Spartan TimesWeber Middle School, Port Washington, New York

http://schools.portnet.k12.ny.us/~spartan_times/

Volume 5, Issue 1 February 2009

Shaquille O’NealVisits Weber!

KKKKKorororororean StudentsVean StudentsVean StudentsVean StudentsVean StudentsVisitisitisitisitisitWWWWWeeeeeberberberberber

by Robert Gray

Student GovernmentIn Action!

Pages 2-3-4: Weber NewsPage 4: New! Advice ColumnPage 5: 6th Grade HappeningsPage 6: 7th Grade HappeningsPage 7: 8th Grade HappeningsPage 8: OpinionsPage 9: Fun and Games

Page 10-back cover: Spartan Sports

WhoWhoWhoWhoWhoor WHATor WHATor WHATor WHATor WHAT

is this?is this?is this?is this?is this?see page 2...see page 2...see page 2...see page 2...see page 2...

SHASHASHASHASHAQQQQQ A A A A ATTTTTTTTTTAAAAAQQQQQ !!!!!By Ryan Havens

On Friday, September 5, 7th and 8th graders were rushed intothe Auditorium for an event planned at the last second. Dr. Gordon, Superin-tendent of Schools, appeared from behind the curtain to introduce Weberstudent Michael Palagonia. Dr. Gordon informed all in the Auditorium that itwas Michael and his family who arranged the “special event” of the morning.Without further fanfare, Michael excitedly told all in the room that professionalbasketball player Shaquille O’Neal, was “in the house!” Suddenly ShaquilleO’Neal, the literal basketball giant pushed aside the curtains and steppedforward. After shaking Mike’s hand, he thanked Dr. Gordon with a kiss (!)and addressed the excited onlookers. (story and pictures continued onpage 3)

On November 5, 2008, Weber Middle School students attended a Stu-dent Government assembly with their respective grade levels. The assemblyoffered interested students the opportunity to speak to the student body andshare their reasons for wanting to become the President, Vice-President, Trea-surer, Secretary, or Recording Secretary of our Student Government for thecurrent school year. On the next day, November 6, the democratic processtook over! During an extended homebase period, all students exercised theirright to vote by choosing the student they felt would best fill the executive posi-tions of the Student Government.

The decision to choose is always difficult; however, the following stu-dents were chosen to represent Weber’s Student Government:

President: Ariana KosloffVice-President: Simon ShapiroTreasurer: Sam GoldsteinCorresponding Secretary: Natasha MohanSecretary: Sam Reisman

Congratulations to the winners. We look forward to your ideas, activities, and ofcourse, PIZZA DAYS!

Weber’s First AnnualWeber’s First AnnualWeber’s First AnnualWeber’s First AnnualWeber’s First AnnualSpelling Bee ResultsSpelling Bee ResultsSpelling Bee ResultsSpelling Bee ResultsSpelling Bee Results

by Mrs. Denise Fish

Congratulations to Weber’s spelling champion in 7th grade, Sydney Heiden!Our first runner-up was 8th grader Justin Aramalla. We wish Sydney goodluck as she goes on to represent Weber in the Long Island local spelling bee!

Table of ContentsCongrCongrCongrCongrCongratatatatatulululululatatatatations Mathlions Mathlions Mathlions Mathlions Mathleeeeetttttes!es!es!es!es!

On November 18th, almost 50 students participated in the AmericanMathematics competition. Mrs. Nash and Mr. Spotteck are proud to an-nounce the following school winners:3rd place (with 19 out of 25 questions correct): Ali Peltz, Ko Kunita, HalamKim, Eleanor Kim, and Drew Feldman2nd Place (with 20 out of 25 questions correct): Mike Berry and AriannaKosloff1st Place (with 21 out of 25 questions correct): Joey Featherson, RyanHavens, and Matt Kim.Hoshi Hemmi was the highest scoring 7th grader with a score of 18 out of 25correct! Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who participated!

On August 18, 2008, a group of Korean students visited Weber Middle School.Several Weber students were also present to help with the activities. (Contin-ued on page 2).

Spartan Times Staff:Spartan Times Staff:Spartan Times Staff:Spartan Times Staff:Spartan Times Staff:Editors: Editors: Editors: Editors: Editors: Luke O’Connell, Robert G., Benny Scheckner

ReporReporReporReporReporters:ters:ters:ters:ters: Ryan Havens, Jesse Epstein, Jack Simon, Cameron Appel, Julia Zeh, Lauren Pinto, Katrene Rustemi, SandraKumwong, Gabe Lyons, Shoshanna R., Sarah S., Penina R., Claudia V. , Jaime Sall. Photo Scanners: Ryan Havens, ThomasGreenstein, Julia Zeh. Fun Page:Fun Page:Fun Page:Fun Page:Fun Page: Evan Kaminsky, Tal Oren, Jamie Sall, Maddie O. ArArArArArtist:tist:tist:tist:tist: Nicole Boyd. Opinion Page: Opinion Page: Opinion Page: Opinion Page: Opinion Page:Ryan Havens, Evan Kaminsky, Jake Arlow, Maddie O., Naomi Boico FrFrFrFrFreelance Weelance Weelance Weelance Weelance Writers and Photographers:riters and Photographers:riters and Photographers:riters and Photographers:riters and Photographers: MirianMolina, Shoshana R., Ethan Bookstein, Mrs. Denise Fish, Mr. Richard Brody, Mrs. Portmore-Davies, Miss Duffy. WWWWWebebebebebMasters:Masters:Masters:Masters:Masters: Caleb Von Loon, Benny Scheckner, Joe Lee. TTTTTypists: ypists: ypists: ypists: ypists: Sandra K., Cameron Appel, Julia Zeh, Evan Kaminsky,Lydia Feldman. Advice Columnists: Advice Columnists: Advice Columnists: Advice Columnists: Advice Columnists: Tal Oren, Jake Arlow, Yuval Oren. Cr Cr Cr Cr Creative Areative Areative Areative Areative Artist Editor: tist Editor: tist Editor: tist Editor: tist Editor: Lauren Pinto, Gina L.Printer:Printer:Printer:Printer:Printer: Fall/Winter/Spring Full Edition: New Media Printing; “Mini-Times:” District Printing. TTTTTransporransporransporransporransportation Coortation Coortation Coortation Coortation Coordinatior:dinatior:dinatior:dinatior:dinatior:Robert G.

