Hatter Chatter

Published March 29, 2019

Winter Edition

by Sarah Smith and Ariel Roth

The new 7th grade principal, Mrs. Coleman-Morris, began working with us in November, filling the vacant position left by our last seventh grade principal, Mrs. Brea D'Angelo, who left us to become the head principal of Pennypack Elementary. Mrs. Coleman, as she prefers to be called, comes to us from the Downingtown School District, where she taught Spanish for 19 years. She taught all levels of Spanish, and can count all the way up to one MILLION in Spanish. We can only count up to 100 in Spanish!

This is her first year being a principal and she likes how unpredictable it can be. So far, she has enjoyed her experience here working with the friendly staff and students, and taking on exciting new ventures. Mrs. Coleman came here because she knew it would be exciting, new, and different. She finds living in the Philadelphia area to be completely different from living in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, the suburb she lived in was much cleaner. Mrs. Coleman does like the history of the birth place of our country. She is still getting used to working with the younger middle school kids after so many years of teaching at Downingtown High School. We hope she continues to enjoy her time here at Keith Valley!

¡Le deseamos buena suerte en su nueva posición aquí en Keith Valley!

Have you ever heard of Toys for Tots? Toys for a Tots is a charitable collection by the U.S. Marine Corps started in 1934. People donate presents to the Marines to distribute to less fortunate children whose families cannot afford to give them presents for the holidays. Keith Valley has donated presents to Toys for Tots for 10 years now! We donated about 1,200 to Toys for Tots this year and that is a lot of toys. One year, about nine years ago, we donated 4,000 toy, which is a tremendous donation to a great cause. When it is time for our school to load toys onto the marine trucks, we create a human conveyor belt! All the students in the school stand in a line in the hallways outside of their homerooms and pass the toys up to the front lobby of the school for loading onto the marine truck. It is a fun and creative, way for students to be a part of the season of giving rather than simply dropping the toy off and forgetting about it. One year, we even had a marine helicopter that landed in the sports field behind the school. Students got to load the toys onto the helicopter and get inside and tour it. This was a special treat.

A special thanks to Mr. Charles Farrell and the members of the Keith Valley Student Council for the tremendous work they do each year organizing this great event for a decade!

On Friday, February 22, the 43rd annual Keith Valley Challenge took place. Over three hundred twenty-five people participated. That’s more than 85 percent of eighth grade. All together they raised 51,103 dollars. This year we received $2,000 of online donations, the most ever online donations. The Mossy Green Snakes team raised the most money, collecting 4,068 dollars for the "Make A Wish Foundation." Each team in the Challenge played four to five games in the marathon. By the end of the Challenge, 90 hockey games had been played.

The organization for the Challenge began in a kick-off meeting for the eighth grade in October, run by the eighth grade assistant principal, Mr. John Ewerth. All of the money the eighth graders raised was due January 8th. The tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work was organized by Mr. Ewerth and his administrative assistant, unsung MVP Mrs. Julie Bardsley. Eighth grade teachers and parents of the eight grade students also helped. All of that happened way before the tournament even started.

The Challenge kick off assembly is always a huge event that is attended by state representatives and senators from the area, the school Superintendent, Dr. Curtis Griffin, a long list of special guest speakers. We have had Flyers legends such as Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Rick MacLeish, and Gene Hart. Philadelphia area sports broadcasters such as Beasely Reece, and the legendary "Voice of the Eagles", Merrill Reese have also spoken at this prestigious event. This year, Cindy Griffin, The head coach of St. Joseph Women's Basketball, was the guest speaker. She was very inspiring.

This year, Justin was the "Wish Kid." He was granted a wish, and chose to go on a Disney Cruise. Justin, his mother, and sister came in and talked about their experience and struggles going through the tough times. Justin had a brain tumor and needed many surgeries, that took up a lot of time in the family's daily life.

The 43rd annual Keith Valley Challenge was a huge success!

The KV Challenge was an amazing experience. We got to form our own team. We got to compete against other classmates in games. However, the most amazing thing is the main reason behind the Challenge, raising money to help unfortunate kids who have to suffer with diseases like cancer. I got to help give them their wishes! It's a great feeling to see these kids' wishes come true. This will always be a memorable moment from my eighth grade year!

By Seth Cooper (sitting near front and center, and facing forward)

The best part of the "Challenge," is the feeling that you get on that day. Even if you are not on a team with your best friends, you can see them during the Challenge. During the Challenge you can watch your friends play or have fun with your team. If you want to do something during your down time, you can even choose to be a referee. The last game of the night is the most exciting! The Keith Valley Staff play against the top fundraising team in a very spirited game.

