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The Wildcat Roar Volume 6 Number 3 Winter 2010 A Quarterly Publication of Rocky Hill Middle School

Rocky Hill Goes Fishing for Green By Antara Joshi, Annie Tran and Fasika

Delessa

Staff writers

When it comes to going

green, raising trout isn’t the first

thing that comes to mind. However,

Rocky Hill thinks of the most unique

ways to save our environment. The

―Green Team‖ of Rocky Hill meets

every month and is always thinking

of new ways to be an environmen-

tally friendly school. Rocky Hill has

been involved in many projects in-

cluding a recycling team and an

―Adopt-A-Road‖ program. However,

this year we are going fishing!

That’s right; Rocky Hill has

officially decided to raise trout to

help the environment. Trout are start-

ing to become endangered because

humans are destroying their habitats

by polluting the water. The polluted

water has serious effects on the

trout’s health. While using fertilizer,

the rain can wash it away into the

sewers. Therefore, it drifts down to

the sea and contaminates the very

home of these trout. Cutting down on

fertilizer can help stop polluting our

environment as well as the water.

Due to all the pollution in the water,

the trout population drops 20% every

year! Raising trout at our school will

help inform our students on how to

create a better environment for all

living things.

Mr. Molley, an eighth grade

science teacher, has been involved in

the green school project at Rocky

Hill. ―Rocky Hill is involved in the

Green School Program and our

county representative had mentioned it

as something that other schools have

done. We thought it would be a great

way to introduce ecosystem restoration

to our sixth graders.‖ says Mr. Molley.

Our trout project is not mainly for fun,

but there are many positive outcomes

that will come from this project.

―Many healthy trout will be reintro-

duced to the food chain.‖ However,

there will be many challenges that our

sixth graders will have to overcome.

―Trout need very cool water to survive.

If there was a power outage and our

chiller loses power, there could be a

problem. Students at Rocky Hill will

be caring for monitoring, feeding, and

maintaining a healthy environment for

the trout. The plan is to release the

trout during the 2nd or 3rd week of May.

That is about 5 months.‖

Also, Ms. Duarte, a 6th grade

science teacher is very excited about

our fish coming to Rocky Hill. ―I have

never done something like this before.

I think it will be a great opportunity to

learn about the Maryland trout.‖ says

Ms. Duarte. She has been training her

students to observe and collect infor-

mation on how the water in the trout

tank is doing. Remember 6th graders,

you can sign up in Ms. Duarte’s room

on the calendar to participate in col-

lecting data!

Just wait a minute! This

doesn’t mean we haven’t given up on

the regular things we should do every

day. For example, recycling and turn-

ing off lights and pulling out plugs

are things that anyone can do! Our

Rocky Hill staffs are very serious

about becoming green. ―If we can get

all the students at Rocky Hill to recy-

cle, it will make a huge difference.‖

says Mrs. Scharff. She is one of our

very devoted teachers who want to

make a difference.

However, Mrs. Scharff isn’t

the only teacher getting involved. Mr.

Kaigler and his students have been

taking action to make this school a

―green school‖. One lucky of Wildcat

Roar reporter was able to interview

Mr. Kaigler. When we asked him

what motivated him to consider

Rocky Hill as a green school, he an-

swered with confidence, ―We pride

ourselves on making our environment

better, so we try anything we can to

make it the best it can be. We recycle,

make rain barrels, and bring in present-

ers to conduct lessons on the environ-

ment. We really want to be informed

on what we can do to help.‖

Even after so much of hard

work, one question is still left unan-

swered, how are we doing? Is our hard

work paying off? Mr. Kaigler thinks

so! ―I think we are doing great! The

administration has been very suppor-

tive on the importance of the environ-

ment. They help us a lot!‖ he says. Ms.

Duarte definitely agrees, ―We have

done a great job in getting everyone

involved and finding new ways to

make our school a greener place.‖

So remember wildcats, we can

make this environment a better place as

long as we are creative and persevere.

The Wildcat Roar is proud to be part of

the Green School Initiative, and we

really would like to thank all the teach-

ers who are taking part in making our

school as green as possible!

Trout eggs that will soon become full grown trout cooling in ice.

Many earthquakes have devas-

tated millions of people around the

world; however none have been as

harsh as the 2010 earthquake of Haiti.

The earthquake of Haiti has caused

200,000 casualties and more. Many

efforts of the U.S. have been made to

rescue the survivors, but many have

already died. According to Mail Online, 200 people were presumed to

be dead in a collapsed hotel alone.

However, President Obama

had U.S. planes drop food and water

to the remaining Haitian people strug-

gling to survive from the excessive

dust and rubble. At first, the govern-

ment was debating to provide food

and water because they were afraid it

would cause riots. Most of this help is

appreciated, but some foreign views from other nations have proved that

most of the aid isn’t that helpful. Ac-

cording to 9&10 News, the French

Minister criticized the U.S.’s actions.

The Aftermath of the Earthquake in Haiti

He stated that the American forces

turned back a French aid plane that

had a field hospital inside; it was try-

ing to land in Haiti’s capital. This

was because the Americans con-

trolled the only runway in Port-au-

Prince.

The Haitian Earthquake was

rated a 7 out of 10 on the Richter

scale. A seven out of ten on the Rich-

ter scale has the results of a major

earthquake and can cause damage

over large spans of areas. In 1906, a

devastating San Francisco earthquake

took place at 5:12 AM. The death toll

was probably 3,000 people. Also in

2008, a 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan,

China.

The death toll was estimated

more than 10,000 people and thou-

sands more were trapped beneath the

debris. The Haitian Earthquake defi-

nitely had a greater number of casual-

ties compared to the other earth-

quakes of its magnitude.

Amidst the unfolding trag-

edy, there have been miracles as

more victims are pulled from fallen

buildings almost one week after the

earthquake.

There were reports of an af-

tershock in that region early on

Wednesday morning of January 20,

about one week after the earthquake .

The aftershock was reported to be5.9

on the Richter Scale. This has sent

people outdoors once again afraid of

falling building and falling debris. Clearly this situation created more

pandemonium in an already vulner-

able situation.

The situation in Haiti and the

response to the needs has prompted a

worldwide concern for fellow human

beings. In the face of this enormous

human tragedy, heroes have emerged

from rubbles of despair.

The stories of the hundreds of unsung

heroes will hopefully inspire our gen-

eration long after this tragedy. Some of

these heroes include doctors and nurses

from around the world. who are treat-

ing earthquake victims, firefighters

from and volunteers working tirelessly

to rescue people from fallen buildings.

Then, there are ordinary people with a

great will to live in spite of the trag-

edy. The hope and resilience of the

people of Haiti continue to play out as

survivors begin to pick up the pieces of

whatever is left.

The situation in Haiti defi-

nitely provides opportunities to make a

difference where and when it really

counts.

By: Jessica Amick and Annie Tran Staff Writers

Hope has not failed in Haiti

Mr. Kaigler and Calvin showing us how to

recycle!

