Valentine’s Day Spectacular
by Emily C. and Joseph S.
Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day is a day to show love to family members and also very close friends you see every day! Some people send cards and others give candy or beautiful flowers or a heart shaped box of milk chocolates. Do you know how Valentine’s Day really started? Originally, Valentine’s Day was on February 14th., but during Roman times it was changed to February 15th because it was tied to a Roman festival called Lupercalia. This Roman festival honored two gods. The first god is Juno, the goddess of love. The other god is Pan, who is the god of nature.
With the start of Christianity, Valentine’s Day moved to February 14th for no specific reason. The name ‘Valentine’ came from the name of a Christian martyr (a martyr is someone that suffers for something they believe in).
Valentine’s Day honors Cupid as well. He has been part of Valentine’s Day since the 19th century. Cupid is the god of love who looks like a young boy with a bow and arrow. He plays a big part in the history of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is celebrated many places around the world.
by Emily C. and Joseph S.
Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day is a day to show love to family members and also very close friends you see every day! Some people send cards and others give candy or beautiful flowers or a heart shaped box of milk chocolates. Do you know how Valentine’s Day really started? Originally, Valentine’s Day was on February 14th., but during Roman times it was changed to February 15th because it was tied to a Roman festival called Lupercalia. This Roman festival honored two gods. The first god is Juno, the goddess of love. The other god is Pan, who is the god of nature.
With the start of Christianity, Valentine’s Day moved to February 14th for no specific reason. The name ‘Valentine’ came from the name of a Christian martyr (a martyr is someone that suffers for something they believe in).
Valentine’s Day honors Cupid as well. He has been part of Valentine’s Day since the 19th century. Cupid is the god of love who looks like a young boy with a bow and arrow. He plays a big part in the history of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is celebrated many places around the world.
A Sweetheart of a Game
by Omar E., Staff Writer
Use the code to figure out these Valentine words:
A-8, B-10, C-6, D-9, E-2, F-1, G-11, H-20, I-23, J-16, K-18, L-3, M-4, N-7,
O-25, P-17, Q-5, R-12, S-15, T-21, U-13, V-22, W-14, X-23, Y-19, Z-26
by Omar E., Staff Writer
Use the code to figure out these Valentine words:
A-8, B-10, C-6, D-9, E-2, F-1, G-11, H-20, I-23, J-16, K-18, L-3, M-4, N-7,
O-25, P-17, Q-5, R-12, S-15, T-21, U-13, V-22, W-14, X-23, Y-19, Z-26
3, 25, 22, 2
20, 2, 8, 12, 21 6, 20, 25, 6, 25, 3, 8, 21, 2 6, 13, 17, 24, 9 1, 2, 10, 12, 13, 8, 12, 19 |
22, 8, 3, 2, 7, 21, 24, 7, 2
6, 8, 12, 9, 15 12, 25, 4, 8, 7, 6, 2 8, 12, 12, 25, 14 12, 2, 9 |
Why We Have School Specials
by Emily C., Staff Writer The specials offered at Appleby are Library, Gym, Art, Music and Spanish. Kids love these specials but they really learn something from them. It’s not just to get out of math and reading. They help you expand your mind and they also help explore what you may want to do when you get older. Boys mostly want to be baseball players when they grow up, but what if that doesn’t succeed? That’s why in school you learn other things like, library, art, music, and Spanish. Have you ever heard the quote, ‘’Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.’’ This quote was written by Thomas Huxley. You can tell Thomas Huxley must have learned a lot of things and that he was successful in life. I asked Mr. Horvath what he thought about school specials and he said, “We live in our bodies. That is why we should learn about good health and exercise to keep our bodies healthy and in good shape. It is also good for everyone to develop an interest in life long activities they can enjoy. We don’t want to end up like the people in Wall-e.” Mrs. Puff had this to say, “Quality Physical Education classes are needed to increase health related fitness and enjoyment of physical activity, so that students may be active for their lifetime. Physical Education helps develop lifetime skills, self-discipline, and improves self-confidence and self-esteem.” Mr. Bartlett feels that “learning music definitely helps you in the future. You learn about math, English and social studies in music class. Also, learning how to practice and work hard at learning to play an instrument helps you learn to work hard in other areas – whether it is athletics, or other activities. There are many research studies that suggest learning to play an instrument helps improve students’ test scores. Learning an instrument can also be a fun lifelong skill. Many adults still play instruments for fun in bands on the weekends even if they do not do music as a career. Learning music definitely helped me as a kid. It helped teach me time management skills.” |
Mrs. Shaughnessy had these facts to support why she thinks Music is important.
