Jan-Feb 2016

Round Two Spelling Champs by Matthew Hollay [grade 8]

February 17th was the second round of the DDMS spelling bee. Twenty people competed, and only five could move on to the third round against four other schools. To relieve stress, the contestants participated in a practice round. In the practice round, it didn’t matter whether or not contestants spelled their word right. Fifteen out of twenty contestants spelled their word right. In round one, many contestants were nervous. Even so, most were not eliminated. Only four contestants were out with the words: sonar, granola, torrent, and worrywart. In round two, even less contestants were eliminated, and the words were only getting more and more difficult. Two contestants were defeat-ed with the words pedigree and bewilder. Just like round three, very few were eliminated as the words grew stronger and stronger. The two contestants were bested by the words hypnotic and pomposity, which obviously means to be like a possum—right. By the end of round five, the numbers of contestants were dwindling, and the words were getting to the point where none of the contestants knew what they meant. Three of the five people eliminated between round four and round five were taken out by the words cartouches, ad-hesion, and olfactory. Kudos if you know what any of those words mean. In the middle of round six, one person was already eliminated with the word acetone. There were only six contestants left. The next person to spell something out was wrong, and the remaining five would move on to the third round. Then, the word mawkish came, and the contest-ant misspelled it. The spelling bee was over. The winners are Joshua Musano, Trevor Harvey, Thomas Porco, Adam Apostol, and Christian Hete. Be sure to wish them luck. If any of them win round three, they are going to Wash-ington D.C.

Good luck to Joshua Musano, Trevor Harvey, Thomas Porco, Adam Apostol, and Christian Hete as they go on to represent our school at the annual Tri-State Spelling Bee on March 13.

Photo by Mrs. Goldstein

Sixth Grade Needs to Take Care of Their Wing

by Andre Phillips [grade 6] As a sixth grader, I think we should take better care of our wing. When I stay after school for an activity, I see how messy the wing is. Would you really want to have a messy hall-way? What if the mess was never cleaned up? How messy would our hallway be? The an-swers to those questions are; 1) No; 2) That would be terrible; and 3) Very messy. So it’s now or never that we start taking care of our hallway.

by Janice Healey [grade 7] On February twelfth, the entire seventh grade had an amazing and inspiring assembly with a few DV high schoolers in our school’s auditorium. These generous high schoolers took time out of their own school to have a motivational talk with all of the seventh grad-ers, and they are also members of FBLA, Fu-ture Business Leaders of America. In case you are wondering what FBLA is, it is a profession-al student organization that primarily helps students transition to the business world of America, and it ensures students excel in busi-ness as their future occupation. In my opinion I believe this assembly caught quite a few sev-enth graders’ eyes and left a spark of inspira-tional light in them. First the six FBLA members introduced themselves. There was Drake Eshleman (the President), Sophia Festa (the His-torian), Celine Mojica (Treasurer), Alyssa Harvey (Community Service Director), Cindy Li (Secretary), and Joe Gurkan (Technical Director). Then they all explained to the seventh graders how FBLA operates and what they do. They began to tell them that they go to workshops, attend com-petitive events, help associate with community service, and receive national, regional, and state level awards. Also they told the seventh grade why and how FBLA is beneficial to teens lives. The President, Drake, explained it as something that “expands education opportunities, and it shows what you’re really made of.” Another FBLA officer was, and still is, being inspired to start her own business once she becomes an adult. And not only did she have the thought to start a business, but also three other officers have the same exact idea. As we can all see FBLA has had such a big impact to-wards these teenagers, and still they are many more who are truly inspired by this. Next, all of the seventh grade participated in a game that the FBLA officers had in store for them. Since I am a seventh grader, I got to participate too. This game almost had the same exact outlines of Simon Says. Instead of someone say-ing “Simon says...” and doing the action that is said to do, the person had to say “If you’re leader...” in order for every-one to do the action. Plus it’s still the same that you cannot move if the person does not say “If you’re not a leader...” Of course I did not make it to the end, but quite a few others did make it and in return got a cup as a courteous reward. Right after the fun, short game the seventh grade did, Drake, Sophia, and Alyssa told us more about FBLA. They said that FBLA guides you to get skills, to understand direc-tions given and to do things on your own. Plus if you think

