Berner Beacon

by Rylie Duenges

Directions: Below, each teacher below gave us 2 truths and 1 lie...can you figure out the lie? See answers at the end of this issue!

by Jackson Crudele

1. Would you rather have a sunny day or a rainy day?
2. Would you rather have a cold day or a hot day?
3. Would you rather go on a walk or a bike ride?
4. Would you rather go to the beach or the pool?
5. Would you rather a long winter or an early spring?
6. Would you rather go on vacation or stay home?
7. If you did go on a vacation would you rather stay local or far away?
8. Would you rather play baseball or lacrosse during the spring?
9. Would you rather spend time inside or outside on a spring day?
10. Would you rather go on a bike ride in your neighborhood or outside of your neighborhood?
11. Would you rather go to the beach or go on a boat ride?
12. Would you rather have an ice cream cone or a popsicle on a hot spring day?

Conclusion

I hope you really enjoyed this “Would you rather”! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope this made you think hard because it sure did make me think pretty hard!

by Joseph Rut-Wheeler

1. Would you rather swim in a lake or swim in a pool?

2. Would you rather pick flowers or do pottery?

3. Would you rather have the power to pollinate flowers or have the power to make flowers grow faster?

4. Would you rather write poems about bees or flowers?

5. Would you rather fight 100 bees or 50 hornets?

6. Would you rather jump over 10 hornets nests or jump over 10 Giant Asian hornets?

7. Would you rather become a fish or become a bee?

8. Would you rather be an eagle or a mountain goat?

9. Would you rather have the power to control time or have the power to control any teacher you chose?

10. Would you rather be a pirate or a war general?

11. Would you rather be a ninja or a YouTuber that talks about ninjas?

12. Would you rather be an Earthbender or a fire bender?

13. Would you rather be a panda or a dog?

14. Would you rather fight a rhino with a sheep head or a sheep with a rhino head?

15. Would you rather play chess or checkers?

16. Would you rather fight a rhino in the savanna or a goat on a mountain?

17. Would you rather scooter or skateboard?

by Joseph Rut-Wheeler

If you find that spring is boring, here is a list of things to do in the spring:

1: Have a backyard campout: the weather is nice, so why not?

2: Pick flowers: flowers are a great thing to pick (unless you are allergic).

3: Make a vase for flowers: because you need to make a vase to hold the flowers

4: Pitch a tent: it is hard but worth it!

5: Mow lawns: it is a great way to get money!

6: Decorate your room: you can do it by using the vase of flowers by putting the vase in your room.

7: Make a podcast: you can make the podcast about spring.

8: Watch a movie: you can watch a movie about spring.

9: Get ice cream: it is getting hot so why not!

10: Draw: you can draw the flowers outside your house.

11: Make a video: you can make a video on spring.

12: Make a list of things to do in spring.

The possibilities are endless!

by Sofia Milowski

Gail Cook touched the lives of over 2,000 students during her 18 years as an ELA teacher here in Massapequa. In her honor, green carnations were sold during all lunch periods in March. Teachers and staff also purchased carnations in all faculty rooms. The sale of these carnations benefited the Gail Cook Memorial Scholarship and Garden Fund.

St. Patrick’s Day was the last day of the carnation sale. There was enough money raised for at least two $500 scholarships for Massapequa seniors. The students and staff did such a phenomenal job honoring Gail Cook and keeping her memory alive.

Thank you to all who donated and honored Gail Cook!

by Justin McComb

Hi, I'm Justin and I really wanted to give some clubs out there a chance to be in the spring issue, so this article is going to be about some clubs that I really think you should consider joining.

Chiefs Challenge

I’m actually in this club and it’s really amazing. It's about improving the Berner experience. Have you seen all the shirts, bumper stickers, posters etc. that we have done they're everywhere in the hallways and staircases.' In this club we are also the ones that hang the posters about cancers that we have in the world and more. I hope that you consider joining this club!

Club's information:

Meeting Date: Wednesdays

Meeting time: 3:00 pm

Meeting location: room 105

Broadway Trip Club

The Broadway Trip Club's advisers are Ms. Walsh and Dr. Dean. This club is a very fun club made for people who love the theater and Broadway. It is a theater opportunity to go see amazing Broadway productions in the city. The clubs usually go 1-3 times a year, sadly some years there were only one show because of Covid restricting everything and because it's hard to find age appropriate movies on long island. They have gone to many different theaters including all of the following Argyle theater, Engeman theater, Broadhurst theater, St. James theater, Winter Garden theater, Gershwin theater, and the Lunt Fontanne theater (they are also looking for new theaters.) They have gone to see the shows Miracle on 34th, Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, School of Rock, Anthstatia, and Frozen. Trips are usually 6-7 hours long and all trips run on Saturdays. This year the show we all know and love ELF was shown. The club has open enrollment so if you didn't join in September you can join at any time!! This club looks really fun and cool and I hope I inspired you to join! I would like to say thank you to Mrs. Walsh and Dr. Dean for letting me meet up with them.

Club's information:

Meeting day: TBA

Meeting time: 3:00 pm

Meeting Room: Library or room 110

Builders Club

The Builders Club is a community service club sponsored by the local Kiwanis. Students raise money for charities, distribute blankets and other needed items, and support teachers and other clubs. If you're in Mr. Pollock's classes you might see the blankets that they donated! This club is inspiring and I love the image of making the world a better place. I'm sure you would love it if you joined. They also organized the great beach cleanup on March 26th.

Club's information:

Meeting dates: Once a month in Berner, and then also at other times outside of school.

Meeting Time: 3:00 pm

6th Grade Robotics

The students in the 6th grade LEGO club work on projects of their own design and then program them through code to make them work. One of the things they did was the lego robots. Some students work alone and some work in small groups.

Club's information:

Meeting dates: 2 Thursdays a month

Time: 3:00 pm

Meeting Room: 135

Early Morning Risers

This club is a performing ensemble for students who enjoy singing. Most of the students in Early Morning Risers are band and orchestra students who are unable to do chorus. So this club was created in order to give them an opportunity to sing. Which is great for people like me who had to choose between band or chorus when changing from elementary school to middle. They perform at the Spring Concert and in the past have even performed in different places like in the Jones Beach Holiday Light Show. This club is great for people who think that they want both chorus and orchestra/band. I hope you join!!😀

Club's information:

Meeting day: Thursdays

Times: 7:15 am

Meeting Room: 127

World Language Club

Are you passionate about learning a new language? Do you want to learn about different cultures? If yes then the World Language Club is for you. This club is available to improve students’ understanding and appreciation of the cultural diversity within and outside of the Massapequa community." I hope you join!

Club's information:

Meeting dates: Thursdays

Meeting times: 3:00 pm

Meeting room: 226

Thank you to all the teachers who gave me details about all the clubs!

by Gretchen Schweppe

Why you might want to join the club:

The club is great for students who aren't in FACS because you get to do some cooking. In this club you get to make food but it's not hard to cook so if you find cooking hard you still could easily make the things we do! In this club you are never left out and everybody is nice to each other.

What we make in the club:

In cooking and crafts there are not any hard things to make, it's just a quick craft and snack. Unfortunately, there is no actual cooking involved because of the amount of people in the club and the amount of kitchen stations there are in the rooms. We still get to do things that are very simple but still fun. We make a craft quickly and then we make a snack. When we made cupcakes we didn't actually make them but we decorated them which was just as fun as making them, But most of the time we just use food the teachers already have cooked for us.

What do you do in the club:

In this club you do what's in the name! We make a craft then we make our food. It depends on what you make in the club and what the order in what we do is but if we are going to make a craft with paint or glue for example you would need to do that first then you would make the food so your craft has time to dry. Sometimes we do not do crafts and we make two things out of food. For example, in one of our meetings we made a trail mix with melted chocolate and then hot chocolate mix.

What foods do you get to make:

In the club we make all different types of food. The type of thing we make usually goes with a holiday that is in that month so for example in our february meeting we made chocolate covered pretzels and oreos with pink and red dyed chocolate.

What the club members say about Cooking and Crafts:

Coralie: What are your opinions about the club? “I think it's a fun club to really get your creative side going!”

What made you join the club? “I've always loved to cook and create different ideas, since this club had both I thought it would be cool."

Would you recommend this club to other people?” “Yes I believe this is a great experience and you get food.”

Anonymous: What are your opinions about the club? “It's fun!”

What made you join the club? “I love to make and eat food.”

Would you recommend this club? “Yes, it's very fun.”

Caelan, what are your opinions about the club? “I love this club it has food and crafting and it is amazing.”

What made you join the club? “I like cooking and friends are in it.”

Would you recommend this club? “Absolutely, it is a great club!”

Bella, what are your opinions about the club? “Its cool i like how they let us have sugar”

What made you join the club? “I was told to by my parents and I thought it looked fun.”

Would you recommend this club? “Yes absolutely!”

Check out the Cooking and Crafts Club!

by Abigail Matheis

There are very few kids in Berner that take German. In 7th grade alone, they’re 23 or 24 kids in all that take German. That is about 4% of the 7th grade. So little people that take German, here are some basic words to share with your friends. First, let's start with special characters. The only special characters for the German language are ä, ö, ü, and ß, but instead of writing the special characters, you can write ae, oe, ue, and ss. Now, let’s learn some basic translations. Two of the most basic words are hello is hallo and goodbye is auf wiedersehen, but now you will be able to say more than just that. Here are some describing words.

er/sie schreit = he/she screams/yells

er/sie sieht = he/she sees

er/sie wohnt = he/she lives (in)

er/sie kommt (aus) = he/she comes (from)

schnell/langsam = fast/slow (ly)

laut = loud

Awesome! In addition to that, here are some questions and answers to ask and respond with:

Woher kommst du? = Where are you from?

Ich komme aus… = I am from…

Wo wohnst du? = Where do you live?

Ich wohne in… = I live in…

Great! Now, numbers play an important role in today's society, so this is how to say the numbers in German from 1 to 10.

one = eins

two = zwei

three = drei

four = vier

five = funf

six = sechs

seven = sieben

eight = acht

nine = neun

ten = zehn

Amazing job! Now let's learn how to say some animal names in german.

