 Maya at the show! School of Rock: most of you probably think of the movie starring Jack Black or the new tv show, but it's also a musical. I had the chance to go see the musical recently and I loved it. Here's a short summary of what its about. ¨Mr. Schneebly¨, a former rock band member, decides to become a substitute teacher at Horace Green school. While teaching at Horace Green, Mr.Schneebly discovers that the students can play instruments. So Mr. Schneebly decides to form a rock band with the kids. Once everyone has a part in the band, the school of rock starts to practice in hopes of winning the battle of the bands. As you can imagine, this did not go over well with the kid's parents, but after a series of events the band ends up at the battle of the bands. Not only did Mr. Schneebly help the kids, the kids helped Mr. Schneebly.
One of my favorite things about the performance was that most the kids performed their instruments live. During most of the songs the kids played their instruments including bass, keyboard, drums and guitar. I also really enjoyed the off script jokes that they included. The show was a funny, emotional, and relatable storyline. I would definitely recommend seeing the musical to anyone or if you can't see the musical definitely check the movie out. Story by Maya Fuchs  Wikie from NY Times. Wikie the killer whale is grasping the basics of english. The whale can imitate 6 words: Hello, Amy, bye-bye, One, Two, and Three. Jose Amramson is a researcher with Complutense University of Madrid in Spain, who has been leading the team that is studying Wikie. It is a quite difficult task because Orcas and Humans speak differently. Orcas blow air through their blowholes in order to make sounds, while humans talk using voice boxes.
Orcas themselves are very smart animals. Learning to do imitation is a big sign of intelligence and shows that they are fully capable of skills we don’t even know about yet. Human intelligence developed way faster because we imitate each other, and teach each other things. This type of learning is called social learning. If a species uses social learning, the they have a better chance of survival when it comes to adapting to surroundings. Story by Callie Judson Source: https://newsela.com/read/elem-orca-human-speech/id/40083/  Maya Moore It all started on April 24, 1996; Women’s basketball announced “we got next”! As the NBA board of governors approved the concept of a women’s national basketball association (WNBA) to begin playing in June 1997.
Since then, the WNBA has been the home for the best women’s basketball talent in the world, right above college basketball. The league has completed it’s 21st season. Let's take a look back at WNBA’s bright history. This season, for the second straight All-star game, Maya Moore earned MVP with a spectacular performance. Maya Moore wasn’t the only one with an amazing end to the season. The Minnesota Lynx capped a thrilling season victory in a winner takes all game 5 against the Los Angeles Sparks. They joined the Houston Comets as the only franchises with four WNBA titles. Even though Maya Moore won MVP, regular season MVP Sylvia Fowles earned finals MVP honors. Maya Moore, as you know, earned the years MVP award. She plays for the Minnesota Lynx basketball team. Maya Moore led the west in scoring with 23 points, leading her team to a 130-121 victory over the East. For 20 years, the WNBA has featured the game’s best players and created some of the best moments in women’s basketball history. If you would like, you can take a look back at some of the teams and player that have left their mark on this league. If you are interested, I recommend that you visit this site; http://www.wnba.com/history/ You may have noticed that the evolution of the WNBA has grown over the years, helping many women show off their amazing basketball skills and talents. Story by Amelia O'Halloran  Image from National Geographic: The evolution of the lemon. The lemon, an oval shaped, bright yellow citrus fruit. When its juice is added to savory or sweet dishes, it provides a tart, clean, fresh flavor.
