PegasusMonthly

The Rancho Solano Preparatory School Student Newspaper Volume I, Edition 4

December 2017

Editor-In-ChiefEnya Smilovic

Assistant Editor-In-Chief Myra Kamal

Rancho Wins, Again: The Games 2017!By: Enya Smilovic, Myra Kamal, and Lauren PuryearIt’s one of the most important Mid-dle School events of the year, and many athletes look forward to com-peting in it. It’s The Games! This year the competition was held in Lake Mary, Florida. The schools that Rancho Solano competed against were Lake Mary Preparatory and Henderson International School. There are many different sports, so there’s something for everyone who wants to go. These sports include track and field, tennis, basketball, soccer, flag football, and volleyball. As usual, our athletes did

fantastically!But The Games is about more than just sports. Some of the athletes’ fa-vorite parts were the other activities they were able to participate in. The Games was a great opportunity to meet people from different schools and bond with them. Nadia Kazi,

in seventh grade, said that, “The Games was very fun. I even made a friend there! It was a great bond-ing experience.” Sharvin Raj, also in seventh grade, said that he made a lot of friends there, and another one of our classmates said it was a ‘good learning experience’. Eighth grad-

ers Brynn B l e a m a n and Devon Luke really enjoyed The Games, and said: “We had such a great time at The Games 2017! It was an amazing experience

that we would no doubt recommend to anyone. The Games were hosted at Lake Mary Preparatory School in Lake Mary, FL. During the day we would compete in athletic events and in the evening we had many fun activities. We went to Dave and Busters on Wednes-day, Disney World on Thursday, and Universal Studios on

Friday. We each competed in four sports, which kept us very busy and competitive during the day, but competing against other schools and playing with your team makes it worth while. Anyone who has the opportunity to go on this trip should definitely take the chance because it is an unforgettable memory.”Overall, The Games were filled with fun and happy memories. Getting to go on trips, play games, and make new friends sums up the blast middle school students got to have! Every student had a unique and unforgetable ex-perience. Students discovored how much fun they could have while working hard to win.

Photos by Mrs. Avenell

Rancho’s Girls Soccer Team is GoalsBy: Yuna Shprecher and Allie Payne

For the first time in Rancho histo-ry, the high school finally has a girl’s soccer team, and they’ve already won their first two games easily! The group of girls consists of thir-teen, and is still growing, including Freshmen Chloe Baker, Leah Dar-win, Maddie Liley, Vanessa Ochoa, Alissa Persten; Sophomores Ludovi-ca Bianchi, Amelie Clarke, and Yuna Shprecher, and Juniors Cat Dang, Cassandra Martin, Allie Payne,Ga-by Velez, and Kaitlen von Colditz. Though some teammates have been playing soccer for years, the game was, for many, the first time on the field. Despite this, they won their first game 3-2, and the newcomers got a little more used to the soccer ball the fol-lowing week, beating the o p p o s i n g team 4-0. On how this was possible, F r e s h m a n Leah simply stated, “we’re just too freaking good!” Though it may not be as simple as that, Coach Neil Graham seemed to agree that the amateur soccer team has been doing remarkably well. “I think it’s fantastic. The fact that some had

never played before, or had never played with each other, and really quickly figured out how to work as a team- with no subs the first game- was incredible.” The first goal of the season was scored by Junior Allie Payne. Ev-eryone, whether on the field, side-lines, or stands, was both sur-prised and excit-ed by it, cheer-ing as loudly as the small crowd could. On how it felt to kick the ball

into the net, Allie stat-ed, “We are d e f i n i t e l y underdogs, so scoring the first goal felt amazing. As I turned around after I scored the goal, all my friends were

running up and high fiving me. It felt like a family!” Practices are held Monday through Friday, but with other sports and homework, many girls have understandably not been able to

make them. For those who do attend practices, the one- on- one time with the coach has helped them improve, especially those who are novices

with the soccer ball. When the girls were asked how it feels to have been able to win the two games, the gen-eral feeling was of surprise and hap-piness, especially since “most of us learned to play soccer right before the first game,” as Kaitlen pointed out. Gaby, whose first time playing was in the second game, noted “how low pressure and supportive every-one is.” As the season progresses, whether the girl’s soccer team wins or loses the next few games, the fact that the girls were able to win these two matches and laugh and joke while doing so, will always remain a great memory. Cassandra summed up the fun atmosphere of the bud-ding soccer team with: “We are the best unexpected star team!”Spreading Holiday Cheer

By: Diallah Athari In order to spread some holiday cheer this year, Rancho Solano’s Middle and Upper School choirs took a trip to Amber Creek Mem-ory Care Home for some caroling

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and fun! Upper School choir stu-dent, Mehek Sumar says “Being able to share this time with every-one is what makes the holiday time so special.”

We are so glad to have had the oppor-tunity to meet such amazing individuals and hear their fantas-tic stories. The choirs sounded beautiful. On behalf of all choir students, we are so excited to make this an annual tradition!

Photos by Mr. Zale

Down1. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a __________ in a pear tree.4. “________ Christmas!”7. Something you eat on Hanukkah8. What you put on a Christmas tree11. If you step under this plant you must kiss the person next to you12. You light candles on this for each night of Hannukah 14. They make Santa’s sleigh fly

Across2. Hebrew word meaining “peace”3. “Happy ________!”5. What you are when you want to open presents6. A fun game played on Hanukkah9. Who delivers gifts on Christmas 10. Ray is a(n) ___________(no spaces)13. A star made of 2 triangles that’s a religious symbol 15. 3 Spheres, traditional with a vegetable nose and buttons for eyes

The first person to complete the crosssword puzzle and turn it into Mrs. McCarty wins one free snack and drink from the school store.

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Pegasus MonthlyComic Strip

Diallah Athari

In a rough situation? Not sure what to do? Send your requests for advice to “Dear Diallah” by email atPegasus@ranchosolano.comDiallah will answer one to two ques-tions per month.

DEAR DIALLAH

How to Bond With the Family Dear Diallah, I have these family members that I am not fond of that are coming over for Winter break. I don’t know what to do because I just feel so awkward around them! They always ask me so many questions and then look over at each other as if they’re judging me. I don’t want to be rude to them because they’re still family, but they’re kind of rude to me! What do I do?

Dreading the Visitors

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The Rancho Solano School of Magic If the Yule dance was the US Hoopcoming dance...By Lauren Puryear and Riley Murray

If an athletic competition at Hogwarts was The Games in the MS...

Dear Dreading the Visitors,I completely understand how diffi-cult relatives can be, but my advice is to make the time you have with them count. Get to talking and you might be surprised, you could have some real connections. Just remember, it is better in the long run, for you and your family. So, whatever may be holding you back, just put it behind you and find out what they are like as people you love, not just burdens that show up a few times a year!Sincerely, Diallah