Gwy nn P a rk M iddle Sc ho o l

By Jaylon Hagler, Niko Ajani,

and Tsifira Nuako

I, Jaylon Hagler, was one of the few NJHS members to escort Dr. Kevin Maxwell, the Prince George’s County Schools Chief Executive Officer(CEO), around our school. We met in the office to plan our tour for Dr. Maxwell. Then, the moment came when we had to take Dr. Maxwell on his tour of our school. We started with the eighth grade hallway, introduc-ing him to teachers like Mrs. Parker and Mr. Smith. There weren't many teachers here because of the field trip that day. We also took him to our gym, and he said that it was better than some high school

gyms he had seen. We took him upstairs too, and when the tour came to an end, he said overall this is a great school. Then he got into his car and

drove to the high school.

Right before the visit from the CEO, Guidance brought another well known member of the community, Senator C.

Anthony Muse, to speak to Honor Roll Students. Senator Muse was inspiring as he said he was raised on a farm, and when he didn’t help bring in the crops for the Thanksgi-ving meal, the only thing he was served was cereal. So it taught him that working hard pays off. He also shared many other experiences that

led to his success.~Niko Ajani

Lastly, the Spring Concert was a success as the Choir, Band and Orchestra performed for a standing room only crowd. The orchestra did a great job for starting only seven weeks ago, and the veteran band members played songs that soun-ded amazing! The songs the choir sang throughout the evening were delightful. Thank you Dr. Craft and

Mrs. Porter! ~Tsifira Nuako

Issue 4 , Quarter 4

T h e G P M S 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 S c h o o l Y e a r C o m e s t o a n E x c i t i n g F i n i s h !

2013-2014 School Year

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Letter from the Editor 2

Poetry Slam 2014 2

STEM Corner 3

8th Grade Williamsburg Trip 3

Real World-Flight 370? 3

Dr. Maya Angelou Tribute 4

Comics 4

QUARTERLY BUZZ

G I R L S S O C C E R T E A M W I N S C H A M P I O N S H I P ! By Traleia McCorkle

The girls soccer team of Gwynn Park Middle School won the “County Champ” title on June 2, 2014. The girls arrived at the field an hour early to prepare for the Championship game. GPMS girls were ready! At Prince Georges Community College, where the game was held, the field was much big-ger. The sun was shining bright so we had to stay hydrated to keep from getting sick. Before we knew it, it was game time. The first half, we were down 3-1. McKenzie Fields scored the first goal. The second half, I scored 2 goals, one being a penalty. I scored the last goal to tie up the game in the last minute. The crowd roared! Because the game was tied 3-3 we had to go to the penalty kick shootout, and won, which

put Gwynn Park ahead by 1 point, 4-1. While our team-mates were shooting, we stood anxiously holding hands. When the last goal was scored, we jumped up in happiness! It was a very chal-lenging game as Robert God-dard was a great team too, but the GPMS girls pushed until the end, awaiting our big trophy on the side. The whole team took millions of pictures before leaving to go home as champions of Prince Georges

County 2014.

The boys soccer team had a great season also. Even though they weren’t undefeat-ed, they came out with only one tie and one loss. The boys were very aggressive in their games, not to mention their practices. I remember seeing most of them leaving practice

with sweat pouring down the sides of their faces as if some-one dumped a bucket of water on them. Even though they lost their last game to determine whether they’d make it in the playoffs or not, they still had a great season. GREAT JOB

BOYS!

A big thanks goes out to the Coaches, Mr. Brennan, Mr. Davon Muhammad, Mr. Devin Muhammad, Mr. Hensel and Mrs. Teixeira for leading the

teams to victory!

It’s the end of the school year; the birds are singing; the bashful sun arises from his wall of clouds, and the weather is beautiful. I know everyone (including teachers) can’t wait until the end. It is coming faster than an F1 racecar coming down the Indy 500 raceway. First, I want to

wish the 8th grade a success-ful farewell as they depart to high school, a new chapter of their lives. Second, I want to congratulate everyone on all of their achievements they have earned this year. Third, the last two weeks of school should be fun as we cele-brate. I also want to thank everyone for reading a copy of your school’s Quarterly Buzz. You all keep us motivated to make more and more. Before I go, I want every-one to know, we had a fan-tastic time when Dr. Kevin Maxwell came. We proved to him who the best was!! One more thing, I want to say how

wonderful Dr. Maya Angelou’s life was and that she was the best poet I have ever heard in my life. May she rest in peace. Once again, I want to say thank you and have a great summer!

Darius Lassiter Editor-in-Chief

Darius Lassiter with “Deception” and Brianna Creagh Lee with “Somebody Cares.” The 7th grade winners were Traleia McCorkle with “A Miracle” and Rene White with “Dancing.” The 8th grade winner was Duane Freeman with “Joning and Bullying… What’s The Dif-ference?” Public Service An-nouncements from The 7th grade S.T.E.M. Team were

By Darius Lassiter

On April 24, 2014, the STEM Earth Awareness Poet-ry Slam was a true success and an excellent way to dis-play the students’ feelings toward Earth and other top-ics. Mr. Jerel Jacocks was the Master of Ceremonies and kept everything rolling as several songs, raps, and amazing poems were per-formed. The winners of the $25 prizes were 6th grade

fun to watch during the Slam but also gave infor-mation about ways to con-serve and renew energy. The best part was the special guest, Kosi Dunn, who is a member of D.C. Split This Rock Poetry Slam Team. He gave a wonderful speech about his life and recited several poems with so much conviction. It was such a great experience for all of our young poets, and we had a blast!

