The Panther Press

OCTOBER 2018

VOL. 1

THE PANTHER PRESS The latest news and updates from Qatar Academy Sidra

Wikipedia

IN THIS ISSUE

TOPICS OF THE MONTH:

United Nations Day

by Myrto Kasselaki, Nethan Aranha, & Isra Siddiqui

UNITED NATIONS DAY &

People around the world celebrate United Nations

HALLOWEEN

day every October 24th to honor the organization that promotes human rights, social progress, and world peace. The United Nations was founded right

SCIENCE CORNER: SUPERNOVAS

SPORTS: QAS GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

after World War ll with the simple message to achieve peace. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invented UN day (United Nations Day). United Nations day began on October 24th, 1945.

Halloween

by Myrto Kasselaki, Nethan Aranha, & Isra Siddiqui

Halloween originated in Ireland and it is a world wide event that is celebrated mostly in Canada,

#TRENDING: MUSIC, TV

Ireland, England, Mexico, Sweden, Austria, Germany,

SHOW, VIDEO GAMES &

United States, it is the second most celebrated

MOVIES

Netherlands and the United States. In fact, in the holiday after Christmas.

OCTOBER 2018

VOL. 1

Supernovas: The Beautiful "Death" of a Star

by Danai Kasselaki If I know my generation, I would probably say that very few people are reading this. I am writing this anyway because I love science. If you are reading this, thank you for your curiosity. I will say that science may be boring to some people, but there are phenomenons in our world that are extraordinary. This month I will be writing about one of these phenomenon, a supernova. You have probably heard of this term before, but it is unluckily that you know of its meaning, its first discovery, and its absolute beauty. Disclaimer, this will get very

The Crab Nebula is a pulsar wind nebula associated with the 1054 supernova. It is located about 6,500 light-years from the Earth.

Wikipedia.

“boring”.

What is a supernova and why does happen. The simple explanation is that it is the end of a star. On average, a supernova will occur about once every 50 years in a galaxy the size of the Milky Way. It is an explosion that happens when the start has no more fuel to burn. For a supernova to happen, the star that is dying has to be at least five times as big as our sun.

Every star has a balance between two forces, gravity and radiation pressure. When that star has gone through the fusion of the elements its hydrogen, helium, carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon, the last element is iron. Iron cannot be fused into another element. This affects the balance of gravity and the radiation pressure. The star starts to collapse due to gravity. Each atom is affected by this. The electrons and the protons fuse into neutrons and packed very densely. This is the point where the supernova occurs.The outer layers of the start are catapulted into space through a huge explosion. Supernovas can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime. According to NASA, this is the biggest explosion that takes place in the universe. Usually a very dense core is left behind, along with an expanding cloud of hot gas called a nebula. A supernova of a star more than about 10 times the size of our sun may leave behind the densest objects in the universe —black holes.

Now that we understand what a supernova is, we should look at why scientists study supernovas and a brief history of different observations. A supernova burns for only a short period of time, but it can tell scientists a lot about the universe. Supernovas have shown scientists that we live in an expanding universe, one that is growing at an ever increasing rate. Scientists also have determined that supernovas play a key role in distributing elements throughout the universe.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

OCTOBER 2018

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SUPERNOVAS CONTINUED...

Usually a very dense core is left behind, along with an expanding cloud of hot gas called a nebula. A supernova of a star more than about 10 times the size of our sun may leave behind the densest objects in the universe—black holes.

Now that we understand what a supernova is,

QAS Girls' Volleyball

by Sports Staff Writer

On October 14th the QAS girls' volleyball team competed against Qatar Academy Doha in a friendly match. The girls won three out of three games. This was quite the impressive feat as the team had only had two practices. The following

we should look at why scientists study

day, the team played in a tournament and did

supernovas and a brief history of different

not fair as well. However, in the three games

observations. A supernova burns for only a

they played and lost the team displayed

short period of time, but it can tell scientists a lot about the universe. Supernovas have

sportsmanship and embodied the IB Learner profile by being courageous.

shown scientists that we live in an expanding universe, one that is growing at an ever increasing rate. Scientists also have determined that supernovas play a key role in distributing elements throughout the universe. When the star explodes, it shoots elements and debris into space. Many of the elements we find here on Earth are made in

Mykayla Willams Grade 8 Photo by: Saad Khan

the core of stars. These elements travel on to form new stars, planets and everything else in the universe. Before the telescopes came around only seven supernovas were observed.

