CUBS' COLUMN
The Voice of Jackson Memorial Middle School
FEATURED STORIES - JMMS Focuses on Service Over Self
Conquering childhood cancer - one shave at a time!
By Alyssa Snyder
St. Baldrick's is a campaign to raise money for kids with cancer. Kid from many Jackson, Hover, and Glen Oak schools come together to raise money and shave their heads. This year, the St. Baldrick’s campaign raised $266,000!
The St. Baldrick’s campaign has been going on since 2000. The campaign started because a girl by the name Abbey Foltz passed away from cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1996 at the age of 14. They started St. Baldrick’s to do something to help kids with cancer. The campaign has become a way of remembering Abbey and raising money to fund research for childhood cancer.
Many people showed up at this year's event, which took place on Sunday, March 10th at the North Canton Racket Club. Almost everyone there was shaving or supporting in other ways. Our gym teacher, Mr. Williamson said that he wants to help raise money to help people with cancer. This was his third year of being at St. Baldrick’s and he supports everyone, but he also supports Ms. Ruggieri. Also, Lexi Miller, a person who was shaving people’s heads, said that she supports St. Baldrick’s because it was for a good cause. She had been participating for four years and she started because she had lost a friend when she was only 16. Another person who was at St. Baldrick’s was Ali Elloison, a student at JMMS. She raised $155 by shaving her head in memory of Abbey Foltz. Ali was at the event the previous year but this was the first time of her shaving her head.
At the event they had many things to do and see. One of the entertainments was the Jackson High School steel band. St. Baldrick’s would not have been possible without their sponsors. Their sponsors are North Canton Racette Club, Quaker Steak ‘n Lube, UPS, Capture This, Tremco, and Dance with a Mission. Dance with a Mission is a group of dancers who perform at many places and raise money for charity. At the event there were hundreds of cars and they were parking in other businesses.
This year everyone in Jackson experience a loss when Jordyn Myers died of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Losing Jordyn was tragic for our community but we have not forgotten her. In addition to the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser the Jordyn Myers foundation are bringing in pop tabs and gift cards to help parents of kids with cancer not worry about money.
Fuzzy Sock Drive Brings Comfort to Cancer Patients
By Tayah Wilson
The fuzzy sock drive is a great thing to do for childhood cancer because the fuzzy sock drive is where you donate a pair of fuzzy socks and you collect them at your school. The reason we collect the fuzzy socks is because Jordyn Myers loved fuzzy socks so that is why we collect fuzzy socks, and please consider donating to the cause. Natalie Bruss stated that “Jordyn Myers’ mother organized it to give fuzzy socks to other children in the hospital”. If you were lucky you would have heard the story behind it.
The fuzzy sock drive was inspired by a girl named Jordyn Myers. She enjoyed playing softball. Jordyn Myers’ mother organized it to give fuzzy socks to other children in the hospital. She was only 13 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. When Jordyn was diagnosed her parents were not that worried about it. They knew that Jordyn was strong, happy, and always looked on the bright side. Her parents were not that scared, they knew that their daughter could power through and that she would just keep getting better.
Then things did not keep on getting better. They thought that they were getting excited about small things. Although the doctor said that things were in fact not getting better they were getting worse. Then on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Jordyn Myers on the oncology Floor in Akron Children's Hospital passed away just at the age of thirteen.
Jordyn’s parents created 33Jordynstrong to honor her memory and to find a way to help families going through what her parents went through. Another fundraiser that the foundation created was they have been collecting gift cards. Jordyn Myers was a smart and strong young girl. So I hope you learned about the fuzzy sock drive and the story behind it.
Helping the House!
By Mackenzie Czekansky, Natalie Morgan, Jade Hooper, and Lauren Bosler
Have you ever wanted to help out a local charity/organization but just didn’t know how, or which one? The Ronald McDonald House Charity is a great place to start. While they have many locations nationwide, we are privileged enough to have some right here in Akron and Cleveland! The organization houses families whose children are receiving medical care and charge little to no cost for their stays. With that being said, they need all the help and donations they can get to keep their families in good care.
So how exactly can you help? Well, fortunately, they are very generous when it comes to their supply list, meaning there is a wide variety of things they will accept as donations. Anything from canned food items, new toys, books, video games and movies, to home essentials such as such as paper products, trash bags, laundry detergent, etc. will be accepted.
Don’t feel like taking a trip up to the Cleveland/Akron area to drop off the goods? Try making an online donation! It’s as simple as filling out an online form. If you aren’t in the position to go out of your way to help the house, you can always incorporate it into your routine by selecting the Ronald McDonald House on Amazon Smile. Just like Amazon, you order your products like normal. The difference is, a small amount of your purchase is donated to your charity of choice, with no extra cost required.