Horse = Pfred

Rabbit = Haschen

Dog = Hund

Cat = Katze

Monkey = Affe

Cow = Kuh

Elephant = Elefant

Mouse = Maus

Chicken = Hahn

Chick = Küken

Good! Finally, let's learn how to say other languages in German.

English = Englisch

German = Deutsch

Spanish = Spanisch

French = Französisch

Chinese = Chinesisch

Polish = Polieren

Irish = Irisch

Japanese = Japanisch

Slovak = Slowakisch

Latin = Lateinisch

British = Britisch

Fantastic job! Now you can impress your friends by showing them that you know part of the German language.

Auf Wiedersehen! 🙋

by: Rhyan O’Leary and Francesca Filoramo

Like many people, we adore singing in chorus very much. In fact, this passion led us to stumbling upon the best chorus groups in Berner, Vocal Points and 6th Grade Select Singers!

What is Vocal Points you may ask? Well, Vocal Points is an auditioned singing group with selected singers. We perform at many locations throughout the year such as a flag ceremony in front of the school for veterans and although we weren’t able to attend (due to Covid reasons), we were supposed to go to a Christmas performance.

What type of songs do you sing? Well, we sing many different genres of music from patriotic, to Broadway, and even rock! Right now, we are working on 4 pieces including music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alanis Morisette, and Charlie Puth!

Vocal Points is run by Mrs. Gropf, the 8th grade chorus teacher at Berner, but previously it was run by the 6th grade chorus teacher Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones taught 8th grade in the past, but later moved onto teaching 6th. This was when she thought of the idea of starting a Vocal Points group for 6th graders. This idea developed into the club we love today, 6th Grade Select Singers!

The 6th Grade Select Singers and Vocal Points are very similar. However, due to Covid constraints, many events the groups participated in the past were canceled.

For now, the 6th Grade Select Singers are working on 3 different songs. The first song is “The Rose” by André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra. “It’s All Right” from the movie Soul is the second. Mrs Jones let everyone from the group choose the last song. We were going to perform “Dynamite” by BTS but since it was too difficult with the time constraints, Mrs. Jones switched it to “The Never Ending Story.”

Both the Vocal Points and Select Singers groups are working hard on sounding amazing for their concerts. If you’re interested in this type of group and are in 5th grade or above, consider joining next year!

by Francesca Filoramo

Introduction

When choosing a type of music some people chose an instrument and some people chose general music. But a lot of people, including me, chose chorus. The 6th grade chorus teacher in Mrs.Jones. She is in room 127 next to the band room.

Lessons

Most 6th grade students think that lessons are very complicated but actually they're very easy! The lesson room is right in between the band room and the chorus room. Lessons are during 2nd and 5th period. If your lunch period is 5th period and you have lessons don’t worry like I did. You can buy lunch and then bring it to the room. Or if you bring lunch you can go straight there.

Lesson days

Mrs. Jones lets you go to lessons any day of the week on your period. The alto and soprano periods switch back and forth.

Grading

For grading it is simple. 30 percent is lessons, that is why it is important to go to lessons. 35 percent is performance. Lastly 35 percent is tests and quizzes

What We Learn

You learn about rhythm, note names, and sing songs. At the beginning of every day we used a website called musictheory.net. Every winter and spring we have a concert. We sing three songs. For the winter we did “Camptown Races,” “We Won’t Stop Dreaming,” and “On With The Snow.” This spring we are singing “Blue Skies,” “Sisi Ni Moja,” and “Rainbow.”

Conclusion

Maybe you should go to the chorus concerts. Or if you have siblings, tell them about chorus class!

by Grace Pachucki

Is dance really a sport? Today’s proof will show you that dance is a sport and why. Many people disagree and say that dance is not considered a sport because it is “only for girls” or because it “does not have teams.” Well as a matter of fact both of those are wrong. About 28% of dancers are boys. Also, when you are a dancer you normally participate in a team. Some dance studios include competitive teams who attend several regional competitions throughout their season. This means that you spend September to February rehearsing your dances with your team. Did you know that an average 12 year old competitive dancer dances at least 8 hours a week?

Yes, Dance is a Sport…

There are many reasons why dance is a sport. The amount of effort, training, and hours that is put into becoming a good dancer makes dance a sport. For example, if you are a dancer en pointe you have to train yourself to naturally balance on your toes. Other articles also support this claim. This is proven when an article states,“As an 11-year veteran, I know what to expect from a competitive dance scene: four-minute dance sets, sweaty faces, back-to-back seven-hour rehearsals, and insane cardio workouts,” experienced dancer Grace Simms explained.” This evidence shows that dance is a sport because it says that in order to be a dancer you have to have a certain skill set. When you are a dancer you go through multiple hours and training and workout classes, in addition to the classes where you learn the dances. This shows that dance is so much more than just an art and it is in fact a sport.

Still think dance is not a sport?

Other people say that dance is not a sport for several reasons. One article states, “oftentimes dancers have blisters all over their feet from pointe shoes or a pulled muscle, but the show must go on and their job is to perform their role. If a ballerina falls down, she gets back up pretending like nothing happened with a smile on her face even if it really hurt or possibly caused an injury.” Some people think this proves that dance is more acting than a sport. Although it is true that dancers have to entertain an audience, the amount of hard work and training that goes into being a dancer, it cannot be said that a dancer is not an athlete and that dance is not a sport. In conclusion, if you still don’t think that dance is a sport, this dancer invites you to come and spend a few hours with me at the studio… I think that will change your mind!

Sources:

Why dance isn’t a sport- http://www.sunflowerstatedance.com/whatshappening/why-dance-isnt-a-sport

Why dance is a sport- https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/dance-is-a-sport-and-should-be-seen-as-one/article_efd16800-009e-11ea-97ab-9bce5a3f99bc.html

by Jackson Crudele

Introduction

Most of us if not all of us live on Long Island and in my opinion it is one of the best places to live. Long Island has the perfect mix of Sub-Urban areas like Massapequa and rural places like Cutchouge and Greenport. While I think the mix of rural and suburban places are great on Long Island some of the hotspots on Long Island are absolutely amazing! This is what I will be telling you about in this article.

Montauk

History of Montauk

Did you know that Montauk is called ‘The End’ by locals? Montauk was first inhabited by an Indian tribe, the Montaukett which is how Montauk got its name. During one Hurricane in 1954 named hurricane Carol Montauk was actually separated from the rest of Long Island. Another interesting fact is the lighthouse in Montauk was ordered to be built by George Washington!

Fun Things to Do!

There are plenty of amazing things to do and see at Montauk! If you enjoy fishing you’re going to love Montauk. Did you know that Montauk is considered the ‘Surf Fishing Capital of the World’? Montauk has been awarded this name for the amount of large fish caught on the coast. Not a big fisher? That’s okay, another fun thing to do there is surfing, it’s one of the best places in the U.S and one of the few places on the East coast with such amazing waves! Alright, wanna stay dry and on land, One of the places that you would have to visit in Montauk is the Lighthouse! It is still operational and can be seen from 19 nautical miles away. With good weather you can see 3 states including Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the most obvious New York.

Conclusion

Montauk is such an amazing place to visit in my opinion and maybe yours too! There are so many fun things to do there like fishing, surfing, and seeing the Lighthouse. I hope after seeing this article Montauk is one of the places on your list to visit.

Jones Beach

History of Jones Beach

Jones Beach is 17 miles long making it the second lengthiest of four narrow barrier islands that separate Long Island from the Atlantic Ocean. Jones beach is named after Major Thomas Jones who was an Irish privateer. However it was Robert Moses who transformed Jones Beach into the place it is today. With more than 8.5 million visitors in 2018 it is very close to Niagara Falls for the most visited in the New York State parks system.

Fun Things to Do!

There are so many fun things to do at Jones Beach! Beside one of the most important things which is swimming you can go to the amphitheater which has many concerts during the summer months. I don’t go to a lot of concerts but they always sound like a blast! You can also go to Tobay Beach which is on Jones Beach Island. Here is where you can have a lot of fun. Tobay Beach has a miniature golf course, playgrounds, and a bunch of great restaurants. The cool thing about Tobay beach is that they have a bay side which has very calm water and close to the restaurants and an ocean side which has rougher water and a bunch of food stands. One of the cool parts about the bay side is that it has this big playground. Part of the playground has a bunch of water activities and the other is a big dry playground. The ocean side has a bunch of big waves and a beautiful beach. If you get hungry they have one big area for food on one side and then food stands at the entrances of the others.

Conclusion

If you haven’t already been to Jones Beach It is such a fun place to go to and I’ve been going there for a long time and I hope after this you will give it a try. I hope you learned some cool things about Jones beach!

Sagamore Hill

History Of Sagamore Hill

Sagamore Hill is a place in Oyster Bay where Theordore Roosevelt used to live. If you don’t already know Theodore Roosevelt was one of our presidents. Two New York architects named Lamb and Rich built this house. His wife’s death almost stopped the plans for the house. However his family members were able to convince him to continue the construction of the house. Theodore Roosevelt started living in this house in 1887. They raised 6 children in this house. Theodore Roosevelt Died at Sagamore Hill on January 6th, 1919.

My Experience Here!

I’ve been here a few years ago and it was absolutely amazing! To see the house and especially to see the things they did back then. Being here mostly consists of a tour of the house but they also have kinda like a mini Theodore Roosevelt museum right on site by the house. I won’t spoil much about the tour or the museum because the most fun part is being surprised by all of the amazing things there. However, one cool thing that I learned during the tour is that Theodore Roosevelt made his kids answer crazy hard questions before they were able to eat dinner. I was absolutely stunned when they said that! It’s best to go here on a sunny day though so you can really take it all in. There is even this area on the porch without fencing and it's pretty far off the ground and it looks out on a bunch of trees and the road leading up to the house. This view was amazing, especially on a sunny day!

