In the Middle (2019-2020 v2)

INSIDE Service Day

ISSUE 2, 2019-2020

MCDSwalks for Cancer B Y MAYA TAFUR AND A LEX POOL

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Class Trips

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Thespians

One of the biggest events at Miami Country Day School is their Walk for Cancer. Thousands of people go to this event to support raising money for cancer.

WCA and The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Marilyn Greenfield added. The walk has raised so much money for good, imagine what will happen in a couple years!

Renan Dreyfuss Mond Ramos, a student in the 8th grade, went to the walk and said, ?It was interesting, I did not actually walk the walk, but I did stay and helped with the ice cones and popcorn.? Renan is actually a member of the Middle School Leadership group.

That?s why he was apart of helping out with the event by working on the ice cones and popcorn.

The Walk is set up and organized by the Upper School Student Chairs and Co-Chairs, who volunteer their time to help educate our community about the effects and impact of cancer. The Student Chairs organize a Walk assembly for the Upper School every year with an educational program to raise awareness. They also set one up

for the Middle School. ?For the past four years, Alison Greenfield?s Middle School Leadership class has organized a Walk assembly to raise awareness in the Middle School," said Marilyn Greenfield. "These students have helped educate their peers on cancer awareness, and with their involvement they have doubled the Middle School student attendance at the Walk.?

Continued on page 4

Another student, Marina Meinberg Themudo Lessa in the 7th grade, said that she loved this activity and couldn?t wait to go next year and that she had lots of fun all the times she went. She also went last year and noticed it was more organized this year, showing the growth of the walk. She added that she still enjoyed both.

Ms. Seidel is an 8th grade english teacher and went to the walk as well.

She added on that, ?It was very well organized and I loved that it was student run.? Lots of students and teachers have talked about how it was well run this year, showing that all the people planning have done a great job!

The Walk started in 1999 raising $6,000 and to date we have raised over $780,000 to benefit the Heidi Hewes PHOTO BY MR. FALLIK

Bazaar raises money for PA B Y A NGELINA B ELIN The holiday bazaar took place on November 12, 2019. It is the 24th annual holiday bazaar. The holiday bazaar is one of the most fun events over the entire yea, and it benefits the Parents Association. The Holiday Bazaar is open to Lower Schoolers, Middle Schoolers, Upper Schoolers, teachers, and people that don?t go to our school.

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"That way everyone gets to buy and explore new the bazaar. We have over forty-seven vendors," said Caryn Lubesky the president of the parents association for the last two years at Miami Country Day. The PA has a lot of vendors come into our gym and turn the gym into a big shopping mall. These vendors come and sell the things that they have brought for the students at Miami Country Day to buy at the holiday bazaar. The bazaar sells things like jewelry, clothes, toys, food, candy, raffle tickets, etcetera.

The bazaar is a great and fun tradition to experience at Miami Country Day School. The holiday bazaar takes about 8 months to organize and to interview all of the vendors to see if they would be a good fit for the holiday bazaar.

During the holiday bazaar, the team who set up the holiday bazaar helps get Miami Country Day special security that day to make sure no one would be stealing and so that everything goes as planned. A lot of different parents volunteer to help make the day of the holiday bazaar run as smooth as possible. ?This is going to be the biggest and greatest holiday bazaar ever in the 24 years that we have created the holiday bazaar.? said Caryn Lubesky.

This year we had two food trucks on campus during the bazaar, Chick-fil-a, and pizza. Added on to that we had an ice cream station where you had different varieties of ice cream to choose from during the bazaar.

The money from the holiday bazaar gets put back into the campus. For example, The parents association paid 750,000 dollars for the Center for the Arts, and through the holiday bazaar is one of the ways we pay back that money that they pledged for the Center for the Arts.

Continued on page 2 PHOTO BY B ROGHAN MUHLIG From left: Sofia Gr itsh, Evie Brown L agr andeur, Santiago Bar reto, L uka Zazadze

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Around MCDS Student gov't helps you have a good year!

B Y A LEX POOL

Eighth grade student government is a big part of the middle school. They plan different events such as Service Day, the Cancer Walk assembly, and currently the Angel Tree program.

The student government has five students in it: Renan Mond Ramos, Scout Hudson, Arianna Castellon, Ginger Jacob, and Edoardo Figari. With the help of administration and their sponsor, Mrs. Greenfield, they plan events together.

Arianna said that student government in her own words is ?a group of students that work together to make decisions for the whole middle school and plan activities.? When other students in student government were asked, they all responded in a similar way.

Mrs. Alison Greenfield, teacher and helps with leadership and teaches seventh grade social studies, said, ?Student government is a student led organization whose primary goal is to promote school spirit and leadership among Middle School students.?

They both said that student government plans different events for the middle school, with the help of other students in leadership.

So far this year student government has planned the cancer assembly, service day, and angel tree program. Coming up after the break it will be spirit week and that is what they are currently planning for.

Student government is like a big team. Ginger said that each person in student government doesn't have a specific role but instead work as a group to complete a task. The only person with a specific role is Ms. Greenfield, who helps them execute their ideas.

Each person in student government has to run and be elected. Ms. Greenfield regarding the election, ?I don?t pick people, they choose to run at the end of their 7th grade year and are elected by the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. The leadership class is scheduled around the classes of the Student Government officers but any other 7th or 8th grader is welcome to join the elective.?

TOP: Student gover nment is also responsible for the quote and pledge at assembly.

BEL OW: From top left Scout Hudson, Ginger Jacob, Ar ianna Castellon and Renan M ond Ramos.

Not pictured: Edoar do Figar i.

PHOTOS BY A LEX POOL

Each student had their own specific reason on why they ran. Scout said that she ran to make a difference in the middle school and its community.

And being apart of the student government is a good way to achieve it.

Continued on page 5

Students love the Holiday Bazaar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The holiday bazaar can seem a little bizarre at first when you walk in but when you get to walk around and experience how the bazaar is set up and organized you will think it is bizarre but in a very, very great and fun way. ?I went to the holiday bazaar because I like shopping,? said Natalia Marquez, a student in the seventh grade.

Many people that went to the holiday bazaar thought that the things that were being sold were very interesting and worth buying.

Alicia Finn a new sixth-grader said, ?The holiday bazaar was really fun and there were many things that I didn't expect to be. I rate the holiday bazaar an 8 out of 10.?

The holiday bazaar was an amazing experience for everyone who had the lucky chance of going inside the bizarre gym. Miami Country Day and its community hopes that the bazaar will come back next year, the year after that, and the year after

that. Miami Country Day and the students thank the people who created the bazaar, parents association, and the vendors.

Photos from left: Ella Smith browses the bazaar.

Romeu Szulc does some shopping with his mom.

L eyka Roj o and M asha Dubovitsky look for gifts.

PHOTOS BY B ROGHAN MUHLIG AND MR. FALLIK

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Red Ribbon Week is a warning Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco, drug, and violence prevention awareness initiative. This campaign is the nation?s oldest and B Y DANIELLA largest drug prevention awareness movement. Red Ribbon Week A RANGO started after the death of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique ?Kiki? Camarena, who was killed in 1985 by drug traffickers he was investigating in Mexico.

After his death, people wanted to honor his sacrifice.

