The Rambler Winter 2021

ISS 2, VOL 6

THE RAMBLER HARVEY MIDDLE SCHOOL'S OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

HOW PEOPLE ARE DOING IN QUARANTINE

BY ISABELLA WANG INTERVIEWS BY BAILEY GANS --------------------------------------Has everyone been as stressed as you during quarantine? Are you the only one that has changed? Well, we have the answers here from interviewer Bailey Gans. She interviewed some 7th and 8th graders, even some teachers. Quarantine has changed some of us into new people whether it is starting new hobbies or changing a bit of our lifestyles. There are other people who haven’t changed at all too, but all of us have dealt with quarantine in many different ways. Now, we will review the questions and answers to see these different ways that people have dealt with the whole pandemic.

MORE ON PAGE 2

Question 1: What was Your Favorite Thing during Quarantine? As I reviewed the answers towards this first question, I noticed that almost everyone had different favorites. This included, their pets, baking, video games, TV, sleep, Netflix, spending time with loved ones, and more. Baking and video games were two people’s favorite things during Quarantine. Some other favorite things are sitting around, hiking, and cooking.

Question 2: What do You miss about Quarantine? Within quarantine, things were so different back then. Some of the stuff we used to do during the period are some of the stuff we miss now. There was one thing that was missed the most, which was sleeping and waking up later. I honestly agree with this too. We all would like to sleep more. There are also other things like freedom, staying home, being in pjs, free time, spending time with family more, and not going to school.

Question 3: What’s a Hobby You started during Quarantine? People change throughout their lives with also their hobbies sometimes not being the same. Some hobbies that started in quarantine for the people we interviewed are texting, Tiktok, walking, yoga, gardening, and training. Some people also chopped wood, read, got on their phone more, and played sports too. One person didn’t change hobbies at all Question 4: What’s Something You changed about Yourself in Quarantine? Nothing stays the same in life. We all are changing a bit and bit more within each action we take, but with the whole quarantine thing, a lot of things changed so suddenly. Within the changes, people started using their phones more, walking their dogs, started doing yoga and fishing, had different interests, and learned to appreciate going to school. It wasn’t all mental changes though; there were physical changes in some others including their hair, nails, style, clothes, and even one that had a glow up.

Question 5: How was Your Stress Level during Quarantine? To say that the answers to this question didn’t surprise me would be absolutely false. Stress is hard to stop once it appears, but it seems like half of the people that we interviewed had little to no stress. The other half did have stress though where it was a lot and pretty high. Who would have known that people could feel no stress at all during quarantine?

Question 6: What is One New Thing You tried in Quarantine? “You’ll never get bored when you try something new. There’s no limit to what you can do.” - Dr. Seuss. All of us have tried new things, but quarantine was the right time to do that, since during most of the time we (or most of us) didn’t have anything to do and were very bored. Some answers were painting, baking, camping, knitting, walking around the neighborhood, playing piano, and making homemade pasta. Trying to dunk a basketball on a mini hoop, making bike tricks, trying eggs, watching new shows, and trying to be more funny are other things that people tried over quarantine.

Question 7: How did You Socialize during Quarantine? Since we couldn’t talk to our friends as easily as before quarantine,we had to find ways online to talk to them and make new connections. Some played video games with their friends, FaceTimed, texted, used Discord, talked on the phone, and some other online activities. However, others were able to talk to their friends offline with social distancing and meeting them in outside places. One met one at a driveway while the other one had dinner with a friend. Friends or family would also come over.

