The `Stang Express - Galena Park Independent School District

Transcription

The ‘Stang Express
The Newspaper of North Shore Middle School
Volume 3 • Issue 4 • May 2013
Are North Korea’s threats real or just another
ploy to get world-wide attention? - page 10
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4 • MAY 2013
1
‘STANG EXPRESS
STAFF
The ‘Stang Express • Feb. 2013
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Opinion Editor
News Editor
Features Editor
Sports Editors
Entertainment Ed.
Photo Editor
Social Media Mgr
IMAGE / THE GUARDIAN
Cover Story
10 COVER STORY
NEWS
4 BUTTERFLIES HELP STUDENTS
REMEMBER CHILDREN
Eighth graders learn about the children of Terezin.
by DAISY ESTRADA
6 HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR NORTH
SHORE’S JOURNALISM STUDENTS
Students enjoy record-setting day at journalism
state competition.
by CINDY MAI
FEATURES
12 ENERGY DRINKS: SAFE TO DRINK?
Just because they’re sold in lots of stores doesn’t
always mean they’re safe.
by MAKENNA POULAND
16 EIGHTH GRADERS PREPARE FOR
THE ROAD AHEAD
Two years in middle school should have prepared
you...if you’ve worked hard.
by MABEL IDICULA
OPINION
19 THEIR RULES, THEIR HONOR, HER
PAIN
Girls, do you enjoy your freedoms here in the U.S.?
by SARA HINSHAW-HATTEN
21 THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM: IS IT
BENEFICIAL?
2
THE WORLD AT WAR?
North Korea. Are their threats real or just another
ploy at getting world-wide attention?
by CHRISTINE CABANG & MARIA RENTERIA
SPORTS
Writers
Martin Batrez
Kenny Ma
Joanne Cobos
TaAliyah Porchia
Daisy Estrada
Makenna Pouland
Cristal Garcia
Maria Renteria
Enrique Gonazlez
Leonardo Reyes
Sara Hinshaw
Fermina Rodriguez
Mabel Idicula
Hailie Russell
Ulises Salazar
22 MUSTANGS DOMINATE WILDCATS
Photographers
Melanie Gomez
Madison Mericle
Reagan Nunez
25 SIGNIFICANT INJURIES SIDELINES
ATHLETES
Adviser
Principal
Superintendent
Seventh graders aggressive defense helps secure
win.
by VICTOR DAVILA & LEONARDO REYES
Big injuries can hamper an athlete’s year.
by ULISES SALAZAR
26 MUSTANGS FIGHT HARD TO
MAINTAIN WINNING STREAK
Tough practices and good coaching helps boys
track excel.
by LEAH MAXWELL & TAALIYAH PORCHIA
Mr. Ron Burke
Mr. Paul Drexler
Dr. Angi Williams
CONTACTING US
Mailing address: 120 Castlegory Houston,Texas
77015
Phone: (832) 386-2600
Website: http://www.texasschools.net/nsms
Email: stangexpress@yahoo.com
RESPONDING
ENTERTAINMENT
30 G.I. JOE RETALIATION
Action-packed sequel to “The Rise of Cobra”
satisfies, continues where last left off.
by MARTIN BATREZ
31 THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS
SERIES HITS THE BIG SCREEN
The City of Bones amazed students and has them
waiting.
by CRYSTAL GARCIA
PHOTO STORIES
Based on its pros and cons, some classes at North
Shore would see good results.
by KENNY MA
9 STUDENTS DISSECT CHICKEN
WINGS TO HELP LEARN ANATOMY
LIKE US! Scan this with
your smartphone to see
the North Shore MS
Journalism Facebook
page and download the
newspaper in color!
33 EIGHTH GRADERS SHOW THEIR
APPRECIATION WITH A CAR WASH
MAY 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS
Page Design
Bryant Badie
Cindy Mai
Emily Lim
Ivon Lopez
Christine Cabang
Leah Maxwell
Victor Davila
Crystal Ortez
Madison Mericle
Emily Lim
Daisy Estrada
Christine Cabang
Maria Renteria
Sara Hinshaw
Seventh graders in science classes examine main
parts of anatomy in hands-on lab.
by MADISON MERICLE
PAC committee members get soaked during
teacher appreciation car wash.
by REAGAN NUNEZ
Letters to the editor will be accepted. Letters
may be submitted in Room C107 or placed in
the mailbox of Mr. Burke. All letters must be
signed. Names will be published. Letters must
not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.
PURPOSE
The ‘Stang Express is a student publication distributed to the students, teachers, and parents
of North Shore Middle School and Galena Park
ISD. Opinions expressed are the opinions of
the student writers and are not necessarily the
opinions of the Galena Park ISD.
The ‘Stang Express is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Association and the
Columbia Scholastic Press Assocation.
The newspaper earned an Award of Distinguished Merit and won a prestigious Bronze
Star Award from the ILPC in April 2013 and was
recently awarded a Gold Crown by the CSPA in
New York City.
Social studies students participate in
ANNUAL MOCK TRIAL
by MADISON MERICLE
PHOTO / MADISON MERICLE
Mr. Banks’ and Mrs. Davis’ Pre-AP
social studies classes traveled downtown to the Houston Criminal Justice
center to participate in a mock trial to
learn how the court system works. The
students were lucky because originally,
only one class was supposed to go but
instead both second and ninth periods
were able to go because an HISD school
dropped out.
Mr. Banks and Mrs. Davis split their
classes into two courtrooms. In the first
courtroom was his second period and
in the second courtroom was his ninth
period.
Before they were allowed to go into
the courtrooms, Mrs. Davis’ 6th period
jurors, the group of people who are
sworn to deliver a verdict in a case submitted to them, sat in an actual family
violence case.
“Whenever I saw the criminal in the
court room I got really scared. When
you see a guy in handcuffs it’s hard not
to stare,” said Reagan Nunez who was a
juror.
Judge Sara Hinshaw-Hatten took the
stand around 9:00 am and that was cue
for trial to begin. This opened up the
murder case of John Smith who was
supposedly murdered by Jacky Ching on
the night of October 29.
Whenever the student jurors entered
the courtroom and took their seats,
Hinshaw had changed into a black robe
like the ones judges wear. Each side
made their opening statements and the
case began. In the case, Jacky Ching
allegedly killed John Smith by repeatedly
stabbing him in the chest.
Then the prosecution started calling up different witnesses. It was Clerk
Jackeline Barajas’ job to make the witness swear that what they’re saying is
the whole truth, then escort them to the
stand.
The prosecuting attorneys, whose job
is to prosecute cases on behalf of the
government, were Claire Marks, Alberto
Sosas, and Bryant Badie. The defense
attorneys, the attorneys representing the
defendant, were Kimberely McKey, TaAliyah Porchia, and Steven Barker.
In the trial, Jacky’s ex-girlfriend Graciella Martinez broke up with him to date
John Smith which caused the stir of
events to follow. They called the witnesses to the stand and ask questions
like, “What’s your name and address?” or
“Where were you on the night of October
29?”
Once the prosecutors were done giving
their argument the defense attorneys
asked questions and repeated the pro-
At table one, prosecuting attorney Claire Marks questions the witness during the mock trial at
the Houston Criminal Justice Center on Feb. 15 to figure out whether or not the defendent is
guilty while the defense attorneys sit and wait for a chance to object into what the prosecuters
are saying.
Eighth graders learn the importance of the criminal justice system through experience
Eighth grader, Summer Benefield sits at the
witness stand on Feb. 15 to be questioned
at the Houston Criminal Justice Center. Her
answers can be held as evidence against her
and the defendent.
cess with a different witness. When every
witness had been called up to the stand,
each side gave their final statements,
then the jurors, who had been sitting
in the juror’s box the entire case, left
to decide the fate of Jacky Ching after
exchanging verdicts with each side.
“We the court find Jacky Ching, accused of the murder of John Smith on
October 29, not guilty” Judge Hinshaw
said as the defense attorneys started
cheering and clapping.
“I felt he should’ve been guilty. On
several occasions we got the defendant
to respond with answers that didn’t correspond with his plea,” said prosecutor
Bryant Badie.
“All the hard work the students out
into the trial really paid off, they were
able to do the entire trial on their own
without any assistance from us or the
lawyers and attorneys.
They were also complimented by not
only parents but also some of the other
adults who work there,” said Mr. Banks.
This year’s mock trial was yet another
success and the students will never
forget being able to do something that
not many other students get to do. It
was truly an amazing experience for the
classes.
3
NEWS
Butterflies help students remember
THE CHILDREN OF THERESIENSTADT
Eighth graders learn about the children of Terezin using history, literature and art
by DAISY ESTRADA
Eighth grader David Martinez draws a scene
based on the poem from the book, “I Never
Saw Another Butterfly” in Mr. Burke’s fourth
period Pre-AP English class. Students were
able to decorate their butterfly according to
the poem’s storyline, imagery, or emotion
and then hang them up. Each butterfly represented the child who wrote the poem.
(Below) Art students from Ms. Galvan’s
classes created a mural based on the information gathered from the book “I Never Saw
Another Butterfly” that was used to introduce the artwork in the hallway.
PHOTO / MR. BURKE
Eighth grade Pre-AP English students
honored the 1.5 million children who
died during the Holocaust by decorating
and donating butterflies to the Houston
Holocaust Museum during the third nine
weeks.
Students were first introduced to the
subject by learning about Terezin and
then Theresienstadt, the concentration
camp the children were sent to. This was
in addition to the novel they were reading
in class.
Terezin was first a fortress/prison built
by Austrian emperor Joseph II but many
years later Hitler sent half Jews, actors,
artist, composers, conductors, veterans of
students picked a butterfly which they
then colored or drew on to represent
their poem. After they decorated the
butterflies, students hung them from the
ceiling around the room or in the hallway
for the rest of the school to see. Two
weeks after they hung their butterflies,
Mr. Burke let the students know if their
author survived the Holocaust.
If their author didn’t survive they had
to get scissors and get on top of their
desk, reach up to cut down their butterfly. Students were sad to see their butterfly fall down from the ceiling because
they knew this meant their author died in
the Holocaust.
Over 200 butterflies were later sent to
the Houston Holocaust Museum to honor
the children who perished during the
Holocaust.
The Houston Holocaust Museum has
been doing the Butterfly Project since
2003 and this year the museum finally
reached their goal of gathering 1.5 million butterflies. They will have a huge
display of all the butterflies sent to them
from 2003-2013 very soon.
the war, and Jews married to Aryans to
the converted camp. Theresienstadt was
built to attempt to make the Germans
look generous and caring in the eyes of
the free world through the International
Red Cross. Children from Theresienstadt
wrote poems, drawings, and stories that
were later found and put into a book
called “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”.
Mr. Burke’s and Ms. Du Plaga’s eighth
grade Pre-AP English students each
received a poem written by one of the
children at the camp.
“Reading the poem made me feel bad
for those kids and I just wish someone
could have helped them sooner instead
of them suffering,” said Andrea James.
After reading and analyzing the poem,
4
Annual science fair allows students to
put projects to the test
Students’ research skills, creativity, and brains put to work
by IVON LOPEZ
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the annual
science fair was held inside the Multipurpose Room. Nearly all 7th and 8th grade
students participated, but not all projects
were entered in the science fair.
Those who went inside the MPR were
exposed to all kinds of projects; all different, unique ideas that even include
Christmas lights that were based on Biology, Chemistry, Consumer/Environmental
Science, or Physics.
Many students always ask the same
question: What is the reason for the science fair?
“One purpose is to give students opportunity to research and test something that interest them while giving
them an opportunity to follow the proper
scientific method to show students
that science is all around us and that it
can be fun,” said eighth grade science
teacher, Mr. Dewar.
Whenever students create science
projects, they start to learn other things
such as working independently, not
procrastinating, and learning how to
bring out their own creativity. Students
can also discover what they’re capable of
doing when it comes to experimenting in
science.
There were 15 judges coming from a
science or engineering background, most
of them worked at a company called
Lyondell Basel Company. The judges
were separated into different groups and
each had to walk around the room and
ask students different questions like ‘why
you chose that topic and what have they
learned from it’.
Students had to present their projects
and explain the problem, hypothesis,
steps, materials, and conclusion. After
the student concluded the presentation, the judges recorded the results and
moved on to the next project.
“I was happy when I found out I won
but I expected a better place because my
project was great and I worked hard on it,”
said 7th grader, Zoya Hicks. The projects
looked great with all the student creativity
put in and the time worked on.
With so many projects, it was hard to
decide who the winners were. There were
4 winners for each category and also
honorable mentions with a total of 33
winners that had one 3rd place tie.
The students who placed get to go
to a field trip in May 21 to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The
science fair may be hard, but the hard
work and dedication always pays off in
the end.
7th Grade Winners
Biology
1st - Robbie Mullins
2nd - Ryan Baker
3rd - Zoya Hicks
4th - Abraham Noriega
Chemistry
1st - Aatika Rizwan
2nd - Angie Peralta
3rd - Lacey Ortega
4th - Mitzi Torres
Consumer/Environmental Science
1st - Kelsey Jones
2nd - Hugo Zamora
3rd - Deveone Cooper
4th - Bethany Luna
Physics
1st - Patrick Martin
2nd - Christopher Cardenas
3rd - Brett LeBlanc
4th - Ayana Tabor
8th Grade Winners
Biology
1st - Guadalupe Mares
2nd - Marisol Alvarado
3rd - MckinleyZoellner
4th - Beatrice Cruz
PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ
Chemistry
1st - Mary Alvarez
2nd - Angela Lopez
3rd - Madisyn Francis
4th - Lexxi Pritchard
Eighth grader Megan Evans, from Ms. Thompson’s science class, answers questions posed
by the judges of this year’s science fair on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Students had to present their
projects and explain the problem, hypothesis, steps, materials, and conclusion to their judges
during the fair.
Consumer/Environmental Science
1st - Daisy Sifuentes
2nd - Oscar Alonso Saldivar
3rd - Jullisa Rodriguez
4th - Nicolas Esparza
Physics
1st - Jonathan Mercer
2nd - Blas Gomez
Tie 3rd - Salvador Huerta
Tie 3rd - Joshua Hernandez
4th - Cassidy Goforth
5
Hard work pays off for North Shore’s
journalism students
Record-setting day at journalism state competition
On Saturday, April 27, the journalism
and broadcasting staff members took a
road trip to University of Texas in Austin to
participate in the 2013 State UIL (University Interscholastic League) Spring Convention. High schools and middle schools
from all over the state of Texas submitted
their yearbooks, newspapers, and videos
so judges could evaluate them and give
them a ranking. Not only do these staffs
submit their work, but some schools, like
ours, get to travel to Austin to get their
results, attend a couple of one-hour journalism sessions, and grab a few free things
from the advertising tables that were set
up in the main hall.
On regular Saturdays, you would expect
teenagers to sleep in until around noon,
but not that day. A total of thirteen
members of the ‘Stang Express staff and
Mustang Media had to wake up before
the sun rose and be in front of the school
by six o’ clock sharp. Everyone there was
stumbling around like the walking dead
when they arrived, but after loading up
on caffeine from Starbucks, all three vans
were full of energy and were ready to begin
their three-hour drive to Austin.
At around 10 am, they had arrived in
Austin and were checking in with the registration desk. After that, everyone gathered
around Mr. Burke and Mr. Statum to hear
who won what. Both staffs were ready to
check out the tables that had things from
candies to yearbooks on them, get their
crazy pictures taken, and to go on a scavenger hunt to find their stories that were
plastered on the walls.
