The Kennedy Chronicle- Issue 5- June 2024

ISSUE 5

JUNE 2024

z KennedyChronicle THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE JOHN F. KENNEDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS

The Tot and the Lot

BY ARISTOTELIS TRIKALINOS In third grade, there are quite a few changes that catch the eye.

New teachers, being transitioned to the second floor, etc. The most noticeable of these changes is the sad transition from the “Tot Lot” to the horrible “Front Lot” for your recess. The Front Lot is a giant rectangular area that has two basketball courts and a sectioned off space that houses the generators.

With its tall chain link fence and hard concrete floor it resembles more of a prison yard than a playground. By contrast, the Tot Lot is full of climbable structures, swings, and slides. Throughout the grades, I have heard countless people talk about the horror of recess in the Front Lot and how dreadful it is. It is one of the biggest problems that students have with the school’s infrastructure and services. Given Do you dislike how Wednesday just repeats a specialist from another day in the week? You’re not alone. In fact, according to a recent poll distributed to 3rd-8th graders at the Kennedy School, 66.5%, (about two-thirds) of respondents think that the specialist cycle we

this, people have wanted many changes. While many of their ideas range from wild (like adding a petting zoo) to utopic (like that go-cart arena), several have been more reasonable and modest, such as adding a grass area or building a Universal Playground, that is a playground accessible also to people with disabilities and whatnot. The school and the teachers have heard these requests many, many times but nothing has changed. Or well, so the students thought…

On April 25, I attended the School Improvement Council

solution to the specialist repetition we have now?

To give some background, we currently only have four specialists at the Kennedy, and the fifth day (Wednesday) cycles through the specialists depending on the quarter; if it is the first quarter,

INSIDE ISSUE 5

PAGE 2 & 3:

The History of Video Games, Role of Extracurriculars, and History of Soccer

PAGE 4 & 5:

Advice Column, Standardized Testing, and Doodle in Class

PAGE 6 & 7

Tips for Character Writing, More Philosophy, and Inside Local Government

PAGE 8 & 9:

Boba Reviews, Comics, Healthy Recipes, and Summer Plans.

where I learned that the school had started planning for a new Front Lot in 2019 when they had an excess of money. However, when the pandemic hit, the plans CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 mushed together into one subject.

We could separate these by making Technology one specialist and Library a totally different specialist.

It is important that we have time for both Library and Technology.

This is because learning to criticize and check information—a main focus of both classes— is vital to learning both online and with books. You may be wondering what the actual teacher of these classes thinks about this. The Kennedy School Library teacher Mr. Oskin said in an interview that he would prefer these subjects be separate. He also stated that if the subjects were separate, he would prefer to be the Technology teacher, because some other teacher may be better able

PAGE 10 & 11:

Coming of Age Ceremonies, Recess Legislation, Boredom Busters, and Thoughts on Being “Weird”

PAGE 12:

Boredom Busters (for real this time), and Sudoku and Dog Breeds Word Search Puzzles

The Kennedy Chronicle is printed with a generous grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Splitting Specialists

BY ALDEN PETRI

have now needs a change. And what about Library class—doesn’t it seem like Library is multiple specialists crammed into one block? In that same poll, 58% of students thought that Library and Technology should be two separate specialist classes.

So could a change in how Library class is currently structured be the

Wednesday is whatever you have on Monday, if it is the second quarter, it’s your Tuesday specialist, and so on. To help fix that, we could change Library class. Right now, there is not a lot of book work in Library— Library is basically both computer/ tech work and book identification and criticizing information all

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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It’s-a Me, History!

BY DAPHNE MATSAKIS What do you think of when you think of a video game? Perhaps a first-person shooter, with graphics that make it seem like it’s right in front of you. But if you were living in 1962, this would not be your reality. Everyone knows about Roblox and Minecraft (for starters), but does anyone actually know the true origins of these gaming empires? The first video game isn’t even a century old, and yet look where we are today!

Throughout this article, you will see some of the great early video games of history. Are you scared to see the ancient past, or are you ready to click the start button?

Still of Rogue

THE CAVEMAN GAMES (1940s - 1960s)

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simple by today’s standards. However, a new era was dawning. With the 1970s, new developments and use of imagination resulted in a new form of video game, one that has lasted through the decades… And it was… arcade games!

THE ARCADE AGE (1970s)

While seeming prehistoric to our modern eye, arcade games were revolutionary at the time.

Gone with the days of outdoor activities, and in with the glaring glow of screens and technology. Or the ancient 1970s t e c h n o l o g y , anyway. Some of the earliest arcade games were Galaxy Game (an extended version of Spacewar!) and Computer Space, both released in 1971. However, the most classic of all arcade games was released in 1972, the infamous Pong! If you are somehow not familiar with it, Pong is a two-player computer game of ping-pong, and is similar to Tennis For Two. Each player moves a line up and down the screen to hit the ball, and hopefully get it past the other’s line.

Moving aside from Pong, the 70s and early 80s are labeled as one of the golden ages of arcade games. Other important arcade games from this time include Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong.

THE CONSOLE WARS

(1970s - 1990s)

When you think of 1980s video games, Nintendo is probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, there have been many great video game system empires throughout history, and many of them started in the 1980s. The very f i r s t home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, in 1972. However, the first actually successful gaming console was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan). Despite this, Nintendo was not the only successful company involved. Other c o m p a n i e s included Atari (which began in 1972), Sega (who made Genesis in 1989), and Sony (who made Playstation in

1994). When it comes to actual games, all of these companies contributed different classics to the gaming world that we still know and love today (although they look a little different now).

These classics include the Mario franchise (Nintendo), the Zelda franchise (Nintendo), the Sonic franchise (Sega), etc.

REVENGE OF THE PC (1980s - 1990s)

Despite all this, consoles weren’t the only thing developing in the 1980s. While Sega and Nintendo squabbled, home computers (PCs) were becoming more and more popular. In 1981, the IBM Personal Computer was released, and companies jumped up at the sound of a new market. In 1980, Rogue was released, which spawned a genre called “Rogue-likes”. One modern game in that category is Binding of Issac, but Rogue itself was a lot less advanced. The graphics were made of letters and various symbols on the keyboard, like the “@” sign. Other revolutionary video games existed, such as the King’s Quest franchise (1984, made by Sierra), the Secret of Monkey Island franchise (1990, made by LucasFilm Games), etc.

One video game franchise called Wing Commander even had a (debatable) movie made (Wing Commander, 1999). One of the first firstperson shooter games was released in this time period, and it was called Doom. You were a space marine, and had to fend off aliens. One last fun fact to leave you with is that in the early 1980s, people created a pre-internet system to play video games with other people. One kind of this was Multi-User Dungeons (or MUDs for short), which is the predecessor of games like World of Warcraft.

