1. education
2. school

‘S
TANG
EXPRESS
01
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
The
Find us on
Facebook!
North Shore Middle School • 120 Castlegory • Houston, TX 77015
Volume 01 • Issue 03 • March 2011
CH3
N
O
N
N
N
H 3C
CH3
O
Caffeine:
How much is
too much?
It’s found naturally in plants and certain
beans but the amount you consume can
affect your work and behavior
- page 8
02
The ‘Stang Express
Table of Contents
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
North Shore Middle School
120 Castlegory Houston, TX 77015
CONTACT
RESPONDING
Letters to the editor will be accepted. Letters
may be submitted in Room C107 or placed
in the mailbox of Mr. Burke. All letters must
be signed. Names will be published. Letters
must not contain personal attacks against an
individual and may be edited.
PURPOSE
The ‘Stang Express is a student publication
distributed to the students, teachers, and
parents of North Shore Middle School and the
administration at North Shore High School
and Galena Park ISD. Opinions expressed are
the opinions of the student writers and are not
necessarily the opinions of the Galena Park ISD.
STAFF
Editor in Chief Katy McKey
Cover Story Jocelyn Ramirez
Entertainment Karen Camacho, Natalie
Robinson
Features Jocelyn Ramirez, Mariana Estrada,
Sarai Flores, Carolina Hernandez
News Katy McKey, Abigail Sanchez,
Tania Amaya, Cindy Barrera
Photography Karen Camacho, Sarai Flores
Octavio Hernandez
Sports Octavio Hernandez, Edgar Gutierrez,
Idalia Santos, Ingris Montoya
15 Minutes of Fame Mariana Estrada
Adviser Mr. Ron Burke
Principal Mr. Paul Drexler
Superintendent Dr. Mark Henry
ATTENTION 7TH
GRADERS!
All 7th graders who’ve
picked up applications
for next year’s ‘Stang
Express newspaper staff...
please make sure you
complete and turn in your
application to ROOM C107
before the deadline!
Cover story
News
Potter wins annual Spelling 08 How much is too much?
Caffeine that is...
03 Bee
Art students saddle up for
the Rodeo Art Show
04
Eighth graders set sights on
ninth grade campus
EXPLORE Test gives
students a taste of the ACT
05
06
07
Chess club gets second
place at tournament
Houston Astros promote
reading at the Shore
Students put their
experiments to the test
Sports
16
Lady Mustangs get
schooled by teachers
Ladies lose to CMS in nailbiter
17
Lady Mustangs end season
with losses to rival
Entertainment
Hush’ silences
18 ‘Hush,
readers
Am Number Four Gets
19 IFour
Stars
Features
the Front: A Soldier’s
10 From
perspective
12 Remembering the Millions 15 Minutes of
That ringing in your ears...
Fame
is
definitely
NOT
someone
13 talking about you!
Determined swimmer
18
strives to succeed
to Valentine, we
14 Thanks
celebrate a day of love
Genetics ties siblings to
success
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
Mailing address: 120 Castlegory Houston,
Texas 77015
Phone: (832) 386-2600
Website: http://www.texasschools.net/nsms
(Main photo above)
An inflated Coach DuBose slaps on his
helmet and gets set to take on Coach
Sampson in a sumo-wrestling match
during the Astros pep rally in the boys’
gym. Coach DuBose got laughs from
the entire school as he won against
Coach Sampson.
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Potter wins annual Spelling Bee
BY KATY McKEY & JOCELYN RAMIREZ
Semester. That was the word that
started the spelling bee. The annual
spelling bee was held here in the
library on January 12, 2011. Many
words were spelled correctly and
many words were misspelled but in
the end, it came down to one winner
out of 120 students.
As the participants were waiting
for the Spelling Bee to begin many
of them were looking over their list of
words. Soon the judges, Mr. Burke
one of eighth grade English teachers
Ms. Jones, one of the seventh grade
English teachers, announced that the
spelling bee was about to begin. The
participants were asked to form a line
and keep quiet for the duration of the
spelling bee so they would not be
disqualified. Another rule was if you
misspelled a word you were supposed
to stand aside and wait until the word
was spelled correctly. This rule was
important because if everyone spelled
the word wrong then you would be
allowed back into the spelling bee.
The first student in line was given a
start sign to mark when a new round
began. This was vital because as a
new round began the words got more
difficult. Then the spelling bee began.
Everything was running smoothly.
Only every now and then someone would misspell a word. Until
unanimous was the next word and it
knocked out a total of six people before seventh grader, Jocelyn Ramirez
spelled the word correctly. As the
rounds passed, the words became
more difficult. Eventually the words
became so hard that the line was
becoming shorter and shorter. Soon,
only eleven people remained. When
the word, yeoman was given next, the
entire line could not spell it and since
we needed a winner, all eleven were
permitted to try another word. Unbelievably, this happened again with the
word serotonin.
In the end, it came down to eighth
News 03
grader Zachary Potter
and seventh grader
Viveca Richards.
Viveca was given
the word quadrilateral
but she misspelled it.
Therefore, Zachary
was given the same word
and he spelled it correctly. He then
spelled the next word correctly, making
him the winner of the spelling bee. “It
was cool winning the spelling bee; I’ve
been in one before but never won,”
said Zachary. Because Zachary won
the campus wide spelling bee, he went
on to represent North Shore Middle
in the district spelling bee where he
placed sixth. Even though Zachary
did not win he did well considering
there were around 20 students from
all the other campuses. Ms. Jones
said, “There were about 18 to 20
students all ranging from elementary
to high school.” Even though she said
the words were not very difficult, they
ranged from a 5th grade to 9th grade
level. Zachary did really well at the
district spelling bee and represented
North Shore Middle School very well.
BY KATY McKEY
Yee-haw! On January
13th, 2011, there was a
rodeo art show at the North
Shore Senior High School
auditorium that involved
thirty NSMS students who
drew or painted art that
represented Southwestern,
Indian, or Texan art. Students from Pre-K through
twelfth grade are allowed to
enter the rodeo art contest.
Each year our district
participates in the Rodeo
Art Show and the winner of
the art show gets a chance
to go to the Glassell School
of Arts. They can even win
$20,000 for college.
Every participant gets
a certificate signed by the
President of the Houston
Livestock Show & Rodeo.
The Glassell School of
Arts gives students an opportunity to participate in
the advanced junior studio
program which provides
outstanding fine arts classes
for students in public, private and parochial schools
in Harris and surrounding
counties.
The program offers full semester scholarships and is
held at the Glassell School
of Arts which is across the
street from the Museum of
Fine Arts. Not everybody
is accepted to Glassell, so
it would be an honor for
students who are able to
attend this school.
Rodeo art is about
students using different
media and learning different things about Texas
culture. “It’s a tradition for
us to enter this contest
because ten years
ago we won the super
show award for the rodeo
art,” said Ms. Bey one of
the art teachers. The super show award is when
the district gets awarded
for having an extraordinary
rodeo art show.
The winner of the rodeo
art show this year was seventh grader Juan Garza.
“I drew an Indian man sitting next to a fire with spirits
and animals around him,”
said Juan.
Juan’s drawing will be
displayed in the Hayloft Art
Gallery during the rodeo.
“The day of the rodeo art
show, I felt nervous because
there were many important
people there like the judges
so, when I won, I felt happy
LOGO COURTESY OF HLSR
Art students saddle up for the Rodeo Art Show
because I got a new laptop
and a scholarship to the
Glassell School Of Arts,”
said Juan. Some students
may think getting into college is easy but it is not as
easy as it looks.
