October 2013

The ‘Stang Express The Newspaper of North Shore Middle School Volume 4 • Issue 1 • October 2013

“With their cold, dead eyes and creepy walk, zombies may soon be more real than you thought.” - page 4

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013

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‘STANG EXPRESS STAFF

The ‘Stang Express • Oct. 2013

Opinion Editor News Editor Features Editor Sports Editor

Makenna Pouland Hailie Russell Patrick Martin Ivon Lopez Joanne Cobos Victor Davila

Entertainment Ed. Photo Editor Social Media Mgr

Leonardo Reyes Melanie Gomez Hailie Russell

Cover Story

Makenna Pouland Daniel Davila Mr. Fonder

IMAGE / ZOMBIEAPOCALYPSEACADEMY.ORG

Co-Editors-in-Chief

10 COVER STORY NEWS 3 North shore community welcomes new restaurant

Panera Bread adds more variety to North Shore’s food scene.

by IVON LOPEZ

3 Teachers and students display their talents Annual talent show helps raise money for the library.

by CAMRYN SYLESTINE

3 New dress code gives new students more freedom

GPISD allows its students to wear jeans on a regular basis

by JADA RICHARD

FEATURES 4 LIVING WITH THE DEAD

Zombies may be less fictional than we once thought...

by DANIEL DAVILA & MAKENNA POULAND

6 THE ATTACK THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING

The Syrian missile crisis could have a bigger impact than you thought.

by JOANNE COBOS

OPINION 7 JEANS AND TEENS: PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW DRESS CODE Are we taking our priviledge for granted.

by MICHAEL ESTRADA

LIKE US! Scan this with your smartphone to see the North Shore MS Journalism Facebook page and download the newspaper in color!

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OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

7 IS SOCIAL MEDIA GOOD FOR YOU?

Spending too much time online could impair your social abilities

by CYNTHIA BARRAGAN

8 SHOULD AMERICA PAY FOR PEACE OR GO INTO ANOTHER WAR?

Page Design

Writers Cynthia Barragan Edras Mata Daniel Davila Victor Montoya Michael Estrada Benny Moore Edward Hernandez Katia Patino Maray Kelly Jada Richard Cesar Landa Camryn Sylestine

North Korea. Are their threats real or just another ploy at getting world-wide attention?

by PATRICK MARTIN

SPORTS 9 Mustang’S AGGRESIVE DEFENSE LEADS TO BLOWOUT Eighth grade A team puts up a fight and dominates the field once again

by VICTOR DAVILA

10 Mustangs edge out win thanks to strong defensive line Mustangs fight to win their second game of the season

by VICTOR MONTOYA

10 DEFENSIVE STAR SHOWS COMPETITIVENESS

by BENNY MOORE

ENTERTAINMENT 12 insidious: chapter 2

The sequel that will haunt your dreams

by EDRAS MATA

13 THE WALKING DEAD: SEASON 4

The show that has captivated America’s attention since Halloween 2010 makes its return.

by EDWARD HERNANDEZ

PHOTO STORIES 14 wHO’S IN MY SEAT?

Students from Mr. Hinshaw’s class let us in on their opinions on his wonderful classroom.

by RONNIE HOLLAND

Photographers Mr. Will Fonder Adviser Mr. Paul Drexler Principal Dr. Angi Williams Superintendent CONTACTING US

Mailing address: 120 Castlegory Houston,Texas 77015 Phone: (832) 386-2600 Website: http://www.texasschools.net/nsms Email: stangexpress@yahoo.com

RESPONDING

Letters to the editor will be accepted. Letters may be submitted in Room C107 or placed in the mailbox of Mr. Burke. All letters must be signed. Names will be published. Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.

PURPOSE

The ‘Stang Express is a student publication distributed to the students, teachers, and parents of North Shore Middle School and Galena Park ISD. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the student writers and are not necessarily the opinions of the Galena Park ISD. The ‘Stang Express is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Assocation.

The newspaper earned an Award of Distinguished Merit and won a prestigious Bronze Star Award from the ILPC in April 2013 and was recently awarded a Gold Crown by the CSPA in New York City.

North Shore community welcomes

NEW RESTAURANT

Panera Bread adds more variety to North Shore’s food scene

by IVON LOPEZ A new restaurant is opening up called Panera Bread, which currently has 7 locations near Houston with Pasadena’s location being the closest. This new location will be down the street from North Shore in the Wal-Mart parking lot and it will open on October 15.

Panera Bread has been around for about 34 years with many different types of salads, sandwiches, and sweet bread such as the Thai chicken salad, Sierra turkey sandwich, and their chocolate truffle babka, yet not many people know about it.

“I don’t know what Panera Bread is but I would like to find out because I hear people talking about it,” said 8th grader Leslie Perez. However, there are some people who have heard or eaten at a loca-

tion before.

“I’ve been to Panera Bread and I really enjoyed the food and service because they were really nice,” said 8th grader Pedro Arrizon.

Since the closest location of Panera Bread is 8.3 miles away in Pasadena, Texas, this new location has big impacts to the community such as a new place for people to eat or hang out using the free Wi-Fi. “I think it’s a good idea because it serves healthier food for those people who want to eat better choices,” said 8th grader Fermina Rodriguez. While some people believe it’s a good idea, many others believe it can affect the community in a bad way.

“I really don’t think it’s a good location for Panera Bread because Wal-Mart is

too congestive [overcrowded] and having Panera Bread won’t be a good idea,” said Mr. Johnson, 7th grade math teacher, “The location will cause the restaurant to have a high amount of customers since Wal-Mart is always full.”

“It isn’t a good idea because Wal-Mart is a very busy place and putting it there would just take up the parking space for the Wal-Mart customers,” said 8th grader Adrianna Hernandez.

With Panera Bread opening up nearby, it can encourage people to eat healthier instead of eating out at places like McDonalds and Wendy’s. The new Panera Bread includes a drive-through for those who are in a hurry, also making it more convenient for teachers during lunch time.