Conclusion

I’ve only been here once but I would 100% recommend this hotspot on Long Island because learning about one of our past presidents, seeing where he lived, seeing what he did, and how they lived is just an amazing experience. I had so much fun here I would definitely go to Sagamore Hill again. I hope you guys learned a lot about Sagamore Hill and about Theodore Roosevelt and will give this hotspot a try!

Fire Island

In 1653 Isaac Stratford built a Whaling station on Fire Island. Isaac Stratford called it Whalehouse Point. Fire Island was an important whaling center during the 18th and 19th centuries. Whaling along with fishing were careers that were able to make the local people living here a lot of money. The first large home built in 1795 in Cherry Grove was home of Jeremiah Smith who was the most notorious land pirate and the first permanent resident. In 1825 a very important lighthouse was made on the Western tip of Fire Island. For ships coming from the Atlantic to New York Harbor this lighthouse was an important landmark.

Fun Things To Do

There are plenty of fun things to do here. One of the things that is necessary to come here is taking the ferry. If it's nice, sunny, and clear out the ferry ride is amazing! Especially if you ride on the top part you get to enjoy the weather and the breeze! Of course it being an island it’s going to have a beach which is very close to the houses which is pretty cool because instead of having to drive you can just walk there and enjoy the sunny days! There are also a lot of little shops here so if you ever just need something to do walking around and looking into the shops here are pretty cool. You can either rent a house here or you can go to something like a hotel. The cool thing about the hotel is some nights they have a movie night where they pull out a screen and play a movie and they have a bunch of popcorn and stuff like that. If you don’t like walking they also have bike rentals which helps you get around a lot quicker.

Conclusion

I have been here a couple of times and it is so much fun. There are plenty of things to do here to keep you busy. The sunset here is also amazing especially if you have a house with a balcony or a hotel room with a balcony. This is a great place and I would definitely recommend coming here if you haven’t been here already.

Here are some of the few places on Long Island that make it the place it is. These hot spots are some of the best places I’ve been on Long Island. Each of these places have special characteristics that make them unique places on Long Island. If you can even just get to one of these places you will be amazed because these places are so much fun and so interesting! I would recommend each of these locations to anyone! I hope you learned some history about some of the hot spots on Long Island and maybe learned some fun things to do at these places. I hope you enjoyed this!

P.S if you want to know more about the history of these hot spots here are some of the websites I used fireisland.com/fire-island-history/#:~:text=Fire%20Island's%20roots%20date%20back,the%2018th%20and%2019th%20centuries.

https://www.nps.gov/sahi/learn/historyculture/index.htm

https://www.theworldandthensome.com/top-11-things-do-in-jones-beach-long-island/

https://www.tclf.org/landscapes/jones-beach-state-park

https://www.longislandpress.com/2019/06/13/a-comprehensive-guide-to-jones-beach-island/

https://www.thetravel.com/facts-about-montauk-point-lighthouse/

by Sofia Milowski

Do you want to learn more about your own town? Well if you do, this is the article for you! In this article you will read all about Massapequa and some of its history.

Who were the first people to come to Massapequa?

You may ask “Well who were the first people to come to Massapequa?” Well to answer that question the first settlers to come to Massapequa was a Native American group called The Lenape. The settlers of this tribe were known as one of the “13 tribes of Long Island.” Around 1698, the first settlement of Massapequa happened. It was purchased by the Town of Oyster Bay merchants. These merchants were in a local tribe and led by Chief Takapusha. The Lenape Tribe were actually related to the Northern Algonquins and not the Iroquois of the Hudson Valley. They were always friendly with other tribes and always made friendly dealings.

Massapequa In the 1700’s

In 1770, the Jones family built a mansion that was the first in the area. It was also built right near what is now today, Massapequa High School! A number of estates, first owned by the descendants of Thomas Jones, extended through Merrick Road from Amityville and finally Seaford.

Massapequa In the 1800’s

The first steam train moved ahead in 1868 and the Floyd Jones families had a private station on the other side of the track west from Unqua Road. The Southside Railroad had a train station west of Hicksville Road and was named the South Oyster Bay Station. There was also a hotel built by Louis Francois Dessart called Woodcastle Hotel. It was built on the site of Front Street firehouse and it soon became a well known summer hotel/resort.

Massapequa In the 1900’s

Around the 1900’s, Massapequa became a very small town. When World War II occurred, Massapequa had a population of just about 3,000 people! Most of Massapequa at the time was not fully developed. The majority of people in Massapequa worked as local farmers. If people did not work as farmers, they worked at a large aircraft plant during World War II. In 1925, the Massapequa Avenue School opened. The school had five classrooms, five teachers, and only 100 students! That’s NOTHING compared to Berner! At the time there were only three schools in the area. In October 1933, the brand new LIRR station made it’s debut after 25 years. I’m sure many of you are familiar with Sunrise Highway and where it is located. Sunrise Highway was originally called Pipeline Boulevard. The road was built over the water pipes that transferred water from Long Island to New York City. Although Sunrise Highway in Queens is still called Conduit Boulevard! As you can see, already a lot happened in Massapequa in the 1900’s, but wait there’s more! On May 12th, 1929, the dedication of Fitzmaurice Flying Field, the first lighter-than-air ship to reach North America to Europe. About 100,000 people went to Massapequa Park on that very day. The field eventually closed in 1951 but today, it is the area of Mckenna and Hawthorne Public Schools. And in 1972, Sunrise Mall was built and brought a ton of young teens and adults to the Massapequas. Sunrise Mall at the time was the fifth largest mall on the Island!

FUN FACT: During the 1960’s, John Burns Park transformed into a cornfield to feed the soldiers!

Massapequa’s Chief Louis Statue

Have you ever seen that big statue of an Indian looking at you and waving? Well that statue isn’t just a statue, it’s the Chief Louis Statue! The Chief Louis statue is there because it is a tribute to Long Island’s American Indian History! Chief Louis is accompanied by a totem pole, buffalo, and a horse which was also a great Native American Scene. The statue was built by Rodman Shutt of Strasburg and was officially completed on May 21st, 1968!

Alec Baldwin

Believe it or not, there are some pretty famous people that grew up in Massapequa. One of the most famous person that grew up here in Massapequa is Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin is an American Actor and is known for his roles in Hollywood and personal drama. Currently, Alec Baldwin is 63 years old and has three other brothers. Him and his brothers are all in the entertainment industry but Alec is the most well known out of the four. Here are some of the movies that he has starred in:

• Beetlejuice (1988)

• The Boss Baby (2017)

• Hunt for Red October (1990)

• Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Altogether, Alec Baldwin has made at least 109 movies!

Thank you for reading All About Massapequa!

by Aidan Sherwin

Gordon had been searching for days now for his most prized possession, his baseball signed by his favorite player of all time, WIllie Mays. But he couldn’t find it anywhere! That ball meant the world to him. He’d be a Giants fan his whole life, and it was the thing that sparked his interest in baseball. He needed to get it back, ASAP.

However, he would be going to a Giants game that Saturday, so it meant he’d be spending that day even further from where his Willie Mays ball would be, meaning anything could happen to it.

“So are you excited for the game?” asked Gordon’s dad that morning.

“Yes, but I need to find that ball. It’s all I could think about,” replied Gordon.

“I’m sure you’ll find it, just prepare for the game. Grab your Mays jersey.”

Later that day during the game, Gordon couldn’t distract himself from the fact that his Willie Mays signed ball had been missing. Even the monster home run hit by Brandon Belt couldn’t take his mind off of that ball.

Camilo Doval was one pitch away from closing out a gem. The Giants were up by two in the top of the ninth. However, Gordon still couldn’t seem to care. Even on the ride home, he stared into oblivion while his father tried to converse about the game.

Realization

Later that night, Gordon’s next door neighbor, Karen, came over to eat Dinner with Gordon’s parents, because they are friends. During this time, Gordon was in his room pondering because he wasn’t familiar with Karen.

About an hour later, Gordon began to overhear the conversation the adults were having. He heard that Karen’s dog had kept her up all night because he wouldn’t stop barking, which he found funny. He also heard that her cousin had recently been diagnosed with cancer, which was quite sad. He found it crazy how fast conversations can entirely change.

But then he began to hear something about a ball… particularly a ball from our house…. The volume significantly decreased after that, so Gordon lost the ability to understand what was happening.

But Gordon was sitting there, in shock that Karen has a ball, a ball from his house, and that he just happened to mysteriously lose one.

The Plan

He had to do something. He couldn't just let Karen get away with this! So Gordon needed a plan, immediately. So he brainstormed and brainstormed until an idea came to mind.

Gordon thought that he should sneak into Karen's house, and attempt to find the ball at night when she's asleep. He wasn't too fond of this idea, but he thought it would be the best way to retrieve the ball.

That night, at around nine o'clock, Gordon took action. First, he told his parents he was going to hang out with friends, so they wouldn't be suspicious. Then, he'd walk out the door, but instead of walking to his friend's house, he turned left, walking to Karen's house. With past experiences of visiting her house, he knew that her door closed slowly. Gordon would take advantage of this knowledge.

Gordon made his way to the front door of Karen's house, and knocked. Instead of waiting for an answer, Gordon hid behind the shrubbery, waiting for the door to swing open. It did after a minute, and Karen asked, "Hello?" The sight of nobody standing there was fairly confusing. However, Karen needed to go to sleep, so she let the door close behind her.

Gordon saw this, stood up, hopped over the bush, and put his hands on the halfway open door, and smiled. Now, Gordon needed to find a hiding place, and stay there until he knew Karen was asleep.

Gordon saw a cardboard box somewhat close to Karen’s bedroom door, so he decided to hide in there. He swiftly hopped inside, without Karen noticing. The box was very uncomfortable, and he hoped he wouldn’t be there very long.

Gordon fortunately remembered to bring his watch, so he knew exactly how much time had passed at any given moment. After approximately ten minutes passed, Gordon heard the door to Karen’s bedroom shut. Using common knowledge, he knew that it would take a little while for her to fall into a deep sleep. So, instead of waiting in the box, he stepped out of it to make himself more comfortable.

