1 Jan/Feb Issue 2 Warrior Times ❄ One School, Two Campuses ❄ ​ D2b Amanda Gorman-Who are you? American History Was Made In Washington D.C. By:Saniya Sewnarine Inauguration 2021 Amanda Gorman - ​National Youth Poet Laureate by Hayagreev Shankar Karthik ​ ​As of January 20th, 2021, Amanda Gorman is youngest inaugural poet in U.S. On January 20th, Joseph R. known as the ​ ​ history ​. Amanda Gorman is also an Biden was sworn in as the award-winning author cum laude graduate ​ and​ 46th President of the United of Harvard University. Born in 1998 and ​ States. He returns to the White growing up with two siblings in Los Angeles, she is now an award winning poet and activist. House in the role of President New York and leaves behind the title of She has written and performed for ​ Times, CBS, The Edit, ​and has even received Vice President. Obama White House Lin-Manuel Miranda, invitations to the​ ​ to perform for​ ​and of ‘The Hill We Climb’ course the highlight performance of her piece ​ ​ at the Biden’s running mate, Kamala inauguration ceremony of President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, became the 49th Vice Harris this year. ​During the week before the inauguration, Gorman told a Washington Post President. She makes history as ​book critic, "My hope is that my poem will represent a moment of unity for our country" and "with my words, I'll be able to speak to a new chapter and the first Vice President who is a era for our nation." Amanda Gorman was also the first poet in all of the world to woman, African American, and perform at the Superbowl. Her poem recited at Superbowl LV was written to honor South Asian. This the NFL’s Honorary Game Captains. accomplishment would not have Watch Amanda Gorman recite stunning poem at Biden inauguration been possible if not for other “For there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, women who came before her in if only we’re brave enough to be it.” -- Amanda Gorman politics at this executive level. “Mommy Why Am I Different?”: The Journey of an SGS Seventh Grader by Caitlin Mullen Sarai Styles and her mother wrote and self published a book called ​Mommy Why am I Different? ​The book is filled with positive words and important conversations from the mother and daughter writers. ​“My book is about celebrating my differences as a young girl. The book is also about a young girl understanding what sets her apart. Including hair, skin, lips, appearance, self esteem to name a few. My book is also filled with affirmations and journal entries to empower young girls to write their story,” ​Sarai says. You see, Sarai and her mom started having conversations during quarantine. They talked about all sorts of things, like how Sarai felt different from the other girls her age. Her mom continued to support her, and sooner or later they realized other girls could be feeling the same way; that’s where the journey started. ​“Being home during this pandemic my mother and I had a lot of conversations, and in the conversations I asked why is my hair, skin, eyes, lips and a few others so different. And then my mom answered with positive affirmations and I learned that being different is okay. Then we thought about how many other girls are thinking about their differences but are not communicating with a parent, friend or anyone else,” ​Sarai says. Once the idea sparked, they got to writing! ​“The writing process took about a month because it was a real conversation my mother and I had.” ​Soon enough the book was ready to publish! ​“It was simple because my mom self published a book a couple months before but we did face some challenges like illustrations.” ​In an interview with the young writer she said, “​When the book was finished I was so excited and could not wait to empower young girls like me.” Truly this is an inspiring story of how a simple conversation can turn into an amazing book. Some 0ther responses in her interview: Question: How did you get your book out there for people to purchase? ​ ​ Answer: “My mom took a lot of time marketing my book on social media so that everyone can see it and purchase it on Amazon. She contacted girl groups and organizations to either purchase or sponsor.” Question: Any advice for aspiring young writers out there? ​ Answer: “In my book and in my coloring book and journal there are journal entries in the back of the book to encourage young girls to write their story. Why are they different, brave and confident?” Question: Any advice for people who look up to you? ​ Answer: “Some advice that I would give to someone who looks up to me is that you can do anything you