Ridgely Reader - Ridgely Middle

T HE L ATE ST
The
EDITION OF….
Ridgely Reader
Ridgely Reader Staff:
VOLUME
2015-2016 Crew:
Ariful Anwar
Charlotte Bott
Julianna Bullis
Ella DeMarais
Claire Gartner
Laura Hennawi
Ami Makadia
Courtney May
Claire Mcginnity
Lindsay Noonan
Ryan Patterson
Robin Park
Emily Rosenbaum
Alex Shaw
Sarah Stevens
Irene Sung
Logo Artwork:
Johann Garcia
Faculty Sponsor:
Stephanie Fanshaw
2-3
Deaths
Guess the Teacher; 15 for 2015
8th Grade Dance;
EDITION
1
Diving Into Devices
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Mrs. Freeburger;
RMS by the Numbers; Famous
2,
4-5
Summer Reading
Magnet Schools ;
Talent Show; Bet
You Didn’t Know
6-7
Presidential Candidates; Quiz
Bowl; SGA Elec-
8-9
tions
RMS Track and
10–
Field; The Inkling; 11
8th Grade Memories; A Fond Fare-
S
By Sarah Stevens and Charlotte Bott
This year, the sixth graders at
Ridgely Middle School had the opportunity to have devices in school to help
them not only with their work, but to also
learn a little bit about technology. We
asked a few people their opinions about
this initiative.
Here’s what we
found out!
Mr. Moore is
the computer
technician at
Ridgely. He
shared that he gets
about 32 devices a day and generally the
issues are user error. He told us that students had a lot of trouble with Windows 8
and thought it was confusing. “It’s very
challenging,” he shared, though dents are
probably the most common problem he
has to deal with.
Ms. Beard, the librarian here at
Ridgley Middle, shared her perspective
on the devices, “The devices give the students greater opportunities to explore than
a book, but sometimes a book is the better
way to go. Many websites cannot be
trusted to display credible or accurate information.” She said that the students unfortunately don't use the devices as much
as they could. She is looking forward to
when the whole school will be able to use
devices every day. She only has a few
critiques about the devices, but they are
crucial. The Wi-Fi is easily disconnected
and varies in strength because of how
many people are using it daily. The devices can be a distraction to students because
of many issues trying to bypass Internet
filters to get to websites like YouTube
and other social media.
The Ridgely Reader also checked in
with some parents of sixth graders. We
asked Mrs. Stevens, mother of sixth grader
Sarah Stevens, what she thinks about the devices, and she said she doesn’t feel like the
students get too much screen time but she
understands how it could be problematic
when the devices pull students away from
other activities. Mrs. Stevens also thinks that
there are many ways that the devices can
help the students, but it can be frustrating if a
student’s device does not work or is lost. She
doesn’t have strong feelings about whether
she likes the devices or not, but thinks that it
gives the student more resources to use, and
that the devices offer a chance to learn more
about technology, particularly for those that
do not have technology in their own home.
Additionally, we asked eighth grader,
Anna Stevens about how she feels about the
devices. She thinks that none of the grades
should have gotten devices and that the
school should have gotten more carts full of
devices for all the grades to share instead.
She said that a device would be helpful to
access more resources that they would otherwise not have. Paper resources can do all the
same things, but that the computers are a lot
faster.
Seventh grader Ella DesMarais is
glad that the sixth graders received devices
before the seventh graders. She finds working with the technology frustrating since
whenever she uses the devices it seems harder then using a book. Ella shared she would
not want a device because it’s more difficult
to learn anything from a device like you do
with other resources. She believes that the
devices do not enhance the students’ learning
because they can be very distracting, such as
when people want to change the personalization aspects of the screen the first time they
log on.
(cont. on pg.2)
“Writing is the painting of the voice,” Voltaire
Check us out online at http://ridgelyreader.weebly.com/!
PAGE
2
Welcome, Mrs. Freeburger
By: Claire McGinnity and Laura Hennawi
Ridgely is also happy to welcome a new music teacher to the
staff, Mrs. Freeburger! She was born in Maryland and even attended Ridgely and was taught by Mrs. Wilson. Her first instrument
was the clarinet, but over time she learned how to play all of them
and doesn’t prefer one over another.
