Spartan TimesWeber Middle School, Port Washington, New York

Volume 6, Edition 2 April 2010

Weber Science OlympiadsHost and Win

Western Long Island Regionals;Advance to State Championships!

WeberSports!

See page 11and

back cover.

Next Edition:

Spring Sport Round-UpState Test Schedules

Summer Reading ListsClub Action....and More!

Table of Contents

Pages 2 and 3: Weber NewsPage 4: Weber Mish-Mash!Page 5: Blood Drive; Movie Review ReactionsPage 6: OpinionsPage 7: Movie Reviews With GabePage 8: Drama Club: “13”Page 9: Fun and GamesPage 10: Creative Writing HomepagePage 11/Back Page: Spartan Sports

Second AnnualWeber Spelling Bee

by Shannon R.

Drama Club“13”

Review and Pictures page 8

On Monday, January 11, twenty-onestudents met in the Auditoriumafterschool to participate in the Sec-ond Annual Weber Oral Spelling Bee.These students qualified for this Spell-ing Bee because they received lessthan three wrong on the written spell-ing qualifying test taken in December.There were five rounds plus a finalround. During each round, the studentwas asked to say a spelling word andspell it correctly. If the student spelledthe word correctly, he or she made itto the next round. If the word wasspelled incorrectly, the student wasdisqualified. Some students appearednervous, others appeared calm.The first word that was spelled incor-rectly was examine. There weremany tough words: circuitious, ab-scess, brigadeer, incumbantcy, andunpredictable. The winning word wasreminiscient, spelled by 8th gradewinner Annie Kim (pictured right).Annie won a trophy, gift certificate toDolphin Book Shop, and a subcription to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online.She also won a certificate, as did every participant in this Spelling Bee. Annie’swin qualified her for the Long Island Spelling Bee semi-finals at Hebrew Acad-emy of Nassau County in Plainview on February 4.If Annie progresses to the Long Island Spelling Bee Finals, she will participatein the oral Bee on March 11 at Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School.We are very proud of Annie and all students who participated in this excitingSpelling Bee event. Thanks, also to Mrs. Fish and Mrs. Portmore-Davies whocontinue this Spelling Bee tradition for the second year.Photos courtesy: Mr. D. Fish, Rachel W; Spelling Bee Poster created byCarrie Ann R.

Spike It UpVolleyball

Tournementa HUGESuccess!

s ee page 2

The Weber Science Olympiad Team hosted and won the Western Long IslandRegional on Saturday, March 6 beating out 44 other middle schools. The teamwon a total of 22 medals earned the right to compete in the State Championshipson May 1.The Team will travel to SUNY New Paltz to compete in various events withmiddle schools from throughout New York State. Our next edition will includeresults from the State competition. Congratulations to Team members, parentvolunteers, and coaches Grande and Buchman!

Meet Kay and Ray! page 10

Weber News

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Each month, Physical Education Teachers announce the Physical EducationSTARS of the Month. Each student’s name is announced during homebaseand each student is awarded a certificate and a Weber T-shirt. Congratula-tions to the following students:January : Madison C., Erin McD., Grace T., John S., Maria D., Halli B.,Brian McC.February/March: Jermaine Brown, Emily Dolan, Jordan Chang, MaxwellRutman, Julianna Chester, Josh White, Jordan Abrams, Steven Millhaven, SamGoldman, Sarah Maley, Lyndsay Dalimonte, Phylicia Waskover

Spike it Up Holiday Volleyball TournamentA Smashing Success!

Submitted by Mrs. Piraino and Ms. Romano

The Weber Physical Education Department held the 5th Annual HolidayVolleyball “Spike It Up” Tournament on Monday, December 21, 2009 duringperiods 4, 5, and 6. This tournament is a culminating event of a 6th, 7th, and 8thgrade volleyball unit in physical education class. Over 240 students participated inthis event. Students created their own teams within their grade levels and made a$30.00 donation per team. Over $1000.00 dollars was donated to the AmericanHeart Association. Congratulations to the winning teams. A special thank you to allparticipants for demonstrating fair play and donating to a worthy cause.

6th GRADE WINNERS: Ethan C., Ryan D., James B., Dylan L.,Andrew G.

7TH GRADE WINNERS Luke C., Ian C., Steven L., Ledner G.,Andy P.

8TH GRADE WINNERS 3 TIME REIGNING CHAMPIONS:‘07, ‘08, ‘09: JohnnyN., Ryan K., Max M., Justin F., and Luke R

Human Relations Club News

The Human Relations Club has been very active this year. In February,club members and Advisor Ms. Meghan Duffy organized “Valentines For Veter-ans” care packages. The care packages were given to veterans in the StateVeterans Hospital at Stony Brook and the Veterans Hospital in Northport. Carepackages included haircare, shampoo, socks, as well as puzzles, CD’s, DVD’s,postage stamps, and phone cards. Veterans were excited to receive these pack-ages sent with loving care from Weber students.