Advisor:Advisor:Advisor:Advisor:Advisor: Mrs. Susan McAuliffe

Weber News

PAGE 2

A Letter To Weber students: My name is Jesse Aaron Epstein and I am running for our school treasurer. By the time you are reading this, there will already be a winner. Even if Idon’t win I still would like to thank everyone who supported me and votedfor me. Thank You!

Sincerely,

Jesse Aaron Epstein

It’s Time to be Eco-Friendly!It’s Time to be Eco-Friendly!It’s Time to be Eco-Friendly!It’s Time to be Eco-Friendly!It’s Time to be Eco-Friendly!By Sandra Kumwong

The Weber Green Club meets every other Thursday in room202 with our advisors Mrs. Kornfeld and Ms. Strajakenova. We began theyear by distributing cardboard boxes to classes so students and staff can re-cycle their water bottles.

Then something wonderful happened! The Port WashingtonSchool District was selected by the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor,Jon Kaiman, to take part in a pilot program in environmental leadership thatexpands the district’s recycling program. Residents For a More BeautifulPort Washington helped get this program off the ground, serving as the liasonbetween parents, students, teachers, administrators, and local governmentthrough a district-wide task force.

In addition to the bins, Residents For A More Beautiful PortWashington brought to the schools two years ago that recycle metal, glassand plastic, each school will now boast: white paper recycling bins in everyclassroom, A three compartment recycling bin on wheels for easy sorting thatcan be moved around schools as needed.

Thank you, Residents and the Town of North Hempstead, forincluding Port Schools in the pilot program. Weber students and staff are doingtheir part to help keep our little “Weber World” green and clean!

References: Weber Green club, Klean kateen.com, Mr. Richard Brody,Director of Operations, Residents For A More Beautiful Port Washington

KKKKKorororororean Students Vean Students Vean Students Vean Students Vean Students Visit Wisit Wisit Wisit Wisit WeeeeeberberberberberBy Robert Gray

(continued from front page) The Korean students were brought to theUnited States courtesy of Kiss, a cosmetics company with offices on Long Is-land. Korean students had to qualify to be a part of this exciting cultural experi-ence. In order to come to the United States, Korean students had to memorizean entire English textbook. After competing for the privilege of being sent toAmerica, students were treated to visits in Washington D.C., Virginia, Pennsyl-vania, and a tour of the Ivy League schools. One of our local businesses,KISSUSA, which manufactures beauty products, sponsored their visit.

Weber students met with the Korean visitors in the Weber Library.Teachers were also present at the event. Mrs. Rodahan, Mrs. McAuliffe, Mrs.Drexler, Mr. Hoffman, Ms. Lax, Ms. Peraza, and Ms. Suk helped supervise.Also present were Dr. Nicholas Sterling, Asst. Superintendent and Ms. EmilySong, who helped set up the visit and translate. The day started off with a tour.The Weber students brought the Korean students on a tour of the school. Wewanted to show them that our school was much larger than theirs. After the tour,Mr. Hoffman gave us an interactive math lesson using the Smartboard. It wasfun and everyone got to participate. After that, the Korean students presentedtwo Power-Point presentations. The first one discussed Hanbok, a Korean tra-ditional dress. The second presentation covered the Korean alphabet, somefood, and aspects of the students’ lives. After the Power-Point presentations,the students and the Weber volunteers had pizza for lunch. A short hula-hoopcontest took place after lunch.

The Korean students left at 1:00 in the afternoon, but not beforepresenting their Weber student partners with a gift from their home country.Weber students were impressed and grateful that their new friends could be sogenerous. It was a good experience for all. They come from a small town, andit helped them realize there is a world outside their town. Most important, theyhad fun.

(continued from front page)Only a coach that keeps his wordwould look like this! Mr. Spotteck,8th grade Green House Math teacherand Girls’ 8th grade soccer coachpromised the team that he would cometo school with a helmet, necklace, anddecorated white tee-shirt if the girlswent undefeated during the season.Well, you guessed it! The girls’ com-pleted their season with an awesome9-0 record! GREAT JOB. GIRLS andFANTASTIC OUTFIT, MR.SPOTTECK!

What is Tourette Syndrome?By Shoshana Rabinowitz

Many kids in the United States have Tourette Syndrome, a move-ment disorder. TS is not a mental disease. This means that kids with TS havemovements they can’t help. These movements are called tics, not like the bug,which is spelled TICK. Sometimes it comes with A.D.D. (Attention DeficitDisorder), A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), O.C.D. (Ob-sessive Compulsive Disorder) and G.E.R.D. (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).

