Belzer Middle School Student Newspaper

Belzer Blog
March 25, 2014
Belzer Middle School Student Newspaper
Volume 1, Issue 9
HAS
2

Testing
101
3

4
5
Fall Creek  National  Science
VS.
& Interna- News
Belzer
tional
news
6-7

8
9-10
New in
 HOT
 Athletics
Technolo- TOPIC at
gy
BMS
Students gear up
for ISTEP testing which begins this week.
9-10
12

Gossip

Puzzles

Reviews

Human
Interest
Testing 101
By: Lexi Odle.
The second round of
ISTEP will begin for
7th graders on Thursday, May 1st, and students have a lot
of work to do to prepare. There will
be tests for Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies (7th grade
only) tests that students will be taking in computer labs. Another week
of testing sounds very scary and
overwhelming, but if you use the
right strategies, ISTEP can be easier
and less stressful for you!
Prior to Testing
Study, Study, Study! ISTEP is not
something easy to study for because students don’t know what
the questions on the test will be,
but some websites are great for
tests like ISTEP. A few great sites
are http://www.doe.in.gov/
assessment/istep-grades-3-8 and
http://koeppel.weebly.com/7thgrade-testing-practice.html.
http://www.acuityathome.com/
index.jsp and https://
www.khanacademy.org/ are also
good sites for studying. Find a
way to make studying a game!
Many students have found out that
they learn better when they play a
game or do fun activities. Get your
friends together for a game of
JEOPARDY at https://
jeopardylabs.com/play/7th-gradeistep-practice
Get a good night sleep. The average
teenager should get around 9
Got
gum?
hours of
sleep a
night in
order to perform their best
during the day.
Eat a good breakfast. Scientific
studies have shown that foods
with protein are the best
“brain food”. Meat, eggs,
cheese, and nuts are best.
During the Test
Chew gum or eat hard candy.
Chewing gum is actually known to
improve test grades and help you
concentrate. Ask your testing supervisor/teacher if you can chew
gum during the test.
Stay calm. The ISTEP tests aren’t
that hard. You shouldn’t stress, just
take a deep breath and concentrate.
If you start to stress or worry, inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath
for 2, then exhale for 4-6 seconds.
Eventually, you’ll calm down.
Use POE, Process of Elimination.
Use this strategy for every multiple choice problem you have in
ISTEP.
Answer the easy questions first.
Many students complain that they
always run out of time on the
ISTEP test. However, they could
avoid this if they solve the less
difficult problems first, especially
on the test. You are actually
more likely to get better
scores if you save the hardest questions for last.
Remember PIRATES:
P - Prepare to succeed
I - Inspect the instructions
R - Read, remember, reduce (your choices)
A - Answer or abandon
T - Turn back (to the passage/problem for help)
E - Estimate (to check your answer)
Volume 1, Issue 9
S - Survey (what you read or what you wrote)
Page 2
Fall Creek vs. Belzer
By Emma Orcutt. Starting next school year, students
will be allowed to choose what middle school they wish
to go to. Online, Fall Creek has been reviewed 26 times
and received an average of 3 stars out of 5 by past and
current students and parents on http://
www.greatschools.org/indiana/indianapolis/. The most
recent positive review was posted January of 2013 and
stated:
“The teachers really know what they’re doing. It is
safe, straight-edge and moral program that draws a lot of
good kids to it.”
Fall Creek Valley also received a negative review that
said:
“No-one pays attention to the classwork that's almost
completely worthless anyway for serving almost no educational value and is rather disorganized and the students
are all expected to
learn fully from
short-hand notes
(and they wonder
why their test
scores are so low)
on a marker
board.”
Students at Fall
Creek are above
average in math
and average in
reading. They received 6 out of 10 on the great schools
website and are average overall. They received a ‘C’
from the Department of Education.
Boston Remembers
By: Michaela Jews and
Brennan Mahto. One
year ago, Boston’s marathon was bombed. This
year, the runners returned
to Beacon St, Chestnut
Hill Avenue, & Boylston
St. to finally finish the
race that was stopped last
year when the
bombs went off.
The amount of runners increased this
year to nearly
36,000—27,000
more than the
amount ran in the
last marathon. Last
Volume 1, Issue 9
year’s bombs killed 3
people and injured 260
leading to a massive investigation and manhunt
for the bombers.
