October 2012 - Galena Park ISD

Transcription

The ‘Stang Express
The Newspaper of North Shore Middle School
Volume 2 • Issue 1 • October 2012
The West Nile
Threat
With over 700 cases in Texas and 54 deaths,
the disease has everyone’s attention. What
you need to know to fight back. - Page 6
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2012
1
‘STANG EXPRESS
STAFF
The ‘Stang Express • Oct 2012
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Opinion Editor
News Editor
Features Editor
Sports Editors
Entertainment Ed.
Photo Editor
Social Media Mgr
6 COVER STORY
Lots of the little pests have become a big
problem and they’re targeting Texas.
by MAKENNA POULAND
IMAGE / CDC
Cover Story
Page Design
NEWS
4 PETER PIPER PICKED THE PIZZA
PHOTO / REAGAN NUNEZ
New pizza place packs a big crowd on the
weekends.
by HAILIE RUSSELL
4 COMMUNITY WELCOMES NEW
RESTAURANT
If you like charbroiled burgers, this place will hit
the spot.
by IVON LOPEZ
FEATURES
8 HISTORY, MEDIA & ITS AFFECT ON
HALLOWEEN
Popular holiday has roots in ancient culture.
by CHRISTINE CABANG
9 VICTORY IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Eighth grader Victor Rios has big dreams for his
future.
by MARIA RENTERIA
10 THE 2012 VOTE
The choices you make on election day will affect
your like.
by MABEL IDICULA
OPINION
20 YOU TAKE TWO, I GET NOTHING
Students who take more than they need leaves
others in D lunch will few alternatives.
by SARA HINSHAW-HATTEN
21 POLITICS: WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
Josh Vlasich and James Holler on playing for the
New England Junior Revs this winter.
by EMILY LIM
21 LEFTIE OR RIGHTIE?
A few musings on the age-old question: Which
hand is better?
by KENNY MA
21 PERSPECTIVE:
Teachers in Chicago strike out in the eyes of
students.
by BRYANT BADIE
2
OCTOBER 2012 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS
SPORTS
19 MUSTANGS OUTLAST COUGARS IN
DEFENSIVE FIGHT
Last quarter touchdown ensures a big win.
by ULISES SALAZAR
20 MUSTANGS RETURN WITH
REDEMPTION IN MIND
Is winning about competition or settling scores?
by VICTOR DAVILA
ENTERTAINMENT
21 FRANKENWEENIE Josh Vlasich and
James Holler on playing for the New England
Junior Revs this winter.
by ALENY GUAJARDO
27 BAND STUDENTS PRACTICE
DURING MIDNIGHT MADNESS
Night of hard work ensures solid performance at
Region.
by ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
PHOTO STORIES
5 STUDENTS DISCOVER CONVECTION
CURRENTS IN SCIENCE CLASS
Eighth graders in Ms. Thompson’s class experiment
to learn what happens in the ocean.
by MADISON MERICLE
23 ORGANIC SHAPES HELP TEACH
STUDENTS ABOUT ART ELEMENTS
Students in Ms. Bey’s class use geometic shapes to
learn about one of the elements of art.
by MELANIE GOMEZ
Martin Batrez
Joanne Cobos
Cristal Garcia
Sara Hinshaw
Mabel Idicula
Ivon Lopez
Kenny Ma
Ulises Salazar
Bryant Badie
Cindy Mai
Emily Lim
Daisy Estrada
Christine Cabang
Leah Maxwell
Victor Davila
Enrique Gonzalez
Madison Mericle
Emily Lim
Daisy Estrada
Makenna Pouland
Aleny Guajardo
Sara Hinshaw
Writers
Crystal Ortez
TaAliyah Porchia
Makenna Pouland
Maria Renteria
Leonardo Reyes
Fermina Rodriguez
Hailie Russell
Photographers
Melanie Gomez
Madison Mericle
Reagan Nunez
Adviser
Principal
Superintendent
Mr. Ron Burke
Mr. Paul Drexler
Dr. Angi Williams
CONTACTING US
Mailing address: 120 Castlegory
Houston,Texas 77015
Phone: (832) 386-2600
School website: http://www.texasschools.
net/nsms
Email: stangexpress@yahoo.com
RESPONDING
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 Silver Star Award from the ILPC in
April 2012.
Behind the performance:
There’s more to being a Fillie than you think
The Fillies perform their jazz routine to Adele’s “Rumor Has It” on October 2 at North Shore’s
football game against C.E. King to entertain the crowd during halftime. A jazz routine compared
to their pom dance is more relaxed and sassy.
“The girls did great and they’ve really
improved since the summer,” she said.
As you can see, there is more to being
a Fillie than you think. It takes decent
dance ability, 100% of effort, and responsibility.
“You may have to put way more effort
than usual, but it all pays off when you
hear the crowd cheering with satisfaction
after you perform,” said seventh grader,
Kyla Clark.
The Fillies next major performance will
be during the football game versus Cunningham at Galena Park ISD Stadium.
PHOTO / MADISON MERICLE
Lights, camera, everybody dance now!
Do you know what it takes to be a Fillie?
It isn’t all about making the tryouts and
wearing the dance outfit. There’s more to
it than you think.
“Being a Fillie means you have to reach
Mrs. McComb’s [Fillies Director] expectations,” said 7th grader, Bethany Luna. The
Fillies have to be willing to give 100% of
effort at all times as a dancer. They also
have to have good grades, discipline, and
responsibility.
Another thing that Fillies had to do was
attend a mandatory summer camp and
practice for six days, from August 6 –
August 11 at North Shore Middle School.
Monday–Wednesday practices were from
9 a.m.–4 p.m., and they practiced a field
routine, a pom [a dance for a competition]routine, and football cheers. Thursday–Friday practices were from 7 a.m. - 8
p.m., so they could learn and practice five
custom routines and two to three pep rally
routines.
Finally, Saturday they practiced the last
custom routine and a hip-hop routine.
The Fillies don’t only perform at football
games, but also at basketball games, pep
rallies, a dance contest, and at the Spring
Show at the end of the year.
After all that preparation, performance
day finally arrives, and the girls come to
school in their Fillies uniform. Once all
classes for the day are over, they report
to the cafeteria. They practice again until 5:30 pm and head outside and sit on
the bleachers. While on the bleachers,
they perform football cheers. Sometimes
the NSMS band will play a song to cheer
to.
As performance time approaches,
they go behind the bleachers on the
grass to stretch and practice one last
time. Once they’re done, it’s halftime
and the girls file into one single line
and walk over to the football field. The
crowd stands and yells support while
the girls wait with their hands behind
their backs.
After they get to their places, the Director presses play on the stereo and the girls
start dancing. This time, the girls danced
a jazzy, sharp, and sassy routine to one of
Adele’s hit songs “Rumour Has It”. Once
they were done, the crowd went wild, clapping and cheering with satisfaction at their
performance. The girls then headed inside
and Mrs. McComb gave them a pep talk
on their performance. She told them what
they need to improve on and what they did
perfectly.
by FERMINA RODRIGUEZ
Fillies eighth grade members, Madison Bellard, Ana Marquez, and seventh grader, Katie
Breeland-Newcomb stretch before their performance to avoid injury on October 2 behind the
bleachers at North Shore. They stretch before every performance and every practice.
3
NEWS
Peter Piper picked the pizza
New family fun center opens up in the community
by HAILIE RUSSELL
Are you getting tired of those old hangout places like the movies and the skating rink? Well, did you know there is a new
restaurant that recently opened, on 6223
E Sam Houston Parkway which is just down
the street and around the corner from
school?
Peter Piper Pizza opened its doors to the
public on September 22. The coolest thing
about Peter Piper Pizzas location is that
it’s close to North Shore Middle. Maybelline Ibarra said, “It’s closer to where most
people live, and it is convenient for kids to
ride their bikes and walk.”
Peter Piper Pizza is known for its entertainment, food, games, rides, and pizza.
The restaurant has over fifty games that
you can play, including the traditional
skeeball, driving, and shooting games. It
even has a virtual roller coaster ride. Not
to leave the little ones out of the fun, they
even have three kiddie rides and a carousel,
so the whole family can enjoy quality time.
The best part is that you can even win tickets for the games you love and turn them
in for prizes. The more tickets you earn the
bigger the prize.
They serve five types of pizzas, including
a New York 3-cheese with pepperoni. You
can order them in four different sizes or
you can help yourself to the buffet.
“They sell pizza! And who doesn’t like
pizza! And it’s also close to North Shore
Middle School, there you can catch up with
your friends,” said eighth grader Eugenia
Villanueva. Peter Piper Pizza can also
throw all types of parties for only $7.99
per child that even comes with 350 prize
tickets for the birthday child.
While Peter Piper Pizza restaurant is filling up with eager customers, eighth grader
Maegan Levy said, “Peter Piper Pizza is a
good place to hang out with friends on the
weekends and let loose.” Mrs. Beauvais,
our Encounters teacher, said, “It’s always
good to have new places opening up because it means more jobs for people.”
If pizza, games, and fun sounds good
to you, then go down to Peter Piper Pizza.
Also if you want to book a party at Peter
Piper Pizza, contact them ahead of time
because the restaurant is usually packed
during the weekend. Coupons and more
information are available on their website.
Community welcomes new restaurant
New construction signals improvement on Wallisville
“It depends what kind of people it attracts, like if it attracts bad people, than it
Carl’s Jr. who? Is that the new kid? Isn’t
would be bad,” said 8th grader, Nathalie
that the old man that lives around the
Lopez.
corner? Those questions are over!
“I think it could be another good family
Coming soon, a new fast food option
restaurant,” said Ms. Beauvais. It can be
is opening up on Wallisville called Carl’s
a family place or some teens can also
Jr. Carl’s Jr. currently has 10 locations
count it as a hangout place.
around Houston, TX. This new location
“There are more food options in our
is just around the corner across from the
neighborhood,” said Kathy De Leon.
Bubbles Express Car Wash just inside the
There will be a bigger variety of fast food
big shopping center where Starbuck is.
places. It will be closer for the teachers
Carl’s Jr. has been around for 72 years,
who are eating lunch.
but not too many people have heard about
Opening up a new fast food place can
it. They’re famous for their charbroiled
even persuade parents to take their kids
hamburgers.
out to eat more.
“I’ve never actually heard of it until they
Of course, with a new place opening
started building the new one,” said seventh up, everyone thinks differently about the
grader, Kathy De Leon. Many others have restaurant.
heard of Carl’s Jr.
“I just feel excited to know that they
“Yes, I’ve been to one and it was in San
are opening another restaurant from L.A.,”
Diego, California,” said Encounters teacher, said Nathalie Lopez. The restaurant is
Ms. Beauvais.
now under construction, but there is no
Some citizens love the idea that it is
exact date for the opening. Hopefully, it
opening, while others worry about it afwould be open soon so all can enjoy a
fecting the community.
new place to eat on Wallisville.
by IVON LOPEZ
4
Parents welcomed
during Open House
by DAISY ESTRADA &
MADISON MERICLE
Parents and current students filled
the building after school Thursday,
September 13 for Open House.
Parking spots soon filled up as both
parents and teachers were anxious to
meet each other. By the time Open
House began at 6pm, the parking
lot was full and parents had to park
across the street from the school.
As parents walked in, counselors
and staff greeted them and information was waiting on tables. While
exchanging friendly greetings, papers
were given to parents to inform them
what would be going on within the first
few months of school. Parents also
had to sign a check-in form.
“To prepare for Open House, I
made sure teachers were here and we
posted information about Open House
on the school marquee and website,”
said Mr. Drexler, principal here.
Although the halls were crowded,
students still managed to guide their
parents to all their classes. The turn
out was so large that there were lines of
people waiting outside teachers’ doors.
“The turnout was about the same as
last year’s.” said Mrs. Stanowick, one
of the 8th grade math teachers.
Parents and students also had the
opportunity to look or buy books or
other merchandise at the Book Fair
that was going on in the library.
“The school Book Fair was an added
bonus to the excitement,” said assistant principal, Mr. Eagelton. This
was the first year that the Book Fair
has been open during Open House.
