Narragansett Pier Middle School
Transcription
Narragansett Pier Middle School
December 9, 2013 Narragansett Pier Middle School 235 South Pier Road, Narragansett, RI 02882 Volume 6, Issue 1 Produced with the assistance of the staff and management of The South County Independent . Jason Sweet The Destiny Africa Children’s Choir of Kampala Children Centre, Uganda performed at an all-school assembly on Friday, October 11. From the minute these amazing orphaned children from Uganda stepped on the stage, they commanded not only our attention, but they were able to touch our hearts and kept us thinking about their message for weeks afterwards. Destiny Africa was created in 2005. The Kampala Children’s Centre rescues children from war-torn areas, streets, and orphaned situations and offers them love, education, a family environment and nurtures them in the hope that when they grow up they will become agents of change and transformation within their own communities and throughout the world. In 2009 they traveled to the United States for the first time. This lively mix of contemporary and traditional African songs incorporated not only drumming and dance but something even more powerful—a message to never give up on your dreams. For this group of 20 or so children who are part of the Destiny Africa choir their dreams are big—extremely big, as they sing their way out of a once impoverished life with deep gratitude for this amazing chance to bring positive change to the world. Mrs. Franco was one of our many teachers that were really touched by Destiny Africa. She thought the performance was absolutely amazing and admitted that their story was shocking and very sad to her. You may not know this but Mrs. Franco has been to Africa and volunteered there! Once she saw the concert it made her want to go back to Africa and help the people there like she did in the past. When asked if she had fun at the concert, Mrs. Franco eagerly replied, “I think we should have more assemblies like that” I had the chance to interview some students after the concert and they all agreed that it was a great time and they were sad but inspired by their story. It makes us stop and think about all the good stuff we have in our own lives and want to help people who are not so fortunate. Through their music and art, they are influencing church leaders, leaders of nations, the corporate world and inspiring fellow children across the world to believe in their dreams—no matter how grim the situation may be. Visit www.destinyafrica.org Photos by Mrs. Dale Loomis 2 PI E R MI D DL E S C H OO L Katia Konopelko, Paige Desantis, Ellyana Mitchell This school year brought with it some changes in the administration of The Pier School. Our former principal, Dr. Ahern left last June to become the Curriculum Director at the Exeter/West Greenwich school district so our then vice principal, Ms. Kirby became the new principal here at NPS! (Yeah! Congrats Ms. Kirby!) That opened the door for a brand new vice principal to enter through and NPS is so happy that our new VP is Mr. Brian Tetreault. By now, everyone here at NPS certainly knows who Mr. Tetreault is because he works hard to keep things running smoothly at school. We see him in the hallways, in the cafeteria, out at recess and sometimes, a few of us have to see him in his office! You’re probably curious to know what makes our new VP tick, so we recently interviewed Mr. Tetreault and are happy to share the interesting information we learned about him. He’s been teaching for 12 years and came to NPS from Chariho High School where he was the Dean of Students. Here’s what else we learned: Mariners’ Catch: If you had to pick a grade and subject to teach, what would they be? Mr. Tetreault: I would choose 7th or th 8 grade and the subject would be Social Studies, or Physical Education. Mariners’ Catch: Why did you get into teaching and education? Mr. Tetreault: I love teaching because I like to help young people learn new things and to help them challenge themselves. I also hope students will look to me as a good role model. Mariners’ Catch: If you had a chance to teach at either an elementary school or a high school, which would you choose? Mr. Tetreault: I’d definitely choose a high school because I have more experience working with older kids, and I really enjoyed the years I taught at Chariho high school. The middle school and high school age ranges are a good fit for me. I enjoy teens! Mariners’ Catch: What do you like to do in your free time? Mr. Tetreault: I like spending my free time with my family and going to the beach, skiing, and I also like sports in general. Mariners’ Catch: Can you share one neat fact with