Field Notes
BY FIONA COX
The teachers’ hard work of putting together fun field trips without needing expensive bus rides definitely shows as they lead their students to explore different places around the Somerville and Boston area. In these trips the younger grades get to focus on getting opportunities to explore the world around them and acting appropriately in public. Kindergarteners certainly get an abundance of trips compared to most of the older grade. I mean, imagine having over twenty field trips a year, this is the life of the kindergarteners! Starting with a walk over to Porter Square Books new location at Lesley University, students from Ms. Scrima’s class shared that they liked seeing all the different books and layouts of the new spot. When walking from each location to the next, kindergartener Josie Ames shared that she is always excited to be spending time with her buddy. Additionally, most of the students agree that spending time outside is always fun, which means they will be excited for their trip to 44 Porter Street (behind the school). Here they will adopt a plant and study the “Schneider Maple Tree” as the seasons change throughout the year. To cap off an exciting kindergarten year, their biggest trip will be a visit to the Brookline Theater for a puppet show.
like an MIT trip to create Lego cars and a trip to the zoo at the end of the year. When interviewed, students shared how they would enjoy the idea of visiting places like a movie theater, or a museum. One of the students, Teo Lopes-Filho, said that field trips are a way to make learning fun, a sentiment shared among many of the grades.
Other grades like third and fourth get to try field trips that relate to the subjects they are learning in class. They also get opportunities to ride public transport as well as walking places.
THIRD GRADERS WITH THEIR NEW LIBRARY CARDS
The first grade’s trips include a visit to the zoo, a skating rink, and Albion Park, but most recently, they had a great time going to Pemberton Farms where they got to pick out pumpkins to bring back and decorate. Next, the second grade gets to have many field trips
PAGE 2 & 3:
Not just haiukus but “Kaikus” and a look at ensembles. Also, fashion in recent history and when to cue up “All I Want for Christmas is You”.
PAGE 4 & 5:
In depth looks at the history of cartoons and animated movies. The new early release Wednesday and the benefits of reading.
PAGE 6 & 7
All things transportation: local and international. Plus gift giving ideas and a drawing lesson.
PAGE 8 & 9: Is school important? and Kennedy students weigh in on alien life.
PAGE 10 & 11: Favorite musicians and more photos of students in the field!
PAGE 12 PUZZLES:
A sweet word search, sudoku and rebuses
The third graders walk to a total of five different public libraries, and also get a few surprise field trips later in their year, giving the third grade an impressive total of nine trips.
The excitement of a hands-on experience was expressed in the fourth grade after their trip to MIT, which they visited in October to make colorful flashlights. Kevin Epstein said one of his favorite parts of their MIT field trip was, “getting something you made and getting to keep it”. The trip to
The Kennedy Chronicle is printed with a generous grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
FIRST GRADE ON A FIELD TRIP TO PEMBERTON FARMS
Kaikus
BY KAISTERONI PEPPERONI
Welcome back, my friends, to the emporium of knowledge. I am Kaisteroni Pepperoni, and I have recently run into financial problems, because I accidentally gave all my money and information to a Peruvian goat called Shelby. I was forced out of my home and had to share a dirty blanket on the street with an escaped convict called Shubert, who was constantly trying to bite my ear.
One day, while rooting through a trash can, wincing at constant rat bites, my hand came into contact with something hard. I pulled it out, hoping for food, but what did I find but
KAIKU #3
a book of poetry. After taking a bite—it needed more salt—I realized that it was a New York Times Best Seller by this guy called Shell Sliverspleen. Anyway, I skimmed through the book, and the poems weren’t even that hard to write. Heck, even I could—wait a minute… An idea popped into my head. What if I write a poetry book? But not just normal poetry, no. I would write a haiku* book. And the name? Kaikus.
*Haikus are 3-line poems, where the first line is 5 syllables long, the second line is 7 syllables, and the last line is 5 syllables again.
KAIKU #1
I was puzzling
My friend said to use my head I am concussed now
Delicious candy A little hard to swallow Whoops ate the wrapper
KAIKU #4
“Break a leg,” he said Before the big theater play I’m hospitalized
KAIKU #5
Yeowch, that hurts a lot! Remember kids, never Give your phone a bath
I hoped you enjoyed the first few Kaikus of the best poetry book ever created. See you next time, my friends—OUCH! Shubert! That’s my ear… not a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme! c
No Strings Attached
BY DAPHNE MATSAKIS
In Somerville Public Schools, there is something called the “instrumental program”. Also known as ensembles, it provides students the option to learn an instrument during the school day—hence the name. The program has two different sections: band and orchestra, and you can only choose one. Orchestra plays stringed instruments, band plays woodwinds, brass, and a bit of percussion, but both tend to play more pop music. It starts in 4th grade, and goes all the way to 8th through high school. At first, the choice of instruments might seem like slim pickings (especially in band), but fear not, because the choices open up as time goes on. (see table)
But in 7th and 8th grade, everything changes. While band and orchestra are still viable options, two new sections open up: world percussion and chorus. In world percussion, you play rhythms from different places across the world on drums. Chorus is very similar to music class, because you sing all sorts of different songs and develop your voice. In 7th and 8th grade, choosing an ensemble is required it takes over your music class in addition to the original practice time, and both grades do it together.