Parents definitely took the opportunity
to buy books because the library was
crowded with parents and the line to
purchase was unbelievably long.
“Open House is a really good event
because it gives parents a chance
to see how their student is doing,” said 8th grade science teacher,
Ms.Comeros. Some teachers were
in their classrooms from the end of
school until the start of Open House
getting things ready.
“I think Open House is a good idea
so that my teachers can meet my
parents and my parents can see who’s
teaching me,” said 7th grader Alyssa
Rodriguez. This year’s Open House
proved to be the annual success
thanks to involved parents and the
dedication of North Shore’s teachers.
Eighth graders discover convection
currents in science class
by MADISON MERICLE
Eighth grade students Melvyn Guzman and Amy Briceno prepare for
their science experiment in Ms. Thompson’s 10th period class over
convection currents in the ocean. Students use experiments to prove or
negate scientific questions.
Eighth grader Tony Rodriguez places water on a hot plate to heat it
up for the experiment. They’ll pour the water into the bucket along
with cold water and see if the warm water sinks or rises to mimic
what happens in the ocean.
“Get the
materials you
need, then
wait until I give
you further
instruction,”
Ms. Thompson
explains to her
students. She
went on to list
the steps to
conduct the
experiment so
her students
don’t get
confused and
can accurately
measure the
results.
Ms. Thompson
pours the water
into a beaker with
a protective glove
on to make sure
that she and the
students don’t
burn themselves.
This is something
they learned in
the beginning
of the year as a
part of their “Lab
Safety” unit.
(Above, right) Ms. Thompson and students Vanessa
Estrada, Samuel Zamora,
and Ricardo Herrera watch
the water from the cups
pour into the bucket as part
of an experiment showing
density. The cold water
sank to the bottom, showing students what would
happen in the ocean.
Eighth grader Vanessa
Estrada writes her conclusion after the experiment
was over. She’s writing,
“The warm water stayed on
top because it’s less dense
than the cold water.”
5
THE
WEST NILE
THREAT
Lots of the little pests have become a big problem
and they’re targeting Texas
by MAKENNA POULAND
Continued on next page
SOURCE / USGS
Have you been outside and bitten by a
mosquito recently? Little, red, itchy bumps
might be the start of a virus from your
least favorite blood suckers. This year,
the West Nile virus has managed to bring
itself right into our backyard thanks to the
increase in the mosquito population. Beware Houston, they’re here, and they want
blood. Your blood.
The West Nile virus epidemic has
already affected many states across the
country except in Alaska and Hawaii. The
first case, back in 1999, started the first
epidemic that ended three years later in
2002, but now, those pesky mosquitoes
are back. Three thousand, one hundred
forty two cases and 134 deaths later, they
still won’t go away. As the seconds tick by
slowly, they are getting closer to you and
the ones you love.
Thirteen years ago, the West Nile virus
made its first appearance in the United
States on June 10th, 1999, the first of
many cases was discovered in New York
City. It caused a domino effect, infecting
many people across the U.S. with 4,310
cases and 295 deaths total. It ended
three years later on December 31st, 2002,
as a late Christmas gift for the United
States.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), West Nile virus (WNV) is a
potentially serious illness. Experts believe
WNV is established as a seasonal epidemic in North America that flares up in
the summer and continues into the fall.
WNV is transmitted to humans through
mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become
infected when they feed on infected birds
that have high levels of WNV in their
blood. Infected mosquitoes can then
transmit WNV when they feed on humans
or other animals.
What should we expect? Will the results
be as devastating as last time? Will the
number of cases and deaths be higher?
“It’s already higher. That’s why they have
all these public health announcements,”
said Mrs. Nguyen, our school nurse.
The virus was brought over to the United
States by either mosquitoes who fed off
dead birds that were infected, or by mosquitoes that were originally infected. Either
way, it is a deadly disease that has already
claimed many lives. The big question is:
will students here be infected?
Nurse Nguyen said, “I hope and pray
not, especially if they [students] take
the precautions.” Looking at the poster
hanging on her bulletin board, “The fours
D’s,” she continued. “Stands for dusk and
dawn, defend, drain and dress.”
That means stay inside during dusk
and dawn hours, defend yourself by using
mosquito spray that contains DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus, drain
any standing water like in bird baths and
pet bowls at least twice a week because
standing water is a breeding ground for
mosquitoes and the last thing Houston
needs is more mosquitoes, and dress in
6
West Nile Virus
West Nile virus is
a risk you CAN do
something about.
West Nile virus is now in most
of the United States.
The most important way people
become infected is through the
bite of an infected mosquito. You
can reduce your chance of getting
infected by avoiding mosquito
bites.
The amount of cases in Texas has risen again. According to USGS, the most cases, as of
October 9, have been in Dallas County with 344 cases, but luckily Harris County only has 53.
The risk for West Nile virus is decreasing due to the colder weather, but that doesn’t eliminate
the risk completely, so you should still continue to take precautions just in case.
Continued from next page
ana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Michigan,
Oklahoma, and Illinois) and over a third of
long sleeves and pants to defend your
all cases have been reported from Texas.
arms and legs from bites.
How can you tell if you are possibly
According to the United States Geolog- infected with the WNV? Symptoms of
ical Survey (USGS), in Texas alone there
WNV resemble headaches, tiredness, and
have been 1,358 infections and 65 deaths seizures or in some cases a rash on the
already, and if it is anything like the last
trunk of the body. Infected people also
time the virus was here, you can bet there should have been outside in the last two
will be more. Of the 1,358 positive mosweeks or so and have had a mosquito
quito infections in Texas, 486 have been
bite somewhere on their body.
in Harris County, the most in the state.
The CDC reports that milder WNV
As of October 9,
illness improves on
there have been 700
its own, and people
“Students need to take
neuro-invasive cases
do not necessarily
precautions. The four Ds
in Texas. Neuro-invaneed to seek medisive disease refers to
stands for dusk, dawn,
cal attention for this
severe cases of WNV
infection though they
defend, and drain and
that affects a person’s
may choose to do
dress.”
nervous system. These
so. If you develop
- Mrs. Nguyen, symptoms of severe
include encephalitis
which is an inflamSchool Nurse WNV illness, such
mation of the brain,
as unusually severe
meningitis which is an
headaches or coninflammation of the membrane around
fusion, seek medical attention imthe brain and the spinal cord and acute
mediately. Severe WNV illness usually
flaccid paralysis which is an inflammarequires hospitalization.
tion of the spinal cord that can cause a
As Texas’ weather gets colder, the risk
sudden onset of weakness in the limbs
for West Nile virus infection is decreasand/or breathing muscles. There have
ing due to the fact that mosquitoes hate
been 54 deaths in Texas due to infection
the cold. Although the risk is lower, you
in humans.
should still protect yourself to make the
The CDC also reports that almost 70
risk even more unlikely, so remember to
percent of the cases have been reported
protect yourself and keep the four D’s in
from eight states (Texas, California, Louisi- mind.
People over age 50 and people
who have ever received a solid
organ transplant are more likely to
develop serious symptoms of West
Nile virus if they do get sick and
should take special care to avoid
mosquito bites.
What happens if I get infected?
A small number of people (about 1
in 150) who get infected with West
Nile virus develop severe disease,
called West Nile encephalitis or
West Nile meningitis (infl ammation of the brain or the area around
the brain). Symptoms of severe
illness include headache, high
fever, stiff neck, mental confusion, muscle weakness, tremors
(shaking), convulsions, coma, and
paralysis. These symptoms may
last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent. See
your health care provider if you
develop these symptoms.
Some people who become infected have symptoms such as fever,
headache, body aches, nausea,
vomiting, swollen lymph glands or
a skin rash on the chest, stomach
and back.
Symptoms can last for a few days
to several weeks. Call your health
care provider if you have questions
about your symptoms.
Most people who get infected with
West Nile virus do not have any
symptoms. There is no specifi c
treatment for West Nile virus infection. There is no vaccine available
for people.
SOURCE / CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
SOURCE / USGS
Adults are at highest risk.
7
FEATURES History, media and its affect on
HALLOWEEN
Popular holiday has its roots in ancient culture
under bushes on Halloween night.
The tradition of putting on a costume
On the night where the thin veil between is kind of bizarre when you think about
our world and theirs is lifted, mischief,
it. Along with many other traditions on
magic, and fright hangs thick in the air.
Halloween it started with the Celtics. They
It begins every year at the witching hour
used to think on Halloween or Samhain
on October 31st. Hide under the covers
the spirits would cross over from the spirit
and turn your Jack-o-lanterns on kiddos
world to ours and the Celtic were afraid of
because it’s All Hallows Eve!
what the spirits might do to them, so they
All Hallows Eve or Halloween is the time
disguised themselves. They mimicked
of the year when we get to dress up and
the spirits to fool the spirits into thinking
go from door to door screaming, “Trick or
that they weren’t living. Their costumes
Treat!” This holiday used to be sacred, but would usually be composed rags and dark
now in the present our mind focuses too
clothes and their faces would be smeared
much on getting candy to think about why with ashes. Nowadays people dress up
the holiday even exists. Back in the old
differently, “When I was little I dressed up
times before the Romans took over Engas a pumpkin,” said Mrs. Dotson.
land, there were people called the Celtics.
Around the world Halloween is a tradiThe Celtics were a group of people that live tion that is passed down from generation
in the great isles of England and in Ireland. to generation by the telling of stories of
They were musical, artistic people, with a
wicked witches and ghosts. In Mexico,
love for words.
All Saint’s Day is devoted to Los AngeliThe Celts divided up their calendar into
tos, which means the day for the dead
four parts according to the farming cycle.
children. Los Angelitos is the day before
The year started off with the festival of
Dia de los Muertos, which is the Day of
Samhain (pronounced SAH ween), it was
the Dead. Dia de los Muertos is a day
the most significant festival, on that day
of happiness. People picnic beside the
the veil between ours and the spirit world
graves of their relatives. In their houses
is very thin. As the darkness would close
they make little alters called ofrendas,
in, people lit “The Halloween bleeze”, or
and they scatter the alter with the favorite
bonfire. You could see the blazing flames
food, drinks, and memories of their dead
across the hillsides of every Celtic country. relative’s life.
Picture the shadows of the Celtics as they
threw precious objects into the dancing flames as sacrifice to the gods, along
with the cursed crops found in the fields
after sundown, making the fire lap up even
higher against the night sky.
When Christianity started to rise, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All
• There are
Saints Day to remember the people that
kids in the U.S. between
passed away that year. The night before
the ages of 5 and 13 --the
All Saints Day became a Hallowed Evening
or what we call it now a days Halloween.
prime trick-or-treating
On Samhain, there was a tradition in
group.
Ireland to carve out a tumpshie (turnip) lantern. To make a tumpshie you first had to
find a big turnip. Then you cut the top of it
off and hollow it out. After you hollow it out
of parents admit
•
you had to carve out a skeleton like face.
Then on Samhain night you would stick a
to sneaking goodies from
candle in it and put it outside to protect
their kids Halloween bags.
your house from dark entities. Aside from
turnip carving some people left candles on
their windowsills and food on the front step
to guide and feed the spirits. Nowadays
dress up for
•
we carve grins on our pumpkins that laugh
by CHRISTINE CABANG
“My mom makes a shrine for
my grandfather; we put lollipops and cigarettes around
the altar because he loved
those things,” eighth grader
Gricelda Jasso said smiling.
At night family members often
shoot fireworks to help dead relatives find their way back home. In some
parts of Mexico they even create a path
from their relative’s grave to the family
house.
Our take on Halloween is not only
influenced by the history but also by filmmakers and story writers. Directors like
Tim Burton and M. Night Shamalyan create
movies set during Halloween that keep
us awake at night jumping at the slightest
sounds and turns shadows into sinister
creatures ready to pounce. Speaking of
keeping us up at night, Edgar Allan Poe is
the man for you if you never want to sleep
again. His frightening stories will make
your eyes snap open for each and every
little sound you hear. Another author, R.L.
Stine, is famous for his Halloween settings.
He writes about ghouls lurking under your
bed and witches waiting to gobble you up.
