Dear Appy
By: Madelyn Valle
Concept and Title Credit to Mrs. Farrell
Concept and Title Credit to Mrs. Farrell
During middle school, students have to deal with copious amounts of homework, studying, tests and quizzes. Many people receive assignment pads at the beginning of the year to write all of these academic assignments down. However, many students stop using these a few months into the new school year. Some may have lost their assignment pads, or merely found that recording all of their work was too tedious for them. Having these assignments recorded is often helpful though, and there are many other ways to keep track of all the hectic madness in the school year. Here are some ways to keep yourself organized.
Try joining Remind, an app that allows teachers to send their students texts reminding them of assignments and assessments. Some teachers in this school have Remind. If you sign up and enter your teacher’s code, you will receive messages from your teacher consisting of all of your assignments, upcoming quiz and test dates, and upcoming due dates. While not all teachers have this app, the classes that you can join will still prove to be useful.
Another app that you can use is Google Keep. Google Keep allows you to make checklists, add notes, and make reminders. It’s helpful because most of the work we do is online, and it’s more convenient to record assignments by typing rather than writing. When you open your computer to do an assignment, you can open the Google Keep app and type the assignment with its due date. You can add this program to your toolbar or bookmark bar so you can open it up, just like Google Search. It’s really great.
While these other programs are very helpful, one more program you can use is Google Calendar. With your school account, all your Google assignments will already be listed on the calendar, which is extremely useful. You can also add other events and dates to the calendar. It is good for getting organized.
Many students struggle with keeping organized with their assignments, especially as the school year goes on. Hopefully the suggestions included in this article will help you keep organized as much as it helped me over the past 2 years in middle school. |
| Memorial students participated in Random Acts of Kindness Week to show their generosity and school spirit. How will YOU make a difference in someone else's life? |
GeoBee
By: Varun Gupta
Since 1989, the National Geographic Foundation has been holding the National Geographic Bee. This trend began after citizens of the U.S scored extremely low in terms of their geographic knowledge in comparison to the rest of the world. In fact, most people couldn’t even locate the U.S on a world map! Due to this lack of geographic awareness, the National Geographic Association decided to create a fun, motivational GeoBee to encourage students between grades 4-8 to learn more about the world and become better global citizens.
Over the years, the National Geographic Bee has gained considerable popularity in schools. Thousands of schools nationwide have had students compete for the grand prize of a $50,000 scholarship. The National Geographic Bee has served as a strong motivation for many students to work hard and expand their knowledge of the physical world. Each year, out of the millions that compete in the bee, 57 go to Washington D.C. in May and 10 make it to the final round. Getting to this point requires multitudinous, meticulous hours of studying, as well as a lot of dedication. 2016 Geo Bee finalist Rishi Kumar said that it getting to Nationals requires “countless hours of preparation.”
Recently, state qualifiers have been determined. In March, one hundred students from each state will compete in state bees. One student will go to Nationals. These students go to Washington D.C. It is an exciting time for these students. Good luck to all students and congratulations on what you have already achieved!
7th Grade Field Trip to the American Museum of Natural History
By: Shruthika Parsa
Over the course of the school year, students at MMMS go on various different field trips all over the tri-state area. This year, the 7th graders of Marlboro Memorial Middle School went on a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History. It was a wonderful experience! It was exciting, astonishing, entertaining, educational, and best of all, extremely fun!
The American Museum of Natural History is located in New York City. It is a place where people can go to see almost all of the important events of scientific and biological history before their eyes. There are bunches of dinosaur bones, fossils, sculptures, animals, and much more. The seventh graders traveled on coach buses to and from the museum. In the museum, they visited the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, Hall of Biodiversity, Hall of Ocean Life, Reptiles and Amphibians exhibit, and the Hall of Vertebrate Origins. While visiting all of these exhibits, they had a fun scavenger hunt to play along with the trip.
Spitzer Hall of Human Origins
In the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, the seventh graders learned about the skeletal structures, DNA, variation, and evolution of chimpanzees, modern humans, and neanderthals. They were even lucky enough to learn about the family trees and family lines of “Our Hominid Family Tree.” As the museum says, “The Spitzer Hall of Human Origins presents key and cutting-edge evidence—fossils, genetic data, and artifacts—that scientists use to assemble the evolutionary story of our taxonomic family, the hominids.”
Hall of Biodiversity
The Hall of Biodiversity was full of fascinating exhibits. The 7th graders learned about the ecological roles of mammals and amphibians. They also heard about the extinction periods: Ordovician Period, Devonian Period, Permian Period, Triassic Period, and Cretaceous Period. Along with all of that, they learned about different types of bacteria. As the museum explains, “The Hall of Biodiversity presents a vivid portrait of the beauty and abundance of life on Earth, highlighting both biodiversity and the factors that threaten it.”
Hall of Ocean Life
Did you know that jellyfish have spring-loaded stinger cells called cnidocytes? Well, one of the animals in the Hall of Ocean Life was the jellyfish. It featured many other different sea animals. The hall also included a jellyfish dome show. This dome show explained how jellyfish have evolved over time, and how they function. The seventh graders also got to learn about how frogs, lizards, turtles, birds, and mammals inherited their four-limbed skeleton. In addition, there was information about how chemical evidence suggests that there was life present in the ocean many years ago.
Reptiles and Amphibians
In the Reptiles and Amphibians exhibit, students discovered the significant difference between reptile eggs and amphibian eggs, giant land turtles, frogs, the Sun, and the first vertebrate animals on land.
Hall of Vertebrate Origins
The Hall of Vertebrate Origins taught the seventh graders about evolutionary features and functions. The most breathtaking part of this exhibit was the huge dinosaur at the end. It was a titanosaur, with its own enormous exhibition room!
Overall, the trip was a great success! 7th graders walked away with new knowledge and an appreciation for natural history.
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| HUNGER CHALLENGE WINNERS. Chloe Wu won the Food Bank's plaque art contest so her drawing appears on all the plaques awarded to the various schools across Monmouth and Ocean Counties. CLUBS
Yearbook Club
By: Jianna Milan
In Yearbook Club, students have the opportunity to design pages for the yearbook. Led by Mrs. Alfano and Ms. DaCosta, this club meets every other Tuesday in room 150. Students from all grades work collaboratively to produce a stellar book for the students of MMMS to have as a keepsake of their time in Memorial.
Some may be hesitant to join the club due to the common fear that they will not be able to do their work well, or that the program used to design the yearbook will be too complicated for them to comprehend. Fear not, because the application used to create the yearbook is simple and quick to use. After a little bit of practice, using the program will be effortless.
The Yearbook Club is a valuable use of time and students will be very honored to have worked on the finished products!
H.O.T. Club: Helping Our Students Make Good Decisions
By: Danielle Ahearn
H.O.T. Club, or the Hands Off Tobacco Club, is a club that meets on Wednesdays after school and educates people about the negative effects tobacco has on people. It is run by our school psychologist, Dr. Baskind, who has been running the club for the 13 years MMMS has been open. “I enjoy working with students who want to take on a leadership role. I was in a similar program when I was in high school, so I was very excited to advise one here,” she says. “I want to help students make decisions and not pick up smoking in the first place.”
This year, H.O.T. club was proud to visit two of Marlboro Township’s elementary schools: Defino on March 21st, and Robertsville on April 26th. “The trips we went on were a lot of fun,” Dr. Baskind says. She continues, “I am very proud of the H.O.T. club. The fifth graders had a lot of fun and learned more about resisting peer pressure and making good decisions.”
They are also proud and excited to be doing another trip to Asher on May 17th. This will be the third and last elementary school trip the H.O.T. club goes on this school year.
6th Grade Champion: Ivan Wong 7th and 8th Grade Champion: Raphael Meng CONGRATULATIONS! 
DRAMA & MUSIC
3,2,1, Hershey!
By: Shruthika Parsa and Deeya Nevatia
3, 2, 1, Hershey! Our school is full of highly talented musical minds. All of these wonderful musicians traveled to Hershey to participate in a competition. When they arrived, the wind ensembles, royalaires, and jazz band, got to perform right away. The next morning, there was a whole day of fun at the amusement park. They rode on all sorts of the rides at Hershey to enjoy their stay. They even got to share rooms with some of their closest friends in a hotel. That is just where all of the fun began!
According to one of the members of Royalaires (a group performing at Hershey) , the group had lots of fun on the trip because they were performing, hanging out with friends, staying in a hotel, and taking part in many other activities as well.
Schedule
All of these musicians traveled on a coach bus to go to Hershey. When they first arrived, they went into their hotel rooms with their friends and unpacked. Then, they traveled to the Chocolate World. After that, they had dinner and prepared themselves for the day of the performance. The next day, they gave their performance and had fun going on all of the rides.
Competition
When participating in a competition, their mindset revolved around finding different methods to impress the judges, coming up with different strategies to figure out how to win, and to constantly focus. One student said that the goal of the group is giving their best effort, improving their strategy, and having fun.
Musical Connection
The musicians that performed at Hershey are more than just students or friends. They are as close as family members are, and a member of the Royalaires says, “It’s the best. They are like family, and we are very close together.” Essentially, it is easy to understand that the musicians that travel to Hershey have a strong bond with each other.
Home Sweet Home
After their exhausting journey, everyone returned to MMMS with pride and joy. They tried their best, put on wonderful performances, and returned with smiles gleaming across their faces.
Legally Blonde, the Spring Musical
By: Kavya Jain
The Marlboro Memorial Middle School Drama Club ended their very successful year with a blast of fun. The spring musical Legally Blonde Jr. premiered on March 24 and 25, an enjoyable experience for family and friends that attended. The play portrays a pretty blonde’s struggles to be taken seriously as a lawyer.
The musical starts off with three energetic college students from the sorority Delta Nu: Margot (Kylie McNamara), Serena (Alyssa Kiselev), and Pilar (Gabriella Autovino). These students lead the rest of the girls in a song entitled “Omigod You Guys.” They are full of excitement for their celebration, as they believe their sorority president, Elle Woods (Jessica Faigley), will be proposed to by her boyfriend, Warner Huntington (Salvatore Puma), that night. They have a wild celebration until they learn that Warner broke up with her.
The next scene shows Elle as a newly admitted law student in a classroom with her fellow peers as she meets one of her fellow classmates, Emmett Forrest (Luis Rosado). She doesn’t last for long in the classroom, for the teacher, Professor Callahan (Nicholas Mattos), kicks her out because she did not read the assigned reading. To make matters worse, she learns that the boy she followed to Harvard has a new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington (Taylor Urbach). Elle ends up feeling depressed at a salon called Hair Affair, where she meets Paulette (Amanda D’Adamo), a crazy and energetic hairdresser . She tries to encourage Elle to win the man back in a song named “Ireland,” and it works because Elle ends up going to a Harvard costume party to impress Warner.
