I nside 2017-2018
M ovi n g to the M iddle
6t h Gr ad er s Ad ap t
BY I SABEL L A GAL OFRE
iBelong expands to advisory Page 2
Every year kids have to transition from 5th grade to 6th grade. Everyone has different feelings: some kids are excited while others are nervous or they have mixed feelings. This year there are 128 sixth graders, 45 come from outside of Florida. This year it was my turn to transition. I was nervous, but excited about it. I was excited to meet my new teachers and my advisor. Making friends is one of the most challenging things that happens when you transition from 5th grade to 6th grade. At first I thought that the transition was going to be very hard. Changing materials in your locker for each class and changing classes in seven minutes was nerve racking. For the first three days, I would grab the wrong binders and drop things along the way.
Spanish students visit MCDS Page 3
Swim Team makes a splash. Page 11
This year we have grades that you can access daily. I have never before thought that teachers would post your grades for the class on My Country Day each week. Receiving my grades after each week has been exciting because I get to know what my class average is.
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classes are and knew who my teachers are. And by the middle of the second week, I was rocking everything. I had completely memorized where the classes are, and I also knew what the colors of each class are without having to have them labeled. For my elective I have Journalism. In Journalism, we write the Middle School newspaper, (In the Middle, the Students Voice), as you are reading right now. The job of a Journalist, is to tell the news that is happening. Not news that happened four months ago. With the people in Journalism, you choose a story you want to write about something that is happening soon or going on now. As a journalist, we have to get interviews for our stories and what it is about. For example I had to interview Mr. Mathes for this story that you are reading right now.
Walking to each class without a teacher taking with you was very weird because I was used to being with a teacher by my side all day. Even walking to lunch by myself felt weird.
Getting interviews for me is the hardest part because you have to email the person that you want to interview on time. If you do it too late, then they might not be able to get interviewed, and you might not get the information you need. After we have got all of our interviews, we then need to make a story about it.
?The transition from 5th to 6th, is the hardest transition in your academic life,? said Mr. Mathes, the middle school director. Many students can agree to this because it's the first transition that you?ll remember.
I know this sounds like a lot of work, but once you get all the information from your interviews, that you need for you story. I promise that it makes writing the story a piece of cake.
Mr. Mathes and his assistant director Ms. Cabrera, meet with every new family that is coming into the school, to make them feel welcomed before school starts.
After being in middle school for 2 months, I have felt like I have been in middle school my whole life. I get to class on time and I get the right materials.
As the week went by, I started to get the hang of things. I had half memorized where all the
I know this is going to be a great year and I will never forget it.
M CDS welcomes new teacher s
PHOTOS BY ALESSANDRA DI CITALDO
By Alessandra di Cataldo This year we have a lot of new teachers the Middle School Program. Ms. Abreu-Grondin, who teaches 8th grade science. Mr. Gracy, who teaches drama. Ms. Rodriguez, who teaches 7th grade English and Spanish, and then Ms. Muhlig, who teaches 6th grade math. So far all the new teachers like this school. They all feel very welcomed by the faculty, by the staff, by the students, and by all the smiling faces in the hallways. They all see themselves working here for a long time, and all have been teaching for a long time.
Mr. Gracy has been teaching for over 13 years. Mrs. Abreu-Grondin has been teaching for 16 years. Mrs. Muhlig has been teaching for 23 years, and Mrs. Rodriguez has been teaching for 12 years. Mr. Gracy had to move from Bradford, Massachusetts. It?s a town that on the border of New Hampshire, and it?s 1,500 miles away from Miami. Most teachers agree that one of the most memorable things that happened the first week or two was Hurricane Irma. One thing that they all agree on is that they think this school
is very good. They all like the open campus, the fact that the students here are so free, and how nice everyone is even though they don?t even know each other at all. Two of our new teachers have children that go to MCDS. Ms. Muhlig has a son in sixth grade, that?s also new this year. Ms. Rodriguez has a daughter in eighth grade, and a son in seventh grade. Mr. Abreu-Grondin has two daughters, but they do not go to MCDS. Both of the moms are actually really excited for their children to be here. They love the environment.
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PHOTO BY ALESSANDRA DI CITALDO
M r. Gr acy (in pink) is the new M S dr ama teacher at M CDS.
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Ar ou n d M CD S iBelong expands to advisory
8th Gr ader s Ally Zelkowitz and M ir anda M arquez par ticipate in the fir st iBelong advisor y of the year. BY JAK E GROSSM AN The IBelong Program at MCDS is a interesting program that helps the Middle School students get used to the school and make new friends. It also helps Middle School students look out for each other and eliminate bullying on campus. The leaders of the IBelong Program are Mr. Fallik and Ms. Byrne. They have an many monthly meeting, advisory, and occasional coffee houses. This year, IBelong has also created an in-school club to help more students participate.
The members of IBelong and its leaders have activities that change the school?s environment. These activities help to improve our community in all the ways the leaders have planned. Ms. Byrne said, ?We do activities in which people will be encouraged to share their experiences, and we show videos to prompt discussions about campus activities.? Continued on page 5
?IBelong is a program that aims to increase dialog between Middle School students so that they share their personal experiences and better understand each other with a goal of increasing awareness and decreasing bullying,? said Mr. Fallik, 8th grade team leader. ?IBelong is a concept, a philosophy, and a culture that we promote at Miami Country Day School,? said Ms. Byrne, the middle school guidance counselor. IBelong changes the school in many ways, although some people have different opinions about what the changes do for the student environment. ?We hope that IBelong will make MCDS a happier and welcoming place for everyone,? said Mr. Fallik ?It creates an awareness of what it takes to have a school that is welcoming and what it takes to work in an inclusive school,? said Ms. Bryne Michael Bernstein, an eighth grader said, ?IBelong makes a good community that we all belong in.?
L eft: Jacob Hare listens attentively to instr uctions. Top: Sophia Tilis engages in the iBelong discussion
" I BEL ONG"
Middle school embraces dialogue
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The leaders of IBelong respect the power of IBelong in the student community. It is clear that IBelong allows students to feel more comfortable on campus and during school. All of the teachers and the students think IBelong is a necessary part of MCDS?daily life. Mr. Fallik has a strong opinion when he says, ?I do think that bullying is a problem and that we should do anything we can do to try and make everyone in Middle School feel like they are a part of MCDS?community.? Jeff Jeffries, an eighth grader, said that the goals of IBelong are important even if we do not think of them like that, ?... because all students should include and respect each other anyway.? Michael Bernstein said, ?Yes we need I Belong because we all need to hang out in the same big community together.? Many of the students we asked thought in addition to the good attitudes happening at the I Belong meetings, the food and the games were great reasons to participate. Most believe that schools would have less bullying and better attitudes if they had a kind of IBelong Program. Overall, our IBelong Program is doing great things for all of us one way or another.