“They said I need to have
good grades for me to get
in. I hope I get in because
it’ll be an honor,” he said.
When Juan is older maybe
he will become a professional artist.
So, do you think you have
what it takes to win next
year?
04 News
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
Eighth graders set sights on ninth grade campus
BY KATY McKEY
North Shore’s eighth graders registered for high school on January
27 and 28, 2011. During all English
classes on those two days, teachers
took their students to the Multipurpose
Room to hear the counselors from the
ninth grade center explain the courses
and electives they had the opportunity
to sign up for.
When students entered the MPR
and sat down, everyone received
registration packets containing course
descriptions and other papers that
were needed to enter the ninth grade.
One of the counselors from the ninth
grade center explained what different
plans you could sign up for and how
they differed.
After explaining the plans (distinguished or recommended; the difference is the amount of foreign language credits you need), they began
to tell us how the credits, scheduling,
and courses work. They explained
to the eighth graders that there were
also credit recovery and TAKS classes
that could help them out during high
school.
The counselors also briefly went
over what elective classes are available for the eighth graders to take next
year. Some of the available electives
are video technology, yearbook or
newspaper, health, and even a business class.
“[While we were registering] I was
really just thinking about getting to
play football next year with all my old
friends from Cunningham and how
school is going to be next year,” said
Sammy Garcia.
Next, the counselors and English
teachers helped students fill out their
registration forms. They explained
how to obtain the 26 credits needed
by graduation time. The soon-to-befreshmen are required to take two
semesters of P.E, two fine art classes,
and either Geometry or Algebra I.
The eighth graders also have to take
either French or Spanish next year to
get meet the foreign language credit
requirements.
They were finally signed up for high
school. Registration is something
almost everyone has been looking
forward to for awhile now.
“I was nervous to be thinking about
going somewhere new, but I was also
excited because I’m so ready to get
out of middle school,” said Karina
Garza. The experience may not have
been what everyone was expecting
but we were excited over what was
happening.
Finally, the eighth graders are getting a real choice about school and
actually being given some freedom
to make them feel (somewhat) like
adults. But, the real question is, are
you ready?
EXPLORE Test gives students a taste of the ACT
BY KATY McKEY
During the first semester, eighth
graders in our district took the Explore
test which is an ACT formatted test,
to find out where they stand academically.
This four-part test not only helps students know what subjects they need to
practice and improve in, it’s also to get
an understanding of how taking the
test is going to be like in high school
when we take the real ACT test for
college.
Another benefit of taking the Explore
test is the “interest inventory” portion.
It’s basically a questionnaire asking
about the different things you like and
what skills you have.
The purpose of the “interest inventory” is to try and help you determine
which career field you’ll succeed and
actually enjoy.
“I was surprised at my interest
inventory results, I didn’t really think
they matched me, but it gave me a
new look to what I may want to be
when I get older,” said Marissa Davila.
The idea is to give students a new
perspective on what they may want.
“It’s like a stepping stone to prepare
them (the eighth graders) for college,”
said Ms. Charles, one of the counselors here.
Besides informing the students of
how they are doing personally, it also
tells them how our school as a whole
is doing.
These scores help the teachers
know what areas need to be practiced
more and schools also know how they
need to improve and change their curriculum and how well the teachers are
instructing the students. It also lets the
parents get an idea of what’s going on
with their children’s education.
“Basically, [we wanted] to give the
students some exposure so they will
know what to be looking forward to in
the future. We also want to encourage
them to take the test at the earliest
age possible to be better prepared,”
said Mr. Eckford, one of our assistant
principals.
Now that the eighth graders have
their scores back, the goal is that they
will use this information to better succeed in their schoolwork and prepare
themselves for the rest of their lives.
“All my scores were okay, but I was
below average in science and everything else was above average. I was
mad, I felt like I could have done way
better,” said eighth grader, Brianna
Warren.
Hopefully, students will be motivated
to do better and improve their test
scores and skills in classes where they
aren’t doing too great.
“The ACT scores made me realize
that I need to work harder and practice more in math,” said eighth grader,
Marissa Cooper.
The ACT test is designed to challenge students, parents, teachers,
and whole schools to strive better and
accomplish something as a team and
individually.
News 05
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Chess club gets second place at tournament
The members of the chess club had
a tournament on January 29th, at Klein
High School where they competed
with 32 different schools. Ten seventh
graders and ten eighth graders from
our school competed in the competition. Before the tournament, the chess
members that were going to the chess
tournament were very confident and
thought positive things about it.
Jonathan Sampson, a seventh
grader, won 1st place at the tournament. He won 4 games and tied 1
game out of 5 rounds; therefore he got
a 1st place trophy.
“I feel like I accomplished something great,” said Jonathan. The team
scored 16 ½ points over all, putting
them in second place, missing 1st
place to Aldine Middle School by only
½ a point.
One point is awarded for a win and
½ point is for a tie. There was three
sections, elementary, middle, and high
school. Mr. Whitmire is very proud of
his chess club, because they practiced every day and dedicated time to
chess.
“Hard work never
goes unnoticed,”
said Mr. Whitmire.
The object in chess is to checkmate
your opponent’s king and queen.
Chess is said to be the oldest game
in the world. It was invented in India
5,000 years ago by the Buddhists.
They, believing war was wrong, devised the game of chess as a peaceful substitute. From India, the game
spread to Persia, Arabia, and then to
Western Europe. The word ‘chess,’ is
derived from the Persian word ‘shah,’
meaning king.
Students in the chess club practice
every day, to improve their way of
opening moves, capturing moves, and
ending moves.
The chess club motivates students
to keep their grades up; in high school
they can become a master player and
even earn a scholarship for college.
Thirteen out of fifty states offer scholarships if you play chess well. Out of
the 13 states, Texas has more schools
that offer scholarships: five universities, one college, and a junior high
school.
“Winning is
my favorite part,
because when
you find an opponent that’s
equal to your skills I feel like I learn
something new and move up from
where I am now,” said seventh grader,
Gerardo Fortuna. Chess is a very addicting game and when you play it all
you think about is to win!
There’s always something new to
learn about chess, all the games are
not always the same. This is what
helps the students in the chess club
get better at their skills.
Messing up is the best way to
practice, because they learn from their
mistakes and get better each time.
This might seem like a boring game,
but in reality, it’s full of exciting moves
and tournaments.
Chess is a good game to play, it has
a lot of good things to offer when you
know how to play it, such as the ability
to train your minds to concentrate,
also some schools will also give out
scholarships, but you have to start
now!
For more information, see Mr. Whitmire in E-107.
IMAGE / STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
BY MELANY BARAJAS
06 News
Houston Astros promote reading at the Shore
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
IMAGE / ‘STANG STAFF
To encourage reading here at North
Shore Middle School, the Houston
Astros paid a visit to the entire student
body on January 13, 2011, in the boys’
gym. All the students and staff here at
North Shore Middle School had waited
for this day to get a chance to meet
the Astros and hear what they thought
about reading and its importance.
On that chilly January morning, the
Divas, Dudes, Chess Club, and boys
and girls athletics were lined up from
the parent pick-up area all the way to
the double doors, alongside the “red
carpet” as they eagerly waited to greet
the Houston Astros when they arrived.
When Wind Ensemble began to play
music, everyone outside cheered
as infielder Chris Johnson, second
baseman Bill Hall, outfielder Brian
Bogusevic, Astros announcer Jim
Deshaies, and former pitcher, Astros
manager, and public announcer Larry
Dierker strode down the red carpet,
into the school to be greeted by more
smiling faces from the cheerleaders,
Fillies, and choir members. While the
Eighth grader Beatriz Garcia asks Astros
infielder, Chris Johnson a question about his
favorite book during the Astros pep rally in
the boys’ gym.