“Breanna Nunez and I got first place
for our internet safety video. I’m proud
because I was the first person to place in
both the journalism and video competition,” said sports editor Leah Maxwell.
This year, the ‘Stang Express newspaper
was honored with an Award of Distinguished
Merit, which is a first place rating, for the
third year in a row, a Bronze Star Award (last
year they earned a Silver), which ranks
them in the top 10% of publications in Texas,
along with the 39 individual medals that
placed in 23 categories. Not only did our
news staff do well, but the Mustang Media
was honored with an Award of Achievement,
which is second place rating, and 10 medals
in 11 different categories (given it was their
first year competing).
After they received the results and looked
6
around, they walked to a small restaurant
on campus for lunch. They stayed there
for about an hour or so and started heading back towards the convention area for
their breakout sessions. In these classes,
college professors, high school journalism
advisers and other speakers showed the
students different ways to enhance their
writing and photography skills.
“The teachers in the classes had a lot
to offer like how to set up my stories before I write to make them more interesting
and suspenseful, I would’ve liked to learn
more but I had a limited amount of time,”
said Joanne Cobos, a seventh grade
features writer.
When everyone was finished with all
three of their sessions, they met up to
walk to the Texas Natural Science Center,
a science museum that was also on
campus. After thirty minutes of exploring,
they loaded up the vans and headed to a
Starbucks nearby for a caffeine boost.
The trip back took an hour longer than
planned due to an intense thunderstorm,
so the students in the vans came up with
ways to entertain themselves. In Mr.
Burke’s van, they started to tell each other
scary stories like La Llorona to go with
the storm outside. Throughout the story
PHOTO / MR. BURKE
by CINDY MAI
telling, thick bolts of lightning were flashing across the pitch black sky and loud
thunder shook the whole van, making the
stories seem scarier than they really were.
Journalism may seem like it’s all fun
and games, but the more you ask the
‘Stang Express staff about it, the more
you will know how difficult the process of
publishing a newspaper really is.
“The stress and pressure of deadlines are the hardest parts of journalism
because I have to make sure that my
story meets Mr. Burke’s standards, which
are really high,” said Leonardo Reyes, a
seventh grade sports writer.
“I think the hardest thing about journalism is that you have to stay on top of the
game at all times and not slack off,” said
Ivon Lopez, the news editor.
Between the deadlines and procrastinating, the students have learned to
become independent and responsible.
“In journalism, I started off kind of
inexperienced, but as the end of the year
got closer and closer, I noticed that my
writing is improving. Journalism has also
taught me how to manage my time wisely,
be more responsible and independent,
and cooperate with others,” said Cobos.
With all the “Get to work, A!” to the
“Hard work pays off” exclamations from
Mr. Burke, the 2012-2013 ‘Stang Express
staff has gotten more individual medals
than ever before, and as for Mr. Statum
and the Mustang Media staff, they’re just
getting started.
‘Stang Express news staffers check out who placed in the newspaper individual achievement
awards portion of state competition here on the main floor of Welch Hall at the University of
Texas at Austin. Students are able to see their work and compare to other schools that placed
in their categories.
Choir competitions: Harder than you think
North Shore’s choir groups improve at UIL compared to last year’s results
by HAILIE RUSSELL
This year’s Voce (sub non-varsity), Bel
Canto (Varsity), Choral (Varsity), Cantabile
(non-varsity), and Mixed (Varsity) choirs
went to North Shore Senior High for UIL
competition on March 5 and 6 during and
after school.
The choirs were all working for sweepstakes [all ones] meaning superior (best
score). All of the choirs except for Voce
received straight ones; instead Voce
received straight twos, which was really
good for them.
“We could have done better because
we didn’t know what pitches to sing in the
sight reading room,” said seventh grader
Lucia Saldana. This is the second year
that the Voce has ever performed, and
they did better than last year, so it’s a
huge accomplishment for them.
“The Voce choir did well because it’s
the second time they got to go to UIL and
they did better than last year,” said Choir
Director Mrs. Huston.
UIL choir is where all the choirs in the
district perform their three songs that
they have practiced and practiced in front
of three judges.
“One of the three songs the choirs have
to sing must be an a cappella, and two of
the three have to be from the prescribed
music list, and the last one is a piece I get
to choose,” said Huston.
A cappella is a piece of music that is
not performed with an instrument. The
choirs also have to sight-read a piece
of a music that they have never seen
before.
Sight-reading is where the choirs get
a piece of music they have never seen
before and chant, audiate, and sing the
notes off the sheet of music. Chanting
and audiating is where the students talk
the words in rhythm, and then mouth the
words with out speaking or singing.
The judges have the pieces of music
the choirs are going to sing, they also
have a sheet of paper where they write
down their comments about the performance.
All of the choirs that performed had
to sing three songs, the Bel Canto girls
sang “Arise my Love”, “Song and Dance”,
and “How Can I Keep From Singing”.
The Choral Men sang “Novum Gaudia”,
For the love of a daughter
Divas enjoy a special night and bond with their fathers
by FERMINA RODRIGUEZ
Fathers and daughters are having a
hard time finding time to spend time
with each other. Some girls may ask
themselves if the relationship with their
father is really important when really their
relationship with their father is just as
important with their mother.
Some counselors noticed that some
girls weren’t having a good relationship
with their father, so they decided to arrange a father and daughter dance which
was held Feb. 12, in the school cafeteria.
Only 7th grade girls and 8th grade girls
from the Divas organization were allowed
to attend.
“We’re trying to give fathers and daughters the chance to spend time together
and teach the importance of girls having
a father figure in their lives,” said Mrs.
Charles, one of the school’s counselors.
The girls could’ve brought an uncle,
grandfather, neighbor, teacher, or administrator if their dads weren’t able to
attend. Every girl received a flower when
they walked into the building .The counselors hired a DJ and the fathers and
daughters of North Shore Middle School
danced the night away.
“I came with my mom’s boyfriend because I wanted to bond with him and get
to know him better,” said seventh grader,
Jennifer Mondragon.
The counselors had a picture booth
and shot photos of all the girls with their
fathers.
“The dance helped me feel more loved
by my dad,” said seventh grader, Noeli
Hurtado. Every daughter received their
picture that they took with their father
or other male escort. Not only did the
daughters get to dance with their father,
but they also enjoyed a nice dinner buffet
of spicy chicken wings with some vegetables and cupcakes.
The girls were able to make their
relationship stronger with their father or
father figure by being able to bond with
them and had them appreciate the night
they had together.
This just goes to show that there’s
a reason we have our fathers around
because we need to know the right things
to do and what men should really be like:
respectful, honest, and brave.
“Cover me with the Night”, and “Cantate
Dominum”. In the song “Cover me with
the Night,” there were a few soloists. In
the first group the soloist were Daniel
Davila, Treven Matthews, Isaiah Burns,
Darius Groves, and Austin Juneau. In the
second group the soloist were Isaiah Collozo, Adrian Guzman, Daniel Garcia, and
Osburna Johnson.
“I was not afraid to perfom my solo because I’ve practiced a lot, and I have sang
in front of people before, so it’s not new
to me,” said seventh grader Daniel Garcia.
The choirs have put in a lot of time and
effort into UIL, and deserved what they
received.
Even though UIL is over, the choirs
will continue to work hard and put in the
effort for their next event, which was the
Pop Show.
The Wendel
D. Ley Family
YMCA on
Wallisville
will host
summer camps
and swimming lessons in
June and July.
The center will also have
soccer, basketball and
cheer courses.
Their hours of operation
for the summer are:
Monday-Friday
4:30am - 10pm
Saturday
7am - 6pm
Sunday
1pm - 6pm
Check out their website at
http://www.ymcahouston.
org/wendel-d-ley/
for more information.
7
‘Stang Express wins Gold
Outstanding teachers
win amazing awards
Newspaper wins big at national journalism competition
by HAILIE RUSSELL
This past March, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association announced
that the ‘Stang Express newspaper
won a Gold Crown Award in national
journalism competition at their annual
convention at Columbia University in
New York City.
Journalism staffs at North Shore
Middle have entered nationals before,
but they only won Silver Crowns, never
gold. The Stampede yearbook staffs
won CSPA Silver Crowns in 2006 and
2008.
Teamwork and listening to each
other is all it took, that is what the
2011-2012 journalism staff found out.
“A lot of patience, hard work, and
Mr. Burke’s toughness to get our
stories right. We had to put in 100%
into everything we wrote, we also had
to beat Mr. Burke’s standards, so when
we finished our stories it was better
than what we’re normally capable of
doing,” said eighth grader Gricelda
Jasso.
They were the only middle school
newspaper in the nation to win such
a Gold Crown. The Gold Crown Award
is the highest award given to a middle
school or high school publication.
“It takes high standards, kids that
are willing to work hard, and a fun
environment. We do work hard, but
we also play hard,” said journalism
adviser, Mr. Burke.
Most of the staff is currently attending North Shore’s Ninth Grade Campus
and another is on the newspaper staff
at Summer Creek High School. Only
six students are here who were on last
year’s staff as seventh graders.
“Being the only middle school
to have won that award, I felt very
surprised because out of all the high
schools that have a really good newspaper, ours was chosen to win such a
prestigious award. I feel very honored
and quite accomplished,” said Jasso.
Mr. Burke said that they’ve done
what no other journalism staff in the
district has done, ever.
“It’s a big honor being the only
middle school to place in the competition because Mr. Burke had told us
usually high school newspapers were
the one who won”, said eighth grader
Nathalie Lopez.
If it wasn’t for all of Mr. Burke’s
tough teaching and constant revisions
by the editors, the news staff would
have not made it to nationals. After
this win, the current staff went on to
state UIL competition and dominated
competition.
Eighth graders Bryant Badie and Cindy Mai, two staff members from the 2011-2012 ‘Stang
Express staff hold the Gold Crown Award that was given by the Columbia Scholastic Press
Association during their annual Spring Convention at Columbia University in New York. North
Shore’s newspaper was the only middle school newspaper in the country to be awarded a
Crown and the first time ever in district history.
8
by BRYANT BADIE
One of the biggest awards teachers
receive here are the “Teacher of the Year”
and “Rookie Teacher of the Year” awards.
They are named for teachers that worked
hard, but also stood out with their different teaching styles and their care for children. This year, Mrs. Shields was named
Teacher of the Year, and Ms. Rocha was
named Rookie Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Shields grew up in Dickinson,
Texas, and went to McAdams Junior High
School. While in high school, she began
her teaching career by becoming a teacher’s aid. From there she went to Dickinson
High School, then attended the University
of Houston Clear Lake, and graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, and
a Masters of Science in Curriculum &
Instruction. First, she taught at a charter
school, then Green Valley Elementary,
and now here for six years. For the last
six years, Ms. Shields has taught seventh
grade math.
“What inspired me to become a teacher
is my love, and passion for kids. I teach
students, because I love to inspire people,
and students to have the same passion
for math, as I do,” said Mrs. Shields.
“Mrs. Shields is a nice person, down
to earth, and she never gives up on her
students. She breaks math down to a
way we can understand it. I’m really glad
she won it, she deserved it,” said seventh
grade student, Savannah Adams.
Ms. Rocha grew up in Houston. She
went to John Marshall Junior High, and
then attended Jeff Davis High School. After
her four years of high school, she attended
the University of Houston where she majored in English Literature and earned her
Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies.
“Working with students at an elementary school is really what inspired me. I
enjoyed it a lot. I really like teaching, it’s
very rewarding, and it’s something I plan
on doing for a long time,” said Ms. Rocha.
“I like Ms. Rocha because she helps
me out with the most difficult things. She
breaks it down for us, to where even a
kindergartener could understand it. Unlike most teachers, she’ll actually listen
to what you have to say, and she cares.
I’m glad she won “Rookie Teacher of the
Year”, because she works hard at what
she does,” said eighth grader, LaBrice
Mackey.
Ms. Rocha and Mrs. Shields went above
and beyond with their teaching styles, and
showed that the little things, such as caring, and hard work can be the essentials
to becoming a great teacher.
Students dissect chicken wings to help learn anatomy
Seventh graders in science classes examine main parts of anatomy in hands-on lab
by MADISON MERICLE
Seventh graders Jissel Perez, Max Lagunas and Miguel Barrera work together to
peel the skin off of a chicken wing during their chicken wing anatomy lab in Ms.
Carmona’s science class. Students compared the anatomy of the wing to their
own arms to help them understand where tissue connects.
As the group watches, seventh grader Jissel Perez cuts
into a chicken wing during their lab in Ms. Carmona’s
science class on March 26. Every person in the lab wears
protective gear like goggles and aprons during the lab.
(Left) Seventh grader Jissel
Perez cuts the skin off of a
chicken wing to learn how
the tendons connecting to
the bones help the chicken
wing move. Science teachers compared the chicken
wing to a real person’s arm
to show students how their
arms move.
Afterward, students were
required to write down
their findings on paper and
report what they learned in
the lab.
(Above) Seventh grader Jissel Perez removes
fat from the chicken wing to start the dissection on Tuesday, March 26 so she and her
group can see how the tendons connect the
muscle to the bone during science class in
the A-Hall lab. This experiment was performed
by all the seventh grade students.
Mrs. Carmona, a seventh grade science
teacher, explains to her students how the
tendons connecting to the bone helps the
chicken wing move during their lab on
Tuesday, March 26, in the lab in A Hall. Her
explanations helped students understand the
details of bones and muscle movement.
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9
THE WORLD at
by CHRISTINE CABANG &
MARIA RENTERIA
O
ver the past few weeks, millions
of people around the world have
been glued to their TV screens
and computer monitors. The threats from
North Korea have been keeping everyone,
even people in Washington D.C., on edge.
Why are the threats from such a small
country so terrifying? On the surface it
seems like we have more money, more
power, and more artillery. But take a
closer look, and see how big of a threat
North Korea really is.
“Their leader is an unstable dictator.
When you have an issue with a reasonable person, you can talk things out.
When you have an issue with a fanatical person, it’s a little more scary,” said
Mrs. Davis, an eighth grade social studies
teacher.
Not only do they have an unpredictable
leader, but their military and special forces
are some of the largest in the world. They
have 30,000 elite troops for a country the
size of Tennessee. Is North Korea sounding scary yet? To Mr. Banks, another 8th
grade social studies teacher, North Korea
is only a minor threat as he trusts in the
defense of our nation.
“Yeah they have serious weaponry
and a serious army, but I’m not worried
because they’re so small. What’s scary
is that they can shake things up. Being
friends with China, there is a possible alliance, and so one missile could escalate
into a bigger issue,” he said. “We could
possibly have another world war on our
hands.”
China is losing patience with North Korea though. Before, Kim Jong Un’s father
was friendly with China’s leader. Now the
relationship between China’s leader and
North Korea’s leader is tense and strained.
Kim Jung Un wants to show the world that
North Korea can be a big kid, but are his
actions making everything worse for him?
Without China, who else can Korea turn
to?
Many people seem to think that there is
a risk of a possible alliance between North
Korea and countries like Iran and Iraq, or
WAR?
terrorists groups like al-Qaeda. After all,
they all strongly dislike the United States.
Former President George W. Bush once
said, “North Korea is part of an ‘axis of
evil’, along with states such as Iraq and
Iran.” There is no strong evidence to back
this up, but the potential threat is still
there.