Most recently, the Club excited the student body with the “Pennies ForPatients” project. Students were encouraged to donate coins into specially deco-rated plastic containers in various classrooms throughout a week in April. Therewas much excitement as students were also given the opportunity to win a dailyprize if they found labeled pennies in the hallway during the day. An added bonuswas the chance to have their name added to a raffle to win an Ipod. The luckywinner of the Ipod was 8th grader Austin D. Congratulations, Austin!

The “Pennies For Patients” project was hugely successful. The Clubwas proud to donate $823.11 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on be-half of Weber Middle School.

Plan to be atSchreiber to bid onhandmade bird-house, a symbol of allthe homes con-structed by volun-teers of Habitat ForHumanity each year.Below is a picture ofa Weber studentdecorating a bird-house that will beauctioned on May6.

First Lego League (FLL), a division of FIRST®, is a program foryouths aged 9 through 15. It urges kids, preteens, and teenagers alike to beeducated about science and have fun with it. You ask, “How does this topicrelate to Lego?” FIRST teamed up with Lego to create a program where teamscreate robots from kits and program them to complete a set of missions. Eachmission is worth a certain amount of points. If you add all of the amounts to-gether, you get 400. There is a new theme every season, and for every theme,there is a competition.

Ninety or more teams practice for the competition, but only half ofthem make it to the final event. Why? You’ll find out later in the article. Out ofthe 45 teams that showed up at the competition, the team came in fifth place.The team of nine contains eight Weber students, including sisters Parker andJuliet Meyer, eighth grader Simon Shapiro, and myself. As well as programinga robot, the teams are supposed to choose a problem about their communitythat fits the year’s theme and research it. After enough information is collected,the team prepares a research presentation.

The CongoBots are a team based in Port Washington. The teamwent to a competition in late January. The competition was a qualifier to thefinal competition on the 28th of February. In order to proceed to the finals, theyneed to win at least 1 out of the 24 awards being distributed after the actualcompetition. Did they succeed? Yes, but not for the performance of the robot(the robot performed horrendously). The team won for the quality of the re-search presentation. The presentation was a powerpoint, which was constructedthe day before the competition. The team was given two months to do so. Atthe final competition, however, the robot performance was much different. Thefirst of the three runs was worth 285 points. That eventually would be the bestof the three. The best of the three at the qualifier was worth 110 points, morethan half of the points acquired at the final.

Weber *STARS*

Students and staff that receive the honorof being named a Weber STAR are notifiedduring a special morning announcementwhereby a certificate of recognition is

awarded during homebase. A congratulatory letter is alsomailed to their family, and a duplicate copy of the award isdisplayed prominently outside of the Principal’s office forthe month of nomination. December STARS will be announced duringhomebase on Wednesday, December 23. The following students and staff areWeber STARS for the following months:

December: Kevin Chapanoff, Tiare Novoa, JackLarizadeh, Kikuchi,TylerHunter, Miri Matsuno, Josh White, Paige Leeds, Carolyn Blumberg, StevenCoronel. Julia Merani, Jessica Araujo-Molina, Anna Thomas, Matt Klemes,Ivan Lerner, Laura Rudman, Gregory Basham, Steffi Sastera, LeonidasGioutlakis, Stephanie Martinez, Shuma Nakamichi, Gabriella Arias, AdamCastar, Rachel Ellerson, Justin Fromme, Stella Yin, Chris Zolli, Page Torres,Isabelle Fagan, Adam Rubenstein, Danny Hyland, Henry Lee, Aaron Brezel,Carrie Rybecky, Claudia Varner, Samatha Crawley, Catherine Tasnady, StephenBourke, Kelly Nardone, Lena Kogan, John Lee, Michelle Lammers, SamiyaBhutta, Yuta Kataoka.January: Sydney Blass, Steve Coronel, Eleni Kouvaras, Eric Pesantas, RyanSlutzky, Maria Camilla Beltran, Jean Carolos Pesantas, Caitlin TaliFebruary: Donald Foley, Julia DeSantis, STephanie Epstein, Max Miranda,Iliana Ioannides, Emily DeRayna, Michael Bellomo, Alex Saccoccia, MiriamMolina, Maria Escobar, Stacey Kim, Juliana Chavez, David Wolmark, DiegoHildagoStaff STARS: Ms. McFarland, Mr. Katz, Mrs. Rosenthal, Ms. Romano

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Habitat For Humanity AuctionThursday, May 6

Schreiber HS; 7 pm

Local Robotics Team Excels In Robotics CompetitionBY GABE L.

Skateboarding at the PiT:A Worthwhile Adventure!by Justin C. and Jordan C.

Hi Guys!

Photos Courtesy Of:Justin Cenname, Jake

Knatz

On Thursday, March 25, 2010 the Weber Middle School Chorus, directed byMs. McFarland, performed at Nassau Coliseum to sing “God Bless America.”A portion of the proceeds from ticked admissions were donated to Habitat forHumanity. The Chorus made Weber proud as they sang beautifully!