Local celebrations began in California ? where Camarena grew up in 1985, and in 1988 the National Family Partnership started the first National Red Ribbon Week. "Red Ribbon Week is a national movement to bring awareness to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use and making healthy choices," said Brooke Ehinger a Middle School Life Skills Teacher and Guidance Counselor.

Red Ribbon Week is not only big in our school but in other schools, too, because the problem of kids smoking, vaping, and taking drugs is becoming bigger and bigger in more and more schools. This event can help more kids realize how drugs, vaping, and smoking can destroy their body.

Red Ribbon Week is important because it teaches students to think about their decisions about these

issues and what substances they put into their bodies. "It is important for people to know the effects of it so that they know when they are presented with it, when someone offers it to them or when they see it," said Brooke Ehinger. "They are able to make educated decisions and able to say no and understand why they are saying no and abstain from it."

As most people know drugs can cause bad affects physically, but it can also seriously affect you mentally as well. "It's important to know because it is seriously affecting not only the physicality of people, sometimes leading to death, but it also affects people's mental health," said Nadine Maxwell, a Middle School Guidance Counselor.

"And it not only affects people who are taking the drugs but it also affects their family who will go through that journey with them, which is very hard and painful."

learning should be involved in raising awareness about drugs."

Miami Country Day School had assemblies, presentations, and more. for students and parents about Red Ribbon week. "I learned about how drugs and how smoking can affect you mentally and physically for a long time and a short period of time," said Stella Krelstein.

A big problem of vaping, smoking, and drugs is addiction. Addiction is only making this issue bigger, and helping kids make bad decisions.

Creating awareness about the dangers of drugs, "Addiction is bad because you don't want to rely on tobacco, and alcohol is extremely important and something else to give you what you need. You Red Ribbon Week is a very important program. We don't want addiction taking over your life, it ruins all need to be knowledgeable about these serious your family, it ruins your job, and your school, and issues to be able to make good decisions when your hobbies, and your sports. So it is bad because faced with tempting or addictive situations. it affects every aspect of your life, it takes over. And it's very difficult to The middle school welcomed Ana M oreno, a mental health clinician and addiction specialist, who spoke to the students get out of," said Brooke Ehinger. about the danger s of vaping.

This topic was also brought to the attention of parents. When asked why our school community chose to make parents involved in this event Brooke Ehinger said, "I think educating a student is not only the job of a school but it's a combined effort with school and home, so teachers and parents come together to help their children to be educated about drug use and its dangers. So, you know, everyone, really who is involved in influencing a child's

MCDScelebrates our core values B Y CHLOE SHAPIRO Miami Country Day School?s Core Value awards have been around for roughly seven years. These awards are a way of noticing the students that behave and show the four Core Values. Ms. Pekoc said, ?Ms. Cabrera, Ms. Finny, and I, which were all team leaders at the time, decided that we should have some sort of way of recognizing students who are role models. We then had a faculty meeting and decided that there would be awards that were then called the ?Core Value Awards?."

Every month, there is a new Core Value Awards ceremony. One student from each grade receives this award during the ceremony. Core Value Medalist, Sabrina Valdivia, said, ?To win this award, I think it's mostly because you are nice to others and behave extremely well in class. Along with trying your hardest with all your schoolwork.?

Steven Mathes, Middle School Director, said, ?Although I don?t choose the Core Value winners, the students that receive the award always win it for a worthy reason. The Core Value winners do not get chosen over who has the best grade in the class, but over who meets the Four Core Values.?

For many students, winning this award could often be confusing and exciting. Mr. Michael Fallik, Eighth Grade team leader, said, ?When these students receive the award, I think they are surprised but ultimately honored. We hope that the award will inspire them to continue

The core values winners from first semester. embracing the four Core Values.?

Continued on page 19

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Walk for Cancer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Alison Greenfield is the sponsor of the Walk. Kay Lombardo is a parent of Jack Lombardo. He is a junior in highschool. Jack Lombardo is also a member of co-chair.

Mrs. Greenfield has been involved with the Walk since 1999. She said, ?I have watched the student involvement, education on cancer awareness and attendance at the Walk increase in number.? It has become this really big walk and super busy, but it had to start somewhere. She has watched this walk grow in size.?

In the event they have multiple things to do before or after the big walk. Some of the things you can do once you arrive to the event are jumping on a trampoline, ride on a slippery and fun water slide, get to ride on some carts, and if you want to get a bite while you are at the event they have a barbecue where you can enjoy a nice grilled meal. They also have ice cone and popcorn to snack at in some booths.

Some of their well known activities besides the walk are booths and in one of there booths you are able to cut your hair and donate it to make wigs for people who are battling cancer. There are also food booths run by middle school students, teachers, and volunteers.

?I am extremely proud to see the commitment of our students, parents, faculty, staff and our community raise funds for cancer research to help find a cure!,? said Mrs. Greenfield. She has helped run this along with helping her students run it. She is a big part of the Walk with the middle school.

This walk is important for the middle school and more. This walk has so much hard work put into by all people helping.

The middle school noticed how well organized it was this year. The students that helped plan the walk in the middle school put a lot of work into this walk. Also acknowledge the many middle schoolers that went to the walk to support a good cause.

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Around MCDS Student gov't!

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Edoardo said that he also wanted to make a change.

He added that some people might not be able to share their opinion well so he wants to make sure he can contribute that important part to the middle school and to do it for himself.

Being a part of student government in eight grade is good after being in the middle school for 1-2 years.

Arianna said that the previous year in Walk for Cancer, she noticed some little things that she could change for the better. With that experience, she used it to make a difference and made certain parts better.

When she was asked about the tough part of student government she responded with, ?It is fun to be able to pick out stuff and decide things, but at the same time you will never know if they will like it or not.

That is the scary part. Like at service day, we didn't know if they were going to like the activities provided. It was fun planning it, but not waiting for the end results.?

Almost every student in student government responded with similar answers to the same questions, showing they all agree without even being together. That shows they are able to work well with each other which will make them also have good teamwork.

New students settle into MCDS I

B Y A NGELINA B ELIN

Country Day encourages you to welcome and n this middle school year, we have a become friends with those who are new to Miami lot of new students, to join us in Miami Country Day. Country Day. "This school is super welcoming. It is very big but in a good "Over the years when I saw a new student sitting way,? said Alba Haw, a new student to by themselves, I try to encourage myself to Miami Country Day in include then and become friends with the seventh grade. ?It " This school is super them,? said Michelle Pontchek, a gives you a lot of sixth-grader that has been here at opportunities, you also welcoming. I t is ver y Miami Country Day school for over 3 make life-long big but in a good years." friendships." ?That is also the way I have made way."

The new students at many of my best friends this year, this school feel very - Alba Haw and the past few years that I have welcome. The teachers been at Miami Country Day,? said and the students have Sophia Gritsch a new sixth grader to done their best for all Miami Country Day that has come all of these new students. Some of the new the way from Brazil. ?When I first walked into my students have traveled a long way to get advisory I had butterflies in my stomach. All I had to Miami and to this school. Some students didn't in my brain was a knot of nervousness." move but moved schools like Camilla Ramiez did, Sophia was excited and very, very nervous to be a new sixth grader. Camilla Ramiez moved to here new in the school. Being new to a school gives from a school called Coconut Grove Elementary. you a fresh start to your school life. You can turn Camilla Ramiez said she chose Miami Country into someone you want to be seen as. If you want Day because, ?My parents and I chose this school to be seen as a cool girl, you would be cool. If because it has very good ratings and because my you didn't want to be popular you wouldn't make mom works by the school so it is easy for her to yourself stand out or become popular. You can bring me to school." make new friends and many new choices.