Mrs. Freeburger has taught instrumental and choral music in elementary
schools for six years before coming to teach here at Ridgely, and working with
the steel drum students. She attended Towson University, and student taught at
Ridgely, as well. She is glad to be back at Ridgley and teaching side by side with
her former teacher. Make sure to say hi to Mrs. Freeburger!
Devices cont.
Ms. Fanshaw, a sixth grade teacher, has been able to see the students in action with the devices. They make accessing information easier,
as well as planning presentations through PowerPoint and other electronic
programs. The device also helps with grading and lesson planning, and can
be very helpful in her everyday school life. However, she believes that students need to balance their screen time and personal interactions.
As sixth graders, we use the devices every day at school. Some days
the devices just don’t work or they run out of battery. Overall, they are very
helpful to all the students and teachers. They help us with typing and accessing more sources when writing a research report. The devices may have
some glitches, but they are a great opportunity for us, and in the end are
incredible!
RIDGELY
READER
VOLUME
2,
EDITION
1
PAGE
Ridgely By the Numbers
Famous Deaths
By Irene Sung and Emily Rosenbaum
Revolutionary artist David Bowie died of cancer at 69 years of age on January 10th, 2016. Four days
later, beloved actor Alan Rickman died of cancer at 69 years as well. Both men were noted celebrities,
Rickman being known for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series and Bowie for his career in theater and music. The cast of the Harry Potter series were the first to pay tribute to the deceased actor Rickman, posting on social media and mourning Rickman. David Bowie had
just released his last album, Blackstar, on January 8th, his
birthday, two days before his death. Both men were tremendous influences on the pop culture community, and
they will be dearly missed.
Singer songwriter David
Bowie died on January 10,
2016.
3
Guess the Teacher!
Use these hints to guess the teacher. Put your name, answer and homeroom on a piece of scrap paper
and place it in the Guess the Teacher! box in the office. Good luck and happy guessing!
1. When I was in high school I published an underground newspaper and used the profits to buy
food.
2. I’ve been in a band, called Domopak.
3. I’ve written a book and am working on another.
4. I was a language arts teacher before my current position.
5. I play the ukulele and the guitar.
By Julianna Bullis and Ariful Anwar
Who am I?
Congratulations to Mason Krimm and Kara Wishon, last edition’s winners!
Preparing for the Eighth Grade Dance
By Emily Rosenbaum and Irene Sung
The 8 th grade dance is one last night for the eighth graders to enjoy before moving onto their respective high schools and meeting new friends. A lot
of planning and prior discussion takes place to ensure that the dance is safe
and enjoyable for everyone, and this takes place through the eighth grade
dance committee. Things like decorations, refreshments, theme, and music are
supplied by the committee through hard work and careful planning. Themes
have previously been “Masquerade Balls” and “A Night in Paris.” This year,
the first posters to go up were designed by future
Carver student Hazel Gao and friends and they advertise the new, fun theme. “Welcome to Hollywood,” Eighth Graders, we hope you took a picture
with the glamorous Hollywood sign!
15 For 2015
Here are a few things we found memorable in 2015...
Star Wars The Force Awakens
Starbucks red cup controversy
Presidential race begins
Apple Watch
Hover boards
New Adele Album
World climate meeting in Paris
Microsoft Windows 10
Women's American world cup soccer
team won but the men's team who didn’t
win got paid more.
Zayn leaves One Direction
Slipping into Summer Reading
By Stephanie Fanshaw
It’s that time of year again! Summer is right around
the corner, but that doesn’t mean we’re done reading.
