Geography Bee Buzzes to a Successful Conclusion

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Volume 4, Issue 2 February 27, 2012 A newspaper published by and for the students of Valhalla Middle School. Geography Bee Buzzes to a Successful Conclusion

By Kaity Su

This years’ annual VMS Geography Bee was just like any other, though shorter than usual. The competition was hosted by Mr. Tripaldi and the judges were Mr. Hayes, Mr. Erenberg, Mrs. Lustig, and Mrs. Booth-Freda. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Tripaldi regarding this annual scholastic competition: VMS Chronicle: How long have you been the host of the Middle School Geography Bee? Do you enjoy this role? Mr. Tripaldi: Three years, and I have loved every minute of it! VMS Chronicle: Do you ever get nervous? Mr.Tripadi: Never, I was born to be in the spotlight. VMS Chronicle: How does it feel telling the contestants they are incorrect? Mr. Tripadi: I feel bad, but I always let the contestants know how proud I am of their accom- plishments. Dylan Grey, pictured above to the left, received the VMS Chronicle: Thank you for your time. gold medal from guidance counselor Renee LeGendre. Mr. Tripaldi: You are very welcome. Remember—geography is the key to our past, and will Below, pictured from left to right are Estie Forstbauer, open doors to our future! Scott Fritsch, Jackie Gonalzes, and Dylan Grey. Photo The winner of this year’s VMS Geography Bee was eighth grader Dylan Gray, who contributed by Susan Rossi, and were accessed via the we had an opportunity to interview immediately following his victorious performance. VMS website. VMS Chronicle: Have you ever been in any other school bees? If so, which? Dylan: Nope—this was my first academic competition. VMS Chronicle: How did you feeling stepping up to the microphone? Were you at all nervous? Dylan: No, I felt fine. VMS Chronicle: How do you feel as not only your class winner, but now your school? Dylan: I feel very happy and honored. VMS Chronicle: Thank you for your time. Dylan: No problem!

The participants in this year’s VMS Geography Bee were: Sixth grade: Shazre Mohib Christian Petrelli Stephen Baviello James Hardeny Joseph Ramalho Francisco Hernandez Seventh grade: Inside this issue: Christian Byrd Srichti Bagchi Jake Nethercott Jacqueline Gonzalez Dr. King is fondly remembered—page 2 Mark Eng Griffin Rossi Interview with Ms. LeGendre—page 3 Eighth grade: Gong xi fa cai! —page 4 Eric Kreder Terrence Hart Roslyn Catubig Scott Frisch

Estie Forstbauer Dylan Grey

P A G E 2 T H E V ALHALLA M I D D L E S CH O O L CHRONICLE Volume 4, Issue 2 Cruise Ships Sinks in Tuscany By Jeremy Pember

