May 2016

JUNE EVENTS
June 1: 8th Grade Orientation
Dental Sealant Program (1-3)
June 2: Incoming 5th Grade Parent Night
June 7: 7th Grade to Roll on America
June 8: 4th Grade Fly up Day
June 9: 6th Grade to Launch
SMS Winter and Spring Athletic Banquet
June 10: 8th Grade Dance
5th Grade to Bowling Acres
June 13: 8th Grade to Canobie
June 14: 5th Grade Field Trip
8th Grade Move Up Ceremony
June 15: Last Day of School
PUMA PRESS
Summer Haiku
by regs
one hundred eighty
that is the number of days
in the whole school year
and now we’re nearing
summer of 2016
it’s gonna be fun!
hey, but even though
we are so, so, so, so, close
we have to stay strong
and keep some killer behavior
April Puma Pride
Winners!
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Almost There!
by Reagan Riffle
Imagine that you are in a race. You’re in the lead, but not by much. You see the finish line and start to think...I have this in the bag. But before you
can finish your last few yards, a competitor passes you and breaks the blue ribbon. While the school year nears its end, students may start to forget
about school policies. Even though summer is so close, school is still a main priority! Students may start to think that SMS’s rules bend because
summer’s so close. But they don’t. Students are still expected to follow basic rules and policies throughout the school. Plus, there are so many exciting and amazing opportunities and field trips that you don’t want to miss out on because of your behavior. For example, at the end of the year each
grade will get a chance to go on an extremely fun field trip with their classmates. In the past, students have gone to places like Launch Trampoline
Park, Greenfield State Park, and Roll on America. These trips are not something any student would like to miss out on. And remember, any teacher
has the authority to disallow a student’s field trip privileges for bad behavior. So stay strong! And keep SMS a kind and wonderful school all the way
until June 15. (Erin Meiklejohn would like to note her opinion on the oddness of the last day of school; seeing it is “in the middle of the week, on a
Wednesday, and only a half day”)
Dance Team
By Lorien Tyne
On Friday April 29, 2016, from 7:00 to 8:30 at the SMS gym, the dance team put on a great show!
They performed nineteen dances, and there were three amazing solos put on by Jaylin Kalistro, Hayley Munroe and Maddie Carpentiere. The other dancers performing that night were
Trinity Upward, Kaylee Calistro, Olivia Martino, Sydney Griffin, Allison Chisholm, Alohi
Lorden, Isabelle Howard, and Amanda St. Francis. The dancers who could not make the show
were Florence Colantino, Sierra Hamlin, Anastasia Barbosa, Tracie Dailey, Delaney Thompson, Emma Steele, and
Makennah Macpherson. About forty people came to the team’s
show, and at the end
gifts were handed out
to the eighth graders by Ms.Wall, their
coach. Overall the
show was great, and
the choreography was
fantastic!
8th Grade Peer Mentors
We
Will
Miss
You!
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Spring Concert
by Gabby Oja
May 11, 2016 saw the annual SMS Spring Concert. There were two performances, one during the school day for all SMS students, and then
one at 6:30pm for parents and anyone else. Every year the Chorus and Band do different unique and fun songs. This was this year’s list and order of
the songs:
5th Grade Band; Overture 1812
5th Grade Chorus; Garden of your Mind, Listen to the Rain and Shake It Off
6th Grade Band; Jubilant Fanfare, Monmouth Overture and Everything is Awesome
Select Chorus; Kenyan Dances: East African Folk Songs, John the Rabbit and Inspirare Spirito
Jazz Band; Avenue Swing, American Patrol and Uptown Funk
6th, 7th and 8th Grade Chorus; The Hanging Tree and Into the Woods
7th and 8th Grade Band; Go West!, Africa and Ruckus
In many songs, whether band or chorus, students can try out for solo parts. You decide yourself if you want to do a
solo, and if you decide to try out and Mr. Lowy (band) or Mrs. Fortin (chorus) decide who sings/plays the best for
the part, and that person or group will get to perform the solo in the concert. Here are the soloists for the 2016 Spring
Concert:
Select Chorus Soloists: Kenyan Dances- Twainga solo by Ayla Laro, Wacheze Kidogo solo by Grace Christensen
and Djembe solo by Tim Whitaker (conval band student). For Inspirare Spirito, Violin solo by Elaina Del Rossi and
Skylar Fortin, Contrabass solo by Ryan Murray and Djembe solo by Tim Whitaker.