Another way to help would be to Recruit a Restaurant. If you, or a loved one, have ties with one you can get them to donate, and the volunteers there will prepare the food for the House's families. Currently there are over 40 restaurants, grocery stores, and even delis donating, and with your help there could be so much more.
A way to make your mark (literally) and help out the House would be to buy a brick. This can be done by just filling out a simple order form! It’s that simple to help a great cause!
So what are you waiting for? The Ronald McDonald House Charity needs your donations just as much as the ill children need their families nearby. Help to make these family’s lives just a little bit easier, and you will be rewarded with the knowledge that you are helping to bring people together, and benefit our community as a whole.
STUDENT LIFE
Students Take the Stage in Mary Poppins Jr.
By Godson Ike
12 year old Caitlyn Geisheimer was in the 2019 Mary Poppins Jr. play that was put on by 6th, 7th and 8th grades. The play occured on February 3rd at 3:00PM in Jackson high school.
She’s always loved to act and sing and she prepared for the audition by practicing her lines. Her hard work played off because she got the role of the banker.
If you haven’t heard of Mary Poppins, here’s a quick summary: “The children of the wealthy and uptight Banks family, are faced with getting a new nanny, they are miraculously amused by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins . The series is about magical and whimsical adventures with Mary and her Cockney performer friend, Bert the siblings try to pass on some of their nanny's sunny attitude to their preoccupied parents”
Caitlyn was very nervous when auditioning for the play because there were a lot of people she had to compete against, but when Caitlyn found out she was playing the banker, she was ecstatic and filled with so much joy. Caitlyn auditioned for the banker because she loves to act and sing and she’s always wanted to do it.
Caitlyn’s favorite part about being a part of the play is forging bonds with the rest of the crew and making friendships and bonds that will last for a lifetime. Overall, the play was a success and the acting was phenomenal according to the teachers and the audience
Caitlyn is a big fan of the movie and watched Mary Poppins for the first time at age 2 or 3. She was excited to play the banker because she didn’t want a big role and ensemble was perfect for her. The play was perfect and outstanding to the audience and the play will go down as an amazing event in JMMS history.
PATT Supports JMMS at the Winter Book Fair
By Joel Morris
Jackson Local schools once again hosted the Scholastic book fair! This event took place in the White Gym of Jackson Memorial Middle School from the 8th-14th of February for students to be able to come in and get books, while also having other small events to entertain them. There were many fun things to do to allow you to have a great time at the Book Fair.
There is always room to emphasise the small events that took place at the book fair. There was the sucker pull, little things like pencils that you could buy, and the famous guessing jar. Many kids greatly enjoy these events like Gabby Morris, she said, “I always look forward to the guessing jar because the prize is always different and it’s a really fun challenge.” Jackson teacher Mr. Studer claims that, “The book fair is the best…”
Now of course, there were all of the books. The books at the fair are the prime attraction that drives this Scholastic program. Many students love the books like Josh Tsai, he said, “I like the books because they are ways to entertain yourself during school and use time.” and Ian Eberhardt who told interviewers, “I like the Fortnite books!” And when asked what is best about the book fair, the working staff came together on an agreement of, “All students should come for the books, of course!”
The staff working on the book fair and the PATT work to help out during these events that occur at the school, and this can’t go unnoticed. Did you know that the PATT gives free books to teachers in the school? This helps out many teachers like, Mrs. Murphy. She says, "The PATT also donates books to teachers classrooms during the book fair. We are all very appreciative of this!” This helps to provide books for students in teacher libraries, so this is very helpful.
So now that you know what to expect from the book fair in the coming years, you can enjoy the next one to come.
Editorial: This Pressure is Unnecessary
By Josh Tsai
Ah yes, music. It’s the key way for stress relief and you get to play it in school. Now it would be fun if you weren’t being pressured to do well in classes. You get graded for your instrument/singing talent and it could lower/raise your GPA. If you’re in band, it gets critical after quizzes and you may end up lowering your chair.
Students should NOT be graded for music classes as in choir and band. 8th graders have a third door to avoid bad grades: study hall. If you don’t know what study hall is, well you must be in the type of school without one. It's pretty much what I would call “mature indoor recess that you chose to take because playing an instrument or using your vocal cords are not your strong suit”.
When you hit 6th grade, you have 3 doors. Behind door número uno is general music, where you learn the basics of music with some popular musicians from past music eras that will easily get you 110% like I did when I took this class. Behind door número dos is choir, where you use your vocal cords to get shoved in front of an audience. And lastly, behind door número tres is band where you play a variety of beloved instruments and get introduced to marching band to get famous. The three doors have officially been opened wide enough to fit a mammoth. It’s time for you to make your choice.
