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Home , Chase Utley, Geoff Jenkins, Get On Your Boots, Harry Kalas, Mitch Williams, Pat Burrell

Volume 14 Issue 3 April 2009 The Viking Press The Student Newspaper of Voorhees Middle School

OMG! It‟s the NJASK! The scary date we dread since the beginning of the year, the date of the NJASK is here. Hours of testing in a stuffy room each day, pressure to sleep well and eat well, and studying 24/7 for the test. It‟s not fun, so here are some tips to make it easier for you. Before the test, maybe during homeroom or on the bus, challenge yourself with some easy common knowledge questions. This‟ll get your brain cells up and working so you don‟t have to read each sentence multiple times. You should listen to the directions your teacher gives you and the one‟s on the test. Al- ways remember, at the end of each section, to go through your Scantron sheet and make sure you haven‟t skipped anything. If you have extra time, go through the test and check the answers you had problems on. Another trick is to use the test to take the test. If you don‟t know an answer, keep going and maybe something said in another question will ring a bell in your brain for the answer to that question. Of course, eat well and sleep well. This really helps, because there is a big difference between a person who has whole-grain cereal and slept nine hours and a person who slept five hours and had Coke for breakfast. Keep yourself stress- free, and try to pretend it‟s a normal worksheet in school, not a big test. If you don‟t do well in it, it‟s alright; but you should try your best.

Congratulations! Congratulations to the VMS Boys and Girls Basketball teams for winning the Camden County Elementary League Conference Championship this year! Your hard work paid off! The Perfect Presentation By Ashleigh Frazier

As you may know, VMS is the home of Rocco, a very special student who is blind. Only you couldn‟t tell this from his personality! Rocco is a high achieving student with an outgoing personality, and an amazing voice. Last month Rocco and his mother came to VMS and gave a presentation to the seventh graders. This presentation was designed to help students understand Rocco and know how to act around him. During the presentation, students were given background information about Rocco; how he be- came blind and how his mother started The Little Rock Foundation, for visually impaired children. Later each student was given a card that had a clear peephole with different de- signs so that the students could picture what visually impaired children see. Rocco‟s mother gave very useful information about their camp including how it was started and how you can volunteer, at Camp Ockanickon. A Braille card was also handed out in ad- dition to a packet to practice Braille. Rocco reads fluently in this code, but I had to take two minutes to figure out one word!! In addition to this, students got to ask Rocco questions. The information given was very inter- esting and valuable. The seventh grade class would like to say thank you to Rocco and his mother for educat- ing us about his many achievements.

For more information about Rocco’s summer camp and The Little Rock Foundation visit www.tlrf.org or contact the Little Rock Foundation at 877-220-2500.

Healthy Habits Lead to Happier Life

By Judah Jamison

Nutrition and good health is extremely important in one‟s life because it can determine whether you are going to live a long and healthy life or not. Most students in middle school are teenagers, and they are developing more independence. Your mother cannot tell you to wash your hands or brush your teeth anymore. It is your responsibility to do these things well and keep up with healthy habits. It is scientifically proven that if you have good nutrition, you can live longer. Doing simple things like washing your hands every so often can help you im- prove your health. After people sneeze or cough, they should ask to go the bathroom, and wash their hands. As you probably know, this can spread sicknesses and diseases. If there isn‟t any soap, use had sanitizer. Most teachers have hand sanitizer in their classroom, if not carry a pocket sanitizer with you. Other ways to keep your body in good shape is to eat a variety of foods, which is very important to keep from getting overweight. It is very unhealthy to eat the same thing con- stantly without switching up your diet. Try having two cups of strawberries in the morning with cereal. There‟s two cups of your daily supply of fruit right there. Getting sleep is also an- other part being healthy. It may not seem right, but if you don‟t get enough sleep, your body won‟t grow properly. You will feel better and learn better if you get enough sleep and keep your body in good shape.

