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Animal Farm Song Project Wrap-Up

It’s been happening for 15+ years… Generations of students (okay, maybe not generations) have been enjoying it for a while… That’s right, it’s the ever-popular eighth grade Animal Farm song project! Here’s how it works: Eighth grade students are required to read the book Animal Farm over the summer. After a series of comprehension discussions, students break into groups, and write and rehearse parody-type songs that tell the Animal Farm story. Fast-forward 1.5 months when students perform their songs for their Language Arts class. During this first round of performances, peers vote for which group they think did the best job. Those with the most votes go to Round Two, the semi-finals. These students perform in Room 10 and their videos can be seen below. Peers then voted a second time for their favorite group. The Red Hot Piggy People are the winners and performed their song in the Meeting…


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Life Hack #2: Make a Bigger Condiment Cup

Welcome back! I have another weekly life hack for you, and this one is special because it can be implemented in our very own cafeteria. Get a paper ketchup cup and be prepared to be amazed by this life hack. Warning: this life hack may not work without this type of ketchup container:  Now that you have your container, let’s improve it. These cups are made by folding a round piece of paper in a repeated pattern. We are going to unfold it.  Now that you have your container, let’s improve it. These cups are made by folding a round piece of paper in a repeated pattern. We are going to unfold it. If you completely unfold it it will look like this:  So, obviously we don’t want to completely unfold it. Instead we will notice these small folded triangles and unfold every other one. Like this, look below:  Unfold…


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What Does It Mean to Be a Boy?

On November 17, 2015, students and faculty took a break from the morning’s traditional classes to take part in special programing surrounding the issues of gender identity in social situations. Middle School students had the option of going to Program 1  and hearing visiting author Patricia Ottaviano discuss female social dynamics or Program 2 and discuss what it means to be a boy or man by watching the movie The Mask You Live In, a movie about issues of masculinity. I attended Program 2, and there were a few things that resonated with me from the day. Here are four tips for boys to remember: Be yourself. Though it sounds like something out of a Disney movie, sometimes it is important to step back and say to yourself, “Is this really what I want to do?” By this, I mean it is important to not do things just because they…





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Pasta Pairings

Tortellini is delicious with creamy alfredo sauce, pesto, or just about anything. It is usually stuffed with ricotta cheese. It comes in many colors including red and green. Often, it is baked in the oven. Lasagna is a type of thin wavy pasta used to make used to make lasagna. It is almost always covered In layers of cheese, sauce, and sometimes ground beef or vegetables. Stuffed shells are good with beef and cheese, or sugar and potatoes. Ravioli usually comes stuffed with cheese, or you can stuff them yourself. Pair with tomato sauce or pesto. Penne is delicious with cheese and lots of sauce. It is very delicious. Angel hair can be described as a thinner version of spaghetti. It is long and skinny, but thinner. It can be paired well with creamy alfredo sauce. Spaghetti is a long skinny pasta that is often paired with meatballs and tomato sauce, but…


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Making Steam and Bubbles with Dry Ice

Do you remember, seventh graders, that on October 30, 2015, Ms. Sims showed us how to make liquid steam? Or how you were able to make bubbles that you could put on your hands? Well, if any of you were wondering how to do that in your very own homes, look no further. Here is a tutorial on how to make your water bubbles and steam! Things you need: Dry Ice Warm Water Soap (any kind works!) Gloves! An open container of some sort An open container that has a pipe connected to it, like this: Optional: Food Coloring How to Make Steam STEP 1: Fill your container (not with the pipe) with warm water. Add your food coloring if you like. STEP 2: Take out the dry ice. WARNING: Remember to wear gloves when you take out the dry ice! Dry ice is EXTREMELY cold and should not be…


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Turtle Talk with Terry

Vol. II, Issue 5? (Not sure…) Hello turtle-lovers! This is Charlie Szwartz, new to the TTWT (Turtle Talk with Terry) community. I’ve got your outer shell with not only with cool turtle facts, but also PHOTOSHOP! Now for our turtle fact… According to PetEducation.com, turtles live in EVERY continent in the world except for Antarctica! Recently, Ms. Sims’s Block 6 seventh grade science class, including me, did some research… And we found out that Terry is actually a FEMALE turtle! 


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FCS Flag Football Season Outcome

So, you’ll remember a little while ago when we wrote “FCS Flag Football Championship Preview.” So, as the winter hammers down with basketball and squash, we’d like to tell you the final outcome of the flag football championship game. Here we go! Semifinals: Blue Team (Blake Roshkoff ’20) vs. Yellow Team (Gordon Wilcox ’20) Well, the score was not 90-0. Since it was a “W” Day, the games were shortened to 20 minutes. I did not realize that by the time I wrote my preview, so my predictions were wrong. It was actually a very exciting (and very controversial) game. At first, the Blue Team, with none other than Tucker Wolfson ‘21 pulling flags like a beast, was winning with 6 points ahead. In a shocking conclusion, the Yellow Team, with none other than Charlie Szwartz ’21 keeping his team together, managed to throw a lucky pass to Sylvan Davidson ‘20, tying the score…


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