So this Halloween night after you’ve put
your finishing touches on your costume,
and as you wait to go out and trick or
treat, remember the Celts and their blazing
bonfires, remember the dead on Dia de
Los Muertos, remember the authors that
fill your mind with images of monsters
that morph the shadows in your room into
flesh-eating monsters, and most of all
remember to dress up because, you never
know…maybe you’ll meet a spirit.
36 million
90%
11.5%
8
Halloween festivities
• 72% of Americans
report handing out candy
during Halloween.
• An American consumes
24 pounds of candy
each year. That’s equal to
the weight of 2,366
Hershey’s Kisses!
SOURCE / U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, HISTORY.COM, NAT’L CONFECTIONERS ASSN.
Halloween by the numbers
VICTORY
is just the beginning
FREE
ADVICE
MARY ALVAREZ
Eighth grade boxer has big dreams for the future
JACCARD NELSON
“My advice would be to
set expectations and
goals for yourselves,
so you could accomplish them throughout
the year,”
CLAIRE MARKS
“Life is life. The road
will get tough in and
out of school, but even
though it may seem
like you have the worst
life ever, others have it
worse.”
MAURIO STEVENS
“All seventh graders
better make sure they
do homework every
night and get ready
for a very challenging
class. Also be prepared
to get graded hard.”
JESSICA RODRIGUEZ
“Don’t fall asleep in
class because you’ll
miss out on a lot and
don’t shout out answers. Be open minded
and listen.”
GRICELDA JASSO
“If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, just
take your time and try
your best. Get some
help if you need it, try a
study group and don’t
forget to ask questions.”
PHOTOS / MADISON MERICE
Ever watched a boxing match, like the
one between Canelo and Lopez? As you
sit in the audience or as you are glued
to your TV screen, you feel the tension in
the atmosphere. You watch as one fighter
sends the final blow, the replay with his
arm in slow-motion as it sends a shock
through the opponent’s body. Boxing
looks like it’s all about fame and glory on
TV, but how many of you actually understand the hard work and dedication behind
it? For Victor Rios, a thirteen-year-old
eighth grader here, boxing isn’t just part of
his everyday life, but it is a big chapter in
his life.
Although he started boxing when he
was eleven years old as a way to learn
self-defense, Victor has gone so far in
his training, that he’s just recently won at
Nationals (during Labor Day weekend), a
very important competition for amateurs
all around the country.
“I worked out everyday…I hit the speed
bags, punching bags, and I ran a lot,” Victor said.
To prepare for Nationals, everyday after a long
day of school, Victor
took a break from his
homework and practiced at his boxing gym
(Monday-Friday) for two
hours.
“I trained five times
a week, two hours each
day. I like to do it
[train] for fun. I
have friends
there, so
it’s never
boring,” he
added.
With
all the
long
hours
of hard
work he
had put in
for Nationals,
you would
have thought
Victor would
be confident that he would have a victory,
but he wasn’t. Sometimes our nerves can
get the best of us when we’re under pressure. Just imagine the feeling of being the
center of the spotlight for a minute.
“Before the fight, I was kind of scared.
I didn’t know what was going to happen,
and I was nervous,” Rios said.
Hard work and dedication never fail to
reward, and Victor was a prime example
of that. Even though there was no first
place, second place, or third place, all
winners were awarded a medal.
“It’s not a first place second place
thing. If you win your fight then that’s
that-you won,” Rios said. “After the fight,
when I was announced as winner, I got
very excited. I was very happy when I
saw that my dad was proud of me. I have
three fights now. I had two for Nationals,”
he explained.
Rios wants to expand his boxing skills,
and might even make a living out of it.
“I want to go pro. I really like boxing a lot,” he said. Training will definitely
be more intense, but Victor is one step
ahead of the game.
“I’m going to try to fight at
every show, which is an event
where multiple fights go on
at the same time. When
you go pro, the fights are
harder, so I want to be
ready for that,” he said.
Rios is getting better
and better at boxing by
the day. Who knows?
Maybe someday we’ll
see him on TV as
the next Julio
Cesar
Chavez.
PHOTO / ‘STANG EXPRESS STAFF
by MARIA RENTERIA
“The advice I’d give to
a seventh graders is
to keep working hard
because in the future, it
only gets harder,”
9
2012
VOTE
The
The choices you make on election day will impact your life
for the candidates. An Electoral College is
a compromise between the vote of Congress and the popular vote.
According to the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA), an
Electoral College is not a place but a process. An Electoral College is made up of
538 electors. An elector represents your
vote for who you want as president and
vice-president. For each state a candidate
wins, he will receive a certain amount of
votes. For example, if a candidate wins in
Texas, he will receive 38 electoral votes.
Overall, he needs to receive 270 electoral
votes to become the next president.
Have you ever
seen a donkey that
is red, white, and
blue? That is the
Democratic Party’s
symbol. The donkey
represents hardwork, diligence, and
meekness. The story
began when Andrew
Jackson was running in the presidential
campaign of 1828. His opponents mocked
him by calling him a donkey but President
Jackson turned the joke on them. He used
this strong-willed animal as an icon in his
STOCK IMAGE / DREAMSTIME
On Tuesday, November 6th, 2012,
people all over the country will vote for a
leader to guide us through the next four
years, and we can make a difference.
Even though students in middle school
are not old enough to vote, we should
still know about the importance of voting.
When George Washington became our first
president, it was the start of a democracy,
but the cry for a voice to be heard in government came long before that.
Remember the American Revolution
you learned about in your social studies
class? One of the reasons this war began
because our forefathers wanted their
voices to be heard. After the Civil War, the
15th amendment was passed which gave
all American citizens the right to vote, no
matter your race or color. Women also
wanted their voices to be heard. With the
19th amendment, women were granted
the right to vote. Many people fought and
died for the right to vote, so don’t take this
privilege for granted.
When people vote on November 6, they
are taking part of an important process.
According Socialstudiesforkids.com, when
we as Americans are casting votes for the
presidential candidate, we are casting our
votes for electors, who will cast their votes
campaign posters. The donkey became
famous with the Democratic Party after
Thomas Nast used it in newspaper cartoons.
The red, white,
and blue elephant
is the Republican
Party’s symbol.
The party uses the
elephant to symbolize dignity, intelligence, and strength.
Thomas Nast
also drew another
cartoon in Harper’s Weekly in 1874. In
this cartoon, a donkey was dressed in a
lion’s skin. This “lion” chased away many
animals in a zoo including an elephant.
This elephant was labeled “The Republican
Vote” and since then the elephant has become the symbol of the Republican Party.
Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, is
running for re-election in the Democratic
Party. The vice presidential candidate
of the Democratic Party is Joe Biden.
Obama, who is currently the 44th president of the United States, was born in
STOCK IMAGE / DREAMSTIME
by MABEL IDICULA
WHO WOULD
YOU VOTE FOR?
Barack Obama
Democrat
262
33
Mitt Romney
Republican
102
Students polled:
10 OCTOBER 2012 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS
397
IMAGE / WIKIPEDIA
IMAGE / WHITEHOUSE.GOV
Undecided
PLATFORM
IMAGE / APPLE.COM
According to History.com, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 54. Altogether,
there are 538 electors. During the election in November, people vote for the electors rather
than the presidential and vice presidential candidates. The electors are expected but not
required to vote for the candidates they represent. Two hundred seventy votes are needed to
elect the next president and vice president. If none of the candidates receive a majority of the
votes, then the president is elected by the House of Representatives and the vice president is
elected by the Senate. This process is known as contingent election.
in the future,” said eighth grader Claire
Honolulu, Hawaii. He is married to Michelle Marks. The candidate who is elected can
affect the way the country runs.
Obama and has two daughters named
“Whomever is elected president enMalia and Sasha.
forces the law. If you don’t keep up with
Mitt Romney, the former governor of
the elections, you don’t know who will set
Massachusetts, is the presidential candiup what type of policies,” Mr. Strzelecki,
date for the Republican Party and his Paul
an eighth grade Social
Ryan is his vice presiStudies teacher said.
dential candidate. Mitt
“Whomever is elected
So how does this afRomney was born in
fect us as students? It
Detroit, Michigan. He is president enforces the law.
married to Ann Romney If you don’t keep up with the can change the future
of our country forever.
and has five kids. Acelections, you don’t know
It could affect your
cording to Biography.
who will set up what type of relatives in the military,
com, Mitt Romney ran
the way you are taught
for presidential nomina- policies.”
things in school, and
tion in the Republican
Party in 2008, but lost
- Mr. Strzelecki, the way your family
It could affect
to Senator John McSocial Studies teacher thinks.
every aspect of your
Cain.
life. So tell your parPeople all across
ents about the importance of voting.
America are keeping up with the elections.
When you turn 18, you can change the
“It’s good to know who’s running for
future because your power is in voting!
president and who’s not. Young people
should know what the president is doing to We will soon find out who will win the
election and lead us through the next four
our country because the standpoint of the
years.
president reflects on the way things will be
IRENE MACIAS
BREANNA NUNEZ
“I would vote for Obama
because he is not done finishing
his promises so we should give
him another chance [four more
years].”
“I would vote for Obama
because he is trying to help the
poor people by giving them more
opportunities. I wouldn’t vote for
Romney because he is trying to
keep the rich people rich.”
8TH GRADE
8TH GRADE
• Create more jobs
• Cut taxes for the middle class
• Health care, Social Security, and
Medicare policies
• Stabilize housing market and
communities
• Offer greater access to education
• Use energy from America’s
natural resources
• Help create small businesses
• Open markets around the world
to sell American products
• Make illegal immigrants citizens
• Support troops, military families,
and veterans
• Help Americans with disabilities
• Protect civil, women, voting,
religious rights
• Help rural communities grow
• Ensure more safety
• Help the poor people
• End the war in Afghanistan
• Reduce the spread of nuclear
weapons
• Strengthen alliances
SOURCE / DEOMCRATS.ORG / GOP.COM
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLICAN
PLATFORM
• Create jobs and small businesses
• Change the system of taxes
• Define marriage rights
• Gives the right to bear arms
• Protect an unborn child’s life
• Produce American energy
• Support agriculture
• Medicare, Medicaid, and Social
Security
• Repeal Obamacare
• Deny amnesty for illegal immigrants
• Help Americans with disabilities
• Support education
• Support troops
A platform is a political party’s or
candidate’s written statement of
principles and plans. It’s usually developed by a committee at the party
convention during a presidential
campaign.
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2012 11
SOURCE / DICTIONARY.COM
The Electoral College
Galena Park ISD educates students
about dangers of the internet
The internet is great but peel back that layer of coolness and bad stuff lurks about
t sits in our house, waiting
for us to make the wrong
I
move. We use it every day
without even knowing its dangerous intentions.The social
media monster is alive and out
in the open, ready to manipulate teens’ minds.
Do your parents look over your shoulder while you’re on Facebook, Twitter,
or when you’re just on the computer?
Do they go through your phone to see
who and what you were texting? Do they
make a Facebook account just to stalk
you online? Do your parents ever give
you the “privacy” you need? We’ve all
been there at one point or another where
your parents just can’t leave you alone,
but that doesn’t mean that your parents
don’t know that technology can help you
in so many ways. As the years have gone
by, technology has helped teens in many
ways, from homework, to games, and to
communicate.
“The teens of this generation are responsible enough to handle the internet,
only if they have been educated about
the dangers,” said Ms. Michelle Young,
the Instructional Technology Program
Director for Galena Park ISD. With the
amount of time teens use the internet, it’s
not a wonder why parents are concerned
about what their kids are up to.
“I think that the internet is a great
source for information and acquiring
knowledge, but there should always be
parental control monitoring or filtering
inappropriate sites. I would recommend
tracking programs to monitor use and
increase awareness for everyone,” said
Technology Information System Specialist, Mrs. Mullinax.
Teens around the world are practically
living their lives online with social media, where they blog, make new friends,
message others, and video games that
transport them to battlefields of bloody
carnage. Facebook and Twitter are just
two of many social websites that they,
as teens, visit. Online, teens post pictures of their “cute” duck faces, tweet
play by plays of our everyday lives, and
keep updated with their friends’ lives.