Astros began their meeting with North
Shore’s top twenty 7th and 8th grade
readers in the library, the rest of the
student body was crowded in the boys’
gym.
As soon as the Astros walked in the
entire gym cheered loudly. After everyone sang the Star-Spangled Banner,
Mr. Drexler, our principal, gave a short
speech and introduced the superintendent of Galena Park ISD, Dr. Henry,
who also gave a speech on how reading was important for a good future.
During the two speeches gift bags
were given to all the Astros thanking
them for taking the time to visit us, one
was even given to the Astros mascot, Junction Jack, who was having
a fun time playing around with some
athletes and teachers. The students
were also visited by three North Shore
Senior High seniors who had attended
the Astros’ game five years ago when
they were here at North Shore Middle.
They talked about how important reading is and what we can accomplish
with reading.
After the speeches, five North Shore
Middle School students were able
to ask one of the visitors a question
about how reading affected them and
their future. After the Astros had told
us how important reading was to them
and how it is to us, the cheerleaders
performed their “Read” cheer followed
by the very much anticipated 7th inning
stretch. During the stretch, the entire
school and the Astros came together
to sing, “Take me out to the ball game”
and “Deep in the heart of Texas.” Each
song was led by the North Shore choir.
Once the 7th inning stretch was over,
the Fillies performed their dance and
then came the hula-hoop contest. Mr.
Drexler put this contest together to see
who the best hula-hooper was in North
Shore Middle. Although the contest was
only meant for Mr. Drexler’s hula-hoop
team, several athletes, Fillies, coaches,
cheerleaders, and even Bill Hall, Chris
Johnson, and Brian Bogusevic joined in
on the fun. Hula-hoops were dropping
and spinning everywhere, and Bill Hall
even knocked down Chris Johnson’s
hula-hoop while athletes were trying to
show them how it’s done. After about
five minutes, with no sure winner, Jim
Deshaies declared everyone a winner.
At the end of the pep rally, there
was a sumo-wrestling match. Coach
Sanford and Coach DuBose went
head to head as they fought each
other while wearing sumo-wrestling
suits. In the first match, Coach Sanford
threw down Coach Dubose with ease
and won, but in the second match she
was pushed down by Coach Dubose
and then was squished by him.
“It was cool when Coach Sanford and
Coach DuBose did the sumo-wrestling.
It was funny,” said 7th grader Sarah
Guillen. The sumo-match was so funny
some students were red in the face
because of so much laughter.
As the match ended, the students
begged for a third but it was time
to go. Now some students plan on
reading more so North Shore Middle
School will be able to go to the Astros
game on May 10th like 8th grader
Emaree Ankrom who loves to read
and now plans to read more. With
students like Emaree, North Shore
Middle School will be one step closer
to rooting for the Astros at the game
on May 10th.
IMAGE / ALA.ORG
BY CINDY BARRERA
News 07
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Students put their experiments to the test
BY ABIGAIL SANCHEZ
The adventure began as the annual
science fair, which was held here,
February 9th, all day in the Multipurpose Room, where one hundred and
fifteen 7th and 8th graders, were chosen by their teachers to present their
outstanding science projects.
“Most students will surprise their
teachers with what they had accomplished on their own,” said Mr. Sanders, a seventh grade science teacher.
But, you might be wondering why we
have the science fair every year. Well
its main purpose is for the students to
understand the science process and to
determine the students’ skill in science
and what they’re capable of doing.
Also it’s for them to have a good time
experimenting and hope that they
learn something interesting, so that
they might use it in their future career.
All projects were divided into four
categories, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Consumer science. There
were 15 judges, who were divided into
groups of 3, and they all quietly listened
and were amazed by student’s projects
and asked questions like, what did you
learn from this experiment, and why did
you do this experiment?
When the students presented their
projects, they had to explain everything;
problem, hypothesis, steps, materials,
conclusion, and describe any picture
or data they had. After a student was
done presenting their project, the judges would shake hands with the student,
and another student will come in, find
their project, and wait patiently for the
judges to finish looking at the project
that the previous student presented.
“I was very happy, because my
project made it to the science fair and
I thought I would never make it,” said
Deanna Rosales, a 7th grader who
had participated in the science fair.
“For several years I’ve been a
judge,” said Keith Anderson, a judge
from the science fair and works for
the Lyondell Basell Company, “and I
see new projects this year and that’s
because of the information from the
internet.” That’s true, there were lots of
other projects that were both amazing
and interesting, because of the wide
range of information from the internet.
Another judge was amazed as he
looked through the projects one by one.
“This is my first time being a judge and
I was expecting a lot less and here every
one of them is good,” said Rob Stewart,
one of the 15 judges and who works for
the same company, Lyondell Basell.
In the end, the judges had gather and
picked out four winners, 7th and 8th
graders separately, for each category
that was listed above. The students
who didn’t won got a gift for participation, while the winners got trophies and
a field trip, that will be scheduled somewhere around May and is undecided of
where the field trip will be.
8th grade winners
Place Category – Biology 1
Royce Branch 2
Elbert Jones & Andres Aguilera
3
Valerie Gonzalez 4
James Woosley
Place
1
2
3
4
Place
1
2
3
4
Place
1
2
3
4
Category - Chemistry
Brianna Warren Louesha Jones Caitlin Rankin
Leslie Herrera
Category - Consumer
Stacy Padua
Jazmin Benavides
Damien Loredo
Vito Yonko
Category - Physics
Matthew Harris
Zach Potter
Diego Flores
Heather Hampton
IMAGE / ‘STANG STAFF
7th grade winners
Place Category – Biology
1
Brittany Bush
2
Gerardo Govea
3
Kathleen Cisneros
4
Howard Grant
Eighth grader Sydney Burnett explains her science fair project to Shellie LeBlanc, from
Lyondell Basell and Robert Stewart, from CDL during the judging phase of the Science Fair.
Sydney’s project showed how much of a substance can dissolve in water.
Place
1
2
3
4
Category - Chemistry
Kaitlin Babin
Taryn Surratt
Jocelyn Ramirez
Jonathan Sampson
Place
1
2
3
4
Category – Consumer
Julio Martinez
Victoria Cancel
Ricardo Gutierrez
Joel Mathew
Place
1
2
3
4
Category - Physics
Opal Goforth
John Zamora
Ashley Flores
Mathew Wahrenberge
08 Features
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
How much is too much?
It’s found naturally in plants and certain beans but the amount
you consume can affect your work and behavior.
BY JOCELYN RAMIREZ
Energy drinks, soft
drinks, coffee, and
chocolate may be the some
of the best-tasting things in
the world. The only problem is
that they are loaded with caffeine, and caffeine has major
affects on your body, and
while those affects may include a major energy boost
there is much more to it….
especially for teens like
us!
Caffeine is naturally produced
more than 60
plants, including
tea leaves, coffee beans, cacao
beans, and cola
nuts. Caffeine is
considered a
drug because
it is found in
plants and
it simulates
certain
systems in
your body. One
of these three
simulated systems
includes the central
nervous system.
Caffeine simulates
this system by
causing increased
mental alertness.
The next system
simulated by
caffeine is
your circulatory system. When simulated by caffeine, your heart starts to
beat faster. The third system simulated
by caffeine is your respiratory system.
When your respiratory system is simulated by caffeine, the air passages in
your body are relaxed, allowing for
improved breathing.
