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Student News
Harvard Tree Study
For my article, I decided to focus on the Harvard Tree Study that is being done in the 7 Red science classes. I asked Mrs. Mossman a few questions on this study she is doing with 7 Red students.
1: Why is it important for the students of 7 red participate in this study?
I think it is important for any student to participate in authentic scientific study. In this case, kids walk by the trees for 3 years here at Overlook without really "seeing" them or giving them a second thought. Kids don't think about what a growing season is, or why it might be changing because of climate. This is a small study that brings big, real-world questions to 7th graders.
2: What does the Harvard Tree Study help teach students?
It teaches them good questioning skills and observation skills. It shows them how closely connected we as humans are to the natural world. If the climate is impacting these huge trees, which it is, what will the impact of climate change be on us?
3: By doing this study, would they have enough knowledge to go and do this as their job?
By doing this study they won't have enough knowledge to do this as their job, but if it makes them curious they could pursue any type of environmental study. Doing the Harvard Forest Study looks great on any type of resume or survey to show they have participated in a real scientific study. Many students come back to tell me they are in environmental studies in college because they are interested and concerned about what is going on in the natural world. This study gives kids one more avenue to think about when they start thinking about what they want to do as adults.
I would like to thank Mrs. Mossman for her time and answers to these valuably questions.
Student Interview about the Dig
By Erin Boc
I interviewed some 6th graders who were a part of the archaeological dig. Each student was from a different group. It took me a little while to bud in their conversations because they were working so hard and seriously. The answer may be short, but it gives us an insight on how they worked.
Maddie Muhall:
Q. How have you liked the dig so far?
A.It’s fun. It’s fun to brush stuff and dig for things.
Q. What sort of teamwork has shown so far?
A. We help each other when we don’t understand what to do. It’s been smooth with no conflicts.
Q.What have you learned from the dig?
A. It takes a while to find stuff. I wasn’t expecting it to be so long.
Q. What’s the coolest thing you've found?
A. An arrowhead
Joey Miola
Q. Have you liked it so far?
A. It’s good. It’s exciting. I like digging a little.
Q. What sort of teamwork has shown so far?
A. We cooperate good. We worked together and now we’re all done. It was good with no conflicts.
Q. What have you learned from the dig?
A. All of the animals left their bones.
Q. What’s the coolest thing you’ve found?
A. Sheep Skull
Julia Zarozinski
Q. How have you liked it so far?
A. 9/10. I’m not into Social Studies, being outside is the fun part.
Q. What sort of teamwork has shown so far?
A. We each look at different places and helping each other has been great.
Q. What have you learned from the dig?
A. What different archaeologists have found in different places.
Q. What was the coolest thing you’ve found?
A. Coal/rocks
TEACHER INTERVIEWS about the dig
By Hannah Fields
I interviewed three different adults who were helping out with this years archeological dig, Mr. Duncan, who is a teacher on 6 green, Justin Thomas, who works at channel 4 Boston who we were lucky to have joining us and Ms. Bartell, who is a student at Salem State.
Mr. Duncan says that he believes that it is important for 6th graders to be a part of the archeological dig because they are making history hands on helps connections that are harder to make in the classroom. Some benefits to doing this is that they gain knowledge about people before us, making connections and appreciating.
Justin Thomas believes that this is important to 6th graders because they need to learn to appreciate history and also understand it in the process. In his spare time, he likes to study history, especially redware and pottery.
Ms. Bartell says that it's important because they can learn group skills, even if they are with people they don't like, and doing this activity brings everything together. She was also Mr. Duncan inspired to become a teacher at Salem State.
Interviews at Overlook!
By: Hannah Fields
I have interviewed one 7th grade student, one 7th grade teacher, one 8th grade student, and one enrichment teacher.
For my enrichment teacher, I chose Mrs. Couture to interview.
1: What are you trying to teach students about Spanish?
She wants them to realize that learning Spanish isn't hard, and it is a part of daily life. Also, that it is useful in our world today and that English and Spanish have many similarities and differences.
