Well we made it! This year began under strict COVID protocols and uncertainty. As we end the year we are seemingly back to a normal time that we remember in 2019. Whether you are heading far away on vacation or doing a stay-cation, the Wingspan staff wish you a very happy, safe, relaxing, and fun summer vacation. See you all in late August!

By Lucas LeGrand

Have you ever wondered why we take a day off at the end of May? Well, that day is called memorial day. You will learn more about memorial day in this article, but now, enjoy today's article!

Memorial is a federal holiday made by the U.S. government. What is a federal holiday? It is an important day where in the past, a special event happened to the U.S. or the whole world. Anyway, let’s talk a little bit more about Memorial day. Memorial day is about how we remember the soldiers who died protecting this country. The way we celebrate it is usually by having a cookout, or seeing family and friends, or if you're really tired, sleeping the whole day. But did you know that those traditions started in the late 1800s?

The year is 1865, and the civil war is at its final battle. There had been constant fighting since 1861, all around the whole country. The Battle of Appomattox Court House lasted approximately a few hours, but that was all. The Union won, and the war was over. Over 600,000 troops died during the war, and the population was only around 30 million. That is a lot of people to die during that time. So to remember them, people decorated their graves to remember them, and the gesture spread across the whole country. Memorial day was officially a national holiday in 1971, during the Vietnam War, and ever since 1865, we have celebrated the heroes who died to make this country what it is today.

God bless America.

Well there you have it. Now we know why we celebrate memorial day, and why it is so important to remember soldiers who helped this country during hard and difficult times. I hoped you enjoyed what I wrote here and wanted to say thank you for reading, and happy Memorial Day.

On Friday, June 10 Overlook students and staff were dazzled by various elements of the Oakmont Marching Spartans, Color Guard, Bands, and Chorus. The 45 minute production showcased their talents and was meant to excite middle school students to join and become part of the action.

The Frozen Jr. musical exceeded the high expectations over the weekend of May 13th. Students of all grades showcased their talents on stage and did not disappoint. If you did not get involved this year, the next musical is right around the corner!

Eighth grade graduation is scheduled for the evening of June 16th at the Oakmont Football Field. Though these students are heading off to high school in a few months, their impact will remain here at Overlook. We thank the many students who left a positive impression on the students and staff. Best of luck at Oakmont, Monty Tech, or elsewhere!

Students were honored by staff and parents for their academic excellence over their three years at Overlook Middle School on June 1. We are very proud of these HIGHEST SOARING EAGLES!

The honored students were:

Andersen, Theodore

Barriere, Kevin

Bouchard, Reagan

Buszkiewicz, Amanda

Callahan, Chase

Carbonneau, Keilana

Christ, Eli

Corso, Caroline

Demar, Chloe

Dunn, Samuel

Duval, Hannah

Feeley, Julia

Fortier, Noah

Gastonguay, Alisha

Gaudet, Jason

Gaudet-Oxford, River

Groncki, Mikaela

Haley, Aidan

Hall, Cecilia

Hubbard, Maggie

Huguenin, Hazel

Jaillet, Jack

Jannoni, Bella

Kender, Samantha

Landry, Cara

Nolan Leclair

LeGrand, Joshua

Lizotte, Emma

Manuel, McKenzie

Martioski, Layton

Michalowski, Anne

Puczynski, Olivia

Rasmussen, Kaeli

Renda, Kaitlyn

Robb, Natalie

Rollo, Gavin

Santoro-Ruiz, Aazaria

Scerbo, Cameron

Stowell, Savannah

Suarez, Isabella

Tabor, Percy

Theriault, Gabrielle

Vance, Megan

Webb, Veronica

By Keira Dodd

May and June are sweet, short months. It has warm weather and is closer to the end of the year. And once again I have some national days and birthdays to spice up your end of the school year.

May Holidays: June Holidays

Cinco De Mayo Fathers Day

National teachers Day Juneteenth

Victorian Day Paul Bunyon Day

Mothers Day National Rose Month

Memorial Day National Dairy Month

National Physical Fitness and Sport Month National Ice Tea Month

Asian American Heritage Month National Candy Month

Skin Cancer Awareness Month

National Bike Month

Birthstone: Emerald Birthstone: Pearl

Flower: Lily Flower: Rose

Zodiac : Taurus + Gemini Zodiac: Gemini + Cancer

May Days in History: Planet Pluto is officially named, Cheerios are first introduced (May 1) First modern sighting of possible Loch Ness Monster is reported (May 2)

Christopher Columbus first spots Jamaica (May 3)

First Grammys Award is Announced (May 4), Eiffel Tower officially opened to public, Roger Bannister first to run a mile under 4 mins, Lasts episode of TV show Friends airs (May 6) National Teacher Appreciation Day, Germany surrenders WW2, Apple iMac is released (May7) Coca-Cola invented (May 8) Lewis and Clark start their famous expedition (May 14)

First appearance of Mickey and Minnie Mouse (May 15)

The five cents, nickel is introduced (May 16)

Mount St. Helens volcano erupts in Washington (May 18)

Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas (May 20)

Amelia Earhart first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo (May 21)

Strongest earthquake recorded in Chile (9.5), First episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood (May 22),

Joan of Arc is captured by Duke of Burgundy, The poem Mary had a Little Lamb is first published (May 24)

Star Wars is released, John F Kennedy states that the US put a man on the moon (May 25), Cartoon the Three Little Pigs is released by Disney (May 27)

Golden Gate Bridge is opened in San Francisco (May 28)

Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington DC (May 30)

June Days in History:

Helen Keller Dies (June 1)

Derby Horse Race held for first time (June 2)

YMCA is founded (June 6)

Donald Duck makes his first appearance (June 9)

First Public Zoo opens in Paris (June 10)

Girl Scouts Founded (June 12)

Rubber Band was invented (June 17)

Famous Birthdays:

The Rock Dwayne Jonson May 2

Chris Browns May 5

George Clooney May 6

Billy Joel May 9

John Wilks Booth May 10

Caroline Zhang May 20

Queen Victoria May 24

Mike Myers May 25

John F Kennedy May 29

Anika D May 30

Marilyn Monroe June 1

Martha Washington June 2

Johnny Depp June 9

By Kaelyn Hildreth

Breaking News: this is the last recipe of this year! 😰 But, let’s finish off strong! So this time, we have 2 recipes for you! YAY!

