Weird News - Oregon Virtual Academy

ORVAgonian
March 2014
Oregon Virtual Academy
Student Newspaper
Spelling Bee
Coming Soon
By Tulsi Patel
Are you one of those humans that
can't stand misspelled words and get
frustrated when you see words used
incorrectly? Well, do I have good
news for you! Now is the 7me to
show your word power!
ORVA is holding a Spelling Bee that
is open to grades 4-8. The Spelling
Bee will be held online in a Blackboard session on April 10th at 10:00
a.m. Students can par7cipate in or
watch the Spelling Bee by clicking on
the link to the class connect sec7on in
their OLS. Be alert and watch for your
homeroom teacher to give you more
informa7on on the Spelling Bee.
The top two spellers will be quali-
March Contributors:
Illustraon by Tulsi Patel
fied to enter into the Regional
Spelling Bee held on April 29th. The
Regional will be held online. If they
win the Regional Spelling Bee, they
will be eligible to represent ORVA at
the K12 Interna7onal Spelling Bee,
which will take place on May 8th!
More than 900 students have been
invited to par7cipate from ORVA , so
the stakes are high for this year's
Spelling Bee! Don't forget to cheer on
your fellow ORVA classmates and try
your best! “Bee” prepared for more
informa7on coming from your homeroom teacher!
Weird News
Summerlyn Beaudry
Dajia Jones
Lydia Kramer
Tulsi Patel
Emme* Rashleigh
Allison Reetz
Noah Snodgrass
Audrey Wojnarowisch
Staff Advisor:
Ms. Cynthia Dauer
By Lydia Kramer
What if you had a dream that you
discovered millions of dollars worth
of coins in your backyard? Well, for
a couple in California, this wasn't
only a dream, it was reality.
Although the face value of the gold
pieces only adds up to more than
$28,000, some of them are so rare
that coin experts say they could
fetch nearly $1 million apiece.”
The Associated Press reports,
The couple is choosing to sell the
“California couple out walking their coins on eBay, giving the world a
dog on their property stumbled
chance to share in their great find.
across a modern-day bonanza: $10
million in rare, mint-condi7on gold
coins buried in the shadow of an old
tree.
Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, da7ng
from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condi7on, said David
Hall, co-founder of Professional
Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana,
which recently authen7cated them.
Tips for the OAKS test
By Audrey Wojnarowisch
With the OAKS assessment window
coming up this month, there's a lot of
buzz going around about tes-ng. But
here's a liCle hint from me to you, it’s
not that big of a deal!
choose the best answer. Read the
ques-on and all the choices before
deciding on your final answer.
know what informa-on you're looking
for.
5. OAen when you solve math prob2. One way to find the correct answer lems you will have to show your work.
is to try each answer choice in the
To do this, make sure to show each
OAKS assessments are just tests we problem you are given. For example, step of the process you used and
take to let the state know which
if you're working on an algebra equa- write a short explana-on of why you
teaching methods work best, and
-on try subs-tu-ng each of the possi- solved it that way.
what students need. Even so, you
ble answers for the unknown.
6. If you're struggling with a math
want to do your very best so here are
3. Rule out any answer choices you
ques-on, some-mes it helps to draw
some -ps for when your assessment
know for sure are wrong.
a simple picture on your scratch padate rolls around:
per to illustrate the problem.
4. When taking a reading test, it’s a
1. When you are working on a mul-good idea to look over the ques-ons
ple-choice ques-on, your goal is to
before reading the text. This way you
Bust Spring Break Boredom
By Dajia Jones
Okay, so you’re probably thinking, “ What in the
world am I going to do for Spring Break?” Am I right?
Well, no fear Dajia is here to help you! I have some
great ideas for all of you who have no plans for Spring
Break.
There is an endless list of things to do during that one
week off. But I won’t overwhelm you; I’ll be reasonable.
Here are some great ideas to bust that Spring Break
boredom.
Idea One: Read a book
All right, I admit that you may hear this all the -me. How
about a few recommenda-ons from myself? For boys, I
recommend Ranger’s Apprence by John Flanagan. Even
though I’m a girl, my brother enjoyed this book very
much. As for the girls, I recommend Divergent by Veronica Roth. For both boys and girls, I recommend The Keeper’s Calling by Kelly Nelson.