But does that actually matter to the students? A poll found only 17.8% of students in 7th and 8th grade enjoy the required class, with 37% disliking it. However, that means almost half of the students just don’t care. In other words, there’s a pretty varied response to the changes, and a lot of it depends on who you ask.
As previously mentioned, no matter what grade you’re in, you can only do one ensemble at a time. But what if you’re not into the ensemble you’re in? Well, one option is that you switch to a different one, but that can be challenging. When in grades 4-6, it’s pretty easy, but in grades 7-8, you
HOW TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT AT THE KENNEDY
probably won’t be able to. Since there are so many kids, and it’s only two years, you’re not going to be able to switch unless there’s other reasons than you not liking it. If you’re unable to switch, my advice is to focus on the positives of playing your instrument or the class, instead of just counting the minutes until it’s over.
In conclusion, the instrument program at the John F. Kennedy is a complicated, beautiful machine that teaches students how to make complicated, beautiful music. And if you’re not old enough to be in the program, don’t let that stop you! Start making and listening to music now, so that when 4th grade comes along, you can take your spotlight. c
4th Clarinet, Trumpet Violin, Viola, Cello N/A N/A
5th Clarinet, Trumpet, Flute, Trombone, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
6th Clarinet, Trumpet, Flute, Trombone, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
7th
Clarinet, Trumpet, Flute, Trombone, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
8th Clarinet, Trumpet, Flute, Trombone, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass N/A N/A
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass N/A N/A
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass Voice Assorted drums
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass Voice Assorted drums
KAIKU #2† This is a kaiku I don’t know what to write here Blah, blah, blah, the end
† Recommended by Elizabeth Towne
90s vs NOW
BY PENELOPE A. BARBOSA AND HOLLIE P. COCO
The 90s! An interesting topic, ancient to some, but what a time to be alive! Grunge/Rock music was blasting off. DVDs were the hot new thing for watching movies and playing songs. The World Wide Web was weird but helpful. And the Tickle Me Elmo was created…why? Nobody knows! But one thing that has stayed popular and famous is the fashion trends that emerged during this decade.
In the 1990s, there were many variations of one amazing trend or style. The majority of teachers we asked in our poll for the 90s responded that people often wore baggy jeans, flannels, and bright colors.
For the 2000s, polls were slightly different for women. Fancy dresses and shirts as well as baggy pants and bright colors were favored.
In 2010’s, fashion for men was mostly plain or “Bland.” This style of clothing was called normcore. They also dressed in sweaters or shirts and blazers and, of course, skinny jeans. Keywords might include clean or fancy.
Nowadays, there are many different trends to choose from. Some trends we have today consist of Croquet, E-girl, Soft girl, and Preppy. The popular trend Croquet, which is very soft pastel pinks and whites, is what one might think is very calm, comfortable, and an overall cute aesthetic. Soft girl (AKA Bubbles Core!) tends to show a lot of similarities to croquet however it’s a lot more rainbow and bubbly style. It’s also very comfortable. E-girl looks very dark with colorful accents with a lot of bold makeup. For Preppy think PINK smiley faces and all around good vibes. A lot of younger teens and older tweens tend to adopt this style. There is an emphasis on makeup and skin care, and also Stanleys are popular with this style.
90's
NOw VS
Lately, a lot of fashion trends from the 80s and 90s trends have come back in style, bringing a sense of nostalgia. These include certain outfits or leg warmers.
In the end, we believe that all styles are special and beautiful, and that all people should respect each other, no matter how they dress. c
FASHION TIMELINE
Holiday Harmonies
BY RUFUS JORDAN-WEINER AND BAZEL TOWNE
Have you ever wondered what happens to your music tastes during the holidays? What songs become more popular? When do people ideally start and stop listening to holiday-themed music? Find out here!
During the holidays, it’s apparent that many artists and bands gain a majority of their traction from music related to the seasons. According to the polls we sent out, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey is the most commonly listened-to song during the holidays. Similarly, Good Housekeeping’s article shares that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has been at the top of the Billboard Holiday 100 every Christmas; even years after its release! Close follow-ups are “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Last Christmas”, and “A Holly Jolly Christmas”—the list only goes on. Some people might call Christmas Mariah Carey’s heyday because she makes an estimated almost 3 million dollars per Christmas season, giving her half of her total income for the year!