us that most people may not know? Mr. Tetreault: Sure! I beat Rick Pitino, head coach at the University of Louisville, in a one on one basketball game several years back. Welcome to the Pier School Mr. Tetreault, we think you’re going to really like it here! PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 3 Brad Collard C Y X J P E Y G N I L K N I W T C B T R T H J N X A J P R Q L V F O H C F O P R C A N D Y W W H S E L D N A C E J B I O G D A N V U Z X I L A G B N Y Z R X L N T G L K L U A E E E I C M S W R J Y R L A K S R N U D D T N D A R I K J O F A H C I B H W N B S G S L X H O A N E X Q H J C K C O K D Q O W E M W H U R S O Z F T E I X U J C R U G Z P V R W K W M F M G K M G I N O L V K M T D B O W T K N T P R I K G E D Z Q E N I K N O D F D V A Q U B C N P E J U B V C R Q S U Y G F N X V K P F U X J U H C O Q B W V V Z V S K Z K Q W F U M X H L V Y E Q V N V I U V A Z P Y O F P F H M D G F C H Z M I Y R U G L D L X S Y C O Q Z L E Y C F L G H H M K K S X D Q J Z H S T M S U F W O Y F M M O E O E I P P Z H Y V M D K E E F M O Q A N C R U H P B D P A O K V U C B O S V Y C H I M A S T E H P B A R N C L O L I E X C L S T Y G D I P U O M F V H E T M P Y Z K H Z N M C P O A R M S A X W N S T D K W A N Z A A K P Z E G P R C D N U B F N O N N N S B Y O L N U R A J K O F D K S B M P C L R J F B N I X H Q V X W T U N O T G I V P K V Z K G Q N C R F B F F N V T K A I Z J O T P N L N D C D P W B F C C R S G R Y G X R N A X R J X B H Q C O S I T E G O D Y W X M I Q R W P Q T V D D J W A E M Q V R M U Y R N B Y K N P H I U F K D I C R S Z T I M O G M R V E Z G O O O S R I L W F E K Z M K M Q R V I R J D T Z D Q U U J G F L C P Z S B E W Q T G I E D W O C Z Q I Z S P S A J S K H X P K R T U A H Y E F A W K C S E Q Y F M E W N K N D J Q Z P X B D T O K E Z C Q L C A R K O T A I K F Z D Y I Q W C M J E D T S O H B V J E K L K Y Z Y G M Q Q G I Y M P N R K D U A B P L M Q H G B N Y L S S V E X Y E D P U F J E W G S X R G D P Q J P J X A I J L I L F N D S A E Q C R O V U C Z B D V N S H V B T Z X Q X X Z T Y F O B W C J M F T X J B Y F Q A T E B K V L K V P Q P K I X I K R X O Z A V E W Q B P I A C O E W U Q X Y P S D G Y F D X X P T K U M B N R R Z T P O S M K N P N N I X K W N H E O A R L V J T W J V Z H J W E Y C I M B B A T Y M B A F W V O Y L I K M A U S J F N S D O F B T M Z C V F Z N L K K O M L A K H F C F J O N E F N J T C Y F K X W I S U F V C A C U S W U N F T V U B N L G L V F P F R H F G T W G V R E I N W M C F F X Q U Z N E C W X A R Z W M T B G M D F M Q U U R P Q E H A B H F A C L N G Y M E L L L R R L W N I P K H R R L T C T W R Q U W D J B J A S F R D J F U U B H V C Y M Y S L P F Q P W X Z P M K B J J W I G I Z W R B B Q C S S M W D H E U B O C D S X C T P R G U K D Y V J T U W O M X S C U G N S C B O C H T S W C V P H L Z E S I Q O H W P F S M I R U S A F V K G R R A N P D U G S A Z B I T Z A N U H B P I T H V V T P B Z G T M T O K K T F X K S R U T H Q U F H G B I R S Y H U H I K X H C F D G E Q S M I C X C V D I L D J A F J S R B N K Y F S O A E V I P X D H K L K U E V U H I D Z N J Q S N M G L I P E P E D A G N D G N C S Y P O J R A M A Y P M F R B D Q M F A F K Q K F Y G L P X B U G N Q J E X U B U J U D N H V J O L G F A Q E H E I F F L V N P O J Q U X H M E D F B O K H F T L H P D A L R U B Z D R O O P D I D W T H N Q Q H X D M V W P V R H R R C Z P S C O I Y B X G C W J V V D G E M B V Y H Z E B K L E Y F M S B A Q O Y G L T A Q G Q D Z C E G Q D N W R C U B R X Q S Z J M T C T H K F G T J T J H Y Y E G W X C S M A M F N Z D X V A M J X L G H CANDLES, CANDYCANE, CHRISTMAS, COOKIES, EGGNOG, ELF, FROSTY, HANUKKAH, KWANZAA, MENORAH, PINETREE, PRESENTS, SNOWFLAKE, SNOWMAN, TURKEY, TWINKLING 4 PI E R MI D DL E S C H OO L Aidan Kielty As coach Dick Fossa prepares the Narragansett Mariner football team for the annual Thanksgiving Day game against East Greenwich, he took some time to talk football with me. At the time of this article, the 2013 football team is 4-6. I interviewed him because we both love football. Coach Fossa started coaching in 1991. He wanted to stay with football from when he played at Arizona State as a freshman. Coach Fossa loves being around the younger student athletes and helping to develop them into football players. He expects his team to be prepared for all games; give 100% at all times, and to represent Narragansett High School with pride. Coach also gets to coach one of his sons on the football team and his other son plays for LaSalle Academy in Providence. His favorite position is quarterback. He also told me some tips on how to get better as a football player. He said to learn the details of the game and to increase foot speed and strength. Coach Fossa won 3 super bowls