you have to figure and work out everything right in front of you by yourself, you are wrong. It’s not a bad thing to ask for help by an advisor or an adult and get some great ad-vice. It’s better to have the help and support by others in FBLA. Except do not think you can have an advisor with you the entire time you work on certain tasks that must be done, some of the work you should learn how to do by yourself to create responsibility. FBLA does not control your life and it does not require hard work. By spending fifteen minutes of your day you can become a great FBLA member. Now you may ask, what do you do in those fifteen minutes? Well you could use Quizlet which is a website that gives people easy access learning tools for studying, you could Google search an FBLA event before-hand, attend short study lessons, use multiple textbooks as resources, study at a library, or you could review past origi-nal materials. Not to mention, most of the tasks for middle level are quite simple. There is a spreadsheet you do while using Excel, and you take a test that is multiple choice and one that involves production. The way to make the test and spreadsheet very easy is to follow the directions pre-cisely. The way I have described FBLA might have made it sound slightly boring, but remember you would not do all of this alone. You would have a great team working with you and sticking behind your back along the way. In conclusion, FBLA is something that is rewarding and fun once you commit to it. You would have the opportunity of a lifetime to get wonderful new friends, achieve high in school, and to understand more about the big world we all live in. Just imagine how many teens in the future will be-come the greatest business people America has ever faced seen. Maybe one of those people could be you if you join FBLA today or whenever.

Photo by Calista DiPrima [grade 7]

High School Students Inspire Future Business Leaders December Students of the Month Katelyn Barcelowski [grade 6] Habit 3: Put First Things First. Academic habits: I study for 30 minutes every other night. Extracurricular interests: swim, soc-cer, and reading Plans for the Future: Work at a hospi-tal. Ava Nienstadt [grade 7] Habit 3: Put First Things First. Academic habits: I study a little every day and do my best. Extracurricular interests: Soccer, Sound and Lights Crew, crafts, and drawing Plans for the Future: Go into the ani-mal behavior field. Tatumn Bonney [grade 8] Habit 3: Put First Things First. Academic habits: Well, I try to study 10 minutes every night for all my clas-ses. Extracurricular interests: volleyball, horseback riding, Fashion Club Plans for the Future: To have my own horse, and get really good grades. Jenna D’Angelo [grade 8 Achieve-ment] Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. Academic habits: I study and do my best. Extracurricular interests: hanging out with friends Plans for the Future: Go to a good college and get a good job.

January Students of the Month Giulia Casagrande [grade 6] Habit 1: Be Proactive. Academic habits: I love reading class because it is very easy. Extracurricular Interests: swimming, Field Hockey, Cheerleading, and run-ning Plans for the future: To graduate high school and move onto college. Michele Capozzi [grade 7] Habit 3: Put First Things First. Academic habits: I am usually in the front of the class so I listen more. Al-so, once I get home I do my home-work. Extracurricular Interests: Drama and Girl Scouts Plans for the future: I want to finish Girl Scouts and to get a Silver Award this year. Ashley Pallotta [grade 8 Achieve-ment] Habit 1: Be Proactive. Academic habits: I never put off stud-ying, because you will never get it done. Extracurricular interests: Youth Group, Cheer, Track, drawing, singing, spending time with friends and family Plans for the Future: To go to col-lege, get a good job, and have a fami-ly. Cody O’Neill [grade 8-Leadership] Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind. Academic habits: I study whenever I have free-time and participate in classes as much as I can. Extracurricular interests: DD Press, Programming Club, Track, playing games, designing and building Plans for the Future: To reach my goal of becoming a neurosurgeon.

Study so you can suc-ceed. —Katelyn Barcelowski

Study a little every day.

—Ava Nienstadt

Always make the best

out of every situation.

—Tatumn Bonney

Be yourself. Follow your dreams.

—Jenna D’Angelo

Be a leader, not a follower. Be yourself.

—Giulia Casagrande

Don’t give up, and always stay positive.

—Ashley Pallotta

Work hard. Do your homework before anything else.

—Michele Capozzi

Be sure to make sure your homework is completed.

—Cody O’Neill

December Student of the Month Natalia Liszka [grade 8-Leadership] Habit 4: Think Win-Win. Academic habits: I study at least 10 minutes of each subject every night, and participate in everything that I can. Extracurricular interests: Odyssey of the Mind, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Chil-dren’s Choir, Science Olympiad, 4-H, knitting, the outdoors, and arts and crafts Plans for the Future: To travel the world.

January Students of the Month Dominic Puglisi [grade 8] Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Academic habits: Ten to fifteen minutes a day, doesn’t need to be all night. Always raising my hand in class. Extracurricular interests: Odyssey of the Mind [OM], Drama, Soccer

Be yourself. Don’t change who you are to impress someone else.