2: What is your favorite thing about teaching Spanish?
She gets all the students at Overlook and that she is the students first experience at a foreign language.
3: Do you have any suggestions for 7th and 6th graders coming to your class?
Have an open mind, and believe that you are capable of learning a new language.
For my 8th grade student, I chose one of my best friends Olivea Carrigan.
1: What is your favorite class and why?
I think my favorite class right now would have to be science or math. Science is the only class that I find interesting this year, it's definitely different from our other classes and I like that about it. Also Mr. Young is pretty cool. I also enjoy math because the work this unit has been easy to understand and I like how we are able to work together and with friends to check our work, it really makes it easier and a more enjoyable class.
2:Any suggestions for your fellow 8th graders for next term?
Next term just make sure you're organized. I think with the new term starting soon might give a chance for students to have a fresh start and get organized and everything in order. Another thing is to also study, we had a lot of tests on team orange recently and I think all of the tests being bulked together really stressed out some kids. They really stressed me out for sure, but something that helped me was having set times to study. If I knew I was gonna have free time later, I would set aside some of that time to study and I think that would really help some kids not get so stressed out.
For my 7th grade student, I chose Catherine McGee.
1: If you could change one thing about 7th grade, what would you change?
If I had to change one thing about 7th grade It will be no homework we get so much homework and no time to play. We are in school for 6 hours and then we have to come home and do homework.
2: What is your favorite class and why?
My favorite class is social studies because we are learning the ways of life and how we adapt and survive. We are also learning different cultures and how they adapt and survive. This is just really cool to learn. But the best part is Mrs Orcutt makes the class seem really fun and exciting.
Finally, for my 7th grade teacher, I chose Mrs. Sparrow.
1: What is your favorite thing about teaching 7th grade English?
There are many reasons why I love teaching English. One is that I love seeing students writing and reading skills improve throughout the year. Also, I just love the subject in general. Reading, writing, and speaking are important skills. I also enjoy the potential for so many creative projects in ELA.
2: Do you have any suggestions for them for next term?
Keep up on AR reading in the second term. You do not have your summer AR points for this term. Sometimes this will cause students to struggle to meet their term two goals.
3: What is your main goal in teaching English?
To make my students confident readers and writers!
How Much Do You Know About Your Teachers?
Mrs. Tobia:
1) How long have you been teaching? 33 Years
2) If you were not a teacher, what occupation would you pursue? Secretarial
3) What is your funniest and weirdest memory of being a teacher? Pen whistling
4) What is your favorite unit to teach? The Giver
5) What is your least favorite unit to teach? Grammer
6) If you could give your students any advice, what would it be? Read as much as you can
7) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Eat Healthier
Mr. Jepson:
1) How long have you been teaching? 21 Years
2) If you were not a teacher, what occupation would you pursue? Lawyer
3) What is your funniest and weirdest memory of being a teacher? Does Not have one
4) What is your favorite unit to teach? Lines
5) What is your least favorite unit to teach? Functions
6) If you could give your students any advice, what would it be? The harder you work, the easier it gets
7) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? The harder you work, the easier it gets
Mr. Duncan:
1) How long have you been teaching? 16 Years
2) If you were not a teacher, what occupation would you pursue? Firefighter or FBI Agent
3) What is your funniest and weirdest memory of being a teacher?
4) What is your favorite unit to teach? Early man, Rome
5) What is your least favorite unit to teach? Mesopotamia
6) If you could give your students any advice, what would it be? Pay attention to the lesson in history so we don't make thee same mistake
7) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Be less caught by if everyone likes you
Mrs.Crowley:
1) How long have you been teaching? 28 Years
2) If you were not a teacher, what occupation would you pursue? Writing
3) What is your funniest and weirdest memory of being a teacher? Lucy was changed into Luchis
4) What is your favorite unit to teach? Rome
5) What is your least favorite unit to teach? Mesopotamia
6) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Don't be so hard on yourself
7) If you could give your students any advice, what would it be? Find out early how you learn
Student Interviews
Ava Corso:
1) How long have you been a student here? 1 Year
2) What do you want to go to college for? Interior design or Photography
3) Funny or strangest moments at overlook? Water in the hallway slipped and fell on my back
4) Briggs or WES? Briggs
5) Best memory at overlook? Making Friends
6) Advice for next year's class? Have fun, Work hard, and don't give up
7) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Don't look back at the past, you might miss the future.