and he thinks the most exciting game as a coach was in 2008 when they won on the last play of the game. He’s also the assistant coach for the NHS baseball team, where they won the State Championship for their division against Westerly at McCoy Stadium this past June! At the time this newspaper went to press, the Mariners beat East Greenwich during the Thanksgiving game which advanced them to the play-offs against Mt. St. Pleasant. Unfortunately, the Mariners lost 22 - 0, but they played a solid game to end their season. Hailey Martin RIDDLE ANSWERS pencil lead, the sun, your word, a towel, letter M, your name, footsteps PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 5 FIRST LEGO League Rhode Island Robotics Qualifying Tournament held at Narragansett Pier School Hundreds of Local Students competed with their Robot Creations for the opportunity to advance to the State Championship Date Held: Saturday, November 16 Nearly 200 local youth tested their robot design and programming skills at the FIRST® LEGO® League Rhode Island Qualifying Tournament at Narragansett Pier School. The qualifier was one of four being held around the state, and marked the next step in months of scientific research and problem solving among 22 teams of approximately 10 students each, ages nine to 14. There are over 70 teams statewide. Teams collaborated to build a LEGObased robot and complete a research project related to this year’s theme, “Nature’s Fury”. Approximately 10 (TBD) teams will advance to the State Championship being held at Roger Williams University on January 11, 2014. Adam Bellucci 1. VIDDA TRIZO ___________________________________ 2. JIKO UHAERA_________________________________ 3. LKEM PANLIO __________________________________ 4. OJN SEIRET __________________________ 5. YACI CHOHBUZI _______________________________ 6. SITNUD ROADPEI ______________ 7. DVIDA SORS __________________________________ 8. SPHTEN WERD ________________________ 9. NYJON MEGSO _______________________________ 10. REDANX BGAEORTS ___________________ 6 PI E R MI D DL E S C H OO L Jack Harris Have you ever heard of a team that went from a 2 – 14 season to a 9 – 0 start? Well, the Kansas City Chiefs are just that team! It all began when Andy Reid was picked up by the Chiefs as their head coach. The Chiefs hired the veteran NFL head coach, imported a first-time general manager from another franchise in John Dorsey and traded for quarterback Alex Smith. As we pass the midway point of the 2013 season, the probable playoff picture is taking shape, with Kansas City holding an advantage over most teams. It’s easy to pick the Chiefs as a favorite to go to the Super Bowl given their record, but when you look at the bigger picture, they are actually built like a Super Bowl team. Looking toward their final six games, there are three important factors that will aid them in making a deep playoff run with a potential chance to win the Super Bowl. First, Alex Smith has turned out to be one of the most reliable quarterbacks in the NFL. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, and isn’t the most accurate quarterback, but he’s proven over the past two-and-a-half seasons that he can perform at a high level given a few solid pieces around him. Second, The Chiefs have been known to have a good runner or two in their history (i.e. Priest Holmes, Christian Okoye, Larry Johnson, etc.), and Jamaal Charles is the next up. His combination of speed and cut-on-a-dime agility makes him one of the most dangerous rushers in the league. of the season. Lastly, the Kansas City defense is allowing just 12 points per game and has been on an absolute rampage this season. The Chiefs defense has been firing on all cylinders from its D-line to its secondary and could very well be why Kansas City brings home the Lombardi Trophy at the end All Hail the Chiefs—they’re giving us a great ride this season! Elizabeth Orabona, Katie St. Laurent This year the Narragansett Pier School is excited to announce that their play will be Shrek! You’re probably familiar with this hysterical computer-animated comedy film which was released in 2001 PDI/DreamWorks. Shrek, a terrifying green ogre who loves the solitude in his swamp, finds his life interrupted when many fairytale characters are exiled into his swamp by order of the fairytale-hating Lord Farquaad. Shrek tells them that he will go ask Farquaad to send them back. He brings along a talking Donkey, and the next thing we know is that he’s rescuing Princess Fiona. The Pier School will be bringing this classical film to life on the stage at the Narragansett High School on February 7th, 8th and 9th. Last year’s play, The Wiz, blew the audience