They could even communicate with each
other without having a Facebook or Twitter account because most of the games
teens play enables them to talk to other
players from all around the world. They
find themselves engulfed in this cyber
world and their eyes stay glued to the
screen. At times, you might go overboard
and find yourself on computer or laptop
from dusk to dawn, but like food, you
have to know your limits to stay healthy.
Think about it this way, do you want the
internet to be your kryptonite or your
power up?
Time flies by when you’re having fun.
Right? Every now and then teens go online and don’t realize how many hours of
their lives they’ve wasted just sitting there
staring into cyberspace.
“I spend about two hours on the
computer everyday uploading pictures,
updating my statuses, and chatting,” said
eighth grader Chazlynn Goodson. There
are going to be times when you just
don’t pay attention to the clock and end
up wasting a whole day of your life doing
who knows what on the computer. Maybe you’re unaware of how addicted you
are to the online world, if you’re uncertain whether your obsession could be an
addiction, here are a few ways you can
test yourself to see if you’ve
been infected with internet
fever: Are you constantly
obsessed about your latest
excursion on the net? Do you
feel moody when you’re trying
to cut down on your internet time?And if food is less
important than the game you
were just playing or the witty
new post you came up with,
then you need to calm down
and get the heck away from
any electronic device.
You’re probably thinking, “I
can’t get addicted”, but you
are wrong. Anyone can be
an internet addict. Instead
of saying, “It won’t happen to
me,” try to prevent the addiction and spend time away from
the internet. Have some fun
with your family and friends,
go outside get some fresh air.
If you’re the type of person
that doesn’t like hanging out
with your family, or if you’re
allergic to the outside just re-
member to set clear limits with yourself
on how much time you want to spend on
the internet.
Over the past few years, more and
more teens have been exposed to the
online world. They have been warned
about how dangerous it can be, yet we
learn every year still hasn’t sunk into
their brains.
“I think the internet is a great tool and
educational, but it is a potential risk and
teens need to be educated about the
dangers online,” said Ms. Young. Teens
don’t seem to realize that there are real
sexual predators, pedophiles, and stalkers out in the real world who are just
dying to get their hands on naïve kids.
For instance, in the movie Taken, the two
girls in their late teens assumed that the
hot guy they met at the airport was just
another guy. They didn’t expect him to
kidnap them and auction them off at the
black market as prostitutes.
“Never assume that who you’re chatting with is the same person as they
say they are. Anyone can hide behind a
picture,” said Mrs. Mullinax.
“If I got a message from someone I
IMAGE / BULLYSUICICEPROJECT.COM
by CINDY MAI & CHRISTINE CABANG
to kill herself. From the voicemails on her
phone, Robinson’s parents finally put the
didn’t know, I would ignore and delete it
just to be safe,” said eighth grader Peyton pieces together and realized that their
daughter was on her way to Kentucky.
Luu.
She drove 1000 miles before she was
“If a stranger messaged me online, I
stopped in Nashville, Tennessee, by the
would try to find out who they are, but
police. The police had been tracking her
if I don’t find out who they are, I’ll end
down for hours by the debit card she was
up blocking them,” said Chazlynn. It’s
using. An alert policeman calculated that
not that regular teens don’t know about
she was heading his way, which was on
these kinds of people, they think the
the outside of Tenneschances are highly
see, around 10 to 11
unlikely that they
“The
teens
of
this
at night, and waited for
could ever end up in
generation are responsible her to come. Just as
this sort of situation,
enough to handle the
he had expected, the
but think again, it’s
officer pulled Elizabeth
already happened.
internet, only if they have
over and notified her
In September, a
been educated about the
parents.
tragedy was just
dangers.”
Later that day, her
avoided when Elizaand her parents went
beth Robinson, a
- Ms. Michelle Young, to go meet Dylan,
13-year old from
he wasn’t there.
Cypress, Texas, stole
Instructional Technology but
Imagine what would
her brother’s car and
Director for GPISD have happened to
got on her way to
Beth if the authoriHodgenville, Kentucky,
to meet the “love of her life” that she met ties hadn’t tracked her down in time.
while playing a game online called Call of Would she have been raped and killed?
Or worse? Who knows what would have
Duty, a popular game on the Xbox. Robhappened.
inson must have thought about meeting
We all know middle school, that’s when
this boy for days and days, but was still
you start feeling the weight of the world
iffy about what she should do until the
on your shoulders, whether it’s about
day her parents told her she was never
grades, boy/girlfriends, or things at
allowed to talk to him anymore. Her
home, but it’s not going to be the end of
parents telling her to never talk to her
the world. If you ever need help or some“soul mate” may have been what erased
one to talk to, go to someone you trust,
any doubts about going to go see him in
person. With a mind set on finding Dylan, someone you actually know, not someone
you met in a chat room minutes ago.
Beth woke up around 4 in the morning,
“Friends and parents should be talkstole her mom’s ATM card, brother’s car,
ing about what they do online,” said Ms.
and took off.
On Thursday morning when her parents Young. Being frustrated all the time,
would sometimes make it tempting to
came into her room to wake her up for
spill your feelings out to someone you’ve
school, they found a note saying the
only met in the cyber world because you
Beth was going to her girlfriend’s house
because of bullies at school and threaten think you’ll never see them, but slowly,
Facebook users under the age of 10:
48%
25%
of teens say
they hear news through
Facebook.
8%
of online teens (12-17)
say they ever use
Twitter.
you start trusting this person more and
more, sometimes even more than your
own family and friends. You don’t realize that sex offenders usually stay put
until the broken kid asks for help. At
first, they may seem nice and sweet, but
that’s how they lead you into their web,
where you might get tangled up in; then
you’ll be another victim.
Seventy-one percent of teens 13 to 17
years old have received an anonymous
message from strangers online, but 40%
of them reply to it. Are you going to
be part of that 40%, or are you going
to be the other 18% that tells an adult
about it? Almost half of the teens that
are online have been asked for personal
information from people they don’t even
know, and 30% admit that they have
considered meeting someone they met
online in person.
There are many different types of
people on the internet, and if you want
to keep yourself on the safe side, just
remember the golden rule online and
offline is to never give out too much
information about you or your family, no
matter how “cute/hot” the guy or girl is.
In a perfect world, nobody would have to
be kidnapped and forced into the prostitute life, but in reality, after they have
their hands on you, it would be a million
to one chance of them finding you alive.
“The most important thing to remember while using the internet is to be
safe because it’s like a virtual playground,” said Ms. Young. You can make
new friends and have fun there, but
you could also fall hard and get hurt,
and with that fall, your whole life could
change forever. It’s like that for the
cyber world as well, so tonight or tomorrow night, as you get on your computer,
watch your back because you could be
the internet’s next victim.
Teens who send 50 or
more texts:
33%
50%
send 100 or
more texts daily.
38%
73% of online teens 23% use their phone
use social networks.
to get on a social media
site or app.
75% of all teens
20%
Teens who use Skype,
iChat, or some other chat
program:
of Facebook
users are under the age of
13.
have a phone (and 58%
of 12-yr-olds).
of Tumblr users
are ages 12-17.
of teens text.
90%
37%
SOURCE / STATISTICBRAIN, DIGITALBUZZDOG, CONSUMER REPORTS, PEW INTERNET,
THE GUARDIAN
WHO’S IN MY SEAT?
day? Have you ever claimed that the desk you sit in was ‘yours’?
Have you ever wondered who sits in your desk after your class or even the next
school, it has 30 desks, 7 computers, and a projector. In every period,
Mr. Burke’s classroom in C Hall is like any other Pre-AP English classroom in this
different each time. The only exception is, during 8th period, the
Burke basically teaches the same material to each class, but the people there are
that one period, seventh and eighth graders come together to create
for
and
Staff,
classroom transforms into a work place for the ‘Stang Express News
the school newspaper. Track who sits in the 1st seat in the 3rd row…
by CINDY MAI
photos by REAGAN NUNEZ
TYANNY PEREZ
VALERIE MOYA
2nd Period - No class
P English
1st Period - Pre-A
t
class is that we ge
s
thi
t
ou
ab
like
I
“What
expanding my
It’s
ls.
ve
no
c
ssi
to read cla
h skills.”
lping with Englis
vocabulary and he
3rd Period - Pre-AP English
“I really like this class. I have a lot of fun discussing things in class with Mr. Burke. He’s
very fun and hardworking teacher.”
RUBY RODRIGUEZ
JESSICA RODR
IGUEZ
MARES
MELISSA PALO
5th Period - Pre-AP English
“I like that Mr. Burke is emotional when he is
teaching. Also that he encourages students
to do their best.”
4th Period - Pre-A
P English
“Mr. Burke is fun
because he acts
out everything he teaches
us. He also break
s down
how to write prope
rly in an easier wa
y.”
S
MAURIO STEVEN
LEONARDO REYES
P English
6th Period - Pre-A
. It’s
use we learn a lot
ca
be
ss
cla
s
thi
ng
“I love
school & I’m learni
h
hig
for
me
g
s.”
preparin
and for AP classe
s
am
ex
my
for
new skills
ERLINDA GONZALEZ
7th Period - No class
P English
9th Period - Pre-A
ss
classes. This cla
st
mo
like
g
rin
“It’s not bo
o doesn’t make
wh
er
ch
tea
at
gre
also has a
t of the book.”
us write things ou
8th Period - Journalism
This helps
“It’s fun, but it’s also a challenge.
me and
with my writing skills and can help
my future.”
Sound off! Which class
should we do next?
10th Period - Pre-AP English
“I like the way Mr. Burke teaches the class.
He puts fun in everything he does and actually makes me want to go to English.
New teacher starts journey with music
education
Bongat’s journey sets up
choir for success
You see her in the hallways, but how well
do you really know new assistant choir
director? Her bright smile can light up anyone’s day. She lives a musical life in and out
of school. Beginning her first real journey
in teaching music, Ms. Bongat chose North
Shore Middle School to start her career in
education.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be making
music with people, to know that with just a
wave of my hands, I can change the way the
music sounds,” she said.
Ms. Bongat is very fond of music and
teaching. She has been in choir since she
was a little girl. During her senior year at
Judson High School, in Converse, Texas,
she helped her friends practice to get into
Region Choir, and when she saw how many
of her friends made the choir, she realized
how much she enjoyed helping them. That’s
when she decided to expand her help to
students in choir, so she went to Texas State
University, to gain more knowledge in the art
of music.
“It was the most incredible experience, and
I learned a lot from my professors,” she said.
Luckily, she brought her love and knowledge
of music here.
Just like our seventh graders, Bongat is
barely starting to adapt to North Shore.
Though she is new, she is an amazing teacher that Mrs. Huston, the Choir Director, relies
on for help. Even though Mrs. Huston has
been here for some time now, and she has
by JOANNE COBOS
Assistant choir director Ms.Bongat uses her hand signs to help her students in the Nova choir
class read their IFA. This teaches them how to read music for their upcoming concerts and the
big UIL performence at the end of the school year.
a lot of experience, she probably couldn’t
handle all the students in choir. Choir is
hard to teach, and without Ms. Bongat,
choir would probably not be as successful.
“With over 300 students, I couldn’t do this
job alone, it takes a strong partner to make
a winning team,” said Huston.
Apart from being dedicated, Ms. Bongat is also nice. She does her best to help
everyone, and makes sure they understand
everything. It takes a lot of time to teach
young students, but Ms. Bongat makes it
possible for them to learn in the nicest way
by being patient and kind.
“When we sing a wrong note or do something wrong, she guides us toward the right
way,” said eighth grader Kimberly Rosacia.
Ms. Bongat barely got here, but already she
is winning people over.
“I think she’s very nice because she has
a positive attitude and always has a smile,”
said eighth grader Erlinda Gomez.
Ms. Bongat may be new, but she is
catching on fast, and will be a great addition to our choir. Maybe adapting to a new
place is difficult, but Ms. Bongat will fit in
perfectly here, as her first journey in musical education continues.
IMAGE / ALA.ORG
IMAGE / STOCK IMAGE
To cut down on run times, script writers often cut great scenes and information
from your favorite stories. Just imagine what else you could discover just by
reading the book! Read...your mind will thank you.