On Friday, January 13, 2012 the luxury cruise ship, Costa Concordia, sank off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. As 4,200 people (3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members) were enjoying their cruise, Captain Schettino, who was steering off-course, ran the ship into the rocks. Recent speculation as to why the ship was too close to the island of Gigilo was that the captain was allowing the head waiter to salute his family. Regardless of the reason for this error in human judgment, little seemed to be learned from the Titanic sinking almost a hundred years ago on April 15, 1912. Many people interviewed shortly after being rescued complained that a systematic evacuation was not made. There were no officers The cruise ship Costa Concordia and many of its passengers directing passengers; instead, their escape was hampered by chaos suffered a horrible fate off the coast of Italy. Photo accessed and the “every man for himself” attitude. The captain himself was from www.csmonitor.com accused of abandoning the ship before all of the passengers were safely away. He was arrested and also accused of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. As of Monday, January 16, at least 6 On the verge of war? people were killed and 29 passengers and crew members were still By Jemy Paulson missing, with rescue efforts are being hampered by bad weather. Our relationship with Iran hasn’t exactly been… friendly! With the many problems that we’ve had with Iran, this news isn’t a The Dream Will Never Die surprise! Over the decades, many nations have had to deal with issues concerning Iran. Here’s a quick overview of some of the prob- Yoanna Grigorova and Olivia Bespolka lems we’ve had to deal with: Martin Luther King Jr. was more than an excuse U.S. Hostage Crisis for a day off. He was an activist, clergyman, and a leader in In 1979, Iranian students seized sixty three hostages at a U.S. embas- the fight against injustice in America. He was born on Jan- sy in Tehran during a protest. Many thought the protest would be uary 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. At age 35 he became short, but the hostages were held for 444 days. the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner for his nonviolent Iran’s Nuclear Program actions against racial discrimination. He is most famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech and leadership in the Mont- Iran is currently developing nuclear power capability. They claim gomery bus Boycott. His brilliant oration moved many this nuclear power will be used for peaceful purposes such as generat- people and angered others. Many of his peaceful civil right ing energy, but many think their true intentions are nuclear weapons. movements were met with violence. Iran’s Possession of RQ-170 Along with his leadership in the African-American Iran’s armed forces shot down the RQ-170 drone. The RQ-170 drone Civil Rights Movement, he tried ending poverty and the is a super-secret spy plane; one of America’s most sophisticated Vietnam War. Besides winning the Nobel Peace Prize for weapons. It is said to have been made almost entirely without metal his actions, he was also awarded the Presidential Medal of and coated with special paint in order to avoid being detected on Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal. Some people radar. This amazing technology could one day be used against us if opposed his movements including James Earl Ray who Iran manages to replicate the drone. assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. His Controversy over the Strait of Hormuz influence, however, had not gone unnoticed and Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a U.S federal holi- The Strait of Hormuz is a very important shipping lane used for oil day in 1986. exports from the Gulf. The presence of U.S. warships and military forces in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region is a part of routine activity. However, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps recent- VMS Chronicle Staff ly warned Washington not to re-enter the area. Iran later reconsid- ered the return of U.S. warships to the Gulf area as an action to re- Staff: Advisors: duce tensions after Washington said it would respond if Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Even though this slight problem has been re- Kaity Su Jemy Paulson Brett A. Erenberg solved, it just adds to the already building tension in our relationship! Jeremy Pember Akash Samad Andrew R. Tripaldi We seem to have more than enough problems with Iran, but Yoanna Grigorova Alison Li only time will tell if a war is required to solve these problems. Hope- Olivia Bespolka Carly Ettlinger Student Editors-in-Chief: fully, the destructive and avoidable force better known as war can be Mikhaela Ronin Jenna Balint prevented and peace can be maintained in our world! Erin Brosnan

P A G E 3 T H E V ALHALLA M I D D L E S CH O O L CHRONICLE Volume 4, Issue 2 Interview with Ms. LeGendre

Editor’s note: VMS Chronicle staff writer Erin BrosnanBrosnan recently sat down for an exclu- sive one-on-one interview with Ms. Renee LeGendre, VMS’s sixth and seventh grade guidance counselor. ErinErin: What prompted a “Careers” class to be created back in September for 8 th graders? Mrs. LeGendreLeGendre: It was time that 8 th graders were exposed to different topics of interest where students can learn about different types of careers. Also, co-teaching together with Mr. Kupec, we teach strategies that are fun where the students can gain knowledge.

Erin: How was it decided to have four different career topics spread out over four school quarters? Mrs. LeGendreLeGendre: The administration felt that it would be important that the guidance counselors take a more active role Ms. LeGendre (left), pictured here with ninth-grader in the classroom and to also let the students know that the counselors also educate. Tyler Wills, was interviewed by VMS Chronicle staff recently. Photo accessed from the official Valhalla Union Free School District website. Erin: How were these topics chosen and for what reason? Mrs. LeGendreLeGendre: I spent time last spring preparing for my class by re searching topics that the students would be interest- Two New Earths Discovered ed in and can learn from. Topics included skills, types of education, having students interact with one an By Akash Samad other, mini projects and creating ideas. th On Tuesday the 20 of December, scientists on Erin: Will the topics and class teachers continue to change the satellite Kepler reported two Earth-sized planets orbiting every quarter and every year? a nearby star 1,000 light years away from Earth. The plan- Mrs. LeGendre: Yes, and the topics will be expanded to include goal ets are too far for a space launch. The planet’s names are setting and taking personal inventories so that students will learn more about themselves. Students can Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f and they both have similar mass- also stay connected by creating business class presen- es and sizes compared to the Earth. The star, the newly tations that they have learned through experience. discovered planets orbit is similar to our sun. They orbit