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Editorial Page

Did you know that Rocky

Hill Middle School was built to

house 939 people? Surprisingly, our

school accommodates 1167 students!

This is higher than the population of

Poolesville High School. And what’s

even more shocking? Our school

population is expected to rise to 1660

in

the year 2019! This predicts the fu-

ture overpopulation of Montgomery

County, especially the Clarksburg,

Germantown, and Damascus area.

The growth of people in these areas

needs to be controlled because it is

really getting out of hand. With the

present situation, MCPS need to pro-

vide more schools in this area.

Rocky Hill, which could be

considered as a spacious school is

full to capacity, and there seem to

no plan of extending the building. If

you some to think of it, we moved

into this building less than six years

ago and now we have portables.

Our principal, Mr. Whiting also

mentioned that as the school popu-

lation increases, he plans to hire

more teachers in order to maintain

the student to teacher ratio. The

student/teacher ratio is a concern

that is shared among parents, teach-

ers, and our elected officials.

Clearly a quality of education can

be enhanced by the provision of

right learning environment and re-

sources to help us meet our goals

and expectations.

The high population ex-

trapolates the whole overpopulation

of the areas that inhabit Rocky Hill

students. Therefore, Montgomery

County should seriously consider

gearing a portion of their budget

towards building new schools.

Recently, the MCPS Board

of Education approved a $1.49 bil-

lion Capital Improvements Program

(CIP). This six year plan incorporates

money set aside for the construction

of 2 new schools and the expansion

of 10 existing schools. Montgomery

County Superintendent of Schools,

Jerry D. Weast, strongly supports the

CIP and considers it to be very im-

portant. Weast addresses the fact that

Montgomery County is the 16th larg-

est school system in the nation by

saying that, ―education is the eco-

nomic engine of Montgomery

County.‖ He believes that ―CIP is an

investment in our students and our

future.‖

Hopefully, the problem of

overpopulation will be solved – that

is, if the MCPS Board of Education

carries out it’s plan. This will ensure

that future generations will receive an

education that reflects the high stan-

dards set by our county, state, and

national governments.

By: Veda Ravishankar

Chief Editor

High Population Equals need for More Schools

The Wildcat Roar Staff

Ms. Katie Odey

Supervising Editor

Chief Editors:

Melanie Antanesian

Veda Ravishankar

Jessica Amick

Staff Writers:

Sarah Tew

Amy Tang

Antara Joshi

Aparna Pooleri

Alex Cole

Clara Wong

Aki Stephens

Fasika Delessa

Corrina Wyatt

Luna Homsi

Hayden Shupe

Annie Tran

Jessica Gomes

Fiori Gebrekidan

Comic Editors

Shadi Khalil

Corrina Wyatt

Multiplying Like Bunnies

By: Fasika Delessa

Staff Writer

Whether you are a member

of the staff at Rocky Hill Middle

School, student or parent, you proba-

bly have noticed that it’s pretty

crowded around here. With over

eleven hundred student’s, it’s safe to

say that our school is over populated.

While there are many benefit’s to

having a large number of student’s,

there are disadvantages as well. One

advantage is that there are more

friends to make, and students are able

to experience diversity that was once

lacking in this area. However there

are disadvantages. Lengthy lunch

lines, crowded hallways and an aver-

age of twenty five students in each

class, are some of the challenges that

we face at Rocky Hill.

Some teachers have over

thirty students in one class! Staff and

administration have taken notice of

these circumstances and have made

necessary adjustments in order to

ensure the safety of all students. They

have created a lunch system based on

your fourth period teacher, dismissals

according to what bus you ride as

well as added portables to our school.

Despite the fact that there are

many students at our school, aca-

demic success is evident, over sixty

percent of the student’s were on the

honor roll for the first quarter. Taking

account of the average of twenty five

students’ in each class, this is tremen-

dous. Most teachers wish that they

could give more undivided attention

and more time to one students, but

this is almost impossible because

there are so many students! It is clear

that students are going above and

beyond to achieve wellness toward

their school work by coming early,

staying after school, or coming dur-

ing lunch to receive further help if

needed.

Most students of Rocky Hill

have come to terms with the number

of students at their school ― its

crowded but I’ve just gotten used to

it‖ says Noelle Young, an eighth

grader at Rocky Hill. When asked

how overpopulation affects her, Ally-

son Conway, another 8th grader,

states, ―It makes it harder to get to

class because the hallways are al-

ways really crowded, but other than

that, it doesn’t really bother me.‖

Let’s face the facts; our school has

grown tremendously within a short

period of time, however considering

the circumstances, staff and admini-

stration have done well to accom-

modate to every student’s needs by

creating new systems to be in sync

with students schedules.

Located in a rural area,

Rocky Hill, has an outstanding

number of students; however, it was

not always like this, ―There were

few to no portables, fewer lockers,

and fewer students‖ says French

teacher Mrs. Katz. In addition, for-

mer student of Rocky Hill, Becky

Grissom, recalls memories of the

once ―small‖ Rocky Hill. ―You had

the same lunch as everyone else in

your grade and the lunch lines were

so much shorter‖, also there were

only about 5-6 teachers in every

grade level‖. Because the number

of students has increased, the num-

ber of teachers has also increased

which is a plus considering our na-

tion’ economy, ―There are more

teachers now‖ says English teacher

Mrs. Heald. School growth can

come with sacrifice as well as re-

ward.

The Hallways at RHMS may not look like this crowd, but we are getting

pretty close!

Hey guys!

The Wildcat Roar would

love to hear from you.

If you’d like to comment

on any article or feature,

write to the editor. You

can turn in your letter

to Ms. Odey.

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Rocky Hill Page

Ah-Mazing Teachers

Pride Corner

By: Annie Tran

Staff Writers

Guess who this quarter’s PRIDE

recipient is? It’s Alexus Pyles. Alexus

has shown exemplary PRIDE through-

out the building. She went to the Alice

and Wonderland field trip to Clarks-

burg High School for being in the top

15% of her grade. Alexus is amazing in

the classroom and in the gym room.

Her fastest mile time is 6:48! You don’t

have to tell her teachers that she is doing

a good job. Our editors were lucky

enough to interview this prideful star.

What are some things that you

have done to earn PRIDE stick-

ers?

―I have shown pride and been pre-

pared, respectful, involved,

disciplined, and excellent.‖

How do you feel about being

recognized for your exemplary

behavior?

―I feel proud and prideful for being

recognized as the PRIDE cor-

ner recipient.‖

What motivates you to show

PRIDE?

―Just the thought of doing well en-

courages me to be prideful

around Rocky Hill.‖

Remember, if you would like to be

included in our Pride Corner,

keep on showing that Wildcat

PRIDE!