Opening The Door

To be safe, Gordon spent about an hour laying on Karen’s couch before making his way inside her bedroom in search of his Willie Mays signed baseball. It was a very tedious hour, but he was ready to find his baseball.

Gordon made his way up to the door to Karen’s bedroom, and knew he had to be extremely cautious upon entry. He grasped the doorknob, and turned ever so slowly, to reduce the chances of it making noise. When Gordon finally managed to slightly crack open the door, he paused, and pondered the moment. “Is this really the right thing to do to get this ball back?” he thought.

Stressed, he stepped back from the door, and made his way to the front door. Gordon realized that he was committing a crime, a literal crime. If he got caught, he’d be arrested. The best thing to do would be to leave, tell his parents about the ball, and try to retrieve it that way.

Gordon made his way to the front door, and placed his hand on the doorknob, similarly to the doorknob to Karen’s bedroom. Likewise, he turned the doorknob as cautiously as he could, to make minimal noise. He cracked it open, and this time continued pushing the doorknob.

Gordon finally got the door to open just enough so he could fit through, and stepped outside. This time, he had to close the door, making little to no noise. Gordon realized that he’d need to put more effort into it than he did opening the door. So he grabbed the doorknob, turned it as if he was opening it, and pulled extra slowly. This way, it won’t make much noise when it closes.

Doing The Right Thing

Gordon walked back to his house, and felt good to knock on the door, and not have to repeat his previous actions when it comes to doors. His mother answered the door, swung it open, and asked how it was. Gordon just said, “Good,” and walked inside. He waited until morning to tell his parents because he knew he couldn’t get it tonight.

That morning, Gordon went up to both of his parents, and said, “Mom, dad, I think Karen stole my Willie Mays ball, I heard her talking about it last time she was here.”

“Yea, I think I heard that too,” Gordon’s mother responded.

Gordon’s father nodded, and said, “Yea, we gotta get you that ball back. I say we all walk over to her place and ask about it.”

“Thanks guys,” Gordon happily said.

Gordon and his parents walked over to Karen’s house, and knocked on the door. Karen answered after about thirty seconds.

“Hello, how can I help you guys?” said Karen.

“We’re good, but we have something to ask you,” Gordon’s father responded.

“What is it?” asked Karen.

“We want to know if you have my son’s Willie Mays signed baseball. It’s his most prized possession, and you’ve been accused of stealing it.”

“Uhhh….” Karen said.

Gordon’s father lifted his eyebrows, and slightly nodded his head forward, knowing Karen had something to say.

Karen sighed, and said, “Come in, there’s something I need to show you all.”

Everyone stepped inside Karen’s house, with Karen all leading them. Gordon knew she was bringing them all to her bedroom, because it’s the same way he went the previous night.

“This box strangely opened last night. I don’t remember opening it,” Karen mentioned before entering her bedroom.

“Strange,” said Gordon, as he continued through the door to her bedroom.

“The air conditioner must’ve been blowing pretty hard last night, because my door was open when I woke up,” said Karen.

“Yea… it must’ve,” Gordon responded. At this point, he was inside Karen’s bedroom, looking around. It was a slight mess, but that didn’t matter to him. He knew it would matter to his parents though, but fortunately they waited in the hallway. He looked at the dresser, and saw it. It was his ball. He immediately went over to it, snatched it into his hand, looked at Karen, gave her a slight look, and said, “Thanks, I guess…”

As Gordon walked home, he felt satisfied that he managed to retrieve his stolen baseball. But still, he was still mad at his neighbor Karen.

by Charlotte Preall

He was led into a plain white room by an armed guard, harsh fluorescent lights burning his eyes. The cold steel of the handcuffs chafed at his wrists, his hands well secured behind his back. Suddenly, at the doorway, he felt the handcuffs being removed with a small metallic click. He turned towards the guard, who briskly started speaking. “Your name is James Peterson, correct?”

“Yes, that is correct. Now, what am I doing here?”

The guard continued speaking, completely ignoring the question.

“Sex- male. Age- 29. Identification number-”

“Identification number?? Now, listen here, sir, but I don’t think that this is at all in order. You see, this was all just a big misunderstanding, and I-”

The guard very rudely cut him off again.

“Identification number- A-22109. Would you prefer to be called “Mr. Peterson” or “James”, A-22109?”

Mr. James Peterson (more formally known as number A-22109) looked around incredulously. “Now, you can’t seriously expect me to answer that, can you?”

The guard looked at him menacingly (and simultaneously expectantly. Mr. James Peterson wasn’t sure how to feel about this encounter).

“Well, if I must, I’d prefer being called Mr. Peterson, but that doesn’t cover the whole “what am I doing in this white room being interrogated in the doorway by an armed prison guard” thing, does it?”

The guard ignored this statement and continued talking in the same flat-toned voice.

“Follow me, Mr. Peterson.”

The guard and Mr. Peterson walked into the room. Mr. Peterson had a thought (which was a new experience for him).

“Now, good sir, you’ve uncuffed me. What’s to stop me from just running out of that door and never coming back?”

Mr. Peterson gestured toward the door, as to prove his point. The guard was unfazed.

“Look behind you, Mr. Peterson. There’s no door.”

Mr. Peterson was very put off by this statement.

“Well of course there’s a door, how else would we have gotten in here if there hadn’t been a door? Look, I’ll show you.”

Mr. Peterson turned around to the spot where he thought the door should be, incredibly confident about his point.

There was no door. It was gone.

Mr. Peterson was surprised, to say the least.

“Well! I guess I see why you uncuffed me, dear chap. It seems to me like neither of us can leave this room now, can we?”

The guard again ignored his statement, and moved onto a different subject.

“Sit.”

“A place to sit would be nice, sir.”

“There’s a chair.”

Mr. Peterson turned to see a hard metal chair in front of him, which had somehow materialized in the two seconds that he’d not been looking.

“Well, you can’t expect me to sit in that chair! It looks about as comfortable as sitting on a metal slab, and I cannot be expected to do that. You do know who I am, don’t you? I am Mr. James L. Peterson (the L stands for Leonard), and-”

“Sit.”

The guard looked as if he was about to burst a blood vessel. His right eye (and left, for that matter) were twitching violently. Mr. James L. Peterson got the idea that he should sit.

He sat, if not somewhat reluctantly.

The guard took a small clipboard from a table that had recently been borne into existence near the chair and started writing.

Mr. Peterson, feeling quite neglected as the guard continued to write, attempted to make small talk.

“Say, I never did get your name, sir! Would you mind telling me so that we can have a civilized conversation?”

The guard, as always, ignored Mr. Peterson and continued writing.

Mr. Peterson, creating new meaning for the phrase “one sided conversation”, continued on.

“Hmm… Since you won’t tell me your name, I’ll have to find something to call you, won’t I? Maybe Benedict! Ah, no. Or… Frederick! No again. Ah….”

Mr. Peterson thought very long and hard about this.

“I know! Benjamin! Do you mind if I call you Benny? Alright, Benny, since I’d say we’re friends now, how about we get out of this room? Talk over lunch?”

Benny looked up.

“No. Now, Mr. Peterson, you have a test to complete. It’s a series of questions. If you pass, you go free. If you fail… don’t fail, okay?”

Mr. Peterson looked at Benny with a smirk.

“Aw, you’re getting soft, aren’t you? You don’t want me to get hurt if I fail. Well, just for that, you can call me James. Because we’re-”

“Your test starts in five and a half minutes, Mr. Peterson. I will stay with you until it starts.”

Mr. Peterson looked up, startled.

“Wait, five and a half minutes? No time to prepare at all? This is completely-”

Benny cut Mr. Peterson off again (a nasty habit that he really should try to break, if you ask me).

“Hold out your left arm.”

Mr. Peterson obliged, sticking out his left arm. He watched as Benny produced a syringe (filled with a concerningly luminous orange substance) out of a pouch on his belt. Mr. Peterson began to get worried.

“Benny, you’re not going to inject me with that stuff, are you?”

Benny ignored Mr. Peterson, as always. Mr. Peterson should really stop doing the same thing and expecting a different result every time.

“Now, I don’t think this is at all necessary. Not that I’m scared of needles or anything but do we really need to have an injection? It seems a bit… excessive, to say the least-”

“I get it. You’re scared of needles. It’ll only hurt a little bit, and it is quite necessary.”

Mr. Peterson was quite taken aback by this statement.

“Listen here, sir. I don’t know who you think you are but- OW!!”

Benny, who was putting away the syringe, said, “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

Mr. Peterson was quite offended by the whole operation. First Benny had insulted him, then he had injected him with some strange substance? This was not what he’d signed up for in the slightest! Although he never did sign up for this in the first place…

Mr. Peterson took note of his thoughts slowing down. He’d become quite drowsy in the last couple minutes, and, to his surprise, he wasn’t even able to muster some sarcastic response to Benny’s question.

The last thing Mr. Peterson heard before he went unconscious was Benny’s voice saying, “Goodbye, Mr. Peterson, and good luck.”

A little while later, Benny walked to the lab where he would get his next assignment. He was a bit shaken up, as he’d been worrying about Mr. Peterson for the past half hour while his test was going on. He’d finally gotten the alert that Mr. Peterson had completed his test, though, and now it was time for Benny to get his last assignment for the day. He entered the room, and he saw that the Examiner was at the computer doing something. Benny decided to go ask for his assignment instead of waiting for the Examiner to notice him.

“Examiner, what will my next assignment be? A-22109 finished his test.”

“Let’s see here… your next assignment is taking care of the people that failed.”

Benny nodded and then walked out of the room towards the crematorium.

