http://vassallane.cpsd.us/school_news/school_newspaper/ April 10, 2015 VLUS WEEKLY Stories by and About the Vassal Lane Upper School’s Scholars

Vassal Lane Upper School, 197 Vassal Lane, Cambridge, MA

02138 Image by Susan Peloquin

Connect to the VLUS Update on the April 17th VLUS Day of Silence Weekly: By Susan Peloquin http://vassallane.cpsd.us/ school_news/school_newspaper/ Just a reminder that VLUS students and staff will be participating in the National Day of Silence as part of our

In this issue of the work in the Gay Straight Alliance next Friday, April 17. VLUS Weekly: Students can choose to participate in 2 ways. The first is to wear a sticker stating that the student pledges to be silent Essays! Reviews! that day to recognize the silence that LGBTQ peers and Articles by New families feel regularly. The second is to wear a sticker that Authors! states the student supports the Day of Silence and its Our First Reader’s purpose but isn't committing to be silent. Teachers will be Write Original Story! modifying the classes that day to allow for students who are choosing to be silent to be able to participate through

writing.

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On the Road Again: Journalism for a Moving World Effects on Streets

By Fiona O’Loughlin

Image by Fiona O’Loughlin

After three weeks of almost constant blizzards and snow, Cambridge streets were nearly impassable. Plows pushed snow to the sides of streets, causing them to lose one or more lanes of traffic. Certain streets in East Cambridge changed from two-way into one-way streets to reduce accidents. The Cambridge Police Department expected these changes to remain until April, and asked citizens to be patient as they “manage[d] historic amounts of snow in our city”.

Another problem was the issue of where to put all of the snow. Some piled up on street corners, causing traffic problems when drivers couldn’t see around the massive heaps. Even more snow piled in the corners of parking lots, forming mountains tall enough to ski down. Some of these mountains are still there, even into April and 60 degree days.

A huge danger that came with 2015’s “snowpocalypse” was the danger to workers clearing snow, especially off of roofs. This is a necessary job to prevent roof collapses, but slippery conditions and concealed skylights can make workers much more likely to fall. http://vassallane.cpsd.us/school_news/school_newspaper/ 2 http://vassallane.cpsd.us/school_news/school_newspaper/ April 10, 2015

This year, two workers died in Canton while cleaning snow off of roofs, and two more were hospitalized in Burlington and Avon. Another man was hit and killed by a snow plow in the Whole Foods parking lot.

These deaths and injuries have prompted the state of Massachusetts to make a new law. Property owners Image from http://www.sickchirpse.com/ are now legally responsible for the sidewalk in front of their property. The law states that the sidewalk must be wide enough for a stroller or wheelchair, and completely free of ice. Cambridge residents have had to grab their shovels and head out, to keep the streets of Cambridge passable.

J. Cole’s New :

Album Review by Ayana Sterling

Images from http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.hiphopdx.com/

Jermaine Lamarr Cole, better known as J. Cole, an American hip-hop recording artist, , and from Fayetteville, North Carolina, dropped his recent

album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, on December 9, 2014.

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The title of the album is the address of J. Cole’s home, where he grew up as a child with his mother, brother, and stepfather. After graduating high school in 2003, J. Cole attended St. Johns University in New York City. In 2014, J. Cole re-bought this house. It was his first house.

On December 9th, 2014, J. Cole released the “” music video. On that day, his two songs from the album, “Apparently” and “G.O.M.D”, were also released to American mainstream urban radio. "Apparently" has since peaked at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

2014 Forest Hills Drive got great reviews from music critics. Exclaim! said, "J. Cole is determined to make music that matters to him. He shines without any features, standing strong in his delivery and carrying his story to the forefront of the 13-track project. While it may not be his , he has definitely graduated into a class of his own.”

According to Wikipedia, 2014 Forest Hills Drive “debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling a total of 371,000 copies consisting of 354,000 sold and 17,000 streamed copies, marking the best first week sales of [J. Cole’s]career.

I personally am not the biggest fan of J. Cole but I listen to his music sometimes. I love this album because I like how he raps about stuff that other rappers usually don’t, and it has very positive messages. I also think that J. Cole is showing his fans his life through this album. My favorite songs on the 2014 Forest Hills Drive album are “,” “," and “Adolescence”. I saw that a lot of people really liked this album, so I decided to listen to it, and it is now one of my favorite . Well done J.Cole.

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I Believe

Essay written by Katerina Ohanyan in Ms. Anna Marsh’s 6th Grade ELA Class

I believe “Fear is just another reason for trying harder’’. It’s always important to fight your fear and never give up.

I started to believe in Fear being another reason for trying harder when I was watching a show. In that specific episode, one of the sisters was scared to do her own scene in a movie and so the other sister told her “Fear is just another reason for trying harder”. It worked.

In the start of 6th grade, it was really hard for me to open my lock. I tried and tried it wouldn’t open. I was very nervous, so my mom came in the morning to help me. The first time it did work it and so she left. It still would not open so I tried my best and believed in myself. The lock opened. I was very happy and came up early a few days to practice. I became very good at it, because I believed in myself.

There are also times that it’s hard to face your fear, even the things that you love. Their is something that I am scared of and whenever I am on the edge of facing it, fear wins. I am scared of dogs a little. I love them, the are the cutest animals in the world, but for some reason I get scared they might jump at me, so I keep my distance. I believe in myself, I believe that one day I will face my fear.

