What's the Big Deal? Issue #2
Issue design by Lyna Syed
Your inside scoop of Alice Deal!
-Lyna Syed, designer
For those who celebrate it, Thanksgiving is upon us! Now is the time to be thankful and spend time with loved ones. Gather around, eat and spread thanks. Deal has a very grateful community and here are some things Deal students and staff are thankful for.
MaryJane Webb-Team Izu
MJ is thankful for her friends and family. Also, for the existence of music. She oftentimes listens to a lot of music and loves going to concerts. It’s very important to her.
Scarlet Olcott- Team Mesa Verde
Scarlet is thankful for her family, friends and teachers.
Christina Yale- Team Powhatan
Christina is grateful for her friends and having good health.
Akira Vanegas- Team Kyoto
Akira is thankful for having a computer at home and being able to play games. He is also grateful for having good grades and enjoying studying.
Liam Stockton-Team Kyoto
Liam is thankful for being in a good living situation. He is also thankful for his friends, family and people in general.
Lukas Fischer- Team Abuja
Lukas is grateful for having weekends and holidays off.
Yonatan Rischman- Team Dreyfus
Yonatan is thankful for having enough food and resources.
Lyna Syed- Team Ouagadougou
Lyna is grateful for her dog Cody and for eating good food.
Leila Lipton- Team Powhatan
Leila is thankful to be able to go to school and for having a supportive family.
Khalil Page- Team Abuja
Khalil is grateful for existing and being born. There is a 1 in 400,000,000,000,000 chance of being born and he is thankful for being the lucky one and being alive. He is also thankful for the existence of good raisins.
Misha Zvontcov- Team Acoma
Misha is thankful to be learning Spanish and for joining the newspaper club.
Mr. McVey-Finney
Mr. McVey-Finney is grateful for being in good health and for his students.
Ms. Baer
Ms. Baer is thankful for her family being in good health and all the amazing students and staff and Deal.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year and is a great time to show your appreciation to your family and friends!
6th, 7th, and 8th grade, have either had their first deal time or are about to have their first one. Either way, deal time is a fun club-like experience for kids who have and don’t have a club they attend. Deal times include Walking club, Video Games, Coding, Movies, Comic making, Meditation and Mindfulness, and so many more! Deal time happens during advisory about once a month. I like Deal time because I am able to do something in school that I usually cannot do. My deal time is Meditation and Mindfulness. In that deal time I can do puzzles, read, rest, and chill! It is very relaxing and a nice way to reset after the events of the day, so that I am ready for 6th and 7th period. But Some deal times are more active like walking club. In that Deal time people are able to go outside of school (with a permission slip), and they are able to walk around the area surrounding deal. That deal time allows people to get fresh air that they can’t get when they’re cooped up inside all day. In all, deal time is a nice, fun, exciting, and enjoyable time for students to have during the day. It allows for new experiences, and a freedom that isn’t always available during the regular school day. So, next time that you're at deal time I hope you think about how much different and fun it is from your normal day. And maybe you might even want to join a new club after you realize that you enjoy the club like experience of deal time!
The volleyball team finished the season undefeated. On average they practice two days a week, as well as games. They have learned a lot of skills this year. In addition, they most recently won the state championship and the division championship, finishing with a record of 20-0. There are many players on the team that play many different positions. Some of them include middle, outside, and right-side hitters. Also, setter, libero, and defensive specialist (DS).
Coach Conway interview:
Q: What were the highlights of the season?
A: I would say one of the biggest highlights of the season was when we beat one of our rivals. Also, when we were able to harness our power as a team and started to play well together. Another highlight was being the division and conference champion with a 19-0 record, and then we won the state championship which made us 20-0.
Q: What can you build on for next year?
A: Building on is one of our biggest objectives which is why we had a 6th grade team, and a JV built into the other team. So that is what building looks for our program; we have already begun!
Q: What surprised you the most about the team this year?
A: What surprised me most about this team was their ability to bounce back and to follow the game plan.
Q: Do you think that the team worked well together?
A: Absolutely. It took a couple of games but then after about the 4th game they were able to find their synergy. And that is why I think they were able to be able to get so many sets out of them.
Player interview: Chloe Deubert (7th grade)
Q: Did you enjoy this season? Why?
A: Yes, I did enjoy this season because it was very fun and nice to meet new people. I really liked its community.
Q: Who did you think was a standout player this season? Why?
A: I would say Kendall was a standout player because she was a good leader and could control the floor.
Q: What position did you play? Did you like it? Why?
A: I played both outside hitter and setter. I liked setter more because I was able to pass the ball more, but I still also like to hit.