Question 8: Did You fight with Your Family during Quarantine? Don’t we all get annoyed by our family members, whether it be your sibling, child, parents, or anybody else? It might be true that we get annoyed with them, but at the end of the day, we love them or maybe just bear them. Besides that, we will be looking into seeing if people fought with their families during quarantine. It seems like half of our answers were yes’ with the other half no to a little. Two answers mentioned how they fought with their siblings. quarantine may not have changed a lot for some people, but it will be a time period that will be remembered by us. When it is all over, I can imagine all of us looking back at this time and thinking about it with memories. So, with that, let’s hope that quarantine will be over soon

Winter Crafts BY: AMANI KELLY AND BAILEY GANS During this pandemic everyone should consider making their own DIY winter crafts. Since most stores are closed, now is the perfect time to make your own crafts. DIY crafts help reduce your stress and your mood. Additionally can save you money, as well as can help us to better tomorrow.

For this craft you will need pipe cleaners and mini plastic lights. This craft is really simple; you just have to wrap the pipe cleaner around the end of the mini lights. To make mini candles.

The Final Product This craft you start with the cardboard and cut one piece into a triangle then another piece into a small rectangle. Then you wrap the yarn around both cardboard pieces adding very little glue to each round.

When you finish adding the yarn to both pieces; glue the pieces together making a Christmas tree.

GETTING CRAFTY WITH HARVEY

By Lily Acrish Meaghan Sullivan, an 8th grader, enjoys sewing and started when she was only 6 years old. She is self-taught on how to make scrunchies, shirts, and pants. It only takes Meaghan 10 minute to sew a single mask. She only makes them for herself and does not sell them. Meaghan’s favorite mask she made is a Harry Potter mask.

♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥••♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥

•.

By Ladidi Abdul-Wahab

♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥••♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥•.¸¸.•♥

Helen Katis, an 8th grader, who loves to bake since she has been a youngling but she really got into it once quarantine started. She bakes at least every weekend, for herself, family, and friends.

It’s a hobby that has been developed since she was a little girl. She was introduced to baking by her lovely babysitter who she used to make monkey balls with all the time. The desert that she makes often is cookies. But overall she doesn’t have a favorite dessert that she makes yet. *.:

. *.:

By James Carlton

｡✿*ﾟ’ﾟ･✿.｡.:* *.:｡✿*ﾟ¨ﾟ✎･ ✿.｡.:* *.:｡✿*ﾟ¨ﾟ✎･✿.｡.:*

｡✿*ﾟ’ﾟ･✿.｡.:* *.:｡✿*ﾟ¨ﾟ✎･ ✿.｡.:* *.:｡✿*ﾟ¨ﾟ✎･✿.｡.:*

Riley Franck has been making Polymer clay since late 2018. At first, she taught herself but needed assistance with certain techniques, so she looked at youtube videos to see what she can do. She has made a lot of things out of Polymer clay like a red velvet dragon, mini-scenes, a mini grill with mini food, and an octopus. It could take 5 minutes or up to 5 hours to make something out of polymer clay. Her favorite thing to make is mini food and objects that you can play along with toys.

She has been inspired by a person on Instagram who makes miniature cupcakes and other crafts.

Thank you Riley for sharing your amazing hobby with us!

MASK UP

By Eva Wilkerson Due to COVID-19, people have had to start wearing masks since March 26th, 2020. I interviewed people around school about what their opinions were on wearing masks were. Everyone that I interviewed said they didn’t really enjoy masks. Most of the students and all of the teachers understood what the purpose of masks was and it was a way to stay safe and keep the coronavirus positivity rate down. Of the people interviewed, only Eva Veneable, Mrs. Matero, and Mr. Bellucci wore N95 masks. Helen Katis, Riley Franck, and Mr. Bellucci wear cloth masks. Some people are getting very annoyed with the masks due to the discomfort. For example, Mr. Bellucci gets annoyed because the masks fog his glasses, Riley said the masks were irritating and itchy. On the other hand, some people only wear cloth masks and don’t even realize that they are wearing a mask. Overall nobody really enjoys masks, but in order to keep us safe, we have to wear masks.

