J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4 THE ROAD RUNNER

T h e N e w sWl e t t e r f o r Rt h e S t u dIe n tTs o f E l ED o r a d oS M i d d l e S c h o o l

What is Next Yeat Going to Look like By: Lucy Popelton and Oliver Smith

2020 and the subsequent year have been affected drastically by the spread of the Coronavirus. There’s so much doubt and fear spreading and I want to find out the truth, which is why I bring you with me for an interview with the principal, Ms. Morell:

Q: What do you think the future of the school will look like?

A: There will be a return of schedules meaning that there will be no cohorts! X-Block will return, music events (i.e concerts, band, performances) and choice of where you work.

Q: Do you feel confident that the threat of Covid-19 will be greatly reduced by next school year?

A: I think so. With the vaccine being approved for 12-15 year olds, and medical procedures working, I feel that there will be a minimal quarantining of schools.

Q: Do you feel that reopening schools this year was a good idea and are there any problems that have arisen because of this decision?

A: I think it was a great idea. I wish we had reopened faster. We took it slow, until we knew it was getting better, but for students it’s definitely better being in school J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Q: Did you think that the school's remote learning was successful?

A: Certainly. Last spring we learned a lot and there was a steep learning trajectory for the staff. I think we did a good job, even though it wasn’t perfect. We’ve learned new tools.

Q: Has your job or any of the teachers' jobs been made harder because of the pandemic?

A: Absolutely. Every hybrid lesson took 3x as long to set up. Every lesson required it’s own slide show to make sure that people in school and online can follow along. A few of our staff started using Desmos which let the teachers and students work on it directly.

Q: Do you think covid restrictions will still be around next year? (i.e masks and cohorts)

A: It’s a question we have. some will most likely be here, while others will probably go away. I’m not sure though, I don’t have a crystal ball. I’m glad that vaccinations have opened for 12-15 year olds, but we have students from 10 to 11 who will not be able to receive the vaccine for the time being.

Q: What is your favorite part about your job?

A: My favorite part about the job is all of the students. I love seeing all of you enter this school, grow, and eventually leave. The hardest part about my job was that there weren’t people in the building for a long time. It was sad seeing the building empty after school because it’s usually full of kids in robotics and their own clubs. I’m happy that after school activities have come back during march, because it gives me hope for the future.

Q: How has covid impacted your personal life?

A: Personal and professional life had more layers. We took for granted pre-covid like travelling, going to sports, watching people grow, musical/theater and we never realised how much we liked those things until we weren’t able to do them anymore.

Q: Is there anything that you have to say to anyone reading this?

A: I’m thrilled that we’re all back, that we’re being resilient, that we’ve made it this far, and that we made it through the year.

Q: And lastly cats or dogs?

A: Big dogs!

Thank you Ms. Morell for these words, it sounds like the future is going to be bright! J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Stars By: Melia Kaufold The Moon shines brightly, turning her hair silver as she sat atop the mountain, the wind blowing around her like a cacoon. She took a deep breath and stood up. She made the wind around her to become calm and warm, as she willed it to support her on top of the mountain. She closed her eyes and began to dance! Her leaps and twirls made the wind stir up, swirling through the sky, whispering her name. Chanting was more like it. “Asteria, Asteria, Asteria.” they seemed to sing. She raised her hand and they glowed with Heavenly Light, shooting out of her hand and settling into the night sky. Going up to give the moon some company. Defying gravity

The balloon soars into the sky When the last star was in the Night Sky, she leaped off the mountain Up and away and started falling! As she became airborne she took the winds and From the earthy soil started riding them she zoomed toward the hills beyond the small That makes up our planet quiet town. When she landed, she felt her delicately pointed ears Around the world shifted back; they heard the groaning of bows being pulled back, then Around and around a line of arcing arrows came at her. She threw out her hands, the It flies Soaring arrows stopped mid-flight as she made the wind turn the arrows Flying flying towards the enemy. It bursts through the clouds Defying gravity. The army of Brig, immortal of Day and Fire raised their shield’s as the arrows came pouring down on them. Then right before the arrows --Ellie hit the army they stopped encased in a golden light. “What in the world?” she whispered. As soon as she uttered the words S she heard the pounding of footsteps. She whipped around and saw a tall glowing figure of Brig standing there, tall and lean, and on her shoulder was a Phoenix. Her booming voice echoed across the field. “My, My Asteria. I underestimated you again,” Brig said. “You tend to do that a lot and you seem to always forget that I am the Immortal of the Night sky and the Wind, Mother….”