away and this year the cast and crew will pull out all the stops to make Shrek just as memorable. The audience can expect some amazing singing, dancing and costumes. “It’s really fun and exciting to be practicing with my friends,” shares Elisha Cardin, a Dulocian in the play. Fifth grade student Danielle Conley plays baby bear and states, “I like the fact that the director and the choreographer try very hard to make the play special and help us improve our acting and singing skills while keeping their patience!” So, save that important weekend in February so you can come experience another fantastic Pier School production. PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 7 Contribution from Coach Lubic The Narragansett Pier School girls Soccer team for the Fall of 2013 was lead by their four eighth grade captains, Reilly Clancey, Anna Pratt, Sidney Pimental, and Ella Mushen. Other contributors form the eight grade included Alia Mohamed, Jillian McConnell, and Emily Gauthier. Although the marks in the win loss column may show more ticks on the loss column, every player showed improvement in their tactical awareness. Every player demonstrated some form of improvement in their technical skills. These improvements will help the players help their school team as well as their club team in the next season. The season would not have been a success, if the parents, coaching staff, and the players did not help each other out. From the parent volunteers of the Homework Club, to the players helping each other out academically as well as on the soccer pitch, and the dedication of the coaching staff to its players, the season was a great example of how a community can support each other. Travis Kelly The Pier School boy’s 2013 Soccer Team had 22 players this year! The team started strong with a win against Monsignor Clarke and played hard throughout the season with a lot of exciting wins. Coach Andrew Tetzlaff was thrilled with the team’s efforts this year and expressed his thoughts in the following quote: "All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, Wake up in the morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, For they dream their dreams with open eyes, And make them come true." - D.H The boys persevered through many ups and downs. They worked hard throughout the whole season. They made drastic improvement in their skills and play from the beginning to the end of the season. I am very proud of each and everyone of them and wish them the best on their roads to success. Photos Brody Paris 8 PI E R MI D DL E S C H OO L PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 9 Sean Kielty The 2013 Cross Country state meet took place at Goddard State Park in Warwick, RI on October 26 th. There were 57 schools in total from all over the state! The race was 1.8 miles of trail and beautiful scenery. There were four divisions, boys and girl’s junior varsity and varsity. The cross country team was led by Deb and Keith Ranaldi. During the season they pushed us to do our best and to never quit. Here are top three runners for each team: Boys J.V.- 7th place out of 26 schools : Luke Warnis: place-25th , Hayden Shabo: place—32nd, Wayne Labore: place—34th. Boys Varsity-8th out of 31 schools : Gian Pandolfini: place-25th , Michael Levesque: place- 57th , Michael Myers: place 68th Girls J.V.-8th out of 26 schools : Paige Martone: place-29th , Anna Hurwitzs: place-74th , Meghan Myers-92nd Girls Varsity- 10th out of 31 schools: Christina McPhillips: place-29th , Isabella Donadio: place-36th , Isabella Petit: place89th 1 0 PI E R M I D DL E S C HO OL Ellyana Mitchell Rainbow Loom® is a recommended for 8 years to adult. It’s been called the hottest toy trend in America kit for making super fun rubber band links, right now, the Rainbow Loom. The new twist on the friendship bracelet and has kids and teens hooked. More than four million people have watched YouTube videos to learn how to make them. Kits are flying off local toy store shelves and it doesn’t take long to spot the brightly colored bands at any mall or playground. Kids and parents say the plastic loom is easy to use and a great creative outlet. With rubber bands, a hand tool and c-clips they’re able to weave bracelets, necklaces, key chains, a headband, even the occasional American Flag. The creator of this latest fad wasn’t a giant toy company, but an average dad with a mechanical engineering degree. Choon Ng, A former crash safety engineer at Nissan, inspired to develop the loom after seeing his daughters weave bracelets out of small rubber bands. The patterns are almost endless that kids can use to make these cool bracelets, which, by the way are popular