This syndrome can be genetic, meaning it runs through the family. Itlasts your entire life. There is medicine that helps reduce the tics, but there is nocure. The Tourette Syndrome Association is an organization that helps kids withTS. If you want to learn more about Tourette’s, you can go to the TouretteSyndrome website at: http://www.tsa-usa.org/

Many students and staff members at Weber Middle School gothrough their day being respectful and caring, helping those with crutches,holding doors for others, helping a student who has dropped their books, orsaying a gracious, “thank you” to others. However, once a month, thoserecognized for these little random acts of kindness are noted with a WeberSTAR award. Weber STARS are nominated by Weber staff and studentsonce a month. A Weber STAR is a student or staff member that displaysone or more of the following qualities: respect, responsibility, good charac-ter, commitment to community, academic improvement, effort and exem-plary behavior.

Every Weber student or staff member has a chance to be a WeberSTAR! A student or staff member will nominate anyone they feel deservesthe privilege of becoming a STAR. When nomination time arrives, studentsand staff members can email or write a note to Mrs. McAuliffe and let herknow that there is someone in the building who is deserving of the honor.After staff consideration, all nominees are presented with a STAR certifi-cate.

Students and staff that receive the honor of being named a WeberSTAR are notified during a special morning announcement whereby a cer-tificate of recognition is awarded during homebase. A congratulatory letter isalso mailed to the family, and a duplicate copy of the award is displayedprominently outside of the Principal’s office for the month of nomination.Congratulations to following the STARS of quarters 1 and 2:

PAGE 3

(Shaquille O’Neal continuedfrom front page) As he talkedto the audience, his main pointwas about safety on the internet.Students listened as he reminded

them to visit kid-friendly sites and never give personal information to otherson the internet. After his speech, Shaq invited students and faculty membersto ask him questions. Hands raised high and the chosen few were encour-aged to come up to the stage. At one point 7th Grade English teacher Mr.Joseph came up to the stage and admired the 2-foot height differencebetween them (see photo, front page). Questions from students included,“How tall are you?” (7’2”), “What is your favorite food?” (Frosted Flakes),and “What is your shoe size?” (22!).

Weber students were thrilled to have Shaq on stage at Weber.This was thanks to the efforts of Michael Palagonia’s family, who invited ShaquilleO’Neal to visit while he was on Long Island.

It was an all-around shocking experience that set students chat-tering about the event for days!

(left) Mr. Cherryand Shaq!

(left) Mrs. Rodahanand students join Shaqon stage.

Shaq and Mr.Swinson (below).Who knew thatMr. Swinsoncould look shortnext to any-one????

(left)Our Shack,little Shack,and big Shaq!

Sixth Grade

Dylan Rothman Ethan Bookstein Matheiu Guerra Yuki JoshinagaErica Slote Kimberly Winter Juliet Walzer Benjamin O’BrienKatrene Rustemi Jesse Epstein Sophie Brett-Chin Lauren PintoWyn Stopford

Seventh Grade

Malcolm McCready Daniela Medaglia Taylor Hertwig Justin EltonMaggie Golder Michele Lammers Nicholas MoyChloe Margulis Andrew Araya Emily ShlafmitzEleni Cross Rupert Lin Chrystalla NeocleousMehmet (Eden) Alkan Shady Hassanien Christian GuzmanBar Tollman Carl Finkbeiner Elliot Catalano

Eighth Grade

Margaret Pepe Andrew Cullen Steven Krainin Delia Van PraagNathan Tang Annie Rubin Billy Jack Dalessandro James GallagherCarlos Salinas David Olivares Brian Maraboli Ben LernerBridget Moody Nick DeLeonardis Loseph Lukwiya Kathryn RessaReed Kalash Kimberly Bizenov Stephany Crespo Woo Joo KimJackson Linthrop Ameer Khan Natasha Talukdar Audrey Ensor

Staff Members

Custodial Engineer: Mr. Ricardo Pleitez

Computer Lab Technician: Mr. Mike Groner

(left) Mr. Joseph andstudents are in aweof Shaquille O’Neal!

Weber STARSWeber STARSWeber STARSWeber STARSWeber STARS

PAGE 4

...More Weber News and Pictures

Weber should definitely have more dances for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! I know we should focus more on our studies….but that’s justboring! WE NEED TO HAVE MORE DANCES!! All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders can help!!

Sign below with your name, grade and house if you want more dances!! Cut this out and give it to your home base teacher who will put it in thehome base folder. It will go to the house office and then given to Mrs. Rodahan. WE CAN DO THIS!!!

(cut here)—————————————————————-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs. Rodahan, Weber Home School Association and Board of Education,

I would like to have more dances at Weber.

NAME:______________________________________________

GRADE:_____________________________________________

HOUSE:______________________________________________

General Musicby Shoshanna Rabinowitz

Meet Mr. Cherry!Not every student at Weber Middle

School goes to General Music. In General Mu-sic class, you are taught by Mr. Jason Cherry. He is probably one of the great-est teachers in Weber because he ROCKS with his drums!

In General Music class, you are taught how to play keyboard,drums, and even guitar! Mr. Cherry used to play the drums at Dorney Parkafter college and then played the drums on a cruise ship! When he tells theGeneral Music students to sing, kids ask him WHY he doesn’t sing. This iswhat he says, “I’m Jason Cherry. I don’t sing.” He told his life story to everysingle student and how he goes through his life saying his famous quote, “I’mJason Cherry. I don’t sing.”

For his students, they understand everything he says about his life.He makes guitar and keyboard easy! If you see him in the hallway, (he’s verytall). He has a great personality and is very funny. He plays songs in class andsometimes shows videos of concerts! He gives out candy, too. (WARNING,do not ask for candy from him; he won’t give you candy if you ask for it.) Andlisten to him. That is very important. He grades you on your behavior.

Mr. Cherry is awesome. Don’t doubt his fantastic personality. Iknow if you take general music, you’ll get awesome grade.

