May 2016

Newark Digital
Academy was
In this issue:
named Charter
School News
1-3
Student Opinions
4-8
Director’s Message
9
School of the Year
by the Ohio Alliance
of Public Charter
Schools. Contact us
to learn about what
makes us unique!
May 2016
Volume 1, Issue 7
“Inspiring individual learning through innovation.”
Newark Digitizer
www.nda.k12.oh.us
COMPUTER UPDATES
ALL student computers need to be
turned in this summer. Computers need to
END OF THE YEAR PICN IC
Thursday, May 26th at The Grove from 10 AM-2 PM
The Grove - 840 Hollander St. Newark, OH
be turned in by June 1st. If you are planning on doing
school work over the summer, you have until June
28th to bring it in. We need to update all computers
over the summer. Even if you brought your
computer in earlier this year for an update, we still
need your computer over the summer. Contact us if
Join us on the last day of school for food and fun!
All students and family members are invited to
attend.
you have any questions!
740-328-2022
SENIOR LUNCH
There will be a celebratory lunch at The Grove (840 Hollander St.) for current seniors and recent graduates. Thursday
May 19th from 12:30-2:30. NDA will close at noon so that staff can attend.
SUMMER HELP
We will be open for general tutoring in June, please call ahead for available dates and hours. If you need help in July or
the beginning of August please contact Amanda, 740-258-8220 or [email protected] (our building will be closed).
School News
Egg Drop Competition
On Friday, May 29th, three of NDA's best competed in the 3rd Annual Egg Drop Competition at COTC.
This exciting event brought the study of Physics at NDA to a fun and exciting conclusion. TEAM NDA consisted of Nicole Creekmore, Madison Grooms and Chloe Creekmore. These gallant young women put
forth a noble effort. Everyone had a great time with the competition and campus tour. Look for participation information early next year for the 2017 COTC Egg Drop Competition!
Senior Spotlights
NDA is proud of the hard work and determination all of our seniors have put forth this year. We wish them the
best as they move forward with their lives! Here are a few of our seniors and their plans for after graduation:
Tristin Greene
Tristin is moving to South Carolina with his family in July and will be attending Coastal Carolina University. He is undecided about his major.
Nicole Creekmore
Nicole is going to Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin, and she isgoing to major in nursing.
Will Jones
Is planning to take a “gap year” after graduation to work and volunteer before attending Denison University and majoring in communications.
Lacy Schurdell
Is going to OSU – Newark in the fall for early childhood education. She plans to get her license to teach Pre-K to 3rd
grade.
Meghan Busch
Meghan will be attending East Carolina University in the fall and studying business and interior design.
In Memoria
Avery Roquel McHenry
3/17/1999—4/24/2016
By: Jennifer Shields
Recently, the family of Newark Digital Academy lost one of our own. Avery McHenry
passed away from an undetected heart defect on Sunday, April 24, 2016. Avery was a
wonderful student. She always seemed to be running late, even if she was on time or
early. Avery worked hard, even when she wasn’t too sure of what she was doing.
When she was flustered, Avery had a smile on her face. Avery was a kind person, never wanting to hurt someone else. She was also a gentle soul, preferring not to fight anyone. She talked about traveling to other states, mostly to Alaska and Utah, to see more
of the world around her. She always had a new story about something that had happened in her life outside of school each time she came in. She would always add a “yet”
to the end of the statement. Avery loved her family, including her 2 dogs and her mom.
Avery didn’t have many close friends, but she was fiercely loyal to the friends she did
have. Avery had a good sense of humor and could take a joke, even enjoying being
called a “ninja” for all of her belts in Karate. Avery will be missed dearly by all who
knew her.
The cross memorial on the following page was made by Avery’s classmate, Tyler Green.
Student Opinions
Disclaimer: T hese are opinion articles written by students. T heir opinions are their own,
and their articles do not necessarily reflect the views of Newark Digital Academy. In addition,
NDA does not endorse any political party or candidate.
The Gold Standard
By Alex Dang, 11th grade
Before 1972, our money was backed by gold. It was called the Brenton Wood system. It started
from 1944, until 1972. The whole world backed their money by the US dollar and the US dollar
was backed by gold. When it was backed by gold, the economy was stable, safe. In 1972, Richard Nixon took the gold standard off the US dollar. After that, the economy of the world became
turbulent. The government debased the US dollar, as they kept printing more and more dollar
bills in the system, which in turn, made it lose value. Prices went up. Nowadays, authority print
trillions a year, leading to the National debt to be up to 19 trillion dollars.
The gold price for one ounce went up from $248 in 1972, to $1300 today in 2016. After Nixon
took away the gold standard from the dollar bill, our retirement of employees changed from Define Benefit pension (DB pension) to Define Contribute pension (DC pension). Most of average
people don’t even know what is different between them. DB pension was backed by gold, people
called it the gold plate pension. DC pension is 401k or mutual funded. It meant that you would
give money to an investment company, and they would put it in the stock market, pretty much
hoping for the market to go up. That’s why many people lose their retirement when they reach
sixty-five years old. Unlike gold, the stock market is unreliable because it can fail and go down at
any moment, making the DC pension more risky and unreliable.
So today in our generation, we don’t have financial security like our grandfathers. Back then, our
retirement was backed by gold. Not anymore. If we wanted any financial security when we get
older, we need to save up our money to buy physical gold, so that we can create our own DB
pension. If we saved money, or the US currency today, we’re pretty much losers because of the
inflation decreasing the value of the money. Saving money up today so that you can use it later
in 40 years in the future will mean nothing. A dollar saved today will turn into a penny a year later.
Buy physical gold that you can hold in your hands, and put it aside somewhere safe. Buy gold
every 3 or 6 months, when you have the money to spare. It’s the best strategy to prepare for the
future, and it’s the only way for you to prevent yourself by being ripped off from the inflation. The
inflation is the silent tax, and the population of the US doesn’t even know it.
This is important knowledge that you need to teach to your children and grandchildren, in order
to protect your money, until the government finally backs our US currency with gold again, like
before 1972. We need to prepare now when the gold is still affordable, because in 45 more years
when we’re all sixty five, the price for gold will be raised to $10,000 each ounce.
This is my final article for the year. Have a good night Newark.
Final Thoughts
By Will Jones, 12th grade
Constitutionalist/Libertarian
So to end the year I thought a very quick run through of different topics might be interesting.