Did you ever want to skateboard but have nowhere to skate? Did you everwant to try but you have no place togo? Then come to the PiT, located atthe Landmark on Main Street, andskate until you drop! Port Washington residents in 6ththrough 12th grade can skate at thePiT from 6:00 pm. to 9:30 pm. onSaturday nights. All protective gear,including a helmet, is required for allskaters. The best part is that there isno admission fee for PiT activities,entrance is free.

According to the PiT calen-dar of Youth Activities, Saturdayevening skateboarding at the PiT willhelp skaters “learn new skills andtricks to perfect techniques. It’s a funand happening session for all abilitylevels. In-house equipment includeswedge ramps, table tops and grind-ing rails. There is adult supervision

for skateboarding and all activities that the PiT offers.If you get

hungry, you can eat atthe PiT. There is a feefor treats such as soda,popcorn, and candy.You can also bring yourown lunch or dinner andeat at the PiT.

The PiT is located on MainSt., across from the Port WashingtonPublic Library. Skateboarding is offeredin the Doctor’s Gym. The entrance isdown the flight of steps at the southerncorner of the front parking lot.

Skateboarding is really fun atthe PiT. I hope to see you there!

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Kickboxing At The PiT

By Shannon R.

Kickboxing is one of the great ac-tivities at the PiT, which is located at the Land-mark on Main Street. The class is taught byDonna Russo, who is a registered nurse whois trained in kickboxing.

The class is for girls 6th -12thgrade on Thursdays at 6:30-7:30. The girlshave a ton of fun with a great workout, too.As a warm up, the girls ran laps around thegym, then we practiced our kicks andpunches to songs. Lastly, we stretched out.

Kickboxing is a great activity and you should definitely try it! Dur-ing the month of March, the class was not offered; however, is offered in Aprilon Thursday evenings from 6:30 pm until 7:30 pm. Look on the next PiT calen-dar for Kickboxing!

Kickboxing graphic: www.healthhabitsmontana.com/fitness.php

NORTH HEMPSTEADANIMAL SHELTER

By: Jamie S The North Hempstead Animal Shelter (N.H.A.S) is located at 75Marino Avenue in Port Washington. The goal of the N.H.A.S. is to improvedogs’ lives by training and socialization so they can be adopted as soon aspossible. They also try to educate adopters on the right breed choice for theirlifestyle.

This organization workstirelessly to ensure that stray and aban-doned dogs are matched with a com-patible individual or family. The volun-teer organization of the N.H.A.S iscalled The Shelter Connection . TheShelter Connection provides volunteerswho act as “adoption advisors” and“dog handlers.” Adoption advisers as-sisted with matching dogs to potentialnew owners and dog handlers takedogs out for exercise and long walks.

The North Hempstead Ani-mal Shelter also has a foundation called“Mend-A-Paw Dogs.” What areMend-A-Paw Dogs? This is a foun-dation that raises money to help dogsthat need medical care. According tothe Shelter Connection website, thespecial Mend-A-Paw fund provides

for medical and surgical needs of the shelter dogs that cannot be providedfor with municipal funding.

If you want to donate to the shelter you will be providing food, crates, bedsand other supplies for dogs. The North Hempstead Animal Shelter is com-mitted to providing a clean, safe environment for abandoned and straydogs, and to ensure their placement in new homes. One important thingabout North Hempstead Animal Shelter is they do not turn down any dog nomatter what the condition of the dog is. Please open up your hearts to theshelter.

Next edition: An interview of a North Hempstead Animal Shelter representa-tive.

Reference: http://www.theshelterconnection.com/cgi-binprocess.pl?Action=ShowMendAPaw&PageNumber=1

Artwork credit: Chloe M

.

Visit the Spartan Times WEBSITE!http://www.portnet.k12.ny.us/186120214153117843/

site/default.asp

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Weber on Ice!

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Port Washington Union Free School DistrictBOARD OF EDUCATION

2009-2010Karen Sloan, President

Sandra Ehrlich, Vice PresidentLawrence Greenstein, Dr. Roy Nelson, Jean-Marie Posner,

Robert Seiden, William HohauserGeoffrey N. Gordon, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools

Nicholas A. Stirling, Ph.D., Asst. Supt. for Curric., Instruc., and Assess.Kathleen A. Mooney, Ed.D., Asst. Supt. for Human Resources and Gen.

Admin.Mary M. Callahan, Asst. Supt. for Business

Weber Mish-Mash!

Blue 8 CelebratesBlue 8 CelebratesBlue 8 CelebratesBlue 8 CelebratesBlue 8 Celebratesthe Year of thethe Year of thethe Year of thethe Year of thethe Year of the

Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!

The Blue 8 team celebratedthe Chinese New Year witha dramatic visit from a tiger.The Year of the Tiger beganon February 14th. Pictured,left, is the “Tiger, mathteacher Ms. Donahue!

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A Grade 8 PEP YUMMY Presentation!submitted by Ms. P. Meadows

PEP 8th graders,along with teacherMs. Meadows,developed “Per-sonal Interest”projects. KellyN., pictured cen-ter, investigatedstandards for pro-fessional cakemaking and deco-rating. As part of

her presentation, she created a beautiful snowman cake that she broughtto class to share with her classmates!Photo courtesy: Ms. P. Meadows

Spartan Times Staff

Senior Editors: Cameron A., Julia Z. Junior Editors: Jamie S.