As a new student to Miami Country Day, the new We as a community at Miami Country Day hope students might not know their way around the that the new students stay at this school for as long campus, and not know how to get to their classes. as possible. We welcome new students next year We as a school, hope we can help our peers and and the year after that. Once the new students at our classmates get around and help the new Miami Country Day settle into this community, we students feel welcome to the new school. The new hope that they will welcome new students next students might be so wrapped up in the idea of year as we as a community did to them. We hope being in a new school without many friends that it that their years will only get better. might have been frustrated for the new students to work in their classes.

We recommend to have a lanyard or a piece of paper to know all of your classes. Every year at Miami Country Day gets better and better.

As for the newer students, they might feel left out, or hopeless since they do not know anyone. Miami

PHOTOS BY A NGELINA B ELIN Sixth gr ader Camila Ramirez navigates the lar ge campus of M CDS.

Having a locker is new to new students, like sixth gr ader, Alicia Finn

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Students commit to service B Y CHLOE SHAPIRO Service is an amazing way of giving back to the community. MCDS participates in Service twice a year. These two days are fun-filled and an amazing way to show our appreciation for our society.

we should all be doing.?

Overall, Service Day involves constant and constant planning.

Middle School Teacher, Ms. Service isn?t just great overall but is great for Greenfield, said, ?The leadership students as well. Nadine Maxwell, MS Guidance class helps me plan Service Day Counselor, said, ?I think that Service is important and the Middle School faculty for every student across the world. Because I think and staff help to make it a that it?s important as young people and even for success! It is definitely a team adults as well to help effort.? Scout Hudson, those in need and also " I like going to WJ an 8th Grader said, ?In help causes that make class, we organize the Br yan because I like places and the people things better in the world.? wor king with little that go to them.?

There are also many Even more than that, kids." different opportunities choosing the four during Service Day. There - M aggie Houser locations can be of are four different many difficulties too. locations that the students can choose from. You 8th Grader, Arianna Castellon, can volunteer at WJ Bryan Elementary School, said, ?In Leadership, we Feeding South Florida, Miami Jewish Health organize the Service Day. Aside Systems, or you can help clean up the beach at from that, we also do our own Oleta State Park.

Service. Like helping out with the Hurricane Dorian Relief.?

7th Grader, Maggie Houser said, ?I like going to WJ Bryan because I like working with little kids.?

Continued on next page 8th Grader, Maryam Rassif said, ?My favorite location in Service would either be WJ Bryan Elementary School or the Miami Learning Experience School.?

Service can also help us to understand and learn about the world around us. Ms. Maxwell said, ?Helping those less fortunate, cause to help make the world a better place. It?s important to instill that as a value in everyone.

Because we don?t just exist in the world on our own, we all help to make the world a better place, so if we live we learn, that there are people in need, causes in need, that helps things to get better in the world.

This is something that

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Continued from previous page

Ms. Greenfield said, ?Our choice of locations is somewhat limited due to the age of our students and the size of the Middle School but we try our best to give a variety of options. After Service Day, as a leadership class, we will reflect on which locations worked and were well received and which were not and then try to change.?

Service Day is also a great way to create connections and bond with people. 8th Grader, Ginger Jacob said, ?I like Service Day because it is a good opportunity to make new friends, and it is also a good chance to bond with new people.? Maggie Houser said, ?I like Service Day because we get to be out of school and help other people.?

Steven Mathes, MS Director said, ?Service is more than just helping out in your community.

When doing service, you can acknowledge and take time to notice what?s going on in the world.?

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Class Trips 7th Grade goes to Boston This year my grade, the seventh grade, went on a school trip to Boston, Massachusetts. The days we were at Boston were on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th of October. We were mainly there to focus on the history that happened there that affected America.

B Y MAYA TAFUR

On the first day, I arrived at school at the time I would normally be and then went to my advisory.

Sinco Mr. Hayes was not going to be on the trip, I had Mr. Finny, the Dean of Students, be in charge of my advisory.

After advisory, we all went to the CFA and waited for all the busses to get ready for us. Once all the busses were ready, we put our bags in a bus/van and got on the bus we were assigned to go to Once we arrived at the airport, we waited a little bit while the teachers were organizing and handing out our boarding passes, after we got our boarding passes we checked our bags. Then we went to security which ended up being quite quick and easy.

After security and checking out all of our bags we went to get lunch. After lunch we boarded the plane, I listened to music and did my face routine during the plane ride.

After the plane ride and getting all of our belongings back, we got on a bus with our advisory and went to the USS Constitution Museum. Once we got to the USS Constitution Museum we were able to explore and look at the place for a bit.

Then we all finished viewing the museum we actually saw the ship outside of the place. It was really cool because just as me and my friends were talking and hanging out near the area, they fired off a cannon from the ship and everybody was not expecting that and looked were it fired from.

After our trip to the museum, we all went heading towards the hotel we were staying at. Once we

arrived, they told us to hang around this big area where they told us who we were going to stay with for the nights. Thankfully, I was able to be with the people I wanted AKA my best friends.

On the second day, my friends and I woke up and got ready to explore Boston.

After we got ready, Ms. Pasqualin came to tell us to go down to have breakfast.

Once we had breakfast, we went to a museum where they taught us about the Revolutionary War and the Boston Tea Party.

After we learned about that, we went to a nice area near the water where we had lunch. My lunch was very good, I had fish with a lemon pepper sauce.

Once everyone was done eating, we were called back to our busses and went to a plantation where the Pilgrims first settled and got a better understanding of their everyday lives.

After we had some time to explore the area we went to a place where we had dinner and I had a Caesar Salad.

Then we left to go to our next place.

The place we left to go next was a haunted area where it is known for having multiple deaths and ghost around. My friends and I got real spooked out.

We then all got back to our busses and went back to our hotels and got a good night of sleep for the next day.

It's already the third day at Boston and my friends and I we all wake up at around the same time and got ready for breakfast.

After breakfast we hopped on our buses and went to a place where we learned a lot about Paul Revere. We went on a trial of the track he took for his famous

Midnight Ride and we also went to the church where they gave the signal for the Patriots telling when the Loyalists were going to come Continued on page 19

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8th Grade explores the South B Y A LEX POOL about the different rooms people stayed in, clothes, and how they made the clay back then. After that we headed out for lunch.

Once we took our lunch break, we went to spend three hours at Jackson square rotating activities. I first started at Cafe du Monde. Cafe du Monde has amazing beignets. At first, I didn't expect them to be so good. When I had them they were even better than I expected. I sat with my friends and we ate all the beignets on two plates! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

I woke up at 3:30am to get ready for the class trip.

It was hard to get up, but I managed to get ready without falling asleep. I arrived at the airport around 4:45am, which was right on time. We landed around 7:45 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

From there, we went straight to a plantation. The plantation?s name is Destrehan Plantation. I started in the gift shop but left in our groups to start the tour. In the tour, I first went to see the main house.