This year’s race was
the 118th marathon for
Boston. The event took
By: Jillian Hartlerode. Coming up next school year, parents will be able to choose
where their students will
attend middle school. While
the choice is ultimately up
to students’ legal guardians,
students do have an opinion
on where they may end up
for the 2014-2015 school
year. Here is some information that may help with the
decision.
The test scores for 2013 are
as follows: Seventh Grade:
English/Language Arts= 70%
Passing and Mathematics=
90% Passing. Seventh graders
are under the state average
passing rate in English by 4%,
but above the Math percentage by 9%. Eighth graders
have a 74% passing rate in
English and an 85% passing
rate in Math. They are below
the English percentage by 2%
and above the Math by 3%.
Because of these scores and
our behavior, we received an
‘A’ by the board of education.
On the website Great Schools
place on Monday April
21. Many runners had the
three names of the people
who died in the bombing,
Krystle Campbell age 29,
Lu Lingzi age 23, and
Martin Richard age 8
written on their bibs or
shirts in their memory.
The marathon had a
high level
of security
and concluded
without
any problems.
(www.greatschools.org)
where you are able to rate and
review schools around the
country, Belzer Middle
School’s reviews average 3/5
stars, the most recent reviews
being of 4-5 stars and older
ones (Dated around 2004)
sinking to the low of a single
star. The recent reviews state
that they are very pleased in
the quality of education, behavioral display, and the care
shown from staff to students.
The overall score by the website itself the school received
an 8/10, meaning they are
above average. BMS’ math
and reading growth and test
score ratings in 2013 are
above average compared to
the district and state.
Boston’s Winner
By Tyler Isaac. This year's Boston Marathon
boasted the first American man to cross the
finish line in over 30 years. The 1983 winner, Greg Meyer, was the last one to do so.
Meb Keflezighi, age 38, came in at an official time of 2:08:37 making him this year's
winner. The women elite group winner was
Kenya's Rita Jeptoo, age 33, who won her
division with the time of 2:18:57. Over
36,000 runners participated in this year's
race--many of whom did so to honor last
year's marathon bombing victims.
Page 3
Flight 370 Search Continues
By: Lexi Odle. As of Monday,
April 14, 2014, search crews
have decided that they will send
a
submarine into the Indian Ocean
to
search for wreckage from the
Malaysia Flight 370. They hope to
send the sub as soon as possible.
After observing satellite data, officials believe that the plane went
off
course for some unknown reason and crashed into the water. Also, after
conducting heat tests to look for the plane, officials have zoned in on an
area that they think the plane could be about 500 square miles, roughly the
size of Los Angelos
The submarine used in the search is called Bluefin-21, and it has a big
job to do. The sub sends sonar signals to the ocean floor and uses echolocation to create a vague map of the ocean floor. Scientists can then use the
data the Bluefin-21 collects to determine whether or not the shapes they
see are just jagged rocks, normal terrain in that part of the ocean, or actual
wreckage from MH370, but this is not an easy task. The shapes the sonar
maps show are colorless, and so vague in shape that one could easily confuse a rock or random piece of metal for actual evidence.
The situation is very “iffy”, but investigators are becoming desperate.
"We haven't had a single detection in six days, and I guess it's time to go
under water," said Angus Houston, the head of a joint agency coordinating
the search off Australia's west coast.
Investigators are hoping that this new search will give them further evidence on the whereabouts of the crashed plane, Malaysia flight 370.
A Five Year-Old Pirate
By Victoria Miller. A young boy was looking
around in a pond and found the best thing any five
year old could ever find; stolen treasure! The local
newspaper for Nuremberg, Bavaria in Germany
reported that the boy was playing around a pond
and found something glittery. As soon as he saw it,
he shouted for his parents. Soon after running to
their
child,
the parents
and the
boy
pulled
a bag
full of
jewelry
from
the
depths of the pond. The police estimated the whole
find was worth at most $14,000. However, soon
after a spokesperson assured them that it was
MUCH more than that. Unfortunately there was no
‘Finders Keepers’ clause at the end of this story; the
police gave the owner back their valuable jewelry.
