maneframe - Kent School District

maneframe
Volume 1 Issue 7
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Ans
What’s Inside:
Swine Flue
Opinions
Field trip to Underground Seattle
Wencl’s wedding
News
CBA’s; 200 points up or down
By: Sara Madani
t’s that time of year again,
finals, tests, assessments,
and CBA’s fill up our
planners non-stop.
The social studies
Classroom Based Assessment is
d u e
soon.
T h e
requirements
are to
use five
Internet
and five
b o o k
sources
f o r
Ellen Joy doing rey o u r
r e - search
search,
a typed final draft has to be five
paragraphs. The font has to be
I
By: Gabby Madden
L
ove was truly in the
air on May 23, 2009,
at Theresa. Wencl’s
wedding.
This celebration of love
was held at
the Rose
Garden
with not a
cloud in
the sky.
Bridesmaids
And well if
there was a
cloud it
Courier New-size 12, and
double spaced.
On top of that,
CBA’s are worth 200
points!
That seems like a
lot to stress about, but if
you want to score a good
grade, then just listen to
Mr. T’s words of wisdom
of how to get an A. “Do
your research, use books
and magazines, know that
not all Internet sources are
reliable, like Wikipedia.”
W i k i p e - Tia working hard on her outline
dia is an online encyclopemake sure to “write exactly what
dia that has information that anyyour sources say.”
one can edit.
Mr. Thornton also adWith a complete
vises to revise, revise, revise! He
outline it will be easy for you to
says ask your friends to edit your
write your rough draft.
paper,
because they can catch your
Mr. Thorn- ton says
mistakes.
would be a cloud of love.
Meridian Middle
school’s Student Support
Teacher looked stunning in her
strapless white gown with a
blue slash around the waist.
From now on Ms.
Wencl’s name is Mrs. Castanada.
Theresa married
David Castaneda and danced to
“Me and You,” and walked
down the aisle to
“Somewhere Over
the Rainbow” by
Kamakawo’ole .
The cake
Both families
was lemon poppy seed with two
tiers.
David Castaneda proposed to Theresa at Salt Water
State Park on October 10, 2008.
“We had a picnic for dinner
and as the sun was setting he
popped the question.”
News
Seventh graders travel to Seattle
By: Rosie Gonzalez
he
7th
graders of
Team
Bold went
to Underground Seattle for their field
trip on May 8th,
2009. The 7th graders were pumped,
ready
to
leave
school, and have
major fun!
The
purpose for the field
The 7th graders getting ready to leave to Seattle!
trip was to support
Mrs. Jones’ unit in
Seattle. Also, the tour guides show
Washington state history.
It also supports litera- and teach you how people lived
ture circles that were being done and survived “Wild Seattle!”
A lot of Meridian stuin Mrs. Stoyko’s class. Each
dents liked the
field trip beLearning
cause they said
some new
it was new and
facts!
they had a lot
of fun.
Terri
Tran
from Meridian
said, “I loved
the field trip,
and wouldn’t
change
anything about it.”
Alec
Souriyadeth
said
his
favorite
part
of the
book selection takes place in the
field
trip
was
“the
bus
ride
there
Pacific Northwest and has conbecause it was fun and we were
nections to Washington State.
The Underground Seat- singing and I got some chick’s
tle tour is when people go number when we were at Sub“underground” where Old Seat- way.”
They had fun, got out of
tle used to be, and then you walk
school
for
a couple of hours and
around. While you’re walking
enjoyed
some
relaxation time. The
around you get to see different
Team
Bold
field
trip was a big hit!
store signs and pictures of old
T
Shelby Mustang
Trip
By: harjaap sandhu
H
ave you ever wanted
to see a lot of muscle cars in action?
Ms. Willert participated in the third annual Pacific
NW Meet & Greet Team Shelby
went on its trip down I-5. They
met
each
other at
the Tacoma
Mall on
Saturday,
May 30. They went to Vancouver, Washington.
Grabber, team Shelby’s
coordinator, holds the event at
his house each year. This year
they had four cars drive up from
California, and three cars drive
down from Canada. There were
50 cars total. They even had a
Saleen S7 show up.
Ms. Willert had lots of
favorite parts of the trip. She
liked taking turns peeling out of
the rest stop, driving down in
our group of 21 Mustangs, seeing the state troopers face and
yelling at them to get out of the
left lane.
She also liked sitting in
the square of cars and listening to all of
the cars
start
up
their
engines
and rev
them one
by one.