In the house, we went into different rooms like the bedrooms, the dining room, and other parts of the house. In the house, each group had a guide that went into detail about each room. I learned a lot about the history of the plantation.

After the tour, we all were able to walk around the plantation and look at different parts with people talking about each part. After walking around and spending a long chunk of our morning at the plantation. At the different sections, we learned

B Y B ROGHAN In 8th grade, there is a trip that goes MUHLIG to New Orleans and Memphis. We learn many things with a big emphasis on American mutual cultural and immigrant roots. I had the opportunity to be a part of this experience and took that chance. I joined because I thought it would be fun to travel with my friends and also because some of the things on the itinerary looked interesting.

The weekend before the trip, Renzo Carbonell came to my house and we rode our bikes to a dollar store with 5 bucks and bought snacks for the trip.

He bought a ginormous bag of popcorn and a giant princess pen to let people borrow they next time they ask him for a pen. I bought a pack of 35 Pixy Stixs and DOTS. The Pixy Stixs came to be very helpful in the future.

The day before the class trip was Parent-Teacher Conferences. I left my BrightSide bag in my locker

The last activity I did was walk around the area and go into shops. I walked into many different types of shops like candy shops, toy shops, and tourist type shops. I bought a present for someone, it was a voodoo doll. Not a voodoo doll most people picture. It looked more like a regular doll and had a nice message on the front.

To end the day, we went to have dinner at Mulate's Cajun Restaurant. We ate, listened and danced to the music. By the end of the night, everyone was dancing and playing games. That was the end of day one.

Continued on page 11

The second activity I went to was The Presbytère. The Presbytère had two floors. The first floor was about hurricane Katrina and how it affected New Orleans. The second floor is about Mardi Gras. The first floor had a video with different people talking about how the hurricane affected them. It also showed different things lost in the hurricane such as toys, chairs, and other valuables. The second floor had different Mardi Gras outfits out and went into detail about what it means and when it was used.

so I brought another bag that I there at 4:12 am and headed towards a luggage put all the stuff I wanted to bring check. The airport seemed so hollow and empty but as a carry-on to school. I that is probably because I?m not used to going to an exchanged airport that early. When I got " I j oined because I everything into to the luggage check, the the BrightSide thought it would be fun to liveliness of an airport bag and left the returned just from one group other bag in my tr avel with my fr iends and of students. I checked in with locker, but what also because some of the my group leader, Mr. I didn?t realize DeAracama, and waited in things on the itiner ar y was that I left line to get my luggage my black wallet checked. looked interesting." in that other bag. Now being - Broghan M uhlig Continued on page 10 fully-packed, I was ready to leave to New Orleans.

My mom woke me up at around 3:30 am so I could get to the airport by 4:00 am. We got

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MCDSvisits New Orleans and Memphis CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

by Broghan M uhlig

After the gift shop, we went to look at the slave quarters. I only remember realizing how small they were. They were about the size of handicap bathroom stalls. After looking at the quarters, we went into the plantation owner?s house. It was huge! It was so fancy and oriental.

After a long and tedious entry into the main waiting area, I met up with my friends and talked for about 20 minutes. I remember us planing out where to sit and as soon as we got on the plane, those plans were not fulfilled because there were no more double seats. I ended up Inside the house, we went to all the " They showed us how sitting on the window seat next to rooms and learned about the way of Justin Claramote. It was relaxed the life and stories of the family that lived they loaded the whole plane ride. I played music on it. We learned that there was a game musket, and then they in my mp3 player and played Mario room that was basically, as our tour Kart 8. When drinks came around, I shot it. I remember guide said, ?the first man cave.? Our think I ordered a margarita mix. It?s hear ing about a thir d tour guide also like sweet lemon juice. I love told us this room of the students Drinks on airplanes because I just was not scream." find drinking the cold cup so connected to the refreshing. On the other hand, - Broghan M uhlig bedrooms airplane snacks. What?s the deal because if the with airline food? Just, what?s the deal with it? It?s men and his friends ever got dry, tiny, and are usually crushed. drunk, the mom would lock the door so the friends When we landed, I remember getting up and couldn?t do anything to the feeling every bone in my body quake and it felt as girls. if they were weak as a twig. But after stretching, you feel like your in heaven. When we got off we When we were done seeing went to our group leaders and counted. Renan all the rooms in the house, we Mond Ramos, a good friend of mine, notice that went to the front of the house there was a giant grasshopper attached to the other to get pictures, and then to the side of the glass wall. No matter what we did, back. While we were waiting hitting the thick glass, yelling at it, or moving stuff in the back, I took out my Pixy Stixs and in front of its face, it would not move. people started to notice. I remember someone asked if I would sell 1 for a dollar, and when I The groups then went done to baggage claim and did, other people started to come. I realized that waited for their bags. Funny story, a friend of mine, this was going to be the way I got my money. I called Juana Verdiquio, had their bag not come. It sold them all for different prices, depending on wasn?t coming and then, the belt just stopped what the people offered, and I had about $25! moving. About 5 minutes late, it turned on again and a little purple bag came peeking through the Around this time, we went to go learn about the hole, like a little mouse. gear used in the civil war. They showed us how they loaded the musket, and then they shot it. I After everyone got their bags we went on to a bus remember hearing about a third of the students and headed towards the Destrehan Plantation. I sat scream. I mean, the shot was really loud. We here and I decided to take out my Pixy stixs. I ate were also told about the confederate and the about 4 until people started wanting some. I gave Union uniforms, and how the women dressed. out about 5 and then I couldn?t give more because I The lady told us that the girls tried to wear would run out. This is when Leonard Niemeyer dresses that gave them an ?hourglass figure?. said, ?I will pay you a dollar for one.? I was about to sell my friend 1 Pixy stix for a dollar when I Once we were done being told about how they only spent a dollar on a pack of 35. I sold him 3 used to make walls out of moss, we went and got 3 dollars, boom. This was when I realized through the gift shop again and got back onto that I was missing my wallet. I sent my mom a the bus. I remember getting on, going in my message about it, then went onto the plantation bag to find my mp3 player, looking on the floor with the Pixy stixs in my hoodie pocket. for my mp3 player, asking my friends about my mp3 player, before I realized I was missing my We started off the tour at the gift shop, and I sat mp3! Renzo told me he remembered that with my friends, watching the others scramble for someone put it in the hood of my hoodie before pictures. I didn?t have any money so it would be we went out onto the useless to look around. Renzo and I went to the plantation. I ran out of backroom and we saw a couple of good maps and the bus and retraced my pamphlets to use. We also found mardi gras beads steps as precisely as that we both wore all trip. possible. I ended up finding it in front of the house in the tiny field area. I also want to say how nice and helpful the workers were. They helped me look for it and also reminded me where our group went. After that whole ordeal happened, I went back on the bus and we went to lunch.

When we got to the

room we were eating at, the tables weren?t big enough to sit my whole friend group so August Bicknell, Renzo, and I were at our own table. We made a little joke group chat we called the ?Jimmys?, which is the name of August?s cat. It was a chat for the ?rejects? of the friend group even though there are no actual rejects in our friend group. Nothing else was that significant other than the balsamic being amazing. Every restaurant we went to had balsamic vinegar as one of the 2 main dressings. I love balsamic and this was just mind-boggling that ranch and balsamic were the main ones. It?s usually ranch and Italian.