As you can see, getting video games to their current standards was no walk in the park. But with all this hard work, we have games that would not even be imaginable even twenty years ago. In the next twenty years, the games we play will be on this list. Who knows what’ll happen over the next few decades? c

Have you ever wondered how popular soccer really is?

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While it wasn’t really a “video game”, the first interactive electronic game and the first game to use an electronic display was made in 1947, called the cathode-ray tube amusement device. Just a bit wordy, the goal of the game was to use projected light to hit plastic targets. The first true video games were made in the early 1950s, such as Nimrod and Bertie the Brain, which were made more to test the limits of programming instead of entertainment. The first video game that was actually made to entertain was Tennis For Two (aka Computer Tennis), in 1958. It was literally tennis for two people on a computer. While it was a bit dull, it inspired people to make games for non-academic purposes! One example of these games is 1962’s Spacewar!, an early space fighting game. Graphics were so primitive that the spaceships were little more than triangles!

Video game development continued throughout the 1960s, but the games were still exceedingly

THE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES!

Well, for this poll, we asked two questions. The first one was to see how many people played on a soccer team, and the second one was to see how many people enjoy playing and/or watching soccer. For the first question, about one-third of people said that they did play on a soccer team, and two-thirds didn’t. These results surprised us because we thought that a lot less people would play on a team. For the second question, about two-thirds of people said that they did enjoy playing and/or watching soccer, and one-third didn’t. We were surprised by these answers because there were over 200 people who enjoy soccer and half of those people play on a team. This shows how universally popular soccer is.

Should Extracurricular Activities Be Required?

BY MILES PROVOST Extracurricular activities are a big part of most students’ lives: some attend clubs, while others participate in sports such as soccer and volleyball. Despite how fun extracurricular activities can be, students sometimes cannot fit them into their schedules. On the other hand, extracurricular activities can majorly benefit students’ learning careers. So let’s dig deeper in pursuit of an answer to the question: should extracurricular be required?

WHY THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED:

Some believe extracurricular activities should be required because they provide essential life skills, improve mental health, and strengthen leadership skills. As Mountain Heights Academy, a successful online high school based in Utah, states, “An extracurricular activity might even have the effect of “recharging” the brain after a day of rigorous schoolwork, allowing students to return to homework assignments with a refreshed mind.” This view is prevalent in universities, with some claiming that students who take part in extracurricular activities usually have better grades, probably due to the homework factor of the statement. As a high school student shares, “Students can build skills they can use throughout their lives, many of which cannot be easily learned in a purely academic setting.” This is true in many cases where important skills like time management are not explicitly taught. Finally, extracurricular activities can provide social opportunities, leading to friendships and relationships that benefit student’s lives. To support this, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps says, “Elementary school students appear to have greater social engagement benefits when they are highly engaged in after-school programming than when they are less engaged.”

WHY THEY SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED:

The other opinion is that extracurricular activities should not be required. This is notably the most popular opinion as extracurricular activities are—the name says it—extra, and enforcing optional activities makes them not optional, taking away the whole point of them. To support this, Medium.com states, “Having extracurricular activities compulsory makes many students join clubs or teams that they are not even interested in, just for the sake of it. Think about it, if it was optional, they would have probably not joined any if there was not one that interested them right?” Additionally, some students don’t have time for extracurricular activities due to the large amount of homework some teachers give, and some extracurriculars take place, or require practice, multiple times a week, so enforcing these activities would make some schedules extremely difficult. Finally, extracurricular activities can cause stress on students, as Dr. Harpreet Kaur, a licensed clinical psychologist for kids and teens at CHOC in Orange County, California, says, “Keeping your kids so busy outside of school that they lack free time for play or rest can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression,” Overall, there are two main opinions about extracurricular activities: they should be required and should not be required. To support that they should be required, some people claim that extracurricular activities provide essential life skills and improve mental health. To prove that extracurricular activities should not be required, people say they create stress and make schedules difficult. c

Soccer: History and Impact

BY CHAITAN RAMAN AND HENRY ROTH The world’s most popular sport, soccer, engages billions of fans worldwide. Called futbol or football in most places, the first evidence of soccer was in the Han Dynasty from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. The game was called Tsu Chu meaning “kicking the ball” and it was a military exercise involving kicking a ball through an open net. It is argued that soccer originated in Greece or Rome though. The first official modern soccer league originated in 1863 in London. Also in 1863 on October 26, representatives of several football clubs from the greater London area met at Freemasons’ Tavern at the first meeting of the Football Association (FA). Rules were established but they have continued to change and so hasthe size and weight of the ball. Most importantly, carrying the ball was outlawed (unless you were the goalie), separating soccer from rugby.

Soccer has 17 rules. In most places, heading the ball, slide tackling people, and 11v11 are all rules that start in 7th grade. In 11v11, there are four lines of people and all of the lines except goalie can be made up of different amounts of people depending on your formation. The one goalie, stands in front of the goal

don’t miss the results from our recent student poll about soccer

trying to save shots from the opposing team. The goalie is the only player allowed to touch the ball as it is in play on the field. The defensive line, like the next two lines, can have a different amount of people, depending on your team’s formation and your age. (This is because the amount of people in play varies depending on the age group.) The defensive line tries to stop people from getting to the net and shooting. They also pass it up to the forward so they can shoot and score. The midfielder line is the inbetween of defense and offense. When the opposing team is attacking the net (trying to score), the midfielders help the defense to defend. When your team’s offense is trying to score, the midfielders help them try to score. Because of this, they have to run back and forth on the field. The offensive line is the line trying to score to get your team points. The other team’s goalie is trying to save the offense’s shots. If their shot goes into the net, it is a point for your team.

Soccer has had a big impact on the world. It can bring people together and can unite a nation. Economically it gives tons of money to countries because of merch and ticket sales. It is a physical sport and makes people strong and healthy. Overall, soccer is a great sport. c

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411! What’s Your Emergency?

BY MADELYN CAMPBELL, ANNABELLE KANG, EMILY MCCARTHY, AND STELLA SACCARDI This is the advice column of a kind reminder that you’re not solution. Another thing that we The Kennedy Chronicle. We selected done yet or you can ask to talk recommend is remembering that some issues and problems stated later, and that it would be helpful it is not your fault, and that you are trying your best to make things by some of the students at our for you to let you work.

DEAR 411, My class is really igno- work. We know this might be hard school. We did our best to pick out the problems that seem the rant about LGBTQ+ issues and calls so just remember that, Good luck, most relatable. We will do our best everyone who isn’t “normal” gay. As Friendly Snapper!