for both boys and girls. Here’s what NPS kids are saying about Rainbow Loom. Ari—6th grader “You can make so many different types of bracelets—I love it!” August—6th grader “I love making them for myself and my friends.” (She was even carrying around a rainbow loom box!) Lily—6th grader “I love them!” Casey—6th grader “They are so addicting and fun!” Aivan—5th grader “Sorry, but I don’t really like them!” (Hey, at least he’s honest!) Katie St. Laurent Here at the Pier School students get to take lots of great classes like Science, Social Studies, English and Language Arts, and of course the fun selection of Unified Arts specials like P.E., Art and Music. In addition to attending classes, students are also able to participate in other important areas and one of those is School Spirit Week. In October, we took part in a few really awesome spirit days. One of those was Crazy Sock Day where kids were wearing socks that were totally out of this world. There was also Red Day where nearly everyone wore as much red as possible to celebrate living a drug free life. We also had Pink Day to support breast cancer awareness month. This was just a small sampling of the really big spirit that NPS showed during Spirit Week. We had fun while demonstrating what a caring school this is. If you could think of a new theme for a day during our next Spirit Week, what would it be? PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 11 Michael Ward The NFL season is off to a great start with some players that have proved that they are the best in the NFL. Just look at Peyton Manning. He is having an unbelievable year with the Broncos. He has thrown 3,572 yards, 34 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. That’s what you call a great start to the year. On the other hand, Tom Brady has been awesome as well. He has thrown 2,256 yards, 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. But it really hasn’t helped that the veteran wide receivers have been getting injured. Brady has had to throw to the rookies like Kenbrell Tomkins and Aaron Dobson, but somehow he’s still getting the job done. Now those are only some of the many great quarterbacks in the league. The good running backs like Arian Foster and Doug Martin have suffered injuries to end their season. I think the start to the NFL year has been unbelievable—what about you? Maura O’Malley I recently had the pleasure of interviewing one of our favorite teachers at NPS, Mrs. Tedeschi. Here are some fun new things she shared: Maura: What is your favorite thing to do besides teaching? Mrs. Tedeschi: I love to go kayaking and spend time with my friends and family. Maura: Why do you like to teach reading? Mrs. Tedeschi: I like to teach reading because I like to read books so much. Maura: How long have you been teaching? Mrs. Tedeschi: I’ve been teaching since 1998. Maura: If you had one wish, what would it be? Mrs. Tedeschi: I would wish that everyone would treat each other with respect and kindness. Maura: How do you like to spend your free time in the summer? Mrs. Tedeschi: During the summer I like to go to the beach and travel. Maura: Why do you have a connection with reading? Mrs. Tedeschi: I am so happily connected with reading because everything we do relates to reading. 1 2 PI E R M I D DL E S C HO OL Natick, MA, October 26, 2013: The Production team of Narragansett Pier Middle School’s 2013 production of THE WIZ, consisting of director Jimmy Calitri of North Kingstown, choreographer, Chelsea Cook of Narragansett, Musical Director Jonathon Audette of Narragansett, and producer Vanessa Miller, enrichment teacher at the Narragansett Pier Middle School, along with superintended Katherine Sipala, and School Committee member Frank White attended the New England Theatre Conference’s Awards dinner on Saturday night at the Hampton Inn in Natick, Mass to receive the Moss Hart Award for the best Youth and Children production in New England 2013. The annual Moss Hart Memorial Award has a two-fold purpose: to honor the memory of Moss Hart, dramatist and director, for his wit and sensitivity, for his unconquerable enthusiasm for life and for his work in the theatre; and to recognize and encourage outstanding theatrical productions throughout New England of playscripts that present affirmative views of human courage and dignity, that have strong literary and artistic merit, and which in their productions, exemplify fresh, imaginative, creative treatment within the intent of the playwright. The New England Theatre Conference, in making the annual Moss Hart Memorial Award, seeks to encourage artistic growth and the highest standards of excellence in theatre. Danielle Conley There