WINGSPAN

The final weekend of January came in like a lion as it dropped over a foot of snow on the local area. The Nor Easter began very early Saturday morning, to the disappointment of students who had wished for snow day. Early February looks potentially active with another storm slated to arrive on the third and fourth of the month. This could provide students with the snow day they had hoped for last week.

By- Lucas LeGrand

Have you ever wondered why we take a day off from school in the middle of January? Did you ever wonder what the name Martin Luther King Jr means today? Well, I am about to explain everything to whoever is reading this.

Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta Georgia on January 15, 1929. His father was a priest and his mother was a teacher. He was raised in a strong black community known as “Sweet Auburn”, in Atlanta. When he was growing up back then, it was all segregated, which means everything was separated based on whether you were White or African American. This made Martin Luther King Jr frustrated. Though he was mad, his grandfather and father were pastors at a local church where he grew up, so he did not react to the violence. When he was an adult, he went to colleges and schools in Philadelphia, and Boston. He noticed that black and white people up north were more free to do what they wanted then the south. When he was an adult, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama with his wife. Soon after they moved there, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white man. So King, with help, started a boycott to not use buses, but walk to where they needed to go. As a result, King's house got bombed, and it would not be the last time. Because of that, King started to lead churches, telling the people there not to be violent, but to be like Gandhi, who taught King not to be violent during protests. Soon after that, King held peaceful protests all around America, his most famous one was the march on Washington, where he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, in 1963. His great aptitude for giving speeches was great for this special occasion. Soon later, in 1965, African American people were allowed to vote, and before that, in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and contributed to the addition of greater civil rights for People of Color. So far, King had been on a roll. But then, in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated by James Earl Ray. King was assassinated at the age of thirty nine years old. We remember him today because of his legacy in promoting equality for all people and to improve the lives of African Americans in the United States. Thank you Doctor King!

COVID continues to impact the normalcy of school and our communities as a whole. January saw a significant spike in the OMICRON variant and absences have been high. Please continue to wear your mask and socially distance as much as possible.

By:Stella Deschenes

This winter season has been quite cold and warm! It is all over the place. I am going to give you some ways and ideas to have fun this season no matter what weather. One of my favorite things to do is to read and write. So if you ever have some free time it is a nice way to relax and calm down. Another thing you could do is go sledding if there is enough snow on the ground. This one isn’t very fun, but you could do your seasonal closet clean out, or tidy up your room. My last idea would be to take some time for yourself in this new year. It is ok to relax and care for yourself. As always, thank you for reading! - Stella D :)

By- Joshua LeGrand

Welcome to the January Issue of “Our Wacky World”! This is the first Wacky World issue of 2022, so I would like to thank everyone who reads these and votes in the polls. This month’s topic of “Our Wacky World” is going to be all about the craziest inventions in history. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Have you ever made toast before? Chances are most of you have. But have you ever made a slice of toast with your face on it? That’s where the Selfie Toaster comes in. In 2014, this toaster gained fame after being featured on several talk shows. This toaster, made by Vermont Novelty Toaster Corp, not only toasts your bread, it also burns your face onto the bread. Let me explain how it works. First, send a photo of yourself to the manufacturer. Next, the photo is prepared using Photoshop. A computer-guided metal cutting machine creates a plate with your face on it. Then, the plate is polished and put inside of a toaster. The plate will heat up and burn the image onto your piece of toast. Finally, put your bread in the toaster, and watch as, voila! You have a piece of toast with your face on it. Sadly, these toasters are no longer made, as the Vermont Novelty Toaster Corp is no longer in the toaster business.

Now we’re going to run through some other strange inventions of the past, starting with the donut dunker. It’s a device that helps you dunk donuts in your coffee without getting coffee all over the table. In the 1930s, a device like this was probably invented to make life easier. This device had a hook on it to put the donut, and a tray underneath that hook to stop your drink from dripping onto the tablecloth. Next up, the mass shaving machine. This was a machine that was able to shave twelve people at the same time. This helped barbers be more efficient when on the job. Lastly, the Futuro. The Futuro was a kind of modern house that was supposed to be portable and weather-resistant. It was made for “families who had an eye on the future”. When these were first introduced in the 1960s, about 100 of them came off of the assembly line. Only about 60 of them remain today.

That’s all for this month’s issue of Our Wacky World! Make sure to vote for what you want the next topic for Our Wacky World should be in the poll below. Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

VOTE HERE

By- Kaelyn Hildreth

Hello and welcome to this new segment! Here I will just share some of my favorite recipes, according to the seasons. I hope you try some of the recipes!

-Recipe-

Easy Hot Cocoa

This makes a small batch.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup Milk (if adding half and half, replace ¼ cup of milk for the half and half)

2 tsp Cocoa Powder

3 tsp Granulated Sugar

¼ cup Chocolate Chips

¼ cup Half and Half (optional)

A splash of vanilla extract

Whipped Cream (optional)

Mini Marshmallows (optional)

Mug

Put the milk into a small saucepan, heat on medium heat (don’t let the cocoa boil over or scald!) until lukewarm. Add cocoa powder. Stir. If applicable, add heavy cream. Add chocolate chips and sugar. Let the cocoa mixture get hotter and stir until the chocolate and sugar are melted.

Pour in a mug, add whipped cream and marshmallows! Enjoy! (warning, cocoa will be hot)

Cocoa will be rich, add milk if too rich.

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I hope you enjoyed this month’s recipe! Click here to vote for next month’s recipes.

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