The original home of the lemon is unknown, however some people have linked it to North Western India, Northern Burma or China. From there, lemons entered Europe no later than 150 AD. They were soon introduced to Persia and Egypt around 700 AD. It took about 1,600 years for lemons to be planted in the Americas when Christopher Columbus brought the seeds to Hispaniola. By 1492, lemons were included among the fruits the Spaniards shared with the United States through St. Augustine, Florida during the Columbian Exchange. The citron, pomelo, mandarin, kumquat, and papeda are the only naturally occurring citrus fruits, which means that even lemons are hybrid, an ancient, naturally occurring hybrid, but still a hybrid. After recent studies on the genetic origin of the lemon, researchers traced the DNA to citrons and bitter oranges which are hybrids of mandarin and pomelo. In the 11th century, lemons were introduced to the Greeks. Now, they are a fundamental part of mediterranean cooking. If you go to a Greek restaurant almost anything you order will come with a lemon (that you are expected to use, not just for garnish) whether the main course is fish, cheese, meat, or vegetables. Greeks use lemons on everything for two main reasons: the flavor, and the medicinal uses. The flavor is so popular because like saltiness, acidity leads to an increase in salvation, which literally means lemons are “mouth watering”. Lemons are considered medicinal because of their high vitamin C levels. In the early 20th century, scurvy (a disease caused by a severe lack of vitamin C) was very common, and before they had the orange gummy vitamins, people drank warm lemon juice to cure their disease. In Latin America, it was discovered that fish can be “cooked” if marinated for 2-3 hours in highly acidic lemon or lime juice. This popular dish is called ceviche, Pronounced suh-vee-chay (less commonly spelled cebiche, a popular spelling in Lima, Peru). Tryout a ceviche recipe here. Lemons have had a long history in many countries around the world for culinary and medicinal purposes. So, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Story by Ava Macie Works Cited  Puzzles, crosswords, word searches and more fun mind-exercising games have always interested people. Kids especially are showing to be intrigued by the subject. But do they actually help children's minds excel? The answer is both yes and no.
These brain games were designed to sharpen people's minds, by challenging them and the way they think. For example, if somebody does a crossword puzzle everyday for a year, then it may help to recollect words better and gradually assist you in the speed for solving puzzles. However, there are also other articles that state brain games don't help your cognitive thinking. Although brain games can influence a temporary increase in ability to do a certain skill, there is no proven way to show they improve long term thinking. These puzzles are fun to play, and there is no reason for people to stop playing them. Though if you're playing them with an intention to become more clever, you may want to think again. Story by Uma Daniel Sources
 A vegetarian mean (left) and vegan mean (right). Vegan and Vegetarian diets are often mixed up, but there is a significant difference between the two.
Vegetarian: A person who does not eat meat, especially for moral, religious, or health reason. Vegetarians use some animal products such as honey, eggs, and milk. Vegetarians have a plant-based diet. That means that they can eat dairy, and use other animal products. They just don’t eat meat. Some religions that are traditionally vegetarian are: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, and Christianity. To be clear, these are all traditionally vegetarian religions. The modern day followers of these religions are not all vegetarian. Vegan: A person who does not eat or use meat or animal products. Vegans don’t eat meat, use animal products, or eat dairy or any food that has to do with an animal. Some vegans do not even wear certain things because they categorize it as animal cruelty. Most people go vegan for the same reasons people go vegetarian. For moral, religious, or health reasons. Most of the religions that are traditionally vegetarian are also listed as vegan before they were vegetarian. There are a lot of things that have animal products that a lot of people don’t know about. So if you don’t want to eat animal products, you should stay away from these things.
Then there are the obvious ones- such as milk, honey, eggs, meat etc. If you are thinking about starting a vegan or vegetarian diet, here are some recipes to help you get started. A recipe for a vegetarian meal is: Spicy Kale and Coconut Stir Fry.
Instructions-
A recipe for a vegan meal is: Easy Vegan Alfredo Pasta.
Story By: Tia Irby  My Doberman. There are good and bad things about dobermans, but overall they are really sweet dogs, you just might need to work on some things. Most of the information is from my background knowledge.
