
Berner Beacon
Spring 2024
Two Truths and a Lie: Electives Edition
by Eleni Diakoumakis
Teachers shared two truths and one lie about themselves. Can you tell which one is the lie? The answers are at the end of the issue!
Mr. Salamone
My favorite pastime is fishing. I am an Aquarian and live on an island. Why would I do any other fun past time?
- I have rescued two people from near death situations. One person was having a seizure in their car and crashed in front of me. I pulled them out and administered first aid. The other was buried under rubble and dirt by a small landslide. I dove in, grabbed them and pulled them to safety.
- I was bitten by a shark. I have the scar on my leg to prove it.
Mrs. Kenny-Didamo
- I was captain of my high school cheerleading team.
- I am a college professor.
- I won a baking competition in 2010.
Mrs. Shehada
- I am a thrill-seeker and love roller coasters, zip-lining, and white-water rafting.
- I was voted "Most Friendly" by my classmates at Carle Place High School.
- Dani is my real name on my birth certificate.
Mrs. Puricelli
- I have 3 dogs and a cat.
- When I was 12, I flew alone for the first time to California.
- I am a middle child.
Mrs. Tuniewicz
- I am the only left handed person in my family, including my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.
- When I was 21 years old, I went to Sweden and Denmark for a month by myself.
- I played softball in college and hold the University's record for most home-runs.
Mr. Vanek
1. I once received communion from the Pope.
2. I have traveled with the Robotics teams around the country for competitions.
3. I worked with an architect before becoming a teacher.
Berner Beacon: Making a Difference in Massapequa Spring 2024
Highlighting Chiefs Challenge: Character Education Day (March 7)
Character Education or Chiefs Challenge Day was held on March 7th. The Chief's Challenge students worked very hard for months to prepare for the activities that took place including creating t-shirts, posting positive messages on students' lockers, and placing posters around the building. Chief's Challenge advisors, Mrs. Glynn and Mrs. Happe, spent an immense time working on lessons and activities to make the day successful. During that day, students across all grades engaged in a variety of activities. Some activities included drawing t-shirts with anti-bullying slogans, creating acrostic poems for kindness, and so much more. In addition, the class discussions were centered on being an upstander and spreading kindness.
As a focal point of the day, students attended one of two assemblies. The 7th and 8th grade students attended an assembly titled, Bullying 101: Triggered, during which guest speaker Alisty Keneth put the spotlight on the ways in which students can recognize bullying in its many forms and understand its potential consequences. The presentation enabled students to recognize bullying– name it, feel it, and realize its impact on the individual and the community. Students will also be provided with tips on how to safely combat bullying through a powerful discussion on safe and positive ways to intervene and create an accepting school culture where bullying is never accepted as “the norm.” 6th grade classes viewed a live theater production titled, Box Out Bullying, in which the performers utilize colorful characters, improvisational comedy, special effects, audience participation, and a fun-filled game show to capture the students’ attention and empower students in the fight against bullying.
Chief's Challenge is a club that works to improve the school’s culture, help the community, and build character. Another recent accomplishment is the "Souper Bowl" collected approx. 400 lbs. of non-perishable food items to donate to Long Island Cares. The club has more exciting plans for the rest of the school year, so stay tuned!
Gail Cook Memorial Carnation Sale (March 17)
Why not usher in spring with a little green bling and bring the luck of the Irish to your home? Gail Cook touched the lives of over 2,000 students during her 18 years as an ELA teacher here in Massapequa. In her honor, 350 green carnations were sold during all lunch periods on March 15. Teachers and staff also purchased 150 roses. All the flowers come straight from the growers in South America and were donated by Furrows Flowers.The CCC classes packaged the roses in plastic that they decorated with stickers and ribbons and delivered the flowers to the teachers. The sale of these carnations benefited the Gail Cook Memorial Scholarship and Garden Fund. The students and staff did such a phenomenal job honoring Gail Cook and keeping her memory alive. The money we raised will provide two $500 scholarships to two graduating MHS seniors.
Thank you to all who donated and honored Gail Cook!
Ryan Hirschhorn’s Hearts for Ukraine
An 8th grade student here at Berner Middle School has been making great strides in his fundraising endeavors. Ryan Hirschhorn’s Hearts for Ukraine is a series of sculptures that have been built to raise awareness for the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ryan designed and built 3 sculptures, each symbolizing the resilience and compassion needed in times of adversity.
Ryan's achievements are indeed noteworthy. Collaborating with PROJECT C.U.R.E, he successfully raised over $200,000, channeling these funds towards providing life-saving medical supplies to Ukraine, a testament to his unwavering dedication and compassion.
His dedication has taken him to various locations across the country, including the Ukraine House, Washington D.C., Ukraine Consulate, and Chicago, with upcoming events planned in Denver, Houston, and more.
Ryan’s message resonates universally, emphasizing the significance of kindness, whether it's extending a helping hand to a global cause or aiding a neighbor in need.
For more information or to contribute, visit his website: ryanhirschhorn.com.
“There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. These hearts mean that there is hope. These hearts mean that if we work together we will persevere.” - Ryan P. Hirschhorn
Favorite Part of Berner: Teacher Editon
by Emerson Millman
Greetings Berner learners! I’m sure everyone reading right now has their favorite things about the school, but have you ever wondered about the teachers' favorite things? If you want to get more familiar with the teaching faces of Berner you can read this article! Below are the list of questions asked to the interviewed teachers!
What is your favorite part of teaching?
What gets you to keep teaching?
What stuck out to you in your experience in teaching?
What’s some advice you’d offer to new learners?
Other favorite things or common questions students ask.
Mrs. Montana
1. My favorite part of teaching is seeing my students learn and laugh. When students speak to me in Mandarin, it makes my heart sing.
2. Sharing what I know with students is so fun! I really enjoy teaching and seeing students thrive.
3. Practice makes perfect! Please keep your mind open and willing to try. It's okay if it doesn't come out well at first. It will get better, I promise!
Mrs. Forman
My favorite part of teaching is the look on a students face when they finally understand something or make a connection. That 'light bulb' or 'aha' moment is really special.
I think that teaching is a really important job. We are not just responsible for educating students in the subject we teach but are also nurturing the future of our country.
I love the community of teachers. In each new building and new subject that I have taught, veteran teachers have always offered me help, materials, advice and support. I love that teaching is not a competition but a collaboration of work.
Stay organized! Organization is the first step in success.
Ms. Mosier
My favorite part of teaching is watching students grow in education and getting to see students achieve their goals. It is also pretty cool to get to talk about history every day!
What gets me to keep teaching is the students. Each day is a fresh start for us all to learn and grow. I believe that not only do students learn from me teaching them, but I learn from them and see life from a different point of view!
What stuck out to me in my experience as a teacher is how much of an impact us teachers have on students. I always want to use my impact in a positive way.
Some advice I would offer new learners is "don't sweat the small stuff in life". If you don't achieve something 100% the first try that is okay, no one is perfect and often when we get knocked down a bit it gives us room to build back up stronger. Take each day as a new start to learn from and grow from in life. I truly believe that everyday we are 1% better and we need to focus on the good.
Ms. Waterman
My favorite part about teaching is fostering a love of reading and writing. I love to come up with fun and engaging lessons that make learning fun for both myself and more importantly my students! My grandparents were both educators and growing up I remember them telling stories of their experiences with their own students. Now I enjoy making those memories of my own.
The students are my motivation. Each year, I love to develop a rapport with a new group of students. I love to see the stories we read and activities through their eyes. It is something that doesn't get old! Even though I teach students for only one school year, former students reach out from time to time. I always love hearing from them and seeing what they are up to in their lives. They love to reminisce about something that happened in their class period or a lesson they vividly remember. Every day is unique in 7th grade!
One of my favorite lessons teaching 7th grade is when we listen to the song "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and make connections to the novel, All the Broken Pieces. This year I stepped up my game by enhancing the 1970's disco experience. Disco ball string lights, a disco ball speaker that lit up as well as giving all students a mini disco ball to hold really enhanced the lesson. I think it is a memorable lesson that my students will remember for years to come!
It is ok to make mistakes. Mistakes help you grow as a person. Don't let those mistakes hold you back, always try your best and don't be afraid to try!
Mr. Eaton
My favorite part of teaching is working with students and watching them grow academically, sharing the ups and downs of the school year.
I keep teaching because I love going to work each day and enjoy the fresh start every September when school begins!
What sticks out for me in my teaching is how technology has changed the way students learn and how I teach.
My advice to new learners would be to find something you are passionate about and follow that passion wherever it might take you!
Ms. Zaffuto
- I obviously love math, but my favorite part of teaching is my students!
- My students! I appreciate the hard work they put in daily. They are always asking questions, sharing ideas and helping one another. They also keep me laughing and learning.
- It’s okay to be wrong. We all make mistakes (especially in math) - that is how we grow & learn.
Mrs. Robertson
1. My favorite part of teaching is my student’s interpretation of the content. Health class allows young people to explore their values, goals and lifestyle every single class… we never stray from working on our individual selves. Knowing that I am able to offer my students a space to assess their current levels of wellness and normalize personal growth is something I take a great deal of pride in.
2. "Ah-ha" moments, I will never tire of these. When my students report that a topic connected with them outside of my classroom, well it is such a big deal to me! Knowing my students are able to identify how my lessons are woven into their real life is invaluable. Each and every time, I am filled with pride and reassurance that my passion is reaching a younger generation.
3. I am mesmerized by my student's individuality. There is something about every student that deserves to be noticed. I became a stronger teacher when I began to empower my students to share themselves rather than focusing solely on the facts of the material. In health class, everyone has a story that connects to what we are learning. Being student focused means that I have to show up prepared for wherever the lesson may go, whatever questions I am asked and for whatever the students are emotionally/mentally bringing in. When I do this with care and understanding it is easy to admire the young learners in my class. I never know what someone’s experience is going to be but I trust that I can give my students opportunities to be noticed because they matter.
4. Learning is a skill. You have to practice it to get better. Whatever works for you, celebrate it. Highlight the moments you are feeling your best and succeeding. Whatever isn’t working, don’t be too hard on yourself. Allow yourself to recognize that it didn’t go the way you planned, pick up the pieces and try a different method. Ask for help and find a person willing to give you the time in return. Everyone needs help. Everyone. Every single day, you get to go to school. Reframe your thinking- you don’t have to be here… you get a chance to be here. Not everyone has the same opportunity.
An Interview with Teachers
by Lilyana Thanasas and Eleni Diakoumakis
We have interviewed some of the teachers here at Berner Middle School. We have asked them the following questions:
1. Favorite time to teach
2. How long have you been teaching
3. Subject you teach
4. Tips for studying
5. Classroom rules you have
The teachers we interviewed are Mrs. Einhart, Mrs. Zaffuto and Mrs. Simpson. They have answered the questions and to see how they answered continue to read.
Mrs. Einhart
1. I like to teach in the morning because I have more energy.
2. This is my 19th year teaching.
3. I teach ELA and Social Studies.
4. Write your own flashcards or copy notes over onto blank paper. Writing helps your brain absorb the information.
5. Respect your peers and the teacher. Do not talk at inappropriate times!
Mrs. Zaffuto
1. I am a morning person, so I like to teach early in the day.
2. This is my 17th year teaching, but my 10th here at Berner. I taught in the Levittown School District before becoming a Chief!