DEAR 411, My little brother is drivto answer them but, of course, a lesbian, I have no clue what to do. ing me crazy. Whenever my friends you are not obligated to take our - Senseless Stereotypes Hey Senseless Stereotypes! We come over he won’t leave us alone and advice.

DEAR 411, I’ve always given up on are really sorry you are dealing he keeps butting into my Minecraft things really easily, and I don’t know with this. One thing that you could world even though I’ve told him not why. Whether it’s in school or hobbies do is tell a teacher. Maybe your to. We share a room so it’s like I can or sports, when things get hard, I classmates are acting this way never get away. - Burden Brother Hey Burden Brother, we have just stop. Like when my homework is because they don’t know much hard I just give up, I don’t try to do it. about the LGBTQ+ community. some advice. First maybe you I’ve tried a bunch of different sports (Although just because someone could try to look at it from your and activities outside of school, but I doesn’t understand something brother’s point of view. Second, just never stick with things when they doesn’t mean it is okay.) You could you could talk to your parents get tough. I really do want to change ask your teacher to devote some and tell them that he is bothering this about myself, but I’m not sure time to teach your class about you and can try to come to a comLGBTQ+. You could also talk to promise somehow. I have a little how. - Goal Buddy Hey Goal Buddy!

One the sixth grade ELA teacher, Ms. brother too, so I know how it feels. suggestion that we have is to Ward, who is the head of GSA in I hope everything works out!

DEAR 411, I’ve played the piano ask a friend to help. A great way room 202. She would be happy to to remember a goal is to have help! Lastly you could tell your for 6 years now but I still hate pracsomeone remind you, and that is teacher anonymously about what’s ticing. I’m so busy with school work exactly what this person would going on. You could write a note and other sports which I like better but my mom keeps making me take do. Every time you feel like giving and leave it on their desk.

DEAR 411, I have two friends who I lessons. It’s not like I want to give up up this person can encourage and remind you of your goal. Another don’t mix well with. I stay calm while on the piano forever but I’m sick of strategy that you can use is work they seem to snap at everything as always having to practice when I’m on something else or take a break we have very different points of view. already busy. How can I convince my With one of them even, small things mom that I don’t need lessons anybefore starting up again.

DEAR 411, I’m pretty good at from them make me stressed and it’s more? - Piano Cries Dear Piano Cries, I know from math but when we do work in class, really bugging me. I don’t know how my friends ALWAYS finish first and to go about it. Could you help me? - personal experience that this is probably quite frustrating and want to talk. I feel dumb because I’m Friendly Snapper.

Hi Friendly Snapper! We have stressful. I think the best solution not even halfway done yet. I get the answers right, it just takes me longer some ideas on how to help you. here is to have a big talk with your to figure it out. Is there anything I The first thing that may help is mom and try to find a strategy that getting the perspectives of both would make both you and your can do? - Pace Changer Dear Pace Changer, we think your friends and see if there’s a mom happy. For example, you can that the most important thing in reason behind what is going on. ask if you can quit but you will still this situation is to remember your They may be having a hard time play some piano every once in a own ability. You said it yourself somewhere, or there’s something while. Another thing you could that you know you get the answers that the other person said a long do is explain your situation about correct. Just remember that you time ago they’re having trouble how you don’t have time to fit in are just as capable as the rest of getting past. Sometimes we hold all of your homework. c your friends and it doesn’t matter onto things for awhile without if it takes you a little more time. realizing it. If this is the case, You could also give your friends you could try to help work out a

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THE TOT AND THE LOT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 for a new playground were kicked into the bottomless abyss that is the Google Docs trash can. After the pandemic ended, the school had the opportunity to repurpose some of the money (that I assume was unspent pandemic funds), and the plan to refurbish the Front Lot to become a Universal Playground was then put into motion again.

“I am tired of us being “big kids” and having to deal with bare cement while other grades get a whole playground” - Kennedy 5th grader As the process goes, the school staff must first find a contractor willing to make the refurbished playground with the available budget.

Then the school and contractor need to create a design for the Universal Playground. Finally, the playground must be built during the summer to not obstruct the recess time that students have during the school year.

The grand question remains, when will the playground actually be built? Sadly, our principal, Mr. Marshall, informed me that the playground will most likely be finished in around three years. So folks, hold onto your hats as the school builds this project at breakneck speed.

However, there is hope for people wanting a new front lot. Mr. Marshall may have overestimated the time it would take to find a contractor to build the new front lot. While this can be true it is only a possibility. According to the City of Somerville’s website The Healey school playground renovation took six years, but the Winter Hill playground took eight months between community meetings and the beginning of construction. So, in reality, who knows how long it might take to finish or what, if any, steps can be taken to improve the lot for the over 250 students who use it daily during this long process. c

Testing the Facts

BY FIONA COX Every year we take a standardized test that the state issues to third to eighth graders across Massachusetts. This means that on testing days, all Massachusetts students in a grade level take the same test. These tests are used to objectively compare schools on the education they’re giving students to see if it’s equal and fair.

In addition to the MCAS this year, students from kindergarten to twelfth grade have taken multiple sessions of a different test called iReady. iReady has been taken by over 10 million students nationwide but was only implemented by the City of Somerville this year. iReady gives direct information to teachers and family about how well a student is doing individually and how a student can improve throughout several points of the year. Unlike the MCAS test, the iReady test gives breaks to students once they reach a certain point in their test. It also adjusts to the students skill level as they move through the test, going either up or down in difficulty.

People against standardized tests say that it’s a waste of class time that could be spent learning more. Some think that it’s unfair and overly stressful to students who get nervous during tests and score lower than their normal classwork. For instance, on a recent school survey a Kennedy student wrote, “Like, I get why it exists, but it’s super stressful for students and, for some people, testing isn’t an accurate representation of their skills.”

nearly half of kennedy students polled agree they should take standardized tests

THE PROS AND CONS OF STANDARDIZED TESTING AND IF WE REALLY NEED THEM?

“Sometimes you take too long getting ready for the tests and don’t have time to learn other stuff,” wrote another student.

Another popular argument against testing is that it is more a show of income of students than their learning level. They argue that students from wealthier communities have access to more resources (tutors, extra curricular activities) than those that don’t, and the test scores reflect those resources more than the school’s teaching.

From a different perspective, however, people can see the gaps in standardized testing as an opportunity to find those who need that extra support and give the school the funds to do so. I was surprised to see from the polls that 48.3% of the students of the Kennedy School think we should take standardized tests.

One student for standardized testing said, “I think it’s good because you are able to tell how much you know and how much you have accomplished. Depending on your score it could help your teachers teach you better and figure out ways to help your learning abilities.”