She arrives at the address a little while later only to find that it was not a costume party after all, and the two girls who told her this (Vivienne, the new girlfriend, and Whitney, her sidekick/friend) meant to humiliate her. She ends up back in her dorm room, miserable and despondent, wishing someone could comfort her. Emmett walks in and notices Elle, looking tearful. Elle tells him what happened and Emmett tries to encourage her to do better in Callahan's class and apply for his special internship through the song “Chip on my Shoulder.”
In the following scenario, Elle learns the true meaning of law (to help others in need) while helping her new friend, Paulette, get her beloved dog back from her cruel ex, Dewey (Jason Skopp). She starts to ponder more about the meaning of law, until a law student from Callahan's class interrupts them to tell them that Callahan's internship contenders are posted in the class. They walk over to the classroom and everybody quickly rushes towards the list, wanting to see if they got the job. Vivienne and Warner look at the list and see that they got the job, and they get engaged.
Elle, seeing this scene, begins to feel dejected, and starts the song “So Much Better.” Emmett looks at the list and sees Elle’s name on it. He rushes over to tell her and the entire stage erupts into celebration. This killer celebration song was the ending of Act 1, and a very powerful one. “The actors were very convincing in showing the heartbreak and excitement for Elle’s journey throughout school. It was an amazing Act 1 and everybody who participated should be proud,” says Danielle Lirov, a sixth grader who watched the musical on Saturday, March 25.
After a short intermission, the second act started off with a bang: “Whipped into Shape.” This fun and playful song was led by Brooke Wyndham (Asiimwe Laki) as it showed her in prison conducting one of her workout videos. Mr. Callahan and his interns discuss their case about saving Brooke from jail, as she has been accused of the murder of her husband, until they actually meet Brooke and talk to her. At the end of their conversation, all of the interns (excluding Elle) and Mr. Callahan are frustrated that Brooke will not provide an alibi, thus making her guilty.
Elle refuses to believe this and talks to Brooke about it. Brooke admits that she had liposuction on her thighs on the day of her husband’s murder. Elle believes her completely and promises that she will try her best to save her from prison. After talking to Brooke about her alibi, Elle travels back to her group and tells them that she got an alibi from Brooke, but she can not tell them because she promised Brooke she would not tell anybody. This causes much aggravation among her fellow interns and Emmett, but she convinces him that she is doing the right thing. After her conversation with Emmett, she goes to see Paulette at the Hair Affair and they meet Kyle, the new mailman (Omar Estevez). Paulette is head over heels for him, but she says she could never get a guy like that. Elle and a few others want to play a little matchmaker and teach Paulette the “Bend and Snap.” She learns the move, but ends up inadvertently breaking Kyle’s nose at the end of the scene.
A few days later, Elle gets invited into Mr. Callahan's office. He invites her in under the pretense that he wants to talk to her about her improvement in his class, but his ulterior motive was trying to kiss her. Elle slaps him, but little do they know that Vivienne is watching everything. As a result, Elle gets fired from her intern job and kicked out of Mr. Callahan's class. She’s crestfallen as she is packing up all of her things so she can head back to Malibu. She starts singing the song “Legally Blonde,” explaining her struggle to be taken seriously, until Emmett walks in her dorm room. He asks what happened and Elle tells him everything. He doesn’t want her to leave because he loves her, but Elle says she doesn’t have a choice and they give each other a doleful farewell.
After packing, Elle goes to the Hair Affair to say goodbye. Before she leaves, Vivienne bursts into the song “Legally Blonde Remix” and encourages her to continue living her life without regret by saying that she is her own person and nobody else can define that. It includes all of the Delta Nus, Vivienne, some law students, some workers at the salon, and Paulette. They try to make her feel better through the song, and it works since she agrees to get back on the case to prove Brooke innocent.
The next scene starts in the courtroom, where it seems you can cut the tension with a knife. Chutney Wyndham (Shannon Kelly) is called up to the witness stand, where Elle interrogates her about the day of the murder. She repeatedly claims she was “in the shower,” but Elle keeps pressuring on her until she finally cracks. Chutney finally admits that she murdered her father, but she believed that it was Brooke coming through the door and she was trying to kill her, not her father. The entire court erupts in confusion and shock as the realization of Brooke’s innocence sweeps upon them. They all start singing another version of “Omigod you Guys” about Brooke’s release from jail and Elle saving the day by winning the case. Everybody (especially Brooke) is eternally grateful to her and so delighted that the day ends happily.
After all the excitement is over, Warner even walks up to Elle and tells her that he loves her. He proposes, but Elle says no and empathizes for him as Vivienne has dumped him. She tries to explain how she has come a long way since Malibu through the song “Find My Way,” which is about Elle coming to law school and finding a bigger piece of herself than her looks.
The next scene takes place three years later: Elle’s law school graduation. It starts with Vivienne, the school salutatorian, making a big speech to everybody about their years at law school and how she is inspired by Elle, the valedictorian. She introduces Elle to the stage and Elle starts singing about how she is grateful for every single person she encountered on her journey to find something greater than beauty in law school. After the graduation ceremony finishes and Elle’s song is complete, she calls Emmett up and proposes to him. The entire stage erupts in celebration of the newly-engaged couple and the show ends with a happy ending with a proud cast and crew.
“It was an amazing show that most definitely portrayed the theme of ‘Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover,’ and it revealed the true colors of Elle as the show went along. I had a blast with my friends as I watched this interesting and thrilling story unfold before my eyes,” says Jasmin Sawhney, another sixth grader that attended the musical on Friday, Saturday 24. The spring musical was an amazing experience for both the audience and the cast. We can’t wait to see another production from the drama department next year!
6th Grade Concert
By: Jasmin Sawhney, Kavya Jain, and Danielle Lirov
Our school holds much talent, and it is displayed every year in our music concerts. The 6th grade concert on January 19, 2017 was, as Mr. Goley said, “a musical punch in the face”. Filled with melodious music, it was an enjoyable event for all family and friends. The three directors, Ms. Winslow, Mr. Goley, and Mrs. Dokus, put much hard work into the 6th grade concert, and the results were amazing.
6th Grade Choir:
The 6th grade choir put on an amazing performance for all of the family members and friends that attended. Ms. Winslow directed the show for the first-time choir. They sang many melodic, beautiful songs including “The Water is Wide/Bring Me A Little Water Sylvie,” a medley of “When I Fall in Love/Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and “This Little Light of Mine.” Although all of them were interesting and amazing, Ms. Winslow claims that her favorite to direct was the gospel song “This Little Light of Mine,” which eventually became the “anthem” of the Civil Rights Movement. The songs that the 6th grade choir sang were definitely a pleasant and exciting experience for the performers as well as the audience. 6th grader, Sneha Doshi, who performed in the choir says, “The performances of the ensembles were great and everyone did their best for their first performance.”
Ms. Winslow believes that the 6th grade choir executed their songs very well and felt very confident and prepared going into the concert. She knew that they would do well as an entire group and believed that they were very well-prepared with their songs. Ms. Winslow states that, “It was an excellent first concert, and we can only improve from here in the spring concert.”
6th Grade Band:
Mr. Goley, the MMMS band director, stood up in front of a packed cafeteria and led all his students in the recital of four beautifully-played musical numbers. The sixth-grade band played the following songs: Full Circle, Suncatcher, Creepy Crawlies, and Shockwave. Each song gave the listener a different feeling and put him or her in a specific mood. For example, the band played Creepy Crawlies in such a way that one actually felt like there were bugs all around! The music that evening impacted not only one’s musical senses but one’s emotions as well.
Each instrument section had its time to shine in the spotlight, giving the audience a variety of sounds and tunes. All the friends and family members watched proudly as the students played on the stage. Mr. Goley says that the band was wonderful and all of the directors were proud of their students. Going into the concert, Mr. Goley felt confident and excited, seeing the big audience turnout. Shockwave was the most fun to direct because it was loud and fast. Suncatcher was Mr. Goley’s favorite because it was the hardest song, however, everyone worked hard and pulled it off well.
Come and see the 6th-grade band in the next concert. Says Mr. Goley, “We are really going to crank it up for the spring!”
6th Grade Orchestra:
In addition to the wonderful performances of the band and choir, orchestra is another great instrumental music elective that performed at the concert. Mrs. Dokus conducted the performance of the first-time orchestra. The musicians in the orchestra ensemble played Tango Latino, Dog Dreams, and Appalachian Hymn.
“The orchestra did a wonderful job playing together, and were very focused throughout the entire performance,” said Mrs. Dokus. Although sixth grade performed all of the songs very well, she said, “I liked Appalachian Hymn best!” The music was chosen specially for the orchestra. “The choices of music reflected the ability of novice string players and also demonstrated different string techniques. I felt that they were also good pieces to introduce students to playing in an orchestra.” The students worked hard, “gave it their all and played very well.”
Before the concert, a palpable feeling of excitement was in the air. Mrs. Dokus stated, “ I knew it was going to be the first concert for the 6th grade orchestra and for students performing. I was excited for the ensemble to be able to showcase all their hard work together in front of a live audience!” The concert turned out to be wonderful, and Mrs. Dokus noted,“I really liked the enthusiasm that all students displayed at the concert; it is important to have fun when you play in a concert and to enjoy the music!”
Overall, all of the ensembles did a marvelous job that night. If you didn’t have a chance to come and experience this amazing musical performance, don’t fear! Everyone is invited to come and see the next 6th grade concert. If you want to be part of the sounds of wonder, any student (mostly 6th graders) are welcome to join any one of the three groups. All you have to do is talk to Ms. Winslow, Mr. Goley, and Mrs. Dokus before the end of the year!
Griffins’ Philadelphia Trip
By: Megan Xie
In April of 2017, Griffins, Marlboro’s advanced string ensemble, traveled to Philadelphia to perform. Led by Mrs. Dokus, Griffins performed Egyptian Legacy by Soon Hee Newbold, Symphony No. 9, Movement I by Antonin Dvorak, and Counting Stars by Ryan Tedder.
The two-day journey was a fascinating trip for the musicians from both MMMS and MMS. Mrs. Dokus explains, “I think it is a great experience for musicians from both schools to be able to collaborate and play together.” Violist Lucia Xie says, “(In) Griffins, we get to play cool music… we play different styles of music, which I really enjoy. Also… I get to meet people from the other middle school.”