—Natalia Liszka Prioritize. —Dominic Puglisi

by Alice Cauchi [grade 7]

Psychologist During the eighth grade career day, we asked the adults talking about their career which of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People they thought was most important in their career. We got many different answers, but this month we are focusing on habits 4 and 5. One of the careers that really went along with habit #5, was Dr. Lamberti’s. Dr. Lam-berti is a psychologist and supervisor in a jail. He says to be a psychologist you must go to college for four years, and graduate school for five years, but most importantly you need to seek first to understand, then to be understood. Dr. Lamberti has been a psychologist for 15 years, and first he has to understand what the inmates are trying to say, and

after he has accomplished that he will try to make the inmates understand him. Habit #5 relates to everyone, no matter if you are a psychologist or a middle school student here at DDMS.

Logo by Janice Healey

[grade 7]

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

by Janice Healey [grade 7] The lovely habit four has final-ly arrived. Think win-win is one of the greatest habits. No won-der it is the first habit you must accomplish in your public victo-ry. Now I put everything figura-tively in food. Let’s say you and your friend are eating cookies and there is only one left. Op-tions are: you get the cookie and your friend doesn’t, you don’t get the cookie and your friend does, you and your friend splits the cookie in half, or neither gets the cookie. I just described the four attitudes that are in habit four. Win-Lose. Lose-Win. Win-Win. And Lose-Lose. The Win-Win solution to the cookie is to split the cookie in half with your friend. Both gets a portion of it and feels happy. Thinking Win-Win will benefit you and someone else and make both feel like they get what they wanted.

by Emily Thomas [grade 7]

A way a student at DDMS can use this habit is to work to-gether more than fighting to win. Why only have one person win if all of you can? I know it’s fun to win, but imagine if you were the one that lost. It’s not fun. So, think Win-Win so you both have fun.

by Cayden Bell

[grade 7] A DDMS student can do this habit on a daily basis by making others feel good about themselves.

by Emma Tlusty

[grade 7] If you’re having a disagreement, try compromising so everyone can win.

by Angelia Loria

[grade 7] You have one pen-cil and someone else needs one. You break the pencil in half and sharpen the other side and give it to him.

Congratulations, Mrs. Bachmann

Habit 5: Seek First to Under-stand, Then to Be Understood

Emily Herold [grade 7] Everyone needs to learn to listen. There’s not one person I know that can truly listen, even I need to work on listening. I know listening can some-times be hard when you have something else on your mind, but some people don’t even try. I have this one friend (who shall not be named) that when I try and talk to her about anything (something that happened in my day, something

that interests me, etc.) she’ll cut me off and start talk-ing about herself or even someone else that she obvi-ously likes more than me. People should start to listen. One way someone can do this is not to only pay atten-tion to the words, but to also pay attention to the tone of voice and the person’s body language.

Zakkary Dietz [grade 7]

Warriors seek first to un-derstand, then to be under-stood. A student at DDMS could use this habit because whenever somebody is telling them their problems instead of always interrupting and saying their personal opinion they should just listen and give their opinion when they are asked for it.

Olivia Norwood [grade 7] Most of the time people don’t want advice. They just want someone to listen to them. When you truly listen, people will open up. You should wait until they are ready. Listen to not only their words, but their tone and feel-ings. You should also observe their body language.

Haydee Carrada [grade 7] Listen to what someone else is telling you. Don’t space out. They will appreciate your time listening and the next time they will listen to you.

Christina Contreras [grade 7] A student can do this habit on a daily basis by taking the time to listen without judging and without giving advice. To understand someone you must listen to them.

Savannah Bailey [grade 7] If you want to be under-stood stop texting, but if you want to understand ask ques-tions.

Krishna Kahar [grade 7] Listen when people are talking to you, and mirror how they feel. Look at people when they are talking.

Listening Ears by Krishna

Kahar [grade 7]

Cell Phone by Savannah Bailey [grade 7]

by Matthew Hollay [grade 8] A big congratulations to Mrs. Bachman, who won Teacher of the Month for December. Mrs. Bachman couldn’t have been more surprised that she won since she is a new teacher. When she was chosen, she was extremely excited and surprised. And when she read what stu-dents wrote about her, she couldn’t have been more flattered. She says that out of all of the seven habits, she mostly follows Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. Make sure to congratulate Mrs. Donovan, because she is Teacher of the Month for Janu-

And Miss Donovan

ary. She did have a suspicion that she would win Teacher of the Month because many stu-dents said they were voting for her. Also, she is both a 6th grade English teacher and a coach for field hockey and softball, so there are more students she meets that might vote for her. She was enormously excited and hap-py when she found out she was going to be Teacher of the Month. When she heard what students wrote about her, she was tremen-dously thankful and flattered. Out of all of the seven habits, she mostly follows habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.

