OAK HILL MIDDLE SCHOOL
PANTHER PRESS
INSIDER:•• Oak•Hill•News
•• Around•Our•World
•• Important•Events
Winter 2010-2011
Who’s Who?
by Dennis
Therehasbeenalotofnewsgoingaroundourlittleschoolbuildingthatthereareteachersleavingtheschoolforatemporarywhile.Withthat,therewouldhavetobepeopletoreplacethem. Ineighthgradeonteam8-1,thesocialstudiesteacherMrs.KappelneededsomerestafterhercancertreatmentandleftafterThanksgivingbreakandwillnotbebackuntilMarch.Currently,Ms.Williamsistak-ingherplaceinroom234. Alsoonteam8-1,scienceteacherMrs.Dempseywillbetakingaleaveofab-senceduetoanewchild.ShewillbeabsentfromFebruaryuntil….FormerscienceteacherMr.MassarfromBigelowMiddleSchoolwillsubstituteforherinthemean-time. Alsointheeighthgradewing,Mrs.Sweet,social-studiesteacheronteam8-2andformerteacherofteam6-3willbegonestartingafterDecembervacation. Wewillmissalltheseoldfaces,butwewillwelcomeallthenewones.Hope-fully,theteacherscanreturnassoonaspos-
BeginningupontheThursdaycommunityafternoonofNovember18th,the8.1teamgotinthespiritoftheholidaysalittleearlier,bydevelopingafooddrive…al-thoughwithanobjectivewhichmaybeginwithabout103studentstomultiplyingtonumerouspowers.Thiswasinitiatedbystudents’ideaswhichwereinspiredinanactivityfollowingthegrades’watchingofPayItForward,amovieinwhichatwelveyearold,whohasamaturemind,composesanobjective,indirectlyprescribedbyhisSocial-Studiesteacher,titled,“PayItForward,”inwhich,forexample,ifheassiststhreehomelesscitizens,theywillproceedtomultiplythattothreeadditionalcitizens… Today…workwasdiligentlyafloatwithinthehomerooms:Ms.Swedberg/MilinskyandMs.Kappel/Olivar—constructedcollectionboxesMs.Dempsey/Mr.Koch—developedmediaandmar-ketingapparatusesMs.McCann/Ms.Mayrand—The“CEOs”compiledascrapbookofquoteswrittenbystudentsinanactivityfollowingthemovie
Theeventseemstohavecapturedtheatten-tionofstudentsaroundtheOakHillMiddleSchool.Accordingtoeighthgradestudent,Dennis,“’Ithinkitisagoodidea,thatwaywecanhelpthelessfortunate.’‘Iwill.’”Studentshavetheirowngoalinmind—notonlytoassistthoseneglected,althoughareunderob-ligationofdonatingthemostfortheir‘panther-home’toreceiveapizza-party.
Oak hill middle pays it forward
By Peter
Panther Press reporter, Michael sporting a small handful of the food drive’s goods!
Only some of the many overflowing boxes sprawled upon the floor of an eighth grade classroom!
After more than Half of a Decade, Mayrand Steps Down From “Panther Press” By Peter
Thelongtimeclubofrelayingcriticaleventstoourschool,afterhalfofadecadeofdedi-catedwork,Ms.Mayrand,willnolongerassumetheresponsibilitiesofPantherPressadvisor;asofJanuary2011.“IhavelearnedsomuchworkingwithyoungjournalistsasIwillthoroughlymissworkingonthenewspa-per.Ithinkit’sanexcellentwayforstudentstodiscovertheirstrengthsascommunica-tors,”articulatedMayrand.We,hereatOakHillthankMs.Mayrandforherwork.
Hasthenewsstopped?NO!Thenewspaperclubissearchingforanadvisor…ifyoufeelasthoughyouarethequalifiedindividual,pleaseinquirewithMs.Mayrandinthe
NBA Predictions for MVPBy Katie
NBAfanshavealreadybegunpredictingwhowill getMVP this year.Many say thatLebron JamesoftheMiamiHeat,lastyearsMVP,isoutofthecom-petition because he will have to share with past allstars,ChrisBosh andDwyaneWade.Kobe is alwaysupforMVP,sohehasagoodchanceaswell.Predic-tionsalsosaythatAmar’eStoudamireformtheNewYorkKnicksandDerrickRosefromtheChicagoBulls.ButthemostlikelycontenderisKevinDurantoftheOklahomaCityThunder.DurantwastheFIFAWorldChampionshipMVP,whichisoneofthemainreasonswhyhe ispredicted towinMVP.Whodoyou thinkwillbethe2010-2011NBAMVP?