Flight 370 Identity Scam
By: Brennan Mahto and Michaela Jews. False reports
and scams are found on Facebook involving flight
MH370. (Readers: do not try to find this link on Facebook because this is a SCAM and they will try to steal
important information on your computer) These false
links of MH370 are being found all over websites such
as Facebook. Officials want everyone to be beware of
these false links; these are scams
wanting to steal identities. If you
do find anything on Facebook
such as this picture to the left, do
some research. Find the facts
before cybercrimes are committed toward you.
nd
Mr.Fluffy-Cheese Pants Bob—the 2 Story
By: Olivia Salvo. Several students from Indian Creek and Skiles Test joined together to continue
their passion for robotics this year. Both S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) schools
have robotics/programming clubs. These few students are now part of the Belzer robotics club.
First was the programming club at Skiles. This club was dubbed “The Code Club” by then S.T.E.M. teacher, Mr. Arnold. This was then transformed into “8-Bits” which was named for the 8 veterans of “Code Club”. This team competed in the
Lego Mindstorm tournament of 2013. Indian Creek started with the robotics club “Absolute Magnitude”. They also competed
along with the “8-Bits” team in the Mindstorms competition.
Belzer’s team is comprised of three girls, Sarah V, Kendall M, and Olivia S. They all work together in competition
with their robot. The robot was named “Mr. Fluffy-Cheese Pants Bob the 2nd”. This year, the team competed in two competitions, and plans to do the same next year. The competitions take a whole weekend and lots of dedication. There are anywhere
from 20-50 other teams in the middle school level tournaments. Next year the robotics club will start a new team, so when they
leave for high school, the robots will live on.
Volume 1, Issue 9
Page 4
Bloody Night
By: Brennan Mahto and Michaela Jews.
On April 15, 2014, east of the Mississippi,
there was a lunar eclipse in the sky. This
eclipse makes the whole moon look a
blood like red, this so called “Blood
Moon” also represents the end of the
world. There is nothing to be discouraged
or scared about the, blood moon happens
when the moon hovers above the sun (at
night) and it looks red. This moon is rare
and there will only be a few more opportunities to see the moon in America. The
next one is due Oct. 8, 2014, followed by
blood moons April 4, 2015, and Sept. 28,
2015,
according to
NASA.
There
will be a complete lunar eclipse on the
following dates.
The Hell Chicken
By: Lexi Odle and Olivia
Salvo. Paleontologists recently announced a new
species of feathered dinosaur in the Dakotas. This
dinosaur is called the Anzu Wyliei (an~zoo
why~lay~ee), and it is
around 25 feet long and 11
feet tall. It belonged to a
group of bird-like dinosaurs known as Oviraptorosaurs, a diverse group
of species ranging from
the size of a turkey to the
26-foot Gigantoraptor
from Inner Mongolia,
which is a little bigger
than the new species. Scientists estimate that this
dinosaur lived 66-68 mil-
lion years ago, around the
same time the T-rex and
the Triceratops were alive.
The Anzu Wyliei skeleton
was found in the Hell
Creek formation, giving
this dinosaur its nickname,
The Hell Chicken.
The Anzu Wyliei was
identified by three partial
skeletons. Two skeletons
of the new dinosaur were
discovered by private collectors, including Mike
Triebold and the Nuss
family in South Dakota,
and later acquired by the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.
A third partial skeleton
was recovered by a team
led by Tyler Lyson.
The Hell Chicken has a
beak, talon-like claws on
its arms and feet, and short
feathers covering its body.
There is a large crest on
top of its head. The Anzu
Wyliei was estimated to
be an omnivore, because
of its lack of teeth. Despite
its name, it actually resembles an ostrich more than a
chicken or turkey. This
new species confirms having several Oviraptorosaurs in North America,
leaving us with a new
challenge to Asia’s dinosaurs.
Ferry Flips
By: Eric Carr. Anguished relatives of missing
South Korean ferry passengers waited sullenly for answers Thursday as rescuers fought
bad weather, murky water, darkness and time
to find a way deep into the capsized ship.
Authorities believe 287 people -- many of
them high school students on a field trip -remain trapped inside the five-story ship. At
least some, authorities say, could still be alive
more than a day after the ship rolled over.
Meanwhile, the ferry's captain is facing
mounting questions about the incident.
Among other things, authorities are investigating the possibility the ship was off course when it ran into trouble, as well as reports that few of its lifeboats made it into the water, according to Kim Soo Hyeon, the chief of South Korea's Yellow Sea Maritime Police Agency.