How is summer time reading different? This time, you
pick the books you want to r ead! Ridgely’s summer
reading program will be shared through language arts
The Paris terrorist attacks
classes on Monday, June 13th. As in the past, incom-
Gay marriage legalized in all 50 states
ing 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will read both a fiction and
Baltimore riots
non-fiction book, but the biggest difference is the options for projects! There is a comprehensive list of all
Nepal earthquakes
types of projects you can choose to complete! From
YouTube turns 10
creating a talk show, to making a moving trailer, to
writing journal entries from a characters’ perspective,
you have many more choices in addition to the dialectical journals we have completed in the past. See your
language arts teacher for more information, OR check
out the website that our summer reading committee has
put together to help you with your tasks! Ninth graders, you’re not off the hook! Check with your high
school to find out what your summer projects might be!
http://ridgelysummerreading.weebly.com/
Magnet Schools and Programs
By: Ami Makadia and Laura Hennawi
Eighth graders in Baltimore County have the choice of applying to a magnet school/program for
high school. Magnet schools offer other courses in addition to Math, English, Social Studies, etc., that are
part of Baltimore County's core curriculum. Magnet programs "enhance students' interests, talents, and
abilities through specialized programs of study," such as art, technology, business, and more. There are
many magnet schools in Baltimore County, like The George Washington Carver Center for Art and Technology, Eastern Tech High School, Chesapeake High School, Western School of Technology and Environmental Science, Patapsco High School for the Arts, and Towson's Law and Public Policy program.
The most popular magnet school that Ridgely eighth graders tried out for this year is the George Washington Carver Center of Arts and Technology. Students can try out for acting, business, carpentry, cosmetology, culinary arts, dance, design and production, information technology/interactive media productions, literary arts, music, and visual arts. Carver provides all these extra programs in addition to the core
curriculum. One Baltimore County Public School provides a magnet program for students to participate in
or sign up for. Towson High School provides a Law and Public Policies program for students who are interested in studying law and becoming more involved in learning about the American Government. It also
provides a chance for students to become more involved in their local communities.
We asked 8th grader Irene Sung: Why do you think magnet schools are a good opportunity for students?
"For an 8th grade student going into high school, it's important that they start thinking about their future. Magnet programs are a great opportunity for people to explore a more specialized field of education
to see what interests them the most. For example, a student entering Carver might not end up choosing art
as a career, but it's still always good to have the supplementary education. It is NEVER a waste of time."
There are many opportunities in magnet schools, and a chance to be in one is great for growing your
talent. Good luck to all of you who are either going to a magnet school, or are thinking of applying!
Coming to Ridgely Middle School March 11
George Washington Carver
Center for the Arts and
Technology
Talent Show
By: Claire Gartner
On Tuesday, June 14th, Ridgely will put on a talent show in the
gym and hold a pizza picnic. It’s a special event for the 8th graders only.
Interested students can audition and the teachers acting as the judges ( Ms. T. Wilson, Mr. DiMauro,
and Mr. Robinson) will choose which acts will make it into the show. You can sing, dance, play an
instrument, tell jokes, or perform any other special talent you have. Both solos and
group performances are accepted as long as it's appropriate for school. Auditions will be held after
school on June 3rd, or you can create an electronic submission to be handed in by May 23rd. Only
those with a signed permission slip can audition. There will only be a show if there are enough sub-
missions so be a part of it! These end of the year activities are a privilege and are only available to
students with no failing grades- those with a D or below will not be permitted to attend. Don't be
shy, the talent show can be your time to shine!
Bet You Didn’t Know… Presidents Edition
By Ella DesMarais
We all know about the many presidents of the United States. Each one had an important role in shaping
the world. But I bet you didn’t know these particular facts about a few of the greatest leaders America has
ever seen.
George Washington: Washington had very few real teeth. The rest were made out of tusks or animal
(sometimes other humans) teeth.
John Adams: Adams and his wife got lost looking for the White House when they first moved in. The house
was brand new and surrounded by trees.
Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln hated his nickname “Honest Abe”
Theodore Roosevelt: Roosevelt was a self-taught cowboy.
Ronald Reagan: Before becoming president, Reagan was a Hollywood star.
George Bush: Bush banned broccoli from the White House.
Barack Obama: Obama was a basketball champion in high school.
And a little extra………
Bernie Sanders: Ms. Silver and Sanders were both born in Brooklyn New York!
Donald Trump: Trump's hair is achieved by blow drying his hair forward, then
combing it backwards.