The Shamrocker Dodgeball fundraising tournament was played Friday, March 15th and just completed its seventh successful year. It is our kickoff to St. Patrick's Day Weekend and took the place of the Shamrocker Dance the school used to hold several years ago.

This year, the Let it Fly dodgeball team proved why they almost won the tournament last year as 7th Graders. After an early loss, they had to battle their way through the losers bracket and defeat Jared Sweeney and Colin O’Sullivan's team twice in the championship. They attained dodgeball supremacy in the land of Keith Valley. Led by their captain, and this year’s Most Valuable Dodger, Trey Porter, team Let it Fly proved to be a force of nature that could not be denied. Porter's trusty side kick, Adrial “Lefty” Tiburcio was also a key player in Let it Fly winning the 2019 Title of "Shamrocker Dodgeball Champions."

This year’s tournament saw a whopping 250 students competing and having fun in our yearly dodgeball madness. For all of you 6th and 7th graders who missed out on the fun, make sure to get on a team next year, as the Shamrocker Tournament will enter its eighth year.

By Jaznie Patel

Sixth grader, Brent Glah, came to us from Simmons. Two thirds through the school year, Brent says he is having a good year on the Red Team. He likes his teachers very much. Brent especially loved doing the parachute project in science. He got to work on it with friends and even reached the finals of the parachute competition. His favorite classes are Math and ELA.

By Jaznie Patel

Sixth grade student, Dean Foster, came to us from Pennypack Elementary School. He is on the Six-Grey Team this year. Dean says that this year has been a roller coaster. It has gone very fast! He met some new friends this year, and he hopes to make many more. He's also excited for more challenges that are coming his way this year. He loves social studies class with Miss Condit because she is a cool and calm teacher. He loves ELA with Mr. Tang because his classes are fun, and he is “cool” as well.

By Jaznie Patel

Seventh grade student, Brendan Costello, says, “It’s (this year) been going well. He loves getting good grades. Brendan played on the Hatters basketball team here at Keith Valley, but he also likes to play baseball, basketball, and soccer outside of school. His favorites classes are ELA, and Sports Talk Club with Mr. Gross. Brendan says Mr. Gross is a great teacher. He also loves Miss Keene’s science class. He loves the fun experiments and looks forward to dissecting frogs.

Ava is happy that we are getting into the last part of the school year, but sad not seeing her friends every day at basketball any longer. She also misses not being the youngest walking the halls from sixth grade. Ava is excited that she was chosen as September Pacesetter by the 7-Red team and hopes to get through the rest of the year with all good grades. She really enjoyed playing for our middle school basketball team and having Keith Valley across the front of her uniform jersey.

Diego is a seventh-grade student at Keith Valley Middle School. He has really enjoyed the seventh grade this year. Even though Diego has had a great seventh grade year, he misses his sixth grade teachers, mostly Ms. Condit. Lastly, Diego would love to get good grades for the remainder of the school year.

Janiyah is a seventh-grade student at Keith Valley Middle School. She just moved into the district in the fall from Chester, Pennsylvania. Janiyah has enjoyed being in the seventh grade and looks forward to her second year here at KV as an eighth grader. An important goal for Janiyah for the rest of the school year is to try out for a sport and be a leader in our school.

Salvatore is a seventh-grade student at Keith Valley Middle School. Sal feels that he has accomplished a lot this year in the seventh grade. He misses his teachers and friends from sixth grade, where he also had a great year. Sal's goal for the rest of the year is to earn all A’s.

By Jaznie Patel

Sofia is really enjoying the eighth grade this year. She is enjoying being on the Red Team and has made a lot of new friends. She is getting good grades, and has great teachers. Sofia’s favorite class is ELA. She thanks Ms. Lisa Fisher for making her a better writer. She also finds French class with Madameoiselle Catambone to be a lot of fun.

By Jaznie Patel

Eighth grader Emily Higgins loves being on the Eight-Red team. Emily is happy that she is getting mostly good grades and has classes with “cool/nice” people. Emily loves playing ukulele in music class with Mrs. Rubinlicht and says her ELA teacher, Ms. Fisher, is a lot of fun.

This season, our seventh grade Lady Hatters Basketball team went 5 and 3 and made it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, we lost in the first round of the playoffs. We were led by Alyssa Tooley, Kathleen Schurer, Samantha Sheppard, Maggie Rezza, Ryleigh Allmond, Elizabeth Conaway, Myra Flowers, AnnaLee Kepner, Michelle Gushue, Lillian Matton, Kateryna Mliuzan, Selene Noriega, Julie Robinson, and me, Eva Andrews.

