershy is the element of the beginning on the Hub kindness. She loves animals Network. and being with her friends.
Real to Reel Film School By Isaac - Grade 7 I had been making films for years and I wanted to take it a step further. I became involved with RawArts film school, Real to Reel. We learned to work as a team to accomplish a set goal; in this case it was to create a film. My film is a movie parody of the Ghost Busters
trailer. Essentially we refilmed every scene shot for shot. But we kept the audio from the original trailer. This film, along with others, was screened at the Peabody Essex Museum, June 14th. www.rawartworks.org
It saddens me that the majority of students in our grade don’t know who the Beatles are. The undisputed greatest band of all time don’t receive the love they deserve by the majority of people in our grade. I know two people who actually know anything about the band. To commemorate the band’s 54th anniversary of their formation, I have gone through the difficult process of deciding the best songs recorded by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. 10. Come Together – Great start to the last album the Beatles recorded, ‘Abbey Road’ 9. Please Please Me – First great song the band ever recorded and wrote. 8. A Hard Day’s Night – The titular song for their first movie holds up with time. 7. I Saw Her Standing There – Another early Beatles song similar to Please Please Me
6. Eleanor Rigby – The most influential use of strings ever, and one of the first pop songs to use it. 5. Norwegian Wood – Really good song by Lennon confessing he cheated on his wife 4. She Loves You – Don’t know why I like these early songs so much, but they all have a really good beat and lyrics that double as both simple and complex 3. Help – Another song that a movie was named after. A really addicting song that is still great. 2. Yesterday – A song that has been covered by everyone is that way for a reason, a song that shows that the band was wise beyond their years. 1. Hey Jude – The most successful song for once is the best. Written by McCartney to Lennon’s son, despite being extremely long can’t be repeated. It is the definition of a perfect song. Photo: appshopper.com
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Arts and By Joel - Grade 6 10. The Little Mermaid (1989) Based on the classic story of the same name by Hans Christen Anderson, The Little Mermaid is timeless story of a girl who wants to be a human and leave life in the sea and live a new one on the human world. Definitely one of Disney’s best. 9. Robocop (1987) Set in a crime-filled dystopian future, Robocop tells the story of Alex Murphy, who gets brutally and horrifically murdered by thugs. He is revived in a new Robotic form. Robocop has the distinction of being the first RRated film I have seen. If you’re easily scared I do not recommend this film, but it provides political commentary on evolution of artificial intelligence and free will. 8. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) This accidental success is a time travel film about two dimwitted high school students who are given a time machine (resembling the “TARDIS” from Doctor Who) to study for a history test. I never thought I would like this, for it seemed to parody Back to the Future, but I had a fun time, it’s a guilty pleasure. 7. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most nostalgic, enter-
taining, best, and watchable films ever made. Ferris Bueller is an adolescent who decides to cut school and explore his home city of Chicago (filmed on location in fact) It is technically a fantasy: he lives in a world without consequences. The one thing I didn’t like was how Ferris abuses his friends and is a bad role model. But it’s a must watch, I recommend it. 6. Batman (1989) This happens to be my favorite comic-book film. Based on the comic series by Bob Kane, it stars Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight, and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. It is directed by Tim Burton, and it shows. Burton makes a very interesting movie with his artistic style. It won an Oscar for Art Direction and set decoration. It’s a must see for everyone. 