One would hope that the future generations of North Korea would go against
their leader, right? Wrong. The seed of
hate towards other countries has been
implanted in North Korea’s children from
a young age. Even when they’re young,
students in North Korea learn that their
country has had two main enemies: the
Japanese, who colonized Korea from 1910
to 1945, and the U.S., who fought against
North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean
War.
North Korea teaches their children to
hate the Americans. They have several
games in pre-school that leaves the impression that Americans are stupid and to
be hated. They advertise the way they see
Americans in colorful posters too.
According to the Daily Mail, at the
Kaeson kindergarten in central Pyongyang, the North Korean capitol, U.S.
soldiers are shown as cruel, ghoulish
barbarians with big noses and evil eyes.
Teeth bared, they brand prisoners with
hot irons, set wild dogs on women and
wrench out a girl’s teeth with pliers. One
IMAGES / SOURCE / TIME.COM
Are their threats real or
just another bluff at
getting attention?
drawing shows an American
soldier crushing a girl with
his boot, blood pouring from
her mouth, her eyes wild
with fear and pain. These
are just some of the things
North Korea does to make
sure its future generations
hate America. Based on this
the population will be in total favor of destroying us.
So, exactly where did all
the hate start? After the
Korean War, Korea was split
in half. The northern part
was taken by the Soviet
Union and impressed upon
it the influence of a socialist country. South Korea
had more of an impression
of republicanism because it
was controlled by the United States. This difference
in government has made a
frigid border between the
two countries, literally.
The DMZ, or demilitarized
zone, is an area of high
tensions in between the
two countries. This heavily
policed strip of land keeps
the north and the south
Continued on next page
North Korea’s dictator Kim Jung-un
is the youngest son of Korean military leader Kim Jong-il, who, under
the communist Worker’s Party, had
ruled North
Korea since
1994; and
grand-son of
Kim Il-Sung,
his father’s
predecessor.
United States: 316 million people 154 mil. work force 1.4 mil. active Army personnel
North Korea: 24.7 million people 12.2 mil. work force 1.1 mil. active Army
10 MAY 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS
SOURCES / STATISTICSBRAIN, CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, THE ARMS CONTROL ASSN.
IMAGE / THE DAILY MAIL
Continued from next page
from both sides can go into the DMZ but
they can’t ever cross the DML.
separated from each other in every way
So how does this country work?
possible.
North Korea is a communist govern“There are no hument, with a dictator
man beings in the
in charge of it all. The
“Yeah they have serious
DMZ,” said CNN remembers of their legisporter Kyung Lah. Just weaponry and a serious army, lature are “elected”, and
but I’m not worried because
about anything could
the dictator has other
set both sides off in
they’re so small. What’s scary close advisers. The
this area, so security
government controls
is that they can shake things
is tight.
everything, including all
up. Being friends with China,
With the armistice
social media. Televithere is a possible alliance,
of July 27, 1953, the
sion channels, radio
document that ended and so one missile could
stations, and all comthe Korean War, it was escalate into a bigger issue.”
munication are closely
required of both sides
monitored by officials.
of the Korean penThe government owns
- Mr. Banks, 8th grade everything, and citizens
insula to back off at
Social Studies teacher are taught to think of
least 2,200 yards from
the border line that is
their dictator as their
marked by the 38th
‘god’.
parallel. In the middle of the DMZ there is
Their current ‘god’, Kim Jong Un, is the
the DML, or the demarcation line. Soldiers third generation of a long line of dictaContinued from last page
The map above is of U.S. base locations and
troop stations in direct result to the statements
N. Korea made in April. The lower portion of
the graphic also details the missle size and
capabilities that the North Koreans currently
have. As of May 24, things have died down and
N. Korea has not made any new threats.
tors who have bad history with the United
States and the rest of the world.
Many analysts seem to find that North
Korea’s threats are all part of a cycle. It
goes like this: North Korea makes threats
and announcements about bombing a
country (in this case, the U.S.), and then
when they have enough international attention, they calm down. They never back
it up.
So how long will this so-called ‘game’ go
on? Nobody knows, but time will tell. All we
can hope for is that we don’t have another
world war, and that the future generations
change the frigidness between North Korea
and the rest of the world.
1.2 mil. Reserve
5,113 nuclear warheads
$2.4 trillion in revenue
$3.6 trillion in spending
8.2 mil. Reserve
2 nuclear warheads
$3.2 billion in revenue
$3.3 billion in spending
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4 • MAY 2013 11
ENERGY DRINKS
FEATURES
They’re not always the safest thing to drink
Just because they’re sold in lots of stores doesn’t always mean they’re safe
by MAKENNA POULAND
Walking into a hospital, you expect broken bones and illnesses, but now kids are
walking in with energy drink ‘overdoses’.
Drinking too many energy drinks can land
you in the emergency room, just as much
as a broken bone. Most kids don’t know
this, but the energy drinks they consume
could cause some serious damage to
their bodies.
Although they are being sold in stores,
most energy drinks aren’t even FDA (Food
and Drug Administration) approved, like
most other foods and drinks. This is
because supplements that are recognized
as “safe” by qualified experts are not
considered food additives (a substance
added directly to food during processing), so they can be labeled and added
to dietary supplements (a preparation
intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients) without pre-approval from
the FDA. This makes it harder to take the
product off the market, but there is a way
to take the product off the market, if the
situation calls for it. The FFDCA (Federal
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act) requires
that the FDA prove that the supplement in
question is “unsafe” for it to be removed
from the market.
The agency is conducting a safety
review of energy drinks and is considering
requiring that labels disclose the amount
of caffeine the products pack, limitations on use, and warnings about possible
adverse effects according to Consumer
Reports.
The FDA has a limited ability to take
regulatory action when drinks are consumed to excess or when consumers
don’t pay attention to the warnings on the
labels, but several brands of energy drinks
(including Monster, 5 Hour Energy and
Arizona: Caution Energy) have warnings
that the product isn’t suitable for children
or people sensitive to caffeine and people
still don’t pay attention to them, because,
according to The New York Times, they
think the risks don’t apply to them, so
they don’t worry about them.
Monster is just one of the energy drinks
in question. In every can, there are 240
milligrams (mg) of caffeine, that’s more
than two times the amount that kids and
teens should consume in one day, according to the Mayo Clinic, a website that
posts where doctors provide information
about diseases and health care.
Caffeine is a natural compound found
in plants that acts as a stimulant. A
stimulant is a drug that temporarily increases the operating activity or
effectiveness of an organism or any of
its parts. But caffeine is not the only
ingredient in Monster that makes us feel
this way.
Monster also contains ginseng root,
which is a natural stimulant that scientists believe to have a therapeutic effect
on our body. Amino acids, also found
in Monster, help with weight loss during exercise, with energy levels, and help
your metabolism by providing your body
with various nutrients and boosting your
energy level, according to Fit Day, a free
online diet journal and calorie tracker.
Since Monster is not FDA regulated it
is not required to list the amount of caffeine and other ingredients and health
facts on their label, making it harder
for teens to know exactly what they are
drinking.
“I drink Monster four, sometimes five
times a week” said 8th grader Jonathan
Mercer. “I drink them because they taste
good and make me feel good.”
Recently, the popular energy drink has
been sued for the death of a fourteen
year-old girl.
Anais Fournier, the girl who died, had
drank two 24-ounce cans within 24
hours, went into cardiac arrest and then
died on December 23, 2011. Her parents blame the company for not having
a warning label, but the can does have
a label stating that the drink should not
be consumed by adolescents or people
sensitive to caffeine.
Red Bull is also one of the drinks that
students buy at various convenience
stores. With 76.5 mg of caffeine per
8.3 ounce can, it’s a little less than the
amount of caffeine teens should intake
in one day. Some kids even drink as
many as four in one day, which means
they take in a little over three times the
amount.
Other ingredients include taurine, an
amnio acid already found in our body,
fresh alpine water, B vitamins that help
reduce fatigue and tiredness and sucrose
and glucose, two different kinds of sugars found in the daily diet of Americans.
Although the company claims that the
drink is safe, teens should still be cautious about how much they drink.
Arizona Energy is another energy
supplement that students drink. It has
129 mg of caffeine in one can; it’s a little
more than what the FDA recommends for
teens. Although the drink has not been
linked to any deaths yet, the FDA warns
that you should still be cautious about
how much you drink in one day and that
energy drinks are not alternatives for sleep
or rest.
Usually when people are tired, a quick
cup of coffee or a Monster could fix the
problem, but what they don’t know is that
it’s only a temporary fix.
According to Brown University, the caffeine used in energy drinks actually prevents sleep, even when you want to sleep
you’ll find yourself still awake and jittery.
Along with other side affects including
dehydration and boosting blood pressure,
which for overweight teens may cause
problems because extra weight in the body
will raise the heart rate and reduce the
blood flow.
According to Pediatrics, the official
journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, stimulant-containing drinks
and products have no place in the diets of
children and adolescents because of the
risk of physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms, such as sleepiness and
irritability.
When you drink too many energy drinks,
you may experience a caffeine high and a
caffeine crash. When you have a caffeine
high, you feel like you can fly. It makes
you feel all warm inside for about an hour
or so until you crash. When you crash all
your earlier exhaustion come back, but
much worse. It makes you want to lay
down and take a really long nap.
“I drank one and a half Monsters and I
felt really good, like I could do anything,
but a few hours later I could barely keep
my eyes open. I don’t think I’ll drink that
many again any time soon,” said seventh
grader Daniel Garcia.
Monster, Arizona and Red Bull are just
a few of many energy drinks out there on
the market today. The FDA warns that
energy drinks should not replace sleep
and you should get at least eight hours of
sleep.
Also if teens drink too many energy
drinks, we could experience a caffeine
crash and it could make your body shut
down due to the unusually high amount of
caffeine in your body. They are not FDA
approved, so you need to be extra careful
with how much you consume.
TEST?
Eighth grades take ACT Explore test, get first taste of high school expectations
by CHRISTINE CABANG
As we think about our future, we
imagine it to be so far off from now, but
in reality the future, is speedily becoming our present. College seems like eons
away, but once you graduate middle
school, there’s only 4 years left until the
beginning of the rest of your life.
In high school, aside from the social
ladder, your grades are everything.
The ACT Explore test that all the eighth
graders took earlier this year, lets you
know where you stand.
The ACT Explore is a test that has four
categories: math, reading, science, and
English. Each test takes 30 minutes.
Each of the skills we have in these core
subjects will influence what grades you
get in school, and pretty soon in the
job you choose. The Explore test also
shows you what you’re good at and what
you’re not so good at.
“The Explore is a guideline that gives
an outlook on where you stand academically in comparison to the people
here and to all the other people in the
nation that took the same test,” said
Ms. Rios, a counselor here. The test
also gives you insight on what careers
might be good for you to consider.
Remember the questions you had
to answer about what you wanted to
do in the future? At the time it seemed
completely pointless, but the makers
of the Explore test did put it there for a
reason.
“This information can help you learn
more about careers, clarify your goals,
and begin to plan your future—including
your high school courses and, perhaps,
a college education,” according to ACT.
org. The information that you bubbled
on that paper helped them calculate
what career options would be best for
you.
The English portion of the Explore is
to test your understanding of punctuation, grammar, and the use of the English language. The math portion challenges the way you can solve a problem
and not how well you can memorize a
formula. In other words, the problems
they’re giving you aren’t just simple area
questions; they dare your brain to think
outside of the normal equation.
“I was like, oh my gosh, I didn’t think
it was going to be that hard, but I guess
that’s the point of the test,” said eighth
grader Cindy Ramos. The science
category tests your scientific reasoning and your ability to take information,
understand it, and create results from
it. It focuses on your general knowledge
than what you get from books.
The scores you get range from 1 to
20. One being the lowest you can get
and 20 being the highest. Your composite score, the big bold score that you
got, is just an average of scores you got
from all the categories.
Your English score was split into two
parts, “Usage/Mechanics—punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence structure Rhetorical Skills—your
understanding of the use of strategy,
organization, and style in writing,” according to ACT.org. The two scores
only go from 1 to 12 and together they
don’t necessarily make up your reading
score.
Did you know that your score is
compared to others in the nation and
at your school? If you look at the paper
IMAGE / STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Our future
determined by a
with your scores on it you can see, right
next to your composite score, the percentage of students scoring at or below
your score. This is what shows you
where you stand in comparison to every
other student who took the test in the
country. If you’re not happy with where
you are, it would be really good idea
to talk with a teacher or a counselor to
figure out how to help you on that weak
spot to make sure in the future you
won’t have any problem with it. They
can help you plan out what you need to
work on to be at the top.
“I don’t know where I want to go to
college but I know my parents expect me
to get into a good one,” said 8th grader
Lexi Pritchard. According to ACT.org, to
get into a “regular” college in Texas, you
would need an average score of 20.8
out of 36.
To get into an Ivy League college you
would usually need 27 out of 36. The
ACT Explore will help you get where you
need to be by giving you an idea of
what the real thing is like. It also gives
you career options based on what you
said you wanted to do, so you won’t be
undecided when the time comes for you
to choose what you want to be.
Most students take the ACT in the
spring of junior year or fall of their senior year. Now would be a good time to
think about how you should plan for the
real thing, after all the ACT is a factor in
deciding whether you get into the college of your choice or not.
The ACT Explore was just a little hint
of the real thing, so when the time
comes for you to take the real thing you
won’t be shocked. It was your first taste
of one of the big kid tests.
Veteran teacher ready to move on to next adventure
Social studies teacher retires after more than 30 years in education
by MABEL IDICULA
After 35 years of teaching, she’s ready
to move on to the next chapter in her life.
Mrs. Davis, an 8th grade social studies
teacher, has seen so much of our school
change and grow but now she has decided
to retire to the comforts of her home.
Mrs. Davis has strong roots in this
school from the very beginning. She went
to what was known as North Shore Junior
High which was the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade
campus. She continued on to North Shore
Senior High, which is currently the 9th
grade campus, and finished high school.
After high school, Mrs. Davis went to
college where she majored in history and
education. She attended Stephen F. Austin
University for two and a half years but then
transferred to University of Houston where
she earned her Bachelor of Arts. From
there, she went to University of HoustonClear Lake where she graduated with a
Master of Science.
Mrs. Davis wanted to become a teacher
since she was in 2nd grade because she
loved her 2nd grade teacher.
“Up until then I wanted to be a nurse
but then I realized it dealt with blood and I
changed my mind,” said Mrs. Davis. During
her senior year, she thought she wanted
to be an English teacher but her teacher
convinced her that wouldn’t be the best
choice. In her childhood, Mrs. Davis’s
parents took her to many museums and
national parks so she decided to become
a social studies teacher instead and she’ s
glad she did.
Mrs. Davis started out in education by
substituting in Galena Park ISD for 2 years
and then became a full time teacher in
1979.
“Teaching is very hard work but rewarding because when I see my former students
become successful I feel proud of them
when I remember what I contributed to
In her room, we think outside the box
Teacher plans some new encounters of her own
by MAKENNA POULAND
You pass by her room every morning on
the way to the stands in the gym, yet most
kids don’t even know who she is or what
she does.
Mrs. Beauvais, the Encounters teacher,
has been teaching for thirty years. She
went to Blinn Junior College and then to
the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in history and English. After she got
her Bachelor of Arts degree, she went into
teaching English at Harment Junior High
in Houston ISD. She taught there for three
years before marrying her husband and
moving to Galena Park ISD. She taught
English at North Shore for three more
years before leaving to raise her children.