Above: Nicole Polisar and Simone Har t par ticipate in the fir st iBelong activity. Below: M arcel Pantin Escudero and Chloe Car tledge shake hands as they explore each other 's emotions.
Spanish students drop by BY RACHEL H ODES From August 23 to September 9, 5 students from the school Los Agustinos Santander in Santander Cantabria, Spain shadowed Country day kids to get a taste of America and learn some English in the process. Their teacher, Mary Lizama, is the coordinator/founder of this project, and she worked at Miami Country Day for 10 years. She is currently a teacher/tutor in Spain.
Below: The Spanish visitor s to M CDS did an assembly talking about their culture.
When these students come from Spain they are assignment to a student and that?s their ?buddy? they follow them around and are treated like a normal student. Though they are not being graded the idea is for them to feel like they are actually a student. This type of learning completely submerges them in the English language and gives them no other choice but to speak and learn English. Mary believes the students get a lot out of this experience. ?It's not just that they lose the fear to speak a foreign language but they also become aware of our American culture and traditions,? said Mary. ?A little taste of America! I really believe that they become more open-minded and more willing to accept the differences in cultures.?
There is even a rule that makes the students pay Mary 50 cents every time they speak Spanish. (At the end of the trip she uses the money to get the kids ice cream.) ?Sometimes the connections last a long time,? said Mr. Finny the Dean of students in the Middle School. ?Mary was telling me about one of the students who came 6-8 years ago (they would be in college now) and they are still in contact from back then. So sometimes I think the shadows have the opportunity to make a big impact and make a personal connection with the students either way.? There are many things that differ between school here at MCDS and in Spain. ?In Spain, we don't use laptops, we mostly use our notebooks and we copy from our text books,? said Marina, one of the students from Spain. ?Our exams are on paper and the teachers teach classes reading from the text books. Actually, the way of learning in Spain is based on having good grades and doing exams. However we?ve learn a lot in both countries.? Continued on page 4
Above: The Spanish students demonstr ation their national dance, flamenco
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Students exchange culture CONTI NUED FROM Marina described some of the few things that differentiate between school here and in Spain. ?We have learned a lot, because listening all the time to English makes you speak English better, for example, our pronunciation is much better now and we also have learned words that the American teens say,? said Irene, another Spanish student. Irene also mentioned how she liked that we incorporate classes like dance into the schedule and also that in Spain you can?t find a school that has electives like that.
?I like the houses because in Miami it?s one house one house all close together,? said Daniela, one of the students,? In Spain it?s spread out more. I also like the palm trees.? ?I think schools in Spain are harder than in America, because we have to learn more theory and we don't do so much practical activities,? said Laura from Spain. ?It wasn't my decision,? said Lucia one of the students from Spain. ?Mary used to teach at MCDS so she and Dr. Davies decided 12 years ago that this would be a
Teachers bring unique skills CONTI NUED FROM
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?In public school everything is kind of messy,? said Ms. Abreu-Grondin when she was asked what is something that called her attention the first week of school. ?In public schools the student doesn?t matter instead the numbers matters. I like that this school is really free, that they have a choice here. Like during the first week we went to assembly, and I saw how many choices the students here have so many choices.? Ms. Rodriguez says that teaching is a great way to live forever, it?s one of the only professions where you continue to learn throughout your career. Mr. Gracy, who is teaching theater, says he loves the idea of delving into the human psyche, understanding other people?s points of view, and bringing characters to life. All of our new teachers have a very bright future in this school, and they hope that they spend a long time here.
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great experience for the Spanish as well as for the American kids. It definitely was great for us.? ?I believe that the very best way for students to learn a second language is through total immersion, by having to listen and to speak it all the time,? said Mary. ?Just like we learned to speak when we were babies. Dr. Davies and I were talking about this one afternoon at an MCDS high school football match and he suggested that I bring my students to MCDS the following year. It would be an opportunity of a lifetime for my students and hopefully an enriching cultural
experience for the middle school students at MCDS. I took him up on it! I knew what MCDS had to offer! How could I say no?? This is how and why the program started. The trip of taking students from Spain to MCDS started in 2006. ?I would like to visit America again and visit famous places. However, I liked visiting Miami and I would repeat this experience,? said Marina. Mary Lizama and Mr. Finny plan on continuing this program for the years to come.
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Poverty Simulation On Friday, October 6 and Monday, October 9, Miami Country Day School hosted a "Poverty Simulation." The Friday session included parents and faculty, and the Monday one was for students, grades 8-12. The exercise required participants to assume a new identity, receive a profile, and survive for one month. They group
together as families, need to get to work, pay bills, get kids to school, obtain health care. Every 15 minutes accounts for one week, and the simulation runs for four weeks. As the weeks go on, life gets more and more difficult. The simulation is designed to get kids to understand the everyday plight of people living at the
poverty line. One teacher called it a "an enriching, empathetic experience" and a student described it as "eye opening."
Far left: JJ Scher addresses the group about his experience. Near left: Zoey Arnold and Sophia Rosenberg navigate the challenges of poverty.
Far left: Elsa Levine, MIa Batista and Robert Depradine act as a family, and they discuss strategies on how to survive. Near left: Parent Ilana Rodan visits the pawn shop to make some cash to survive.
Far left: 8th grader Nina Lardi was arrested for bringing a gun to school, as part of the simulation. Near left: Middle school teacher, Mrs. Muhlig, and Middle School Director, Mr. Mathes, were sent to Juvenile Hall.
Top left: 8th grader Daniel Tzalik tries to negotiate a deal with the pawn shop. Top Right: Isabella Slezynger, D'Yani Gregoire and Luna Alonso discuss ways their family can survive. Bottom left: Middle school guidance counselor was sent to juvenile Hall. Bottom center: Mr. Dearacama and Mr. Ball wait for their " parents" to arrive home from work. Bottom right: Dr. Davies ends his day at " school"
New Students from left: Emani Theodule, K ar ina Alicia Gor don, Riana Doctor and K r istina Godfrey enj oy lunch at their new school.
New students find a Home BY A L ESSANDRA DI CATAL DO Every year there are a lot of new middle school students in every grade. This year at MCDS there are 69 new students in the middle school.
English in general is very hard for them. They might have some trouble communicating.
There are many new middle school students this year! There are 46 new sixth graders,
Some others might just feel excluded, considering that most of the students here have been attending this school for a very long time. And other students just fit in here perfectly, hopefully this is how a lot of the new students feel this year.
10 new seventh graders, and 13 new eighth graders. Hoping that all of these new students feel very welcomed here, some of them were interviewed to see what they think about the school so far, and see if they feel comfortable here. ¨This is a very cool school,? said Alexandre Camara, eighth grader. ?It?s very different from the schools in Brazil. The people here only talk to each other, not to other new kids, it?s kind of hard to make new friends here. At least for the boys. The girls here have been really nice. They all ask me questions about myself, it?s really nice of them.?