Panera Bread is now open so stop in and try it out.

Teachers and students display their talents Annual talent show helps raise money for the library

by CAMRYN SYLESTINE On Oct. 18, the talent show showcased the talents of the teachers and student in the multipurpose room at 8:30 for 7th graders and 1:30 for 8th graders to raise money for the library. All of the students and teachers that participated got to show off their skills. There was also a special showing for the teachers and parents/siblings of the performers on Oct. 15, at 4:00 in the multipurpose room.

Axel Trejo, the first performer, brought out his electric guitar and clearly impressed the audience.

“Next we have Alayna Burns who is playing the recorder.” Mrs. Sivil announced.

The song was very calm and peaceful, and when Alayna played the room fell completely silent. Angeline Medrano and Faith Britton performed the musical, “Anything You Can do I Can Do Better,” and the audience laughed and grinned immediately.

Scira Pereida, 8th grader, has performed in the talent show since her 7th grade year, “It was kind of scary singing in front of everybody. Before I was about to go on, I was very scared and nervous.

I had butterflies in my stomach. But when I finished and everyone cheered for me, it felt good and I was happy and excited,” said Scira. She performed ‘Daydreamer’

by Adele this year and got a standing ovation for it.

Mr. Johnson, 7th grade math teacher, shocked his students in the crowd by performing and playing his saxophone. Everyone in the room screamed and shouted and cheered for Mr. Johnson as he played professionally. Coach Banks and Ms. Raines danced to the country song, ’Why Don’t We Just Dance’, by Josh Turner. To wrap it up, Coach Banks and Ms. Raines danced again with a couple of students and teachers, Ms. Buckalew, Ms. Hill, Ms. Perkins, Ms. Banks, and Ms. Broussard to, ‘Bang Bang’, by Will.i.am, making the talent show memorable and enjoyable. The students who went to the talent show helped raise money for the library and got to see their peers’ skills and talents.

New dress code gives students more freedom GPISD allows its students to wear jeans on a regular basis

by JADA RICHARD During the end of the 2012-2013 school year, Galena Park ISD sent out letters to inform parents that there would be a change in dress code. Galena Park’s administrators decided to let students in all GPISD schools wear jeans everyday.

The students like this year’s dress code better then last years because they can now wear jeans every day instead of Fridays.“I like wearing jeans everyday,

because you can wear or make your outfit casual and classy,” said 7th grader, Tamia Phillip.

Even though they can wear jeans everyday, there are some exceptions. Those may include no ripped jeans skinny jeans, or short jeans. Some students disagree with these rules.

“I disagree with administrators because we should be allowed to wear skinny jeans every single day because it shows our personality,” said 7th grader, Mariah

Gonzalez.

Due to the fact that they are being allowed new privileges such as wearing jeans every day, with an exception of no skinny or ripped jeans, students will hopefully follow the rules.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013

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Zombies may be less fictional than we once thought....

Living with the

by DANIEL DAVILA & MAKENNA POULAND When the word “zombie” is said, chilling and gruesome thoughts come to mind. After every zombie movie, children claim to see them everywhere, but parents calmly assure them that it’s just their imagination. But for how long? With their cold, dead eyes and creepy walk, zombies may soon be more real than you thought.

For decades, the Haitian culture has revolved around voodoo (a combination of Roman Catholic rituals and animistic beliefs), magic powers, and witchcraft.

According to the Discovery Channel, the Haitians believed that the witch doctors, called bocors, could raise the dead using magic that they had received from the “powers above” and use them for specific reasons, usually involving labor.

This was highly unlikely, determined in later years, because making someone a zombie would leave them brain dead, uncoordinated, and slow.

As opposed to popular culture, the zombies in this case were the victims, not the villains. Bocors were highly respected and feared because they could “zombify” you and were most likely in league with the Tonton Macoute, a secret police force in Haiti known for their brutality. The Tonton Macoute was also recognized for scaring the people who defied authority threatening to make them a zombie, a very serious threat in Haiti. According to the Haitian culture you don’t need to kill a zombie in order to free it. To free a zombie from its bocor’s magic, you have to feed the zombie salt or show them the ocean and the zombie will return to its grave by itself, self-aware and irritated.

The first reported case of a zombie was in 1980 when Clairvius Narcisse claimed to die in 1962 and had been turned into a zombie to work as a slave, but no evidence was found and he couldn’t lead the authorities to where he had supposedly been working. Also in the 1980s, Wade Davis claimed to find a “zombie powder” where the poisons inside the powder could turn people into “zombies” using the main ingredient, a powerful neurotoxin (toxins that destroy nerve tissue). Although, use of the powder was dangerously risky because too

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OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

DEAD little of the toxin would make the zombie state temporary and leave the person unaware and confused, while using too much of the toxin would ultimately kill the patient.

The poisons that the bocors used contained many components; including burnt and ground up human remains, small tree frogs, Polychaete worms, large New World Toads, and multiple species of puffer fish, which contains deadly nerve toxins, and tetrodotoxin (an extremely powerful nerve destroyer).

Infected by the drug and deeply traumatized, the victim was immediately beaten by the bocor’s assistants, bound and led to a cross, and baptized with a new name after eating a paste containing a strong dose of a potent psychoactive drug (Datura Stramonium) known as “zombie cucumbers”.

As Zoe Hurston said in 1938, it’s not actually bocors raising the dead, but the bocors and their assistants know about a drug and its antidote that destroys part of the brain that controls willpower and speech, causing them to appear and act like a zombie. They’re basically just brain dead.