Next year, Griffins will go to Hershey to perform. Interested in joining this ensemble? Auditions are in June for Orchestra students.
SPORTS
Ping Pong
By: Tanisha Sahni
On January 15, 2017, Mr. Harpootlian announced in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade lunch periods that there is, for the first time, a Ping Pong activity at MMMS. He called everyone onto the stage and began to give a brief summary of what the activity is all about.
Ping Pong held its first meeting on Tuesday February 7, 2017 in the auxiliary gym. On Thursday, February 9, they started their first (ever) game.
 The sport is split up into two groups: the Tuesday group and the Thursday group. If someone cannot make it on a Thursday, they would sign up for Tuesday, and vice versa. If someone can attend both days, Mr.Harpootlian will put them in a group so that the number of people in both days are even.
So what do people do in Ping Pong? Mr. Harpootlian sets three tables on both sides of the gym, sometimes even with a student to help him out. He invites everyone to sit in a group and assigns three people to each table. First, two people play against each other until someone gets 11 points. If the score is 10 to 10 during a game, then the two people will have to play until 12. This keeps on repeating until one person wins the game by 2 points. The person who wins the game goes up to Mr. Harpootlian and tells him the score along with who they beat. After that, the person who won switches places with the person who didn’t play yet. Everyone does this until all players have had a turn and all of the scores have been recorded.
Ping Pong is a great afterschool activity for anyone with a love of table tennis. You don’t have to be good at ping pong or experienced to join. Anyone can try, which is why this is such a great thing to do.
MMMS Baseball Team
By: Danielle Ahearn
 MMMS is proud to have 16 players on its baseball team. They are equally as proud to have Mr. Pagliaro, who is the school’s math facilitator, as their coach. This wonderful season began March 30th with a scrimmage game (which is like a practice game), which MMMS won 7-4, against Marlboro Middle School. The next game, their first regular game, was a knock-out of the park! They won the game 9-0.
The season will end right before Memorial Day. In their 11 games (one scrimmage, ten regular, not including playoffs), the team will play against several schools: Howell Middle (North and South), Manalapan, Asbury Park, Freehold, and of course, MMS.
Mr. Pagliaro, the baseball coach, is thrilled to lead the team this season. He was a baseball player himself when he was in high school, and he even plays baseball in a men’s league today. The coach thinks it will be a fierce, competitive season, but it’ll still be fun for all the players. Good luck to all of the players this season! Track By: Madelyn Valle Spring is here, and that means that all the spring sports are starting, including track. Whether you like running, want to get in shape, or want to hang out with friends, you can join track. Track is a no-cut sport, which means that anyone can join. The track coaches are Ms. Sabatino, Mr. Osborne, and Mr. Fine. There are three main events in track: running, throwing, and jumping. In running, there is the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter sprint, 800 meter distance race, and the 1600 meter distance race. In throwing, there is the shot put and the discus. In jumping, there is a long jump and a high jump. You can try all events, but each event requires a different skill. All members are required to run, regardless of the event they decide to join. 
Harrison Gordon
By: Danielle Lirov
Have you heard the name Harrison Gordon mentioned on the school loudspeaker this year? If you have, you probably heard “wrestling” in the same sentence. MMMS’ own eighth grader Harrison was the 82 lb. weight class champion of the 2017 Tri-County Wrestling Tournament! At the tournament, Harrison performed many impressive moves and utilized his hard-earned skills to clinch the championship.
The Tri-County Wrestling Tournament included wrestlers from all over Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties. Harrison faced some very strong opponents throughout the various stages of the tournament. The first match was in the Red Division, which Harrison won, advancing him to the Red and White Division, which he also won. In the next stage, he wrested the Middlesex County champion, whom he beat. This brought Harrison to the fourth and final round. After winning this, he was declared the champion of the entire tournament. What an impressive accomplishment!
Harrison plans to continue wrestling throughout his high school and college career. Like any serious athlete, Harrison laid out his goals and roadmap to accomplishing them. Next year as a freshman, he wants to win districts. As a sophomore, he plans to win regionals. In his junior and senior years in high school, he plans to win states. While these are challenging goals, Harrison has already demonstrated determination and discipline needed to reach them. During college, he plans to continue training very hard, so that in his freshman year he can become nationally ranked. In his sophomore year, he wants to be an All American (top six in the nation) and finally, in his junior and senior years, his goal is to win the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) championships. To accomplish all of his goals, he must work consistently and thoroughly. By winning the Tri-County Wrestling Tournament, Harrison is one step closer to accomplishing all of his goals.
 After years of playing baseball, Harrison decided he wanted to focus on wrestling, a sport which he has really grown to love. This is Harrison's fourth year wrestling, and each year he has become stronger and stronger. His first year of recreation wrestling he had 10 wins and and 2 losses. Next year followed with 22 wins and 4 losses. During his third year he had 19 wins and 2 losses. In his fourth year, he came back with 20 wins and 3 losses. In 7th grade Harrison started wrestling for MMMS as well as for the Marlboro Junior Mustangs. Harrison was really proud to finish his middle school wrestling career as the first Memorial Tri-County Wrestling champion.
His role model is his teammate, Joe Barskey. Harrison and Joe inspire each other and push each other to work their hardest on the mats each day. Also, Harrison attributes so much of his success to his coaches, who helped to get him where he is now. Harrison would like to thank all of his coaches: Coach Morris, Coach Russo, Coach Paul, Coach Brewer, Coach Knox, Coach Mike, and Coach Bob. He would also like to thank his family who has supported him from day one of wrestling to today. The help of his friends, family and coaches makes winning all the more special and brings him a feeling of happiness and accomplishment. Every year, Harrison strives to do better and keeps working hard.
MMMS ART GALLERY
POEMS
The Return of Spring
By: Joyce Huang
Long months passed with nothing to see
And my once green branches were bare as a rock.
The snow lined the roads, the grass, and the world,
But with the passage of time, all has finally passed.
With that first glowing ray of light,
The soothing presence of warmth,
The first green in months,
The world has finally come back to life.
My once bare branches bloomed with flowers,
The once white world reverted back to green,
The sun came back shining with full force
Along with the chirps of newborn birds.
At last, I can rejoice!
Those long months being leafless have finally passed
And at last, spring is here.
Bullies Can’t Hurt Me Sometimes I just wish for a beam But instead you are cutting a hole through my self-esteem And lowering my confidence No matter what you say Words can’t bring me down You can try and make me frown Your intimidating looks You kicking over my books You can try and knock me to the ground While your hate emanates around But my friends are by my side Helping me through this emotional ride
Forget: A haiku by Arca Baran
You know that word that
Means what you can’t remember...
I forgot that word
Nintendo Switch: A Haiku
By: Brandon Bachleda
In stores on the third
For all players to enjoy
It's extremely cool
Spring
By: Siddharth Avhad
Wildflowers bloom
It’s now the season of spring
Rain, plants, and more rain
Pollution
By: Siddharth Avhad
Earth is beautiful
But polluted by humans
How can we fix it?
Challenges
By: Siddharth Avhad
Every task comes
With different challenges
But can you meet them?
The Monarch Lions
By: Helen Kwok
The Monarch Lions
We’re stronger and we are back
We are not afraid
Friendship
By: Helen Kwok
Friendships are treasures
Friends should count on each other
Starting our friendship
Roses and Violets: Poems With Questions And Statements To Think About
By: Tanisha Sahni and Anushka Sikdar
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Is indigo a shade of purple or blue?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
What does it mean to feel blue?
Does it mean you want to give up without a fight,
Or that you feel like a shade of light?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
What does it mean to be “new”?
Are you a person they’ve never met
Or simply someone you just don’t get?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
How do you know what they say is true?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
What is life to you?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I really need to go to the loo.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Are your mistakes something you can truly undo?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Don’t you hate having the flu?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Something I never knew
Is what they meant by “gnu.”
What can they do?
Can they make goo?
I never knew.
Did you?
(Actually, “gnu” is a type of big antelope with a beard, a mane, and a sloping back)
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Currently I really crave some chicken cordon bleu.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Doesn’t the saying go “monkey see, monkey do”?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I play the flu. (t.)
(I tried, okay?)
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Rhyming can be hard to do.
Spring
By: Siddharth Avhad
The cold, biting winds of winter are gone,
And now, there is new weather at dawn,
Wet and humid and warm, as well,
This new weather, it seems to cast a spell!
The cold, biting winds of winter are gone,
Replaced with life that is somehow turned on,
Flowers and rain, and plants, oh my!
So, to the cold weather, say goodbye.
The cold, biting winds of winter are gone,
And now, there is new weather at dawn,
No more snow, no more ice,
It’s spring now, so you can finally rejoice!
POP CULTURE
Riddles
By: Helen Kwok
(Submit your answers in the comments below, and be sure to check back in 2 weeks for the answers.)
Nintendo Switches it Up
By: Brandon Bachleda
The Nintendo Switch has just been released, and I was lucky enough to get one. Since a lot of people don’t have one yet, I thought I would take the time to review it and give some pointers on the new system.
The home screen is very inviting and organized. It has an E-shop like the Wii U for virtual console and digital copies of games, an album screen where you can view your screenshots, and a “Your Page” to show your friends and profile settings. It also has a news tab which includes all types of handy tidbits about the console, the Joy-Con, and new and upcoming games.
Next, the Joy-Con. These two small wonders “pack a lot into a small package,” as Nintendo says. These guys have the usual two clickable joysticks, 4 buttons, D-pad (made out of buttons), triggers, and bumpers, but these could be flipped sideways as two SNES controllers equipped with ZL and ZR buttons (L and R). People have been saying that the mismatched Joy-Con vertically and horizontally are annoying, but personally, I feel it like grows on you. Eventually, it seems like an Xbox controller at its roots.
The disconnection issues have been fixed in the day 1 patch, so don’t let that concern you either. They both have a gyroscope and accelerometer for motion controls. The left Joy-Con has a capture button to save screenshots, edit them, and share them. The right Joy-Con has a few extra goodies packed in. First, it has NFC (Non Figure Character) Read and Write that supports amiibo. Basically, it can use amiibo like a Wii U. It also has a infrared sensor that can determine the shape and distance away an object is from you. The final and most awesome thing that both Joy-Cons have is the HD rumble, which could simulate things like pouring ice and water into a cup or simulate balls in a box. The only way to truly understand it is to feel it yourself, and it’s AWESOME!
