‘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
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