In the past, people freaked out when an unfamiliar mutated disease popped up, diseases that nowadays people don’t blink at. According to The Tech, Museum of Innovation, mutations are accidental changes in DNA and can lead to missing or malformed proteins resulting in diseases. Scientists approximate that every human has among 5 and 10 possibly fatal mutations in their genes. Due to the fact that there is only one copy of each bad gene, the viruses don’t have the ability to spread.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), zombies could be created in one of three ways. One cause, identified by the Zombie Survival Guide, states that zombies could come from a virus called solanum. Another theory is that zombies could form through the spreading of radiation due to a destroyed NASA Venus probe (satellite used to explore space). The last theory is that the mutation of various diseases, including prions (an infectious protein particle), mad-cow

disease, measles, and rabies could lead to the zombie apocalypse.

In addition to providing information on how to prepare for the possible upcoming catastrophe, the CDC promises to provide assistance to the cities and states affected by zombies including consultation, lab testing, analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control.

In the past ten to fifteen years, zombies have been appearing in movies, on television screens, and in books everywhere. In all of these, however, the zombies are represented in various ways.

In World War Z, the epidemic started when one disease mutated and quickly spread through bite marks. Also, they are fast unlike the Haiti culture where the zombies are slow, re-animated within seconds of being bit. Also in the movie, zombies only want healthy hosts and the survivors used the virus to keep themselves alive until they find a cure.

However, in The Walking Dead, the zombie epidemic began with a fever that sets in a few hours after being bit by one of the “undead”. After you die from the intense fever, you re-animate (come back to life with only a fraction of brain cells left) about eight to ten hours later and search for fresh “food”, usually anything that’s alive. The Walking Dead zombies are slow and make guttural sounds as they wander around aimlessly.

In the book, Warm Bodies, zombies were created due to a curse because of the greed and hate humans buried themselves under. Although, despite the Continued on next page

What would you need to survive a zombie apocalypse?

First Aid Supplies Sanitation and Hygiene

Tools & Supplies

Food

Continued from last page usual idea that zombies can’t speak or feel emotions, the main character, R, can talk and has caring emotions towards Julie, another main character in the story.

Zombies have been around for a while and are more popular than ever. All of the history and facts only make it more frightening to think that such creatures could possibly take form. Whether it’s through magic, diseases, curses, or even media, zombies will always be around.

Even if they aren’t uprising, zombies are already here and have made a lasting impression on society.

How would you react?

What’s the best weapon to kill a zombie with?

If zombies were chasing you and your best friend would you...

8% say bat

11% say knife

36% say axe

IMAGE / SCIENCEFICTION.COM

Important Documents

Clothing & Bedding

45% say chainsaw This poll’s results are based of of a total of ** students’ opinions.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013

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FEATURES

The attack that could change everything

The Syrian missile crisis could have a bigger impact than you realize

by JOANNE COBOS On an ordinary day in the U.S., kids were going through their normal routines. Meanwhile, hundreds of kids and adults in Syria were lying in the hospital dying from the sarin in the chemical weapons that were dropped in Damascus. The gassing that occurred on Aug. 21, 2013, was only the beginning of a big problem for us.

For over two years, Syria has been in a civil war, and the war is responsible for the death of 100,000 people. The first time chemical gas was used during the war was in August of last year. Then, in March 2013, the Syrians claimed that the rebel fighters unleashed chemical weapons on Damascus, the capital of Syria, and according to President Obama, 100 to 150 Syrian people died.

Supposedly, Bashar Al Assad would get rid of the weapons they owned, but that was proven wrong this August when the chemical weapons were dropped again near Damascus. More than 1,400 people died, including 400 children.

How did we get involved in a problem that is occurring halfway around the world? Last year, after the first chemical attack, President Obama threatened

Bashar Al Assad, the president of Syria, saying that what they were doing was wrong and that if it didn’t stop, the United States would send in troops and take matters into their own hands.

“We are the United States of America. We cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus,” said President Obama.

It is now a year later and our president is still deciding what to do. The choice would affect us in the U.S. because if Obama sends the military force to Syria, it is possible that they would attack us back; we’ve seen how badly people in Syria got injured and it would be very risky to attack them.

It would make things easier to punish the person responsible for the deaths in Syria, but we can’t because it is still unclear who it was that gassed them.

Some people, like General Zaher Al Sakat, said that the man who did this to his people was their very own president, Bashar Al Assad. The general says he was ordered three times by Assad to drop chemical weapons on Damascus, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

However, Bashar Al Assad denied that he did this many times.

The more time that passes with-

out someone being punished, the more people are turning against our president. They say that since he is not doing anything to prevent the attacks, he is basically allowing them to happen.

“I believe whoever fired the chemical gas should be punished, but we don’t really know who it was that did it, so I think that staying neutral and letting the U.N. (United Nations) handle this is our best choice,” said Mr. Strzelecki, an eighth grade social studies teacher.

Recently, the people of Syria have begun the process of destroying their chemical weapons, and although some people think we can move on, some countries are still wary.

What the Syrians did in August may not be going on anymore, but since no one has been punished yet, there’s a possibility that it could happen again.

President Obama is still deciding on what to do about the war and the weapons though. This choice could affect us. The Syrians could either attack us or some people could get pulled out of their homes to go to war. Even though we are still staying neutral and our country is still undecided, remember that the president is trying to keep our best interests in mind.

Character Education!

November:

December:

The character education for November is all about respect. Respect isn’t only about treating people who are older than us well, it’s also about treating the people we’re around on a daily basis kindly.

December’s character education is dealing with personal reflection and setting goals.

As December goes by, ask yourself some of these things:

Remember the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

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OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

How has my attitude changed over the year?

What are my dreams and plans for the future?

What are my goals for the following months?

Jeans and teens:

problems with the new dress code Are we taking our priviledge for granted?

by MICHAEL ESTRADA

Do you like the fact that we can wear jeans to school this year?

Do any of you eighth graders remember that if you wore them last year you’d get in trouble if it wasn’t spirit day on Wednesday or Friday? You may be wondering why I am asking you all these questions, and if so, it’s because this year, at middle schools across GPISD, the district faculty is finally letting us wear jeans instead of just khaki pants, but if students continue to wear tight jeans, the principal could change the dress code back to khaki pants like last year.