So what really happens once caffeine enters your body? Well, your
brain produces a chemical called adenosine. When adenosine is produced
it attaches to the adenosine receptors
in your brain, making you very sleepy.
Caffeine contains a structure similar to
adenosine; attaching to the adenosine receptors in your brain. Instead of
making you tired, this action causes increased activity in your cells and your
blood vessels in your brain constrict.
Once your brain becomes conscious
of what is happening it thinks, because
of all the unusual activity going on,
that something bad is happening. This
results in your pituitary gland sending
a message to your adrenal gland to
pump more adrenaline. This results
in your adrenal gland pumps more
adrenaline into your bloodstream
causing your heart to beat faster, and
liver to release more sugar into your
bloodstream, making you very, very
energetic.
Caffeine does not just make you act
really peppy; it does much more to
our young teenage bodies. Caffeine
consumed in a moderate amounts
increases your mental alertness, but
beware when taken in high doses it
can cause headaches, dizziness and
it interferes with your sleep. Caffeine
is a diuretic, meaning it causes you
to urinate more than usual.
This it causes you to lose
water this can lead to dehydration.
Since caffeine is a drug, it can be
very addictive. Once you are addicted
to caffeine, if you stop consuming it
abruptly it can make you very irritable
and cause massive headaches. After
your caffeine buzz wears off you could
have a ‘crash’. So, is a major energy
burst worth the major crash when it
wears off? If you consume caffeine
regularly, your body’s caffeine sensitivity is reduced, meaning you need
to consume more caffeine than your
regular amount in order to feel the effects of it.
Caffeine can be consumed through
chocolate, hot cocoa, tea, soda, coffee, and energy drinks. The amount
of caffeine a teen can have a day is
about 100 milligrams. One-hundred
milligrams of caffeine is equivalent
to a grande light Frappucino from
Starbucks, or two Cokes. This limit
does not mean that teens are required
to consume this much, it only means
that is the maximum amount a teen
should consume a day. According to
KidsHealth, a health website, a teenager’s caffeine intake comes mostly
from soda and energy drinks.
Even students here at North Shore
are feeling the effects of caffeine.
Caffeine not only affects your body
but it also affects your performance
at school. Ms. Nguyen, the school
nurse, said, “If caffeine affects a
student’s sleep cycle at night, then a
student’s attentiveness during school
hours may be negatively affected.”
In other words, if caffeine you drink
something with caffeine at night to stay
awake then once you are at school,
you may become less focused due
to lack of sleep, and you may tend to
doze off. Caffeine affects your sleep if
it is consumed before you go to bed,
but if you drink it early in the morning
Cover story 09
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Did You Know?
IMAGE / INT’L. COFFEE ORG.
Caffeine causes your body to
lose calcium, which can lead to
bone loss and osteoperosis.
Martinez said, “I drank a Monster and
ate a Hershey bar before school, and I
couldn’t concentrate or do my work in
school, because I had a headache and
I felt dizzy.”
With a Starbucks down the street,
and soda in your fridge, it is pretty
hard not to go over the limit with your
caffeine intake. Caffeine is okay to
have, but just don’t consume so much,
because if you do you could see some
major effects on your school work and
more importantly, your body!
If quit suddenly, caffeine can
make you very irritable and tired.
The more caffeine you consume
the higher your body’s caffeine
sensitivity is. Meaning, you need
more caffeine than normal to feel
its effects.
The limit for how many milligrams
of caffeine a teenager should
consume is 100 milligrams. For
adults it is 200-300 milligrams.
By the Numbers
Ten ounces of dark chocolate
contains 20 milligrams of caffeine.
In one can of Barq’s Root Beer
there is 23 milligrams of caffeine.
In one Grande (16 ounces) Vanilla
Latte there is 150 milligrams of
caffeine.
In one can of Mountain Dew there
is 54 milligrams of caffeine.
IMAGE / CARLSWORD.COM
you could crash during the day.
Eighth grader Mariah Charles said,
“One morning I got a grande Café Mocha from Starbucks and I drank it all.
Then I went to athletics, we had to run
to laps around the track. The first lap I
finished it in a minute and 30 seconds,
and the second lap went downhill, I
had a caffeine crash during my 2nd
lap.” Caffeine doesn’t just affect your
performance in gym in athletics; your
performance is also affected in the
classroom. Seventh grader Abriam
Caffeine in its pure form is very
bitter, but artificial flavoring covers up its bitter taste in foods and
beverages.
In one can of Dr. Pepper there is
42-44 milligrams of caffeine.
010 Features
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
From the Front: A Soldier’s perspective
The ‘Stang Express newspaper staff began corresponding with Sgt. 1st Class Mark Burrell, a member of the
210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment who is attached to the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan this year. SFC Burrell served in Iraq with Mr. Burke and has agreed to provide us and everyone at North
Shore with a perspective into a mysterious country via answers to our questions and photos.
What type of illnesses or diseases
are you exposed to in Afghanistan?
There are a few types of diseases
here and we get a lot of shots before
coming over here. We have small
pox shots, anthrax shots, hepatitis
shots among others. We have to take
malaria pills everyday because that’s a
problem here.
A lot of times if one soldier gets ill,
then it spreads rapidly. We live in very
close quarters in a very dirty environment. There are times that I haven’t
taken a shower for over a week and
have had to wear the same clothes.
This isn’t very healthy, but sometimes
there’s no choice. I try to brush my
teeth when we’re out by using bottled
water and a toothbrush, but I don’t
want to waste too much of my water
on it. I could probably get into more
details, but it might get pretty gross
from here on out.
What kind of education do the
people in Afghanistan receive?
Education has been a problem here
for a long time and if you want to know
a little more about the situation, I suggest two books - “Three Cups of Tea”
which is about Pakistan and “Stones
into Schools” which concentrates on
Afghanistan.
The education the kids receive
here isn’t very good. If they are lucky
enough to live near a school and not a
madrassa (religious school) then they
PHOTO / SGT. 1ST CLASS MARK BURRELL, 210TH MPAD
What kind of foods/meals to the
Afghans usually eat?
I’m not sure the name of many of
usually have to travel far each way to
school. The teachers are sometimes
not paid and the buildings are mudbrick structures usually without desks
or chairs. We have been opening more
and more schools around the country, but it’s such a problem that we’re
barely making a dent.
Many times, families will not send
their children to school because they
need them to work in their fields. If the
children aren’t farming and helping the
parents take care of the house, then
they won’t be able to have money for
food. Education isn’t a high priority
compared to being able to eat. Also,
many women are not afforded the
opportunity to educate themselves because of the misogynistic culture here.
the dishes I’ve eaten here, but the
main staple is rice and bread. The flat
bread is awesome! It’s like a tortilla or
something to that effect. The rice is
mixed with different nuts and spices,
so it tastes pretty good too. They have
lots of fresh vegetables and if it’s a
large feast, then they slaughter a goat
or a lamb.
The food is very good here because
it’s almost always fresh. If it isn’t eaten
right away, it’s hard for them to store
without refrigerators.
Since many Afghans do not have refrigerators, food is fresh and is a mix of staples like rice
with nuts and spices and vegetables. The flatbread is called ‘non’ and is like a big, thick
tortilla.
How has being in the Army changed
your life?
The Army has changed my life in a
multitude of ways. I joined the Army
when I was still in high school at the
age of 17. Though I did get to travel
a bit and attend colleges all over the
States and the world, the Army kept
me grounded.
It was always an obligation that
made forced me to not wander off and
become a nomad somewhere. In all
seriousness, it really helped me prioritize my life. Certain things just don’t
seem as frustrating or overwhelming
after three combat tours.