In a separate conversation with Coach Conway, she says a main factor to the team’s winnings was an acronym called TEAM. This means the team was to talk, execute, add points, and make noise. To conclude, the volleyball team has had an excellent season this year and it is a sport you should definitely come check out.
On Friday November 22nd Johnson middle school went against Alice Deal middle school in the archery tournament. It was a good game, and Deal won!
Each of the teams got a trophy. Johnson middle school got the second-place trophy, and we got the first-place trophy! Go Vikings!
We interviewed Samuel Hyde-Parish who was in the tournament, and we asked him, "do you like archery? Is it fun? He responded with “I like archery it's fun” “How many stars would you rate the sport out of 10?” He replied “8/10 stars it's a great sport” Sam did very well on the tournament and got a great score of 206 out of 300 points he did great like many archers on the team. He says that Coach Downing has helped him a lot.
This is the 5th time Deal has won an archery tournament and gotten an unbelievable score of 9 tournaments won, and 0 lost!
Half of the teams went on the first flight and the other half went on the second flight. There were 8 rounds of shooting in each flight. So, the game was a little under 2 hours. I really recommend going to the archery games!
The cross-country season, coached by Coach Beckley and Coach Faegan just ended, and nationals were held in North Carolina on Saturday December 7th where Maxeen Clauré competed against hundreds of students from schools across the country. Just qualifying for the Nationals is an achievement! Pre-championship, Maxeen said she felt “pretty excited for North Carolina. I’m going to see my friends from other schools.” She also admitted to feeling a bit nervous but was ultimately excited. “It’s going to be good competition and even if I don’t perform like my best, it’s a great experience and I’m ready for it,” Maxeen said. Now that the Nationals are over, she performed well and placed highly.
Maxeen has been running since she was 8 years old, starting in third grade for the Murch Girls on the Run team. She later joined the Murch track team while continuing to run with Girls on the Run. One of Maxeen’s first running accomplishments was when she won 1st place at the 2021 Girls on the Run 5K, competing against 4000 people. She says the key to winning is to “keep your mind distracted and keep running.” Additionally, at her first cross country meet, she got the second-place developmental medal. Some other running honors Maxeen has won are, first place at a Georgetown Prep track meet, first place at the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) and a second-place medal by a single second at the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) meet. Maxeen makes running a priority in her life and strives to do her best and get awards.
To win these awards, one must train. Maxeen's training involves running “4-5 times a week.” she says, “I always include intervals, long runs and hill repeats [everyday] and [as for the other aspects of training] are up to my choosing and how I feel.” She listens to how her body feels and adjusts her workouts to best suit that day.
One of the big questions runners are often asked is how they stay motivated when running. Maxeen has developed a strategy that works. She “usually just think[s] about the reward and the feeling [of triumph] after passing the finish line. Another strategy is to look at the person in front of you and then try to beat them. It’s the “best feeling” when you beat them.
Maxeen says her biggest competition is Elsa Kerr who is her teammate on the Deal Track team because Elsa is “good and talented.” Competition motivates people to do their best and Elsa does a great job at that.
Many people tend to feel lots of emotions before a cross country meet and Maxeen can relate. She tries to “keep the stress to a minimum” despite feeling a lots of jitters. “Some good and some bad. I try to keep the bad ones out,” she says. She uses techniques to tone down stress such as reflecting on everything that she has done to get to this stage, positive affirmations (that's the biggest one), encouragement from friends and family, and breathing exercises.
Cross country is a wonderful sport that creates community and pushes people to reach their best. You should check it out next year, even if you are going to high school.
We spoke with several teachers about Alice Deal’s original building, commonly known as the Main Building. We asked them about what they like about the Main Building, and what they would change about it. Because of the sensitivity of the discussion, we will keep their names anonymous.
Teacher 1 claimed that they like the Main Building, but the temperature within the rooms could be better. Some rooms are very hot and humid, while others are icy, chilly, and cold.
Teacher 2 said their room needs some maintenance. There is a hole above their desk that mice like to go through. Occasionally, mice fall over their desk. They said that the Main Building needs much needed repairs to address visible wear and tear. They also wished for better climate control.
Teacher 3 noted that the Main Building needs to fix the wear and tear present in every classroom.
Teacher 4 stated that they love their classroom. BUT they feel bad for the teachers and students downstairs in the basement with absolutely ZERO windows. Teacher 4 also made the point that the wear and tear needs to be fixed.