So this year, the dress code says that students can wear jeans to school if we want to, but too many students are trying to wear jeans that are too tight on them. If we continue to wear them, then Mr. Drexler might change the dress code back to khaki pants and a red or black shirt, depending on which grade you’re in. Students could even get in trouble and receive in-school suspension if they continue to wear them. I say that students should adhere to the dress code that way we can wear jeans to school everyday, opposed to just Wednesdays and Fridays like we did last year, and that was only if you had a

SOUND OFF!!

spirit shirt.

“I think that we shouldn’t wear jeans that are too tight because they can draw too much attention to you, and we might lose our privilege to wear any type of jeans.” said Hannah Johnson, a seventh grader. I agree with her statement because people could focus on a specific person and not pay attention to school. “I think that we shouldn’t wear tight jeans because last year at Cobb students decided to wear tight jeans and ruined it for everyone at school.” said Lelaina Llayburd, a seventh grader. I agree with this statement because that might happen at this school, and we could lose our privilege.

In conclusion, I say that students shouldn’t wear tight jeans so we don’t get in trouble or get ISS as a punishment for it. Also, I’d like to say that if you own a pair of tight jeans, only wear them outside of school so you don’t ruin the opportunity for students to wear jeans to school. If you take the time to follow the dress code, all students will be allowed to wear jeans throughout the school year and not have to wear those boring khaki pants. The choice is yours though.

DO YOU THINK STUDENTS SHOULD WEAR JEANS THAT ARE TOO TIGHT TO SCHOOL AND RISK LOSING THE PRIVILEDGE AS A WHOLE?

ANAHI GARCIA

J-ZARIA RAY

“I don’t think that we should wear tight jeans to school because I don’t want the privilege to wear jeans to be taken away.”

“I don’t want students to wear tight jeans because you can cut off blood circulation, and because it’s in the school rule book.”

8TH GRADE

7TH GRADE

Is social media good for you?

Spending too much time online could impair your social skills

by CYNTHIA BARRAGAN Like this, tweet that, social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram seem to be the core of our lives nowadays. This can lead to distracting teens from taking care of their responsibilities and lowering their self esteem. Plus, you’ll never get the time you spent on social media networking websites back, will you?

Although social media has several cons, it also has its fair share of pros.

The benefits of social media are: teens gain social confidence and they can keep in touch with friends and family that do not live nearby. Often messages to our peers are along the lines of, “Hey, did you do the math homework?” or “We have practice after school right?”

I know this from experience. According to Socialmediatoday.com, which is an independent, online community for professionals, Facebook alone has over 1.15 billion users, each person with at least 130 friends. Twitter has 500 million

users and Instagram has roughly 150 million users. These statistics may not be a big deal, but if you take it into consideration, the numbers add up. Sure, go ahead and check your Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media account you have once in a while, but don’t go overboard. Try to do different things, apart from downloading a new game from the app store or making a new music playlist. Try to go outside more often, even if the weather is particularly ugly. Too much of social media will decrease your social skills, making speaking to people a bit awkward. If you communicate with a person face to face, you will realize that it isn’t the same. My feelings towards social media are neutral. A person should be aware of the time that they spend online. Based on that, you should be able to decide whether it is good or bad for you. What are your thoughts?

Character Education at NSMS Character Education Each month, the district will focus on a particular character trait that our students should learn and use.

November: Respect Week 1 - Respect for authority Week 2 - Self-Respect Week 3 - Respect for other people and respect for other cultures December: Reflections/Personal Goals Week 1 - Reflecting on and facing challenges Week 2 - Having hopes and dreams Week 3 - Setting goals

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013

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SHOULD AMERICA PAY FOR PEACE OR GO INTO ANOTHER WAR?

by PATRICK MARTIN On August 24, sarin filled rockets were fired on the people of Syria. Sarin is a lethal nerve gas with no taste, smell, or color, and a few drops of it can kill you.

According to the Washington Post, around 1,400 unarmed men, women, and children died and many more were wounded in this attack. Hospitals were filled to the brim with dying children. Even the survivors might never be able to fully recover from the attack.

At first the United States government wanted to attack the Syrian government because they thought that they attacked their own people,but now Syria is offering to let the United States pay to have their chemical weapons destroyed.

The first thing that Americans might have wondered was how much each of these options would cost. According to NBC News, if we attack Syria it would cost tens of millions of dollars to a billion dollars, and BBC News states that if we pay to destroy the chemical weapons, it will cost a billion dollars, so the cost is about the same.

I think that if we were to attack Syria we would just make another Middle Eastern enemy. Many countries already hate us, and if we attack Syria there would be an-

other country that wants to destroy us on the already long list of countries that hate the U.S. It’s highly possible that America might go into another war just like the ones we had in Afghanistan and Iraq if we attack Syria.

Ms. Galvan, an art teacher here, stated, “I would pay to destroy them [the chemical weapons] because even though I am sacrificing money at least we are not sacrificing lives.” Eighth grader Azi Weaver says, “I would pay to have their [Syria’s] chemical weapons destroyed because it could save lives and prevent another conflict.”I agree with both of them. If America paid to have Syria’s chemical weapons destroyed, we could help restore peace without starting another war. I think that the best thing to do would be to pay to have the chemical weapons destroyed because we could avoid making a new enemy and restore peace at the same time. It’s not like we can make them pay because they do not have the money.

Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.” Paying to have the chemical weapons destroyed would be the first step toward peace. Don’t we already have enough enemies in the Middle East? What do you think America should do?

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THE U.S. ATTACK SYRIA OR PAY TO DESTROY THEIR CHEMICAL WEAPONS?

SOUND OFF!!

