JMS News June 2021 Welcome to the JMS News!

Well, we have had an interesting year! At the end of the year we started newspaper club and we are getting out our first (and last) edition of the JMS News! A huge thank you to the newspaper staff for submitting some great articles. We hope you enjoy what we have put together!

JMS NEWS Best wishes 8th graders!

Wishing you all the best in your future! Solo and Ensemble goes virtual By Michael Wilson

Due to the pandemic, the middle school Solo and Ensemble music festival had to be held virtually this year, with students submitting their entries on video. Ms. Paucek explained that Solo and Ensemble is a performance festival run by the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA). Students learn solos and small group pieces such as duets and perform for a judge who is an expert in that area. The judge then gives students feedback on their performance. Instead of having everyone perform on one day in February like in a normal non-pandemic year, there was a due date later in the spring by which you had to submit your video. This probably alleviated the stress for people who were uncomfortable performing in front of larger groups. Both the instrumental and vocal music departments participated but they handled it differently. In choir, students could choose to participate or not. Mrs. Perkins already had several pieces students could perform or they could choose their own. In band, all students were required to play a specific piece, which was determined by what instrument you played. For band, we had to play it on FlipGrid and submit it. If you didn’t submit it on FlipGrid, you had to play for the class, even if you were virtual. Combined, band and choir students submitted 63 entries, Mrs. Paucek said. In the vocal music department, there were a total of 14 students participating, with nine total events entered nine, Mrs. Perkins said. Many were duets or double duets, and one person entered two vocal solos in different categories. Mrs. Perkins worked with some of the singers during WIN/FIT time, since there are no vocal lesson times built into the school schedule. Band students worked on their instrumental solos (or in the case of eighth-graders, duets) during their instrumental lesson times, which are built into the schedule. Asked about the value of this experience, Mrs. Perkins said that it greatly benefits the choir students. They get exposed to different vocal literature, gain confidence, and have the opportunity to get one-on-one vocal coaching from their teacher, which they don’t normally get. From the band side, Ms. Paucek said this program provides students with the opportunity to work on independent and small-group performances. “Performing independently is a very different experience than performing in the full band or choir,” Mrs. Paucek said. The festival also provides students with input from someone other than their teacher here at Jefferson Middle School, Mrs. Paucek said. The judges are current and retired music educators from other parts of the state, she explained. “It’s great for students to hear feedback from another voice,” she said. She said that when students work to improve their individual skills this way, it improves the sound of the group as a whole. Ridiculous Riddles

- It has keys, but no locks. It has space, but no room. You can enter, but can’t go inside. What is it?

Answer: A keyboard.

- I can fill a room, but I take up no space. What am I?

Answer: Light.

- It’s the only place in the world where today comes before yesterday. Where is it?

Answer: The dictionary.

- What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?

Answer: An umbrella. If your umbrella is “down,” it can fit through a chimney, but if it’s “up,” it won’t fit!

- I make a loud sound when I’m changing. When I do change, I get bigger but weigh less. What am I?

Answer: Popcorn. Jefferson Middle School competes in virtual History Bowl By Michael Wilson JMS News

Members of the JMS History Bowl club were able to compete this year in the National History Bowl, even though it was a virtual event rather than in person. The club actually got started last year, but despite weeks of training, last year’s team was unable to compete because the week of the competition, it was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, the competition did take place, although in a virtual format. Mr. Kawleski is the team advisor. For those students who are unfamiliar with the event, Mr. Kawleski explained: “History Bowl is a team competition of students from all over the United States. It is done in a quiz-type format where students buzz in to provide a correct answer. Questions are taken from all eras of history and different topics such as sports, science, music, U.S. and world history. The faster you buzz in and get an answer correct, the greater the point total. Making up the JMS team were Cody Hoefler, Noah Hudson, Michael Wilson, Kateri Kawleski, Kiernan Kawleski, Landen Schmitt and Lexi Weinbrenner. The team prepared by meeting weekly after school, going over questions used in past competitions and practicing with the buzzer system. (Note: the school’s buzzers are about 20 years old and had many interesting characteristics, producing phantom buzzes when you didn’t hit it, or buzzing several minutes after you hit it, or not reacting at all.) Mr. Kawleski ordered new buzzers, but they failed to arrive before the competition. Hopefully that’s something we can look forward to next year. The national competition, which took place on April 17, involved a variety of different schools from all over the region in different states. It had five rounds, with two schools competing against each other in each round. After all five rounds were complete, the top six teams went on to a championship round. Asked about the value of this program for students, Mr. Kawleski said, “This program helps foster teamwork and interest in history. It helps create a greater understanding of history and how the world developed to the point where we are today. “With this competition, students are able to gain a greater understanding of the world and specific events that often are not touched on in a regular history class,” Mr. Kawleski said. “It also recognizes excellence in the study of history, as well as helps prepare future leaders and voters. Plus, it’s fun!” Although Jefferson did not make it to the championship round, team members learned a lot and are eager to see the program continue in the future. (Note to potential recruits: Fig Newtons sweeten the deal during practices!) Would you rather?