Page 11

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

By Alex Pool On the second day, we started off at Mardi Gras world. It was amazing! We saw how Mardi Gras floats were made and the different processes of making floats. There were so many floats that were used last year and going to be used this year! Some of the floats will be used on Fat Tuesday, which translates to Mardi Gras. That was my favorite part of the trip. I love art and it was very fun to see the process of making the floats.

Once we had gone through the warehouse, we were able to try and make masks ourselves. It got very messy with all the glitter but it all turned out well.

For lunch, we went to watch a chef make special New Orleans style food right in front of us. We ate the food and got a packet with the recipes. Not only eating the food was great, but learning how it was made. The chef also explained the history of the food.

Then, we danced and played instruments. The Congo Square society helped us with the dance and the music.

Everyone was dancing and having so much fun. I noticed most people dancing, playing instruments, and just having fun.

The last activity was going on a bus ride around New Orleans. We learned about types of architecture. Each building is different with colors and shapes. They have their own history to each as well. Also, made a stop at a cemetery to learned about it.

We ended the day we a boat ride and dinner. It was cold and windy, but the views were great. The whole grade sat inside to eat a meal.

Thursday was our travel day. That day we were going to Memphis, Tennessee.

It was a 5 hour bus ride with an hour stop.

We arrived and went straight to the National Civil Rights Museum. I learned a lot from the videos they had, the voice overs they had to go into detail about topics, and models of things. They had the real bus from the freedom rides, and a lot of other real pieces to look at.

That night we went to club 152. It had music playing, dancing, and more!

People from the grade even got up to sing, play instruments, and do other things. We left and checked into our hotel later that night.

The next day we packed up and had breakfast at the hotel. After everyone got breakfast, we departed for Graceland.

Graceland is all about Elvis. I didn't know anything about him and his story before. After we went, I learned his story. Going to his house was the best part of it.

After that, we left for Miami which concluded our fun school trip. I have never been to New Orleans or Memphis before and I learned a lot about the area and gained more knowledge on history and got experience in a different part of the U.S.

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6th Grade Experiences Miami

By Jasmine Zananir i Four days ago, who knew there could be so much action in just 28 hours. Tuesday, one of the more cultural days, the school could not have done a better job of representing Cuba. From delicious food, great culter people, and incredible traditions.

I really enjoyed learning about Cuba. Wednesday, one of the funniest days. We really involved learning about how to build and engineer.

Thursday, we had a taste of nature. That day we went fishing and went to the frost science museum.

Friday, we picked up trash and learned how to take care of the ocean.

By Diego Gor igliano This week we learned about immigration that happened in Cuba in 1961 and 1962. We learned that many kids got separated from their family because of the revolution, and sometimes never got to see their loved ones again.

This week, we also learned about engineering and how important it is for our society. We did a very cool bridge test and a hurricane test on DIY houses we made.

This week we went on a field trip to learn a lot about turtles and we did a beach clean up. We learned about all types of turtles and how plastic, pollution, boats, and sharks affect turtles in several ways. In all this week was pretty good.

By Geor ge Assato Have you ever thought about what is in your materials?

Have you thought about their impact on our planet, or even how much you use of a single material each day? Here is a material that is changing our earth in a vast way, plastic.

Each day a large amount of plastic ends up in the ocean and transferred to land where animals could eat it. Plastic is filling up our ocean and birds, turtles, fish and others mistake it for food. Just think about the impact of one human dropping a plastic bag in a lake. A turtle could swallow plastic thinking its a jellyfish, a seagull could take the plastic. It could take could blow and land in a nest of and choke hatchlings.

Page 13

Students hear story of bullying On Wednesday, November 13 the middle school students had the privilege of listening to Mr. John Halligan tell the tragic story of his son, Ryan. After many years of being bullying, Ryan took his own life at the age of thirteen.

MSers compete in spelling bee Congratulations to all of the participants who competed on stage at the CFA on Wednesday, December 4. The winner was Dylan Meyer. Runners-up were Harry Florin and Isabela Gabrielli Tangioni.

Page 14

Arts Students audition for MSmusical Every year at Miami Country Day School the drama department always puts a production for the Middle School. There is one play every semester.

B Y MAYA TAFUR

Last semester they had Clue as their play, but now they are doing the play Legally Blonde. Legally Blonde is a great musical about a girl who is known for being a dumb blonde, but ends up breaking the stereotype by going to Harvard and graduating law school proving everyone wrong by solving a case about her friend, Brooke Taylor .

One of the reasons Ms. Rizzo wanted to do this play was because it has an inspiring meaning it has to this fun play.

Ms Rizzo said, ?One of the reasons I chose to do this play was because the meaning behind it and it shows a lot of women empowerment. It also shows we shouldn?t judge a book by its cover."

For their plays, you don?t have to be a part of any

specific elective or club since everyone in the Middle School can audition. For the auditions, you had to stop by to Ms. Rizzo?s room in the CFA and take a flier that is hung up by her door. After you take the flier, you go on a website which gives all the information about the song that you have to perform. It also gives you a lot of other information. Once you decide that you want to audition for the play, you can go back to Ms. Rizzo?s room and sign up to audition.

Ms. Rizzo said a lot of the errors she saw from the auditions were that people were not prepared and didn?t see that they knew the criteria. Something else Ms. Rizzo said about the auditions was, ?The thing that I saw in a person that made decide whether they were going to be apart of the play or not is passion,? another thing she said to add on to that is that she also had to visualize who she wanted and how they would look together and also how good is their vocal range.

One of the people who got a role in the play, Trinity Stanislas, said, ?One of the reasons I auditioned was because I wanted to be a part of another play with Ms.

Rizzo because she is an amazing director.?

Another person who got a role in the play, Caterina Serrano Bigles, said that what encouraged her to audition was to be a part of another play since she loved acting ever since she could walk.

One question that many people ask is how they manage their time with their academics and their rehearsals since they work each day.

Isabela Gabrielli Tangioni said that she manages her time well and that she doesn?t worry about that, that much since she does her homework on time or she makes sure her teachers know everything about the play that affects academics.

Every school day after school, the people who got a role in the play and are apart of it go to CFA and practice there from 3:30 pm till 5:30 pm.

That is what has been going on with the play and how much hard work the people who are apart of it are doing. In conclusion, the people who have been working with the drama department in the play are doing a great job and are working very hard each day for the show.

Photos clockwise from top: Isabella Gabrieli Tangioni and Trinity Stanislas practice a scene.

Students rehearse a choreographed routine.

Ana Gallotta and Caterina Serrano-Bigles practice their lines.

PHOTOS BY MAYA TAFUR

Page 15

MSThespians impress judges B Y B ROGHAN On November 2, 2019, the middle school thespians club went to MUHLIG compete in the International Jr. Thespian Society District #4 Competition. The Miami Country Fay group (called a troupe) was comprised of the middle school thespians, drama students, MS dance, and middle school music.

According to Ms. Rizzo, MCDS got 5 superiors, 12 excellents, and 7 goods. The ranks, from worse to best, are poor, good, excellent, and superior.