Jazz Band Soloists: Avenue Swing by Ella McCullough
6th, 7th and 8th Grade Chorus: The Hanging Tree small group solo: Grace Christensen, Hailey Doherty, Skylar
Fortin, Sean Grady, Gabe LeComte and Natasha Oldread. Into the Woods Narrators: Greta Topping and Eme Tyler-Wall. Voices of Little Red Riding Hood: Alissa Cutting, Jenna Kirkland, Gabby Oja and Reagan Riffle.
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Lego Taj Mahal
By Jack McLaughlin
In the sixth grade social studies class, Mrs Groleau and the rest of the sixth grade studied
India. Kids learned about Mahatma Gandhi, India physical features, and the Taj Mahal.
Mrs Groleau brought in two bins of LEGOS and had kids bring in their own LEGOS to
have the sixth grade build the Taj Mahal. Mrs Groleau split each class into teams of 4
and had each team work on separate parts. For example, one group would work on the
Onion Dome, while another group would work on the four towers that surround the Taj
Mahal, and the other groups would work on other parts of the Taj Mahal. When each
class finished their Taj Mahal, Mrs Groleau took photos of each class’s work so future
classes could see an example of what they will build. The Taj Mahal was built, starting
in the year 1632, by Shah Jahan for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died after giving birth
to her 14th baby in 1631. It took around two decades (22 years) to build and finish. It
is known as the most expensive building in the world. In the year 1654 the Taj Mahal
was finished and then became one of the most famous buildings in the world. Luckily,
it didn’t take the sixth graders of Mrs Groleau social studies class 22 years to build their
LEGO Taj Mahal.
Spring Concert - Post Concert
By Bella Schwabe
On the 11th of May at about 6:30pm, over 750 people were in the building for the Spring Concert. All of the performers were jittery, excited
and nervous to get on stage. First, came the fifth grade band. They were amazing, especially considering they had just begun learning their instruments
at the beginning of the year! Next, came the fifth grade chorus. They had the entire audience clapping along to their rendition of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. Then, the sixth grade band played three songs. All of them were incredible, but the entire audience got excited when they began playing
Everything is Awesome from the Lego Movie. Next came the Select Chorus who also performed three songs. They started with a jazzy song in that
was in Kenyan. Next, they moved on to a song called John The Rabbit, which was upbeat and fun! Lastly, the Select Chorus performed a hauntingly
beautiful song in Latin. For this song they were accompanied by two violinists, a bass player and a drummer along with the piano player, Marsha.
Next, came the jazz band, they were great! They wowed the crowd with all of their songs, they had
the entire crowd dancing in their seats with their performance of Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. The
6th, 7th and 8th grade chorus sang songs from movies. They sang Hanging Tree from The Hunger
Games and a medley of songs from Into the Woods, it was wonderful! The last performance of the
night was from the 7th and 8th grade band. they charmed the crowd with a blast from the past! All
in all, the Spring Concert was amazing!
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
SMS Softball
Delaney Thompson
Shannon Allen
Lena Lafleur
Maddie Carpentire
Tracie Dailey
Mackenzie Ledger
Skyler Fortin
Anthea Curtis
Bailey Levesque
Savannah Lee
Mairin Burgess
Ainsley King
Rebecca Thibault
Baseball and Softball
by Reagan Riffle
After this winter’s successful season for SMS basketball teams, the spring season SMS
baseball and softball have finished their season. The coaches for the teams were Mr. Sil
and Mr. Ellingwood (for the girls’ softball team), and Mr. Buffum (for the boys’ baseball
team). Along to help the teams and coaches were the managers. This year’s managers
for softball were Lilly Schwabe and Jacqueline Madeja. This year’s managers for baseball were Austin Knight, Christian Buffum, Louis LaFleur, and Wyatt Davis. This season the teams played 12 games against teams in their leagues. The teams played against
Monadnock Baseball/Softball, Great Brook, Litchfield, Hampstead, Pelham, Weare,
Sanborn, Nashua Catholic, Cawley, and Raymond. Each of the teams had an extremely
successful season. The rosters for the teams backlit this article and the photos.