Now, the accessories. The Switch is compatible with all of the usual cases, skins, screen protectors, etc. But the Switch also has a bunch of cool accessories that add on to the experience. To start off simple, the Switch has a grip to lock the Joy-Con in a controler form more reminiscent of an Xbox controller, and one of these come with the system. This comes in a variety of colors, like the Joy-Con colors. Each Joy-Con also gets a wrist strap add-on for when playing motion controls, and a pair of these come with the system too. The Joy-Con can have a charging station if you want to charge your Joy-Con without putting them attached to the console. You could similarly buy a charging grip or buy an extra dock to hook up your Switch to multiple TVs. You could, of course, buy extra Joy-Cons in a whole range of colors. If you are getting Mario Kart Deluxe, for example, you could buy a racing wheel reminiscent of the Wii one for the aesthetic. Hardcore players would like the new pro controller. It comes with NFC Read and Write, accelerometer and gyroscope, and all the regular buttons for a new and improved experience for hardcore gamers.
Overall, this is a great console. If you are a fan of the flexibility of the 3DS and the AAA games of the Wii U, then this is a great buy and definitely worth all of the hype. Again, I haven’t run into all of the issues that some people have been complaining about, and it’s a very stable system if you treat it right. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like this is interesting, as you definitely will enjoy it.
Percy Jackson Personality Quiz
By: Siddharth Avhad
You will be taking this quiz to see which Percy Jackson character you are most like: Percy, Annabeth, Grover, or Luke, or a normal person!
Mostly As: Percy Jackson- You are brave and happen to save the world a lot.
Mostly Bs: Annabeth Chase- You are smart and want to be an architect when you grow up.
Mostly Cs: Grover- You are very “green” and care a lot about the environment.
Mostly Ds: Luke Castellan- You are evil—that says it all.
Mostly Es: Other- You do not belong in the magical world of Percy Jackson, so exit that way! Oops, that’s the way to the Underworld! Oh well…
CREATIVE WRITING
Darby
By: Danielle Ahearn
A not so great thing about people’s lives is that sometimes you don’t get a second chance when you really need it. I learned that the hard way. It didn’t matter though, because I did get a second chance this time. I don’t know if it was magic, or if it was dumb luck… but either way, it happened.
“How could you do this?” my friend Riley asked, staring at me as if I burned all of the crops in the new stone age and left everyone to starve. “You knew I thought she was my friend. How could you betray me like that?” she continued, “How could you let Wendy just talk trash about me behind my back? You know what, Darby? I’m done with you. Good luck finding a new best friend, because I assure you, no one would want to be friends with someone like you.”
Suddenly, I heard a buzz. It was my phone, and I picked it up.
“Hi, Darby. It’s Wendy. Want to come over to my house later?” Wendy asked.
“I guess. Riley’s mad at me though. She thinks I’ve been talking trash about her. I don’t know why,” I lied to Wendy.
I knew Riley was mad at me because she thought Wendy and I were all buddy-buddy. But if she thought that she could hate me for being friends with someone, I didn’t want anything to do with her.
“All right. Can you come at 7?” Wendy asked.
“Sure.”
At about 6:45, I left my house and walked to Wendy’s house. I guess I got there earlier than expected. I peered over the fence to see Wendy and her friend talking.
“Hah, I can’t believe how CLUELESS Darby is!” Wendy laughed.
“I know, right? It does her well for being so oblivious to what an idiot Riley can be!” her friend laughed back hysterically, a tear dropping down her cheek.
“Exactly! And as soon as I get bored of Darby, I can just drop her!” Wendy chuckled.
As each second of the conversation went by, my throat choked up more and more and humiliation and anger stabbed at my chest. A tear rolled down my cheek, despite my efforts to stop it. I had never dealt with being manipulated before, at least with Riley not around.
I wiped the tear, and opened the gate. My gaze fixed on Wendy. “Excuse me?” I angrily said to Wendy.
Wendy froze, speechless. I just didn’t have anything else to say, so I stormed off back to my house.
When I got home, it was only a little after seven. I didn’t care it was a Friday night, and I didn’t care that it was only seven. I went to straight to bed, crying myself to sleep. How could I be so stupid?
“I wish I can do over this day,” I said to myself. “I know for sure I would do it differently.”
When I woke up the next morning, I saw there was one less “X” on my calendar. I just thought that I forgot to put an “X” on Friday, April 24th last night, with all the stress I was going through. But then, my mom burst into the room.
“Darby, what are you doing? The bus is going to be here in 20 minutes!” she yelled.
“What? I thought it was Saturday!” I replied.
“No, Darby, it’s Friday. April 24th. Not Saturday, and not April 25th,” my mom said frantically.
I was really confused and felt so lost in time, but I stretched a smile across my face. I though time traveling was impossible! But if it wasn’t, I could try to be friends with Riley again. This was all probably a dream. I thought to myself. I’ll just go on with it though.
“Sorry Ma, you’re totally right!” I said.
So I had to get ready for school… again? I quickly put my phone in my pocket and got ready for school.
Then, I heard a buzz from my pocket as I was walking out the door. It was Wendy. I ignored the call and blocked her number.
When I got on the bus, I sat next to Riley, like normal. I didn’t bother mentioning anything from “yesterday” to her. We started talking.
“Hi, Riley.” I greeted her.
“Hey! So, how’s life since yesterday?” Riley asked.
“Good.”
“Cool.”
I took out my phone and checked the date. Friday, April 24th. Wow, this was actually happening.
I figured that if I got a do over of the day, I could block Wendy, so I did. About 5 minutes later, I got a phone call from a blocked number. I figured if it was Wendy, and if I had her on the phone, Riley would know it wasn’t me talking trash about her. So, I picked up the phone. It was Wendy. She called me again, ranting on and on about how Riley really bothered her. I purposely put her on speaker and constantly said, “No, Wendy, you’re wrong. Stop it, please.”
Riley was listening, and she was really upset. I thought she would never want to be my friend again, and this time I knew I deserved it. She wasn’t mad at all, though. She was just really hurt.
When we got to school, she angrily walked up to Wendy and quoted a lot of what Wendy said on the phone call. Wendy instantly said that I was lying, but she couldn’t get herself out of the problem she put herself in.
Riley, when she finished, just shook her head and walked away.
I looked at Riley keeping her head high and staying true to her real friends. That was what I should have done yesterday, I thought to myself.
That night, I went to bed hoping the day wouldn’t repeat again.
I woke up the next morning. Saturday, April 25th.
A Pencil’s Point of View
By: Danielle Ahearn
Hello! I am a pencil, one of the world’s most used writing utensils. My main rival is the pen. I guess you can say I’m “weaker” than the pen, because its ink is permanent. However, when you’re in school, I can be more convenient. Besides, your math teacher sure likes me better than those pens.
Even though I’m clearly the more convenient choice, some students prefer to use pens. I don’t really understand why. When you use your pen, especially in math, it’s really frustrating when you make a mistake because you have to mess up the paper with White-Out—if you even have any. And don’t even get me started on erasable pens! They’re just pencil wannabes. However, it’s obvious that people like them better.
What really angers me is that you sometimes get really violent with me while writing, and break my tip several times, like you did yesterday. I was working perfectly fine! Then you got mad at me, and put me down next to an identical pencil. After fuming for a few seconds, you asked to borrow a pen from your friend, but then you snapped the pen that was next to me. I know you intended to kill me! You’re such a psychopath!
At the end of the day, you put me in your pencil case. I don’t know why it’s called a PENCIL case, because it was fill with erasers, markers, and other things. I almost suffocated in the stench of those other things. That is, until later, when I was brought out of the pencil case. Someone next to you was trying to be a clown. He took your pencil, and threw it at the wall. That really hurt!
Unluckily for me, you just didn’t notice, and you asked a friend to borrow a pen when you realized I was missing. Then, a little later you walked out of the classroom without me. I would have screamed, but I’m a pencil, and it’s not like pencils have a voice. Before your teacher left the classroom that afternoon, she picked me up and put me on her desk. At least I wasn’t thrown out. I guess I’ll just wait here on her desk until someone else takes me.
The Everyday Life Of An Average Cell Phone
By: Zaina Saif
Ow, ow, OWWWW! You humans and your long fingernails are always tapping on my face and
pressing my buttons! Can you back off for a minute? Being a phone is SO hard. None of you even understand! Chromebooks have it easy with their much-to-brag-about keyboards. Other Apple products like iPads get put in a fancy little purse with an expensive formal case. You know what I get? I get a three dollar plastic cover, and when I’m not being shoved into a pocket, I have to be tapped on with your dirty fingernails ALL DAY! Would it kill you to buy me a cozy screen protector or at least use a stylist?
Ring, ring, ring! Oh, I almost forgot. Comfort is NOT the biggest issue in my life. What bothers me
the most are the notifications for all those TEXTS and CALLS always ringing through my speakers. I really don’t care if your mom can’t pick you up from digital magazine, JUST PUT ME ON VIBRATE, PLEASE! Another thing that really annoys my volume buttons is when you plug in those itchy headphones. Sometimes you plug them in too deep and then the music goes super fast through the cord, which makes me really exhausted! Other times, you barely plug them in the hole, so the music doesn’t really go through the earplugs and it plays out loud. This is the worst when you’re in public because when the music spreads in a really quiet room, everyone gives you a dirty look.
An hour later, you throw me on the ground and tell your mom that your day was ruined because of
me. While I try to tell you about my next hardship, I am forced to launch a calendar notification and remind you that—Oh GOD, NO!-your school friends are coming over, and that means you're going to go on YouTube and find stupid things to ask Siri. You make me launch the settings at least 10 times to hear her in so many different languages. It gives me a headache when you ask her what’s up and I have to listen to her telling you that she is hanging out with Mario and is on a gluten free diet so she won’t be able to eat that pasta! Hearing that over and over in Chinese, Italian, Portuguese and French just gives me a migraine! Plus, when you say something really dumb and she gets confused, she makes me “search the web” and launch Safari again and again and again.
I have a super hard time with everything in this world and you petty humans. A lot of things don’t go together with cell phones. For example, don’t put hotel cards in the same pocket as me, or I’ll taze them in a snap! It’s one of my specialties, and I don’t even try. Oh MAN! My battery is already at 5%. I better pop-up the “Battery Low” notification again and beg the outlet to read me a bedtime story before you throw me against the wall, forgetting to plug me in all the way.
The Oscarian’s Dictionary of Aliens
By Zaphod Beeblebrox
A- The title of this category, also the name of an other worldly being that named itself this. So it would start my dictionary.
Abfarians- A group of sentient blobs that live on the edge of the Osnandiom II part of C5 of the galaxy, on a planet called Blandar. They are made of highly radioactive material, happen to be exceptional at poker, exhale hydrogenous gas, and live for Adam Sandler movies (just like any blob should).