The most popular time—according to the polls we took to start and stop listening to holiday songs—is from November 1st to late December, giving a good month and a half to two months of holiday music. We had a few extreme results, like “NEVER” and “ALWAYS” (emphasis on the capitals), but most people settled with a reasonable amount. In my personal opinion (Rufus), I like it to start around December 1st, and end on December 27th. As for my co-writer, Bazel, she prefers to start listening to Christmas music the second November starts and the second December ends.
Did you know that, there’s even a game related to this article! Known as Whamaggedon, people spend the 24 days prior to Christmas trying their hardest not to hear Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” When they lose, they are sent to ‘Whamhalla’, in which they cannot play the game until next year. According to Wikipedia, “One of the earliest documented references of Whamageddon appeared on Maniac-Forum.de in November 2009, an online forum originally linked to German-language video game magazine M! Games.” By that, it’s clear Christmas music has a huge impact on the money artists/bands make during the holidays, heavily accounting for the festive culture of the West.
To sum up, the holiday season heavily affects the music industry and those involved in it! It may or may or may not be your signal to start tracking how often you hear “Last Christmas” during the season, too. c
Tune in for Some Toons
BY EZRA BROEKMAN
When most people think of a cartoon, they might think of children’s animation or older comic strip books. However, they used to be less about life lessons and more about making fun of something else the author doesn’t agree with for others’ entertainment.
WHAT ARE CARTOONS?
A cartoon is a form of drawn visual art, which is often animated, and in mostly unrealistic, or unnatural, style. The meaning of what a cartoon is has changed since they were first made, but now they are often considered images that are meant to be satire (fake) or humorous. At first, cartoons were images in newspapers that convey a message related to the article, but over time, they have become the animated children’s shows that are aired on TV or posted online known today.
WHEN WERE THEY FIRST MADE?
The answer depends. Cartoons first started as “full-size drawing[s] made on sturdy paper as a design… for a painting, stained glass, or tapestry” (Cartoon, Wikipedia) in the Middle Ages. Of course, cartoons most people think of today are the fun animations on TV or websites like
YouTube. However, more “modern” cartoons started being printed around 1843, when a magazine used the term to reference its satirical drawings. The first animated cartoon, however, wasn’t Steamboat Willie by Walt Disney, but rather, it was actually a French animation named Fantasmagorie by Émile Cohl, released in 1908 (9 Oldest Cartoons in the World, Oldest.org).
COMIC STRIPS AND PHYSICAL MEDIA
Physical comics printed in newspapers started in 1843 when Punch magazine (a British humor magazine) started using it. Oftentimes, the comics consisted of caricatures (exaggerations) of the body using speech bubbles and onomatopoeia to show a humorous story. These were mainly in black-and-white coloring until January of 1894 when Joseph Pulitzer’s The New York World featured a comic strip that filled the whole page. About two years later, The Morning Journal announced the first regular (and weekly) full-color comic. A little over 50 years later, Peanuts was published, written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. In 1976, Garfield (originally published as Jon) was first published, and Calvin and Hobbes was published
in 1985. Calvin and Hobbes is commonly called “the last great newspaper comic”, gaining a lot of popularity and influence.
PRESENT DAY ANIMATION AND WEBNOVELS
All of this innovation throughout the past two hundred years had to have come to make something, and that is the mainstream presentday animations and web novels that everyone sees and writes today. A lot of cartoons nowadays are more aimed at children, using talking animals to teach life lessons and kindness, while still allowing children to imagine fun characters in (sometimes) otherworldly places. However, there are some animated cartoons more aimed towards adults, which are mostly played later in the day. Web novels, more commonly known as webtoons or webcomics, originated in South Korea and are meant to be read on a smartphone scrolling through chapters (called episodes on WEBTOON, a website where people can post their webcomics). These cover a variety of art styles and story genres (mostly fiction) to provide stories for all readers. c
A Frame into the History of Animated Movies
BY HENRY GROTH AND DANILO LEKIC
Have you ever asked yourself when the first animated movie was created? Maybe you’ve wondered about when Pixar was founded, or when and why Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse. This article is your answer to all your questions about the history of animated movies. Rewinding to the beginning, the first ever animated movie was Fantasmagorie, by Emile Cohl, which was made in 1908. Every single one of the 700 frames was hand-drawn, which took Emile over 4 months to complete. The iconic Walt Disney Studios was created in 1923, originally named The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
Fun fact:
mickey mouse was created by Walt Disney when he was reminiscing about a pet mouse he had as a kid.