Now this is where the fun begins. In 6th grade, any music class will result in a grade, but once you hit 7th, only band and choir will get you the W or the L. (If you don’t know Fortnite and you’ve been living under a rock, it means to win or lose). It isn’t fair for band students if they wish to back down after 6th grade because that money your parents paid for the lessons and instruments will absolutely not go to waste. It isn’t fair for choir members either because their parents may have been paying for lessons and want them to perfect their voice and turn them into the next hit music star. General music, however, literally cuts out right after 7th grade, and you have study hall for the rest of the days of middle and high school unless you ended up like me and chose to join the music group and risk getting an F (Spoiler alert 7th grade definitely did that to me). Now the school could just add an extra graded class for the general music kids, but they haven’t. There is actually not an alternative besides removing grades in band and choir.
You may be thinking that this will pressure kids to impress the crowd. But some kids just don’t care about the crowd. They might have been forced into the music. Yes, you could just force the kids into Chamber Ensemble. That’s just half of a choir but they sing in larger events like school assemblies and isn’t performing in front of crowds why one would choose general music, anyway? Or you could throw the general music kids into engineering classes. That’s college level stuff. We haven’t fully decided on jobs yet. Any added clubs will need parental permission and they may not like any ideas. Plus clubs are after and before school, which will require students to make time. The top alternative without setbacks is removing grades for band and choir. We do this in our Jackson elementary school systems. Doing it for fun puts less pressure on the child. Why not here?
The students made the choice to join band or choir instead of extra time to get homework done. Especially in middle school, it takes a dedicated person to say that they’ll make time for perfecting a skill instead of working on homework and having freetime. In school you may pressure yourself to perfect anything and everything and if you don’t perfect things quickly in band and choir, your grade will tell you that you aren’t doing well. Teachers should not pressure students to get good at things that they don’t need to do. There are bad consequences that could result from things that you don’t need to do. Music should not have pressure if it is not required. Music should be fun, not pressure.
Club Update
Math Really Does Count in this Club!
By Carter Bach
On Wednesdays throughout December to February, the Math Counts club members would meet after school to practice and improve their math skills. This is all in preparation for the Regional Competition that was held on February 9th, and if they do as well as they usually do, the State Competition comes next. According to team members, at a normal meeting they will get the worksheets, generally focused around the 7th and 8th grade curriculum. When they have completed their work, they then go and check it for accuracy. Around the time of the tournament, they would also be practicing in teams, since a portion of the competition is done in teams.
A lot of practicing goes into getting into the tournament. Because of the limited number of spots open for the tournament, only 10 members from the club will actually make it onto the team. Because of that, you must either already have the superior ability or you can improve your skills to the level they need to be.
Don’t worry if you are not already a math genius, you can still join the club! Although, according to the sign up form, the problems are designed to challenge the students. If you are not understanding the questions, you may ask other club members or have the club advisor help you. If you try your best and let others help you, you will be very successful. According to club advisor Kelly Putney, Math Counts will help you apply the skills you’ve learned in class in other ways. On the other hand, if you are very good at math and you join, it is a helpful way to make sure your skills stay sharp. The final reason you may want to join, according to club member Ishan Tripathy, is if you did not make it into the math tournament and you want to try something similar, because the Math Counts club is easier to get into. According to member Isha Nagajothi, it was fun and was a great experience.
No matter what your motive for wanting to join the club or your skill level, you will still have a fun time practicing math with your friends and possibly competing in the competition!
Mathletes Exercise Their Math Skills
By Daniel Zakari
Have you ever heard of Mathletes? Well, on Saturday, March 2nd, 2018, all of Stark County schools got their top math students to participate in the Mathletes Tournament at Massillon High School. Mathletes is a math tournament designed for students who specialize in math. They can show off their math skills while competing for ribbons and trophies.
The Mathletes tournament has been going on for many years, hosted by the Massillon Tigers. The people that organize this tournament are the Greater Canton Area Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Jackson Adams, a 6th grader doing 7th grade mathletes, has been in the tournament for 2 years. He states, “It’s not about the awards, it’s about the experience.” Jack also advised that if you ever get a chance to do Mathletes, it is a great opportunity and you should do it.
Brooke Trayer was another participant competing for 7th grade math. Her advice to students preparing for the tournament was to “study with the resources your teachers give you before the tournament.” Brooke Trayer also mentioned it was a great experience. There was a party at the end with a D.J. and dancing.
Max Weber was another contestant competing for 7th grade math. His advice was to “not be nervous and to just have fun.” Teachers and volunteers that put this wonderful event together include, Mrs. Laverick, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Beckwith, and many others.
This year was the biggest Mathletes ever held with 754 students, and over 200 volunteers and teachers.