is no doubt that dolphins are one of the most interesting forms of aquatic life out there. They are easy to recognize and you likely already know they are very smart. The dolphin is the only mammal that gives birth with the tail first instead of the head. Dolphins don’t smell very well. Young dolphins will remain with their mother for a period of 2 or 3 years. There are two stomachs for dolphins just like for cows. The first one stores the food for them and the second one is where digestion takes place. A dolphin may be able to dive up to 1,000 feet. The dorsal fin on every dolphin is very unique and it can be used to identify them from each other. Dolphins can swim at a speed of up to 25 miles per hour for a long time. This is about 3 times faster than the fastest humans in the world. The average lifespan of a dolphin is 17 years. However, some of them that have been observed in the wild lived about 50 years. Sadly, dolphins are now an endangered species because of cruel people known as poachers. Poachers kill dolphins for their meat and skin. Their meat sells for $600 a pound in some parts of the world. These amazing, sweet, and kind mammals need our help. They deserve to live and enjoy the peace and beauty of the ocean. If you want to learn more about how you can help save dolphins, visit BlueVoice.org which is an ocean conservation organization founded in 2000 to protect dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals. PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 13 My first suggestion is Divergent a dystopian novel by Veronica Roth. Society is divided into five factions. All sixteen year olds have to choose which faction they would like to devote their lives too. It is very exciting and thought provoking. fans of the The Hunger Games will love this series. For eighth graders and above I recommend "A Fault in our Stars" . This novel is about a young terminally ill cancer patient who is in remission. The book was named Time magazine's number 1 fiction book for 2012. For younger students I recommend "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Hard Luck Book 8. Greg's adventures in middle school continue! Finally, for students who want to read a nonfiction book that reads like a thriller "Bomb" . This story chronicles the plotting and spying that ensued during the race to develop the atomic bomb. So go ahead and pick up a good book during the holiday break and be sure and share with others what you thought. Hailey Martin 1. Dreaming of a green Christmas? Household waste increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day here in the USA. Trash from wrapping paper and shopping bags totals 4 million tons! 2. The U.S. Postal Service delivers 20 billion cards and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve—almost three times as many people than there are on the whole earth! 3. The largest gingerbread man in the world is a dieter’s nightmare weighing in at a whopping 466 lbs, 6 oz. The gingerbread house in Rochester, Minnesota baked the giant cookie on February 21, 2006. 4. An average of 5,800 people each year end up in the Emergency Room after suffering injuries from holiday decorating! 5. Alabama was the first state in the USA to officially recognize Christmas in 1836 and Oklahoma was the last. 6. In 1999, residents of the state of Maine built the world’s biggest snowman. He stood 113 ft. tall. 1 4 PI E R M I D DL E S C HO OL Alex Gould If you’ve never been a part of our school band or chorus before, you’re in for a treat because I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Dan Healey, the music teacher at Narragansett High School and band teacher here at Pier Middle School. I asked Mr. Healey how he got interested in music and teaching, and he told me that he’s been teaching band for 7 years now. “I started teaching at Narragansett High School right after college, and started teaching some of the 5th and 6th grade bands at NPS over the past 3 years. This is my first year working with the 7th and 8th grade band. It’s really neat to get to work with such a wide range of grades. I love it because we’re all part of one, big musical family,” he said. We talked about the different instruments that Mr. Healey plays and he shared that trumpet is his main instrument and he majored in it in college and he plays it professionally. In addition he’s working on getting better at playing the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, French horn, tuba, baritone, and guitar so he can teach the basics to students on those instruments. Mr. Healey enjoys both conducting and teaching. “It’s very rewarding to see the musicians here at NPS get better and better. One