3. This year I am teaching Math 8R and 7th grade accelerated math.
4. Always be aware of topics you know well so that you don't use too much of your time reviewing it. Use your time on things that challenge you!
5. Be respectful and try your best everyday!
Mrs. Simpson
1. If I tell you my favorite time to teach, just know that having a favorite time to teach does not mean I have a favorite class. I love all my classes and students. I am such an early bird, a real morning person, so I love teaching early in the day.
2. I have been teaching for 15 years.
3. I teach Social Studies. 7th grade and 9th grade.
4. Make connections for yourself. Make connections to real world situations or make vocabulary connections. Something that personalizes the information for you. You can also make studying fun! Make or play games or have a friend or family member quiz you. Extra help is always a plus to attend!
5. When it's time to talk, talk... When it's time to listen, listen. Be respectful to teachers and peers. Have opinions and respect the opinions of others. And always have your earbuds or headphones.
Studying Tips
by Sofia Chaikin
Studying can seem like a chore from time to time. Okay, all the time, but studying is a chore that you will have to do for many more years. So, why not make it fun? There are many fun tips and tricks to make studying not only fun, but effective. These are some fun and effective tips and tricks for studying.
The Set Up Method
Studying is always more fun and effective with an organized set up. An organized set up can set you up for success and enables you to have a clear mind while studying. An organized set up can also encourage you to start studying. When you are sitting on the couch, the last thing you want to do is study, but what if you thought about making a nice set up and then studying. But, how do you make a nice studying area? A nice studying area can include different things for different people. However, before anything, you should find a place to set up your studying area. This could be in your kitchen or room or anywhere that is most suitable for how you learn and take in information best. Next, clean off the area you will be working on because a clear space creates a clear mind. After that, get all of your work and supplies you need: pencils, fun pens, fun highlighters, chromebook, books, anything necessary. Then anything else you may need to make you work best like a blanket, snack, drink, or anything else. Now that you are already set up and off the couch, you might as well study!
The Flash Cards Method
Flash cards are a great option if you have a matching vocabulary test or quiz! There are multiple ways you can do this, you can, of course, use index cards and write the words on one side and the definition on the other. You can even use markers and highlighters to make this fun and colorful! Another way you can use flash cards digitally on Quizziz.
The Jotting Method
Tests and quizzes can have more general topics, making studying that much harder. One method you can use is to write down all the information you need to know or have trouble understanding on a piece of paper. This is such an effective method because writing the information down helps you remember the information better. This is especially important if a study guide was not provided to you.
The Teaching Method
Another way you can study is by teaching the information out loud to your friends or family. This can help you understand the information better, causing you to memorize the information better.
The Study Guide Method
An additional method is making a study guide for yourself (if your teacher did not already do so). This can help you see all the information in one space. A further benefit is that you can have a friend or family member ask you questions about facts on the study guide.
Studying can be ineffective and uninteresting for some people. If you feel like one of these people, you may just have to find the best, most effective method for you. The best method will vary depending on you, but the different possible methods are endless!
Berner Track
by Jaymee Carter, Coleeyn Carter, and Julia Thoresz
Writer: Coleeyn Carter
I had a great experience with the Berner track team. It was so much fun to be with my friends and meet new people. I loved practicing everyday and doing fun things in practice. The first few practices, we got to know each other and see what events we were doing. By the time our first meet happened, we already knew each other well and we had so much fun at the meets. To start our season, we saw how fast we can run (without practicing), but toward the end we saw how much we improved. I beat my time by a lot. We also had fun practices where we got to talk about our meet and relax. Although we didn't win every meet, we still kept our heads up and continued to run hard. I even made it to St. Anthony’s! My experience with the Berner track team was amazing.
Writer: Jaymee Carter
Berner track was a great experience. Even though I didn't like running much, it made me improve a lot and made me realize that running is actually really fun. It was really fun getting to pick 2 events every meet and being able to experience a lot of different events. My favorite events were the 1500 which is 3 ¾ laps and the 400 which is 1 lap. I loved going to the meets for a while and getting to buy snacks and talk to my friends. Also during the practices during the week, I got to make new friends that I am really close with now. Every race was so much fun because I tried to improve every time I raced and then after that I got to hang out with my friends the rest of the time. I also got to do the St. Anthony's meet with 2 other 7th graders and that was really fun. Being on the Berner track team was so much fun!
Writer: Julia Thoresz
Berner Track was a very fun experience. I liked it because my friends were doing it and it made me faster for my other sports. It also helped me make new friends. One thing that was challenging is that it was very cold outside. The meets were also really long so you have to prepare for that. But at the meets there was a place where you could buy snacks and drinks. We were able to choose 2 events for each track meet. I usually did all different distances each meet and I have improved in all of them. By the end, I beat a lot of my times. I was picked to go to the St. Anthony’s meet and I ran the 1500. Overall, I really enjoyed being on the Berner Track team.
Long Island Facts
by Nate Stutz
Long Island, although it may not seem like it, is one of the most important locations in New York. Long Island, unlike many other places in the world, gathers its water from aquifers under the ground. Long Island has many other interesting facts about the island and its impact on the country and the world is immense.
Some of these facts are:
The Montauk Lighthouse is the largest lighthouse in New York state.
Long Island is larger than the state of Rhode Island and the 11th largest island in the US.
Long Island sells more 7-11 coffee than all of California.
The Long Island RR is the oldest RR in the US that still uses its original name.
The tall structure when approaching Jones Beach is actually a water tower.
The large duck in Riverhead was originally built as a store to sell ducks.
Long Island was home to celebrities such as Alec Baldwin and Billy Joel.
Long Island hosts events such as the Republic Airport airshow, the LI fall festival, and the Hamptons International Festival.
Forbes put Riverhead in the top 50 tourist locations in the world in 2023.
LI is 120 miles long at its longest point and 22 miles at its widest point.
Long Island had a spy ring during the American Revolution called the Culper Spy Ring.
The town of Mastic was home to William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Long Island’s first two settlements were settled in 1640, 33 years after Jamestown, the first English settlement in the Americas.
Deep Hollow Ranch is the oldest ranch in America, settled in 1658.
The first radio transmissions were sent in 1901 on Long Island.
King Kullen, America's first supermarket, was opened in 1930 on Long Island.
Stranger Things is based on a place in Montauk called Camp Hero, which was thought to have underground government testing for interdimensional travel and psychological testing.
Best Restaurants in Massapequa
by Sofia Chaikin
Restaurants are great for days when you don’t want to or don’t have time to cook! However, figuring out what restaurants to go to that are near you can be a challenge. In this article, there will be 5 different restaurant suggestions with locations and menu links, as well as a little bit about the restaurant. Here are some restaurant recommendations for you and your friends or family to try!
Sgambati’s Pizza
Sgambati’s Pizza is a delicious pizzeria with a variety of different pizza slices, appetizers, entrees, salads, and more! This restaurant is run by the Sgambati family, originally from Wisconsin. They work really hard to give Wisconsin a taste of New York style pizza and now are sharing their talents with us! More of their story is on their website!
Sgambati's Pizza Location and Contact Number
Shrimpy’s Burrito Bar
Shrimpy’s Burrito Bar is a delectable, California style restaurant. Shrimpy’s has burritos, tacos, quesadilla, guacamole, chips, salads and more! This restaurant caters parties, has food trucks, and also has locations in Massapequa, East Islip, and Northport. More details are on their website!
Shrimpy's Burrito Bar Locations
Krisch’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor
Krisch’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor is a mouthwatering, 1950’s style restaurant. Krisch’ s has been open since 1955 and has kept the same decor/style since. You are able to go to Krisher’s and have a 1950’s experience while enjoying their delicious all day breakfast, lunch, dinner, and most importantly ice cream sundays, splits, and more! Many celebrities have even been to Krisher’s such as Jerry Seinfeld, Tom Cruise, and more on their website!
Krisher's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor Website
Krisch's Lunch and Dinner Menu
Jam Breakfast and Brunch
Jam is a divine breakfast and brunch diner. Jam is a great place for you and your family or friends to eat brunch or breakfast! They also cater and have a takeout menu! Jam is a great choice and will keep you full for hours! Jam offers avocado toast, crepes, pancakes, waffles, egg omelets, salads, sandwiches, and that is just to name a few! Many more choices are on their website!
Jam Breakfast and Brunch Website
Patrizia’s
Patrizia’s is a scrumptious Italian restaurant. Patrizia’s is well known for catering and hosting great parties! The founders of Patrizia’s were born in Naples, Italy. They moved to New York and opened their first Patrizia’s in the Bronx in 1991. Since then, they have expanded to all over Long Island. They serve appetizers, pastas, salads, baked pasta, soups, grilled goods, sea food, pizza, and more! More of their dinners and their story is on their website!
These are some of the best restaurants in Massapequa! This list can give you and your family some new and fun places to try during the spring season! Trying new restaurants is always so much fun and with these restaurants, you will have fun and be well fed!
Fashion Brands
by Gwendolyn Gibbons
Want to know what fashion brands are trending? Well this is the right place. Here I will show you all the new trending brands people are wearing.
Starting with White Fox which is an Australian brand created in 2013. This is a popular brand that you probably heard of. White Fox is famous for its cozy hoodies and T-shirts. I would recommend the sweatshirt from White Fox because in my opinion I think they are very comfy.
Another popular brand is Lululemon that has T-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts, leggings, etc. Lululemon was created in 1998 in Vancouver, Canada. I like the sweatshirts and leggings from Lululemon and would recommend them to you.
Aviator Nation is also a popular brand that was created in 2006 in Venice beach. Aviator Nation is a comfy brand that has comfy sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts etc. In my opinion I like the sweatshirts the most because I think it's the comfiest thing from Aviator Nation.
Aerie is another comfy brand created 2006 in Greenville, South Carolina. Aerie has comfy leggings, active wear, sweatpants, and sweatshirts etc. I personally would recommend their leggings because I think they are very comfy.
Spring Fashion Trends
by Chloe Symington
With spring here, you might be wondering what to wear. You want the coolness of the summer, but you also want to achieve the warmth of the winter. While spring is filled with bright colors, you still want a little more warmer, less saturated colors. Spring days are unpredictable, and you don’t know what to possibly wear. So, that’s why I’m here!