Who will be this year’s MVP for the NBA…?
?
AWintryStormCoversOakHill’sGrounds
Around OUR World
The Environment
By Rotem
Whatdoyouthinkistheworstthinghappeningtotheenvironment?
Whatareyoudoingtohelptheenvironment?Whatdoyouthinkwecandoasacommunityto
helptheenvironment?
Weinterviewedteachersaboutthesethreeques-tionsabove.Belowaresomeoftheirresponses.
Mr.Wood’sresponses:Mr.Woodsaid,“Peoplelosingtheirconnections
withtheenvironment,andwhenweloseourconnectionthingslikeglobalwarmingorpol-lutioncanhappen.”
“Itrytolivesimplyandbeawareofmypersonalactionsandhowtheyaffecttheenvironment,”Mr.Woodsayshewanttolimithisimpacts.
“Peopleshouldline-dryclothesandusewecanusedryingracksinourhomes.”Mr.Woodthinksthatitcouldhelptheenvironmentinagoodway.“Carpool,walk,andrideonourbikescandecreasepollution.”
Ms.Mulligan’sopinions:Ms.Mulligansaysthattheworstthinghappening
totheenvironmentispollution.“Recycling,”Ms.Mulligansays,thenadds,“Iuse
andbuyenvironmentally-friendlyproducts.“Asacommunity,”shestarts,“Ibelievethatwe
shouldgettogethertobrainstormnewideasonhowtopreservetheenvironment.”
Mr.Janowsays:1)”Iwouldhavetosayitispeoplenotrecycling.”
2)“TherearetwothingsthatIamdoing,”Mr.Janowinforms.“IamgoingtobuyaPrius,whichusesgasaswellaselectricenergy.IamalsotryingtobuyrecycledgoodsifIcan.”
3)“Oak-Hill,”Mr.Janowbegins,“shouldstartaweekendrally,wherewecanvolunteertopickuptrashandsetagoaltohowmuchwecanpickup.Orwecanincreasepeople’sawarenessofthese
problemsinthenewspaperoronline.”The future to a ‘green’ planet is in our hands!
Meet your teachers...
Mr. Golden, 7th grade science
Q: What do you learn from your 7th
grade students?
A:“Ilearnwhatit’sliketobeyoung,what
thelatestfansare,andwhatthelatest
fashionisbylookingatwhatthekidsare
wearing.”
Q: What’s your hobby? What do you
do outside of school?
A:“IPlaytennis,garden,gotothesouthto
scubadive,andcook.WhenIwasayoung
boyIusedtocooktoearnmoney.”
Q: How long did you teach?
A:“51yearseverywhere,butItaughthere
whenthisschoolchangedfromanelemen-
taryschooltoamiddleschool.”
Q: Why did you pick science to teach?
A:“Iwasplanningtobeascientist,butthen
IgothookedupwitheducationsoIbecame
ascienceteacher.Iwantedtobeamarine
biologist.”
Q: Do you like this school?
A:“Yes,Ithinkitisthebestschoolinthe
city.”