rapidly around their host stars in 6.1 days and 19.6 days ErinErin: Will Careers Class help 8 th graders prepare for high compared to the 365 days an Earth year. school? Mrs. LeGendre: Yes, during the fourth quarter, careers will help the The new planets are way too close to their host students transition from middle school to high star making the planets too hot for any life. Kepler-20e is school. Some students will express an interest in a two year college or four year college. Some also estimated to have an average surface temperature of have an interest in joining the military. 1,400ºF while Kepler-20f is 800ºF. Earth’s average surface o temperature is around 52 F. Scientists at NASA are likely to Erin: Since you are the middle school 6 th and 7 th grade find more Earth-sized planets that could support life. What is guidance counselor how do you manage your time to do both? peculiar is that in the Kepler-20 system has three other Mrs. LeGendreLeGendre: It is not easy to take care of and address the issues known planets that are Neptune-sized planets that orbit th th and concerns of both the 6 and 7 graders, making among the smaller planets. phone calls in between those two periods, while also th trying to stay connected with the 8 graders. The satellite Kepler itself has been focusing on a section of the sky where the constellations Cygnus and Lyra ErinErin: What do you enjoy most about teaching Careers? are. Here the Kepler detects the change of an individual star Mrs. LeGendre: I like the variety of topics and getting to know the which could indicate a planets passing. That is how these students likes, dislikes, and career challenges. The students have positive attitudes and energy. planets were discovered. There is so much left to explore They always give me a warm greeting upon entering ever since Sputnik 1 was first launched in 1957. the classroom.

P A G E 4 T H E V ALHALLA M I D D L E S CH O O L CHRONICLE Volume 4, Issue 2 Wings flies into successful literacy By Erin Brosnan

This past fall I had the chance to read the nov- el Wings by Aprilynne Pike, published by Harper Col- lins Teen Publishers. The story is about a 15 year old high school girl named Laurel who is very unique in so many different ways. Unlike the average girl, she loves nature and does not worry about how she dresses or trying to fit in with other girls her age. Laurel is an only child and was also home schooled for most of her life. After ten years of being home schooled in a tiny town, Laurel’s parents decide to enroll her in a public school in a larger town. Laurel sees the bright side of school when she makes a new friend and they bond by having both positive and negative experi- ences in and out of school. If you would like to see Wings is a fascinating story that possesses important litera- what else happens to Laurel then tune into this inter- cy elements. Photo accessed from Google Images. esting book. Chinese New Year a grand celebration! Rhianna sings her way back to prominence By Allison Li By Carly Ettlinger

Rhianna is a Barbadian recording artist. She released her album, Red fireworks burst in the dark night sky. Crowds ooh! and aah! Talk That Talk on November 21, 2011. Her new album features popular over the beauty as the sparks drift to the ground. Smiling people songs such as “We Found Love” featuring Calvin Harris and “You Da One.” are yelling to each other “Gong xi fa cai!” This phrase is commonly Rhianna’s songs feature electro beats and display elements of Euro pop, exchanged during this time of year, the Spring Festival, or Chinese pop, techno, and trance beats. New Year. The album has received generally positive reviews from music critics since its release. The album received a 62 point average based on 26 For thousands of years, the Chinese have celebrated their new reviews on Metacritic.com. Personally, I am a big fan of Rhianna and I love year .The Chinese follow the lunar calendar, explaining why Chi- her music. On a rating scale of one to five stars, I would rate it a four and a nese New Year starts on different dates every year. The Spring half. Festival is a time for family and friends to visit. The symbolic color of red is everywhere. Red is a color that, in Chinese culture, pro- tects the wearer from evil spirits and stands for happiness and New Year’s Resolution provides Goals to aim for good luck. Young children are given red pockets filled with mon- By Erin Brosnan ey and treats from adults. The fireworks are also said to ward off evil spirits because of the loud noise. According to Webster’s Dictionary the definition of a resolution is a re-