Let’s say you’re about to go out to dinner. In this case, go with a floral sundress. Sundresses are always a good option, except for the fact that most are short sleeved. Therefore, in the beginning or middle of spring, a sundress alone might not do it. So, layer it with a sweater, unless you found a long-sleeved sundress. With a sundress, you could wear sneakers, sandals, or really any shoes you think match. If it’s a little colder, go with jeans and a nice top. I particularly like a square neck shirt with bishop sleeves paired with straight jeans and a necklace. If you have blonde hair, I would do a silver necklace. If you have darker colored hair, I would go with gold. But, of course, whatever you think fits you the best, you should do it! I have blonde hair, and I always wear gold earrings, necklaces, and all jewelry! Now, you aren’t going out to a nice place for dinner every night, so what about more casual clothes. You can wear the outfits I just listed as casual clothes, but as long as you are comfy in them. With that being said, leggings go good with anything! Usually though, don’t wear black on black leggings, unless you have a concert. Black leggings don’t just need to be tightly fit around your leg, because a little flare never hurt anyone! There’s so many different types of leggings. Don’t like black? No worries! Go on to Lululemon, and order patterned leggings, or head on to Aerie and order a pair of blue leggings! There’s different types of waistbands for leggings, like a crossover, or just a plain waistband. There’s multiple different types of leggings, so whatever you like the most, go for it! Short sleeve shirts with leggings look nice, too! Tank tops and halter tops look nice with almost anything as long as you match up the right colors! If you want, you can wear a sweatshirt with the tank top or halter top. You can always wear denim shorts or flowy shorts depending on the weather. If paired correctly, denim shorts with a cropped sweatshirt can look good. Not my go-to, but I’ve seen a ton of people pull it off and look amazing, fashionable, and comfy!
The fun thing about fashion is that you can do it however you want! From baggier streetwear, to a tighter Y2K fashion style, you can wear whatever you feel comfortable wearing! Everyone has their own, unique style. So, what’s yours?
Bougie on a Budget
by Ellie Casper and Kylie Muino
Do you want the newest best fashion trends? Well you're in luck because here they all are! If you want to be comfortable during school I recommend oversized sweatshirts, really comfortable leggings or sweatpants, some good brands are Pink, Aerie, and Forever 21. But let's say you're feeling fancy and want to dress up but you got a budget. Don't worry we're here to give you the cheapest but fanciest clothes! A great place to go is H & M, Zara, and Shein. No one wants to be uncomfortable while looking fancy, that's a major mood killer, so I like to wear cute tops from *AMAZON* WE LOVE AMAZON HERE! Don’t forget thrift shopping, it's definitely the best way to be bougie on a budget! Though thrift stores are very unorganized and it's hard to find what you want, it's one of the best places to go though because of all the cheap but decent clothes and accessories! And that's it for *Bougie on a Budget* I hope you enjoyed it!
Good Spring Scents To Use Or Wear
by Lilyana Thanasas
Hi!! My name is Lilyana and I am here to tell you some of my favorite scents to use or wear during the springtime. I guarantee these scents will make you smell good all spring long. Some of the scents are:
Sol de Janeiro scent Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 68 Beija Flor Perfume Mist: This scent smells like Brazilian Jasmine & Pink Dragonfruit Perfume Spray.
Miss Dior Eau de Parfum: This scent smells like a bunch of good smelling flowers.
Sol De Janeiro scent Cheirosa 59 Delícia Drench Perfume Mist: This scent smells like Vanilla Orchid & Sheer Sandalwood Hair & Body Perfume Spray.
Sol De Janeiro Scent Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62 Perfume: This smells like Vanilla & Salted Caramel Hair & Body Perfume Spray.
Sol De Janeiro Scent Rio Radiance Perfume Mist: This smells like Solar Floral & beachy hair & Body Perfume Spray.
These are my top 5 favorite spring scents to use or wear. Hope these provided you with ideas or help with what scents you might want to wear during the spring season.
Spring Activities
by Sofia Chaikin
The spring is full of fun activities for you, your family, and your friends to enjoy! There are a number of ways you can celebrate and take advantage of the warm weather. What better way to jump into spring activities than with a list of 20 activities that you can do during spring in Massapequa!
Go to an outdoor mall outlet. This is a fun activity for you and your friends and family to do! You can enjoy the warm weather and find some new spring outfits!
Go on a bike ride with your friends or family.
Go to the boardwalk with your family or friends.
Go to the Village with your friends and family. You can go to restaurants, boutiques, or enjoy your first Ralph’s of the spring!
Have a picnic in the park!
Go horseback riding.
Eat lunch by or on the beach.
Play Pickleball! Pickleball is so much fun and has been super popular.
You can go for a run outside. Spring has the perfect weather for it!
You can go for a walk in the Massapequa Preserve.
You can have a barbeque with your family or cook a meal with your family.
You can do a spring cleaning to be nice and organized for the summer!
Make a flower garland. You can even use fresh flowers.
Go to a festival!
Tennis is not only a fun sport, but also a great way to exercise!
Play frisbee on the beach!
Go on a hike!
Start a garden!
Go fishing!
Last but not least, sitting outside is a great way to enjoy the spring weather!
Spring is a great season to be outdoors and enjoy the weather! The spring’s weather is not too hot but not too cold either! Spring is one of the only seasons that can appeal to everyone! These are only a few of many activities you can do in the spring! Spring is a season where many activities are available, so why not take advantage of it? Have a great spring full of memories and activities!
More Spring Fun
by Joseph Rut-Wheeler
If you find that spring is boring, here is a list of things to do in the spring
1: Have a backyard campout, the weather is nice, so why not?
2: Pick flowers, flowers are a great thing to pick, unless you are allergic.
3: Make a vase for flowers, because you need to make a vase to hold the flowers.
4: Pitch a tent, it is hard but worth it.
5: Mow lawns, it is a great way to get money.
6: Decorate your room, you can do it by using the vase of flowers by putting the vase in your room.
7: Make a podcast, you can make the podcast about spring.
8: Watch a movie, you can watch a movie about spring.
9: Get ice cream, it is getting hot so why not?
10: Draw, you can draw the flowers outside your house.
11: Make a video, you can make a video on spring.
12: Make a list of things to do in spring.
13: Set up your pool, because it is getting warmer around now.
14: Swim in the pool you just set up to cool off.
That is all for now, goodbye Berner Middle School!!!
Spring Poems
by Joseph Rut-Wheeler
Here are some spring poems, I made them myself, I hope you like them.
Spring
Spring, there are mean bees, and nice flowers.
I tune out the bad and and take in the good.
Spring, there are allergies and beautiful sites.
I tune out the bad and take in the good.
To like spring just tune out the bad and take in the good.
Flowers
Flowers, a beautiful thing.
Flowers, so many in the spring.
Flowers, they smell nice.
Flowers, some taste good with rice.
I like flowers.
Poetry
I like poetry for several reasons.
One is because you can write
about anything.
Another reason is because it expresses
your creativity and because it can but does not need to rhyme.
Confusion
Some things confuse me.
Like, why are slim and fat chance the same thing?
That confuses me.
Or why is it the same thing when an alarm turns on or goes off?
Or why is it the same thing when a house burns down or up?
That confuses me.
In life, a lot of things confuse me.
That is all for now, goodbye Berner Middle School!!
Would You Rather: Spring Edition
by Joseph Rut-Wheeler
Would you rather swim in a lake or swim in a pool?
Would you rather pick flowers or do pottery?
Would you rather have the power to pollinate flowers or have the power to make flowers grow faster.
Would you rather write poems about bees or flowers?
Would you rather fight 100 bees or 50 hornets?
Would you rather jump over 10 hornets nests or jump over 10 Giant Asian hornets?
Would you rather become a fish or become a bee?
Would you rather be an eagle or a mountain goat?
Would you rather have the power to control time or have the power to control any teacher you chose?
Would you rather be a pirate or a war general?
Would you rather be a ninja or a Youtuber that talks about ninjas?
Would you rather be an earthbender or a fire bender?
Would you rather be a panda or a dog?
Would you rather fight a rhino with a sheep head or a sheep with a rhino head?
Would you rather play chess or checkers?
Would you rather fight a rhino in the savanna or a goat on a mountain?
Would you rather scooter or skateboard?
Spring Would You Rather
by Lilyana Thanasas
Have you ever heard or would you rather. This game is so fun and you can play by yourself or with other people. This is a classic fun game people (family or friends) play at dinner or at parties. So I am going to be giving you some would you rather questions to pick from. Let's get started.
- Would you rather have flowers for fingers or have flowers for toes?
- Would you rather jump in a puddle of water or jump in a puddle of mud
- Would you rather be friends with a talking bunny or be friends with a talking bluebird?
- Would you rather raise baby chicks or baby bunnies?
- Would you rather have grass for hair or a sunflower for a nose?
- Would you rather wear clothes made of feathers or wear clothes made of flower petals?
- Would you rather slide down a rainbow or swim in clear blue water?
- Would you rather dance in the clouds or sing in the rain?
- Would you rather fly a kite or fly a plane?
- Would you rather have ears like a bunny or a nose that’s a bird beak?
- Would you rather eat a chocolate-covered worm or a chocolate-covered grasshopper?
- Would you rather catch a ride on a sheep or a ride on a chicken?
Hope you liked the spring would you rather because I sure did have fun picking too. I love this game because it also expresses what funny decisions you would like and how funny you are. Have a great spring!
Long Island Horror Stories
by Zachary Stutz
Long Island has some interesting horror stories that changed how we look at society, like the poltergeist house. The Seaford ‘poltergeist’ was an episode of unexplained disturbances reported by a family in Seaford, Long Island, in 1958. The incidents, which were widely publicized, included bottles losing their tops and spilling contents, and household objects and furniture moving with no apparent cause. People believe that it is a 12 year old kid haunting the house and is playing games on the people that currently live at the house. This case has been resolved and the people that live there currently are living a normal life, since they knocked down the original building and structure. Another interesting haunted house is the Amityville Horror House, it has been reported for multiple murders, but it’s just a house? It is located on 108 Ocean Ave. and was originally built in 1927 and went through multiple constructions. Five people died in the same year of 1974, and to make it even crazier is that Robert Joseph DeFeo killed 4 of his children and both of his parents. Robert DeFeo was soon arrested and died in 2021. Soon after all that happened, the Lutz family moved in on December 18, 1975, they saw greenish-black slime on books and a “red room” which was a closet. Long Island has some amazing horror stories and there are many more than this.
Music
by Candace Ramlogan
Quiz for music that would fit you: Do you love to listen to music? Are you curious to find out about what genre of music matches your personality? Click this link below and take this quiz to find out!
Link: Quiz 1: This includes two quizzes
Quiz for if you really know the popular songs: Do you listen to the most popular songs? Do you think you know all the songs by heart? Click the link to find out if you really do!
Link: Quiz 1
Easy Instruments to Learn to Play
by Candace Ramlogan
Did you ever want to play an instrument, but couldn’t because it was “too hard”. Well here are some of the easiest instruments to learn to play.
Harmonica: The harmonica is one of the easiest instruments to play because no matter what note you play, it will always sound good! Also, harmonicas are small and can easily be carried around with you wherever you go.
Guitar: The guitar allows you to play a variety of music. Learning to play your favorite songs on this instrument can be easy, making the guitar an easy instrument to play
Ukulele: The ukulele is easier than the guitar since it only has four strings. This makes it easier to get used to the fingerings. Fingerings are the finger or hand positions people use when playing certain music notes. The ukulele also has a unique sound that can make any song sound great
Keyboard: The keyboard can take up less space in your house than a regular piano and is a fun way to learn to read music. There are lots of beginner books to help teach people. Another way to play the keyboard is to search up the piano version of your favorite song on Youtube.