5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) This happens to be one of the greatest action films, let alone greatest films ever. It is about an adventurous Indiana Jones, brilliantly played by Harrison Ford. He must find the Biblical ark of the covenant, but unfortunately Jones is the not the only raider on a quest for the lost ark. This is one of Steven Spielberg's best. 4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Released only one year after Spielberg directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, this may be Spielberg's greatest. As the title suggests, it tells the story of an alien getting stranded on Earth who forms a bond with the children that recover him. E.T. is very heartfelt motion picture, and will make the toughest of men tear up. The cast is widely considered the greatest child actor performances in cinema history. While I don't watch as much as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Jaws, you must see it once in your life. 3. Ghostbusters (1984) Ghostbusters is not intended to be a work of art, but it sure feels like one. Ghostbusters is about the comedic Peter Venkhman, played by Bill Murray, when he forms a ghost-hunting business in his home town. For the time it was very scary, and when I watched it in the early 2000s I was horrified and greatly admired the practical effects. The ghost effects were as masterfully executed as the jokes. The quote "Did you smell that?' ranks as one of my favorite quotes, and Murray may be the best part of the film. I look at Bill Murray's face and I want burst into intense laughter. 2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The Empire Strikes Back is widely considered one of the best science fiction films in the history of cinema. It is a sequel/major improvement
to the 1977 Best Picture nominee, and improves in more ways than onehundred. The Oscarwinning visuals are to a groundbreaking scale, and the animatronics and puppets are detailed and a beauty to look at. Miss Piggy’s voice actor, Frank Oz, voices the wise and studious Yoda, who is one of my favorite characters in the history of cinema. 1. Back to the Future (1985) Back to the Future is not a film, it is the greatest work of art since Michelangelo. Back to the Future is about an adolescent named Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, who befriends Doctor "Doc" Emmet Brown, played by Christopher Llyod, when he gets sent back in time to the 1950s and prevents his own birth. The film is superior to many other films in term of comedic value. It is enhanced by its Oscar-winning sound effects and the visual and direction. This may be my favorite comedy. It is a must see of anyone who lives in the solar system.
Photo: wikipedia.com
Top 1980’s Movies
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Entertainment June 6 - The Fault In Our Stars June 6 - Edge of Tomorrow June 13 - How to Train Your Dragon 2 June 27 - Transformers 4
July 2 - Earth to Echo July 11 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes July 18 - Planes: Fire and Rescue July 25 - Hercules
Hitchcock: The Forgotten Master By Joel - Grade 6 Before full-length films created by computers, filmmaking was an art that required years of commitment, expensive sets, and actors, all components mastered by Alfred Joseph Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock was and is one of the most famous filmmakers of all time. Hitchcock made films from the silent era to the 1970s.
His films were mostly crime thrillers, such as North By Northwest, or horror movies, such as Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock injected his own fears in his motion pictures, as can be seen in Vertigo. His pictures were intriguing; once you started watching his motion picture you cannot move your eyes away. He was nominated for
Top 10 Beatles Songs 10. In My Life (1965) (Rubber Soul) 9. I Want To Hold Your Hand (1963) (Past Masters Volume 1)
Photo: Wikimedia.com
(Abbey Road)
5. Help (1965) (Help!)
2. Yesterday (1965) (Help!)
7. All You Need Is Love (1967) (Magical Mystery Tour)
4. Strawberry Fields Forever (1967) (Magical Mystery Tours)
1. Hey Jude (1968) (Past Masters Volume 2)
6. And I Love Her (1964) (A
3. Here Comes The Sun (1969)
The Godfather (1972) Review By Joel - Grade 6 Released to massive critical and commercial success, the Godfather is considered to be one of history’s most perfect films. It follows the Corleone family, a mafia crime family in New York, where they sell drugs, murder for favors, and do more bad things. The young and mostly unknown Francis Ford Copala, who brilliantly adapts Mario Puzo’s crime novel to the big screen, directed it. My favorite charac-
five academy awards (His film Rebecca won Best Picture). He was put in the American Film Institutes hall of fame, and was he knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. If you’re into dramas and thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock is your king. He may be the best director of all time, along with Steven Spielberg and Cecil B. DeMille (If you know who DeMille is).
