You're Reading the Ghostly Gazette, the OFFICIAL Newspaper of the Abington Junior High School
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You're reading The Ghostly Gazette, the OFFICIAL newspaper of the Abington Junior High School. In this Spring edition, we bring you... This year Abington Junior High performed the musical “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”. The production was performed at seven o’clock on the Thursday, Friday, and Satur- day nights of February 23, 24, and 25 with a matinee performance at two o’clock on Satur- day afternoon. It was performed in the Little Theatre. Many different students from all over PRIDE Rally! AJHS came together to create a sensational production that captivated audiences for three musical days. The theatre was almost completely filled by audience members for all four performances, and they exited the theater raving about the spectacular show. Carnation Sale Why would the audience not have praising reviews? The cast and crew worked for months leading up to the performance and all the hard work was evident in the sets, cos- tumes, performance, and all the other aspects that go into making a wonderful production. Coding Club! There were nights that the cast and crew had to stay for hours after the school day ended, sometimes coming in on weekends, putting much of their time and energy into producing a wonderful musical for the community to enjoy. The well-known comic that the show was Black History based on came to life on stage and made the audience feel as if they were actually a part of Month! Charlie Brown’s world. From the very first notes of the show, the audience was pulled into the song and wrapped in the melodies that echoed from all sides of the theater. And much, much There were two different main casts that performed. These two casts were the more! Ghost Cast and the Maroon and White Cast. Each cast group had different actors to play the lead characters. One cast performed on Thursday and Friday night and the other performed in both Saturday shows. Both casts performed brilliantly. The catchy songs resonated throughout the theater and could even be heard in the lobby, outside the theater. Anyone lucky enough to watch the show would have gotten the memorable tunes stuck in their head for days. During the intermission, the stage crew collected donations for Project Linus. This is an organization that hand makes blankets for children who are critically ill. These blankets provide a source of comfort to the children. The theme of the show went perfectly with the organization that donations were collected for and this enhanced the audience’s experience because the donations were going to an organization named after a character in the musical. (cont’d from pg. 1) When all the pieces of the musical came together, it went off without a hitch. The cast operated with the air of professional performers and the crew complemented the singing and dancing with every- thing from the accompanying music to the set and cos- tume design. The production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” went down as one of the many great musicals in Abington Junior High School history and we can hope that next year’s performance can live up to the legacy of this year’s performance. The audience was truly filled with “Happiness” as they left the theater. ~ Eshen Brinkert In the month of February, the AJHS staff and principals like to recognize the hard work that students have been putting in this year by rewarding them with a Pride Assembly. Each grade has their own individual assembly, luckily I was able to attend not only the 9th grade one, but the 7th grade assembly as well this year. When the 7th graders arrived to the gym area, they were conducted to sit on a specific bleacher according to their “neighborhood”, which consists of green, blue, yellow, orange, and red. Once all students are seated, Dr.Pellico acknowledges those who have been ex- ceeding in their classes. He then announced the winners of the raffles that we participate in during our lunch periods. During all of this the cheerleading squad is hyping up all the students in the crowd by doing various stunts and cheers. After the raffle winners are announced the projector presents students with photos of their peers that have been on a sports team so far this year. Soon after the photos are shown there is a list that goes up of all the students names that have been in sports. Dr.Pellico recognized these kids by saying their name and having them stand up as everyone around them claps. After all the recognitions, it's time for the students to have some fun. One kid from each neighborhood is selected by their classmates to go down the bleachers and onto the basket- ball court. It is now time for the basketball competition to begin. Each student has one minute to make as many baskets as they can and the winners receives soft pretzels for their whole neigh- borhood. For the 9th grade pride assembly students got to play tug-of-war against their teachers! Also, anyone who wanted could sign up to shoot hoops for one minute or participate in a set of activities from the game show called Minute to Win it. At the end of the Pride Assembly, all of the students are given a muffin. The pride assemblies are a great place for kids to feel special and be recognized for their great academics and athletic skills. It's a nice way for kids to have a little break from their stressful classes and just hang out with friends and get acknowledged for the good work done by themselves and their peers. ~ Sierra Moran Each year spanning over the course of three days lead- ing up to Valentine’s Day, Abington Junior High School’s Student Council representatives host a carnation sale. Tables are set up in the science wing lobby for students to come by and purchase flowers for friends or anyone special. Each flower cost one dollar and all proceeds go to charity. This year, the sales went very well! The science wing was booming with business. People were encouraged to write a special message as well, also to be delivered at eighth period on February fourteenth so that students received their Valentine’s surprise! “So many people came to buy flowers! I had no idea the sales would be that popular,” gushed Amelia Otto, a seventh grade student council representative and one of the carnation sellers. “Getting the flower reminded me of what great friends I have,” reported Maggie Hanley, a ninth grade carnation recipient.. ~ Eshen Brinkert Whether it is your first or third year at the Junior High, you’ve most likely always enjoyed joining different clubs and trying new things. From History to Science club, the possibilities are endless. But have you ever heard of the Coding club? This new club started up in fall with the col- laboration of a faculty member and student and has many members today. The purpose of the club is to promote interest in computer science and establish a supportive atmosphere for students interested in coding or trying something new. Mr. Woolsey, who runs the meetings, stated that the most enjoyable aspect of the club “is to see students enjoy learning how to code and having fun while they do it” - which is exactly the experience stu- dents have at the meetings! Each meeting is structured upon a new coding project that teaches a new concept. From race car tracks to Makie Makie’s, there is always something new and interesting happening in this club. The club meets several times each month, and will contin- ue until the end of the school year. If you enjoy trying new things or simply love computers or coding, consider joining next year. No experience is required - just passion! ~ Sofiya Lysenko The beginning of February marks the beginning of Black History Month. Black history month is an annual celebration where we like to look back and reminisce on all the accomplishments of African American men and women. There are many well known famous figures such as the underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior, and the well known bus riding activist, Rosa Parks. All three of these brave and heroic people have helped shape America and its equal rights for all in or way or another. In 1877 Jim Crow laws came into existence which made segregation between whites and blacks legal. It took lots of marching, rallying, and fighting, both peaceful and violent, to finally get these laws abolished. Jim crow laws prevented blacks and whites from eating at the same restaurants, drinking from the same water fountains, and even using the same bathrooms. In 1954 there was a case between Brown and the Board of Education which ending up outlawing segregation in public schools and in 1964 all state and local laws requiring segregation was ended in The Civil Rights Act. Now black and white chil- dren could finally go to the same schools. Of course these laws being abolished didn’t end racism and discrimination, but it was a step forward in the right direction. On December 25, 2016, a movie that goes by the name Hidden Figures was released. It shed a lot of light on the first 3 black women who were hired at NASA. Each of these women has a job that helped launch the first US astronaut into orbit. Katherine Johnson was one of the three black women who worked for NASA. She was the third African American to ever earn a PhD in mathematics.