Finally,
she really liked
driving in a row of 50 Shelbys.
News
before mutation,
people can only get it from
pigs.
By: Mary NanquiIs there any type of
lada
vaccine that can save our lives?
o you even know what
Scientist has found out that
the word Swine Flu
there is no vaccine for the
means? Swine flu is a
Swine Flu, but there are four
big virus that is going
medications that can be given,
around world wide. Do you even
but only two are known to be
know where it came from, or how
effective against the outto prevent the Swine Flu?
break. Those two drugs are
People say that the Swine
called Tamiflu and Relenza.
flu is coming from a disease in
If you have repigs? Well it is true.
ceived the flue vaccine this
It’s caused by a virus in
year it will NOT PROanimals. It is highly contagious.
TECT YOU; the vaccine
The Swine Flu has a low
that was given to you can
death rate. This averonly last up to
age flue virus is more
six months.
common throughout
You
the whole year, but
can not get
more prevalent in the
sick from eatfall and winter.
ing pork, so
The Swine
don’t starve
Flu is not the kind of
yourself.
flu you guys see durFor humans the
ing winter. It’s a virus
symptoms
that usually causes respi- Image of Swine Flu Virus
are basiratory illness. You guy’s
cally the
might think that this is a
same as
new virus. But really it’s not!
when you have seasonal
You can get the Swine
flues such as fever, sore
Flu in two ways. You can get it
throat, cough, body aches,
with being in contact with a pig
chills, fatigues and headaches.
that has the virus, or if your enviIf you DO NOT want
ronment is contaminated with the
the get sick, I would follow
virus. You are most likely getting
these tips:
it from a person infected with it.
• Cover your nose and mouth
The Center for Disease
with a tissue when you
Control, CDC, is saying “that the
sneeze or cough.
disease is mostly coming from
•
Always wash your hands
people who have the virus.” But
with soap or use handunfortunately they do not know
sanitizer.
how easy it’s spreading.
•
Avoid close contact with a
Flu viruses are meant to
sick person. Flu spreads
change time after time which is
from person to person.
called mutation. So the Swine Flu
•
Avoid touching your eyes,
has mutated making it easier to
mouth, and nose. Germs
spread from person to person. But
can spread that way.
D
trying to get the award she said,
his year one of Me“I was definitely not trying to get
ridian’s own teachers
the teacher of the year award! I
won the PTA Outwork with so many teachers who
standing Educator of
deserve the award very
the Year. Everyone congratumuch. Meridian Middle School is
lated Mrs. Carlson on the presfull of teachers who love their jobs
tigious award given to her.
and want the very best for their
When
students. There
asked how it
are many teachfelt to be
ers here who
awarded
should have
teacher of the
gotten the
year she said,
award! ”
“I was comThe
pletely surlast question
prised when
asked if she was
my name was
going to try and
announced. I
get the award
definitely
next year she
was not exsaid,
pecting any
“I hope that a
kind of
different teacher
award. ”
will get the
She
award next
thinks she got
year. It is a
the award
great honor to
“because I
be given that
have some
title. Since
really great
there are so
students! My
many people
students work
whom I believe
Mrs. Carlson, Outstanding Teacher
hard and do a
of the Year
are wonderful
good job –
teachers, I think
they make besomeone else
ing a teacher fun and exciting.”
should get to experience the honor
She goes on to say that she
also. All of the teachers at Meridreally likes teaching and she
ian Middle School should be
hopes “it shows in what I do
called Teacher(s) of the Year!”
with my students and their famiNext year we will all be
lies. Maybe the students told
looking forward to who else will
their parents that they like my
be awarded the gracious award.
class and learn a lot. I really
Congratulations Mrs. Carlson!
don’t even know who chooses
the teachers who get the award.
”
When asked if she was
By: Sierra Hudson
T
News
THE NEW ASB
the teachers even got into the spirit
and dressed up in old sports uniforms! I guess Old School isn’t
that old yet.
Thursday
was full of nerds,
see students
dorks, and geeks
wandering in the
for Nerd Day. You
halls wearing
can stride through
ridiculous cloththe halls bumping
ing to support
into kids wearing
their school.
huge framed
Everyglasses, high waone was comfy
MMS staff celebrate Old-School day.
ters, suspenders,
on Monday.
etc. That was a
Dressed up in the
pretty
funny day!
cutest pajamas, it felt
And the last
like we just got out of
day
was
probably
the
bed. There wasn’t
most
spirited.