Hard Days Night)
By Joel - Grade 6
8. From Me to You (1963) (Past Masters Volume 1)
August 1 - Guardians of the Galaxy August 8 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles August 15 - The Giver August 22 - When the Game Stands Tall
ter is the Don, or crime boss, Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando in an Oscar winning role. His son, Michael, is interesting and somewhat depressing, as he loses his morality. Michael is ironic, for in the beginning of the film he states, “My father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract. That’s my family, not me.” But by the end of the film, he takes his father’s
place as the head of the crime family. The American Film Institute named him as the 11th most iconic movie villain, while some call him a “tragic hero”. The Godfather won three Oscars, including Best Picture in 1972. The Godfather film series has a record of most best picture Oscars, for its 1974 sequel, The Godfather Part II, was a critical and artistic success resulting in the award. The best part about the film is that we can relate to people who are primarily bad guys. The only thing
Photo: reshade.com
wrong with the film is the reality. With the various widows the Corleone’s created, what if somebody survived the wounds? It would be very risky, and it seems a little convenient. But aside from that, I dare say it might be flawless. The American Film Institute ranks it at number two on their top 100 movies, and I think that that was a perfect place. Critics, artists, and the general pubic, will love this film. It’s one of the best of its kind. Rated R, watch with parental approval.
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Dumb Starbucks By Jack - Grade 6 Dumb Starbucks, which opened in the town of Los Feliz on February 7th 2014 and closed the 10th, may have only been in business briefly, but it left a major impact. The location was identical to a regular Starbucks, except every menu item had the word dumb before it. The California parody law allows use of copyrighted material, which is what this store was trying
to accomplish. On the first day of operation, employees handed out free coffees and pastries. The Comedy Central host of “Nathan and You’’, Nathan Fielder revealed himself as the CEO of the company, stating, ‘We love Starbucks and look up to them as role models.’ He has declined rumors that this was a publicity stunt. They have since been closed by
Photo: usatoday.com
the real Starbucks for not meeting the parody laws of
California.
Rubik’s Cube:
The Year 2064
The Most Diabolical Creation of Mankind By Joel - Grade 6
By Maanik - Grade 6
there, and while it was successful, it also frustrated many Americans. Later, mathematicians become fascinated with the math involved, for the cube followed several mathematic principals. The 3x3 Rubik’s Cube has 43,252,003,274, 489,856,000 possible combinations. As said before, it was the best selling product of all time, and rightly so. The cube has World Records, competitions, and even has been into space.
Photo: wikipedia.com
The Rubik’s cube is one of the most iconic and beloved toys ever sold, and also the best selling product of all time. For the two of you who never configured with a Rubik’s Cube, it is a “twisty” combination puzzle that has been labeled one of the most difficult and timeconsuming toys ever invented. It was invented in Hungary in 1974 but mathematician and university professor, Ernő Rubik. His first model was made of wood and intended to be impossible. Rubik sold it in his home country of Hungary and titled it The Hungarian Magic Cube. It was very successful. So successful that it was re-titled Rubik’s Cube and released in America in 1980. It was quickly popular
People think about the future and what it will be like, but some people take it to the next level by predicting what new inventions will come out and in what year. Some people that were surveyed think that in 50 years, that our imagination will come to reality. More than 80% of the U.S. adults believe that custom organs will be made in
labs in the year 2064. About 51% percent think that computers, or robots, will be able to make paintings as well as humans do. Some people even think that we will be able colonize other planets. But a majority of the people thinks that we are a while away from teleportation and controlling the weather.
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FoodtastIc Baked vs Fried? By Isaac - Grade 7 One of the main reasons that Lay’s decided to produce baked potato chips was so that people who wanted the taste of potato chips without the saturated fat in fried chips would be able to indulge. But, are baked potato chips really healthier than fried? All the oil and salt in the fried chips are unhealthy. However, the baked potato chips contain quite a bit
of sugar, cornstarch, and soy lecithin. These products are not organic, so they could be from genetically modified sources (GM). Even if you are not getting so much oil, you are still getting high fructose corn syrup, which is just as bad. If one is looking for a healthy snack that supposedly still has a great taste, they shouldn’t eat any of these products. In conclusion, neither
The Average American Meal By Morgan - Grade 5
Taco Bell’s “Waffle Taco”
Photo: justaddgoodstuff.com
Photo: healthyhomeeconomist.com
regular chips or baked chips are actually healthy even though baked chips are ad-
vertised as healthier.
