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Students’ Essays Are Broadcast On NPR

This I Believe, Inc. is a program that invites all types of people from all over the United States to write an essay about what they believe in and submit it to their website. A couple examples of such essays are: “Be Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude,” an e s s a y a b o u t h o n o r, e q u a l i t y , e m p a t h y , humility, and forgiveness; and “Seeing With the Heart,” an essay about the challenges of adopting a multi-racial child, and the questions that come with it. Some of the submitted essays are chosen to be read aloud on the This I Believe radio program on National Public Radio.

Last year, Mr. Rempis’s seventh grade class wrote This I Believe essays. They were all different topics. No two essays were the same. Three of these essays were chosen to be featured on National Public Radio’s radio program ,so during August we went to the WRNI studios. WRNI is the R h o d e I s l a n d s t a t i o n o f National Public Radio.   The

recording sessions included expert coaching and a tour of the studios. The three essays are about the right to not be o p i n i o n a t e d , n o t b e i n g embarrassed to be who they are, and the earth and its heartbeat. The first essay was was aired on the radio on the morning of October 26. The second essay will be broadcast tomorrow.

At recess, some kids play basketball, some gossip, and some lie on the ground horizontally, trying to be cool. That’s called planking.

Have you ever wanted to know your future? Check out the horoscopes on page 7. But you probably shouldn’t take them literally. That could end badly.

Is social networking taking over the country? One student shares her opinion in this edition’s HOTTOPIC on page 2.

GORDON GAZETTENOVEMBER __ 2011 ISSUE NO. 8

PRODUCED BY GORDON SCHOOL STUDENTS

A student records essay. Mr. Wales’ grandfather, Ralph Lowell founded WGBH, which is the Boston Station of National Public Radio. Photo by Mr. Griffin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horoscope http://catherinescareercorner.com/social-

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RELATIONSHIP ADVICE

Anonymous: There’s a girl I really like, but she doesn’t like me. What should I do to get her to like me?

What I Suggest Is a move that us in the relationship biz call “the flip,” or the “topsy-turvey”. Right now you like her and you want her to like you, hence she is looking down on you ,and you are looking up at her trying to impress her.

What you need to do is “flip” her and make it so she is trying to impress you. To do this you will need to follow a few simple rules.

1. Don’t try to impress her!

2. If she asks you for something, pretend to be preoccupied and make her say it twice so you don’t seem desperate.

3. When you talk to her always be ambiguous, use words like “whatever” and “maybe”.

4. Talk to everyone and seem very busy.

If you follow these four rules, within a few weeks  she will be trying to impress you. When you realize this, then, and only then, should you make your move.

And ladies, don’t think this move won’t work on us because whether we realize it or not, it will.

HOTTOPIC.Here’s the status:

There is no denying it. Social networking is not only taking over this country, it practically IS this country. “Like us on Facebook!” and “Follow us on Twitter!” are becoming almost the sole advertising campaign of so many companies. Why should small companies have to go through the whole expensive process of making a website, when they can have a Facebook page for free? Social networking, in a way, has become many peoples’ lives. People can learn all about somebody by viewing their profile. Why spend a lifetime getting to know somebody when you can just Facebook stalk them and IM them? And if you have something funny to say, you can tweet it. Long story short, people are living their lives via the Internet.

P.S. Whatever happened to MySpace?

NUMBERSBoxes That

Make Up The Gordon School

Logo

10Students Whose Essays Will Be Read on NPR

3What do you think? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Write me a note, send me an email, figure it out. Whatever it is, it could get published in the paper. Hope to hear from you!

Planking. I really don’t get it.