The Army has also provided me the
opportunity to see many other places
besides Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve
been to Germany, Peru, Puerto Rico,
Egypt, all over the U.S. all while being
paid by the Army to take pictures. It’s
been a pretty sweet gig in that respect.
What operation are you currently
working on?
Currently I’m still working on getting out a few more products from that
last mission up on top of our highest
observation post. I’m stuck at FOB
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Bostick for now. I’m going to stay here
a while a get a couple more stories out
before heading back to FOB Fenty, my
home.
I’m working on a story on a medic,
From the Front 011
an artist and hopefully I’ll get to this
girl’s school that I’ve wanted to see for
a while. Other than that, I can’t really
talk too specifically about upcoming
operations because we aren’t allowed
PHOTO / SGT. 1ST CLASS MARK BURRELL, 210TH MPAD
Soldiers constantly patrol their area of operations in the hunt for the Taliban and also to work
with the local Afghans to help them improve their lives with things like building new schools,
improving infrastructure and provide security.
to discuss them until they’re finished.
What do you do for entertainment?
For entertainment we usually watch
DVDs or surf the Internet. Sometimes
Internet access is blocked and most
of the time it’s really slow, therefore
we watch a lot of movies. There are
places on most bases called the MWR
which stands for Morale, Welfare &
Recreation centers.
At these places, usually no larger
than one room, there are phones,
computers and books. I like to wander
into the MWRs on each different base
and see if I can find an interesting
book. Since we don’t have Internet or
TVs or anything like that in our rooms,
I tend to read a lot. I do find that soldiers play video games at the MWR
too. Mostly they play sports games or
war games.
I always thought it was funny to
watch a soldier just get done with a
combat patrol then go sit in front of his
TV and play Call of Duty or something
like that.
A mortar team sendfs a round to a
target down in the surrounding Afghan
valley. Mortars help pin down and
eliminate the enemy forces.
PHOTO / SGT. 1ST CLASS MARK BURRELL, 210TH MPAD
012 Features
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
Remembering the
BY KATY McKEY
Millions
All the English classes prepared for
a wall shaped like a giant chimney to
this trip by studying and learning about represent the many crematoriums, is
the Holocaust. Students read books
a theater room. This room is equipped
like Night, by Elie Wiesel, about the
with surround sound and a huge teleevent and especially learned how the
vision screen that plays a disheartenchildren were treated through poems
ing video showing sad-eyed Holocaust
and drawings that the young Jews
survivors sharing their gloomy expericreated while being held as prisonences.
ers in Terezin, a concentration camp.
“The video was depressing and
showed me a lot about what the Jews
This collection of art and poems are
went through,” said
in a book called, “…I
Alicia Garcia.
never saw another
“Before I went, I really didn’t
Another part to the
Butterfly…” In honor
care much about the Holomuseum is the area
of this, each student
caust…this trip made me
with artifacts and
decorated a butrealize that hundreds of
information in it. The
terfly to represent a
innocent lives were taken for building seems very
child and their poem.
small, but the inforThese butterflies
no reason.”
were donated to the
- Curly Precella mation it holds can
make a huge impact
museum to be used in
on anyone’s life. Within the museum
an upcoming exhibit. The museum is
walls, are hundreds, maybe thousands
trying to mass 1.5 million butterflies to
of pictures, showing before and after
represent the 1.5 million children who
faces of victims and Jewish families.
died during the Holocaust.
This building also showcases stories,
At the front of the museum, behind
headlines, quotes, and information
from the Holocaust.
“Walking through the museum is like
walking through time, like when it actually happened,” said Brandon Atchley.
Everywhere, there is something to
learn about, whether it was how Hitler
came into power, or simply how a
certain camp was given food.
One section to the museum is the
Memorial Room. It’s dedicated to
remembering those who have died
and survived. In this room, on the wall,
there are tons of names. The names
are of people who have died, but still
have family members residing in the
Houston area. As well as the names
of survivors who lived in Houston, that
have died since the Holocaust. This
room also contains a wall of hand
painted tiles to represent tears and
show the hardships endured.
Students stand, pray, and leave a stone in remembrance of the 1.5 million children who per“The wall with all the tear drops was
ished during the Holocaust. The quote eched in the stone is from a child who survived in the
really cool, it made me think about all
Terezin concentration camp.
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
BOOM! It hit them, unexpectedly,
like a ton of bricks. Scared, nervous,
worried, the thoughts running through
the soon-to-be-Holocaust victims’
minds. They didn’t know what to
think nor did they understand what
was about to happen. Some were
warned, but it was ridiculous to think
that someone would have the intent to
wipe out an entire population of innocent people. Unbelievable, isn’t it? But
in 1941, Adolf Hitler set out to conquer
Europe and succeed in the annihilation of all Jews.
Six million died. Few survived to tell
their horrible stories of concentration
camps, crematoriums, and life without
a reason to live. The Houston Holocaust Museum is there, free of charge
to all, to remind us of this tragic time in
history, and the eighth graders in PreAP English were lucky enough to have
the opportunity and go there to learn
and remember the many lives lost.
Features 013
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
to save them, like in the book Number
the Stars. This action was punishable
by death if the people were caught.
This field trip was not only educational, but mind-opening. It gave
students the opportunity to think about
their privileges and lives in a new light.
After seeing the things real people had
to go through, a lot of students really
changed their minds and views. The
point of this trip was to help students
to get a better understanding of what
the Holocaust was really like.
“Before I went, I really didn’t care
much about the Holocaust…this trip
made me realize that hundreds of innocent lives were taken for no reason.” said Curly Precella.
Going to the Holocaust museum is
something many students will never
forget and the lives that were taken
will always be remembered by many
generations to come. We must learn
about the past to prevent history from
repeating itself. We must keep these
people in our hearts, and never let
differences keep us from loving one
another.
Eighth grader Nancy Valadez decorates her
butterfly to match her poem from “I Never
Saw Another Butterly”. Students’ butterflies
represented their poems and the child who
wrote them.
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
the hurt the Holocaust people had to
go through,” said Claudia Santos.
The other exhibits were outside.
Right through the back doors of the
museum is a wall, which is in remembrance of all the children who were
killed or who died while in Terezin or
other camps. In front of this wall, are
short stone pillars, on these pillars visitors to the museum are allowed, if they
want, to place a stone upon them in
honor of the kids who lost their lives.
Also outside, is a cattle car or what
they would call a rail car. These cars
were used for transporting victims
from their homes to the camp. Cattle
cars were no luxury, they were generally on the small side, and up to one
hundred people would be stuffed into
them. That means absolutely no sitting
room, and no room to place people
who dropped dead from diseases and
starvation. As a result of that, rail cars
were also very smelly, and lacked
fresh air.
“Seeing the conditions and way
these people were treated really got to
me, I’m glad I’ve never had to experience anything like this before,” said
Alma Rivera. Next to the cattle car, is
a boat. The boat is just a normal fishing boat from that time period, but it
was used to stow away Jews in order
Eighth graders stand inside a World War II cattle car and listen to a docent describe the
ordeals that Jews went through in the cattle cars as they were transported from their cities
and ghettos to concentration camps. The rail car is one of three exhibits that are outside the
museum.
014 Features
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
That ringing in your ears...
t you!
u
o
b
a
g
in
lk
ta
e
n
o
e
m
o
s
definitely
Imagine how your life would be if you
NOT
“Riiiiiiiing!” Do you ever get that
long, high pitched ringing sound in
your ears? Do you even know what’s
happening when you hear that sound?