Our coach Dr. Osborne, also known as Coach Osborne, led us through the season all the way from the first game to the last. At practice, he was always able to prepare us, but still have the factor of fun and excitement for us. Coach Osborne participated in our drills, and when we did our warm ups, he would be as energetic as we were in doing them.

By game time, the girls and coach were always hyped, because we knew if we played like a team and a tight unit, we would be able to beat every team that came our way. When we won a game, we all wondered what our nickname would be on KVTV the next morning. Every time, Coach Osborne would use a new one, and most of the time our classmates would laugh at the names that we were given.

Unfortunately, we lost in the first round of the playoffs this year. We are very motivated to come back and win that championship as eighth graders. We will push even harder, and will not give up until the final buzzer rings, because we are ONE TEAM.

I was a member the KV seventh grade basketball ball team this year. Our season was moderately successful. The only team we beat in the regular season was Abington. Since we had an average season, we were in the lower division for the playoffs along with Abington, Upper Moreland, and Sandy Run. We were the two seed in the lower bracket because we beat Abington, Abington beat Upper Moreland, and Upper Moreland beat us. Then we had the tie breaker over them, so we got the two seed,

During our first playoff game against Abington, we jumped out to an early ten-point lead. However, in the second half, coach Farrell put our reserves into the game and Abington took the lead. So, the only logical thing to do was put the starters back in, and Coach Farrell did that. Once the starters came back in, we full court pressed and were successful taking a five-point lead back. Then Abington had to foul us to save time and get the ball back, but we made most of our free throws and won the game.

We moved on to the lower bracket championship against Sandy Run. We jumped out to a quick lead, but Sandy Run proved to be too much, and we eventually lost by ten points. Through our struggles the eighth-grade team played excellent. Even though our record didn’t show it, we played well. Even in our losses this year, we were competitive and lost many games by only two or three points. I expect us to be very competitive next year in eighth grade.

By Emily Nelson

For the first time in many years, the 8th grade boys' basketball team was able to win the championship against mighty Colonial Middle School. They lost their first game against Colonial, considered possibly the strongest team in the league. They went undefeated in the regular season and were the odds on favorite to win the championship. However, KV also had a strong season and finished strong with an 11-1 record. Coach K did a fantastic job coaching the team and really brought them together as a unit.

The team ended with a regular reason record of 11-1 and ended as league champions. The boys were strong in every game and had a good mind set. In the championship game, Noah Schlosser played phenomenally on offense and defense. With DJ Cerisier and Colin O’Sullivan handling the ball, Colonial could not force any turnovers. Even though Colonial had a strong forward, Christian Daniels and Adriel Tiburcio were able to score many baskets in the paint. Congrats to the boys for bringing home the championship to KV!

By Sadie Van Tassel

The eighth grade Keith Valley Hatters boy’s basketball team finished their regular season 9-1 this year, and 11-1 overall on their way to a league championship. I interviewed their point guard, DJ Cerisier to get an inside look on their season.

SVT: Which team was your toughest rival this year?

DJ: Probably Colonial. They won their regular season game against us, but we beat them in the league championship game.

SVT: How many games did you win this season?

DJ: We won nine games, yeah nine out of ten. We finished 11-1 after the playoffs.

SVT: How long have you been playing basketball for Keith Valley?

DJ: I’ve been playing since 7th grade.

SVT: What was the biggest highlight of this year?

DJ: When we beat a team by twenty- three points, and of course we won the championship game against Colonial.

SVT: Is there anything else you want to add?

DJ: Yeah, we couldn’t have won without our great coaches.

SVT: Thank you so much for your time!

DJ: You're very welcome!

The KV wrestling Warriors were very fierce this season. Our team included: Davlat Asrorov, Dylan Costantini, Joe Curry, Hunter Hughes, Julian Jadzak, Aidan Morrisson, Carter Murray, Wyatt Naylor, Orion Newell, An Nguyen, Brady Pagano, Joe Palmeri, Rocco Puliese, Lily Rock, Samuel Sheppard, Chris Staub, Ethan Weaver, Aydan Watt and Julian Naumenko. Our coaches were the best! Coach James Newell, Coach Ben and Coach Steve care a lot for the KV Warriors!

During the season, the KV team and I would have to stay two hours after school every day of the week for wrestling practice. We ran ten laps around the gym, practiced shadow wrestling and learned at least one new wrestling "move" or technique at every practice. My personal favorite moves are: the "power half", "cement mixer" and the "baby cradle". This was my first year and the same was so for many others teammates. Our coaches and other teammates really helped us out when it came to wrestling. Thanks to them I really grew and developed as a wrestler this season.

Even though I got pinned and lost my first match against Poquessing Middle School, I developed a “short memory”, meaning I did not want to concentrate on my losses.