SMS Baseball
Connor Buffum
Will Theriault
Ben Kriebel
Matt Aho
Connor Close
Colby Knight
Casey Jordan
Dylan Pipher
Liam Eliott
Zach Kriebel
Max Scheinblum
Liam Giligan
Mason Guilmain
Thomas Fagiano
Lorien Wright
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Making Letter Pillows!
by Ella McCullough
As the first project of the quarter, Mrs. Couture’s FACS class made letter pillows! To begin the project, the students choose a fabric they want
to use for their pillow. Once the fabric is chosen the student would then fold the fabric in half and lay it down on the table. After that, the students
choose a letter pattern for their pillow. It could be your initial. Once the pattern is chosen the student lays the pattern on their fabric and pins the pattern
onto it. Pinning the pattern down is so when you are cutting the pattern out it does not move around and make your letter look messy. Next you cut
out around the pattern to form the letter. Once the student is done cutting it they take the pins out leaving them with two pieces of fabric in the shape
of the letter they chose. After that the students flip the fabric so that the pattern sides of the fabric are facing each other. Now they get to do the fun
part: they get to sew the pillow together! After threading the machine correctly the students put the fabric under the needle and place the presser foot
down. Once done the student starts sewing all around the shape of their pillow leaving a small hole about two fingers wide to push stuffing through.
Once done with sewing the students stuff their pillows either using their fingers or a wooden stick. After the pillow is stuffed, you get to take it home,
and you have your own pillow you made yourself! This project was a ton of fun, and you end up with a very cute letter pillow for yourself!
9.5 days left!
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
lien ?
Clay Vessels in Art
Do you believe in aliens? Do you believe that weird
creatures live somewhere off in the universe? What do you think
they look like? What do you think they do? Well, NASA scientists believe that we will find them within 10-20 years. What do
you think? They think that there definitely is a chance for aliens
(or extraterrestrial life as they call it) beyond our solar system.
People have found artifacts that they believe are from aliens, and
they are almost 100% sure that thry are in fact from aliens. In
the past, people have found paintings in caves, on walls, in abandoned villages or kingdoms, all of which have a UFO somewhere within the beautiful historic artwork. And NASA, have
found structures they believe are crashed UFOs photo-bombing
their pictures of planets. But, you know, if aliens were not around
ever, then why do we think about UFOs or aliens in our world?
Do you think someone just thought of these random things and
told people they were real? Why would anyone do that? Watch
out, and keep an eye out for any flying saucers in the sky, and try
not to get abducted!
The seventh grade are making clay pots in art, and it’s harder than it looks. First
they made a pinch pot out of clay and then they scratched and slipped coils
on. When you scratch and slip, you
scratch the surface that you want
to apply more clay to, then you put
slip (paste-like wet clay) on the
scratched part and apply the coils.
You repeat this process until you
get to the desired height. Then you
can add feet and handles to your
pot using scratch and slip. Feet and
handles on a pot can help sturdy the
base on the pot, and can also help
for decoration. You can also add a
lid to your pot by making a pinch pot. In conclusion, the seventh graders are
having a really fun time making their pots, and other students should be excited
to have this unit.
A
s
By Kylie Johnson
by Adam Brace
Weaving in Art
By Kendall Larson
Currently in Art Class with Mrs. Fox, the sixth grade classes are working on a weaving project. The art classes are doing this project to learn
different weaving techniques, practice them, and learn new vocabulary. We are working on weaving a bag with a flap and a button. We will choose
our color pattern, learn how to make the bag using a combination of weaving and sewing, and make the bag using different techniques. First, the class
learned how to make the warp. The warp is the vertical strings which yarn is then woven through. We got to choose our warp color, and then wrap it
around the loom’s divots on opposite ends. Next, we choose specific color patterns. Monochromatic, analogous, and warm/cool colors are the four
color combinations we can use in our weaving project. A monochromatic color scheme is when you have the same color, just different shades, while
analogous color schemes contain colors that are next to each other, like red, orange, and yellow. Warm colors are reds, oranges, pinks, yellow, and
browns, and cool colors are blues, greens, purples, and other colors of similar shade and volume. We each choose one of those schemes, and choose
our own colors, and we have to chose at least three different colors. Then, the weft, or the horizontal stripes, is what we weave on the warp with our
colored yarn. We use a simple over-under technique to interlock the yarn so that it stays put. When we have finished that, we will learn how to create
a flap and how to make a buttonhole and sew the button on. After that is done, you have your finished bag! A lot of work has gone into these bags,
and they look awesome. The sixth grade has learned a lot about weaving, and really enjoy it.
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Eighth Grade?