Mrs. Beauvais, the Encounters teacher talks
to 8th grader Jose Galdamez about his current assignment during class. Mrs. Beauvais
has taught Encounters for 15 years at North
Shore Middle.
Sixteen years later, Mrs. Beauvais came
back to teach English for another seven
years and then she become our Encounters teacher.
“Well when they first asked me to be
an Encounters teacher, (Encounter’s is an
elective course for kids who are identified
as gifted and talented. We do independent research, creativity and high level
puzzles, but be proud of who you are i.e.
your personality) I was teaching English so I
said no. I was going to be team leader and
I had to take care of that first. Then when
the next lady didn’t make it, they asked me
again and this time I said yes. Best decision of my life, ” Mrs. Beauvais said.
According to Mrs. Wilson, the sixth
grade Encounters teacher at Cobb, you
have to be chosen to be an Encounters
teacher.
“First is the interview process, with
all the teachers who teach gifted and
talented. The people being interviewed
really have to work with kids all the time,
be flexible, be ready for long hours and be
okay with working with less structure,” said
Mrs. Wilson.
Although it was a whole new concept,
Mrs. Beauvais wasn’t scared.
“I was so excited because it was different and it was creative, I could be as
creative as I wanted. It was a lot less
structure than an English class,” she said.
Since the district does not choose the
Encounters lesson plan, Mrs. Beauvais and
that,” said Mrs. Davis. She taught 6th grade
social studies for 17 years and then 8th
grade social studies until now.
Outside of her classroom, she loves to
spend time and spoil her grandchildren.
She is involved in many clubs such as Association of Texas Professional Educators
and a reading club at her church. She also
loves to travel, whether in or outside the
United States, whenever she has a lot of
time on her hands.
“I’ll miss my friends and family here but
I’ve had a good career and I’m ready for the
next adventure in my life, whatever that is,”
said Mrs. Davis.
“I’m going to miss Mrs. Davis because
she’s so nice and generous. I’ll especially
miss her sweet ‘Good mornings’ and her
welcoming face,” said 8th grader Khayman
Johnson. Next time you pass by her classroom make sure you tell her how much you
appreciate her for all her hard work and
dedication.
the whole GT department get to choose
their own lesson plans, methods and criteria that they feel they need to be covering.
“I like to do short mini-lessons and act
like a facilitator. I give the kids a certain
set of guidelines, show them the format
and let them get creative with it. It helps
y’all get the work done,” she said.
The students love Encounters almost as
much as Mrs. Beauvais does.
“I like that you get to be creative and do
stuff on your own. I like the freeness of
the classroom really. It’s like a break from
the other classrooms,” said 8th grader,
Deja Montgomery.
Although it’s a lot of work, being an
Encounters teacher is rewarding, at least
Mrs. Beauvais thinks so.
“Encounters is the best job. I love the
kids because I have the cream of the crop.
I also love the flexibility of what we can do,
and the creativity. That’s [the creativity]
definitely my favorite,” Mrs. Beauvais said.
Although she loves her job, Mrs. Beauvais is leaving the Encounters program at
the end of the year. She has decided that
it’s just time to retire and it doesn’t hurt
that her husband is also retiring.
“I have grandkids that I would like to
see. I’m also going to try taking piano
lesson because I have a piano. I want to
travel a lot and visit with my grandkids.
I’ve got lots of hobbies that I would like to
do,” she said.
After 17 years of teaching Encounters, Mrs. Beauvais is saying good-bye.
Although Mrs. Beauvais will miss North
Shore, she can’t wait to see what the
future holds for her.
She proves hard work will get you far
Seventh grader’s busy activity schedule doesn’t faze her positive outlook on life
by JOANNE COBOS
She’s the girl with the good grades, great
personality, and hardworking attitude. Katie
Breeland Newcomb loves to dance and
makes it look simple, but puts a lot of effort
into it. The only explanation for her ability
to keep her grades up with everything else
that’s going on is her hard work.
Katie, even though she has a lot of other
activities, is always focused on her grades.
She makes sure that she is doing well in
class. Her studies are her first priority, and
she is proud to get straight A’s.
“Katie is always working hard and getting
good grades. When she gets any lower than
a 100, she says it’s not good enough,” says
seventh grader, Shannon John.
Another thing Katie is involved in is Fillies. She loves dancing and her work in the
group proves it. Every day before class, she
sets up the radio, and every day after class,
she puts it back into the closet. Her hard
work and dedication to Fillies is admirable,
and she does it all because she loves
it, without any complaint. She wants to
take Fillies to the next level by becoming
an officer. It takes most of her time after
school and it makes her exhausted, but
she enjoys it anyway.
“Sometimes it gets tiring, but I like it, so
at the same time, I have fun doing all the
practicing and dancing,” said Katie.
She’s busy a lot of the time with Fillies,
but to add on to the list of her activities
is choir and Encounters. Even though she
has fun in those classes, it just adds more
to her schedule. Two more classes to be
worried about, and she completely dedicates herself to do well in both.
“Katie is extremely hard working. She’s
always focused, always prepared when she
comes to class, and she completes every
task with a positive attitude,” said Ms.
He’s nothing short of success
Eighth grader’s size doesn’t match his intellect
by MARIA RENTERIA
In a sea full of red and black shirts, it’s
hard to spot a mastermind in such a small
shell. Eighth grader, Antoine Fontillas,
exceeds all expectation from both teachers
and students because of his age and height.
Studying isn’t a typical American teenage
pastime, but who said Antoine was typical?
“When I study, I feel weird in a positive
way. I feel like the best,” said Antoine. Most
people tend to forget about schoolwork
as soon as the bell rings, but Antoine and
his parents make sure that doesn’t happen. Just one glance at his after-school life
shows the hard work and dedication behind
a lawyer in the making.
“I hope to be a lawyer or a defense attorney someday. It all started one day when
I was eight years old. I was playing a game
where I was a lawyer. I really liked that feeling when you can control things,” he said.
Being a lawyer is no easy work and it’s never
too early to begin preparing for a career.
“My dad really wants me to succeed in
everything, so he bought me an Algebra
survival guide, which, as you can tell from
the title, helps a lot. I have a course syllabus
from Mrs. Palacio, so using that and the
guide I’ve studied way ahead of everybody
else,” Antoine said.
Is his brain pure luck, or is it in his genes?
“My brother was the first in the family to
skip grades. At times, I feel like I really ad-
mire my brother. I skipped grades to follow
in his footsteps. I skipped 3rd and 6th
grade, and I actually encourage skipping
grades for people who aren’t challenged
with their classes right now,” he said. So
how does skipping grades really happen?
“It’s a really lengthy process. My parents
enrolled me in a program called TTU,
where they teach you a grade above. For
example, when I was in 7th grade, it taught
me 8th grade material. You can choose
to either do it online, or they can mail you
lessons,” Antoine said.
Everyone has that one class we excel at.
For some people it’s gym, while Antoine’s
strengths lie somewhere else.
“I think academic strengths are natural
abilities to be good at a certain subject.
For example, some kids have better grades
in English than in math, but receive a lot
of help in it, so English wouldn’t really be
their academic strength. My academic
strength is science because I’m very good
at science. Even though I’m also good at
math, I wouldn’t call that my academic
strength because I receive a lot of help in
it,” he said.
Keeping goals is an important part of
a strong mindset. Just like while having
all B’s isn’t bad, pushing to have all A’s
is better. For Antoine, all A’s aren’t even
enough.
“My grades aren’t bad right now. I have
all A’s, but I want to strive for higher.
Bongat.
Any class, elective, or activity that Katie
has, she gives it her all. She puts all of
her effort into everything she does. That’s
why everyone agrees that Katie is a hard
worker. She likes to take things seriously.
She may be busy most of the time, but
Katie always makes time for her friends.
She knows how to have fun, she’s always
there for them, and she never brags to
them about anything.
“She’s really modest when she does well
on something. Even if sometimes she’s not
that optimistic of how she’s going to do, she
tries her best. And she’s very nice to people,”
said seventh grader, Talia Mijangos.
Katie is a good friend, a great dancer,
and a very intelligent girl. When she has
something to do, anyone can be certain
that she will get it done, and she will try her
best. She works hard at everything, and
that will help her get very far in life.
Putting high standards for myself really
helps me because once I have a goal; I
will stop at nothing to reach it. Once I
reach that goal, I can’t help but come up
with another. It’s a never-ending thing,”
Antoine said.
With so many academic activities, you
can bet Antoine’s backpack isn’t the lightest thing ever.
“My backpack holds a lot of stuff, and
I’m short, so to me it weighs a ton. It’s
easier for me to drag my stuff around
because if I used it like a normal backpack,
it’d pull me down. Literally,” he explained.
Stereotypically, short people are always
bullied and ‘looked down’ upon. Key word:
Stereotypically.
“I don’t really feel offended when they
look down to talk to me because I make
a joke out of it and it makes everyone
happy. I actually don’t have a problem with
tall 8th graders but sometimes when I walk
in a hall full of them I think ‘, they’re so tall,
and I’m so short.’”
So far, nothing, not even height, has
stopped Antoine from meeting his goals.
“Antoine is always striving to excel,
he’s a very conscientious young man. He
doesn’t accept mediocrity at all,” Mrs.
Palacio, an eighth grade Algebra teacher,
said.
Antoine knows that hours of work are
never in vain.
“My hours studying are definitely paying
off. Like right now in my Algebra class, I
already know what Mrs. Palacio’s going
to teach that day,” he said. Looks can
be deceiving, so don’t underestimate this
twelve-year-old boy.
FEATURES Eighth graders prepare for the
ROAD AHEAD
Two years in middle school should have prepared you...if you’ve worked hard
by MABEL IDICULA
As the school year is coming to an
end, many students are preparing for the
coming year. For 8th graders, this is a
very important transition that marks the
beginning of a four-year long journey.
High school will be challenging, but with
the right preparation, students can be
successful.
Eighth graders were first introduced to
high school during 9th grade registration. Counselors from the high school
campus came to explain to 8th graders about the different options for next
year, and talked about the specific requirements for each plan, recommended
and distinguished, and then broke it
down. The counselors explained the
difference between regular and Pre-AP
courses, core subjects, extracurricular
activities, the number of credits needed
to graduate, and emphasized how important the decisions the students were
making because this would determine
their schedule for their freshman year
and their plan for the rest of their years
in high school.
In late October, 8th graders took a test
called the ACT Explore test to give them
an idea of what the real ACT will be like
in 11th and 12th grade. The Explore test
allows you to see what your strengths
are in each subject and what you need
to work on, which allows 8th grader
to focus on improving for high
school early on.
Assistant principals are
also
involved in the process of getting 8th
graders ready for high school.
“My job is to make sure that teachers have all the necessary resources,
supplies, and training that helps them
be successful in training you,” said Mr.
Eagleton, an assistant principal. Another job they are responsible for is
to make sure that all students are in a
safe environment so they can come to
school and learn without worries.
Throughout the year, 8th grade
teachers have been working hard to help
you improve your weakest areas in each
subject. When they teach the same
subjects, they have the same objectives,
but each teacher approaches the lesson in a different
way to meet the
student’s level of
understanding.
Mrs. Wright, an 8th grade
Algebra teacher, uses e2020,
an Internet resource, to back up
what she is teaching her students
in class and to help them understand a new concept outside of
class. On the other hand, Mr.
Dewar, an 8th grade science teacher, believes
that his students
learn better
by
using visual images so he makes Powerpoints that have color-coded words and
videos so students can remember the
lesson better.
Eighth grader Cassandra Cruz said,
“In English class, we are taught how to
write multiple essays correctly, such as
analytical and persuasive, and analyze
the text to make sure we fully understand
what we were reading. Mr. Burke’s class
is practice for next year so we know what
to expect in high school.”
Students learn in different ways, so
your teachers take the time to teach
you in a way that you can understand
while still preparing you for the high
school curriculum. Not only will the core
subjects you had in 8th grade help
you out in high school but
some electives will
too.
“Understanding
where you’re struggling
and then being responsible enough
to target it
with study
skills is
crucial
for high
school,”
said
Mrs.
Parrish,
the AVID
teacher. The
purpose
of AVID is to
help students
in their core
subjects and teach
them the study skills
that are necessary
for high school classes.
Some electives even give
students credits for high
school.
Spanish is one of these classes
that many students take to get high
school credit while in middle school
for foreign languages. Other classes
that give students credit for high school
are Touch System Data Entry (keyboarding), Algebra, and health. It’s important to
Eighth grader Jennifer Oyervidez works on her integers IFA to start off Mr. Penny’s math
class in C Hall. Students in math class practice with new concepts and review past lessons
to prepare for high school while students in Algebra work to make sure they pass their end of
course test so they can get credit and move on to Geometry next year.
Continued from last page
to these jobs in middle school. On
Career Day, 8th grade students got the
take your classes in 8th grade seriously,
whether regular or Pre-AP, because those chance to see and learn about the different job possibilities out there from
classes are stepping stones to 9th grade
people who work in that certain field.
and the rest of high school.
This allowed students to get an idea of
“It’s important to be successful in
what they want to do when they grow
middle school because afterwards you
older and plan ahead in what courses
have to go to high school then college
they can take in high school that will
and get a job while gaining more and
help them in college and pursue their
more responsibility along the way,” said
dream job.
Mrs. Wright.
For example, someMs. Raines, an 8th
one who wants to
grade reading teach“The real world expects you to
work in the medical
er, said, “The real
meet your deadlines. People
field can take health
world expects you to
won’t listen to sob stories or
classes and a person
meet your deadlines.
who wants to become
People won’t listen to tolerate complaining.”
a journalist can take
sob stories or tolerate
yearbook course in
complaining.”
- Ms. Raines, 8th grade ahigh
school. There are
This means that
reading teacher many electives offered
teachers in high
to students in high
school won’t acschool but their intercept excuses for late
est in a career usually starts in middle
work or chase you down for work that
school.
is missing because you were absent like
“High school sounded scary at first,
your teachers in elementary and middle
because my grades can determine
school. The students here and from
what college I get into and it’s a lot
Cunningham Middle School combined
more work, but my teachers gave me
will create a freshman class of about
advice on what to expect through1,170 students and your teachers can’t
out the year and it gave me a strong
worry about all of you at once. This
means that you will have to learn how to foundation,” said 8th grader Marisol
Alvarado.
manage your time wisely, be organized
All the skills your teachers in 8th
and prepared for each class every day,
grade taught you build up to your sucand not procrastinate when it comes
cess in high school and afterwards. Be
to your work in order to do well in high
prepared to work hard because how well
school.
you do in high school is one of the main
In high school, many classes are availfactors that can determine what kind of
able that let students explore different
lifestyle you live in the future.
careers, but they are usually introduced
Currently, students have two different graduation plans to choose
from that will layout what kind
of classes you will have in high
school.
The first plan is the recommended
plan which requires at least two
years of foreign languages while
the distinguished plan requires
three years of foreign languages.
Senator Don Patrick and Representative Jimmie Don Aycock
want to change this by proposing
a bill.
The bills have their two similarities
but their differences as well. They
will both switch to a foundation
diploma and let students choose
from four plans which are a plan
with no requirements, a business and industry plan, and an
academic or distinguished plan
in math and science or arts and
humanities.
Students need to have four English credits and three credits each
math, science, and social studies
credits instead of the current 4 by
4 plan.