ther. In the beginning of the day as we, stu- dents, start piling into the school, we walk through ever-so-clean hallways with tall, glossy lockers attached to the walls. When the clock strikes 3:10 and most of the students are gone, the hallways turn from ever-so-clean to ever-so-messy. Papers and worksheets, pencils and pens, reading books of all sort, and some- times even jackets, lying on the floor! What has become of our hallways that were once so clean at 8 AM every day? Even though these facts are tough The Other Side of to swallow, they are true. However, there is a way to stop the cans and paper flying out of win- the Window dows creating pollution. Here are three easy By Navneet Guleria steps that students, like us, can accomplish; they aren’t hard, so no worries! Have you ever been in the 8th grade hallway? If Simply, don’t litter! Recycle cans and paper. you have, it’s great, right? If not, I would under- Throw out candy wrappers; don’t just stand. It’s a little creepy with all those big eighth pick them out of your pocket and throw graders picking on you or just hovering over you them on the ground. like clouds. Yet, if you are an eighth grader, you Particularly on Earth Day, do your part! probably have looked out the windows a couple Join or create a group and clean the of times while walking to classes. If you haven’t school grounds, inside of the school, or already noticed, our school is polluted! community parks! Imagine this: You just left math class Take Action. If someone litters near you, say where you took a complicated math test and something! Stand up for the Earth be- you’re on your way to Spanish. You walk down cause it can’t. [Of course, don’t start a the 8th grade hallway frustrated with yourself. fight! Just tell them politely that the The only thing that can make you feel better is Earth needs taking care of.] the beautiful, sunny, spring day outside and the only way you can see that is through the eighth On April 22, it will be Earth Day. Let’s all grade windows. You stop by the windows, ex- join together to fight the challenge of pollution cited, and suddenly become shocked. The on our Earth. ground is polluted with cans, paper, and other junk. The grass isn’t so green on the other side after all! Okay, so maybe you don’t care so much “Live Simply, Go Green” about the day outside, but do you care about how our Earth is affected because of these insen- sitive actions? The truth is: our school is pol- luted and we should do something about it. In addition to school grounds out- side being polluted, the inside isn’t so green ei-

A Spring Special!

By Navneet Guleria

During Spring Break, you may become a little bored. If that Dear Vanessa, th unfortunate event occurs, here is a great, delectable treat that Well, I like this guy in 8 grade and I‟m in is easy to make! 7th grade. I do nothing but talk about him and my friends get really annoyed, but they don‟t under- Cake Ice-cream stand. They keep on telling me to make a move but he hangs around with the “mean‟‟ kids in 8th Cones grade. He‟s like my halo. He‟s so sweet, nice, car- Ingredients ing, and smart. I see him every day and I don‟t even know what to say to him. He sees me to but 1 box favorite cake mix I get so nervous when our eyes lock. I don‟t know 1/2 cup cold water what to do, and this is what you are here for. How 2 eggs do I get his attention? 3 tablespoons water -Dream Boy (halo) trouble 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon cooking oil 24 flat-bottomed ice cream cones Dear Dream Boy (halo), Directions If he‟s really sweet, nice, caring, and smart like you said that maybe he won‟t be mean Preheat oven to 350° F. to you. That‟s what I think well than maybe by Combine cake mix and 1/2 cup cold water. Beat 2 min- utes. Beat in eggs, water, vanilla and oil. Mix well. Place chance he will give you a chance, you never ice cream cones in muffin tins or on cookie sheet and fill know. But to tell you the truth you should be each 1/2 full with batter. Bake 20 minutes or until cake more focus on your school work than boys. springs back to the touch. Frost and decorate when cooled, if desired. For more awesome treats, go to www.foodnetwork.com