Volume 1, Issue 9
Page 5
Signs for Bullies
By Adrianna Townsend. Sunday, April 13th in South Euclid,
Ohio, a man was sentenced to
wearing a sign declaring that he
is a bully. The bully, Edmond
Aviv, is 62 years old and has
been bullying his neighbor,
Sandra Prugh and her family,
for 15 years. Sandra has 2 disabled children, a paralyzed son,
and a disabled husband. Two of
her children have cerebral palsy
and epilepsy, and her husband
has dementia. Aviv was sentenced to wearing a sign that
said, “I AM A BULLY! I pick
on children that are disabled,
and I am intolerant of those that
are different then myself. My
actions do not reflect an appreciation for the diverse South
Euclid community I live in.”
Glass Etiquette
By: Olivia Salvo. With the more public release of Google Glass
on the 15th, a new “Glass Etiquette Guide” was written. Some
have laughed it off as a prank and others have taken Googles
advice on the new world of Glass. Our thoughts on some of
these follow, and you can find the official page here: https://
sites.google.com/site/glasscomms/glass-explorers
DON’T:
Rock Glass while doing high-impact sports: Glass is a piece
of technology, so use common sense. Water skiing, bull riding
or cage fighting with Glass are probably not good ideas. - Ok,
who thinks it’s a good idea to wear a sophisticated piece of expensive technology while playing football? Thanks Google, for
teaching us that we all need some common sense!
Be creepy or rude (aka, a “Glasshole”): Respect others and if
they have questions about Glass don’t get snappy. Be polite and
explain what Glass does and remember, a quick demo can go a
long way. In places where cell phone cameras aren’t allowed,
the same rules will apply to Glass. If you’re asked to turn your
phone off, turn Glass off as well. Breaking the rules or being
rude will not get businesses excited about Glass and will ruin it
for other Explorers. - Creepy and rude. Very well said, Google.
So basically Google doesn’t want a bunch of creeps that record
people with their Glass ruining the product’s reputation. Nor do
they want people to be rude with questions since the stats of
Google Glass needs to be preached out to the population.
Wear it and expect to be ignored: Let’s face it, you’re gonna
get some questions. Be patient and explain that Glass has a lot
of the same features as a mobile phone (camera, maps, email,
etc.). Also, develop your own etiquette. If you’re worried about
someone interrupting that
romantic dinner at a nice
restaurant with
a question
Volume 1, Issue 9
about Glass, just take it off and put it around the back of your
neck or in your bag. Well duh, people are going to ask questions about why you are playing with your weird glasses. Wait,
wouldn’t it be rude to use Google Glass at a nice restaurant?
You said it yourself Google: it’s like a phone, and if you wouldn’t use your phone at a certain time, you shouldn’t use Google
Glass. Plus, you might want to make sure its securely around
the back of your neck so you don’t have Pasta Glass.
DO’S:
Ask for permission: Standing alone in the corner of a room
staring at people while recording them through Glass is not
going to win you any friends. The Glass camera function is no
different from a cell phone so behave as you would with your
phone and ask permission before taking photos or videos of others.- Going back to being creepy; ask before taking photos of
that person you’ve been staring at for an hour. Don’t worry;
they are sure to be happy to have their photo stored away in
some stranger’s Google Glass!
Use Screen Lock Glass: Screen lock works like your
smartphone’s screen lock: it passcode-protects your device to
help prevent others from using it. If you ever lose your device or
have it stolen by a budding online resale entrepreneur, you can
turn off Glassware and perform a remote wipe (e.g. factory reset) of the device, removing all your information from the device. All you need to do is go to your MyGlass page on your
browser, or the MyGlass App on your phone.- Apparently Glass
has Screen Lock. Google doesn’t want this feature to be wasted.
Of course they don’t want you to have your glass stolen, and
definitely not your data.
*Italics: Taken from
Googles
Page:
Page 6
technology
Reusable
Rockets
Traveling Through Time
By: Jake LaRavia. The new
twist on time travel is premiering Wednesday as part of the
"Street View" feature in Google's maps, a navigational tool
that attracts more than 1 billion
visitors each month. Street
View snapshots will now include an option to see what
neighborhoods looked like at
different times in the last seven
years, as Google Inc. has been
transmitting camera-taking cars
to take street-level pictures for
its maps. Like everything else
on Google maps, it’s free.
