REDefined Press
February 2016
Verizon App Challenge
By: Ben Bixler & Tiffany Delaney
Students all over the United States are participating in the Verizon App challenge. Verizon has created a contest where teams of 5-7 middle or high school students create the concept for a cool app. Anyone in the United States who is attending school can join this creative challenge by Verizon.
You Too Can Enter For Next Year’s Contest!
August 2016, the contest will be available for new participants to enter the Verizon App Challenge. In order for you to enter, you would need to gather a team of 5-7 members and a teacher or employee from the school that you’re attending, and you’ve got yourself enough members to start the challenge. You enter the Verizon App Challenge by going onto their official website where you can sign up to join the challenge.
Our CiMS Team
Our Cimarron team this year is a team of boys. They decided to create an app that would make emergencies at school easier to control and organize. It would help teachers, parents, and students stay calm and go through protocol. It would also make reunification drills easier because parents would know where they are going to pick up their kid.
“This was a group decision. It started off as a basic idea and then everyone in the group added to it,” Jacob Barnum, a member of the Cimarron team said.
They said that the winning team would win a tablet as a prize. They also said that the biggest challenge was making the video because it took the longest.
Previous Winners
One of the most notable winners in the past years was the Bronx Academy of Promise. The team from Bronx Academy of Promise created an app Called QuestMath. QuestMath is a game designed to help students from grades 4-8 with their math skills in a greek mythology themed math game. QuestMath was awarded for the best app entry in the nation for the app challenge. They’re now the stars of Verizon’s ad campaign called ‘The Potential of Us’.
Another notable winner is Westford Academy with their app Tactillium. Tactillium is a chemistry inspired app that is designed to teach younger and less privileged students about chemistry. The app is a simulator that allows any student to make many different chemical reactions and see the results of their unique creation. Tactillium has an amazing 3D system that has a variety of formulas and elements from the periodic table to pick from and mix and was also the team who won the award for best in the nation.
The last winner on this article is Resaca Middle School. They had a friend who was blind, and the app concept they created was dedicated to them. The app concept was made to help blind people navigate through places like schools, where it was always crowded. Many news stories were written about them and they even got to present their app at the White House and meet president Barack Obama.
Blast to the Past
Blast to the Past
Big curly hair, mullets, pounds of bright makeup, and flowy layers of clothing. The students in the 1980’s are nothing like they are today.
In the 1980s kids and teens lives were very different. Schools were smaller old fashioned and very strict. Girls and boys from ages 4-18 went to school. All students had to participate in grades 1st through 6th in Elementary, 7th through 9th in Junior High, and 10th through 12th in High school after they graduated high school they had an option to participate in at least 3 years of college. In the 21st century kids and teens are required to finish all grades 1st through 5th in Elementary 6th through 8th in middle school and 9th through 12th in High School. Most teens now have to complete college to get a good job. College now Consists of at least 4 solid years of good grades to continue.
Schools looked very different in the 1980’s from today. The schools were three story, square, brick buildings with two large double doors in the front, and rows of symmetrical windows.Today our schools have intresting arcitecture, big windows, and a modernized layout with silver plating instead of bricks.
Our school lunch is very different too. We get healthy lunches that have great flavors and treats, while they had one option for lunch that usually wasn't very healthy.Each grade level consists of ten more minutes of homework the higher you go.
Back in the 1980’s the way you learned was very different, rather than interactive projects, you had to take notes as the teacher wrote them on the chalkboard.Now notes consist of google slide presentations and drawings as well as projects instead of tests. Overall homework has stayed about the same. Still the mindset of middle schoolers are the same along with their personalities.
Back then Technology was very different. Contact from school to home or vice-versa was a lot harder. The only kind of cell phone there was was a large phone about the size of your entire face. Mostly people would have to meet face to face to make plans or talk rather than E-mailing, calling, or texting your friends and teachers. In the 1980’s they did not have nice Apple and Microsoft computers all around the school. The schools actually had very minimal technology, They had big boxy computers, and normally people would go to the library and read a book to get information. We are very lucky to be living in the 21st century because now we have new ways to learn as well as new ways to be taught. We have computers, tablets and phones all over the school that give kids a new learning experience.
Students and schools have changed quite a bit over the years, now students have less responsibilities, but they have also grown a lot along with the schools. Overall things 1980’s are nothing like today.Unique Pets
Ryan Corley, a 7th Grader on team Appaloosa owns a large farm where he and his family tend to alpacas.
Ryan has exactly thirty-six alpacas, one llama and five dogs. Ryan goes to his farm every morning and night to tend to them and sometimes even in the afternoon if there is a sick alpaca. All thirty-six alpacas have unique names like; Johnny, Esmerelda and M&M.
The reason that Ryan’s family owns these alpacas is because of their hair fibers. Ryan says “Well, they have a lot fiber.” This fiber is wind, fire, and water proof. The only item they use from the alpacas is the hair fiber. They use the fiber to make scarves, coats and gloves.
There are two breeds of alpacas, the Huacaya Alpaca and the Suri Alpaca. Ryan’s family has both breeds. Ryan’s parents prefer the Suri breed more and Ryan prefers the Huacaya breed more.
The alpacas eat hay and grain and will digest their food through three stomachs. Some of the alpacas will spit after the third digestion.The difference between an alpaca and a llama is that an alpaca is slightly smaller than a llama and has more fiber.
Ryan and his family are the only people that tend to the alpacas. He doesn’t pay anyone else.
In the morning, Ryan feeds the alpacas hay and grain. After school Ryan and his family clean the stables and give them fresh water if needed.
