The Tusker Tribune The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School Issue Number 11 http://somersschools.org/domain/995 Fall 2018 SMS students in Mrs. Faivre’s class enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving feast. The kids engage in a lot of ac- tivities throughout the year, which are open to all students and staff at SMS. Events are posted out- side of room 311. ‘Boundless Adventure’ Was Terrific! By Deanna DeCamp and Natalia Tellez take on a challenge, Tusker Tribune Staff they had some for you. Recently, 6th graders went on a trip Or if you wanted to do to Boundless Adventures, Purchase NY. one nice and easy, you Many 6th graders enjoyed this trip and had got it. The courses had a blast with all of their friends. Some of the different colors to rep- teachers participated too! resent the easy and Everyone agreed that this was a trip to re- harder courses. member. All of the teachers agreed this was the The courses best trip sixth grade has ever been on. The point of went from yellow, (the the trip was to build confidence and easiest) cooperation along with having fun. green, (a little bit harder than yellow) You could see all the stu- blue, (a little bit harder than green) dents climbing throughout the and black (the hardest). One of the courses in the trees, fighting best parts was the ziplines. Each through the cold. It was very cold, course had a minimum of at least one but the weather conditions weren’t and they gave you a trilling ride to the best. With the thin gloves the next part of the course. Boundless Adventures Staff recom- Another fun part of each mended us to use, our fingers be- course were the swings. They were came numb. If you ever go there, not the kind if swings you sit on, but make sure to bring your own gloves they were the kind of swings once you to use instead of theirs. Another tip for if you go step on it and it starts to take you to the other side there in the fall or winter almost instantly. make sure to wear plenty A special shout out to Mr. Dell for organiz- of layers and a hat can ing this whole trip and to all the other teachers make a major difference. and staff who helped chaperone this wonderful Although these trip. On behalf of the 6th grade, we would like to may be the downs of the say thank you for making this amazing trip hap- trip, there were so many pen. fun things to do at Bound- less Adventures. Editor’s Note: Check out Boundless Adven- The place had courses for tures’ Website here: everyone. If you wanted to https://boundlessadventures.net/ The Tusker Tribune Page 2 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School Think About Why You’re Thankful at Thanksgiving By Anastasia Fiorella Of course, one of the best Tusker Tribune Staff things about thanksgiving is the We just had Thanks- turkey! When you wake up in the giving, which brings us to morning to the turkey in the oven, the main question, what are cooking, all the food prepared and we really thankful for this ready to eat for dinner. From year? the turkey to the stuffing, (which Sure, we’re thankful for our is my favorite part) to the best family, friends, pets, shelter, food, part of all… The DESSERT!! water, etc. of course, the usual, but When you smell the pumpkin pie let’s get into a more meaningful an- in the morning, you’ll know for swer this year. sure it’s Thanksgiving! What was the most im- However, it’s not just about portant thing that food; it’s about being with your makes you really grateful this year? It could be family who all got together just to cele- from your favorite sports team that won a big brate Thanksgiving with you. game, to you getting a 100 on one of your hardest Don’t get too upset now that Thanksgiving tests you took this year. is over because remember, Black Friday (the day Whatever it is, that’s what you could be after Thanksgiving) is the kickoff to Christmas/ thankful for this year. Instead of having to say Hanukkah! the same old answers, without even thinking of a new, meaningful answer. How Did Ad-Libs Take Over Hip-Hop? By Noah Volkman ad-lib. Throughout the ;80s Tusker Tribune and ;90s, iconic hype men Staff such as Public Enemy’s Fla- The ad-lib is vor Flav, the Lost Boyz’s an integral part of hip Freaky Tah and Flipmode’s -hop. It is the second layer of Spliff Star turned ad-libs words and sounds that can into an art. Producers like serve as a calling card, a Pete Rock and label execu- shameless boast or a primal tives like Diddy also joined scream. Today, ad-libs are so in with their signature ad- ubiquitous that they’ve be- libs. From the mid-90s to the come the focal point of certain early 2000s, other purveyors hits. With Lil Pump, Migos, of ad-libs, like Missy Elliott, Playboi Carti and many other Cam’ron, Jadakiss and more artists dominating the charts added their own spice. DJs with songs where the ad-lib is and producers like Clue, as important, if not more so, Timbaland and others were than the bars they are accom- also known for their quick panying. But how did we get sayings. These sounds were- here? Well, it starts on stage. n’t the main course, but a Many point to James Brown’s screams and Southern wave would begin to change that. grunts as the major inspiration for hip-hop’s ener- Ad-libs have been a part of South- getic ad libs. As a genre, hip-hop draws significant ern rap since Miami bass in the 80s, when the inspiration from the godfather of soul, and in crowd’s chants often made it onto the final tracks. some of rap’s earliest recordings, hype men and Additionally, MCs like Master P and Pastor Troy DJs can be heard in the background dropping ad- were also extremely influential but Crunk music, libs designed to keep the crowd rocking. Artists lead by Three 6 Mafia and Lil Jon, would turn it also used call and response for the same effect. up a notch. “ On many occasions, the crowd’s answers Continued on Page 7 made it onto the final record as a variation of an The Tusker Tribune Page 3 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School 2018 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade By Deanna DeCamp be had to cancel it this Tusker Tribune Staff year. But that didn’t hap- Every year Macy’s has a Thanks- pen. giving Day Parade in New York City on Some famous Thanksgiving. This takes place from 9:00 floats included The AM through 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Grinch, Olaf, Spongebob, They have new floats every year and old ones that The Elf On The Shelf, everyone’s glad to see again. They even do Broad- and even a Nutcracker. way shows from 9:00 AM through 9:30 AM. From There were many other 9:30 AM through 12:00 PM, Macy’s shows perfor- floats too. The floats are mances and most of the balloons. This year was a huge part of the parade different than most of the other years of this spec- every year and its very tacular parade. enjoyable to watch. There wouldn’t be a parade One thing that was different is that it was without these floats. These floats are GINOR- EXTREMELY COLD! It was one of the coldest MOUS! They evn said that the power rangers Thanksgiving since 1901. You could see every- float arm was as big as a school bus! body bundled up freezing on this cold day. Many There were even some performers. Some people were jumping up and down included Ashley Tisdale John Leg- trying to keep warm. Watching at end, Ally Brook, Mackenzie Zei- home still made me cold just watch- gler, Johnny Orlando, and even ing. Although going to the parade Teagen Marie. They were on floats may be an enjoyable event, if you that didn’t fly. Some floats includ- don’t like to be cold, I recommend ed Build a Bear, Sesame Street, staying home watching with the fam- Sour path Kids, Girl Scouts, Exotic ily all cozy in pajamas with hot choc- Animal floats, Hawaii Float, olate. Snoopy’s Doghouse and even a Another thing that was dif- brand new fantasy chocolate facto- ferent is that because of the wind ry Float. They were many other speeds, from 9:30 through 10:30 the floats were floats that didn’t fly too. They have been showing very close to the ground. The Grinch was one of Snoopy’s Doghouse float since 1961. the new floats The Broadway shows that performed the which toppled over first half our of the parade were Mean Girls, My due to the wind! Fair Lady, Summer The Donna Summer Musical, After 10:30 the The Prom, Head Over Heal, Dear Evan Hansen wind started to die and even the newest Broadway Show King Kong. down and the floats They show a glimpse of each show with a song went a little bit and a few lines from the parade. higher, but the To end the show Santa comes out on his wind was still at a magical sleigh.