Abvandese- A polished, uncommonly civilized species that lives on the planet Dansar. There is no crime whatsoever, and everybody is happy. There is only one thing that's bad about them: they can't speak.
Abzendans- The bright green offspring of a Abfarian and a Zendan. These things are very moldable and soft, with red scales, but spit acid. Remember, never feed one after midnight or splash it with water. In fact, if you see one, just kill it.
B- Just the name of this category. Yea. Move on now. Bye. Keep reading. HELP.
Balgards- Although they have a weird name, they are actually pleasant types of creatures. They are Homosapien type organisms that live on the planet Zacrion in the interstellar market region. Their planet has sky-high cites, but they are most known for inventing the drink Safuch Zara, which translates to “Death Wish”.
Banfarese- These peaceful space monks were pushed off of the planet Dansar by the Abvandese. They later moved to the nearby plant known as Earth. Yeah, that’s where humans (Banfarese) come from.
If you liked this short dictionary check out my other books: How to Eat a Lendan Properly; Me, Myself, and Wendans; To Kill a Chandar bird. All available at the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Species and objects mentioned:
A
Abfarians
Abvandese
Abzendans
Balgards
Banfarese
Safuch Zara
Zendans
Planets and galaxy quadrants mentioned:
Blandar
Dansar
Earth
Interstellar market region
Osnandiom II
Zacrion
MMMS Lost and Found: The Abadoned Lunch Box
By: Helen Kwok
I have been in a dark, crowded place for 3 days. I wish my owner never lost me. I am sad and dirty. I have been shoved and pushed by other giants in the world. I can’t sleep very well because of all the other items. I am scared and worried I will never be found.
The food is rotten and makes me smell bad. The items around me are sad, too. We think about our owners and cry. I can finally see light and notice a friendly face. I recognize that face, but can’t think who it is.
The second I realize that it is my owner, I turn my frown upside down and happily dance in my head. I have finally been found. I wish I knew why my owner only found me now. But I don’t need to worry about that. I have finally been found, and I hope the other items will be claimed, too, in the future. I will finally be clean and filled with new food that is fresh. I can see a new world that is filled with happiness and peace!
The Truth About Shrek
By: Arca Baran
Co-written by Shrek
“Somebody once told me, the world was gonna roll me…” Who on this planet isn’t familiar with Shrek? Whether you know it as an animated movie, or a popular online meme, you must have heard of him somehow. If you haven’t, then you have probably spent your whole life in a swamp!
You may be familiar with his swamp, weird accent, and crazy personality, but did you ever notice the hidden meaning behind the movies? If not, then this is the day you will find out. So sit back, relax, eat some onions, and STAY OUT OF MY SWAMP!
Let's start with the obvious appearance of him. He is the color green. Symbolically, the color green is often used in literature to represent harmony, growth, and sometimes greed. Shrek is obviously greedy. At the beginning of the first movie, he is selfish and wants himself to be the only person in his swamp. When other people (like Dunkeh) try to get in, Shrek becomes furious. He doesn’t like to share much, either. Shrek, clearly, is a very flawed character.
Now let’s compare this movie to a Disney movie. Shrek would obviously be the hero of the story. Fiona is the typical princess. Donkey is the sidekick. The evil king is the villain. Disney movies always show a beautiful princess and prince, but Shrek is the opposite of that. His sidekick is supposed to be loyal and brave. Dunkeh is just a big coward who isn’t always willing to stay with Shrek.
Now I thought to myself as I was writing this, could the real purpose of this movie possibly be to make fun of Disney? There are many Disney references. During the first movie, when they are entering the castle, they have people in costumes with big fake heads. Not only that, but it also has little wooden animatronic puppets in foreign clothes singing a song, a reference to the Disney World ride “It's a Small World After All.” These are both making fun of Disney World. At the beginning of the movie, Shrek also reaches out and accidentally crushes a small flying creature resembling Tinker Bell. It is literally the opposite of Cinderella. The princess, Fiona, turns from pretty princess to ugly ogre. In Cinderella, she starts out as a dirty house maid and then becomes a princess.
A common theme of Disney princess movies, when you think about it, is that in order to win at life, you have to beautiful and perfect. The idea Shrek presents is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. This is contrary to Disney, where the hero is a perfect stereotypical prince/princess.
This can only mean one thing. Is Shrek… mocking Disney? Of course it is! Shrek 5 is scheduled for release in 2019. Keep your eyes peeled so you can spot even more things mocking Disney. Until then, STAY OUTTA MY SWAMP!
The Grand Scheme of Us
By: Tanisha Sahni
What are we and where are we in the universe?
Let’s start with the first question: What are we?
It may seem like a basic question to ask, but the answer is pretty complicated. Is there even more than one answer to this question? There might as well be. We, humans, are a pretty complex species compared to others, with our two eyes, two ears, a neck and a spine. Don’t even get me started on the number of bones, cells, and genes in our body!
Like other species, we are all living things. We are all living on Earth. If you zoom out of Earth, it gets smaller and smaller until you can’t even see it anymore. For us, Earth looks so big and the sun is enormous. That leads us to our next question: Where are we?
Of course, the simple answer to this question is that we are in the universe. Yet, there’s not really a correct complex answer. Let me explain.
We’re going to take the recent idea of zooming out of where we live. First, we get Earth as we would expect it to be. Next, we get our solar system with all of the planets and our sun. We keep on zooming out until we are not even seen anymore. Wait a minute, there’s no end to this “zooming out” process. In fact, this keeps on going and going. Who knows where the end is? We don’t know, and that’s what makes it so mind-boggling.
If we ever do reach the end of the universe, what is surrounding that? Is it other universes leading to other dimensions? Maybe there’s nothing surrounding it at all, and there are only guide/grid lines to make up this whole thing. Scientists have already discovered seven exo-planets (or Earth-like planets), so that is key information to see if life around us exists or not.
Now, of course, I cannot capture all of the questions and theories about space and the universe. The number of questions being asked is almost the size of the universe- it's practically infinite.
I deeply advise you to think about these things when you are bored or can’t sleep at night. These theories about space are pretty deep, and, the more you think about it, the higher the chance of you getting ‘lost in space.’
An Odd Journey
Cloe Dingfelder
Shmeburary twenty-teenth, eighteenth-smemvenvty-seven
Dear journal,
It’s been three years, seven months, eight days, and thirteen minutes since I went on my adventure. An adventure to walk across the entirety of this magical world I live in and face every enemy I notice. I’m sitting down near a purple tree to take a break from walking so I can write in my journal—this journal right here. I’m enjoying the quirky music playing from… somewhere, and the soft breeze blowing through my layered hair.
My small backpack holding all my precious items lays next to me. I have no idea how, but my sword, giant slingshot, unicycle, and all my fruit can fit inside. I never question it though, since it makes traveling very convenient.
If I’m not wrong, I see some sort of monster on the other side of that hill. It looks blurry from here, but it seems to be pink and have big ears... I’ll put my journal down for now. I think I’ll take my flying unicycle and my sword (with a cotton candy blade) to see what’s going on.
OH MY STARS! I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW! I USUALLY DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS, BUT I CAN’T EVEN HELP IT RIGHT NOW!
OK… so, first I hopped onto my sparkly, purple flying unicycle with my sword in hand to check out the monster…
BUT IT WASN’T A MONSTER AT ALL!
It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in the world! It was a small, baby pink dog—no, wait, a fish? Raccoon? I’m really not sure, but it was something similar to that. Its large, black and shiny eyes seemed to bulge out of its head. Also, the creature seemed to be smiling almost all the time, making it even more adorable!
It had a small dog’s body and head, a raccoon tail, and fish fins at the top and side of its face. The fins were rounded and a transparent ultramarine, reflecting off of the purple sun’s light. Its tail was striped with a hot pink and pale rose.
It was just standing there on its four, stubby legs staring at me, when I decided to approach it and say, “Hello there, little friend. Are you lost?”
It continued to stare at me without making a sound. The dog-coon-fish was as still as a statue. So still, it barely even looked like it was breathing. Except its bright eyes blinked at me once in awhile.
I slowly tip-toed towards it and placed my hand on its head.
That’s when things got… odd.
This creature’s fins at the top of it’s head were dry and stiff—completely different from the types of fish fins I’ve seen from where I come from. It’s fur felt wet even though it didn’t look like it, which was very weird.
I left my hand on its head for a whole minute. It wasn’t moving at all, not even blinking. I spoke again, “Excuse me, are you oka—”
OH. MY. STARS. MY HEART IS BEATING AS I WRITE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT! IT WAS SO UNEXPECTED, AND CRAZY, AND ODD AND—
Ah, I’m sorry. I got a bit carried away there. Anyways, I’ll continue…
The dog-coon-fish’s right front leg suddenly grew extremely large. Its spaced-out black eyes bulged out even more than I thought possible. Then its tail started to get longer and longer and longer…
The rest of its legs started to grow too. The dog-coon-fish’s head and snout blew up so enormous in the blink of an eye. Then, the creature started to fade away and fade back in some sort of pattern. On instinct, my hand jumped off of its head and I skittered a foot back. My hands automatically started to reach for my sword on the ground next to me.
I grabbed the hilt as the monster started to walk towards me. I’ve never been so scared in all my lives. I froze as the monster slowly moved its large muzzle so that it was an inch away from my nose.
We were face to face.
Nose to nose.
Eye to eye.
Based on my experience with other monsters, I assumed that this beast will attack soon. When the monsters have all their health and energy, they always make surprise attacks.
I couldn’t help myself—the suspense was killing me! I wielded the hilt of my sword with both hands and slashed the monster right across the nose.
So, you’re probably thinking, “Oh, my, I bet there was blood everywhere!”
Well, you’re WRONG.
My sword went right through it! That’s right, it just passed right through it’s head as if it were a ghost! The beast didn’t even bat an eye as I continued to swing through its muzzle. It continued to stare at me with its lifeless eyes.
“Okay,” I started, “what are you?”
It continued to stare at me for a whole minute. I stared back. In the dead silence, we seemed to get lost in each other’s eyes…
But not for long.
The beast suddenly opened its gigantic mouth, filled with odd, rounded teeth. Then it tried to take a bite right out of my head!
I knew I couldn’t do anything this time. I quickly grabbed my unicycle, hitched my sword into my backpack, and flew away.
I swear, I must have flew for hours! It had its mouth right above my head, wide open. Its thick, purple saliva almost dripped on the top of my head before I was able to escape. I was so terrified! Its odd fur and fins, the sudden growing, the fading away…
Oh no, I know what that is.