Ismael Gonzales 8TH GRADE

I would rather have the chemical weapons destroyed to eliminate the problem peacefully.

Hector Hernandez 8TH GRADE

I would rather attack Syria because I want to save money.

sarah faughtenbery 7TH GRADE

I would pay to have their chemical weapons destroyed so they can’t attack us.

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OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

What is Sarin?

Sarin, also known as GB is a deadly nerve gas that has no taste, color, or smell. It was invented by German scientists in 1938 as a pesticide.

Once it was seen that sarin was extremely deadly to humans, it was put into use as a chemical weapon and many nations began to build stockpiles, including the United States.

Sarin is heavier than air, so it will sink to low areas. This caused a high death toll in the attacks because many people fled into basements to escape the rockets.

What does Sarin do?

At low dosages: Mild symptoms of exposure include runny nose, watery eyes, pinpoint pupils eye pain, blurred vision, drooling and excessive sweating, cough, chest tightness, rapid breathing, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain (this is bad stuff, O.K.), increased urination, confusion, drowsiness, weakness, headache, slow or fast heart rate, and low or high blood pressure.

At high dosages: Serious symptoms include loss of consciousness, convulsions, paralysis, and respiratory failure possibly leading to death.

SOURCE / Center for disease control (cdc.gov)

How should the US respond to the Syrian’s chemical warfare?

Mustangs’ aggressive defense

LEADS TO BLOWOUT Eighth grade A team puts up a fight and dominates the field once again

by VICTOR DAVILA

27 yard line. Throughout the rest of the first quarter, our defense was extremely aggressive with Dezmond Alvarado getting 2 sacks, not allowing C.E. King to score.

“Aye I see you, defense,” yelled Coach Atkins. However the offense couldn’t get much done, fumbled once more, ending the quarter with a score of 0-0.

The second quarter started with the Mustangs controlling the ball. The Mustangs’ first drive resulted in sixtynine yards and a touchdown

by Q’eiron Burton making the score 6-0, since the Mustangs couldn’t make the PAT (point after touchdown). For the rest of the quarter, Dezmond Alvarado was contributing a lot to the defense, not giving C.E. King any chances to get the ball on our side of the field and constantly putting pressure on the quarterback. The pressured quarterback tried throwing a tight pass; however, it was tipped by Brett LeBlanc into the hands of Darion McDaniel, our cornerback,

PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ

On Oct. 8 the Mustangs’ 8th grade red team took on C.E. King’s Panthers here at North Shore. Entering the game, the Mustangs were having an amazing season, winning all of their games, three of which were blowouts. They were looking to continue their winning streak. “We’ve been preparing ourselves with intense practice, tackling drills, and working on our ability to make plays,” said Coach Atkins.

The game started when C.E. King kicked off the ball to North Shore. Thomas Davis caught the ball, and took off, dancing around other players, and eventually broke free; the crowd roared with excitement. As he made the touchdown, he turned to see a flag was thrown. Both his and the crowd’s attitude took a sudden turn. The play was called back to the twenty yard line because of a block in the back by his teammate Brandon Solis.

On the very next play, Darion McDaniel fumbled the ball, and C.E. King recovered it on our

Eighth grader Darion McDaniel runs the ball to gain yardage on October 8th at the North Shore Middle School Field.

coverage, and not giving C.E. with 1:14 on the clock. The interception led to a run play, King chances to get the ball where Thomas Davis broke two downfield. Our offense was having a difficult time movtackles and ran for a fortying the ball, and the Mustangs seven yard touchdown with couldn’t score for the rest of only sixteen seconds ending the quarter, ending the quarter the half with a score of 20-0 with a score of 27-0. after the PAT. The fourth quarter started During halftime the Mustangs talked about not giving with C.E. King’s possession of the ball; however, they had a C.E. King any chances to catch up. “We can’t give them difficult time even getting the any hope; we have to take all ball across the line of scrimmage because of the Mustheir hope away,” said Coach tangs’ aggressive defense.

Atkins, motioning with his For most of the quarter, the hands. They talked about Mustangs putting “I give all my credit to the were having pressure blockers, they made tons of some trouon the ble moving quarterholes for us and really made the ball back and our job easy,” downfield, filling up - Thomas Davis and they the holes on the 8th grade running back couldn’t convert field to on third minidowns. The teams weren’t mize C.E. King’s chance of a giving each other any chances comeback. to score. Soon however, the “Y’all are ahead right now, but you can’t sleep on a good Mustangs took advantage of a mistake in C.E. King’s secondteam,” added Coach Davis. ary defense and ran a draw Ending on that note Coach play, where Jay Barrs took Atkins told Trevin Mathews to the ball straight through the fire up the team. Then Trevin defenders and down the sidestarted the well-known chant, line for a 53 yard touchdown.

“Fire it up!” “Fire it up,” responded the team. “Fire it up!” The Mustangs missed the PAT “When do you want it?” “Right making the score 33-0. For the final minutes of the game now!” “I said it’s on baby!” the Mustangs regained pos“Ooh!” “I said it’s on baby!” session of the ball and ran out “Ah!” After they finished the chant they prepared for kickoff. the clock, ending the game with a score of 33-0.

The Mustangs kick off The Mustangs’ aggressive started off the third quardefense had a huge role in ter. The ball bounced off the extending their winning streak ground, then off of a C.E. King player’s chest toward the and keeping the Mustangs undefeated. “I give all my Mustangs and was recovered

by John Godfrey. The turnover credit to the blockers, they made tons of holes for us and led to a 43 yard drive by the really made our job easy,” said Mustangs and a touchdown

by John White. The Mustangs Thomas Davis, running back.

However the Mustangs ability continued to showcase their to take advantage of mistakes aggressive defense by keepin C.E. King’s defense helped ing pressure on the quarcarry out the win. terback, having tight passVOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013

9

Mustangs edge out win thanks to

Defensive star shows competitiveness

STRONG DEFENSIVE LINE Mustangs fight to win their second game of the season

PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ

On September 30, the 7th grade white football team squared off against Anthony Aguirre here at North Shore. They were looking for their second win of the season.

