Wingspan

February 2021

Winter Returns To Region

By- Wingspan Staff

February came in like a lion, depositing several storms on the region. The month has also been marked by bitter cold temperatures. Weather forecasters are predicting a milder March with above average temperatures. Before you get out the sunscreen and t-shirts, remember that in New England all you have to do is wait a minute and the weather changes! So keep those shovels and snow boots ready. No matter what the sun continues to get stronger and the signs of Spring will begin to show as we go through the next few weeks.

February is Black History Month

By- Wingspan Staff

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

The Black History Month 2021 theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” explores the African diaspora, and the spread of Black families across the United States.

Valentines Day

By Joshua LeGrand

On February 14, 2021, people around the world expressed their love to their Valentine’s through cards, candy, flowers, etc. This day, known as Valentine’s Day, has more history than you might think. This article will run through the origins of Valentine’s Day, what it celebrates, and why how people celebrate it.

The origins of Valentine’s Day begin more than 1000 years ago. Its origins go back to a Pagan festival known as Lupercalia. In the 5th century CE, Pope Gelasius made February 14th Saint Valentine’s day in an effort to Christianize it. But there is still one big question: Which Saint Valentine did they name the day after? This question is hard to answer because several Saint Valentine’s were canonized (made saints after they died), although one Roman priest in particular stands out. According to legend, in the 3rd century CE, when Claudius II was the Emperor of Rome, the vast Roman army had to leave behind their wives and children for long periods of time. The result was a homesick and miserable army, so Claudius II, not wanting love to lessen the military’s power, banned marriages altogether. One Roman priest, known as Father Valentine, thought that the marriage ban was unfair, and defied the Emperor by continuing to marry young lovers. Claudius II soon found out what Father Valentine was doing, arrested him, and sentenced him to death. It is said that couples he had married came to Valentine’s cell and slipped him notes and flowers as symbols of their appreciation. While he was imprisoned, Valentine reportedly fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and on February 14, the day he was to be executed, he passed her a note, signed “from your Valentine''. This was said to be the first ever Valentine. In the 19th century, Valentine’s Day traditions, such as giving your loved ones cards, candy, and flowers, began to spread throughout the English speaking world, and in the 20th and 21st centuries, these traditions began to reach the whole world. In 2019, about $20.7 billion were spent on Valentine’s Day in the United States alone. About 224 million roses are grown for the occasion. $5.8 billion are spent buying jewelry and $1.5 billion are spent buying cards. In short, a lot of money is spent on that one day.

Although there are several different Valentine’s Day traditions all over the world, like the United States, Greece, and France, in some countries, such as Iran, it is banned. Some countries have different Valentine’s Day traditions. In many Asian countries, husbands give gifts to their wives on Valentine's Day, and one month later, on a day known as “White Day” in Asia, the wives give gifts to their husbands. In parts of Latin America and in Colombia, a tradition called “Amigo Secreto” (Secret friend), which is similar to Secret Santa, is very popular.

Here’s the fast facts:

Valentine's Day’s origins go back to a Pagan festival Christianized by the church. The day the festival took place was named after Saint Valentine, who is said to have written the first ever Valentine while he was in prison. In the 19th century, Valentine’s Day traditions began to spread throughout English speaking countries, and in the 20th and 21st centuries these traditions reached the whole world. Several countries celebrate Valentine’s Day in ways similar and different to ours.

The New President and Vice President

By:Stella Deschenes

First let's start off with Joe Biden, our 46th U.S President.

President Biden is 78 years old and his birthday is November 20, 1942. His full name is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Biden has 4 children, Hunter Biden, Ashley Biden, Beau Biden, and Naomi Christina Biden. Sadly, only Hunter and Ashley are still alive today. Joe’s grandchildren are Natalie Biden, Finnegan Biden, Maisy Biden, Robert Biden II, Naomi Biden, and Beau Biden Jr.

