STINGRAY TIMES Volume 4, Issue 9 May/June, 2016

Advice for Ninth Graders Memorial Day By: Kristi L.

By: Jake G. We asked the 8th grade teachers to share some advice to prepare students for 9th grade. Here is what they said.

Memorial Day is a day to remember the veterans Mr. Holocker: Take a chance and try new things! Always remember to who died serving our country. Memorial Day was ask questions all questions are good questions. Study born after the civil war. It was a day to remember the hard and work hard, if you get into the habit early you dead. It was first introduced on May 5, 1868 by will be less stressed and more confident later on in high General John Logan. On the first Memorial Day school. Finally, make sure you enjoy yourself and make which was previously known as Decoration Day, the most out of every situation because before you know 5,000 people listened to General Garfield’s speech it four years will have gone by and it is time to graduate. at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state that recognized the holiday was New York in 1873. All Ms. Ferris:

of the northern states had this holiday by the year The grading policy is very different in high school from that which you are used to in middle school. Pay close 1890. After World War I, the holiday was changed attention to due dates and assignment requirements. Find from honoring civil war veterans to honoring all a system to keep track of your work -- maybe Google people who died in war. This holiday is now Calendar, Google Keep, or a good old-fashioned agenda celebrated in almost every state even though some book -- and use it reliably. southern states have a separate day to honor the Confederate soldiers who died. Mrs. Marketto: "You don't get what you wish for, you get what you WORK for." The most successful high school students INSIDE THIS ISSUE are the ones that put forth the effort to earn the grades they are capable of. High School is not "hard" it is the perseverance and acceptance of responsibility that can be 1 – Memorial Day 5- Life Hacks difficult sometimes. Once you figure out how important th having an education is, you will click in and start to enjoy 1 – 9 Grade Advice 6- Bin Laden 2 – Last Month of School 6- Quiz everything that high school can be. You can re-invent 2 – Star Wars Day yourself if you want to. Good luck...... WORK HARD. 6- Summer Bucket List 2- Poll Results 7- Book Nook Ms. Ricketts: 3 – Summer Ditties 7- Mother’s Day "May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor" 3- Formal 7- Spot the Difference 4- Summer Boredom 8- Recipe Mrs. Humphreys: 4- Lucky Penny Day 8- Travel Journal  Go to every class. 4- Cinco de Mayo  Turn in all of your homework. 5- Memorial Day Decor  Figure out each teacher's expectations.  Putting pressure on yourself is good but ask for help when you need it.  Laugh at life when things don't go your way!

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How to Make the Most of the Star Wars Day!

By Jordan H. Last Month of School

By Ellie B. th As some of you may know, May 4 is sometimes referred to as ‘Star Wars Day’, but We only have about a month of school left so let’s just say, it is a national holiday. Star Wars everyone should make the very most of it. Here are Day first came about on May 4th, 1979, when a few suggestions to get you started with that last the prime minister of the United Kingdom, month of awesome. Margaret Thatcher, came into office that very day. Her Conservative party congratulated her 1. Focus on your grades: With only a month left of by putting an ad in the newspaper saying, school you should focus on getting your grades up “May the Fourth be with You, Maggie. asZ high as possible (or at least make sure you have Congratulations.” The first celebration of ‘Star all passing grades.) Wars Day’ consisted of a trivia show called, 2. As my science teacher says, Play Outside: The “The Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show.” Some weather is changing and before it becomes ninety places in Maryland that you may be able to degrees you might want to get some energy out. visit to celebrate ‘Star Wars Day’ are the Star 3. Sleep: To do the things listed above you need Wars Toy Museum in Linthicum, MD and to join sleep!!!!!!!!!!!! the Maryland Jedi Order, which meets in places 4. Read A Book: There are many benefits of reading such as Catonsville, White Marsh, Hanover, and including it is fun and if you have no clue what book Rockville. You can also visit Third Eye Comics in to read well, conversation starter (read Harry Potter Annapolis, which is somewhat closer to us that if you really want to read a great book.) the other places, although, I know that they are 5. Try to not get sick: Nobody wants to miss school usually very busy on Star Wars Day. May the and bring down their grades so close to the end of fourth be with you! school. 6: Remember all your holidays in this month: To help you out here are the important ones, Mother’s th Day (show love for your mom on May 8 ), Harry Who is your favorite Star Wars Potter Day (celebrate the awesomeness of Harry Character? Potter on May 2nd), and the two Star Wars Days (May the Fourth be With You (May 4, 2016) and All of them Revenge of the Fifth (may 5)) For further information read Jordan H.’s article. Darth Vader 13% 15% 7: Do Everything Listed Above: Trust me if you truly want an awesome month you should try to do 4% Han Solo as many of these as possible. You should also do 9% everything in #6 even if you don’t want an epic I don't like Star Wars month. 17% Luke Skywalker 15% Other 5%