Alexus Pyles, full of PRIDE

Joseph Opiekun made a big

comeback to Rocky Hill after a seri-

ous accident that involved his brother

Michael and his sister Christie on

August 12, 2009. Michael and

Christie were taken by ambulance to

Suburban Hospital, while Joey was

taken by Helicopter to Children's

Hospital in Washington,

D.C. because of his serious condition.

The news of Joseph’s acci-

dent caused a great deal of concern

for the Rocky Hill Community. We

appreciate his family for setting up a

website that allowed friends and well

wishers to post their thoughts and

prayers for Joseph.

Joseph spent some time in

the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care)

because of his condition, but we

never gave up hope. His condition

rattled some nerves here at Rocky

Hill as we all waited anxiously for his

speedy recovery and return to school.

Being the tough guy that he is, Joseph

focused on getting well and getting

back to his regular mischief - I mean

his regular routines. ―The best part

about being back in school is seeing

my friends,‖ says Joseph.

Although he has made a sig-

nificant recovery, he still faces a few

challenges. ―The most challenging

thing is writing and expressing

thoughts, for example BCR, essays and

writing answers to questions,‖ says

Joseph. Most of his teachers have been

very supportive. ―Joseph is a great guy!

I am just getting to know him, and

WOW what a wonderful student he is!‖

says Mrs. Kroll, one of Joey’s teachers.

Because of Joseph’s extensive brain

injury, he still needs support learning

and relearning some concepts, but he is

determined! ―He is such a hard

worker, persistent and kind. I am so

glad that the Rocky Hill Community

has been so supportive, and I believe

we will all continue to help him meet

his goals,‖ says Mrs. Kroll. Joseph’s

friends are also playing big role his

recovery. ―A lot of my friends support

me and make me laugh,‖ says Joey.

For a kid who has been

through so much and hardly complains,

Joseph is clearly an inspiration. Mrs.

Quinn summed it up best when she

said, ―Joseph is a remarkable young

man and an inspiration to all.‖ Wel-

come back, Joseph.

Joseph Opiekun. On his first day back on the Hill.

Joey Opiekun, the RH Comeback Kid

TWR: How do you feel about being

nominated as Teacher Of The Month?

Mrs. Heald: I am very honored and ex-

ited about this opportunity.

TWR : How long have you worked at

Rocky Hill?

Mrs. Heald: I came to Rocky Hill the

second year it opened. That’s about 13

years!

TWR: What would you like your stu-

dents to know about you?

Mrs. Heald: I really enjoy teaching my

classes. I especially love when my older

students come to visit me!

TWR :How would you describe your

interactions with your students?

Mrs. Heald: I have always loved my

students. I like the fact that they engage

in the activities. Mrs. Heald: I love their

enthusiasm. I also love seeing how much

my students have grown over the years.

TWR: What makes you special from all

the other teachers?

Mrs. Heald: I have had lots of years of

experience and have taught Middle

School for my whole career. I love what

I do and working and planning with my

colleges.

Mrs. Heald: What’s one lesson you have

learned during your career?

Mrs. Heald: It is very important to be

patient and listen.

TWR: How long have you been at

Rocky Hill?

Mrs. Quinn: I am an original Rocky Hill.

I opened the old school where CHS now

stands. I think we’ve been opened for 13

years (you need to check your facts as I

don’t remember for sure). I have taught

6th grade Reading, English, and Math. I

also taught TV studio. Before RH I

taught at Fox Chapel- 3rd grade for 8

years and Clarksburg ES – 6th grade for 1

year.

TWR: How do you feel about being

nominated as teacher of the month?

Mrs. Quinn: I’m honored that the stu-

dents here at RH feel I go above and

beyond to help them be successful young

adults. Thank you!! I really love all the

kids here and see so much potential in

each and every one of them.

TWR: How would you describe your

interactions with your students?

Mrs. Quinn: I like to think that I’m a fair

teacher, but very tough. I have extremely

high expectations for my students. I put a

lot of time and effort into my teaching

and I expect my students to do the same.

I can be loud and strong at times, but I’ll

really try to go out of my way to help

students feel confident at school and be-

come involved in their education.

TWR: What makes you special?

Mrs. Quinn: Being the Outdoor Educa-

tion Queen! I have been doing Outdoor

Ed for 23 years as a teacher and many

more before that as a student. I went

twice when I was a 6th grader and then

again for years with my mom who also

taught 6th grade math in Montgomery

County. Outdoor Education is a fabulous

program that gives the kids so much that

that they would never get at home or in

the regular school day. I really enjoy my

job. I think RH is the best place! The

staff and students here are #1 and I look

forward to coming into school every day.

I work with kids after school on my own

time to help them improve their grades. I

try to be available at night for students to

contact me if they have questions on

homework. I also tutor kids beginning at

7:10 am. I also tutor students after school

on my own time from 3 – 4:15pm.

TWR: What would you like your stu-

dents to know about you?

Mrs. Quinn: I have two wonderful kids,

Patrick and Kelsey. They are both in

college and playing sports. Patrick plays

baseball and Kelsey plays soccer. We are

definitely a sports family! I have traveled

to Brazil, Russia, CA, FL, MS, NH, and

many other places because of my kids’

sports.

I have 2 black labs, Nikki and Kiera, that

I adore.

In my spare time (which is very little!) I

love to go camping and boating; we have

an RV and boat.

TWR: What is one lesson that you have

learned throughout your career?

Mrs. Quinn: I have learned many lessons

over the years and still continue to learn

every day. I have come to find that ALL

kids want to do well in school and my job

is

to

try and make that happen. TWR: How long have you been at Rocky Hill? Mr. Callaway: 15 Years TWR: How do you feel about being nominated as teacher of the month? Mr. Callaway: Great! TWR: how would you describe your interactions with your students? Mr. Callaway: Genuine TWR: What makes you so special? Mr. Callaway: I consider myself to be one of God’s children. TWR: What would you like your stu-dents to know about you? Mr. Callaway: That I was once in middle school, and I remember it well. Riding a dinosaur to school was rough. TWR: What is one lesson that you

Mrs. Quinn

Sixth Grade Math Teacher

Mr. Callaway

Art/Technology Teacher

Mrs. Heald

Sixth Grade English Teacher and

Team Leader

By Ms. Katie Odey

TWR

By- Antara Joshi Staff Writer

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Writers’ Corner Dedicated to Mrs. Margie Holmberg

Top 10 Songs of 2009 By Aparna Pooleri,

Staff Writer

Music? You want music? We got it for you, people! Here are the top ten songs

of the ye-ah! Cue the lights, cameras…MUSIC!

10. Jason Derulo – Whatcha Say

9. Owl City – Fireflies

8. Flo Rida – Right Round

7. Kelly Clarkson – My Life Would Suck Without You

6. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody

5. Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling

4. Lady Gaga – Poker Face

3. Iyaz – Replay

2. Jay Sean – Down

And…the number one song of 2009 is…drum roll please…

1. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me

So, if you haven’t downloaded these songs to your iPod/Music Player or lis-

tened to these songs on YouTube, we suggest you do that!