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There was also another time when I was scared of something and I faced it. It was when we went to Canobie Lake Park, with our family friend. There was a crazy huge ride, which went up where you could see the whole park and then it dropped down from a huge height. Me and our family friend’s son ( who is nine years old) also wanted to go on that ride, but we were scared. While we waited in line we saw the ride before us go up. There was a girl who was almost crying because she was scared it might be horrifying. We waited for that ride to come and when it came back, we saw the girl saying “It wasn’t that bad, it wasn’t that bad”

It was finally our turn and we sat on the seats and buckled up. Even when the ride hadn’t started we felt like falling down. The ride started and I tried to stay brave and not scream but it was too late, the ride started to go high up. From there I could see the whole park, it felt like I was flying. Suddenly it started dropping, I started screaming and crying a little. The ride did the same thing for a few times, then it went down. When we came back to our parents, I was laughing and my feet were shaking. I didn’t care about that, the only thing I cared about was being able to face my fear and be brave.

So thats why I believe that “Fear is just another reason for trying harder.” You only live once, never be scared of anything. There is nothing in this world that you are scared of, you can’t face. Always believe in yourself, be brave and never give up. Being scared of something means that you have to try harder.

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Reader’s Write Are You A Writer?

If so, we would like to recruit you to participate in the new “Reader’s Write” section of the VLUS Weekly.

If you have an original story, poem, or book review that you want to share, this is the place for you! Submit your work by sharing it with Jesse Lowe or Nora Clooney on Google Docs, or, give your work to one of us in person. Please also feel free to talk to us if you have any questions about the possibility of us publishing your work.

Dawn

Original Reader’s Write Story by Jesse Lowe

In northern Canada, the sun can only be seen in the summer, and then the sky is bright day and night. In the winter, the sun doesn’t show at all. In this land of wonder, there is a cottage. In that cottage, there is a family.

Kira liked her life. She had three best friends, a nice school (though it was miles away in town), and a family she loved. Then, there was Ben. A week earlier, her parents had adopted him. He was quiet and shy and loved to draw.

Kira hated him.

“Mom, we don’t need him! Before, everything was fine. Why can’t you just send him back?” she cried. It was nearly spring, and late at night, Ben was asleep, so she had seized the opportunity to talk to her parents at the kitchen table.

“Send him back? How would you like it if you had finally found a home, and then you were sent back?” her mom retorted.

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“How would you like it if somebody just gave you a little boy and said, ‘He’s your brother. Love him?’”

“Kira, we’ve told you before, this is not your decision to make. He’s here now. End of story,” Dad said.

“So pretty much, too bad, deal with it?” Kira muttered.

“Honey, you’ll take time to adjust. Let him settle in and eventually you’ll love him like a real brother,” Mom stepped in.

“I’ll never love him! I’ll never adjust! I hate him!” Kira yelled, finally losing her temper. Her parents were silent, staring at something behind her.

“What?” Kira turned. “Oh….”

It was Ben. He stared at her, biting his lip. Tears were gathering in his eyes.

“Ben, I-” she began, but the little boy ran down the hall to the front door.

“BEN!” Dad followed him, desperate. The front door opened and closed. A few minutes later, Dad came back.

“He’s gone. He ran. Emmy, call the police. He could die out there.” Mom rushed to the landline, and Dad got out his cell phone. Kira sat there at the table, numb with shock. She had done this. It was her fault that Ben might die out there in the cold. Alone. Hating her. Never knowing that she was sorry.

Mom and Dad were busy. She could probably escape their notice. Kira went to the door. She put on her warmest coat as quietly as she could. The door opened and closed.

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“Kira?” Mom put the phone down. “Kira?” Her daughter was already outside, at the mercy of the cold March tundra.

Kira ran and ran, with no sense of direction. “Ben!” she yelled. “Ben, where are you?” By then it must have been after midnight. She slowed to a trudge, her only company the stars and a breath of icy wind. A pack of wolves passed. A bear lumbered in the distance.

Kira’s hands, feet, and face were numb. The cold had crept into her coat, and she knew that soon it would reach her heart. Beneath a snowdrift there appeared to be a little sheltered spot, out of the wind. Kira crawled towards it and as she poked her head in, she realized that what she had mistaken for a rock was-

“Ben!” she gasped. He crawled out and hugged her, shivering. For once, she didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry.” Kira was crying, the tears freezing on her cheeks. Ben gave her a squeeze, and she knew that she was forgiven.

There they lay, in that tiny nook out on the tundra, miles from home, slowly freezing as they grew more and more tired.

“Look!” Ben cried. On the horizon was a golden glow. They sat there in awe, watching as the sun appeared for the first time in months. The sky was streaked with every shade of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple. Kira was smiling. As the sun rose, so did her heart. The ice receded.

“We’re going to make it. We’re going to find a way home.” she told Ben. He grinned.

“I know we will.” Brother and sister sat side-by-side, happy, in the sunlight.

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“Hey!” A voice called from behind them. The searchers had found them. They were saved.

Epilogue

“Ben?” Kira called. She opened the door to his room where he sat, drawing. “Mom wants to take us out for lunch. Hey, what’s that?” She sat down on the floor next to her brother.

“It’s our family,” he held up the paper. There was a man, a woman, a sister, and a brother. They all had their arms around each other.

“Our family,” Kira repeated. The siblings shared a smile and headed out to lunch as the sun shone overhead.

The VLUS Weekly is Back!

Have you heard the news? The VLUS Weekly is back, and we are currently seeking contributions from Vassal Lane students and teachers. Check us out at http:// vassallane.cpsd.us/school_news/ school_newspaper/, and be sure to share your stories by and about Vassal Lane students with Kathleen Moore and Nora Clooney via Google Docs. Please also feel free to send your story ideas to Kathleen and Nora at [email protected] and [email protected].

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