Drums: The drums are a percussion instrument, and it is said that percussion instruments are good for when looking for easy instruments to play. It can be tough to master, but drums are great for experimenting with rhythms and musical styles.
These are just some of the easiest instruments to play. There is so much more, but once you can play one instrument, you can easily play others. Hope this inspired you to start playing music.
https://www.savethemusic.org/blog/easy-instruments-to-learn/
Songwriting: The Tutorial
by Eleni Diakoumakis
Do you love music? Have you ever been interested in creating your OWN song? In this article, you will learn how to write songs of your very own in a few steps. Alrighty then fellow musicians, let's go!
DISCLAIMER: Before we begin, please note that the highlighted examples are my original music, please do not steal or plagiarize it. Thank you.
Step 1: Think
You have entered the first stage of creating your very own music. The first thing you will want to do is the hardest step of them all; thinking. Ask yourself these questions. What are you going to write about? What style of music do you want to do? Ask yourself these questions. Don’t rush it. Take as long as you need. Once you have finished deciding these topics, jump down to the next section, and open up a google doc or grab a piece of paper and a pencil or erasable pen.
Step 2: Ideas and chorus
Now that you have your style and idea, let's put it into music. I will provide an example below.
Example:
Idea: Betrayal by someone you trusted
Music Style: Slow, pop.
Got the jist of it? Great. Now let's start to write. Start with the chorus, or the main section of the song that is usually repeated. Here is an example of a chorus in a song:
Chorus Example:
“I think I've seen this film before
And I didn't like the ending
You're not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I'm in exile, seein' you out
I think I've seen this film before” (Exile by Taylor Swift, featuring Bon Iver)
I would like you to think of a nice melody for this chorus. Try to make the words flow together. It’s okay if it doesn’t sound right the first time. When I make my music, trial and error is always key. Remember learning figurative language? Now it comes into play! Similes and metaphors are everything. Use them! Make sure it isn’t from another song! Here is the example:
You, you took a machete
And stabbed it into my back
You, you made sure I couldn’t get back up again
Once I fell
And now
Now you’re running back to your little town
But I know you’ll be back again
Oh I know you’ll be back again
Notice the use of hyperboles. Obviously no one actually stabbed me in the back with a machete! Exaggerate in your music! Once you’ve got a solid melody down, you can move on to the next step.
Step 3: Verses
Look at you go! You just wrote the chorus to your song! Now time for the verses! I usually have 2 or maybe sometimes 3 verses. These are the parts that switch. Right now, let’s focus on the first verse. Here is an example of the first verse in Exile by Taylor Swift, feat. Bon Iver.
First verse example:
“I can see you standing, honey
With his arms around your body
Laughin', but the joke's not funny at all
And it took you five whole minutes
To pack us up and leave me with it
Holdin' all this love out here in the hall” (Exile, Taylor Swift Feat. Bon Iver)
It’s completely different from the rest of the song. Go ahead and write your verses. Do the same thing you did for the chorus, just know that this time it won’t be repeating ever again in the song. Make sure it still relates with the chorus though. I will provide an example once again.
First verse example:
I woke up in a hospital room
My lacerations were fresh
From the damage done by you
No, no you can never take back what's been done
Back what's done
Take a look at the fancy words. Lacerations is an extreme word for cut. But come on, it’s song writing! You want to seem cool! But hey, look at you! You just wrote 2 chunks of your song! Put them together, Verse 1 goes first then the chorus, and sing it back to yourself! Now, the next part is simple. Do what you did for verse 1, but another time. Different lyrics though. Now that you have your second verse, it’s time for the next step.
Step 4: Bridge
The bridge is my personal favorite part of the song. If you don’t already know, the bridge is a change in tempo of the song. It is usually the part of the song before the final time the chorus is repeated. It is also the part of the song that is sung with the most emotion. Ready for an example? This is from a different song, “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. This is a great example of a good, solid bridge.
Example Bridge:
“And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all
Too well”(All Too Well, Taylor Swift)
Search up “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift and listen to how Taylor’s tone in the bridge is different than in the verse.
Now go ahead and make up your bridge. Sing it with more passion, stronger words, stronger message. Everything must be stronger in the bridge. I will provide my example.
Example Bridge:
Oh the pain shocks my body
Like a taser would
And I let you sink through my sink
Everything you did to me
Will catch up to you
Oh it will catch right up to you
And at the finish line it’ll shove you ‘till you fall
Like how the autumn leaves float down
Step 5: All Together
Okay, put your lyrics together, and sing it all the way through. Make sure the chorus repeats after the verses. Here is my example:
I woke up in a hospital room
My lacerations were fresh
From the damage done by you
No, no you can never take back what's been done
Back what's done
You, you took a machete
And stabbed it into my back
You, you made sure I couldn’t get back up again
Once I fell
And now
Now you’re running back to your little town
But I know you’ll be back again
Oh I know you’ll be back again
I stormed into the square
Fire in my hair
It was a bloody fight
But my soldiers wouldn’t stop until they died
I someone hide behind a evergreen
My water boiled to the third degree
And that's when I charged at that tree
But then someone materialized behind me
You, you took a machete
And stabbed it into my back
You, you made sure I couldn’t get back up again
Once I fell
And now
Now you’re running back to your little town
But I know you’ll be back again
Oh I know you’ll be back again
Oh the pain shocks my body
Like a taser would
And I let you sink through my sink
Everything you did to me
Will catch up to you
Oh it will catch right up to you
And at the finish line it’ll shove you ‘till you fall
Like how the autumn leaves float down
You, you took a machete
And stabbed it into my back
You, you made sure I couldn’t get back up again
Once I fell
And now
Now you’re running back to your little town
But I know you’ll be back again
Oh I know you’ll be back again
Yay! Your lyrics are done! You just did something not many people can do. Go have fun with your songs and follow this tutorial again to make more.
Tips to Deal with Stress
by Kylie Muino
A student’s day-to-day schedule is hectic. Add homework, studying, and tests and it can become overwhelming and stressful. Sometimes this can cause a person to become anxious. If this happens to you, I have some tips to help you out.
When you feel this way there are many ways you can help to calm your mind and body down:
One way is to control your breathing. Taking deep controlled breaths can be one way to slow your heart rate. Focus on the positive and be Grateful! Did you know that the brain is incapable of producing anxious thoughts while it is producing positive thoughts stemming from gratitude? Well, now you do! Take a moment to write down a list of things you are grateful for.
Another way to help alleviate stress or deal with anxious thoughts, is to bring your attention to a different activity. For example, if you're doing homework and you start to feel any symptoms, do something that can relax your mind. This can be anything from drawing or writing, going outside to get fresh air, or playing a sport. Spending time with family or friends can also help increase your dopamine levels (happy chemicals released from the brain) and can take your mind away from anxiety, stress or any unnecessary feelings.
Don’t forget to get a good night’s rest. According to the CDC, children ages 6-12 need as much as 9-12 hours of sleep each night. A solid night’s sleep does wonders for improving mood, concentration, and outlook.
Most importantly, always remember your amazing support system! There are people available in Berner to help you. Your guidance counselor is there for guidance and academics and the social workers as well as psychologists are there to help when you're feeling anxious or in overdrive. Feeling stressed or overwhelmed happens to all of us. I hope that these tips can help you at some point in the future!
Advice for Middle School Students Who Want to Be Writers: What I Learned from Attending the NYC Release Party for the Latest “City Spies” Book
by Caitlin Cepregi
Have you ever read the series City Spies by James Ponti? If you haven’t, you should definitely put it on your reading list! The story is about five teenage spies who were found by an agent for MI6 and recruited to join an elite group of spies. Each of them has a specific skill and are named for the city in which they were found. The spies are Brooklyn, Kat, Paris, Rio, and Sydney. In each book, there are new settings and mysterious plots. There are five books, and in the fourth one, a new teenager is recruited to the team and is given the name Cairo. Recently, a new fifth book called Mission Manhattan came out which tells more about Cairo. My sister and I were able to attend a book release event in New York City at the Books of Wonder bookstore (https://booksofwonder.com/). If you’re a person who loves reading, you should definitely check this place out because there are lots of cool events and book signings with famous authors.
The book signing event was a lot more exciting and interesting than we had expected, because instead of just getting to meet one author, we got to meet three of them! The authors on the panel included James Ponti, Adam Gidwitz, and Gordon Korman. The authors were really funny and down-to-earth, too. They answered the kids’ questions, posed for pictures, and signed everyone’s books. My sister and I had a lot of fun and we can’t wait to go back.
I learned a lot from this experience, and especially about how the author wrote City Spies, where he found inspiration for each character, and about how a movie is in development with Amazon and MGM. But my favorite part of the event was when we got to ask the panel our question - what advice they had for kids who wanted to become writers. The answers we got were all extremely helpful!
Gordon Korman (Restart, Slug Fest): "Just do it! Make writing a part of your life... It doesn't have to be every day, but try to do it most days. And it doesn't matter what kind of writing you do. You can blog, or write fan fiction, or keep a journal or a diary...Just make it something that doesn't just happen once in a blue moon. Make it something that you regularly do. We just get better at the stuff we do a lot of."
Adam Gidwitz (The Inquisitor's Tale, Unicorn Rescue Society): "Have as much fun as you can when you're writing... If you're worried about it being perfect, then you're not having any fun. And if you're not having fun writing it, no one is going to have fun reading it. Whatever makes you laugh, whatever makes you excited, whatever makes you tear up, that's what you should write about... And have fun, because the more fun you'll have, the more you'll write, and the more you write, the better you will get."
James Ponti (City Spies, Framed): "Read everything you write out loud. You'll hear it so much better than you read it, and it will come to life for you... If you write about what you care about, and you write about it in your actual voice, only you can write that story... No one else can do that. You can create something special, something original, something different... Whether you want to be a writer as a career or not, there is no career on earth that being able to express yourself well, and write well, doesn't help you get better.”
So, if you think you may want to become a writer, improve your writing, or just become better able to express yourself (and probably get better grades on your tests and homework), I highly recommend following the advice of these amazing authors. Happy reading!
All about Aries
by Mia Cespites
If your birthday is March 21-April 19th, then you might want to stay to find out about your zodiac sign. Aries is a fire sign, which is represented by the ram. Some traits of Aries are being energetic, impulsive, direct and sometimes innocent. If those traits look like traits of a kid to you then you're right, because Aries are considered the “baby” of the zodiac. Since their ruling planet is Mars, Aries are athletic. Some of the worst personality traits of Aries are being insecure and immature. They are most likely the person to bring up a heated topic to stir up the action. Signs that are the same element tend to be most compatible. But with fire signs it can go really good or fall into flames. Fire signs are traditionally compatible with air signs, as they both share similar attributes. Such as being free spirited, independent, social and speedy. Hope you enjoyed learning about your zodiac sign!!
All this information was found on Instyle.
Reviews
My Top 3 Songs From Each Taylor Swift Album
by Eleni Diakoumakis
Calling all Swifties!!! Do you love Taylor? I do! I am going to list my top 3 songs from each of her 10 albums from Debut to Midnights. Are you ready for it? Let’s go!