One week, I got into a scramble where my arm was chopped and jolted in the wrong direction, and lost a match because my arm hurt. The day after my loss, my coach sat down with me and told me a story about his first wrestling years when he was my age. He told me that one thing that helped him during his wrestling years was aggression. So, with my hurting arm, I wrestled against my opponent from Lower Moreland and WON! I was in some pain, but this win was the best feeling ever! There are no words to explain how I felt.

Nothing comes easy in wrestling, but it gives me a great feeling of accomplishment.

The sixth graders are not allowed to participate in PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) sports against other schools until the seventh grade. So, the sixth grade has an intramural program that was started 32 years ago. The three intramural sports leagues for the sixth graders, touch football, floor hockey, and kickball, meet after school from 3 to 4:15.

Currently, there is a very fun and competitive 6th grade hockey league. The three teams are: The Flyers, The Flames, and the Golden Knights. The games feature a lot of fast end-to-end action, great goal-tending, tremendous scoring off the rush, and "highlight reel" goals. We have some experienced ice hockey players, who are spread throughout the league, as well as beginners, who are learning very fast and easily hang in and play competitively with those experienced players. Most of all, everyone is having fun! Parent attendance at games is amazing, with close to ten parents coming to watch each game. The league is organized by Mr. Gross, who referees all of the games.

The playoffs are coming up in early April. The teams are pretty evenly matched, and there is no clear-cut favorite to win. In fact, last year's champions, the Flyers, were the last seed in the playoff tournament before their star goalie, Jimmy Cortez, led them to a huge championship victory.

The Sixth Grade Intramural sports program started in the Fall of 1987. It was the brain child of Principal, Mr. Harrison Woodruff.

In August of 1987, a young teacher in his twenties was hired by first-year head principal, Mr. Harrison "Woody" Woodruff. His name was Stewart Gross. After hiring Mr. Gross as a 6th grade teacher, Mr. Woodruff inquired about an item on Mr. Gross' resume which said that he was the president of the Intramural Hockey League during his time at the University Park campus of Penn State from 1980 thru 1982. It seems that Mr. Gross organized and refereed a Sunday intramural hockey league at the Intramural Building (located at the east end of campus near Beaver Stadium) on Sunday mornings and afternoon.

Mr. Woodruff felt that there were not enough after school activities for sixth graders at the time and asked Mr. Gross if he could run flag football, floor hockey, and softball leagues for the school. Mr. Gross gladly accepted and the Sixth Grade Intramural Leagues were created. Mr. Gross ran all of them for the next ten years. He then stepped aside to spend more time with his daughter who had started elementary school in 1997.

Mr. Bruce Angney, was next in line to run the Intramural leagues for many years. Mr. Angney, a former seventh grade science teacher and science department coordinator at KV, had a lot of experience in coaching Pop Warner Football in his township of Abington. Mr. Gross recruited him to take over the intramurals. Throughout the years, many teachers have taken turns running the various sixth grade intramural sports, including Mr. James Sullivan, and Mr. Walt Karmosky, who both took a turn at running the fall football league.

Football is played in the fall from September through Thanksgiving. That has been run for the past several years by Mrs. Carole Budilov. Floor hockey is played in the lower gym from February through the beginning of April. This was run for many years by Mrs. Beth Maryott, a sixth grade math teacher. It has been run for the past two years by Mr. Gross, who has returned to one of his favorite activities. Finally, there is kickball, which is played in April and May, and has been sponsored by Miss Jen Porter, the past several years.

There is heavy student participation in the leagues. These leagues emphasize competition, but also equal participation by all students. Participating students vary in ability from beginners playing in their first recreational in-house league, to experienced players who play competitively in township and borough leagues and wish to go out for PIAA teams beginning in 7th grade. Intramurals are also co-ed, with some very talented athletic girls playing alongside the boys. The major goal is for sixth graders at Keith Valley to have fun playing in a recreational league. After 32 years, the league is going strong!

TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME!

Do you know the average amount of time a teen spends on the phone a day? Nine hours! Yes, nine hours! I spend about four hours a day and I really thought that that was a lot. But we are just getting started.

94% of teens in the US have and use social media, and I'm a part of that percentage. It is just crazy how people get drawn to their phones. It is hard to believe that I am a part of this group, even though I am. I would like to do something about it, something that would decrease this usage time! Teens should be going outside, playing sports, and interacting with friends face-to-face. They should be having in person fun with friends, NOT spending all of their free time on their smart phones.

A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH RISK

There is a worldwide problem with phones. Kids get so distracted they will start to ignore their parents and each other. Depression and anxiety are caused by the over use of phones.