Friday
much of a variety.
was the day of Spirit
Seems like plaid is a
Day. Yellow and blue
favorite.
were proudly worn honTwins, Triporing the school colors.
lets, and kind-of
And to make it even
clones were on Tuesmore fun, we had a
day. Twin day didn’t
spirit assembly!
have much participaShaq Aulava
tion. But I did ask a
told
me
that
he thought
set of triplets how
Mr. Barto dressed up for
the spirit assembly was
they liked this day.
fun and exciting, and
Morgan
when I asked how he liked spirit
Keane, Mary Nanquilada, and
week he said, “It was fun and I
Rosie Gonzalez said “it was…
liked seeing everyone dressed up.”
something else.”
Our very
Seems like they
last
one.
Full
of
didn’t like it that
games,
speeches,
much, but still had
and noise, we had
spirit!
ourselves a blast!
We kicked
Spirit week was the
it “old school” on
most amusing week
Wednesday. Kids
of school, in my
and teachers
Mrs. Weinbrecht, Mr.
opinion.
dressed in the wildUpchurch, Mr. Werner, and
A special
est fashions. Stylish
Mrs. Stoyko in school colors.
thanks
to
Ms. Jones
knee high socks and
for coming up with
mini skirts were a
this whole mania!
popular fix for the students, and
By: Julia Styrenko
W
alking around
Meridian, you
By: Roman Kanonik
eridian ASB officers are the most
important people
in school. They
control dances and come up with
fun ideas for our school to enjoy.
The newly elected ASB
officers for the 2009-2010
Each officer had to fill
out a form, submit it, and then
M
2009-2010
ASB
President:
Cassandra Igama
Vice President:
Tommy Pham
Secretary:
Shannon Parmley
Senators:
Rosemary Dinh
Jocelyn Jones
Pamela Villaruz
post flyers for voting day.
These ASB officers
will be part of the school . They
will have to meet at 7:45 a.m.
once a week.
Congratulations to our
new ASB officers.
Our World
Head scarves; the symbol of
the eastern world
By: Dominique Williams
D
ress code is a big
issue at Meridian Jr.
High. We have
many rules here that
we are suppose to follow unfortunately dress code is one of
them.
The dress code rules
for girls are: shorts/skirts have to
be finger length; shirts have to
cover up; also known as “four
fingers below the neck.” No
tank tops allowed unless cover
the shoulders.
There many more rules
for girls but those are mostly the
biggest one’s right
now that are not
being followed since
summer is
almost here;
it’s getting
hot outside.
But still
make sure,
ladies, that your clothes
meet dress code approval.
Now; for the boys it’s a
different story. There are “no
hats” allowed in the building, no
sagging your jeans, no bandana’s or dew rag’s. No shirts
that symbolize drugs, gangs, or
violence.
Girls and boys have different
rules from each other but some
of them are alike. Like not wearing your pajamas to school because they are not appropriate.
If you don’t know the
dress code policy please read the
Meridian Handbook, so you will
stay dress-code approved.
By Celena Hansen
ead scarves are a
worldwide symbol.
They represent
religion, culture
and the ties to a person’s history. There is such a variety of
head scarves.
They spice up our
lives, but lately they have been
a symbol of ignorance and fear.
Ignorant men and women have
attacked innocent people just
for wearing head scarves.
Since 9/11 people
automatically believe that if
you wear a head scarf you have
ties to terrorism. This is nothing but nonsense; the purpose
of the head scarf is to express a
person’s individuality.
The Hijab, from the
Arabic word Haya meaning
“modesty,” is a symbol of a
woman’s modesty. It was used
to discourage stares from men
other than their husbands.
When Sara Mandani,
a resident Muslim, was asked
what her Hijab meant to her
she replied that “it’s a symbol
of modesty and who I am.”
People often think that
she wears it because she’s having a
bad
hair
day,
that
she’s
bald
or
that
her
parents
H
Sara is seen here in a traditional
Hijab
forced her. In Sara’s cause that is
not true. She was able to choose.
“In third grade I decided to wear
it and everyone’s reaction was to
be confused, but they got used to
it and accepted me for who I am.”
A Muslim man wears a
head dress trio consisting of a
Ghutra, a square scarf made of
cotton, the igal, a double black
cord that holds the Ghutra in
place, and lastly the Taqiyah, a
small white cap that keeps the
Ghutra from
slipping off
the head
Another religion
that wears a
head scarf is
Sikhism.
Most Sikhs
wear a turban
to cover their
long hair.