Joe Biden attended the University of Delaware. His spouse is Jill Biden. He has two German Shepherds, Major and Champ. His parents are Catherine Eugenia Finnegan and Joseph R. Biden Sr. Joe was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Next let's talk about Kamala Harris. She is our 46th Vice President. She is 56 years old. Her birthday is October 20, 1964.Her full name is Kamala Devi Harris. She has 2 step children named Cole Emhoff and Emma Emhoff. She attended Howard University. Her spouse is Doug Emhoff. Her parents are Donald Harris and Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Kamala was born in Oakland, California. Not only is Kamala the first female Vice President, but she is also the first African American woman to be Vice President.

The Time Files Part IV

By Karl Sargent

Chapter VII

Thomas awoke in a forest, with pine trees surrounding him. He cound’nt see beyond the first line of trees, it was covered by a thick black fog. Alone, he grabbed the nearest weapon, a rock on the ground. He heard a howling noise that semmingly came from all around him. A small white wolf snarled from in frort of him, and charged. It tackled him, but he threw it off of himself. A phasepistol appered on the ground. He quickly picked it up and shot the wolf, still recovering from the throw to the ground. The wolf, instead of fading into the color of the lazer of the phase weapon, turned to black dust. Thomas turned around, ready for another attack. This time, a brown bear came lumbering out of the mist, and angrily charged at Thomas. He shot at it, but the weapon had no effect. Thomas kept shooting, and finally the bear was converted into a black powder. “What is this place?” Thomas asked himself.

“He’s here!” Thomas looked behind to see a person with a baseball bat. This person had the black dust rising from all around them. The person charged at Thomas, but he shot. The person deflected the shot with the bat, and it went into the deep forest. Thomas, shocked, grabbed the bat from the person’s hand and hit them with it. They instantly turned to the dust as well. Another person came out of the fog, and charged. This person also had a bat, so Thomas dogded his atack and hit him in the back. That person collapsed as well. Another wolf emerged, and Thomas kept it away with his two bats. Another person stood behind him, preparing to strike, but Thomas quickly hit the wolf over the head, and blocked the person’s attack. They quickly began to fight with their weapons, and eventually, Thomas defeated him as well. Therewas a blinding light that came from the forest, and it quickly got to Thomas. When it reached him, he instantly fainted.

Thomas woke up, seeing trees all around him. He stood, and there was no one near him. There were no roads, just forest. He had no bat, but he kept all of his previous weapons. He heard the noise of a car coming from the right of him, so he went towards the noise. He came out to a road, leading straight to his left and curved to his right. He followed the straight path. An Eonian truck went by him, and he ducked behind a tree to avoid being detectded. He walked along the road for a long time, until it took a sharp left. He went with the turn, and about a mile later, he came apon a military-like fortress. “Harvey’s compound,” Thomas muttered to himself. “This could be a chance to eliminate him.” Thomas ran to the left side of the fort, and was shocked to see no walls gaurding it. He ran in, while ducking down. He decided to go for the main building of the fort. He guessed that Harvey was to be found there. The whole fort was heavily guarded, so he looked for access points around the building. On the back side, there was a door only guarded by one soldier. He readied his phasebow and took the shot. The arrow hit, and the guard faded into blue dust, to match the color of the arrow. He ran to were the unfortunarte soldier stood, and there was a keycard. He took the keycard and used it on the grey steel door in front of him. The door unlocked, and Thomas pushed the heavy door open, slowly. There was only one pathway, leading down and taking a right, so Thomas walked on it, carefully. He peeked over the edge to see a patrolling soldier. He once again readied his phasebow. He took the shot, howeverit missed. The soldier immediately lifted his gun up and ran towards Thomas. Thomas dove out from the corner, and punched the guard in the face. The soldier, who was running very fast, hit the ground and passed out. Thomas continued down the grey, blank halls. There was another turn, this time to the left, and Thomas veered around it. There were no more guards. At the end of the hallway were a set of wooden doors. Thomas opened them up, to see a very dark room. He touched the ground to feel sand. Suddenly, flood lights opened. He was in an arena, the outside lined with soldiers ready to see a fight. When the final set of lights came on, another person was revealed. It was Harvey. This time, he was wearing a metal mask, with no inscriptions, only two eye holes and air holes. The masked Harvey ran at him. Harvey took out his weapon, a phase-axe. It was a viking-style axe. Having no melee weapons, Thomas raised his fists, prepared for battle.