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Secondary Schools Update

• • •

Something different is happening around Gordon. Eighth graders have started to go to other schools for a day. Sadly, that is not just because as an eighth grader you get special privileges to not come to school whenever you want. It is the time of year when the eighth graders have to start thinking about leaving Gordon forever. I’m talking about secondary school placement. A lot of time and effort goes into making the whole process work. T h e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l placement advisers do a lot of work. Those are Mrs. Whinery, Mr. Karpf, and Mr. Wales. They help kids with anything regarding high schools. They can communicate with the schools that kids are looking at and they help with the paperwork. You can ask for advice from them about what school might be the best for you or what to expect in an interview. They can help you prepare

for anything coming your way while looking for high schools. A big part of secondary school placement is interviewing at schools. An interview can be a very big deal. You have to know the basics of how to look good. Some examples are: looking your interviewer in the eyes, answering everything honestly, don’t say “like” and “um” a lot, and to remember that your interviewer is really trying to get a sense of who you are as a person. For the boarding schools, the interview is a really big deal because you don’t get to visit for a day until you are accepted. For the day schools, the interview and the visit are combined into one day. Just remember, the interviews are for people at the school to learn who you are and what you enjoy, so don’t be afraid to be yourself! Many people I know have had an idea of which school they want to go to for a while. It is great to know what you want but it is also good to be open minded. In October, Gordon holds a secondary school fair where schools

f r o m a l l over come and adver-tise. It is a great place t o l e a r n m o r e

information about a school, or learn about a new school you have never heard of. It is especially great if you want to go to a boarding school because at the fair you can learn a lot about a lot of schools quickly. You can a l s o s i g n u p t o r e c e i v e m o r e information from any school. I had fun looking at the different schools and seeing what made each one unique. Secondary school placement is a huge part of the life of an eighth grader.

Current Secondary Schools of the Past Five Graduating Classes

Attleboro High SchoolAvon Old Farms SchoolBarrington High SchoolBishop Connolly High SchoolBishop Feehan High SchoolBishop Hendricken High SchoolCheshire AcademyChoate Rosemary HallClassical High SchoolConcord AcademyCranston East High SchoolCushing AcademyDana Hall SchoolDeerfield AcademyEast Providence High SchoolThe Jacqueline M. Walsh SchoolKent SchoolLa Salle AcademyLincoln SchoolMiddlesex SchoolMilton AcademyMiss Hallʼs SchoolMoses Brown SchoolMt. Hope High SchoolMount St. Charles AcademyNoble and Greenough SchoolPalos Verdes High SchoolPhillips Academy, AndoverPomfret SchoolPortsmouth Abbey SchoolProvidence Country Day SchoolRocky Hill SchoolThe Roxbury Latin SchoolSt. Georgeʼs School Saint Markʼs SchoolSchool OneWheeler SchoolWilliston Northampton School

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The Hunt For High Schools

(cont. on next page.)

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Student Council: Not Just Figureheads

What’s Going On

Food Drive:~The Thanksgiving food drive is expected to end on Thursday 11/17.~The grade that donates the most amount of food will receive ice cream sandwiches.

Middle School Meeting:~Students are now permitted to present a topic about themselves (i.e. hobby, talent, interests, etc.) Please talk to an adult first.~Expect yoga at the next meeting!

When you hear someone refer to the Student Council, it’s almost inevitable that someone will respond with questions or comments like, “What do they do anyway?” “I can’t remember anything that the Student Council has done except for like...the food drive,” “The Student Council is like the Queen of England. She is admired and knighted as a leader, but she doesn’t do anything.” Statements such as these are endless.

In response to these statements/questions about the Student Leadership Council, the SLC decided to publish articles to show you what we are doing and what to expect very shortly. The Student Council is also trying to get a new tetherball and a chain to replace the net on the outdoor basketball hoop. We also are trying to have school provided sports equipment for use during recess. You can expect these things to be here fairly soon. Later in the year, we also hope to have a community service day for the middle school. You can count on having Spirit Week again this year! Big Gator-Little Gator Day and Mix-It-Up-Day are also going to be back.