What’s happening is the hair cells in
your ear are being destroyed, and
they’re never coming back because
they’re being permanently damaged.
In other words, you’re slowly going
deaf.
Everywhere you go you are being
exposed to loud and harmful sounds.
Hearing damage can occur when you’re
in the car listing to the radio at an extreme level, or even at parties where the
music is blaring. Headphones are the
most common cause of hearing loss.
Sometimes the music coming from the
headphones is so loud, that the person
beside them can hear it.
“Yes, even with my headphones
on, people can still hear it,” said 8th
grader Alex Diaz. You may be wondering what’s so wrong about having the
music too loud. Headphones aren’t
bad if you are using them at an appropriate volume, but they can also be
harmful if you are using them at a level
that can cause hearing loss. Walking
down the street can be dangerous if
you have headphones on while doing
so. You would be too busy listening to
your MP3 player that you wouldn’t be
aware of what’s going on around you.
According to Young Adult Health on
Children, Youth and Women’s Health
Services website, 25% of people listen
to headphones at a level that will
cause hearing loss.
It takes years for the damage to
show up, especially for young people
who won’t notice loss of hearing until
their late 20s.
“We make students take hearing test
because it required by the state, we
also try to prevent the students from
hearing loss at a young age before it
gets to a level that can’t be helped. If
they fail the test, we make them retake
it to make sure they weren’t sick which
could of caused them to fail, and if
they fail again we let their parents
know so they can take their child to
get help,” said Nurse Nguyen.
According to Fox News, it seems
that teenage boys are at a higher risk
for hearing loss because they listen to
music at a louder volume than girls.
IMAGE / EARINC.COM
BY MARIANA ESTRADA
couldn’t hear. Try turning down the
volume, and limiting yourself on how
long you use them.
Studies show that listening to
headphones at 80% for 90 minutes
a day can lead to hearing loss. Yes,
you might be enjoying your favorite
music, but your ears aren’t, especially
if the sound is pumping directly into
your ears. These massive sounds can
lead to having that long, high-pitched
ringing in your ears or even lead to
difficulty in understanding speech later
on in life.
Some of these symptoms (the
ringing), go away after a few hours,
but that doesn’t mean your ears are
perfectly fine because in some way
you’ve managed to permanently damage some of the hair cells inside your
ear. These hairs are not like the hairs
on top of your head. These tiny hairs
react to the vibrations coming from the
inner ear (cochlea) which sends nerve
signals to the brain. Without these tiny
hairs you pretty much wouldn’t be able
to hear, but if you continue to come in
contact with loud noise, such as the
sound coming from your headphones,
you are endangering your hearing.
Consider yourself a candidate for
hearing loss, but there is a way to care
for your ears and prevent hearing loss
from happening. Just follow the 60/60
rule. You shouldn’t have your MP3
player above 60% of the maximum
volume, and you shouldn’t listen to it
for more than 60 minutes at a time. If
you follow this rule, you would be saving your ears from any damage.
You may think that music is awesome, especially if heard at a maximum level, but do you ever stop and
think that too much of a good thing
can actually be bad? Headphones
are meant for you to hear music at a
decent level, not to blow your ears off.
If you just take the time and turn your
MP3 player down, you can just imagine what other sounds are around you
20 years down the round? You won’t
be that person saying, “What did you
say, can you speak louder?”
Features 015
Thanks to Valentine, we celebrate a day of love
BY CAROLINA HERNANDEZ
You probably think it’s just
a day of love and friendship,
but have you ever wondered why Valentine’s Day
is celebrated, and who is St.
Valentine?
Nobody really knows the
exact origin of Valentine’s
Day. Valentine’s Day is
celebrated around the world
with joy every year on February 14th.
“Valentine’s Day to me
means a day to show my
sweetheart how much she
really means to me,” said
7th grader, MayCo Cruz.
All over the world Valentines Day is celebrated
by expressing love and
gratitude to friends and
special people by exchanging gifts such as
teddy bears, fresh flowers, and chocolate.
“For Valentines day I
would love to get a teddy
bear because it makes me
feel special and loved,”
said 7th grader, Patricia
Ramirez.
People actually started
giving gifts to friends and
love ones during the fourteenth century. Back then
the most popular Valentine
gifts were secret handwritten notes. Now, more than
one billion of them are sent
out every year.
According to History.com,
in one of the legends, Valentine actually sent the first
greeting himself. While he
was in prison it’s believed
that he fell in love with a
young lady who was probably his jailor’s daughter.
Research has it that she visited Valentine while he was
in prison. Before he died
it’s said that he wrote her a
letter, and he signed it saying, “From your Valentine”.
Even though this is only a
legend, it’s an expression
still used today.
According to History.
com, another legend says
that Valentine was a Roman priest. When Emperor
Claudius II decided that
single men made better
soldiers than those with
wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young
men. Valentine, realizing
the injustice of the order,
continued to perform marriages for young lovers in
secret.
When Valentine’s actions
were discovered, Claudius
IMAGE / STOCK IMAGE
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
ordered
that he be put to
death.
Even with all the different
legends of how Valentine’s
Day started, it’s still one of
the most celebrated holidays around the world.
Modern day Valentine’s
Day has changed throughout centuries; no longer do
you have to be killed to love
somebody like Valentine
did.
BY SARAI FLORES
You’ve probably seen
him on the football field
or upstairs in room B200.
Mr. Sanders isn’t just a 7th
grade science teacher, he’s
also a football and track
coach. It must take determination to be able to coach
and be a science teacher.
“My first year was overwhelming, being a teacher
and coach at the same
time. Now I have acclimated
myself to my role and I have
adapted to the amount of
time spent here at school,”
said Mr. Sanders.
Did you know that Mr.
Sanders plays golf and rides
motorcycles? Other than being a teacher he does things
every person likes to do. He
also has a twin sister. Have
you ever
wondered
why he
became
a teacher
and chose
science?
“My twin sister talked me
into getting into education
as my major. I chose science because it was easy
and I was good at it,” said
Mr. Sanders.
“I like having him for science and my coach because I get the best of both
worlds,” said 7th grader Devion Johnson. He’s a great
coach and science teacher.
Mr. Sanders has a game
plan, which he executes
to his the best of his ability
and coaches with a passion
that’ll lead to success.
“He’s unlike other teach-
ers
I’ve
had before, he never yells
and he explains everything in a way that makes
it interesting and easy to
learn,” said 7th grader Rosa
Garcia.
Judging by what his
students and athletes say,
Mr. Sanders is an excellent
teacher and an extraordinary coach. He knows how
to get his students to pay
attention and he gets their
attention by making science interesting in his own
way. As for his athletes, he
motivates them and pushes
them to go far and beyond,
PHOTO / CINDY BARRERA
Genetics ties siblings to success
to make them have confidence and be able to do the
best they can be.
“Coach Sanders was a
wonderful coach, he taught
me that I could accomplish
anything if I set my mind to
it,” said 8th grader Edward
Castillo. Only a person who
has a passion for their job
and enjoys having to do two
things at once can do what
Mr. Sanders does.
016 Sports
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
Lady Mustangs get schooled by teachers
The teacher vs. students
volleyball game took place
here Thursday December
16, 2010, in the girls’ gym.
Our eighth grade Lady
Mustangs played against 14
teachers. The game started
with Mr. Griffith serving the
ball and scoring the first
point. Then, Trina Le served
the ball and scored a point.
Mr. Szabo served the ball to
the Lady Mustangs then the
Lady Mustangs had a side
out and the teachers scored
a point.