How you ever wondered what the average American meal is? In the year 2004, the Wall Street Journal looked at what Americans ate. The average person consumed 46 slices of pizza, 66.6 pounds of beef, 87.7 pounds of chicken, exactly 85 pounds of dairy, 11.7 pounds of chocolate, and 134 pounds of flour. The average American dinner involved chicken. Chicken may sound healthy, but it’s not. People these days cover chicken in butter, salt, and other fats. The average American appe-
tizer is mozzarella sticks. This food is fried cheese with breadcrumbs around it. This food is not healthy at all. The most average American dessert is fudge squares. The fudge can be chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, etc. The average American drink is Coca Cola and other sodas. Obviously our country’s diet is not very healthy. A poor diet can lead to diabetes, obesity, and even death. Ways to make your meals healthier are to have less sugars, salts, and fats. You should also pay more attention to ingredients.
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L33T GAM3R Pokémon By Ronin - Grade 6 This is my opinion on Pokémon. First lets start with Charizard everyones FAVORITE dragon! Not um… not really. First he’s not a dragon type even though he’s fire and flying. (Which is weird because he’s made to look like a dragon sooooo uhh yahh). Any who, he also CAN’T LEARN FLY! Well actually he can in generation 6 aka Pokémon X and Y. But he can fly in the cartoons so the game is far off from the show. Now that’s cleared up so lets go to Pidgey aka the “tiny bird Pokémon”. This Pokémon can take a full
grown human on its back across the region. Well there goes everything I know about physics, gone. So that’s Pidgey for you. Now for some legendary Pokémon. Groudon has the ability to create landforms and earthquakes, even though he is only 11 feet 6 inches! That’s not even the size of two full-grown humans! Also Kyogre, a Pokémon who can cause tsunamis, is 14 feet 9 inches! That’s not even half the size of our school! Although Wailord who is so light it can float in mid air is 47 feet 7 inches! Bigger than Groudon and Kyogre COMBINED! So
Photo: houseofgeekery.files.wordpress.com/
one normal Pokémon is BIGGER than an airplane is not even as powerful as a legendary! Also the fact that that thing can be held in a pocket-sized ball is outrages! So now generation 6 aka X and Y. This is a cool generation played in a 3-D format. This opens the world of Pokémon to new possibilities including better
graphics, better game play, and new Pokémon for a new region. Also having the ability to customize your character and what he or she wears. This will allow you to make a virtual version of yourself and beam yourself into the game. Well, your “virtual” self.
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Tech Bytes Innovation of Technology By Ian - Grade 7 There are so many new inventions that we are lucky enough to have today. Whether it’s for video games or efficiency, someone will find a way to make anything better. I have compiled a bunch of cool new innovations I have come across recently.
uncomfortable helmet. It is worn by wearing a strap around the person’s neck, and will inflate around the rider’s head if that person crashes into something. Photo: mousehints.com
Photo: pcworld.com
Photo: techcrunch.com
The bike air bag was made to protect a rider’s head without wearing an
Photo: theinfomouse.com
One really cool thing that I found was interesting was the Oculus Rift. The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality program that lets you feel like you are inside the game that you are playing. The last, and my personal favorite thing on this list is the Disney World My
Magic Plus program at Disney World. This new program cost Disney World millions of dollars to build and implement. It is a system where guests at Disney World have an electronic band around their wrist that is linked to a user account that the wearer can use to pay for food, unlock your room, book a dinner reservation, get into the park, and to book a Fast Pass ticket for rides. Disney had to replace all of the turnstiles at the entrance of the park to put in the new scanners.
Above is a before shot of the turnstiles used to enter Disney. Currently, the turnstiles now look like this:
Photo: orlandosentinel.com
I have not gone to see it yet, but I am hoping to go to Disney later this year, and will experience the Magic Bands firsthand!