Thanks to the AOL Radio Blog for the info! Check that site out, too.

American Idol Season 9

By Corrina Wyatt

Staff Writer

American Idol had a lot of big treats this season. The new season

started Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:00 pm. Unfortunately, we lost our

caring judge, Paula Abdul. The good thing is we have a new judge! Her

name is Kara DioGuardi. Then we also have our wonderful Randy Jackson

and our one-of-a kind judge, Simon Cowell. So far We have already had

plenty of great singers and a couple surprises! If you watched on Wednesday,

January 14, 2010 you would have seen the man everyone loves. This was no

ordinary audition from an ordinary person. This was Larry Platt a 62 year-old

whom had a dream of his own and an extra-ordinary song. This song was

called ―Pants on the Ground‖, I guess what Larry was trying to say was that

he sees teen boys walking around with their boxers showing (trying to act

―cool‖ or something). I completely understand. I mean come on guys not

everyone wants to see your ―business‖. Of course, Larry got a big round of

applause, but he was, unfortunately, too old for his dream.

There was plenty of dreams on those 2 shows and I guarantee there

will be many more. OH! Don’t forget not to trust a video game if you are

trying to be good at singing. The first audition on the first day was with a

woman who did trust a video game. She had said that she mastered the game

so she wanted to do it in real life. The problem is that the video game only

hears the sound, not your actual voice.

Keep a close eye on American Idol because there are extraordinary

things and very shocking things as well. Rock on and stay tuned for more

odd and weird things on a classic TV show called, American Idol.

New Moon

Movie Review by: Melanie Antanesian Chief Editor

In it's opening weekend, New Moon (the best selling saga by au-

thor Stephanie Meyer) wolfs down $140.7 million. The movie didn't reach the book's amazing standards, but it was obviously America's fa-

vorite in the box office. A paper cut during Bella's 18th birthday party

results in Bella's blood proving too intense for the Cullen's. After the

incident, the Cullen's decide to leave town for Bella and Edward's sake.

They don't want anything to happen to Bella on their account. Edward

would be heartbroken and the vampire-werewolf treaty would be bro-ken. Heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in living reckless to see

images(hallucinations) of Edward, as well as an even closer relationship

to Jacob Black. Danger in different forms again finds Bella like a death

magnet, but with Edward gone who will save Bella? Or is Edward the

one who needs saving?

Which do YOU Prefer?

Are you the kind of person that prefers books over movies, or are you

the kind of person that that just watches the movie, and never reads the book?

The majority of students at Rocky Hill Middle School have read the Twilight

Saga by Stephanie Myer, but what do our 7th graders really think- do they pre-

fer the book, or the movie? The people that we have interviewed below have

all read the book and have seen the movie, ―New Moon.‖ Let’s see what they

think…

Melanie prefers the move. ―The acting was amazing …brought the movie to

life,‖ says Melanie. Aparna also prefers the movie. ―The book was a drag.

Nice to see the action,‖ says Aparna.

―Book was boring, slow parts, but the movie still left something to be desired,

in my opinion,‖ says Sarah Tew, who also prefers the movie

Antara prefers the movie because, ―Taylor Lautner was in it!!‖

As far as Aki is concerned, ―The movie was exciting and the book was a waste

of time.‖

And a student after Ms. Odey’s heart, Jessica Amick prefers the book.

―Because Kristen Stewart stinks.‖

Clearly the majority of the students, all seventh graders, prefer the

movie over the book. Most of the students who have watched the movie have

concluded that the movie was action-packed and exciting, while the book re-

mained dull and boring. Which do YOU prefer?

―G’day, mate!‖ Do you know

where that greeting would be used? Aus-

tralia, of course! That’s exactly where Ms.Zabel went for vacation. To be more

specific, she flew into the small but stun-

ning city of Sydney from November 3rd to

the fourth week. She visited her daughter

who has been living there since July, but

it’s not to say that she didn’t visit

other sites on the island either.

She also went to Bondi Beach, which

is famous for surfing and even took a

ferry to Mary beach! Besides the sun

and sand, Ms. Zabel also fit in the

famous Sydney Opera house and the

Blue Mountains. She remarks, ―We

hiked down the canyon and down the

rainfores]. The Blue mountains actu-

ally looked blue because of the Euca-

lyptus trees!‖ She went shopping in

the Australian markets and says that

they have ―really cool clothes and

jewelry‖.

But it’s not just the scenery

and souvenirs that make a trip memo-

rable. There were wild kangaroos and

the people in Sydney knew how to

play the didgeridoos, a skill that most

of you here probably don’t have.

People from all over the world come

to see the amazing sights. The Aus-

tralians that she met were all very

friendly.

There were many differences

between Australia and the United

States. An obvious factor would be

the weather. Australia is infinitely

more humid with their beach-perfect

climate. The personalities of the peo-

ple are also a little diverse. She no-

ticed that they seemed more laid-back

and relaxed. The people there also

travel a little more. The prices of

things are also costlier. Not quite

an arm and a leg, but definitely more

expensive than the prices we have

here.

It was wonderful to tour

around, but the very best part was just

being with her daughter. And, of

course, the warm beach weather. But

with pros come cons. Most people

enjoy plane rides when they’re

short—from something like 45 min-

utes (New York) to 7 hours (Las Ve-

gas). However, Australia would be a

different story—20 hours! It’s almost

like spending an entire day sitting on

a plane, waiting. Ms. Zabel spent an

unfortunate total of 40 hours on a

plane, flying there and back. Another

part of her trip that was the worst was

parting. It’s easy to become attached to

something, but definitely harder and

depressing to leave it.

But it’s not like this was an once-in-a-

lifetime opportunity. In fact, she told us

confidently. ―Definitely, I’m planning

to go back!‖

Ms. Zabel’s Australian Expedition

Mrs. Zabel- Bondi to Coogee Beach

Coastal Walkway

By Amy Tang and Clara Wong

Staff Writers

Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains

By Fiori Gebrekidan and Jessica Gomes

5

Opinions in Today’s Sports

Although it’s been hard to keep

up with the great sporting events here

at Rocky Hill, the news in the sports

world have captivated most of us here

at Rocky Hill. Some Wizards fans, and

especially Gilbert Arenas’ fans have

had a rough season. Agent Zero, aka

Gilbert Arenas stunned his fans when

reports about him carrying guns into

the Wizards locker room broke.

Athlete’s Betrayal of their Fame

Long, long, time ago in the

galaxy of sports, Michael Jordan,

Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley,

David Robinson, David Bird and other

legendary basket ball players reigned

as kings of the basketball court. Most

of these sports legends rose to star-

dom, some creating records that would

lead them to the hall of fame. Most

kids want to fly to Michael Jordan,

play with agility like Magic Johnson,

and create records like David Birds.

