HILLTOP MIDDLE SCHOOL
Volume 1, Issue 7 April/May 2012
falcon times
Inside this Issue: Titanic Hawaii The Smurfs SDSU Trivia OUR falcon CHAMPION ! SBCC Youth Forum April Fools’ Day Spelling Bee? Well her name is Jenna D.J. Skrillex Bischler! Fortunately, I had the oppor- Surviving High School tunity to talk with Jenna about her Black Ops experiences. Surviving Bad Days To start off, Jenna said she never thought she would be the winner, but she always hoped. She says that she won, she was very happy and did study before the Spelling Bee be- excited. cause it was a good way to be pre- For next year’s students par- pared. She was a tad nervous before- ticipating in Hilltop Middle’s hand— her heart was beating when Spelling Bee, Jenna suggests to she was spelling her word. This was study if you want to win, and Photo and Article by Kazendria Cardenas actually her first time competing in a try your hardest! Do you know who was the spelling spelling bee contest. When she got Bee champion for Hilltop Middle’s the surprising shock of finding out she
One direction By Lizbeth Horta Five good looking, talented, creative, funny, random guys! Yep One Direc- tion baby! Photo courtesy of Google Images Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Photo courtesy of Google Images Direction: Harry loves cats, Zayn Horan, Louis Tomlinson, & last but Makes You Beautiful." not least Harry Styles. These guys is obsessed with his hair, Louis each share one thing in common— The reason this band is named One adores carrots, Liam is afraid of their passion for music. After they Direction is because of Harry Styles. spoons, and Niall loves chicken won third place on the reality show He suggested the name since he be- wings. Interesting right? "X-Factor", these five boys became lieves in “one band, one dream , One So now you know a little some- the most famous band in the world! Direction." thing about One Direction. Re- Their biggest song hit was "What Here are some fun facts about One member it's not good to hate. P AGE 2 FALCON TIMES Titanic’s 100th anniversary By Carlos Salas was virtually unsinkable. Its maiden This year marks the 100th anniver- Everyone knows about the Titanic voyage was to be from Great Britain sary of its sinking. Thousands of and how it sunk. This famous sto- to New York City. lives were lost, and people today ry has even been recreated into Unfortunately , on her maiden voy- still remember the Titanic as “the movies. age, this “unsinkable ship” struck an unsinkable ship.” The Titanic was a five-star cruise iceberg. It collided with the iceberg liner engineered by Harland Wolf in the northern part of the Atlantic in Belfast, Ireland. He began build- Ocean. It sunk on April 14, 1912 at ing it in 1909. At this time, Titanic 2:40am. The Titanic took thousands was the largest ship to have been of its crew and passengers along built. After it was constructed, with it as it sank down towards the reports concluded that the ship icy ocean floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Photo courtesy of Google Images
Hello Hawaii!! By Alexia Lopez anthem, Hawaii’s is called Aloha! This means “hello” or “Hawaii’s Own True Sons.” “goodbye” in Hawaiian. Finally, Hawaii is one of two states Hawaii’s nickname is “The Big Is- that does not observe daylight sav- land”. It is the only U.S state made ing time. The other is Arizona. up entirely out of islands. The cap- These are just a few facts to pre- ital of Hawaii is Honolulu. pare you to visit the beautiful state In Hawaii there are many cultural Photo courtesy of www.allhawaiiatours.com of Hawaii. traditions, and it is home to many cultural events. For example, Next, Hawaii is a great vacation there is an annual Merrie Monarch spot because you can chill out on Festival, which is an international the beach, go shopping, go surfing hula competition. or even swim with dolphins. Simi- lar to how we have our national Little blue creatures Photo courtesy of Google Images By Dhamar Perez popular in the 80’s. They even Did you know that there are 105 added new characters to the se- Smurfs in total?! The main Smurfs ries: Grandpa, Nanny, Sassette, are Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy Nat, Snappy, Slouchy, and Baby Smurf, Greedy Smurf and Grouchy Smurf. Smurf. When the Smurfs lost their popu- However, did you know that larity in America they released a Smurfette was not originally a Baby Smurf doll. The doll didn’t Smurf? She was made by Gargamel last long because it’s muddled Photo courtesy of www.hannabarbara.com to cause hatred and jealousy voice appeared to be saying inap- among the other Smurfs. She was better looking Smurf. propriate words. Even though the very mean and she wasn’t very According to www.cmt.com, Peyo Smurfs aren’t as popular now they pretty either. Then Papa Smurf ,a Belgian artist, created the can still be seen occasionally on took her to his lab and made her a Smurfs. The Smurfs were very TV. V OLUME 1 , I SSUE 7 P AGE 3 SDSU trivia By Alexia Lopez Have you ever heard of, or been to SDSU before? SDSU, or San Diego State University, is great college in San Diego, and close