February 7, On This Day in History...

Co

mp

iled b

y Jan

ice Hea

ley [gra

de 7

]

The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified by the powers of the states after almost a year since it was passed by

Congress.

17

95

Henry Clay declares, “I had ra-ther be right than

president.” 18

39

Amelia Earhart married George P. Putnam, an Ameri-

can pub-lisher, au-thor and explorer.

19

31

2

01

6

PGA Celebrates 100th by Zoe Elaro [grade 7]

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the PGA of America (Professional Golf Association of America).The PGA was founded on April 10, 1916 in New York City by 35 charter members. Today, the PGA of America works to encourage Americans’ love of golf and educate and equip those who already do. The PGA has over 28,0000 members who continue to make golf more enjoyable to all and promote the game to men and women every-where. Since 1916, the PGA has held 98 yearly championships, two being cancelled on account of World War 1. So if you have a love of all things golf be sure to tune into this year’s PGA championship, which will be held at Bal-tusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.

by Zoe Elaro [grade 7]

The Year You Can Vote by Ashley Kizis [grade 8]

The future is coming faster than you think. Before you know it, you’ll be able to vote. You may not be eligible to vote in this year's election, but for 8th graders, the next election after this will be your time to share your opinion. For 7th and 6th graders, you’re gonna have to wait until 2024, sorry about that. Have you ever thought about what you’d vote for? This year's candidates are giving a multitude of ideas and opinions to straighten up this country. Maybe you’d like the minimum wage to be raised for better equality, tighter gun control, or even for us to attack ISIS. These happen to be things many candidates are voicing their opinion on. Don’t stress yourself out on this. You still have years until you have to make a decision, even if it happens to be in four years. But just remember, the future belongs in your hands and is changing every second that goes by.

Trump Political Cartoon by Erika Cutaia [grade 8]

Rubik’s Cube Club: Facts About Speed Cubing!by

Michael Asprea [grade 7] If you don’t know what speed cubing is, it’s a thing where you try to get a re-ally fast time on solving all the Rubik Cube you have. People who compete go to competitions around the world just to test their skills. Here are some records that people have made: The number 1 speed cuber is Lucas Etter with a 4.90 seconds on the 3x3.

Feliks Zemdegs currently hold the world record for the 4x4 Rubik’s

Cube with a 21.54 seconds record.

The record for the 5x5 Rubik’s Cube is 46.97 seconds. This record is

held by Feliks Zemdegs

The record for the 2x2 Rubik’s Cube is .58 seconds. This record is held by Rami Sbahi.

The record for the Megaminx is 37.58 seconds. This record is held by Yu Da-Hyun.

The record for the Pyraminx is 1.32 seconds. This record is held by Drew Brads.

The record to solve 41 Rubik’s Cubes Blindfolded is 54 minuets and 14 seconds.

This record is held by Marcin Kowalczyk. The biggest Rubik Cube is a 28x28x28. Its almost as big as a basketball! That is huge!

You will need your own 2x2 3x3 4x4, or Pyraminx if you want to join. We need at least 30 students to join. If you want to join, come to me (Mike Asprea) or Jayden Latini. Mrs. Curchoe will be our adviser if you guys join! It will be a lot of fun!

Rubik’s Cube Tower photo by Michael

Asprea [grade 7] and Jayden Latini [grade 6]

Real World Math Photos by Mrs. Strocchia

Alex Husejnovic: I used math this summer for my grandpa’s pool. I had to measure the depth, the width, and the height of the pool to fill it with chlorine. I also worked at my grandpa’s carpet and tile store every day, so I had to count and measure the flooring, and multiply and di-vide the whole time too. The good thing is, I got paid $10 dollars an hour. Scott Vollmer: When I swam laps in the community pool, I would time myself and count my laps. I would use the equation d/t=s (distance divided by

time equals speed). I also counted my steps when I went hiking. Mason VanHorn: At my new club, Quick Strike FC, we used math to figure out our passing percent-age and how often we scored. For instance, if we passed the soccer ball 100 times total during a match and completed 70 of them, our team would have an average of 70% passing accuracy in that game.

Amber Godfrey: I had to calculate the position, angle, and ball pressure to throw a basketball into the hoop without missing. I threw an average of 4 out of 5. I’d missed the second shot because I changed my angle, so I went back to what I did at first.