Geography Bee Competition
By Ishan Tripathy
On January 17th, a group of students from JMMS participated in the Geography Bee which was set up by Mr. Baker and Mrs. Snow. In the Geography Bee, there were seven rounds. Each round consisted of one different question per person. If a student was confused on a question, he or she could ask the questioner to repeat the question or spell out a word. After the seven rounds, the top nine participants would move on to the two-question round. After the two-question round, the top two contestants moved onto the finals.
This year, the two participants who moved onto the finals were twin brothers Mithil Pauskar, 7th grade, and Tanishq Pauskar, 7th grade. This was a rematch of last year’s Geography Bee. After a tiebreaker in the finals, Mithil Pauskar reigned victorious. He will be making a trip to the state Geography Bee which will be held in Columbus on March 29.
There were 13 students who participated in the Bee this year. They are: Aidan Bryant, Ian Eberhardt, Sean McEvoy, Quinn Parisi, Chinoso Onvona, Kailey Zagst, Mithil Pauskar, Adyson Diehl, Raveeha Rabbini, Matthew Sperling, Tanishq Pauskar, Ishan Tripathy, Daniel Zakari.
After the fifth round, all the participants received a short break. Matthew Sperling said, “I got a drink and went to the bathroom and walked a little bit to calm my nerves.” He wasn’t the only person. The questioner, Mr. Baker said he said he also went to get a drink of water. “Your throat really dry after all those questions,” he said. Most participants also said that they were nervous or taking a break.
Overall, the Geography Bee was a major success. Not only were participants able to use their knowledge of geography, they were able to earn their TEAM points! A special thanks for Mrs. Snow for setting up the Geography Bee and Mr. Baker who asked all the questions. Good luck to the participants for their next Geography Bee competition.
JMMS’ Power of the Pen Team Makes it to Mount Union
By Ishan Tripathy
Writing stories has never been more competitive. This year, 20 students from JMMS competed at Mount Union University for Power of the Pen. Power of the Pen, or POP as it is sometimes called, is an afterschool activity at JMMS where students compete by writing a creative story for 40 minutes. The story is based off a prompt the teacher gives. Students are graded based on creativity, grammar, and the way they address the prompt. The student who finishes three prompts with the highest score is the winner.
At Mount Union University, the seventh and eighth graders competed against each student in his or her grade level. In seventh grade, there were over 110 people. In eighth grade, there were over 120. Overall, Jackson’s seventh graders placed fourth place. Out of all the schools competing at the tournament, Jackson’s eighth graders placed, for the first time in a long time, first!
POP is a jubilant after school activity. When it comes to students for whom writing may not be a strong point,, POP also awards points at tournaments for creativity. For example, JMMS student Ishan Tripathy won an award for the most creative story in his round. After taking a poll for POP, 100% of students who participated in POP agreed that they enjoyed it., “I thought it would be an interesting experience,” was Kowen Gayheart’s reply when asked.
Even though POP is a very fun activity, the second the time begins, the pressure is on. Malia Merritt said, “I was nervous, but thought I was doing pretty good considering this is the first time I’ve done this.” After 80 minutes of writing, most competitors were tired of writing. Luckily, the students at JMMS were able to finish strong, thanks to Mrs. Kerr.
Mrs. Kerr is the advisor for POP this year. When asked about why she decided to lead POP, Mrs. Kerr said that, “Last year, the Power of the Pen organization did not hold tournaments. The students and teachers had a terrible experience with PenOhio. I chose to take this on this year because I wanted to see our kids still participate in Power of the Pen and have an opportunity to do some solid creative writing, something different than what they usually get to do in school.” Mrs. Kerr certainly stood up to the task. In her first year, she was able to help her team place fourth and first at Mount Union University.
Overall, POP is an extraordinary after school activity. Without it, many students’ talents would go undetected at JMMS. With POP, JMMS is able to expose students to competition, creative writing, and celebration.
Students Take to the Slopes
At ski club it is all about skiing and snowboarding! In ski club, there is a wide range of skill levels from beginner to expert. You can take lessons, hang out with your friends, and snowboard and ski on your own on the resort’s eleven different trails. Ski club ran on Fridays from the beginning of January to the beginning of February. In the afternoon, they take the skiers and snowboarders up to Brandywine. The skiers and snowboarders receive four ten dollar passes that they and their family members can use if they would like to ski on their own. Another benefit is participants can ski on Fridays for free after ski club is over, until Brandywine closes for the season. Ski club is a great opportunity to try something new in the winter. If you don’t know how to ski or snowboard, free lessons are available. When asked why he became a ski club advisor, Mr. Baker said, “It combines two joys of mine: skiing and being around the JMMS students.” The other advisors also expressed similar views. Some of the participants’ favorite parts are, "hanging with their friends, learning a new sport, and being able to do something during the cold winter months outside," Mrs. Kerr, a ski club advisor, stated. If you would like to learn about ski club, you can find more information on their web page. Ski club will be offered next year, so listen to the announcements next fall to sign up!