The 2

By Marcos Aquino

Imagine this. Some of the world‟s most treasured artifacts have been stolen. To try to get them back, an international group of detectives or a so-called dream team is assembled to find them and solve the case. Representing the team is England, France, Japan, and Italy. Representing France is possibly the world‟s greatest detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. A good reason why Clouseau should join is that when he is about to leave France, the legendary Pink Panther diamond is added to the list of stolen items, and yes, is both a cartoon and a diamond (but not a real diamond). Returning as Clouseau is ultra- funnyman (Cheaper by the Dozen, ). During the film, one of the members of the dream team that‟s not Clouseau makes him jealous by taking interest in his secretary, Nicole, who Clouseau has se- cret feelings for. Starring alongside Steve Martin is Alfred Molina (who played Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2), Andy Garcia (Ocean‟s Thirteen), (the voice of Miss Frizzle on The Magic School Bus), and Jer- emy Irons (Eragon). The film‟s opening credits are phenomenal. The film can get silly at times, but it can be funny sometimes. I give or a 3 out of 5. Holi– An Indian Festival By: Nikita Nayyar Have you ever heard of the Indian holiday called Holi? Well let me tell you about it. Holi is celebrated all over India in different ways. This is meant to wel- come the spring and win the blessings of god for good harvests. It is the festival of colors such as, pink, orange blue and more. It is celebrated in March. One of the most popular Indian desserts to eat on that day is „Gujhia‟; the most popular Indian dinner is 'papris' and 'dahi vade' that makes mouth water. The holiday Holi can be celebrated in many different ways in many different places.

By Nicole Plotnick If you don‟t already know about the Sims, then where have you been for the past decade? The Sims is a computer game that basically mimics the acts of life. You can create a sim and make it look like anybody that you can possibly imagine! Create Sims that reminds you of people that you really know. When you create a sim, you can change its personality. Make your Sims a good cook, or a good me- chanic. During the game you need you need to take care of your sim by agreeing to let them have good health. Doing that, you need you pay attention to their hunger, bladder, energy, social, comfort, environment, hygiene, and fun. When you keep these health needs up, when your sim turns into a toddler, child, teenager, adult, or elder, your sim is sure to be in great shape! The difference between the Sims 3 and the Sims 2 is the freedom. Now, in the Sims 3, you can go and greet your neighbors or zoom in at any spot in town, and see what is going on. In the Sims 3, you can explore seamless neighborhoods explore places like never before. Go check out the newest movie in the Movie Theater; get your sim in shape by taking a bike ride around town, or go take a spin in the car to fill up the fridge. Make your Sims dreams reality, their future is in your hands. . He loved the game since he was 10 years old. The New World Harry graduated from the University of Iowa in 1959 with a degree in broadcasting. Harry was in the army in Ha- Champions … waii for 2 years. When he started his broadcasting carrer, he started with the , for 6 years. Since 1975, Harry has called games for NFL Films. Harry Phillies! moved to Philadelphia in 1971. Harry made many great calls in his 38 years in Philadelphia: :Watch that baby...