By Kylie Johnson
I’m a seventh grader, and next year I will begin eighth grade, my last year
at SMS. It’s not a good thought, in my opinion. It’s scary to think that next year I
will be going up to Conval, the biggest deal around town. I do know that everyone
thinks ‘“Oh, I can’t wait to leave this school, because I can’t wait to get to the high
school..” But I’m different. I would much rather stay here than go into high school,
where I will have to make completely new friends, and create a completely new
schedule for my entire day. High school will change my life. But high school is not
the topic here, it’s eighth grade. Would you want to go into eighth grade? I don’t,
because once I leave this school, I will miss it. I will miss EHP and my favorite
teachers. I will miss the Sharpie writing in my locker that says ‘A+J’. I will miss
my middle school life. Eighth graders hold such a big responsibility, and I don’t
think I’m ready for that. No, I don’t think, I know. I know that I’m not ready for
the lessons taught to me, I know I’m not ready to become an eighth grader. Seventh
grade was nice, I got all my work done and I understood the lessons, and the teachers let me go to EHP for plus block. I am definitely
not prepared for the eighth grade madness that will
start in the next school year. I am not ready and I am
rather scared for my future.
Self Portraits in Ms.Russell’s Art class
By: Grace Christensen
Lately, in Ms.Russell’s art class, students have been drawing self
portraits. First, students learned about different styles of drawing what they see, and then they practiced drawing sea shells.
After practicing, students looked into mirrors and observed
what they saw. The students then created their first practice
sketch of themselves and tried to make it as realistic as possible.
Many of the students were not happy with their first attempt,
but they went on to try a second portrait. Students drew as many
portraits as they wanted to, to come up with one that they were
truly proud of. After two or three attempts, the students had all
drawn a portrait that they were very proud of. Ms. Russel then
taught the students how to correctly add shadowing to their
portraits. The students looked at how the light fell on their faces and where the shadows were. After that, they began to add
shadow to their portraits with special charcoal pencils. When
this was completed, the students’ finished products came out
extremely well, and many students had drawn to a level of skill
that they did
not even know
they were capable of. Some
students’ artwork was even
shown at the
Children and
the Arts Festival
in town!
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
Mrs. Wrubel’s Science
By: Ella McCullough
Recently, Mrs. Wrubel’s science class took part in a fun and interesting lab where they were able to make DNA out of different foods
consisting of twizzlers, raisins, golden raisins, marshmallows, and craisins. The students were given
a sheet which contained the
order in which they should
place the foods, and which
food corresponded to which.
For example, if there was a
marshmallow on one side then
directly across from it would
have to be a craisin. That
would be the same for the
golden raisins and regular raisins. Once students were given
a bag of food, they would take
a toothpick and stick it into
one side of the twizzler and
place one of the other foods
onto the toothpick, according to which pattern they chose for their DNA.
After the students went all the way through the pattern they chose, they
put the corresponding food for each down the other side, then take another
twizzler and stick the toothpick ends into it to create what will look like a
ladder shape. Once everything is assembled the students, twist the DNA
and make it into a double helix, which is the shape of actual DNA. Once
their DNA is checked off then students are welcome to dine on the delicious DNA they made.
6th Grade Mentors
7th Grade Mentors
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
The Chick Journal
By Sarah Knowles and Jade Tarango
As you probably know, the sixth graders are raising ten chicks. Currently they are being housed in Mrs. Parker’s
office. I bet many of you have already seen them multiple times. You can go see them anytime during the day if
Mrs. Parker is there. Here in the newspaper we have been consistently going to take pictures of them, monitoring their growth. And these little fluffballs are growing very quickly, they have changed already so much since we started. Here is a journal of the chicks’ growth:
Day 1: Small, fluffy, yellow down feathers. Short in height.
Day 2: Not much has changed. Still small down
feathers. Still short in height.
Day 3: They have gotten taller. They are starting to
grow darker feathers. They have grown, but still look
adorable.
Day 4: They have gotten even taller. The chicks have
feathers now, some brown feathers.
Day 5: They have grown a little bit. They have a few
more brown feathers.
Day 6: The chicks are taller by a few inches. They
have more adult feathers and are moving into the
coop soon.
Day 7: The chicks are now in the chicken coop outside. They seem to like the room they have. They
are even taller and have more adult feathers. But be
careful, these guys will try to escape.
We have really enjoyed watching and observing the growth of these chicks. They have helped us understand
where our food comes from and be grateful for the food we have. They went from the tiniest fluffballs to
teenage chicks, and become more like adults everyday. These chickens will grow over the summer to be
beautiful hens providing eggs for SMS. We are really going to miss seeing them almost everyday next year.