From there they differ. The Senate Bill requires 26 credits and no
credits for foreign languages. The
House Bill requires 24 credits to
graduate and at least two credits
for foreign languages.
The House Bill also wants to reduce the number of End of Course
exams students must pass in order
to graduate. House Bill 5 moved
to the Senate and was amended
29 times before being passed by
the Senate.
This bill will cut down the number of EOC’s from 15 to 5 and let
students choose from one of the
four plans. Students might have
to take extra classes depending
on the plan they will choose. They
can choose to take the minimum
plan but only with their parent’s
approval.
The bill will have to go back to the
House for consideration before the
final version of the bill is passed to
the governor’s desk.
SOURCE / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
The State House and
Senate battle over high
school graduation
requirements
THE ALGEBRA EOC TEST
Would you rather test on a computer or traditional paper?
by KENNY MA
Just recently, 8th graders in Algebra had to take the Algebra
End of Course (EOC) exam. The Algebra EOC is a test that has a
maximum of 65 questions, 35-40 multiple choice questions, 2025 fill in response questions, and six to ten field questions (questions that do not count in the final score of the Algebra EOC).
The test is 160 minutes long with a ten minute break after 80
minutes, but if you don’t finish in time, you may continue until the
end of the day. There are two different tests: one you can take
on the computer and the paper test. Since there is no difference
between the scores of the computer and paper tests, should we
keep using the traditional paper-pencil test?
According to Engnet-Education.com, an informational website, the CBT (computer based test) is accurate, secure, rapid,
and controlled, but is expensive, has technical issues, and some
people can be too dependant on computers. As the prices of the
computers dropped, the efficiency started to increase. According to the GED Testing Service, a site that gives information about
different types of tests, once you finish your section of the test,
you can go on to the next part, type answers easily, and get your
results instantly. The CBT is said to be 20-30% slower than the
paper test. However, if you know how to type effectively, it will be
more convenient to take the EOC with a computer.
SOUND OFF!!
The PPT, the paper-pencil test, can test many people at the
same time, but will cost more than the CBT because the school
has to pay for items that make up the test. If the electricity were
to go out during the CBT, the test would be postponed and the
data would be lost. On the other hand, if you took the PPT, you
would not have to stop the testing because you still could get
light through the window by the sun, from flashlights, or other
possible sources of light.
According to the Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, or JLTA, there wasn’t a noticeable difference between
the two scores, but some students say that the paper test is was
easier than the computer test. We have been using PPT, but if we
suddenly use the CBT it will be hard to adapt and change to read
the format of the new test.
I believe that we should keep the paper-pencil test because we
have been learning and practicing using paper, and we are using
paper to do our work. I suppose that the CBT will soon replace
the paper-pencil test, like CD’s replaced cassette tape. We use
computers to entertain and inform ourselves and other people,
not to take tests, but many other tests like the driver’s license
test and military ASVAB test are now on a computer. The main
difference from PPT and CBT is based on personal preference,
and familiarity of the format. What do you think?
DO YOU THINK THE COMPUTER EOC
IS GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE?
CANDIDO HUERTA
IS LEARNING A KEYBOARD
IS NECESSARY?
8TH GRADE
DERRICK FRANK
NATHALY OVIEDO
“I think it would be a new, alternative way to take a test because I
heard from my teachers that it’s
faster and gives you your results
witin days.”
“I don’t think the computer EOC
would be very useful because I’m
used to doing my work on paper
and use strategies to help me
answer questions.”
“It’s [learning a keyboard] not really
necessary because I think you can
learn to type fast either with one
finger or with all of them.”
8TH GRADE
7TH GRADE
KEYBOARDING KNOWLEDGE: IS IT BECOMING UNNECESSARY?
With your phones correcting your spelling and touch keyboards, are typing classes needed?
by EMILY LIM
The first form of a keyboard that was
created was when the typewriter was
invented. Though it was slower than
handwriting, the typewriter provided a neat
and legible print. As time gradually moved
forward, the typewriter became the computer keyboard. This keyboard’s evolution
created keyboards such as the Apple keyboard, the True Touch Roll-up keyboard,
the Mini Wireless Keyboard Device, and
the iPad and iPhone Virtual Touch-Screen
keyboards. Today, computer keyboards
may be replaced with predictive keyboards
found on those cool, new computer touch
screens and smartphones.
A majority of people around the world
commonly use the linear and tactile keyboards. According to Ehow.com, a website
driven by Demand Media, linear keyboards
need consistent force to compress each
key. When you push down on the key to
register an entry, you don’t feel the key
pushing back against your finger. When
the key comes in contact with the bottom
of the keyboard, you can remove your
finger.
Tactile keyboards, however, give increased resistance when you push the key
only halfway. This is due to the key’s base,
and it creates a sensation in your fingers
every time you press a key. The sensation
is used to announce that the computer
has registered the key you have pushed.
This is similar to the clicking of a keyboard
without the sound. Computerworld, a
technology news and information webpage, predicts that the physical keyboard
will not disappear from the computer.
However, smartphones and touch screens
have predictive keyboards that guess the
words you are typing, so it takes away the
requirement to have keyboarding knowledge.
The advantages and disadvantages of
learning how to type may relate to your
future, still. Perhaps, the career you aim
for requires that you learn this skill. It may
actually be necessary, but this ability may
just make you seem more professional
with your co-workers. You could feel
proud of yourself for knowing a skill that
has possibly become obsolete in the distant future. Though you may learn the skill
of touch-typing, many people basically
just hunt-and-peck across their keyboard
without a second thought…but that takes
more time.
In summary, you may or may not believe
in needing the skill of keyboard knowledge. I actually did learn how to write
in cursive and how to touch-type, but I
honestly feel that not everyone is required
to learn these skills.
I guess it just depends on the person
you are. How do you feel about skill of
touch-typing? Do you think it’s necessary?
Girls, do you enjoy your freedoms here in the U.S.?
All over the world fathers and mothers
turn against their kids and husbands turn
against their wives, all because they broke
a single rule or didn’t follow their orders.
Women in religious Muslim countries have
died from acid being dumped on them,
being buried alive, hangings, stabbings,
and so many other horrible deaths because they have blemished their family’s
honor. Murder is illegal in most countries,
but apparently honor killings are okay.
If any charges are brought against the
families for the murder it is usually a light
charge or maybe just a fine.
Gul Meena was one of the many victims
of “honor killings” and is also a part of the
few that have survived. Married to an abusive 60-year old man at age 12, she had
her whole life planned out for her. When
she turned 17, she finally couldn’t take
the beatings and ran off with another man
leaving everything behind her. Her brother
soon found them though and with an axe,
he cut down her friend and once her friend
was dead, her brother started beating
her. He attacked her 15 times with his axe
then left her for dead. Just the thought
of this happening makes me angry, but to
the Islamic people, it was expected for her
brother to kill her to restore the honor of
their family.
Gul Meena was left to die by her own
brother because she didn’t want the life
chosen for her. She now lives in a shelter covered in scars and terrified. To her
family, Meena is dead because she left
her husband and will never be mentioned
again, but for Meena, she sits there everyday trying to cope with what has happened to her. She has tried to kill herself
many times, but was always stopped
by the people who run the shelter. She
would rather die then have to look in the
mirror everyday and be reminded of what
happened to her. To see what her family
had accepted as necessary, what they felt
she deserved.
In 2011, over 900 honor killings were
committed in Islamic-based families. They
have happened all over the world including
the U.S. Families turn against each other
because one of them has broken a rule. I
understand that some rules shouldn’t be
broken by anyone, but murder is too extreme. Some of the many women that were
killed families explaining their reasoning for
her murder being that she had become too
westernized. They mean that she was too
independent and not subservient enough
for a girl. That makes me so mad to think
of the women killed because they wanted
to be their own person. Some women were
killed because they didn’t want to wear
veils over their faces all the time. That’s
not a good enough reason to murder your
wives, daughters, and sisters. Heck, there
is never a good reason to kill your loved
ones.
Women are terrified of what might
happen to them if they speak up, if they
actually do what they want, not what
is planned out by their families. All of
these honor killing victims aren’t disgraces, they are women that their culture
couldn’t handle. They were the women
who wouldn’t be controlled. All these
women wanted was their freedom. They
wanted the feeling that their future was
their choice, their mistakes, their rights,
and because of it they were murdered.
Honor killing isn’t some kind of justice.
It isn’t some kind of right given to any
man, woman, or child. Honor killings are
murder, plain and simple.
CASSANDRA CRUZ
SOUND
OFF!!
WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT HONOR
KILLINGS OR
HONOR-BASED
VIOLENCE?
8TH GRADE
“They [honor killings] are pretty messed up. I would question why women are seen at such a low standard. If it
was my family this was happening to then I would protest
against it. If I lived in a country that did that then I would do
what they said since I wouldn’t want to be killed.”
NICHOLAS BRETZKI
8TH GRADE
“They shouldn’t be allowed. I would tell them to
run away if this was happening to people in my
family. If I was a girl living in that world? Then
no, I wouldn’t be able to deal with that.”
Did You Know?
There are over 5000 honor killings
internationally each year.
1000 honour killings occur in
India.
1000 honour killings occur in
Pakistan.
12 honour killings per year in the
United Kingdom.
These figures are considered estimates and are widely believed to be severe underestimates. Due to lack of focused
reporting and recording of honor killings internationally very
little is known about the true extent of HBV (honor-based
violence) worldwide.
Forms of honor-based violence:
‘Honor’ suicide
Families may deploy a strategy of forcing women to
kill themselves in order to remain technically innocent
of murder.
‘Honor’ killing
‘Honor’ killings, as the ultimate sanction against a
woman who has deemed to have offended collective
morality may be a highly organized and premeditated
crime, decided upon through a collective decisionmaking process involving a family ‘council’ meeting,
in which the murder is planned to the last detail.
Capture & imprisonment
Where women are subjected to violence at their
hands of their families this may include abduction,
if they have fled the family home to seek protection;
within certain diasporic communities professional
agencies exist dedicated to the location and retrieval
of runaway women and girls.
Forced abortion
If a woman becomes pregnant before marriage, and
this is unknown outside the family circle, it may be
considered a better solution to for an abortion than to
commit a crime; however, if her condition is common
knowledge, more severe responses may be required
to stop negative responses from the community.
Forced marriage
In some cases, a woman who is perceived to have
violated family honor may be forced into marriage.
This has a double effect of saving face and increasing surveillance and control over her by increasing
the number of persons who are able to control and
police her behavior. Such marriages may involve an
undesirable spouse who is unable to contract a marriage by other means.
Countries where honorbased violence occurs:
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco,
Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic,
Turkey, Yemen, France, Germany,
India, Afghanistan, the United
Kingdom, and other Mediterranean
and Persian Gulf countries.
SOURCE / HONOUR BASED VIOLENCE AWARENESS NETWORK
THEIR RULES, THEIR
HONOR, HER PAIN
DRESS CODE:
TOO MUCH TO HANDLE?
Surprise snatchings upset students but rules are rules
by EMILY LIM
On Feb. 28, over a hundred jackets,
sweaters, and pullovers were confiscated
from students here. The school staff
seized all of this clothing because the students with these clothes were not following
the school’s dress code.
The district mentions in their dress code
policy that jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts worn in class must be the same
color as the students’ grade level shirts
and may not contain logos or writing. This
means 7th graders should wear red, and
8th graders should wear black items. Both
seventh and eighth graders, however, are
also allowed to wear jackets/hoodies that
are associated with North Shore. Other
than the choices I have mentioned, students are not permitted to wear any other
kind of outerwear. Though this seems to
make the school seem a little too strict
with their rules, there are advantages and
disadvantages with the dress code.
If you are a pessimistic person and want
to see this in a negative light, you could
just complain that it’s just not fair. Other
schools wear a variety of sweaters, but
you are confined in a red, black, or North
Shore sweatshirt. Maybe, you simply despise wearing black or red. Some students
think this way about the rule. On the other
hand, if a student follows the dress code
properly; they would not have their sweatshirt taken away from them.
One reason the school does not allow students to wear any kind of jacket
they desire is because of the issue of
how people judge others by the clothes
that they wear. Some brands one might
dress in are Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Aeropostale, or Gilly Hicks. Popular
brands or logos can show wealth, and
brands that people have never seen
before (or none at all) assume you don’t
have a lot of money. Some students
may or may not think about clothing
this way, like myself for example. I have
never glanced at a person’s clothing and
labeled them as rich or poor, but others
might do this without a second thought.
Another reason for their concern is to
distinguish 7th and 8th graders from one
another in the school, a safety issue. The
color of a student’s sweater correlates
to their uniform shirt. This rule is to also
prevent confusing a visitor on campus from a student. If all students were
permitted to wear any kind of jacket, you
would not be able to differentiate a student and someone who does not belong
on campus.
You still might think the school is taking
it too far with the dress code, but I believe
that the school is simply just trying to
look out for us. In the end, it is just a
KEEP YOUR THIEVING HANDS TO YOURSELF!
Theft at school is a problem, but it’s easily fixed if...
Theft in school is something we worry
about everyday. I won’t even bring my
Kindle to school because I am too afraid
someone will steal it. Laptops, phones,
and other electronics are stolen everyday because people can’t just be a good
person and leave stuff to their rightful
owners. With all the serial numbers and
tracking apps it is seriously stupid to take
anything anyway. People steal things for
what, the joy that comes from looking over
your shoulder every five seconds waiting to get caught? That doesn’t seem very
fun to me. When someone gets caught
they get fined, suspended and everyone is
told they’re a thief. So for the rest of the
time their friends won’t let them see any
of their electronics because they are so
afraid they’ll disappear.
It really annoys me when someone
believes that just because they found
something on the floor then it’s theirs. If
you find something on the floor then you
don’t just keep it yourself. The nice thing
to do would be to find out who it belongs
to and return it. I believe that “Finders
Keepers” is the stupidest saying ever.
Theft in school is a huge problem that
can’t just be talked away. The teachers
can talk to us about theft for hours but
that doesn’t help. You have to decide to
not be a jerk and to do the right thing.
People are afraid to even put their phones
in their backpacks because if they leave
it for one second then their stuff could be
taken. Not only is it not nice, but it is also
sweater you cannot wear at school. If you
want to wear your favorite jacket, but it
does not follow the dress code, just wear
it outside of school. Who says that your
sweatshirts are limited at school? This is
my own opinion on the matter though.
What do you personally think about the
dress code?
SOUND
OFF!!
WHAT DO YOU
THINK ABOUT
DRESS CODE?
AMBAR SOLORZANO
7TH GRADE
“I kind of don’t care, but I prefer
that we should be allowed to
wear any kind of jacket we want.”
SARAH GRAVES
7TH GRADE
“I feel that if we have to wear
uniforms, then we should be
allowed to wear any kind of
sweater we want as long as it’s
appropriate.”
YOUR FEELINGS ON
PEOPLE WHO STEAL?
ANALISA CASTILLO
8TH GRADE
“People who steal are really
bad. I get seriously mad when
anybody touches my stuff. I have
to be extra careful at school
because you can’t trust anybody
not to take your stuff.”
JOSHUA PADILLA
8TH GRADE
“I think that they aren’t bad
people they just don’t have the
resources they need so they have
to steal. First I would think of why
they have to steal, then if they
could have gotten it some other way. I have to be
careful because even though the principals and
teachers keep everyone in check they can’t be
everywhere at once.”
illegal. You can get fined, suspended, and
even go to jail, depending on the value of
the item.