Do you recognize the Weberstudents and staff in these pho-tos? Who do you think they are?The bigger question is, do theyknow who they are?

________________ _____________ _______________

_________________ ________________

After enthusiastically collecting food donations from fellow students and staff members, students in the Human Relations club along with clubadvisors Meghan Duffy and Julie Lax had the opportunity to deliver and stock the shelves of a local food pantry. With the assistance of Clare Masi, aWeber staff member and dedicated volunteer worker at the Our Lady of Fatima food pantry, students go into the spirit of volunteerism and happily sortedand stocked the shelves with food that were shared by 80 Port Washington families who rely on the help of the pantry each month. Sister Kathy Somerville,the Director of the OLF food pantry, told the students how proud she was of them for their hard work, and how great it is to see them working together forthe good of the community. Once again, Weber students prove that they are awesome! The Human Relations Club members and their advisors should beproud!Upcoming Event: The Human Relations Club would like Weber students to get ready for the “Naming Contest.” On Thursday, February 12, studentswill have a chance to participate, during homebase, in a contest to name something special here at Weber. Our next Spartan Times edition will include thename of the one Weber student who is the winner of the “Naming Contest.” Good luck to all!

WE SHOULD HAVE MORE DANCES!!!!!!By Trudy G., Lauren L., and Angelica B.

Human Relations Club Does It Again!Human Relations Club Does It Again!Human Relations Club Does It Again!Human Relations Club Does It Again!Human Relations Club Does It Again!By Miss DuffyBy Miss DuffyBy Miss DuffyBy Miss DuffyBy Miss Duffy

SixtSixtSixtSixtSixth Grh Grh Grh Grh Grade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happenings

PAGE 5

There is a NEW SCHOOL RECORD for 6th Grade Bridge Design.Bridge Weight: ONLY 25 GRAMS - about the weight of a glue stick. Bridge Held: 220 POUNDS

This bridge crushed the old school record by holding 3,995 times its own weight.

Congratulations go to Juliana Riemer, Diego Alvarez andCongratulations go to Juliana Riemer, Diego Alvarez andCongratulations go to Juliana Riemer, Diego Alvarez andCongratulations go to Juliana Riemer, Diego Alvarez andCongratulations go to Juliana Riemer, Diego Alvarez andKim Escandon, (pictured left)!Kim Escandon, (pictured left)!Kim Escandon, (pictured left)!Kim Escandon, (pictured left)!Kim Escandon, (pictured left)!

Groups of students design and construct a scale-model Truss Beam bridge. Bridges will beconstructed using 50 miniature wood beams, wood glue, and wood clippers. Using a “structurecrusher,” bridges are tested to see which will holds the greatest amount of weight. The mass of thebridge is important, as the winning group will have to produce the strongest bridge compared to theweight of the bridge, known as the strength-to-weight ratio.

Most student bridges weigh approximately 35 grams, the lightest bridge of all time was 20grams and the heaviest was 59 grams. The strongest bridge held an amazing 304 lbs., but it was avery heavy bridge also. The new school record was achieved by a bridge that weighed only 25grams, about the weight or a glue stick, and it held 220 lbs. The strength to weight ratio was 3.995.

Photo courtesy: Mr. Shampanier

New School Record Set by 6th Graders!by Mr. Shampanier

News from Ms. MulfeldNews from Ms. MulfeldNews from Ms. MulfeldNews from Ms. MulfeldNews from Ms. Mulfeldand Mrs. McCarthy’sand Mrs. McCarthy’sand Mrs. McCarthy’sand Mrs. McCarthy’sand Mrs. McCarthy’s

Blue 6 TeamBlue 6 TeamBlue 6 TeamBlue 6 TeamBlue 6 Team

The Random Poem

Shoshana Rabinowitz, Green 6

•Only those who sleep can play•Music and fluff together dream

•Can you get sweet peaches?•Always go to a friend

Please whisper about shadows

On Thursday, September 18, students of Mr. Smith andMrs.Gianatiempo left Weber for the day to experience the shore at JonesBeach. It was a lot of fun. The students were separated into two groups,thunder and lightning. First, lightning stayed inside to do an activitywhile thunder went on a walk. The walk was filled with a million mosqui-toes but that didn’t ruin the fun. We saw little fish and jellyfish. We learnedthat even though some jellyfish are dead they can still sting. One jellyfish, theMedusa, is one that doesn’t sting. We saw two Medusas.

When the walk was done, the two groups switched. Light-ning left for the walk while thunder went inside to a room with pictures ofbirds everywhere. In that room the students learned about different birds.We were split in to four groups and each group got two words thatdescribe a bird. They had to make a bird that has to do with the twowords. Everyone shared their birds. The birds were awesome. The tripwas a lot of fun and everyone had a great time!

It all started with 4th period. The day was fine, lunch was nextperiod and I knew that nobody was going to sit next to me. I couldn’t blamethem; it’s not that I’m boring, it’s just that I’m new and it is the middle of theschool year. My parents made me move from Hartford, Connecticut all theway to Los Angeles, California. However, it is January and I understand ev-erything that my teachers are teaching to me.

Everyone in my class is behind in their studies. There is this girlnamed Jane in my Technology class and she told me everything about the school.She chews gum a lot, so it is hard to understand her. She said there is this verymean/ popular girl in the school. When she said this, I wasn’t surprised. Thereis a mean girl in almost every school. Her name is Kala.