Debut
Many people do not like Debut, considering it is Taylor’s first album and has more of a country kick to it. I personally like Debut because each track is different and shows how much Taylor had changed since she was sixteen. Here are my top three.
3. "I’m Only Me when I’m With You"
2. "Teardrops On My Guitar"
1. "Our Song"
Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Ok, where do I start? Fearless is one of my favorite albums. I feel like it is just beautiful and bubbly. It is also quite relatable. Did you know this album has 26 tracks? Here are my top 3.
3. "The Way I Loved You"
2. "You Belong With Me"
1. "Fearless"
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Oh my God, I have so much history with Speak Now. So many beautiful, funny, sad and scary things have happened to me while a song was playing or I was singing one from Speak Now. I can’t express how important these songs are to me. When I went to see the Eras Tour Movie, I cried during "Enchanted" because it brought back so many memories. I always will have a soft spot in me for Speak Now. Without further ado, here are my top 3.
3. "Long Live"
2. "Haunted"
1. "Enchanted"
Red
This article is probably the first one I've written while shedding a few tears. Red is SO beautiful. This was the hardest album by far to choose only 3 songs from. Between the upbeat revenge songs to the sad songs, I could talk about red for YEARS. But I won’t, so here’s my top 3.
3. "Red"
2. "Everything Has Changed"
1. "All Too Well"
1989
1989 is so fun to listen to! If you have a similar mindset to the kids in my social studies class, listen to 1989! These songs are happy and not about breakups! Literally just go and “get down to this sick beat!” Top 3, incoming!!!
3. "Welcome To New York"
2. "All You Had To Do Was Stay"
1. "Style"
Reputation
Ok, reputation era! If you need some songs to scream your heart out to, I have the solution. Pull out your phone, open up your music streaming platform, and search the following: “reputation.” Boom. Go and rage to this album! TOP 3 COMING THROUGH!
3. "…Ready For It?"
2. "Don’t Blame Me"
1. "Gorgeous"
Lover
I swear, if you don’t love Lover, you are NOT a real Swiftie. Top 3!
3. "Afterglow"
2. "London Boy"
1. "Miss Americana" & "The Heartbreak Prince"
Folklore
Finally!!! My favorite album has arrived, Folklore. The prettiest, saddest, most emotional and heartfelt album of them all. I can’t even describe how much I love folklore. It is impossible to only choose 3, so I have to choose 5 for this album. Sorry! Top 5, coming right at you!
5. "Epiphany"
4. "Betty"
3. "August"
2. "Cardigan"
1. "Exile"
5 were necessary for this album!
Evermore
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album without crying during at least 1 of the songs. This album just “hits different". Shift your eyes down to the top 3.
3. "Willow"
2. "Marjorie"
1. "Champagne Problems"
Midnights
Ah, the last album; Midnights. If you listen to the first track from this album and then the first track from Debut, Tay-Tay sounds like a whole different girl. Top 3, here we go!
3. "Labyrinth"
2. "You’re On Your Own Kid"
1. "The Great War"
To be continued with the upcoming album (April 19):The Tortured Poets Department
Stay tuned to find out…..
Review of “Wizarding Week 2024” At Ocean Edge in Cape Cod, MA
by Alexis Cepregi
If you are into Harry Potter right now, or might be next year, I recommend that you check out this really cool vacation spot in Cape Cod, MA. The Ocean Edge Resort hosts an annual “Wizarding Week”, and it has something for fans of all ages. From creating unique potions and wands to staying up late to raid the candy trolley and watch all the movies, this is surely a trip any HP fan would enjoy and remember for years to come. Here’s a quick breakdown for those who are interested:
Place: The Ocean Edge Resort (https://www.oceanedge.com/wizarding-week-schedule)
Address: 2907 Main St, Brewster, MA 02631
Key Activities: Sorting, Wand Making, Potion Making, Owl Crafting, Trivia Games, and Movie Nights!
HP Fan Rating: 4 out of 5 Golden Snitches
The Highlights
I personally loved how the hotel was decorated, and how magical everything felt. There were different items scattered throughout the hotel from the various HP books / movies, as well as the Fantastic Beasts series. When we arrived, we were given a Hogwarts acceptance letter, HP glasses, a scavenger hunt list, and a schedule of “classes” for the week. The actors also stayed in character, and were so funny and acted just like you would expect - accents and all! Dumbledore looked a little young, but he had to climb a ton of stairs in the mansion, so it’s a good thing he wasn’t really a 100-year-old actor. The craft options were also really cool! We got to make our own owls, paint dragon eggs, and personalize our own wands.
The Areas for Improvement
Although I did think the hotel did a great job of making this getaway an HP experience, it did feel a little more “magical” for the younger kids. The crafts were fun, but could have been more challenging for teens. For example, the dragon eggs were just painted styrofoam with some thumbtacks, and I think it would have been cooler if they let us use sequins so it looked like it had scales. We actually recommended that next year they offer some teen-focused activities and incorporate activities around quidditch and divination.
The Bottom Line
I think the best part, though, was that I got to spend the trip with my sister and my mom (my dad was in Texas on a work trip) re-reading the HP books (my mom bought us the French and Mandarin versions but that was way too hard!), watching the movies in the “Great Hall” with tons of chocolate frogs and lemon drops, and singing at the top of our lungs during the really long car rides to get there and back. Hope you all enjoyed the winter break, and that you find something magical to do in April.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: The Battle Between the Book and the TV Show
by Alexis Cepregi
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a wonderful fantasy series. It combines elements of Greek mythology with an exciting adventure and middle school drama (Percy is a 12 years old boy), so there is truly something for everyone. In the first book, The Lightning Thief, Percy is framed for stealing something big - HUGE. Although the details aren’t clear until the end, Percy is framed for stealing Zeus’ Master Lightning Bolt, the most powerful magical weapon in the world. Since the bolt is obviously very important, the Gods are after Percy, and he is in danger from tons of evil creatures and beings. Crazy characters, like the Chimera and Ares (the god of war) are after this 12-year-old kid who really didn’t steal the bolt! To prove his innocence, and stop the fighting, Percy, his best friend Grover, and a girl named Annabeth (who I think is an AMAZING character) will have to go on a quest and beat monsters, gods, and, surprisingly, an evil chihuahua! And perhaps the biggest challenge of all - they have to find out the identity of the real thief. I give this book a 5/5 stars rating and definitely recommend that you give it a read if you haven’t already.
But if books are not your thing, you can also watch the new TV show on Disney+. Luckily it did a MUCH better job than the movie of telling the story, and I really liked watching it. I did wish it was longer, and hated that I had to wait an entire week for each episode to be out, but it was really exciting, the visual effects were really cool, and the actors did a great job. Overall, I think I liked the book better because there were some important differences in the TV show than the original book. Here are a few, so keep these in mind if you decide to read and watch yourself.
Main Characters: One of the biggest differences between the book and TV show is how the main characters are portrayed. The actors in the TV show largely do not look like the roles they are playing as described by Rick Riordan. For example, in the book, Percy is described as having black hair and sea-green eyes, and Annabeth had light skin, gray eyes, and blond hair. In the show, Annabeth had dark skin and hair, and Percy was blond!. Although the actors looked different from how they were described in the book, I think it was a good decision for the TV show team because it showed more diverse representations than in the book (where almost everyone had light skin), and more kids could probably relate to the different characters better.
Background Information: There was definitely a difference between how much background information was included. For example, the tv show did not describe the backgrounds of the deities and creatures as descriptively as they did in the book. For example, in the book, they describe the Minotaur as an ancient, fearsome creature. In the TV show, they are just like “Big, scary Minotaur dude. Oh no!”
Percy’s Mom: Although Percy’s mom has the same role in the book and TV show, she has a slightly more detailed story in the TV show. In both, she helps Percy learn about the Greek Gods and prepares him for his journey, but in the TV show she also is conveyed with more depth, compassion and bravery than in the books.
Gabe: Gabe is definitely not portrayed the same way in both the book and the TV show. In the book, Gabe takes Percy’s money, says mean things to him, and is always treating Percy and his mother badly. His character is described as mean and gross, and sounds like he is abusive. In the TV show, Gabe is less cruel towards Percy and his mother, and seems more uninvolved and idiotic than cruel. This does not necessarily make him a better or worse character, but it does make the TV show a little more lighthearted.
The Thief: Do we hate the real thief the same in the book and TV show? Yes, we do, because the thief betrayed Percy and got all of us to trust him. I felt angrier in the book, though, because it goes more in depth about Percy and the thief’s relationship, which made his betrayal hurt even more.
Overall, I think the TV show did a great job of telling the story of the Lightning Thief, and I can’t wait until they release the next season focused on the second book, The Sea of Monsters. Until then, happy reading or binge watching!
Movie Reviews
by Ellie Casper and Gwendolyn Gibbons
Movies, movies, and movies! These are the best things to watch when you're bored. They can be long and some can be short! Let's start with the movie about a little creature that's pink and has a friend named after a branch oh wait his name is actually branch. If you haven't guessed yet it's Trolls! It's a good movie you should see. It's kid friendly and is very funny. It has a bunch of songs and great villains that in my defense are better than the main characters. I would personally give it a 9.5/10 just because of the songs that weren’t very good but decent and because it had too many new characters which in my defense to many new characters is overwhelming.
So here's our next movie. Let me give you a hint. It's about a boy who loves chocolate and owns a whole factory for chocolate! Has tiny orange people with green hair to help him with his work, If you haven't guessed yet.. It's Wonka! A very chocolatey movie. This movie was absolutely amazing! It gets very sad near the end but although it was a great movie with amazing characters and actors/actresses like the star of the movie Timothée Chalamet. He was amazing in this movie personality and energy i would definitely recommend watching this! I would give this movie a 10/10. And our final movie hints! This movie has four main girl characters. It is a musical and involves a burn book if you haven’t guessed yet it is… Mean Girls (the musical) this movie is amazing with all the songs, actors and actresses, the outfits, and obviously the dances! I don't know why everyone says it all about the makeup company e.l.f but there's really only one main scene where you can notice it but I'm not gonna spoil anything so no more details but we give it 8.5/10.
That's it for our show review. I hope you enjoyed it!
The Tale of the Elden Ring
by Jake Thoresz
Elden Ring is an action adventure game made by FromSoftware. Elden Ring is also considered to be a souls-like, which is basically a series of slow, hard, and meaningful games. This is not going to be a review. I am going to assume that you have already played the game. If you haven’t, you can keep reading, but spoilers ahead. I will be talking about the story of the game, and the many stories it has. Elden Ring is very, very, and so very complicated. This story, and this article for that matter, was one of the hardest things to do/understand. I still don’t understand everything, as it is so scattered and vague, but here is my understanding, trying to put it together. Elden Ring also does have a downside of the amazing story, being in the way it’s told. Through item descriptions. I had to sift through 881 items to learn this. It was miserable.