People rarely forgive or forget when they
find out who stole their stuff. It will follow
you all throughout school and even after.
If you see someone’s backpack sitting
there with no one around that is not a
reason to go through their stuff. I’m pretty
sure the thief wouldn’t want their things
taken from them. So, everyone needs
to keep their hands off other people’s
property.
THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM: Is it beneficial?
Based on its pros and cons, some classes at North Shore would see good results
by KENNY MA
In 2007, Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams, teachers from
Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park, Colorado, discovered software to record PowerPoint presentations. They recorded
and posted their live lectures online for students who missed
class. The online lectures started to spread and Bergman and
Sams were asked to speak to teachers around the country about
their methods. Teachers began using online videos and video
podcast, a series of episodes, to teach students outside class,
reserving class time for collaborative work and concept mastery
exercises.
According to Knewton, an educational website to help the
school’s learning performance, a flipped classroom is when the
school or teachers invert traditional teaching methods, delivering instruction online outside of class and moving “homework”
into the classroom. When using the traditional method, students
are constantly being pushed and pulled into the next idea, even
though they haven’t understood the concept. The traditional
teaching is when the teacher is in control of the class, though in
the flipped classroom the students help each other learn as the
teacher is walking around helping the students understand the
concept or teachers may revisit lessons to help and support the
students. During class, the students are doing labs or interactive
activities to illustrate concepts.
Most teachers create three videos, each around five to seven
minutes, a week to teach the class about the lesson. When the
students miss the class; they can watch the videos to catch up.
Students can watch the video at their own pace and communicate with their peers. After the watching the video, you may
comment and receive instant feedback. Some students won’t get
as frustrated as before because they wouldn’t do their homework, but now they are working in class to minimize this prob-
SOUND
OFF!!
lem. The bad thing about the flipped classroom is that if you are
underprivileged, such as not having enough money to purchase
electronic devices, you won’t get all the benefits of the flipped
classroom.
The flipped classroom is better suited for high school because
students in high school are usually more responsible and knowledgeable, but there are some middle school classes, like Algebra
and Pre-AP classes, that would be able to use this method. The
flipped classroom provides an opportunity for learning through
activity while using educational technology, which influences the
learning environment. Before the flip was made between traditional and flipped classes, the percent of freshman who failed an
Algebra test was greater than 50%, while the scores for English
were at 44%, and 736 students had discipline cases in one semester.
After the flip was made there were 19% of the freshman students who failed the Algebra test, 13% who failed the English
test, and 249 students had discipline issues in one semester.
Sixty-nine percent of students graduated, though the other 31%
didn’t. In the U.S., 7,200 students drop out each day and 1.3 million drop out per year. This is one reason we should have flipped
classrooms to drive our thirst for knowledge.
I believe that the flipped classroom method should be used
more frequently, and that we should encourage the teachers and
students to use this technique. The flipped classroom allows
more time to help students one on one and builds a stronger
teacher/student relationship. What do you think?
DO YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF A
FLIPPED CLASSROOM?
RAQUEL SANCHEZ
7TH GRADE
“I think it’s a good idea because students have the chance to
collaborate and put their minds together.”
RUBY RODRIGUEZ
8TH GRADE
PLEASE RECYCLE!
After you’ve finished reading
this newspaper, hand it off to
someone else so they can
read it or place it in a recycle
bin. Do your part to take care
of the environment.
SOURCE / FLIPPED LEARNING NETWORK
“I believe that this is a good idea because students can
interact with one another to get better ideas and two brains are
better than one.”
Mustangs dominate Cunningham
by LEONARDO REYES &
VICTOR DAVILA
On Feb. 4 the 7th grade A basketball
team took on the Cunningham Lady Wildcats at the North Shore Senior High gym.
The Lady Mustangs entered the game with
a record of 4 wins and 3 losses and the
Wildcats with a 7 win and 1 loss record.
The starters for the game were Nathaly
Oviedo, Zoya Hicks, Lauryn Sephus, Ali’yah
Harrison, and Asjai Robinson.
The game started with Oviedo winning
the tip-off, however the Mustangs couldn’t
score. Sephus scored the first basket of
the game with an assist from Harrison.
From the start the Mustangs had an aggressive defense, and weren’t giving up any
easy shots.
“You’ve got to be able to see the ball,”
yelled Coach Wait as the Wildcats scored
a lay-up. The Wildcats had an aggressive
defense as well, however they were constantly being charged with fouls. The last
basket of the quarter was made by Denise
Guadado. The quarter ended with a 10-6
lead for the Mustangs.
Starting the second quarter, the Wildcats had the first possession, but it led to
a steal and a basket for the Mustangs by
Kaylan Hardeman. Throughout the quarter, both sides had an aggressive defense,
blocking and stealing the ball from the
other team. The next basket was made by
Mickayla Berguin with four minutes left in
the quarter.
The Mustangs strong defense played a
role, not letting the Wildcats score since
the first quarter. The next two baskets
where made by Zoya Hicks and Asjai Robinson, both driving down the court to make
layups. Robinson once again drove down
the court for another basket to end the
quarter with a score of 20-9.
During halftime, the team was in a
huddle in the corner of the court.
“Defensively we are not covering,”
explained Coach Wait, “cover your girl.”
Coach Wait continued to motivate and
relax the team, since they had a comfortable lead at the moment. Coach glanced
at the clock and saw that time was running out, “Next sixteen minutes give me all
you got…go in strong,” instructed Coach
Wait.
The third quarter got underway when
Hardeman scored a lay up for a 22-point
lead. During the third quarter both teams
were playing aggressive defense, which
created turnovers. The Wildcats’ overly
aggressive defense caused them to foul
frequently. They defense created so
many fouls that over half of the Mustang’s
points were made from free throws. The
third quarter ended with the Mustangs
keeping their lead with a score of 30-13.
The final quarter started with the
Mustangs picking up right where they left
off. Oviedo made the first basket of the
quarter, which was a lay-up. The game
soon came to a pause when a Cunningham player was injured, however,
she was helped off the court and the
game continued. The Mustangs’ defense
continued to be aggressive and created
various turnovers. The end of the game
was approaching, and both teams realized
it, so they were driving to the basket more
in hopes of making more shots. The game
ended with the Mustangs winning with a
lead of 23, the final score was 44-21.
This game closed out the season and
left the Mustangs with a 5-3 record. Even
though both teams had played hard, in
Seventh graders aggressive defense helps secure win
Seventh grader Savannah Herrera lays
up the ball and scores two points for the
team on Feb. 4 during their final game of
the season in the North Shore Senior High
Auxiliary Gym. The Mustangs defeated the
Wildcats with a score of 44-21.
the end; the Mustangs’ balance between
offensive and defensive skills led them to
a victory against their rival team.
“We did good and worked together,
but we could have been more successful if we made our layups,” said the
Mustangs’ lead scorer Asjai Robinson.
The team played efficiently, keeping up
with Cunningham’s offense and stealing
the ball. “I was very proud of the girls.
They have the heart of a champion,” said
Coach Wait after the game.
NORTH SHORE OFFERS CAMPS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES
Volleyball Skills/Leadership camp will be held at North Shore
Senior High starting June 7th through June 21.
The registration fee is $50 before June 7 and $60 if you pay after
June 7.
The first day of camp will begin with registration at 12:30pm.
Athletes will need to bring knee pads, a towel and a water bottle.
The camp is available for incoming 7th and 8th graders. (Session 2)
The time to show up is 12:30pm and the camp starts at 1pm and ends at
3pm.
Lady Mustangs break rival’s winning streak
Key players and defense lead to win against Cunningham
by ULISES SALAZAR
On Feb. 4th, the 8th grade Lady
Mustang B basketball team faced their
biggest rival, the Cunningham Wildcats at
the North Shore Senior High auditorium.
Their record was 4 wins and 1 loss so far
for the season.
The Mustangs had been looking forward
to this game all season. “We practiced
running down the court by running laps.
Practiced dribbling and defense to win the
game,” said 8th grader Naya Ashe.
The 1st quarter started off with the
Wildcats winning the tip-off. The Wildcats scored two points with the timer at
5:10 and scored another two points eight
seconds after. The Wildcats were putting
pressure on the ball and for that reason,
Coach Gordon called a timeout to see
how to stop the Wildcats from retrieving
the ball. The Mustangs were turning over
the ball because the Wildcat’s defense
was getting aggressive.
“Do you know who you have?” asked
Coach Gordon during the timeout to
some of the players going on the court
to make sure they knew what they were
doing. Claudia Martinez got a rebound
with the clock at :42 and drove to the
other side of the court to make a buzzer
beater. The 1st quarter ended with a
score of 10-6.
“Great job, great job, let’s give some
people breaks, let’s leave Ware and
Armani,” said Coach Gordon. She then
congratulated the team for doing a fantastic job.
The Wildcats started the 2nd quarter by turning the ball over after being
charged with traveling. Adrianna Ware
struggled to make a shot because she
was closely guarded, but managed to
make a layup. By now both teams’ defense was aggressive. Martinez and Ware
were playmakers, scoring most of the
team’s points. The Mustangs were in the
lead by six points; 16-10. Martinez kept
getting rebounds because of the Mustangs’ aggressive defense and offense.
The ladies then scored 6 points in 10
seconds by rushing the ball to the opponent’s basket. By the end of the second
quarter, the score was 24-14, with the
Mustangs ahead by ten points.
At halftime, both teams went to their
coaches and talked about their ways
of defeating the opponent. Both teams
knew that their defense and offense was
strong. Since Ware and Martinez were
playing hard, Coach Gordon decided to
give them breaks for the third quarter.
The Wildcats started off the 3rd quarter by drawing a foul. Since the Wildcats
kept drawing fouls, their coach called a
timeout. By then, the Mustangs decided
to take advantage and decided to help
each other too. As the timer ran out,
both teams ran back on the court. The
Wildcats stepped up their offensive skills
and the Lady Mustangs responded by
stepping up their defense. Lenor shot
a three pointer with the clock at 2:27
and the North Shore side responded by
screaming and clapping. Lenor recovered the ball from the Wildcats and then
ended the quarter with a layup, leaving
the score 34-22.
The 4th quarter started and the
Wildcats scored, driving through the
Mustang’s defense. As the Mustangs
tried to make some baskets, the Wildcats kept catching up. But not for long,
the Mustangs got more aggressive on
defense and were keeping the Wildcats
from scoring.
“Alright girls, stay on it on defense,”
said Coach Gordon since the Mustangs
were blocking the Wildcats.
“I was excited, and I was crunk, I knew
we were going to win because we had
practiced hard and prayed,” said 8th
grader Adrianna Ware. The Mustangs’
defense was getting more aggressive towards the last quarter. Both teams were
going back and forth since both team’s
defense were aggressive. The Wildcats
offense was getting aggressive also.
Ware shot a 3-pointer at the :50 second
mark. The quarter ended with the Lady
Mustangs winning 46-34.
The Lady Mustangs walked off excited
that they had won the district championship. They proved that they had played
well and beat their rival.
“I was proud because they [Mustangs]
were a better team, they worked hard all
season, and they had the right to win,”
said Coach Sanford. The Mustangs’ defense was the most important factor that
helped them beat their rival.
North Shore Mustang 2013 Basketball Camp
Eighth grader Armani Lenor lays up the ball
on Feb. 4 at the North Shore Senior High
gym during their last game of the season.
The Mustangs won the game with a score of
46-34 versus the Wildcats.
North Shore will host a basketball camps at the senior
high gyms starting June 10th through June 13.
The registration fee is $50 before June 7 and $60 if you
pay after June 7.
Athletes must wear the appropriate shoes, shorts, bring
a water bottle and a towel.
The camp is available for incoming 7th, 8th, and 9th
graders.
The sessions are Mon. through Thurs.
No sessions will be held on Friday.
The time to show up is 8am and the
camp starts at 8:30am and ends at
noon.
SPORTS
Mustangs suffer
loss in a fight to the finish
Final game brings out players’ best against Cunningham
steals and hustled down the court leaving the Mustangs behind. The Wildcats’
On Feb 7, the Mustang 8th grade A
defense had great movement and tried to
boys’ basketball team played their rivals,
deflect passes and shots. Thomas kept
the Cunningham Wildcats, at North Shore
breaking the Mustangs’ defense by coming
Senior High in the main gym and the
down the court and shooting 3-pointers.
‘Stangs had a record of 4-4. Before the
In the last 2 minutes of the quarter, the
players started the game the high school
Mustangs got a turnover and the Wildcats
coaches announced each player’s name
took the ball. The Wildcats hustled down
and everyone cheered and screamed for
the court and set up a play. They moved
each player.
the ball quickly and before the 1st quarter
As Coach Atkins called out his starting
was over, Thomas shot a 3-pointer right
line up: Chase Middleton, Jaylen Thomas,
when the buzzer sounded. Cunningham
Bryant Badie, Patrick Davis and Amadou
fans went wild screaming and cheering
Gamby the stands were shouting, “Lets Go
throughout the stands. The Mustangs
Mustangs!” and “Let’s go Wildcats!”
hustled off the court falling short with a
Right after Chase Middleton and August
score of 6-14 in the first quarter.
Thomas jumped for the ball, the game
Before the 2nd quarter started, Coach
was fast and the players were ready. The
Atkins drew plays for offense and defense.
Mustangs started off in a zone defense
“I want to see you guys run the plays. Run
they played tightly against the Wildcats but spread it’s going to work if you run it,” he
it started falling apart. The Wildcats got
said as the team drank water and breathed
heavily.
As Andrew Bolden, Roddrick Coffman, Marquise
Joseph, Patrick Davis, and
Jesus Frayer subbed onto
the court the crowd was
cheering. The Mustangs
came in the 2nd quarter
with a new attitude toward
the game and were focused
on what they needed to
do. They ran their offensive
play spread and played
great defense.
After the Mustangs
scored or the Wildcats
scored they rushed down
the court to set up defensively. The Mustangs
picked up the up the pace
and got back after each
bucket. The Mustangs
had a smart defense and
active offense by playing
their area, covering their
teammate, and constantly
moving.
If a player steps out to
play a defender then the
other person has to move
over to the area their
teammate was playing.
Bolden and Joseph had
Eighth grader Patrich Davis glides through the air to bounce
great low post movement in
the ball off the backboard for a lay-up on Feb. 7 during their
the game and Frayer moved
final game of the season in the North Shore Senior HIgh Auxithe ball around the court
lary Gym. Davis took over the game in the 2nd half but they
good. Patrick Davis also
lost to Cunningham.
PHOTO / REAGAN NUNEZ
by TAALIYAH PORCHIA
scored points by driving to the basket and
taking the foul.
Cunningham, on the other hand, had
multiple turnovers and weren’t playing
good defense. Their offense slowed down
and was taken at a general pace. They
still didn’t make smart decisions. The star
player for the Mustangs, Davis, went in for
every shot. He had 17 points in the 2nd
quarter.
“I played hard for the game and for my
team. I was getting frustrated but the best
thing to do was just to push through it.
I know my teammates gave all they had
and we gave it our best shot. I’ll take this
lose because I know we all tried,” said
Davis.
At the end of the 2nd quarter, the Mustangs led with a score of 26-14. During
half-time Coach Atkins encouraged the
team, “Do you guys see what running the
plays and playing smart defense gets us!
If you guys keep running spread you’re
going to tire them out. They’re getting
tired. Keep up the good work,” he said.
