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Paul Revere Charter Middle School January/February/March 2013 Volume 57, Issue 3 School Board OKs Laptops for Every Patriot Next Year By YONI STRUGATSKY Mrs. Somoza. “Now we just have a few wrinkles to work out prior A big change is coming to to the tablets arriving—more Revere next year that will affect than a few, but we can do it.” the way each Patriot participates For at least the first year, stu- in class projects and discussions. dents will not be taking the tab- On Tues., Feb. 12th the Los lets home. The school is waiting Angeles Board of Education ap- for direction from the district proved tablets for Revere and 46 about how the tablets will be other pilot schools. It is too soon stored and recharged each night. to know if they will be iPads or The District plans to arrange another brand, but major compa- a one-day paid professional nies are making their pitches and development for teachers in the one will be chosen soon. pilot program during the sum- Mrs. Somoza thanks the hard mer. Revere is also planning on working Technology Team—Ms. more training sessions in the be- Banner, Lori Vogel, Teresa Wil- ginning of the year. liams, David Youssefyeh and “All this is very exciting and other members of the parent will benefit every student at Re- component—for convincing the vere,” Mrs. Somoza wrote in an school board to include Revere e-mail to her faculty and staff. in this new technology program. Ò When the Board heard that our “This is quite a big moment API was 897 they all applauded. for students and teachers, said You deserve these accolades. Revere Looks for Ways to Increase Campus Security Santa Monica Ice Rink is a popular spot during the winter season for Revere s seventh graders. By HARRISON LARKINS Starting on Jan. 7th, 2013, LAUSD has begun to tighten se- When Patriots look back on the curity measures at many schools in events of Dec. 14th, 2012, most the district. The LAUSD s num- remember a day of relief and ex- ber one priority is the safety of our citement over the first few hours students and staff, stated a recent Weekend Hangouts of Winter Break. Yet 3,000 miles announcement made by the dis- By BETTINA PAPAGEORGE their two feet to their favorite ketball in the gym and play foot- away, on the other side of the trict. LAPD policemen have now hangout places. ball on the field and hang out af- country, the residents of Newton, added public schools throughout It s 3:02 p.m. on a Friday after- Nicolette Khalifian favors ter school.Ó Melissa Santos adds, Connecticut were beginning to re- the city to their daily patrols, and noon. The bell rings. Students the Brentwood Country Mart. “Crenshaw has great restaurants member that day not as a joyous several private schools in and of all grades scatter the crowded “They have a large variety of and shops. My favorite restaurant celebration, but for the deaths of around the Los Angeles area have hallways. Then suddenly, every- food choices there! And their is Chinese Garden. 20 innocent children. The Sandy also requested police visits. Se- one leaves the school like there is candy store is filled with mouth- Across town, Alexander Siliezar Hook Elementary School shoot- nior Lead Officer Michael Moore a wildfire on campus. But where watering treats.” Jack Butler, also enjoys Santa Monica. The ice ing has taken the country on a path makes a visit to Revere at a ran- does everyone go? From Bald- a Country Mart regular, says, “I rink is a great place to hang out that may change the way everyone dom time each day. win Hills to the Palisades Vil- prefer sitting by the fire pit after with friends,” he says. “You can lives their lives at school. Meanwhile, Mrs. Somoza, lage, from the shops in Crenshaw I buy some chicken from Ready rent skates for $12 and buy food .Just as quickly as news of the Revere s principal, reported that to the waves in Venice Beach, Chick or a nice juicy burger from and drinks at the snack bar.