Kids feel that if they see a post of others out at a nice restaurant and smiling, that their lives are inferior or boring in comparison. This is not a realistic vision of the world. No one posts a photo of himself or herself being unhappy or bored. This is the same sort of effect as comparing your life to the idyllic life shown in Hollywood movies. Also, kids are upset when they don't get likes on posts. Also, cyber bullying occurs on social media platforms.

Excessive cell phone use may cause anxiety, experts warn. “Spending too much time on your phone may be causing you to feel stress and anxiety”, experts are saying. According to research doctors, most people experience an emotional response that floods their body with stress hormones when they hear their phone go off. Never believe the people that say, “It’s just a phone, what harm can it do?” It’s not just your eyes that get hurt from staring at a screen all day, it’s your mental health too. Smart phones lead to NOT interacting face to face with people. Just picture the increasing number of people that use phones now over five years ago. It’s terrible.

THERE ARE SOME VERY CONSTRUCTIVE USES OF SMART PHONES - USE THEM!

Still, there are many good things about smart phones. You can use it to contact friends and family in case of emergency. If you become lost, you can use a navigation system on your phone for directions. You can use a weather app to decide if outdoor activities are okay to do and decide how to dress to go outdoors. Also, if one of your family members lives far away, in another state or country, you can chat and video call with them. These are positive uses that people need, to stay in touch with friends and family too far away to see in person.

TREAT SMART PHONE USAGE LIKE ANY OTHER AREA OF YOUR HEALTH

We have become a very health conscious society. People eat healthy foods, avoid GMO's, shop at Whole Foods, exercise at Cross Fit and Planet Fitness, take yoga classes, and practice mindfulness, all for the health of their minds and bodies. Why not do the same with smart phone and social media usage?

Consciously limit your usage time each day. Use it for the above mentioned positive usages only. Select a block of time each day, that you turn your phone off or put it in airplane mode. Stow the phone away, and spend time disconnected from electronic media, and connected in person to real people. Make eye contact with your friends and family, and enjoy real conversation and fun. This should become part of your everyday health regimen, just like following a healthy diet, exercising, and practicing mindfulness.

Smartphones and social media aren’t all bad. The only bad thing - is the overuse of screen time. That is something we need to fix together. JOIN THE SOCIALLY RECONNECTED GENERATION!

Hi! I'm Sadie Van Tassel! I was one of the wicked step sisters in Keith Valley's production of Cinderella this year. I was the stupid one with the weird laugh! Being in the Keith Valley musical was simply amazing. When I'm acting, singing, dancing , and laughing with other kids, I just feel like I belong to something special. It's a big family. Cinderella was my second musical for KV and personally, I think it was the best. There was comedy, love (bleck!), and valuable lessons for a kid in middle school. For me, the tremendous feeling when I finish a song, or a particularly tricky step, is very rewarding. After the show, when the audience is roaring I just feel ecstatic. I felt like "This is what I was meant to do". Cheesy right? But oh, so real. People ask me "Are you going to do the musical next year?" My answer is an unequivocal "Yes." You don't even have to ask.

by Autumn Bradley

Come one, come all!

Keith Valley Middle School, in association with Keith Valley Music Theatre, presented their four-show run of Cinderella on November 29th thru December 2nd. Utilizing the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Enchanted Edition, audience members pronounced the musical to be a must-see show. Based on the Cinderella film released in 1950 by Walt Disney, the holidays were kicked off by the tremendous show.

The show followed the young tale of Ella, played by Taylor Furness, who had lost both her mother and father due to sickness. Now left with her cruel stepmother, Morgan McNulty, and her two wicked stepsisters, Emily Dougherty and Sadie Van Tassel, Cinderella struggles through the hardship given to her by her not-so-friendly family, earning the name Cinderella in the process. Just as Cinderella loses the will to be kind and caring, her fairy godmother, Kaitlyn Harrington, appears and transforms the young girl into the princess we know today. Cinderella rides to the ball in her golden pumpkin carriage and meets Prince Charming on an unforgettable night.

By Autumn Bradley

But that is Disney’s version of Cinderella, every second of the film filled with happiness and the likable princess mojo. Everyone young and old knows the tale, whether seen in the theaters when it was newly released, or watched on video in present time.

But is Walt Disney’s Cinderella all so original?

Some would say yes. Disney has released many original princess films over the years. Some, like Pocahontas, are non-fiction, whilst others, like The Little Mermaid, are fiction. Both Walt Disney’s and the Grimm’s Fairy Tale’s version of Cinderella can fall into both categories, depending on what you believe in.