Google makes money off its
maps by advertising, so the
Mountain View, California,
company keeps coming up with
new interests to
keep people
coming back.
All you have to
do is go to
google maps
and click on
street view.
World’s Fastest Elevator
By Mark Grayson. There will
be a skyscraper in China that
will have the fastest elevator.
This elevator will go as fast as
45 mph. It will take you
up half a kilometer in
about 43 seconds. It will
have breaks on it if something wrong happens going down. They also will
have ropes holding on to
the elevator that can uphold eat up to 300 degrees
Celsius. They will have
rollers on the side from
keep the elevator from
swaying. The elevator will also
regular air pressure. The bad
thing is you won’t be able to
ride in it till 2016.
By Jonathon Magos. This week a
rocket company known as SpaceX
showed off their reusable rocket. This
rocket is also called the Falcon 9R was
shown in the video to be hovering at
about 800 feet in the air. After a few
minutes the rocket safely landed. This
is the first time SpaceX landed their
rocket on land, a few other tests were
in the ocean.
Sweden’s “Credit Card”
By Jonathon Magos. Fredrik Leifland from Sweden was
studying engineering at Lund University a few years ago
when he had the idea of using your hand instead of a
credit card as a form of ID (identification.) Now 15
stores and restaurants around Lund University have this
payment option. To use this scanner, you put in your social security
number and phone number then
scan your hand—making fraud
almost impossible. Blood vein patterns in each person’s hand are
different, so no one can use anyone
else’s money.
3-D Printing Body Parts
By German Madrid. Scientists recently discovered
how to print artificial body parts! After completing
many experiments, they found out how to make artificial body parts with printed marks. They have printed
out many things including eyes, ears, skulls, a robohand, and even bones! Scientists are also now using
the body parts for a good use by helping people that
need them. Tests show these parts are turning out to be
a success!
Drinking Air
By: Ian Massengale. Due to water-borne diseases, 780 million people go without water each year. Luckily, an Israeli company has found a way to solve the problem. It has
developed an atmospheric water generation unit. This machine turns air into water. It
does this by chilling air and condensing water vapor. Then the air goes into the machine where it is turned into water and stored in a tank on the side of the machine. This
machine has been sold to militaries in several countries. Although so far it has only
been sold to militaries, in the future it will be used in civilian homes.
Volume 1, Issue 9
Page 7
Athletics
Pacers In the Hunt
By Mark Grayson. On Tuesday April 22, 2014 The Indiana
Pacers defeated the Hawks in the
2nd round of the conference. The
series is now 1-1 and the next game
is on Thursday April 24, 2014. The
Pacers won 101-85. Paul George
had an exceptional game he scored
27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists
and 4 steals. Luis Scola came off
the bench with 20 points. The Pacers have to go to Atlanta’s
home court this Thursday. Paul George is ready for anything
that is in task for him
and the team. Pacers lost
the next game last
Thursday but won Saturday’s game. Last night
they played game 5 at
home.
MLB Breaks Out
By: Annaya Shelton. The
Major League Baseball season started this March the
thirtieth. The two opposing
teams for the opening day
were the Dodgers and
the Padres. The opening
day is recognized every
year, but just not enough.
Tons of people are on a
campaign to make opening day an official holiday. The spokesperson
for the campaign is former shortstop for the St.
Louis Cardinals great Ozzie
Smith. They have so far
gained 100,000 signatures
on the petition. The petition
highlighted the role of
baseball, the start of the
season, and how this day
should be for Americans to
come together. Ozzie Smith
said, “The day is already an
unofficial holiday, but now
it's time to make it official.”
MLB...play ball!
A Championship for the Ages
Look Who Made the Playoffs!
By: Brian Ponder Jr. The regular NBA season is coming to an end, but some teams have something to look
forward to and those are the teams that made it into the
playoffs.
- Eastern Conference
- Western Conference
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors
Chicago Bulls
Washington Wizards
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Bobcats
Atlanta Hawks
Volume 1, Issue 9
San Antonio Spurs
Oklahoma City Thunder
Los Angeles Clippers
Houston Rockets
Portland Trailblazers
Golden State Warriors
Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks
By: Leo Warbington and
Michael Smith. On April
7, 2014 the University of
Kentucky and the University of Connecticut competed for the NCAA men’s
basketball championship.