Ms. Rizzo is the middle school drama teacher, MCDS troupe director, and troupe sponsor. She has taught theater for 30 years and doing thespians competitions for 25 of those years. When talking about her job as troupe director and sponsor she says, ?I register with both the state level and the county level. I create all the pieces they?re going to compete with, monologues, group musical, group ensemble, and then I practice them and take them to district competition and then the state.?

But what is a thespian? Lola Mofsky, 7th grader and music student, says ?It?s accepting everyone no matter what because we?re all together doing what we love and keeping that love with us to perform together as actors.?

Isabela Gabrielli Tangioni, 8th grader and drama student, on the other hand, says, ?A thespian is someone who just wants to act and have that as their future career.? Alex Mandel, an 8th grader in music, would agree with her. He said a thespian is only someone who is an actor.

Miguel Escobar, 7th grader and music student, says, ?To be a thespian is to be responsible, to really enjoy the performing arts and to give one hundred percent of yourself?

When asking Ms. Rizzo one significant piece she remembered doing well, she said her favorite would have to be the 6th grader trio of Alice in Wonderland. She also says that she felt the ?School of Rock?, a collaboration between Music and

Drama, did really well. ?All of our students played live music and performed the parts.?

Alex Mandel says that School of Rock was a song from the Broadway musical, ?You?re in the band.? Regarding the ?School of rock?, IMDb says ?After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn them into a rock band.?

When talking to members of the ?School of Rock?, they explained their roles. Miguel says his role is Dewey. He tells the students what instrument to play to make a band. Alex says his role was to be an understudy for Miguel and the student given the role of the security guard. Isabella says she was what they call ?Doo doo doo girls?, according to Lola. She says they both are the ones that sing the harmonies.

These aren?t the only roles of this piece. When explaining the parts of the ?School of Rock?, Alex says, ?He (Dewey) put Zac on Electric Guitar, Katy on Bass Guitar, Laurance on the Keyboard, and Freddy on Drums, and this was just when he gave the instruments and saying ?You?re in the band?.?

Ms. Rizzo says this piece had 16 students who all played music while acting. Lola seems to cover the

Dancers visit NYC The dance trip is a life changing experience.

"The dancers have an opportunity that would probably be a highlight of their year," Mr. Johnson, the dance teacher said.

Mr. Johnson also added, "The New York dance experience is an immersive opportunity for Spartan dancers to train in multiple styles of dance with New York professionals for them to work in professional studios that offer an array of specialized classes and a bird's eye view of what it's like to be a professional dancer."

The dance trip first started in 2016. To go on the dance trip you have to be in the Dance elective.

The elective is very desirable for a lot of middle

B Y L UCAS B CARDI SHRIFTMAN school boys and girls.

"I think the highlight is the last day, and it kind of puts them to the test of a real audition," explained Mr. Johnson. "They kind of took us to a new level because the kids saw outside of our four walls, which is Country Day, and they got to see what the world of dance with it looks like up close and personal.?

Mr. Johnson hopes that it would be their highlight of their year. He hopes that students have found a safe space in the dance class, where they can come every day, and have just a place to release a lot of stress and to kind of separate from their academic day. He wants them to have a space where they create and learn. ?Last year, I think the students were well behaved,? said Mr. Johnson. ?Most of the kids attending, they attended two years prior, so this is their third year attending.

So I think they know what to expect.?

feeling after finishing such a huge piece. ?I remember, at the finishing beat of the song, just standing and being like ?Woah, we just did that.??

He said they they really love the time that we get to spend seeing the city. Outside of the dance is the social aspect of it, of them building a team. They work together. They eat together. They get to eat as a family. They get to shop and see the city and kind of hang out as a family as well.

The overall dance experience is a trip from the 14th of November through the 17th of November.

Sixth grader Jonny Port said the trip was a lot of fun.

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Frozen 2 has "lots of laughs" B Y A NGELINA B ELIN

Frozen II is the continuation of Disney's Oscar-winning animated film Frozen, about the fairytale ice queen Elsa, who must learn to control her magical powers.

In the first Frozen movie, the story takes place in the northern kingdom of Arendelle, where the parents of Princess Elsa rule the country. Elsa, however, is a very special girl, because she has magical powers through which she can produce ice and snow. After Elsa unintentionally hurts her sister, Anna during a game with her magic, her life changes quickly.

The sisters now have to grow up separately and Elsa lives in constant fear of not being able to control her magical powers and feels guilty for hurting her sister. When her parents are killed in a tragic shipwreck, the now grown-up Elsa must take over the country and be the new Queen of her kingdom.

During Elsa's coronation, Anna meets Prince Hans, who she wants to marry, and asks Elsa for her approval. Elsa refused her, and when Anna confronts her in front of all the guests, Elsa loses control and shoots icy lightning. It happens like in her nightmares, she is called a monster and she flees from her own Kingdom. Only Anna worries about Elsa and goes to search for her sister, high up in the mountains where she gets help from Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and the snowman Olaf.

In her new adventure, Elsa pursues her family roots and also the source of her powers. The answer she and Anna encounter is as extraordinary as it is dangerous. Together with their companion snowman Olaf, Kristoff, and his reindeer Sven, the sisters try to save the Kingdom of Arendelle from

the impending catastrophe.

For this, they must first leave Arendelle. High in the north, they find themselves in a magical forest, where they meet the people of the forest. Will Elsa have her powers under control? Or does her gift go to her head? Will Kristoff propose to Anna and does she want to marry him? Will Olaf want to help and lighten the mood? Who is the true hero in the story?

The main roles of Anna and Elsa are again voiced by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff return as Olaf and Kristoff in the second part. New are Evan Rachel Wood as the mother of Anna and Elsa, and Sterling K. Brown as Lieutenant Matthias.

I really wanted to see the second Frozen II movie, as I really enjoyed the first one when I was a young girl. The music and lyrics in the first movie were my favorite and I could not wait to see the continuation of the story and hear the new Soundtrack. Disney does not let you down, as Frozen II is a great movie with lots of laughs and the music is fantastic.

Do I think it will be as successful as the first? No, I don't think so. But it is a nice Christmas movie, and it is definitely worth going to the cinema to watch. My rating for the movie Frozen II would be eight stars out of ten. I would

definitely recommend to go and watch this movie, especially if you like funny, adventurous animated movie with a great soundtrack.

Book Review: The Red Umbrella The Red Umbrella was a very good book. It had many details and it captured the reader in every way. At first, I thought ?Oh, it's just going to be another school reading book.' The B Y EVELYN first few chapters were ok at first, K UNDE but then later in the book I actually got into the book. I felt like I was there spectating everything that happened.

Christina Diaz Gonzalez, the author, really describes everything and even though I do not know much about the history of Castro and what happened, it didn't really matter because the author captures the scene and brings the reader to the knowledge that they need to know to enjoy the book as well as possible.

The Red Umbrella is about a girl named Lucia.

Lucia has a younger brother named Frankie. Her parents do not like the way the government is taking control right now and they are trying to do their best to adapt. They try to hide their money, and it doesn't end up well. Many people they know get hurt badly, and sooner or later Lucia's best friend's family does not trust them anymore because of the brainwashing situation. Their parents have to make huge decisions, life changing ones, ones that risk never seeing loved ones again.