At the start of the 3rd quarter, the Mustangs were ready and pumped up. Coach
Atkins subbed in Bryant Badie, Patrick
Davis, Amadou Gamby, Chase Middleton, and Jaylen Thomas. The Mustangs
continued to stay with Cunningham. The
Mustangs post players had great moves
under the basket.
The Mustangs became tired and their
defense started to slack off. Cunningham
came back in the 3rd quarter with better
defense and their offense was quicker.
They also started making smarter decisions. The Wildcats began to gain back
the lead. By the end of the 3rd quarter
the Mustangs fell behind because of not
getting back after a basket they ended
with a score of 26-28.
In the fourth quarter Atkins subbed in
Patrick Davis, Jaylen Thomas, Amadou
Gamby, Bryant Badie, and Chase Middleton. The Mustangs tried to stay with the
Wildcats but were getting tired from the
Wildcats’ quick offense. So Coach Atkins
subbed in Devonte Singaltary, Andrew
Bolden, Jesus Frayer, and Marquise
Joseph.
They had good defense but were still
falling behind. The Mustangs slowly gave
up and they began to get lots of turnovers
and still tried to pull through. Cunningham had great defense and offense and
made better decisions and sealed the
game with a score of 37-52.
In conclusion, the Mustangs started
out with great offense and smart defense
but slowly became too fatigued to go on.
They fought hard but came out with a loss
leaving them with a record of 4-5 for the
season.
“I know they all gave me a 100%. I’m
happy with this loss because I know they
gave their all,” said Coach Atkins.
Mustangs work hard to beat rivals Significant injuries
sidelines athletes
Eleven talented North Shore players take on a big challenge
by LEAH MAXWELL
On Feb. 7, the 7th grade boys B basketball team played their long-time rival, the
Cunningham Wildcats, at the North Shore
Senior High Aux. Gym, hoping to keep their
undefeated streak going.
As the game started, Coach Penny put
out his starting five: Darion McDaniel, Kerrion Hadknott, John Godfrey, Kasey Bone,
and Jose Salazar.
To start off the 1st quarter, Jose Salazar lost the jumpball but Darion McDaniel
quickly recovered the ball. A Cunningham
player was fouled and missed both free
throw shots.
As John Godfrey took out the ball, he
passed it to McDaniel who went up for a
layup and made a 3-second toilet bowl. As
Cunningham regrouped, McDaniel passed
the ball too hard to Hadknott who passed
it right back, and the Wildcats’ defense
caused him to shoot a 3, which he airballed. As the quarter came to a close,
McDaniel was the star player with his floaters, layups and assists; he led his team to a
score of 6-11.
To start off the 2nd quarter, Coach Penny
had a few words to say. “We gotta move
to the ball, you guys are just sitting around,
and don’t forget to box out!” he yelled.
As the Wildcats set up in some play,
Hadknott stole the ball, went up for a
fast break and got fouled. He made
1 out of 2 shots. As time progressed,
our Mustangs were hustling very hard
and diving for every loose ball. By the
end of the quarter, the ‘Stangs got to
an 8-point difference in the score. In
the 3rd quarter, John Godfrey shot the
most points in the team to a 5-point
difference. The Wildcats’ defense was
on point but by the end of the quarter,
Cunningham had 5 turnovers and we
had 2.
To start off the last quarter, McDaniel swished a 3-pointer. As Cunningham
regrouped, Deveone Cooper stole the
ball and gave it to Kerrion for a fast break
which he scored. Then, when Cunningham
couldn’t take it any more, they called for
a timeout with the score 34-36, Wildcats
were in the lead.
“They’re going to waste time on purpose
so man up!” Coach Penny said as he set
up a play.
This play helped because just as Cunningham threw the ball in, Kerrion stole
the ball and shot it making the score
36-38. Next, the Wildcats stole the ball,
and then John stole it back and made
a 2, got fouled, then missed both free
throw shots. The crowd was going back
and forth, oooing and ahhing for each
team. The last two minutes of the game,
John shot 4 points making the final score
of 48-51.
The Mustangs played their hardest until
the last second of the game. Their determination and dedication shows just how
much they want to win and by next year,
they’ll be all set.
Seventh grader Darion McDaniel crosses one of the Cunningham defenders during their last
game of the season on Feb. 7 in the North Shore Senior High Auxilary gym. Unfortunately, the
Mustangs lost to Cunningham but gained valuable knowledge for next year.
by ULISES SALAZAR
On Oct. 2, 2012, the North Shore
football team played against Anthony
Aguirre at home. North Shore’s quarterback, Bryant Badie, threw the ball to
eighth grader Eltroy Potts and as Potts
caught the ball, he fell to the ground.
As he fell, he felt his foot snap. Potts’
teammates and the coaches feared
that he would not be able to get back
in the game and help the team. After
falling, Potts worried about his leg
being broken. “What was that noise? I
couldn’t feel my ankle. I hoped I could
get back in that game,” said Potts. Potts
remained on the sideline for the rest of
the game.
Many people stop playing their favorite sport all because of an injury.
“I couldn’t play anymore, I couldn’t
walk like I wanted to and I had to gain
my speed back and basically start from
scratch,” said Potts. He attended his
physical therapy and prayed a lot for
his broken leg to heal as soon as possible. Students learn that injuries don’t
just affect them in the field but in their
everyday life as well.
When eighth grader Matteo McCleary
broke his right arm in the Woodland
Acres football game, daily tasks became
a struggle.
“I had someone write for me and
sometimes I tried to write with my left
hand,” he said. Matteo was excluded
from the rest of the season because of
his injury.
The coaches do get upset when they
lose a player. “It hurts the team because
we lost the best outside linebacker,” said
Coach Atkins when asked about Matteo’s
injury. “He was irreplaceable,” he said.
According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control, participation in organized sports is on the rise. Nearly
30 million children and adolescents
participate in youth sports in the United
States. Although 62 percent of organized sport-related injuries occur during
practice, one third of parents do not
have their children take the same safety
precautions at practice that they would
during a game. On average, the rate
and severity of injury increases with a
child’s age.
Almost all players at one time or another suffer from sports injuries. Injured
student athletes are sometimes forced
to the sidelines for a while due to their
major injury and will have to deal with
the pain and separation from the game.
Mustangs fight hard to maintain
WINNING STREAK
Tough practices and good coaching helps boys track improve
by LEAH MAXWELL &
TAALIYAH PORCHIA
in both events and you can
take that to the bank,” said 7th
grader Jay Barrs.
To show off from many skills,
the 7th grade boys scored
60 points by winning all three
relays, leaving the other schools
in the dust. The 8th grade
boys also did an outstanding
job getting 3rd in the 4x1(each
person ran a 100m and 1st
in the 4x4(each person ran a
400m and 4x2(each person ran
a 200m.
“I think we did a good job, I
feel like we went out there and
did our best,” said 8th grader
Jaylen Thomas.
Another event that our Mustangs excelled in was the 300
and 110 meter hurdles. Our
7th grade boys, Dre Edwards,
Ishmael Brown, and Thomas
Davis all placed in these events.
Edwards placed 8th in the 300m
hurdles with a time of 53.90
On March 28, our 7th and 8th
grade boys track team participated in their 3rd track meet of
the season at the North Shore
High school track. The 8th graders came to show their new and
improved skills, while 7th graders
came to maintain their winning
streak of 1st place in each track
meet.
“I’m proud to say that this
year’s throwers are freaking
amazing! Every time each one
has gone they have placed,”
said Coach Davis. Eighth grader
Aaron Romero is one of the
best discuss athletes here. His
farthest throw is 110 ft.
“I feel if I continue to work
hard at practice and focus, I can
beat my farthest throw. Even
though at the last track meet I
got third, I really think District
meet there’s a good chance I
can place 1st,” said Romero.
As far as the shot put event,
8th grader Khayman Johnson
is one of the top athletes here
in this event. “I believe with
determination and hard work I
can succeed in anything. There’s
nothing like placing in a meet
and knowing that you earned it
but still knowing that you can do
better,” said Johnson.
In the 7th grade, Jay Barrs
is one of the top athletes here
that’s good in both shot and
disc. “In shot really all you have
do is move your lower body and
torso and also getting the shot
put up into air. Even though
I placed 1st last meet, I know
I can improve so at district I’ll
blow everyone away. Throwing
discuss is the same way, just
working on my spin technique
and my release. I’m still going
to blow away the competition
Eighth grader Jaylen Thomas comes off the blocks to start the four by one relay during their 3rd track
meet of the season on March 28th at the North Shore High School track. His relay ended with a time of
48.31, gaining eight points for the team. Starting off the blocks can help runners get a good start and
reduce their run times, helping their teams ensure a win.
seconds and 2nd in the 110m
hurdles with a time of 18.66
seconds. Brown placed 3rd in
110 hurdles with a time of 18.77
seconds and Davis placed 1st in
the 110m hurdles with a time of
18.24 seconds. Eighth graders
Roberto Martinez, Tony Rodriguez, and Andrew Bolden also
placed and scored some points
for the team. “I think that I did
my best and I’m just glad that I
placed,” said Bolden.
“All I have to say is that if
you aren’t first, you’re last,” said
8th grader Roberto Martinez,
who won 1st place in the 110m
hurdles with a time 17.08 seconds, 300m hurdles with a time
of 44.99, and the 1600 meter
relay with a time of 3.54.17.
The 8th grade boys, Jesus
Frayer and Jaylen Thomas,
placed 4th and 5th in triple jump,
scoring extra points for the team.
“I’m so glad to be participating
in the track meet and also place
makes me feel like I really did
accomplish something,” Frayer.
“I think all the boys have done
excellent job on earning points
from week to week and I hope
that we do the best that we can
at our district meet,” said Coach
Williams.
On the track, the sprinters
run a 100m, 200m, 400m, or an
800m or all 4 events. As for7th
grader John Godfrey, he ran the
800. “The key is keeping your
pace and long strides. The last
track meet I got 1st. My coach
always tells me that you’re not
just running against the competition but you’re also running
against time. So at district meet,
I’m going to try my best to beat
the competition and my best
time,” said Godfrey.
In the 8th grade, LaBrice
Mackey ran the 400m. Mackey
placed 10th with a time of
1.03.99. “The best thing is try
not to get tired and focus. I try
to follow these rules. I feel I
always have room for improvement but it takes hard work and
practice,” said Mackey.
In conclusion, the boys
Mustang track team is working
hard to try and improve for their
district meet. The only way to
improve is to work hard, go to
practice, stay fit, and be determined to go past your goal.
Hopefully their work will pay off,
because the boys track team is
looking to be district champs.
Lady Mustangs dominate at district track meet
by VICTOR DAVILA &
LEONARDO REYES
On Mar. 26 the 8th grade
girls’ track team competed
in a district track meet at the
North Shore High School track
complex against Alice Johnson,
Anthony Aguirre, Cunningham,
Null, Galena Park, Woodland
Acres, and C.E. King. This meet
would determine what school’s
track team would be district
champions.
The track team had been
preparing for this meet all
season. They’d been pushing
themselves hard during practice every morning at 7:00 am,
trying to improve their speed
and strength.
“I think we’ll do good against
the other schools because the
coaches have prepared us well,
and they still encourage us
to do better,” said 8th grader
Karen Rayas.
Naya Ashe, Valerie Moya,
Leah Maxwell, Caitlin Torres
and Taylor Crouch participated
in the most events, and helped
tremendously giving their all,
placing in most of their events,
and by earning a total of 108
points. By the end of the meet,
they were exhausted, but proud
of themselves for their efforts.
We placed in most events,
however we absolutely dominated in the relays, placing 1st
in all three of the relays. The
relays were one of the key
factors to earning the team
points.
“I ran my hardest, and gave
it all I had, and I pushed myself, so I wouldn’t let my team
down,” said Crouch.
Taylor Crouch, Caitlin Torres,
and Valerie Moya also ran the
400 meter dash. You could see
the determination in their eyes
as they took off to start the
race. They all wore a facial expression that showed they were
running their hardest. They left
the competition in dust, placing 1st, 2nd, and, 3rd, earning
24 points for the team.
Soon after the meet was
over, they announced what
schools placed. 4th…. 3rd…
2nd..., the air was thick with
anticipation, “1st place…” said
the announcer as the crowd
became silent, “North Shore.”
Everybody from North Shore
went crazy and screamed in
excitement. The Mustangs’
hard work, and determination
had finally paid off, they were
now District Champions and
proud of it.
“I think they did a fantastic
job closing out the season.
They played and worked hard
and represented our school
like the Mustangs, they made
us look good… because we
are!” said Coach Wait.
Determination, a will to come out on top and tough coaching help girls win district title
Seventh grader Ali’yah Harrison jumps over the board during the
long jump event, scoring ten points on March 26 at the North Shore
High School track complex. Harrison placed first overall in the long
jump during the girls district track meet.
AC Milan wins in last minute stunner
Multiple attacks on good goalkeeper helps AC Milan earn bye
by LEONARDO REYES
On Apr. 23, AC Milan faced
Chelsea on the North Shore
Senior High soccer field. The
two teams that were at the top
of the bracket and now the winner would get a first round bye.
Chelsea entered with a record of
3 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw and AC
Milan with a record of 4 wins, 0
losses, 0 draws.
At the beginning of the game,
AC Milan started with possession. After kickoff neither team
could execute an attack but
there was plenty of opportunity.
Ten minutes into the game,
the counter attacks started
to come. The first counter
attack came by Chelsea but
was tipped by the AC Milan’s
goalie, Aaron Adalpe. The ball
kept on being tipped or caught
by both goalies which meant
that both sides had really good
goal keepers. During the 20th
minute AC Milan’s defense had
committed a foul. Eduardo Trevino from Chelsea had popped
out by dribbling through the
AC Milan defense and making
important passes. By the end
of the half both teams were
exhausted and the score was
still 0-0.
Right after the second half
started, Jonathan Rodriguez
from AC Milan blasted a ball at
the goal but was blocked by the
Chelsea goal keeper. The next
five minutes favored AC Milan
for their many counter attacks.
Then out of nowhere, Eduardo
Trevino from Chelsea shot
and the ball floated over the
AC Milan goalie’s hands which
made the score 1-0 for Chelsea. Then Adrian Medrano from
Chelsea shot but it hit the pole
and bounced out of bounds. A
couple of plays later, AC Milan’s
Jonathan Rodriguez shot from
outside the box and it flew by
Angel Resendez, Chelsea’s goal
keeper, which tied the game
1-1. The last couple of minutes
the ball was getting shot back
and forth. Until the last two
minutes where Jonathan Rodriguez, AC Milan’s forward, shot
the ball and Angel Resendez
dived to block the ball, but only
managed to tip the ball, it still
went in to break the tie.
At the end of the game, AC
Milan beat Chelsea 2-1. AC
Milan’s goals were both scored
by Jonathan Rodriguez and
Chelsea’s goal was scored by
Eduardo Trevino. The game was
close but at the end AC Milan
won the first round bye.
Mustang’s improvements
HELP AT FINAL MEET
Seventh and eighth grade boys enter the final track meet with high hopes
by LEAH MAXWELL &
TAALIYAH PORCHIA
said Coach Davis.
Seventh grade thrower, Jay
Barrs placed 1st in the shot
put with a distance of 48.8
inches and 1st in the discus
event with a distance of 101.5
inches. Desemond Alverado
placed in 4th shot put with a
distance of 37.5 inches and
2nd discus with a distance
96.8 inches.
