THE LAKELANDS PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Volume 5, Issue 1 On the web in color: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/lakelandsparkms/ Fall-Winter 2012

This year the stu-dents at LPMS had some excellent candi-dates for the SGA. The positions every student votes for are the Presi-dent, their grade Vice President, their grade secretary, and their

grade treasurer. The candidates

for President were Gab-by Parsons and Viraj Paul. They are both 8th graders, who have pre-vious SGA experience. Viraj won the election, so good luck leading our

school’s SGA! The sixth grade

candidates for vice pres-ident were Meghan Rit-

New Lakelands Leaders: SGA Election Results By SAFIYA SULIMAN

Inside this issue:

Falcon Spotlight

Three Undefeated Teams!

Mr. Mullins Interview

Meet Ms. Nelson

Hanging with Ms. Bureau

Hurricane Sandy

Fashion Fun

Thanksgiving Insights

Short Story

Comics, Quizzes, and Art

Opinions and Reviews

Welcome New Staff to LPMS! By TARA MANZARI

Every school year there are many new faces. In addition to all of the new stu-

dents, LPMS would like to welcome all the teachers who were hired to work at Lakelands Park this year. We hope you all have a great year here at the school! Drumroll, please!............

Let’s start with the English teachers.

Julie Blitz was the only one to run for SGA secretary, and is sure to do an excellent job at her new position!

Continued on Page 3

ter and Gabi Eyrich. Gabi won the election. Hope you enjoy your time in office by repre-senting the 6th grade!

The seventh grades vice presidential candidates were Ranaga Tan and Sammavia

Shah. Ranaga will serve as the 7th grade presi-dent this year. Congrat-ulations!

The vice presi-dential candidates for 8th grade were Maya Jacobson and Madison Wakefield. We hope

Maya, who won the election, has success with supporting our school.

Our new SGA Officers gather for a meeting and take a moment to smile for the camera. Photo Courtesy of Ms. Donnellan

The new teachers this year in the English de-partment are Ms. Ange-la Castillo and Mrs. An-gelica Smith. Make sure to stop by their class-rooms and wish them welcome!

Continued on Page 6

SCHOOL NEWS THE FALCON FLIER—Page 2

Many things have been happening at LPMS. Which ones did you know about? On August 29, 2012

Lakelands Park Middle School enrolled our one-thousandth student! This is the first time we have reached this mark in our school’s history.

Bullying Awareness Day was held Septem-

ber 28th on our very first half-day. This was a whole school effort or-ganized by the Counsel-ing Department, de-signed to demonstrate that we don’t stand for bullying at Lakelands Park MS. Activities were

planned in order to in-crease awareness, equip students with strategies, and to spread the im-portant anti-bullying message.

According to Ms. Luens-man, “It was exciting to see how students got involved, contributed, and were committed to making it a successful program.“

On October 11, Mr. Wang and Ms. Luens-man took 29 ESOL stu-dents to the Thomas Edison High School of Technology. The goal was to expose students to an alternative high

school program where they could gain valuable experience in a voca-tional trade to better prepare them for their future. They met in-structors and spoke to students as they were guided through many

classrooms and work areas.

Mr. Wang saw two former LPMS ESOL students there. He said,

“Seeing those two there made my post trip speech more powerful to my students – giving them an idea that if two former level 1 students could make it into the

program, that it is possi-ble.”

Contemporary Com-

munications classes visited the Newseum in DC on October 11 with Mrs. Corprew. Students had the op-portunity to visit exhib-its of their choice, as well as see a 4D film!

Some of the things they enjoyed the most were the exhibits about 9/11 and the car bombing of a journalist with the ac-tual car on display. They

also loved the interac-tive newsroom and the HP media gallery where they could take pictures of themselves and tweet about their visit to put on display for the Newseum.

On November 13, 8th

graders had an assem-bly featuring motivational speaker, Duane Myko, who per-formed his one-man play, “Should Could

Dream” to encourage

students to reach their goals.