Reporters: Julia E., Amanda G., Annie K, Ali G., Mariam K., Justin C.,Jake K., Shannon R., Megan M. Fun Page: Rachel W.,Anthony C., Megan M., Alexandra D., Jake K. Artists: Chloe M., Zareen J., Frank S. Photographers: Rachel W., Justin C.,Jake K., Shannon R. Freelance Writers and Photographers: Mrs.Piraino, Ms.Romano, Mrs. Denise Fish, Rachel W., Mr. D.Fish, Mr. Frank Santoli, Ms. Duffy, Ms. P. Meadows, Mr. Shackel, Mr. Grande, Mr. Moore, Ms. J. Suk, Mrs. L. Vetrone-Timothy,Murphy Seigel Sports Editor: Erica M. Web Master: Erica M. Typists: Amanda G., Ali G., Lylia L., Kelly T. Creative Writing:Shannon R., Chloe M. Opinions: Gabe L. Chloe M., Rachel W., Johnny O’C, Ali G.

Advisor: Mrs. McAuliffe

Sixth Grade Recyclers!

Have you noticed six graders roaming Weber hallways with large plastic bags?These students are on a mission! They are collecting empty plastic bottles fromclassroom recyling binsonce a week during period 9. Collection and redemp-tion of the water bottles will allow the sixth grade teams to offset the costs offield trips this year. Thanks to Ms. Suk, 6th grade teacher, for coordinating thisworthwhile activity..

Human Relations ClubContributes to Haiti

Through AmeriCaresby Ms. Duffy, Advisor

The Weber Human Relations Club addedan additional $85.00 ro rhw $141.00 col-lected at the Six Mix to be donated toAmeriCares by selling flower and hand-print cutouts at lunchtime. Students pur-chased the cutouts and wrote messages ofhope to the people of Haiti. The Club thencreated a bulletin board with all of the cut-outs in the cafeteria. This creative efforthas helped to raise awareness about thedisaster in Haiti and to support the PeerLeadershiop sale of bracelets for Haiti.Ultimately, the messages of hope sold andcollected by the Human Relations Club willbe sent along with the monetary donationto the people of Haiti through Americares.

The February 5th Six Mix was fantastic! Weber 6th graders enjoyed an-other evening of music, dancing, snacks, and friends thanks to the Weber

H.S.A. parents.One dollar fromthe cost of eachticket sold wasdonated to theHaitian relief ef-fort throughAmeriCares. Atotal of $141.00was raised anddonated to thisworthy effort.Thanks to all stu-dents who at-tended and par-ticipated in thisevent. The last

Six Mix of the year, April 23, will have taken place before the printing of thisedition. Exciting photos of the last Six Mix will be included in our final edi-tion.photo courtesy Mrs. L. Vetrone-Timothy

Six Mix = Fun Times!

7th grader Gabe is the Spartan Times Movie Critic.Do you agree or disagree with Gabe’s comments andgrades for the movies he has reviewed in this edition(see page 7)? Let Gabe know! There are three waysto contact Gabe:1. Visit the Spartan Times website’s Club Blog Page

and post your comments2. Fill out the form below.

Gabe can’t wait to hear from his readers! ****************************************************************************************Directions: Please cut along the line above and submit yourwritten response to: Newspaper Club, Mrs. McAuliffeYour comments and suggestions may be printed in the nextedition of the Spartan Times. Comments will be edited forspace. Names will only be printed with permission of thestudent author. I would like to comment about the movie(write the name):__________________________________________________________________________Circle one choice: I agree/disagree with Gabe’s grade forthe movie. Here’s why: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My name: ______________________________________My homebase_______________

Movie Review Reactionsby Gabe L.by Gabe L.by Gabe L.by Gabe L.by Gabe L.

In the first edition of the Spartan Times, I submitted five reviews.My comments and grades for each movie review raised an uproar. I decided toconduct a movie review survey. Forty students from Yellow 7 took my MovieReview Reaction Survey and indicated if they agreed or disagreed with mygrade for the movie. The results were relatively surprising and are listed below.Following the results are various comments students wrote (N/A-not applicable-indicates that the student couldn’t comment because he or she didn’t see themovie).

RESULTSMichael Jackson’s This Is It: My Grade: AYES NO N/A18 2 20Fantastic Mr. Fox: My Grade: A+YES NO N/A7 13 20Ponyo: My Grade: AYES NO N/A5 5 30A Christmas Carol: My Grade: DYES NO N/A4 17 192012: My Grade: FYES NO N/A3 27 10

Here are some of the reactions:Michael Jackson’s This is it“Wondrous, MJ will never be out-danced, Good, Stinky, Fantastic, I LOVEMIKE JACKSON!”