Idea Two: Write a Story
From personal experience, I find wri-ng very good pass
-ming! It makes -me fly. Get that spiral notebook and
pencil out! Let the ideas flow. Soon, you’ll be hooked to
wri-ng. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to start working on something for the next ORVAtainment.
Idea Three: Meet up with your Fellow Classmates
Idea Four: Try Something New
Okay, I promise that I’m not trying to sound like your parents. But, trying something new results in a new hobby.
Maybe you will meet friends along the way. Go outside,
join a club, take guitar lessons. It’s all up to you!
Idea Five: Work on School
I’m going to admit, this may not be a way to not be
bored. On the bright side (yes, there’s a bright side)
you can get caught up! Bring out those textbooks and
computer!
Idea Six: Decorate with Artwork and Photos
Yes, decorate! I decorated my room this summer with old
photos of me and I found it AWESOME. If you have any
cool photos or artwork, hang them on your wall. You may
just end up liking the result.
Do you have some friends nearby? Well, Spring Break is
the perfect -me to meet up with them! It can be as simple
as a hang out at your house. Maybe catch a movie. Or,
there’s these amazing inven-ons called Skype and Face
I challenge you to try one of these things I listed. See,
-me.
Spring Break may not seem so boring aAer all!
Kepler telescope spots 700 new planets
By EmmeI Rashleigh
NASA, the Na
onal Aeronau
cs and Space Administra
on, has recently found over 700 new planets with
the aid of the Kepler telescope. Kepler, launched on
March 7, 2009, is a space observatory with the mission
to discover Earth-like planets.
And discover it did when it found 715 new planets, 95
percent of which are smaller than Neptune. Some of
these are candidates for life, being in the habitable, or
“Goldilocks” zone.
"That these new planets and solar systems look
somewhat like our own portends a great future when we
have the James Webb Space Telescope in space to characterize the new worlds,” said John Grunsfeld, associate
administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the Hubble Telescope’s successor and is planned to launch
2018.
other planetary systems, JWST will also study objects
According to the NASA website:
within our own Solar System.”
“JWST will tell us more about the atmospheres of exUn
l then, we’ll just have to be content with Kepler,
tra-solar planets, and perhaps even find the building
and the treasure trove of planets its turned up.
blocks of life elsewhere in the universe. In addi
on to
The top 10 of almost everything!
By Noah Snodgrass
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Top Ten Videogames
1. Sonic Generaons
2. Super Mario 64
3. Sonic Unleashed
4. Sonic 2006
5. Super Mario Galaxy
6. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
7. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
8. Temple Run 2
9. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
10. Crash Bandicoot
Top Ten Male Videogame Characters
1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Mario
3. Shadow the Hedgehog
4. Crash Bandicoot
5. Wario
6. Link
7. Miles “Tails” Prower
8. Donkey Kong
9. Knuckles the Echidna
10. Sly Cooper
Top Ten Female Game Characters
1. Samus Aran
2. Amy Rose
3. Lara CroG
4. Blaze the Cat
5. Coco Bandicoot
6. Princess Peach
7. Zelda
8. Cream the Rabbit
9. Rouge the Bat
10. Princess Daisy
Top Ten Fic
onal Treasure Hunters
1. Scrooge McDuck
2. Indiana Jones
3. Wario
4. Nathan Drake
5. Lara CroG
6. Rouge the Bat
7. Tin
n
8. Ben Gates
9. Guy Dangerous
10. Snowy
OMSI for a day!
By Allison Reetz
I went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science
and Industry) today and we went through the Tony Hawk exhibit, the Life Science and Earth Science Hall, and Turbine Hall. There are a wide variety of things to do and learn.
Today, I learned that gravity plays an important
role in skateboarding. Also, there are different surfaces and wheels that should be used based upon
your experience and other factors. The exhibit also
showed what older skateboards looked like compared to today’s skateboard. They had skateboarding video games and different ways to learn
how gravity plays a role in skateboarding.