PHOTOS BY ALESSANDRA DI CITALDO
?Something that the kids here could do to make me, and all the other new kids feel more welcomed would be to introduce themselves to other people if they see that they?re new. Only the peer counselors did that, but I feel very welcomed here so far.¨ said Riana Doctor, eighth grader. ?I like the school so far, and it?s been easy for me to make friends,¨ said JJ Hammond seventh grader. ¨I think that the people here are very welcoming.? ?I think that this school is very good, I like that it?s big,? said Carla Zmirou, seventh grader. ?I moved from Paris, the transition has not been easy, but so far I love Miami.? Benjamin feels that people here have not been welcoming, but it has been easy for him to make friends. Leonard feels that it was really easy for him to get through the first week here, after the first week he started to make more friends and he started to feel more comfortable here. There?s a lot of new students that moved from another country and do not know our language, so
Above: New student Alexander Camara speaks with JP. Lopez.
Top Right: New student Carla Zmirou
Bottom Right: New student Kateryna Pylypyshyna comes to MCDS from Ukraine.
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Campus continues to grow BY SI M ON V I L L AM I ZAR Throughout the years there have been many new great additions to our Miami Country Day School?s campus. This year will be no different with our new additions to the school that including the new cafe and the new walkway. We also might get a new field further into this school year. Mr. Mathes and Mrs. Knight agreed that there should be no coffee served at the cafe for obvious reasons. Mr. Finny said he was nervous students would be late to advisory because of the cafe. At the beginning he actually had to tell a few students to get to class, but thankfully that has worked out well.
Beside that though Mr. Finny said it would also increase the safety of the students, since before students would have to walk through the garage with cars constantly going in and out. There was always a concern of somebody getting hurt. Mr. Finny said that the overall walkway was a great improvement to the school campus. Olivia Cooper said she thought it was a little bit inconvenient how narrow the walkway was, The same thing was said by Mr. Mathes. Regardless if the walkway is tiny bit narrow it is much quicker way to get to the center for the arts. Overall the walkway and the cafe are just a few new additions to our school. There have been so many improvement to the school within the last few years and many ones to come.
A 6th grader named Rodrigo Osio said, ?The food Is pretty overpriced, but it?s good?. He also said that he likes the location since students who have classes in the Center for The Arts can easily just go to eat at the cafe. Mr. Mathes also enjoys the location since it?s near the middle school pick up parents can just go eat something there quickly.
PHOTOS BY SIMON VILLAMIZAR
Seventh grader Franco Buttice said, ?I go there every day and I think it?s a great place to go to after school with friends.? He also mentioned that he really liked the design of the place a lot. There is a lot of mixed opinions about the new cafe. Some people that it may be a little overpriced but is still great. The main point of the walk way is to make the distance to the Center for The Arts shorter.
Hurricane I rma strikes SoFla BY M I RANDA M ARQUEZ , CONTRI BUTOR Irma could catastrophically wreck Florida. Hurricane Irma is stronger and bigger than Andrew. Florida in state of emergency, Hurricane Irma threatens Florida. But was hurricane Irma as bad as we thought? Hurricane Irma was actually the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since 2005.
Islands. It hit the Caribbean islands pretty bad. After the hurricane there was no electricity and almost no food. The people were fighting for food and other supplies they needed a week after there was almost no fuel or electricity. The island had to start from scratch both physically and psychologically.
Hurricane Irma quickly strengthened, at the beginning of September, Irma was a Category 4 hurricane, and soon it became a 5. It intensified, reaching winds of about 185mph.
Hurricane Irma however kept regaining strength. On September 8, Irma made it to Little Inagua, the eye of the hurricane passed right over them .
Irma maintaining its intensity, arrived at St. Maarten, then the British Virgin
There are millions of dollars in damage, all of their salt productions were
destroyed and 70% of their homes have roof damage.
to get up and start from scratch.
After this, Irma weakened to a Category 4 hurricane, but it regained its power and turned into a Category 5 once again.
After weakening and changing into a Category 3 due to Cuba. Irma went back to a Category 4, while crossing the Straits of Florida.
Unfortunately a few hours later, it arrived to Cuba. It damaged nearly every region in the island, leaving several parts underwater. It damaged more than half of the houses in Cuba. Something that most people did not realize was that, Florida and the United States has a good economy, with the resources to stand back up, however Cuba doesn?t , it makes it harder for them
Then on September 10, Irma was now in Cudjoe Key, Florida with winds of 130 mph . Irma then reached Marco island, leaving them with no water or electricity, knocking down cell towers and damaging roofs. Continued on page 9
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ESL st u d en t s sh ar e t h ei r st or i es Quando recebi a noticia que ia me mudar para cá, eu fiquei um pouco triste porque eu fiquei com medo de não se acostumar. Oi meu nome é Isabela e eu nasci em São Paulo, Brasil. Em 2011 quando eu tinha cinco anos, eu tive que me mudar para Miami porque o Brasil estava muito perigoso. Já que eu era muito pequena eu não sabia de nada, apesar de eu nem falar inglês, eu me dei muito bem. Mais tarde, voltamos para o Brasil. Em 2016, quando eu tinha doze anos, eu tive que me mudar de novo para Miami, foi uma volta muito inesperada. Eu estava um pouco nervosa pois eu me considerava uma pessoa tímida. Ainda sou. A minha maior preocupação era fazer amigos e me acostumar com a escola.
When I found out I was going to move here, I was upset. I was scared that I would not get used to the new culture. Hi, my name is Isabela, and I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2011, when I was five years old, I had to move to Miami because Brazil was in a dangerous situation. Since I was young, I really did not know what was going on.At that time, I only spoke Portuguese.To tell you the truth, even though I was extremely worried, my experience was great!
Os Estados Unidos é um país muito diferente do Brasil, é mais livre, mais limpo, além disso, mais seguro. Todo mundo te aceita, são muito gentis. Quando cheguei, eu já tinha umas amigas, então eu não estava tão sozinha. Eu entrei na Miami Country Day. Eu reparei que as pessoas da escola são muito diferentes das do Brasil, aqui as pessoas são muito simpáticas e estão sempre te acolhendo. Nessa escola, você tem o curso acadêmico de ESOL, que serve para crianças que inglês não é a primeira língua. Esse programa me ajudou muito.
The United States is a very different country than Brazil.You can really enjoy freedom and you feel, most of the time, safe.Everyone is so friendly.You can find people who are very outgoing and really want to help. It was soon after I arrived here that I had friends.Meeting people and making new friendships was not as challenging as I thought it would be. As far as my classes, I like all of them; however, I really enjoy the ESOL class. This course has helped many students and me, whose first language is not English, to learn and to improve the language.This program has assisted me in many ways during my new life.The transition has required me to get used to having more work, balancing my time, and being more disciplined.In Brazil, you only complete homework once a week. Here, you have homework almost every day. I support this.I think it is the right way, but I am still working on improving the habit of doing my homework every day.