On November 20, 7th grade Tech Ed stu-dents in Ms. Camp-bell’s class represented Lakelands Park at the Naval Surface Warfare Center to complete a “mission” with Naval engineers. They were

complimented by the engineers on behavior and the readiness and success of their SeaPerch projects. Stu-dents build an under-water remotely operat-ed vehicle (ROV) in

teams of 4. Each stu-dent has a role: materi-als, electrical, mechani-cal, or structural engi-neer. Check out www.seaperch.org to learn more!

The LPMS Dinner The-atre: Middle School Monologues and Fal-con Follies: 2nd Edition took place on Novem-ber 29 at 6pm. The audience enjoyed many entertaining original performances and din-

ner for only $12.

Falcon Spotlight By ELENA ASOFSKY

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 3 NEWS

Kevin Benites was the on-ly candidate for treasurer. Have fun working with the SGA!

Congratulations, and good luck, to the win-ners of the elections, and great job and good effort to all of the others who

ran! Hopefully you will continue to work with the

SGA this year because you have a chance to rep-resent us!

Thank you to Ms. Donnellan, for sponsoring the SGA and helping stu-dents to organize pro-grams, fundraisers, and activities! If you have any

questions about joining the SGA, please ask Ms. Donnellan.

New Year, New SGA! Continued from Page 1

This year’s SGA members from all grade levels pose for the camera during a meeting. Photo Courtesy of Ms. Donnellan

Meet Ms. Nelson: An Interview with our 7th Grade Counselor By MICHAEL VAZQUEZ

Have you ever wondered who teachers and counselors are out-side of school? Well here are some questions I asked Mrs. Nelson so that you could learn more about our 7th grade Guidance Counse-

lor. What college did

she attend? “I attended University North Caroli-na at Chapel Hill.”

What does she like to do during her free time? “I like eating at new restaurants, hanging out with my friends, and redecorat-ing my house.”

How long has she been counseling?

“I’ve been counseling for 13 years. I actually wanted to be a teacher, but the first semester I started teaching I found out that many kids had issues and that I was helping kids more than teaching, and I enjoyed

it more. Also I get bored easily and something is always different when I’m counseling.”

How would she describe yourself to some who does not know you very well?

“I would say I’m re-served when I first meet someone, but once you get to know me I can be pretty fun. Also I am really responsible.” What is her fa-vorite animal? “I am not really a animal lov-

er, but my favorite ani-mals are fish and birds because they can breathe underwater and fly, which is differ-ent.”

What is her fa-vorite music? “My fa-vorite type of music is

R&B—old school R&B— not the ones today.”

If she could change anything about herself what would it be? “I would change the way I show my emotions.”

If she can make a law what would it be? “I would say if parents got di-vorced not only do they have to pay child support, but spend a mandatory amount of time with the child.”

What is her favorite thing about LPMS? “My col-leagues: they are very dedicated and most are really funny, and the kids, for the most part, you guys are good kids.”

So there you have it! Did some of her answers surprise you?

Do you have anything in common with Mrs. Nelson?

Photo by Elena Asofsky

FEATURES THE FALCON FLIER— Page 4

Interviewing Mr. Mullins, one of our 6th grade Social Studies teachers, was a blast!

Can you believe that Mr. Mullins taught at 2 middle schools, 4 elementary schools, and 1 intermediate school (5 ,6, 7th grade)? He also taught 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Mr. Mullins loves

teaching Social Studies, because he loved histo-ry as a kid, and he liked his History teacher, Mr. McAfee. He especially enjoys teaching about the Romans. Isn’t it amazing that Mr. Mullins has

taught here at LPMS

ever since the school was built? At LPMS, Mr. Mullins likes how the students and teachers make new friends at 6th grade outdoor Ed. In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing sports, reading,

jogging, and spending time with his family. I also learned that he went to college at the University of Maryland. Mr. Mullins’s birthday is sometime in January, so that means his zodiac symbol is

Capricorn.

Isn’t it wonderful that you now know more about the history of Mr. Mullins? Thanks Mr. Mullins for being such a great Social Studies teacher.

Journey to the Past with Mr. Mullins By VICTORIA ARDEN

when she was growing up in school, her favor-ite subject was P.E. Guess what her favorite thing about teaching at LPMS is! She said that the diver-sity of the students and staff is awesome.