C1: Greater Will, Golden Order, Golden Lineage, and the Great Shattering
The elden ring revolves around 2 things: The Elden Ring, and the greater will. The Greater Will started everything. The Greater Will is an outer god. The Greater Will fractured the one great, creating birth, and souls. The Three Fingers considered this to be a mistake, as it caused bad stuff to happen, such as torment and despair. (There are many different fingers, and they all serve as vessels for outer gods to speak to you) With a golden star, the Greater Will sent a beast to the lands between, which would become the Elden Ring. The Elden Ring is the living concept of order. During the age of the Erdtree (one of the many ages in the lands between) an Empyrean, ascended to godhood, and became the vessel of the Elden Ring. Since she was an empyrean, she was gifted a shadow, her half brother, Maliketh. She wanted a world free of death, so she took it out of her and had Maliketh guard it. This created the Golden Order, and made everyone immortal. The Golden Order is a belief, and religion of sorts. Skipping very far ahead, Marika takes the warrior, Godfrey, as her first consort, making him the first Elden Lord. They produced Godwyn the Golden, making the golden Lineage. At one point for a reason unknown yet, she split herself off into two beings, the second, being Radagon. Radagon was given a task by Marika, to conquer the kingdom of Caria. When Ragadon went to clash with the Royal Queen of Caria, he found himself liking her. At one point, Radagon convinced Queen Renalla to step back the authority of the Carian Royal family, and submit to the will of Marika, in exchange for power and having Radagon as a lover. They had birthed children, the children being Lunar Princess Rani, Radahn the Starscourge, and Praetor Rykard. While this happened, Marika and Godfrey also bore children too, being two twins. However, due to being close to the erdtree’s energy of the rune of the unborn, they were cursed as omens. These omens are Morgott and Mohg. They were covered in horns, fur, and looked like beasts. Marika sealed them away in the Lendeyll sewers. (Lendeyll is the city around the Erdtree) Mohg would hate his family, and start to like the filth he grew up on. Morgott though, would recant his blood, sealing that part of himself away. At some point, Marika began to distrust the greater will. After Godfrey fought his last battle, the grace of gold was stripped from his eyes. His Elden Lord title was shed, becoming Horah Loux, his original name, once again. Marika then sent him to a far away land to wage war. In a way to enact a long term plan, Marika called back Radagon to her side. Much to the sorrow of Renalla, Radagon obeyed this order. He tried to leave clues for Renalla, but in Renalla’s grief, all she could think of was war with Marika. Radagon left behind a golden egg containing the rune of the unborn. At this point, Radagon’s and Renalla’s children had grown a name for themselves. Rykard’s brutal justice earned him a reputation as a harsh man, and justified his many sadistic tendencies in actually quite smart ways. Rahdan, a giant, and compassionate man, modeled himself after Godfrey, his hero. He bore Radagon’s red hair, and became a symbol to those he served, called redmanes. At one point, Rahdahn had stopped in the city of Selia to learn gravity magic. Around this time, Rahdahn had risen to the rank of a general, and was in charge of the Caelid wilds. Meanwhile, Ranni, was a mage and reluctantly chose herself to become an Empyrean of the two fingers. She had a secret though, as she had been studying under a witch who told her stories of the stars, and their magic. The big story though, was about a lord of the night, who would come to bring an age of stars. This age of stars would guide her. Meanwhile, Radagon and Marika would also birth two children. Due to them well- being the same person- this made their children have curses. The first is Miquella, who is cursed to be a child forever. The second, Melania, was cursed to have scarlet rot from the inside, and have a process of forever rot and healing, and was destined to bloom into a goddess of rot. Despite this, Marika loved them, and did not banish them like she had done with the omens. As time passed, Marika raised all of her children, but the omens, to the thrones of rule. These being Godwyn, Miquella. Melania, Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni. They are the golden lineage. On a foggy night in stormveil castle, Ranni struck. Ranni was trying to kill godwyn. She used a ritual to turn a fragment of death into a rune. She placed half of that rune into the blade of black knives, and used the other half on herself. The black knife assassins succeed in not killing his body, but killing his soul. Then, Ranni used the other half of it to slay her own body, but keeping her soul, and now acted as an outside force like the greater will. At the death of Godwyn, Marika lost all faith in the greater will, and decided to do something. She blamed Malekeith responsible for losing the rune of death, and as punishment, was forced to keep it held within his own flesh, causing an endless hunger of death for Malekeith. She then went to the Erdtree in a fit of rage, and shattered the Elden Ring. The once immortal Erdtree shook and laid seeds for the first time, anticipating its own death. The Greater Will, terrified, bound Marika to be in the Erdtree, demanding that Radagon fix the Elden Ring. The fragments flew out into the lands between. Powerful beings such as Rahdahn and Melina now have these pieces. This now makes the demigods. Now you, a lowly Tarnished, must claim the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord.
C2: Tale of the Tarnished
In Elden Ring, you play as a tarnished, banished to the lands between. You are banished to the lands between, as you have lost your grace of the erdtree. All you have to know is that the Erdtree is the big, tall, and glowing tree that you can see from everywhere. Also note that this is what I personally do on all of my playthroughs. You might go in a completely different order from me, and that’s okay. You play it your way. No 2 Elden Ring playthroughs are the same. Let’s get on with it. You start out in a church, called the Chapel of Anticipation. You learn the basic controls here, and make your way through it. You find your first fight, the grafted scion, and ultimately die, even if you beat him. This is where another lore part comes in. Across the lands between, destined death has been taken away, meaning that you cannot die. This goes back to the paragraph above too. If you do, you just respawn. After you die for the first time, you respawn in the cave of knowledge, where you learn the basics of combat and everything. After finishing, you are now in the first of a few major areas. I’ll start being more brief, but I will talk about the lore parts mostly. You are now in Limgrave. Let’s learn about the lore of the land itself. Godrick, the main limgrave boss, claims to be the only ruler of limgrave. This just is a bit of a lie In the west side of limgrave, his soldiers have control over stormhill and stormveil castle. In the east side of limgrave, the demi-humans control the mistwood region. Then we have the weeping peninsula, which are controlled by misbegottens. There are some parts of limgrave that have no control though, such as Agheel lake, which is controlled by one of the many dragons, Agheel. At your 3rd site of grace, you meet Melina, your Maiden. She will allow you to turn your runes to power. You get runes from killing enemies, and their rune amount goes up depending on how tough they are. She also gifts you your horse, torrent. You are now on your way to stormveil castle. Once you make your way inside the castle, you will go into your first fog gate, Margit the fell omen. Does this remind you of someone? Morgott perhaps? Well it should. As I said before Morgott is an omen. This is Morgott, just a different name. He stays at stormveil as he knows that the person he is protecting, Godrick, is so weak he needs to be protected. He does this to as he says, “Extinguish thy meager flame”, that flame being your will to claim the Elden Ring. He does this basically to lower your morale, and bring your spirits down. He also doesn’t want the people to know that the lord of the royal capital is a bearer of the omen curse. After “defeating” Margit, you now proceed through stormveil. You then go through stormveil, and get to Godrick’s arena. Godrick is a feeble man, relying on other powers, by doing a forbidden art, known as grafting, which means taking other people's limbs and putting it on himself. Godrick is also a very weak man, and is also the last of the golden lineage. I did not mention him before though, as he was after the shattering, making him the most recent member. Well, technically, he isn’t in the lineage, now even though he comes from it, he got shed out of it because he was so weak. After you beat him, you are now in Liurnia of the Lakes. Liurnia is home to Renalla, queen of the full moon. She is the big boss you have to fight in the region. You make your way to the Academy, and find out it’s locked so you have to get a key. Nothing special happens here. Once you get the key you make your way through it. Renalla is actually locked in the library of the academy, just to note for later. Halfway through the Academy, you find your first boss there, Red Wolf of Radagon. As I said before, Marika was gifted with a shadow, Malekeith. All shadows are wolves. So, since Radagon is also Marika, he was gifted with the Red Wolf, as his shadow. That’s what I think the lore is behind him, as this story is just too difficult to understand. After Red Wolf, you go through the academy, and find a Carian royal knight. He is guarding Renalla. After you make due of him, you go up and into the grand library, to find Renalla, who thinks you will take her golden egg from her. If you don’t remember, Radagon gifted her with a golden egg before leaving to go to Marika, and she has been clutching onto the thing ever since. Since she thinks you are taking it away, she wants to fight. Let’s talk about Renalla before we talk about the fight. As you already know, Renalla was married to Radagon, then Radagon was ordered to leave. She has been locked in the grand library ever since. In the fight, you see her clutching her egg, while hovering in the air. There are her juvenile scholars, which you have to kill to be able to get her down from floating in the air. Then right before you kill Renalla, the voice of Ranni says “Upon my name as Ranni the witch, Mother’s rich slumber shall not be disturbed by thee. Foul trespasser. Send word far and wide. Of the last queen of caria, Renalla of the full moon. And the majesty of the night she counjureth.” This leads us to an illusionary version of her, when she is full of power, and actually becomes a hard boss fight. The arena is a full lit moon, which fits Renalla as she is queen of the full moon. You then fight her, win, and claim the rune of the unborn. 2/7’s of the Elden Ring’s pieces acquired. Now onto Caelid. If I didn’t mention this before, the people who have claimed pieces of the Elden Ring, who are now Demigods, during the shattering, actually fought amongst each other. Starscourge Radahn fought with Maelina, and when she was losing, she just nuked Caelid. It was said to be a beautiful place, now the land is red and riddled with scarlet rot, and the creatures in Caelid are deformed horribly. I’ll talk about what this did to Rahdan later. Before heading into Rahdahn, in Liurina, Ranni resides in her rise. Yes, I did say she died, but her soul did not. Her soul is now in a puppet of sorts. If I didn’t mention it before, Ranni is also an Empyrean, being gifted a shadow. Her shadow is Bliadd. Before you can go to Rahdahn, you have to help Bliadd find Nokron. When you find him in the depths, he tells you that you must slaughter Rahdan to get to Nokron. Rahdahn is called a Starscoruge for a reason, as he learned gravity magic in the Selia, Town of sorcery. He did this for 2 reasons. Stars were coming, that would destroy the lands between, so he could stop them, and for a more wholesome reason, after he became so big, and he couldn’t ride on his horse Lennard, he learned gravity magic to be able to ride him without hurting him. Now you can fight Rahdahn. Before you fight him though, a sorcerer, Jerren, tells you about what happened, with the scarlet rot and how Caelid got nuked, and that Rahdahn is now a shell of his former self. He now feasts on the corpses of his once Redmane nights. Rahdahn once said that he wanted to die an honorable death, so this introduction to him is giving him honor. Then you fight. You can also bring people into the fight with you, such as Blaidd and Alexander the Great Pot. (Yes, that is a real character, and one with meaningful lore which I won’t get into) You fight him, and once you eventually win, the stars are brought back, and crash into the ground, and opens up Nokron. 