“I think that the students
are going to win, because
they were trained by the
best coaches,” said seventh
grader Summer Evans. Mr.
Banks served the ball to the
Lady Mustangs, and they
bumped the ball back and
had a side out, therefore the
teachers got a point. Jocelyn Ramirez spiked the ball
to Mr. Banks and bumped
the ball back and scored a
point. After a while, our Lady
Mustangs were beating the
teachers. Mr. Atkins served
the ball, and it hit the roof
and the girls got the ball
back. Mr.Eckford jumped,
and served, and scored the
last point of the first game.
The ladies won the first
match with a score of 28 to
25 and the crowd started
screaming “Go Lady Mustangs, Go Lady Mustangs!!”
The second game started
with Mr. Eckford jumping
and serving the ball to the
girls and scoring first point
for the second game. Mr.
Hinshaw served the ball to
the girls and, sadly, had a
side out. There was an unscheduled intermission as
Coach Sanford and Coach
Atkins did the ‘Macarena’
during the middle of the
game. It was a very awkward moment and every-
Ladies lose to CMS in nail-biter
BY IDALIA SANTOS
The seventh grade Lady
Mustang white basketball
team played against Cunningham on February 07,
2011, at the North Shore
Senior High School gym.
The game started with a
jump ball with Darian Batiste
facing the opponent, Angel
LaShunt. After the toss,
LaShunt hit the ball and
passed it to Taryn Surratt,
but unfortunately, a CMS
defender pushed Surratt so
it was a foul. The Cunningham offense passed the ball
and dribbled it to the other
side of the court where they
scored.
The game kept on and
Cunningham got two free
throws due to a foul and
made just one. Rebecka
Morris passed the ball to
Sarah Guillen but Cunningham stole the ball from her
and passed it to Taryn Surratt and she scored.
“It was a very exciting
game because we were
really close to beating them
but then we lost,” said Taryn
Surratt.
Trinity Brown had two free
throws and missed both.
Amber Lewis got two free
throws and only made one,
making the score 13-11. A
Cunningham defender was
fighting for the ball and fell
and hurt her knee and had
to be helped off the court.
body started laughing.
“Seeing Mr. Atkins, and
Coach Sanford do the
Macarena in the middle of
the game was a very weird
and awkward moment but
a good moment to laugh is
a moment of joy for me and
my friends,” said seventh
grader Litzy Galvan. Then
Brianna Warren served the
ball to the teachers, the
teachers bumped the ball
back and had a side out,
and Lady Mustangs scored
a point. Our teachers won
the second match with a
score of 25 to 8.
Coach Wait said, “Whoever scored 10 points first
would win the last match.”
Coach Banks served and
scored a point, then served
again and scored another
point. Mr.Thiel jumped,
served to Lady Mustangs
and scored a point. Nina Le
served to the teachers they
served back to Lady Mus-
tangs scored a point. Mr.
Eckford jumped and served
to Lady Mustangs and they
bumped the ball back to
the teachers and scored a
point. This caused a tie, but
Mr. Eckford jumped again,
served and scored the last
point. The teachers won the
game with a score of 10 to
9.
“I was very happy that the
teachers won,” said Coach
Sanford. The students were
very upset but, the teachers
were very happy that they
won.
“I wanted the students
to win, but they lost. Just
like the teachers say, they
win every single year, but
one year the students will
win,” said seventh grader
Jalmis Salazar. I think that
even though some students
were sad we should all be
happy because the teachers
should be able to enjoy their
victory too.
Natalie Leija passed the
ball to Angela Aston but
Cunningham again stole
the ball from her and tried
to pass it but it went out of
bounds.
“I think I did a good job,
because I shot a goal for
the team and it felt like a
victory taking over,” said Rebecka Morris. Later, Natalie
Leija passed the ball to
Trinity Brown, who passed
it back to Natalie Leija, who
shot and scored. Cunningham got two free throws
but missed both. Despite
keeping the game close, the
Wildcats rallied in the final
minutes and the girls lost
the game with a score of 27
to 19.
“I believe the team worked
hard and learned so much
to keep the team together”
said Coach Parrot. “The
girls did an amazing job and
came a long way throughout
the season; they never gave
up and played as a team,”
she said.
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
by INGRIS MONTOYA
Sports 017
Lady Mustangs end season with losses to rival
by ingris montoya
The Lady Mustangs 8th grade white
basketball team played the last game
of the season against Cunningham at
the North Shore Senior High gym on
February 7, 2011.
The game started with a jump ball
between the two centers. The official tossed the ball and Cunningham
gained possession to start the game.
Then Alondra Huerta got the ball,
jumped, shot and missed the shot.
The cheerleaders were shouting,
“Let’s Go Lady Mustangs you can
do it!” to get the crowd in the game.
Chantelle Ferguson was trying to
steal the ball from a CMS opponent,
and Madison Molina fought with hard
defense and Madison shot and scored
our first two points. The crowd went
crazy and started cheering “Lady Mustangs you can do it, you can do it.”
Then Cunningham made a lay-up
and scored. The North Shore crowd
started yelling out loud, “Wildcats
you’re going down, Wildcats you’re
going down!”
“Even though we are losing, I think
they are doing well they have worked
hard this whole season to succeed
and go forward for what they want,”
said seventh grader Litzy Galvan as
she was watching the game. The
game progressed Rebecca Pipitone
shot for another two points. The
defense, however, just wasn’t there
that night. The Lady Mustangs lost
the game against Cunningham with a
score of 7 to 40.
Even though they lost, the girls tried
their best and did all they could. Every
other morning and afternoon they
would practice so they could do their
best helping out one another. After the
Cunningham game, Coach Wait talked
to the girls and told them that they lost
but they did a great job during the season and not to put their heads down
because they lost, but to be happy
and proud for their hard work.
Also many former students from
our school said that no matter if you
lose or win to
remember that you put your best
into what you’re doing.
“Even though we lost, I think I did a
pretty good this season. I got better
in my hustling and my ball handling I
tried my best and put all I could in to
the season,” said Katie Rowe.
The Lady Mustangs did get better
at their ball handling, dribbling, and
hustling and they demonstrated it to us
by beating Null Middle School on December 6, 2010, with a score of 21 to
6. They also beat Null at a tournament
on December 4, 2010, with a score of
16 to 4.
“This season went smoothly but I
think the girls could have put more in
the season than they did,” said Coach
Wait. “The coaches put all they could
into the season to help them do their
best and were there for them. On the
other hand, it was a great season
and a good experience and I enjoyed
PHOTO / ‘STANG STAFF
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
Eighth grader Taylor Frank works to cut
through the Cunningham defense in order
to set up the Mustang offensive play during
their last game of the season.
watching these girls work hard and
watched them be happy for what they
wanted,” she said.
The Lady Mustangs worked hard
this season, putting all they could in
to it, but it just doesn’t always turn out
the way we want.
D.I.V.A.S. meet every other
Thursday and D.U.D.E.S. meet
every other Tuesday in the
Multipurpose room at 7:30 am.
Are you a Facebook addict?
Then visit our page and be a
fan! “North Shore Middle
Journalism” Check us out!
018 Entertainment
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
by natalie robinson
Have you ever fallen off
a rollercoaster and been
saved by your demon biology partner? Well, in “Hush,
Hush,” by Becca Fitzpatrick,
this happens to a 16-yearold girl named Nora Grey.
Nora’s life changes after
she meets a boy named
Patch, who happens to be
her biology partner. Nora
tries to get to know Patch
when they are working on
their assignment, but he
doesn’t tell her anything
personal about him. While
doing the assignment, Nora
finds that Patch knows a
lot about her, maybe a little
too much. Nora is confused,
she doesn’t know if she
should be afraid of Patch
or fall under his hypnotizing
spell.