Lastly, Ms. Bu-reau is coaching again this year so if you like basketball, she will be your head coach, if you make the girls’ LPMS basketball team. Her favorite thing about coaching is that she

loves getting to know the girls at a different level and seeing them

can and Seafood. Ms. Bureau’s

birthday is on July 14th which means her zodiac sign is a Cancer, alt-hough the sad part about her birthday is that she won’t be able to spend it with us.

Here is a another fun fact: she’s been teaching ever since this school has been built, which is 8 years, for your information. Hope-fully you already know that she teaches Health and use to teach P.E.

She chose to teach them because she loves sports and kids. Also,

I went to interview Ms. Bureau, and I asked lots of ques-

tions. Did you know that her full name is Stacy Renée Bureau? Her last and middle

name are French. How many of

you reading this have pets? Well she has pets alright! She has a dog, 2 cats, and a fish.

In her free time she loves to play volley-ball, football, go to the

gym, and watch TV. Ms. Bureau favorite food is a toss-up between Mexi-

improve at their basket-ball skills. Now you know a lot more about our awe-some Health teacher! Do you have anything in common?

Hanging with Ms. Bureau! By ISABELLE DUNHOUR-ROJAS

Photo by Elena Asofsky

Photo by Elena Asofsky

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 5 NEWS / SPORTS

THREE Undefeated LAKELANDS PARK TEAMS!

Coach Interviews Edited by ELENA ASOFSKY

This year, the LPMS girls’ and boys’ softball teams have gone undefeated! We wanted to find out more from the boys’ coach, Mr. McMillen, and the girls’ coach, Mr. Eisenhower. Here is an interview show-ing the coaches’ inside views on their team’s suc-cess. What would you like to say about your team this

year and what do you think led to your undefeat-ed season? Coach Eisenhower: The team consisted of a great group of girls that worked really well. We had some veteran players that led the team and helped improve everyone around them. The girls remained positive and played hard each and every game and practice.

Coach McMillen: The boys’ softball team was very competitive this year; with the other middle schools and among themselves... Occasionally there were teammates that missed games… and we just plugged another player in. Everyone was very versatile in that regard. I had all the confidence in the world in all 15 guys. What were the highlights or proudest moments

of the season? Coach Eisenhower: Tatiana Rowe hitting a 3 run HR to take the lead, Karlie Stanford hitting 2 HRs in the

last game, Diana Davis’s play at the plate, Ericka Campos’s determination at pitching in the first game, Brittany Mills and Gabby Parsons playing through some tough times, Julia Alexander hitting the ball and making good plays in the outfield, and Tatiana Wat-kins’s cheer to get to home plate. Coach McMillen: There were many proud moments

throughout the season. The first, and perhaps most important, was when we played Ridgeview… there were many players on both sides that knew each oth-er. The Ridgeview players showed up, in my opinion, wanting to get into a verbal exchange. The Falcons did not get involved, they let their play on the field do the talking, and beat them 10-1. What (if any) were some challenges that your

team faced? How did they respond? Coach Eisenhower: There were struggles at pitching. The team met each obstacle and worked together to go undefeated. Coach McMillen: The second proud moment of the season was also one that was the most challenging. We were playing Redland and fell behind early. After

the 2nd inning we were down 6-1, and by the middle of the 4th inning we were down 9-1. The boys didn’t get discouraged. With each at-bat they stayed within themselves and didn’t try to do too much… we chipped away at the score and had stellar defense to boot… we ended up winning it in the last half 10-9.

Continued on Page 6

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 6 SPORTS / FEATURES

What would you say to players who are go-ing to high school next year or would like to try out for the LPMS team next year? Coach Eisenhower: I say keep working hard in school and on the diamond. The only way you get better at anything in life is by practicing! I wish you the best of luck in high school and con-tinue to strive for success. For the future 7th and

8th graders, please come out for the tryouts next year to continue our winning ways! Coach McMillen: To all the players, continue to work hard each day to get better. If you’re not improving, you’re not helping yourself or your team. And if you’re not improving and someone else is, they may be better than you come next season.

Congratulations to the Softball teams. Go LPMS Falcons!

Congratulations also to the Cross Country Team (pictured above ) for their undefeated season.