Starting the first quarter, the Bulldogs were receiving the ball. The Mustangs denied the Bulldogs a good return, yet were getting too many penalties and gave the Bulldogs opportunities to move the ball downfield. Coach Johnson called a timeout with 1:30 left in the quarter to make sure everyone was in the right positions. During the timeout, the coach explained a couple of plays.

Soon after the timeout, our running back Jermaine Woods got a toss, which led to an 80 yard touchdown, ending the quarter with a score of 7-0.

At start off the second quarter, Anthony Aguirre’s quarterback fumbled because of a bad hike, but they recovered it and only lost a few yards. Soon we got possession of the ball. Our quarterback Joseph Jorge got sacked on 4th down, turning over the ball.

The defense played aggressively, not giving the offense any easy chances, until there was confusion on the field and Anthony Aguirre took advantage and ran 65 yards for a touchdown, made the one point conversion, and made the score 7-7. The Mustangs quickly responded with a 52 yard run for a touchdown by Jermaine Woods, ending the half with a score of 14-7.

During halftime, all the players looked tired and exhausted. “I want to clap on

that you’ve been very competitive; maintained the score. Don’t jump; if it flinches take off,” said Coach Johnson. Coach Llorens went over plays and positions.

Soon after, halftime was over and it was time to play.

The third quarter started and the Mustangs got straight to work with two back to back sacks. Jermaine Woods, our running back, got tackled behind the line; our passing game wasn’t on point so we ran the ball more often. At 1:10 on third down, Jermaine Woods weaved through everybody, and converted to a first down. “Start acting right and, stop jumping off sides,” said Coach Johnson. The quarter ended with a score of 14-7, with the Mustangs in the lead.

The fourth quarter began when we forced a fumble at 4:51, but we couldn’t retrieve the ball. Our defense held Anthony Aguirre aggressively, not letting them gain any yards. “Good job,” Coach Johnson said. Soon however, we fumbled on a bad snap at: 45. Then it was an incomplete pass by the bulldogs at: 36 left. #64 intercepted the ball and our offense was back on the field. When he came off the field he was filled with excitement, and he struggled take off his helmet because he was so pumped up he forget to take off his chinstrap.

Both teams had an aggressive defense but it was Anthony Aguirre’s mistakes that kept them from winning. Coach Johnson was enthusiastic that they won the game against Anthony Aguirre.

“If it wasn’t for the blockers, we wouldn’t have won the game,” said Jermaine Woods.

Seventh grade defensive end Patrick Teal attempts to recover a fumble during the football game versus Anthony Aguirre on Sept. 30 here. This would put North Shore on offense.

10 OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ

by VICTOR MONTOYA

Coach Johnson talks to seventh grade defensive end Patrick Teal to review the plays at home on September 30th.The Mustangs won with a score of fourteen to seven. Reviewing the plays helps the player understand his mistakes.

by BENNY MOORE Smack! That’s the sound you hear when Matthew Mirault sacks the quarterback of the opposing team. If you don’t know who he is by now, he’s the best lineman that North Shore has to offer.

If you ask anyone who plays, they’ll tell you that Matthew is most aggressive lineman on the team. “He sets the tone for the defensive line,’’ said Coach Davis. “ I play on the on the line with Matthew, and he’s the best lineman we’ve got this year,” said Hugo Salazar.

“My determination keeps me persistent on the field,” said Matthew. His ability to get through other players and set up plays makes him a big contributor on the team. Football also helps him stay focused inside and outside of school.

“I get my inspiration from watching the Texans play on Sunday nights,” said Matthew. Matthew has been playing since he was in first grade. “I’ve been playing one position my whole life and that has been on the line,” said Matthew. I guess when you’ve been playing one position your whole life you get comfortable and gain skills over time.

Matthew might be a football player, but he also likes to shoot some hoops out side of school. Even though he doesn’t play on the school team, he plays outside of school. This is one of things he does to help him stay conditioned and in shape when he’s when’s not in school.

There are some high expectations from Matthew this year. He’s expected to lead the Mustangs to an 8-0 undefeated season and also help power his team to a District Championship.

Then after Matthew gets done with his middle school career he will be heading to high school he is also expected to play on the high school level and hopefully get a chance to play on the college level.

Overall, Matthew is a competitive guy on the field in everything that he does. He’s also a fun guy to hang out with when school is over.

Hopefully in the near future you’ll see him playing on the Friday Night Lights.

Lady Mustangs fight to stay undefeated

by KATIA PATINO On Sept. 26, the Lady Mustangs’ 7th grade B team played their third game against Anthony Aguirre Middle School’s Bulldogs in the North Shore Middle School girl’s gym.

Throughout the first set, Coach Wait yelled out to the players, “Pay attention to the ball!” Anthony Aguirre served, but the ball went out of the sideline and NS got a point.

Later, Jasmine Edwards got two points for their team.

Then, Crystal Gonzalez got three more points for the team, while the Fillies were cheering, “We got the beat, the Mighty Mustang beat!”

The first set ended with the Mustangs leading with a score of 25-12.

The second set started when both teams finished rotating and the Fillies started to cheer, “Mustangs it’s time to fight. You gotta rock with the red and roll with the white.”

To start off the set, Anthony Aguirre served the ball three times. Later, Natalie Wilkerson served the ball. As the ball hit the ground on the Aguirre side, North Shore got a point for serving an ace. The score was 24-16 and Coach Wait shouted, “Time out,” and all the NS players ran towards her. “Be ready to go, one more point

and we win. Every serve matters. Make it happen, Mustangs on three. 1-2-3 MUSTANGS!!!” Shekendria Banks served an ace, and North shore won the set 25-16.