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
The Book Corner
by Reagan Riffle
This month, I selected Please Ignore Vera Dietz as the book pick! After reading the book (and crying), I think the
book has a lot of good beneficial factors for the SMS students. The book deals with topics like addiction and peer
pressure. It takes a journey through a young girl’s life post-tragedy. In the book, a character named Vera learns how to
cope with the death, Charlie Kahn her best friend. She struggles with alcohol and Charlie’s clues, while she debates
whether she should clear his name or leave his reputation to speak for itself. Charlie and Vera were friends throughout
their entire childhood, but once high school came, Charlie’s ego got a hold of him and he befriended a group of what
seemed like friends that ruined his life. Vera was left lonely and worked at a pizza parlor for her high school years.
But when Charlie’s gory death was announced, she faced a lot of struggles kids in the SMS community may face in
the near future or presently. I really recommend this book to students in our community. Hopefully it can make them
more aware of the problem of addiction and bad choices.
Reagan’s Life Haiku
by Reagan Riffle
the thing about life
can be answered in one word
and that one word is...
SOCK
G
r
a
d
e
5
M
e
n
t
o
r
s
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
The Controversial Water Fountain Conspiracy
By Jack McLaughlin and Nicky DaNino
As you probably know, 60% of your body is water. In order for your body to stay at that level of water, we need to drink lots of water. At SMS we get
that water from the water fountains. Some people (Mrs.Grady, Jack Mclaughlin, Mr.Sil) believe that the water is actually colder in the afternoon than
it is in the morning.
Most of the kids in the school aren’t a big fan of this problem. Who likes warm water? The students and teachers at SMS don’t! Because of the new
schedule that the school started, the blocks rotate. That means you can have P.E. in the morning. After P.E. you’re gonna want some nice cold water.
But because the water is warm and gross in the morning it will not hydrate you as much. Now if you have P.E. at the end of the day, you will be able
to hydrate yourself better because it’s the afternoon, and the water is ACTUALLY cold. Your intriprid reporters decided to see if the water is colder in
the afternoon or in the morning. We also wanted to see which water fountain is the coldest. After weeks of tiring research we have figured out that the
coldest water fountain is in fact the eighth/fifth grade water fountain. So, sadly, if you are in sixth grade you only have access to the 3rd coldest water
fountain in the school, unless you feel like walking to the seventh grade where the 2nd coldest water fountain is. If you’re a fifth or eighth grader, you
are pretty lucky because the coldest water fountain in the entire school is the fifth and eighth grade wing water fountain. All in all, water fountains give
colder water in the afternoon and warm water in the morning.
Puma PressMay 25, 2016
TEACHER INTERVIEWS
By Meara Mcclusky and Leah Krason
The school year is almost over, and the teachers will say good-bye to their students. Obviously, the teachers have played a big role in this school. We
wanted to acknowledge them by asking them questions about the school year. The questions were: What’s your favorite part about being a teacher, What
was your favorite part of teacher appreciation week, How long have you been teaching, and What’s your favorite 2015-2016 memory.
MR. TOD SILEGY
1.Interacting with students
2.The breakfast
3.Sixteen years
4.May Fourth/ his birthday
MRS. GROLEAU
1. Talking to kids
2. The breakfast and notes
3. Fifteen years
4. Harris center
MRS. NORBY
1.The connection with the students
2. The notes students gave
3.Twelve years
4.Advisory, Spirit Week, science music videos
MR.LEBLANC
1.Working with the future of earth’s
society
2.The notes students gave
3.One year
4.Sixth grade pajama day
MRS. KOBAN
1.Interaction with kids
2. Kids saying thank you
3. Five years
4. The final drama performance
MS. RUSSELL
1. Student AHA moment
2. Notes and breakfast
3. Since term two
4. Seventh grade art museum field trip
MRS.BROPHY
1.Learning, interacting with kids
2.Everything
3.Four years
4.Advisory, Spirit Week
MS. KAVA
1. Working with the kids
2. Everyone taking time to acknowledge teachers
3. Two years
4. Teaching the fifth graders in library classes
MRS BREZOVEC
1.Different classes with the kids
2.Thoughtfulness of the kids
3.Eighteen years
4.The fourth grade tour
MR.LOWY
1. Working with kids
2.The notes students gave
3.Thirteen years
4. The eighth grade
AHT trip
MRS.GRADY
1. Students
2. Breakfast
3. Eight years
4. Turkey trot