Ó For shooting spread, Paul Revere and she is working with her colleagues from the ramps at Stoner Park to Barneys. Brianna Gold it s all about the many other schools in Southern on making the school’s 27-acre the restaurants at the Brentwood On the other side of town Dan- shopping! When I go to the Santa California and the country started campus even more secure than it Country Mart, Patriots take bus- iel G. hangs in Crenshaw. “I like Monica Third Street Promenade to take campus security to an en- is now. “The safety committee has ses, cars, skateboards or even this place because we play bas- Continued on page 6 tirely new level. Continued on page 5 Eco Recovery Mission 5 Winter Wonderlands 6 A Lovely Day 7 Ping Pong Power 11 Flipping Through Life 11 Students promote a green campus. Maude cheers at the inauguration. Patriots exchange valentine gifts. Andrew paddles his way to victory. Hank fearlessly grabs over a gap. 2 January/February/March 2013 THE TOWN CRIER Paul Revere Charter Middle School Editor-in-Chief: Abner Santiago Lilly McClure Hannah Shabtian Cheating Gets Claire Spector Reporters and Cole Stanton You Nowhere Photographers: Yoni Strugatsky Alicia Abramson YONI STRUGATSKY Emi Arevalo Graphics: Caroline Bamberger Julian Budge Lance Armstrong was a hero to many. He won seven Tour de Gabriel Galef France championships and founded his own charity for cancer Margaret Boelter patients called “Livestrong” while defeating cancer himself. Harrison Larkins Harrison Gelber However for a long time, there were rumors that the great cyclist JoJo Levey McKinley Souder used performance-enhancing drugs, which he denied time and Alon Levi time again. Eventually, investigators came to the conclusion that he was lying and he was stripped of his titles, leaving his fans dev- Faculty Advisor: Angel Ogwo astated. Recently, Lance went on Oprah to discuss these rumors. Bettina Papageorge Mr. Wechsler This time, he admitted to years of doping and covering it up. People used to look up to Lance Armstrong, but now, they just see him as a liar and cheater. Still, Lance’s actions can be a les- son for others. What he did just shows that cheating will get you nowhere. There is no reason to take the easy way out, because being honest will end up leaving you with more opportunities. Does our middle school need Sometimes it may be tempting to cheat, but the thrill of victory should be accomplished through honest acts. How could some- one cheat on their mile run for example, and say they got sub- full-time armed protection? six? How would others react if it turned out that the great story you put in the literary anthology was copied off the Internet? “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun dent, and the guard would not know. An example of Even if we find that cheating might be possible at Revere, this is is a good guy with a gun,” says Wayne LaPierre, vice such an event occurred in 1999, at Columbine High still no excuse to do it. So, do yourself a favor, and don’t cheat. president of the National Rifle Association. There has School. The student shooters had acquired guns and been a lot of discussion about gun control and armed explosives, prepared to kill multitudes. There was a guards at schools in the U.S. following the elemen- guard stationed at Columbine, but he was not able tary school shooting in Connecticut. After twenty to stop the shooters. Why? The fact that the shoot- Remembering children and six adults were killed by a mad gunman, ers were students was very unexpected. Even so, the our country has been under pressure to come to a con- guard wouldn’t be able to check every single student clusion about gun control and safety. entering the school for weapons. Dr. King A main issue has been whether or not armed Personally, I believe that it is not a good idea to ANGEL OGWO guards should be positioned at schools throughout have armed guards at our school. The shooter would the country. The question is, would the guard be ef- simply find the guard an extra challenge to overcome. Before another MLK Day and Black History Month fades fective or not? At Revere, there are multiple ways The money used to hire the guards could be used completely into memory, we should remember the great acts of to get in and out of the school, and only one guard elsewhere, and more effective security systems can Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. School was closed on Mon., Jan. might not do that much good. However, at other be enforced. All in all, I believe the United States will 21st, but how many of us really appreciate why the birthday of smaller schools, an armed guard could save lives. An- not become a safer nation by providing armed guards Dr. King is nationally celebrated? other complication is that the shooter could be a stu- at our schools. —Alicia Abramson Dr. King’s birthday is a day of remembrance and commemo- ration of his life, works, sacrifices, philosophy and practice of It would be great to have someone No. People who carry guns are sta- I do not think Revere needs full-time non-violence. Because he led the nation to enact laws to grant here to watch over us, but it’s not tistically more likely to be shot, be- armed protection because we are civil rights to people who had none, Dr.