Morgan Soule:
1) How long have you been a student here? 1 Year
2) What do you want to go to college for? Dance
3) Funny or strangest moments at overlook? First time reading morning announcements
4) Briggs or WES? WES
5)Advice for next year's class? Stay organised
6) Best memory at overlook? Monster Dash
7) If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Don't get so wrapped up and take it one day at a time
Levi Hesel:
1) How long have you been a student here? 1 Year
2) What do you want to go to college for? Engineer
3) Funny or strangest moments at overlook? Music recording
4) Briggs or WES? WES
5)Advice for next year's class? Work hard and stay focused on your work
6) Best memory at overlook? Student of the month
7)If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Study a bit more
Photography by Korynn Gagne
Where in the World Did Halloween come from?
By Ashlinn Broderick
Halloween hasn’t always been what it is today. The Halloween you know is steeped in imagination and fun-- filled with kids spending the night trick-or-treating, dressing up as some scary creature, or maybe even some teenagers egging their neighbor’s house. It’s like this in countries all over the world, celebrating one night of diet-breaking and fun per year.
Ireland is one of those countries; in fact, that’s where Halloween originated. At that time, around 2,000 years ago, Halloween-- known then as All Hallows Eve-- was a big part of Celtic culture. According to the Celtic calendar, New Year’s Eve was on the thirty-first of October, and they would celebrate the arrival of a new year from that day through November first. The night connecting the two days was the time when Lord Samhain, the lord of Darkness, would come to collect the souls of all who had died the previous year to take them to the underworld.
The Druid religion of the Celtic tribes worshipped Lord Samhain. Their New Year was on November first because that was when the nights first started to become longer and the days shorter, and Lord Samhain would rule the dark months of winter.
Celts celebrated this night for a reason. They believed that these spirits aided Celtic priests, called Druids, in predicting what was to come in the winter months ahead. The Celtic religion relied heavily on nature and the earth as a whole, so these prophecies were important to them.
Druids built sacred fires to honor All Hallows Eve. People would converge at the fires, sacrificing animals and crops to the flames. Celts donned costumes commonly made of animal heads and skins, and made an effort to tell each other’s futures. After the celebration was over and their fires had died out, the people would light them again to protect them for the season.
Halloween was a night when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was thinnest. It gave souls the ability to come back and walk amongst the living. People would leave out sweets and food on their doorstep-- not for the children, but in the hopes that the spirits would leave them alone. They’d put embers in carved turnips and rutabagas, to keep them away; a sort of predecessor to the Jack-O-Lantern.
Trick-or-treating could have had its origins in this time as well, but it’s something that’s been speculated to have originated from Celts, Christianity, or other sources. People say in some ancient Celtic celebrations, townspeople would dress up in animal skins to drive out ghosts. In a custom dating back to the Middle Ages, mumming, people would dress up as these evil creatures in return for food and drink.
America’s version of Halloween took a while to develop. At first, the people living in the United States were very set in their protestant beliefs, and were extremely opposed to the idea of this festival. It was first popular in the more Southern states and Maryland, before eventually developing into what it is today. After there was a flood of Irish immigrants into America around the second half of the twentieth century, Halloween officially became more popular than ever before. It finally evolved into what it is today, and kids couldn’t be happier.