This took place in AT&T
stadium in Dallas, Texas.
This was the first
time in NCAA history that a 7th seed
(Connecticut) competed against an 8th
seed (Kentucky) in
the championship
game. The University of Connecticut
took the victory
with a score of 6054. The leading
scorer was Connecticut point
guard Shabazz Napier. Napier scored
22 points with a
field goal percentage of .500. The
win was Connecticut’s 4th
championship of all-time.
During the halftime show
the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year
award was presented. The
winner was Creighton
power forward Doug
McDermott.
Page 8
Athletics
By: Jessica Carroll. The girls’ softball
season just shifted into full gear now with
two to three games a week. However,
there is something amiss that is bothering
Belzer’s female athletes. “Where’s our
field?” The female athletes would like to
know where their field is while the boys
have a great field that is well kept on our
school’s grounds.
Currently, the girls have two areas they
practice on, and they do not have control
over either area. One is the JV field at
LC, but only when the actual team is not
using it. Additionally, there is the imminent danger of the walk across a major
intersection to and from the field.
The other area is Harrison Hill’s kickball field which is really just a small area
of grass behind the school. It’s not a
softball diamond. It is a grass field with
holes, and the area is small. The team
loses the ability to practice in game time
HOT Debate in Softball
situations and is faced with the daily
challenge of avoiding divots and sprained
ankles.
The girls are upset about their predicament especially now that the boy’s field
just recently got new dirt for their field.
Because of this a few of the girls decided
to point out the title nine violation by
writing a letter to Belzer asking them to
address it. “Title IX is a piece of legislation included in the Education Amendments 1972 that requires schools that receive federal funds to provide girls and
women with equal opportunity to compete in sports.” (http://
www.titlenine.com/category/
who+are+we/title+ix-+what+is+it-.do.)
The players strongly view Belzer’s lack
of a softball field as a title nine violation.
“I hope this makes a difference in the
way the future players here at Belzer will
play because as of right now we waste at
least 30 minutes of our practice time either walking to or from LC or Harrison
Hill,” Abby Heilman commented. Abby
and co-writer Jessica Carroll are writing
this letter because first they feel it is unfair that the boys have a field and they
don’t, second because they really truly
believe it is a title nine violation, and finally because they want to make an impact here at Belzer and for any future
softball
players.
What Do You Think?
Corbin: “It isn’t fair for the softball team.”
Hailey: “They shouldn’t
have to walk over to LC
for softball.”
Ajani: “They are not showing
favoritism to a gender.”
Alexis: “Baseball isn’t
the same as softball, so
they deserve different
fields.”
7th gr. boys practice at Harrison
Hill’s field near the swings.
Monyay: “The bases
[for softball] are different widths apart, and
they shouldn’t have to
keep changing them.”
Gabe: “I guess that they
need a field to practice
on because they are
their own team.”
Kelsey: “Boys and Girls
shouldn’t have different
things since they are
[similar] sports.”
UPDATE!!!!As of yesterday April 28, 2014, Mr. Knoderer provided further information. Mr. Roger Smith, the executive design operator for Lawrence Township Schools, said that discussions about the field are occurring. There
has been no decision yet, however. He also said that there is a Master Plan for the entire township. Once everything is planned out and it is determined if and when there will be a field, he will get a committee together to help
design and lay out the softball field.
Volume 1, Issue 9
Page 9
Athletics con’t.
BMS Athletic Update
Baseball
Marina’s Marathon
By Leo Warbington.
Marina Thompson, an
8th grader at Belzer, will
be participating for the
first time in her life in a
marathon in Cincinnati,
Ohio this Saturday, May
4. Marina has been interested in running her
whole life. She has run
6 different half marathons and also ran on
Belzer’s cross country
team. Since the beginning of winter, she has
been training for this
event with a running
By Tyra Schaffer and Gabbie Anderson.
The 7th grade baseball has a very sad
start to the season. Their record is 0-to-3.