1. Would you rather get out of bed early or stay up late? 2. Would you rather live somewhere that was always very cold or very hot? 3. Would you rather go to the doctor or the dentist? 4. Would you rather live in a busy city or on a quiet countryside? 5. Would you rather all your clothes were white or all your clothes were black? 6. Would you rather have 10 brothers and sisters or no siblings? 7. Would you rather have all brothers or all sisters? 8. Would you rather have to live without running water or no electricity? 9. Would you rather have to brush your teeth five times a day or brush your hair five times a day? 10. Would you rather live without music or live without books? I.I.I.I. - Ian’s.Incredible.ComIc.RevIew. Reviews Batman - The Court of Owls Saga (DC Essential Edition)

The comic I’m reviewing is Batman: The Court Of Owls Saga (Dc Essential Edition) Which collects 1-11/ vol. 1-2 of the new 52 Batman Series. Written by Scott Snyder (No relation to Zach Snyder), illustrated by Greg Capullo.

This isn't Scott Snyder’s first rodeo with Batman, it’s his second, his first was Batman: The Dark Mirror. It from that weird air, where Dick Grayson (The first Robin/Nightwing) was Batman, because the Bruce Wayne, Batman, was sent back in time, by Darkseid Omega Beams, during Final Crisis, presumed dead, and when he came back, he didn’t take up the role of Batman, so he let Dick keep being Batman, and created Batman Inc. Yeah, that was time in Batman. But we’re not here to talk about the Batman The Court Of Owls Saga. Well, I guess I should start with a summary of the book:Welcome to Gotham City, a horrible, desperate city. But there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Batman/Bruce Wayne, has a plan to make the city better: 1. Batman, and the Bat family, 2. Build buildings, like hospitals, schools, and stuff like that, that may or may not also have a hidden base in there for Batman. But he is not the only one, there’s a guy running for mayor, named Lincoln March, who seems to be a good guy, and a good mayor, especially compared to the old one, which doesn’t take much. (continued on next page…) But the key word is “SEEMS”. For the murder of a man, with no idefiction, a real John Doe, flips everything on its head. In the crime scene a message is left by the murderer that, says “Bruce Wayne will die tomorrow” (which if you don’t know somehow, Bruce Wayne is the secret identity of Batman). Plus the evidence of this murder leads to the fact that the Gotham legend, The Court Of Owls, a supposed secret society that rules over Gotham, may be more real then they first seem and won’t let this do-gooding go on. And all of this will make Batman question one of his closest allies, basically his child, Nightwing/the first Robin/Dick Grayson.