Benny hated this task. It was definitely his least favorite. It was hot, and the sight of bodies burning was not the best way to end a day. At least he only had one corpse left to incinerate, and then he could retire to his living quarters! Benny walked over, pulling the sheet off of the last corpse so that he could get it over with. Upon seeing the face, though, Benny was hit with a wave of nausea. Staring back up at him was none other than his good friend Mr. James L. Peterson.

by Hailey Jungen and Kiley Kelch

Hello! Here are some spring designer bags you are going to love!

by Michael Mullooly

Universal is a major point of interest in America, the company is famous for its phenomenal movies and productions, and its amazing theme parks. But what if you’re going to Universal Orlando, and you’ve got no clue what to expect? Save your fear for the rollercoasters, because this list will be counting down the best rides, simulations, and attractions that Universal has to offer! Let's jump right in!

Basic Break Down
Universal Orlando is not just famous for its death-defying and fast paced roller coasters, but also for its meticulous structural design fit to incorporate the most popular of their productions. Universal is split up into 3 parks: Universal Studios, Volcano Bay and Universal Islands Of Adventure. Most of the roller coasters are contained within Islands of Adventure, as it’s the newer of the two roller coaster parks. Volcano Bay is exclusively water rides, themed attractions, and cuisine. Originally constructed in 1990, Universal Studios Orlando began as just the Universal Studios section. Not long after, City Walk was constructed in 1993; a long, wide alley filled with restaurants and shops. Following them in 1999, Islands of Adventure was built, focusing more on roller coasters than Universal Studios was, and it was just another short walk off of the end of city walk to reach it. Volcano Bay was built fairly recently in 2017, completely comprised of water rides and attractions, and uses an advanced wireless bracelet system to monitor wait times and ride usage, but we’ll cover that more in depth later in the review. Personally, I stayed at Cabana Bay Beach Resort, and it is conveniently located to suit all the theme parks. The main attractions in Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and City Walk, are just a short bus ride away, while Volcano Bay is just across the street. Members of this hotel and Aventura Hotel, also a brief way across the street, get a special access section just 20 paces away from the edge of Cabana Bay property line. With the basics covered, let’s get down to the knitty gritty of each park.

Universal Studios
Universal Studios is the more known section of Universal. Featuring a Jimmy Fallon-themed simulation, street performers that play with just construction equipment, and a Hollywood section, this place is no drought for real world references. Let’s hop into roller coasters* first though, counting best to worst.
(*certain rides such as Transformers and Minion Mayhem that are not included in this list will not be rated because I was unable to go on them due to lack of interest and long wait times)

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster
One of the most exhilarating roller coasters in all of universal, and coming in at #2 on my personal list of favorite roller coasters, is The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster. Located in Hollywood, in the Universal Studios section, the basis of the ride is that you get to jam out to music while you ride the roller coaster. Once you’re strapped in, a panel on your harness has an interactive touch screen in which you select your song, and get ready to ride. My personal favorite is “I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor, but they have many different genres to choose from. The ride starts with a 90 degree, 167 foot climb straight to the sky. That’s probably the worst time to live in the moment, especially as the back car always lags behind and hangs for an extra second at the top. Take in the view quickly though, then brace yourself for the 167 foot drop on the other side, right into a loop with a barrel roll at the top. The ride does a few more drops, but nothing too major besides a 90 degree bank turn halfway through the ride.
Revenge of the Mummy
As an indoor roller coaster, the fear factor can be high when made correctly. This roller coaster does an amazing job of doing just that. It has one of the coolest lines, with sandstone tunnel walls, flickering lights, and hieroglyphics on the walls, it makes you feel like you’re in a real mummy tomb. Now about the actual roller coaster, it has many unexpected twists and turns. Even after riding it multiple times it’s easy to forget where it goes next. It utilizes linear induction motors, or LIM, for short, which jump start the cart to start moving from a standstill position. It features three of these, some of them even completely switching the direction of the cart. The roller coaster is approximately 3 minutes long, and features fire displays, 80 degree bank turns, and a max of a 50 degree angle of descent.
Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts (spoiler alert for Harry Potter)
This ride may be particularly difficult to find if you aren’t obsessed with maps, like me. Diagon Alley itself is hidden away behind a gap inside a brick wall. The entrance is perpendicular to the knight bus located along the waterfront, and just past Los Angeles. At the entrance, located at the base of the Gringotts building, the line goes through the middle of the bank, and on each side, animatronic goblins can be seen writing on pieces of parchment with quills. Once the ride starts, your cart enters the bank and travels deep underground. The setup is that you are helping Harry, Hermoine, and Ron retrieve a Horcrux as part of their mission to defeat Lord Voldemort, an event that takes place in the 7th book of the series, Deathly Hallows. Once you enter, however, staff gets wind and orders to have the intruder located. This cues the need for the escape, hence the name. You run into Bellatrix Lestrange a few times, and then Lord Voldemort towards the end. The ride starts as two carts, back to back, but quickly you find out they are separated, as both carts are sent spinning, almost crashing into one another multiple times. One you reach the bottom Lord Voldemort appears with Bellatrix. He decides to “administer a bit of pain to help you remember,” and conjures a giant fireball. Just before it reaches the cart, Harry and his friends fly in on the back of a Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon and defuse the fireball with a counterspell. They then immediately start launching spells and dragon fire at Bellatrix and Voldemort. They put up a shield for a few moments and then disapparate. Hermoine then casts a spell linking the cart to the dragon, and you zoom up to the regular bank levels. Bill thanks you for your help and denotes, “after all, it’s the safest place on earth,” just before the ride reaches the boarding station again.
Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
Race through New York is a fast paced simulation in which the audience is in its own vehicle racing around New York, or more so the solar system, against Jimmy Fallon to get back to the Tonight Show. The simulation is a large block of 72 seats that tilts forward, backwards, and to the sides slightly to simulate the movement of an expeditious fast vehicle, known as the tonight rider. It also features The Roots, the hours band of the Tonight Show, and a low-gravity moon portion of the race.
Men in Black: Alien Attack
Alien Attack is a head-to-head arcade shooter where your group of six gunners verses the other team of six. The goal is to shoot all the aliens on the sides of the indoor roller coaster track with the mounted laser guns in front of all of the seats. You can also shoot targets on the other team to send their cart spinning out. At the end, points are tallied up and only one team can be pronounced the winner.
Fast and Furious - Supercharged
Fast and furious is a simulation about getting the party bus and its members (the riders) to the party safely. The bus doesn’t move much, as there aren’t even seatbelts, and in my opinion, it was a bit underwhelming. The fighting occurs across the bus, so you have to keep looking from side to side to see everything.

Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure, being the newer of the two roller coaster parks, is less known by people who haven’t been to Universal, but is, in my opinion, considerably better than Universal Studios. Featuring Hogsmeade from Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and many other amazing themed sections, Islands of Adventure really is the full experience to transport you to a different world.

Jurassic Park: Velocicoaster
Ranking #1 on my all time list of Universal, Velocicoaster also takes the cake for my favorite roller coaster ever. The setup is that the team at Jurassic Park has decided to create a roller coaster going through the velociraptor paddock, and there’s a very amusing video playing in the final section of the waiting room before boarding the coaster. Unfortunately, it’s a little less funny when you’ve waited on that line twice and they each took around 2 hours, with many breaks for maintenance. That said, I’d do it again. It was so worth it. The roller coaster starts using the LIMs mentioned earlier, which starts the roller coaster up to 50 mph in 3 seconds. It follows a wonky path, traveling through and under many rocks before reaching another tunnel. It passes through the tunnel, speeding up to 70 mph in 2.4 seconds, then soars up the giant hairpin peak of 155 feet, and plummets right down it into two sideways loops passing over the top of the bridge to enter Jurassic Park. It then glides into the station and slows down behind a few other carts before reaching the exit station.
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk is an absolute monster of a rollercoaster. Ranking #3 in all of Universal, it matches fast paced direction changes with an amazing soundtrack and is set up to make an ultimate roller coaster. The setup is that you are being tested based on how you react to gamma radiation. The ominous phrase “do not be afraid” is repeated just before the ride starts. I did this ride 6 times, and I loved it more each time I did it. It starts a barrel roll into two half loops similar to the ones on Sidewinder from Hershey Park, then does a full loop. Following that, the ride passes through a misty tunnell, which is actually a trench dug in between the water. It then travels in a circle almost fully sideways, goes down a half loop, then into a full loop. It then does a few more minor drops but the bulk of the ride is over at that point. The song then hits its dramatic finish, brass section blaring in harmony, and the cart reaches the station.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Arguably the best simulation in universal, and #4 on my list of favorites, the Forbidden Journey is a fast paced ride in which you’re riding on a flying bench. First and foremost, the line is amazing, I couldn’t be mad to wait on it. The line goes through the giant Hogwarts castle, and most of the paintings on the walls are actually screens to be animated just like the photographs in Harry Potter. The actual ride setup is that muggles (magicless people like you and me) are allowed in the castle for a lecture on magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine however have other plans. They decide to cast the wingardium leviosa spell, which causes the bench to levitate and follow Harry’s commands. They take the bench around the exterior of the castle, passing Hagrid along the way. Hagrid asks if they’ve seen a dragon, and on cue, a dragon surprises Harry and the group, causing them to dive into the bridge. While in darkness, a red light appears, and the Hungarian Horntail dragon appears and breathes “fire” on them. They then are whacked by the Whomping Willow on to the quidditch pit, where dementors appear. The bench descends into the Chamber of Secrets, from the second book. They pass the skeleton of a basilisk which was previously slain by Harry, and dementors that attempt to suck the souls out of the guests. Harry defends the guests with a Patronus Charm, and a stag appears to fend off the dementors. They fly out of the cave as it caves in, and cross the Black Lake, towards Hogwarts, and right through the grand staircase to be greeted by applause from all the teachers and students.
Jurassic Park River Adventure
This ride takes a twist on the classic log flume. It takes you on an underwater track through the gates of Jurassic Park, and past many exotic dinosaurs. However, as you near the building, signs of distress can be heard and a shipwrecked boat can be spotted. Upon entering the building alarms are sounding everywhere and velociraptors are loose and squirting water at the riders. As you turn the final corner a Tyrannosaurus Rex appears and is mighty tall. While all the attention is attracted upward, a small gap in the floor almost invisible from the boat sends the boat hurtling down the ramp at huge speeds, and airtime feels as if it is reached. The boat slams into the water at the bottom, jolting everyone forward and creating a massive splash.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong
This ride is about a group of explorers who are exploring skull island. It’s a simulation featuring screens on both sides of the truck. Riders board a truck similar to that of a safari tour truck. The truck enters the giant temple, and we see Kate and another explorer setting up base. Out of nowhere, giant bats fly down and snatch Kate and fly her off. The trucks follow Kate in hopes to rescue her, but they run into a group of large worms who try to eat Kate. She defends them for a bit, but she is suddenly ripped from her spot by a giant claw and dragged into the earth. The trucks attempt to make it back to camp safely, but run into a group of large V-rexes. When it seems they will be killed, Kong leaps down and battles the V-rexes, killing all of them, and saving the truck from falling into the ravine below. The truck then speeds away and is radioed by Kate that she made it back safely. The simulation features the truck shaking, and Kong and the dinosaurs jump on the truck a few times. While the simulation is on both sides, there’s only one conflict going on and makes it much more manageable than Fast and Furious.
Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
Doctor Doom’s Fearfall is honestly one of the most underwhelming rides of the park. Towering at 184 feet, it looks like an absolute monster. Even though the other drop tower I’ve been on, the Hershey Drop Tower, was 189 feet, it was so much faster. The Fearfall doesn't accelerate to the top and fall all the way to the bottom like I would have liked it to, and it was quite disappointing.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (honorable mention)
While I have not personally been on this ride, so I will not give an opinion or storyline, everyone I know who went on it loved it, so I felt it important to mention. The line was a virtual line with no fast pass, and it was too full to accept any members every time I tried, making it physically impossible to ride though.
Volcano Bay
Volcano Bay is the newest big addition to Universal, and is an entire Hawaii themed resort in itself. It features many waterslides, too many to rank, and an overall amazing atmosphere. That said, here are some must haves to do while in Volcano Bay.