Fantastic Mr. Fox Ponyo“Boring” “Fun” “Satisfying” “Cute”“Sleeper” “Waste Of Money” “I LOVE MIYAZAKI”

2012 A Christmas Carol“Lovely” “Mellow” “Repulsive”“Amazing...” “Horrid” “AMAZING”“HOW COULD YOU GIVE IT AN F!”

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Blood Drive Yields 32 Pints ofLife Saving Blood!

Weber Middle School hosted its fourthannual Blood Drive on Tuesday, March 16,in the AP room. This annual event is coor-dinated by the New York Blood Center’sLong Island Division.

Coordinator of the Blood Drive, Mrs.McAuliffe, said this year’s goal was to col-lect 50 pints of blood. Student volunteersincluded many Weber students who utilizedthe Blood Drive as a means to reach re-

quired volunteer community service hours through Religious Education classes.Over twenty Weber students greeteddonors, assisted with paperwork, andserved juice and cookies after the do-nor completed their donation.

At the fourth annual BloodDrive, 32 pints of blood were collected.Many staff members, including Mrs.Gold and Mrs. Madonia, (pictured,above) donated blood for the first time.Others, such as Mr. Shackel and Ms.Goldstein, (right) have donated at the Weber Drive in the past and were happyto perform this community service to others. Local community members and

Schreiber students did their part by donating atthis Drive also.

“I am very proud of the Weber students (left)who volunteered their time and made each andevery donor feel welcome and comfortable dur-ing their visit to this Blood Drive” said Mrs.McAuliffe. I look forward to our 5th Annual BloodDrive next year, already scheduled for March 15,

2011.Thanks to all, including New York Blood Center, for making this Drive asuccess!photos courtesy Murphy Siegel

Thanks to Ms.Suk’s sixth sraders, whoplanted bulbs in andaround Weber Circle lastFall (BEFORE, left) sothat we can enjoy thebeauty of their hard work!(AFTER, below)

photos courtesy Ms. J.Suk

Before andAfter

OpinionsThe opinions stated here are those of the authors and not of the Weber student body, staff, or administration.

Some Songs That You May Never Have HeardSome Songs That You May Never Have HeardSome Songs That You May Never Have HeardSome Songs That You May Never Have HeardSome Songs That You May Never Have Heardof! #2of! #2of! #2of! #2of! #2

By Chloe M

In this edition of the Spartan Times I will be putting some new and amazingsongs! Some are from The White Stripes and others are from other variousbands. Did you like that MGMT song from last edition? Then you’ll love Elec-tric Feel. Also, if you liked Icky Thump you will absolutely go crazy for BlueOrchid by the White Stripes. Want a funny song that makes no sense at all?Listen to Polly by Nirvana. Want a cool new song? If that’s the case, then listento great DJ by The Ting Tings.PLEASE ENJOY ALL OF THIS AMAZING MUSIC!!!

Caution: please note that some songs my contain inappropriate language!

PokemonBy Star Divine*

Pokemon is a cartoon and video game series owned by Nintendoand created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. The most well-known Pokemon is Pikachu.There are currently four generations of Pokemon. The first and earliest genera-tion includes the video games Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow, and later theremakes of Red and Green: Fire Red and Leaf Green. The second generationof Pokemon was released in 2000 and includes the video games PokemonGold and Silver. Remakes of these games are being released in the Spring of2010. The third generation includes the games Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald.The fourth and most recent generation is comprised of the games Diamond,Pearl and Platinum.*Pseudonym

Take our quiz! Submit your results to the Newspaper Club Blog Pageat our website.

Question: Who is the best Pokemon?The candidates:

-Manectric-Charmander

-Mudkip-Phanpy

-Quagsire

The Lightning ThiefBook and Movie Comparison

By Shannon R.The book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is an exciting novel

about a demigod (half-human and half-god) named Percy. Percy finds outabout his father’s real identity, fights monsters, makes amazing friends, andgoes to the Underworld!

The movie is based on book one of the series and is called Percy Jack-son and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The movie, starringLogan Lerman as Percy, is absolutely amazing., starring Logan Lerman asPercy, is absolutely amazing. It is almost the same as the book version,although there are some differences. For example, Percy’s friendAnnabeth (yes, her name is Annabeth) has blonde hair in the book versionwhile actress Alexandra Daddario has brown hair in the movie version.

I think the book version is better than the movie version. Everyoneshould definately read the book first. Readers will be happy to know thatthere are five books in this series. After The Lightning Thief is the sequelSea of Monsters, which is also great.

This series is an exhilarating fantasy adventure story of characters withdifferent stories uniting to stop the forces of evil. If you want to see whathappens next, go to the nearest library or bookstore and get the bookThe Lightning Thief.

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Three Cups of TeaThe Young Readers Edition

by Mariam K.

In 2009, Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea,published a Young Readers Edition of this book for younger readers. In myopinion, it was a wonderfully written book.

Written by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson, this youngreader’s edition of the worldwide bestseller Three Cups of Tea is espe-cially adapted for younger readers, aged 8 and up. The story has alsobeen updated by author Greg Mortenson. The Young Reader’s Edition in-cludes beautiful new photos of his trips and an interview with his twelveyear old daughter Amira, who has traveled with her father.