They were the role models of their

time, although some still enjoy the

fame among kids today. Charles

Barkley was noted for saying he did-

n’t want to be a role model. He made

a very valid point. Some of these su-

per stars have been in situations that

they are not very proud of. It’s al-

ways the same story of fame and then

it all goes downhill from there.

Judging by the behavior of our treas-

ured athletes and some celebrities, if

you think about it, parents and friends

are better role models. Just imagine

when the next generation of athletes

use and abuse steroids and their only

excuse is that ―Mark McGwire did

it!‖ Once upon a time people were

winners because of sheer talent, not

from how much a drug they can get

their hands on. That world seems so

far away from the world today. ―I

think it’s stupid it’s just throwing

away all of your accomplishments‖

says an anonymous seventh grader.

If you train for hours a day why

throw it all away? Many of our ath-

letes wouldn’t be able to answer this

question due to their track records.

The infamous Mitchell’s list in 2003

revealed a sad truth about our athletes

today and the amount of steroid abuse

truly going on. Alex Rodriguez was

one of the unfortunate abusers of ster-

oids, once on top, now on bottom

because he wasn’t being a role model

at all. He made it seem like the only

way to be the greatest was to cheat

and abuse when there are those who

are just as good and have been truth-

fully talented. ―Well they’re not good

role models, and they should act their

age,‖ says a fourth grader.

The recent action of Gilbert Arenas

has stunned most Wizards fans, and

most would agree that he takes re-

sponsibility for his actions. It is in-

conceivable to think about bringing

guns to the Wizard’s locker room.

Although Mr. Arenas considered it a

joke, nobody is are laughing. Most people supported the decision of the NBA Commissioner, David Stein to

suspend Mr. Arenas from the NBA.

Part of Mr. Stein’s statement reads: ―I

am suspending Mr. Arenas indefi-

nitely, without pay, effective immedi-

ately pending the completion of the

investigation by the NBA." Arenas

released his own statement in reac-

tion to his suspension: "I feel very

badly that my actions have caused the

NBA to suspend me, but I understand

why the league took this action. I put

the NBA in a negative light and let

down my teammates and our fans. I

am very sorry for doing that.‖ We

certainly hope that this would be a

lesson to all athletes to think about

their actions. Mr. Arenas now faces

felony charges for his actions and

could end up in prison.

The use of steroids in professional

sports is becoming common, and the

result is that kids, especially those in

high school are beginning to use ster-

oids. It is unfortunate that the profes-

sionals had to set this standard that

true hard work is so out of style and

that cheating is the only way to get

ahead. ―I feel that athletes should be

role models and they aren’t behaving

that way.‖ says Annie Tran, sixth

grader at Rocky Hill. This is what our

world has become today, kids with

false idols they praise when they have-

n’t been worthy of this gratitude.

The news of Mark McGwire,

admitting steroid use came as shock to

many. This comes after many years of

keeping silent, while some other base-

ball players took the rap for steroid use.

This clearly makes him a hypocrite,

especially since he enjoyed so much

fame after a record breaking season

with the Cardinals. McGuire is eighth

on the all-time home run list with 583

homers. You can only imagine the

number of kids who want to be just like

him. The sad reality is that he used

steroids.

Who would forget the All-

American super star, Michael Phelps,

whose swimming broke records during

the 2008 summer Olympics? He was

photographed using drugs? Think

about kids who looked up to him as a

role model. In his case, he took respon-

sibility, repented and quickly de-

nounced his actions. Hopefully he stays

clean since there are kids who still look

up to him. Everyone makes mistakes

and the athletes are a perfect example

when they aren’t thinking straight. It

begs questions, should athletes be con-

sidered role models?

By Jessica Amick

Staff Writer with contributions from

Ms. Odey and Becky Grissom

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander?

Book Review by Jack Weavering

Have you ever read the book Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander? In the book, Ga-

reth (the cat) takes Jason on an adventure to many places, like ancient Egypt,

Ireland, Japan, Italy, Peru, Isle of Man, Germany, Rome, and Britain, all

throughout time. In every place that they travel to, they always encounter a

large problem, teach someone a lesson, and then move on. I would definitely

recommend this book to just about anyone, but mainly to anyone who enjoys

reading books about adventure.

By: Jack Wavering

Edited by: Amy Tang and Clara Wong

Book Review Continued

Avatar

By: Melanie Antanesian Chief Editor

James Cameron had a dream. He must have because this film closely

mimics the wildest dream one could ever had. The world of Pandora is the

world we all wish we could live in. A world literally jam packed with adven-

ture and mysterious happenings that capture your heart and transport you there.

The world of Pandora is united under a common belief and stays united under a

common threat. The death and destruction of this world can only be defended

with an argument involving a valuable mineral. The want for money is human

nature I suppose. Basically, a paraplegic war veteran, Jake Sully is brought to

Pandora in place of his recently deceased brother with the promise of getting the

use of his legs back if he helps the government on a mission. The people, or more

like creatures, are tall, oh so blue, and called the Na 'vi. Jake is sent to learn their

ways so that he can help relocate them and the humans can take over, but he ends

up falling in love with the tribe's princess. In the end, he is forced to chose be-

tween the human race or a group of people which he has learned to love. This

movie can easily pass as being the most imaginative film of the past ten years.

This movie will cause arguments within your own mind, will hit you like a sledge

hammer to the chest and WILL stay with you well after you leave the cinema.

Movie Review Continued

6

It’s the end of the world as

many of us know it, or, think it to be.

However, have scientists really, truly

proven that this is the case? We hear

the rumors. We see the ―signs‖. But

really, is it going to happen? Aparna

Pooleri is here to investigate...no, seri-

ously, give me a chance on this one.

Anyways, if you’re in seventh grade

and have taken seventh grade Spanish

at Rocky Hill, you might’ve briefly

gone over some facts of the Mayan

calendar.

According to the Mayans, the

world was supposedly going to end

some thousands of years ago on Au-

gust 11th (or 13th, scientists aren’t

really sure) in the year of 3114 BCE.

So, obviously, that didn’t happen,

seeing as we are right here. Mayans

have estimated another date when the

world would end which is, obviously,

2012. Or well, on the Gregorian cal-

endar it is. In case you haven’t made

the connection already, let me make it

for you. Many times before, the

world was supposedly going to end.

However, this didn’t occur. As you

can see, this is why some people are a

little unsure…So, the real question

is…Is 2012 really going to happen?

Remember how I said un-

sure? Yea Mr. Anderson…he’s not

confused. This man knows what he’s

talking about. He might as well say,

―This stuff is hooey,‖ because he, my

friend, doesn’t believe a WORD of

this. Here’s what he has to say:

―Movies often serve as an introduc-

tion to historical events and even mo-

tivate people to learn more about

what they’ve seen. However,

it’s important to remember that the

primary goal of Hollywood film mak-

ers is to make money, not to portray

history accurately.‖ True, true…And

when you come to think of it, so many

stories have been distorted by Holly-

wood producers because they fail to

include the most important aspect -

HARD CORE TRUTH. I mean seri-

ously, is the truth interesting? No won-

der they got rid of it. ―Too often the

result is that special effects and action

blurs the line between fact and fiction.