The
Sikhs do not
cut their hair
in order to
Harjaap is wearing a Turban
honor their
natural form.
A resident 8th grader, Harjaap, is
a Sikh. He wears his turban to be
closer to God. He, unlike Sara,
did not have the choice whether
or not to wear a head scarf, his
parent’s chose for him. But even
though he did not have the choice
he still enjoys wearing it.
Sikh woman wear a
chunni, a long rectangular cloth
that is draped over the
shoulders and head.
Head scarves are a fixture in daily life. Hopefully we
can learn to be accepting of them
in daily society.
Our World
TEXTUALLY
ACTIVE
By: Lorena Zarate
O
MG! LOL, let’s
talk about texting.
Texting is a form of
keeping in contact
but without talking, not just instant messages on AOL but texting through the cell phone. This
has been happening for a long
time all around the world.
Do any of the teachers
know what some of the texting
acronyms mean? I e-mailed a
few teachers to see what
they knew.
nd
rgan a
Here’s
ie, Mo
Madd r texting.
e
the test I
Heath
emailed:
1. kit
2. tmi
3. ttfn
4. mn
5.
aamof
6. 143
Mr. Rogers, Mr. foster
and Mr. Barto both think NM is
“never mind.”
Mr. Foster thinks KIT
was “keep it together” and TMI
is “too much information.”
Mr. Thornton got them
all right but how does he know
all of them. “Original texting
acronyms come from Internet
chatrooms,” he said. He also
said “they’ve been around in one
form or another longer than you
have.”
Ms. Moses thinks POS
is “please order socks.”
Some teachers know
the texting lingo, but some
don’t.
You don’t have to be
young to text, just young at
heart.
By: Maddie Miller
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By: Michael j. Quintero
Our World
T
his year at Meridian the
students thought it would
be fun to compare and contrast
the three Fosters and see how
alike they are.
Now you tell me by looking at these guys would you think they are at all similar? Yeah I wouldn’t think
so either. I mean look at these guys, two have glasses that’s about the only thing that they have in common.
They don’t look similar. One is old, another has glasses, and one looks like he plays football. Well
guess what. I went and interviewed them and it turns out that they aren’t very different. I guess what they say is
true, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Dustin Foster
Michael Foster
Alexander Foster
I asked, “Are you an athletic person?”
I asked, “Are you an athletic person?”
I asked, “Are you an athletic person?”
“Yes, I coach track and football.”
“When I was young, you bet yeah! It
was the number-one thing on my list.”
“Yes!”
“Are you a competitive person?”
“What sports did you play?”
“I like to win, but sportsmanship
comes first.”
“Would you prefer teaching or
coaching an athletic sports team?”
“What sports do you prefer to
play?”
“I played football, baseball, basketball, and I wrestled. I love every
sport!”
“Basketball and volleyball.”
“Are you a competitive person?”
“Are you a competitive person?”
“Yes, very. I always win.”
“Oh yeah!”
“Would you prefer teaching or
coaching an athletics sports team?”
“I rather be coaching.”
“Would you prefer teaching or coaching an athletics sports team?”
“I love coaching and teaching both, I
teach P.E.”
“I wish teachers would get paid
what professional athletes do.”
Opinion
In a
Veg out (:
PERFECT
World!!!
By: Morgan Keane
A
By: Bobby Dhaliwal
he Last house
on the Left is a remake from the 1972
movie. It’s a movie
about a girl (Mari) who goes
with her family to their remote
Lake house just to get some time
with each other away from
home. But Mari and her friend
are kidnapped
by a prison
escape and his
crew. Her only
hope is to make
it back to her
mother and
father, but unknowingly, the
people that
kidnapped her
end up staying the night over at
their house, but when her parents find out, they make 3
strangers pay that day! I
watched this movie in the theatre and can tell you that it’s very
heart-pounding and scary at
times. When you’re least expecting it, a new surprise arises! If I
had to grade it, I’d give it a B+.
2203 users on Yahoo movies
also rated it and gave it
a B. It is very thrilling
and I’d recommend it
for anyone above
the age of 13!
T
By: Sonya Glaspy
eri Hilson’s new CD
“In a perfect
World…” was re-
K
leased in
2009. Keri
Hilson
didn’t start
out as a
singer. Ms.
Hilson
started out
writing
number ONE hits for other special celebrities such as Mary J.