All photos were courtesy of the coaches.

Undefeated LAKELANDS PARK TEAMS! Continued from Page 5

Let’s move on to the new Science teachers. This year, we have Mr. Ariel Allal and Ms. Jessica Stewart joining us. We also have two new World Studies teachers, who are Ms. Betty Combs and Mr. Donald Reed. Also, one new Health and P.E. teacher has joined us, Ms. Lindsay Donnellan. Be sure to say hello to all of them!

This year, the Special Education department grew the most! We hired sixteen Special Ed and Ex-tensions teachers combined. They all include (in al-phabetical order) Mr. Jerry Denney, Mr. Michael Den-nis, Ms. Chelsea Diffenderfer, Mr. Shamar Foster, Mr. Igor Goncharuk, Ms. Kristen Gregg, Mr. Brian Hen-derson, Ms. Samantha Hudson, Mr. Justin Krop, Ms.

Audrey Patton, Mr. Christopher Pecutakis, Mr. Akiel Russell, Mr. Joseph Schultze, Ms. Kathy Wang, Mr. David Williams, and last but certainly not least, Mr. William Yedziniak.

We also had two new editions to the Speech Department, and they are Ms. Melissa Ganginis and Ms. Jasmine Aronson.

Finally, we welcome two new faces to the main office staff: Ms. Jill Weiner, an instructional da-ta specialist, and our new assistant principal, Dr. Tiffany Awkard.

The Newspaper Club would like to welcome

all of the new teachers on behalf of the school. We hope you have a great year at LPMS! We are glad you are here!

Welcome New Staff! Continued from Page 1

Photo Courtesy of Mr. Lubin

When you live in a world of trying to fit in, wouldn’t you also want to do something that makes you stand out? Like wear a ban-danna? Or ear cuff chains? Don’t worry because if you are still try-ing to find out your niche, just take the advice I found from www.beinggirl.com.

Fashion Tips for Girls By RIHANA STEVENSON 1) Accessorize! Accessories are quick fixes. You can't go wrong if you throw on a terrific belt, a fabulous hair rib-bon, or a great beaded bracelet. Beware, however, of over-accessorizing. Less is usually more.

2) Hats Up! Not everyone can wear hats and feel comfortable, but if you can, you have a winning style. There are so many varieties of hats from baseball caps to vintage be-rets—you'll never be bored com-ing up with new versions of this fashion statement to rock your

own style!

3) Vintage Can Be New! What's old is new again. Re-search the vintage shops near you and pick up an inexpensive jacket, a whimsical purse, or a pair of earrings from the 1970s. Combine a vintage item with your new, trendy school clothes and your same old style takes on

new meaning. 4) Play with Your Hair! Experiment. Crimp. Straighten. Gel. Pull it back or wear it up. You'll be surprised to see how many different looks you can come up with. Now go a step fur-ther—complement an outfit with

a hairstyle that matches!

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 7 OPINIONS

A Little Pie Graph for Thanksgiving This was a random survey around the school. Many students and several teachers were surveyed. Over 90

people were surveyed, mostly in the 8th grade. A special thanks to everyone who participated!

Favorite Thanksgiving Food of LPMS

Pumpkin Pie--15%

Stuffing--5%

Mashed Potatoes--26%

Turkey--28%

Cornbread--5%

Gravy--4%

Cranberry Sauce--6%

Other--7%

5%

26%28%

5%

4%6% 7%

By Elena Asofsky

The Bullying Poem

No one likes it, that’s for sure.

It makes you totally feel unsecure.

When you see them in the halls you feel like a shrimp.

And it sure doesn’t help when they call you a wimp.

You’re scared to find someone to tell,

But you can’t stand hiding in your shell.

Whether they type it, show it, or just say it,

It doesn’t matter; it always drains your spirit.

So stand up, don’t take it alone.

Sometimes everyone needs a friend to phone.

Whatever the reason, whatever the cause,

Everyone needs to follow the law.

You’re not alone, I can promise you that.

But you need to stand up, and you need to act!

By: Holly Anderson, Grade 6

Winners of the Bullying Awareness Day Poetry Contest!