More to Come

J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Guess the teacher! By: Emma Daggett Can you figure out the puzzle? My favorite movie is Despicable me Best kid movie, fills me with glee My favorite animal lives in the ocean Its an octopus Quite a commotion! I couldn’t be without my nerds rope It tastes just the opposite of soap Best weather is blizzard, without a doubt When the sky is white I scream and shout My favorite color is gold It will stay the same till I grow old Gold is a similar color to an egg yoke You guessed it, I make a lot of jokes! I’ve visited Belgium, quite famous for waffles Guess who I am and I won’t think you’re awful! Here’s a clue for what’s in my room If you get this, your mind will go kaboom I might have secret freezer Yes, that is the teaser Who am I, yes that is the mystery I definitely do not teach the subject history I once dissected a cat, which I had to Phoenix Fly cut, By Melia Kaufold I’m saying too much so I’ll keep my mouth shut! Rising from the ashes Birds of fiery red dashes If you think you know the answer go to: Many beacons of light bit.ly/GuessTheTeacher2021 At a time of dark midnight Fire spreads and dances Well many fight for chances Some advance, But more enhance Numerous cover wounds While many go unfound But the Phoenix Flies J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Student Interviews By: Stephanie Moon and Aida Gokirmak J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

5 Reasons why the U.S. Government Should NOT Use Big Y Coins as a Moddle of the U.S. Economy By: Lillith Hancock-Braun 5 reasons why the U.S government should not use Big Y coins as a model for the U.S economy Note: No one is crazy enough to suggest this #1 Lack of circulation Before we start let's talk about how the current system works. Money is circulated which means money goes from person to person and it moves throughout the economy. Big Y coins however do not circulate. You get a big y coin and you can spend it but you can not give it to another person. You can only give it back to Big Y in return for their services. The U.S government has a version of that in the form of taxes. You could say that Big Y coins are just money where all the money is taxes (we’ll get to that later). The problem with that explanation is that money for taxes circulates. You give the government money and they use it to do things for the public good or pay private contractors to do things for the public good so it still circulates. Big Y coins on the other hand don’t circulate you just give them back to big y which is the whole crux of this one problem of no circulation which is that you just give it back to Big Y and there is no method of circulation which means there is no value to the money. #2 Inflation In a nutshell, inflation means the value of money. An example of this is Germany after world war 1. The value of the money was so low that citizens were literally burning their money for heat because there was too much inflation. That is an extreme example but another extreme example of inflation is if (you guessed it) the U.S government switched to Big Y coins. Because money just gets given out with no other concerns inflation would be too high. #3 Taxes We have discussed before why big y coins are not like taxes but the problem with that argument is that in addition to not being used to fund things for the public good all of the money goes to taxes which means that you are given a coin that the government makes for the sole purpose of giving it back to the government. The problem with this is (if you haven’t already noticed it) that it makes it so that THERE IS NO PURPOSE OF HAVING THE MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE. The other problem is that it is not used to fund the public good but rather just to incentivize money being existent which is also most likely why the government would not mandate that you pay a tax using Big Y coins. #4 Jobs If taxes are not mandated and you can only pay money to the government and you don’t need money to get basic resources then there is no incentive to work. In addition to not having an incentive to work there is only one place where you can work; the government and again you would not need to use that money so you would get paid to keep a bunch of plastic in your house that either does not require money or doesn't exist because you can’t pay the person who is giving you the house. #5 It doesn't actually improve anything I came up with 3 problems our current system has and why it would not be solved by switching to the Big Y system wouldn’t solve these problems

1. Switching to the Big Y system would not solve the problem of inequality. People are individually biased. If you're getting a house a person can still redline just by saying no.

1. Just like inequality, money not being environmentally friendly is not solved by switching to Big Y coins. Yes, coins are less than helpful to the environment but Big Y coins are just plastic which is not much better

3. Ok. This should be obvious but it doesn't solve the problem of not a single person using change but NO ONE USES BIG Y COINS also again it has no value.