Lucia meets many new people, friends, and people she might as well call family. She learns many new traditions, she learns to eat many different foods, and she does many different things. Even though she comes to America it brings out the best in her and pushes her to her limits. It makes her and

Frankie bigger, and stronger people. It did that to many children.

The book was based on real life events which all revolved around Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro was someone who once ruled Cuba. He was born on August 13, 1926 in Cuba. Once he was older he took over Cuba and in a bad way to many, and in a good way to others. He took away property of people. He also took away their money and all valuables until everything everyone owned was in his hands. If you tried to hide stuff or go against what he thought, it could result in death. Even before all of this, Castro already had a horrible background. He went to jail and tried to hurt/kill many others even before that. Castro was a dictator and broke many families apart.

After a while parents were trying to help their children stay safe, so people created Operation Pedro Pan. Operation Pedro Pan is where minors are sent from Cuba to go to the United States to help the minors get to safety. Over 14,500 children were sent to the United States seeking a safer place to live. Many of those children never ended up meeting their parents again. Though many lucky kids met their parents again and reunited. Many children were put into foster homes and/or separated from their siblings or friends.

Overall The Red Umbrella was a wonderful book and it ended quite well. There was suspense, a climax, sadness, happiness, and wanting for Lucia and Frankie to get the best and meet their parents again. It is sad that this was part of Cuba's history and many people wish to not go back or visit

because of this. It has greatly impacted Cuba and it nearly destroyed families. We can not change our past but our past will help shape our future. "Let go of the past, but keep the lessons it taught you."

-Chiara Gizzi. The Red Umbrella teaches a beautiful moral, and it will always stay in my mind because of how it helped me to think about the world in a more detailed way.

Page 17

B Y L UCAS B ACARDI SHRIFTMAN

Restaurant Review: Papi Steak because everyone calls him Papi and he is known for his steaks.

The menu was really hard to choose from.

They had a wide variety of selections. I ended up getting the Bone-In Dry Aged NY strip, Asparagus, and potatoes. I shared a steak with my friend, so we had to get another one. I would rate the menu a 9/10.

Papi Steak is a new steakhouse in Miami Beach, founded by Dave Grutman. Grutman is the owner of LIV at Fontainebleau, Story, Komodo, OTL, Planta South Beach, as well as Swan and Bar Bevy in the Design District. I had the opportunity to interview Dave Grutman.

"I'm forty-five years old, a husband, father and I are passionate about the hospitality business," explained Grutman. His partner, celebrity chef David Inhorn, said they named it Papi Steak

The food was amazing. It was one of the best steaks ever! I would rate the food an 8/10 because the steak was very small, but very juicy, and cooked perfectly. I had a popcorn truffle butter with the stake. It made the steak taste good, but not a taste everyone would like.

One of the things that I thought was really interesting is that they served no bread! I would order is the NY strip steak or the Papi steak if you are eating with three very hungry people because it is really big. A side that had a very interesting taste was the Monop-potato which consists of a twice-baked potato with Osetra caviar. It is their signature dish. I would recommend it if you like very sophisticated tastes. The potato was one of the best potatoes I've ever had even without the caviar.

While you are at it, get the asparagus. It was really good because it had fresh herbs and was grilled

perfectly.

My rating for the service would be a 10/10, because the service was amazing. The waitress would check in on us every few minutes and would answer all our questions in a very clear and distinct way that was easy to comprehend. The food came really fast. There was good timing between the appetizer and the main course. I thought the waitress was so knowledgeable about the menu that I let her order dessert for my mom, my friend, and myself.

The music was very loud and the place was dark. It was tough to hear the person next to me. The chairs were comfortable and really nice artwork. The location was also really good. It is in between Milos, Joe's Stone Crabs, and Prime One Twelve. I would give the environment which consists of the music, seating, brightness, and location a 6/10.

The overall of the restaurant would be an 8/10 because the lights and the music disappointed me, the food was outstanding, but the steak was too small, and they served no bread. All of the other food was amazing. The service was also flawless.

The waitress did everything right.

Restaurant Review: Bartaco About two weeks ago I went to this relatively new place around Aventura Park Square called Bartaco.

On the outside, it looks like a little restaurant with a bar, but on a closer look, you start seeing the aesthetic of the interior, which is mostly based on the ocean and has a lot of ?beachy? decor.

The seats are made of wood and they have blue and white cushions. You can find many photographs of boats and models on the beach with a pretty sunset or sunrise. The lights lit above were made of baskets and were everywhere. There were wooden shelves on the back which had books, a globe, a picture of the beach, and held cages of real fruit. It made the restaurant look alive and joyful.

The waiters were very kind and attended us as soon as we sat down. The food was based on Mexican

B Y NATALIA FERNANDEZ cuisine. There is a great order of tacos which captivate the essence of the restaurant since the platters are small you order more than one, therefore there is a mix of all the things you order.

If you ever have the time to visit this delightful place, I would recommend eating the duck tacos. The taco is freshly made, and the duck is made to balance the flavors that the tortilla holds. Bartaco also has a variety of drinks you can order. There is also a virgin side of the drink menu. What I usually order to drink is a

ginger-grapefruit ?mocktail?. The setting goes quite nicely with the chosen aesthetic, and Bartaco will soon be a very popular restaurant no doubt.

Journalists meet champion

On Wednesday, December 4, the Middle School journalism class had the special opportunity to attend a private party with Serena Williams.

The students got to watch professional journalists interview the tennis star, and our own Lucas Bacardi Shriftman was fortunate to interview her as well.

Page 18

Sports MCDSsoccer players work hard The Miami Country Day middle school soccer team a hard working team and is very desirable for a lot of middle school students. The Miami Country Day Middle School boys soccer team is very good. Their record is 3 wins and 2 losses.

B Y L UCAS B ACARDI harder but will work SHRIFTMAN because he wants to get better and wants the team to succeed. He said, "Yeah, they definitely work together."

The Miami Country Day Middle School boys head soccer coach, Coach Luis has a lot of confidence in the team. "Every year we have a winning season.

We have a lot of eighth graders that played for the team all three years in middle school.

Max Manhrie is the captain on the boys soccer team because, as his coach describes him, "he is a great player and a great teammate as well. He is definitely a leader and an eighth grader. He is the only captain on the team. When the first game starts he will pick another captain. He will have one or two other captains. Everything matters because they are considered a student athlete, so we are big on having good grades. This is one of the reasons why I choose Max Manhire as a captain. The reason is because he was awarded with the core values award for the month of November." He also said "In middle school we don't go to states it's just a district that we participate in. I believe it's eight schools. I believe that we will make it to finals.?

Coach Luis said, "We have a young team with a lot of six and seventh graders, and we definitely have a lot of potential. It's part of my job to get that out of them throughout the practices."

Coach Luis said, "They built some good chemistry and friendship, and we did have a good season last year."

The boy soccer players in Miami Country Day work hard. ?Yes we have a great team, great attitude, good behavior, and show a lot of sportsmanship with all the practices and hopefully carries on throughout the season.?

Lukas Hoermann, a sixth grader at Miami Country Day said he works hard, but he could work harder, and he will because he wants to help out the team.