Outta here!- his typical home call. Harry called Pete Roses' 3,631st , breaking Stan "the man" Musial's Na- Coming into the 2009 season, the defending tional League record. Harry also called Michael Jack champions, are favorites to win the Schmidt's 500th in dramatic fashion. Harry pennant for the second year on a row. The Phillies have gave Michael Schmidt his nickname "Jack", because it made huge changes in their starting lineup this past win- was his middle name and he "jacked" the ball out of the ter. The biggest change was the release of the eight year ballpark. Harry was not allowed to call the Phillies' first veteran, . Burrell spent his entire career in championship in 1980 because the MLB had a rule that Philadelphia averaging over 20 homeruns a season. Also, local broadcasters weren't allowed to call postseason management has changed too. The former general man- games. That rule was changed 3 years later. The next ager, , stepped down as the general at time Harry had the chance to call another game was in the end of the year. Former Philadephia Phillie Ruben 1993. The '93 team was his favorite of all-time. When Amaro Jr., who was born and raised in Philly took over hit the "GAME-WINNING" home run off of the job. This will be an interesting year for the Phillies, , Harry's voice was the softest anyone has but there is always room for change. ever heard. Harry got to leave this Earth after calling the During the winter months, the Phillies replaced Phillies' 2008 championship. He was so excited for this Pat Burrell with Raul Ibanez. Ibanez played for the Seat- last championship. In 2002, Harry won the Ford C. Frick tle Mariners and the for the last Award (baseball's best broadcaster) from the National twelve years. He is not a great fit for the Phillies defen- Hall of Fame. Harry "the K", as many players and sively, but he will provide many hits on the offensive side coaches called him, collapsed in Washington D.C. before for the Phillies who are need of a left handed hitter. The the Phillies' game. He was pronounced dead at about Phillies have made other minor acquisitions to back up 1:20 p.m. in George Washington University Hospital. The the and fielders. They have added veteran Chan Phillies will be wearing a patch over their jerseys which Ho Park as the 5th starter and veteran relief Jack say "HK" for the remainder of the 2009 season. Harry Taschner. They have also released and was "the voice of Philadelphia.." Harry's raspy voice signed Jaysen Werth to a long term deal. In addition, made his calls even more special. Harry left behind his , who played through last year with a hip in- wife Eileen and their 3 children, Todd, Brad, and Kane. jury, had surgery during the offseason. He wasn't ex- We have lost a true Philadelphia Treasure. Harry was 73 pected to come back until late May, but amazingly he has years old. recovered quicker than everyone expected and is cur- rently starting for the Phillies. We have finally signed our big man, to a new three year, fifty-four mil- lion dollar contract. Though the Phillies lost their home- opener to the 4-1, no worry Phillies fans; there‟s 161 more games to go. Our goal this season is to repeat, and we won‟t accept defeat! A major, and unexpected defeat came as huge blow to players and fans alike, when col- lapsed and died on April 13, 2009. Harold (Harry) Nor- bert Kalas was born on March 26, 1936, in , Illi- nois. Harry's passion was always America's pastime, lars. Toretto is under suspicion for his role in he crime. *Fast and As O’Connor gets involved with Toretto’s life and sister Mia, he tries to prove that Dominic is innocent in this Furious* breathtaking movie of reputation and power. Together, Diesel and Walker create a fierce By Michael Vuong and interesting movie on how rivals in Los Angeles

race their cars as a way of establishing power. In the

second movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Walker stars in it with

Tyrese Gibson bringing another blockbuster to thea-

ters. Finally it ends with The Fast and The Furious:

Tokyo Drift; the former crew of the Fast and Furious is With 72.5 million dollars already made, Fast gone and replaced by others. and Furious stands strong in box offices as the newest In this new one, Toretto and O’Connor work hit to the franchise of the most extreme and action- together again, this time for different reasons. Toretto packed street racing series. This is currently the fourth seeks revenge, and O’Connor seeks justice. A criminal one, and it has fans on of their seats. drug dealer named Braga assembles a team of drivers For those who haven’t heard about this as workers for him. O’Connor is undercover and Tor- movie, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker play as Dominic etto is semi-related to being undercover. This movie Toretto and Brian O’Connor. In the very first defines extreme stunts, street racing, and action. If Fast and Furious movie, O’Connor is an undercover you haven’t seen it yet, watch it now or wait until it cop who attempts to solve the case of stolen electronic comes onto DVD! equipment, which ends up being worth millions of dol-