Hillary Clinton should win a seat in prison over a multitude of issues.
 Donald Trump is no conservative and neither is Lindsey Graham or John McCain. The unfortunate
truth though, is that Graham and McCain are both more conservative than Trump.

Kasich is a loser and needs to get out of the race.
 Health Care needs to go back to the free market and if you see an issue with something start your
own company and fix it.
 To have an abortion, you should first look at an ultrasound, so you know exactly what you are doing. In the end the Declaration of Independence is quite clear, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
 Bernie Sanders Vs. Ted Cruz would be an awesome contest due to the two very different philosophies.

A flat tax is far better than the shrine to corruption of a tax system we have currently.
 The right to bear arms shall not be infringed is quite clear to me and if PG Sittenfield thinks otherwise he can tell his security to lose the guns for the sake of consistency.
 Democratic Socialism was coined by Joseph Stalin who accomplished only 20 million deaths by
some estimates. The Bubonic Plague sadly killed more.
 What is the difference between Socialism, Democratic Socialism, and Communism? The time it
takes for your life to be ended.
 The founders of this nation are rolling in their graves over the vast safety nets we have created.
The founders certainly believed in a safety net, the greatest safety net of all, the generosity of the
American people, neighbor helping neighbor, not Uncle Sam helping everyone except the taxpayer.