Oh, boy, do I know.
It was a glitch!
Agh, those darn glitches! Always messing perfect days up! You know, I only have about seven lives left, and I was this close to losing one today!
I can’t believe I just realized this now—! I shouldn’t have gone near that thing. It could have messed me up along with it…
Wait, why is my hair suddenly PINK?
The End
Adventure in Time
By: Siddharth Avhad
It was a typical, sweltering hot summer day in California. No school, no stress. But then,
it happened. I went to my friend’s house, seeking some peace and quiet, but that day I learned just how wrong one person could be. Well, more on that later. Now where were we? Oh yeah, at my friend’s house.
Ding-dong! rang the bell as I stood at the front door of my friend’s house.
“Yes?” came the voice of his dad, Andrew.
“Hi,” I said mundanely.
“Oh, hello, Milo, Ezra’s inside playing video games,” he answered. I stepped inside and went to Ezra’s room upstairs. We’re so close that both of our moms think of us as their second sons. As the door opened, I saw Ezra playing video games on his new Xbox 1.
“What a surprise. You’re playing video games again,” I said sarcastically.
“Yes, Milo, I am.” It’s a little exchange we have every day. Ezra isn’t much of a sportsman, and neither am I. He’s a typical kid, not overweight nor underweight, and 4”2’, the shortest kid in our 6th grade class. He has blue eyes, the intimidating kind that seem to say, “I will try and I will succeed, no matter you throw at me and no matter how small I look.” Well, let’s get back to the story.
“Come on, let’s play. I really want to get past the new level they added to this game,” he added excitedly.
So he and I sat down on the sofa in his room, and started playing a new round of our latest favorite game, “Time Travelers.” The objective of the game is to basically travel through time to ancient and modern civilizations, fight off an army of robots created by a hacker from the future called Kaqi, find the “Time Piece” in that time that would take us to another time being overrun by robots, and when all of the pieces were found, put the pieces together and create a weapon that would destroy Kaqi and his army. Sound easy? It’s not.
“Oh, man!” I moaned after losing to General Xander, the leader of a section of robots in Kaqi’s army. He was the boss in this level, Ancient Greece.
“How come you didn’t die yet?” I asked him whiningly.
“Ha ha,” he laughed. “I’m just better.”
“Sure you are, Mr. Perfect,” I said. I spammed the “X” button, the one we used to hit the enemy. Suddenly, the controllers and game console began to hum. Soft and not alarming at first, but it increased in volume fast. We looked at each other, feeling nervous. Was it broken?
“Maybe it just got tired of you spamming,” said Ezra hopefully. “This thing cost all of my allowance—for the past 5 years. My mom is not going to be happy.” I went up to the TV and shook the console. Still humming. I stared at it for a while, but then abruptly, the humming stopped. “Phew,” said Ezra, relieved.
But just then, the TV screen began to grow. Grow, grow, grow… until it was as big as this room. Then, the screen enveloped us, and the game became our surrounding…
Shower Thoughts
By: Cloe Dingfelder
Do you ever have those really random thoughts? Just a thought SO random that you wonder, “How did I even come up with that?” Well, my friend, these odd thoughts are called shower thoughts. If you have never had one of these, then you probably aren’t human.
Here’s a compilation of a bunch of everyone’s favorite shower thoughts! Maybe you’ve thought one of these before…? Enjoy!
Well, did that satisfy you enough? Reading these makes me rethink the crazy stuff a human mind can really come up with… yikes.
Harry Potter V.S. Percy Jackson
By: Alexander Smith
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, SO IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PERCY JACKSON OR HARRY POTTER BOOKS, DO NOT READ FURTHER!(all spoilers will be in a slightly different font.)
Harry Potter walked the grounds of Camp Half Blood. As they climbed the hill, they found Thalia’s tree. Although it no longer stored the spirit of Thalia, the tree still kept enemies at bay from the magic of the Golden Fleece. And the Golden Fleece was guarded by the multiple-headed dragon. The dragon saw the army of wizards behind Harry, and it opened itś many mouths with a hiss.
The dragon was about to attack, but a beam of green light zoomed from behind Harry and struck the dragon, the beast bursting into golden dust. Looking behind him, Harry saw Draco Malfoy lowering his wand. Harry would bet that if Ron were still with them, he would say something snooty yet clever to Malfoy. Harry gave Draco an approving nod and kept walking.
He stepped up to the tree and unsheathed the Sword of Gryffindor, then cut the branch that the fleece hung from. The Golden Fleece fell to the ground, and the protective shield around the camp faded. All the wizards and witches lifted their wands and shot different destructive spells at the barrier until it´s magic collapsed.
Waiting for them on the hill was a group of warriors, lead by Clarisse. They hefted their spears, and by Clarisse´s command, they charged at the wizards. Although their efforts were great, the soldiers were easily defeated. Harry easily struck down Clarisse, then tied her to a tree, and lit it on fire. Sure, it was a little brutal, but she killed Ron; she deserved this.
As they walked away, he heard a rip. Looking back at the burning tree, he saw that Clarisse had cut herself free from the tree. Looking back at the hill, Clarisse was up there, making hand gestures that were probably supposed to be insulting.
“SUCKERS!” she yelled, and then ran off to warn the other demigods.
The wizards waited there on the hill, knowing that they had a better chance surviving there than up in the camp grounds. All too soon, the demigods came out to confront the sorcerers. Greek swords slashed and wands zapped as the two kinds fought. Harry cut down demigods as he tried to reach Percy.
When he finally did reach the son of Poseidon, he found him (ironically) fighting Percy Weasley. It was a Percy Fight.
Percy Weasley kicked Percy Jackson to the ground, giving Harry enough time to nudge Percy out of the way to fight the demigod.
Harry unsheathed the Sword of Gryffindor, and brought it down on Percy, but Percy blocked it with Riptide and rolled out of the way of Harry’s swinging blade.
The two legends clashed on and on, people falling dead around them, until a horrible-sounding conch horn was heard in the distance.
Everyone stopped to look at the ship sailing in the distance. It was a Roman ship, with a purple flag on the mast and a big white sail that read Camp Jupiter. Harry knew what this was: an attack.
He heard a clopping behind him. Turning around, he saw Chiron coming up to him. “We must join forces to defeat Camp Jupiter!” he said, his voice filled with urgency.
That was fine with Harry. He gave the command to the wizards, and they nodded. He looked to Percy, and he gave the command to the demigods. The demigods cheered stuff like, “GO PERCY,” or “FOR THE CAMP,” and, “ROME STINKS.” They gathered their flanks and waited in anticipation as the Romans advanced on the new allies.
THE END!
(OR IS IT?!?)
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I know, right? I hate cliffhangers too, but I wanted you guys to use your imagination on what happened. Oh, and rest assured, Hagrid is at home guarding Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and poor Ron’s kids, so they lived. Bye for now. XANDER OUT!
The Secret Life of a Gummy Bear
By: Arca Baran
My first ever real memory was of falling through a large plastic tube. Then I landed in a bucket full of neon-red liquid. I felt the ground below me moving. Next, I went into a very cold chamber, and I exited the chamber as a solid material. A large metal plate with several bear-shaped holes in it was then smashed on my face, but at least I could finally move. I looked down at my stubby little hands and feet, and noticed that I had a belly button in the middle of my transparent red body.
I looked around and saw a pile of other gummy bears next to me. They all came in bright and playful colors, from water-blue to sunshine-yellow. Just before I thought I might drown in the other gummies, I felt a sudden drop. I held onto my ears tight as I fell into a small plastic bag, and heaved a sigh of relief when I realized that I finally had room to breathe. This time, there were significantly fewer bears around me. The bag around me was shiny gold and had a clear transparent front. I saw several more bags in front of me.
I wondered for a moment what our purpose was. I assumed that we were children’s toys, since it seemed like we were meant for kids. I could be wrong, but that seemed like the most reasonable option.
On a part of the bag around me, I could make out the word “OBIRAH.” It looked backwards to me. What is “HARIBO” supposed to mean, anyways? It sounds like a type of instrument. Or a llama. Or a llama instrument. The bag also had a slogan on it: “WE ONLY USE THE BEST INGREDIENTS! 100% TRUSTED BY FAMILIES AROUND THE WORLD!” I wondered what those ingredients actually were. There was some yellow creature on it giving a thumbs up. It had a large nose and two small ears. I thought it was a dog. That didn’t make much sense, so maybe it was a bear. Dogs would drool instead.
I still felt motion below me, though. Wait—I was moving on some kind of black carpet. Shortly after, I was picked up by a gigantic hand and placed in a box with several other bags. I heard a noise above me, somewhere from the lid of the box. Then everything went dark. I felt the box being lifted up and dropped off.
Every part of me that I could feel was being thrown around in the bag by some vibration, and it made me very dizzy. I heard the honking of some vehicles outside. After what might have been a year, or a million years, or just a few hours, the vehicle came to an abrupt halt. I felt doors open behind me. I was being lifted again! Suddenly, I heard a ripping noise above my bag. The darkness once inside the box was pierced by the first bright light I had seen in hours.
I saw something that resembled a face. Whether it was actually a face, I shall never know. It had short black hair on the top with two eyebrows below it. I don’t know if I would be correct to call them eyebrows. They were more like hairy bushes. These bushes partially blocked out two beady eyes. There was a large bump that had two holes in it. I assumed that it could be a nose, but it was very different from mine and much larger. Surrounding the mouth was a lot of black hair. It reminded me of a garden that had too many weeds in it, except the weeds were hair.
I only had a short glimpse of this “face” before this creature’s hand grabbed me and put me on a shelf with a few other bags on it as well. Some of the bags had bears like me in them; others contained everything from worms to soda bottles to fruit. The creature walked up to the door and flipped the switch. Everything around me got much darker. When he walked outside and closed the door, everything went completely dark. I was having a long and tiring day, and I took the opportunity to finally get some rest.
I was woken up by the sound of a bell and a door being opened. A creature similar to the hairy one I saw before, but shorter, rushed towards me. He pointed at my bag.
“MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY! I want it! Give it to me!” it shrieked, jumping up and down with excitement. I noticed that the middle portion of this human was rather large, as if someone had taken an air pump and filled it up too much. A blond-haired woman, looking rather stressed, shuffled towards the boy. She looked very worried and strained, with messy hair, dirty clothes, and bags under her eyes.
“No, Duncan, you already know that sugar is bad for you,” she scolded him.
“But Mommy!!!” the kid replied in protest, “I promise I won’t eat too much of it. I pretty pretty pretty promise!” It made its eyes as large as possible. I admit that it was easy to feel sad for it when it made its eyes look like that.