Dobermans behaviors There are lots of behaviors doberman have, The ones I'm going to mention are territorial and aggressive behaviors. Territorial In countries around the world dobermans are and have been guard dogs. When they figure out what is their turf or territory, then they protect it. (Note to self) DO NOT go on that land, they will attack you. Aggressive With Aggressive behaviors there are a lot of categories. The main one I'm going to talk about is with people or what they call a pack. Say if you are messing around with your friend and they have a doberman, if the doberman thinks you are hurting a member of its pack, it will attack to protect a member of its pack. Something weird is that for years and years this behavior may not be seen, then one day the switch flips to more protective behaviors. Also instead of the dog imprinting on one person it imprints on the whole family. Imprinting Imprinting is when a dog, any dog, says I'm going to protect you for as long as I live. A good example is in Twilight Jacob imprints on Renesmee. Cropped Cropped means they cut their ears to make them stand up, you can get the dog with uncropped ears. Where dobermans are placed on the weight chart Dobermans are placed in the between large and giant breed dogs. Large dogs are golden retrievers and labs, there are lots more, but that is to give you an idea. For giant dogs, some breeds are bull mastiffs and great danes. Dobermans fall right in the middle and can weigh 75 to 85 lbs, the bigger ones around 100 lbs. Types of dobermans: Blue doberman (color is gray, the doberman in the first picture is a blue) Brown dobermans http://mydoggy.rocks/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Doberman-puppy.jpg Black dobermans http://www.garrettsdobermans.com/Ell3rd_9wkBFP1.JPG Red dobermans http://www.kimbertal.com/sites/all/files/kimbertal/imagecache/dog-view-detail/d24g_red_female_uncropped.jpg Fawn dobermans (color is wight) https://i.pinimg.com/236x/09/07/1c/09071c18ccaffbfe71a27d31e8616c3b.jpg Good Things Despite all the bad things, they are still a good pet because they love to play, snuggle, and eat everything, literally. They need a lot of exercise, if you like to run, hike, or do things in nature this is a good pet for you. It is good to have a lot of toys because they like to chew things. They don't take off, so if you leave them outside to go to the bathroom they will stay where they are supposed to. Story by Ella Keener Resources: Dad Background knowledge  A week before Viktoria was hospitalized Imagine this: Your stomach is grumbling and you’re starving for food. You reach for the granola bar by your side but immediately draw your hand back. Negative thoughts flood your mind: This is why you’re fat, If you eat that you’ll get fatter, you don't deserve to eat, you’ll never be skinny if you keep eating, if you eat that you’ll have to skip eating tomorrow. That is the mindset of someone who suffers from a restrictive eating disorder. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that causes extreme weight loss by restricting calorie intake. Many people with anorexia also suffer from body dysmorphia and see themselves as overweight no matter how much they weigh. According to Mirror Mirror, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with 10-20% dying from complications related to starvation. Currently at least 30 million Americans of all ages and ethnicities suffer from an eating disorder. Although many do not realize it, someone they know probably is or have suffered from anorexia. In fact, right now at Asheville Middle, there are students with anorexia and other eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa and other eating disorders typically occur in teenage years. During March 2017, 13-year-old Viktoria T. started developing anorexia symptoms. Like most girls, Viktoria was teased about her appearance and wanted a change. She would wake up earlier than anyone else in her family and pretended to eat breakfast. She would make toast, throw away the toast, and leave a plate with crumbs in the sink to make it seem like she had eaten. At school, her lunch would go straight into the trash. During dinnertime, where she couldn’t fake eating, she ate very small portions. At the end of the day, her caloric intake was close to nothing. In addition to eating very little, Viktoria exercised excessively. The result? Viktoria lost 40 pounds and was hospitalized at the end of October. Without food, she struggled to do basic tasks like getting up the stairs and walking. She was weak and her heart had no power. She had dry skin and constantly felt cold. The hair on her head was falling out. This horrible disorder completely messed up her body in the short period of 5 months.  Viktoria on Christmas Eve. Now, Viktoria is in recovery. Her parents decide her every meal and stay by her side until she finishes every bite. However, even with the support of her parents, it’s still a struggle. When asked about the one thing she wanted people to know about anorexia nervosa, Viktoria responded “It is not an easy disorder to overcome. But you have to push, you have to fight, you have to prevail and conquer. In order to thrive and stay alive, you must oppose what the voices tell you. They may be strong, but you are more powerful. You are worth more than numbers and the illness. If you are struggling or see symptoms of it, reach out immediately. The longer you wait, the higher chance you have of losing the battle.” One of the biggest myths about anorexia nervosa is that being thin is all there is to it. However, for many people, the center of it all is control, and being thin is just an effect. According to Psychology Today, “Control of food and eating might be the most obvious anorexic behavior, but the control illusion stretches its tentacles into all the rest of life: you have seemingly complete control over how much you work, say, and when; how much you spend; how many people you spend time with, how often, and in what context. And all of these things, being so controlled, shrink and shrink away as your body does.” Another part of anorexia nervosa is the anxiety disorders that go hand in hand with it. According to ANAD, about half of people with anorexia suffer from comorbid anxiety disorders like OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and social phobia.  Viktoria currently. When people have eating disorders, they often think that they’re not sick enough to recover or get help. They think they have to be a certain weight or look a certain way. However, according to Psych Central, an eating disorder is a mental illness, and you do not have to experience physical symptoms to seek help. No one would say that their cancer is only at stage I and wait until stage IV to receive treatment. There are so many reasons to choose recovery and your life shouldn’t be controlled by what’s on your plate. You’re worth more than the number on the scale and deserve to eat without guilt. Eating disorders should not determine who you are, and like with any mental illness, there is no shame in reaching out.