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Sports Playing for the Stanley Cup By Tyler - Grade 6 The NHL playoffs had many great plays, records, and upsets. In the quarter finals, the LA Kings were losing to San Jose 3-0. LA had a record breaking comeback to win 4-3 in game 7. LA set the record as the third team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit. New York also had a great series versus the Flyers, and New York put an end to the series, also bringing it to game 7. In the Conference semifinals the Montreal Canadians put an upset on the Boston Bruins. New York kept their season going by putting an end Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the other division, LA brought fans to their feet by beating the Anaheim Ducks. Chicago put on a great effort versus Minnesota to win in game 6. On the east side of the bracket New York beat Montreal to advance to the Finals for the first time
since 1994 with Mark Messier when they won. On the west side of the bracket LA played hard to win in game 7 versus the Chicago Blackhawks. LA playing maxed out games to 7 in all 3 series for a total of 21 games. That left LA Kings forward Anze Kopitar to go against Henrik Lunquivist and the New York Rangers to battle in the finals. In game 1 the LA King’s star defenseman Drew Doughty in overtime put a spin move on Dan Girardi and put the shot top shelf on the all star goalie Henrik Lunquivist. LA won game 1 3-2. In game 2 another overtime goal was scored by LA’s Willy Mitchell with an amazing shot from the point with a beautiful tip by Dustin Brown to keep fans confident with LA winning 5-4, shifting the scene over to New York. In game 3 Jonathan
Donald Sterling
Donald Sterling the head owner of the Clippers for 33 seasons was recently banned from the NBA and fined $2.5 million dollars. He made racist remarks, which were caught on camera and later released in public. Sterling is 80 years old. He said he made a terrible mistake and needs to apologize. Donald Sterling was born April 26, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. He now lives
Photo: espn.com
By Mannik - Grade 6
Quick played outstanding with a shutout, and Jeff Carter had the game winning goal in the first period with no seconds left. LA won 30. The Kings said they felt confident to win game 4 and sweep in the finals, and was set to be the 3rd team to sweep in the finals in NHL history. However, Game 4 was interesting, with many chances lost. Henrik Lunquivist played amazing, allowing 1 goal in the third period, he had an average of .976 GA. New York won
their first game in the finals, 2-1. Game 5 was back in LA, and went well for the home team at first. The game went into two overtimes, and Alec Martinez shot a rebound at New York’s net to win it at home with a score of 3-2. Justin Williams won the Conn Smythe trophy for MVP. Chris Sutter, son of LA Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, exclaimed “Lets do it again!” which was the excited feeling felt by many in the crowd.
in Beverly Hills, California. He attended California State University, Los Angeles. He never actually apologized, he just made it worse by saying it’s not his fault that people recorded him, and he can say what he wants in private. After his wife was about to allow the team to be sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion, Sterling did a 180 and decided that he is not going to sell
the Clippers, and is also going to sue the NBA for 1$ billion for forcing of the sale of the Clippers. Donald Sterling also has hired four private investigators to dig into the pasts of all the other NBA owners so that he doesn’t go down alone. Singlehandedly he wants to bring down the structure of the whole professional sport.
Photo: downtownmagazinenyc.com
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Sports Derek Jeter’s Last Ride By Jack - Grade 6 The captain of the Yankees, who single-handedly represents baseball at its best, is hanging it up at the end of the season. Derek Jeter who is a .312 career hitter, with 3,380 career hits and 8th on the all time hit list, is a guaranteed 1st ballot hall of famer, and honestly could become the first player to earn 100% of the votes. This makes back-toback years where Yankee greats have retired, when last year, the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, retired with the most saves in base-
ball history. His greatest season was in 1999 where he had personal bests in batting average, home runs, hits, and runs batted in. Over the years, teams changed so much around Derek Jeter. He started with team guys such as Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, and his current manager Joe Girardi, who produced both on and off the field. Last season, the only players on his team who produced were Robinson Cano, who is the top 2nd baseman in baseball, Brett
Gardner who has great speed and plays top notch defense but not much else, Alfonso Soriano, who is an all or nothing hitter at the plate, and Curtis Granderson, who was injured most of the season. Both Granderson and Cano departed in free agency after last season. Since 2004, the Yankees have been plagued by the worst disease in baseball imaginable, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is the opposite of Jeter in every way. Rodriguez is selfish, Jeter is selfless, Alex cares about becoming the best, Derek is only concerned with the good of the team. Throughout all of the A-Rod contro-
versy, Jeter has remained a great player and role model. Derek Jeter is the greatest player anyone could have on their team over the past 20 years. Photo: playersview.net
Sticky Situation By Tyler - Grade 6
By Aislinn - Grade 5 The Boston Breakers are a professional women’s soccer team in Boston. Their head coach is Tom Durkin, and their assistant coaches are Cat Whitehill and Ashley
Phillips. When the Boston Breakers play at home, they play in Harvard Stadium. To get tickets, you should visit the Breakers website, www.breakerstickets.com, to choose what seats you want. You can get season tickets, 3 game packages, flex pack-
he said, adding “Most pitchers use it to get great advantages for their pitches.” Pineda also used pine tar in a previous game against the Red Sox, but the team did not contest the use. After this ejection, the MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he will review the use of pine tar in major league baseball for pitchers.