Kala is one of those mean girls who care about her looks and nother work. Now I don’t really care about what I wear. All I need is somethingcomfy on me and I am fine. She also said that Kala doesn’t like it when peopleget in her way. There was this story that there was a girl named Ashley whowas singing and dancing in the school talent show and unfortunately so wasKala, and Kala tripped her on stage. That’s not nice at all, I thought once shetold me. But that wasn’t all, once she fell she ran off the stage and didn’t comeback to finish her performance. I know I am definitely going to avoid her. To-morrow I start advanced math so I get to skip P.E!!!! For me that is a goodthing, I wasn’t born with such good hand-eye coordination. Sorry, got to go,my mom is calling me so I can help her cook.

From,

Katie *Fictional,Creative writing

In October, students in Mrs. McCarthy and Ms. Mulfeld’s classesenjoyed a fantastic unit about different cultures in the world. Topics suchas food, clothing, religion , education, and government were discussedand researched.

One final activity included an assignment to write about their ownculture. Each student presented their project by including a photo andreading their written work to the class. Many students found out new andinteresting informantion about their classmates. Others were very impressedby the presentations and cultural exchanges.

The best part of this activity was the FEAST that was celebrated!After our morning presentations, the entire team celebrated with a culturalfeast of delicious, foods from different cultures. Foods shared were typi-cal cultural foods of North America as well as Europe and Asia!

All in all, the cultural unit was a wonderful way for students tolearn more about each other and celebrate the diversity of the team.

JonesJonesJonesJonesJones BeachBeachBeachBeachBeach with Red 6 Studentswith Red 6 Studentswith Red 6 Studentswith Red 6 Studentswith Red 6 Students

By Katrene Rustemi

Katie’s Journal* Katie’s Journal* Katie’s Journal* Katie’s Journal* Katie’s Journal*

By Lauren Pinto

PAGE 6

Answers to Fun and Games (page 9).Turn the paper upside-down to read the

solutions!

“A Christmas Carol” “A Christmas Carol” “A Christmas Carol” “A Christmas Carol” “A Christmas Carol”Blue 7 English classes take on

Scrooge!By Mrs. Portmore-Davies, Blue 7 English Teacher

Blue 7 students of Mrs. Portnoy-Davies spent the months of Novemberand December reading and reenacting the classic Charles Dickens’ play, A Christ-

mas Carol. After reading the holiday clas-sic during their English classes, studentgroups performed various scenes from theplay for their student peers during coreclass time from December 5-12.

Besides read-ing and acting outthe play, they alsoattended a pro-fessional perfor-

mance of the play at Hofstra University. Students alsochanneled their inner artists by creating posters and pro-grams about the famous play. The creative masterpiecesare on display in the Blue 7 hallway outside of Mrs.Portnoy-Davies’ classroom. Pictures of the scene reen-actments (above left and below) show the excitementand enjoyment that the students felt as they acted outvarious parts of the play. It was a wonderful experiencefor students and those who were guests during the performances.Photos courtesy of Mrs. Portmore-Davies

SeSeSeSeSevvvvventententententh Grh Grh Grh Grh Grade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happeningsade Happenings

On October 30th Blue 7 visited the American Museum of NaturalHistory. Since the buses were directed the wrong way, we were tardy to themuseum , and had to go to a later IMAX presentation than planned. With somuch extra time, the teachers found themselves with a dilemma. What to do for45 minutes? A solution quickly presented itsself. Why, they would wander aroundthe first floor!

The Blue teachers each took a group of students to explore themuseum and travel in groups. Chaos ensued! Blue 7 students were roamingaround the Gift Shop, the mammals exhibit, and under the huge whale. Shrieksfrom glancing at the giant whale (actually just a sculpture) rang through the air.

Finally, at 11:15, the teachers rounded up stray children and startedtoward the IMAX theatre. The IMAX presentation was fine, but nothing spe-cial. After it was over, there was more wandering. The weary teachers andstudents walked through the other exhibits, including African Mammals and AsianPeoples. Unfortunately (or is it fortunately), this part of the trip was wheremany groups separated. They wandered around the building, trying to find theirway back to the main group. After an hour or so, all of the groups were safelyback together.

Thank you to all of the teachers for putting up with us!

Photos courtesy Mrs. Sanicola, Blue 7 Math Teacher

Evan’s Fallen Phrase Puzzle

Answer: Vampires,werewolves, and ghouls, oh

my!!!

Brain Teasers By SarahThe next in the sequence is:

312211

Before wewent.....

At the museum.....

teachers and students gather forgroup photos! (below)

Blue 7 VisitsThe American Museum

of Natural History

EightEightEightEightEighthhhhh Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade Happenings Happenings Happenings Happenings Happenings

PAGE 7

Something Died I FearSomething Died I FearSomething Died I FearSomething Died I FearSomething Died I FearBy Gisella SnailerBy Gisella SnailerBy Gisella SnailerBy Gisella SnailerBy Gisella Snailer

I’m not so sure how it happenedI don’t know where to beginI had happiness and trouble at my gateMy actions let trouble inI only made a few mistakesI never thought it would come to thisBut each mistake added upTo what now existsOur passion grew as each day cameThis we could both tellBut because of my reckless behaviorNothing will ever be the sameI didn’t want to hurt himI never thought I wouldIf I could turn back time and changeI know I certainly wouldThe strong bond of friendshipIt took so long to buildHas now vanished from between usAnd I have only myself to blameI truly hate to think about itFor I’m afraid I’ll start to cryMy guilt will live foreverIt was born when our friendship died

I’m Just LorraineBy Lorraine Jensen (with Benny

Scheckner)

At home I am miserable.

At home my mother yells at me.

At home I weep.

But not when I am with the Pigman

I am joyful with the Pigman.

I feel confident with the Pigman.

I feel great with the Pigman

The Pigman, John and I sit at the house.

Playing fun games, doing ridiculous activities.

We are like three monkeys, hugging and laughing.