The first game was against Noblesville
West and them loss 4-to-0. Hoping for a
comeback, they sadly loss 11-to-10 to
Beech Grove MS. In the Noblesville
West game there was a total of 17 first
pitch strikeouts. There were a total of 6
strikeouts, 4 made by
Zach Lane. There were
a total of 3 walks made
by Belzer players. Although the season has
had a rough start, Bruin fans have hope that
the season will have a
quick turnaround.
group called Indy Runners. When she is older,
she wants to run the
Boston Marathon. Marina stated, "[At the starting line,] I will probably
feel overwhelmed but
excited.” Good luck,
Ms. Thompson!
Softball
unfortunately they came up short and the
score was 19-9. Jesse from the team exBy Annaya Shelton. This season for the 7th pressed how she felt about the losing
grade softball team has not started off to a streak, “I feel like it is terrible and we
great start. The first game they played was don’t play like a team.” The Bruins were
against Eastern Hancock and they did not ready to make a change and quick. On
do so well, and the score was 11-5. Their Wednesday the 23rd the team played the
second game was against Fallcreek, and
Clay, Trojans. It was a very close game
LaCrosse
Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
Track
By Octavious Randolph. Belzer
Middle School track team has a
meet today at New Augusta.
This will be the first time they
play against them. The boys
track team is coming off a loss
to Lincoln, while the girls are
coming off a 77-38 win. The
boys’ team is looking to win
their first meet while the girls
are trying to win 2 in a row.
Come out to Belzer’s next
home meet is TONIGHT.
Volume 1, Issue 9
but the Bruins started a hitting rally their
last up to bat. The whole team contributed
to a great win.
7th Grade Bruins, Take me out to the Ball Game!
April 17, Thursday, the 7th grade softball team had their first
game of the season. It was a home game that was held at Lawrence Central. After long weeks of practice, the Bruins were
ready to prove their skills on the field. The girls played against
Eastern Hancock. Both seventh graders Alexis Hall and Jessica
Carroll said, “We were excited for our first game as a team.”
The score of the game was 6-10. Sadly Belzer was not able to
take the win, but they are positive they’ll get it next time.
Jessica Carroll
Alexis Hall
Page
Merlin: A T.V. Show Review
By: Halle Baton. In a spin
on Arthurian legend, the
young warlock Merlin
travels to Camelot to be
the court physician (Gauis)
assistant. At the end of the
first episode, The Dragon’s Call, Merlin gets promoted to be Prince Arthur’s servant. Through the
five seasons, Arthur becomes king and (according
to the dragon shown in the
first episode) he will unite
the land of Albian. Merlin,
Morgana, (King Uther’s
ward) Arthur and Gwen
(Morgana’s servant) go
through torture, plague,
dragons and a dark priestess.
If you like Harry Potter,
(I don’t know why anyone
wouldn’t) this show is
A True Fairytale
By: Brittney Bohlman. Life is truly a fairytale for Ginnifer
Goodwin. The hit actor,
Ginnifer Goodwin,
Snow White, in “Once
Upon a Time” is actually engaged to Josh Dallas, Prince Charming.
Josh and Ginnifer met
on the set of “Once Upon a Time” and started
dating shortly after in
April 2012. “Once Upon a Time” took the
relationship to the next
level when they spent
many hours and many
days together. After a
while, Josh and
Ginnifer got engaged
and are now expecting
a baby. Since Ginnifer
is pregnant, she had to
Volume 1, Issue 9
hide her belly from the
camera, and that’s why
she was always wearing
big coats and scarves.
Now she doesn’t have
to hide her belly because her character in
the show is pregnant.
The good thing is that
she doesn’t have to
wear one of those uncomfortable fake pregnant suits. It is true that
Josh Dallas and
Ginnifer Goodwin are
living a life full of fairytales.
perfect for you. It’s
an interesting show,
with fantasy, humor
and action. It’s the
perfect blend of those
four factors. The
emotions in this show
are relatable no matter what—the despair,
anger, or happiness.
This series is a thrilling ride.
Hogwarts is Here
By: Jillian Hartlerode. A new site
called http://hogwartsishere.com modeled after the popular site,
www.pottermore.com, was created to
give Harry Potter fans the experience
of attending the school; without the
architecture and actually
meeting people in real life.