Now, let's talk about my favorite parts of this book. They don’t treat Batman as a god. For in a lot of books, they treat him like a god; he could kill the Justice League, if he wanted to, he’s the second smartest man alive, blah, blah, blah. But in this book, Batman is shown to be wrong, make mistakes, go insane (if you don’t call dressing up as a bat, and fighting crime, as insane), and is imperfect. Now let's look at one example from the book (this may be considered a spoiler, but if you look at anything about this book you’ll find this out, but just in case, stop here.) Batman is convinced that the Court of Owls is not real despite the fact that they’re very real. But even if we step back and look back, at the likeliness of Batman finding out about them, it seems pretty likely. I mean first off Batman, has the nickname of the world's greatest detective, and the second smartest person in the world, while I may hate the god Batman, there no denying that he’s pretty smart, and he solved a lot of complicated mysteries so a secret society, on his home turf, seems very unlikely. Plus there is a lot of evidence pointing to them, in this case, but nope he is still in denial. (continued on next page…) Plus, Batman lets emotions get in his way. He just can accept that he might have missed a secret society under his city for all this time, in his city, at least he thinks it’s his city. And he is scared this is not his city, what’s it? If he missed a secret society, what else did he miss? And what does this mean for the ones he loves? Is he really helping… Well, I think you get the idea, the point is Batman is scared out of his mind, and is in denial, about the Court of Owls, and it takes him being kidnapped by them, to get out of denial. But in the meantime he pushes people away, he overworks himself, forgets about his personal life, you know, acts like a human being does. Plus this is vaguely related, but there is one part in the comic (That doesn’t really work on digital, so get the physical, I don’t usually care which one you read, but in this case, get the physical, if you can) where they change the comic layout ever so slightly, to show that Batman is losing his mind, and you don’t think it will work, but it does. Now I’m not going to tell you what it is, for I want you read the book yourself, plus even if I told you, it wouldn't sound like it does much but it does. You’ll know it when you find it. The writing in general is very good, I mean it does a good job with character, suspense, and even in the big final fight, I was still on edge the first time I read it. Plus the build up with the Court of Owls, and the mystery, just chef kisses to all of it. And they have a great story book ending in this book. Read it yourself if you want to see it, I’m not going to tell you. Plus the use of Nightwing (A.K.A the first Robin, A.K.A Dick Grayson) in this book, is just great.

I went through all of this and and I haven’t even gotten to the art; it’s just great. It is stylized, distinct, looks good, can be scary if it needs to, can be calm, and can show what characters are feeling, I just don’t think there are enough words I could use to describe how good the art is. Now I have been gushing on and on about the book, but is there anything bad about it? Yes, yes there is. For starters, Batman seems to recover from being kidnapped, and torchered by the court, way too fast, Also, the story resolved a bit weird. I mean it’s a fine resolution, just a little weird, and off, but it's okay. And well I have to end this so that’s all. I think you should read Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (Dc Essential Edition). Recipe of the month

Updated S'Mores

4 graham crackers, quartered

4 teaspoons fudge ice cream topping

64 miniature marshmallows (about 3/4 cup)

4 teaspoons strawberry jam

1. Place 8 of the graham cracker quarters on a microwave-safe plate. Use a knife to spread the ice cream topping evenly on the quarters. Place 8 marshmallows on each quarter.

2. Microwave, uncovered, for 30 seconds. Spoon the jam evenly over the marshmallows and quickly top with the remaining graham cracker quarters.

Serve immediately.

NICK'S NIGHTMARE (A Short Story by Michael Wilson)