COMMUNITY SERVICE IN A COVID WORLD

By Sarah Fisher About 2 months ago, I started working for an organization called the Friendship Circle. The Friendship Circle is a national Jewish organization that pairs volunteers with kids who are disabled and have trouble making friends. The director of the New Rochelle Friendship Circle assigned me to a girl who is 14 and on the spectrum for autism. She has never had a friend before because people think she is different. During COVID, we started meeting every Sunday on FaceTime, but in the fall, we met in person a few times with masks on. I like the Friendship Circle because it makes me feel good to know I’m helping and that I’m making someone happy.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･ ･ﾟ★ ｡･ ･ﾟ☆｡･ ･ﾟ★ ｡･ ･ﾟ☆

:*: , :*: :*: , :*: (Drawing made by Gillian Klares)

By Talya Langer A couple of weeks ago I started the training for my bat mitzvah. We have three classes that we are required to attend: Hebrew Reading (where you learn your assigned portion of the Torah and various prayers), Mitzvah/Good deed Project (where you help others by choosing a charity that you want to help and find a way to help, such as working at a soup kitchen), and Torah Study. My favorite class is the Mitzvah project because I know that I’m helping a cause that I’m passionate about. I chose the Humane Society of Westchester, which helps animals, and I made a GoFundMe to raise money for them. So far I’ve raised $150, and the more people share what I’m doing the more help and supplies the animals get.

How To Annoy Siblings

By Helen Katis

Are you bored? Are your siblings annoying you? Annoy them back! I have an easy five-step plan, to get back at them. As we all know the sibling relationship is, to say the least, flawed. It is a cycle of annoyance; you annoy your sibling and they annoy you, and it keeps going. So, to help you get an upper hand in the cycle here are two different things you can do to annoy them.Make sure that your sibling is learning remotely.

Make sure they are unmuted before you do anything. You could wait till you hear them talking and then, run in and immediately start screaming. One other thing you could do is walk in and wait till they unmute. When you do walk in and talk make sure what you say is either annoying or embarrassing like, “Henry, it’s time for your hemorrhoid cream” or like, “Jenny, isn’t that the teacher you hate”. Even just “try” to do parkour in the background. After you’ve said what you wanted to say or do what you wanted to do, GET OUT OF THERE as you BOOK IT and find a place to hide. If they tattle and your parents get mad, tell them something that your sibling did like using their phone during class or anything they have done to you that you can use to your advantage. For example, you can tell your parents that they pushed you into the kitchen table and that is why you have a bruise now. If they don’t tell your parents and come after you instead, go to a room with one of your parents, so they will see it and your sibling will get in trouble.Just in case your sibling isn’t remotely learning, this is another way to annoy them. You will need assorted fruit and patience. First, gather your fruit.

Next, go to your sibling’s room and bring the fruit. The step afterwards is the most important, which is to find the best hiding spots in the room and hide the fruit in those spots, including their bed, pillowcase, and in their dresser. As you use those hiding spots, put some fruit in plain sight but put as many as you can. Now, this is where the patience kicks in. Keep this up every day when they are at school or when they are not in their room, while trying to not get caught. Do it until they think they are INSANE and start hiding something else. Then repeat the whole process. I hope I cured your boredom and you’re not severely injured. Remember to customize these procedures so that they work for you. Come up with your own sayings or hide whatever you think would annoy your sibling the most. I also hope that this not only helps you in the battle, but helps you win the war.

Cartoon by Gillian Klares

Rambler Staff: Ladidi Abdul-Wahab Lily Acrish Lee Birch Conrad Breede James Carlton Amani Carty Elan Coutroulis Natalie Delessio Riley Franck Bailey Gans Helen Katis Gillian Klares Talya Langer Eva Veneable Isabella Wang Eva Wilkerson Faculty advisor: Dr. Moser Cover Design: Ryan Dey Editing and layout: James Carlton, Natalie Delessio, and Isabella Wang

♥.•:*¨ PUBLICATIONS ¨*:•.♥

♥.•:*¨ STAFF ¨*:•.♥