22% Princess Leia Organa

203 responses Rey

Stingray Times 2 th Sumer Ditties!! 8 Grade Formal By: Lauren B. By: Kylie M. & Charlotte K.

Summer is rapidly approaching so I bring to you a list of On April 29th the 8th grade students attended the greatest bops to listen to during the summer season. Matapeake Middle School’s 8th grade Formal. It’s “lit” as the kids say! This year’s theme was the Wizard of Oz. At the  “Don’t Stop” by 5 Seconds of Summer dance there was snacks, candy, a DJ, and a photo  “What Time Is It” performed by the High School Musical Cast booth all put together by the dance committee  “The Mixed Tape” by Jack’s Mannequin for a great night.  “Love Me” by The 1975 To kick off the night, students went to Kentmorr  “Lose It” by Oh Wonder to enjoy a nice meal that included spaghetti,  “Six Feet Under The Stars” by All Time Low chicken fingers, and creaser salad. Then students  “Burnin’ Up” by the Jonas Brothers went outside to the beach and deck to take many  “Tear In My Heart” by twenty øne piløts th  “Que Sera” by Hannah Montana pictures including a big 8 grade one. If you saw th  “La Devotee” by Panic! At the Disco the weather on the 29 you would agree it didn’t  “I Don’t Dance” performed by the High School look the best, cloudy and rainy. However the rain Musical 2 Cast held off for our pictures and it wasn’t too chilly.

 “Youth” by Troye Sivan After wrapping up taking pictures, students left  “Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys for the school, the much anticipated event of the  “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley night awaiting.  “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” by The Wombats At the school, students followed the yellow brick  “Anchor Tattoo” by Chase Atlantic  “She’s American” by The 1975 road into the cafeteria. You couldn’t even  “The Reckless and the Brave” by All Time Low recognize the cafeteria anymore! There was high  “Soundcheck” by Catfish and the Bottlemen top tables and a whole table of candy, Twinkies,  “Cool Blue” by The Japanese House cake pops and other delicious treats! Around the  “Drive” by Oh Wonder cafeteria there was a black curtain that covered  “Froot” by Marina And The Diamonds vending machines and doors. There was a  “Colors (Joel Fletcher & Nathan Thomson Remix)” by Halsey wonderful photo booth with a table of props. Not  “Gold” by Kiiara to mention, in the back there was a beautiful hot  “HandClap” by Fitz And The Tantrums air balloon that looked just like the one from the  “Lime St.” by Neck Deep movie. There were drinks and another table  “Fabulous” performed by the High School filled with Cheetos and chips. There were also Musical 2 Cast cutouts of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow,  “Cry Baby” by The Neighbourhood the wizard, and the flying monkeys. Songs that  “Unbelievers” by Vampire Weekend

 “Give Me A Try” by The Wombats were played included Cotton Eye Joe, Cupid Shuffle, Little Einstein’s, Beautiful Girls, the  “My Hair” by The Maine  “Girl Crush” by New Politics Wobble, Hotline Bling, Watch Me, Down in the  “Contagious” by Night Riots DM, Rolling in the Deep, My Wish, 1,000 Years,  “Five Minutes To Midnight” by Boys Like Girls and many more. During the slow songs some  “Jamie All Over” by Mayday Parade students danced with their dates while others  “Bored To Death” by Blink-182 danced with their friends. Many laughs were  “White Noise” by PVRIS  “Wild Things” by Alessia Cara shared and many memories were made. If you  “Uma Thurman” by Fall Out Boy were an eighth grader this year, hopefully you th th  “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” by enjoyed the dance 6 and 7 graders, make the My Chemical Romance most of your 8th grade dance as well because it will be a night you don’t want to forget!