If you are inspired to learn more about

the Maya, a great place to start is at

nationalgeographic.com/2007/08/maya

-rise-fall, check it out and decide for

yourself how accurate you think the

movie is. But just to be on the safe

side you may want to invest in duct

tape and bottled water,‖ says Mr.

Anderson.

When asked about what Mrs.

Rye thinks about this topic, she has one

thing to say to us: ―We should not base

our ideas solely on the Mayans or the

media.‖ Well said, well said.

According to a USA Today

article by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, the

apparent 2012 event will happen on

12/21/12 at 11:11 pm. Isn’t that usually

when you make a wish? But moving

on, it’s supposed to happen because the

sun will align with the center of the

Milky Way for the first time in 26.000

years during the winter solstice. Win-

ter doesn’t seem as nice now, does it?

What’s weird is that the earth has been

here for more than 26,000 years…

much, much more than that, yet it is

still here…that itself makes scientists

and others doubt what will happen.

So there you have it. Which

side do you believe? Don’t sweat it

though. If it’s bound to happen, it will

happen. No point in wasting your time

worrying about it!

Only 2 Years to Live?!?! By Aparna Pooleri,

Staff Writer

Rocky Hill Leos Club Makes a Difference

Leo’s Club members are mak-

ing yet another difference in the RH

community with a classic, yet produc-

tive charity: The Canned Food Drive!

The Leo’s organized a food drive in

November to help support the families

who are struggling and cannot afford to

purchase food. RH Leo’s and staff

members organized an interesting way

to get other students involved in the

canned food drive. A contest between

the grades and staff was able to interest

students in all grades to donate canned

foods like soups, pasta, beans, and so

on. The winning grade receives the

Golden Can award. The eighth

graders prove to be the most generous;

this year being the second year in a row

they win the Golden Can award. Eighth

graders are progressing in donations

more and more each year. This is

why they remain as the Golden Can

Champions (Come on sixth and sev-

enth graders! You can do better than

them if you try). Leo’s Club has been

active for over ten years, and with a

consistent student population of over

forty. Mrs. Poole started the club in

hopes of serving the community. She

wanted a way to encourage the many

Rocky Hill students who either

wanted to help others and the com-

munity or needed the SSL hours. No

matter what their cause was, all of the

participants feel the value of serving

their community and are proud to

represent RH in such a positive man-

ner.

―It’s not just families, it’s the com-

munity,‖ says Leo's Club founder,

Mrs. Poole, ―They embrace and take

great pride in the projects the Leo’s

plan and implement.‖ RH dose have a

reason to be proud. This year we col-

lected almost 3000 canned foods in

total! Many families thanked us for

our efforts in getting them food bas-

kets. Actually, we had one of the

most successful Food Drives in the

area! Mrs. Poole also says, ―The

community food bank relies on us to

help with their holiday baskets.‖

Another great thing the

Leo’s Club does is that over the holi-

days, they makes cards for the elderly

and the wounded soldiers to make

them feel a little more warm, and a

little more appreciated. The holidays

of 2009 will be remembered in the

hearts of the people who received

both student made and Ms. Hellie

made cards. Just to show Leo’s how

special it made them feel, some sol-

diers from the Walter Reed Medical

Center came to visit Rocky Hill!

Three previously wounded soldiers,

Sergeant Huey, Flowers and Osborne,

came down to meet with Leo’s Club

and to thank them.

When the soldiers arrived,

the Leo’s Club greeted them warmly

and let them tell their stories. Ser-

geant Flowers was in the US Air

Force, was wounded in Afghanistan

this past May and is soon to have his

27th surgery. He has officially been in

the Air Force for 6 years exactly on

this past January 13th, 2009. When

asked about how the cards made him

feel, he replied, ―It’s amazing that

you’re still in school, but you realize

what we’re doing over there, which

puts a smile on my face.‖ Noticing that we just simply appreciate them

makes them happy. The question of

what other things kids could do to

make the soldiers feel better popped

up and he answered, ―The cards are a

huge hit; they make a lot of guys feel

better.‖ Another soldier, Sergeant Os-

borne, was injured from IED

(Improvised Explosive Device) and

was wounded in Iraq, and is soon to

have his 12th surgery. When he was

asked about how many cards he got

overall approximately and he said, ―I

go to my mailbox and I find like 300

cards crammed in there.‖ When he was

questioned about what kids could be

doing to help make a difference all

three of the soldiers agreed with ―Girl

Scout Cookies,‖ only to be followed

with a list of favorites. It’s good to

know that a lot of other students from

different schools and areas are helping

these soldiers out.

The Leo’s Club really put

smiles on the soldiers’ and elderly peo-

ple’s faces these holidays, which

makes their family and friends smile.

Remember that every time you do

something simple and nice for another

person, such as just giving out a smile,

you’re making a whole lot of people

happy. If you like making a difference,

then Leo’s Club would be a great place

to start.

By Melanie Antanesian Chief Editor

Shadi Khalil Staff Writer

Mrs. Poole poses with members of the Leos and their very special guests from Walter

Reed Medical Center, Sergeant Flowers, Sergeant Osborne and Sergeant Huey

Sergeant Huey chats with some kids in the

Leos’ Club

Special Features

7

PS3: Good or Bad??

By Hayden Shupe

Staff Writer

Valentine's Day: Where did

it Start?

Valentine's Day is known as

the day of love and happy things. How-

ever not many people know where this

day has originated from. Many people

love Valentine's Day and dress in all

pink and red as a form of festivity, but

most people rarely know where, when,

or even how Valentine's Day got started

in the first place. They simply accept it

and enjoy all the joy that comes along

with such an optimistic and pink day.

The origins of Valentine's Day

trace back to the ancient Roman cele-

bration of Lupercalia. Held on February

15, Lupercalia honored the gods Luper-

cus and Faunus, as well as the legendary

founders of Rome, Romulus and Re-

mus. In addition to a bountiful feast,

Lupercalia festivities are said to have

included the pairing of young women

and men. Men would draw women's

names from a box, and each couple

would be paired until next year's cele-

bration. While this pairing of couples

set the tone for today's holiday, it wasn't

called "Valentine's Day" until a priest

named Valentine came along. Valen-

tine, a hopeless romantic at heart, dis-

obeyed Emperor Claudius II 's decree

that soldiers stay bachelors. Claudius

handed down this decree believing that

soldiers would be distracted and unable

to concentrate on fighting if they were

married or engaged. Valentine defied

the emperor and secretly performed

marriage ceremonies. As a result of his

defiance, Valentine was put to death on

February 14. After Valentine's death, he

was named a saint. As Christianity

spread through Rome, the priests moved

Lupercalia from February 15 to Febru-

ary 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's

Day to honor Saint Valentine.