The Ancient History of the Play

1950 wasn’t the first time Cinderella went to the ball. Her first dance with Prince Charming dates all the way back to the first century B.C. Different versions of the story, from all the way across Europe and Asia, were spread orally and all included a beautiful young girl and a charming prince. The earliest known variant of Cinderella is tracked all the way back to Greece, written by a Greek historian by the name of Strabo. The story follows Rhodopis, a young servant girl whose slipper is stolen by a hawk who carries it all the way across Egypt to drop it into the lap of a king. The king, who takes the slipper as a sign from the gods, tracks down the owner of the slipper. Just like in Cinderella, he makes every maiden try on the slipper. Just as all hope is about to be lost, he finds Rhodopis. The two rejoice, even if Rhodopis only met the king for the first time, and the two get married, destined to live happily ever after.

No matter what culture or time period these tales come from, the tale is very similar. Finally, Charles Perrault wrote a third party version of the folk story, and Cinderella made it into written literature for the first time. The Brothers Grimm’s have a fairy tale version of Cinderella, but it is on the gory side.

The hit musical Newsies! ran on Broadway from March 29, 2012 to August 24, 2014 in the Nederlander Theatre. Based on the historical newsboy strike in 1899 against Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, Newsies! is an amazing story of the courage to stand up for one's beliefs. The original cast includes Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly, Ben Fankhauser as David (Davey) Jacobs, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, Lewis Grosso and Matthew Schechter as Leslie (Les) Jacobs, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, Capathia Jenkins as Medda Larkin, John Dosset as Joseph Pulitzer, Ryan Breslin as Race/Racetrack Higgins, Garrett Hawe as Albert and Bill, Ryan Steele as Specs, Evan Kasprzak as Elmer, Aaron J. Albano as Finch, Andy Richardson as Romeo, Kyle Coffman as Henry, Thayne Jasperson as JoJo and Darcy, Jess LeProtto as Buttons, Ephraim Sykes as Mush, Tommy Bracco as Spot Conlon, Mike Faist as Morris Delancey, Brendon Stimson as Oscar Delancey, and many more!

While this is loosely based on the newsie strike of 1899, I absolutely loved it! Even though Newsies! (1992) flopped (I love that movie too), Newsies! on Broadway was a big hit. Not only did it run on Broadway for over two years and tour around the country, fans loved the show so much that Newsies! was filmed and put on Netflix. Unfortunately, Disney signed a time lease with Netflix to take Newsies! down on March 5th. Newsies! can also be found on several other streaming applications.

If you love musicals and/or history, especially with fast-paced music, this the musical for you!

by Sadie Van Tassel

Mary Poppins returns! Michael Banks is now a father of three children, and when the bank repossesses his house, Mary Poppins, (Played by Emily Blunt) comes back, always ready to help children in need. Mary Poppins Returns is packed with surprising twists at every turn, and never-ending excitement. The songs and story are original and none of the songs from the original movie are used. In addition, no scenes from the original movieare repeated. Yet the movie definitely felt like the original because of the creativity and charm. And the one and only film legend, Dick Van Dyke, returns for a five minute show stopper at the end. Mary Poppins Returns is a must see, and is perfect for the family! Mary Poppins Returns also stars film legends, Angela Lansbury and Glenn Close. Julie Andrews was asked to make a cameo as the "balloon lady" (played by Lansbury), however, she turned it down out of respect to Emily Blunt. Andrews wanted it to be Blunt's film, and not create comparisons between her original portrayal of Marry Poppins and Blunt's. A classy move, by a classy actress. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" indeed!

Marshall, Robert. “Trailers, Mary Poppins Returns: Mr. Dawes Jr. Clip”” YouTube, 29 Jan. 2019,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3AijekRYw.

Bohemian Rhapsody is an American movie released on November 2, 2018. It follows the British band named Queen. It shows how the band came to be and the trials and tribulations they went through along the way. The film’s primary focus is the life of lead singer Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek, who plays Mercury, won this year’s Oscar as best actor for his role in the movie. It shows how he wanted to be a musician, and met a college band in need of a new lead singer. At first, they make fun of him because he has four extra teeth (incisors). But when he sings in front of them, they are dumbfounded. His extra teeth give him a large vocal range and are one of the main reasons he can sing so well.

The movie follows Mercury’s personal life, and the life of the iconic 70’s and 80’s band that was responsible for huge radio hits such as “Killer Queen”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions”, “You’re My Best Friend”, “Another One Bites the Dust”, and “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” As in most rock biopics, Queen goes through band conflicts and break up. The movie culminates with Queen’s reunion with Mercury, after his failed solo career. Queen gives the performance of a lifetime at the July 1985 Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium in England. This scene is re-created with thousands of extras and the magic of CGI.