Comics by Korynn Gagne
Walk to School Day
Overlook had a walk to school day. Whatever you say it was pretty fun to walk with your friends and just talk. I know I had fun at least. My friends and I had a good time. The 1 mile long walk was hard for some, but easy for others. I bet it was weird to see a long line of kids walking along the road to school. The kids were in groups by grade. The place we met at was called Sweeney playground. All the sixth graders must have been confused when their bus took them there instead of the usual route. That walk took up some of the morning at school. A memorable moment was when I got a donut from somebody and was eating it during the walk to school! The end of the walk the hardest part, since it was the hill. At the end the teachers were playing music, so it was a pretty good day.
News from the Innovation Center
By Emma Parsons
This school year is the first time Overlook has ever done the read and ride
The read and ride is an activity in the library. This allows students to go to the library and go on the new bikes and ride while reading. Each student is allowed to be on the bike for 15 minutes, then they can switch people.
We started assigning grade levels each day. So one day would be the 8th graders turn on the bikes one day is the 7th and one is the 6th. On Friday, any grade level can use them.
The main goal with the read and ride activity is to remind and teach kids that reading can be fun and is fun and that there is other options with reading than just sitting reading a book, instead you can be riding a bike to make it more interesting and get kids motivated. This event being in the library also helps with paying more attention to their book because it is quiet in the library, whereas in their classroom it may not be.
This read and ride is also a challenge. The challenge is to get your team to have the most minutes of the school. Grade 6, green team has the most minutes in the school. But 6 blue is pretty close to 6 green.
The library is holding a few stem/ steam challenges. You can build different structures out of newspaper and tape and try to make it sturdy enough to hold a wooden egg. You can also make different structures to hold books. Like one with toothpicks and dots candy and one with just 2 pieces of paper. You can also try to make a tall structure out of playing cards.
The week of Halloween the library is having some Halloween activities like making a tower to try to hold a bucket of candy. So if you have time in WINN or any free time during the day, head on over to the library and try some of the challenges and read and ride to try to get your team to have the most minutes!
Bring Back Recess
By Robin Kender
I know your probably thinking, “recess is for kids! Why do we need it?” Well, you don’t just need it to have fun, you need it to help you. For instance, if someone were to have asthma they may have felt closed in. It would help them to have fresh air. If you ever need fresh air in school, it would be hard to get it. After age 11, recess is no more. Kids need to play, have fresh air, everyone does!
Student, Kaylee Britain, had some things to say about this topic, “It is good for people to take a break once in a while and breath fresh air instead of stay in the school for a long period or time. I also want to say that some people really need that if they have asthma or anxiety, it is just not healthy! Bring back recess!”
And I would have to agree. Bring back recess!
The Eagle's Nest
Ahimsa Animal Shelter, Templeton Mass.
By Erin Boc
Ahimsa Animal Shelter is located in Templeton, Massachusetts. Though there are primarily cats at the shelter, there are dogs as well, but not currently. Since it is a no kill shelter, they are always full with cats who need homes. Don’t worry though, if they don’t get adopted right away, they will either stay there or go to a foster home until they get adopted.This shelter is pretty amazing. Last year, the maximum amount of cat adoptions was 270. This year, however, had a whopping 430 cat adoptions.
This shelter really wants what's best for the animals and volunteers make that happen. They accept donations of any kind, like cat and dog food, money, and etc. Ahimsa is an all volunteer organization. While asking permission to write about it, they wanted me to add that they are always looking for volunteers and fosters.
My mom, Lisa Boc is a volunteer at this shelter and she loves it. She works in the cat trailer and cleans all of their litter boxes, and gives them food and water. I know that sounds a little gross, but trust me, I have been in the cat trailer before and it’s so much fun playing with the cats, and if lucky there may be a few kittens to play with as well. Lisa said that her favorite part is when she’s all done and observes all of the kittens happy with their new clean cages.
For more information, visit their website is http://www.ahimsahaven.org/
If you could, please check it out. It would really mean a lot to everyone there.
Here are some cats who are featured at Ahimsa (please note that not all cats are at the shelter itself. Some may be at a foster or at Petsmart.)
Marley
Breed: Domestic Shorthair
Sex: Male
Age: Senior
Nothin' But Snuggle
(Yes, that’s his real name.So cute right!)