BY I SABEL A GAL L OTTA
No Brasil você tinha lição de casa uma vez por semana. Em Miami você tem lição quase todo dia. Eu suporto isso, acho certo, mas ainda estou construindo o hábito. Em Miami, você consegue ver pessoas de todos os lugares do mundo, todo mundo fala uma língua diferente, então você não se sente tão sozinha. Outra coisa que reparei, foram os uniformes. No Brasil a maioria das escolas você podia ir de roupa de sua escolha, em quase todas as escolas aqui, tem um uniforme. Isso eu achei bem legal. Mas os uniformes são desconfortáveis. Todo dia descubro uma coisa nova. Quando as férias chegam, a maioria das vezes eu encontro a minha família. É muito bom se reencontrar e matar a saudade. Eu sempre peço para minha avó fazer a feijoada dela. Os meus objetivos para esse ano são para lembrar de fazer minhas lições por que as vezes eu esqueço.
My new journey in this country did not last long; we had to go back to Brazil for unexpected circumstances. In 2016, when I was twelve, my family decided to come back to Miami. My dad had to work here. That was an unforeseen plan. I was really nervous and taken aback.I considered myself a shy person. I still am today. My biggest worries were to make friends and to get used to the new school.
I like my new life. In Miami, you can see people from all around the world; everyone speaks a different language. You never feel that you are the only one who is not from here or speaks another language.One aspect I am not fond of is having to wear uniforms in school. In most schools in Brazil, you can wear the clothes of your choice.I found this very interesting, considering that in America, freedom is an essential part of your life. I think it is great living here. I know I am in the right direction.I am honored to study at this wonderful school.I am truly enjoying my experience.
Eu fico com muita saudade da minha família, mas é muito bom morar aqui. Eu acho que estou na direção certa. Eu sou honrada por estudar nessa escola e morar nessa país.Estou aproveitando minha experiência.
BY EFE DENI Z
Quando avevo nove anni mi sono trasferito negli Stati Uniti, provenendo da un altro continente ed essendo nato in una città distante migliaia di chilometri. Durante l?estate del 2013 mio papà ha avuto l?idea di trasferirci negli Stati Uniti per migliori possibilità a livello economico. Inizialmente ho pensato che l?idea di venire in America fosse terribile, e che non mi sarei mai voluto spostare dall?Italia. Però adesso penso che trasferirci negli USA sia stato per noi un progresso positivo. Quando sono arrivato a Miami ero molto preoccupato di dover andare in una nuova scuola e fare nuovi amici. Al contrario, quando ho conosciuto i miei nuovi compagni ero molto più rilassato perché loro erano tanto accoglienti. Mi piaceva molto vivere a Miami però mi mancava l?Italia.
Durante il mio primo anno di scuola e?stato piuttosto difficile fare nuove amicizie perché non parlavo l?inglese, inoltre facevo tanta fatica a capire le spiegazioni degli insegnanti. Però con un po?di pazienza e impegno sono riuscito a fare amicizia con dei bambini e migliorare il mio inglese. Quando sono passato alle medie il mio inglese era ormai migliorato molto e avevo tanti amici.
Arriving from another continent, and born in a city miles away, I came to the United States when I was nine years old. One day my dad brought up the subject of moving to America for better economical possibilities. At first, I thought it was a dreadful idea and that I never wanted to move to America. However, I can now say that moving to Miami was a very progressive step. When I first moved to the United States from Italy, I was very nervous about going to school and having to make new friends. On the contrary, I became relieved when I met all my peers and discovered that they were all very hospitable, outgoing, and considerate. I love my new school and my current home; On the other hand, I do miss living in Italy. During the first year of school, the process of making new friends was challenging. In addition, the lack of English language skills did not favor me understanding my teachers. With a little bit of patience, hard work, and dedication, I was able to become friends with a couple of kids, and improve my English. By the time I got to middle school, I had improved my English immensely and built many new friendships. My goals for high school are to get grades over eighty and to be accepted into a well-regarded college. My journey to America was a bumpy and unexpected challenge. With the help of my friends, teachers, and family, I have embraced it and enjoyed it.
I miei obiettivi per le scuole superiori sono di mantenere sempre voti maggiori di ottanta e riuscire ad entrare in una buona università. Per riassumere, il mio trasferimento negli Stati Uniti è stato difficile e ricco di sorprese. Con l?aiuto dei miei amici, degli insegnanti, della mia famiglia ho superato questa prova e mi sono anche divertito.
Un día comiendo en la mesa de mi casa, una conversación empezó y era mi mamá tratando de decirnos a mí y a mi hermano que nos íbamos a vivir a los Estados Unidos. Mi nombre es Alejandro Rodríguez, tengo 12 años y yo nací en Venezuela. Yo viví en Venezuela por 11 años. Cuando mi mamá me dijo que nos íbamos a vivir a los Estados Unidos yo le dije que yo me quería quedar en Venezuela porque todos mis amigos, familia, y mi colegio en el cual estudié toda mi vida estaban ahí. Yo no sabía cómo reaccionar a la noticia, pero yo tenía que adaptarme a esa nueva realidad. Mis padres decidieron vivir en los Estados Unidos por la BY A L EJANDRO RODRI GUEZ inseguridad y también porque mi país es muy peligroso. Aquí en los Estados Unidos es, definitivamente, más seguro. Mi colegio en Venezuela es bilingüe y es unos de los mejores colegios en Venezuela, y me gusta muchísimo. Sin embargo, la educación en Miami Country Day School es mejor.Mi primer día de colegio yo le dije a mi mamá que no quería ir y ella me dijo que todo iba a estar bien. Cuando yo llegue al colegio, yo tenía miedo porque no conocía a nadie. Durante el almuerzo, un estudiante de mi grado se acercó y se sentó al lado mío y me comenzó a hablar. Yo no sabía que decir porque mi inglés no era bueno. Aunque mi inglés ha mejorado, yo pienso que pudiera ser mejor. Después de una semana de colegio yo conocí a mucha gente y fueron muy amigables. A mí me gusta vivir en los Estados Unidos y también me gusta mi colegio, pero hay veces que pienso en mi colegio en Venezuela. Este es mi segundo año en los Estados Unidos. Estoy feliz por haber tenido la oportunidad de mudarme aquí.Después de vivir aquí dos años, yo he aprendido que en la vida tenemos que tomar decisiones difíciles y adaptarnos a situaciones nuevas para poder disfrutar mejores opciones y de un futuro mejor.