Nick was tired. He was always tired, but today, he had just had a particularly long day of school. Detention wasn’t fun, and even though he didn’t usually get it, that didn’t mean that teachers were always fair. Earlier that day, he had been minding his own business, walking down the hall, and then Grayson jumped in front of him, blocking his path. A cold feeling of dread settled in Nick’s bones. No matter what Grayson did, he always seemed to get away with it. “What’cha doin’, matchstick?” Grayson taunted. Grayson called him that because he was tall and thin, but it was a stupid insult nonetheless. “Um, what does it look like, Greyhair? I thought you at least you would know what walking down the hall was. I guess not, though.” Nick was good with comebacks, but not much else. Grayson could easily force Nick into his own locker if he wanted to. “Oh, how dare you be so mean to me?” said Grayson theatrically. “You know it’s not fair for someone with straight brown hair to call someone Greyhair! Your brother would have never done such a thing.” He threw his head back in mock shock as Nick’s face turned bright red with anger. A teacher chose that exact moment to duck her head around the hall. Grayson immediately played the victim. “He called me Greyhair!” Grayson said. “But he--” Nick immediately butted in. “Detention, Nick! I don’t want to hear another word out of you until…” She stopped her sentence there. What she meant was “I don’t want to hear another word out of you ever! Or any kid, for that matter!” Mrs. Warden hated kids. Except Grayson. Maybe it was because of how they were so similar. Despite looking and acting alike, Grayson and Mrs. Warden weren’t related, which made their friendship all the more disgusting. “Are you okay, honey?” Nick’s mom’s voice jolts him out of his memory. “I’m fine,” Nick says, looking out of the car’s window. At least it was just lunch detention. It would have sucked if the school had to call my mom, Nick thinks bitterly. That night, Nick had trouble falling asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about his brother, Nathan. The cliff. Nick’s family had been hiking the bluffs by their house six months ago, and they had stopped by an outcrop of rock jutting out from the edge of the bluff. Nathan and Nick kept pushing each other closer to the edge. Nick peered over the edge of the outcrop. “Whoa, that’s pretty far down,” Nathan had said. Nick’s dad yelled, “Make sure to be careful!” A gust of wind blew Nick off balance, and he fell head over heels off the bluff. Time slowed, and for what seemed like an eternity, all he could see were the pines below him, moving in slow motion in the wind. Then, all of a sudden, a hand grabbed Nick’s foot and yanked him back up to the top of the bluff. Nathan’s hand. With the final effort of pulling Nick back up, Nathan slipped on loose gravel at the very edge. For the second time that day, someone had fallen off the bluff. But this time, the person hadn’t been saved. (continued on next page) Nick wakes up a sweaty mess. In the darkness of his room, he’s barely able to make out that his blankets are all out of order. He looks at his clock, and buries his head in his arms. 2:00 a.m. Today is going to be a rough day, he thinks. At school that day, nothing goes wrong. Every so often, Nick would see Grayson in the halls somewhere, and Grayson would give an “I’m planning something” smile, but then he would pass and nothing would happen. At lunch, Nick’s best friend Kat explains, “I asked the school to check their cameras and audio yesterday after I heard you got lunch detention. When they finally gave in, they realized it was actually Grayson being the jerk and he got after school detention. That’s why he’s being so cautious today. I would guess he’s planning something after school.” Nick asks, “Can you be with me when I leave the school?” “Sorry,” Kat says. “I have cross country today,” “Can’t your legs wait?” says Nick. Kat laughs. “I might not have legs anymore if I show up to practice late.” After school, Nick worries. Is Grayson going to suddenly appear? What is he planning? His worries eat away at him, until all that is left of him is a hollow husk of fear. Then just as he begins to wonder if Kat was wrong, and Grayson really had given up for good, he gets tackled from behind by a familiar sweaty shape. “Grayson, get off of me!” shouts Nick. Grayson taunts,“What are you going to do if I don’t?” Still struggling under Grayson’s weight, Nick looks around. No teachers. Wait-- Oh, that’s just Mrs. Warden. Great. Even with the best possible luck, she’ll just say that ”It’s great that Grayson’s having fun!” Grayson raises a fist, ready to slam Nick in the face, when all of a sudden-- “Hey! Hey! Grayson! Your mom is here to pick you up! She told me to bring you this!” It’s Kat! I’m saved! Kat brings Grayson a brown paper bag with a sharpied heart on the side of it. Grayson’s face turns bright red. In his surprise, Grayson lets go of Nick and Nick scrambles out from under him. Grayson grabs the bag and shoots off toward his mom’s car. Nick and Kat try to stifle laughs as they hear Grayson talking in the distance. “Moooom, I told you not to draw that stuff on there!” Nick says, “Wow, you really are a lifesaver. I barely managed to convince Mr. Jokingly to let us run in ‘our own direction.’” Kat says “Luckily, he wasn’t too suspicious.” Again, that night, Nick thinks about Nathan But this time, his mind twists old and new memories into one dark dream. Nick stands on the bluff, wind blowing in his hair. He starts to sweat. He can’t yet tell where this is going. He looks around. Right behind him stands Nathan. “Pretty high up, huh?” Nathan says. “Uh-oh,” Nick says. Grayson steps out from behind Nathan and pushes him off the bluff. Nick tries to get out of the way of Grayson, but Grayson shoves him over the edge before he can move out of the way. “This is all your faaaault!” yells Nathan from below him as Grayson’s laugh gets further and further away. Then everything goes black. (continued on next page) Lunch recess the following day Nick’s eyes flick around warily for any sign of trouble. Kat isn’t at recess. She must be doing one of her club meetings. That’s just great for me. He ducks into an alcove in the wall of the school building. “Whew! I’m safe. He won’t find me here,” Nick says. He looks up from his feet and freezes. “Hey, Nickel. Ha! ‘Cause you’re only worth five cents!” Despite the dire situation, Nick can’t help but notice that Grayson’s insults haven’t gotten any better. Before Nick can react, Grayson grabs his arm and drags him out from the alcove onto the middle of the blacktop. A crowd has already gathered there. “Fight!” Someone shouts. Several more voices yell it out. It turns into a chant. “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” Nick’s mind starts racing. How could everyone have known about the fight?! His mind flips back to the badly-written flyer he had seen this morning.