The site offers classes from
the books and movies such
as Transfiguration, Potions,
Charms, History of Magic,
Astronomy, and Defense
Against the Dark Arts. After
enrolling, which is free unless you purchase an upgrade, Potterheads get to choose which of the four
Hogwarts houses to choose from,
(Gryffindor the Brave, Ravenclaw the
Wise, Hufflepuff the Loyal, or
Slytherin the Cunning) choose a
username and display name, set up a
Gringotts Bank account, and even join
a dorm room. When choosing a dorm
room, there are two choices: join a random dorm room, or join one that a
friend is in. When joining a random
dorm, users both join a brand new
dorm and become the leader, where
they get to name the dorm, add a description, limit who joins, and kick
people out, or join a dorm with a small
group of other people from your house.
On the left-hand side of the page you
can see the profile page and a couple
of tabs that help navigate the site.
There is the tab with the student’s
name and access to the Home Feed,
Slytherin Feed, Messages, Friends,
Chocolate Frog Cards, and the Bookshelf. Under that, is ‘My Courses.’
This is where students can view the
classes they selected. The first couple
of years on the site offer seven courses,
but when users become Third through
Seventh
years, they
can take
multiple
classes and
visit
Hogsmeade,
the wizarding village
near Hogwarts. In the courses, there
will be a certain amount of assignments, like exams, quizzes, essays, and
reading chapters from books purchased
from Flourish and Blotts. Under the
Courses tab is the Hogwarts tab, where
there is access to the dorm room, the
Great Hall, the Common Room for
your house, the Hogwarts Library,
where the student can write and read
books, Hogwarts Courses, where they
can sign up for courses, and the Supply
List. The next tab is the Daily Owl, a
newspaper class for Hogwarts students
to enroll in. The following tabs are:
Diagon Alley, where Potterheads can
visit their vault and the bookstore, the
Donate link, and Support link tabs.
The site is still new, so it is still modeling and tweaking small details. Some
of the features are unavailable, but
most things, like courses, chats, and
dorms, are still up and running.
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May Days
1 Loyalty Day
2 Brothers and Sisters Day
6 Beverage Day
8 Iris Day
9 Military Spouses Day
10 Mother's Day
11 Eat What You Want Day
13 Leprechaun Day
15 National Chocolate Chip Day
16 Wear Purple for Peace Day
17 Armed Forces Day
19 Boy's Club Day
20 Be a Millionaire Day
24 International Jazz Day
25 National Missing Children's Day
26 Memorial Day
29 Learn About Composting Day
31 Save Your Hearing Day
A Piece of History
By: Raymon
Mendez. For
46 years the researchers in Minnesota thought the canoe they had found was
from the 1700. It turns out that it could be over 1,000 year’s old one of the oldest
canoes in the state of Minnesota. Now Minnesota gets to put the canoe in their
museum. The researchers have done a couple of test to see how old the canoe is,
the test results said that it was crafted in the year 1025. Minnesota is very happy
about this historic find that they had found so many years ago.
Malecifent
Movie Review
By: Halle Barton. Everyone
knows the story of Sleeping
Beauty. On May 30, 2014 a
‘reinvention’ of the classic
tale will come to theatres.
Angelina Jolie stars as the
chilling villain is this new
Disney movie. Despite popular belief, this isn’t a retelling, it’s a ‘reinvention’.
It’s different in so many
ways because the story tells
the events that helped to
make Maleficent evil and
follows the rest of the tale of
Sleeping Beauty from Maleficent’s point of view.
Belzer News Network
Volume 1, Issue 9
Newspaper Staff
Editors-in-chief: Mikayla Stephens and Kaylee Demlow
Editors-in-chief for Sports Section: Gabbie Anderson and Tyra
Schaffer
Editors: Jacquelyne Aguilar,
Jaynique Bobbitt, Brittney Bohlman, Emory Bullock, Eric Carr,
Jessica Carroll, Reagen Fitzsimmons, Gabriel Garcia, Jakob
Goldsby, Mark Grayson, Jillian
Hartlerode, Michaela Jews, Kenneth King, Jake LaRavia, Jonathon Magos, Brennan Mahto,
Diana Martinez, Ian Massengale,
Victoria Miller, Donya Murray,
Lexi Odle, Emma Orcutt, Octavious Randolph, Olivia Salvo,
Annaya Shelton, Lilly Solly,
O’Niya Smith, Dayshia Stevenson, Leo Warbington, Rodney
Warfield
Page 12