In 185 A.D., Chinese astronomers observed the oldest supernova recorded, RCW 86. The most famous supernova, Crab Nebula, was recorded in 1054. It was seen by the Koreans, the Chinese, and some Native Americans. The term supernova was first use in the 1930s by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky. They also suggested that supernovas happen when ordinary stars collapse into neutron stars.

This is what a supernova is. In summary it is the glorious death of a star, a huge explosion.

It is a phenomenon that could help us understand more about the universe.

Hopefully, the people that were able to reach this paragraph understood the concept. I will try to find a scientific phenomenon for next time as well.

Eyana Kandido Grade 8 Photo by: Saad Khan

OCTOBER 2018

VOL. 1

WORLD NEWS: JAIR BOLSONARO AND THE

By Kowthar Shire BRAZILIAN DISASTER

Jair Bolsonaro The Times

Brazil is suffering through a great catastrophe right now. And at the bottom of it all stands Jair Bolsonaro.

Jair Bolsonaro: a rightist to the farthest degree, a self-styled political outsider, and a former military officer.

He's also the freshly elected new president of Latin America’s largest democracy—Brazil. He claimed victory over Fernando Haddad, of the leftist Workers’ Party, by receiving 55% of the votes.

Jair Messias Bolsonaro beat expectations when he rebounded in the second round of the Brazilian Presidential Election. He scored just under 50 percent in the first round only to sail to victory in the second round, beating Fernando Haddad for President of Brazil. He spent 17 years in the Brazilian army, claiming it had taught him “what hierarchy and discipline mean.” and that “without those [hierarchy and discipline], we will never have order and progress.” However, his integrity is questionable as in a 1980s trial, Bolsonaro was denounced by a former superior officer for being “too aggressive” on his subordinates, and for having “lack of logic, rationality, and balance.” Although he called the accusations unjust, he was jailed for two weeks, claiming it was the only military discipline he’s ever received in his life.

As for supporting information on his “far-right” beliefs, Bolsonaro has made occasional headlines considering his many outbursts, such as the time he had a confrontation with leftist Brazilian congresswoman Maria do Rosario. He has also allegedly stated he would “not be attended by one of our [Brazilian resident Gabriela Monteiro] black doctors,” and in his victory speech, Mr Bolsonaro declared: “We cannot continue to flirt with socialism, with communism and with populism and with the extreme left.”

This is a rather radical shift in Brazil’s politics, and considering Bolsonaro’s radical, rightist beliefs and ideologies, what looks to be a political whirlwind is headed Brazil’s way.

OCTOBER 2018

VOL. 1

#TRENDING TOP 10 R&B/RAP SONGS

By Hend Al Delaimi

1. Suncity - Khalid Artist: Khalid Featured artist: Empress Of Album: Suncity Released: 2018 Genre: R&B/Soul 2. Vertigo - Khalid Album: Suncity Released: 2018 Genre: R&B/Soul

6. Venom - Eminem Album: Kamikaze Released: 2018 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap 7. Lucid Dreams - Juice Wrld Album: Goodbye & Good Riddance Released: 2018 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

3. REEL IT IN - Amine Album: OnePointFive Released: 2018 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

8. Talk To Me - Tory Lanez & Rich The Kid Album: Love Me Now Released: 2018 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

4. Lie - NF Artist: NF Album: Perception Released: 2017 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

9. Medicine - Queen Najia Album: Queen Naija Released: 2018 Genres: Contemporary R&B, R&B/Soul

5. Better - Khalid Album: Suncity Released: 2018 Genre: R&B/Soul

10. Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee Released: 2018 Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

TV SHOWS

By Hafsah Kazmi

Stranger Things is a wonderful TV show. It is full of almost any genre you could think of.

There’s action and adventure, mystery, a little bit of humor and a bit of romance too. I

Suncity by Khalid Complex.com

NF Wikipedia

The 100 is a post-apocalyptic drama that premieres on the CW. The show revolves around the main character Clarke. Humans have been living in space on “The Arc” for the past 97 years after the Earth’s atmosphere was uninhabitable.

The Arc sends 100 prisoners down to Earth to see if Earth is now safe. This show is full of suspense, action, betrayal, and thrill.

absolutely loved this tv show because there was never a moment when I got bored or was uninterested. The actors are amazing and incredibly talented. When you start watching this show, I’m sure that you’ll end up binge watching it in less than a week!