But one of the monkeys is gone, and I miss him dearly.

Now, once again, I weep.

At school I am miserable.

At home my mother yells at me.

I bawl everywhere.

I am no longer a happy monkey.

I’m not Bobo.

I’m just Lorraine.

Red 8 students read ThePigman as a class during se-mester one. Here are a few

samplings of the creative po-etry Red 8 students of Mr.

Moss offered to share with the

Spartan Times:

Mr. PBy Michael S perlingHe’s dead

It’s our fault

Never coming back

Never

Never

If we weren’t so infantile

He might have lived

We should have appreciated him

To see how caring he was

Unbelievable

But now we can’t to anything to help

Because we didn’t care

Not at all

We realize now that we were the only people he had

And for us to betray him

Was horrible

Never will we

Betray

Hurt

Or neglect anyone ever again

To always remember him

PAGE 8

Fast Food FrenzyBy Jake A.

Fast food restaurants are a lot of fun and the food tastes great,right? Well, a lot of people are gaining weight because they frequently eat atfast food restaurants. According to the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, during the years between 2003-2006, 16.3% of children andadolescents aged 2–19 years were considered obese. Obesity raises con-cerns about health conditions and diseases such as coronary heart disease andtype-2 diabetes. Fast food items can be made at home with healthy, freshingredients. If my article isn’t persuading you, than you should try this recipe.The recipe recommends using a GRILL EXPRESS grill, but you can use youroven to cook the burger, too. This recipe is healthy and the final product tastesjust like fast food.

Healthy Veggie Burger Recipe

Recipe:

1 hamburger bun, low calorie1 hamburger patty (Morningstar brand, fat free)1 oz red onion — sliced1/2 ounce roma tomato — sliced3/4 ounce romaine lettuce1 1/2 tsp ketchup1 1/2 tsp nonfat mayonnaise1 1/2 tbsp bacon pieces

Put hamburger patty and onion on GRILL EXPRESS. Grill for 1 to 1 1/2minutes. Pile on bun spread with mayonnaise and , ketchup. Add lettuce andsprinkle bacon pieces over all.Recipe By Danica Paz Servings: 1Reference: http://www.recipes-4u.co.uk/healthy/Healthy-Veggie-Burger.html

A Great Change in HistoryBy Claudia and Penina

The 2008 Presidential Election has changed the United States for-ever. Senator Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American presi-dent. Although the competition was close Obama’s new views seemed to winover the people of America. Barack Hussein Obama was born August 4, 1961.At 47 years old he is one of the youngest candidate ever elected. Before beingelected as president, Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois.To win the election the candidate only needs 270 electoral votes, and hereceived 375. Senator Obama won over 24 states, plus the District ofColumbia (Washington D.C). The Democratic party will now govern. BarackObama started his position as the 44th president on January 20th.

He has assembled an extremely qualified White House staff. So asthe United States faces some of its biggest challenges yet, America can do onlyone thing, change. And after this election, it’s what America seems to believe in.

For all of you baseball fans, here’s a tribute to Shea and Yan-kee stadiums. As most of you know, the final games at these stadiums havebeen played, and the stadiums will be standing no more. Since we are allgoing to miss these pieces of history, we decided to give you a few littleknown facts about these wonderful stadiums.

Shea Stadium was built in 1961 and was the first stadium builtin NYC since 1923. The stadium was originally going to be called FlushingMeadows Stadium, but was named Shea Stadium in honor of attorney Wil-liam A. Shea. The Stadium held its first baseball game on April 17th, 1964versus the Pirates. The Mets lost, but they had an amazing 50,312 fansattending the game. Since that day, 6,997 big league games have been playedat Shea with 3,405 won by the Mets and attracting an additional 90,637,867paying customers. Huh. That’s a lot of people! Shea once was used as afootball stadium for the Jets, before the Jets moved to NJ. We are still madat the Jets for doing so. The stadium also held an All Star game in 1964;yippee, the National league won. Many people don’t know this, but Sheahas orange foul poles, unlike all other stadiums whose foul poles are yellow.The Mets lost their final game at Shea, and they had closing ceremonieswith many past members of the Mets. Billy Joel performed the last concertat Shea Stadium. The owners are selling the seats of Shea. From 1964 to2008, Shea has left us with many memories, both good and horrifying.

Yankee Stadium is 85 years old. The House That Ruth Built,as it is called, held its first game on April 18th, 1923. The Yankees playedthat game against the Boston Red Sox. John Phillip Sousa played at theopening ceremonies. The first homerun ever hit there was by Mr. Babe Ruthhimself. Most people know Yankee Stadium for its fence on the back wall.Also known as the home of the champions, Yankee Stadium was the first tobe labeled as a stadium and originally held 70,000 people. Both foot balland boxing were played at the stadium. At one time Army football gameswere held there. Notre Dame played there against an Army team. NotreDame won because of the famous pep talk, “Win one for the Gipper,” byKnute Rockne. The Yankees last game at their stadium was on September21st, 2008. Both of these stadiums will live on in our memories, even afterthey are taken down.

For more interesting facts about Shea and Yankee Stadium, visitwww.mets.com or www.yankees.com

Dear Loyal Readers,We would like to welcome you to a new and fantastic

year at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School. As editors of theSpartan Times, our goal is give you the news. That’s what anewspaper is for, and we’re going to do it better than any previ-ous editors.

We think that with our semi-functional brains we canprovide a decent view of our school. Along with our wonderfulstaff, we will deliver to you Weber news and the opinions ofour staff writers.

From instructions about making your computer talkto you to abductions of campers in Sudan, we’ve got it all. Wehave a GIMONGORMOUS amount of puzzles (like three) andother games and FUN! Visit the “Happenings” pages and youcan read about activities of students in your grade level.

