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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?

Performers spent nearly eight weeks practic-

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.

The cast consisted of:

Amber Cooke, Mia Tierney, Samantha Ma-

rasca, Michael Tierney, Samuel Wunder, Stephanie

(Continued on page 2)

By: Shay Mitton

This was an epic battle of student vs. teacher.

The teachers warmed up on the sidelines. The stu-

dents, intrigued, were anxiously waiting for the

teachers to embarrass themselves.

Then it started.

Mr. Phillie, Mrs. Charrette, and Ms. Gray

were the judges. As judges took their seats, the com-

petition began. The teachers and students took turns

alternating after every act.

The students started out slowly, with low

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."

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(Continued from page 1)

Damish, Shanzai Ikhlas, Sarah Hermenegildo,

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)

Then, two of the students lip synced "Surfing

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.

Let's just say the students will be ready for

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……...………….……...

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Eighth Graders Visit BSU Science Lab.. 3

Spotlight Group of the Quarter….….. 4

Hot Topics…………...………………. 4

Poster Winners Announced…..……... 4

Food for Thought……………………. 5

By: Maia Savas

Ending a flat-out brilliant two-season cartoon,

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.

(Continued on page 5)

By: Shanzai Ikhlas

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

BBC Sherlock (Has a very amazing cliff hang-

er )

Pretty Little Liars (almost all the seasons are on

Netflix)

Once Upon A Time (a show filled with fairy tales

that are re-imagined)

Doctor Who (I have never watched Doctor Who

but I heard it was good!)

Supernatural

Cupcake Wars

Grey’s Anatomy

Walking Dead

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By: Mackenzie Pryor

This season was excellent for our academic teams,

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

By: Daria Monkus

Recently the seventh and eighth graders took

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.

Then, a lab was performed. There were two

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.

Students learned that there are more pollutants

(Continued on page 5)

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By: Amanda White

SEMSBA, or South Eastern Massachusetts

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!)

A day or two later, each student receives their

scores in specific areas. A cutoff grade is determined

based on the number of students auditioning for each

instrument and the number of slots available. If the

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?

said Summer

said Spring

It seems summer is an obvious favorite. How-

ever, it seems a small percentage of people do love

May flowers.

By: Mackenzie Pryor

The Bully Busters Climate Club recently held

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

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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.

One way to prevent runoff* is with LID (Low

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.

Another lab was performed where varying

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.

*impervious surfaces- a nonporous surface that does

not absorb water

*runoff- water that comes off an impervious surface,

usually contaminated

By: Grace Rogatch

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:

6 sausages

4 -6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

1⁄2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

Nutmeg

2 onions, finely sliced

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1⁄2 glass wine

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.

(Continued from page 2)

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!