One night at the dinner table, my mom gave us the news that we were going to move to the United States. My name is Alejandro Rodriguez, and I am twelve years old. I was born in Venezuela, and I lived there for eleven years. When my mom expressed that we were moving to the United States, I immediately told her that I wanted to stay in Venezuela. My friends, family, and my school were there.I really did not know how to react to the news, but I had no choice other than to start processing the news and to stick to her plan. One of the reasons for my family to move to the United States was because of the insecurity that my country is facing now. Here in the United States, it is much safer than in Venezuela.However, my school was safe, and it was bilingual. I think it is one of the best schools in Venezuela, and I loved it. On my first day of school, I told my mom I did not want to go. She reassured me that it was going to be fine.When I arrived at school, I was scared.I had no friends. During lunch, a student from my grade came and sat next to me and started talking to me. When he was talking to me I did not know what to say. I could not understand a word of English. After one week in school, I met many people.They were very friendly and kind.I have improved my English since then, and these days I have many friends. Now, I like the United States, and I also like my school, but sometimes I think a lot about my old school. I have lived in the United States for two years. I am happy that I have the opportunity to move here. After having lived here for two years, I have learned that in life we need to make difficult choices and adapt to new settings in order to have a better choices and future.
Page 9 Oi, meu nome é Carolina, e nasci em São Paulo, Brasil. Eu me mudei porque meus pais acharam que teríamos uma vida melhor, desde que o Brasil está ficando bem violento.
Hi, my name is Carolina, and I was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Moving to the USA has been a big change in my life. I moved here because my parents thought that we would have a better life, since Brazil is becoming a violent place to live.
Quando descobri que iria me mudar para os Estados Unidos, eu estava preocupada. Eu não queria deixar minha família e amigos. Contudo, quando cheguei aqui percebi que seria uma experiência maravilhosa.
When I found out that I was moving to the United States, I was worried. I didn?t want to leave my family and friends. However, when I got here, I realized that it would be an amazing experience.In my first day of school, all I felt was nervousness.I knew in advance that it would be a challenge. I was really uncomfortable and scared. Now, I am enjoying and appreciating to study in my new school. I feel really honored to be here. The academic work is a little different from what we had to do in Brazil.
BY CAROL I NA ROSSETTO
No meu primeiro dia de aula, eu estava muito nervosa, eu sabia que seria um desafio. Eu estava muito desconfortável e com medo.
Eu estou adorando e apreciando estudar nessa escola. Eu me sinto muito honrada por estar aqui. O trabalho acadêmico é um pouco diferente.
My goals and objectives for this year are to achieve great results and high grades in my schoolwork.People here are nice and friendly; they have made my move here easier.I enjoy seeing how everyone embraces and accepts new cultures. For that reason, there is a diversity of cultures here at the school.Although I miss Brazil, I like living here better. I am having a great time.
Minhas metas e objetivos pare esse ano é de ter notas boas nos meus trabalhos. Todas as pessoas aqui são legais e amigáveis. Eles aceitam todas as pessoas. Por essa razão, tem uma diversidade de culturas na escola. Apesar de sentir saudades do Brasil, eu gosto mais de morar aqui. Estou amando!
? ??? ? ? ???? ?? ? ?????? ?? ? ???????? ? , ????? ? ??? ?? ?? ? ???? ?? ? ? ????????????? ? . ? ??? ????? ? ???????? ? ??????, ? ? ?? ??????? . ????? ? ?? ?? ?? 11 ???, ? ? ? ?????? ? ???????? ? ? ? ?????, ? ????? ???? , ??? ? ? ??? ?? ? ????? ?????? ? ????? ? ? ???? ?. ???? ? ????, ? ????????? ? ??????????? ? ??? , ??? ? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ??????? ? ????. ? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??????, ??? ??? ? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ? ?????????? ?. ? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ? ???, ??? ? ??? ???? ? ???? ?? ???????? ??-?????????. BY V L AD T SUK ANOV
? ? ?????, ?? ? ?? ??????, ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ? ? ???????. ? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ? ???? ??????, ? ? ?? ???????? ? ??? ?????. ? ????? ?? , ??? ? ????? ?? ? ??? ????. ? ?????? ??????? , ? ?? ?? ???????? ??? ? ???, ??? ? ???? ? ??? ? ????. ? ?? ???? ? ? ? ????? - ????? ? ????? ?? ??????? ? ???????? ????? ?? ???????????. ? ??? ? ?? ??????, ??? ? ???? ?????? ? ????? ?? , ? ??? ? ? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ??????, ??????? ???????? ? ???? ?????.
The path to move to Florida has been bumpy and uncertain. My name is Vladyslav Tsukanov, and I am from Ukraine. When I was eleven years old, I moved to America. I recall having a very long flight to Miami.During that trip, many memories and thoughts were in my head.I felt nervous and I had many worries, particularly that I would not get used to being in an American school. However, it was much unexpected for me that all of my teachers were friendly, understanding, and welcoming.Even though it was something very difficult to do, I quickly accepted the fact that I had to try to speak English all the time. America, in my eyes, is a country of opportunities and dreams. I have had the chance to discover new and interesting people and customs.I enjoy living here.I am surprised to see that I have been here for three years already.If I were asked what I do not like about Miami, I would say that Miami is too hot. My goal in America is to go to a good college and get a decent education. Although I am not sure what I want to do in the future yet, I still would like to end up in a great job that pays a lot of money. Coming to America was a big unknown, but I believe that my family and I have learned to love living here. I will always identify myself as a Ukrainian who loves living an international and diverse life. I can understand now why it was very important for my family to give me an education in America.I know that this will be something that I will always feel grateful for. I hope it helps me to have an amazing life and a solid career in the future.