It depends if there is a windy winter they will stay inside, but if there is not a lot of wind they will be outside much more.
Ryan says that he definitely enjoys being around some alpacas rather than others. He explained that sometimes he will feed the alpacas hay or grain and they will spit it. Ryan says that since it comes from their third digestive system it smells horrid.
Foreign Languages
The foreign language classes at Cimarron Middle School are very important to the school but there are more than just foreign languages. Cimarron is a very welcoming school when you come here you really feel welcomed and if you are looking to take French, Chinese (coming August, 2016), or Spanish come to Cimarron. We were only able to interview our french and spanish teachers but we wish we could have talked to all 4 teachers.
One of the Foreign Language classes offered here is Spanish, and one of the classes is taught by Kenzie McManus. We talked with Mrs. McManus and got a clear idea of what it is like in her class. Mrs. McManus chose to be a spanish teacher because she likes working with kids and passing on her spanish knowledge. She likes to think of the best ways her students can learn and be engaged.Although she speaks spanish fluently, she has only been to a spanish speaking country once, and it was Costa Rica. She speaks Spanish fluently because she took it for two years in middle school, four years in high school, and four years in college.
Mrs. McManus describes her students as good, enthusiastic, and hardworking. She isn’t considering any other jobs, because she likes the freedom she has to try new things that will help us kids learn. Even though she speaks both Spanish and English, no one else in her family speaks spanish. When asked what she would change about Cimarron, Mrs. McManus replied, “There’s not really anything I would change. Giving the kids a little more responsibility maybe”. This is an important insight for Cimarron because it shows that the teachers also observe the daily life at Cimarron, and notice things others might not.
We also interviewed the French teacher at Cimarron Middle School, Michael Rinkert. We knew right when Jessica and I started this that we wanted to talk to these two teachers to open our eyes to the different cultures and aspects of the school. Mr Rinkert was looking for a job that had something kind of to do with French because of his two years living there and 19 years learning and teaching it. 19 years ago Mr. Rinket was in middle school like us when he started learning and speaking french. He found this job and snatched out of the water. He is very very easy going on activities most of the time he just lets his students decide and goes with it of course it has to be related to French. He collaborates really well with the two spanish teachers (McManus and Shire). When he can make time throughout his day he tries to make a rubric.
Mr. Rinkert cares about his students we asked some of his kids how they think they behave in his class and the kids said “Odd, Interesting, and Very Very Talkative.” His favorite part of his current job is seeing kids learn and if there was one thing that he would change about Cimarron is to move it closer to his house. We did know that he spoke at least two languages but we never could have imagined such as German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, etc. (mostly major languages).
Now that you know a little about the foreign language program, and some of the teachers, you might want to investigate it further, or even try a Cimarron foreign language class for yourself!
CCC- Computer Coding Club
Cimarron Computer Coding Club is time for kids to have fun with coding. Coding is used for almost every job. From creating a simple website to making a game.
Ms. Tinkham and Mrs. Novak are the two advisers for the club.There are ten students currently in the club. Most of them are boys. However, Amber Jibson, an 8th grader on Palomino, is one of the best coders in the class. She helps the other students like the other great coders in the club. They don’t get taught by the teachers, they teach each other what they learned or did in their spare time. Even though they only have on met twice, this is their favorite part of coding club.
Would you want to join this club to code? You can but there are a lot of programs so you can do it at home for they only meet on tuesdays.
International Towne
International Towne
By: Brogan Johnson and Jack Wiley
Every year team Lipizzan goes to International Towne to help students learn about managing different jobs. International really prepares students for the real world and working jobs. There are many different jobs and some are specific to different countries but some jobs that every country has are Presidents, Customs Agents, and Finance Ministers. Some countries are in charge of certain things like Singapore is the International Bank. Germany controls the radio and The Netherlands is in charge of the law. Also you can only eat or drink things in Canada, Russia, and more.
We interviewed Mrs. Gillespie about International Towne.
Q “Overall how do you think international towne went this year?”
A “I think International Towne went just fine this year. We usually over prepare our students so they are completely ready for International Towne. This also allows them to have more fun instead of stressing out about what they’re supposed to do.”
Q “What do you think you would change next year for international towne?”
A “Honestly I probably wouldn’t change anything except integrating science more into the curriculum We have the math part with Mrs. Hassett and the Social Studies part with Mrs. Ellis, we have the Language arts by all the resumes and other things but we don’t really have science involved I feel like it is left out.”
Q “How do you feel students worked their jobs?”
A “I feel like kids really enjoyed their jobs and worked hard, I didn’t hear much complaining, However I noticed that lots of kids were getting tickets because they thought it was funny, but it is not.”
Mrs. Gillespie’s opinion on the International towne experience is that she wished all 7th grade teams from Cimarron Middle School could go to experience this adventure too.
All in all International towne was a great experience for the students of team Lipizzan. Students learned how to work in a community and how to manage finances and jobs for the future.
7th Grade Boys Basketball
Are you looking for something to occupy your time after school? Do you enjoy playing basketball? Are you a 7th grade boy? You’re in luck!
Starting on February 29th, 7th grade boys basketball will begin. This sport will be open to all 7th grade boys. There will be 3 teams, A, B, and C.The A Team being the highest level, and the C Team being the beginners. The coaches will decide which team is best for you.
Practices will be held Monday through Friday, at 3:00pm-4:45pm after school. All games will be on school days and buses will be provided for any away games (games at other schools).
Basketball will cost $70. During the sport you will be able to improve your basketball skills and get closer with your teammates. If you have any questions contact Mrs. DeVille.