Chapter VIII

The soldiers cheered. They chanted, “Harvey! Harvey! Harvey!,” in support of Sean. Sean raised his axe to hit Thomas, but Thomas grabbed his arm, twisted it, and he dropped his weapon. Thomas was very skilled at fist-fighting. Harvey ran back, and took out his second weapon, a rod which extended to become a phasespear. Harvey attacked with the spear, but Thomas blocked it. They kept blocking each other’s attacks, both of them skilled fighters. Harvey went for a stab attack with his spear, but Thomas blocked it, drove the axe and the spear into the sand, and kicked Harvey in the face. Harveyturned backward, and his mask fell off. He turned around to reveal what he really looked like. He was a short-haired man with green eyes, and a goatee.

“You’ll never win,” Harvey said, smugly. He got up, and picked up his spear, and closed in for an attack. Thomas quickly picked up the axe and swung right at him, but he dove around and behind Thomas, and kicked him down. Thomas rolled away and got back up. Harvey backed up from him, and was going to do a spear throw. He threw, and it got close to Thomas, but he dove and missied it. Harvey, now weaponless, was finished. Thomas equipped his phasebow and quicked shot Harvey, right in the stomach. Harvey collapsed into dust. The soldiers in the stands began to get angry, and started to jump over the fence of the arena to kill Thomas. Thomas, with the axe, ran. He picked up a small note from were Harvey was, but he didn't have time to get the spear. He sprinted towards the doors, and made it. He ran thrugh the halls, and escaped before the crowds emerged from the door. He ran far into the woods.

Thomas unraveled the note. It read, “To The Hammer: Hello, If you got my last message you know that I sent my contact Sergei to meet with you. You can find him in Copenhagen, in 1600. He’ll be at the west side of the harbor. Just say the word ‘Australia’ and you will know who he is. Look, please learn to use your messanger. Writing all this is getting annoying, but I know you find it hard to use technology like that. From, Sean Harvey.” Thomas put the note in his pocket, and traveled through the Time-Jumper to tell General Bates of his discovery.

Queen Anemone's Story

By Olivia Fuller

Queen Anemone was sitting on her throne. She had already beaten her mother, Queen Coral, In a proper duel.Queen Anemone had not seen her big sister ,Tsunami in years. Her other little sister, Princess Auklet was almost old enough to challenge Queen Anemone.Webs had been cured from the Sandwing venom, and was sent back to the Kingdom Of The Sea to become the new guard for the Royal Hatchery.Webs had not failed yet, But Queen Anemone had a feeling that he would fail very soon.There had been no reports on attacking Skywings ever since the Bombing of the Summer Palace.

Even Though the Summer Palace had been rebuilt, and reinforced, Queen Anemone put extra guards at each guard post, just in case of attack. She also sent more guards to do a patrol in the Bay Of A Thousand Scales.

The Sandwing queen had been chosen, the war had ended, The Dragonet Prophecy had been fulfilled, and Morrowseer was dead, so the Talons Of Peace was disbanded. Suddenly Queen Anemone heard a booming outside of the Deep Palace, so she sent Riptide out to check on the Royal Hatchery,and there it was. Princess Orca’s Animus statue had rebuilt itself,and it had smashed 1 out of 3 eggs that she had laid. Webs had not been punished, because Queen Anemone knew that it was not his fault. Queen Anemone was glad Whirlpool was dead, he had made her use her Secret Animus magic for stupid things, like once he told her to make a pearl necklace move around like a snake.

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