Then there is the whole part

about a baby in diapers, who goes by

the name of Cupid. According to Ro-

man mythology, Cupid was the son of

Venus, who was of course the goddess

of love and beauty. The sixth graders

have just completed the Greek Mythol-

ogy unit and should know about Eros

(Cupid in Roman Mythology), the mis-

chievous son of Aphrodite aka Venus

in the Roman mythology. Cupid was

known to cause people to fall in love

by shooting them with his magical love

arrows. But Cupid didn't just cause

others to fall in love - he himself fell

deeply in love. As legend has it, Cupid

fell in love with a mortal girl named

Psyche.

Cupid married Psyche, but

Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, for-

bade her daughter-in-law to look at

Cupid. Psyche, of course, couldn't re-

sist temptation and sneaked a peek at

her handsome husband. As punishment,

Venus demanded that she perform three

hard tasks, the last of which caused

Psyche's death. Cupid brought Psyche

back to life and the gods, moved by

their love, granted Psyche immortality.

Now you know! Valentine's

Day basically started because of Luper-

calia, so thank you Lupercus and

Faunus. Then it got its name from the

love struck Saint Valentine, back then

only a priest who had to die for us to

have our day. Rest in peace dear Saint

Valentine. And Cupid just likes hitting

people with heart shaped bows and

causing ruckus. So, lovely Cupid, keep

doing what you got to do.

By Melanie Antanesian

Chief Editor

One of the many wonders of the

PS3 is that it has a cell processor and a

customized Nvida graphics chip. Although

this sounds very complicated, it is actually

a very simple device. The Nvida graphic

chip and cell processor simply provides

more realistic graphics to the user. There

are two versions of the PS3 that vary in

price as well as the amount of gigabytes.

The $599 model has a 60GB hard disk,

built in 802.11 b/g wireless network. The

$499 model has Wi-Fi, media card slots,

20GB. Both have a HDMI output, giga-

bit network, 4 USB 2.0 ports, and a

built in Bluetooth 2.0 support. Now this

next sentence may be for the people

who don’t have a DVD player at home.

The PS3 can also work as a DVD and

Blue-Ray player in high definition.

Now that is good stuff, but I’m not

done yet. It also has robust multimedia

capabilities.

Still, I have no idea what that

means though it’s probably good. But

some people hate the PS3. ―The PS3

was a sure failure,‖ says game-

faqs.com. But here are some positive

reviews. ―PlayStation 3 is a graphical

powerhouse, with a cutting-edge Cell

processor and a customized Nvida

graphics chip that could melt most

gaming PCs‖ says cnet.com. Also, I

think according to this that the PS3

pretty cool. Well, looks like I can just

throw out the old DVD player if I have

a PS3.

New York, New York!

Start spreadin’ the news… We

left almost 2 months ago! ―The New

York trip was amazing; I have never

been to New York and to get to see the

Big Apple with all my chorus friends

for the first time was, like, amazing… I

know I’m going to be like them one

day* flips hair*‖ says Riley Robinson,

a student in Chamber Singers, an ad-

vanced choir here at Rocky Hill. And

even after a month, she is still in awe.

As you are probably aware, chorus stu-

dents recently took a day off from

school and woke up extra early to…go

to school? Yes, but we didn’t stay

there. At six o’ clock AM, we left on-

really comfortable charter busses for

none other than New York City! Eighth

grader Kevin Grossi says, ―…The bus

ride was kind of long, it was four

hours.‖ But in order to keep from being

carsick or going insane, there were

movies shown and you could talk and

sit with your friends. There was also

plenty of time to spend on doing your

homework. After all, we did miss an

entire day of school.

If you are like me and have

never been to New York City before,

let me tell you that there are a lot of tall

buildings. ―New York was just incredi-

ble,‖ says Daniela Fugigaki, another

student who attended the trip. ―It was

the lights, the sounds, the smells it was

just a whole new experience…I’ve

been to New York before but it was

never like this, with all my friends…‖

You are completely taken in by the

skyline as soon as you see it on the

horizon. It gives you a sort of ―Empire

State of Mind.‖ The variety of the ar-

chitecture varies a lot, too- Tall build-

ings, shiny new buildings, older ones,

as well as some buildings in between,

just like the first stop of our New York

City tour.

We missed out on some of the

workshops and stop number one due to

traffic issues that held us up a bit

longer than we had expected. ―We got

there; we went to the workshop, which

was really cool,‖ says Kevin. After

getting off the bus and walking a block

or so, we got to our building. Only

then, we had to climb about seven

flights of stairs (some of us in heels)

When we reached our stop, we walked

into a room and were greeted by a

grand piano, a few hundred folding

chairs and smiling faces. The workshop

is basically learning a number from the

show and singing in Broadway-style

voices, something most of us in chorus

were not used to. The song we sang

was ―Freak Flag,‖ a group number

from act two of ―Shrek the Musical.‖ Since we had a time limit, we only got

to learn the chorus. After perfecting the

harmonies, learning the Broadway vo-

cal style, and feeling pretty proud of

ourselves, we got to hear the man

taking over for Shrek in the musical

sing his song- ―Big, Bright, Beautiful

World.‖ After that, he answered

some of our questions about the

show and what it’s like on to be on

the stage, along with a ―sweep,‖ or

understudy for the fairy-tale crea-

tures. Being an understudy does not

sound like much, but it is a lot of

work to know everyone’s part. They

were very nice and you could tell

they lived for performing. It was fun,

but, alas, we could not stay forever.

It was now time for lunch.

The next stop on our trip

was, in fact, for lunch. The menu was

as follows Pasta Pomodoro, BBQ

chicken sandwich, pulled pork sand-

wich, cheeseburger, classic ham-

burger and a chicken Cesar salad-

with or without the chicken. The cost

of the meal was included in the total

fee for the trip. Because of our tight-

tight schedule, we didn’t have much

time to eat, so of course we were

rushed.

After we were all done, it

was off to the theatre! Only we kind

of got lost. A handful of students

including Kevin Grossi, Mrs. Tippet

and myself got separated from the

group after making a wrong turn at

Planet Hollywood. It took us a good

five minutes- and seven blocks- to

realize our mistake. We had to ask

around for directions, but for the

most part, we got to have a pleasant,

but unexpected sight-seeing trip! On

our way to the theatre, we passed by

billboards, advertisements for Coke,

the M&M store, as well as other Her-

shey stores. We had a very fun time,

the only low point having to walk in

heels again.

At last we arrived! The thea-

tre is beautiful, with golden crown

molding, rich, red curtains and huge,

sparkling chandeliers hanging from

the ceiling. It is everything you could

have hoped for from a first-time

Broadway experience. Soon enough

the lights dimmed, the curtains drew

back and the show- after five hours

of driving and walking in heels- fi-

nally began. The movie, Shrek!

