Raynham Middle School Newspaper Spring 2016
Actors in character during the recent production of “The Princess King”,
Photo credit Shay Mitton By: Shanzai Ikhlas
Who will rule the land? This was the im-
portant question raised during this year’s RMS drama
club production of the “The Princess King.” This in-
triguing story about a girl proving to her father she is
capable of anything a man is was performed March
12 and 13 to a packed auditorium. The main charac-
ter tries to prove her worth by going through many
impossible tasks to prove she can be king, but was it
enough?
ing day and night making sure there lines were per-
fect. This was only possible because of the director
Ms. Alexander, the person who spent all her free
time making the props unflawed and making sure the
play went smoothly.
(Continued on page 2)
dents, intrigued, were anxiously waiting for the
teachers to embarrass themselves.
were the judges. As judges took their seats, the com-
petition began. The teachers and students took turns
alternating after every act.
scores from the judges, but the teachers racked up
points fast. Mrs. Ferraro, Ms. Tartufo, and Ms. Don-
nelley gave the performance of their lives lip sync-
ing, "Since You've Been Gone."
2
Abigail Damish, Riley Menconi, Riain Keefe, Antho-
ny Santiago, Kiara Rodrigues, Kendra Morrissey,
Hope Shanley, Caroline Levy, Marlena Colwell, Jil-
lian Crandall, Casey LaMarca, Anthony Sousa, John
Dolan, Ryan Goodwin, Abigail Donovan, Julia Mit-
ton, and Madison Borges.
(Continued from page 1)
USA" and "Wrecking Ball." One of the students can-
celed so, luckily, the show had a last minute fill in.
Mr. Teixiera ended the show with a bang. He sang
"Hello" by Adele and definitely had a good time.
Though he admitted he didn't know the words, he
didn't let that stop him. Each time the song was
just about to hit its chorus, he ran to the other side of
the stage. For the finale of his performance, he did a
kart wheel across the stage.
Mrs. Dalrymple then gave all of the students a
piece of paper with the performances on it so we
could vote for the best one. On our way out of the
auditorium, we handed her back our slips and headed
to the cafeteria. After about 10 minutes, they called
everyone back in and announced that teachers had
won this battle.
next year to be victorious!
‘Gravity Falls’ with a Bang……..……. 2
Shanzai’s Top Ten……...……………. 2
Academic Teams’ Scores Add up to B-I-G W-I-N-S……...………….……...
3
Spotlight Group of the Quarter….….. 4
Hot Topics…………...………………. 4
the last episode of “Gravity Falls” was aired Feb. 15.
Gravity Falls is a show about fraternal twins Dipper
and Mabel. They spend an unbelievable summer va-
cation in the sleepy, fictional town of Gravity Falls,
Ore. Their parents send them to their
“Grunkle” (Great-Uncle) Stan’s home/shop, the Mys-
tery Shack. Along with fellow Mystery Shack em-
ployees, Wendy and Soos, and other Gravity Falls
residents, the twins quickly realize that Gravity Falls
is actually a pretty hectic town.
Gravity Falls’ plot is well thought-out. Little
things that might not be noticed make much more
sense when you go back after finishing the series.
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These are some of my favorite shows that oc-
cupy most of my free time. They are filled with clev-
er and mind-boggling plots that I hope you enjoy!
Flash (this show is connected to the Arrow)
Arrow
er )
Netflix)
Once Upon A Time (a show filled with fairy tales
that are re-imagined)
but I heard it was good!)
Supernatural
both spelling and math. Both teams consist of stu-
dents in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.
Math team, run by Mr. Schondek, came in
second place overall at the team’s winter meet held
recently in Swansea. The spring meet is coming up in
May. A score of 125 correct answers is possibly one
of the best scores RMS has received in a long time.
The MVPs for our team were Anooshey Ikhlas and
Stephanie Damish, who also tied for first with the
best scores on our team.
Damish also came out on top at the spelling
team’s recent meet. She won 1st overall in the indi-
vidual category. Second went to another star student,
Shanzai Ikhlas. In the group division of the competi-
tion, RMS came in 2nd place!
Overall, this clever crew seems to be domi-
nating over intellectuals from many schools in the
region. Let’s hope we can keep the victory ball roll-
ing and get to 1st place next time!
Montana Matthews and Ashlee Dacey at BSU City Lab.
Photo credit: Shay Mitton
a field trip to Bridgewater State University (BSU) for
a science lab. Seventh-graders learned about genetics
with a sickle cell anemia lab. The eighth graders stud-
ied pollution's effect on water sources with a chemis-
try lab. It has become an annual trip for both grades.