SPORTS UPDATE
It’s Not Always About Winning and Losing
By Abby Moore and Aubree Snow
Wrestling might not be a common sport for you to think about or pay attention to. But at the Middle school, 7th and 8th graders have a wrestling team. We have two teams, the purple and gold team. The gold team finished with a record of 13-3, and the purple team finished with a record of 6-4. The wrestling teams took 2nd place at the Federal leagues, Lake duals, and Manchester duals. They placed 3rd at the Waynedale tournament and 7th place at the Twinsburg tournament.
The wrestling coaches are Mr. Brown, Mr.Studer, and Mr.Tracy. Mr.Brown has been coaching Jackson for 6 years. Mr.Studer joined the team three years ago, and Mr.Tracy joined two years ago.
All of the wrestlers have their strengths and weaknesses in the sport. One of the common strengths the wrestlers have is their work ethic. “Our athletes wanted to be successful and worked extremely hard to do that this year” said Coach Brown. Many of the wrestlers on the team worked hard to meet certain goals and to stay focused through it all. Some wrestlers had to make goals of losing weight to wrestle at a certain weight class, and some had to compete in a tough match against an opponent and keep a positive mindset. Wrestling is a very difficult sport that teaches the wrestlers many lessons that will translate to help them throughout their life. Many wrestlers have to keep a mindset to accept defeats, be able to keep pushing through the good and bad times, and knowing how to fight through adversity. Coach Studer said, “ A great motto to sum this up would be: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Sometimes you need to step up and face the challenges before you, not run away from them.”
The wrestlers also have common weaknesses. For example, a weakness the team faced this year was experience. Many of the wrestlers on the team, were wrestling their first season in their lifetime. A common weakness that the wrestlers have individually is getting too full of themselves or keeping the mindset of being untouchable. Many of the wrestlers put hard work into practice and go into a match thinking they will win, but after losing think they aren’t any good and didn't put enough effort into the match. Coach Brown has told them, “There is always someone out there, somewhere, who could beat you. Whether it's 20 miles down the road, or in another state or country completely, there is someone out there training harder than you or more focused than you.” Many wrestlers may win 1st place and the following weekend lose all their matches. You have to work hard and practice. You can’t go into a match only thinking you’re going to win, because if you don’t win any of your matches, you will leave thinking you are terrible.
You may think that football or basketball seems way more difficult than wrestling. But in the end, wrestling is a very challenging sport. It will be miserable at times and your body will be sore, but you learn the most from wrestling. This sport can shape you as a person and you learn a lot from wrestling. “Yes it is demanding and difficult, but the rewards are much greater, and the person who this sport turns you into is someone that any wrestler, regardless of their record should be proud of.” Mr. Studer explains. Wrestling is a sport that is not just about winning and losing, this sport shapes you as a person and teaches you life lessons.
ENTERTAINMENT REVIEWS
The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
By Elena Snyder
The Magisterium is a school of magic. Each year children are chosen at The Iron Trial. The Iron Trial is a series of challenging tests that use magic to determine if you are chosen to be a student at the Magisterium. Callum Hunt( other wise known as Call ) doesn’t want to go to the Magisterium. His father despises magic and will avoid it at all costs, but Call must complete the trial and fail or as his father tells him he will die because of it just like his mother. But when Call fails at failing he and his friends Aaron and Tamara start to reveal the mysteries and secrets of the Magisterium.
The Iron Trial is a breathtaking novel full of twists and turns throughout the book. The mysteries always keep your mind moving and always wondering what's going to happen next. This outstanding book written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare has appealed the minds of thousands of people all over the world. Personally this is my favorite book and my favorite series. I hope it will yours too!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
Attention fellow witches and wizards! The magic of the wizarding world is back. Thanks to J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter has a whole new adventure ahead of him. So wands at ready and let’s go on a whole new bumpy ride.
I’ve read each the Harry Potter books about 7 times. Call me crazy, but I’m just a true devotee. When I heard J.K. Rowling released a new Harry Potter book I wasn’t to happy because in the seventh book Harry defeated You-Know-Who (Voldemort), so I didn’t know what to expect. To my surprise Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was not so bad! This book is certainly worth reading because it has an exciting story line, very memorable characters, and a new play format.
19 years later on platform 9 ¾ , Harry Potter’s son Albus (Al) Severus Potter and his other son James Potter are arguing about whether Albus will be in slytherin or not. On the train Albus meets Scorpius. Rose, Hermione and Ron’s daughter, told Albus not to talk to him but Albus stays where he is. Once they arrive at Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius decide to be friends. In the Great Hall the Sorting Hat puts Scorpius and Albus in “Slytherin”. A Potter in Slytherin!