In the Life Science hall, I learned you need to
eat healthy, exercise and stay fit to be healthy.
They had sta*ons at which you could pick a snack
and it would tell you how many calories you would
need to burn and a sta*on with cards that you
could pick and choose a healthy dinner. There
were different sta*ons that taught you how to do
exercises and how much you should be doing daily
to stay healthy.
In Earth Science Hall, you learned how to save
energy and why it was important. Also, there was
informa*on on windmills and other types of energy.
In the Turbine Hall, they have a chemistry lab,
physics lab, area for learning about laser lights,
earthquake shake house, cranes, water sta*ons
for diver*ng water and boats, ball play area, inventor’s room and a robot area. They have sta*ons where you can learn about making paper
airplanes, building structures that are earthquake
proof and bo,le rockets with a mixture of air and
water. If you have *me and are not afraid of *ght
spaces you can go on a real live submarine.
They also have a play area for just for toddlers.
They also show really cool movies about planets,
animals and possible disasters, like tornados. If
you are disabled there are wheelchairs and electric scooters available for use. There is also a really
cool gi. shop, snack shop and a restaurant. You
can also bring your own food and eat there.
Photos by Allison Reetz
A weird meal at Sushi Maza
By: Emme0 Rashleigh
Flying fish roe, grasshopper
sushi, sea urchin with rice,
eel, and seaweed salad. That’s
only some of the menu at Sushi Mazi, a sushi bar in SouthEast Portland, Oregon.
Although Sushi Mazi has
other odd food, I’ve come
here for one reason and one
reason alone. And that’s to
try their grasshoppers. According to the menu, Real
Grasshopper Sushi is “Food
No. 101 you must have before
you die.” Even though you
may be disgusted by the idea
of bug-ea(ng or
“Entomophagy” (yes, that’s
the scien(fic term), it may
very well be the future of the
planet. Countless countries
eat insects, and they’re more
economical to produce than
tradi(onal animal products. Scien(sts say as the
popula(on grows, insects
would provide an excellent
source of protein, without the
adverse side affects of meat,
such as the land necessary to
breed ca0le or chicken.
Next comes what I’ve been
wai(ng for, the grasshoppers!
The Real Grasshopper Sushi was not wrapped up in
dried seaweed, just rice with
garnish and a grasshopper on
top. This way at least you get
to see the bug you’re ea(ng!
There were, as well as two
pieces of sushi, a pair of extra
grasshoppers. Everything had
a sweet sauce drizzled on
top.
A7er a moment of trying to
figure out my chops(cks
again, I popped the sushi in
my mouth. The first thing that
comes to mind is dried
shrimp. Smoky and light, with
something difficult to describe. A sort of “Buggy” flavor? An “Insectoid-ness”?
Whatever the bug flavor, it’s
good and I’m definitely coming back for more.
Finally comes the sea urchin. This is not at all what I
expected; a piece of seafood
in a roll, but instead a jellylike substance, supported on
Along with the grasshopa normal sushi roll. When I li7
pers, I order Seaweed Salad
the piece of sushi into my
and Sea Urchin. As the salad mouth I’m hit by... nothing.
arrived, I realized a catastro- There’s no overwhelming flaphe. No forks, no spoons, no vor, just the opposite in fact.
knives, only chopscks! This
There is a fishy a7er taste
would not be a problem if I
though. The texture is like
knew how to use them. But
tapioca pudding mixed with
by the (me I finished the sal- raw egg yolk, not pleasant!
ad, I got the hang of it. The
The pickled ginger served with
salad itself was fine. Although the urchin helps, but it’s not
the seaweed looks slimy, its
something I’d order again.
not. It pleasantly pops in your The lemon served with the
mouth. The taste is nothing at urchin helps clean my palate.
all like the dried seaweed
available at Asian grocery
Sushi Mazi is a fun place to
stores. This seaweed salad is eat for those with an advensweet, with a hint of salt and turous appe(te!
rice vinegar. Normally, I could
eat this salad in sixty seconds.
But with chops(cks it takes
ten minutes.
Photos by Emme0 Rashleigh
Ask Audrey
By Audrey Wojnarowisch
Audrey,
My teacher said something about an
OAKS test in my Monday meeng.