The eighth graders’ day started with a power
point explaining the basics of how water can run off
of impervious surfaces* such as parking lots, and
metal drains can send pollution into local rivers and
streams affecting ecosystems.
trays: one with sponges in plastics bags and another
to catch water drip. Two hundred ml were poured on-
to the tray, drained, and re-measured. The results: the
water level barely faltered. This proved that water
easily runs off parking lots gathering pollution as it
travels.
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School Bandmasters Association, holds a junior (7th-
9th grade) and senior (9th-12th grade) band festival
each year. Ninth graders can be in either festival, just
not both. Auditions are held about three months in
advance, and this year, were held on Feb. 6.
In each participating school, the band sends a
handful of willing students to the auditions. They
separate into instrument groups, and audition one-on-
one with a judge, who has them play a few scales,
sight-read a short excerpt, and play a specific audi-
tion piece issued that year. (Don't worry, they got the
piece MONTHS in advance!)
student's grade is higher, they made it in!
The festival is held at a different school each
year. This year, the Junior Festival on May 6-7 will
be hosted by Whitman-Hanson Regional High
School. Milton High School will be hosting the Sen-
ior Festival on April 8-9. Band members are able to
play in a district-wide band for the entire day, lunch
included, practicing for the big concert that evening!
It's a wonderful opportunity to expand your
horizons and meet fellow musicians, as well as im-
prove your skills! If you didn't try out this year, or
didn't get in, don't worry-- there's always next year!
By: Daria Monkus and Mackenzie Pryor
We asked kids which is better:
Spring or Summer?
ever, it seems a small percentage of people do love
May flowers.
a poster contest, where students entered a poster that
depicted their happy place. Climate Club members
judged the posters, using a rubric, giving the poster a
score between 0 and 20. After looking through nu-
merous posters, the winners were announced.
Third place went to Kayla Gadsby, who drew
a portrait of herself listening to music. Runner-up
was Lucas Pray. His poster was him playing volley-
ball. The winner of the contest was Abigail Damish.
Her poster was a sunset over the water while she and
her dog watched peacefully from the docks. Congrat-
ulations to all the winners!
Climate Club Members with poster contest winners.
Photo credit: Mrs. Lacouture
on parking lots that meets the eye. When water takes
it to rivers and streams, algae builds. This blocks sun
and can stop photosynthesis for underwater plants
damaging the ecosystem.
Impact Development) and community action, such as
planting trees and flower patches on parking lots to
help divert the runoff and turn it into water we can
use. When it’s diverted, it can be collected and fil-
tered.
ratios of distilled water was diluted with phosphorus
and then put into a machine and compared with park-
ing lot samples. The parking lot at BSU had a LID
system. It showed that the parking lot samples had an
average of 80 percent less pollution that would have
otherwise gone to rivers and streams.
Seventh grade students studied sickle cell
anemia, a genetic blood disorder where blood cells
are misshapen. They studied the basics of genetics. A
lab was performed, where students studied DNA to
determine if their patient had sickle cell anemia.
Overall BSU is a fascinating field trip that
many students enjoyed.
not absorb water
usually contaminated
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I have selected
an Irish dish to share which looks delicious. It’s
called Bangers and Mash. I took this recipe and pic-
ture from Food.com. I hope you enjoy it, even if St.
Patrick’s Day is over!
Ingredients:
1⁄2 cup milk
1⁄2 chicken stock cube, dissolved in 300 ml water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions: 1. Grill or fry the sausages. The healthiest way is to
grill them in the oven at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender.
3. Drain potatoes and mash with milk, butter, salt
and nutmeg until smooth.
4. For the gravy, heat oil in a frying pan and sauté
onions until nicely browned.
5. Stir in the flour and then the mustard, followed by
the wine.
6. A few seconds later add the mash onto a plate,
followed by the sausages and spoonfuls of the
gravy and allow to thicken.
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There are ciphers and mysteries in every
episode for you to crack. The first time through, it’s
surprising and funny. The second, it’s amazing and
hilarious when you see all the codes and hints you
didn’t see the first time. The third, you’re just left
thinking, “how did I miss that?”
The first impression of “Gravity Falls”
might be different than what it actually is. At one
episode you might be like, “they’re so cute,” or
“that’s so funny,” but the next, you’re thinking “that
was really weird,” or “that thing was horrendous.”
The artistic style contributes to these thoughts. Its
cuteness or simplicity help exaggerate the mon-
strosities that the twins encounter.
If you haven’t watched this intriguing show,
or watched a few episodes then just forgot, don’t let
first impressions or laziness, or one episode that
chases you off, keep you from watching this story.
Whether it’s Netflix or the Internet (I watched all
the episodes free on YouTube), this adventure is
one worth your time!