The third set started when Crystal Gonzalez and Josealynn Guerrero served, the Mustangs set up plays and scored twice, making the score 2-0. Later, Anthony Aguirre took advantage of the Mustangs’ small mistakes and left the Mustangs behind. With Anthony Aguirre in the lead, North Shore decided to step up their game. Later on, the Aguirre side served getting the lead.

Diana Rovira served getting the last point for their team.

The final set ended with North Shore losing 12-15; however, they won two sets and were still victorious.

The Mustangs fought hard and managed to stay undefeated. With North Shore Middle School winning two sets against Anthony Aguirre, they decided to work on some things for their next game.

“We need to work on our servings, our enthusiasm, and calling the ball” said Josealynn Guerrero and Crystal Gonzalez after the game. “They need to work on their transitioning, which means getting in the right position,” Coach Parrot said.

PHOTO / MELANIE GOMEZ

Seventh grade B team overcomes another opponent on their home court

Seventh grader Josealynn Guerrero is serving the ball to the opposing team, Anthony Agurrie, on Sept. 26th at the girls’ gym. The ending score for the first set was 25 -22, with the Lady Mustangs ahead by three.

Lady Mustangs’ strong offense leads them to their first win Strong serving secures victory for the eighth grade A team

by MARAY KELLY On September 19, our 8th grade A volleyball team played against Null Middle School in the NSMS girl’s gym. The Mustangs were preparing for this game, and were looking to make this season as good as there last, where they finished the season with a sweep.

Null served to start off the first set. “North Shore, say what!

North Shore, say what!” The crowd started to chant, while teachers and students began to jump out their seats and dance

along to the beat. As the game continued, Coach Sanford sat and watched as the non-talkative team struggled to get the ball over the net. She called a time out because the girls were not communicating, and not calling the balls.

During the time out, Coach Sanford explained to the team that they needed to communicate more. “Y’all got to talk,” she said to the girls also using hand motions. “Ready, Mustangs on three, 1-2-3 MUSTANGS!” When they got back out on the court the Mustangs

started communicating more, which made a huge difference, making things noticeably easier for the Mustangs. Soon, NSMS’s Ali’yah Harrison served 6 aces ending the first set at 25-8.

Ali’yah Harrison started off the second set. She started her own rally, scoring five points from various positions and only allowing one point to be scored, making the score 5-1. The Mustangs continued to set up plays, play smart, and managed to maintain their lead. Our team continued to

talk, and we never fell behind as Asjai Robinson served and pushed the score, ending the set 25-14, giving the Mustangs their first win.

The crowd jumped out of their seats and screamed. “We dominated,” said Mr. Fonder.

The Mustangs’ and smart offence is what ultimately led to their win. “I think we did really good, I think this will be a really good season,” said Madisyn Andrews. Throughout the game the Lady Mustangs showcased their serving by getting plenty of aces.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013 11

R

Insidious: Chapter 2 The sequel that will haunt your dreams...

On September 13, 2013, Insidious 2 came out in theaters; 7.2 million viewers watched the movie when it was released. Insidious 2 is a continuation of the first movie, Insidious.

The characters in the movie are Josh, the father of the Lambert family; Renai, Josh’s wife; Dalton, their son; Lorraine, Josh’s mother; Elise, a character in the first movie who helps the Lambert family but dies; and Carl, a new character in Insidious 2 who helps the Lambert family find the bride in black.

In Insidious 1, Dalton’s body gets taken over by a demon and Dalton ends up lost in a world where all the demons are. Later on in the movie, Elise helps Josh go to the demon world to find his son and takes him back to the normal world. Dalton gets cured and gets his body back. At the end, Elise and Josh are talking to each other, until Elise takes a picture of Josh and the picture shows the demon inside of Josh and then the demon chokes Elise to death.

In Insidious 2, the Lambert family begins having a normal life again. Suddenly, Renai starts hearing their piano downstairs playing. She then takes a look to see if anyone is there but she didn’t see anyone. Renai starts to think that a demon is in her house again.

This thriller is filled with a lot of action and horror. I really liked the way the movie was filmed because when the scary parts came they were unexpected.

The producers of the movie are Orea Peli, Jason Blum and Steven Schneider and the director is James Wan. Information included in the story was found at imdb.com. I hope you watch this really cool movie.

You can find more information about the movie at www.insidiousch2.com. It comes out on DVD and Blu-ray December 24, 2013.

12 OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

IMAGES / APPLE TRAILERS

by EDRAS MATA

The Walking Dead: Season 4

by EDWARD HERNANDEZ The most popular show on cable, The Walking Dead, returned on October 13, 2013.

It will pick up where season three left off. Three new characters will be introduced in season four: John Tyler, Wayne Kasey, and Jordan Barraza. Season three ended with 12.4 million viewers.

According to the information from amctv.com, in season four the survivors are going to be in what they considered the safest place in the U.S., a prison. Children are now getting trained to use knives in case something goes wrong. Walkers (zombies) accumulate around the prison fences at night and knock the fences down. There will also be one new walker that has been crushed under a tree for months so the walker is covered with moss.

The first season came out in October 2010. It started when the Sheriff, Rick, got shot by a criminal. He was in the hospital

for a long time and by the time he woke up walkers were roaming the streets of Georgia.

Rick was worried about his son and his wife; he didn’t know if they were alive. He later finds his family with his best friend and other survivors.

In season two, Rick and his group of survivors try to survive as long as possible, overcoming a lot of new conflicts. Later they have to move from what they considered a safe place to stay, the farm, because zombies were surrounding it.

Season three starts when Rick and the group of survivors come across an abandoned prison and kill all the walkers in a cell block, making it their home. They come across the mayor and others while they are in the prison. In this new season, we see Rick and the group of survivor’s staying in a safe community in the prison. In this world happiness is not lived so long and the group will be tested carefully many times.