LaMarca Ranks 6th in Math Counts Competition by Matthew Hollay [grade 8]

Make sure to congratulate Connor LaMarca if you see him, because he ranked 6 out of 100 participants in the Math Counts Competition. The Math Counts Club is likely because Connor LaMarca says he plans to do Math Counts again next year. He will likely even pursue a career involving math. Connor says he practices for Math Counts at home sometimes. He wasn’t even nervous during the competition because he has done Math Counts before .

Mrs. DeFrancesco, Aiden McCarthy and Connor LaMarca

“It’s a building

year. We could use

more teammates.” Connor LaMarca

“Connor is one to

watch next year. I

really think he can

make states.” Mrs. DeFrancesco

Photo by Mrs. Goldstein

Last but not least is German. German is very guttural and is not a Romance language. German is the most spo-ken language in the European Union and has the best economy. Like French it is a gateway to higher education and business. It has a lot of the same cultural achieve-ments like France when it comes to arts and innovation. German can be the ultimate language in business because It has a great economy and trade with U.S. Since most of European Union speaks German it can be great when traveling in Europe. Like French many have told me it can be easy or hard. Many people say it’s fun and can really help in terms of jobs. My own cousin lives in Germany and he says that the Germans are true innovators. They have made tons of contributions to the U.S. and have made very good products such as Adidas, multiple auto-mobiles, airbags, aspirin, book printing, bicycle, etc. The pros of these languages are you won’t need to learn a new alphabet or characters like Chinese, Japa-nese, Russian, Korean, etc. All of these languages are good to learn and will help you in the real world.

by Peter Wilson [grade 8] Are you a seventh grader and looking for a language to pick next year? Then this article is for you! If you didn’t know the following languages to choose are French, Ger-man, and Spanish. Each one is unique in their own ways. Spanish is usually the go-to language when people are choosing. This is mostly because it’s the second most spo-ken language in the world besides Mandarin Chinese. Span-ish is phonetic and easier compared to its counterparts. Spanish is extremely useful in terms of jobs in the U.S. You are most likely going to see many, many Spanish-speaking people when you go to work in the future and Spanish can come in handy when it comes to it. Spanish and French are both romance languages. Many think it has something to do with love, but actually it’s because they both originated by the Romans. If you learn a Romance language like Spanish you can learn other Romance languages more quickly like French and Italian. As you learn more about the Romance Languages you really start to appreciate the culture, food, and all the traveling spots. Next is French, like Spanish it is a Romance language. There are mixed reviews about French, some people say it’s hard and others say it can be easier than Spanish. French has a unique pro-nunciation and a lot of silent letters. French is the sixth most widely spo-ken language in the world. If you want the highest education or busi-ness, French speaking schools and businesses are the highest ranked. In terms of jobs most people speak French in Canada, Africa, Switzer-land, and Monaco. Also French is the international language for theatre, cooking, fashion, dance/architecture, and visual arts. If you are looking into going into the arts, French can be a good language to know. Many people I know say that French can be a lot of fun and learn-ing French sets you up for a great school or business. If you decide to pick Spanish, it’s great to pursue French afterwards. Also many inter-net sources say that most of the best traveling spots speak French.

French Valentine: Ma Petite Pomme de Terre Cartoon by Janice Healey [grade 7]

Column by Ariana DiGeso and Juliana Krabill [both

grade 7]; Graphic by Heather Starr [grade 8]

“I thought the talent show was a

blast, especially DJ Dillan.”

—Elijah Carrada [grade 8]

“It was really interesting and fun.

There was a lot of good energy

there and good acts.”

—Courtney Mauro [grade 7]

“I thought it was supa dupa fab-

ulous.”

—Janice Healey [grade 7]

“It was amazing. Everyone did a

great job! We definitely have

great talent at DDMS and I can’t

wait for next year’s Talent

show.”

—Calista DiPrima [grade 7]

“Very interesting.”

—Riley Callahan [grade 7]

Photos by

Riley Calla-

han [grade 7]

Love is In the Air! by Janice Healey [grade 7]

“Mon choux.” “Mon sucre d’orge.” What do these mean? Well the first one means “my cabbage”, and the other one means “my barley sugar.” Wait a second. Now what could these phrases possibly be used for? It might seem strange, but these phrases are actually used be-tween French couples or people in love. Yes, the most romantic and beautiful language uses these odd yet en-dearing phrases to show people’s affection towards oth-ers. Although they might sound weird by written words, they are definitely beautifully spoken in French. As we all know the capital of France is Paris, and that Paris is famously known as the City of Love. Not to men-tion all of love in France, it is also the most beautiful place on Earth. Let’s learn more about this great and fun-loving country and their splendid traditions they do. To begin with, French is a great language to discover. It is considered one of the most romantic languages all around the world, and that is only one reason why peo-ple want to learn it. This unique language shows their love to their partners in very different ways we do here in America, speaking of terms verbally. Most couples call one another different arrays of food and barnyard ani-mals. People may ask, “why would anyone call their spe-cial someone a barnyard animal?” Well, although there is no exact reason for this tradition, here are people’s thoughts on why. One person believes it is because of how resourceful and adorable farm animals can be, and how great foods are. Another one thinks it is because