of my favorite things to do is to have the students look at their old music, say from last year, and have it seem so easy!” Helping people to become better musicians is why he loves teaching, and at the same time he loves performing as well with many different bands and musical groups. “I need to perform regularly to feel normal,” laughs Mr. Healey. th Be sure and mark your calendar for Thursday, December 12 at 7 PM in the gym for the winter concert—it’s going to be a rocking good time! Elisha Cardin The current trends for 2013—14 are: FASHION: Abercrombie, Aero Clothing, VS yoga pants, Toms, Ugg Shoes, Ballet flats in shiny colors or leopard print, Pencil Skirts, Flow Shirts, Hollister, neon color and checkered sneakers. ACCESSORIES: Chunky bracelets, Gossip Girl 1, Inspired flowered headbands, Multi-layered necklaces, Chunky flower rings, Chunky platform shoes, knit beanie hats (they’re not just for guys anymore.), Rainbow loom, Tribal print. Books/Songs Hunger Games—Series I Hunger Games—Catching Fire, Series 2 Hunger Games--Mocking Jay, Series 3 Life After Life—Kate Atkinson Hard Luck—Diary of a Wimpy Kid—Jeff Kinney, What Does a Fog Say? ROAR—Katy Perry, Wrecking Ball—Miley Cyrus, Heart Attack—One Direction, Wake me Up—Avicll, Applause—Lady Gaga PI E R M I D DL E S CH O O L 15 Zachary Lambert, Brendan Butler I am taken from amine and shut up in a wooden case from which I am never released and yet I am used by almost everybody? What am I? What goes round your house and in the house but never touches the house? What is it that you can keep after giving it to someone else? What gets wet when drying? What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? What belongs to you but others use it more than you do? The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? Brendan & Zachary Did George Washington really have wooden teeth? He had false teeth, but they were not made of wood. As a matter of fact, the materials used in his false teeth were probably more uncomfortable than wood. In one set of teeth, his dentist, Dr. John Greenwood, used a cow’s tooth, one of Washington’s teeth, hippopotamus ivory, metal and springs. They fit poorly and distorted the shape of his mouth. Did George Washington chop down a cherry tree? Probably not. The story was invented by Parson Mason Weems who wrote a biography of George Washington shortly after Washington’s death. Since so little is known about Washington’s childhood, Weems invented several anecdotes about Washington’s early life to illustrate the origins of the heroic qualities Washington exhibited as an adult. Introduced to countless schoolchildren as a moral tale in the McGuffey Reader textbook, the parable has become a persistent part of American mythology. When Ben Franklin was 16-years-old, he desperately wanted to write for his brother James’ newspaper, The New England Courant, but James was something of a bully and wouldn’t allow it. So, Ben contributed to the paper as a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood whose witty and satirical letters covered a range of topics from courtship to education. 1 6 PI E R M I D DL E S C HO OL Mariners’ Catch Staff Adam Bellucci Brady Butler Brendan Butler Elisha Cardin Brad Collard Danielle Conley Paige Desantis Alex Gould Jack Harris Travis Kelly Aidan Kielty Sean Kielty Katia Konopelko Zach Lambert Hailey Martin Jillian McConnell Ellyana Mitchell Elizabeth Orabona Maura O’Malley Brody Parris Jason Sweet Katie St. Laurent John Toner Michael Ward Adviser: Mrs. Cheryl Butler (back row) Tony Petrarca, Joel Brady, Ella Fiore, Nicole Dougherty, Brooke Minty, Erin McCaffrey, Billy Ashworth, Josh Handby, Brian Vaganek, Ilaria D'Andrea (middle row) Jamie Hultquist, Jack Williams, Lily Gartner, Ali McCadden, Ana Lubic, Madi Coli, Georgia Schiffer, Sydni Phllips, Trinity Reitzel, Maya Carberry (front) Hayden Shabo, Ryan Lonkart, Matt Rocchio. All student's are of Ms. Miller's 6th grade Enrichment Class at NPS. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays for one hour with extra time on Wednesdays after school for extra help. Tony Petrarca visited on Thursday, October 10th to talk with the students about their projects on Natural Disasters. Ms. Vanessa Miller November 21 Melanie Sullivan December 7 Mrs. Patty Boynton December 8 Ms. Marianne Kirby Ms. Nicole Tavarozzi December 13 Mrs. Ann Marie Glanville December 20 Mrs. Laura Hoxsie December 27 Mrs. Holly Mills December 30 Mrs. Sue Craven January 5 Ms. Katie Griffin January 5 Mr. Brian Tetreault January 23 Mrs. Mary Boyle January 24 Mr. Kevin Sheehan January 26 Ms. Rebecca Koczan January 27 Mrs. Kristen Franco January 31 Mrs. Bridgette McPhillips January 31