IMAGE / WIRED MAGAZINE

The show captivating America’s attention since Halloween 2010 makes its return

In Season 4 of The Walking Dead, prison used to be a dangerous place people wanted to stay out of; now they’ll do anything to stay inside its walls.

The Walking Dead is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics.

The Walking Dead has been nominated for 56 awards and has already won 15 awards.

The walking dead was honored with an award for best sound, and with the award for outstanding prosthetic

makeup for season two.

This show is full of horror, action, and zombies. The way they film the show is outstanding; sometimes things come out in unexpected moments. The producer of this show is Glen Anne Hurd. I hope you watch the show.

Madden curse destroying football players’ careers

by LEONARDO REYES The day after Madden 99 was released back in 1998, Garrison Hearst broke his ankle which kept him from playing for two full seasons, starting what people would refer to as the Madden curse. From that day on, every player on the cover would be cursed until the next Madden was released or for the rest of their career.

The first player affected by curse was the San Francisco 49ers star running back, Garrison Hearst, who broke his ankle on a play off lost versus the Atlanta Falcons in 1999. After his first surgery he later had to have surgery again because the first surgery didn’t go too well.

There were 13 more players who were cursed for being on the cover of Madden, some of which were considered the best of their time such as Marshall Faulk, Brett Farve, and Ray Lewis. However, Ray Lewis didn’t end his career with a bad

season. He and the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl 47 before he retired.

On the other hand, Marshall Faulk ended his career with a horrible season due to injuries. Brett Farve ended his career with a good season, but had a disappointing end when he threw an interception that caused them to lose the Super Bowl.

Most people argue that wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson broke the curse. After being on the cover, Johnson had an outstanding season breaking the record for the most single season receiving yards of all-time. The record was last held by the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice.

Knowing these facts many people wouldn’t want their favorite players to be on the cover of Madden, for they fear that their favorite player’s career may suffer. Now would you like one of our Houston Texan players to be on the cover of Madden?

IMAGE / IGN.COM

Featured players’ luck declines after being on the cover of EA’s Madden NFL games

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013 13

Who’s in my seat?

by RONNIE HOLLAND

Students from Mr. Hinshaw’s class brag on their teacher and his class Devin Jennings, 1st & 6th

Justin Wenner, 2nd & 7th

I chose this desk to sit by my friends, because he lets us work in groups and talk.

To me, his teaching technique is understandable, because he puts a lot of fun into it.

Emmanual Rodriguez, 4th & 8th

Monica Guzman, 5th & 9th

It can be hard sometimes, because you can’t understand his teachings and then the next day you can. He will teach one thing then switch.

Desk #2

I like Mr.Hinshaw’s class, because we get to do group activities.

Third and tenth period are his off periods.

Gerardo Sanchez 1st & 6th

DeAndre Bell, 2nd & 7th

Yes, because Mr. Hinshaw is really awesome and he makes math class fun.

I chose this desk sit by my friends because he lets us work in groups and talk.

Anabel Guzman, 5th and 9th

Nobody sits here 4th & 8th

Desk #1

It is fun because it is different than others, because he lets us go on our phones and iPods.

Should we stick with a contract or not?

By: CESAR LANDA Nowadays a lot of people are conflicted between getting a phone with or without a contract. These decisions affect people and how they handle their money. There is a big difference between having and not having a contract.

Is having a no contract plan a good choice? A no contract plan is not always cheaper. AT&T started a new plan called ‘’Next’’. This plan lets you upgrade your smartphone or tablet for a newer one twice a year if you paid at least half of the price. You pay about $15-$50 in the

installment plan depending on what device you buy. Then, when you’re done paying for 6 or 12 months of service you can trade in your old phone or tablet for a new one. You pay about $540 for the total device payment.

T-Mobile has a plan, similar to AT&T’s plan, called ‘’Jump’’.

Lets take the Samsung Galaxy S4 as an example which is $579.99. First, it’s $99.99 as a down payment plus $20 a month for two years, as well as $10 a month for Jump. You can upgrade your phone twice a year. T-Mobile’s Jump plan saves you $300 more that AT&T’s plan would.

Verizon also has a similar

14 OCTOBER 2013 • THE ‘STANG EXPRESS

plan called ‘’Edge’’. As some of us know Verizon is the most expensive choice. Their activation fee is $35, and monthly payments are $25.22 and $60 a month and a $40 fee. You will end up paying $155.22 the first month. From there on it will only be $85.22 a month.

Would you prefer a contract plan? AT&T offers limited basic options. You’re locked in for two years. If you want to upgrade your phone, you can’t until the two years are over. Some people don’t like to be waiting for two years with a contract. If you break the contract there is a penalty. You have to pay the

rest of the months together.

If you lose or want a new phone you have to pay it at full, non-contract price, if you’re still on contract. An advantage is that the phone purchase may reduce by $50-$150.

According to this information, if I were you, I wouldn’t go with Verizon, unless you’re that person that likes to spend a lot of money. I would rather prefer AT&T’s Next plan because it is the cheapest choice. I would say don’t go with a contract unless you want to be locked up for two years, but it’s up to you because you’re the one that’s going to choose.

PHOTO / SIMON HILLS - DIGITALTRENDS.COM

Which cell phone service provider has the most cost effective plan?

IMAGE / WWW.CHEATS.CO

Everyone knows about the dangers of texting and driving, but how dangerous could texting and walking be?

Which of the new nexgen consoles is the one for you? Next issue we’ll compare the PS4 and the Xbox One.

What caused the latest government shutdown, and how did it affect us?

The holidays are right around the corner. Do you prefer to give or to get gifts?

IMAGE / THEWRAP.COM

Catching Fire burns up the box office.

IMAGE / PHOTO.ELOSAR.COM

“There’s no relationship like one between a mother and a son.” - Eagleton. In case you missed the Mother-Son dance, we made sure not to.

Our next issue will post on our Facebook in January 2013 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2013 15