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 8 POETRY

Stop the Hate

Ever thought about someone else other than yourself?

Ever thought your words would make them hurt?

Stop the hate

Don’t judge a person by what they look like on the outside

Judge their hearts

Do you notice tears?

Well you made them

Stop the hate

Let it go, and your life will change

No one deserves to be hurt

So why do it?

By: Tara Manzani, Grade 8

Holiday Poetry

Hallow’s Eve Poem and Art By Elena Asofsky

I live in a world that is not mine Nobody knows, Nobody knows And underneath it, a myth resides My secret home, A secret throne My undeniable truth is their unfathomable lie I am proof of the other side. Every night I hide myself, save tomorrow’s eve When children ward off malicious spirits, I am drawn closer, Wearing my true face as my costume. Under the mask of my own skin, I can show my true colors.

Drawing by Julia Kraft

OPINIONS / SHORT STORY THE FALCON FLIER—Page 9

awaiting me. If the future could laugh, I bet it was cackling evilly at me.

I guess I’m kinda young to think about my future and what’s ready to pounce from the shadows of the world. That was really weird, I know. But I’m thankful.

I’m thankful for having a roof above my head, food to eat, and an education. People shouldn’t take these things for granted, yet it happens every day.

I don’t know if I’m hear-ing things, but all I pick up most of the time are complaints.

Continued on Page 10

chestnut fur. A satisfied purr met my ears.

My laptop slightly flick-ered for a moment before I slammed the top shut and leaned against my bedpost, staring at the window on my ceiling. Seriously, who thought it was an upbeat idea to put a window on a ceiling?

I sighed and momen-tarily closed my eyes. A sud-den flash of radiant light made them fling open once more. Right, there was a storm out-side. Guess I forgot about that. Then I began to think. I thought about my life, the people in it, and the future

The rain gently brushed against the frail window. The soft glow of my candlestick was the only thing that kept me company. The moon strug-gled to reveal itself from the cover of the packed clouds, but it lost the battle and van-ished in its defeat.

I pulled my attention away from the window when a soothing “meow” erupted. My two year old cat waltzed into my room and cushioned him-self next to me. He shut his crystalline, cobalt eyes lazily as his auburn tail leisurely flicked from side to side. I smiled and stroked his lengthy

It Doesn’t Hurt to be Thankful A true short story by TARA MANZARI

Drawing by Elena Asofsky

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 10 OPINIONS / SHORT STORY

Complaints about hair, clothes, school; everything and anything you can imagine.

To be honest, it’s really getting irritating, and I pity those who say that. I wonder if they ever think about those un-fortunate people barely getting by each day. If they do care about those ill-fated people, then why don’t they do any-thing to support them?

Millions of people world-wide are living in poverty, and you’re whining about why you can’t order pizza for dinner. People could be suffering in your own neighborhood, even though they don’t make it evi-dent. Your best friends could be going to bed hungry. A little bit of support could make someone’s life change and they won’t forget that little act of kindness.

Instead of just throwing your clothes right down the trash, donate them. Whoever gets that old shirt you never wore will feel that same joy of buying something new. They’ll wonder who you were and re-peatedly thank that person who had the heart to help them. You.

Yeah, I’m probably bor-ing you out right now, but that’s how life is. We always need to be reminded. It’s a part of human nature. Now, let me

tell you a true story about my mother.

Alright, imagine an air-port, a really big one. Imagine crowds of people rushing to get to their airplanes and sobbing parents clinging to their older children, wishing them good luck in their new lives. The year is 1986.

Now, imagine a woman about eighteen years old climb-ing on board a plane for the very first time in her life. Heck, it’s the first time she’s ever seen an airplane. As she takes her seat, she notices other small, huddled figures looking any-thing but happy. As she looks out the window of her airplane, she begins to tremble, then cry. She cries for leaving her parents and her once beautiful homeland. She cries for the un-predictable fate of her country and family. She feels weak for not being able to do anything to aid her nation; her only op-tion was to flee and never re-turn. She’s frightened, astray, and unaided.

A memory of her child-hood returns. It is the time of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. She was only nine years old, but she understood what was going on. She remembers desperately clutching the arm of an Imperial Iranian soldier, begging him not to abandon Iran. He had bent

down and stroked her hair, say-ing, “This cannot be helped, lit-tle one. Now go return to your family and live safely. May God watch over you.”