Five years later, in 1928, was the creation of possibly the most iconic animated character ever, Mickey Mouse, who was originally named Mortimer Mouse, but was later changed to the iconic character you know and love today. Two years later in 1930, Walt Disney’s good friend and assistant Ub Iwerks made the first colored animation film, which was named Fiddlesticks. The very first Disney movie and first fulllength animated movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, released in 1937. This film received great feedback, which led Disney to release a total of 62 films throughout their existence. In the 1940s, many iconic animated
Fun fact:
movies came out including Pinnochio, Dumbo, and Bambi. In 1945, Momotaro: Sacred Sailors was released, which was the first Japanese anime movie. Ten years later, in 1955, Disneyland was built, which amassed a total cost of over $17 million (approximately 153 million dollars today after being adjusted for inflation). During the 1970s, many book characters of the early and mid-twentieth century got their own animated feature films, such as the animated Lord of the Rings, The Grinch, and Charlotte’s Web. Comic book characters also got their animated movies such as Charlie Brown (Peanuts) and Asterix and Obelix. In 1985, the widely popular Japanese anime production group, Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli only has 190 employees
was founded. Studio Ghibli has created 22 animated movies over their existence, with the most well-known being Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. In the nineties, CGI went mainstream for animated movies after being introduced to the public in the 70s with movies such as Star Wars, and many people started using it. The first animated movie to use CGI was Toy Story, which came out in 1995. Now, almost every animated movie uses CGI, examples of which include Moana, the Minions franchise, and Inside Out. The impact of animated movies throughout history is undeniable, and though they have come a long way, there’s no doubt that there is much more advancements to come. c
Introducing: Early Release Wednesdays!
BY ELIORA INDRAWIDJAJA
Do you know about the new Wednesday schedule that started this school year? Last school year, we would have early release days every other week or two, not just every single Wednesday. However, those early release days were shorter than being dismissed at 1:00 PM, which is when students are dismissed on Wednesdays this year. For those early release days, or better known as “half days”, we were dismissed at 12:00 PM and we didn’t have recess. According to teachers, in the past school years, these early release Wednesdays meant that teachers had lunch after they dismissed students and then they had time in their classrooms.
What caused the change this year? Well, the reason for these early release days is important. They are common planning days for teachers. Common planning is when teachers get together and plan lessons. Teachers can work together with other teachers from the school and around the district. That is what these early release Wednesdays are all about.
According to a poll that was sent out to 3rd-8th graders at the Kennedy School, approximately 174 out of 208 students, or about 83.65% of the responders, said that yes, they do enjoy the new, steady half day Wednesdays. This is the majority of the responders. So from the students’ perspective, this is good for them. The students get more of a break. Personally, I think that this new Wednesday schedule is awesome—I have more time to relax. However, this does not mean that this is a win-win for everybody. If you remember from before, the teachers don’t get to leave earlier. In contrast to the students, they have to stay longer for common planning. For the students out there who think these constant early release days are for them because they deserve a break, they’re not. Truthfully, they are for the teachers to plan and create lessons for the students. But that doesn’t mean that teachers don’t like them! When I asked third grade teacher Ms. Merrill the question about whether or not she likes the early release Wednesdays, she said, “I like them. They allow teachers to get together.” She also mentioned that teachers are often alone, and getting together is a good thing for them. Sixth grade teacher Teacher Ward said, “I love the consistency of every Wednesday being the same! Of course, being done at noon would also be great.” These statements prove that some teachers like these Wednesdays as well, despite the work.
So, for all you kids out there who were wondering, this is the truth--the true purpose of the new, consistent early release Wednesdays. c
To Read or Not to Read
BY ALDEN PETRI
One question you should ask yourself is: do you read at home, when not required to? Because a recent poll of the school shows that only 50% of the students read consistently when not required to, and a further 35.7% read sometimes or inconsistently. This means that more than one out of every 10 students at this school doesn’t read in their free time. Reading is an activity that some people enjoy, and others don’t. It can even be considered “nerdy” or “not cool” by some people. The question is, why should you read? Well, according to an article from the National Endowment for the Arts, reading can provide many benefits.
For example, a study found proficient readers are about 2.5 times as likely to earn upwards of $850 a week than those with basic reading skills only. Reading works your brain, allowing you to have mental engagement while having fun reading. Other benefits include elevated levels of empathy, reduced cognitive decline, reduced stress, enhanced vocabulary, and general improvements to cognitive functioning. This means that your brain will be overall boosted by reading, and you’ll learn new words as well. Though it doesn’t seem like reading books will help social interactions, studies have shown that reading can expose you to social interactions in books, allowing you to apply those interactions that you read about to real life.
