East Lyme Middle School Newsletter May 2018 Volume 1, Issue 1
Ever Care About Our Planet? By: Jenny Guo and Yurina Shirai
Earth Day 2018 As you probably know, Earth Day occurred last month on April 22nd… wait, you didn't know that? Of course. It was during spring break. You were probably flying your way back to East Lyme, coming back from a road trip, or staying at home playing video games (just like my friend sitting next to me.) I don’t blame you, but if you knew when Earth Day was and you celebrated it, congratulations! You helped recognize how the Earth is doing today. Let’s just say that the Earth could be experiencing better conditions.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch “What the heck is that?”, you might ask. Well, this specific garbage patch, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the GPGP, is one of the largest garbage patches on Earth. It’s about twice the size of Texas and contains about 1.8 trillion pieces of trash! If you think that’s not a large pile of garbage, I don’t know what you would define as large. This garbage patch can be found in the water between Hawaii and California. The main trash in the GPGP is plastic—a material meant to last. Plastic can be very useful for us, but when found in the middle of the ocean where many sea creatures live, it can become quite hazardous. Sea turtles can accidentally consume the plastic, while birds can be strangled.
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But, the GPGP is not the only garbage patch that you can find in the ocean. There are many other garbage patches that have been created by human manufacturing companies that discard plastic into the ocean.
Global Warming Let’s face it. Obviously, the Earth is going through a few problems right now. The average global temperature is increasing by the year, and NASA’s 16 recorded hottest years are all but one from after the year of 2000. Global warming occurs when sunlight and solar radiation bounces off the Earth’s crust and gets absorbed by greenhouse gases. The sunlight and solar radiation are supposed to head their way into space, but when they get captured by carbon dioxide, their journey to space ends. Instead, they end up in Earth’s atmosphere for centuries and cause global temperatures to rise.
What YOU can do to help
As you can see, Earth is becoming more and more polluted. While you might not be able to stop global warming or clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, you can definitely make a change. The average American family wastes 9400 gallons of garbage and produces 6000 pounds of garbage each year! So remember to recycle that plastic bottle from lunch. Remember to turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Remember to turn off your TV when you leave the room. Make every day Earth Day!
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Table of Contents Editor-in-Chief: Samuel Yang Co-Editors: Jenny Guo and Avni Kabra Ever Care About Our Planet?
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New Teachers of 2017-2018!
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The Science Bowl
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Math Competitions
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Sports Clubs
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Book Recommendations
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Instrumental Concerts
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Entertainment
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New Teachers of 2017-2018! By: Alexandra Carlson, En-Ming Holtz, Ethan Liu, Benji Tan, Eric Yang, Charles Yang, and Emma Zhu
Mrs. Galvin ● ● ● ● ● ●
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She became a literary specialist to help and support kids in language arts. She really enjoys working at ELMS. She likes how the students work hard and stay positive. She previously taught in Boston and Oakland. She’s been a teacher for 12 years. Outside of school, she enjoys cooking and reading to her son.
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Mr. Grant ●
He became a Technology Education teacher because he grew up working with his dad in construction.
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His favorite part of the school is the trimester schedule because he gets to meet many different people during the rotations. He’s been teaching for 4 years, although 3 of those years were as a teacher’s assistant at Norwich Free Academy. His hobbies include competitive sports, DIY furniture and construction. He would also like to start a Tech. Ed. club.
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Ms. Bertone ● ●
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She wants to help children achieve their potential. She loves the attitude of the students, the school environment, and her colleagues. She has been teaching for six years. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, hiking, playing with puppies, and spending time with friends and family.
Ms. Judd ●
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Mr. Bohman ●
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He became an art teacher because he liked being around art and thought that the art industry does not make enough money. He taught art courses at a college, then went to teach art to a middle school in Danbury before he came to ELMS. He likes the concept of kivas.
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She became a Special Ed teacher because her mom worked at an Elementary School and she helped her. One of the teachers told her, “You need to become a teacher.” Before she came to ELMS, she taught 6th grade in Norwich for 15 years. She loves how the students here are so excited and how they say kind things to other people.
Mr. McCune ● ●
Mrs. Richards ●
While she was there, she worked with a boy who had autism, and she loved it.