YOU TAKE TWO, I GET NOTHING
Students who get more than required leaves nothing for others
by SARA HINSHAW-HATTEN
D-lunch is known as the worst lunch. I have been going to
D-lunch every school day since seventh grade. The problem is
that they seem to always run out of food. Using the lunch menu
they give in the beginning of the month is pointless because by
the time you get to the front of the line the cafeteria workers are
running out of food.
I’ve seen the them resort to giving kids food that’s for breakfast because they didn’t have any lunch food left. It is incredibly
frustrating to have to wait until 12:35 to eat and then only get a
muffin and a yogurt. I think that D-lunch is a bad lunch because
the food is never what it’s supposed to be. All of the good food
was taken by the people in the other lunches.
We have worked just as hard, yet we aren’t even able to get a
decent lunch. I’m not saying that it has to be five-star, just good
enough to where you would rather enjoy your meal than not eat
what you just bought. I have to pay the same amount of money
as everyone else who goes through the regular lunch line, yet I
don’t get the same quality of food. You probably are thinking we
should just switch lunches and I asked that same question. Apparently, changing the lunches won’t do any good because they
can’t move D-lunch. Most of those kids come from class where
D-lunch is the most convenient time.
It isn’t the cafeteria workers’ fault because they try to keep the
right amount of food by how many numbers are punched in that
day. From what I discovered, from the ladies who work there is
that they have about 850 people go through the lunch line every
day which makes calculating exact numbers difficult. So, every
time you grab an extra pizza, just remember that some kids in Dlunch aren’t going to be able to get a full meal. I get that sometimes some students are hungrier than normal, but I don’t care
enough to not eat.
So, lets make our school lunches a whole lot better. If you see
someone trying to buy an extra burger, remind them they give
you a certain amount for a reason. We were all taught to share
so put that knowledge to good use and don’t take more than
you are given. I’m tired of having to run to the lunch room, so I’m
not the one who gets the leftovers. This may not seem like a big
deal, but to kids in D-lunch it’s what we gripe about all day.
Even if you don’t go to regular lunch, the same thing happens
at the snack bar. If you buy five bags of chips, none of the people in D-lunch can get any chips. All we can get is the expensive
stuff that not a lot of people can get more than one of. We don’t
get lemonade or we don’t get spicy chicken sandwiches because
kids in other lunches decided to buy more than one sandwich or
lemonade.
It isn’t fun to always be groaning about how our friends in other
lunches are getting all this good hot food, and we have to have
a battle strategy to make sure we get a good lunch at the snack
bar. I think that kids in D-lunch don’t want to have to go through
another year of eating leftovers.
POLITICS: WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
Boys? Girls? Both? Another take on the age-old question
by EMILY LIM
Did you know that our ‘justice system’
used to be quite unfair? Many things we
commonly do today could have easily been illegal in the past. Nowadays
people criticize our government constantly
without a second thought. When the
Untied States were still thirteen colonies,
however, John Peter Zenger was arrested
and imprisoned just because he published
the truth about a greedy and ill-tempered
governor in the New York Weekly Journal.
Luckily, in the First Amendment now, we
have the freedom of press and speech included in the Bill of Rights. Whenever you
hear people talk about the government
these days, take the time to understand
why they bother with it and to not take
what you have now for granted.
As you might know, the next round of
presidential elections will take place on
Tuesday, November 6, 2012. You might
SOUND
SOUND
OFF!!
ON LUNCH
OFF!
consider it as nothing you should be
concerned about, but it actually should
be important to you. Why? The reason
is simple. Even if you are under the age
of eighteen, everyone living in the United
States determines who will be the next
president. Sure, you can’t vote for who
you want yourself yet, but what about your
parents? Maybe they will take your beliefs
into their own consideration and vote for
who you want.
The campaign leading up to Election
Day is a political war. Every little action on
each side of the battlefield either helps a
candidate or hurts them. Take the current
candidates of 2012, for example; Barack
Obama and Mitt Romney are doing things
to have people believe that they are the
right person to be president. Though
they both have done their fair share of
good deeds, they have done their share
of bad ones as well. Such as Obama with
his “clinging to their guns and religion”
comments at a private fundraiser back in
April, and Romney with his ‘secret speech’
that was revealed online this September.
With Obama’s case, his comments won’t
necessarily affect him now since this was
in April, farther away from Election Day.
However, Romney is in a bit of a hassle
since his speech was revealed more recently, so people might remember it while
they decide who to vote for next month.
Originally, I did not have any particular interest in who won what or politics in
general, but I have come to learn that it
benefits me to know what goes on in the
world. The President of the Untied States
leads our entire nation. I am one of the
many people who make up this great nation, and you are one of them as well. The
candidate who is victorious in the election will have our future in their hands,
so I personally would want to know how
my future turns out. Wouldn’t you like to
know, too?
SKYLAR
8THFUENTES
GRADE STUDENT JACQUICE
8TH McPHAIL
GRADE STUDENT
8TH GRADE
ON
NOELI HURTADO
8TH GRADE STUDENT
7TH GRADE
7TH GRADE
WHATEVER TOPIC
ON WHATEVER TOPIC
ON ON WHATEVER TOPIC
“Loremposto et a volupta“Politics
tiissimus.
matter because my cousins
POLITICS
Event et autatur alis endest,
ute ea
are immigrants
and Romney wants
“I was mad because
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stuff tiissimus.
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et aI volupta
“It made me
mad because
didn’t tiissimus.
“Loremposto
et a volupta
like! I et
want
to have
Event
et left.
autatur
alis endest,
uteI didn’t
ea evenEvent
like what they
had
It’s unfair
for
autatur
alisaendest, ute ea
lunch that I can
and weaut
need
quamHarum
the peoplecus
who
wanted the aut
foodautation
they exero
cus enjoy
quamHarum
autation exero
stuff that everyone
likes.”
ran out of.”coremquo con peditioreni aut quodi
coremquo
con peditioreni aut quodi
delitent enditio rrov”
cus quamHarum aut autation
exero
to send
all immigrants back to where
coremquo con peditiorenithey
aut came
quodi from.”
LEFTIE OR RIGHTIE?
Perspective
A few musings on the question: Which hand is better?
by KENNY MA
ON LEFT OR
RIGHT HAND
SUMMER BENEFIELD
NICHOLAS WOODS
“All the people I know who write with
their left hand write prettier than me.
I’m ambidextrous but I don’t write
with my left hand.”
“It depends on how they [students]
learned. Usually the parents teach
them to write with a specific hand,
so they learn to write better with that
hand.”
8TH GRADE
7TH GRADE
IMAGE / WELLBEING.COM
Have you ever thought about the little
differences that make you unique? Everyday you see people write, but the little
details, like how they write, can make them
different. Have you ever thought that you
write with a different hand than the person
next to you, and why they are different? Scientists haven’t found out the real
reason to why we are a leftie or a rightie,
but they said the reason you write usually
depends on the hand your parents write
with.
The majority of people prefer to write
with their right hand because most items
are made for righties, and the rest write
with their left or a few people may be ambidextrous. Ambidextrous means that you
can write with both hands equally. There
are items specifically for left handed people like scissors, mugs, and more. There
are many disadvantages and advantages
for right and left handed people.
If you’re a right hander, when you eat
you don’t notice where you sit but for
lefties it’s different. They have to sit where
they don’t bump their elbows with the
neighboring person. When we write we
don’t think about where our hands are
going, so left handed people sometimes
smudge when they write because they
move on the letters while they write. Lefties usually have a hard time with pens on
a chain at the bank, the numeric key pad,
and more. When a left handed person
writes in a binder with rings, they bump
their hands—making writing hard.
According to Discovery Health, lefties
are said to be easily scared and angered
and that they are more emotional, but
most people say that this is a myth. Both
left and right handed people are equally
creative. Most lefties think that they are
smarter, more creative, and athletic than
a right hander but that isn’t entirely true.
Lefties are better at multi-tasking than a
right hander, but they are not smarter. It
is said that lefties are more political because most of the former presidents were
left handed. People say that most lefties
can think faster than righties, they are
more aware of their space, and are more
athletic. I think that they are not smarter
or more athletic than right handed people
but equal.
For example, when playing sports like
tennis, lefties have an advantage, most of
them have more experience with righties, but righties don’t play with lefties
often. Some sports don’t allow lefties to
play, like field hockey and polo. For polo,
lefties are not allowed because of safety
hazard. They may run into each other
with the sticks and get injured.
I think that even though left and right
handed people have differences they
are equal. We shouldn’t treat each other
differently based on what hand we write
with. Both left and right handed people
have advantages and disadvantages and
we should be treated the same. Even
though left handed people have less
things made for them, research shows
they are better at multi-tasking. Although
we all function the same, we may do it
differently and it doesn’t matter if you
can do more things or can do it better, it
depends on if you can do it. What do you
think? Are you a leftie or a rightie?
STRIKING
OUT
by BRYANT BADIE
On September 10, 2012, Chicago
teachers went on strike due to many
difficulties. No teachers? That also
means no school! Chicago happens to
have the third largest school district in
the country. That means 350,000 kids
were not at school for two weeks!
One reason that may have triggered this huge conflict may have
been low teacher salary, but Chicago
teachers make average $69,000 a
year, which is $22,000 more than the
average Houston teacher’s income. If
you ran a race, and won, you would
be happy, right? Well these teachers
are some of the highest paid teachers
in the country, and they’re complaining! This isn’t the first time this has
happened though. Chicago teachers
also went on strike in 1983, 1984, and
1987. Teachers were demanding a 10
percent raise, but received a 5 percent
bonus, with a 2.5 percent bonus.
That’s still a great outcome, for the
teachers at least.
This mess has affect the students
too. Students still have to cover
academics they missed over that
period of time by going to school on
holidays, or any days they would have
had off during the 2012-2013 school
year. Not only are they missing out on
school work, senior athletes are missing games that can interfere with their
scholarship offers from colleges.
We should be lucky to not have
selfish teachers here. That’s why
all students should come to school
and do what they need like behaving appropriately, turning in work, and
just doing what they have to do to
succeed and move on to high school.
Imagine if this happened here! We
would have to make up two weeks of
school after June 6! I need my two
months out of school to prepare for
the upcoming season. I like to attend camps and have fun with friends
during the summer. So the next time
you see your awesome teacher, thank
them for doing what they do!
Nova choir uses African music to learn
sight-reading
by REAGAN NUNEZ
The large trophies were won at the Deer Park Festivals and
the smaller plaques were won at UIL competition. They range
from 2000 to 2012 and were earned by practicing non stop
throughout the school year. Practice helps make perfect.
Seventh and eighth grade Nova choir students sing “Yesn Kwetu Ni Rapiki,” a very
challenging African song. Students have
to sound out the unfamiliar words. “A song
like this needs to be taken step by step in
order to be sung right,” said Ms. Bongat.
Mrs. Bongat, the assistant
choir director, helps 8th
grader Jennifer Villegas on
her IFA during 8th period.
Students are working on
reading music and using
their hand signs so, when
competition comes up,
they can do it easily.
Seventh grader Ayana Tabor reads her
solfege, which are music notes on her IFA.
Learning to read music improves your brain
power and guides you in how the song is
supposed to be sung.
Seventh grader Dayana Torres hands in her
choir folder to Mrs. Huston at the end of 8th
period. At the end of each class, students
have learned something new in choir and
they use all they’ve learned to help them
achieve good scores in competition.
PHOTO / MELANIE
GOMEZ
“It’s a fight, y’all are doing a good job!”
- Coach Atkins, Athletic Director
Mustangs outlast Cougars
IN DEFENSIVE FIGHT
On September 18, the first 8th grade
red team football game took place here
against the Crosby Cougars. The Mustangs were hyped and ready to start their
year off with a win. Last year the Mustangs tied with the Cougars, 14-14.
The game started off with the Cougars kicking off to the Mustangs. The
first play the Mustangs had on offense,
Bryant Badie dropped back and threw an
interception. “It’s ok, make up for it next
time,” Coach Williams told him after the
play.