Blidge, Timbaland, and Brittney
Spears. Seeing the success of all
of her songs Ms. Hilson decided
to launch her own career and put
out her first single… IN A PERFECT WORLD. Lindsay W.
said, “I love the whole CD. I
downloaded the whole CD to
my iPod. If I could listen to it
all day I would.”
Matina also likes the
CD. She said, “My favorite
song on the CD is Knock you
down ft. Kanye West and Neyo.
I just love the song and the
video is amazing.”
Another Monarch,
Dasha, also likes the CD. She
said, “it’s myThat is favorite
CD for the whole year even
though the year just started. My
favorite song on the CD is
“Turning Me On.” The beat is
banging and lil Wayne’s rap is
unbelievable”
s the planet starts to
attempt to go green
it seems like more
people are making a
jump from being omnivores to
becoming herbivores.
And the big question is
whether or not the switch is better for you? Some experts believe that it can even lengthen
your life span up to ten years.
Vegetarians and vegans
tend to have healthier and
stronger immune systems.
According to
goveg.com, “research has shown
that vegetarians are 50 percent
less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent
of the cancer rate of meateaters.”
Did you know that eating one pound of meat causes
the same expel of greenhouse
gasses as driving an SUV about
40 miles?
Some people even
think that eating animals is causing global warming. Why?
Sierra Hudson says she
is a vegetarian because she
“likes animals.”
She has been full vegetarian for the past ten onths. She
has also feels and exhibits
healthier behaviors. She also has
noticed being sick less often.
Maintaining a vegetarian diet throughout a pregnancy
sounds almost
impossible but
doctors are all
agreeing that if
you can do it
your child will
get a much
healthier start.
Opinion
By: Kenny Cossey
By: Nayab Shakir
n May 1,
2009, X-Men Origin:
Wolverine came out
to theaters and made
thirty-five million dollars on its
opening day. This movie was
directed by Gavin Hood.
In X-Men Origins:
Wolverine starts off in Canada
in 1835 with a young James
Howlett (Wolverine) lying down
in his bed with the flu. His
friend Victor Creed (Sabretooth)
is sitting in the chair watching
him. Then Victor’s father Thomas Logan comes into the house
drunk and shoots James’s father.
That’s when he grows his claws
for the first time. He then kills
Thomas and learns that he is his
real father. James then runs from
the house into the forest when
Victor goes with him saying that
they are brothers and they have
to look out for each other.
Next it shows Victor
and James now going by his true
last name, Logan, fighting in the
Civil War, both World Wars and
the Vietnam war. While in Vietnam Victor loses control and
kills a commanding officer. The
two brothers are sentenced to
death by a firing squad, but due
to their healing abilities, they
survive. After that they get recruited into Team X, an elite
group of mutants working for
the government. But when Wolverine sees his brother and the
team kill a village in Africa, he
leaves the team. Victor feels like
his brother abandoned him so he
goes after the former teammates.
The rest of the movie is
about Wolverine trying to get
revenge on his brother for ruining his life.
tudents at Meridian Middle
School have a variety of
different opinions to the
results of American Idol.
There was an outstanding amount of
people that voted. Students at Meridian Middle School have very different opinions to who should have
won.
Sara Madani an 8th-ggrade
student said, “I think Norman Gentle
should have won because he was
hilarious.”
But others like Shivani
Kapoor had a lot to say about the
results, although she disagreed completely with what America had
voted. She said, “I think a girl
should have won because girls are
the best, Yeah! And I also think that
Danny should have won if not a
girl."
Sarprit Singh had more
than a mouthful to say to us when
we asked him who he thought
should have won American Idol this
year. He said "there’s a lot of good
singers but the thing is it’s all about
O
S
talent and the
best vocals. You need to be confident
you can’t choke and everyone has a
beautiful voice, but it’s either you can
sing or you can’t. There’s no both ways.
But to answer the question I think Adam
should have won."
Seventh-grader, Ramsha
Shakir, also had very different views to
who should have won American Idol this
year. She said, "I think Danny should
have won because he is a very good
singer and he rocks the stage every performance."
Idaly Molina
also had many favorites. She said, "I
think either Danny
should of won or
Norman Gentle. They
were both awesome."
Now unlike
Ramsha S.
those picky people,
Josh Kith said, "I think Kris should have
won....and he did! Yay!" Bobby Dhaliwal also agreed that Kris was the rightful
winner for the competition.
So those are the kids’ opinions
about who should have and shouldn’t
have won American Idol.
Getting noticed
By: Torey Villar
he most common problem in Meridian Middle School is getting noticed.