This is an amazing movie that rates 9 out of 10 on our list. Surprisingly, this award-winning movie only has 61% rotten tomatoes and an 8.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb. Rami Malek won the Best actor Oscar over tough competition such as Christian Bale, who gave an amazing performance as Dick Cheyney in the movie, “Vice,” and Bradley Cooper, who gave a great performance in the fourth version of “A Star is Born.” Brian May, the real-life lead guitarist for Queen as well as an accomplished astrophysicist, said, “Thank God we choose him for Freddie.”

It's snowing.

Did you get the

phone blast yet?

Book Review by Raina Conaway

New York City, July 1899: Elsie is thirteen when her father is put in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Her mother passed due to typhoid some years before, which now puts Elsie in the hands of the Reformers of the Orphan Asylum for Young Girls, who keep her locked away in unfavorable conditions. When she meets Grin, a newsie who peddles papers for Hearst’s’ The Journal, outside the asylum one day, she decides to run away to sell papers, or “papes”, with him. Little does she know, but the newsboy strike of 1899 is just around the corner, and she’ll be in the middle of the drama. With only a couple cents, hand-me-downs from a fellow newsboy, old boots from her mother, and her mother’s last words, Elsie sets out to get her father out of jail.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! A great work of historical fiction, the nods to real-life newsboys from the actual strike drew me in further to Elsie’s challenges. Elsie is an important female hero for girls as she presents bravery, courage, and determination. She finds her quieted voice as the story unravels, and overcomes situations almost impossible to overcome, at that time in history. I found the ending surprisingly beautiful, and I will never forget this story!

This is a great book for fans of the movie and musical Newsies! Also, those who love historical fiction, or are looking for a new favorite genre to read will enjoy this turn of the century story.

Aven Green has loving parents and great friends who accepted her. But this all changes when she and her family must move to Arizona for her father to run Stagecoach Pass, an old, almost forgotten theme park. She would be fine making more friends, except for the fact that she was born without arms. She used to make up wild stories about how she lost her arms, but everyone in her old home town learned that she had been born without arms. In Arizona, she has the chance to start over. Aven has learned to cope: she uses her feet. Now a social outcast in her new environment, Aven befriends Connor, a boy with his own disability, Tourette's Syndrome. When they discover a secret room at Stagecoach Pass, they embark on an adventure to solve a mystery.

I enjoyed this book. It brings light to the adversities some face, but we forget about. It was a fun adventure with amazing characters and story. Aven’s ability, as well as Connor’s, illustrates a person is not defined by his/her disablities, a key component to being resilient.

I would recommend this book to those who love realistic fiction, are part of Reading Olympics, want to read stories with main characters with disabilities, or are looking for a new favorite read, genre, or author. This can be found on the Reading Olympics shelf of your local library.

By Joseph Acton

The Kuiper Belt is a circular debris field in the outer solar system, far past the orbit of Neptune. It is sort of like a really, really, really, large asteroid field. It contains rocks and metals, but is also composed of frozen ices like water, methane, and ammonia.

One of the most famous Kuiper Belt objects is Pluto. There is, however, heavy debate on this subject. Scientists are always at each other’s throats debating: is Pluto a planet? Is it a dwarf planet? Is it in the Kuiper Belt? As of right now, it is considered a dwarf planet, not a real planet, but it might be reclassified as a Kuiper Belt Object in the near future. The reason it is not a real planet, is that it does not have a cleared path of orbit around the sun. It shares its orbit with other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Hence, since it is not a planet, it is, by default, a dwarf planet in Kuiper Belt. Yet, scientists are still arguing about it. That is why scientists are always on the hunt for more information about this topic.

About 20 years ago, Stamatios Krimigis of the Applied Physics Laboratory, and Alan Stern, formed the New Horizon team. Their goal: investigate Pluto and other Kuiper Belt objects to attempt to understand the formation of our solar system, and to clear up any more classifying debates. They sent their plan to NASA. In 2001, it was accepted, and they got their funding to send a space probe to Pluto.

Almost 13 years ago, the New Horizon Space Probe was scheduled to launch. It was delayed a bit due to clouds, but launched a few hours later. 9 hours later, it was out of the moon’s orbit.

Roughly four years ago, it was supposed to fly past Jupiter, then Pluto. The new pictures the New Horizon Space Probe sent back were of much better quality than previous missions, even from the Hubble. It also furthered debates, since the photos suggested that Pluto might have polar ice-caps. From 2001 to 2016, New Horizon sent NASA back 700 million photographs of Pluto.