Stingray Times 3 Lucky Penny Day 10 things to do when you’re By: Taylor P.

bored in the summer Every year, on May 23, is Lucky Penny Day. This By: Jessica S. Day is meant to celebrate the superstition of finding a penny on the ground, picking it up, and getting - Tie-dye something good luck, which might’ve led to the saying, “Find - Watch Netflix and eat popcorn a penny, pick it up, and all the day: you’ll have good luck. But, this may just be a corrupted version of the - Write a song or a story saying “See a pin and pick it up, all the day you’ll - Have a water balloon fight have good luck.” Including other similar verses - Go swimming which are included within The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore and other - Go for a walk or a run sources. - Make a movie with your friends Even if you do not believe in superstitions, there may be such a thing as a lucky penny. Pennies, such - Start a band with your friends as the 1943 is sold from about $60,000 to $73,000 at - Make a summer music playlist (peep auctions for its rarity. But that is only if it is made Lauren’s article page 3) of copper. Other rare pennies, such as the 1974, 1955, 1936, 1924-S, 1909, 1877, 1856, 1844, 1793, - Get some summer reading done and 1792 pennies are worth more than a cent. If you happen to find any of these pennies, you’re quite a lucky person. However, you are probably not likely to find these Cinco De Mayo pennies, as they are very rare, and pennies generally By: Anna M. last only twenty-five years to begin with. But, the U.S. will never run out of pennies, because the U.S. Cinco De Mayo is a holiday for Mexicans who mint produces more than 13 billion pennies celebrate heritage, culture and pride. Cinco De annually, which is an average of 1,040 pennies every Mayo is celebrated on May 5. It is celebrated second, or 30 million every day. And, since the because it is a day for Mexicans to remember the day beginning of the U.S. mint, they have produced of May 5, 1862, when the Mexican army defeated more than 288.7 billion pennies, which is enough to the French in the battle of Puebla. The Mexicans stretch around the world 137 times. The penny, a were largely outnumbered by the French. However, coin made of 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent led by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin copper, may not be around for much longer, but it is they managed to hold off and defeat the French. The a coin that will never be forgotten. day is celebrated with parades, carnivals, street fairs,

and sometimes fireworks at night. People dress up in traditional Mexican clothing as well. Some parades or festivals may include a reenactment of the Battle of Pueblo. The day is also used to educate people on the heritage of Mexican Americans. Many celebrations include Mexican food and music. The holiday is fairly commercial with restaurants using the day to get people to come out and spend money. It is a strange, although, the battle was for the Mexicans, Cinco De Mayo is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico.

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Memorial Day Décor Spring/Summer Life By: Abby C. and Molly W. Hacks! 1. The first thing is Memorial Day string lights. The things By: Emma V. and Sydney W. you will need will be string (red, white, and blue) water balloons (no water) and glue and a whole bottle of Elmer’s glue. The first thing you need to do is put your glue in a 1. If you have a Popsicle and don’t want plastic bowl and drench your sting in it. Then blow up your balloons and wrap your string around it. Then you let it dry it to melt and make a mess, puncture for 24 hours. After that you pop the balloon and shove a a hole in a paper cupcake holder to Christmas light into it. Your final product should look catch any melted Popsicle.

2. For an outdoor party or barbeque, something like this. simply put all of your condiments and

2. The next decor item is a bandana table runner. You will toppings in a cupcake/muffin pan. need bananas of your choice. You just need to tie the corners of them together. Your final product should look something like this. 3. If you blowup a kiddie pool and fill it with pillows and blankets you can sit in it in the pool.