BENEFITS OF READING INCREASED EMPATHY ENHANCED VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENTS TO COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING REDUCED COGNITIVE DECLINE REDUCED STRESS
Now, it is clear from these statistics that reading has many benefits. However, not everyone enjoys reading. After all, only about half of the school reads consistently when not required to. That’s understandable, but there are still things that you can do. For example, you could try to read for five minutes a day, and then work up to more. Or, you could set a realistic goal for pages or chapters. Try to read five chapters a week, or maybe 100 pages of your book. You will get great benefits from even these small amounts of reading, and there are so many amazing books out there. Why would you miss out on these great experiences and all the benefits of reading? Plus, even if you start out not enjoying reading, you will likely grow to like it. In conclusion, reading provides a variety of benefits to your brain, and it can be a ton of fun! c
BY EVA KRAVES
The MBTA Playground
BY BENJAMIN VAN NORSTRAND
I, Ben van Northstation, am back! This time, the name stands to my article! I can’t believe I am finally doing an article on the—oops! Sorry, I’m getting carried away already! As the headline clearly states, I’m talking about the MBTA and how you can get around town. Plus, if you like watching trains, I have a Tier List of the top 24 stops you should railfan! We’ll start with the subway and the train cars. First, the Green Line cars numbered 3600-3718 are Type 7s built by Kinki-Sharyo. Numbers 38003878 and 3880-3892 are Type 8s built by Breda. 3879 is retired and will not return to service. I highly recommend riding on cars 3866 and 3871, they are super nice. Type 9s, cars 3900-3923, are built by CAF. Next, Blue Line cars are built by Siemens. Next, Orange Line cars are built by CRRC. Lastly, Red Line cars 1500-1523 and 1600-1651 are built by Pullman-Standard, 1700-1757 by UTDC, 1800-1885 by Bombardier, and 1900-2151 by CRRC.
The termini of Green Line (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: B: Government Center to Boston College [22 stops, see bottom for Sutherland Road platform inset], D: Union Square-Riverside [25 stops]) C: Government Center-Cleveland Circle (20 stops) and E: Medford/Tufts-Heath Street (25 stops), Termini of Red Line: Alewife-Ashmont (17 stops), AlewifeBraintree (18 stops), Termini of Orange Line: Oak Grove-Forest Hills (20 stops), Termini of Blue Line: Wonderland-Bowdoin (12 stops).
Next, visit mbta.com for bus routes in Somerville. The 80, 87, 88, 89, and 90 go all the way across town. Check mbta.com/schedules/subway and scroll down to see the maps. There are conveniently several maps for your personal ease.
Last, if you are a railfan, here is a tier list of the top 24 stops to watch trains:
24: Chestnut Hill Ave
23: Packard’s Corner
22: South Street
21: Green Street
20: Magoun Square
19: Beachmont
18: Babcock Street
17: Amory Street
16: Stony Brook
15: Government Center
14: Arlington
13: Haymarket
12: Reservoir
11: Orient Heights
10: Massachusetts Avenue
9: Porter
8: Quincy Center
7: Sutherland Road
6: Chiswick Road
5: North Station
4: Warren Street
3: Maverick
2: Chinatown
1: East Somerville
To sum up, I can assure you that you can get at least one satisfying ride. c
Up, Up & Away
BY BJORN GOLDSTEIN
Airplanes. We all know what they are. They have been a consistent way to travel around for over a century. You can get almost everywhere in the world on an airplane, and get there fast. But many people don’t know the specifics when it comes to airplanes. So let’s zoom in on some big airplane manufacturers, specifically Airbus and Boeing, the two rivals.
First up, Boeing—the American company. Boeing was founded in 1916 by William Boeing. It is used to make fighter jets for the military and commercial jets. Their first jet engined craft was the Boeing 707, which had four engines. But soon, they made the first 737, which only had two engines, and the 707 was lost. The 737 was introduced in 1968 and is still used today. The next plane they made was the Boeing 747, the first wide bodied aircraft, which means it can carry many more passengers. Nicknamed “The Queen of the Skies”, it even has a top deck. Then there came the 757, 767, and the 777. The 777 is the largest onedeck airplane, and it is almost as big as the 747. Finally there is the 787, which is a little bit smaller than the 757.
Sadly, recently, Boeing has taken some big blows, especially with their 737, as it has a habit of occasionally having an accident happen to it. Alaska Airlines flight 1282–was a Boeing 737 MAX 9 which took off from Portland Airport, Oregon, on January 5, 2024. Shortly after takeoff, the emergency escape exit door was blasted out of the plane! Shortly after that, it made an emergency landing back in Portland and everyone was okay. Fun fact though: someone’s iPhone was sucked out the door and was found on the ground…and it was still working.