3/7 runes of the Elden Ring. Now onto Praetor Rykard. You make your way to Volcano Manor. Then you meet the family who lives there, but I disregard them because they don’t have anything of value. You have to go into one of the rooms, and hit a picture frame. You then go through some corridors, and get to the actual volcano of volcano manor. You make your way through, and before you fight Rykard, you have to fight Godskin Noble, or as I call it, the 2nd worst boss in the game. He is just so unfair. I hate him.There also is some lore to the Godskin Noble. There are actually 2 Godskins, Godskin Noble and Godskin Apostle. They belong to the Gloam-eyed queen. The queen originally was the owner of destined death, but now Malekeith owns it, since Marika killed her. She also made a thing called Black Flame, which used to be more powerful, and contains death. The Apostles and Nobles still use Black Flame incantations, but they aren’t as powerful as they once were. After this you keep going through the volcano, you will get to Rykard. At first, he is just a Serpent when you fight him. After his first health bar is depleted, he becomes Rykard, and has robably the best cutscene in the game, where his goal is to devour the very gods. Then of course you slaughter him and move on. Fourth piece of the Elden Ring. Onto the capital city of the Erdtree, Lendeyll. I’m not gonna lie, Lendeyll at night is probably the most beautiful place in the game. I think you know what you have to do, as there is a big tree that glows. You probably want to go there. You make your way through Lendeyll, and get through it, until you find Godfrey, First Elden Lord. Well… not actually. It's an image of himself, covered in gold. Morgott casted this illusion onto the place, and is possibly golden because this is how Morgott remembers Godfrey, and doesn’t fully understand what Godfrey was like. You make your way to the base of the Erdtree now. When you try to head in though Morgott is there. I said before that we killed Margit, but as with Golden Godfrey, it was an illusion to basically crush the player as Godrick was the easiest way to get a great rune because he was so weak. So basically it just wasn’t Morgott. Now this is Morgott, so you beat him and you get great rune 5. (I’m acting like it takes a second this bossfight takes a long time but there aren't any story elements to it so there is nothing to say) You then can finally go into the erdtree, but then you realize that you aren’t able to open it and have to burn it. So then you have to go to the mountain of the giants, and use the forge to burn the erdtree. Before you do that, we’ll get the 2 remaining runes. We have to go to the consecrated snowfields in the mountains, and go through a portal, to go to Mohg’s palace. You quickly make your way through, and find Mohg. As I said before Mohg is Morgotts brother. Mohg also kidnapped Miquella if I didn’t mention it. If I didn’t say this before, at some point, his horn grew into his eyes, causing a ton of pain, but it let him talk to an outer god known as the formless mother. The Formless Mother then mixed his blood with flame, creating bloodflame magic. There is a bit more about Mohg, but it isn’t very interesting. You get to the place he resides in, and get his rune. 6/7. One more to go. In Mohg’s palace, you see a cocoon in the back. That is Miquella. Mohg wanted to start an age of blood, as Miquella is an empyrean, he can become a god. He tried doing this by feeding blood, but it didn’t work. Now back to the consecrated snowfield, up north is the Haligtree. You first have to go through the Ordina Evergaol before you get in though. After that then the portal is activated, and you can go in. After you make your way through the Haligtree, you find Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree. Just for a bit of background, the Haligtree was an attempt to create a copy of the Erdtree, just without the authority of the Greater Will. I said it was an attempt because if you look at it, it’s dead. This is because Miquella was basically powering it, and when he was kidnapped by Mohg, there was nothing to power it, leaving it to rot. There isn’t any interesting lore about Loretta, she is just a knight. You then go further into the Haligtree, and at the center meet the hardest boss fight in the game, Melania. I already said most of the information about her though. I said before that she will at one point become a goddess of rot. In her second phase, that’s what she becomes. Once you get her, you have killed your first “god.” (Not fully a god but still a god) The last piece of the Elden Ring acquired. Now you go to the mountain top of the giants, and find the fire giant. He is so annoying, and probably the most unfair boss in the game. (He isn’t the hardest, just the most unfair, at least in my opinion) Then onto the forge, to light the Erdtree ablaze. You talk to Melina, your maiden, who sacrifices herself, committing a cardinal sin, lighting up the Erdtree in flames. One more thing before you become Elden Lord, you must claim back destined death. You then go to crumbling Farum Azula, and make your way through, but first, you have to fight one of the worst bosses in the game, Godskin Duo. You have to fight the Godskin Apostle and Noble at the same time, twice in a row which is just so stupid. Then you get them, and head onto the Beast Clergyman. You fight him, and as a last ditch effort so he doesn’t die, he pulls his sword out of his hand, and becomes Malekeith, the Black Blade of Destined Death. You then fight what I think is the fairest and best fight in the game. You then beat him, and get back destined death. After this, you can finally head into the Erdtree. When you try to through, you find Godfrey holding Morgott’s dead body, and he fights. Halfway through, he becomes Warrior Horah Loux, which I said before used to be his name, before Godfrey. You then beat him, and can finally head into the burned Erdtree. You see Marika held up high, because she couldn’t leave and was jailed there. She then turns into her other part Radagon, and you fight. You get him, and then comes out the beast sent to the lands between sent by the Greater Will all those years ago, the Elden Beast. You then fight the most visually stunning fight in the game, and kill a god. You then put Marika’s head that fell off back on, and become Elden Lord.
C3: Endings
What I said before was the first of 7 endings. 4 of them are just very slight variations which I won’t get into. The other 2 though, are amazing. First, is the Lord of the Frenzied Flame ending. You can get this before doing the Forge and killing Melina, saving her, but sacrificing the lands between and having it become a new age, an age of the Frenzied Flame. Another one, my personal favorite, is the Age of Stars. As I said before, Ranni was told by a witch of an age of stars. You help her completing this, by at the Erdtree, marrying her and then the Age of Stars is born. It is a new order not looked over by the greater will, allowing for basically more freedom.
C4: The End and SToE
There is way, way, way more that I didn’t even say. There is so much lore in this game, that this is considered short when it comes to talking about lore. I could have talked about the ages, the dragons, the Frenzied Flame, but just talking about one of those things would take around an hour to read if I even brought up those topics, and videos on them are even longer. There is even some new stuff coming out soon, that being the dlc, Shadow of the Erdtree, which will release a ton of new stuff, and comes out the 21st of june. I will go over some speculations. We also know some stuff from Miyazaki, the main creator of Elden Ring. He told a ton of stuff in an interview with ign, and 1 sort of annoying thing, is that the person who made the lore for Elden Ring, didn’t come back to write more stuff for this one. This doesn’t mean that we won’t find out new things though. He told a lot of things lore-wise in the interview too. He said stuff like “This is where Marika visited to actually become a god” instead of just becoming one just cause. He also noted that in the dlc, you will follow Miquella’s footsteps, which this dlc, and the first promo art shown for it, was Miquella riding a horse. There will be no time travel taking place in the dlc too, meaning that whatever you see, is just a part of the tarnished story, and nothing before it. There were also be a Sekiro-like leveling system in this, different to the one in the regular game. (Sekiro is another game made by Fromsoft, creators of Elden Ring) If you don’t know, Sekiro had a leveling system where you could choose what you put your stats into, like Elden Ring, but you only get stuff to level up after like a certain area, instead of like this game where you can just farm runes and level up to get more powerful. The size of the map is around Limgrave, which is pretty good, and if that includes the weeping peninsula, it will be a great size for a dlc. For now though, that’s it on Elden Ring.
Creative Writing
Stranded At Sea
by Melissa Jave
This was probably the WORST week of my life.
My name is Lindsey Wilson, and I’m from the Hamptons. I’m almost 32 now, but at the time, I was 20 years old. I was almost mid-year of my second year in college, and everything was fine until October 30th, 2012. Do you know what struck the Earth that day? Hurricane Sandy. I was only a day away from going back to school, when I heard on the news that there was some cloudy weather. I had the brilliant idea to go surfing, to hopefully catch some good waves. Thankfully I decided to record myself, or maybe I would have never been rescued! Anyways,there were some good waves, I will admit, but as I was preparing to get out of the water, this huge wave came my way. I thought it wouldn’t get bigger, and it appeared to be a good wave for my last one that day. I started paddling towards it, but to my surprise, it did get bigger. I tried desperately to swim ashore, but it was too late. In a few moments the wave swallowed me whole, and pulled me back into the raging sea. I tried to stay afloat, yelling for help, but after a few moments, I was worn out. I tried holding my breath and going underwater, but accidentally I got myself knocked out by a big rock. By a miracle, somehow I managed to stay alive, and I woke up on a deserted island. Me and my big head thought I had made my way back to Long Island, and only at midnight I realized I was in fact not on Long Island. At one point I think I started hallucinating, because I somehow found a Boesemani Rainbowfish and fell asleep next to it. I think I woke up around noon, I'm still confused about the time to this day. I was hungry, so I went on a hunt for food. Luckily I found coconuts, and, well, that was my breakfast. I remember trying to find sticks to make a bonfire, oh wow! I failed so miserably at that. It was an extravagant and dumb idea. After my bad attempt, I was hungry. Again. I tried to make a spear, and I suppose it was good because I was able to catch some fish, but I saved it for later. On my search, I encountered an exotic animal. To this day I still do not know what it was, so don’t ask me. After I couldn’t bear the starvation, I finally ate the fish and some lychees I found on the way back to the spot where I fell asleep. It’s funny, The fish wasn’t there when I woke up but it was as I was walking back to the spot. As I ate, I remember I was starting to lose hope. I mean, do you blame me? If you were a frail, 20 year old woman stranded on a remote island with limited food, I’m sure you would be scared too. Although many thoughts were swirling around in my head, I got distracted by the cool breeze. I decided to go on a search for palm leaves to make a blanket. Luckily I found some quickly, because the moment I made a blanket, it suddenly got really cold. After I snuggled in the sand for a bit, I saw a boat a few miles from the shore. I cried for help as loud as I could, jumping up and down praying the boat would see me and save me. I gave it all my might, but the boat was too far to hear me. Infact, I yelled so hard, I had to be silent for two days because of how sore my throat was. After that my days were the same. Wake up, hunt, eat, sleep, repeat. Over and over and over again. I was starting to think there was no chance of survival, when I noticed my little fish was jumping out of the water so gracefully, it looked as if he was dancing. It raised my hopes, so I went out exploring. On my walk, I realized how beautiful the island was. It was so lively and green, and I found out that it was probably because humans hadn’t lived on it. And I don’t count, I only lived on it for a week or so. As I continued, I found the best thing ever-
I found a CAVE!
It was amazing! It was warm, and It had a roof and walls, unlike my spot, where the only cover was my blanket. I quickly moved the few things I had to the cave. I felt bad leaving the fish alone, but he was a fish. So I left him there. I was so happy, but little did I know that back home my parents found the video I took the night I went missing. I guess they figured out what happened to me, because the next day a plane went out to the island, in search of ME! I yelled loudly when I saw it, but my throat still hurt. Finally I came up with the first good idea I had since I got in the water. I wrote SOS in the sand as big as I could, and thankfully the plane saw it! The plane lowered down enough for me to climb on, and I started to think. If not for my fish, I wouldn't have found a place to sleep. I wouldn't have found the cave because the fish wouldn't have inspired me. I had mixed feelings about losing my fish, when I came up with a solution.
“Do you have a ziploc bag I can use?” I asked the pilot. If you can't tell, I put the fish in the bag and took it home with me. And well, that was the worst week of my life, but at least now I have cool stories to tell, and a pet fish! You may be like the others, and think I was knocked out and imagined the whole thing or just made it up. But tell me, If I really made it up or imagined it, then where did I get the fish from?
HA! Think about that!