Winter: New Season, New TrendsSome credit to RealSimple.com

Healthy skin and hair are always in style. In the winter, your lips get chapped, your nose gets raw, and your hair and skin dry out. With a few simple steps, these things can definitely be avoided. For your skin, use a moisturizer. Oil free is the best kind because it hydrates but doesn’t clog pores. For your lips, a simple lip balm and petroleum jelly at night works well. The key for your hair is deep conditioning and regular conditioning. Following these simple tips will make winter a fun time of year. The first thing that is absolutely 100% necessary is to keep your body hydrated. Your body is made mostly of water, so it keeps you healthy, and it keeps your skin and hair healthy too. If your skin is dry then exfoliate once a week with a scrub. This will slough away all the dead skin cells so new skin can regenerate. The next step is to moisturize. The drier your skin is, then the thicker the lotion needs to be. During the day , if you are going to be outside, then you should use a moisturizer with SPF because even though it’s winter the sun is still strong. Another easily avoidable problem during the winter is chapped lips. There are many choices but the best ways are to use even a simple lip balm like Chapstick and a lip exfoliant. Most people

probably wouldn’t think about exfoliating their lips, but it’s helpful, if they are really dry. You should also try to avoid lip glosses and lipsticks that don’t contain moisturizers because they can dry out your lips. Make sure to get a lip balm with spf, as well. Last but not least, is haircare. Don’t wash your hair everyday if it’s dry. (If you have oily hair, then do wash it.) When you wash your hair you strip it of all the natural oils that make your hair soft and shiny. Leave-in treatments are good because they hydrate, and keep your hair smooth. Deep conditioning once a week will help reverse damage from heat treating and breakage. I hope this article was helpful, and it’s not just for girls. So use all these tips in your winter routine and remember, stay fabulous!

Secondary Schools Update (cont. from page 3)

Everyone at Gordon does a fantastic job making it easier. It can be hard but it can also be very fun. Some schools have high schools, but because Gordon doesn’t, you have the opportunity to experience something new before going off to college. Starting high school is a new chapter in your life, and it is both sad and exciting. So have fun with it.

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World Series TriviaSome credit to quizland.com

Across:1  -­‐  Star  player  for  the  St.Louis  Cardinals3  -­‐  Number  of  years  world  series  has  been  played7  -­‐  1971  world  series9  -­‐  Team  with  most  world  series  victories12  -­‐  Number  of  balls  allowed  in  an  at  bat13  -­‐  The  shape  of  a  baseball  park15  -­‐  Last  name  of  two  brothers  in  the  1934  world  series18  -­‐  Umpire's  fault19  -­‐  Catcher  with  the  real  red  sock21  -­‐  World  series  MVP  of  ‘04  boston  red  sox22  -­‐  Out  of  the  park_______!24  -­‐  U.S  president  to  throw  out  a  first  pitch  ball  in  a  world  series

14  -­‐  Team  that  won  the  ‘04  and  ’07  world  series16  -­‐  A  home  run  hit  when  the  bases  are  loaded17  -­‐  Official  Presiding20  -­‐  62  years  since  last  world  series  victory23  -­‐  Number  of  players  on  a  team

Down:2  -­‐  5  Home  runs  during  the  1977  world  series3  -­‐  Men  on  the  Corners4  -­‐  102  years  since  last  world  series  victory5  -­‐  Pitcher's  or  Catcher's  out6  -­‐  2007  red  sox  MVP  for  world  series8  -­‐  Unassisted  triple  play10  -­‐  The  most  used  pitch11  -­‐  The  last  stop  in  the  postseason

What did you w i s h f o r o n 11/11/11 at 11:11? It better have been good! There won’t be another one for 100 years!