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She was originally going to be a social studies teacher but instead became a tech-ed teacher because her husband is one. Enjoys how the students and staff here at ELMS are all nice and how the school is set up with different kivas. Outside of teaching, she likes to play video games and make stuff by sewing.
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He became a band teacher because he loves music. He has participated in a band for his whole life. He appreciates how there is lots of support for music here at ELMS and how all the students are engaged and excited to play music. This is his first year teaching. His hobbies include reading, playing soccer, and snowboarding.
The Science Bowl By: Avni Kabra This year, the science bowl club, (started by Mrs. Signorelli) went to a science bowl competition at UCONN on February 24, 2018. The club consisted of Mingwen Duan, Sam Yang, Aditya Kabra, Avni Kabra, and Colin Zhang. The competition included 32 teams, and it was the first time for the ELMS science bowl club to compete in the bowl. All the teams would start by playing the round-robin tournament. An example of a question is, “Of the 4 general types of biological molecules, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids, which one typically accounts for the majority of dietary calories in the human diet?”
Team 1, and Ashford Middle School Team 1. After that losing streak, the ELMS team got back up on their feet and made a comeback. They won their last two games, against Middlesex Middle School and Amity Middle School: Bethany. In all, they had won 3 out of 7 games. After finishing the last match of the competition, they got pictures with the UCONN mascot and got ready to eat their lunch: a delicious sandwich. After they finished their lunch, each individual went to try different science experiments before another series of competitions, including extracting DNA from strawberries, and dipping balloons in liquid nitrogen. All the competitors made their way to the auditorium to see where their team placed in the bracket. The ELMS team placed 14th out of 32 teams, which wasn’t bad for a first-timer team. Now it was time for the competition that actually mattered: the elimination rounds. ELMS first played the team that placed 19th, and they won, which moved them up on the bracket. The next team they played was Bedford Academy, which placed 3rd overall, and sadly lost. The ELMS team did exceptionally well for competing for the first time.
The first team ELMS played was Scotts Ridge Middle School, and they won by a landslide. The team was excited to win their first match ever. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. The ELMS team fought hard, and came extremely close to winning some of them, but lost four games in a row against Talcott Mountain Academy Team 2, Irving A. Robbins Middle School Team 2, Smith Middle School
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Q&A With Mrs. Signorelli, Advisor of the Science Bowl Club Interview By En-Ming Holtz Q: Why did you start the Science Bowl club? A: Mingwen’s parents informed me about the Science Bowl competition, and it sounded interesting- Q: Do you think the questions are difficult, knowing what the capability of the team was? A: The questions were very difficult, considering that I learned some of the questions in college. Q: Could you see the team getting first place in the bracket? A: It would take a few years of practice. Our opponents were very experienced. Q: Would you run the Science Bowl club again? A: Yes. Q: Did you enjoy running the Science Bowl club? A: Yes, it was fun and exciting. Q: What was your favorite part of the Science Bowl club/competition? A: The competitions were my favorite part. There were stations set up and students got to make things such as elephant toothpaste. Q: How do you think the Science Bowl club will impact the people that join? A: The people that join will be able to learn more advanced science than they would be taught during class.
Math Competitions Mathcounts (Mrs. Montano and Mr. Duan) National Qualifiers Mingwen Duan
State Qualifiers Jiarui Peng Samuel Yang Richard Chen Aditya Kabra Mason Gallo Jen Guo Benjamin Tan Rebecca Gu Colin Zhang
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MOEMS Supervised by: Mr. Donohue Charles Yang Ethan Liu Emma Zhu Eric Yang Jacob Lin Albert Zhu Kristen Timpano Taylor Lambe Riddhi V. Ian Liu Steven Passas Annabelle Dueker
Sports Clubs
By: Ethan Liu, Adit Sahasrabudhe, and Charles Yang
The Intramural Basketball Club is an entertaining club that allows students from all grades to play basketball for 45 minutes every Monday and Thursday. It helps kids build strong friendships and has no competitive tournaments.