A few years pass by and the night before Albus goes to school, someone rings the doorbell. Amos Diggory is there. He asks Harry if he can use the last remaining time-turner to bring back Cedric Diggory. Harry refuses and claims there is no secret time-turner. As they’re talking Albus hears them. He gets angry at his dad because he just said no to an old man who just wanted his son back. The next day Albus meets Scorpius and tells him about last night. So when the train leaves, Albus and Scorpius jump off! They go to Amos Diggory’s house and tell him that they want to help him get Cedric Diggory back. Albus does this because he hates his father so much that he wants to prove him wrong for once. He’s tired of being in the shadow of The Harry Potter.
Some memorable characters are, of course, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry is the head of the Department of Mysteries. Ron is the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes co-manager which Fred and George previously owned and an Auror. Hermione is the Minister of Magic! Ginny is an editor. She edits the sports section of the Daily Prophet. Some new characters are Albus, James, and Lily Potter. They are Harry and Ginny’s kids. James is a very naughty boy who likes to mess around with his brother, Albus. Albus is the main character of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Some other new characters are Hugo and Rose Granger-Weasley. They are Hermione and Ron’s kids. Rose is the intelligent one. Scorpius is the son of Draco Malfoy. There is a widespread rumor about Scorpius being the son of You-Know-Who. Delphi is Amos Diggory’s cousin.
Previous Harry Potter books were written in traditional format - stories built with detail. In the Cursed Child, however, the book is written in a play format. In the beginning I didn’t like the book since it was confusing because there aren’t any small detail in the book. In the old books, you could connect with the characters emotions and personalities and feel what they felt. Some people didn’t like the book and said if there was another book which J.K Rowling published for Harry Potter and it was in play format they wouldn’t read it. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was an amazing book and if J.K Rowling made another book it would be great.
In conclusion, I think the new Harry Potter book was a memorable read. Most of the characters were old favorites and others were new. But regardless, we’ve all been waiting of the journey 19 years later. It didn’t matter that the book was written in play format because after all it’s Harry Potter were talking about. The magic never dies.
Movie: Nine Lives
By Ishan Tripathy
Me-“Ow”! Welcome to the all new movie Nine Lives. This is an amazing movie if you're a cat person because this movie is all about a cat named Mr. Fuzzy Pants. So remember to use the litter box, eat all of your cat food, and don’t pee on the rug.
This story takes place in the large city of New York. Tom Brand, the owner of FireBrand, is a rich person whose goal is make the tallest tower in the Northern Hemisphere. He has some problems, though. First of all, he has a lot of competition with another company who is also trying to do the same thing in Chicago. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that his tower is too heavy and Chicago’s is very light, so Chicago can build another 60 feet higher than FireBrand. One of Tom’s other problems was that one of his employee manager was trying to sell the company. Although he doesn’t realize it, his son could have made the company even higher.
But the least of his worries is his family. His daughter's birthday is tomorrow and she asked for a cat but every year Tom buys something more fancy than a cat like an ice hockey table. So he goes to a cat called Mr. Purr-kins. Tom buys a cat and when he leaves he gets a phone call from the employee who was trying to sell the company. He told him that if they use wires they can make a very tall reception tower. Tom says no and that he is fired. He walks over to the edge and slips.
Nine Lives is a very funny movie. Some funny parts include when he pees on the carpet and on his ex-wife’s purse. If you're looking for a fun movie, check it out!
CREATIVE CORNER
The Seven Wonders: Beginning to Wither
Chase - Present Day, Void
Chase woke up in the middle of the night questioning what had just went on in his strange, lucid dream.
‘What was that?’
From the darkness of his room a faint pounding could be heard. Chase quickly stood up from his full, decorative bed and searched the room for the source of the noise.
The T.V. hanging on the wall.
Bookshelves sprang about the light blue walls of the large room.
The patterned curtains danced eerily in the skeletal moonlight.
His turned to admire the sleeping figure in the bed next to him.
Marshall.
Marshall’s fluffy hair sprawled all around his peaceful face; faint freckles adorned his button nose. Long eyelashes sprouted, and flared out along his pale skin; his eyelids hiding the most bright and cheery eyes he’d ever seen.
Marshall’s lips, though pale and pink, were frowning. Sweat beaded at his brow, and he flinched in his sleep.
Marshall.
The pounding grew louder.
Chase swore he could feel incisive eyes on him. Nervously, he crawled out of bed, and tossed the blanket back onto his loved one.
Chase took one last look at Marshall before plunging into the darkness of the hallway.