to Chula Vista and the Sweetwater school district. SDSU is a university, but what you SDSU Campus Photo courtesy of Google Images don’t know is it used to be a mis- more than 35,000 students to be through a long process to get ac- sion. In the 1920s, SDSU began to able to learn there. It is very hard cepted. outgrow its Park Boulevard loca- to be admitted into this school be- SDSU is the oldest and largest tion. Because of this, the school ex- cause there are a lot of people who higher education institute in San panded its current location. It be- want to go to SDSU. For example, Diego region. Now that you gan as a small school then eventual- according to newscenter.sdsu.edu, know a little bit about there his- ly it became a university. over 60,000 students applied in the tory you should come by and vis- Each year San Diego State allows Fall of 2011. Students have to go it sometime. “LIVE TO celebrate tomorrow” By Carlos Salas ber or friend that is over the 21, The Community Youth Forum was can NOT serve alcohol to minors, held at Hilltop Middle School on regardless of whether it is their April 18. It was a Wednesday own family or children. The reason Night. It began at 6:00PM and ended for this is that minor’s are not de- at 8:00PM. The main goal of the Members of IPS Photos by Ms. Torng veloped fully yet, and the alcohol Forum was to inform parents and running through their systems can adolescents on the dangers of alco- cause severe damages, and many hol abuse and the rules of the Social times, death. Host Ordinance Laws. The Community Forum explained The Forum was organized by the that there are other alternatives to Institute for Public Strategies (IPS). having safe and alcohol free par- The South Bay Community Change Presenters for the Forum Photos by Ms. Torng ties. One way is to not rent a place Project is one part of this Institute, for a party that provides alcohol. which is run by parents and com- was the Mexican tradition of a munity members. Quincenera, a coming of age cele- bration when a girl turns fifteen. Their focus this year in particular, They targeted this particular cele- bration because, many times, alco- hol is used as a right of passage, or just served for adults. Minors at- tending these parties are some- times served alcohol by the family members, unaware of the dangers of underage drinking. The Social Host Ordinance Law South Bay Community Photo by Ms. Torng Over 300 people attended Photo by Ms. Torng states that any adult, family mem- Change Project the Forum P AGE 4 FALCON TIMES The sounds of skrillex By Isabel Uerkvitz and Vivann Gaus Sonny began his solo career and Though you may know him as tour in 2007. After 3 years, he re- Skrillex, his real name is Sonny leased his EP, “My Name Is Skrillex”. Moore. Then, he released his 2nd EP, “Scary According to www.starpulse.com, Monsters and Nice Sprites” with the Sonny was born on January 15, club hit “Kill Everybody”. 1988 in Los Angeles, California. Moore is known to be a combination Skrillex is known as an American of Benny Benassi and Deadmaus. He electronic music producer and has also remixed Lady Gaga’s song singer-songwriter. He had also Photo courtesy of www.factmag.com “Bad Romance”. joined the American post- hardcore band, From First To Last, as the lead singer in 2004.
Month myths
Statue of Julius Cesar Statue of Cesar Augustus Photo courtesy of www.bible-history.com Photo courtesy of www.adobelibrary.org
months: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Jun- Photo courtesy of Microsoft ClipArt month Quintilis after himself. Also ius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, Sextilis became known as August October, November, and December. because Julius’ grandnephew, Cae- By Jessica Bennett King Numa added two extra months sar Augustus , defeated Marc Anto- Did you know that January and to make the calendar correspond ny, became emperor, and wanted February were never really part of with the solar years. to honor himself. the calendar? They were added The month of Qunitilis first became If you want to more about where when King Numa had to come up known as July somewhere between with two new months of his own. our months came from, visit 100 B.C. and 44 B.C. This was be- www.monthsthroughthestars.com. There were originally only 10 cause Julius Caesar renamed the The history of April fools’ day By Carlos Salas ment and rejoicing in the Cybele- Do you enjoy pulling pranks, mak- Attis cult and in the Isis-Osiris cult. ing silly gags, and laughing at other In later years this developed into people's expense? Then you must the holiday of April Fool’s we know celebrate April Fools’ Day with a and love today . passion. April Fool’s Day is celebrated around the world the same way—by April Fools’ Day originated in The pulling practical jokes. Some classic Roman Empire as the festival of Hillaria. According to jokes for April Fools’ are the pull-my www.britannica.com, Hillaria was -finger-gag, the classic knock-knock a festival that celebrated the merri- joke, and fake vomit. Photo courtesy of Google Images V OLUME 1 , I SSUE 7 P AGE 5 Super 8th graders!