Amira is a strong supporter of the Pennies for Peace program. Pen-nies for Peace is a program that buys supplies for children in schoolsworldwide. Greg Mortenson has built a school with the pennies childrenhave donated. A few pennies can do a lot for a child!

This truly was a wonderful, inspiring book. I recommend it.

The movie Twilight New Moon is a great movie to see! Twilight has a storylinethat includes characters taking sides: Team Edward and Team Jacob. I think Team Edward is agood choice because Edward is a nice vampire. I believe this because he was going to lethimself die just because he thought Bella died when she jumped off the cliff. How sweet is that?

Team Jacob includes a wolf . There is a wolf in this movie he HAS tokill certan vampires and that includes Edward and the Cullens. He has already chased Victoriainto the water. Jacob is a little mean and that is what I don’t like about him. He is still reallycute; I do have to say that. He is a little mean to Bella when he turns into a wolf, though. WhenEdward and Bella tell Jacob that Bella wants to turn into a vampire he gets angry. Then Edwardsays the four words at the end of the movie....I will stop there. You will have to see the movieTwilight New Moon to see what really happens! For now, I recommend it!Photo credit:http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/10/1/1254413293579/Twilight-New-Moon-Edward—005.jpg

Twilight New Moon By Erica Milhaven

Movie Reviews With Gabe L.SHERLOCK HOLMES

If there were an existing AcademyAwards ceremony devoted to the truly odd,this film would dominate, nabbing at least tenstatues.

Sherlock Holmes, the new film by ac-tion director Guy Ritchie, is none other thana spotless documentation of how strange a

main stream detective caper can be. Robert Downey Jr. plays Holmes, thedetective, hungry for another case. Heartthrob Jude Law plays John Watson,the intelligent doctor who assists Mr. Holmes in his cases. Both combine to bepossibly one of the strangest – yet most brilliant – detective duos in the UK.

This is a basic resume of what Sherlock does for a living. There isnot much to it.

This film is all around one of the strangest films I have seen in along time. The way the film is shot, which features many closeups of humancorpses, is disturbing. The action sequences are long and extremely violent.This film reminds me of what Weber teacher Mr. Shackel calls “Chop-Chop.”Grade: C+Photo courtesy: WB Enterprises

The Imaginarium ofDoctor Parnassus

It can feel really strangewhen you are one of (an estimated)five people in a large screening roomwatching the latest film by Monty Py-thon-alum Terry Gilliam. Especiallywhen you are watching rock icon Tom

Waits portraying Mr. Nick, also known as Satan.A traveling theater company consisting of four performers – Doc-

tor Parnassus (the old), Valentina (the youngster), Anton (the jealous), andPercy (the smart one no taller than a garden dwarf) – give viewers much morethan they expect. As they travel from parking lot to parking lot, they find Tony,a child hunger activist, hanging from a loose noose under a bridge. Don’tworry, nobody is dead yet.

Tony was originally expected to be played by one actor – HeathLedger. Mr. Ledger died in the middle of shooting. Actors Johnny Depp, JudeLaw, and Colin Farrell all combined to obtain his role.

“Doctor Parnassus” is a film that will make one’s body twitch atthe obscenely odd – yet hysterically funny – actions taking place. It is surely aTerry Gilliam film. Although it may sound like this is a landmark film, this filmseems obscure and utterly discombobulated. Grade: BPhoto courtesy: Sony Pictures Classics

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Thirteen years ago, special ef-fects god James Cameron revolutionizedmovie theaters with the release of his di-saster-romance-tearjerker TITANIC. Thefilm set a world record for most moneymade at the box office, making$1,843,201,268 world wide. It took 3months to set the record.

His new film, AVATAR, revolutionized the 3D film industry. OnJanuary 26th, it sank Titanic’s record into the deep blue ocean floor, making itthe biggest box office seller of all time, making well over $1.85 billion worldwide. How long did it take? 1 month, 8 days.

Avatar 3D, the fantastic new film by Cameron, takes place on amoon by the name of Pandora, where a paraplegic marine is dispatched on aunique mission. The marine soon is torn between following orders and protect-ing what he feels is his new home.

This film is a masterpiece in MOST cases. The performances arefantastic. The storyline is really interesting. The 3D is amazing, but there isnothing that really stands out. After watching the film win 2 important GoldenGlobe awards. I would consider this film Oscar worthy. But if you are not onefor 3D, this is not an option. Grade: APhoto courtesy: 20th Century Fox

Alice In Wonderland 3DSometimes falling down a deep hole is

not the best of things.‘Alice in Wonderland’ is the adaptation

of the adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s novel un-der the same name. It tells the story of Alice,a teenager who is about to be proposed to.She feels overwhelmed. She scrambles intoa forest. She falls into a hole. She ends up in

a nightmare she has been having constantly since she was a little girl, whichfeatures kitties that disappear and hatters that wear fluorescent green eye con-tacts. If I share any more, I will spoil it for you.