But this woman is thank-ful for being able to flee the dic-tatorship terrorizing her coun-try, Iran. Europe was kind enough to open their nations to the Iranian refugees and indi-viduals who wished to flee. People were spilling out of Iran daily. She looks at the ticket in her frail hand and reads the destination for the hundredth time. It said, “COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.”

She clutches it to her chest and fastens her seatbelt, looking at the gorgeous Iranian landscape for a final time. She wishes her parents and sisters the best in their reformed coun-try. With a final and silent “goodbye”, the plane lifts off the ground and heads towards the small Scandinavian country of Denmark.

Little did my mother know that was the last time she ever saw Iran. She hasn’t re-turned to her homeland since.

So, there you go. Just remember, not everyone has the time of their lives. It doesn’t hurt to be thankful. Thank you.

~ Tara Manzari

It Doesn’t Hurt to be Thankful Continued from Page 9

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 11 OPINIONS

Would You Rather? By RANAGA TAN

Imagine yourself in one of these situation where you HAVE to choose one or the other. You cannot say “neither.” Read the following questions out loud with your friends and explain why, or answer them by yourself.

Get Ready! Would you rather…

1) Have an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3?

2) Work at Starbucks or McDonald’s?

3) Meet Megan Fox or Alessandra Ambrosio?

4) Go zip lining or bungee jumping?

5) Eat a fried cricket or octopus tentacles?

6) Have a pet tiger or bear?

7) Be stung by a wasp or bitten by a deer tick?

8) Get a driver’s license or pilot’s license?

9) Lose an arm or leg?

10) Have blue skin or green skin?

Thanksgiving is the holiday set aside for giving thanks, but do you really know how thankful you should be? So many things are taken for granted nowadays. I mean, who cares if you have that phone you always wanted? Even if you haven’t felt that way about something at one time or another, you’ve doubtlessly heard somebody else complain-ing. It’s time to take a moment and put everything

into perspective.

• People in Haiti are still recovering from that earthquake.

• 236, 560 children go hungry every day- in Mont-gomery County alone. That means that 4.18% of the entire population of Montgomery County is made up of children that go hungry daily.

• In Nepal, South Asia, the average amount of edu-cation a person has received by age 25 or older is 3.5 years. In Guinea, Africa, it’s 1.6 years. In Ameri-ca, it’s 12 years.

• In Tanzania, Africa, the average life expectancy at birth is 58.2 years. In the Central African Republic, Africa, it’s 48.4 years. In America, it’s 78.4 years.

• In any given day, there are 982 homeless people in Montgomery County. Out of this number, 229 are children. That means 9.92% of the county’s population is homeless.

• Slavery still exists in the world today. An estimat-

ed 12 to 27 million people are slaves in the modern day world, including children.

Feeling thankful yet? There are ways to help these people. In fact, every year our school hosts food drives and donates clothing to the peo-

ple of our community.

If you want to reach farther, there are many websites you can go to in order to donate. Help spread the word, and give reasons to be thankful to those in need.

Want to learn more? Sources for Thanksgiving article:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/01/03/nl-haiti-recovering-103.html

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world.htm

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_ave_yea_of_sch_of_adu-education-average-years-schooling-adults

http://www.mcch.net/faqs/index.html

http://www.freedomcenter.org/slavery-today/

The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving

By ELENA ASOFSKY

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 12 OPINIONS

You know Franken-stein, The Mum-my, Werewolf, Bigfoot, and more, but do

you know where they go to seek peace? Well, in the new movie Hotel Transylvania you can find out! Comedian Adam Sandler stars as Dracula, the vampire who owns the hotel. He creat-ed it as a safe haven for mon-

sters to hide away from the hu-mans, who always ruin their fun. Dracula also created it to keep his vampire daughter, Ma-vis, safe. The story takes place at Hotel Transylvania, on Mavis’s 118th birthday. Every monster is invited for her birthday party, and Dracula plans for it to be perfect. Even with the perfect plan, it is thwarted by a human, named Jonathan showing up at

the hotel! While Dracula is at-tempting to get the human out, Mavis falls in love with him. Find out what happens next on Hotel Transylvania, which is rated PG, by watching it in a theater near you or see-ing it on DVD. Enjoy the movie; it’ll be spooktacular! My Vampire Rating: 5/5!