As soon as the Cougars were on offense, De’Andre Simon hit the quarterback in the backfield two plays straight.
“De’Andre, De’Andre, come here, fast,”
called out Coach Atkins. Atkins explained
what he wanted him to do for the next
play. When Simon went back out on to
the field, the Cougars were punting the
ball to the Mustangs. After a few more
three and outs, the first quarter ended,
0-0.
The 2nd quarter started with the
Mustangs on defense. The Cougars were
running back trying to get to the sideline,
but Jaylen Thomas got there first and hit
the runner, knocking the ball out of his
hands. When the Mustangs were back
on offense, Jaylen Thomas ran the ball
for a few yards and got tackled. Badie
then tried to throw to Patrick Davis, but
the defender was playing good defense
and it ended up as an incomplete pass.
Badie ran the ball and got the first down,
setting the Mustangs up 40 yards from
the goal line.
There were 44 seconds left in the 2nd
quarter when Badie ran for a first down
and got tackled at the 26-yard line.
Badie threw the ball to Eltroy Potts,
but he juggled the ball and dropped it
as time expired at the end of the 2nd
quarter.
“It’s a fight, y’all are doing a good job,”
said Coach Atkins to the team. “Now everyone take a knee,” Coach Davis said.
At the start of the third quarter, the
Cougars fumbled again, “Fumble, Fumble,
our ball!” Coach Atkins yelled while the
Mustangs scrambled to get the ball. The
teams were wrestling for the ball in a big
pile. Unfortunately, the Cougars regained
possession of the ball.
When the fourth quarter started, Badie
threw the ball to Darin Jones for a first
down, but he fumbled the ball when he
was tackled.
Jaylen Thomas then ran the ball for a
first down then ran out of bounds, setting the Mustangs up for within scoring
range. Next play, Badie went right behind
Khayman Johnson and Darin Jones into
the end zone giving the Mustangs their
first score. The fans went wild when the
team scored a touchdown. The Mustangs
missed the field goal but was still in the
lead, 6-0. In order to win, the Mustangs
had to hold the Cougars back.
Before everyone knew it, the Cougars
were ten yards away from scoring. Then
Eltroy Potts intercepted Crosby’s pass,
stopping the Cougars from scoring.
Before the Mustangs shook hands with
Crosby, De’Andre Simon got the Mustangs to chant, “Whose house, our house,
whose house, our house!”
The game ended with the Mustangs
Coach Davis takes a timeout to motivate the
players on the 8th grade A team during their
game versus Crosby here. Coaches use timeouts to plan new plays and the players take
advantage of the timeout to rehydrate.
defeating the Cougars, 6-0. The Mustangs were on the path to an undefeated
season by beating the Stallions, Bulldogs,
Panthers, and the Hornets the following
four weeks.
PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ
by ULISES SALAZAR
PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ
Last quarter touchdown ensures a win for footbal team
Quarterback Bryant Badie stumbles as he runs between his blockers during their first home
game here on Sept. 18. Badie managed to get the first down thanks to the Mustang offense
blocking well during the play.
Mustangs return with
REDEMPTION
IN MIND
Is winning about competition or settling scores?
then, the team has gotten better. They’ve
had more practice, and even added new
Have you ever had that feeling of resent- players including Darin Jones (former CE
ment after an argument or competition be- King Football player).
cause you want to get even with the other
“We’re trying to win every game, and
team or an individual? Sports are designed play our hardest,” said Coach Atkins.
to be competitive and fun, but when you
We’re just looking to execute our plays, if
lose or think the other team wasn’t playwe execute we win,” he said. However, the
ing fairly, you get angry and the situation
players have a different perspective.
escalates to a personal level.
“We want to beat them so bad that it
On October 31, 2011, the seventh grade
hurts, as an athlete, the coaches teach us
A football team lost to Cunningham (18-19), to do our best, and I expect us to be the
the game was over, but the memory rebest,” said eighth grader Khayman Johnmained, a memory of losing to a rival. That son. However, is this grudge pointless?
memory stained the Mustangs’ minds. Just
Honestly, if you think about it, some of the
a couple of weeks back on October 4, they
North Shore and Cunningham 8th graders
had lost another game to C.E. King (24-27). are bound to be friends next year…they’ll
“I remember them laughing at us when
play on the same team too.
they beat us,” said eighth grader Jaylen
By this time next year, they’re going to
Thomas. When a team adds insult to injury, forget all about wanting to dominate each
it can result in the losing team being infuri- other in sports, or how they hated the
ated and can give them more motivation
mentioning of the other schools name.
to win, which is sometimes enough to give
One thing is certain, this year the Musplayers that extra “push” when their down
tangs will play with last year’s game on
in the game and need inspiration. Since
their mind.
by VICTOR DAVILA
NORTH SHORE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
8th grade A team
vs. Crosby MS
6-0
vs. Null MS
32 - 6
vs. Anthony Aguirre
30 - 0
vs. C.E. King MS
34 - 6
vs. Alice Johnson
37 - 2
vs. Galena Park
Tuesday 10/30: Open
Tuesday 11/6: at home @ Galena
Park ISD Stadium against CMS
7th grade A team
vs. Crosby MS
13 - 18
vs. Null MS
45 - 0
vs. Anthony Aguirre
39 - 0
vs. C.E. King MS
52 - 0
vs. Alice Johnson
63 - 0
vs. Galena Park
Tuesday 10/30: Open
Tuesday 11/5: at home against
Cunningham
8th grade B team
vs. Crosby MS
0-6
vs. Null MS
34 - 6
vs. C.E. King MS
30 - 0
vs. Alice Johnson
16 - 6
vs. Galena Park
30 - 0
Woodland Acres
Tuesday 11/6: at home @ Galena
Park ISD Stadium against CMS
7th grade B team
vs. Crosby MS
40 - 40
vs. Null MS
13 - 0
vs. Anthony Aguirre
25 - 0
vs. C.E. King MS
30 - 2
vs. Alice Johnson
canceled
vs. Galena Park
34 - 0
Woodland Acres
Cunningham
Dedicated coach
shows passion for job
by TAALIYAH PORCHIA
Do you know a coach
that is fun and hardworking all in one?
Well, Coach Alicia
Sanford is just that
type of coach.
Coach Sanford has
been a coach here
for regular classes
and sports, for four
years now. She is
energetic, encouraging, caring, and
dedicated to her kids and her job.
She was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but
raised in Dallas, Texas.
Some of her kids feel that she is very
dedicated, 8th grader Beatrice Cruz
said, “Coach Sanford takes the time out
of her busy schedule just to help us.”
Although Sanford’s personality is very
subtle to grasp at times, her special
coaching techniques are also unique.
“She makes us do special drills to
help us with things we’re not good at,”
said eighth grader Claudia Martinez.
As for Sanford’s opinion on the new
group of 8th grade volleyball players,
“It’s a good group, lots of talent, and
good potential,” she explained confidently. Even though Coach Sanford
isn’t head coach but has been here
for a long time.
“I love the school, the community,
and I think we have a great program
here.” Although we’ve lost to our ultimate rivals the past few years Sanford
believes in hard work.
“We always have room for improvement as far as coaches; we can provide
new creative activities and new skills.
Students as well always have room for
improvement and should take advantage of the things we have here to
help, as far clubs, open gym, and other
activities to help us prepare,” she said.
Some of the 8th grade volleyball
players do take advantage of the
extra advice given.
“She’s a good coach because she
knows how to teach you the correct
way to fix your faults,” said 8th grader
Madison Francis.
Despite all the jobs and roles Coach
Sanford is busy doing through out the
day, she still finds a way to talk and be
involved with most of the students and
athletes here. In the meantime, Coach
Sanford works hard and continues to
help push her students and athletes
towards success.
SPORTS
Lady Mustangs lose to
new school on the block
Anthony Aguirre dominates on offense, frustrates coach
and players in third game of the season
by TAALIYAH PORCHIA
On September 27, the Lady Mustang B
volleyball team played at home against the
new school in the area, the Anthony Aguirre
Bulldogs of Channelview ISD.
While getting ready to serve, the crowd
encouraged them with cheers of, “Let’s go
Lady Mustangs!” The ball was served by
Cheynee Williams and landed out of bounds
and Anthony Aguirre earned a point with the
sideout. Then the server for Anthony Aguirre
served four devastating points leaving the
Mustangs at 4-0 deficit and caused Coach
Du Plaga to call a timeout.
“Go for every ball. Let’s talk and move our
feet towards the ball, the girls who show me
these things are the ones who are showing
me who wants to play,” said Coach Du Plaga
harshly.
Next, Katlin Torres served and again came
up short. Right after the ball was given to
the Bulldogs the Mustangs got called for
being out of rotation, which led to the ladies
lagging behind with a score of 6-2. As #9
from Aguirre continued to serve consistently
in the same spot, the Mustang defense failed
to dig the ball up and Coach Du Plaga called
a timeout with the score at 14-3.
“What’s going on out there! None of you
have any room to pointing fingers at each
other because none of you are stepping up
or work together as a team. We have to go
out and change something,” she said.
As the Mustangs hustled back on to the
court, the red team cheered them on from
the stands. Socorro Rodriguez came back
with everything she had, and it seemed like
the turning point of the game because she
served four consecutive aces.
This caused the girls on the red team to
shout, “Awwww ACE!” and “What’s up, what’s
up, back that ace up!” But as the nerveracking first set came to an end, the Lady
Mustangs fell apart and Aguirre won with a
score of 14-25.
To start off the 2nd set the Mustangs had
the 1st serve and served out of bounds
giving Aguirre a point. Aguirre‘s #9 again
served five consecutive aces leaving the
Mustangs in an 0-6 hole. At this point in
the game the ladies were not calling for the
ball, moving their feet and not so much as
even making an effort. When the next ball
was served, they finally decided to give the
Bulldogs a little surprise by starting up a
rally. Both teams were trying to set up the
front row players so they could attack [hit]
the ball. After several consistent rallies, the
Lady Mustangs worked to pull through to
try to win the nail-biting set.
Now Aguirre got the ball and #9 served
twice and the Mustangs seemed to be
mesmerized by the serve and didn’t move,
communicate, or anything they just stood
there. Aguirre’s star server served one last
time for the 2nd set and aced the serve,
leaving our Lady Mustangs to fall short
once again with a score of 11-25.
While in the team circle deciding what to
do for the third set, Coach Du Plaga suggested calmly,“Our faults did not help us
at all out there and they never will in any
game, but you still have three options: give
up and go home, go out there and let them
sweep us in all three sets, or go out there
and win this last one. What do you want
to do?”
“Play!” all the girls screamed. “Well, let’s
do the thing we should’ve done the first two
sets,” said Du Plaga. As the Lady Mustangs got back on the court they seemed to
lose their momentum again and lost the 3rd
set with a score of 10-15, allowing the new
school to sweep them in all three sets.
Poor play and bad communication
caused their record to go from 1 win and
2 losses to 1 and 3. Despite the loss, the
ladies still kept a little spark of hope in
themselves for next week.
Eighth grade B teamer, Cheynee Williams
serves the ball to the Anthony Agurrie Bulldogs on September 27, in the girls’ gym. The
ladies fought hard but came up short to the
Bulldogs.