As you may have noticed, the previous paragraph was quitechoppy. That is not a mistake. That was intentional. I wanted to show howchoppy this film is.

‘Alice’ was a very disappointing film. Tim Burton’s rendition ofthe classic story is quite dark and somewhat scary. Johnny Depp’s Mad Hat-ter has his hat on a little too straight. The 3D effects are surprisingly humdrum.The new plot is quiet and out of shape. This is the flat out the most boring filmI have reviewed for the Spartan Times. Grade: DPhoto courtesy: The Walt Disney Company

The Blind Side

One of the many odd points of The Blind Side, a new film focusedon the rise to stardom of Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, takesplace during a Memphis High School football game (when else?).

A large, frighteningly obnoxious player on the opposing team tauntsan even larger Michael and evades his blocks down after down. Finally, Ohersnaps out of it, picks up the opposing player, scrambles down the field, and tosseshim over the fence.

“Where were you taking him” asks the coach.“To the bus. It was time for him to go home” replies a happy Oher.How he got to the high school football team? He was plucked of the

street by an interior designer (Sandra Bullock). She, along with her husband andtwo children, take care of him.

The Blind Side is a tale of ups and downs, mostly ups. It received anAcademy Award nomination for Best Picture, but lost to The Hurt Locker. It isa predictable film, and the true standout is Sandra Bullock’s Oscar-winning per-formance. This is possibly the performance of her career, considering that she hasnot a single truly fantastic film to her name. Grade: B

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Film Reel Credit (below): thepiratesociety.org

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AVATARAVATARAVATARAVATARAVATAR 3D

Drama ClubDrama ClubDrama ClubDrama ClubDrama Club

Cast:Cast:Cast:Cast:Cast:Evan – Jackson S.Patrice – Caitlin F.Brett – Eric RArchie – Nate K.Kendra – Amelia P.Lucy –Lael F.Malcolm – Wyn S.Eddie – Max M.Cassie – Sara P.Charlotte – Kimberly W.Molly – Tessa P.Jackie – Isabelle F.Richie – Evan G.Simon – Dylan R.

ENSEMBLE:Jake, Sophie A, Jessie, Sydney, Pauline, Sabrina, Sophie, Samantha, Kelli,

Emma, Mia, Anna,Alexandra, Maria, Stefanie, Maggie, Erin, Julia, Nina, Eden, Jennifer,

Rachel, Emma, Ashley, Annie,Leah, Jina, Paige, Aimee, Lylia, Megan, Susan, Yvette, Katie, Kerry, Caitlin,

Parker, Elizabeth,Daniela, Jane, Sabrina, Vera, Gabriella, Sydney, D.K., Shannon, Gabrielle,

Natalie, Chelsea, Sarah,Isabella, Anna, Victoria, Alessandra, Ariel, Caroline, Emily, Isabel, Rika,

Chiemi, Noelle, Andie.

Congratulations to the Weber Drama Club Cast, Crew, and Pit for thefantastic performance of the musical “13” over the weekend of Friday, March19, Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21. Over 70 Weber studentsparticipated in this production either onstage or backstage. A rock band con-sisting of Schrieber students enhanced the live musical performances of thestudents. Also coming together to make this performance a hit were Schreiberchoreographers, Weber parents, and staff. Congratulations and kudos toAdvisors Mrs. Portmore-Davies and Ms. Friedman! It was a fantastic pro-duction that was enjoyed by all.Photos courtesy Weber Drama Club

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Fun and Games

Underwater Word Search

R H E M L Y E O U B L P X X X

T E C Y I G N J Z A W A C U UP U V N D Z I S P R T W T R SW O D I K T R H L C S E I C CG R K R D F A A S H S I F V JH T I A T A M R K H Z X Q V YN L O H C I B K W S R Y K L BL J A M X S U U T C A I E Q QD O H A E C S N C P O E M F ZA L J F H N E B N S A N P P KZ U M E X P O T V V N Y D J PX X I E R S E A W E E D B E OP U B E X B H K R K H F D S MS L S K W J N K K K P W D E SP E N L N K H D L W L E B B A

CRAB SCUBA DIVER EELSEAWEED FISH SERPENTSKRILL SHARK NEMOSHRIMP SUBMARINE

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Word Scramble: Household Itemsby Megan M.by Megan M.by Megan M.by Megan M.by Megan M.

Below is a list of random household items. Each is scrambled!see if you can figure what each word is!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.oacch 6.rieflacpe2. oenhp 7.onelvtieis3.ocputmer 8.tspes4.rodo 9.srsedre5.voen 10.tocsel

Answers can be found on page 10

page 9

Meet Kay and Ray, “The Jigsaw Twins”by Frank S.

Want more Kay and Ray? See page 10

...WithZareen!

Walking In A Winter Wonderland By Chloe M.