Imagine if a school always gave out perfect scores to their students. It may look like a very promising school to go to, but the students would not be as prepared for their college education or their careers.

In all, it depends on the perspective of each person when looking at the pros and cons of standardized testing. It can be stressful and time consuming for some, but it can also be both a good show of skills and preparation for the future. c

Doodling Into Our Academics!

BY ELIORA INDRAWIDJAJA AND ELLA MACHOWINSKI Do you like to doodle in class? You’re not alone. In fact, we sent out a poll to students at the Kennedy School, and over half of the kids that responded chose either Agree or Strongly Agree that doodling during class can help someone’s academic performance.

Many people think that doodling is bad and shouldn’t be allowed, but these small drawings could be much more important! A Harvard Health Publishing article states that doodling can make “it easier to attend to things” and that “Doodles fill these gaps, possibly by activating the brain’s ‘time travel machine’, allowing it to find lost puzzle pieces of memories.”

According to a study at Boston University, around 75% of Americans doodle occasionally, and one in four say that they doodle at least once a day.

Doodling can also help kids focus! You heard it right—what some people thought was bad and disruptive can actually help kids focus! Doodling becomes disruptive and bad when the doodler doodles too much. So as long as you don’t “over-doodle” it, then you should be fine in class. You can keep learning and focusing as you doodle. (Tip: keep your doodles focused! For example, doodle a volcano while learning about lava.)

There are a few downsides to doodling though. One common one is that it is disruptive to others. Classmates may get distracted and stop focusing on work… But that’s only most likely to happen if the person doodles way, way too much. Another downside is if your little drawings cross the line and become bigger drawings. This happens when you doodle too much and end up using entire sheets of paper with only one doodle. Then it becomes a drawing, which is more disruptive. Remember this: keep those doodles small! They shouldn’t take up a whole sheet of paper. Finally, you might remember less of what you’re supposed to learn in class if you

doodle absentmindedly, with no relation to what you’re actually learning.

But as long as your doodling doesn’t meet these problems, you’re fine… keep doodling!

POSITIVE RESPONSES: ¨It can increase imaginative skills.¨ “Doodling helps kids let go of stress, which helps them focus better.¨

NEUTRAL RESPONSES: “I like doodling but also when someone is doodling they don’t focus on the thing we are doing in class.”

NEGATIVE RESPONSES: “Doodling = No attention/care” “You don’t pay attention when doodling”

“I think it’s neutral because some kids might do it too much and make it a distraction but it helps.”

Overall, the number of people saying that doodling helps is more than half of the kids that took this survey, which means that the majority of the kids that responded agree that doodling is a good thing!

So, in conclusion, doodling can be disruptive if it happens too much, but in moderate amounts, doodling can help kids of all ages focus! c 5

Setting the Scene

HOW TO IMPROVE AND CREATE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND STORIES

BY JULIANA BROEKMAN Everyone has made an original character (or story) at one point, but sometimes they can’t seem to get it out of the description box. Don’t worry! Different strategies could be useful in expanding on the infinite amount of possible worlds. First, a general rule of thumb: Don’t spend your entire time writing and take breaks when necessary. It will help, taking breaks from writing or drawing can help clear your mind for more creativity to spring forward.

WAY 1: CURIOSITY AND QUESTIONS

This may seem challenging to some, but one of the best ways to make a character is to ask questions. The questions may change depending on whether the creator is writing or drawing, but there are universal questions, no matter the form. Some examples: Is this fantasy or realistic?

What environment does the character live in? What is their personality like? What is their favorite color? Just asking about the area and character can help develop who they are and build how they would act around other people or situations.

The importance of asking them now is that questions will always be in the creation and development process. That’s why when writing for class, peer reviews exist; it’s to ask questions, answer them, and develop from there. No question can’t be answered!

WAY 2: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Using what we know is a great way to start a new story! Relating to something you (the creator) have a personal connection to. An example provided by Lillian Bruhn is she is a dancer so she might base the story on a dance. Other examples may include different sports and the emotions that people experience with them. The feelings of watching it or playing it can help bring mood to a story. Similarly, emotions in the story may be impacted based on events in a sporting event (winning, losing, etc.). Another way prior knowledge can be useful is by taking facts already known about a specific topic and finding ways to input them into the writing. Drawing-wise, these same strategies can be used to show what the character may be feeling at that moment (using pose and facial expression to show mood is helpful).

WAY 3: ASSERT THE INFLUENCE.

Plot out the story before, it helps with writer’s block later in the process. For those who don’t enjoy planning it, at least think about the idea of the story. This does tie back ty r e g to asking questions, but that is a Ha zie Ken given when writing. Some examples of questions and details inspired by interviewing Daphne Matsakis include the importance of the character to the story. If they aren’t the main

SPLITTING SPECIALISTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to teach Library. This just goes to show that the balance is off: the teacher of the subject called Library feels more like a Technology teacher.

Some people may simply think, Well, is Library class really necessary?

A lot of what this solution would do would be giving Library more time, but do we need book skills in a world with a growing amount of tech?

After all, who needs books when you can just look up the answer on the Internet…right? Wrong! First of all, citing books is important. A citation is basically when you credit a book or an author with a piece of information. It is involved with 6

copyright rules and laws about fair use. What it means is that you are giving credit to whoever wrote the book and not claiming the content as your own. Not properly citing sources could lead to copyright infringement, which means that you did something against copyright laws, and books are a large portion of cited information.

Another skill Library teaches is criticizing information. Criticizing information is basically not believing everything you read. It is true that books are more accurate than the Internet, but that doesn’t mean that everything you read in

character, do they impact the main’s decisions?

If so, when and how do they? Say a character is trying to get the main character to fall away from their original plan, what would they do? They would try to be convincing, but may still keep a mischievous or evil undertone in their voice. If drawing, faces and poses are important. Keeping with the evil example, they may have a scowl or annoyed face, or might pose to seem like they demand power or respect.

WAY 4: INFINITE INSPIRATION

Of course, if all else doesn’t work out as well as expected and wished, take inspiration from others. Sometimes webcomics (comics on the interweb) can help, but if you don’t have access to the internet or don’t like reading them, then library (or personal) books are useful. Reading your favorite books can provide an idea for the story, like the setting or timeline. If you like staring at other art to gain the motivation to continue your project, there’s a lot of that online, or art books/museums might be available. But if that isn’t the preference, then Kenzie Hagerty has an idea. Take a walk to clear your head. Having a clear mind can help ideas come (or come back) to you. Another thing about taking a walk is that, along with reading, it can give you ideas.