Boeing’s biggest rival is Airbus. Airbus was founded by French, German, and Spanish aerospace companies. Their first successful plane, the Airbus a300, was a small passenger plane. Then they made the a320, the plane that you will most likely go on if you are going somewhere relatively close. They have had 118 airlines buy them and they are very popular. Over time, they made some much bigger airplanes, ones that could fly far distances and carry far more passengers. These include the a330, the a340, and the a350. In 2006, they thought they should make a rival plane to the Boeing 747, so that is how the a380 came to be. It is the biggest passenger plane in the world. With maximum passengers, it can carry 853 passengers. It has a full double deck.
So next time you’re on an airplane, see if you can figure out what model it is: Boeing or Airbus (or Embraer, or Bombardier, or Gulfstream…but that’s an article for another day…) c
BOEING 747
airbus A380
sutherland road
Kennedy Kidz Gift Giving Guide
BY JULIANA GUILLEMETTE AND EVIE RIORDAN
How to Draw Cats
BY ALINA IOANNISYAN
STEP 1: Draw four circles.
STEP 4: Add the back legs and draw a line connecting it to the front legs, as you see in the photo.
STEP 2: Draw the face in the top circle.
STEP 5: Add fur on the top of the head, the sides, the face, and around the middle circle.
STEP 3: Draw the ears and front legs. You can do this by drawing four lines and connecting two of them together, and then adding little lines on the bottom to make the paws.
STEP 6: Erase the circles you did in step one, but leave the rest!
STEP 7: Add the tail, whiskers, and other details… and you’re done!c
-Amazon -Bandai Namco -Nerf
-Ulta -Sephora -Milk
Why Do We Do This?
BY ARISTOTELIS TRIKALINOS
In my experiences as a seventh grader, people have asked this question countless times. Why do all this math, science, essay-writing, and much more if most of us won’t even use it in our daily lives? When is anyone going to use quadratic equations to find a job? As seventh grader Alina Loannisyan put it, “Other than some interesting facts, school isn’t that useful.” In this article, I shall demonstrate how school can help you get a job and the benefits of each class. (No, “your parents not yelling at you” isn’t the only upside to having good grades. Yes, I was surprised too.)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
English is a widely known language, and you can find someone who knows it anywhere on the globe. It is the most common language in the United States. But beyond being able to communicate with the majority of people, why learn to write essays? Why learn how to write complex narratives? I interviewed middle school ELA teacher Ms. Abigail Smith to find out.
“Being able to express yourself, your needs, and your abilities is very important,” Ms. Smith stated, “Without a language, we wouldn’t have a society.” But that only covers the bare bones of basic ELA communication. What about more advanced communication? And what if we didn’t have it? Well, that means that everyone would suffer. Scientists can’t convey, ideas slowing down technology, and doctors can’t describe cures for diseases. Also, books would be harder to access. Essays and analyzing text are also other questions I was keen to ask. Ms. Smith stated, “Analyzing text can help your critical thinking skills.” This can help remove bias and make it harder to sway in a debate, and can make you more aware of lies. “Essays,” she continued, “are also the fundamental structure of any debate.” Without essays, we can’t have debates. Two important jobs to society are lawyers and paralegals. Lawyers and paralegals hold up the entire legal system. Without a primary language that is advanced, they can’t argue a case for a person’s innocence or prosecution. This most likely would lead to the destruction of society. I also asked Ms. Smith what common jobs require high ELA scores. She replied that paralegals, lawyers, engineers, scientists, and people in the medical field all require those skills. Overall English language arts are important or, in general, a primary language to communicate.
SCIENCE AND STEM
Science has many interesting features, but is there anything more than that? Sure, it’s wonderful to know that if you start feeling tremors you should run out of your house fast, and it is awesome to know that volcanoes are dangerous, but what else is there to learn? How is this knowledge going to help us? I interviewed Will Oemler, Director of software engineering at Vesalius Therapeutics, to find out. First, I asked what would happen if we didn’t have all this knowledge in science. “Medicine would crumble. Without science, no one could produce advanced medicine,” Mr. Oemler immediately started. Due to this, easily contained outbreaks would turn into plagues. The death toll would be massive. “Also all automation would crumble and be destroyed, meaning that we wouldn’t have ships, cars, bicycles, or any type of fast transportation.” This would also lead to the collapse of the global net, a worldwide trade system that has lowered the prices of everything from tomatoes to silver. That would mean people would eat bland diets of local crops and have little to no variety. And stay in school kids, because no science means no video games or computers. That’s right, if you want to continue seeing updates to your favorite games, learn science. The Internet is vitally important to so many people’s lives and has improved the quality of lives everywhere. Many common jobs also require competency in science. Such jobs include any jobs related to building, like engineers or designers for materials, and electricians, who also need an understanding of science, as science is the base of electricity. There are so many uses for science that I could not include, or this article would be miles long.
