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A creative outlet for CMS students: Scroll down!
The first thing that most people think when they hear about Sporcle is: What does Sporcle mean? After extensive research, I have discovered it. The site’s founder, Matt Ramme, says that he based the name “Sporcle” off of the word oracle. The icon of Sporcle is a crystal ball, used by oracles. Now you may wonder, what is the use of Sporcle? Sporcle.com is a quiz website with a mission. Their mission statement is “We actively and methodically search out new and innovative ways to prevent our users from getting any work done whatsoever.” Sporcle is the #1 tool for procrastination, but also it’s fun, and incredibly addicting. About 4 games are published each day, and the quizzes range from educational to just for fun. The top ten games include the Countries of the World quiz, the US States quiz, Corporate Logos quiz, Commonest Words in the English Language, and more. Sporcle is a good and fun quiz site for everyone that is allowed to go on the computer and can read.
Hi, I’m Annie B. and I’m on the Concord Equestrian Team (CET). The CET practices at Verrill Farm Stables in Concord and competes in a series of horse shows that go from September to April. The shows can be as far as Georgia! What you do is you go to someone else’s barn, but instead of riding your own horses, you pick a horse’s name from another barn out of a hat. Then that would be the horse you would ride in the class you signed up for.
The first stage in the season is Zone-1 (which is held Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut, etc.). There are five horse shows that go until February. The next stage, Zone finals, is a really big show which all of New England participates in. After Zone Finals, there are Nationals and Regionals. In April, your whole team packs up and goes to Atlanta, Georgia for the final show.
I’ve seen my friend Chloe H. go through all of this, and it does NOT look easy. This year, i hope to go to finals. Below is a little video of how hard doing all of this is, but eventually, it all gets easier. Thanks for reading!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xtAxxkwJAg
Watch the WHOLE thing!!!!!!!!!!!
Its AWESOME!!
One day, there was a Jack o’ Lantern. The lantern was very sweet, but it’s voice was blood-curdling. Even it’s luminous glow couldn’t distract people from the hideous sound he made. People considering listening to him a “thrill”. Only felines could listen to him without screaming in agony. To try to meet people, the Jack o’ Lantern, masqueraded himself as a witch and tried to make a conversation with some trick or treaters. The people looked like they had seen a specter and ran away. The Jack o’ Lantern slipped off into the shadows. From then on, the Lantern only talked to nocturnal cats.
The thrill came to George as he looked out from the jack ‘o’ lantern. The small mouse sniffed around. He stuck his head out the eye hole. His fur crawled when he heard a blood-curdling scream. In his surprise George fell, landing on top of his baby sister. They had run away when they were attacked viciously by raccoons. Now all they had left was this pumpkin, on Hallowe’en night.
The shadow of a giant loomed over the small home. This was the first Hallowe’en the mice had ever lived in. Batty, the bat, soared over. They were friends. Batty had helped George and Lily survive. Suddenly, a small shiny package fell from the sky. George wandered out from the the pumpkin sanctuary into the world of monsters.
When George finally reached the mystery package, Lily wandered out. Lily didn’t know that George would be back soon. She thought that he had left her for the night, she was scared. In her wanderings she felt a small chill trickled down her back. The Clouds swirled, and the gloomy trees ruffled. A small child masqueraded, he pretended to be a small dragon. The luminous pumpkin cried out to Lily with her light, warning her not to go any further. Just as Lily turned around she was swept off her feet.
George turned around after eating chocolate, his memory of the taste like a specter in the chilly evening air. The feline dropped Lily down into the melting chocolate bar. Nocturnal animals started to come out. Their noises frightened George as he hauled Lily to safety.
So many people say, “don’t judge a book by its cover”. By now, it is a cliché, and quite honestly, it is false. We will be teaching you, how to judge a book by its cover.
We will start with the book, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. The first thing you notice about this seemingly innocent book is the smiley boy with a scar and spiky black hair. He is holding onto a bird, which looks like it would rather not be there. Some snakes are crawling out through cracks, and one snake is suspended in mid air. There is also a sword hanging out of nothing. Judging by this cover, I would say this book is about a crazy kid who tries to escape the asylum by hanging onto a bird while being followed by snakes. Would I recommend this book? No.
Next, we will be reviewing “Frindle”. So from what we have gathered so far, it appears it is about a ginger who has a sacred pen that everyone idolizes. His wire frame glasses give us the impression that he is stuck in the 80’s, perhaps a time traveling plot will unfold later on? The words in the background seem to give the definition of pen. So unless you enjoy reading dictionaries in your freetime, then I would strongly suggest that you steer clear of this book.