Watching other people’s or animals’ behaviors could help develop a character.

Hopefully, with the help of this article, you will end up with a dark alleyway in a busy city with a trickster hiding in the shadows waiting for a victim, or a mysterious clearing with mythical creatures inviting you to stay (possibly forever), or whatever else your imagination provides. c

books is true. You need to learn how to check facts you find and avoid outdated or incorrect information.

Also, books often are more accurate than the Internet because of the publishing process. Websites, however, just need to be posted by anyone, so it is valuable to be able to receive facts this way.

Now, this is not saying that the Internet is not valuable. It is a fast and easy way to get fairly accurate information, and it is also important to learn how to use it.

This is why we really need to focus on and learn about both technology and books. However, right now it is very hard to thoroughly learn about either. That means that if we

want to learn how to stay safe and get good information both online and in books, we need to separate Library and Technology. Quite simply, we cannot effectively learn two subjects as important to life as these at the same time, especially when this time is forty minutes in an entire week. Also, this change would solve our specialist repetition issue, making our time more productive and giving students a wider variety of education. In conclusion, Library and Technology are two very important subjects, and we will be able to learn them much more effectively if we split them into two separate specialist classes.c

Epistemology:

BY BENJAMIN VAN NORSTRAND It is I, Ben van Northstation, aka Agent Varsity 727, with all you need to know about epistemology and Russell’s Paradox. Let’s start with epistemology, which is the study of knowledge. To give a more in-depth understanding, consider this question: How do you know you know all the stuff you know? Take away the answer “I just do!” and what’s left is epistemology. In the last Kennedy Chronicle issue, I talked about philosophy.

Epistemology is a critical subcategory of philosophy. Last issue, I mentioned a posteriori and a priori statements and Russell’s Paradox. We will be talking about these in this section.

A priori is a statement known by logic. If you had no idea what pizza was, and your best friend told you, “It is a crust with sauce, cheese, and sometimes other toppings,” you can try to picture the taste. That’s a priori.

On the other hand, a posteriori is a statement that is known by experience.

If the same thing as above happened, you would try to get pizza as soon as possible. When you get the taste, it is a posteriori.

TWO EXAMPLES OF A PRIORI:

TWO EXAMPLES OF A POSTERIORI:

• Trying to picture a roller coaster ride once it has been told to you; • Trying to picture the taste of a hot fudge sundae once it has been told to you

• Experiencing a roller coaster ride after it has been told to you; • Experiencing the taste of a hot fudge sundae after it has been told to you

THE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE + A LOGICAL PARADOX Russell’s paradox goes as follows: “Is the set of all sets that are not members of themselves a member of itself?” I know it’s a real screamer.

There is a rewrite of it called Grelling-Nelson’s paradox. There are two kinds of words: heterological (words that don’t describe themselves) and autological (words that do). Two examples of heterological words: monosyllabic (which has more than one syllable) and long (which is a short word). Autological: seventeen-lettered (which has 17 letters) and polysyllabic (which has more than 1 syllable). The question is: Is the word “heterological” autological or heterological? If it’s autological, it’s heterological. If it’s heterological, it’s autological.

EXAMPLES OF RUSSELL’S PARADOX:

• If a man tries to fail but succeeds, did he fail or succeed?

• Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

• True or false: “This sentence is false.”

These are worth writing about because they give you ultimate wisdom and help you understand philosophy. c

Clockworks of the Council

BY DANILO LEKIC Do you ever wonder who creates laws in Somerville? In Somerville, the City Council is the legislative branch of the government, meaning that they make the laws. The city is divided into seven wards, each having a councilor who is in charge. There are eleven councilors, as there are also four councilors-at-large for the whole city. Members are elected every two years on the odd-numbered years. The City Council can pass ordinances or laws that only apply to the cities WARDS of SOMERVILLE in which they are adopted. The City Council can also approve or veto the ASSEMBLY mayor’s budget.

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HOW A MEETING WORKS:

A meeting starts with the president of the City Council announcing 3 the meeting and stating that it will be DAVIS recorded and distributed online and 2 SQUARE on local TV. Then, the City Clerk, who is the recordkeeper of the Somerville KENNEDY UNION SCHOOL SQUARE government, does the roll call, which is like attendance at school where the clerk records which of the councilors are present at the meeting. Then, the Council does remembrances, where members can talk about Somerville residents who passed away. After that, the council approves the agenda for the meeting. The majority of the meeting is spent on the agenda items.

They go over every single item of the agenda, discuss it and vote on it, or refer it to a special committee. There are many types of items that could be on the agenda.

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TYPES OF ITEMS:

• An order is an official call to action submitted by a City Councilor to a committee in the city on an issue in Somerville. For example, the City Council could request for the Infrastructure Division to review a problem with a specific building.

• A resolution is an official statement submitted by a City Councilor in support of a cause. It could also be submitted against a cause. A resolution from the latest meeting on May 9th was on actions to promote students and community health and resilience in the era of climate change.

• A grant of location is a request from companies to the City Council to install infrastructure on, over, or below any public street and to obtain access to the infrastructure being installed. Infrastructure includes things required for a city to work, such as roads, electricity, and water lines. For example, Eversource applied to install seven feet of conduit recently. A conduit is a tube used to protect electric wiring.

• A committee report is a presentation from a city committee on an issue in the city. The purpose of a city committee is to provide a place to discuss and review a matter that comes before the City Council.

At the meeting on May 9th, the Finance Committee reported on their meeting of May 7th.

• A Mayor’s request is a request to the City Council from the Mayor’s office on a matter such as requesting a confirmation of a person to Fire Chief, as happened in the latest meeting.

• A license is a request from companies or individuals to apply for a permit for permission to provide a service in the city.

Overall, the City Council is an integral part of the Somerville City Government, and it ensures that the city runs smoothly. c 7

Battle of the Boba

LEARN ALL ABOUT BOBA TEA AND DISCOVER WHICH OF THE THREE LOCAL BOBA SHOPS IS BEST!

BY SEBASTIAN LOPES-FILHO, ANDERSON WHITE, AND KAI YU We decided to compare three different boba five minutes, the slush tasted somewhat sour chain locations that are all relatively near to the with a nice hint of sweetness that balanced Kennedy School. At each place, we ordered one well with the ice. It felt like a genuine slush you drink in the slush category, to make it similar but would get at the convenience store, and it would with some variety and choice for us. However, be refreshing on a hot summer day. here’s some background information on the his- Our rating for this slush was: Kai: 9.5/10 tory of boba tea to help educate you first!

Sebastian 9/10 THE HISTORY OF BOBA: Boba Tea originated in Taiwan about 40 years ago, and while its origins are disputed, two separate locations, Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin Tea Room, continue to claim that they were the first.