NORTH SHORE
VOLLEYBALL SCOREBOARD
7th grade A team
vs. Crosby 12-25, 25-19, 11-15 L
vs. Null 25-18, 28-8,10-15
W
vs. Aguirre 12-25, 26-24,15-5
W
vs. C.E. King 14-25, 21-25,15-4 L
vs. AJMS 14-25, 21-25,15-4
W
@ Galena Park tourny
vs. GPMS 14-25, 21-25,15-4
L
Thursday 10/25: at home against
Woodland Acres
Thursday 11/1: at NSSHS against
Cunningham
7th grade B team
vs. Crosby 25-21,19-25, 10-15 W
vs. Null 25-14, 26-24,15-5
W
vs. Aguirre 23-25, 12-25,15-5
W
vs. C.E. King 25-25, 21-25,15-4 L
vs. AJMS 25-23, 25-22,15-11
W
@ WAMS tourny
vs. GPMS 14-25, 21-25,15-4
L
Thursday 10/25: at home against
Woodland Acres
Cunningham
8th grade A team
vs. Crosby 13-25, 15-25, 13-15 L
vs. Null 20-25, 25-23,10-15
L
vs. Aguirre 25-22, 25-21,15-2
W
vs. C.E. King 25-6, 19-25,15-9 W
vs. AJMS 9-25, 21-25,15-4
W
@ Cunningham tourny
Cons.
vs. GPMS 14-25, 20-25,15-2
L
Thursday 10/25: at WAMS against
Woodland Acres
Cunningham
8th grade B team
vs. Crosby 8-25, 25-10,15-12
L
vs. Null 25-19, 26-24,15-5
W
vs. Aguirre 14-25, 11-25,10-5
L
vs. C.E. King 18-25, 17-25,15-10 L
vs. AJMS 22-25, 16-25,13-15
L
@ North Shore tourny
Cons.
vs. GPMS 14-25, 21-25,15-4
L
Thursday 10/25: at WAMS against
Woodland Acres
Cunningham
NS
He’ll be leaving
DIFFERENT is
just a word
ON A JET PLANE
by CRYSTAL ORTEZ
Eighth grade student athlete works hard to pursue a dream
by LEAH MAXWELL
You know those
people who are afraid
to show their true self?
Socorro Rodriguez, a
13-year-old here,
is not one of
those people;
she is her own
person, a leader making herself
stand out from the
usual crowds.
Those who don’t know Socorro
Rodriguez, her name is pronounced
SUH-COR-ROW, and you can find her
on the back row of the volleyball court
during a game doing her best to win.
“I like volleyball because it’s a good
source of exercise and I get distracted
from other things,” said Socorro. How
is her passion for volleyball going to
help her and the team defeat Cunningham this year?
“I think calling for the ball, moving
more, and doing our serves right will
help us be successful this year,” she
explained. Socorro is a student athlete
which means, she doesn’t just focus on
volleyball, but also on her school work.
Socorro maintains A’s and B’s in all her
classes by studying and working hard.
“I think Pre-AP classes are stressful and hard work” said Socorro. Even
though she thinks that Pre-AP classes
are stressful, she keeps up with her work
by doing her homework first and staying
for tutorials if necessary. Socorro might
look like everybody else but she’s not.
What makes Socorro a different type of
person beside a volleyball player, is that
she likes to dance.
“I like to dance because I like to
move to the beat of the music,” she
said. Socorro works hard, keeps her
grades up and does the best she can
do to be a good athlete.
“She is a good listener, she is a motivator, she makes sure that she does
things right, and she’s not here just
to be with her friends, she’s here to
become a better athlete,” said Coach
Du Plaga, her eighth grade volleyball
coach.
This determined eighth grader
shows commitment and a good work
ethic, which is exactly what a North
Shore Mustang student athlete should
have to succeed.
Everyone always notices the tall people,
right? Well, this 13-year-old 8th grader
is not the one who gets the most attention, but there’s only one reason why…he’s
shorter than the average person.
For those of you who don’t know Nic
Esparza, let me start by stating that his
full name is Christopher Nicolas Esparza,
and you can find him on the football field
playing as a wide receiver or a cornerback
wearing jersey #2.
“I like football the best because it is fun
to watch and play, and it’s great exercise,”
said Nic. Nic also has a good relationship
with the coaches.
“I think Nic is an outstanding athlete
and a great student and it is a pleasure to
have him on the team,” said Coach Davis.
Features like dedication, commitment, and
devotion could help the team win against
Cunningham this year, but what makes this
year different from last year?
“To win against Cunningham this year,
we’re going to work hard all season long
and execute offensively and defensively.
We are also working on plays to perfect them and running everyday to build
stamina. I think we have a good chance
of winning this year because we’re not
only physically prepared, but we’re also
mentally prepared,” said Nic. He not only
uses this winning attitude on the field,
but he also applies that energy to the
classroom, making him known as a great
student.
“Nic is lots of fun, and I enjoy being
around him because he is a bright kid,
and he’s very smart and respectful,” said
Coach Banks. Nic is in all Pre-AP classes
and also in a college prep class, also
known as AVID. He’s also a very outgoing
person.
“He leaves a positive impact on
people and makes a great role model
to other kids,” said 8th grader Jaccard
Nelson.
“He doesn’t get into any drama with
anybody and he doesn’t gossip, he’s just
very funny,” said 8th grader Adrianna
Ware. Those qualities should take him
far in a career such as a jet pilot, which
is exactly what he wants to be when he
grows up.
“I want to go to the Air Force Academy
and become a pilot because I want to
serve the U.S. and do what brave things
many soldiers do,” said Nic. His greatuncle was a pilot and he’s Nic’s inspiration for becoming a pilot.
“My great-uncle is my inspiration for
becoming a jet pilot because he has
always been there for me when I needed
him and I want to follow in his footsteps,”
said Nic. He is already on the right track
to pursuing this dream. As hard-working
student and an active athlete, Nic is
making himself known as a responsible
person which is very important when it
comes to having a dream you want to
pursue, especially when teachers complement you.
On the path that Nic is on, he’ll be
leaving this school with something every
teacher and peer will remember…the
knowledge and athleticism of a North
Shore Mustang.
Help protect your
environment!
Please recycle this newspaper by either passing it off to
another student so they may
enjoy reading it or put it in a
classroom recycling box.
Thank you!
Mustang defense shuts down Stallions
Last quarter touchdown ensures a tough win
by LEONARDO REYES
Seventh grader Nicholas Petry leaps forward to gain yards after getting tackled by a Null defender during a home game versus the Stallions. Players are taught to break tackles in order to gain yardage for
first down so they can keep possession of the football.
loss, Robbie Mullins hiked
the ball and tossed it to
On September 24, the 7th grade white
the running back who was
football team battled it out against the Null tackled and fumbled the
Stallions in their second game of the seaball, the Stallions recovson. Their first game was against Crosby’s ered. After the fumble Null
B-team which resulted in a tie, 40-40. Last couldn’t convert and the
year, the game against Null resulted in a
score was still 6-0.
loss, 20-0.
The third quarter began
The game began when the Mustangs
when Null kicked off to
kicked-off and the Stallion’s kick returner
Cecil Henry, who returned
ran up ten yards. The Stallions played three the ball 20 yards. After the
downs but failed to convert so they had to
run, the Mustangs failed to
punt. Nicholas Petrey returned the punt for
convert and the ball was
40 yards to the 21 yard-line to start off the
turned over. The Stallions
offense. At the 21-yard line, Brett LeBlanc
ran the ball and Simione
made a 20-yard run to the 1-yard line
Mckinzey made the first big
for another first down. On the first down,
hit of the day. On second
Mustangs ran and lost two yards. The
down, Cecil Henry and Decrowd went wild when Brett LeBlanc made
rian Buckner blazed through
a 3-yard run to the end zone for a touchthe opposing offensive line
down. The Mustangs then kicked off to the
to sack the quarterback
Stallions. The Stallions began their series
and after the sack, Coach
where Nicholas Petrey stripped the ball from Killough yelled, “Keep up
Seventh grader Joshua Stullivan bursts through for a large
the quarterback
the pressure!”
gain after a good block by his teammate Bret Leblanc during
for the fumble
to
the
Mustang
“I want the team to play
their game versus the Null Stallions. The Mustangs went on to
which he recovdefense . The
shut out Null and win the game.
physical,
fundamental,
and
ered at the 46third quarter
sound
football.”
yard line. After
Mustangs.
ended with
the next play,
During this game, there were some
neither team scoring since the
the first quarter
close plays where the Stallions could have
- Coach Johnson, first quarter.
ended with a
scored but were stopped, and the offense
8th grade football coach The fourth quarter began
score of 6-0.
showed team effort by making big plays
when Brett LeBlanc made a
The second
throughout the game. Coach Johnson
60-yard run for a touchdown
quarter began for the Mustangs at the 53said, “I want the team to play physiand after the touchdown, Petrey scored
yard line with a first down where a 13-yard
cal, fundamental, and sound football.”
the two point conversion for a lead of
run was made by Cameron Zahopalis for a
The Mustangs’ defense continued their
13-0. The fourth quarter was a back-andfirst down. After the run, #32 made a 23dominance in the next two weeks as they
forth in possession but after a penalty in
yard dash to the 6-yard line. Petrey made
shut out Aguirre and only allowed 2 points
the remaining minutes, the game ended
a 5-yard run to the one-yard line. After the with a score of 13-0 and a victory for the
against C.E. King.
Coach Johnson holds up a clipboard showing defensive formations
so the entire defense can see what he’s talking about. Coaches constantly go over formations so players can improve their moves and
make the blocks needed to win the game.
FRANKENWEENIE
PG
Spellbinder brings out laughs and emotions...and it’s basically about a resurrected dog
The black and white stop-motion animation film “Frankenweenie,” an 80-minute
long movie, was released September 20,
and is about a boy named Victor, a lonely
boy whose only friend is his dog Sparky.
Stop-motion animation means the directors set and move their clay people frame
by frame through the entire movie to create movement.
The movie is basically about the heart
break of a boy named Victor and his
deceased dog, Sparky. Victor loved his
dog so much that he rejuvenated Sparky.
Victor’s adventure begins at a baseball
game, when he hits a homerun. Sparky
chases the ball into the middle of the
road, where he met his fate to a moving
car. The next day in school Victor learned
that electricity can make dead animals
move. Victor wanted to do the same with
Sparky.
His plan succeeded and Sparky was
brought back to life. The next day while
Victor was in school, Sparky ran out and
was spotted by a boy named Edgar. When
Victor came home he saw Edgar waiting.
Victor was forced to show him how Sparky
had returned.
I liked the movie a lot because I can
easily relate to Victor and his dog because
I have a dog and lots of other people have
dogs who are treated like family. They
don’t want to lose their pet.
But this wasn’t Tim Burton’s first movie
about a dog that comes back to life. His
first Frankenweenie movie dates back to
December 14, 1984. Back in 1984, Frankenweenie was a new movie, the difference being that in this movie, it only ran
for 30 minutes and it was not stop-motion
animation, just a regular black and white
movie with real people and dogs.
The two movies have the plot in common but some of the details and characters are very different, like when the less
important characters get more involved
in the second movie than in the first, and
how some characters do different things
for example, in the 2012 version, Edgar
spotted Sparky on the streets alive after
he was already dead, when in the 1984
version, Victor’s parents are the ones who
found out Sparky was alive again.
I personally rate the movie 3 out of 4
stars because it was in black and white
which I very much dislike, but anyone with
a dog or animal at home that is a part of
your family makes me like the movie a lot,
would you do the same to your beloved
pet? The reason Burton made this version
of the movie black and white was to stick
with his past movies that help show the
history of the film and plot.
IMAGES / APPLETRAILERS.COM
by ALENY GUAJARDO
AWESOME
VERY GOOD
GOOD
IMAGES / ITUNES.APPLE.COM
Reviewed
Music, movies, books and more...
TRASH
The TRUTH
About LOVE
Cruel
Summer
KISS
Wild
Ones
P!NK
Pop/Rock
Kanye West
Hip Hop
Carly Rae
Pop/Rock
Flo-Rida
Rap/Hip hop
by CRISTAL GARCIA
by ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
by ALENY GUAJARDO
by MARTIN BATREZ
Pink’s new album, The Truth
About Love, has 13 songs and
came out on September 18.
Since 2000, she has released 6
albums with the label RCA. You
can download the album on
iTunes for $10.99. This is Pink’s
first album since her daughter,
Willow Sage, was born in 2011.
Pink’s songs are mostly
about love like “True Love”.
She sings about a person she
hates so much, but at the
same time she doesn’t want
that person out of her life. I
like when Pink repeats “It might
be true love”.
In my opinion, the saddest
song in the album is “The Great
Escape”. Pink doesn’t want to
lose this person. She probably
lost a very special person and
says she is not going to forget
that person. I like how she
changed her style of singing
in this song. Her songs are
usually danceable, but this one
is different. It’s slow instead of
loud and fast.