Follow up: I named him BOB THE FISH!
A Warm Glow In a Cavern of Darkness Two
by Bridget Feola
Violet sighed. It was spring now. The snow still hasn't melted. It was still freezing cold outside. She had hoped it was a dream that night, but it wasn't. This was all real. Ethan, Orion, Sapphire. They were all real. It was too late to turn back now. She couldn't just say ' No.'' Anymore.
had to help stop this. She made this happen. Now that I think about it…This is Ethan’s Fault! None of this would have happened if he hadn't shown up here in the first place! Violet looked around. Katherine was making some hot chocolate. Ethan was sitting at the table thinking about everything. Orion was sitting on the couch getting scolded by Sapphire for eating all the food again. Violet had declared her room ‘OFF LIMITS’ to everyone. She went up to her room to think. She couldn’t think that well with the hot chocolate, Ethan groaning, and Sapphire and Orion. She grabbed her phone off of her bedside table. She looked at the notifications and saw that she had missed 15 calls from her Dad. She immediately called him. He didn't pick up. She kept calling him until he had missed 15 calls from her. Why isn't he picking up? She thought. If he desperately needed to call me before, why isn't he picking up now? Something isn't right. Violet had a weird feeling in her stomach. Has something happened to him? She decides to talk to Sapphire. She would know the most about this. She walks downstairs. She was starting to feel light headed now at this point. “Are you okay, Violet?” “Yeah I'm fine…” She trails off. “Anyways. I was doing some research on-” Ethan started to say, but Sapphire interrupts him, “Glaciators? What do those have to do with anything?” “I was getting to that…” Ethan said. “Fine. What were you saying?” “I was researching the Glaciators and found out that they were mainly unknown by many people. Which may be the reason we don't know what happened before.” Ethan seemed to explain this stuff like they knew about anything he just talked about. “I am so confused right now.” Orion said from the corner. “Of course you are.” Sapphire said blankly. Violet grabbed her phone and attempted to text her dad. No answer. “What would the glaciators want to do with us?” Sapphire asked. “I don't know…But I do think that we should look into the glaciators. That guy who impersonated me might be a part of them!” Ethan seemed a little off. Like he knew something. “How would you know that?” Kathrine finally says. “I- '' Ethan started, but he was cut off when suddenly there was a crash in the window. Violet went to go look at what it was, but suddenly something hit here in the head. At first she was confused. What is that? But then she realizes that it was just a few snowballs. The snowballs seemed to be precisely thrown to intentionally hit her window. She looked outside, and she saw what looked to be a few younger kids, maybe 12-13 year olds, having a snowball fight. Except she also saw that there was…a large ice monster thing playing with them? That couldn't be right… She grabbed Ethans arm and pulled him towards the window and pointed. “What is that?” She hoped he could also see it. By the look on his face, she guessed he could see it too. “Why is there…” Ethan looked very confused. Just like she was. Suddenly The sky outside goes dark, and all the light is blocked. Violet finds a flashlight and turns it on. The light is strangely…silver? She shines it around, finding where Ethan is. She Grabs him again and shines the flashlight out the window. All the kids were gone. Probably ran away when it became dark. She thought for a second she would call her mom. Then she remembered…she can’t. She had failed last time. She had no one to help her at this moment. She went to the door to get Sapphire, but then she noticed the door had been locked. She and Ethan were both still inside the room. “Did you...Lock the door?” She asked cautiously. Ethan was silent for a moment. “No… No I didn’t” Ethan finally answered after a while. Suddenly she hears a noise, and something around her changes. She knew Ethan was still next to her, but it was as if… “I think we were transported somewhere.” Violet says. Ethan nods. She slowly realized that the light was coming back. Ethans glow was getting smaller, as the light returned. They were in a small room. A room that seemed like an office. There was a computer, paperwork, filing cabinets, the usual office stuff. Suddenly both of them were suddenly sitting in chairs in front of the desk. The computer was blocking who was sitting at the desk, but Violet guessed it wouldn’t be someone good. Suddenly again, the computer disappeared, revealing who was sitting at the desk. “Imposter Ethan?” She suddenly said out loud. “I have a name.” He said. “Then what’s your name?” Violet was curious now. “...North.” He had seemed hesitant. “Why does everybody just look like Ethan??” Violet said. It was an Off-topic question, but she decided to stall as much as she could. “...He is…my brother.” Ethan finally had said something. Violet looked at him in shock. “Is that why you are even able to impersonate him?” She asked North. “Okay, can we be serious here? What are you doing North? Shouldn’t you be hanging out with your Glaciator buddies?” Ethan said to him. “Well you were hanging out with-” “The Queen of our kingdom and her friends! That seems much better than Glaciators!” Ethan yells at him. “What are glaciators?” Violet Interrupts. “Does she know ANYTHING?” North points at Violet. Violet gave him a look. “Well, she is part silver..” Ethan starts to say, but stops after seeing Violet’s look. “Make sense. Anyways. I brought you here for a reason. Did Violet tell you?” North seemed to be smiling. “Tell me what..?” Ethan asked, confused. “That her Father has gone missing?” North seemed to laugh at that. Violet wanted to strangle him. “He hasn't gone missing! He just…Wait, how did you know that?” Violet was both angry and curious. “Maybe I should just show you.” North was still laughing. He snapped his fingers, and to the side of him a strange illusion happened. It was…her dad…tied to a chair. A note was on him. Traitor, it said. From her mother? It was. She wanted to save him right then and there. “I'll let him go…IF you do something for me.” North says. “I hate you.” Ethan says. “Well you didn't say that before you left the Glaciators. You loved me. You wanted to be just like your big brother.” North says to Ethan, smirking. “I'm older than you.” Ethan says plainly. “Sure.” North said. “Well I don't even care anymore. I only care about taking this whole organization down.” Ethan argues. “Then why did you join it in the first place? Plus you were excited and wanted to be a Glaciator for years! After your training, and becoming a glaciator, you just up and left! I hadn’t even become one yet.” North argues back. Violet had stopped dead. Ethan was a glaciator? Violet looked at Ethan weirdly. Ethan looked at her. “Anyways yeah just telling you. because I'm bored and I want some action to happen.” North says, and suddenly they are back at Violet's house. “Oh great. Just what we need. More action. It may be fun for him, but it definitely isn't fun for us.” Ethan said blankly. Violet didn't answer him. The door had been unlocked and Violet went to go see Sapphire. She obviously didn't know about any of this, therefore she was shocked when Violet told her. “ETHAN WAS A WHAT?!” Sapphire was yelling. It seemed like she was going crazy. “He didnt tell me?? He hadnt shown me his job background…” Violet tried to help the situation. “He didn't want to talk about it?” Suddenly Ethan walked into the room. He was looking at her and Sapphire with confusion. “What are you…” Ethan started to say. But then Sapphire grabbed his shoulder and started questioning him. “Why didn't you tell me?! A Glaciator!” Ethan looked at Violet. “This is the exact reason why I didn't tell you…” He muttered. Suddenly, Katherine also walked into the room. “Uh.. Am I interrupting something?” She asked. “Nope. Just Ethan here who kept a huge secret from us!” Sapphire yelled. “I don't have to tell you everything!” Ethan protests. “Yes you do! I am your queen. You swore an oath when you followed my ruling.” Sapphire says in a Regal tone. “No I didn't. And you're not my queen.” Ethan snaps. “What's your logic there?” Sapphire snaps back. “If I used to be a glaciator, I cannot change who I chose to rule over me. I swore to do that with the glaciators.” Sapphire looked at him. She gritted her teeth. “So are you still loyal to them?” She asks. “No of course not! I'm just saying that I belong to no kingdom or group.” Ethan and Sapphire's argument was getting weird. “OK. Lets FOCUS on the task at hand? Maybe? No? Yes? We need to figure out what they are up to.” Violet interrupts. “Violet is right. We can't think about the past while our future is at stake!” Katherine backs her up. “So…what are we doing now?” Orion asks from the other side of the room. “Did I miss something….?” He asks. “YES. ORION YES. OF COURSE YOU DID.” Sapphire says to him. Suddenly, there's a loud bang outside, and a blinding light fills the room. “What the-” Katherine is cut off as the light clears. Showing- “IMPOSTER ETHAN?!” Sapphire yells. “Yeah it's totally not Imposter Ethan. And I have a name YOU KNOW????” He sounds angry, but still as sarcastic as ever.
Recipes
How to Make A No Bake Oreo Cake and a Review on how it Tastes
by Jaymee Carter
Ingredients:
12 oz cool whip
2 packs of Oreos
½ gallon of Milk
Tools Needed:
9 x 8 glass pan
A spoon (to spread the cool whip with)
A fork (to crush the Oreos)
A bowl (for the milk)
Directions:
Take out a big bowl and fill it ¾ of the way with milk
Soak 4 Oreos at a time and wait until they get soft
Put the Oreos on the bottom layer and repeat the process until the whole bottom layer is filled
Add cool whip to the top of the Oreo layer with a spoon
Repeat the process until it is filled to the top
Make sure the top layer is cool whip
Crush extra Oreos with a fork and sprinkle the crumbs on top of the top cool whip layer
Put in the fridge for 1 hour
Enjoy!
My Review
This no-bake Oreo cake is amazing! If you have to go somewhere and don't want to bake a cake, you could quickly make this delicious Oreo cake. It has a nice soft and creamy texture that is very easy to eat. It is also very easy to make, unlike some other homemade cakes. It is a great choice if you love Oreos in milk, just like me. Next time you need something easy to make for dessert, try this recipe!
Taco Dip
by Coleeyn Carter
Ingredients:
shredded mozzarella cheese
one package of cream cheese
one can of hormel chili with beans
½ jar of salsa
one bag of tortilla chips (to use for dipping)
Tools needed:
8 x 8 or 10 x 10 glass pan
A spoon to spread the cream cheese
An oven
Directions:
First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Secondly, take out an 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 square oven safe dish.
After that, spread a layer of cream cheese on the bottom.
Next, take out the chili with beans and spread a layer over the cream cheese.
Then, take out the salsa and spread a layer of it over the chili.
After this step, you take a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese and spread it on top.
Then, put it in the oven for 20 minutes.
Finally, take it out of the oven and take some chips out to put into the dip and enjoy!
Review:
This taco dip recipe is a great, easy to make dish for a party. I make it for the Superbowl, birthday parties and family get-togethers. It is delicious to eat anytime! Even the pickiest eaters love it! I like it when I make it mild using mild salsa, but you can make it spicier if you would like. I know you will love it once you try it! I highly recommend this recipe! Enjoy :)
Two Truths and a Lie: Answers
Mr. Salamone’s Lie
I was bitten by a shark. I have the scar on my leg to prove it.
Mr. Vanek’s Lie
I worked with an architect before becoming a teacher
Mrs. Kenny-Didamo’s Lie
I won a baking competition in 2010
Mrs. Shehada’s Lie
I am a thrill-seeker and love roller coasters, zip-lining, and white-water rafting.
Mrs. Puricelli’s Lie
I have 3 dogs and a cat.
Mrs. Tuniewicz’s Lie
I played softball in college and hold the University's record for most home-runs.