This feud even escalated to a decade-long court battle, with the court ultimately ruling that boba was not patented and could not be trademarked.

It was brought into the US by Taiwanese Immigrants in the 1990s and since then, it has grown to now be widespread all over the world and loved by millions!

ONE ZO:

One Zo is very close to the Lesley University Campus, but officially located at 1792 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, and has a huge kitchen that’s visible when you order. When we ordered, we chose a Passion Fruit Slush, which cost $6.25, which is pretty reasonable for a boba place. We ordered a Medium size because that was the smallest available size, though we noted the drink was somewhat small for a “Medium” size, and made sense that you were getting a larger amount of slush. After waiting for approximately

KUNG FU TEA:

Kung Fu Tea, which is located in Davis Square with an exact location of 237 Elm St, Somerville, is a boba place that is pretty well known throughout the school as the closest place to go.

Here, we ordered a Mango Slush with Mango Jelly and Tapioca Pearls. This was a bit more expensive than One Zo with a price of $6.75, for the same “Medium” size. This slush felt more like a juice than a slush, and it was warmer than the rest of the drinks we tried. The mango flavor was good, and the jelly and tapioca pearls helped to expand the taste. However, there were also a lot of different things going on, making the textures clash together and making it hard for you to fully enjoy the drink.

Overall, our rating for Kung Fu Tea was: Kai 8.5/10 Sebastian 8/10 GONG CHA:

Our last location, Gong Cha is located in Davis Square, as well, at 414 Highland Ave, Somerville. It was built recently, making it not

Adrian’s Adventures BY EVA KRAVES

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as well known to the kids at the Kennedy.

For here, we ordered a Strawberry Milk Slush with Tapioca Pearls, which costs the same as Kung Fu Tea, with a “Medium” size being the priced of $6.75. This slush was probably the coldest, with the texture being a mix of the other two places, being like ice yet also juice-like. The tapioca pearls added a nice soft texture to this slush. The strawberry flavor in the drink was not the most natural, somewhat reminiscent of Strawberry Nesquik. However, it did blend well with the texture of the ice, making the whole drink extremely refreshing, and we recommend it.

Our rating for Gong Cha was: Sebastian: 9/10 Kai 8/10 FINAL VERDICT:

Overall, both Kai and Sebastian felt that the best place was One Zo, with the passion fruit flavor being delicious and it just felt like a really balanced drink in general. However, for Second and Third place, we disagreed. Kai felt that Kung Fu Tea was better and deserved second place, while Sebastian felt Gong Cha was better, making it deserve second place. So for the other two locations we simply agreed to disagree. All we decided on saying was that all of these boba places were good and that you should try them out yourself! c

Guest artist

Snack Attack!

BY ALINA IOANNISYAN We all know that it feels like there is a lot of time between the beginning of the day and lunch time, and that’s the case at pretty much all schools, not just the Kennedy. If you don’t bring a snack with you, it can be a little tough to get through the day with only one meal to fuel you! That is why I’m going to go over some fabulous and quick snack ideas for you to make yourself for school, or even over the summer. So let’s get into it!

TRAIL MIX: A delicious mix of crunchy pretzels, chocolate chips, sweet, dried fruit, and your favorite cereal. This snack can be a non-messy, easy way to get your energy up! Please note that this will last for over one day… unless it’s so delicious you destroy it in one sitting!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 cup pretzels ¼ cup chocolate chips 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries ½ cup cereal (any kind you prefer!)

DIRECTIONS: Dump everything into a bowl and mix it up, and then you’re done!

INSTANT CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES: Fabulous frozen strawberries covered in a sweet chocolate shell.

This can be a fun, creative, and a surprisingly quick way to cool down during the summer heat! Due to being frozen, the strawberries taste like strawberry ice cream, except they are more healthy. So win-win!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 cup chocolate chips ¼ cup coconut oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Frozen strawberries DIRECTIONS: Put the chocolate chips, coconut oil, and vanilla extract into a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Then, whisk it until completely smooth (which will take about 1 or 2 minutes). Finally, dip your delicious frozen strawberries into the glistening chocolate sauce, and the chocolate should harden up in around 1 minute max. Place your chocolate strawberries into a bowl or container as you are finishing them up!

ANTS ON A LOG: A healthy, delicious snack that is quick and easy to make. The bizarre mix of the sweet and savory ingredients in this recipe is what makes Ants on a Log unique and satisfying to fuel yourself until lunch time arrives!

FRUIT KEBABS: A simple yet delectable way to satisfy your hunger. Biting down onto the fruit, you will feel a refreshing burst of sweetness fill your mouth.

Quick and easy to make, fruit kebabs are a simple solution to the torturous wait until lunch time!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Celery Sunflower butter (or peanut butter) Raisins (replaceable with dried cranberries or chocolate chips, or whatever you want!)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 4 or 5 skewers At least 3 of any fruits you like (examples: melon, banana, strawberries)

DIRECTIONS: Using help from an adult (especially if you are under grade 6), cut some of the celery in half. Don’t forget to separate it from the leaves! Next, take the sunflower butter and spread it onto the celery. Finally, you will need to top it with three or four raisins, and then you’re done!

DIRECTIONS: Using help from an adult (especially if you are under grade 6), chop your fruits into smaller pieces (not required for fruits that are already small, like strawberries). Then, stack your cut up fruits onto the skewers, and you’re done! c

Hyped Last Days of School and Summer Plans

BY PANAYIOTIS KASSERIS Clock’s ticking! In K-4 there are only a few days of school left. Because of this, classes are celebrating things such as school carnivals, teacher appreciation activities, field trips, and publishing parties. For example, my class recently went on a field trip to the National History Museum in Cambridge. This week we are inviting our parents to our classroom for our non fiction publishing party.

Students are also excited about their summer plans. My friends are planning to spend their summer travelling, going to summer camps or girl and boys scouts, and having visitors. I will go on a trip to Iceland and Norway with my family and have fun with my friends at summer camps.

With all these fun activities coming up, students can hardly hold their enthusiasm! c

K-4 Guest Writer 9

Advancing to Adulthood: COMING OF AGE CEREMONIES ALL AROUND OUR WORLD

BY LILLIAN BRUHN Judaism. Latinx. Christianity.

These are just some of the many cultures and religions that have coming of age ceremonies. Coming of age ceremonies come at different ages, and take many different forms. Read more to find out about a small fraction of the many coming of age ceremonies all around our world.

also talks about their Mitzvah Project, which is something they do to help their community. The B Mitzvah usually takes place on Saturday, because, if the Mitzvah takes place at their Temple, then Bat/Bar Mitzvah sometimes leads the morning congregation. After the service, many people choose to have a party, which happens either right after, or later in the day. At the party there are many traditions that take place such as the candle lighting, when the Bat/Bar Mitzvah calls up a different group of people to light each of the 13 candles with them. The horah is often performed, where the B Mitzvah is lifted onto a chair while people do a dance around them.