? ????? ?????, ???? ?????? ? ? ? ????? ?? ? ????? ?? ? ?????????? ? , ? ?????? , ??? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ? ????????? ?? ???? ? ??? ? ? ? ?????. ? ?? ??? ? ??? ? ?? ?????????? ? ????? . ? ????? ? ??? ?, ??? ????? ??? ??, ????? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ? ?? ??????????? ? ? ? ????? ? ?????, ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ? ??? ? ???? ? ??????? ? ????? ?? . Milhares de quilômetros para o sul, minha jornada para os Estados Unidos foi muito memorável. Olá, meu nomeéGabriela,nasci emde São Paulo, no Brasil. Vinha para Miaminas férias, e sempre pensava: "Que país maravilhoso!". Mais,masnão foi bem assim quando recebi a notícia que iria me mudar paracá. Eufiquei em choque! Mesmo sabendo que meu país não oferece a melhor qualidade de vida,eusempreodefendia o Brasil com todas as minhas forças. Quando cheguei, fiquei um pouco insegura, achei no começo tudo um pouco diferente começando pela escola: os horários BY GABRI EL A ROSSETTO são desiguais, aqui nos Estados Unidos diariamente nós estudamos 8 horas na escola, no Brasil estudamos 5 horas, um pouco diferente, não? Tive que me acostumar com isso. As refeições são diferentes também, senti falta das comidas locais do Brasil. Em Miami tem muitas praias bonitas, isso não tinha na minha cidade!O que mais gostei até agora aqui nos Estados Unidos foi a cultura! Gostei bastante disso porque agora consigo viver com duas culturas diferentes, uma na minha casa e uma na escola. Sei que aqui nos E.U.A. os feriados, e costumes são diferentes mais nunca gostaria de deixar a Festa Junina, e o Carnaval, duas festas muito importantes na cultura Brasileira. A Miami Country Day School, escola que estou atualmente estudando, esta sendo uma ótima experiência para mim e para a minha família. O que mais gosto da minha escola são minhas amigas, e meus amigos. Eles são simpáticos e amigáveis. Tenho honra de estudar nessa escola privilegiada. Do mesmo modo tenho honra de ser uma aluna estrangeira, que luta para conquistar o que quer. A escola te recebe com os braços aberto todos os dias, com professores exemplares. Tenho que agradecer a Deus todos os dias por essa oportunidade que o destino me deu. Quero completar muitas metas nessa escola. Minha família também está feliz morando aqui. Estamos já acostumados, mas sempre sentimos falta ou temos alguns pensamentos do passado. Para outros, pode parecer fácil, mas por dentro dói com intensidade, saber que você vai deixar o país que nasceu, e foi educada. Ainda me lembro da imagem que meus familiares, e amigos falando adeus no aeroporto. Sim, foi uma cena que nunca vou me esquecer. Mas, vendo de outro angulo, essa mudança fez bem para minha família, agora estamos num lugar mais seguro, com mais qualidade de vida, onde estamos todos juntos. Agora podemos andar na rua sem medo de ser assaltados. Do mesmo jeito que tenho compaixão pela vida no Brasil, eu terei aqui. Sempre serei focada nos estudos, na família, e na minha vida. Sempre serei muito grata por tudo que fizeram por mim fora e dentro da escola. Tenho a qualidade de vida muito boa aqui, e pretendo ter igual para muitos outros anos da minha vida.
From thousands of kilometers in the south, my journey to the United States has been a major change in my life. Hi, my name is Gabriela. I was born in Sao Paulo, a city in Brazil.Growing up, I always had a few opportunities to visit Miami during my vacations. Back then, I often thought that this was a great city to live.However, that was not my first reaction when my parents told me that I would move here for good. I was concerned! Although I knew my country did not offer me the best quality of life, I would always love and miss Brazil with all my strength. When I arrived to my new city, I felt a little uncomfortable. At the beginning, I found everything very different.At school, the schedule was different every day, and we had a long eight hours.Back in my country, we stayed in school for only five hours. It is very different, isn?t it?The meals are different too. I really miss the local food from Brazil. However, there are countless aspects in Miami that I love.The beaches are awesome; I did not have that in my state. I truly enjoy being able to share my classroom with students from diverse cultures. I appreciate that because I have discovered more than one way of living my life. Now, I have one culture at home and one or more at school. I also find very interesting the diversity of holidays that we celebrate here. I used to relish two important holidays in Brazil: the Festa Junina and the Carnaval. I feel honored to be at this school.This community has received me with opened arms, with amazing teachers and with limitless opportunities to become a better student and a better person.I am proud of being an international student. My friends and I respect each other.My family is as happy as I am living in Miami. We are now more used to living here; I am not saying completely, but I know that as time passes by it will only get better.We still miss our country. Often we share vivid and fun memories that come back from the past. I still remember so clearly when my friends and relatives were at the airport saying goodbye to us. I really want to love this country as I love Brazil.I think I am doing a good job managing my new journey. I will always be focused on my studies, my family, and my new life. I will always be thankful for everything that this school has done for me. Also, without my parents, my life would not be as balanced as it is emotionally and academically.
South Florida still recovering from Storms CONTI NUED FROM
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Several people had no power, several trees fell, and a lot of people were running out of essentials, like food, water and other things. Several homes got damaged, trees fell down on them, they flooded or both. Thanks to several donations Miami and several places in Florida were able to stand back up, and they still are. Miami was one of the luckiest places, there still was definitely a lot of damage, and many people no longer had materials . But Miami was extremely lucky, and Irma came in a Category 5, unlike what was predicted. Overall, preparing and going through it was a very exhausting process. But Miami and most of Florida was extremely lucky.
Hur r icane I r ma caused significant damage to the Flor ida K eys.
Unfortunately not all of the people were as lucky as us. FPL worked so hard, for the power to come back and we were so lucky to have received the power back in comparison of other places.
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Sp or t s Cross Country impacted by I rma BY I SABEL L A GAL OFRE This year Cross Country has been severely affected by Hurricane Irma. Mr. Batcheller, an assistant coach, explained that Hurricane Irma forced them to reschedule a decent amount of meets. He also said that the hurricane destroyed the team?s home cross country course, Greynolds Park. The team will not be able to have any home meets there this year. He also said, ?We are supposed to have districts in Greynolds, so we are in the process of changing that.? ?Mainly the hurricane affected the runners because it gave them a two week break, and not all of them were running,? said Mr. Batcheller. ?So when we started again, we had to make up some of that ground, where they lost it. Luckily it did seem as though some of them had been running over the course of that break which we did encourage them to do.?
practice, a bunch of our races were canceled and my favorite coarse (Greynolds Park) got destroyed and probably won?t be restored for a couple of months.? Despite Hurricane Irma, the Cross Country team has been doing great! This year?s middle school Cross Country started on July 13. The team has very young and new runners, like Remi Rosenfeld, Alex Mendelson, Cristina Hernandez and Merritt Lubetsky. Mr. Hayes, the head of the Middle School Sports, said, ?I like watching the runners improve and achieve greatness through me coaching.? He also said ?Girls a very strong and should win Districts and Boys are young and getting stronger.?
Rachel Hodes, an 8th grader on the Cross Country team, said that Hurricane Irma severely affected their team.
He said that the best records that the team has had this year and forever, have been that boys finished 3rd twice, 4th once, and 9thin State Championships and girls finished in 5th, 7th and 9th.?
She said, ?We had to miss two weeks of
Mrs. Sennett, an assistant coach said
that she likes being a coach, because she likes to work with competitive kids and gets to motivate kids to be faster. Rachel Hodes said that her coaches in Cross Country have helped her a lot, ?They constantly encourage me to push myself, they have helped me with my technique. When they believe in me, it helps me push myself to do well.? She also said that if she had the chance to discard a practice, she would discard the two minute one minute. This is a practice where they sprint for two minutes and jog for a minute. ?I really don?t like them because of how they affect me. I don?t think that I do well enough and I don?t like where we do it.? Shortly varsity runners will be attending
8th Graders Ana Laura Muniz Rodriguez and Jessica Cariglio get ready for a cross country meet. districts, regionals, and then hopefully states! Until next season.