Last weekend the 7th and 8th grade chorus, along with the orchestra, Treble Chorus, and Acapella Chorus from CMS went to Six Flags for Music in the Parks. It was a very eventful trip, complete with two sixth graders getting “lost” and a bus hitting a truck! One of the chaperones got confused and forgot that she told two girls to go on a different roller coaster than the other people in the group. She started panicking and her group searched the park for the two girls, only to find out that it was just a misunderstanding. But all in all, it was a ton of fun. Concord won 5 trophies and a medal, and the Acapella Chorus won best chorus of the day! At 6 Flags everyone had a great time riding roller coasters like Batman and Bizarro. At the end of the long day was the award ceremony where one of the members of the 7th and 8th grade chorus, Mickey V-H, won a medal for best soloist of the day. On the bus ride home, when the busses were still in the Six Flags parking lot, bus number two backed into a pick-up truck, but nobody was hurt. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, but we all had a great day.
The ensemble worked hard to create the mood and pulsing background of this production, while the leads brought feeling and skill to every detail. Annie was played by Ana F-C, who showed us that a 6th grader can do just as much as any older kid with a main role. She was spunky and tender at the same time, and really seemed to connect with the other characters, especially Warbucks, who was played by Joe V-H. He was the soul of the show, rotating from singing to dancing to acting to carrying Annie around. The original show didn’t have as many dance numbers, in fact, the only original dance number was Hard-Knock Life. Mr. Shancady and Jen Jarvis (the choreographer) changed the show a lot by adding a Rockette tap-dancing in N.Y.C.
Almost every song had some choreography, which definitely helped the scenes a lot. Elana I. was perfectly preposterous as Miss Hannigan, the evil orphanage lady who with her criminal brother and his equally immoral girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (played by Jeremy S. and Hannah S-D). Before intermission, they performed their fantastic number, “Easy Street.” In the song, this sneaky group of characters announced their plan of how to become rich. Towards the end of the play, there were several very touching scenes and songs. The audience was enamored by the heartfelt acting by Warbucks and Annie, and the comical impersonations of Lily and Rooster. When the curtain closed for the final time, there was a collective sigh as the audience and cast alike savored the last moments of Annie, CMS’ fabulous production that blew the roof off of every performance.
Red Sox or Yankees? Jacob or Edward? These are huge decisions. Now there is an addition; Justin or Anti-Justin? Although many people think that Justin Bieber is all hype and has a voice that is too high pitched and inexperienced, I believe many people will follow my opinion on the celebrity. First of all, I don’t believe in criticizing celebrities. It’s no different than criticizing each other, for, as Lily said, “They’re just like regular people…” which they are, in some ways, but in other ways, they are celebrities for a reason. Sure, some got lucky. However, others earned it. Justin Bieber started his career on YouTube, just making videos for his friends and family. He was not expecting fame or fortune from these videos, all he wanted was for the people close to him to see him sing. Justin couldn’t control the number hits the videos happened to get, and the result went from tens to hundreds to thousands.
You have to admit that the base of Justin Bieber's career was not similar to those pop celebrities you see on tv and hear on kiss 108. Bieber's first step on the escalator to fame was simply raw talent. Sure, maybe he doesn't use it in some of his music videos, but he has it. And although high pitched, his voice is very pure and goes straight into the hearts of many adoring fans. The incredible looks, well, they're just icing on the cake. I'm not one of those shallow people who just goes with the opinions of the majority. In fact, there are many unnecessary haters out there. You may be one of them. See, I think that there is simply no reason to hate Justin Bieber. If you simply have to hate him, hate him quietly and to yourself. He has a great voice, mad dance skills, and natural talent. So why hate him? He's annoying? Well, what did he ever do to you? So you don't love his songs, don't listen to them. It's not that complicated. I do understand those people who just don't really like him. What I don't understand is the intense things people will say and do just to get others to hate him too. It's no different than seeing the glass half-empty.
His songs. I will admit that the quality of the lyrics is low, but Justin did NOT write them. He was given a song and asked to sing. He performed this task well and with a lot of emotion. So maybe they're not the best songs in the world, but they sure are catchy. And I feel that they are just pleasing to listen to, all very cheerful and romantic. They give you hope for you and the person you have a crush on. His songs aren't the best for interpretation, but if you just want a song to get stuck in your head and dance along with your friends, well, Justin's your guy.
So give the guy a break. He is talented and very famous even though he didn't control the fame he got; he earned it. And if you still don't like him, just keep it to yourself. What if the same thing happened to you? You posted up videos for your family, got famous, and suddenly everybody hated you for no reason whatsoever? Join the Justin Bieber team and you'll score the winning goal.