“Awww…” the woman said after awhile, “I guess it is okay for for you to have a little bit, I suppose. What harm could it possibly do? It’s not like the gummy bears have feelings...”
That last part seriously offended me. I didn’t have too much time to think about this though, since the kid lunged at me the moment the woman finished her sentence. The entire bag was grabbed by his hands, shaking me and my distressed fellow gummy bears around.
They walked over to the man that looked like he had bushes of hair all over his face.
“That will be $1.49,” he replied with little interest in his voice. The lady gave him large sheets of green paper with a picture of some grandma with a huge wig on her head, along with several shiny metal circles.
Just moments after they left the building, the kid ripped open the top of the bag. He grabbed several other gummies, and they disappeared in the large and slimy hole in the middle of his face.
Uh-oh! I never knew that my purpose in life was to be eaten! I tried to escape without getting too close to his hand. Soon, all my other gummy friends had been eaten—except for me! It was over. It was as if the world was suddenly in slow motion. His hand came closer and closer towards me. This was the end. My entire life flashed before my eyes. First the factory, then the packaging, the long ride on the truck, and being brought into the store. I never knew it would end like this: with a kid eating me and my friends alive without any mercy. It was fun being a gummy while it lasted. Goodbye, saturated-sugar filled world…
Just before he picked me up, I heard the lady scream at him.
“That’s enough,” she said in frustration. “You had the opposite of a ‘little bit’ of gummies! Duncan McGlocklin, young man, come over here and stop being such a junk-foodaholic! You are officially grounded.”
Large droplets of water began pouring from his eyes, dripping into the bag, and it was enough to almost drown me. He mumbled and whined some things I couldn’t understand. Then he dropped the entire bag onto the grassy ground.
Phew! I had gotten out of my situation—even though I very nearly died. The lady had saved my tiny, gelatinous life. Now, I stepped out of the bag onto a new frontier. One small step for gummy bear, giant amounts of unnecessary calories not being consumed! A Comic by Tanisha Sahni:  
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
Mrs.Talley-The Wind Beneath Our Wings
By: Zaina Saif
"Whoever first coined the phrase 'you're the wind beneath my wings' most assuredly was reflecting on the influence of a very special teacher."- Frank Trujillo. Mrs. Talley truly is the wind beneath her students’ wings!
Mrs. Talley is an amazing 6th grade English and Writing teacher. This is her 11th year teaching in Memorial. She chose to teach English and Writing because of her love and passion for reading. She developed her passion for English and was inspired by her excellent high school ELA teacher. It was then that she realized that she found her calling and wanted to follow in her teacher’s footsteps. Her love for reading is contagious and has the ability to make the most reluctant reader never want to put down a book.
Before teaching at Memorial, she was also a preschool teacher at the Goddard School and worked at the Gap. Outside of school, Mrs.Talley says she “likes to go shopping, go to the beach, and spend time with Mr.Talley and the kids.” She doesn’t care if her students don’t always get the right answer because she believes, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.”
Mrs. Talley was inspired by the quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Her advice to 6th graders is to always be the best they can. She says, “Even if something seems difficult, try and never give up.” She encourages all of her students to aim for excellence. On behalf of my classmates, I would like to thank Mrs. Talley for being an wonderful teacher and a positive role model! Thank you, Mrs. Talley!
The One and Only… Mrs. Murti!
By: Sneha Doshi and Kavya Jain
Math. What a boring subject, unless… you have a great teacher who makes math something you look forward to everyday. Mrs. Murti is a wonderful 8th grade math teacher who puts the fun in everything mathematical. When she walks into her room, everyone’s day gets much better. Mrs. Murti always knows how to keep her students progressing in math while having a blast. Her lessons teach her students in the best way possible, making sure everyone understands the topic thoroughly before they walk out the door.
Teaching math for 13 years, Mrs. Murti has a real passion for it, especially for quadratic equations and trigonometry, and her interest has been there since she was a young child. As a kid, along with French and physics, math was her favorite subject in school, which is one of the reasons why she became a math teacher. According to Mrs. Murti, she was inspired to dive into the undiscovered mathematical world of teaching because of “Miss Rose, my physics teacher in 11th and 12th grade. She was an amazing teacher...she could clearly and simply explain so many things in the world using physics and also mathematical equations. She inspired me to study physics in college.”
Although the students think that it’s very easy for Mrs. Murti to teach in class, it isn’t as easy as they think it is. Even though teaching is fun, it can be very challenging in various ways. For example, for Mrs. Murti, the biggest challenge that she faces in her teaching career is, as she says, “to get the students to enjoy the subject, and see the relevance of it and the beauty in it!” In the end, Mrs. Murti always gets past her challenges and creates a great learning environment. Along with challenges, she also gets to do fun things she loves while teaching. Mrs. Murti has said that one of the best things about her job is being able to make a difference in students’ lives, teaching them a subject that could greatly help them later on in the future with so many different things.
Many kids think that there is only one side of Mrs. Murti - her math side in school. However, Mrs. Murti also has an interesting life outside of teaching and participates in many different hobbies. Mrs. Murti has three lovely children, and she enjoys playing with them during her free time. When she isn’t taking care of her children, Mrs. Murti also has two rescue dogs, Timmie and Sadie, with whom she loves to play. They are both extremely adorable, Timmie being a black lab - corgi mix and Sadie being a pitbull mix. One other thing Mrs. Murti does in her free time is participate in a classic southern Indian dance called Bharatnatyam, which she has been taking part in since she was only 4 years old. Mrs. Murti loves her life outside of school just as much as she loves her life inside of it.
In conclusion, Mrs. Murti is an extraordinary 8th grade math teacher and a hard-working, determined person. She comes up with the best lesson plans, the greatest review games, and the funniest jokes to crack everyone up when they are having a nutty day. She is a bright light that shines everyday, changing everyone’s frowns to smiles. Just like this quote says, “Life is a math equation. In order to gain the most, you have to know how to convert the negatives into positive.”
BEHIND THE SCENES OF MMMS
Saying Farewell to Mr. Higley
By: Anushka Sikdar and Danielle Ahearn
Did you know there is a time capsule buried in the courtyard? Or that a custodian used to coach the track team? You probably didn’t. Neither did we, until we met Mr. Higley.
For nearly fourteen years, Mr. Higley has been an important part of the staff at Memorial. At the end of this year, sadly, he will be retiring. Mr. Higley has worked in Marlboro since October of 1982, a very long time before Memorial was built. He started out as a custodian at the other middle school, Marlboro Middle School. He has also worked at Asher Holmes Elementary School, as well as Frank Defino Central Elementary School. He worked as grounds and maintenance all around the district. In total, he has worked at his job for 34 years! That is an extremely long and impressive time to stay with one district, and he will be missed. All of this contributed towards the moment when Mr. Higley was promoted to head custodian.
“I started out here because I needed a job and I needed a paycheck. But soon, you know, you have a family and you have to pay the bills and all, and this job was what I had,” Mr. Higley said in an interview. At first, Mr. Higley was one of many custodians, doing as all others in his job would. He was part of the reason why the halls and rooms were clean every morning. Soon, a position opened up, and it happened to be head custodian! Mr. Higley was given the job, and thus began the birth of a new head custodian. Mr. Higley became kind of like the coach or leader of the other custodians, and gave them directions on what to do. Mr. Higley had a lot to do, from making sure everything worked properly to managing the whole building!
 After this, however, Mr. Higley went to grounds and maintenance. Here, Mr. Higley would be one of people mowing the lawns, or putting out salt before snowfall. Eventually he went back to being a head custodian, and that is the job he still does now. Mr. Higley actually started working at Memorial before the entire building was even finished! In fact, when the building process was complete, Mr. Higley helped a few other teachers and staff members bury a time capsule in the courtyard. Today, there is a small plaque honoring this time capsule that you can see in the spot where it was buried in the courtyard.
Other things that you may not know about Mr. Higley is that he was one of coaches for the track team for about 7 years. His wife also worked in the Marlboro School District, including here at Memorial. He worked at MMMS the longest during his career, and says he loved every moment of his time here. “The teachers and staff, they’ve been so nice to me,” he stated during an interview. Mr. Higley would like to thank all the teachers and staff for all they’ve done for him, and says he will definitely miss them all. Make sure to say hi to Mr. Higley if you see him in the hall, and also, make sure to thank him for all he has done for us. Mr. Higley has been a great head custodian, and he will not be soon forgotten.
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Student Services with Mrs. Santaromita
By: Kavya Jain and Danielle Lirov
Take a look around MMMS. Who do you think keeps the school organized and the children radiant? Who helps with the parents and makes everything run smoothly? Who picks up your spirits and comforts you when you are sad? We have so many unseen heroes in this school that don’t get enough credit for all the amazing things that they do. One of the most important ones is Mrs. Santaromita, who is the “head of student services,” as she says jokingly.
Mrs. Santaromita is a humorous, nurturing person who takes care of all the children and helps to prepare everything in this school. From organizing files for high school, to greeting parents, to making passes for extra help, to help with agenda pads, to taking care of new students, Mrs. Santaromita has a very busy and important job. Some of the people that she works with in Student Services are the grade-level counselors (Mrs. Coulter, Mrs. Negron-Santana, Dr. Baskind, and Mrs. McDonald). She also works with all of the members in the Child Study Team (Mrs. Klein, Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Azarchi), the speech teacher (Mrs. Kutenplon), the Wilson teacher (Mrs. Sciabica), and the secretaries in the main office (Mrs.O’Connell, Mrs. D’Ambrise, and Mrs.Cardaio). Last but not least, Mrs. Santaromita works with the “big guys”: the principal and vice principals (Mr. Pacifico, Ms. Labuza, and Mrs.Tardio). All of these people would describe her as a wonderful person who is kind, funny, and easy-going. She has an amazing character and should be recognized for all of this.
Mrs. Santaromita has such a busy life in school that it is amazing how much she has accomplished outside of school. She has two children, one boy and one girl. Her son plays baseball in college, and that is one of the many things she is proud of in her life. Some of her interests out of school are cooking, going to the beach, reading many books, watching Food Network and shopping.
This amazing woman has worked in the district for ten years, and prior to her current occupation was an instructional assistant. She was inspired to come back to Memorial because of her love for this school and the inspiration of seeing all of the familiar faces she had worked with before. She is very family-oriented and is a self teacher. She lives in Marlboro with her husband and her dog Luna. She has enjoyed coming to work in Memorial Memorial Middle for four years working as a Student Services Member.