We hope you like our first edition. And remember, ifyou do not see your House, sports team or Club represented inthis edition, get going on your first article for our next edition!We would love to hear about all the activities on your team!From the Editors,

Robert, Benny, and Luke

OPINIONSThe opinions stated in this paper are strictly the views of the author or authors and not the views of the Spartan Times staff

or Port Washington School District.

A Tribute to Shea and Yankee StadiumsA Tribute to Shea and Yankee StadiumsA Tribute to Shea and Yankee StadiumsA Tribute to Shea and Yankee StadiumsA Tribute to Shea and Yankee Stadiums

By Mets Fans Julia Zeh and Cameron AppelBy Mets Fans Julia Zeh and Cameron AppelBy Mets Fans Julia Zeh and Cameron AppelBy Mets Fans Julia Zeh and Cameron AppelBy Mets Fans Julia Zeh and Cameron Appel

PAGE 9

Long Island or New York is not the whole world. The planet is a hugeplace, with many things happening at once in different continents, countries,towns, and cities that people have no clue about. I would want people to real-ize this and have at least a clue about what is happening outside their door.These occurrences can be going on right now without any of us knowing. Toknow about your own planet is not a bad thing.

There was a tragic kidnapping that took place on a touring camping tripnear the Sudanese border in Egypt. This occurred on the 19th of September,2008. This group of tourist consisted of five Italians, five Germans, one Roma-nian, and eight Egyptian tour guides. The people in the group were able todescribe the kidnappers. They stated that the criminals were African, and weredemanding several million dollars.

It all started when the European tourists, and the tour guides, were setting uptheir camp. Many gunmen drove up to them in cars, kidnapped all of them, anddrove them 10 miles away, in the Libyan territory.

Many things like “Desert Bandits” have occurred before, but never like this.The tourists and tour guides all survived. But no one knows if anything like this,is ever to happen again.

Reference: Haaretz.com (Check out the site for more World News)

Chocolate milk runs forChocolate milk runs forChocolate milk runs forChocolate milk runs forChocolate milk runs forPrPrPrPrPresidentesidentesidentesidentesident

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By Evan KaminsKyBy Evan KaminsKyBy Evan KaminsKyBy Evan KaminsKyBy Evan KaminsKy

On the first Sunday of November, the results were in as chocolate milkgot the majority of votes from the refrigerator. He became our first edible presi-dent. His running mate was a half-eaten turkey sandwich. Their plans in officeare to raise respect for food, cheapen costs of food, ban humans from eatingfood, and allow food to go to school and get an education.

Weeks after their oath of office, they were kicked out and chased by anangry mob to Michigan. The reason for this mob is they replaced all the food insupermarkets around the world with battery-powered watches. People startedto starve and they decided to get chocolate milk and turkey.

After being chased to Michigan, chocolate milk and half-turkey had ahigh investment dairy and turkey farm. They raised millions on their farm cottagein Michigan. As for presidents, baby dog was elected and gave Americans backtheir food supply for only a dog biscuit per supermarket.

Imagine: one day you have to go the bathroom in school. You grabthe hall pass and you’re out the door. You go to the nearest bathroom and try toopen the door. It’s locked! You won’t be the first person to try to use thatbathroom. That boy’s bathroom on the second floor on the Health/World Lan-guage hallway has been locked for six years! There’s something about thelocked door and tinted window that makes some people wonder: what hap-pened there years ago that made it close down? Who is responsible for theopening or locking of this bathroom? Why won’t they re-open it? Are theyreally holding all of Weber experiments gone wrong?

Did Luke O’Connell really go in there two years ago and has notbeen heard from since? Just kidding, he’s right here in Newspaper Club. Luketells this reporter that there are graffiti symbols all over the stalls. One of thewindows has a graffiti symbol on it. I have heard on the Weber rumor wire thatthey are going to be painting over those stalls with paint soon. Will it ever openagain? Maybe. No one knows what’s in there, but many boys will want to findout and hopefully go in there one day.

NOTICE!: To use a boys’ bathroom, the choices are Green House (firstfloor), Blue House (first floor) and the New Wing floors.

CJ7By Gabriel Lyons

***½ “CJ7” is the new film directed by Asian cinema star Stephen Chow.

Stephen Chow, known for his martial art themed films, has taken the risk ofmaking a children’s film. He has successfully done so. The U.S. version of thefilm is in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

The main character is Dicky Chow, a poor boy whose father canbarely afford to keep him educated. His father is widowed Ti, a coolie whouses all of his earnings on his child. He gets all of his food from the localjunkyard, where he finds what he thinks is a toy. The toy turns out to be anextremely cute creature from outer space. The creature has the power to bringthe dead back to life. In the eighty-seven and a half minutes of this film, Iassure you that you will think the creature is the cutest thing on the face of theearth. There are sad and happy moments in this film. This film is one of thetop fifteen films of the year (so far). I recommend that you see it.

Game TimeBy Evan Kaminsky

Are you bored? Do you have free time? Do you own acomputer? Well, here’s what to do about your need for entertain-ment.

You can do many different activities on a computer.One activity you can do is play games. There are two ways toplay games. One way is to open “accessories” and look throughall the games listed in the Start menu. The games included arepool, pinball, card games, and more. You can also go on theinternet and look at many cool game sites like Miniclip.com,Addicting games.com, or you can go to google.com and searchfor many different games. Make sure you have an adults permis-sion before you search the internet.