Tip #1: Go in the wavepool!
Volcano bay has an interesting and well-designed pool. It is essentially a manmade bay, the deepest section nearest to the volcano. Every couple of minutes, drums begin playing at the volcano. Over a minute or two, they get louder and louder, before climaxing with a bell ring. This signifies the wave pool is turning on. The bay turns into giant waves and lasts a few minutes, and is so much fun.

Tip #2: Ride a water slide with someone who screams easily.
I went with my cousin, Gabrielle, who’s an adult, but screams so much (for example she was basically a fire truck on Revenge of the Mummy). Every time we went up on the walls of the waterslide of the green 5-seater, she screamed her head off and it was just a blast watching her go crazy.
Tip #3: Ride the water coaster!
At volcano bay, there’s a water coaster, which is essentially a raft that acts like a rollercoaster. It seats 4 people in a row, and it travels on a thin water slide track. It passes over pads which speed it up to go up hills and go down drops, and it gets a bit of airtime on the last drop. The mist and traveling under the volcano is an amazing effect though and one that can’t be missed.
Tip #4: Ride the Punga Races with your family or friends!
The Punga Races was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. Essentially, there are 4 different colored slides, all with the same approximate length but different paths. You and up to 3 others line up at the start, and on the employee’s go, you all push off down into the tunnel (and try not to hit your head like me). The best part is that you could feel like you’re doing amazing and actually be in last because you don’t know how you did until you stand up at the bottom. We did it so many times and there wasn’t much foot traffic to the point where the employees at the bottom started taking bets on us. All around, it was a super fun time.
Tip #5: Use a Tapu Tapu
The Tapu Tapu is the technological wristband that you receive at the entrance to the park. Whenever you ride rides, before getting on line, at the entrance, hold your Tapu Tapu next to the blue and green colored circle. It will make a beeping noise, signifying that it has scanned. What it does is monitor wait times, as well as keep photos taken on rides. Whenever you leave the park and hand in your Tapu Tapu, it will display all the pictures taken of you riding all the rides as long as you scanned before riding them.

To wrap it all up…
And there you have it! A fairly brief overview of the highlights of Universal Studios Orlando from the point of view of an adrenaline junkie like me. I hope you enjoyed this review, whether or not you plan on going to Universal, but hopefully now you’ll be more inclined to give it a visit. Thanks for reading!

by Nick Andreski

These People are:

• Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Tom Holland)

• Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Tobey Maguire)

• Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Andrew Garfield)

• Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

• Spider-Ham (Peter Porker)

• Ghost-Spider or Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacey)

• Spider-Man Noir (Peter Parker)

• Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara)

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

(Tom Holland)

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker exists in the mainstream Marvel Universe Earth-616. This Spider-Man worked with the Avengers and went toe to toe with Captain America, The Falcon, Bucky Barnes, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and the Scarlet Witch. He worked closely with Iron Man and he even got his own suit - the Iron Spider suit. Peter worked with Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy against Thanos and lost to him but had a redemption later. Peter got close with Doctor Strange and he trusted Strange to pull a dangerous spell that could change his life forever. Strange had to erase everybody's memory of Peter Parker, not Spider-Man, making everyone in the universe forget him.

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

(Tobey Maguire)

Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man exists in a universe where there are no heroes except Spider-Man. Peter fights Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, and even Venom. Goblin, Ock, and Venom die while fighting Peter. Goblin impales himself while Ock blows his facility into water and ends up drowning. Venom was killed from sound waves which are deadly to the symbiote. Peter keeps Sandman alive realizing he is a broken man and leaves him after his turn to the good. Peter loses his best friend, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn’s son. Harry tried to become the next Green Goblin but he fell right down his fathers path. His own glider impaled him as he saved Peter.

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

(Andrew Garfield)

Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker was also in a universe where Spider-Man is the only hero. He went through much pain with not being able to save Gwen Stacey. He fought Lizard, Electro, and Rhino. This Spider-Man had a rough time fighting but held his line. This Spider-Man lost Gwen and Gwen’s father. Andrew made his comeback in No Way Home along with Tobey and they fought villains from the multiverse. Hopefully, Andrew returns again for a third movie.

Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

(Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)

Miles is a young man who witnessed his universe's Peter Parker die. Shortly after, Kingpin brought other Spider-People to Miles’ universe. Miles figured out that his uncle worked for the Kingpin. He was traumatized and tried to save his uncle from Kingpin. Going along with the basic Spider-Man backstory, Miles’ uncle dies. After his uncle’s death, Miles was determined to stop Kingpin. The other Spider-People didn’t want Miles to help him since he was so inexperienced. Miles proved them wrong by sending them back to their universes and defeating Kingpin. Miles is now the Spider-Man of his universe.

Spider-Ham (Peter Porker)

Peter Porker is from an animated universe where people are animals. He is a photographer for the Daily Bugle. He appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse fighting with other Spider-People. He is from a universe where he fights with Captain-AmeriCat, Hulk-Bunny, and Goose Rider (versions of Captain America, Hulk, and Ghost Rider). His entire universe is just like Earth-616 except that they are all animals. Not much is known about him but he will be returning in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Ghost Spider or Spider-Gwen

(Gwen Stacey)

Gwen Stacey is the lover of Peter Parker in many universes. Gwen from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had her best friend, Peter Parker, dead. She gave up finding friends after Peter died and became somewhat depressed. She has the usual powers of a Spider-Person and has the same villains. She had a bit of a different storyline but ended up down the same line as the others. She will also be coming back in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

Spider-Man Noir (Peter Parker)

Spider-Man Noir is from a black and white universe in the year 1933. He is a much darker and violenter version of Spider-Man. He mostly uses guns and hand-to-hand fighting. He also went down the same path as all of the other Spider-People. He went on to fight other villains in his universe’s underworld. He also fought to avenge his Uncle Ben, who was murdered by Osborn’s goons. He worked with his mentor's ex-lover, Ben Urich, Black Cat. He fought Miles’ villains and will most likely return in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)

In 2099, the Avengers died and other heros raised after them. He tried recreating the abilities of the original Spider-Man. He had an accident with the recreation and then got the powers himself. He goes around Nueva York (a renamed NYC) and people think he is the legendary Spider-Man. He fights for ordinary people while big crime organizations try to kill him. He eventually meets Peter Parker from 100+ years earlier and they fight a Hobgoblin from the year 2211. He keeps the role of Spider-Man and fights for the people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Ham

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_2099

by Braeden Vetro & Matthew Costello

These ratings will be unbiased and will be based off of balance, enjoyment, players, and game in general

Braeden: Clash Royale is a This game known as clash royale has been out since March 2016 there are always updates this game and they are useful and meaningful. This includes card boosts, adding cards and spells or changing the seasons. People of all ages can play this game it is very diverse for all ages because 7 year olds can play and be good but so can 70 year olds. This is because it is mostly a strategy game and having good strategies with certain decks can help you win. Clash Royale is a tower rush video game which pits players in games featuring two or four players (1v1 or 2v2) in which the objective is to destroy the most opposing towers, with the destruction of the "King's Tower" being an instantaneous win. On the other hand if you also have better cards than everyone you will probably win which is why this game has certain arenas and you unlock certain cards in there. You start at the bottom and climb up until you reach the top. This is clash royale and is overall a good game, I give it a 9.3/10.