the students participate in during this club include high jump and long jump. They will also compete in some exciting meets such as on May 17 against Cutler, and May 24, against Westside. A large sports club that was run in the past was the Cross Country club. They also participated in many meets throughout
Another club that began recently is Track and Field. Some of the events that
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the season. They raced against Ledyard, Clark Lane, Salem, St. John’s, St. Bernard’s, WJJMS, Tyl, Williams School, Pawcatuck, and St. Patrick during the entire duration of the club. The club went on for two months, starting in September and ending in November. A total of around 100 students participated in the club. Students who wanted to go to more meets went to
the McGee Invitational and the State Championships. Runners that got into first fifty in the states got a medal. Runners that got in the first twenty in McGee got a medal and top five runners got a trophy. In the fall and winter, there were ELMS basketball teams. There was a girls basketball team, a Junior Varsity boys team, and a Varsity boys team. The girls were coached by Ms. Asciolla and played six games. The boys were coached by Mr. Spellman, even though he doesn’t teach at the middle school. The boys JV and Varsity teams also played six games. These four clubs are exciting, fun, and coached by nice teachers. At the clubs you can get a good workout. So in 2019, be on the lookout for the Basketball Club, Intramural Basketball Club, Track and Field Club, and Cross Country!
Book Recommendations:
By: Benji Tan and Emma Zhu
Spotlight Book: The Gollywhopper Games This month, the authors (Emma and Benji) have decided to choose the book The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman to feature as a spotlight book. This book is about a twelve year old, named Gil Goodson who is holding a family burden. His father was accused of theft. Meanwhile, the company that Gil’s father used to work for, Golly Toy and Game Company, is having its 50th anniversary and hosts a huge competition that year, The Gollywhopper Games. The Gollywhopper Games are full of tricks, riddles, and puzzles. If Gil wins this competition, his family can move away from their current community that is still questioning Gil’s dads innocence. During the games, he learns that things aren’t always what they seem. Can he overcome all the obstacles, win the competition, and defy the odds? Read the book to find out!
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More Books to Check out: Going Wild - Sci-Fi - Lisa McMann Kane Chronicles - Fantasy- Rick Riordan The War that Saved My Life - Historical Fiction - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley The Seventh Most Important Thing - Historical Fiction - Shelley Pearsall
Young Adult Books to Check Out:
The Sun is Also a Star - Realistic Fiction - Nicola Yoon Heartless - Marissa Meyer - Fantasy Girl in the Blue Coat - Mystery/Historical Fiction - Monica Hesse One of Us is Lying - Mystery - Karen M. McManus Virals- Sci-Fi - Kathy Reichs
Teacher Recommendations: Touching Spirit Bear - Ben Mikaelsen - Ms. Galvin Walls Within Walls - Maureen Sherry - Mrs. Fernandez Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - Mr. Bohman Divergent - Veronica Roth - Mrs. Judd
Instrumental Concerts Upcoming Concerts and Events….
Friday, June 1st — Fantastic Festivals (Lake Compounce after performance) 7/8 Band, 7/8 and Chamber Orchestra, 7/8 Choir Thursday, June 7th — 5/6/7/8 Orchestra Concert Monday, June 25th to Friday, June 26th —Soundscapes Chamber Music Workshop
Find More About Soundscapes at: https://www.soundscapeschambermusicworkshop.com/
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Entertainment
3. Who is credited with suggesting
By: Mingwen Duan and Eric Yang
the word “hello” be used when
Use the following words in one paragraph.
answering the telephone?
(Look the words up if you don’t know what
4. In humans, what is the only
they mean.) Note that the paragraph must make sense. Good luck!
internal organ capable of regenerating lost tissue?
1. Dramatic
5. What is the scientific name of the
2. Grieving 3. Giver
common potato?
4. Badlands
6. What is the only bird that can fly
5. Fanatical
backwards?
6. Rastling 7. Meadow
7. The taste that allows us to taste
8. Tympanal
savory foods is called what?
9. Stapler
8. Which blood type is the universal
10. Headquarters
donor? 9. Car dealers may not show cars on which day in Colorado?
Trivia Quiz!
10. What is a group of owls called?
Answer these hopefully challenging questions! 1. In what year was the last two-dollar bill printed in the United States?
2. What is the most common flag color?
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