Just out on Broadway is a 4 star rated musical: 13. I recently wentto see it with two of my friends. Everyone that stars in it is thirteen or older; theoldest is eighteen in the orchestra. The music is very well sung and orchestra hasmajor skills. This musical is great for people in middle school. The charactershave to deal with everything about being thirteen. The main character has re-cently moved from New York City to a now where town. He wants all thestudents to come to his Bar Mitzvah so that he won’t become a ‘loser’ at his newschool. If he wants this to happen he becomes a player in Brett, the coolest guyin school, big plans. This musical was very well done and I encourage you all togo see it.

13

By Maddie O.

Bathroom MysteryBy Jack Simon

IT’S UNBELIEVABLE,BUT IT’S TRUEBy Naomi Boico

PAGE 10

Cartoon CornerCartoon CornerCartoon CornerCartoon CornerCartoon Corner......by Evan and Lyndsey......by Evan and Lyndsey......by Evan and Lyndsey......by Evan and Lyndsey......by Evan and Lyndsey

Fun and Games PageFun and Games PageFun and Games PageFun and Games PageFun and Games Page GET ME OUT OF HERE!Help ________ get home! Start the maze on the top left corner andwork your way through the maze to successfully get _______ homesafetly! GOOD LUCK!

HalloweenHaunter

By Evan Kaminsky

This is a fallen phrase puzzle. A fallen phrase puzzle is a puzzle inwhich a sentence is listed, and all of the letters that go into a particular column arelisted below that column. The challenge of the puzzle is to ‘unscramble’ the sen-tence to reveal the original sentence.

Try to fill in the blank spaces of this spooky puzzle to create onesentence using the letters below. The letters are directly below thecolumn in which they will fit, but jumbled. For example, in the firstcolumn down, there are two boxes. Your choices are below: either W or Vwill go in those boxes. You have to pick one. Don’t be scared! (answer onpage 6)

Puzzle courtesy: www.puzzlemaker.com

Brain TeasersBy: Sarah

Try to figure out the last six numbers in the sequence:Hint: read the numbers out loud to yourself two at a time.

Tired? Answers are on the bottom of page 6.

11121

1211111221

__ __ __ __ __ __

WEBER FALL SPORTS

PAGE 11

The football team (above and below) finished their season with a 27-22win over Mineola! Congratulations on a great win and exciting season

boys, Mr. Holzer, Mr. Germani and Mr. Barbera!

Ms. Donovan’s girls’ 7th grade soccer team (above) finished the seasonwith a 6-2 record! Great season, girls!

Ms. Silverman’s 7th and 8th grade girls’ soccer team (above) had agreat season as well. Macaroni Rules!

Ms. Sanicola/Ms. Vogeley’s 8th grade Field Hockey(above, see story back page)

Mr. Braddish’s Boys’ Soccer team (above) had a successful season.Great job, boys!

Congratulations to all Fall Sport Teams!Weber is proud of you!

Girl’s Teannis (above) worked hard, played well,and enjoyed a successful season!

Spartan Sports

PORT WASHINGTON UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICTBOARD OF EDUCATION 2008-2009

Lawrence Greenstein, PresidentKaren Sloan, Vice President

Sandra Erlich, Dr. Roy Nelson, Jean-Marie Posner,Robert Seiden, Susan Page Sturman

Geoffrey N. Gordon, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools,Nicholas A. Stirling, Ph. D., Asst. Supt. for Curriculum, Instr. and Assess.

Kathleen A. Mooney, Asst. Supt. for Human Resources and General Admin. Mary M. Callahan, Asst. Supt. for Business

Administrative Offices100 Campus Drive, Port Washington, N.Y. 11050

www.portnet.k12.ny.us

Congratulations to all Weber Fall sports teams for a great season of sports-Congratulations to all Weber Fall sports teams for a great season of sports-Congratulations to all Weber Fall sports teams for a great season of sports-Congratulations to all Weber Fall sports teams for a great season of sports-Congratulations to all Weber Fall sports teams for a great season of sports-manship and success! Weber is proud of you!manship and success! Weber is proud of you!manship and success! Weber is proud of you!manship and success! Weber is proud of you!manship and success! Weber is proud of you!

Mr. Spotteck’s undefeated girls’ 8th grade soccer team (above). The girlscompleted their season with an incredible 9-0 record. Their truly amazing sea-son included 41 goals scored and only 4 goals allowed! It was a good thing thisteam ate its oatmeal! For fashion suggestions from the Girls’ Soccer Coach, seepage 2!

Mrs. Sanicola’s girls’ field hockey team (above). Coaches Sanicola andVogeley and the entire Weber Middle School Field Hockey Program wereawarded the Officials’ Association Sportsmanship Award for Middle SchoolField Hockey at the Fall Nassau County Field Hockey Coaches’ Dinner. Whata great honor for all members of the team and their coaches, Mrs. Sanicola(above, with team) and Mrs. Vogeley!

Congratulations to the boys’ Cross Country team (above) for theirvictory at the Nassau County Championship meet in October. The boyswon the meet for the second straight season. Sid K. came in first placeout of over a hundred competitors, Shoki Y. took fourth, Big Tony K.came in fifth; 7th grader Leo P. finished in tenth and Jackson Lathroptook twelfth. Congratulations to the entire team for their accomplish-ments.

Mr. McDonald’s girls’ Cross Country team (above). Allegra, Ashley,Dian, Nicole Z., Nicole B., Ana, Bridgitte, Tara, and Gisella won at theCarnival Meet! Congratulations girls! Great season!

In our next edition....In our next edition....In our next edition....In our next edition....In our next edition.... Book Fair

Peer Leadership UpdateStudent Government Spirit Week!

Human Relations Club News7th Grade Research Update

Winter Sports Roundup!