Winter Weather Not Ideal for Snowboarding

by Lily Williams[grade 6]

The conditions for this season were not great. At first, it was very icy and frigid, which was not good for snowboarding. Throughout the weeks, it did get less icy, but it was still very cold. In the beginning of the season, with the lack of snow-fall, they did have to make fake snow, which quickly became very icy. Toward the end of the season, less snow was needed to be made. From my experience, the conditions were not the best, but there was at least some snow to snowboard on! But, even with the conditions, about 50 peo-ple were in the club. The club took place every Thursday for six whole weeks. Mr.Skibber, Mrs.Favaro, and Mr.Curchoe all ran the club and also went skiing and snowboarding while they were there. Photo by RJ Wehnert [grade 8]

Fashion Meltdown by Jarrett Palmadessa [grade 8]

the way farming has been around in France. “Farming is one of France’s most important industries,” explains france-pub.com. Since the crops and animals in farms are im-portant, it seems like couples are calling each other im-portant to their world, just like food is important to every-body’s world. Whatever the kind of reason behind this, it is still a fun and interesting way to show one’s affection to a person. Another way people in France express their love is by us-ing love locks. Love locks are padlocks that couples lock to a bridge, fence, fate or other public fixture to symbolize their forever, unbeatable love. In France, there is a famous bridge, Pont des Arts, in Paris that has millions of love locks with engraved names on it. It is such a beautiful sight to see all of those locks together in such a big row representing all of those who commit their love to a special someone. This is such a wonderful way for anyone, not only people in France, to show their everlasting love to the whole world. Because of how great it is, this has spread worldwide to numerous countries. There are love locks in Moscow, Russia, Beaulieu Palace House, UK, and Daegu, South Korea. This is only one other way to let the wings of love fly in the air, yet there are still many more ways. To summarize this up, French Valentine’s is an amazing holiday that really allows couples to show their love. If any-one wants to show their love in a special way to someone, they don’t have to fly over France to do it. In America, peo-ple can give their someone a box of delicious and sweet chocolate. Isn’t it neat how love is in the air this time of year?

Q: There are four brothers in this world that were all

born together. The first runs and never wearies. The

second eats and is never full. The third drinks and is

always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never

good.

Q: What has a foot on each side and one in the middle?

Q: Four men were fishing when the boat fell over and

they fell into the water, yet not a single man got wet.

Q: I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room.

You can enter, but can’t leave. What am I?

Water, fire, earth, wind ; A yardstick; They

were all married; A keyboard ; "Are you

Graphic by Stephen Demmo [grade 8]

River over stone, you shall be the stone, insults will be thy river.

Bullying Quotes by Greg Aiello [grade 6]

Bullies are rocks, you can’t throw them, but

you can go around them.

Sadness coils around the heart and cracks it to rubble.

Life is always changing, so

don’t live in the past.

Life is too short to live in self-pity, sadness, and grief.

Sadness and grief will weigh you down like a ball and chain.

Like the clouds, friends come and go, but family is

forever.

Anger can make people swell until—like a volcano—they erupt.

1. What is your experience with name calling or verbal

bullying at school (during the school year)?

2.If name calling or verbal bullying has taken place, check each

item below that reflects the type of comment you heard:

3. In the past month, name calling or verbal bullying has taken

place in the following places:

Author Spotlight: Rick Riordan by Janice Healey [grade 7]

I know a Guy Named Rick! Well not personally of course but, I know that this Rick has very recently won the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Middle Grade & Children's in 2015 for his awesome book The Sword of Summer. Now I am betting you know who this. It is the one and only Rick Riordan. He is most famous for his mythical and action-packed series Percy Jackson. He comes up with his ideas for his books by correspond-ing the events and characters towards his real life. If you are thinking he played life-and-death-capture-the-flag in real life, he did not really. To think of that would be so cool. We only know a partial amount of Rick. Learning more about an author will definitely affect the way you think of their novels. Let’s find out more about this outstanding author. To start off with, when Rick was in middle school he used to make short stories just for fun. The reason behind it is because he read the Lord of The Rings Trilogy and he loved Greek mythology. He used writing to express his fun loving, creative imagination, and as you can see all of that “practice” paid off. Except when he was in high school and college years he lost the interest to write. He was more into music at the time. Actually he was so into it that he made a folk rock band with some of his close friends. After Rick’s rock and folk time in college, he became a teacher. He taught the wonders of English and history at public and private middle schools. He taught in his home state, Texas, and San Francisco Bay Area. Rick was honored for the First Master Teacher Award in Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio.