put your mind to and that dreams do come true.” There was even an article published in “TAPinto Franklin/Somerset”: ​Franklin 7th Grader Sarai Styles Embraces Differences in Self-Published Book You can purchase the book on amazon here: ​Mommy Why Am I Different Updates on COVID-19 Pandemic By Jayan Shah As of January 11, 2021, there are 90.4 million cases and 1.94 million deaths worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic that’s swept through the world since early last year. In the US there are 22.5 million cases and 374K deaths (both most in a single country worldwide). Due to this raging pandemic, many people had to adjust and change their lifestyles which included not seeing family and friends during the holidays, wearing a mask, and working and doing school virtually at home. During ​ ​ the month of December, we got multiple vaccines approved (Pfizer and Moderna), and they are being distributed to front-line workers and elderly people. Right now they don’t have any information about the vaccine in people under the age of 16, but there are ongoing trials for them to be able to get it. Hopefully everyone can get the vaccine soon so we can go back into school and see all of our friends and teachers. Check out the Somerset County Hotline. 2 Jan/Feb Issue 2 Unforgettable Gifts to End an Unforgettable Year -- Holiday Gifts from 2020 by Jayan Shah This past holiday season there were tons of great gifts for everyone, and I am going to break them down so you know what some of the most popular gifts were, and if you received any! Hot Gift Trends 2020 ● Amazon Echo Dot ($24.99) - Amazon Echo Dot at Amazon ​ ● RapidX My Desktop Charging Stand ($44.99) - RapidX Charging Stand at Best Buy ​ ● Fitbit Charge 4 ($119.95) - Fitbit Charge 4 at Fitbit ​ ● Anker Powerbank ($21.99) - Anker Powerbank at Amazon ​ ● Smart Plug ($8.99) - Smart Plug at Amazon ​ ● Multifunctional LED Desk Lamp ($39.99) - LED Desk Lamp at Amazon ​ ● Fidget Cube ($19.99) - Fidget Cube ​ ● Airpods 2nd Gen ($159) - Airpods 2nd Gen at Apple ​ ● PS5 ($499) - PS5 at Sony ​ ● Xbox Series S ($299)- Xbox Series S at Microsoft ​ ● Xbox Series X ($499) - Xbox Series X at Microsoft ​ FMS Students Celebrate the Holidays On Stage (At Home) by Breanna Ihechi Nwachukwu During the December holiday season, Franklin Middle School campuses held a two day, virtual holiday assembly. The joint assembly was sponsored by the Spirit of the Warrior Team and Diversity Club. There were three student emcees. The FMS dance program also participated in this successful event with varied performances planned to showcase during the assembly. First, there were many solo student dances which had been choreographed by the dancers themselves. All of the dances were nicely choreographed and very cool to watch; there were even some duos. Overall, viewers were treated to a lot of talented dancers. Next, students got to see the dance troupe put together a cool, choreographed and well edited video --edited by a student. A contemporary class performed as well and so did the green team. Overall, it was really entertaining and impressive to watch all these talented FMS dancers perform. The assembly was a perfect way to kick off the holiday break from school. Winter Celebrations Trivia By Elangkathir Elamaran ​ Winter is the time on the calendar marked from Dec. 21 until the first day of spring on March 21st. Families enjoy a variety of celebrations during this time of year. How many Winter celebrations can you identify? Click on the link below to take our Winter Celebrations quiz. If you would like to be entered to win a prize from the HSC or SGS school ​ store, be sure to include your name, grade, and school. One winner from each middle school campus will be picked from the responses with the most correct answers. The answers, along with the winners, will be published in the next edition of the Warrior Times. ​ ☃ TAKE THE WINTER SURVEY HERE☃ ​ Snow Day FUN in 2021 ​ ​ by:Isha Agarwal Snow days. Just thinking about them brings thoughts of relaxation, hot cocoa, snowball fights, and beautiful scenery. What does YOUR ideal snow day look like? We asked teachers at Hamilton Street and Sampson campuses. Here a few direct quotes from some of our teachers. From Hamilton Street​- Ms. Garyantes -” My ideal snow day is to curl up with a warm blanket and cup of coffee and binge watch Netflix!” ​ ​ Mr. Krauss -​ “ I like to relax with my two daughters and play in the snow with them. Then we enjoy having a game and movie night.” From SGS- Mrs. Weinstein -“ If there was a lot of snow, I would love to go outside and build a snowman!” ​ Ms.