SPANISH
Some of you reading this article don’t have Spanish as a class yet, but you will in the future! While many countries speak Spanish, twenty-one to be exact, most aren’t as prosperous as the United States. Why speak Spanish if you will never use it? Other than for tourism or business, you may not spend much more than a week in a Spanish-speaking country, like Mexico or Argentina. Well, it turns out that there are far more advantages to being multilingual than being monolingual. In my interview with middle school Spanish teacher Señora Valerie Salicrup, I asked three questions. The first question I asked was, “Does learning a second language make you smarter?” She replied that it depends. In the past, the United States considered knowing a second language as a “learning disability”. This belief was based on flawed studies conducted, with the theory that multilingual people wasted time switching from language to language. As such, people who were multilingual faced prejudice in school and work. However, according to Weinberg College, learning a foreign language can increase your cognitive abilities. As stated in a recent research study, “New research has shown that learning a foreign language will stimulate your brain and enhance important cognitive processes…” While that still doesn’t necessarily mean that being multilingual can make you smarter, it still shows it does have benefits.
The next question I quickly asked was, “What are the benefits of learning a language as common as Spanish?” Sra. Salicrup then shared with me a short story. “There was a mother and she couldn’t speak English, so I came and I was the only adult that spoke Spanish, and I translated for her.” Knowing a second language can help so many people, but it can also help you. She also said that knowing a second language can increase your job opportunities, which is commonly agreed upon by many trustworthy sources. And this increase isn’t small; it makes you quite favorable to employers who are hiring.
The last question I had was whether she thinkd Spanish should be taught earlier than seventh grade. The answer, which I knew was coming, was “yes”. Sra. Salicrup has stated that there are many benefits to learning a second language, so much so that we should do it earlier. The European Union countries have started teaching a second language at ages eight to ten. Sra. Salicrup also stated that we should learn more languages than just Spanish, pushing all students past bilingual and making them trilingual by default.
In conclusion, second languages do have many benefits.
To Infinity and Beyond!
BY CHAITAN RAMAN
We are on a ball of rock hurtling through space at amazing speeds. That ball of rock is around 4.5 billion years old. The chance that we humans are the only ones here is almost infinitely small. Earth has the only life we know of, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t extraterrestrial life. Overall space is insanely big and much is unknown about it.
There are seven main types of stars. They are known by the classification OBAFGKM. One type is a Main Sequence Star. Main Sequence Stars make up about 90% of the universe’s stars. Our sun is 4.6 billion years old and is a Main Sequence Star. They can range between one tenth and two hundred times our sun’s size. When a Main Sequence Star less than eight times the sun’s mass runs out of hydrogen in its core, it starts to collapse. The result is a Red Giant, which looks more orange than red. The sun
will become a Red Giant in about 5 billion years. Eventually the red giant becomes unstable and creates a cloud of dust and gas called a planetary nebula. After that, only the core remains. Scientists call this a White Dwarf. The sun will become a White Dwarf in about 10 billion years. It is around the size of Earth but a teaspoon of its material would weigh more than a pickup truck. Black holes are one of the mysterious topics in the universe. Their force is so strong that not even light can escape.
WHY DO WE DO THIS? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
SOCIAL STUDIES
While history is fairly interesting, knowing how ancient Harrapa built its cities and adoring their craftsmanship isn’t going to help the world progress forward. What even is the use of knowing all the president’s names in order? Why does anyone care? So why have this subject if we will never use it? I spoke with middle school social studies teacher Ms. Kayla Schmidt to learn more.
One of the questions I was eager to ask was how learning about past civilizations helps us make the world go forward. Ms. Schmidt explained how historical data shows trends in politics, revolutions, and tragedies. “It also can help us avoid them,” she stated. Also, historical data can help us make predictions. Knowing data from historical prediction can help us understand the effects of policies and help us become successful. But so much of our time in history is bogged down in culture. How does that help us? Ms. Schmidt explained the importance of learning about culture. “Understanding other cultures helps people be more empathetic and understanding,” she stated. “If you know more about foreign cultures, it makes you more aware of the world. It can also help people.” Understanding news articles (like this one) will be easier if you know the cultures and common beliefs of other countries. It can also make you more polite and politically aware MATHEMATICS
Often crowned the most boring and hardest subject, people find themselves complaining about the difficult equations and difficult puzzles. And where would we need this? If everyone hates mathematics, why do we continue to study mathematics and why should we? It turns out that while mathematics is boring for most people, it has many practical applications. In my interview with Amazon Engineer, Stephen Hanly I asked, “What
Most Milky Way size galaxies have a massive black hole at the center. Our galaxy has a black hole called Sagittarius A at the center. Spaghettification is a term describing what happens when matter gets too close to a black hole. It is stretched vertically making it resemble a noodle. Black holes are very dense and have a lot of matter concentrated in a relatively small space. A black hole with a radius of only 0.87 cm. would have a weight equal to Earth’s. When people think of an alien, you probably think of a green
creature with a big head and big eyes driving a UFO. Scientists think that they would probably be much simpler organisms, like bacteria. According to a research survey, 65% of Americans believe that aliens exist. There have been many UFO sightings, but many people suspect they have just been something else. Space is also a theme of a lot of space movies and in those, there are often aliens. Overall, there are many fake sightings, discoveries, and mysteries regarding aliens. I polled the students at the Kennedy School on whether or not they believed in aliens. Out of the 211 students who responded, 85 responded yes, 73 responded maybe, and 53 responded no. Most people said that they either do believe in alien life or that it might exist, and a few don’t think it’s possible. Space is an awesome topic and we are still learning more about it every day! c
Mathematics do we use in everyday life?” “First,” he started, “the average person develops a budget for food, housing, etc.” Stephen also stated how people keep mental tabs on how much their shopping costs.