There's no "team" in MCDS BY A RTYOM T RUK HACHEV
Football cancellation is a truly awful event that happened at MCDS, because it is a very important sport in our community at MCDS. The coaches, former players, and students had some very interesting answers for why it got canceled and their reasons for why they canceled it. Coach Polite, the old assistant football said, ?There was a lack of attendance so I think that was one of the the reasons and also they were slacking during the practices.? This is why he thought football was ?They might have disliked the sport or maybe they had other plans and were worried about other things during practice,? said Coach Polite. ?There wasn?t enough players, and most of the players we had, have never worn a helmet before and you know that?s why there was a lack of participation,? said eighth grader Daniel Estupinan, a former middle school football player in 6th and 7th grades, was very disappointed that there wasn?t a team this year. An anonymous source mentioned, ?I feel depressed because we wasted all this money on players and the field, and it was all useless so I feel depressed about that. I also feel depressed about wasting
money on a field we won?t use at all this year, and the saddest thing is I don?t know why it got canceled.? ?Oh, well I feel sad that we lost our team, because there might not be a team anymore if we lost it for the year, but I am not that sad about it because I play soccer and we needed somewhere to practice,? said sixth grader Rodrigo Osio didn?t know football was even canceled this year. ?I am on a 50/50 on this situation because I know that the soccer team had nowhere to practice.
cancel it for one year that means it could get canceled forever because it increases the chance of that happening if we don?t change something,? said Mrs. Muhlig, a sixth sad that we grade math teacher.
" I feel lost our team, because there might not be a team anymore if we lost it for the year."
6th Grader Mackenzie Behlman was seriously bummed about the cancellation, she said,?I am super disappointed about the Football Cancellation, because my brother was going to - Rodrigo Osio play on the team, but they canceled it, and one thing that I don?t get is, why would they have try outs in the summer?? ?Well, the Football cancellation for one year is a very bad thing because if they Chuck Sennett was hugely impacted by
PHOTOS BY ARTYOM TRUKHACHEV the football cancellation. Since he was the Former Head Coach for the team. ?We didn?t have enough players for the team sadly, we were expecting 25-28 but we only got about 13 players,? he said. ?Also most of the players we had weren?t the best and the former players from last year were saying the same thing. That?s it on the Football Cancellation, hopefully there will be a team next year or else there might not be a Football team for a very long time.
Swimmers make a splash Swimming is a challenging sport that many students at MCDS enjoy participating in.
Coach Eric, another middle school swim coach, has created an exciting new way to have the team exercise. He created a dry land practice routine to be added to regular water practice two or three times per week. The Dry Land practice includes running laps, pushups, situps, and other calisthenics after dry land we swim for an hour.
BY JAK E GROSSM AN
The Swim Team members practice six days a week, two hours a day. MCDS middle school boys and Girls swim teams
PHOTOS BY JAKE GROSSMAN
Coach Eric says that he really likes the Dry Land routine. He said, ?Coach Julian?s Dry Land practice gives an opportunity for athletes to gain speed.? He added, ?The Middle School athletes really like the diversity of Dry Land compared to in water training.? Coach Julian said, ?I think that the Dry Land practice would From left: Declan Scott, Marco be a little bit more competes against Pacheco, Robert Depradine and effective if everyone other schools during Jashan Singh understood why it weekly meets. helps their swimming in terms of strength, technique, etc.? He Julian Wynter-Anderson is the coach of says this because generally most Middle School Swim Teams. He makes swimmers do not immediately recognize the decisions on what kinds of sets and the benefits of Dry Land drills. strokes we do during each practice. Also, he acomonies us in the meets. Seventh grader Stuart Browning said, ?Dry Land is good and effective, and The head coach of the entire aquatics makes me swim faster.? team is EricScheinholtz. He coaches the High School Swim Team, but he also Eighth grader Michael Bernstein said, ?It schedules meets for the Middle School is a good workout and is good for you Teams to compete against other schools.
On the right course BY A RTYOM T RUK HACHEV with it, and ever since then The school year is just getting starting and so are I?ve been motivated to try my the sports seasons and best in the sport.? Miami Country Day School beating everybody in Golf. ?The golf coaches are excellent at what they do,? said Torrence Mack, an eighth Anthony Haderer, a golf coach some grader. ?They will try to help you with questions and had some jokes up our anything if you want to get to the next sleeves to go with the questions. ?How level.? long have you been playing golf?? His answer was ?Since I was ten (20 years.)? ?I do not think golf is ever so complicating what so ever, because I?ve Coach Parizo, a Middle School Golf team been playing it since I was 2, but coach said ?I don?t play as much as I competitively since I was 6, and because really want to because of teaching of that amount of time playing I think I Physical Education so I don?t have a know a lot,? said Torrence. handicap.? Coach Polite, and Coach Haderer had the same opinion on the best player, ?Griphin Steutel, because he?s older and has a better view of the game than others.? Jaden Russell, a golf player in eighth grade said, ?I only played for 10 months and I started playing at the Miami Shores Golf Course.?
7th Grader Sam Netkin, who is currently playing for the golf team said, ?I like my golf coach he is very strict but motivational and gets things done if you ask him to take you to the next level, in teaching.? So we found out about the Golf Team, and we can see that the season is going well.
?I am very focused on golf at this stage and doubt that this year I will be doing anything other than school and golf. Ever since I started the sport I?ve fell in love
health. It also gets you warmed up to have a better practice in the water.? This is Michael?s favorite part of practice. Hurricane Irma impact on the swim team?s training was not so big, because the team returned to a strong practice and Meet schedule. However, the Team did have to reschedule many of the Meets. The Team had one week with four meets in six days. The coaches would like to have more space in the pool for practice, because many times swimmers are cramped. When this happens, the swimmers have to wait on the wall in one minute intervals letting other swimmers begin a lap before they leave the wall. The coaches try to have the Middle School Team to train with a variety of equipment like snorkels and fins. Coach Eric says, ?We use kick boards and pull buoys every day, and other equipment we want to use are fins and snorkels.? The kick boards isolate and focus on lower body technique and power and pull buoys are used to isolate and focus on upper body technique and speed. ?The team needs to give more attention to the coach when he is giving out instructions,? said eight grader, Marco Pacheco. ?The instructions help. The more we use them the better we will compete.? Coach Eric said, ?Practices are much more important because there are more of them. But the team has to perform at Meets.?
Left: Antonio Justo poses with his club.
Stuart Browning, seventh grader said, ? Meets give us more experience.? When the coaches designs the sets for practice, he thinks about the swimmers. Coach Eric said, ?When I designs the sets I thinks about the places that the team can do better in races so the team's body can respond in its own way.? For example, he may decide we should practice more acceleration drills or turns. Michael said, ?The practice sets Coach designs make me go faster at the meets.? Marco said, ?The sets balance out each part of the swimmers body throughout each style.? Some of the Swim Team members are looking forward to playing club water polo in the winter and Middle School Water Polo in the spring. It is definitely a lot of fun for the girls and boys water polo teammates to hang out and practice together on the Swim Team.