Fight. Lunch recess. Be there.

How could I have mistaken his handwriting? Why would he want people to watch? Just so he could get attention? Nick looks around desperately for a teacher. Nope. Can Jumprope Tag really be that dangerous? Well… I guess it kind of is. But that means they won’t be concentrating on this fight at all! A punch to the face brings Nick back to reality. “Aw, c’mon! That’s weak!” says a voice from the crowd. “He could have easily dodged that!” says another. Then, a voice he didn’t expect to hear rang out from the very edge of the crowd. “Hey! Come on! He had nightmares last night! Do you expect him to be in the best fighting condition?” says Kat. At first, Nick is relieved. But then he realizes that what Kat said made him sound like a big baby. That’s not what I need right now!, he thinks. Then, the second unexpected thing happens. Grayson stands up for him. “Hey! I get nightmares too sometimes!” Grayson drops the punch that he was going to throw. Then he drops his voice and says, “I get them a lot.” Nick’s mouth drops wide open. What. Just. Happened. The silence stretched out for what seemed like an eternity. Then a voice broke it. “I thought this was supposed to be a fight!” says a random voice from the crowd. The kid walks away and the others quickly follow. By the time a teacher comes, the crowd has mostly dispersed. Luckily, it isn’t Mrs. Warden who comes, because she would’ve somehow magically known that it was about Grayson. The teacher looks around, shrugs, then starts walking back to the kids trying to play Jumprope Tag. “Hey! Stop it, you three!” the teacher yells. “Get back here!” Kat starts pushing through the remains of the crowd to get to Nick. They both start laughing at the sight of an ancient social studies teacher running after an eleven-year-old kid trying to whip another kid with a jump rope. (continued on next page) Then Grayson joins in. “Mr. Jokingly is great. Oh- and did you see that? The kid he’s chasing is whipping him with the jump rope he has! And now the kid is chasing him!” Kat and Nick stare at Grayson, baffled. Kit is the first one to speak. “One minute you’re attacking Nick, the next you trying to be his friend?” Grayson gives a sheepish smile. “Well, kinda, yeah.” Nick and Kat look at each other, still utterly confused. “I always wanted to play with you guys, because I thought you were cool. I never had any friends. I asked if I could play with you one time, and you refused to play with me. I got mad at you. But I realize now that we have a lot in common. So, please, can I be your friend? Nick considers it for a moment. “Yes. Yes, you can.” Three months later Kat licks her ice cream cone. “This is good! I never knew there was an ice cream place in this town.” “Yeah, I always love their ice cream,” Grayson says. “My dad always used to take me here. When he was still, you know … Anyway, how’s your ice cream, Nickel?” “Oh, it’s awful!” Grayson’s expression turns dismayed. “Just kidding, Greyhair!” Nick says. “Chocolate ice cream and Kit-kats go great together!” “I’m surprised that Kit-kat didn’t put any on hers.” “Hey, you know that’s not my favorite candy,” Kat says. The trio laughs. Have a wonderful summer JMS!