solving formal statement of determination. Most people make their resolutions at Chinese New Year began when most of the Chinese population were farmers. The New Year’s festival was held after the fall har- the beginning of the year but within a few days or weeks they give up because they vest and before the spring planting season, hence the name the Spring Festival. The Chinese use a calendar called the lunar calen- set their goals too high and become discouraged. If you are one of those people dar. A new moon is the beginning of a month and a full moon is the middle of a month. Chinese New Year is the first day of the then why not try setting a variety of more simpler resolutions. For example: read a first month on the lunar calendar. Every year, the holiday usually falls between January 21 st and February 19 th . book from a book series that you wanted to read, make your handwriting neater,

write a letter to a pen pal or join a new club or activity. Just remember it is never too The celebrations of Chinese New Year are endless and there are late to do something that you have always wanted to try or accomplish! different traditions everywhere. Greetings exchanged, parades occurring, this is all part of the great celebration. This year, make sure to wish someone a happy Year of the Dragon. Gong xi fa cai!

P A G E 5 T H E V ALHALLA M I D D L E S CH O O L CHRONICLE Volume 4, Issue 2 Winter Concert The Loving History Serenades The Masses Behind Valentine’s Day

By Mikhaela Ronin By Mikhaela Ronin

th Tis’ the season to enjoy the arts! What an excit- Everyone knows about that special day on February 14 , ing evening it was on Tuesday, December 20 th at 7PM for the day when couples go out to dinner and give each other choco- all who attended the middle school winter concert! The lates, cards, and flowers. It’s called Valentine’s Day. Like many other middle school Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Rimm- holidays, it has become pretty commercial. Many stores advertise food Hewitt, performed Semper Paratus, Crazy for Cartoons, and cards for Valentine’s Day. But do you know the history behind Uprising, and House Top Holiday Jam. Also conducted by Valentine’s Day? Dr. Rimm-Hewitt, the Concert Band performed Chisholm, There are many versions of St. Valentine’s story. This is one of Tick Tock, Clarinet Bell Carol, and Deck the Halls with Rock the most popular legends. and Roll. Jive at Five, Sing Sing Sing, Hark the Herald An- gels Rock, and White Christmas was played by The Jazz Valentine’s Day got it’s name from St. Valentine of Rome. He band, conducted by Mr. Dulitz. Directed by Mr. Czerw, the was a priest that served in the third century in Rome, Italy. There was Orchestra performed Dance of the Tumblers, Sleepers an emperor who ruled during that time named Claudius II who decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and Wake, Rounds, and Star Wars. families. He ordered there to be no marriages for young men. Valen- Ms. Woodard conducts both the Chorus and tine, who obviously knew this was an unlawful rule, disobeyed Claudi- Vocal Ensemble. The Chorus sang Beautiful December, us and continued to perform marriages for young people in secret. Jamaican Noel, Frosty the Snowman and the Hand Jive, When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s actions, he was and the Feast of Lights. A Swingin’ Christmas, Dashing sentenced to death. through the Slush, Candy Cane Lane, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas were sung by the Vocal Ensemble. All Relating to the legend above, Valentine actually sent the first groups did a superb job performing! Indeed, “Impressive”, “valentine” greeting himself. When Valentine was sent to prison, it is “Wonderful”, “Way to Go!” were just some of the com- rumored that he fell in love with the warden‘s daughter. When he was ments heard from the audience. Thanks to the students about to be executed, he wrote a letter to the girl, signed “From your and teachers who clarified information for the VMS Valentine.” Even though the legend about Valentine’s life is still a mys- tery, the many stories highlight his personality to be sympathetic, cou- Chronicle! Happy New Year! rageous, and romantic. Whatever you believe about the legends, be sure to keep the spirit of Valentine’s love alive! Cool Things To Do When It’s Not Hot

By Mikhaela Ronin

Here is a list of fun and cheap activities to do inside and out with your friends and family during the chilly weather! The emphasis is on being ACTIVE despite the sometimes frigid temperatures.

Outside: If there is snow, invite some friends over to play in the snow! Dress warmly! If it is not too cold, play a game outside such as Tag, Hide and Seek, Man Hunt, or a sport! Go sledding or ice skating with friends and family.

Inside: Invite some of your besties over and watch a movie. Grab your siblings for a board game or video game contest. Read a book aloud with your parents and siblings. Organize your bedroom or a desk (It’s a great time to declutter!) Valentine’s Day is a time to spend with loved ones. Photo accessed from Google Listen to music and invent dances with your friends. Images. Volunteer at the county food bank.