You Have to See Hotel Transylvania! By SAFIYA SULIMAN

Hurricane Sandy Victims Need Our Help! By VICTORIA ARDEN and ELENA ASOFSKY

It was hard to miss Hurri-cane Sandy. You really couldn’t watch TV without hearing about it. This historical hurri-cane has been at the top of the news ever since the end of Oc-tober! In Maryland, students stayed home from school for two days to be safe. However, Gaithersburg, Maryland suffered little damage com-pared to the rest of the coast.

Here, the most trouble any of us had was the inconvenience of spending a few days without power or some minor damage. According to news re-ports, Hurricane Sandy caused more damage, death, and homelessness in NY and NJ than any other hurricane in re-cent memory. The death toll reported is over 110. Damage was so severe that many people are still living in shelters and it will take months, maybe even years to rebuild. Recent reports esti-mate that New Jersey suffered $36.8 billion dollars in damage and with the flooding in New York City, more than $664 mil-lion dollars in federal aid has

been provided. Considering how lucky we were, there are ways to help the people that have suffered losses in Hurricane Sandy. The easiest is to text REDCROSS to 90999; it will donate $10 dollars to Hurricane Sandy victims. There are many food drives you can donate to as well. Every-body can make a difference in helping the hurricane victims.

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 13 OPINIONS

Top 20 Things LPMS Students Should Do Before They… DIE IN THE WORLD APOCALYPSE

(But seriously, try this stuff out.)

By Lily Thompson & Tara Manzari (And occasionally Elena Asofsky)

1. Visit the Seven Wonders of the World. Or just

travel in general! 2. Go swimming with dolphins. 3. Perfect your hysterical laugh… as well as

your evil one. 4. Eat pet food just to see how it tastes. 5. Go InSAnE . 6. Sell your stuff. I mean c’mon, you’re about to

die, for crying out loud. At least have some money on you when you croak.

7. Visit a city of your liking. 8. Finally finish that book you’ve been meaning

to read. 9. Make a batch of your own emergency cup-

cakes. 10. Buy ten pounds of chocolate. 11. Go outside and light up a bunch of fire-

works… but safely please! 12. Buy ice cream, soda, chips, ALL junk food in

general and eat it… WITHOUT feeling guilty. 13. Attempt to buy a spaceship from NASA. 14. Ask an astronaut to give you lessons on how

to survive in space. 15. Learn your world geography. And no, the

Middle East IS NOT ONE COUNTRY. 16. Buy some fancy clothes just for the sake of

feeling FANCY. 17. Be… a… CAT (for a week. At least.) 18. Go read that one web comic your friends

have been bugging you about. 19. Tell that one person that you love OR despise

them. 20. Dance in the rain. Now. Pay no mind to the

simpletons around you.

Have you ever wondered if any famous peo-ple were born on your birthday? Well if you were born on September, October, or November you just might find out. Let’s start with September. On September 7, 1533 the queen of Eng-land, Queen Elizabeth l was born. On the twelfth day of September 1913, American runner and Olympic champion Jesse Owens was born. The eighteenth of September in 1709 is the birthday of

Samuel Johnson, who is famous for writing the English Dictionary. Born on September 26 ,1774 came John Chapman, better known as Johnny Ap-pleseed. Now for the October birthdays! Born on October 1, 1924 the thirt-ninth president of the US, Jimmy Carter, came into the world. The next day in 1869 Indian political leader Mohandas Gandhi was born. On the fifth in1829 Chester A. Arthur the

twenty-first president of the USA was born. Elea-nor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884. She was the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and an American humanitarian. On the twenty-third in 1941 Brazilian superstar soccer player Pelé was born. Lastly, Juliette Low, who is the founder of the Girl Scouts of America was born on born on Oc-tober 31, 1860. It’s time for the November birthdays!