Marshall - Present Day, Heaven
Marshall awoke to a slap in the face, from is boyfriend no less. Rather annoyed at the action, he rolled over and make a sad attempt fall back asleep, with all the noise Chase was making. After a few minutes, Marshall sat up, annoyed, that his lover wouldn’t shut up.
That was…
Until he saw his face.
The sight of Chase, the looming virtue of Humility, was truly horrifying.
His body had black markings all over it, his clothes covered in a blacked smoke that seem to oos out of them. His face was stuck in a permanent state of agony; his eyes wide open, but they weren’t the usual warm honey-gold. He was an inch of two off the mattress, his back arched, and was producing horrifyingly satanic sounds.
Immediately, Marshall jumped towards him, making a desperate effort to console, or even wake is lover up. After minutes had gone by; nothing seeming to work, and Marshall sat back with a sob. His eyes blurred from the growing tears, Marshall went in to wrap his arms around Chase. He whispered soft nothings into his chest and finally let go, getting off of the bed to retrieve the others.
“Don’t worry Chase. I’ll be back soon.”
A sad smile graced his lips, as he turned away one last time into the hall.
Faith - Present Day, Home
Faith couldn’t be more anxious. Everything was smoothly running, until Aztec came down for breakfast.
Her hair was drained of its normal vibrant red, instead replaced by a pale pink that seemed to have almost no color. Her skin was paler than usual, not even a blush appearing on her cheeks. Even the clothes hanging on her slim body seemed to dull.
Faith felt her voice leave her as she watched the younger sin stumble into the kitchen. Faith’s felt herself stare, but couldn’t shake her gaze.
“Morning,” Aztec murmured, sliding onto a bar stool. As she glanced up, Faith saw herself greeted with cold, dead eyes, the usual fire in her eyes gone.
“Good morning,” Faith felt herself reply on instinct, her chirpy voice disappearing.
Faith scooped breakfast onto a plate and turned to set it onto the counter. Aztec’s movements were slow as she forced food into her mouth.
Their breakfast was quiet and Faith watched Aztec intensely, but the smaller sin didn’t meet her eyes.
When Aztec finished the last of her food, she pushed the plate away and drowsily left the room.
Faith’s stare hardened and she quickly picked up her phone, scrolling through the many contacts saved throughout the years. Finally finding Shaun’s contact, she pressed it and held the phone up to her ear, listening to the ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Sighing in frustration, Faith slammed her phone onto the counter.
‘How come this idiot never responds when I need him too.’
Faith couldn’t imagine what was keeping him from ever responding.
‘Does he even realize what’s going on?’
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Acid Rein
By Sam Sours
Rein Denfit had never been stopped by security anywhere before today. If she were being honest, she was terrified. Rein was completely sure that she was the one that caused the malfunction yesterday, she had hardly paid attention to the instructions given by their superior, and when the authorities were telling them what happened after the accident, she could’ve sworn that the number on the station responsible was the same one she was assigned to.
There was also a small part of her that thought she might’ve been stopped because of Arkinene. Rein hadn’t seen her since yesterday morning, she wasn’t on the ride back home, and she most certainly wasn’t at the bus stop today. The cameras in every building would confirm that they were at least well acquainted, they could be calling Rein in to ask her about it, but why would they? It just didn’t seem to add up correctly.
The first thing Rein noticed about the interrogation room was how obvious it was that it used to be some type of closet. The room was practically empty; there were only four chairs, one table, and a ceiling light. The walls were dark gray and the room was small, claustrophobic.
The second thing she noticed about the room was the stark contrast in height between the two Eendors who were taking up two of the four chairs. One appeared to be some kind of scientist, or a doctor, but definitely not one for the humans. The other looked to be of superior placement, judging by the large collection of medals and pins that adorned their uniform, this was somebody who made decisions.
The last thing she noticed about the room was the off-putting atmosphere of it all; this meeting clearly wasn’t meant to be an interrogation, although it felt like one.Rein sat down calmly next to the robot, across from the doctor, and dodged eye contact like it was bullets.
“Do you know why you’re here?” The superior spoke up. Rein answered honestly, “No.” “Do you know who your mother is?” They spoke again.
If there was anything that would take her by surprise it would be this. There hasn’t been a word about the malfunction, Arkinene hasn’t been mentioned, and now they’re digging into my heritage? What kind of interrogation is this? She thought. “No.”
The superior looked to the doctor as if signaling to them. The doctor stood from their chair and leaned over the table. “Remove your secondary bracelet and place your hand on the table.”
“What? No, the Eendors told me to never take it off--”
“We are ranked higher than them by far, child. Do as we say.”