JEWISH - BAR AND BAT MITZVAHS:

A Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a coming of a ceremony in the Jewish community. Bar/Bat Mitzvah directly translates to son/daughter of the commandments. A B Mitzvah happens after a child’s 13th birthday and marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. During the first part of the B Mitzvah, the child chants a passage from the Torah, usually the part that aligns with their birthday or the day of the Bat/Bar MItzvah. Chanting from the Torah can also involve having to learn Hebrew, which is a different language with a whole different alphabet! They also say traditional Jewish prayers. Then they say a speech about their Torah portion and what it meant to them. During the speech the person sometimes

HISPANIC - QUINCEAÑERA:

A quinceañera takes place following a girl’s 15th birthday. The quinceañera marks a time when a young woman of Latin American culture transitions from childhood to adulthood. The quinceañera is a party that includes many festive variables such as music, dancing and food! The word quinceañera comes from the Spanish word Quince, meaning 15, and the word años meaning years. The quinceañera

The Kennedy Chronicle is an after school club for 6-8th graders facilitated by Caroline Hanly, 4th grade ELA teacher, and Kristen Cox, parent volunteer.

Email us at: thekennedychronicle@gmail.com QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & COMPLIMENTS 3

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has two parts: the Mass, and the fiesta (party). During the Mass the girl gets blessed, and receives Holy Communion. Even though the Mass was a traditional part of the quinceañera some decide not to do it, and instead only do the party. The fiesta usually starts off with traditional dances, such as the father and daughter waltz, then they transition to dances with the family and chambelanes (the males in the quinceañera court). One of the traditions of the quinceañera are Change of Shoes, in which the young woman changes out her pair of flats, for her first pair of high heels.

CHRISTIAN - CONFIRMATION:

A confirmation is a coming of age ceremony for some Christian denominations, mainly Catholicism.

The definition of a confirmation is that you are confirming yourself to the church. There are some rules to be allowed to receive confirmation: you have to be at least seven years old and you have to have been baptized. However, the age for confirmation does change depending on the archdiocese (a region governed by an archbishop). For example, the Archdiocese of Boston has the confirmation age at 8th grade. The first

thing you do in a confirmation is you are called up to the Bishop using your confirmation name which a name that you take on for your confirmation (commonly a Saint’s name). Then your sponser walks you up to the Bishop. A sponsor is a person, traditionally a godparent, who encourages the candidate in practicing the Catholic faith (a sponsor can be anyone who was already confirmed, but it can’t be your parents). Then there’s the Renewal of Babtismal Promises, the laying on of hands, and the Anointing of Chrism (holy oil), in which you have a cross painted on your forehead. After all of this happens you are then confirmed into the church.

You have just learned about a few of the most common coming of age ceremonies around the world.

Many people celebrate them around the world, and probably some of your classmates have had or will have a coming of age ceremony, maybe one that was not even mentioned in this article! Each of these ceremonies varies in its differences to each other, but they all have one thing in common: Celebrating the child who is coming of age, and welcoming them into adulthood. c

Recess Is a Human Right

BY FELIX GROTH In my opinion, recess should be something to remember in school, something to have fun in, for exercise, focus, and overall academic performance. After all, that’s what it’s been for decades, until now. For the past 3 years, most students have had only 15 minutes of recess per day, because of the covid pandemic, I can remember in kindergarten when we had 30 minutes of recess… twice a day! So, I’ve decided to email a few senators, in order to encourage them to vote for a bill, or law, that would require grades k-5 to get at least 20 minutes of recess per day… and so far, Senator Patricia Jehlen says she’ll cosponsor the bill! Special thanks to

K-4 Guest Writer

my friends Kai Petri, Julian JohnstonMeisels, Adam Hegazy, Sammy Perloff, and Filip & Danilo Lekic for emailing the senators too! If you’re curious for more about it, it’s number S.350.

This bill will be voted on soon, so please consider emailing your local politicians about the bill (like Senator Jelhen or Representative Uyterhoeven), or contact your school committee member about making more recess in Somerville. c

Bored? Read This.

BY KAI YU If your eyes are glazing over this text, I assume that you are bored.

Even I, Kaisteroni Pepperoni, the pinnacle of human intelligence, get bored sometimes. Boredom truly is an excruciating experience, and so one day I thought, Why not use my bulbous brain to find things to do to instantly end your boredom?

These are the very best ideas from the crevices of my celebrated cerebellum.

PROPOSAL 1: SQUID COSPLAY

This way to pass the time will entertain you for hours—well, until your parents walk in—and all you need is a printer. Just get any blunt weapon and smash open the printer until you find the ink cartridge.

Cover yourself in the ink, and pretend you’re a squid! Then, there are millions of things you can do. You can slither across the ground while groaning, “OAUGHAOUAGH” or “AAAEOUIGH”, depending on your mood. The list goes on and DISCLAIMER: on: sliding down the stairs (I am This is a satire article. Please not liable for injury or death), jumping in local pools and establishing your territory (up to 6 months in prison), spitting of these ink on passerby activities! (up to 30 days in (But if you’re still prison), and bored check out the back page for more!

do not do

any

ideas you can do.)

PROPOSAL 2: IT’S RAINING TACOS (AND OTHER SCRUMPTIOUS MORSELS)

If you are familiar with the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, you’ll be a huge fan of this idea. All you need to do is to empty out your parent’s refrigerator and gather as many resources as you can get.

Microwaveable meals, frozen food, half-eaten pieces of kale, canisters of printer ink (see previous idea), the last known picture of greatgreat-great-great-great grandmother Girtha “Cow-Licker” Glutto Buttons, grandad’s dentures, everything’s up for grabs! The next step’s super simple. Just take over a plane by aggressively thrusting a half-eaten kale stick at security (works every time) and fly over any populated city.

Then throw all of your solid blocks of food out of the aircraft! The screams will quickly ensue. Screams of happiness, I’m sure.

PROPOSITION 3: ESTABLISH A NEW RELIGION

Religion can be very serious, but you can make it silly (credit to Max Fosh)! Creating a religion is actually pretty easy! Just follow these simple steps: buy a priest costume off Wish.com, fill a local priest’s drink with extremely powerful laxatives, volunteer to be a substitute priest after the previous priest is mysteriously absent, use your charisma to slowly but surely cultivate a new religion, and laugh as your newly crafted belief reaches new heights of popularity.