“I feel I could’ve done better
in my events at the district
meet, even though I tried
my best. I believe I could’ve
placed better than fourth
in shot put. In discus I feel
placing 2nd was good but
not good enough because I
wasn’t really focused,” said
Alverado.
“I feel great about our
district meet. I placed 1st
in both my events. I left the
competition, just like I said I
would! I’m proud to say the
On April 4, our Mustangs
competed in the district track
Meet at the North Shore High
track complex. The 7th graders arrived expecting to keep
their winning streak of placing
1st at their meets and the 8th
graders came defending their
3rd and 2nd place mark at
past meets.
To start the meet off, eighth
grader Jesus Frayer took first
place in the long jump division earning 10 points for
the team. In the 110 hurdles,
eighth grader Roberto Martinez placed 2nd scoring 7
points with a time of 17.6
seconds. Christian Hadknott
got 4th in the 100 meter
dash gaining 4 points with a
distance of 17.7 inches. In the
300 hurdles, Andrew Bolden
placed 3rd scoring 6 points.
“I really tried my best and
did it for my team, so to know
that I contributed to our success makes me feel good,”
said Bolden.
In the field events, 7th graders Kerrion Hadknott, Darion
McDaniel and Ishmael Brown
also contributed greatly to
the team. Kerrion Hadknott
placed 1st in triple jump adding 10 points to the team’s
score. In long jump and the
110 meters hurdles, Ishmael
brown placed 1st gaining 20
points.
“I truly believe that all of my
throwers have improved, especially the ones who went to
our district meet. They threw
with power, and represented
our school well. They worked
hard, came to practice, and
beat the competition. I mean
what more can you ask for?”
Eighth grader Andrew Bolden glides over the high jump bar while members of the Cunningham team
watch as he works to gain as many points as possible on March 28 at the North Shore High School track
complex during the last meet of the season.
seventh grade throwers did
our thing at that district track
meet. I can’t wait to put on
those two gold medals. I’ve
worked so hard for them,”
said Barrs.
The eighth grade throwers Khayman Johnson placed
16th in discus with a distance
of 81.05 and 3rd in the shot
put with a distance of 38.03
while Aaron Romero placed
5th in the discus with a distance of 107.09 inches.
“I feel that even though
I did try to do my best, it
wasn’t my best. I wasn’t really
focused, but I’m still glad that
I had the opportunity to participate in the district meet,”
said Johnson
“I believe that this year
I have been very successful in throwing discuss. Even
though I didn’t place first in
this track meet I feel that I
gave my best efforts because
I’ve been practicing and
working hard and I feel that it
paid off. I believe that all the
8th grade throwers did their
best and I’m glad we all had
this experience,” said Romero. The eighth grade throwers
lost to Cunningham in discus
and lost to Woodland Acres in
the shot put event.
On the track, distance
runners Adolfo Salazar and
César Flores ran the 1600
meter and the 2400 meter run. Salazar placed 2nd
in both the 1600m and the
2400m and in the next lane
on the track, César Flores
placed 5th in the 1600 and
6th in the 2400 meter run.
“The best thing to do when
you’re a distance runner is
to keep your pace and stay
focused. Even though I’m really tired after the race, I can
pat myself on the back and
say I did great, because some
people can’t even run a 1600
Eighth grader Jaylen Thomas hands off the baton to eighth grader Jesus Frayre during the four by one
relay during their district track meet at the North Shore High School track complex on March 28.
or a 2400,” said Salazar. “I’m
glad that the district meet was
a success for me and César
because we worked hard and I
think we deserve it,” he said.
In conclusion, the Mustangs
worked hard and never gave up
hope on their hunt for becoming District Champions. The
Mustangs’ determination and
past accomplishments helped
the 8th grade boys track team
earn 2nd place out of 7 other
schools in the district.
Sadly the 8th grade track
team lost to the Cunningham Wildcats at the district
meet. The 7th grade boys
track team, on the other hand,
received 1st place, leaving
the 8th graders as Co-District
Champs and the 7th graders
as District Champs out of 7
other schools in the district.
The boys Mustang track team
was satisfied and proud of
their hard work because it really paid off.
Continued from last page
I placed 1st in both my events.
I left the competition just like I
said I would! I’m proud to say
the seventh grade throwers
did our thing at that district
track meet. I can’t wait to put
on those two gold medals. I’ve
worked so hard for them.”
- Seventh grader Jay Barrs
Eighth grader Jesus Frayre
flies through the air after
his jump during the long
jump event on March 28
at the North Shore High
School track complex.
Frayre and the rest of the
competitors are trying their
best to get as many points
to add to their team’s final
score in their hunt to become district champions.
Seventh grader De’Shawn Buckner runs
the thousand six hundred meter run
trying to finish off strong by passing up
a Galena Park runner at the North Shore
High School track on March 28.
PG-13
G.I. JOE Retaliation
Action-packed sequel to “The Rise of Cobra” satisfies, continues where last left off
by MARTIN BATREZ
IMAGES / APPLE TRAILERS
On March 28, the new movie, G.I. Joe
Retaliation, rated PG-13, premiered in
theaters. The director for this movie, Jon
M. Chu, has shaped the movie into a great
action film. Jon M. Chu has also directed
Step Up 2, Step Up 3D and other movies.
The G.I. Joe name has been around for
45 years now. In 1970, the G.I. Joe action
figure had life-like hair, movable eyes, and
also handgrips which let the action figure hold onto objects. When the changes
were being added to the action figure, the
creators thought they should put a space
travel costume on him, just like the cartoon
and the comics. When the action figure was
a raging success, G.I. Joe was retired from
service in 1978.
In the beginning of the movie, the Joes
get to base camp from their previous assignment, and while at base camp, they get
ambushed. After the attack, the president
gets cloned by Cobra forces and the cobra
leader bans the Joes from the president’s
protection and forces. The cobra commander declares war on all seven continents unless they agree to have nuclear
bombs shot at each other.
What I liked about the movie was when
Roadblock, who is played by Dwayne Johnson, and Duke, who is played by Channing
Tatum, were playing Modern Warfare 3,
because when Roadblock was bleeding
out while Duke was just spinning in place.
Another part I liked about the movie was
when Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were
dueling in the training room.
I personally rate this movie 4 out of 4
stars, because it has a lot of action and
fighting. I would recommend that you watch
this amazing movie. Also the movie is really
awesome because of the kind of technology they use in the movie like the remote
they use to trigger the fly that explodes and
also the snap shots the satellite takes from
outer space of the cloned commander.
If you missed the movie in theaters, you
can get the Blu-ray or DVD pack on July 30.
The term G.I. stands, in popular usage, for ‘Government Issued’ and after the First World War became
a generic term for U.S. soldiers. The origin of the term dates to World War I, when much of the equipment issued to U.S. soldiers was stamped “G.I.”, meaning that it was made from galvanized iron.
SOURCE / THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Edgar Allan Poe has a ‘Following’
by ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
On Jan. 21, a show called
“The Following” premiered on
FOX, starring Kevin Bacon as
Ryan Hardy, a former FBI agent,
James Purefoy as Joe Carroll,
and Natalie Zea as Claire Matthews. The show was produced
by Outerbanks Entertainment
and Warner Bros. Television.
The new show, (written by
Kevin Williamson) features a
cult led by Joe Carroll, a ruthless serial killer influenced by
the works of Edgar Allan Poe, a
writer born in the 19th century.
Carroll was first drawn to Edgar
Allan Poe when he started
teaching his college students
about how the author wrote of
death and murder at Winslow
University. The cult’s members known as “Followers” are
trying to get Joe’s son, Joey,
back after Carroll was imprisoned for murdering 15 young
women. Carroll is also trying to
get revenge on Ryan Hardy for
one big reason. The former FBI
agent is the reason why Carroll
is in jail.
During his 9 years of imprisonment, Carroll put together
a complex plan to get his
revenge on Hardy. After Carroll
escapes from prison he starts
his plan to ensure his revenge
on Hardy, once and for all.
Carroll is not the only one
obsessed with Edgar Allan
Poe. In Mr. Burke’s and Ms. Du
Plaga’s Pre-AP English classes,
students also learned about
the author. In class, students
read stories like “The Tell-Tale
Heart”, “The Raven” and “The
Masque of the Red Death”.
They also watched a documentary about the author.
Poe’s life was filled with sadness and death. His mother,
brother, and two wives died
of tuberculosis, a disease that
attacks the lungs and is also a
very painful disease.
Students learned that Poe
also wrote the first-ever detective story, “The Murders in the
Rue Morgue”, which would start
the genre of mysteries. The
author of Sherlock Holmes
even based one of the characters of his story from Edgar
IMAGE / WIRED MAGAZINE
The TV series “The Following” has twists and turns that keeps you wanting more
In “The Following”, Kevin Bacon plays an FBI agent pulled out of
retirement to track down the followers of a serial killer Joe Carroll,
who based his killings on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Allan Poe’s story.
I think this TV series is really
mysterious and cool. I also
like how the show has a big
tie-in with Edgar Allan Poe
because I like how he writes
mysteries and they come to
life on the show.
Now, the series has already
ended but you can check out
the show on the FOX Network
website where you can view
episodes and read about the
characters on the show. You
can also watch the whole
series when it comes on on
Blu-ray/DVD and the executive producer just announced
that there will be a season
two.
The Mortal Instruments series hits the big screen
by CRYSTAL GARCIA
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,
first book of the series by Cassandra Clare,
is currently in production and will come out
in theatres in August 21.
The book was published in 2007 by
Margaret K. McElderrly and the movie will
be directed by Harald Zwart. In the book,
fifteen-year-old Clary Fray, who is played
by Lily Collins, is learning about her past
to figure out how to save her mother,
played by Lena Headey, who was taken
away by demons. Clary discovers she is a
descendant of a line of shadow hunters,
half-angel/half-human teenagers who hunt
demons to save the city of New York. Clary
is the only one who can see the shadow
hunters but they’re invisible to everyone
else.
The shadow hunters introduce her to
a dangerous alternate New York called
Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks,
vampires, werewolves and other deadly
creatures.
The book was great and I hope the movie will be too. I would like to see the part
where Clary goes to a restaurant and the
waitress looks like a normal blond girl but
up close, her eyes were entirely blue with
no white or pupil at all. I also want to see
that part because I haven’t seen a waitress
with all blue eyes. I think the best part from
the book was when Simon, Clary’s best
friend, gets turned into a rat after drinking
a blue drink at a party.
In the movie trailer, I saw Clary’s runes,
a symbol of some power, marked on her
palm and glowing brightly. I will like to
know what each rune has the ability to do
like, make someone invisible.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because
I really enjoyed reading the book and there
wasn’t anything I disliked about it. I really
liked the action and adventure in the book
and hope the movie will turn out even better. You can watch the trailer on their official movie site: http://www.sonypictures.
IMAGE / APPLE TRAILERS
The City of Bones amazed students and has them waiting
The tablet wars have taken off
Having a hard time choosing which tablet you want for that summer reading or surfing?
hard to take pictures.
The Kindle is a great tablet
to read because it has a really great resolution and has
settings where you can adjust
them to your liking.
The Nook HD, created by
Barnes and Noble, is priced
at $269.00 for the 16GB and
$299.00 for the 32GB. What I
like about the Nook is that the
Barnes and Noble app store
provides good books, movies,
and music.
What I did not like is that it
does not have a camera at all
and the battery does not last
as long as the iPad mini and
the Kindle Fire HD.
Since Barnes and Noble is
a bookstore it manufactures
The Kindle Fire HD
• 1280x800 HD display
• Dolby audio and dual
driver stereo speakers
• Dual-band, dual-antenna
Wi-Fi
• 1.2 Ghz dual-core
processor
• Front-facing HD camera
• 16GB version - $199.00
• 32GB version - $229.00
tablets well so people can
read books comfortably. It
has settings where you can
change the font size, font color, the theme (background),
and to turn the page you have
to tap the screen.
All these tablets are fantastic and they have their pros
and cons. I personally like the
iPad mini more because it has
a rear and front camera.
The Kindle fire HD is still a
great tablet because it has a
good resolution to read your
favorite books and magazines. The Nook HD is also
a good tablet because its
app store has good apps to
choose from.
IMAGE / APPLE.COM
IMAGE / AMAZON.COM
Have you ever seen someone reading with the iPad mini,
the Nook tablet HD, or the
Kindle Fire HD? These three
tablets are different from other
tablets.
This year Apple, Amazon,
and Barnes and Noble have
made smaller tablets than
usual.
The iPad mini, created by
Apple, is priced at $329.00
for the 16GB, $429.00 for the
32GB and $529.00 for the
64GB. I think that the iPad
mini is a great tablet because
it is really light and the battery
lasts long.
The bad thing about the
iPad mini is that it’s very wide
therefore hard to hold. This
tablet has a built-in app called
Newsstand, where you can
read books, magazines, and
newspapers.
When you are reading, this
app has settings where you
can change the brightness if
you’re reading in the dark, and
you can change the font size
and line spacing.
The Kindle Fire HD, created by Amazon, is priced
at $214.00 for the 16GB and
$264.00 for the 32GB. What
I like about the Kindle is that
everything looks really clear
and it has good speakers. The
down side is that it doesn’t
have a rear camera, so it’s
IMAGE / BARNESANDNOBLE.COM
by CRYSTAL ORTEZ
The Nook HD
The iPad Mini
• 720 HD display, 1440 x 900
pixel resolution
• Fully laminated screen
• 10-hour battery life
• Now with Google Play
• Wireless connectivity via
Wi-Fi
• 8GB version - $199.00
• 16GB version - $229.00
• 7.2 mm thick
• Features the powerful and
power-efficient A5 chip
• FaceTime built in
• 7.9‑inch display
• Front-facing camera 720p
HD video
• 16GB version - $329.00
• 32GB version - $429.00
• 64GB version - $529.00
Eighth graders show their appreciation with a car wash
PAC committee members get soaked during teacher appreciation car wash
by REAGAN NUNEZ
Eighth graders Mary Alvarez, Christine Cabang and Chase Brown begin washing teacher’s cars on Thursday, May 9 to show their appreciation for what their
teachers do here at school each day. The principal’s advisory committee washed
around 20 cars and also got soaked in the process.
A PAC committee member scrubs a rim on a teacher’s car
during their teacher appreciation car wash on May 9. PAC
members made sure each car was spotless when they
were done even though it looked like it was going to rain
any minute outside.
Eighth graders Ana Guzman and Graciela Martinez wash the hood of the SUV of
one of our teachers during their teacher appreciation car wash which took place
on Thursday, May 9, just outside the student drop-off area. PAC members took
two class periods to accomplish this task.
Eighth grader Claire Marks wipes down a teacher’s car during the first ever teacher appreciation car wash outside on
May 9. Students wanted to show their teachers how much
they appreciate their hard work every day.
Eighth grader Madison Bellard washes the windows
of a faculty member’s car
during their teacher appreciation car wash on May
9. The entire week of 6-10
was Teacher Appreciation
Week across the nation and
our students washed cars,
wrote thank you letters, and
voiced their appreciation for
our teachers in what they do
every day.
What’s coming up in our
Got free time this summer? Check out a movie
World War Z
JUNE 21 PG-13
Grown-Ups 2
JULY 13
PG-13
Despicable Me 2
JULY 3
PG
Man of Steel
JUNE 14 PG-13
AUGUST 9
Rating not
available
IMAGES / TRAILERS.APPLE.COM
Elysium

The `Stang Express - Galena Park Independent School District

Transcription

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