4. Brew a concentrated Lipton tea and pour it into a recycled spray bottle 3. The next D.I.Y. is really simple and fun to make. First take a coat hanger and stretch it out to make a big circle in and spray yourself to get the tan the middle instead of a triangle. Then take clothes pins and effect for a day without having to put paint then either red, white, or blue. Then after the clothes pins dry clip then to the outside of the circle part of the coat your skin at risk. It also is completely hanger. That is it for the first D.I.Y. washable.

5. Freeze fruit into ice cubes to have flavored teas and drinks

6. Get a Ziploc bag and put your phone 4. The last D.I.Y. all you will need is construction paper and inside to provide a water-proof case a stapler. First take all of your red, white, and blue construction paper and cut then into strips. Then take one for the beach or even the shower. piece of paper and fold it into a circle and staple the end. Also the touch screen will still work. Then take another strip and weave it in the middle of the first circle. Keep repeating this step until the end. When you finish you can hang the product anywhere you want. When your finish it should look like this.

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Which Kpop Group Are Osama Bin Laden By: Connor M. You? By. Zoe Q. Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011. The U.S Special Operation Forces raided a secret 1. Which month is closest to your birthday? compound that he was hiding in. The U.S was a. December searching for him for a decade after the 9/11 b. August attacks. The troops were brought into the compound c. June by two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. After a very short period of time, the first helicopter had already d. May crashed into the compound. Nobody was injured e. April during the crash though. When they raided the f. January place, they shot his son who was guarding a staircase to his room. When they got to the room, 2. Which genre of music do you like? they found his two wives. They hit them over and a. Romance pop shot Osama Bin Laden in his chest two times and b. R&B his head once. After the successful mission, they c. Punk pop threw him overboard on a Navy ship. Everybody d. Hip-hop was grateful that this terrorist was gone and dead. e. Pop f. Rap

3. Which debut song title intrigues you more? Summer Bucket List a. Mama By: Hanna Petursson b. La, La, La With summer approaching, many people still don’t have plans. c. No More Dream But you don’t need to go on vacation as there are plenty of fun d. Replay things to do this break near the island. Here’s a list of activities e. Wanna B to help you make the most of your summer. f. Girls Girls Girls  Go to the beach with friends 4. What is your favourite colour (combination  Go on a picnic or not) from the ones listed below?  Take a walk a. Violet and Gold  Have a water balloon fight b. Yellow and White  Host a slumber party c. Black  Have a movie/ TV show marathon d. Yellow  Go to the park e. Hot Pink  Redecorate your room f. Black and Red  Have a campout in your backyard  Bake a cake Results:  Make a slip and slide If you got mostly a’s: EXO  Make a garden If you got mostly b’s: Big Bang  Create some art If you got mostly c’s: BTS (Bangtan Boys/Bangtan  Try out a new hobby Sonyeondan/Bulletproof Boyscouts) If you got mostly d’s: SHINee  Make popsicles or slushies If you got mostly e’s: Block B  Have fun with friends and family If you got mostly f’s: GOT7

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Book Nook Mother's Day Allegiant Celebrate Mom Everyday! By: Katie H. and Elizabeth C. By: Mackenzie B.

“Allegiant” by Veronica Roth, is the third  Write her a poem. book in the Divergent Series. The faction- o Write something meaningful based society that Tris Prior once believed that she can remember forever. in, is broken- fractured by violence and An example is “Life doesn’t scarred by loss. So, when offered a chance come with a manual, it comes to explore the world past the limits she's with a mother. known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new  Take her on a trip. life together, free from complicated lies, o Take her to the beach, or the spa tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But even. Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered  Make her breakfast. meaningless. Explosive new truths change o Breakfast in bed will really the hearts of those she loves. And once make your mom’s day! again, Tris must battle to comprehend to problems of human nature - and of herself -  Help your mom out. while facing impossible choices about o Just helping your mom out courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. around the house will make her happy.

 Create something homemade. o Something homemade will definitely tell your mom that you love and appreciate everything she does.