May you live in interesting times (if you see this I will certainly be surprised).
Lastly, I wish you well on your journey through life. Likely, this will be the last time I affect it on a far more
local level. If I have the pleasure to serve you as a civil servant, a true civil servant, I hope that I affected
you for the better and made a lasting impact for the better.
Well, I guess this is goodbye but I hope to see you all again at some point.
One more thing sir, (Culumbo reference) Alex Dang and I are podcasting together so be on the lookout for
that.
God Speed and Shields High!
NDA Sports Section: May Edition
By Dustin Eveland, 10th grade
Note- Some information in this article may be outdated due to date of publication.
BEST NBA SEASON EVER???!!! - NBA
There have been many seasons in NBA history, 70 seasons to be exact, but possibly none have
been bigger than this one ( including the season of the Dream Team). We have seen some
amazing things happen that we may never see before.
1. A legend has finally retired, Kobe Bryant.
2. The record for most wins in a season, and biggest number this season, 73 wins for
Golden State.
3. Kevin Durant is calling for the free agency, which he may be going to the Warriors, rumor has it.
4. The record for most losses to start, and the streak for most losses, was broken by the
76ers.
5. Steph Curry reached number 400 in terms of 3pters made, beating last year's record.
6. We even have the freaking Olympics this year!!!
What. A. Year.
NFL Schedules Released - NFL
We should really be excited. For one, we'll have at least two NFL Playoffs rematches before week 5 even hits! I got a notification on the best games to watch next year, and it was quite
a list, mostly filled with Panthers games, but whatever.
We'll get to watch a rematch of the Steelers and Bengals!! OK, I'm a Pittsburgh fan, so
that is gonna be a big one for me. Note- Burfict is not gonna play. Yay.
End of The Year. - Does It Have To Be About Nothing But Sports?
Well, we have reached the end of the final monthly sports article. This has been a fun
year for me, and I hope it's been a fun year for everybody on the Newark Digitizer Newspaper
team. We have been through a lot of good things, like perhaps the making of a Michael Jordan
(Stephen Curry), and the making of another awful Toronto Maple Leafs (76ers). Also, two of perhaps the biggest names in 21st century sports, Kobe and Manning, retiring.
Well, that's all, and be sure to catch the NBA Playoffs.
Jessie the Lynx
By Tyler Green, grade 11
This is my best friend Jessie. She is an 8 year old lynx that lives with my grandma. Jessie prefers wet food over dry,
and she loves to take walks around the house. She sleeps with me every time I stay my grandma’s house! She
loves to play fetch and to cuddle, she is as kind as can be, but don’t mess the family or you’ll see her turn
mean. She has her own bed but likes to sleep on the floor. Her teeth are razor sharp! I know this because Jessie
and I were wrestling one day, and she accidently bit my arm. I still have the scars!
Jessie is still living today at my grandma’s house, but my grandma passed away about 3 years ago. My
brother and I take care of her now. I wish I kept the pictures of Jessie and Grandma, but they’re long gone
now. Now each time I see Jessie it makes me want to cry, but at least I still have one thing left from my grandma.
My Blackbelt
By Baily Schurdell, 8th grade
On April 9, 2016, my hard work paid off. After around 300 classes and a couple karate camps I earned my
black belt in karate. There were 19 other students also receiving either their first or second degree black
belt. Also, three Sensei’s rank up a belt. Sifu Tony got the highest rank that day by getting his 6 degree
black belt.
th
It took a lot of work to get to this point. I have been trained in Karate, Kickboxing, Krav, Jujitsu, Point
Fighting, and MMA. I have also learned four weapons: the Sword, Sai, Bow Staff and Nun Chucks. The
Sai is my favorite.
At the black belt ceremony, we demonstrated different katas and forms including using karav to disarm a
gunman or an attacker with a knife. I participated in the Sai and sword kata and did several of the karate
forms. We also broke boards with a pop up front kick and a dive roll into a hammer fist. It was an exciting
day.
I feel karate teaches kids self-control, respect and discipline. It is also a good exercise program. I plan to
continue my training and become a sensei someday.
Traveling with Piper: Italy
By Piper Ramsey, 4th grade
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Europe famed for it's cuisine, consisting of pizza and pasta, among other things.
Language
Italy's official language is italian, for example:
Hello
Ciao
Goodbye
Arrivederci
Italy
Italia
Geography
Italy is in Southern Europe. To the north, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia.
The country's total area is 301,320 square kilometres (116,306 square miles).
Cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes with roots as far back as 4th
century BC. Italian food has been heavily influenced by Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, Judaism, and others. Significant changes occurred with the introduction of products such as tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, and maize. While they are now central to the cuisine, they were not introduced in quantity until the
18th century.
Director’s Message…
Newark Digital Academy
255 Woods Ave.
Newark, Ohio 43055
Tel: 740-328-2022
Fax: 740-328-2270
www.nda.k12.oh.us
A big THANK YOU to students and families for
all their hard work this year. I hope you were able to
accomplish both your personal goals and the goals we have
set for you. Please plan to join us for the Annual Family
Picnic at The Grove. The event is planned rain or shine
from 10 till 2 on May 26th! If you haven’t already, please
bring your computer in for an update. It is very important.
Again, thank you for your hard work this year and we
look forward to continuing to serve you in the future. Be
safe (this summer and always) online and everywhere.
John Lutz
Newark Digital Academy Recycles
By: Destanie Doyle
Did you know you can help save the earth while at school? The recycling bins are in the
hallway near the orientation room and in front of room two near the printer.
Let’s talk about what you can put in the recycling bins. Newsprint like magazines, catalogues, and phonebooks can go in as well as cardboard and paperboard like pizza boxes and
cartons. Aluminum, steel, or tin cans can go in, though they need to be emptied and rinsed out
before going into the bin. Plastic such as any bottles, containers, and lids can be recycled,
though like cans they need emptied and rinsed. Now we can recycle glass as well. Anything
that has held food or drink that can, needs rinsed to prevent pests, raccoons, or any other animal.
Now that a lot of things you can recycle but what can’t you recycle? Furniture, tires,
trash, Styrofoam, children’s toys, appliances, plastic bags, food, and items from commercial
operations are some of the things you can’t recycle.
We want to help the environment by putting stuff that belongs in the recycling bin and
what doesn’t belong needs to go into the trash. Also, save as much paper as possible. When
in doubt, check out the signs near the recycling bins about what you can and cannot put in
them. Here is a website you can go to for more information on recycling in Licking County visit
https://www.lcounty.com/rlc/default.aspx. For more information on the recycling program at
Newark Digital Academy visit Paul Barbuto in the math/science room.