Matt: Clash Royale, the game that had its’ ups and downs, overpowered and underpowered cards. If you don’t know what Clash Royale is, it is a card game on your phone with multiple characters and different strategies with tons of updates and things pretty often. I say cards, but not cards like the Queen of Hearts. However, any good game has its pros and cons, just like Clash. Clash has many cons, overpowered cards, broken strategies, horrible updates, and many more stuff. An example of overpowered cards was in 2016, and the card was Royal Giant. Ask anyone around the time and it was stupidly good. Currently, many cards are still overpowered, such as miner, ebarbs, egiant, and Archer Queen. The game has many good things as well, such as many arenas that look different and have new cards you unlock. There are also many strategies and synergies between the cards. A synergy is how well cards work with each other. Some strategies have specific decks. Some of the decks are 3.0 Xbow, 2.6 Hog, Logbait, and Lumberloon freeze. One major con is that the game is highly pay to win. Pay to Win means you have to pay money to be good at the game. In the game you can upgrade cards so they are stronger, however you can pay money to upgrade them quicker, and higher cards is an unfair advantage. As a person who plays the game, maybe too much, it is so frustrating going against Level 13 cards when you only have level 9,10, and 11’s. The Clash community is also very toxic. Some cards are super good and take “no skill”. People in the community will clown you for using certain cards/card combos by calling them interesting names. If you know, you know. However, the games’ frequent updates make up for the cons, almost. There are party modes that allow you to play the game, but without the competitiveness. Some of the party modes have some twists on the game. For example, 2v2, allows you to play with a friend. There are so many more aspects of the game that I can’t talk about such as clans, clan war, trading, tournaments, itemshop, wildcards, emotes, and pass royale. My final review on the game is an 8.2 out of 10. Not perfect, many, many flaws, but still a good game.

by Max Burns

What is Forza Horizon 5

On November 5th 2021, Forza Horizon 5 was introduced to the public. Forza Horizon 5 took over 6 months to develop. Developed by Playground games and Turn 10 Studios, the game averages around 1 Million active players everyday. The game takes place in Mexico and the player can drive exotic cars around. The game also has a storyline and missions that the player can complete to continue the story.

Starter Cars

Forza Horizon 5 starts you off with 3 cars. Some say the starter cars are abit to valuable to be starter cars. The 3 starter cars are: Chevrolet C8, Corvette Stingray Coupe 2020, Ford Bronco 2021, and Toyota GR Supra 2020. The starter cars can be controversial between some people. Some think the cars are too good for starter cars. Others think it’s a fine start for the game.

The Story

The Story of Forza Horizon 5 took me around a week although if you were to play the game all the way through in 1 day it would take 19 ½ hours. The story is a pleasure to play and the game has you switch between many different missions and cars throughout the game. With a rating of 4.5 stars and 92% of the people enjoying the game, It has sold over 10 MILLION copies.

Problems With the Game

Forza Horizon 5 is a great game, but, it comes with a lot of issues. The game has a lot of problems with online gameplay. Players are frequently disconnecting from the online gamemode, having trouble with online matchmaking, and many different crashes. The colorblind mode also doesn’t help. Things such as the map not changing its color at all when the colorblind mode is enabled and the colors not matching well.

The Games Graphics

Forza Horizon 5 was rated the game with the best graphics of 2021. Although the graphics are amazing. Players will need a good high end computer and graphics card to be abe to run the game. The game also takes up a lot of space on the computer. It takes up around 100 GB.

Overall Review

Overall, Forza Horizon 5 is a great game to buy. With a price of $60, The game is contains a lot of entertainment. With the beautiful graphics and ambients, the story of the game, and the racing gameplay of the game, It is totally worth it.

by John Brzezinski

On Nov 19, 2021, Pokémon fans were happy to hear about their beloved Sinnoh remakes finally being released. And although it’s been out for a while now, is it worth it? I will be going over some of the features and things in the game and give you an idea if you should get it.

The Grand Underground: If you did not know the new games added the Grand Underground where you can make a secret base, mine for rare items, and even catch some rare Pokémon like munchlax who was really hard to find in the original Diamond and Pearl. You can unlock the Grand Underground when talking to an old man inside of Eterna City. Inside of the grand underground you can find statues and decorate your base and the statues can even control the Pokémon that spawn in the grand underground!

Catching Giratina: For Newbies of the series Giratina acts as the third member for the duo of Dialga and Palkia. He would have had to appear in the game, and he does but, how does one get it? Here is the rundown:

STEP 1: Make sure Cynthia is defeated and you have the national dex.

STEP 2,: Head to spring path which is east of route 214 which is unlocked after Cynthia is defeated

STEP 3: Eventually you will reach a scalable wall, once it is climbed head into the cave around where you climbed

STEP 4: Once you are inside of Turnback Cave, use defog to make your vision clear,

STEP 5: Search for 3 pillars while traversing the rooms without exceeding 30 rooms.

STEP 6: After finding the 3rd pillar, Giratina will be in the next room. Encounter him and boom you have Giratina!

Bugs/Glitches

Although Brilliant Diamond and shining pearl are great games, they do have a lot of glitches that could be game breaking. If you stay up to date with the Pokémon community, I'm sure you have heard of the Shaymin glitch. Shaymin is a mythical so it is tempting to do this glitch but several people within the community have reported their games getting corrupted after completing the Shaymin glitch. However the majority of the community have come out unscaved from doing this glitch, I don’t recommend doing it.

Style

The style of BDSP is very high quality for a switch game, however a lot of the community was complaining about the chibi style, or how different the battle style was from the overworld style. Even though the community disagrees with some people, saying that the style is very different and does not fit in well with the other games. However they did their best and the graphics are amazing with the sprites looking great and newer than ever.

Overall the games are very well made and fun to play, however there are things that you might not like, such as the style, the Pokémon you can find on a route/early game, the only gen 1-4 national dex, but even though the community’s opinions are mixed about this game, I still recommend to play it. It is worth it and is a very fun game to play.

Source, Seribi.net, Bulbipedia, Pokémon Database

by John Brzezinski

Eddsworld is a youtube series created by Edd Gould (1988-2012), It features 4 friends whose names are, Tom, Matt, Tord, and Edd. They go on adventures with each other, or as they like to call them “Eddventures”, an Eddventure can go from defending themselves from Zombies, Traversing the vacuum of space, or even looking for treasure! I will be going over the characters and some reasons why I think you should watch Eddsworld.

Characters

EDD, (Green Hoodie)

Edd would definitely be considered the leader of the bunch, he loves cola, and is apparently very good at drawing. Edd also loves to try and make a pun, however his puns are relatively weak and they are called “Idiotic” By his friend tom. Edd also has a cat called Ringo.

MATT, (Purple hoodie + Green Overcoat)

Matt’s favorite object would definitely be a mirror, Nobody likes him as much as himself. He also is not the sharpest tool in the shed, as he doesn't understand a lot of the things he is told. He also has a formidable chin, but he doesn't know that word because he has the intelligence of a kitchen shelf.

TOM, (Blue Hoodie)

Tom would probably be the smartest of the group, due to the fact that Tom actually has the ability of common sense which the others lack. Although he is probably the smartest in the area of sense, he is not the nicest person, in fact he is pretty rude. He is also very confusing, infact Edd says “One thing for certain, Tom doesn't make sense, One half is gibberish and the other half is ingoobelyblench.”

Tord, (Red Hoodie)

Unfortunately Tord left after episode 19 and came back in the Legacy Finale, but he is still a character so I will go over him. Tord is from Norway, he has a very violent nature so it’s basically not a good idea to make fun of him. Although Tord seems like he would be a nice person (Sorta) He cannot be trusted. In Fact Tord and his friends, Paul and Patyrck are apparently wanted for a reward. So that got fans thinking about what Tord was doing after he left. Tord has actually appeared many times while he wasn't actually on the show.

Voice Actors

One thing I find interesting about Eddsworld is that the voice actors of the characters are actually voiced by their real life counterparts, here they are

Pre-Legacy

Edd- Edward Gould

Tom- Thomas Ridgewell (Most well known as Tomska)

Tord- Tord Larsson

Matt- Matthew Hargreaves

Is it appropriate?

One thing that Eddsworld fans credit the show for is its lack of swearing and inappropriate stuff. However there is the occasional Blood or Gun usage but other than that the show is appropriate for the younger ages. Even though Tord Larsson and Tomska are known for creating animations with swearing and inappropriate language, their characters inside of Eddsworld are not known for swearing. Although Tord is known for a violent nature.

Where did Tord go?

For those that do watch eddsworld already would know that Tord left early in the show. There are reasons why he was forced to leave, but most fans have speculated that he fled to Norway to be part of the “Red army”. We are not sure what he did between that time but he has made many cameos, He was on the army plane in “The Snogre” He also appeared in “Fun Dead” fighting the zombies.

Summary

Eddsworld is a great and funny show, I highly recommend watching it. It has a handful of funny scenes, or every time Tom says “Holy trombones on a pogo-stick”. Sometimes even when it seems like the episode is going nowhere, there is always a plot of some sort and all the episodes are linked to each other in some way, shape, or form.

by Rylie Duenges

“A box jellyfish has a body that looks like a box with lots of tentacles covered in venom-filled stingers. Box jellyfish live in warm waters all over the world, but the most dangerous kinds are found near the coasts of northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.” The Box jellyfish or the Cubozoa are carnivores.The Box Jellyfish live up to one year in the wild. When they are together they are called fluther, smack.The box jellyfish is 10’10 (10 feet long 10 inches across).The box jellyfish are up to 4.4 pounds. The box jellyfish is considered to be one of the deadliest venom in the world.The venom contains toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. “It is so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact”.The box jellyfish grows up to 15 tentacles growing from each corner of the bell and can reach 10 feet in length. Each tentacle has about 5,000 stinging cells, which are triggered not by touch but by the presence of a chemical on the outer layer of its prey.”Box jellies, also called sea wasps and marine stingers, live primarily in coastal waters off Northern Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are pale blue and transparent in color and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell”. “Box jellies are highly advanced among jellyfish. They have developed the ability to move rather than just drift, jetting at up to four knots through the water. They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea, although without a central nervous system, scientists aren’t sure how they process what they see.”

by Michael Cunnane

As we approach the 175th Anniversary of the Irish Famine, also known as An Gorta Mór in Irish, I would like to reflect on the impact of the Irish Famine on Ireland and my Irish ancestors that were affected by the Famine. Many of our ancestors came from Ireland or many other places impacted by natural disasters, genocide, tyranny, and poverty. However, the Famine in Ireland directly impacted not only my ancestors, but the history of Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Australia and it serves as a model for what not to do during a period of major starvation. We will be talking about what happened, who was affected, who made the situation worse or in some cases, responsible, and what the fallout and impact of the famine was.