While he was enjoying his fantastic teaching career, Rick was beginning to write some mystery novels for adults whenever he had free time to do so. A few months later he had his first book finished, Big Red Tequila. After a while it was pub-lished and was out in the year 1997. Be-fore you know it, Rick was writing and writing every day. Once the 21st century began, Rick had the greatest idea of all. He thought of writing a book series called Percy Jackson. It was all because of his wondrous son Ha-ley. Haley has ADHD, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Dyslexia, so that means he has a difficult time reading. Every night, Rick would tell Haley bedtimes stories about Greek mythology, and that’s when his mind clicked. He began to write down ideas for Percy Jackson and made Percy Jackson, including all the other half-bloods, to be dyslexic and ADHD. In the end, Rick is one of the best au-thors out there today. He is also a very in-spirational person. His advice, if you your-self one day want to become and author Percy Jackson by Janice

Healey [grade 7]

one day, it you should have a “mentor who be-lieves in your talents.” Secondly, you must read, and he means a lot! “You will learn the craft of writing by immersing yourself in the voices, styles, and structures of writers who have gone before you.” Finally, you should write every day, so have ideas and creativity you use in your writing. “Writing is like a sport—you only get better if you practice.” All information from: www.rickriordan.com/about/an-interview-with-rick

Dividing Light and Dark

by Lily Williams [grade 6] The divide between the Sixth grade is based off of a Godly Parent quiz. Most of the Sixth graders are taking a quiz to find out who their godly parent is. The godly parent quiz was made mainly because of Rick Riordan’s book series, Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Once they find out who their parent is, they will be recruit-ed to one of the sides. The two sides are the Light Side and the Dark Side. The Light side is the side of the Greek Gods. The Dark Side is the side of the Titans. The leaders of the Dark Side are Victoria Corcoran and Wyatt Magill. The leaders of the Light Side are Lily Williams, Made-line Mallon, Taino Rivera, and Alana Cavanaugh. Some of the Sixth graders chose to be neutral though. Currently, the Dark Side has lots of chil-dren of the more powerful gods like Zeus and Poseidon. The Light Side does have an equal amount of people, except they have more of the

Sea of Monsters cover by Janice Healey [grade 7]

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6-Degrees: Mrs. Strocchia

Sociologists say that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else in the world within 6-degrees. That means that you know someone who knows someone,

who knows someone etc. 6 times. See how DDMS is connected to the world— and history. 1st degree: Mrs. Strocchia taught High School Musical actor, Lucas Grabeel, at Kickapoo High School in

Springfield, MO in her first teaching job out of college. 1st degree: Mrs. Strocchia had a pic-ture book manuscript critique with literary agent Nancy Gallt, 2nd degree: who represents Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series.

1st degree: Mrs. Strocchia’s father, former DDMS band director Mr. Barrie Bartle 2nd degree: took trumpet lessons with Rei Christo-pher 3rd degree: who played horn in John Philip Sousa’s band. Sousa composed “The Stars and Stripes Forev-er” and many other well-known marches, 4th degree: and served as conductor of “The President’s Own,” the U.S. Marine Band under presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison.

other gods, including Apollo and Athena. The Light side does have an advantage, which is that the Dark Side has some people who nev-er took the quiz or read the books. All of the members of the Light Side have read at least one of the books. Both the Light and the Dark Sides are trying to get more people, but less people know who their godly parent is.

Dividing Light from Dark continued Book Review: Percy Jackson by Riley Callahan [grade 7]

Rick Riordan, the author of 39 Clues, wrote the extraordinary story of Percy Jackson, a young boy who discovers the truth about the world. He learns that he is a demigod; a half-human and a half-god. And yes, I do mean the gods of Greece. When he first finds out that the gods are real, he finds himself at a camp made for demigods; Camp Half-Blood. At the camp Percy joins with Annabeth; a demi-god, and Grover; a satyr. Together the group goes on an amazing and dangerous quest to return the lightning bolt to its rightful owner; Zeus, Leader of Olympus. Read more about their adventure in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the first book of the series.