NHL Playoff Race By Jeffrey Hernandez

This year in the National Hockey League, teams that were never good suddenly turned to be some of the best teams, building a better reputation with each win. The Florida Panthers for example, they have not been in the playoffs since 2000; finishing in 10th and 9th place most times. In October, they were lighting the NHL standings up. The New York Rangers were among the Panthers. The Rangers had not been in the play- offs in a while. Now, teams like the Panthers and Rangers are battling for points so that they could finally be in the playoffs again. These teams trying to make the playoffs return to their homes are also making the playoff race much harder for teams below them in the standings. The New York Islanders are an example for one of these teams. The Islanders started the season good, but they just slowly started to lose while other teams in the Eastern Conference kept winning. Now the Islanders are in last place in the Eastern Confer- ence; Long Island will not see a Stanley Cup this year. But for the teams who are winning, they are in a giant struggle for the playoffs. The Pen- guins, who came in 1st place in the Eastern Conference last year, were having an ok season this year; not the best but sort of in the middle. Now they are in a battle against the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, and the Carolina Hurricanes for 8th place. Teams, who are higher in the standings like the New Jersey Devils, and the Phila- delphia Flyers, don’t have to worry about anything really. But they are not out of the woods yet as the playoff race is getting very intense. We’ll soon find out who is in the playoffs and who isn’t; The Playoff Race isn’t over until it’s over. release cause such a riot? of poverty, and “”, Strikes Maybe it’s their new sound. which is Edge’s organization. ’s voice has lost its Robert Edge is U2’s guitarist, and he cre- Back Smith-like tone and Edge’s guitar ated a charity that works as a riffs are louder than ever. Just relief program for natural disas- By Keerthana Krishnaraj listen to “” and ters in the United States.

compare it with some of their old U2 has proven to be a songs, for example, Sunday So everyone’s heard Of band worth caring about, but Bloody Sunday. U2, right? They’ve won twenty- do you think that they’re worth U2 maybe an old band, two Grammys, were inducted listening to? You can find every but you should keep an eye out into the Rock and Roll Hall of for them. Lots of other bands song ever written by them on Fame in their first year eligibility, that I know all of us listen to (like itunes. Or, just walk into Target and support RED, and guess Paramore) cover U2. They’ve and buy a CD. what? They just released a new featured Greenday in the song album. Now, I know what you’re Whatever you “.” Plus U2 thinking, “So what? Some old choose, I’m is one of the bands that are rock band released a CD, big sure you’ll love aware about the problems go- whoop.” Did I mention that their the songs on ing on around us. They support latest release, No Line on the Ho- (RED), which is an organization No Line on the rizon, received the virtually un- that helps people in need Horizon. heard of FIVE-STAR RATING from around the world. They also sup- Magazine? Yeah, port “One”, which is another or- that’s big. But why did U2’s new ganization that is trying to get rid

The Arts at But the electrifying play is- would like to participate, contact Its Finest n‟t all that the drama students Mrs. Strain at should be proud of! Our school [email protected]. With By Ashleigh Frazier Drama Club went to Rutgers to the help of the drama club‟s spon- perform in the Teen Arts compe- sors, all of this hard work paid off tition. In the course of the sea- on opening night when they took the

son, they have also made their stage. Without the help of Mrs. Strain, Ms. Koch, Mrs.Horvitz, mark in the community. The Ms.Ratcliffe, Mr.Ocampo, VMS Drama Club participated in Mrs.Baker, and Mr. Leipow, this a bandanna sale, and raised play wouldn‟t have been such an $4,000 this year for the Throughout the year kids Alicia Rose uplifting success! We thank all of from VMS have shown their VMS Victorious Foundation. The Alicia the participants in Into the Rose Victorious Foundation is a pride, through the arts. This year, Woods for showing their non-profit organization that or- our school brought to life “Into the school spirit! For all of the Woods”, which is a fractured fairy- ganizes teen rooms in children's tale, using a cast, a chorus, hospitals across the country and members: Keep on being in- and a tech crew. Considering that put together kits for teen that are spiring!!!! there‟s no dancing in the play, Mrs. battling life threatening illnesses. Strain, the head director, took the They also will be participat- risk added a dance company to the ing in the Susan G. Komen Race for cast. the Cure on May 10th, 2009. If you