Rein had figured they were of a higher rank, and even if they weren’t she had heard from others that if they got mad they’d blast you with acid hot enough to put a hole through Tungsten, not exactly something on her bucket list. She took off her bracelet and put her hand on the table. A few moments later the doctor gave her the word to lift her hand, and she was shocked to say the least. The table had begun to melt away.
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The Porg Chronicles (part 1)
By Mason McGrew
Surprisingly it was a complete and total blizzard outside even though it was March. It did not make much sense but the weather was weird on Ahch-To. Sometimes snowing in what was supposed to be summer break with sunshine but ended up being -50. Wait wait I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m what is called a Porg. I look something like a bird owl penguin thing. Actually it's better if I show you a self portrait. Schools go to many different grades depending on what you choose to major in. The highest grade is 20th grade. I chose Porg Jedi which goes to 20th grade with 6 months apprenticeship of a master Jedi. I’m near the end of 19th grade, which is where we focus on advanced lightsaber techniques and advanced force use. For advanced lightsaber techniques, we learn many different techniques demoed for us by a master Jedi. After the demo we practice in 5 different rooms with 2 teachers per room using the training lightsabers. For the final in 20th grade it’s sparring with classmates with training lightsabers which I hear still hurt but they don’t cut off limbs or anything. I suppose I forgot to tell you my name it’s James. My friends call my name sort of weird since most names end in org. The most common names are Jorg, Rorg, Corg, Morg, Yorg, Vorg, Borg, and Zorg. I’m a bit of an introvert, but I still have some friends. My best friend is Slorg. He is far more of an extrovert, but sometimes likes to keep to himself. So I guess he's more in the middle.
Back to the blizzard, it was different than most of them and no it was not yellow. It was the strongest in the history of our world it wasn't in a section of the planet either but covered nearly all of it. For once though it made the conditions too dangerous to fish. Which is bad since we eat fishys. People still have them as pets though.
CHAPTER 2: INVASION?
Except well when the blizzard came off of our island something happened. Two creatures we haven't seen before came down in what I think they called the Millenium Falcon. Which I didn’t understand since falcons don’t live for a thousand years. Then a weird silver stick that looked almost like a lightsaber rolled down a hill and we started pressing the buttons on it. When one of them just waltzes on down and take it we were forced to flutter away. It sucked royally. Then they walk up to the first Jedi on our planet and hand it to him but then they powered on the silver stick after a while and it turns out it was a lightsaber! A retro one to 16th model I thought. Everyone at school was talking about it wondering what was going on. After a while we decided they were just here with no bad intentions but that would quickly be proven otherwise. On one of their nights here the brown hairy tall one killed and cooked two of us, Morg and Thorg. It was terrifying. I was one of the people who found it. For three weeks we were somber and scared and worried that there might be another “Cooking” as everyone at school began to call it. So the school officials passed out a flier to the 20th graders for a stealth mission onto the Millenium Falcon. I begged them to let me do this. Luckily I convinced one of the officials to give me a flier. I asked my parents that day, .”Mom, Dad, I need you to do something and no I don't want steak,” I said.
“If it’s not steak what is it? It must be dire,” my dad asked.
“Well … um … I’m not sure how to say this, but I got a stealth mission flier that would get me on the Millennium Falcon to help avenge Morg and Thorg,” I said.
“ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU WILL NOT DO SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS. NO WAY, NO HOW!” yelled my mom.
“Look, I’m in Jedi training okay? I'm going to do more dangerous things in a year or so anyway. This will help prepare me for that,” I told them.
“He has a point hun,” my dad told my mom.
“Well why did they give it to you, a nineteenth grader? What about the 20th graders,” asked my mother.
“They gave it to me … since I'm really good. Top of the class,” I lied, but I’m really close to that.
“Hun we should let him go,” my dad told my mother.
“Your probably right,” said my mother to my dad.
After that, my parents signed and wing printed it (the equivalent of a fingerprint) which meant I could go. So once we were on the Millenium Falcon, people chatted with no real issue. Except absolutely no one understood this was meant to be a stealth mission. So it was loud and we were curious. We inspected everything including wiring. Then when the brown hairy one who we later learned was called Chewbacca or Chewy came in, he saw us tearing up the wires. It was awkward. We didn't know what to do. We just kept ripping up the Millennium Falcon. I guess it’s good I found out that Slorg was here. He helped everyone with moral support after that. Later me and Slorg were told to leave the ship and report back to the government. We had never seen the building but basically it looked like one of us with a strange object with a small black screen (small by human standards, but to us it was top of the line.) There was also 1 blue smaller object that would slide into the right side. Along with a red one that would slide into the left. Held in each wing. Except the porg shape of the building had a small rhombus shaped window in the forehead and small columns around the door. The door was located in the stomach with unfolding stairs leading up to that door.
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Our World Today
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