By Dhamar Perez and Kazendria Cardenas She likes shopping, eating pizza, and fashion. Can you guess who Do you know Carlos Salas ? He is a stu- it is? It’s Kazendria Cardenas, our dent here at Hilltop Middle and I’m go- student of the month. ing to tell you a few things about this kid! Kazendria loves spending time with her friends and Carlos is 6’1. He doesn’t care much of hanging out with her cousin, his height. In his spare time, Carlos Stephanie. Kazendria is also a likes to write poetry, sleep, and watch Kazendria Cardenas Kazendria Netflix. He likes to watch Family Guy, very good student. Her histo- Photo by Dhamar Perez ry teacher Mrs. Taylor says she is Futurama, and American Dad. “very attentive, responsible and Carlos has been at Hilltop since sev- helpful. But she has got to stop enth grade. His favorite color is black; chewing gum!” his favorite singer is KT Tunstall; his Kazendria’s friends say she is, “very favorite author is P.C. Cast; and his fa- vorite food is pepperoni pizza . funny, outgoing and friendly.” Also,
Kazendria hates pickles and her fa- Those are the main facts about Carlos vorite subject is lunch! When Kazen- Salas. Be sure to say hello next time
dria grows up she wants to be an you see him! Carlos Salas Carlos actress, model and singer. Photo by Lydia Nelson
Kim Meraz is our AVID Standout Do you know who our 8th grade Poem this year! Contest winner is? Well it’s Monique Kim is in 8th grader and she has Yamsuan! been in AVID for 2 years. She says She said that she feels really good she found out about her award about being the winner. She like’s to in her 1st period, and she was write. To know that people liked her very excited and happy. She says poem feels really good. her parents were very proud In her poem, Monique wrote about her
when she told them. KimMeraz Photo by Dhamar Perez 8th grade experience here at Hilltop To be an AVID Standout you have to Middle. What inspired her was the be in AVID for two years and your friends she won’t get to see in high grades have to be good. Then, stu- school. This was Monique’s first time dents submit an essay. The AVID being in a poem contest. teacher chooses the top five essays.
She was very shocked when she found Then the AVID teacher and the prin- out she was the winner. When the po- cipal choose the winner. em contest winner grows up, she says As the AVID Standout, Kim received she wants to become an inspiring au- an award, a certificate and a medal. Monique Yamsuan Monique thor! Way to go Kim! Photo by Ms. Torng
Correction in March issue, “LGBT Bullying Awareness” article: “According to a recent survey by Kosciw's group on gay bullying, nine out of 10 gay, lesbian and bisexual students are bullied in school, and they are four times more likely than heterosexuals to attempt suicide.” From
How to survive high school By Lydia Nelson one a chance. ATTENTION ALL EIGHTH GRAD- Join as many clubs and sports that ERS!! interest you. Keep yourself occu- Are you nervous about going to pied. high school? Read these helpful tips Talk to as many people as you can. Photo courtesy of Google Images on how to survive your next year of Being friendly helps people know school. that you are willing to makes mation about you and you can Go to all of the orientations. If you friends and meet new people. lose your friends because they find your way around the campus Be yourself!!! This is the most im- won’t know what to believe. before school starts, then it will portant step of survival. Lying These are simple steps to follow in be easier to find you classes. about yourself will do you no order to be comfortable with going Be nice to everyone!! Give every- good. It sends the wrong infor- to high school. Good luck Falcons! Black ops
By Cesar Sandoval higher level, it`s harder than the the last one. Also, the multiplayer All images courtesy of Google Imges last level. is fun because it has Capture the I like Black Ops because it`s fun, Flag and team Death Match. Finally another reason Black Ops and competitive. It`s fun because of is cool is the guns. You can fake the campaign. The campaign is fun Another reason why Black Ops is different gun combinations, like because there is so many levels cool is because it has Nazi Zom- with snipers, sub machine guns, that are fun and cool. As you beat bies . Nazi Zombies is fun because assault rifles, and light machine one, the next level is more fun than it`s challenging. As you get to a guns. Dealing with a bad day By Lizbeth Horta and put a smile on your face. This "Today is not my day. " will help you keep positive thoughts in your mind. Smiling forces you to These are words you never want to think positively. You can also talk to Photo courtesy of Google Images hear yourself say. Well, today is the closest person you know, who your lucky day, because I will be you trust your life with. Talking to Once you face your problem, you giving you tips on how to deal with this person helps because he/she can start to get over it. a bad day. knows you best, and can help you. You never know when these days What I recommend you do first is Now, the best thing to do is to just will come, but we all hope we are forget about what's on your mind simply deal with your problem. ready for them.