P.S: Big Y got rid of Big Y coins J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Interviews By: Stephanie Moon and Aida Gokirmak

Mrs. Lee Mrs. Lee has never worked at another school before and has been teaching at MMS for 14 years as a school counselor. She plays the flute, likes singing Truth Hurts by Lizzo, and likes listening to Exile by Taylor Swift. She’s worked as a receptionist for a doctors office, and has been a medical helper before becoming a counselor. She went to the University Of St. Joseph and the Central Connecticut State University colleges. She has been to St. Lucia, Mexico, and Canada. She has always been a school counselor at MMS. When she was younger, she wanted to be a social worker or a teacher, so I think this worked out well. Mrs. Lee is an amazing 5th and 6th grade counselor. By: Stephanie Moon

Mrs. Kamiensky Mrs. Kamiensky has been teaching for over 20 years and has worked at MMS for 3 years. She worked at Southeast for a long time (19 years!) and is now teaching language arts and social studies but has taught others including all subjects when she was an elementary school teacher. She grew up in Newington CT and wanted to be a veterinarian when she was a kid. She used to play the clarinet and one of her favorite songs is “Sweet Home Alabama,” and her favorite song to sing is “Can't Stop The Feeling.” She says she is not good at singing but maybe she should try it for her homeroom! She has been to quite a few places including Canada, Poland and others. She is a wonderful teacher, and we are lucky to have her at MMS. By: Aida Gokirmak

Ms. Hoss Ms. Hoss had been teaching for one year (this year) and she has had her Etsy shop for two years, and has come out with some merch and will be posting it on her Etsy shop which is catsscrunchies. She makes scrunchies and coffee cozies. She wanted a creative business so she got an Etsy shop. She went to Lesley University for college and she grew up in Stafford, CT. She has gone to Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Germany and she has always been a teacher. She always wanted to be a teacher and was inspired to be a teacher from her elementary school teachers. Her favorite subject is reading, and she has never worked for another school. Her Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/catsscrunchies?ref=usf_2020 by: Stephanie Moon J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

M r s . M o s e l e y M r s . M o s e l e y i s a n i n t e r e s t i n g t e a c h e r t h a t h a s b e e n t o q u i t e a f e w d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s M e x i c o , I c e l a n d , C a n a d a a n d A r u b a , a n d s h e i s f r o m N e w J e r s e y . S h e h a s b e e n w o r k i n g a s a t e a c h e r f o r o v e r 1 2 y e a r s , h a s w o r k e d a s a l o n g t e r m s u b f o r 5 y e a r s a t v a r i o u s s c h o o l s . B u t M r s . M o s e l e y h a s n ' t a l w a y s b e e n a t e a c h e r , s h e w a s a l s o a b a n k t e l l e r , a w a i t r e s s , a n d i n h e r c o l l e g e a n d h i g h s c h o o l y e a r s s h e w a s a h e a d c a s h i e r a t C V S . S h e w e n t t o c o l l e g e a t U c o n n a n d S a c r e d h e a r t u n i v e r s i t y a n d g r e w u p i n N e w J e r s e y , p o m p t o n . M r s . M o s e l e y ' s f a v o r i t e s o n g t o l i s t e n t o i s A f r i c a a n d s h e r e a l l y e n j o y s s i n g i n g a n d h e r f a v o r i t e s o n g t o s i n g i s D o n ' t S t o p B e l i e v i n g . S h e h a s w a t c h e d H a m i l t o n , a n d h e r f a v o r i t e H a m i l t o n s o n g i s R i g h t H a n d M a n . W h e n s h e w a s a k i d s h e w a n t e d t o b e a t e a c h e r , a n d n o w s h e i s ! T h i s i s M r s . M o s e l e y , o n e a m a z i n g t e a c h e r .