Fact: Music is the only activity that stimulates and uses the WHOLE BRAIN. Fact: Music is a science. Fact: Music is mathematical. Fact: Music is a foreign language. Fact: Music is history. Fact: Music is physical. Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved brain development throughout the year compared to children who do not receive music training. Study after study has demonstrated that students who study music have a greater degree of success in society, success in school and learning, success in developing intelligence and success in life. Schools with music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without programs. Students of music continue to outperform their non-arts students on the SAT, according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. “Besides, when you are 90 you probably won’t be playing soccer or doing gymnastics or dancing hip-hop... but you will still be able to play the piano”, said Mrs. Shaughnessy. Mrs. Wolosowski’s response to Art as a special was this, ”Art is very important to study because it is a chance for artists to develop drawing, painting, sculpting skills and encourages everyone to appreciate in the beauty that surrounds them every day. Art also gives us a chance to appreciate other cultures. Taking an art class will always help you be creative!” Senora Chouequet spoke about Spanish as a special in school and said the following, “Experts believe that in the near future the largest minority group in the USA will be Hispanics, therefore a person that speaks both, English and Spanish will have more opportunities in all areas.” |
Our Librarian Mrs. Faga said this about Library, “Library is a special because reading is special. It is a place where you can express yourself and discover a wonderful world full of so many interesting places, and adventures just by reading a book. It can spark your imagination, encourage your creativity and challenge you to explore new
ideas. There are many students who may not be able to visit a public library and therefore the school library is perfect for everyone to have the same opportunity to check out any book they like. If you love to read, it can help you with all your other classes. You just might find out something about yourself that you did not know. The library is a place to share and exchange ideas, and thoughts. It is so much more than books. Just like you need to practice to get better at sports, play a musical instrument and learning to become a better artist, going to the library can help you stretch your mind. Being a good reader will definitely help you in the future with school and work.” Oh How I Love to Read by Mrs. Faga Come to the library and please borrow a book I bet before long you will be on the hook To follow Percy Jackson, Diary of a Wimpy Kid or any non – fiction book Once you are there you cannot help but look A book in your hand you will definitely need No matter how fast or slow you may read All are welcome to the library It’s friendly not scary It is like your own personal store See you next week when you come back for more! Ms. Boyle’s opinion was this, “Of course reading, writing, math, science and social studies are very important – that’s why they take up so much of each day – but Specials are also important. I believe in teaching the “whole child,” which includes academically, socially, physically, musically, artistically and culturally. The special classes allow children to learn about areas that may interest them for the rest of their lives.” Maybe you could take a minute right now to think why school specials are important. So next time you go to art or any other special have a positive attitude and try your best because you don’t know what you’ll do in the future. I hope this helped you to understand the true meaning of school specials! |
Leprechauns
by Matthew E., Staff Writer
Every year I have a visitor from Ireland come to my house. He leaves little green footprints in the basement and
then he comes up through the house and leaves chocolate coins on my bed. Can you guess what visitor we had? It was a
leprechaun!
A leprechaun is an Irish myth about a little green person who plays tricks on people once a year, but he only gets to do it on St. Patrick’s Day. When I was in first grade the leprechaun left glitter on our desks, knocked over the blackboard and turned over all the chairs! He even hung one from the ceiling in another class.
Leprechauns are very tricky once a year. I wonder what will happen this year.
by Matthew E., Staff Writer
Every year I have a visitor from Ireland come to my house. He leaves little green footprints in the basement and
then he comes up through the house and leaves chocolate coins on my bed. Can you guess what visitor we had? It was a
leprechaun!
A leprechaun is an Irish myth about a little green person who plays tricks on people once a year, but he only gets to do it on St. Patrick’s Day. When I was in first grade the leprechaun left glitter on our desks, knocked over the blackboard and turned over all the chairs! He even hung one from the ceiling in another class.
Leprechauns are very tricky once a year. I wonder what will happen this year.