 Give her flowers! o The easiest trick in the book. Get your mom some flowers that she likes. Ex: lilies, daisies, and roses.

Stingray Times 7 Travel Journal: South Korea

By: Zoe Q.

Recipe: Spring Crepes Annyeonghaseyo! *bows at a ninety degree angle* Okay so By Harper R I really like kpop, like really like kpop (judge me), so for the last article of the year I decided to do it on South Korea, because I really like kpop. If you haven’t guessed already, kpop is basically the only thing about South Korea that I know so, and also that’s how people greet others. As always I will be going on this journey with you guys, so without further ado, into the culture of South Korea. (Heads up I may be more excited about this then you.) So before I get into the actual culture of South Korea, I’m just going to add the little fun fact that South Korea and North Spring is the air, so why not celebrate it with a Korea were divided during the Cold War between America delicious and delicate breakfast/dessert. and Russia, and it was the only time the two countries “fought” each other, the US aided the South and Russia aided

the North. Okay, unto culture. Servings 12 Food: Some foods are kimchi, a spicy “sidekick” as the website calls it made up of cabbage, pepper, garlic, ginger, Ingredients: and scallion; Soy sauce crab, crab marinated in soy sauce, also called Ganjang gejang; Bibimbap, a simple salad mixed up of rice, mixed vegetables, beef, and egg with sesame oil and a A cup of all-purpose flour dollop of chili paste; and, OMO I cannot believe this is on A teaspoon of sugar (white) here, Instant noodles. Really, really I thought they would have ¼ teaspoon of salt the real ramen but no, they just have instant noodles. Do I 3 eggs really have explain this one though? They also have this drink 2 cups of milk that I suggest you try out, you can get it in the Westfield Mall, called bubble tea or Boba Tea. It is so good, but be careful 2 table spoons of melted butter because you suck too hard on the straw you’ll probably inhale one of the “bubbles” in the bottom of the drink. Directions I don’t want to get to kpop just yet, so as a filler for right now I will teach you my limited korean. Annyeonghaseyo or 1. Sift together the sugar, flour, and salt, then set it 안녕하세요 means ‘Hello,’ 오빠 means ‘Oppa’ which is an

honorary term for girls to call boys older than them, usually a aside the mixture. 2. In a big bowl, beat the milk and eggs (an electric brother or significant other. 누나 means ‘Noona’ an honorary mixer is recommended for this), then beat in the flour, term for boys to call girls older than them, joesonghabnida or sugar, and salt mixture until it is smooth and mix in 죄송합니다 meaning ‘Sorry,’ and gomabseubnida or the melted butter. 고맙습니다 meaning ‘Thank you.’ There is also Aegyo 3. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan on a stove on which means to do something cute, usually used for begging. medium high and pour the batter in (about 2 Okay, now unto kpop! There are literally so many bands that tablespoons per crepe). Rotate and tip the pan to make I know of I’ll probably forget some. For those that don’t sure the crepe batter is thin as can be and spread know, kpop, or Korean pop, is the music they usually listen around. Cook each crepe until both sides are browned. to, but they do listen to American pop, I know because I have seen BTS do the ‘Nae Nae.’ BTS, or Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Fill with whatever you want. (Ex. whipped cream, jams, Bulletproof Boyscouts, is one of the more popular kpop fruits, chocolate, etc.) groups that debuted in 2013. Some other bands are EXO, debuting in 2011 and having two subgroups EXO-K (korean) and EXO-M (mandarin), BIGBANG, debuting in 2006, Block From; http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20931/french- B, debuting in 2011, SHINee, debuting in 2008, Girls crepes/?internalSource=search%20result&referringContent Generation or SNSD, debuting in 2007, 2ne1 (pronounced Type=search%20results 21), debuting in 2009, and a kpop boy group that debuted more recently, Astro, which debuted in 2016 with the song Innocent Love. Alright so with that I shall wrap up this wonderful article of mine and send you all on your way. I hope you all enjoyed my column in the newspaper and I’ll be sure to do it again next year. Annyeong!

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