Did you ever walk up to your friend and they end up bringing up something about this anonymous person and then they can’t believe you don’t
know that person? Well I’m sure that has happened.
Some people, like me, are the type who like to stay out of the picture because they are scared something might happen. Well not any more. You should be
yourself. There is nothing to be afraid of. I say, “You are you and if people don’t
like you for who you are then they are missing out.”
Vina Nguyen said, “You should dress in something new but not too standout-ish and always talk to people no matter what.”
Katie said, “if she knows the answer, she will answer it and not be afraid of
what other people say.”
Be yourself. It doesn’t matter what you wear, like you can wear two different shoes and a weird kooky hairstyle; that’s who you are. If you don’t know a lot of
people, like me, get to know people. Like say Hi to someone you have never met.
Who knows, maybe that person may have a lot of the same interests as you.
T
Sports
By: Alicia Fuentes
veryone knows about
our school’s volleyball
team. They won, they
lost, but what did they
do during practices and after the
season
was over? I
got the inside scoop
with some
of the
previous
volleyball
players,
and
lis-
E
eli P.
Arac
By: Shaquille Aulava
he shot-put is difficult
at first, and it’s a lot of
work. It’s a small
round ball that weighs
eight pounds for the guys and
six pounds for the girls. At first
you might think it’s easy but
once you try to throw it, it’s
difficult, and it might not get
far-forty feet is a good distance.
This track season a Mill Creek
student, who looked like a high
school sophomore, threw the
T
A shot-putter prepares in the ring
tened in to what they said. I asked
Araceli Padilla first.
“The team was good.
They were really nice.” Even
though she quit, she was still able
to play some good rounds. Go
Araceli!
Next, I went on over to
Rehmat Pannu to ask her how
some of the games went. Here’s
what she had to say.
“It was a really fun experience. It was really exciting,
and I think I improved a lot. My
position was the defense back
row.”
It was really nice of Rehmat to give me her info.
Next up, I asked Jasmine
a few questions as well. Here’s
what she had to say.
“I had a lot of fun playing. I was also really sad that it
ended. We played a good season.
My position(s) was everything on
the court.”
That’s some good info to
have for our
readers.
This
was the people on the
volleyball
team, and
they really
enjoyed playing, even
though it had
to end so
soon.
Jasmine S.
middle school record of
43’ 7.” The previous
record was just over 40”.
A shot-putter
enters the “ring” from the
back, otherwise they get
scratched and the throw
won’t count. And, if you
throw and you end up at
the outside the ring you
scratch.
The first thing a
thrower has to do is put
the ball to his cheek. He
doesn’t throw it like a
A shot-putter gets ready to throw
baseball or basketball. It
is possible to break a
shoulder blade because the ball is
is the footwork. There is a techtoo heavy to throw like a baseball
nique is called “the glide.” To
or anything else.
move in a smooth, effortless manThe only way to throw
ner. But the skills needed to masthe shot is to push it hard in the
ter the glide are a lot of speed and
air. The most important technique
mostly strength.
Sports
Meridian baseball
finishes season
team batting average was an imBy: Kellen Wilson
pressive .438.
he eighth-grade MeKyle Kenney said, “I
ridian baseball team
think we had an awefor 09’ finished their
some seabaseball season with a
record of 4-6.
They were
able to
win
both of
their
last
games
against
Mill Creek
and
Meeker to
finish a
great season.
The
Monarchs
started out in
the beginning
.
of the season
eet i n g
as a m
son.”
h
strong but lost
y
t
i
s
var
n
a
i
Kyle
also
said
his
id
their intensity
r
Me
“favorite part of the season was
during the season.
hanging out with my teammates.”
But towards the
end,
For the Meridian boys
they were able to find that intenthey had a great and fun season
sity and play hard to finish the
together.
season strong.
The eighth graders are
The Monarchs had
moving
on
to prepare for their
some good players that lit up the
high school teams and the seventh
season, including Dumit Malagraders will
be
con who batted .665 for the seapreparing
son with 1 homerun,.
to play
Michael Tanaka baton the
ted .640 for the season with 1
eighthhomerun and Tyler Brown batgrade
ted .531 for the season with 1
team
homerun.
next year.
The Monarchs scored a
total of 93 runs on 127 hits. The
T
By: Allan Kamuyu
aleigh Burton is an
eighth grader who is
on the track team. I
asked her some
questions about track and this is
what she said.
H
Why
did you join
track? “Because it’s fun
and challenging.”