The Last Supper before I go to bed
A Starry, Starry Night above my head
Pearl Earring clutched in my hand
I sneak out to the Café Terrace at Night, across the land
A Scream in the dark, the sound of a fight
Campbell’s Soup spilled in the fright
American Goths surround me
But a Blue Boy comes and sets me free
I Gogh back home
And paint a picture.
"Lindalia, we need to discuss what is happening to the earth,” stated the magnificent god Zeus.
“As we all know, we appointed you the goddess of all things made of mankind, but we have noticed you slacking on the job. The earth is unhealthy and full of pollution. What do you have to say for yourself?"
”Well, Great-Uncle Zeus, the humans have been polluting this earth for many thousands of years, and I have only been around for 3658." I squeaked. Even thought he is my great uncle, I was still greatly intimidated by him.
I shuffled my sandal-clad feet nervously as Zeus's powerful voice booms out over the council.
"Lindalia, you are to take a break from grammar corrections, and start working to repair the human habitat. I presume you are acquainted with the goddess of spring, Persephone?" I nodded quizzically. "You are to work closely alongside her during this assignment. Am I understood?" I nodded again, mutely. "The council is dismissed."
Ugh. This was going to be a nightmare. I better go find Persephone. Maybe Pan can help too. He would be really mad about this though. I scuttled out and mounted my transportation device. In 5 1/2 seconds, (rather slow, I must get Hepatitis to fix it), I was at Persephone's cloud and tripping on my toga to get to her.
"Persephone!" I screeched, "I was just at the Council of the Gods. And now we have a mission to fulfill." I quickly recapped what had occurred at the council.
"No!" whimpered Persephone, “I need to finish getting ready for spring and summer."
"Well, it will have to wait,” I stated, a little harshly. “Now here is what we have to do."
Crossing her arms in a huff, Persephone sat down on the cloud, obviously nettled at my bossiness. I continued triumphantly: "You know how for the last thousand years or so I have been slightly-just slightly- neglecting my duties as goddess of all mankind?" She nods, looking slightly-just slightly- bored out of her beautiful skull. "Well, Zeus has requested for me to reorganize my priorities, give up the grammar, and save the human environment!" I raise a fist in the air heroically. Persephone yawns." And I come into this.... how?"
"You are the goddess of spring, Persia! You grow trees, help the animals, and plant everything under the sun!" I sigh, with just as much desperation as exasperation. "Persephone, you are the only one who can help me."
" Am I really the only one who can help you? There is no other god or goddess who would suit the job just fine? What about.... my mother?"
"Persia!!! How could you say that?” I gasped in despair, knowing that she could help," Your mother hates me! Ever since I stole her seed pouch. And that was for you!"
" We were just 300 years old. She won't care. And I can ask her about it if it makes you feel better,” sighed Persephone wearily.
With an overdone flurry of colored smoke, she poofed out. "That's not good for the environment!!" I shouted in a huff.
I moved like a cheetah to my transportation device. Who am I kidding? A slug could have beaten me to it. Remembering the earthworms that flew out of my desk the last time Persephone told me to do something and I did not, I picked up the pace. Well, I was off to see Greek mother and corn (grain) goddess associated with the earth, vegetation and agriculture, Demeter.
Did I mention she is also the goddess of death?
I’m still not quite over the jet lag, but right now I’m awake enough to say that I had an amazing time in Israel. My family and I went over February break to visit family and do all that tourist sightseeing that’s unavoidable but actually really essential when visiting a historically rich country such as Israel. We started off in the quirky town of Rehovot where I have a lot of family, getting acclimated to the Israeli time zone and culture and visiting local checkpoints such as the Weitzmann Institute (Chaim Weitzmann was Israel’s first president), a university a bit like our own MIT with a famously lush and beautiful campus. After spending some laid-back time in Rehovot, we took a day trip to Caesarea. Caesarea is a weathered, ancient city built by Herod thousands of years ago in the Roman style, with an amphitheater, a hippodrome and baths. It was very informative and I had a great experience there from the historic ruins to the relaxing beach where chunks of ancient marble, tiny beads and fragments of buildings mix with the shells!