What are OAKS tests and what are
they like? How can I get ready to take
them?
~Sebasan
pencils will be supplied
when you need them. The
amount of me it takes to
complete the assessments
will depend on the student
but should take roughly one
and a half to two hours
each. You'll be allowed
Hi there! OAKS tests are on all our
short bathroom and snack
minds lately. Like anything else, they breaks during the tests. For
can sound a li&le inmidang when 5th and 8th grade students,
you don’t know what you're walking taking all three assessinto. OAKS are Oregon Assessments ments, there will be a me
of Knowledge and Skill. In other
during the session where
words, state wide assessments taken you can leave to have
once a year by all 3rd-8th and 11th
lunch.
grade students. These assessments
There are many different
are important but nothing you can't ways you can prepare for
handle. ORVA provides a bunch of
OAKS assessments. A few
resources to help you prepare, inweeks ago a new course
cluding a test prep course, sample
called Strategies for Success
assessments, informave class con- was added to your OLS. This course is
nects, and more.
to help you learn test taking skills for
This year OAKS tesng sessions will OAKS. Study Island is always a good
be held between March 16th and
place to visit when reviewing what
May 16th in locaons around the
you've learned this year. Also, if you
state. Usually you'll take the assess- go to www.oaks.k12.or.us then click
ment in a community college comon 'Students' you can take a pracce
puter room but when we get closer
test. If you have any problems or
to those dates, specific mes and
quesons about these pracce tests
locaons will be sent to you via kORVA staff has made video recordmail. Once you've been assigned a
ings to help you access and use the
date and me you'll meet with an
program and tools. You can find
ORVA teacher or administrator to
these videos at the ORVA website,
take the assessment. Your learning
orva.k12start.com
coach/parent is welcome to either
There are lots of ways you can get
drop you off or wait outside the
ready for OAKS so don’t stress too
classroom. If you are being dropped much a about it. The most important
off, you'll be allowed to bring a cell
thing is to try your best. I hope this
phone or IPod to call your parents
helped!
when you're finished. All 3rd through ~Audrey
8th grade students will take a math
and reading assessment. 5th and 8th
grade students will take one in SciAudrey,
ence also. Scratch paper, formula
There is someone who keeps asking
sheets, calculators, protractors and
me for my number and asking me to
GOT Questions?
go to a website site that I am not so
sure is safe. She's nice but how do I
say no without making her mad and
sll be able to be friends?
~Zack
Hia Zack! It sounds like you two are
good friends so this shouldn’t be hard
to clear up. Communicaon is the
most important thing here, just tell
her the truth. Say you aren’t comfortable giving out-or aren't allowed to
give-your number. Its way simpler
than it seems. As for the website, I've
definitely been in your shoes before.
Have a trusted adult such as a parent
or learning coach check out the site
before you do. If it smells fishy then
you can tell her that, too. Good
friends can overcome this kind of obstacle, easy. Don’t worry too much;
I'm sure she'll understand. ;)
~Audrey
Hey there, readers! Do you have a question? Send it to our Editor, Mrs. Dauer,
and I’ll be happy to answer it in our next issue. Thanks for reading! -Audrey
Secret of the Cave
By Summerlyn Beaudry
Rang: PG (for mild themac elements and some brief
scary images)
Color
Running Time: 88 min.
So, last month, I posted a book review about Secret of
the Cave. Well, This month, you get the movie review!
Twelve-year-old Roy Wallace is upset and disappointed
to learn that he is spending his summer vacaon in Ireland, especially when he doesn’t know any of his family
there. Roy’s detecve side comes out when strange but
joyful things start to happen around the village. But when
villagers start to think its Alastair McGlochlin, who had
died a couple days before, Roy wants to put an end to the
murmur of ghosts, but the only way to do that is to go in
the cave. Roy faces his fears, and discovers the Secret of
the Cave.
[Note: This movie might not be suitable for kids under the
age of 8. (See above.)]
See your wring here!
Join the staff of
the ORVAgonian
Open to students in grades 6-8
Kmail Ms. Dauer for informaon