Nora ends up going to the
amusement park with her
friends to get away from her
complicated life. While at
the amusement park Nora
sees Patch and she finds
herself running off to go ride
a roller coaster called, The
Fallen Angel. While on the
roller coaster, Nora’s seat
belt unlatches and she’s
flung off the ride, but with
the help of some mysterious
shadow Nora was helped
back up on to the roller
coaster. Somehow, she
survived what happened at
the park.
When Nora got home
from the amusement park
she researched Fallen Angels and found out that they
are demons. After Patch
saw that Nora knew what
he was, he realized he must
protect her and his secrets,
but instead they fall in love,
complicating their situation
even more. After that day
at the amusement park,
Nora started to experience
weird things like someone
following her, and watching
her every move. Soon Nora
finds that she will be in more
trouble than she expected.
“Hush, Hush” is a thrilling and romantic book.
This book is about a human
girl doing her best to keep
the biggest secret of all…
that the guy she loves is a
demon.
This book shows that
love and danger can come
from the same place. I think,
“Hush, Hush” is an interesting book filled with nailbiting action. The book is a
bittersweet tale of a teenage
IMAGE / BECCAFITZPATRICK.COM
‘Hush, Hush’ silences readers
girl falling in love with a
demon. This book will leave
its reader wanting more.
I recommend, “Hush,
Hush” to all readers who
like stories of forbidden love
and action. And if you like
this book, be sure to find
out what happens with Nora
and Patch in the next book
of the series, “Crescendo.”
IMAGE / ALA.ORG
To cut down run times, script writers ofter cut great stories and
information from your favorite stories. Just imagine what else you
could discover just by READING THE BOOK!
Entertainment 019
I Am Number Four gets four stars
by KAREN CAMACHO
I Am Number Four, starring Alex Pettyfer (John
Smith), is a movie about a
teenage alien disguised as
a human who has been on
the run with Henri (Timothy
Olphant), His Cepan, or
guardian since he was very
little from the Magodorians,
who are malicious and destructive aliens.
Number One dies in
Malaysia. Number Two dies
in England. Number Three
dies in Kenya. After alien
number three dies, John,
who is Number Four and
Henri are forced to move
from Florida to Paradise,
Ohio. Henri deletes any
evidence on the internet
that Daniel Jones, his previous identity in Florida, ever
existed. Even though Henri
doesn’t want John to go to
school, John still decides to
go to school. At school John
finds himself becoming attracted to Sarah Hart (Dianna Agron) and makes friend
with an alien-obsessed boy,
Sam Goode (Callan McAuliffe). John’s feeling toward
Sarah cause him various
arguments with Mark James
(Jake Abel), Sarah’s ex boyfriend, a typical jock and
class clown.
John begins to discover
his legacies, or powers. His
first legacy that he knew of
was to resistance of fire,
which made his hands glow.
John also has the ability
to talk to animals, this was
actually his first legacy but
only Henri knew of it. Towards the end of the movie,
Number Six (Teresa Palmer)
arrives and helps John fight
the Magodorians. Number
Six, like John, also has
legacies. She has invisibility
and like John, resistance
to fire. The Magodorians
find John and Number Six
in John’s school. What will
happen next?
I think the book itself is an
interesting tale of romance
and action. The filmmakers attempted to make the
movie as good as the book,
but as always, the book has
more details, making it more
interesting.
Overall, I think this movie
was good. The cast did a
very good job playing their
parts. I think John Smith
and Sarah Hart made their
“Love” for each other look
very realistic. All the cast
made the last action scene
look extremely real. Alex
Pettyfer and Teresa Palmer
IMAGE / TRAILERS.APPLE.COM
North Shore Middle School
Volume 01, Issue 03
portrayals of their characters made their powers
seem believable.
I Am Number Four, by
Dreamworks, is directed by
D.J. Caruso and is one of
the best movies I have seen
this year. It’s a good movie
for teenagers, 13+ (it’s
PG-13, due to some mature
elements), who like actionfilled movies.
Check out a good movie over the break...
MARCH
11
MARCH
11
MARCH
11
R
PG-13
IMAGES / TRAILERS.APPLE.COM
PG-13
“Battle: la”
For years, there have been
documented cases of UFO
sightings. But in 2011, what were
once just sightings will become
a terrifying reality when Earth is
attacked by unknown forces.
“black death”
“RED RIDING HOOD”
The year is 1348. Europe has
fallen under the shadow of the
Black Death. As the plague
decimates all in its path, there
are rumors of a village, hidden in
marshland that the plague cannot
reach. There is talk of a woman
who is able to bring the dead back
to life.
Young Valerie feels torn between
two men. She loves Peter, but
her parents intend that she marry
wealthy Henry. Valerie and Peter
plan to run away together, but
before they can put the plan into
action, her sister is killed by a
werewolf.
020 15 Minutes of Fame
The ‘Stang Express
March 2011
Determined swimmer strives to succeed
How did you become interested in
swimming?
“My sister motivated me to join her,
so I did and I will never regret it.”
Why do you enjoy Swimming?
“Honestly, I like all sports, but swimming is the only sport that doesn’t
require running, and I really hate running, so I’m glad I can do a sport that
doesn’t make me run.”
How do you mange school and
swimming?
“If there is any situation that comes
between school and swimming, I
always put my education first.”
How far do you want to take your
swimming ability?
“I want to go to the Olympics and
become a professional swimmer.”
How many swimming competitions have you competed in?
“More than 100, I’ve been doing
swimming competitions since I was 7
years old.
How does it feel when you win a
swimming competition?
“It feels like all my hard work has
paid off, sometimes I just forget that
I’m even in a competition because
when you’re doing what you love nothing else matters.”
If you just take one glance at Ashley
you would never guess that she’s a
swimmer. She has the looks of an average girl, but looks are just skin deep.
If you actually take the time and get
to know her she might just surprise
you.
“Ashley is really sarcastic; I
love that she’ll always keep it
real with me. I also love when
she talks about her swimming,
because I think it’s so fascinating,” said 7th grader Savannah
Martinez. She isn’t that girl that
goes with the flow. Ashley sets
the pace for herself and is determine to make it all the way.
Just ask anybody that really
knows her.
“She isn’t the typical 7th
grade girl who wants to fit
in, she is mainly here for her
education,” said 7th grade English
teacher, Mrs. Dagley. Not even the
waves can hold her back, because
whatever the situation is she will swim
right through it.
PHOTO / COURTESY ASHLEY FLORES
You may have seen her come to
school with her hair wet and curly
and wondered why it’s always wet. Or
maybe you have seen her as a working in the library, checking your book
out for you.
Seventh grader, Ashley Flores is not
your average smart girl. Yes, she has
the brains to take her far and beyond,
but that’s not all she has going for
her. Ashley is a double threat. Yes, a
double threat. Not only does she dive
in when it comes to getting her education, but she dives in even deeper
when it comes to swimming. Ashley
has been swimming for 6 years and
continues to keep going.
To top it off she’s in all Pre-AP
classes and is involved in Divas and
the National Junior Honor Society.
She has the determination like no
other. How many people do you know
wake up at 5:30 a.m., get to swimming
practice by 6:00 a.m., and still make
it to school by 7:45 a.m. and are still
determined to excel in school?
Probably not that many, but Ashley
can pull it off.
PHOTO / COURTESY ASHLEY FLORES
by mariana estrada