For whatever reason you come to Student Services, remember the smiling face that Mrs. Santaromita shows you because she is one of the best people you will ever meet at Memorial. Next time you come into Student Services, make sure to give her a big smile and show your appreciation for all she does in this school.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: STUDENT ALUMNI
Marisa Tudisco: Class of '13
 By: Zaina Saif
Marisa Tudisco is a 17 year old senior who is currently at Marlboro High School. Suprise! She too, graduated from Marlboro Memorial in 2013! Her interests are makeup, fashion, and photography. She has danced her whole life and is very passionate about it. Marisa is planning to study fashion merchandising in college. She hopes to be a buyer for a large company after she graduates.
Marisa said that middle school helped her realize her strengths and weaknesses as a student. She says, “I was much more happy in art class than I was in math class. Middle school did help me choose my career path for the future.” Her favorite subject when she was at MMMS was English, and she loved the teachers at MMMS. Marisa says, “They all seemed to really care about their students and their educations.” Her favorite teachers were Mr. Bucci and Mrs. Murti. “Mr. Bucci made learning easy and so much fun, with lots of songs and projects that I still remember to this day. Mrs. Murti was also an outstanding teacher and always helped me during class when I needed it,” she says.
“In middle school, my life revolved around dance. I danced for almost 10 hours every week, which unfortunately made it difficult for me to be involved in any other activities,” Marisa explains. “It got harder to focus on my dancing once I got into highschool because I was so much busier than when I was in 6th grade.”
Marisa’s most memorable moment of MMMS was her eighth grade field trip to the Liberty Science Center. “I had so much fun there with all of my friends, and learned a lot of cool interesting facts. I still speak to some of peers that I went on the trip with, and we always reminisce about the great memories we made on that field trip.” There are always memorable moments in middle school, but some can be difficult at first. Her scariest moment in MMMS was being terrified for eighth grade. She said she had no friends in her quad and all of her classes seemed to be unusually difficult. After experiencing eighth grade, she says, “I now realize that I made so many new friends that year and got the chance to challenge myself academically.”
If Marisa had one more chance at middle school, she wished to have gotten involved more. She says, “I wish I participated in clubs and sports. It is important to get involved because that is how you learn new things and meet new people.”
Marisa’s message to middle schoolers is, “Don’t take life too seriously at such a young age. Enjoy your time in middle school before it ends!”
Remembering the Past Students: Zach Miller
By Helen Kwok
Zach Miller is a 24 year old who goes to Penn State. He graduated in 2007. He likes almost any sports, spicy tuna rolls, and indoor trampoline parks. In school, his favorite subject is math, particularly Calculus. He loves Billy Joel classics and reconnecting to his inner Harry Potter nerd.
His career path is an actor/voice teacher. The shows at MMMS helped him guide his path to being an actor. Ms. Brickell/Spanish and Ms.Rothy/English were his favorite teachers. His most memorable moment in MMMS was in 6th grade when he was cast as a lead role in the play Once on this Island.
Middle school changed him as a person because he says, “Teenage years are some of the most influential times that shape the person you hope to be and eventually become.” He likes to think he is a good person, and that is a result from the friends and experiences he had in middle school, including the clubs and sports he did (school plays, choir, and cross country running).
If he could redo middle school, there is nothing at all he would want to change. He likes the teachers who were always committed to their students’ success. The advice he gives other students is “Take everything with a grain of salt. There will be lots of ups and downs, so know that you’re allowed to make mistakes. Be a kind person even to your worst enemy. Stay loyal to your close friends. Try hard and above all, where there is will, there is always a way!”
Checking in on a Recent MMMS Graduate: Daniela Butkovic
By Helen Kwok
Daniela Butkovic is a 14 year old who goes to Freehold Regional High School and is in 9th grade. Daniela reads fantasy books everyday. She loves to sing, and she does contemporary dance. In school, her favorite subject is ELA. Daniela doesn’t have a favorite song or book because she likes so many.
She doesn’t know what what her career path is, but she wants it to involve art and creativity or animals. Since she wants her career to be based on art and creativity, her experience in MMMS influenced her career path by helping her push toward her goals. The assessments and assignments are fair to her and some of them are fun for her. She had many favorite teachers in MMMS, like Mrs. Marion and Mrs. Pagliaro, because of the fun activities they did in the class.
MMMS changed her as a person by helping her learn so much more about other people. The activities she did in MMMS were Computer Club and Digital Magazine. If she could redo middle school, she would join a play or musical. The advice she has for people is, “Don’t slack off doing your work because you are not going to have fun, especially if you do a program.” She wants middle schoolers to stay focused and keep their goals in mind.
Alumni Spotlight: Brynn Mosello
By: Zaina Saif
Brynn Mosello is 24 years old and graduated Marlboro Memorial Middle School in 2006. She has also graduated from Rutgers University and is currently getting her Graphic Design certification from Mercer County College. Brynn has many interests, including musical theater, singing, dancing, drawing, and writing.
Middle school helped Brynn learn that your reputation and the popularity of your friends is not as important as it may seem. She says, “I look back now and wish that I hadn’t focused so much on whether or not I was “liked,” but instead enjoyed each and every day. If I worried about bullies, crushes, and grades all the time, it would’ve inhibited my growth, and I wouldn’t be where I am now.” Brynn says that Middle School showed her that having a carefree spirit, positive attitude, and kind heart is more important and rewarding than any single circumstance or person in your life. “Those smaller moments come and go, but how you react to them stays with you forever.”
“The thing I liked most about MMMS was the teachers,” Brynn says. “We are really lucky to live in a place where teachers care so much about their jobs and their students.” Her favorite teachers were Ms. Brickell & Mrs. Rothy because hey were her teachers and acting mentors. Her favorite subjects in school were math and Spanish. She says, “It's important to be well-rounded, but I think the experiences you have are more important than any assignment or assessment. Those are the things you will remember.”
Brynn’s most memorable moment of MMMS was doing the middle school plays and having after-school rehearsals. She tells us, “I think that spending quality time in groups of people who all have similar goals and interests is amazing. I think getting involved in these type of groups and activities is the most important and memorable part of Middle School, for sure. “
Brynn was in band, jazz band, chorus, show choir, Creative Arts and Drama Club. Her favorite moments of middle school were when she did the musical “Once on This Island” in 6th grade, “Pirates of Penzance” in 7th grade, and the musical in 8th grade. “Participating in “Footloose” in 8th grade was the best time [in] my life. I don’t think I am going to ever do anything better.”
If Brynn had the chance to do middle school over, she says she would’ve tried more clubs. She mentions, “I think it would’ve been fun to explore other things besides music and art. Maybe being on a sports team would’ve been fun, although I’m not the most athletic person!”
Brynn says to students in middle school, “You should talk to someone in your class or lunch period who you wouldn’t normally talk to. And don’t put yourself into a category just because other people put you in one. You can define your life however you want, and you shouldn’t let other people’s opinions hold you back from being who you want to be.” She also says, “MIDDLE SCHOOL IS THE TIME TO HAVE FUN! When you grow up, you don’t have as many people around you to learn from; you really just are on your own. So take advantage of everything around you and enjoy it while you can!”
Albert Benavides: Student Alumnus
By: Madison Li
Although MMMS is a relatively new school, it has produced more than a few distinguished alumni in its early years. They can boast of a multitude of accomplishments, including being a project manager at Aldo Design Group. Albert Benavides Jr, who graduated from MMMS in 2008, has already set his sights on taking over Aldo Design Group, his grandfather’s home improvement business. As an eighth grader, he began to work in the company warehouse as a type of internship, and continued to work for the company after he entered and graduated from Colts Neck High School, then Fairfield University. As of 2017, 22-year-old Albert is working on the corporate side of the business and affirms that he hopes to one day manage his grandfather’s nearly 50-year-old business as its president.
As diligent as Albert is, he takes time off to relax and rewind, just like everyone else. Two of his favorite pastimes are reading and writing. He relishes being engulfed in any story, no matter the genre. Albert also enjoys writing short stories, but these aren’t his only hobbies. Back in middle school, he was fond of playing Civilization with Mr. Bucci in social studies class! He still likes to play video games now, and they’re mostly PC games, as well as many “indie,” or independently published, games. Old Pokémon Gameboy games are one of the things he likes to constantly revisit, as well as World of Warcraft. He’s even still into the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series. As his more academic hobbies show, Albert’s favorite subjects are English and History. To be specific, he likes American classical literature (Faulkner, Hemingway, etc.), and the literature of classical antiquity. His hobbies and interests help him relax, especially when the sources of stress in his life increase.
MMMS left Albert with many memorable experiences, many of which impacted his life later on. For example, the amount of effort 6th grade teacher Mr. Bucci put into teaching the dense subject of social studies inspired Albert to attain a minor in classical era history in college. Albert’s favorite teacher, clearly being the aforementioned Mr. Bucci, also made his students practice critical thinking, which helped Albert later as well. Albert tells students to thank their favorite teachers, too. He enjoyed having teachers who invested in him and being able to invest back in them, and these teachers include Mr. Bucci, Mr. Pagliaro, and Mrs. Hicks.
Mr. Pagliaro changed Albert’s life in 8th grade with his jokes. Admittedly, Albert was shy and a quiet kid in general, but Mr. Pagliaro’s jokes and willingness to laugh everything off helped Albert become more outgoing. “It’s rare to find an educator who can teach you about life, yourself, and the subject they’re responsible for all in the course of one class,” Albert says.
Many other assignments and subjects did seem pointless in middle school. He despised math and Spanish due to their difficulty, but he gives some advice for middle schoolers when he says, “I now work in a field predicated entirely on math, where the majority of my co-workers are native Spanish speakers. You never know where you’re going to end up, and what seems useless or boring now might just be exactly what you need later on.”
Albert encourages middle schoolers today to not be frightened of failure. “It’s better to fail and know you tried than be afraid of failure itself. You’ll grow, and every so often you’ll succeed and that part feels great,” he says. He considered himself a “geek” in middle school, and was afraid to try something new. In spite of that, he realized that he doesn’t have to force himself to fit into a label, and hopes that current middle schoolers will realize that too.
Another piece of advice Albert has for middle schoolers is to try as many activities as they can. In 7th grade, he was in S.T.E.M. Club, and he still remembers how fun the water-propelled bottle rocket project was. Trying new things can not only get you more friends, but you’ll have great memories to look back on for years to come. “Try everything you can, because the only thing worse than failing is never trying at all,” Albert says.NEXT ISSUE WILL FEATURE: BETHANY SANDELMAN, KAITLYN MARUT, GREGORY GROSSMAN. |
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