ages, and individual 2014 regular season games. The Boston Breakers will be playing June 11th through August 17th. If you need more information, go to their website: www.bostonbreakers.com, which will show you their
schedule, roster, and much more. Photo: Wikipedia.com
Boston Breakers
During the 2014 MLB season Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees was ejected from a game versus the Red Sox on April 23, 201 for using pine tar. Pine tar helps a pitcher get a firmer grip on the ball. Red Sox manager, John Farrell, had a few comments after the game. “It looked obvious in the second inning,”
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Sports Red Sox Need Outfielders By Jack - Grade 6 The Red Sox have been in the middle of the AL East so far this year, but one move could give them the necessary push to make the postseason. The Sox outfielders have hit .211 so far this season, which puts them last in baseball, even below the unquestioned worst team in baseball, the Houston Astros. This has supported the team’s low full season average at .247. Shane Victorino has been oft-injured all year, Jackie Bradley Jr. has struggled at the plate, and our left field group of Jonny Gomes, Daniel Nava, and Mike Carp haven’t been able to repeat their production from last year’s magical season. Grady Sizemore has struggled to re-adjust to the
major leagues after an injury-plagued hiatus. An outfielder who could be added at the deadline is Rangers right fielder, Alex Rios, who is hitting .332 with 3 home runs and 12 stolen bases. With first baseman Prince Fielder out for the season, the Rangers may consider a minor rebuild. Rios is technically a free agent after the season but has a relatively cheap team option. When Victorino returns from the DL, and if they consider moving Brock Holt to left field, that would make a formidable outfield. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks has lost his place on the team thanks to being both injured and mediocre, and could be either a replacement first
United Coming Back Strong? By Nick - Grade 5 Manchester United surprisingly placed 7th in the Barclays Premier League after being 1st in the league last year. The soccer world was left in shock. I don’t even like them, but I did not expect them to place 7th! The least I expected was that they wouldn’t have a lot of money because they did not get in the top 5. The top 5 teams in the league get into leagues to get trophies such as Champions League and the Europa League, but
United are predicted to spend 150-200 million on players and are going to have some major transfers. After such a disappointing
Photo: wikipedia.com
base or designated hitter, which could help his offense due to less defensive responsibility. He would also be playing in a lot more hitter friendly park. Obviously that one for one swap is unrealistic, so a pitching prospect would have to head to Texas and a fit would be right-hander Anthony Ranaudo who has a 2.79 in Pawtucket. Letting him go would be fine since we have a crop of other potential pitchers including Henry Owens, Allen Webster, and Matt Barnes. To complete the deal we would also send former top prospect Ryan Lavarnway who was hyped to be the catcher of the future, but
panned out to be a bust. With the majority of the Rangers catching options are injured or struggling, this could help their bleak depth. There are plenty of more popular options available such as Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton, but he would cost a lot more, and Rios would be a great option.