She sang “Blow Me (One Last
Kiss)” at the VMA’s, and I think it
was awesome because the performance had dancers with big
kisses as costumes. I like the
way she sounds in this song.
The song I loved the most
is called “Here Comes the
Weekend”. I like it because it
explains how I feel on Fridays.
I give the album 3 and a half
out of 4 stars because it’s not
perfect, but I do really like it. It
has more songs that I like than
songs that I don’t like. Overall,
I think the album is good because of the songs it has in it.
You can download or preview
the album on iTunes.
Hip Hop star Kanye West has
recently released a compilation
titled “Cruel Summer”. It was
released on Sept. 18 and costs
$8.99. This new CD is a compilation of Kanye’s previous songs,
has 12 tracks, and is produced
by the members GOOD music (Getting Out Our Dreams)
through the label Def-Jam.
His song “Clique” really does
not appeal to me. I didn’t like
the song because West repeats
the word ‘clique’ about a million times, also the beginning
of the song gives me goosebumps because West autotones his voice which makes it
sound like a broken robot.
Another song I listened to,
titled “Mercy” was a very good
song. At the end of the song,
the beat changes from slow to
a techno-type beat which is
really catchy.
The third track that I listened
to is called “Cold”. This song
was excruciatingly repetitive.
During the climax of the song,
DJ Khalid raps about locations
and stays on the same monotonous tone. The tone also
completely kills the climax and
leaves the song in a bad place.
His final song, “To the
World” is actually a decent
song it has an excellent beat
and features the singer R Kelly
who, in an alto-voice, sings
a perfect verse that leaves
the song with a mellow and
peaceful ending. Overall, I
think that this compilation
was a very good one I give it
three and a half stars. Kanye’s
album can be downloaded
on iTunes, and can also be
purchased at Wal-Mart.
On September 18, Carly Rae
Jepsen released her second album, “Kiss”, which costs $13.99
and includes sixteen songs.
Although most of Jepsen’s
songs are about happiness and
her crushes, she does have
another side, the example being her song “Curiosity”. In this
song, Carly Rae wants to break
up with her boyfriend but won’t
because she is curious as to
what her boyfriend will do to with
their relationship. Some girls can
relate to this with a boyfriend
that you love but won’t let him
go for whatever reason.
Another example is, “Almost
Said It”, which is about Carly
Rae having a crush but won’t
admit it and she constantly ‘almost said it’ or accidently told
him. A lot of girls can relate to
this song with an ex-boyfriend
that they want to get back to
but won’t say it.
Jepsen has two feature
songs including “Owl City” and
“Good Time” and Justin Bieber
is featured in, “Beautiful”. The
song “Good Time” is about a
how friends can have such a
great time with each other…
typical for teenagers. “Beautiful” is about Carly Rae and
Justin Bieber singing about how
they are so beautiful in their
own special ways.
Jepsen’s album is a great album because of it has a variety
of catchy tunes and songs you
can dance to. I rate it 3½ out
of 4 stars mainly because her
songs are extremely easy to
connect to and they have such
an awesome beat. To check
out more of her songs go to
iTunes.com.
Back in July, Flo Rida
released “Wild Ones” with
the label Atlantic. Out of 11
tracks, most of the songs in
the album are 4 to 5 minutes
long and is now on Amazon for
only $6.99.
“Good Feeling” is a good
song that I listened to the
most because it’s one of the
songs I can relate to when I
am feeling sad or down. Most
people say that this is their favorite song out of all the others that Flo Rida had come up
with or he wrote because it has
a good beat and it’s catchy.
Another song in the album
is “Wild Ones”, which I really
can’t understand because both
Flo Rida and T. Pain make the
song so confusing by singing/
rapping really fast. This is a
certainly song that I like because the speed of the lyrics.
Also this song could possibly
be talking about a situation
that may be getting out of
control or how something being destroyed.
One of the other songs that
was on the CD was “Thinking
of You”. This song is clearly
talking about someone thinking of somebody else. Some
of the other tracks feature
artists like Sia, Jennifer Lopez,
and Redfoo.
Another track I listened to is
“Let It Roll”, which I really like
because it has a special beat
to it like all the other songs
that I enjoyed. I’d give this album four stars because I really
liked it and think that others
will too.
Organic shapes help teach students about
elements of art
by MELANIE GOMEZ
Seventh graders Tamera Washington and Amyre Ellias, finish
an art project about organic
shapes in Ms.Bey’s eighth period
class. Organic shapes are the
opposite of geometric shapes
because an organic shape has
curves and geometric shapes
don’t.
Eighth graders Jennifer Perez and Alexis DeLuna are putting their
finishing touches on their piece of artwork.
(Right) Two of Ms. Bey’s art students put detail on their paintings to make it stand out from
the rest. once the art students
are done they will hang their
finished products on the wall.
Eighth grader Marcus Rogers uses a steady hand to finish his painting of organic shapes. An organic shape is one of the seven elements of art.
(Right) Eighth grader Alexis
DeLuna admires her hard
work while hanging her piece
of art work on the wall in D
hallway for display. Students
take pride in their work after
learning about new art concepts.
(Left) Ms. Bey takes time to
explain organic shapes to
eighth grader Bianca Molina
during the eighth period rap
time. Ms. Bey distinguishes
the difference between organic and geometric shapes
in a fun way.
Band students practice music during
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
Night of hard work ensures solid performance for Region
by ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
Every year, the two top bands, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, gather
at the school in the month of October to
work on their music for region band auditions. For all band students, it’s a great
experience and also great practice, and it’s
known as Midnight Madness.
On October 5, students arrived in large
numbers at 6:00 pm here to continue their
practice. Everybody was called down to
different rooms because they play different
music. As students were slowly called to
their room numbers to warm-up, the flute
players walked to one room to start the
process of learning new music. Mrs. Tao,
the director for the flutes, pulled out her
instrument and got to work on teaching
her students the material for region band
auditions. Whenever they played a note
incorrectly, she pointed it out and made
them fix it on their own.
Afterwards, I went to the clarinet room
where Mrs. Wilson, the instructor for the
clarinets, cheerfully welcomed me to her
room. The teacher slowly and patiently
helped her students with the notes presented in their music and showed them
what note to play and how to play it. Mrs.
Wilson was very patient with the students
that kept on incorrectly playing the given
notes. Then, I went to the stage were the
French horns were practicing their music.
Several of the students were beautifully
playing music and demonstrating to their
teacher that they already knew how to
play parts of the music. After about an
hour, teachers were told to release their
students for the first break.
Students were then provided pizza and
drinks. After everybody was done eating and relaxing, several students started
playing “ninja”, which is a fast- paced
game where you are supposed to try to
slap your opponent’s hands, and whoever
gets their hands slapped first is the loser
of the game. After about thirty minutes,
students were called back to their rooms
to continue working on their music.
This process went on for about two
hours, and then students were called to
the gym for another break. The students
played basketball and volleyball for about
an hour and thirty minutes then were
called back to continue with practice.
At 11:00 pm, everybody picked up their
music stands and proceeded to the cafeteria to show off what they learned.
“This year, Midnight Madness was better [than last year] because there was a
lot more stuff to do and I got to meet a
lot [of] new people,” said eighth grader
Alejandra Salinas.
After everyone was setup, several
students performed their music flawlessly,
while Mrs. Killough, the band director of
Wind Ensemble and Philharmonic, listened
to the students with pride. “I learned a lot
of things this year...I think I play[ed] better this year then last year,” said seventh
grader Ryan Price.
“Midnight Madness was a great
experience for all of our students. We
hired 10 teachers to come in and teach
region music, the students all learned a
lot, but they also had fun in the process” said Mrs. Killough. Several of the
eighth grade students were sad because
Midnight Madness was over, while the
seventh graders were overjoyed because
they would go to Midnight Madness next
year.
Coming Up...
Homework - Do it or Don’t
The annual Blackout Pep Rally is always a main event prior to playing our
rival, the Cunningham Wildcats. We’ll
also cover the volleyball and football
games.
Homework is a part of school. Some
students do it and do it well...while others don’t bother and grades drop.
Why do we have homework and why
are some students choosing to not do
it?
The Walking Dead
Dec. 12, 2012-Fact or Fiction?
Love zombies? Look for the review of
the 3rd season of AMC’s The Walking
Dead. Who’s new and who’s dead...
walking dead that is!
December 12, 2012, is fast approaching...will the prophecies of the Mayans
come true? Will there be some sort of
global apocalypse or will life go on as
normal?
Breaking Dawn, Part 2
After four years, the Twilight series
comes to a close with Breaking Dawn
Part 2. We’ll revisit the series and
review the latest installment featuring
Edward, Jacob, the Volturi, the new
Bella and Renesmee.
IMAGE / STOCK IMAGE
IMAGE / AMC.COM
Blackout the Wildcats!
IMAGE / BREAKINGDAWN-THE MOVIE.COM
December
2012
LIKE US! Scan this with
your smartphone to see
the North Shore MS
Journalism Facebook
page.
Reagan from
The Exorcist
(1973) is a
young girl who
was possessed
by a demon.
This movie is
sure to scare as
her head spins
around and she
walks upsidedown down a staircase! Her mother
has to ask two priests to help her.
2. PENNYWISE THE CLOWN
Pennywise from
IT (1990) is an
evil demonpossessed clown
that drags kids
down into the
sewers and eats
them. The book,
by Stephen King,
is much better
than the movie
that features the clown who feeds on
your fears. As he says, “We all float
down here!”
3. FREDDY KRUEGER
Freddy from
A Nightmare
on Elm Street
(1984) is a psychopath who has
a razor-bladed
glove and stalks
his victims in
their dreams. He
was a killer of
children in the
real world before the parents of the
children he killed burned him alive.
“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you”.
4. CHUCKY
Chucky from
Child’s Play
(1988) is a doll
who is possessed by the
soul of a serial
killer. This movie
is full of oneliners and references to other
famous horror
movies. It’ll make you think twice
about buying that next toy doll.
Ranking our most famous
MOVIE MONSTERS
Just in time for Halloween, the ‘Stang Express staff has compiled their list of the
most famous movie monsters. Of course, the list varies by person and according to what a ‘monster’ is but at least they can all provide a scream or
two. So whether you’re petrified of evil clowns, transfixed by demonic
possession, love watching zombies gorge on your friends, or just love
the classics, enjoy and scream away!
5. LEATHERFACE
8. JASON VOORHEES
Leatherface
from The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
is a member of
a cannibalistic
family that terrorizes a group
of friends who
stumble upon
their home. The
last ten minutes of the film will definitely surprise you.
Jason from
Friday the
13th (1980) is
a little boy who
drowned in
Crystal Lake. He
resurfaces many
years later to
stalk the current
camp-goers and
counselors. This
one is considered one of the best in
horror classics.
6. PINHEAD
9. WEREWOLVES
Pinhead from
Hellraiser (1987)
is a frightful demon unleashed
on Earth after
a puzzle-box is
solved. He and
his gruesome
followers want to
drag you back to
hell and put you
to torture. “No tears please, it’s just a
waste of good suffering,” he says.
Werewolves star
in many movies
aslo. If you want
to see the one
that started it
all, you have to
watch The Wolf
Man (1941). If
you want something a little more
modern, watch
the 2010 version, The Wolf Man. If
you want a more vicious take on them,
watch Underworld (2003), where they
battle vampires.
7. MICHAEL MYERS
Michael from
Halloween
(1978) is a psychotic murderer
who is sent to
an asylum after
he stabbed his
sister. After 15
years, he breaks
out and terrorizes his town
during Halloween. No one will forget
the creepy music either. A true classic
slasher film that launched a series that
has spanned more than 20 years.
10. VAMPIRES
Vampires star in
several movies.
If you want to
see the one that
started it all, you
have to watch
Nosferatu. If you
want something
a little more
modern, watch
Dracula (1992).
Of course, they wouldn’t be around if
Bram Stoker hadn’t written the book
back in 1897.
SOURCES & IMAGES / IMDB.COM, SMASHINGMAGAZINE.COM
1. REAGAN

October 2012 - Galena Park ISD

Transcription

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