Hillary Clinton: Hillary served as a lawyer on the board of Wal-Mart .
President Ronald Reagan
By: Sarah Stevens
Presidential Candidates
The election is coming fast and we still have three candidates in the running. The election
will take place on November 8, 2016, and the president will be announced shortly afterwards.
The candidates that currently remain are Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump.
Both strong Democratic views and Republican views are shown in the candidate’s words, actions, and ideas. Yet there is no clear winner in the 2016 election.
“Fighting for us.” Hillary Clinton is currently the leading candidate for the Democrats. Our
current president, Barack Obama, chose her to be secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. She
grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and was a lawyer and a law professor before running for
president in 2008. She attended Wellesley College and after graduating she went to Yale Law
School. On October 11, 1975 she married Bill Clinton and in 1993 she became the first lady of
the United States. Hillary had one child with Bill named Chelsea. Chelsea now has one child
named Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky. As of May 18th, Hillary had 1,768 delegates and 525 super delegates.
“Make America great again.” Donald Trump is the only remaining Republican candidate. He
attended Wharton School of Finance. He has been married three times and currently has five
children and seven grandchildren. His current wife is Melania Trump. Donald has written
many books and has over seven million followers on social media. He currently has 1,160 delegates, as of May 18th, and is certain to be the Republican nominee.
“A political revolution is coming.” Bernie Sanders is a Democratic candidate and was born in
Brooklyn, New York. He attended school at Brooklyn College and University of Chicago and
he is serving his second term as a U.S. senator. He was elected as mayor of Burlington in 198,
and later served 16 years in the House of Representatives. Sanders now lives in Burlington,
Vermont, with his wife Jane. He has four children and seven grandchildren. Bernie has 1,494
delegates and 39 super delegates, according to the May 18th numbers.
“Reigniting the promise of America.” Ted Cruz was one of the Republican candidates. He
graduated from Princeton and once he graduated he went to Harvard Law. He was an adjunct
Professor of Law at the University of Texas Law School. He spent five years at a law firm and
then, in 2012, he was elected as the U.S. Senator of Texas. He and his wife Heidi have wo
daughters named Caroline and Catherine. Cruz had 564 delegates before leaving the presidential race.
“Building a better country.” John Kasich was another a Republican candidate and is married
to Karen Kasich. He has two daughters, Emma and Reese, who are twins and sixteen years
old. In the past, he has been the governor of Ohio. He was in The Budget Committee in Congress and was a reporter on FOX News. Kasich has been an investment banker and an author.
He had 153 delegates before dropping out.
Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BCNDQVT and tell the Ridgely Reader who you
want to win the 2016 election!
Quiz Bowl
Quiz Bowl is a club at Ridgely, but did you know128 teams
participate throughout the world? Quiz Bowl is a trivia competition
that has been a club here at Ridgley for nine years. Quiz Bowl uses
a buzzer system, so during the matches they use buzzers to ring in
the answer. The Quiz Bowl struggles against other clubs and this
year started out with eleven people but now only has eight people.
The questions are based on the whole middle school curriculum ranging from world events, geography, and general information.
The club members practice every Wednesday. Ms. Strayer is the official teacher sponsor of Quiz Bowl but Mr. Kallaur helped
Ms. Strayer to start and run the club at the beginning of the year. The
very first Quiz Bowl match that Ridgely had this year was against
Sudbrook and the very last was against Dumbarton. Ridgely lost
both matches.
By Ella DesMarais and Sarah Stevens
Ms. Stephanie Strayer has
sponsored Quiz Bowl for
the past several years!
Thank you, Your Highness!
SGA Elections
By Irene Sung and Claire Gartner
At the end of every Ridgely School year, we hold the Student Government
Association Elections (SGA) to choose our next Student Government Association representatives. You can run for vice president, historian, treasurer, or even
president! The candidates put up posters and come up with other ways to help
their campaigns, like passing out stickers and joining forces with students who
are running for other positions. At the end of the year, each candidate records a
video that is played for every class to watch in which they explain how they can
improve our school. Then students cast their votes anonymously, choosing candidates based on the issues they feel strongly about, similar to this upcoming national election. This year the student body president is eighth grader
Carl Feibusch, but next year's president is up to you, Ridgely students!