But that is only the bare bones of mathematics, so why does the average person learn complex mathematical concepts if they don’t use them? Stephen responded that it is a more abstract idea. Learning complex mathematical concepts allows you to learn how to apply ideas not only in mathematics, but in any skill. Another thing Stephen found important was “learning how to learn”. Mathematics allows you to think in an elegant way, allowing you to learn efficiently. Another point he made that I believe to be the most important is that mathematics “extends your problemsolving ability beyond mathematical problems and can help you traverse relationships”.
The next question that I asked was, “What would happen if we only had the bare bones of mathematics?” Stephen immediately got to work listing what we wouldn’t have. “We wouldn’t have any sort of automation,” he said. We wouldn’t have any cars, bicycles, microwave chicken dinner. “Speaking of which, we wouldn’t have electricity!” exclaimed Stephen. “At most, we would have rudimentary electricity like chemical batteries and light bulbs.” However, those would be expensive and It’s still not likely we would have them. He also continued that we wouldn’t have engineering without mathematics, which means living in a mud brick shack. We also need mathematics for medicine, investing, and finance. Some common jobs that require competency in mathematics are mathematicians, technologyrelated jobs, investors, and jobs that involve finance or engineering.
While closing the interview, Stephen unexpectedly called back and asked for me to put this quote in: “Without mathematics, there would be no economy, and therefore, no civilization.” c
N=207
Music at the Kennedy
BY MARTHA OBUCHOWSKI
So, usually, when someone says ‘popular music’ in this school, you’ll probably think of Taylor Swift. It’s true there are many Swifties in the school. However, this isn’t the only example of popular music. There are many well-known artists, like Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, and Green Day. The list goes on! In this poll, we’ve asked about people’s favorite artists. We found that the top 5 most popular musicians at JFK are:
5. TYLER THE CREATOR
4. SABRINA CARPENTER
3. IMAGINE DRAGONS
2. OLIVIA RODRIGO
1. TAYLOR SWIFT! (OBVIOUSLY)
Some honorable mentions go to Eminem, Lana Del Rey, and Travis Scott. They have plenty of fans at the Kennedy, but didn’t quite make the Top 5.
The local Swifties will be pleased to know that Taylor came in at big 1st Place. By the way, here’s a fun fact for everyone in band or orchestra: A few people said that the band/orchestra teachers are their favorite musicians! c
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Submit your poem(s) to Ms. Hanly’s mailbox in the main office or send your poetry by email to thekennedychronicle@gmail.com.
MIT also sparked creativity among the students and let them test other experiments in the building.
The teachers put in so much work to get trips ready for their students with a long process to get it all ready. Ms. Merrill, one of the third grade teachers, even described it to be similar to planning a wedding! Though the teachers already have their prepared field trips for the year, she said that they were still very keen on adding new fun field trips in the future. Ms. Leary, a first grade teacher, said that she was always flexible and interested in adding new activities.
Though these grades get an abundance of trips, the older kids like the seventh and eighth graders still get to go on a few at the end
of the year, such as Boda Borg and Canobie Lake. The eighth graders are also looking forward to their trips to Anna’s Taqueria, where they get to order some food, while exclusively speaking in Spanish. Their teachers are also working towards adding more field trips, especially Ms. Salicrup, the seventh and eighth-grade Spanish teacher, who has been trying to look into an eighth-grade trip to Salem to learn more about El Punto Murals.
Overall, the younger students and older students of the Kennedy will always have a wide variety of exciting field trips to look forward to this year and the years to come, with teachers who are ready to make it all happen. c
4 4 1 K
FOURTH GRADERS VISITING MIT
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ISSUE SIX NEWSPAPER STAFF
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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.
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