A Chat with Cheerleader Kaitlyn Lapalme

by Vanessa Evers [grade 7] Vanessa: How old were you when you start-ed cheer? Kaitlyn: 11 years old Vanessa: Why did you want to try out for cheer? Kaitlyn: I thought it would be real-ly fun to do all the stunts. Vanessa: Is competition hard? Kaitlyn: Yes, because there is a lot of things to remember for the routine. Vanessa: What is your most memorable ac-complishment? Kaitlyn: Probably when I got my first half. Vanessa: What position are you in cheer? Kaitlyn: A base

by Ashley Kizis [grade 8] and Juliana Krabill [grade 7]

Have you heard the songs Victorious, Nine In The Afternoon , New Perspective or I Write Sins Not Tragedies on DDTV? Well those songs happen to be by a band named Panic! At The Disco. The band was formed in Las Vegas NV in 2004 by members Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, Brent Wilson

(who was kicked out in 2006 and replaced by Jon Walker) and Brendon Urie. In 2005 they released their debut album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out with the hit leading single I Write Sins Not Tragedies (that one song about closing the door.) The record sold a total of 10,000 their first week - and after I Write Sins Not Tragedies marked the Billboard top charts - it then sold over 500,000. In 2008, the band released their 2nd album Pretty. Odd. which had a completely new sound. The album has a 60’s/70’s vibe to it sounding like bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Zombies. The record reached number 2 on the billboard charts and sold a total of 139,00 the first week with the hit single Nine In The Afternoon. In 2009, the band turned different directions, with Ryan and Jon wanting the new album to have more of a Pretty. Odd. sound and Brendon and Spen-cer wanting it to sound more like ...Fever… Because of that, Ryan and Jon left the band and formed their own new band called The Young Veins. In 2011, the remaining members (along with the band getting a new bassist named Dallon Weekes for touring ) created their 3rd album Vices and Virtues. The album peaked up to number 7 on the charts and sold with-in 56,000 its first week and their first single The Ballad Of Mona Lisa peaked up to 89 on the top 200. The albums 2nd single Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind) was used as the end credit song for the 2011 film The Smurfs. It was also used in three Diet Coke commercials in 2011, a commercial for Sky TV in the UK, a commercial promoting Universal Orlando, and commercials for the 20th season of The Amazing Race. In January 2014, the song was used to promote the launch of the Australian subscription television net-work TVH!TS. It was also used in Alpha and Omega: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave. Let’s just say that the song was promoted A LOT. In 2013, the band released their 4th album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die. The album was the first album to feature new bassist Dallon Weekes. The album took a different turn in genre - people have even called it a ‘’party record” - as it was almost completely pop. The album featured the hit singles Miss Jackson and This Is Gospel. The record debuted number 2 on the U. S Billboard Top 200 earning the band their second career number 2. With promotion of the album the band got to go on the Save Rock And Roll Tour with bands such as Fall Out Boy and Twenty One Pilots. In January 2016, the band released their 5th studio album Death Of A Bachelor which is still currently the number 1 album on the Billboard 200 charts. The leading single Victorious reached up to number 89 on the U.S Billboard 200 and number 7 on the Billboard Rock Charts. Panic! At The Disco is one of those bands you never get sick of. There’s just something about them. Maybe it’s their uniqueness or the fact that their genres (and band members) are always changing. But one thing’s for sure, they truly are a musical inspiration. And hey, maybe you should check them out, because you may just find your new favorite band.

A Chat with Girls Basket-ball Player Sierra Gillian

by Vanessa Evers [grade 7] Vanessa: How old were you when you started basketball? Sierra: 7 years old Vanessa: Do you plan to play in the future? Sierra: Yes Vanessa: Why do you like basket-ball? Sierra: Yeah, be-cause it’s fun and I get to play with my friends. Vanessa: What is your most memorable moment? Sierra: When I made my first basket. Vanessa: Who inspired you to play? Why? Sierra: My cousin, because she used to play.

Science Olympiad by Mary Lee [grade 7]

Have you ever known that there was a competitive club named Science Olympiad? It is directed by Mr. Alderfer and is a great place to broaden our minds on science. Eve-rything comes from science and this year the events are pretty awesome. “There are good building projects this year,” Mr. Alderfer said. For example, there is an event called Air Trajectory where you get to build a real catapult. Science Olympiad keeps the stu-dents very busy. Not only are they supposed to do work after school, but they also have to do work at home. Like Mr. Alderfer said, “There are a lot of responsibilities for the kids and I am glad to have a good group of kids this year.” They also go to competition in March. Hopefully we will do well on the events we enter, but we probably won’t do well as a team because we didn’t do all the events. We wish the team luck and to give their all. As one genius has said, “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”

—Albert Einstein