Sixth Grader Mia McCoog
helps her relay team head towards a 6th place finish in the
county 4x800 relay.
Ridgely Races into
Spring
By Stephanie Fanshaw
While spring may have taken
it’s time showing up this year, the
Ridgely Track and Field team raced
right into their spring season! The
Ridgely boys and girls track teams had
a successful season practicing, competing, becoming better athletes, bonding, developing friendships and
having fun, stated Mr. Lou
Schoff, boys track coach. The
girls 4x800 relay team of Mia
McCoog, Kaitlin Robinson,
Brooke Shinnick and Meghan
Ward finished 6th in the county
championships. Hopefully we’ll
have some returnees as well as
new team members next year.
The season begins in March, so
plan ahead!
Ms. Elliot stops by to
cheer on the Ridgely
runners!
Some of the Ridgely Boys Track team
hang out waiting for their next race.
Do You Have an Inkling about the Inkling?
By Lindsay Noonan
At Ridgely Middle School, there is a cool club that has been around since 1994. This organization is the Inkling. The Inkling is Ridgely's current literary and visual arts magazine, but the
first ever magazine title was called Foolscap. The magazine always has a theme and this year
it's "Old Endings into New Beginnings." Membership in this club requires
an entry to be featured in their yearly collection of Ridgely student work. The
amount of entries the Ridgely Middle School Inkling has received has been fewer
this year, but anyone can enter any time during the year! The winners of this
year's Inkling contest received a gift card to Barnes & Noble, or to a craft store,
like Michaels. The Inkling meets in room 217 on Wednesday's with
Mrs. Pessaro. Do you think you would like to be a part of this club? Talk
to Mrs. Pessaro at the beginning of the next school year! What is your old ending
into a new beginning?
8th Grade Memories
By Ami Makadia and Emily Rosenbaum
During the past three years, the 8th grade has had many special moments with their
peers and teachers. These include the free potato fries the cafeteria staff gives out and their
teachers doing various dance moves. We asked some of them their favorite middle school
memories. Many students remember the 6th grade RAC fondly. Other students' favorite memories include the various clubs available. From adjudication to the dance, 8th grade and all the
other years here at Ridgely were a wild ride. I'm sure both the teachers and the students would
agree that this group of students worked hard to pass their classes and do well in school. Everyone has had a memorable moment: showing up to school on the first day and seeing everyone again after summer break, having lunch everyday with friends, meeting new people, the
8th grade dance, and the sports teams they were involved in. Lastly, when someone asked their
sub if he was Santa Claus just because he has grey hair and the sub replied with "are you an
elf?"
All of us here in the Ridgely news crew, and the rest
of the grade, will miss Ridgley. It will always hold a
special place in our heart.
A Fond Farewell!
By Stephanie Fanshaw
As the 2015-2016 year draws to a close, it’s time to thank the entire Ridgely Reader
staff for their hard work, creativity, and energy! This final issue, the longest in our
brief history, covers not only school related topics, but also ventures into pop culture and politics. We hope you have found it informative and entertaining!
Also, I would like to thank our excellent team of eighth graders, and wish
them well as they move on to the adventures and rewards of their high
school careers. It has been my great pleasure to get to know Claire Gartner, Ami Makadia, Claire, McGinity, Irene Sung, Emily Rosenbaum,
Ariful Anwar, Laura Hennawi, and Robyn Park. Both Claire Gartner and
Ami Makadia are founding members of the Ridgely Reader and without Claire’s
leadership and Ami’s amazing energy, this publication would not be possible.
Thank you, so very much.
In the words of George Bernard Shaw, “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is
about creating yourself.” I have no doubt you will all have a masterpiece!
Miss you already, eighth
grade news crew!
Good luck!
Not pictured: Ariful Anwar
and Robin Park. Thank
you, Arif and Robin!
http://ridgelysummerreading.weebly.com/