M s . C l a r k M s . C l a r k e h a s b e e n t e a c h i n g f o r s i x y e a r s a n d w e n t t o U t i c a U n i v e r s i t y . S h e p l a y s t h e v i o l i n , v i o l a , c e l l o , b a s s , n y c k e l h a r p a , g u i t a r , d r u m s , m a l l e t s , p e r c u s s i o n , s t e e l p a n s , e t c . S h e l i k e s t o s i n g P r e l u d e f r o m c e l l o S u i t e 1 ( a k a “ t h a t c e l l o s o n g ” ) . S h e l i k e s t o l i s t e n t o S i r d u k e b y S t e v i e W o n d e r . W h e n s h e w a s a k i d s h e w a n t e d t o b e a n a r c h e o l o g i s t . S h e h a s g o n e t o I c e l a n d , C a n a d a , S p a i n , a n d D e n m a r k . S h e g r e w u p i n W a l l i n g f o r d , C t . S h e h a s a l w a y s b e e n a n o r c h e s t r a t e a c h e r a t M M S . B y : S t e p h a n i e M o o n

M r . R o c k M r . R o c k i s t h e s c h o o l ' s o n e a n d o n l y a r t t e a c h e r . H e h a s b e e n t e a c h i n g a r t a t M M S f o r o v e r 2 0 y e a r s ! H e w e n t t o U C O N N c o l l e g e a n d g r e w u p i n V i r g i n i a . H e h a s a l w a y s w a n t e d t o b e a n a r t i s t e v e n w h e n h e w a s a k i d , A n d h e i s a l s o a v e r y t a l e n t e d m u s i c i a n a n d p l a y s p i a n o , g u i t a r a n d h a r m o n i c a . H e e n j o y s s i n g i n g t h e s o n g “ b e n n e y i n t h e j e t s ” a n d h e l i k e s t o l i s t e n t o “ c o u s i n m a r y ” . H e i s a n a m a z i n g a r t t e a c h e r !

M r . B u r r i n g t o n M r . B u r r i n g t o n i s t h e s c h o o l ' s t e c h n o l o g y e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r , o r t e c h e d f o r s h o r t . H e h a s w o r k e d a t M M S f o r o v e r 2 0 y e a r s , a n d h a s r e a l l y e n j o y e d t e a c h i n g t h e 7 t h g r a d e l i g h t p r o j e c t , a n d i n h i s f r e e t i m e h i s f a v o r i t e t h i n g t o d o i s b o a t i n g . H e h a s n e v e r p l a y e d a n i n s t r u m e n t b u t p r o b a b l y c o u l d p l a y a u k e i f h e p i c k e d o n e u p b e c a u s e h e i s n e x t d o o r t o M r . J o h n s o n w h o t e a c h e s u k u l e l e t o 5 t h a n d 6 t h g r a d e r s . W h e n h e w a s a k i d h e w a n t e d t o b e a r a c e c a r d r i v e r , a n d n o w h e b u i l d s m i n i o n e s . M r . B u r r i n g t o n i s t h e b e s t t e c h e d t e a c h e r w e h a v e e v e r h a d .

M r s . H o f f m a n M s . H o f f m a n h a s b e e n t e a c h i n g f o r 1 8 y e a r s a t M M S . S h e h a s w o r k e d f o r W a s h i n g t o n s c h o o l f o r 1 0 y e a r s a s w e l l a n d w e n t t o E a s t e r n C T f o r h e r c o l l e g e . S h e g r e w u p i n E l l i n g t o n , C T a n d S h e h a s g o n e t o A r u b a a n d S o u t h A m e r i c a . H e r f a v o r i t e b o o k i s W o n d e r a n d s h e h a s n e v e r p l a y e d a n i n s t r u m e n t . S h e l i k e s s i n g i n g b u t c l a i m s s h e ’ s n o t v e r y g o o d a t i t . H e r f a v o r i t e s o n g t o s i n g i s S w e e t C a r o l i n e , b u t h e r f a v o r i t e s o n g t o l i s t e n t o i s A M i l l i o n R e a s o n s b y L a d y G a G a . S h e w a n t e d t o b e a d a n c e i n s t r u c t o r w h e n s h e w a s a k i d . B y S t e p h a n i e M o o n J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

First look at the words. there is a word below each picture then try to figure out what the symbol means. A common symbol is + which means add that letter then just do what once you figure out what the symbol is just do what it says and then check your answer. J U N E 5 , 2 0 2 1 Q U A R T E R 4

Thank You for Reading!

Writers: Melia Kaufold, Bibhcti Marasini, Ellie Soares, Lilith Braun, Aida Gokirmak, Stephanie Moon, and Oliver Smith Editors: Lucy Popelton and Emma Daggett Formaters: John Cromie and Lucy Popelton Teacher: Mr. O'Donnell