What events do you do in track?
“I do hurtles and shot –put.”
How long does it usually take
you to run a mile? “About
seven minutes.”
What place do you usually
come in on hurtles and shot put?
“Like second or third place.”
Face in the Crowd
By Miriam Culwell
I
f you see him in the hallway, you might think
Chris Leatham is just a
normal 8th grader here at
Meridian. This assumption is
quite wrong, because Chris is far
from ordinary.
When asked about himself, Chris said, “I’m an eighthgrader who is always really
busy.” In the Meridian band, he
plays the alto saxophone. Unbeknownst to most, he also
plays the drums in an out-ofschool band.
“I’m a drummer for a
band where a group of people
Monkey Wrench pe
rforming
pick people around my age to be
in the band
with me.
After
three
months
of practice we
get a gig at
several places like
Studio Seven in
Seattle and Hell’s
Kitchen in Tacoma,” he told me.
“We get a four-song-set
list in each band that plays
(amount of bands vary). The songs
are our choice, whether its cover
songs or ones we wrote. Right
now my band has four people
in it and it is called Monkey
Wrench. We have been together for about a year
(some of us longer than
others). We have played
songs like “Knights of
Cydonia,” “Lump,”
“First Date,” and }
Perfect Situation,”
Along with
being a talented musician, Chris is also an
astounding athlete. If
you went to a track
meet, you probably
saw him in the 100
meter dash and
shot-put, and he was
also the anchor for the 4x100
relay.
When I asked him about
track, Chris said, “We run a lot
almost every day. But we have fun
doing it.” He also said that, “Short
shorts are gross.”
“Chris is just purely awesome. He's a great
musician, an
amazing
sprinter,
and a
true
friend,”
said Nathan Woo.
Andrew Swanson said,
“He's pretty
funny, smart,
athletic, and
just an all
around cool
guy.”
News
By:
Araceli Padilla
By: Ekaterina Aladjieva.
M
emorial Day,
originally
called
Decoration
Day, is a day of remembrance for people who
have
died in United
States nation's service. There are
many stories as
to its actual
beginnings,
with over two
dozen cities and towns laying
claim to being the birthplace of
Memorial Day.
It is not important
who was the very first, what is
important is that Memorial Day
was established. Memorial Day
is about reconciliation; it is
about coming together to honor
those who gave their all.
Memorial Day was
officially proclaimed on May 5.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New
York in 1873. By 1890 it was
recognized by all of the northern
states. The South refused to ac-
knowledge the day, honoring their
dead on separate days
until after World War I.
Now we celebrate Memorial Day in every
State on the last Monday
in May to ensure a
three-day weekend for
Federal holidays.
Several southern
states have an additional separate
day for honoring the Confederate
War dead.
Traditional observance
of Memorial Day has diminished
over the years. Many Americans
nowadays have forgotten the
meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the
graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected.
Most people no longer
remember the proper flag etiquette
for the day. While there are towns
and cities that still hold Memorial
Day parades, many
have not held a parade
in decades. Some people think the day is for
honoring any and all
dead, and not just those fallen in
service to our country.
Holidays This Summer
4th of July-Independence Day
July 9-Rock N Roll Day
July 15-Cow Appreciation Day (also Gummi Worm Day)
July 23-Nation Vanilla Ice Cream Day
August 1-Respect for Parents Day (also Sister’s Day)
August 6-Root Beer Float Day (aka Brown Cows)
August 10-S’mores Day
August 25-Christmas is Yellowstone National Park
September 7-Labor Day
W
hat does
Mothers
day
really
mean to you? Mother’s day is on
May 10th and Father’s Day is on June
21st. Mothers Day began
during the time of the
ancient Greeks. But it
wasn’t until 1905 that it
became an official holiday
here in the U.S. Mothers
Day was originally called
“Mothers Work Day” but it later
changed. Anna Jarvis had originally started this holiday. What
does Fathers Day mean? Father’s day originally began in
1935 in Spokane, Washington.
While listening to a Mothers day
sermon; Sonora Smart Dodd
thought that Fathers should be
appreciated also. I wonder what
other people think what Father/
Mother’s day really mean and
what they do for their parents on
this special occasion.
Sibley Ortiz thinks
“that Father/Mother’s day is a
day where parents could get
appreciated for everything that
they do. For Mother’s day I usually try to do nice things for my
mom.”
Roman Kanonik thinks
that it’s “a good day for the parents because they have a day to
themselves to make
them
happy.