Breed: Domestic Shorthair
Sex: Male
Age: Kitten
French Fry
Breed: Domestic Longhair
Sex: Female
Age: Adult
Drama Club
By Thomas Paine
The Drama Club has been working extremely hard to prepare for the Christmas play “A Seussified Christmas Carol”. Come and show your support for The Drama Club by Joining them on the 14th of December.
Original Writing
The Snow
By Joan Michel
The snow
It’s a wonderful thing
The way it falls
Out of the sky,
And lands down so softly
If you did not know how it was made
Up in the clouds so high
You would think it’s magic
Some ancient sorcery
Cast down upon us
But the snow is cold,
And bitter
When the nip in the air
Catches your soul
It makes you think of how
You are growing old
Seeing the familiar sight once more
Tetris Effect
Tetris Effect was released to the public Nov, 9, 2018 on the PS4.
Tetris Effect is based on the 1984 classic game labeled Tetris on the NES. Tetris and Tetris Effect are both tile matching puzzle games but Tetris Effect unlike Tetris introduces a new way to play. Tetris Effect has a meter labeled “Zone” in the bottom left corner of the screen, when the meter is full this can be activated, slowing down time allowing the player to clear as many lines as possible. In the original Tetris players could only clear 4 lines to obtain a “tetris”, this new mode can allow the player to get a “decahexatris” or a 16 row clear combo. Not only does this new mode make the game stand out, with its stunning graphics, beautiful music and immersive feel giving the game a whole new level of gameplay.
Temple of Fate (Continuation)
By: Korynn Gagne
An awkward silence echoed across the walls, as much of a silence as there could be in the temple anyway, it was in the ocean after all. The waves crashing generated a plethora of rucas, not to mention that a kingdom was being raided above them. How she longed to see a pure silence for once in her immortal life. To have true thinking room just once. With enough silence, with enough space, in perfect silence, with no distractions… But that wasn’t real.
Tangum realized that their conversation had been left on a cliffhanger.
She turned around and offered him a handshake, “Nice to meet you.” Yes, it was a lie, but how else could she carry on the conversation? It was a common and polite phrase.
Matt nearly shook her hand while holding the match, but switched hands, making for an awkward handshake. Tangum tried to make eye contact, but she couldn’t exactly see his eyes given the poor lighting of the match. She turned around and continued walking. Well, that was a failed attempt at conversation, but it didn’t matter anyway. They eventually arrived in the next room. The black void spread across the doorway like a night sky.
“Throw the match,” Tangum stepped aside.
“It’s going to light the place on fire,” Matt replied with stubborn insistence. Tangum rolled her eyes, “Don’t get revved up, just throw the match.”
“We can’t do that!”
Tangum had understood that this boy thought he was the boss. She took the match and threw it into the center of the room. She watched his eyes widen as the room illuminated instantly. His eye pupils contracted to adjust to the light as he flung an arm up to his face. She smiled smugly to herself and turned away.
She gestured for him to follow her. She led him to a wall on the opposite side of the room. The room was highly uninviting, it was made of cement with shelves in each corner, and doors on the left and right-hand sides. There was a ridge connecting the two shelves on this particular wall, there was also a large rectangle of soap on the wall. It looked like some sort of television screen. Tangum shot Matt a quick glance before taking out another match. She performed what appeared to be some sort of ritual with it. She scraped it once to the left on the soap screen to light it, then to the right, left, left again, upward, right, downward… Her face was one of intense, but begrudging concentration. She continued with the ritual for what seemed like an eternity… left, right, up, down, down, right… Downright vexing. Her movements were harsh and lackadaisical. Finally, she jabbed the match into the wall and turned it as though it were a key. It left a black dot on the soap which slowly grew to spell out a message. Tangum read it out loud:
“The evils, four
Return for more
But one can end the bleeding
He’ll rise against
Earth spins again
He’s far beyond succeeding”
Original Drawings
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