The next day my family toured Old Jerusalem. We went to the Western Wall, the Armenian Quarter, and saw from close up the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount. It was interesting for the sights usually found on postcards or books to rise up in 3-D glory right in front of you. “Rise up” becomes literal when referencing Masada, an ancient settlement on top of a mountain in the desert, again built by Herod. The view was amazing- we took a cable car all the way to the flat top where we explored the craggy palace and authentic ancient rooms. After sizzling under the blazing sun, we planned to cool off in the Dead Sea which is the lowest point on earth. The water is so full of salt that nothing can sink or survive in it. It took a while to get used to sinking in 3 feet of mud wherever you stepped, but the sensation of floating without the slightest effort in the (fairly) clear water was completely worth it. And I got used to the squishiness in the end.
Over the next few days, we visited more modern sights in cities like Haifa, where we saw the amazingly ornate and gorgeous Baha’i Gardens and the ancient port of Jaffa. We visited an Arab village; a mall exactly like those in America except everything is in Hebrew; drove around the white city of Tel Aviv; realized there was just too much to see in ten days! During all this sightseeing, I also got to enjoy other sides of the rich culture of Israel. Personally, my favorite bit of culture was the delicious food, especially falafel (fried chickpeas in pita with toppings) and the wide ranges of scrumptious spices and sauces. I could go on, but let’s just say I can’t wait to go back!
Camp Happiness is a fun and exciting experience in which young adults will build good skills for middle school. Your children can make long time friends, learn teamwork and respect, and all the while have fun. The meals are delicious, nutritious and served with a smile. After dinner, your child will learn how to clean up ketchup and wash dirty dishes. We have nightly cheesy sing-a-longs. The highly trained counselors teach the youngsters valuable skills and tactics for middle school. Safety is a top priority; so it is a rule that you may not run, only walk so that you don’t trip. Our highly trained belayers at the rock wall receive around 5 minutes of intensive training about how to catch a student before falling to their doom and smashing their head open. There is a fun and educational hike in which they will learn about wildlife. On the ledge, where the camper can get a beautiful view of the bordering skyscrapers, they will receive a notification that Camp Happiness was built on top of a possibly active volcano (The counselors will yak on about completely nothing until your little ones fall asleep). This is good because your loved ones will never get any sleep, as annoying fellow campers will keep them wide awake with snoring and endless talk. We encourage them to do this because we want them to make friends in this experience. The bathrooms are custom-made, and your child will be able to experience mildew and millions of flies and spiders. The showers USUALLY work, but we don’t count on it because 9 out of 10 showers come out as cold slime, not the warmish fresh pond water. It builds a lot of character. We have an on duty nurse, which is good because 1 out of 2 children complain of a very painful stomach aches, but we can’t imagine why. The raft building activity will lighten anyone’s spirit. Your child will be steered across uneven terrain guided by an untrustworthy pal while blind folded to pick up heavy logs. Then you will go out on your very own semi-sturdy raft with several paddles that don’t work very well, to go over to a canoe to get some soggy graham crackers. There is no adult on the raft, but don’t worry, they will probably be skilled enough to swim over in time. Another activity of ours is the Whale Watch Balance where your child will be put carelessly onto an unsteady, hard, splintery board. Your Snoogie Poo will be forced to cooperate with the children that they hate to keep the board from toppling over and probably smushing 3 out of 4 other cuties. In conclusion, your child will absolutely LOVE it here at good old Camp Happiness.
Odd Arguement between an Stubborn Editor and an Insolent Writer
Lily: Ha, way to go genius, you spelled argument wrong!
Isabel: It was a typo. A-r-g-u-m-e-n-t.
Lily: You’re a typo!
Isabel: Okay anyway, about your latest article…
Lily: Say what? I know—it’s awesome, just like me!
Isabel: Yes, yes, it is. I know. But, Lily, you can’t say rude things about celebrities who are only 15. Such as a certain Justin Bieber.
Lily: Are you giving me a ride home today?
Isabel: Maybe, maybe not, concentrate! ‘Kay?
Lily: But if you can’t drive me home I don’t go home, sister, so YOU’RE GIVING ME A RIDE, ‘KAY?
Isabel: Does that make a difference in my life? No. It doesn’t. But fine, whatever, so about Jushu-Jusd9 iyn b- Justin! Stop hitting my hand when I type!B { UGH! LILIAN!
Lily: {pouts} WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THAT I POUTED??? I DON’T POUT, YOU POUTER!!!
Isabel: Uh, okay, um, Lily?
Lily: Yar?
Isabel: If you don’t want to edit your article and change it to constructive criticism—
Lily: Ah, put a sock in it. Now, what do you want?
Isabel: If you don’t want to edit your article and change it to constructive criticism, I’m, uh, going to…I got it! Have someone else write a … REBUTTAL!
Watch for Julie N.'s rebuttal to Lily Has Opinions: Justin Bieber.