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

OCTOBER 2018

VOL. 1

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: POSSIBLY THE BEST SPIDER-MAN GAME EVER

By Danai Kasselaki Small disclaimer. This part of the video gaming section will be targeted to 9th grade and above due to the age restriction of the video games.

After many games, many comic books, many movies, and many many years, a great game Spider-Man game is finally here, a month ago. After being one of the most anticipated video games of the year, Spider-Man sold 3.3 million copies in just three days. Not only that, this game has met all of our high expectations. This openworld game has almost perfect ratings with metacritic giving it 87% and IGN giving it 8.7/10. Of course there are critics that didn’t think that the game was excellent, like the Guardian who gave it a 60%. There is no such thing as the “perfect” game, but this game shows us that even an ideas so old and repeated like Superheroes and Spider-Man, can still be a great experience.

First of all, the graphics and the animation. This is the age of extraordinary graphics. These days video games almost look like movies This particular game has very good graphics and animations, especially when it comes to swinging around the city and fighting. Spiderman’s suits are very well made and have a detail that the comics wish they’d have. Of course it is not the best in the market, but it looks really good. I think the best part of it is that the lip syncing is on point. Generally, the graphics are pretty good.

Now time for the gameplay. The gameplay is not something completely new. We have seen similar gameplays from previous spiderman games. What is special about this game is that it has a nice flow and the swinging feels great. It is physics based and it is very smooth. We haven’t seen such a smooth swinging in a while. Let’s not forget, in this game we have the opportunity to play as Mary Jane. And I have to say, in this game, MJ is awesome. No drama, just her need to help and investigate. My favorite part about the gameplay is the fact that we can use stealth to take out enemies. Of course there are always improvements to be made, but this is as perfect as it gets.

The last part is my favorite, the story. This is a Spider-Man we have never seen before. He is a very confident superhero and very familiar. He has mastered that part of his life. The problem is his personal life. This journey is more about Peter Parker than Spider-Man. Another great part of the story is the villains. We see Doctor Octopus, Mister Negative, Electro. Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, Kingpin, and Norman Osborn the Green Goblin. There are more, but these guys ar the most known. We will see more in the DLC, and for sure the Black Cat. In this game we see how Peter Parker tries to balance his life, while trying to help the city with MJ. If you want to know more, you should play the game.

This is my opinion on what I think is one of the top five video games of the year. It is still quite new, and as a frequent gamer, I would suggest that you should buy it now if you can’t wait, but if you can, buy it during a sale. All in all, this is an awesome game and I recommend it.

MYP Enrichment Spotlight

By Matteo Rodriguez Have you heard of the MYP Enrichment Performing Skills? It’s pretty much drama class, so a lot of singing and acting. Speaking of that, they are composing a musical play as their final project and everyone is working as hard as they possibly can. This class is taught by Mrs Caroline, the music teacher. They have many people working very hard to make a play that everyone can enjoy. A team of writers, are focusing on a story with a spice of funny seasoned all over the top. I will not give away too much about the story, but, I will say, it is a comedy.

OCTOBER 2018

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PANTHER PRESS STAFF Recent Events Editor: Hend Al Delaimi Kowthar Shire Nick Rodriguez Humza Mustafah Sports Editor: Ahmad Izzedin Photography: Hadwa Mohamed Khalid Al Shamari Djuan Long Trending Editor: Kowthar Shire Music: Hend Al Delaimi Movies: Mohanad Suliman, Habeba Fawzy Books: Sumayah Darood TV: Hafsah Kazmi, Zaynub Siddiqui, Mizki Shire Video Games: Danai Kasselaki, Abdullah Al Alem, Mohammed El Sadany, Adam Bosredon Fashion: Jood Sheikh, Bilal Adid

UPCOMING EVENTS Grade 7 Young Botanist Meeting Wednesday November 14th 10:00-12:00 B201 Action Against Bullying Week November 18-22 Picture Day November 25-27

Fun Facts Yasmeen Banat Nafissa Ali Science Corner Editor: Danai Kasselaki Topic of the Month Editor: Zaynub Siddiqui Judy Akid Myrto Kasselaki Isra Siddiqui Nethan Aranha Eyana Kandido Photography Editor: Saad Khan Kowthar Shire Sumayah Darood Shahad Al Fadala Advisor Molly Mosier

Have something you would like The Panther Press to include in an upcoming issue?

E-mail mmosier@qasidra.org and we will set up a time to send a reporter and/or a photographer to you!