season I expect them to use the 150-200 million dollars to bring in some big time talent. Players they might sign are players such as Toni Kroos, Arjen Robben, Marco Reus, and Thomas Muller from Bayern Munich, Luke Shaw from Southampton, Eliaquim Mangala from Porto, Cesc Fabregas, Mat Hummels, Edison Cavani, and William Carlvalho. Even though that list of players may seem golden to United, 10 of their players from the 2013- 2014 season may leaving their team! Such as 3 defensemen, 6 midfielders,
and 1 striker. Another problem that Manchester United has is their manager. David Moyes just got the pink slip and getting a new manager would make them lose money because of Moyes’s existing contract. If United can’t buy some midfielders and defensemen, they are doomed. In my opinion, United will not come back right away, or even possibly never. The impact of Sir Alex Furguson retiring may affect them unless they can get a new manager to bring them back to the top four. United will be in trouble.
Photo: metro.us
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Sports World Cup By Nick - Grade 5 I surveyed the newspaper club to find out who they thought would win the 2014 World Cup. The results are below. Who do you think will win?
Photo: diretube.com
Who do you faisland off of Portugal. vor? The World Cup He plays club soccer started in 1930 and at Real Madrid in has continued every Spain. Ronaldo is four years since then, currently the 2nd best except for 1942 and player in the world. He 1946, because of World already has won awards War II. There are 32 like FIFA World Player teams separated into 8 of the Year. groups. Group A, B, Another player to Photo: wikipedia.com C D, E F, G, watch out for and H. There is Lionel are 5 teams in each Messi. Messi group. Each team will was born June 24 face against another team in 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. their group once. The top 2 He is playing for Barcelona. teams in each group will Messi is currently the best advance to the next round. player in the world and has The USA are also in the won many awards such as hunt, even though they are FIFA World Player of the in a difficult group for them Year. with Germany, Portugal, Fun facts about the world and Ghana. The USA will cup: face Ghana in their first game and are desperate for a It’s the worlds most win. watched sporting event. The top ten teams to win 3.2 billion people the world cup are Germany, watched the world cup Brazil, Argentina, Spain, in 2010. That is 46.4 % Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, of the entire world. England, France, and Belgium. Brazil are most likely Brazil has won the to win because they are World Cup 5 times hosting it, but in my opinion 1958, 1962,1970, 1994, Germany is going to win and 2002. because their team is loaded with young energetic players The first World Cup and is more ready than ever! was in Montevideo, There are also some Uruguay in 1930. players to watch out for. Certain players are at the top India qualified for the of there game and are absoworld cup in 1950, but lutely outstanding! One of was disqualified because them is Christiano Ronaldo. the team refused to Born February 5 1985 in wear cleats instead of Funchal, Madeira, a small playing barefoot.
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Art Corner
Scenes of Washington DC
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Art Corner
Color Values Students in Mrs. Harris’ art class collaborated to create these portraits, focusing on the color values of art and the lasting values of each individual.
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Student Spotlight Writing By Ella and Ava - Grade 5 Writing With a paper and pen you can write again and again A friend can mend the beginning to end and recommend If you want to extend, you can take your pen and write again
The Rake By Ronin - Grade 6 One day; That day It came. That thing, It took her. It...it I can’t say It’s too much, It’s here, It has me. Goodbye.
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Student Spotlight
Bored out Visit
of
your
mind?
With Joel a n d Od in
We may like our videos, but we know you love ‘em! Contact email: joel@thecinemamonsters.com
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COMICS MINECOMICS EP 1 by AIDAN (aka aireilbon on Scratch!)
DARKNESS by RONIN
FEZES ARE COOL by AIDAN (aka aireilbon on Scratch!)
EATING WITH A CAT by RONIN
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The Last Word
Diversity By Abigail I am diverse in every way We are diverse by what we say We are different from the heart To the freckles on our skin, From the color of our eyes, To the colors of our soul. Beliefs and culture, Life and ways, We are diverse, Listen to what I say So now that you heard. Now that you read. Why do we use diversity as a threat? Instead a choice to rejoice and join hand in hand. I am diverse in every way. We are diverse in what we say
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