Veterans Day

On Friday, November 11, we celebrated Veterans’ Day. M a n y p e o p l e t h i n k o f Veterans’ Day as just a day off, but for some people it means much more. Veterans’ Day is a celebration, which honors the veterans of all foreign wars. Veterans’ Day replaces the earlier holiday, Armistice Day, that marked the anniversary of the armis t ice agreement

signed on November 11, 1918, to end World War I. Every Veterans’ Day, parades and programs are held to rejoice and remember the soldiers who fought in all our wars. V e t e r a n s ’ D a y h o n o r s Americans who fought for our country. I hope very much that we will never need another Veterans’ Day. Canada also has a holiday on November 11 to honor their soldiers, but it is called Remembrance Day.

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“What’s for dinner, Mom?” I said as I came into the kitchen. “A chicken, dear,” my mom said to me. My name is Morgan Hale. I am 11 years old, and I just moved with my sister Anna, my cat, and my parents, Tom and  Alexandra .  I live in the Gordons’ house. This is our second week living here. I liked the little apartment in the city where we lived before.  However, I like our new house too. It’s an old and big house with three floors, not counting the basement and attic. But there is something creepy about this house. When ever I go in to my room (or “Greg’s” room), I get a weird feeling. Sometimes, I get locked in my room. It was Presidents’ Day, so we got a day off from school. Weirdly, my parents love this holiday. We always have a big dinner and that night it was chicken, and our cat ate what we ate. I was in charge of feeding her, and it was going pretty well. She ate in the basement, and the basement was pitch black. It was 8:00 at night, and we had just finished dessert. Later, my sister and I were the only ones up.   My sister was in the kitchen, washing dishes. I was in the TV room doing my homework. I heard something, and it was not Anna. “Did you hear that, A n n a ? ” I s a i d i n a cracked voice. “No,” Anna said, she walked out of the kitchen. Drip..Drip. “What’s that, Anna? It’s not the dishwasher,” I said. Drip.Drop. “It’s nothing, Morgan.” Drip...Drop...Drip...Drop...Drip...Drop. I stood up and walked in to the kitchen and I saw something red. Drip...Drop...Drip...Drop. “Anna, come here!” She walked in to the kitchen and screamed. It was blood.

To be continued...

Drip Drop

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November Horoscopes

• • •Aries: March 21- April 19Horoscope: “Color me impressed! And purple with a streak of magenta”, “I’ve heard it both ways”, and “You giggle more than Elmo” are your phrases of the month (you should use them most when they don’t make sense). Movies only in purple and blue are recommended for cloudy Thursday evenings when you should be doing homework. Just kidding, you should do your homework first! Seeing Josh Duhamel take too many shots at a juice bar will make you reconsider going out to the newest juice bar in town with all of your buddies after school on Monday. Something like running out of kumquat will leave you with an empty sort of feeling this month.

Taurus: April 20- May 20Horoscope: Eating apples without touching the skin at all is your challenge of the month (let me know if you are able to do this). If you go to the gym, be sure to use green and gamboge zebra striped kangaroo jumps. “One time my tongue got in front of my eye tooth and I couldn’t see what I was saying” is the phrase for you! Trying to cut food with a really dull knife is your lucky kitchen activity until the second Wednesday in December.

Gemini: May 21- June 20Horoscope: You will probably set your clock forward and hour and be awkwardly early to everything you go to. This could be because y o u h a v e t u r n e d i n t o Manananggal, you are working at Things and Stuff, or your peers have been drinking grapefruit juice. Wearing a Snuggie to school is surprisingly lucky this month, as long as you don’t wear socks and sandals at the same time as the Snuggie. When you go to the gym you will use the weighted sleds so much it won’t be funny. At all.

Cancer: June 21- July 22Horoscope: “Slide” is the game you

should play with your friends when

you are bored this month. You will want to skip the number 3 because it will be problematic until December 3rd. If you were to play “Slide,” and

not skip the number 3, you might experience pain in your nose and/or your left elbow, especially on

Mondays. “Xanadu” checkered socks are great for floor-sliding, as long as you’re also wearing a purple

Snuffleupagus tie or scarf. Don’t forget your bald cap when you are

going to the park.