James K. Polk was born on November 2, 1795. He was the eleventh president of the US. On the sev-enth in 1867 Marie Curie was born. She was a Polish physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. November 9, 1731 Benjamin Banneker was born; he was an American mathe-matician and astronomer. James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA, was born on the nine-

teenth of November. On the 22nd the wife of Presi-dent John Adams, and mother of president John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams was born. Finally, on November 30, 1835, Mark Twain (real name Samu-el Clemens), the author of books such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, was born. Stay tuned for more famous birthdays in our next issue!

Famous Birthdays in September-November!

By SAFIYA SULIMAN

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 14 OPINIONS

As you all probably know, December 21st has been dubbed “the end of the world.” The supposed reason behind this is that the Ancient Mayan calen-dar ends on this day in the year 2012. Now, let’s get one thing straight. Back when the Mayans were around, 2012 for them is the equivalent of what 7500 would be for us. They most likely were tired of predicting another five thousand years’ worth of days, weeks, months, and years.

The reason why the world will not end is be-cause there is no scientific evidence of the world imploding on itself. It can’t just magically happen either without a legitimate reason. Our planet has been surviving for over four billion years so far. Ex-

perts and scientists around the world have seen no unusual threat whatsoever that regards the year 2012.

Hollywood and the film media have taken

2012 and turned it into something that can maybe, possibly be true. But science has stepped in and proved the media wrong. It is said the end of the world was told by the Sumerians long ago. They supposedly found a planet called Nibiru that was thought to crash into the earth in 2003. That, for a fact, didn’t happen.

Then the doomsday date was moved to De-cember 2012 and connected with the myth that the world would end with the Mayan calendar. No proof of Nirbiru has been found. Most likely the Sumeri-ans mistook a star for the mystery planet. If it was coming towards Earth, astronomers would have been tracking it for quite a while now, and we

would be able to see it in our sky.

Another rumor is that Earth will suddenly reverse the rotation on its axis on 2012. This is im-possible in all directions. When Earth was created, it was already spinning in the direction it’s going in right now from all the momentum that went into the formation of our planet and solar system. It can’t just suddenly pause and go backwards all of a sudden. The force that drives our planet in its rota-tion cannot be reversed. Though it is possible for

the earth to slow down and come to a stop, but this is a very slow, gradual process. This is not worried about because it most definitely won’t happen in the next millennia or so.

The self-destruction of our planet is impossi-

ble and therefore, you’ll live to see 2013 without a doubt. To learn more, check out:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/artic le-1221892/Why-world-NOT-end-2012-Nasa-scientist

-debunks-internet-rumours.html

December 21st, 2012. Is It Really the End of the World? By TARA MANZARI

Mark your calendars! The Annual Lakelands Park

Winter Arts Festival will take place December 12th from 6:30

-9:00 PM. You don’t want to miss it!

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 15 COMICS

How Thanksgiving REALLY Started By HANNAH HO

Owl COMIC by Cara McClure Submitted by Ms. Hoover

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 16 ART/COMICS

Digital Art & Comics

Submitted by Mr. Lubin and Ms. Hoover

Flower COMIC by Alli Hobson

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 17 ART/COMICS

Snowman COMIC by Micaela Brick

THE FALCON FLIER—Page 18 EXTRAS

Lakelands Park Middle School

1200 Main Street

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Victoria Arden

Elena Asofsky**

Isabelle Dunhour-Rojas

Hannah Ho

Julia Kraft**

Tara Manzari

Rihana Stevenson

Safiya Suliman**

Ranaga Tan

Lily Thompson

Michael Vazquez **Student Editors

Sponsor and Layout:

Mrs. Kirsten Tippets

The Newspaper Club meets on Wednesdays in Room 168 for

snacks and then works in Lab 157. Come join us next year to have fun and see your work pub-

lished! © 2012

Photo Scavenger Hunt! By ELENA ASOFSKY and JULIA KRAFT

#1: #2:

#3: #4:

How observant are you? Try to find these items around our school!

Answers: 1) A poster in the library above the lounge chairs. 2) In the front hallway at the bottom of Stairwell 1 leading to the library. 3) The stairs leading to the back of the stage in the cafeteria. 4) Trophy case right outside the gym.