For
Mother’s
Day I buy my
mom chocolate
and on Father’s
Day I get my dad a
ten dollar bill.”
End of the Year
Good Luck, 7th Graders!
teacher I regretted having. I’m
t is almost the end of the
soooooooo excited for 8th grade
school year and the sevbecause of the new teachers, and
enth graders get more anxof course, the girls and sports.”
ious for 8th grade. To some
It looks like the boys enseventh graders, this school year
joyed their seventh grade year, but
felt like it was hard. While othdid the girls enjoy it as well?
ers, thought it was the best year
Mele H. says, “My sevso far.
enth-grade year was awesome! I’m
For Alec S., he enjoyed
very excited for eighth grade behis seventh grade year. “This
cause I get to be with my friends
year was
again and we get to be
good, it was
at the top of the school.”
better than
Maryanne K.
elementary.
says, “My seventh grade
I’m so exyear was pretty fun,
cited for 8th
except the laptops. I’m
grade benot really looking forcause us 8th
ward to eighth grade
graders can
because I like the eighth
beat up
graders here.”
Alec’s happy face for 8th grade.
‘sevies’ and
In some 8th
pick on
graders’ point of view,
them. I’m also excited for the
they think 8th grade was one of the
girls and the sports.”
best years of their lives. Hopefully
For Edgar S., it is also
the incoming 8th graders will think
about the girls and sports. “This
so too.
year was fun, but there was one
By: Nikki Ocampo
I
By: Prableen Kaur
It’s almost the end of the
school year! Everyone’s
got their summer dreams,
but then again there’s
always your summer
reality.
Eighth graders…this is
your last summer before high
school!
Meagan is “going to
California for a month to go to a
wedding and to visit my dad. I
hope we’ll go to some beaches,
but I’ll probably end up sitting
around or hanging out with my
friends.”
Elaha “dreams about
losing weight, but I’m probably
going to end up gaining weight.”
Kai wants “to go camping, play soccer, sleep, but I’ll
probably end up sleeping the
most.”
Sarprit wants “to go to
Wild Waves and surf the ocean,
but I won’t get to because I have
to go to summer school.”
Anthony wants “to get
a real job, but I’m going to end
up mowing lawns.”
The road to high school
By Kyle Kenney
W
ell the
school
year is
almost
over and now it’s time
to think about high
school.
Some people
are wondering, what
school you will be going
to and what are you most
excited about?
Well I’m going to
Kentwood High School and
I’m excited for the sports and
the cool classes that they have.
Allan
Kamuyu is going
to “Kent Meridian because I was
accepted into the
tech academy
there.”
Kellen Wilson
is excited for
different and
better
classes.
academy
h
c
te
e
in th
Allan is
Shaq A. said
at KM
he is going to
Kentwood because of the
sports. He said that his sport that
he is most excited for is football.
Madison M. said
that she is going to Kentwood because of their soccer team. And
Heather H. said she is going there
because that’s “where my mom
went and my uncle so they want
me to go there now!”
Roman K. is going to
Kentwood and he is excited for
better classes and more people to
meet and hang out with.
I hope that whatever high school that you are going to next year is going to be a
fun and awesome experience!
Bobby: I would leave my
style to Alec Sourpatchkids
Maggie: It
would be to
Tommy Pham,
he’s my favorite.
I would either
leave my spirit or
my red pencil.
Kayla:
Ayanna:
A hug to my
I’d give away
my clothes to
Alex Dunnigan
because our
style is alike.
Dominique: I would leave my
lock so they don’t have to buy it. I
would probably give it to Rio, because I would throw it at him.
Kiia: It’s a toss-up between
David: He would give
Tommy Pham and Nick (Nicky)
Behnen. But I would leave my awesome laugh to either of them because they don’t have a cool enough
laugh, but their still my favorite!
his Xbox 360 to Alec
The Year is
coming to an
end and soon
the EIGHTH
GRADERS will
leave Meridian
for good. So to
show the
SEVVIES our
love, some
eighth graders
are leaving
something
behind!
Shahill: I’d leave my
Kylee:
I will give my
basketball skills to Allison
Hammer
football jersey
Meagan: My Hawaiian time to my
favorite sevvie,
Alina, I’m always
three hours late!
Dalton: My wrestling
shoes!
Chenda:
I’ll give my
good looks
to Brandon
Wier.
Zan: I would give my basketball skills to Alec Sourpatchkids because he needs to work
on his game.
Gerard: I’d give my
kidney to Alec.
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