This religion can be Twerkism, Cushionism, Bobism, whatever you want. And in case you don’t believe me, there is a religion that honors a flying spaghetti monster (just google Pastafarianism).

Overall, these ideas might seem a bit unethical, but I can ensure that after reading this, a portion of your boredom will have subsided.c

The Definition of “Weird”

BY JUNE OEMLER The definition of weird is to describe something that is unnatural and uncanny, and it’s typically used as an insult. But I prefer to have my own definition for the word. For me, weird means unique and diverse. Probably the first time I thought of weird as a good thing was when my cousin told me that weird means unique, and I kept that definition ever since. It’s okay to stand out and to be different, even if you get bullied for it, I personally enjoy being weird and wonky. It’s okay to not be “normal,” because being normal is boring. Being weird and different is fun, and it is not hurting anyone. It’s just a lot easier to be yourself than to limit yourself to certain expectations on what you should like and how you should act.

Besides, nobody is actually “normal,” everyone is different in their own way. For instance, I have ADHD, which stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. As a result of that, I am extremely energetic and it is hard for me to focus, so I have to take pills. A lot of people see ADHD as a bad thing, but similar to my definition of weird, I see it as a good thing.

My ADHD makes me more extroverted and more cheery. I feel like it creates a big part of my personality and makes me weird, and I’m proud of that. Nobody’s perfect, and you shouldn’t have to change yourself because people tell you that you are “weird.” Why should you fit the boundaries of what people think is “normal,” when you can be your own person and go outside of those “boundaries”?

It’s completely okay to have your own point of view on things, because honestly, it’s just better. If everyone was the same, then a lot of good things would never happen, because we would only ever think of things in the same way. With different points of view, a lot more can be seen. You don’t need to be like other people, especially if they’re rude, and even if you get bullied for being different, a lot of times people bully others because they’re jealous of them. So what if they don’t like you? That’s their problem and their loss. It’s just fun in general to express yourself It’s good to be proud of yourself and who you are.

Everyone is different and you don’t need to be like other people, or make others be like you. Everyone is weird in their own way. Different people like different foods, music, books, and other things. Everyone is different and diverse, it’s one of the things that makes the world beautiful.

It’s okay to not be “normal,” normal is not unique and being weird can, in reality, be a good thing. c

easier t o l a t s u j ’s It than to to be yuorusresleflfto certain limit yoations on what you expect d like and how you shoul hould act. s

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Fun In The Sun

BY KENZIE HAGERTY Have you ever been enjoying your summer vacation and said to yourself, “I’m so bored, what should I do?” If so, this is the article for you!

Below are some easy, cheap, and most importantly fun activities you can spend your summer vacation doing whether inside or not!

with chalk you can spend hours outside while maybe spending a dollar for a bucket of chalk at the Dollar Store. For some games you can play there’s Hopscotch, Tic Tac Toe, Hangman and so much more. The possibilities with chalk are endless!

FLATTENING FLOWERS

DAZZLING DYES

Aren’t flowers beautiful? One of the worst parts about flowers is that once picked, they don’t last very long, however, there is a way to preserve them. First, choose a type of flower, the best options would be budding flowers or freshly bloomed ones. These will look the best and not be wilted at all. If it’s a thick flower like an orchid or rose, you should split it down the middle to make sure it will lay flat.

Next, you will want to grab something that will go behind the flower to absorb the moisture like parchment paper or cardboard and a sturdy hardcover book. This will help keep it on the parchment paper. Then you will put the flowers on the paper/cardboard, slide it in between a page and the cover then close the book while putting something heavy on top of the book. Finally, wait two to four weeks for it to dry out and now you’ve got some pressed flowers!

What is a fun craft that everyone associated with summer camp? Tie Dye is an easy craft that will take at most ten dollars and a clean white T-shirt. There are 6 basic steps, number one: choose a pattern such as the bullseye, the pinwheel, and the simplest one, just making stripes.

Next, you want to buy some dye which you may be able to find these in kits at your local crafts store or attempt to find some natural dyes, like beetroot or turmeric.

The third step is to bind the fabric with elastic bands which will vary depending on which project you choose. If you choose stripes, for example, you will simply just roll up the shirt, divide it into sections, and put the elastic band around the shirt like a barrier.

Now for the most fun step: applying the dye, to do this you just put your colored dyes into bottles and spray your chosen color on your chosen section. Just make sure to wear something to protect your clothes since it can get very messy!

For the fifth step, you simply just put your T-shirt in a plastic bag and let it sit for 6 to 8 hours, this usually goes overnight. Finally, you rinse it with cold water in the sink, wash it in the washing machine on the “large load” setting, and enjoy your new spectacular Tie Dye T-Shirt!

MOTHER NATURE’S MANDALAS

First, what is a mandala? A mandala is a geometric design made of colors, shapes, and patterns. While mandalas are usually made with supplies such as paint, it’s pretty easy to make a mandala in your backyard. All you need to make a mandala outside are some rocks, sticks, flowers, and anything else you can find! However, you should usually add some balance to your mandala and try to make some sort of pattern with your materials.

One thing that’s great about making it with these materials is the fact that if you leave it there the wind will clean it up for you, though you should still probably help out.

SIDEWALK SKETCHING

Most people I know enjoy chalk, I mean what’s not to love? It’s great for playing games, comes in plenty of colors, and can help you make some pretty cool drawings. While it can get a bit messy sometimes, when playing WORD SEARCH T B A R H

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I’m sure if you’ve spent any time in art class you’ve gotten a chance to mess around with Model Magic, but if you haven’t, Model Magic is just air dry clay that you can easily get at your nearest art store. Usually, it comes in white, and while there may be different colored options you can easily color it with some washable markers. For some projects you can do, try making a mythical creature or maybe any common animal, also you could try to make a friend or any person you admire, and finally, as a tough project try to make a mini version of the outside of your home! c SUDOKU

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ISSUE FIVE NEWSPAPER STAFF

I

6

6

3 5

4

2

8

9

8 6

R H U D E E C B W V B J E K R R S K N G L C O B G

4

6 1

7 3

5

7

2

O H G U L

Juliana Broekman Lillian Bruhn Maddie Campbell Fiona Cox

Henry Groth Annabelle Kang Kenzie Hagerty Danilo Lekic Eliora Indrawidjaja Sebastian Lopes-Filho Alina Ioannisyan Ella Machowinski

Daphne Matsakis Emily McCarthy June Oemler Alden Petri

Miles Provost Chaitan Raman Stella Saccardi Aristotelis Trikalinos

9

Ben Van Norstrand Andy White Kai Yu