“Wake up! Wake up!” yelled Splotch, my brother. He kept prodding my earuntil I woke up.“Ugh what do you want? I was dreaming!” I yawned.“There’s snow outside, Daisy! OUR FIRST SNOW!” Barked Rex, anotherone of my other brothers.Snow.... our mother used to talk about snow when we were just tiny puppies;she said that it was blinding white, sometimes it was fluffy, and was so deepthat your legs looked invisible. My siblings and I ran out of our bedroomtowards the back door and out of the doggie door. Almost at once. I fellheadfirst into the cold mountains of white fluffy snow. I was so happy that Ididn’t care that my pelt (fur) was covered in snow and that I was shivering.Just then my mom walked out of our home her glossy brown pelt glistening inthe morning sun. “MOM!” I screamed, “Snow is the best!”She didn’t say anything back but I saw the laughter in her eyes. We all playedoutside for a little longer until our housefolk (owners) called us in. My familyand I ate dinner and then climbed in our beds, waiting for another day of fun inthe snow.

Answers to Fun and Games page 9

CreativCreativCreativCreativCreative Writing & Drawing Homepagee Writing & Drawing Homepagee Writing & Drawing Homepagee Writing & Drawing Homepagee Writing & Drawing HomepageAll creative writing and drawing entries on the Homepage are original Weber student and staff work.

graphics by Chloe M.

Household ItemsWord Scramble:

1.couch2.phone3.computer4.door5.oven6.fireplace7.television8.steps9.dresser10.closet

page 10

Would you like to contribute an original story orpoem to the CreativeWriting Homepage?

The Spartan Times wel-comes all new creative

artists!

Submit your original workthrough your homebasefolder and address it to

“Spartan Times.”

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More Kay and Ray, “The Jigsaw Twins”by Frank S.

Max and The Boat Max and The Boat Max and The Boat Max and The Boat Max and The Boat By Shannon R. By Shannon R. By Shannon R. By Shannon R. By Shannon R.

When we first met Max, age 11, his boat had a hole in it and was filling withwater. The water was up to Max’s neck and he was starting to sink. Waterwas starting to fill his lungs and then everything went black.....Max woke up with a mouth full of sand and sea water. He wanderedaround this new island; palm trees swayed and the water crashed onto thesand. Max circled the small island around three times before it hit him; hewas STRANDED! Max could feel his heart pounding; his head spinningand his body going weak.Then all of a sudden; he saw a small boat in the ocean with boards fallingoff ,the sail broken in half and a man holding onto it. Max screamed at theboat until it crashed onto the land. He ran over to it and realized that it washis boat and the man holding onto it was his dad. Max’s dad got up andhugged him for a very long time.Max looked up at his dad and said, “ Now, how are we supposed to getout of here?”

To Be Continued .......

Winter II Sports

The 8th grade girls’ basketball team, pictured above with Coach Shackel, fin-ished their season with a 4-4 record and high school careers looking very brightas they displayed great improvement throughout the season (pictured, above).

SCHOOL PHYSICALS:JUNE 1 AND 2

School physicals for the com-ing school year will be held at We-ber on June 1 and 2.

All medical forms and per-mission slips were mailed to studenthomes recently. Students enteringgrade 7 as well as those interestedin playing a fall sport at Weber orSchreiber must have a physical be-fore the start of school.

Please speak to staff in theWeber Medical Office if you haveany questions related to requiredphysicals.

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Mark Your Calendar!

8th grade boys’ volleyball, pictured abovewith Coach Park

Boys Wrestling, pictured above, with Coaches Enrightand O’Connor

Girls’ 7th grade basketball, pictured above,with Coach Cain

Boys’ grade 7 volleyball team, pictured above,with Coach Wood

Spartan Sports

Winter I Sports: 8th Grade Boys Basketball UNDEFEATED!

Boys’ grade 8 basketball (above) experienced an undefeated season (11-0)in the top middle school conference. The boys played well together as ateam and this allowed them to win some very competitive and exciting games.The team averaged 66 points per game while holding their opponnents to 50points per game. With a strong supporting cast, Steven Milhaven was theteam’s “Go To” player when games were close. Steven was a scoring ma-chine averaging 25 points per game over the 11 game season. Coach Shackelstated that “this was a special group of boys to work with, and if they staytogether, the future of the Port basketball program looks very bright.”

The 7th grade boys’ basketball team (above) finished its season on a high note,soundly defeating Thompson 48-40. The win was a complete team effort.Kyle, Eric, and Luke combined for 35 points while Andrew H., Joey, Greg,Andrew V., Conor, and Mano grabbed key rebounds. Cole, Robert, Mike,Johnny, and Owen led the team’s outstanding defensive effort. Thanks toSam, Peter, and Sean for their dedication to the team! Congratulations on agreat season, boys!

Girls’ 8th grade volleyball team, pictured above, with Coach Park

Girls’ 7th and 8th grade volleyball, pictured above, with Coach Wood

The girls’ 7th grade volleyball team had a great season. In a memorable gameversus Westbury, Joelle scored 13 points straight, with Rebecca scoring the final7 points to end the match. Some amazing servers were Caroline, Michelle, Ally,and Rose. Overall, the girls had a fun season because of their great coach, Ms.Shackel (missing from picture).