If you experience any of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa or any eating disorder, seek help IMMEDIATELY. Talk with your parents and the adults in your life. Talk to teachers and school counselors. If you don’t feel comfortable talking with those in your real life, hotlines and online resources are available. You don’t, and shouldn’t, have to go through it alone. National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237 Available 9 am - 9 pm EST Monday-Thursday. 9 am - 5 pm EST on Friday Something Fishy: 1-866-418-1207 Hopeline Network: 1-800-442-4673 National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders: 1-630-577-1330 Available Monday-Friday from 9 am - 5 pm Everyone has one life, don’t let anorexia live yours. Story by Erin Chen Photos from Viktoria's Instagram (with permission).  Year after year, scholars graduate with an assortment of diplomas or degrees and yet manage to lack one important skill set: financial stability. According to the National Financial Educator Council, just over 54 percent of 2400 people said that a financial skills class would have benefited them the most. As a society, we should be able to understand that learning about checks and balances will be a bigger influence on your life than the square root of a prime number.
America is falling behind. We continue to put so much focus into the core subject curriculums that we are close to failing Financial Literature. According to the National Report Card for Financial Literacy, the United States grade averages out to a C. The highest score being in Minnesota with a 92.38 and the lowest being Mississippi with a 57. This isn’t so surprising considering a study done in 2015; according to Fortune, ⅔’s of a selected survey said they didn’t know how to do a basic loan and interest problem. In such a fast pace world, it’s easy to get caught up all the internet scams. One minute you could be playing your favorite online game, and the next thing you know, your sponsoring three Brazilian princesses and just won a ten thousand dollar gift card to Amazon. Young adults and teenagers need education on financial literacy and the internet scams that come with it. There are so many statistics that show the incompetence towards financial literacy and its only growing. If counties like our own take initiative and lead the charge, not only will it promote self independence but also better and more deeply considered life paths. In a world so focused on money, we can’t keep our children from prospering by neglecting financial skills. Story by Fiona Austin ct. 0018670  Water. We all need it, and we all drink it. But what does it do to us, and why exactly must we drink it? Here’s a few good reasons to drink water.
For one, it helps out with body fluid distribution. You need water for digestion, and for creating saliva, or spit. It also keeps your body’s temperature regulated. It can also help you lose calories. While it doesn’t have any effect on actually burning calories, if you’re thirsty, you could always just drink some water instead of higher calorie drinks, like soda. It also energizes muscles. But with all these benefits, it sounds like nothing could ever be bad about it, right? Wrong. When you drink too much water, you can get over-hydrated. This happens when you drink so much water, your kidneys can’t get rid of enough. The water can collect in your bloodstream. This seems like an obvious problem, right? It gets worse. Over-hydration can cause liver disease, kidney diseases, and congestive heart failure. SIADH (syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone) is another cause for over-hydration. SIADH is when your hypothalamus produces too much antidiuretic hormone, and it can make it more difficult to release water from your body. This over-hydration caused by drinking too much water can cause electrolyte levels, like sodium, to drop. This causes various complications, like cramping, nausea, vomiting, and in major cases, confusion, seizures, and coma. It can cause your muscles to be significantly weaker, and you can even randomly fall unconscious. So, water is not all good, as you can plainly see. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Everything in moderation.” This tends to hold true in every way, and it is true with water as well. Just make sure to drink some in the first place, or you’ll die. The recommended amount of water a healthy adult should drink in a day is 78-100 ounces, or 9-13 cups, as told by the Institute of Medicine. Don’t go overboard, though. Story by Jonas Suskey Sources Healthline |