Black Potatoes

Weather in Ireland is prone to sudden change, but the weather in the summer of 1845 in Ireland was very unpredictable. The early days in July were scorching hot, but after several days, the weather was gloomy, damp, and cold. For the first three weeks of August, every day resulted in heavy rainfall. The changeable weather made many people uneasy. Many of the poor laborers and farmers that had some degree of literacy had learned from the Dublin Evening Post that the potato crop had “failed extensively in the United States, a great extent in Flanders (Belgium) and France, and an appreciable amount in England”, and many of the ones that had no literacy skills had learnt that something was attacking the potato crop in many European countries, including France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. In fact, by July many Irish farmers had heard of reports of the potato crop and its failure in Southern England. In 1845, much of the land of Ireland that the farmers rented were part of large estates owned by Anglo-Irish (Half-English, Half-Irish) landlords, many of whom lived on large manors as part of the landed gentry. Some others lived with their ill-gotten wealth in England itself, living a lavish lifestyle and making profits off the backs of their destitute and poverty-stricken Irish tenants. Most Irish people worked as farmers or laborers and were extremely poor, living off their land in small, thatched windowless houses. Many of them could not afford rent. To make matters worse, the British government detested the so-called “laziness” of the Irish working class and practiced the policy of laissez-faire, and to make the option of receiving government assistance as dreadful as possible, the British government instituted poorhouses with awful working conditions. Because of these factors, the Irish population was heavily dependent on the potato. The population had been rapidly expanding due to many factors, but as the population grew, the popularity of the potato did as well. In most instances, eating a single food is extremely unhealthy, but the potato has almost all essential nutrients and vitamins, and the ones it did not have could be replaced by grain or oats. The potato was so nutritious that before the famine, the average Irishman was taller than his English counterpart. However, soon the potato blight hit Ireland, and soon a terrible stench would fill the air. When they found out where it was coming from, it was too late. All of the potato harvest was rotten, along with the extra potatoes stored for famines.

1845-1848

During the initial years of the famine, Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, was the Prime Minister of Britain. Peel, who was involved in a ruthless political debate over tax laws known as the Corn Laws. After the famine struck Ireland, Peel violated the Corn Laws by buying “Indian Meal”, which was hardened corn from the United States to help alleviate the initial stage of the famine in Ireland. When it came, the authorities did not mash it properly, and so the kernels became almost impossible to eat, giving them the nickname “Peel’s Brimstone.” However, the hungry masses of Ireland had nothing else to eat, and they took the corn in droves. However, once the Corn Laws were repealed, Peel was forced to resign due to the political scandal surrounding the Corn Laws. Peel’s successor, Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, was committed to the policy of laissez-faire, and him and his appointee to the Relief Council for Ireland, Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, were strongly influenced by the idea that the Irish poor were “inherently lazy and looking for handouts.” Lord Trevelyan himself thought that the famine was sent to “teach the Irish a lesson ; to stop being so reliant on the potato crop.” The British government also continued to export grain, barley, oat, and other types of meal during the famine from Ireland. Many in Ireland thought that England was trying to reduce the Irish population on purpose. The British government then instituted the Relief Works Act, which was a “solution to the famine and the supposed adversin to work that the Irish had.” Many people worked for the Relief Works Project, but they didn’t properly feed their employees, and they were “overworked to the point of looking like skeletons in human skin”, according to many observers.The inadequate response to the problem caused excess deaths and the Irish population to half from increased immigration, and deaths from starvation and disease. The only saving grace the British government did was build soup kitchens to serve soup daily to starving populations. Apparently many Irish people were so famished that some stuck their hands in the boiling hot cauldrons. And even this was only temporary, aas Lord Trevelyan closed the soup kitchens early to save money. Disease was also widespread, and according to many local coroner’s offices, for every person that died of starvation, 10 died of disease. Many people couldn’t even afford a coffin for a semi-decent burial, and according to tradition, being buried without a coffin is the ultimate sign of poverty. This made life in Ireland absolutely miserable and horrible in just about every way if you weren’t rich, English, or Protestant. Things got so desperate that an attempted rebellion against the British government commenced in 1848, and failed miserably. Most of its leaders were given penal transportation to Australia.

Evictions and Immigration

During the famine, many landlords began to lose money due to the dire straits their tenants were in. One example of this is that of the Marquis of Landstone, who owned a large estate in County Kerry. When his estate agent told him that he was losing significant amounts of money, and that he would have to spend more due to the British government putting famine aid relief on the shoulders of the landlords, he decided to forcibly immigrate them instead of evicting them, which is what most landlords did to their tenants. Some landlords even made the tenants watch as their houses were burnt down. This new wave of evictions, and the still evident problem of the famine, caused a massive new wave of Irish immigration, primarily to the United States, Canada, and Australia. This new wave of immigration strongly influenced all countries involved. Most of the immigrants were not properly protected from overcrowding and disease, particularly on the ships going to Canada, and in the Canadian immigration stations. In the United States, Irishman influenced the labor movement by advocating for better wages and stronger protections, and these would be fulfilled years later, after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York. Irish people also influenced education, politics, and the ethnic and racial makeup of the US for years to come. In Australia, many of the Irish immigrants were there from penal transportation, even for something as petty as stealing grain. They too, would also influence Australia as a whole. This increased wave of immigration drastically decreased Ireland's long term population. In fact, nearly 1.5 million Irish people immigrated to the United States during the Famine years. Ireland also developed an even more bitter resentment towards Britain which would accumulate in the Easter Rising, another failed rebellion in 1916, although the courage of the leaders would result in the Irish War of Independence and total separation from Britain in 1936.

Conclusion

The Irish Famine is one of the most impactful events in United States history. It resulted in nearly 40 million people with Irish or partial-Irish ancestry, Irish influence and impact in every major faucet in society, two Irish Presidents, the eventual success of the Labor rights movement in the US, and much more. It led to Ireland gaining independence through force, and the creation of an independent Ireland. The Irish Famine was also the last major famine in the Western world, and the mismanagement of the famine by Britain and the indifference of British officials prolonged the suffering of the people of Ireland, and, in my opinion, could be even classified as genocide before the idea of genocide was a concept.

References

The Graves are Walking by John Kelly

Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell

The Great Irish Famine by Liz Sonneborrn

by Joseph Rut-Wheeler

Here are some spring poems, I made them myself, I hope you like them.

Spring

Spring, there are mean bees, and nice flowers.

I tune out the bad and and take in the good.

Spring, there are allergies and beautiful sites.

I tune out the bad and take in the good.

To like spring just tune out the bad and take in the good.

Flowers

Flowers, a beautiful thing.

Flowers, so many in the spring.

Flowers, they smell nice.

Flowers, some taste good with rice.

I like flowers.

Poetry

I like poetry for several reasons.

One is because you can write

about anything.

Another reason is because it expresses

your creativity and because it can but does not need to rhyme.

Confusion

Some things confuse me.

Like, why are slim and fat chance

the same thing?

That confuses me.

Or why is it the same thing when an alarm turns on or goes off?

That confuses me.

Or why is it the same thing when a house burns down or up?

That confuses me.

In life, a lot of things confuse me.

by Gretchen Schweppe

This cake is basically banana bread but with cream cheese frosting! It tastes really good and I would recommend trying it.

Ingredients you will need

• Pineapple

-You can use fresh pineapple but canned pineapples work just as fine. If you are using canned pineapple make sure that it is drained before you bake with it.

• Over ripe bananas

- You don't want to use really ripe black bananas you would get better results with a banana with just some brown spots on it

• All purpose flour

• Eggs

• Cinnamon

• Nutmeg

• Salt

• Granulated sugar

• Brown sugar

• Powdered sugar

• Vegetable oil

- canola oil works just as well

• Vanilla extract

• Butter

• Pecans

- Toasted pecans will add more flavor, Walnuts will work to

• Cream cheese

• Shredded coconut

- Sweetened or unsweetened would work

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees before you start to make the cake so when you are finished you can put the cake batter in right away.

Steps to making the cake

1. Whisk together pineapple with 1/4 cup flour.

2. Whisk remaining flour, baking soda, spices and salt.

3. Whip white and brown sugar with eggs until pale and fluffy, mix in oil and vanilla.

4. Fold in half of the flour mixture, then mashed banana, then remaining flour mixture. Finish by folding in pineapple and pecans.

5. Pour into cake pans, bake until set, about 35 minutes.

6. Pour into cake pans, bake until fully cooked, about 35 minutes.

7. Let cool in pans about 10 minutes,

8. Prepare frosting and spread over cooled cake. Spread coconut along outside of cake, decorate top with pecans.

Making the cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients

• 16 ounces of softened cream cheese

• 1 cup of unsalted butter

• 2 pounds of confectioners sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to make the frosting

• combine 16 ounces of cream cheese and 1 cup of butter in a mixing

• Add 2 pounds of confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed

• Turn the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy

• Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Then frost your cake. After the cake is frosted, sprinkle the pecans on top of it and enjoy!

by Michael Mullooly

Ingredients (Yield of 16 squares):

• 16oz tube of chocolate chip cookie dough OR 16oz of homemade chocolate chip cookie dough

• 16 Oreo cookies

• ½ of 18.3oz Betty Crocker brownie box batter (prepared as box instructions specify)

Materials:

• 9-inch square pan

• Oven mitt

• Toothpick

• Cake slicing utensil of your choice

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F

2. Press the cookie dough in an even layer on the bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) square baking dish.

3. Place the Oreos in an even layer on top of the cookie dough.

4. Pour the brownie batter on top, spreading it evenly over the cookies.

5. Bake for 45-50 minutes

6. After removing the pan from the oven, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready to cool and eat. If it comes out with moist batter, put the pan back in the oven for another 3-6 minutes.

1. Mrs. Mare’s Lie: I love rollercoasters and travel to different amusement parks every summer just for the rollercoasters.
2. Mrs. Villajos’ Lie: I have a fairly successful Etsy shop
3. Ms. Kligman’s Lie : I speak 5 languages
4. Mrs. Christophorou's lie: I am from Long Island.
5. Mrs. Tucker's lie: I got married in Paris, at the Eiffel Tower.