Page 2

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

“ Intelligence plus

character-the goal of a true education”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968

Issue 4 , Quarter 4

National Poetry Month/ Earth Awareness Poetry Slam 2014

Dr. Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014) “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”

people during the

1700’s. It was fun;; how-ever, while on the tour, it

began to rain which

made students a bit

grumpy. Before going

back to the hotel, we

took the ghost tour, and

although it wasn’t as exciting or scary as we

hoped, it was still fun.

The Scariest thing that

happened might have

been when the workers

By Emani Mickens

On May 15, 2014, the

8th grade team took an

overnight trip to Williams-

burg, VA. The trip to and

from Virginia took over an

hour and students were

seemingly restless and

excited to arrive. On the

first day, we took a tour of

Williamsburg and had

lunch at Retro’s Burgers and an Italian Restau-

rant. During the tour, we

got to experience life for

Quarter ly Buzz

By Andrea Chavez

This quarter the 7th

grade S.T.E.M. team

built houses and tested

them to see which color

roof is the most energy

efficient. We tested the

roof because it's the

part of the house that

absorbs the most heat

and if we make the roof

an efficient color, it'll

lower our bills. The roof

is also a major contribu-

tor in the cause of the

Urban Heat Islands,

which is a metropolitan

warmer than its sur-

roundings (rural areas).

Most importantly it will

help the environment

because we are going to

use the air conditioner

way less. When we use

the air conditioner, it

pollutes the environ-

ment and depletes the

ozone layer. So, by cre-

ating more energy effi-

cient homes, we're help-

ing the ozone layer (the

region of Earth's atmos-

phere that absorbs most

of the suns UV rays) stay

the same.

Thanks to all the

S.T.E.M. Team of teach-

ers, Mrs. Reddick, Mrs.

Goforth-Wilson, Ms.

Teixeira, and Ms. Smith

for planning and prepar-

ing for the Project Based

Learning that took place

this year!

from the Earth. Also, this

event probably made the

airline business lose mil-

lions of dollars. Now, some

people are afraid to fly on

planes, but with summer-

time coming, people will

have to get over their

fears do go where they

want. Prayers go out to

all the friends and family

members that never had a

chance to say good bye to

By Tsifira Nuako

As a lot of you know, Ma-

laysia Flight 370 has been

missing since March 8,

2014. The jet had triggered

an unending wait for rela-

tives and friends of the 239

people aboard. Now, we

look at all the angles of this

situation. The people could

be stranded some place or

they could have vanished

their loved ones. In the

meantime, we hope the

searchers eventually find

the victims safely.

Page 3

S . T. E . M . T E A M B U I L D S E F F I C I E N T H O U S E S

Real World— Malaysia Flight 370 Never Found

were firing cannons to

demonstrate the weapons.

On the second day, we

left early in the morning to

go to Kings Dominion,

where we stayed until 6:50.

We arrived at the school at

8:00 p.m.

The overnight trip was a

lot of fun, and I hope that in

high school, we can take

another field trip like that!

Thanks 8th Grade Teachers

for organizing this fun trip!

Education is the

most powerful

weapon which

you can use to

change the

world.

~Nelson Mandela

July 18, 1918—December 5, 2013.

8TH GRADE TAKES OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP

TO WILLIAMSBURG, VA

Gwynn Park Middle School 8000 Dyson Rd. Brandywine, MD 20613

“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” featured in the 6th Grade Holt McDougal Literature Text, is one of many poems written by Dr. Maya Angelou that will be read for generations to come. Dr. Angelou held over 30 honorary doctorates and the poem below exemplifies how she lived her life as a woman, mother, teacher, poet, actress, and civil rights activist.

We’re in color on the Web! www1. pgcps.org/

gwynnparkms

Phone: 301-372-0120 Fax: 301-372-0119

Quarterly Buzz Staff

i Editor-in-Chief Darius Lassiter

i Co-Editor: Traleia McCorkle

i Photographer: Kiana Simmons Contributors: Mr. Chestnut

Mrs. Reddick

i Illustrator: Raleigh Hawkins

i Reporters: Andrea Chavez Xavier Mitchell Darius Gear Tsifira Nuako Emani Mickens

Niko Ajani Jaylon Hagler

i Sponsor: Ms. Jacinda Smith

Rest in Peace, United States Poet Laureate, Dr. Maya Angelou

GPMS ADMINISTRATION Danielle Moore, Principal Cameron Millspaugh, Assistant Principal Gloria Daniels, Assistant Principal

“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou Shadows on the wall Noises down the hall Life doesn't frighten me at all Bad dogs barking loud Big ghosts in a cloud Life doesn't frighten me at all Mean old Mother Goose Lions on the loose They don't frighten me at all Dragons breathing flame On my counterpane That doesn't frighten me at all. I go boo Make them shoo I make fun Way they run I won't cry So they fly I just smile They go wild Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Tough guys in a fight All alone at night Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Panthers in the park Strangers in the dark No, they don't frighten me at all. That new classroom where Boys all pull my hair (Kissy little girls With their hair in curls) They don't frighten me at all. Don't show me frogs and snakes And listen for my scream, If I'm afraid at all It's only in my dreams. I've got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve, I can walk the ocean floor And never have to breathe. Life doesn't frighten me at all Not at all Not at all. Life doesn't frighten me at all.