EDI TORI AL: There's hope for the Marlins BY M I CHAEL BERNSTEI N
What words to describe the Marlins, oh wait there weren't any words for the first two month.
pitching. This was said because the following week we had a 1-6 and now we're two games behind 500 and 8 games out of the wild card.
When the Marlins started off the season everybody knew they had great batting and no sort of pitching and that was very true for the first two months.
After that bad stretch the season never picked up again. The Marlins were okay but they didn't make a great comback.
From opening day till May 27 they were the second worst team in the league at 17-30.
Some fans though the fish could make the greatest comeback but they didn't.
In the month of we got swept by the Astros and the Cardinals. Lost 2 out of three from the league worst Atlanta Braves and and one 1 out of three games vs the best team the Dodgers.
At the end of the season the marlins got a new owner. His name is Derek Jeter. Who is Derek jeter?
On May 27 it looked like the Marlins season was over. But then something crazy happened. The Marlins started to get good.
He played for the New York Yankees and he is in the 3000 hit club. The old owner was a guy named Jeffrey Loria, who many Marlins fans hated because he traded away the whole Marlins team.
The week after being 17-30 the Marlins won 6 out of their last seven games. This started to happen because Giancarlo Stanton.
A lot of people who like baseball hope Jeter will make the team good.
For the first two months of the year Giancarlo Stanton was batting third in the lineup. The Marlins manager said, ?Let's move him up a spot.? That was genius.
A lot of Marlins fans are happy that we have a new owner. But, he is considering trading away the Marlins best player, Giancarlo Stanton. If he trades away Stanton, Jeter might be hatted as well.
Three and a half months later and he has hit over 30 more homers into the 2 stop. Going into the all star break the Marlins had swept the Giants and were only five under five hundred.
Top: Torrence Mack prepares for a shot.
Marco said, ?Meets are better, because it shows how fast the team improves.?
As of August 26 the Marlins were 3 over 500. Lots of Marlins posted on social media things saying ?Wild Card, baby, we're gonna make it. We gonna win the whole thing.? Fast forward a week later. People said that we stink, I knew this was gonna happen, they have no
Below: Giancarlo Stanton
En t er t ai n m en t My Spider-man thrills! Summer Vacation BY SI M ON V I L L AM I ZAR
school since he just magically pops out of school every once in while since he?s well, Spider-man. Tony stark, aka Iron Man, also comes into the story helping Spider-man to become a proper superhero. Iron Man in the movie insists that Spider-man should not get into to much trouble and be the friendly neighborhood Spider-man that we all know. In this movie, though, Spider-man sort of rebels, and I don't want to spoil anything, but it doesn't go well.
Near the end of this story Spider-man's personal life and his super hero life collide into a huge conflict. Can Spider-man stay the awkward school kid he?s always been or save the day from vulture in typical Spider-man style?
Spider-man Homecoming, a movie that gave yet another great back story on the infamous Spider-man. This movie is set at a very calm tone. Spider-man movies normally don't disappoint because of how down to earth Spider-man really is. Of course you get see Spider-man doing his superhero duties but you also get see his normal life, school and all of that. This all allows for a great movie, and trust me this was a great movie. The movie starts of with a scene from a previous Marvel movie, The Avengers
2012, where an alien spaceship falls after a fight scene exposing a weird alien capsule. Inside the capsule lies a purple crystal that powers some crazy weapons. The main villain in this story, Vulture, sells these illegal weapons and causes havoc with them. Meanwhile Spider-man is finding who he really is - you know, the typical superhero backstory. At this time Spider-man's alter ego, Peter Parker, is going to school (he?s a pretty awkward kid) considering he?s balancing being a normal kid and a superhero. Peter has an interesting reputation at
Spoiler Alert: Spider Man chooses to save the day. And after a really good battle scene. Spider-man prevails offering him a place in the Avengers, he rejects the offer though and continues to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-man that we all know and love. In my opinion this is the best Spider-man movie to come out yet. Mainly because of the light feel of the movie. The casting for this movie was also great putting Tom Holland as Spider-man was a great idea. I truly loved his portrayal of Spider-man. Over all liked this movie a lot.
Horoscopes BY RACHEL H ODES
BY JHONNY M ERCADO Over this summer I went to Las Vegas, Nevada with my family. I stayed in the Venetian Hotel, which was crazy. This hotel had an huge mall, but the mall was supposed to be a Venice recreation. Venice is a city in Italy. The streets were made of water. While I was in Las Vegas I saw a bunch of awesome shows, my favorite being ?Jabbawockeez.? It was about masked male hip-hop dancers telling a story with their dance moves. I also saw one show called ?O? by Cirque du Soleil. I went to the official Coca-Cola store and the Hershey's one as well. In Las Vegas I also ate at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants (you know the guy from Hell's Kitchen and all of that). The food was amazing. Also it was about 115ยบ F in Las Vegas, so yeah it was boiling. Even though it was so hot, I enjoyed Las Vegas. It was a great trip and I want to go again. After Las Vegas I went to California. I started in Los Angeles California. In Los Angeles I went to the Walk of Came, the iconic Hollywood sign and even Jake Paul?s house (He?s a social media star.) I also went to the Santa Monica pier. It was really nice there. On the highway I found a secret place where you could see the most beautiful sunset ever. We rented a car in Los Angeles and drove north to San Francisco. On the way we stopped by in Monterey bay where we went whale watching. We saw some orcas, some dolphins and even some blue whales! It was kind of a long trip but it was so worth it. Then we finally got San Francisco where I saw the Golden Gate Bridge. I also went to Alcatraz (ya know the world famous prison, and it was awesome.) I learned so much in Alcatraz about the history of it and all of that.
Aries (March 21-April 19): Beware of upcoming assignments...one might come up unexpectedly.
Libra (September 23-October 22): Tell someone something that you?ve wanted to say for some time.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): Laugh more. It?s good exercise.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21): Don?t put up with other people?s drama.
After those weeks in California, we stayed in Miami for a bit and near the end of the summer we flew to Chicago where we went to eat to this place (I forgot what It?s called) but the pizzas they served there were huge. Of course I saw all the cool buildings in Chicago. I also went for walks and fed the squirrels. So, Chicago was a lot of fun and I loved it. This was my experience over the summer.
Gemini (May 21-June 20): In the near future something amazing will occur.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21): Do something daring.
Cancer (June 21-July 22): Be safe and stay alert.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19): SURPRISE UP AHEAD.
Leo (July 23-August 22): Go for a walk.
Rachel Hodes - Editor-in-Chief Alessandra DiCataldo
Aquarius (January 20 to February 18): You will Ace your upcoming tests.
Virgo (August 23-September 22): Stop and look at your surroundings, and then conquer the week.
I n the M iddle Isabella Galofre Jake Grossman Artyom Trukhachev
Pisces (February 19 to March 20): Remember to breath.
Simon Villamizar