Teacher 5 argued that the bathrooms are in great disrepair. They pointed out a gaping hole over the ventilation shaft. Again, they support the claim that the wear and tear needs to be fixed.
he Robotics club has been at Alice Deal for the past several years. The club meets in the library, and the entire room is busy with robots and kids coding on computers. Mr. Reichlen, who is also our school librarian, leads the club. He says, “I started the club because I know that a lot of kids at Deal are interested in robotics and coding,” and he talks about how the club works. Mr. Reichlen has been doing building, coding, and robotics for a while and is certified for the FIRST Tech Challenge. The robotics club is a part of First to Inspire, a global organization that teaches robotics and gives students tech careers and scholarships as they get older. The club has three FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams, one for each grade. They also have a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team, only for 7th and 8th graders.
Jesse Shareno is on the 7th grade FLL team, and he joined the Robotics club because he “thought it would be fun, and my brother did it.” He also did robotic camps that inspired him to join. In FLL, Jesse explains that there is a large map, and you program a robot to complete little missions by pushing, pulling, picking stuff up, etc. They write their code to program their robot to do these actions on Scratch using block code. The FLL team recently had a competition on November 23 at McKinley Tech High School, which they won! This means that they will move to the state's competition.
Osh Klouda is an 8th grader on the FTC team, and he did the Robotics club last year as well. He has also liked to build things, and he is both a builder and driver for his team. He explains that First TECH Challenge is different from First LEGO League because they use metal parts at FTC. Their robot that they program is named Gary, and they program it to do different challenges. In December, they have a competition against other schools from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
As you can tell, there are a lot of exciting things happening in the Alice Deal Robotics team and they will continue to build, program, and compete. Everyone is welcome to join the team!
A problem that has come to surface at Deal in the past few years is a paper shortage for teachers school wide. While this has not affected every class, some classes have had to change the type of assignments because of the shortage. “Last year there was a paper shortage, and it caused the majority of my history assignments to be online,” said 8th grader Elina Hart. 6th grader Khalil Page explained “it [the paper shortage] caused the school newspaper to be online”. In my history class, we stopped having do now’s on do now sheets because of a lack of paper. Paper shortages tend to hit multiple classrooms at the same time. For example, when the copying machine in the North Building was broken, almost every class in the North Building had online work for a few days. The question is, why are these paper shortages happening? According to Akoma ELA teacher Mr. McVey-Finney, the paper is distributed to each teacher so why are the shortages happening in some classes but not others? According to Florianopolis History teacher Ms. Kaufman, paper is expensive, so the amount of paper given to each teacher isn’t sufficient. In addition, since some kids don’t have computers or don’t have them in a class, teachers have to print paper copies, using up their limited paper supplies. In summary, several factors contribute to paper usage , which combined with low paper supplies leads to paper shortages. It is clear that while this may not be an issue in every class, it is becoming a schoolwide problem.
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria and was officially made the capital city on December 12th ,1991. It was built in the 1980s and is located on land that was originally connected to the ancient tribes of Habe kingdom of Zazzau which was made up of several smaller independent tribes. Abuja was chosen as the capital city after Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom. Its “central location, easy accessibility, pleasant climate, low population density, and the availability of land for future expansion” made it the perfect place for the capital of Nigeria. Its design was planned by three American Architecture and Planning firms: PRC Corporation; Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd; and Archisystems.
Christmas is a popular holiday celebrated by many students and staff at Deal. Winter break often coincides with the holiday, but not always as some Christian denominations celebrate Christmas in January rather than on December 25th. Regardless of the timing, it is a day when families enjoy presents and food together. Christmas is the highlight of the year for many. Happy Holidays everyone!
Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated by Jewish people all around the word. The holiday of Hanukkah is a celebration of the story of the Maccabees. The King of Greece was trying to get rid of all the Jews and convert them to his religion. In the process, he damaged the Temple, a holy place for the Jews. The Maccabees were a group of people that stood up to the army and fought them. Miraculously, they won several battles and afterwards went to the temple to reclaim it. At that time, people needed to light oil in order to have light for the temple. The Maccabees found oil, but it was only enough for one day and it was eight days until they were going to receive more oil. However, a miracle happened and the oil that was only enough to last for one day lasted for eight days. Because of this, Hanukkah is eight days long.
People celebrate Hanukkah in many ways, but they all have some connection to the original story. People eat fried foods on Hanukkah to remember the oil that lit up the temple, so common foods people eat on Hanukkah are Latkas (fried potato pancakes) and Sufkaniot which are a type of donut. People light candles in a Menorah (a candle holder) every night of Hanukkah to remember the light that lasted for eight days. Kids receive gifts every night of Hanukkah although there is no biblical reason as to why.