Shrek, is an Ogre, a

―hideous creature‖ whom no one

seems to love. Living on his own, he

has a chance encounter with Donkey,

who soon enough becomes his

―noble steed.‖ Before they know it,

they are traveling together to rescue

the fair Princess Fiona, locked away

in a tower, guarded, naturally by a

fire-breathing dragon. And of course

the beautiful princess falls in love

with the ogre. Not if Lord Farquadd

has anything to say about it. The

songs helped to tell the story better.

The set, the show, the cos-

tumes were all amazing. Shrek had to

take a full three hours, just for the

make-up, not to mention the fat-suit.

But I can say, like Riley and so many

others, that I’m in awe of the per-

formance. If you want to learn more,

copy the link at the bottom of the

article. Shrek's story is one of true

beauty and true friendship. It was a

phenomenal performance and I

highly recommend going up and see-

ing it for yourself. As long as you

don’t mind driving all the way up to

Ney York City.

www.shrekthemusical.com/

By Sarah Tew

Staff Writer

8

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Get Ready to Kiss Summer Vacation Good-bye!

You heard right! President

Obama has been considering adding

more hours to our already busy school

day. Kids are already barely getting

enough time to cool off from a hard

day of school work, so is adding more

time to it going to benefit us or give

us spine failure? This has become a

big issue for American families. Some

say that more school would suck the

fun out of our days, filling them with

schoolwork, as the other half is think-

ing ―Why not?‖ At the same time that

this could be making us semi-

geniuses, can we still manage to bal-

ance out the fun?

Obama says American kids

spend too little time in school, putting

them at a disadvantage with other stu-

dents around the globe, such as China.

In my opinion, kids have to be kids.

We still need to keep our grades up

and be able to do well worldwide, but

playing around, taking naps, and chill-

ing with the TV on should be included

in our daily routine! We are of course,

the future adults of America, and we

need to make our country look good,

ranking high in the educational sys-

tems, but fun is a mandatory kind of

thing in a kid’s life. 7th grader Sarah

Tew gives us her opinion on the topic

―Obviously, students aren’t going to

like it, because it’s more time at their

desk then playing outside, or surfing

the internet. Students these days don’t

understand that we are behind all

those other countries, but for the most

part we could really care less {about

our education}…" We all need a

good education, and a healthy dosage

of homework, but is extended school

going to make us smarter, or just

tired? If we all are tired, than that

brings down our energy, and we ob-

viously can’t do other favorite out-

side of school activities, such as

sports, dance, favorite television

shows, or even quality time with your

family! Longer school hours are just

going to kill our after school time,

and that's where our major fun time

lies in. If we get home later than 3:00,

most of our afternoon will be gone. Is

this new plan going to let us get our

fun time scheduled in with our home

work?

Put the extra homework

aside, what about all those kids who

barely drag their days out, praying

and hoping for the bell to ring, mark-

ing the end of school. I don’t think it

would be better for those kids to have

their days dragged out an extra hour

or two, possibly even another couple

weeks taken away from their summer

break. In my opinion, that wouldn't

exactly be helping our view of school

go from okay to great. It would more

likely be, "Okay," to "Ugh! When

will this end??" I think something

that’s a little more important than

excelling along with our country's

education would be to get kids to

realize that school is beneficial for

them, (it's there to help us, not to beat

us) but if we overwhelm kids sud-

denly with more school days or with

a longer school day, they aren't going

to appreciate school anymore, which

would be increasing our rates in high

school drop outs. Basically, there will

be some kids who will have the

power to adapt to the new school

hours, but the majority would be very

exhausted and overwhelmed by this

new change.

"Extra time is not cheap. A pro-

gram in Massachusetts costs an extra

$1,300 for extended school, or a 12 to 15

percent more than what a regular student

would pay for private school," stated

Jennifer Davis, superintendent of a Mas-

sachusetts private school. On December

9th 2009, Montgomery County Schools’

superintendent, Dr. Jerry Weast, recom-

mended $2.2 billion on the 2011 regular

school time budget. If that’s how much

regular school costs, then how much will

the extended school plan going to

cause? Many kids are getting headaches

over the fact that the homework amounts

will fly through the roof, but what about

the high prices? If homework will fly to

the sky, then the guaranteed the prices

will fly to Mars. This new school plan

might be making the future economy

better, but what is it doing to our current

one?

President Obama wants the best

for his future generation, and extending

school, just might be a great way to excel

our minds greatly. Some kids might

vomit at the very thought of longer

school hours, but here are some kids at

Rocky Hill with pro opinions, who see

the bright side of a promising school

future. ―It would really help me on some

of my homework. I could catch up a

ton.‖ comments Aki Stephens. On the

issue of extended school, President

Obama says "Now, I know longer school

days and school years are not wildly

popular ideas," the President said earlier

this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not

in my family, and probably not in yours.

But the challenges of a new century de-

mand more time in the class-

room."(Quoted by President Obama by

the FOX News The AP) President

Obama just might have a point here.

School does hold us back from sleeping

in, and other things we treasure, but

maybe getting an even better education

than we already have might possibly

would be worth it. Think about it, a good

education can really get you somewhere.

If Bill Gates is making almost $300 a

second, then just imagine how much

more money he would've been making if

he hadn't dropped out of college!

School teachers hold the keys to our

futures, but we get to pick the door

we want to unlock. This new plan

might help us get on the right track

and pick that right door. Maybe if this

plan doesn't come through, some kids

won't be able to pick that right door,

which can impact the rest of our

lives.

School's always been the

educational place, right? What would

happen if it turned into something

like your second home? The presi-

dent, who has a sixth grader and a

third grader, wants schools to add

time to classes, to stay open late and

to let kids in on weekends so they

have a safe place to go. Having

school as a crash pad doesn't sound

bad. All of your friends would be

there, and you'd be more comfortable

with your surroundings when it came

time for school on Monday. You

could build up a lot of strong friend-

ships around a healthy atmosphere,

and eventually get more work done

because you are of course in a school.

Obama's plan for school transforming

into a more comfortable place for

kids could get pulled off with the

ideas he has. Most of the time you

want to hang out with your friends

and this does the trick, but is it

enough to get kids to get cozy with

the idea of longer school hours?

President Obama's plans of

longer school days and shorter breaks

are not a favorite amongst other stu-

dents, but maybe with some minor

additions to his idea, such as spending

more time with your friends at school

By Melanie Antanesian

Chief Editor

Rocky Hill Annual Willpower Charity Basket Game

Date: May 14th, 2010.

Time: Game begins at 7. Dinner and Auction at 5 PM

Special Features include:

Moon bounce

Very Cool Games for kids,

Dunk Tank for Mr. Whiting and Mr. Heinemann.

Willpower Award during Half time in honor of Mr.

Seng, a former parent, who succumbed to pancreatic

cancer and Mrs. Holmberg, a former teacher at

Rocky Hill, who also succumbed to pancreatic cancer

The goal is to raise money for PanCAN and the Susan

G. Komen For The Cure Foundation

Come and watch your teachers and parents play basket-

ball like never before!