A few months ago, the New Horizon Space Probe took pictures of a Kuiper Belt object, as you might have seen in the news. For those of you who have, probably the most notable thing you remember is the fact that the belt looks like a snowman. The “head” of the snowman is called Thule, and the “body” is called Ultima. So, the “snowman” is called Ultima Thule. Ultima Thule is the furthest object in our solar system object to photographed up close.

Within the next year, NASA hopes to study the data discovered from the flyby. They expect it will take about 18 months to completely analyze the information. As soon as they find something, like an alien city, they will probably announce it.

In two years, if the spacecraft is still operational. It will perform a flyby of another Kuiper Belt object. It has about 11 kg (24 lbs) of fuel left. Fingers crossed...

Thanks to this mission, we now know a lot more about our Solar System, the Kuiper Belt, and Pluto. Who knows what it will discover next!

By Mr. Dennis Williams

Mr. David Bergey taught in the Hatboro-Horsham School District for 33 years. He spent his first 12 years as an eighth grade science teacher right here at the Keith Valley Middle School. Science teacher, teacher leader, Champion of Learning, athletic coach, mentor and friend, Dave was a well-respected and revered teacher by students and colleagues alike. He also added to the school environment outside of the classroom. He was the architect of the Student Assistance Program and instrumental in the positive impact that SAP makes on the student body and the culture of the high school. He had a vision of going above and beyond the required program and integrated community counselors, peer mediation programs and even created the district’s first in-house alternative education program. His leadership, passion and vision for helping students continues long after his retirement.

by Mr. George Good

Mr. Dave Bergey began his career in Hatboro-Horsham in 1973, teaching at the Keith Valley Middle school at its original location on Babylon Road. He taught eighth grade science, and served as a team captain from 1974 until 1991, when he ended his KV career, and moved to Hatboro-Horsham High School as the eighth and ninth grades flip-flopped their curriculums.

KVMS students looked forward to seeing Mr. Bergey as an 8th grade teacher because he had them do one of the most popular science labs of all-time, the “Sludge Test.” The entire eighth grade teachers would change their schedules so that Mr. Bergey could have his students for a day long lab. Years later, visiting students who came back to Keith Valley would bring the “Sludge Test” up as a fond life memory.

by Mr. James Sullivan

Mr. James Sullivan, a current 8th grade science teacher at Keith Valley, knew "Berg" as both a science colleague and as the high school principal of Hatboro-Horsham High School.

According to Mr. Sullivan, Dave Bergey was particularly impactful working with his 9th grade Physical Science students, as he prepared them for the “Sludge” test, which he took to the high school with him. He had a special affinity for “marginal” students who didn’t/couldn’t/wouldn’t do well in school and he worked with them on those characteristics that help us in life: knowing what motivates you; and recognizing what wasn’t working.

Mr. Sullivan notes that Dave Bergey developed the S.A.P. (Student Assistance Program) to levels well beyond the state mandated services. He ended up developing a system that provided services to high school kids that were key in helping them get across the stage as seniors.

Congratulations Mr. David Bergey, on a well- deserved honor!

by Samantha Murset

Grace Rovinsky won the school Spelling Bee as a 7th grader. This year as an 8th grader she dominated and won again. This year, Grace passed the written regional competition, and went on to the oral regional competition. She ranked fifth in the oral regional spelling bee due to the difficult word "Beringia."

She recently went to the written portion of the regional spelling bee and placed in second making her eligible for this year's oral regional competition. If Grace comes in first in the oral regionals, then she will move onto to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

With the high standards, difficult words, and a passion for spelling, Grace is busy preparing for the second round of regional competition that is just right around the corner. The competition will take place in late March. Grace, congratulations for making it this far and good luck with the rest of this eventful journey!

A special thank you goes out to KVMS alumnus, Mrs. Robyn Ayers, for doing the final proofread. Also, thank you to our Principal, Mr. Kircher, for reading the proposed Hatter Chatter and approving all content in the newspaper prior to distribution as always.

2. Which Hatter Chatter artist draws the cartoons for our paper this year?

3.Why did actress Julie Andrews turn down a role in the sequel to Marry Poppins, Mary Poppins returns?

4.Which Keith Valley teacher was the faculty sponsor of the 6th grade Intramural sports leagues for their first ten years?

5.Who was the starting point guard for this year's KVMS 8th grade basketball champions?

6. What subject did new Keith Valley, 7th grade principal, Mrs. Coleman teach for nineteen years in Downington, before coming to KV?

7. What is the main premis of the book, "insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" about, that Raina Conaway reviewed?

8.How many years has Keith Valley been collecting toys for Toys for Tots?

9. Which two eighth grade students were interviewed about their experience in this year's Keith Valley Challenge?

10. Which Greek historian is said to have been the first person to write the story that is the basis of Cinderella?