Oliver Shiff a sixth grader at Miami Country Day, said that he works hard, but not as hard as he could,

Commitment is required in basketball not only by the players but also by the coaches. Demonstrating sacrifice, loyalty, and dedication by both coaches and athletes is important. It is important because players want to see that their coaches care about the team, and so that players know they are working to achieve something important. When asked what the main goal for this year is, the Middle School Girls Basketball Coach, Shenequah Johnson said, "my main goal is for everyone to get better at something, whether it's on the court or off the court."

Senna Trafton a player on the girls varsity soccer team said they are not that good and probably won't make it to states.

The girls team goes to January 24. The boys team goes to January 24. It is a great time to get better at soccer and be a better teammate. The soccer players in Miami Country Day are very talented they usually get athlete of the week. In conclusion, the boys and girls work hard everyday and hopefully win!

Miami Country Day Middle School also has a Girls Soccer team. "I think this year

Time to hit the court Basketball at Miami Country Day is a great team sport that requires determination, commitment, passion, and sportsmanship. This is one of the most popular and competitive sports in the school and this year's season is gearing up to be a good one.

Players and coaches practice almost every day of the week to achieve a common goal and represent the school in the tournaments as best as they can.

will be a rebuilding year we lost a few key players, said Coach Marco D?Urbano. ?I know we had some players that have a lot of potential, so I believe we will be successful, but it will be challenging." Coach D'urbano has a lot of confidence in the team also. The girls team is not as strong as the boys, but at the time of this writing they won 2 out of 7 of their games.

B Y DANIELLA A RANGO

Heart and passion is also very important for this sport because what you choose to do in a game of basketball, despite the score and whether it looks like your team has a lot of points on the scoreboard, determines the level of heart that you have for the game. Whether winning or losing players try to give their best at all times.

"Putting all your effort into a game or in anything, shows you have a lot of passion and you will succeed in anything you want to do. You got to be coachable, but you also have to be willing to put in the work," said Coach Shenequah Johnson. "You can have a great coach and a great trainer, but if you don't put in that work in school practice, your not going for it. If you do just enough, you will always be just enough. What's the point of putting in all that work and time if you are not as good as you can be? So I'd say my best advice is if you are going to do it, do it. But you give a hundred percent all the time you do it."

Fun is the athletes' primary reason for participating in a sport. If you don't have fun while you are playing the sport, there really isn't a reason why you should continue in something you don't want to do or maybe are not interested in anymore. "My favorite part about being a basketball player is because it's really enjoyable. I've gotten more athletic and I do more exercise," said Julia Green, a player in the Middle School Girls basketball team.

Sportsmanship is absolutely essential.

Treating all players like teammates and appreciating everyone's efforts on the court is key.

It's important to let other players know they are doing a good job. They will appreciate it and you can still battle for victory afterwards. Helping players up off the floor, teammate or not, shows compassion. If you were in the same situation, lying on the floor, you?d like that someone took the effort to help you up. Passing that feeling along is very important. Don?t let your emotions overcome your commitment to your team and the game, and always respect the coaches, yours and the other team's.

When asked what is the hardest part about being in the Basketball team Alexia Peristeris, a player in the Middle school basketball team said, "practicing outside and just persisting because it's so hard to keep focussed with humidity and everything."

From a coach's perspective, " trying to teach different personalities (is challenging). Everybody learns differently and I think that for me right now that is the hardest." Said Shenequah Johnson.

Great luck to all MCDS basketball teams this year!

And keep bouncing.

Page 19

M iddle School (JV) Volleyball

Fernandez

Most Valuable Player Award = Bianca Malatesta

Spartan Award = Stella Cardillo Ramos

Rookie of the Year Award = Valentina Valdivia

M iddle School (Var sity) Volleyball

Boys Cross Countr y

Most Valuable Player Award = Tiana Tolles

Rookie of the Year Award = Brady Lubetsky

Coaches Award = Laura De Wilde, Andi Gale

Coaches Award = Sienna Rosenberg, Isabella Possin

Fall Sports Awards

Coaches Award = Carter McGaffic

Most Improved Player Award = Mia Finvarb

Gir ls Cross Countr y

Var sity Volleyball

Rookie of the Year Award = Isabella Galofre

Rookie of the Year Award = Isabella Brod Gir ls Golf Coaches Award = Alexandra Pool

Coaches Award = Isabella Smilowitz

Gir ls Var sity Swimming Most Valuable Swimmer Award = Hannah Webb Rookie of the Year Award = Sidney Lydecker Boys M iddle School Swimming Most Valuable Swimmer Award = Miguel Escobar Coaches Award = Evan Hurwitz Most Improved Swimmer Award = Adam Jackson Rookie of the Year Award = Conrad Simpson Gir ls M iddle School Swimming Most Valuable Swimmer Award = Gwyneth Goldstein Coaches Award = Sabrina Valdivia Most Improved Swimmer Award = Natalia

Core Values Ms. Finny, a sixth grade STEM Teacher, said, ?When they win this award I feel that they might be embarrassed. Many of the students don?t think of themselves in any special way. They just live about their day as they usually do. Although, they still feel honored and proud of themselves for winning the award.?

Mariana Muniz Rodriguez, Sixth Grade Student, said, ?When achieving this award I felt highly proud of myself that I have been showing the four Core Values and that my hard work was definitely paying off. When I was walking onto the stage I felt pretty nervous but at the same time, I was overly-excited.

Sabrina Valdivia said, ?I was extremely nervous when they called my name up after reciting a

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

speech that was about me. I knew deep down that I did an amazing job and I was so proud I won the award.?

Although it might not look like it, there is a long process of choosing these award winners. Ms. Pekoc said, ?When we choose the award winners we start off by having meetings by grade level.

Then, we submit names for students who are deserving of this award. We then discuss the students and lower it down to a smaller amount of possible winners. Then once we decide who the achiever will be, each teacher contributes comments about that student. Then, a speech is created about that student. Finally, the winner gets presented at the assembly and wins their award."

Again, sometimes these students don?t expect their

7th Grade Trip CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

We also went to his house his actual house where we got to see all his rooms and his belongings.

After that we went to have lunch and I had a chicken sandwich and it was actually really good.

Then we got back on the bus and went to a big area in Boston where a lot of historical events occurred such as another trail of where Paul Revere had is Midnight Run and a cemetery where a lot of famous presidents or people that were involved in American history were at.

After that we went and had dinner and after dinner we went to a place called Boda Borg. Boda Borg is a really fun and cool place where you do a bunch of escape rooms and activities. Once our time was done at Boda Borg, we left and hopped on our bus to go to the hotel and end our day.

So the next day, we all got ready like normal day with the whole routine with Ms. Pasqualin coming in and telling us we got to go to breakfast.

award. Mariana Muniz Rodriguez said, ?I didn?t quite feel that I was the type of student to win this award. Although, once I won the award I felt that I show the four Core Values. I noticed that I was doing well in class and that I work hard every day.?

Along with winning a medal, the students also receive a certificate and ten dollars in bake sale money. Sabrina Valdivia said, ?I was really happy when I won the bake sale coupons. I put them to good use.?

The four Core Values are wisdom, honor, compassion, and respect. These four words have true meaning to our school and that is why the students who win these awards need to be recognized.

8th Grade gets in the holiday spirit

Word Search Find the In the Middle staff!

Alex Angelina Broghan Chloe Daniella David Fallik Lucas Maya