THE DEBATE OVER THE PENNYBy Rebecca
Doyouusepenniesalot?Thereareprobablyseveralinyourwallet.PeopleallaroundtheU.S.usepennieseveryday. Youmayhaveheardthatsomepeoplearecon-sideringgettingridoftheUnitedStatespenny.Thoughnothinghasbeenmadeofficialyet,theremaybenomorepenniesinyourwalletsoon.Whilemanypeoplethinkthatthepennyshouldbebanned,manyothersfeelthatthepennydeservestostay.Whatdoyouthink? Ifyoudon’tknow,herearesomereasonstoandtonotgetridofour1-centcoin:
FOR ELIMINATING THE PENNY:
• InMarchof2008,itcost1.7centstomintjustonepenny–sothegovernmentwasspendingmoreonmakingapennythanitwasactuallyworth!• TheU.S.mintsaround7billionpennieseachyear,atover$100million.• Sincepenniesareworthsolittle,alotofpeopleassumetheycan’tbeused,andneverusethem,lettingthemjustsitinajarsomeplace.• Somestoresandbusinessesdon’texceptthissmallcoin,causingthemtobeuselessthere.• Manysaythatroundingpricesoneverythingtothenearestnickelwouldmakenodifferenceontheeconomy.Otherssaythatmostpriceswouldgodown,somethingpeoplewouldlike.• Astocharitiesthataskforpennies,well,theycanjustaskfornickelsinstead!• Somefeelthatpennies,beingsotinyinworth,arejustawasteoftimetouseintransactions.Smallchildrencanchokeonthebitsofcopperifthey’relyingaround.Plus,sometimespenniesaretoxic,makingthemmuchmoredangerouswhenswallowed.
FOR KEEPING THE PENNY:
• Manycharitiesrelyonpenniesfortheirmoney(forexample–PenniesforPeace,raisingmoneytobuildschoolsinAfghanistanandPakistan),andgettingridofthemwouldbeahugeblowtotheirfunds.Thepennyhaslotsofhistoricalsentiment.It’sbeenusedsince1787,whenthefirstonewasmade.
Thoughthefactthattherearemorereasonsforeliminatingthepennymayswayyou,keepinmindthatthetworeasonsforkeepingitarebigones.Memorial-Spauld-ingElementaryschoolraisedmoneyforPenniesforPeacelastyear.Mostofthecoinsdonatedwerepennies.AndAmericanshavebeenusingpenniesforsolong.
Manystoresdoalreadyroundtheirpricestothenearestnickel,andsomeevendon’tallowpenniesatallintheirbusinesses.
Thereareotherkindsofcoinsthatnayendupre-placingthepenny.Therewasactuallyahalf-centcoinuntil1857.Andsomepeoplesuggestthatthepennyshouldbereplacedwitha2-or3-centcoin.
Ifyou’dliketolearnmore,thereareactuallyweb-sitesonthepennydebatethatgiveoneorbothopinions.Therearealsoorganizations,includingCitizens for Retiring the Penny,whoarefortheelimination,andAmericans for Common Cents,whoareagainstit.Bothmakeyouthink,asIhopethisarticlehas,what does the penny mean to me?
Capt. Hookby Abby
Capt. Hook byJ.V.Hartisawonderfulandenticingprologueaboutthelifeofthedastardlyvillaininthedelightfulfairytale,Peter Pan.Appealing,inter-esting,andeccentric,it’samustreadbook.
JamesMatthewBastardhasbeenenrolledatoneofthemostprestigiousschoolforboysinEng-land,Eton,andthemomenthesetsfootoncampus,hecausesanuproar.He’smadeanenemyofabitterColleger,ArthurDarlingandhaswononeofthemostesteemedgamesatEtonthatnoonehisagehaswoninalmostahundredyears.
ButwhenJames,KingJastohisfaithfulJollyR,getsintodeeptroublewiththeEnglishauthori-ties,andevenayoungSultanaofCrete,heisforcedtoleavethecountryandservesevenyearsonhisfather’sboat,The Sea Witch.But,asKingJassays,hisenemiesmaywinsomeday,butnottoday.
Athrillingandadventuroustaleofanot-so-notoriousvillainwiththeheartofatruehero,itisamustreadbook,anineoutoftenandoneofthebestbooksI’vereadthisyear.
Around OUR World
Newspaper staff who have en-hanced The Pan-ther Press:
Peter Luna Rebecca Olivia Abby Michael Rhea Dennis Tom YoelenaJiyoungEmma Salome Jane Pharaoh Katie
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February 2011
Newspaper Advisor
Ms. Mayrand Upcoming Communal Events… Jan. 26— Early Release at 11:30
Jan. 28— Term 2 Ends
Jan. 31— Term 3 begins
Feb. 16— Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
Feb. 21-25— Winter Vacation
A Funny and Fake Ad
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