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Mini Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

8 tablespoon pizza sauce

2 mini-bagels

2 cup cheese of your choice

1 cup toppings of your choice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. (Make sure to get an adult to watch you, I’m not responsible for any burns :) Cut each mini-bagel in half. Place each side face-up on a lined baking sheet. Broil the bagels for a few minutes until the tops are lightly toasted.

2. Spread a small amount of pizza sauce on top of each bagel and sprinkle cheese and toppings on top.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted.

4. Enjoy!

Recipe from spoonuniversity.com

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Shakes:

Ingredients:

4 cups Ice Cream

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

(for a chocolate shake, just add chocolate syrup.)

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend! Enjoy!

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That's all… :c

I’ll see you next year!

Byeeee

P.S. I hope you enjoy it!

By Joshua LeGrand

Hello, and welcome to the final issue of Our Wacky World of the 2021-22 school year. This is going to be a special issue, and here’s why: in honor of summer vacation, I found two of the strangest destinations around the world in the hopes that you may consider visiting them in the future. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Australia, the Land Down Under, home to the Great Barrier Reef, a wide assortment of wildlife, the native Aboriginals- and a very pink lake? Yes, you read that right, a pink lake. Lake Hillier can be found on the largest island of the Recherche Archipelago, which is controlled by the Australian state of Western Australia. It was discovered in 1802 by Matthew Flinders, who was a cartographer and a navigator. Flinders took some samples from the lake and wrote about it in his journal. Lake Hillier is located right by the ocean, separated only by a small strip of sand. It is quite a small lake, but its extraordinary hue will leave an impact on you. Though the cause of Lake Hillier’s pink coloration is still somewhat a mystery, most scientists believe it is caused by the presence of a certain kind of micro algae. No matter what the cause may be, though, this lake is still a sight to behold.

This next location takes us to the city of Pamukkale, Turkey. This city, which was made a UNESCO Heritage Site, is home to the ruins of the Ancient City of Hierapolis. Now, although ancient ruins are pretty cool, those aren’t the strangest thing about Pamukkale. The city is home to stunning thermal pools, filled with vibrant blue water and surrounded by travertine terraces. These pools are jaw-dropping, and a sight to behold. The pools received TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award in 2021, and was named the Top Attraction in Pamukkale by the same website. These pools were formed by the water falling down the terraces from natural springs. It’s no surprise that these lakes receive so much attention from around the world!

That’s all for the final edition of Our Wacky World. I would like to give a big thank you and shout out to everyone who has read Our Wacky World for the past nine months. Thank you for reading, and have a great summer!

Marko Peterson

Mr. Hylan

Role in the School: Paraprofessional

Dream Job as a Child: Forest Ranger

Motivation for Working: “I like working with kids.”

Favorite Color: Sky Blue

Mrs. Dolan

Role in the School: Main Office Secretary

Dream Job as a Child: Interpreter

Motivation for Working: “I want to brighten both staff and student’s days.”

Favorite Color: Green

Mrs. Taylor

Role in the School: School Nurse

Dream Job as a Child: Math Teacher

Motivation for Working: “I want to keep a positive environment in the school.”

Favorite Color: Green

Marko Peterson

Dot was a salamander, named after the dark freckles on her orange scales. She lived behind the camper of a tall woman with moles all over her face, and a short man with red hair, and a bushy red beard.

On the campground in New Hampshire, Dot was well-known. This was because she was often seen at the playground where the children constantly were in the daytime. Campers even recall the one time she fell in the salt-water pool, by accident, of course.

Today she was planning on visiting the tent which resided by the Connecticut River. It was a sunny day, but by the river it was misty, the grass was moistened by dewdrops.

There was a dock that floated on the river, connected to the bay. Every time she decided to spend some time there, she had to avoid the gaping cracks, and the large, vicious spiders.

She’d never known of a spider which could cling inside the cracks of the dock, so close to falling in the water. Especially since the dock was rickety, every time a human stepped foot on it, they regretted it.

Only one of the spiders she considered her friend, the only one that wouldn’t catch her and drag her into its home.

Dot made her way through the grass, the dewdrops that dripped down onto the soil seemed like cascading waterfalls to her. The soil was so wet, it almost felt like she was swimming.

As she writhed and wriggled through the soil that was quickly turning to mud, a spider watched her. Its fuzz stood up on its long, thin legs. This spider was satisfied with itself, it had easily led the unsuspecting salamander into its trap. Filled with pride, the threatening, towering spider made its way down to the tent Dot was heading for.

Hissing, the spider wove a translucent, thick web in the entrance of the tent. “Make haste,” the spider repeatedly gurgled to itself. It knew Dot wouldn’t suspect a thing. How could she ever?

A Poem by Marko Peterson

It was lurking

And I fought

It moved closer

Crushed every rock

A parasite

With no goodwill

I wanted to live

It was unimpressed

I was astonished

As it began to rain

The vulgarity of it

The repetition of its sneers

The monotony of its voice

It wasn’t sorry

It wasn’t worthwhile

That inquisitive thing

I’ll boldly say

Was just another me