Leo: July 23- August 22Horoscope: Green, pink, and blue are your colors of the month, especially on Fridays when you have had at least two cups of lemon juice or lime juice, but not grape juice. Someone could throw a pig, a cow, or a chicken at you, but he or she probably won’t be able to pick the animal up so it will all be okay. Rubber spatulas and see-through spoons make great writing utensils this month, even if your pet coelacanth is mad because of what happened last time you used a rubber spatula... You will get the hiccups in airplanes or school buses when people talk about pencils after November 11th.

Virgo: August 23- September 22Horoscope: Barbie Girl by Aqua is the best song to dance to with a crazy relative or friend this month. You will be surrounded by people who are very OCD about clean suspenders. Songs about guitars, galoshes, and/or lambs gourds are recommended. Do not tell jokes about canaries when you are giving a speech about finger painting on television. Don’t forget to swim in jello before you eat corn.

Libra: September 23- October 22Horoscope: Putting colorful pieces of fake hair in your hair is highly suggested if you don’t want to feed a cow. If you don’t have hair, you can just put the fake hair on top of your head and hope it doesn’t fall off. Singing out of key is acceptable if you are out in public dancing in a flash mob with a rainbow wig on. People will be offended if you wear fake eyelashes, nail, or ties in their homes f r o m t h e 1 7 t h t o t h e 2 9 t h . Discombobulated, laughing manatees are your lucky imaginary friends this month.

Scorpio: October 23- November 21Horoscope: The Marshall Islands are your lucky place to go when you are eating blue food or writing with yellow pens until 7:34 PM on the 23rd. Oranges are extremely unlucky and should be avoided all month. Don’t watch annoying orange videos either. Orange leather jackets are fashionable for Scorpio people in parks filled with zebras and people wearing red socks. You are as happy as a clam digger when they find a platypus in the snow and growing on trees.

Sagittarius: November 22- December 21Horoscope: You might be a vampire but no one knows for sure except one of your friends’ pet ducks. You shouldn’t cut anything with a sharp knife this month. Instead, use a spoon or scissors. Crocodile Rock, The Duck Song, and I Was A Punk Before You Were A Punk are the top songs to listen to. Don’t forget to eat cucumbers when you go to Peru this month so you don’t get Lachanophobia. You might get the urge to say hello Ryan Gosling, but you probably won’t see him until next month, when you no longer wish to say hello to him.

Aquarius: January 19- February 18Horoscope: Sandwiches with peppers, bologna, or mustard are dangerous this month. Someone named Urano Bologna is good to know this month, so you are not temped to eat bologna sandwiches while sitting in bushes and digging in the dirt with a pencil. Making up a language and refusing to speak in any other language is recommended and good for your health. You should not forget to water the plants in your heater or tell your pet or a sibling or a parent or a cousin but never a friend that they are allowed to listen to songs that start with a Z.

Capricorn: December 22- January 20Horoscope: Washable tattoos are lucky this month, especially if they are of alligators on snowboards, purple monkeys on a vine, and/or the word happiness in a different language. An awkwardly large supply of stickers is okay to have this month. Ladybugs or spiders are lucky to look at, but not to touch. You might want to try a new hairstyle or hair color if your parent or guardian allows you to change it up a bit. Large and medium sized purple rodents are luckier than ever until November 26th.

Pisces: February 19- March 20Horoscope: Sparkles are lucky but glitter is so unlucky; you would rather do something that you usually wouldn’t want to do than have anything to do with glitter. Pointy hats and long beards are fun to wear this month. You will want to go underwater basket weaving sometime or another, and you should make sure you do that. It will only be fun to sharpen pencils at 5:17 PM and 48 seconds. Sharpening a pencil at any other time would just be awkward. Brightly colored pants are good to wear this month.

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Comics!

How to Cook a Turkey

The Attack of the Homework!