DECEMBER 2013

The LMS Music

Department Winter Concert

was held Wednesday, December

11. The daytime and evening

concerts were both a huge

success, with eight different

performing groups taking the

stage: Orchestra, Chamber

Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz

Band, Chorale, Boys’ Chorus,

Select Chorus, and LMS Chorus.

Highlights of the concert

were Jazz Band’s rendition of

“Zoot Suit Riot,” “Esto les Digo”

performed by Orchestra, and the

LMS Chorus singing “Ocho

Kandelikas,” a Spanish Hanukkah

song featuring none other than

our Vice Principal Mr. Saco on

guitar! Mrs. Kosmich, Mr. Holak,

and Mr. Walsh have a great deal

to be proud of—LMS students

are clearly talented and

dedicated!

The LMS Annual Winter Concert a Success!

LEFT, MR. WALSH DIRECTS THE BAND. ABOVE, MRS, KOSMICH AND MEMBERS OF SELECT CHORUS.

The Lions’ Roar would

like to wish you a very

Happy and Healthy

Holiday Season! See

you in 2014!

THE L IONS’ ROAR

Type to enter text

Snowflakes

By Ambar Henriquez & Maha Shams

Freezing, wet, cold. Pretty and white.

LIttle snowflakes melt as they fall

from the sky.Each one is different

like you and like I.

Student Council Update

by Alma Erickson

The LMS student council has

been very productive this year. We

have accomplished many projects,

including the organization of the

annual Halloween Dance. Several

members of the Student Council

stayed after school to help decorate

the gymnatorium and cafeteria for this

event, and the end result was

fantastic! With hundreds of paper bats

hanging from the ceiling and taped

onto the walls, the gym looked

downright spooky. The second dance

of the year, the Valentines Dance, will

hopefully be just as successful as the

first.

The school dance was not our

only project this year. The Student

Council also made decorations for a

homeless shelter, Family Promise of

Bergen County, for Thanksgiving. We

made colorful centerpieces by painting

ceramic pots with red, orange, yellow

and brown acrylic paint, as well as

paper chains to be strung up on the

walls. The Student Council plans on

making more decorations for the

homeless shelter for the winter

holidays. We are also currently selling

Candy Grams during all lunch

periods. The proceeds from these

Candy Grams will go directly to the

Red Cross Foundation.

LMS National Junior Honor Society: Fall Report

By Sophia Spiegel The National Junior Honor Society has been involved in two major community service projects this year: a Thanksgiving Food Drive and a Toy Drive. The food drive was very successful. In addition to the ten large boxes of non-perishable food that we gathered, we were able to collect about $540 to donate to CUMAC’s enormous food pantry in Paterson, New Jersey. Roughly 150 toys were collected via the toy drive. NJHS members visited each homeroom, asking for toy donations from a list. These toys were requested by children living in homeless shelters in the city whose parents are unable to provide them with Christmas presents. The NJHS members thankful to everyone who donated to these causes and are excited for our involvement in more charitable activities throughout the school year.

Service Clubby Clare Daughtrey

Recently, our school participated in a drive that collected nonperishable food items to give to a local food bank organization called CUMAC. CUMAC stands for Center of United Methodist Aid to the Community. Many people are without food, and CUMAC helps to provide food to those in need. They have been working for over 30 years! Our school collected 10 large boxes of food items. Mr. Wehrle, who has 3 sons at LMS, delivered them to CUMAC in his van. The entire school participated in this event. Boxes were given to each homeroom and Service Club and NJHS members collected the boxes from each homeroom at the end of the drive. The Service Club initiated this idea, and it has worked out beautifully. LMS teacher Ms. Sur was in charge of the drive. Students at LMS can get more involved in activities like this by joining the Service Club, or just reaching out in their own community. Sixth grader Sean Salamante was just another student who participated in the activity. “All I did was bring food in, “ said Sean. “I remember that I brought cranberry sauce, corn, sausages, and stuff like that. I brought it to give people food who don’t have any for Thanksgiving. “ Even one person can make a big difference, and YOU can be that one person!

CLUB CORNER

TF-X- The Flying CarBy Sophia Rodriguez and Olivia

Oliveri

There is now a car that can fly. It is called the TF-X. The manufacturing headquarters is located in Massachusetts. The name of the company is Terrafugia. This car can drive on the road or fly in the sky. The car does not need a runway. It needs a large parking lot or a helipad to fly. The TF-X is expensive. It costs $279,000. It flies in the sky at 100 miles per hour. It can fold its wings with the push of a button. It runs on automobile fuel which is cheaper than aviation fuel.

The TF-X fits inside a single-car garage. You need a pilotʼs license to fly it. There are computers inside it to help you fly it. Terrafugia is trying to find a battery that lasts longer than ten minutes. It may take years for the TF-X to be approved for flying. Before it can be approved, it needs a more powerful battery and to follow some other regulations. The FAA must also approve of these cars flying in the sky.

Going Pumpkin Picking

by Ambar Henriquez and Maha Shams

This October Ms. Mazzaʼs Life Skills class went on a pumpkin picking field trip. They traveled by bus to Depieroʼs Farm in Montvale, New Jersey. After arriving on the farm, students got to taste some of the famous apple cider and donuts from Depieroʼs Farm. Everything was delicious! After the snacks, everyone had alot of energy for the hayride. Students climbed aboard the hayride. The trip to the pumpkin patch was very bumpy and fun! It was a little scary too. As we arrived at the pumpkin patch, everyone looked out to see tons of pumpkins! There were big pumpkins, little pumpkins, tiny pumpkins, smooth pumpkins and rough pumpkins. Students got to pick one pumpkin to take home. The class took pictures with the decorations in the pumpkin patch! it felt like the paparazzi was there! After our hayride back, we ate lunch. The market at the farm had a lot of options: salad, soups, pasta and sandwiches! Students practiced skills that they have learned in class in a community based setting. The class had an awesome day!

Draculaby Bram Stoker

For a middle school pre-teen, it isnʼt easy to find an interesting classic. However, Dracula by Bram Stalker fits the bill. Taking place in mid-20th century England, Dracula is about a vampire named, well, Dracula. Its a record of his journey from a dreary mansion in Transylvania to the highly populated city of London. Dracula is considered a classic, so many teachers will be impressed once they hear that you have read it. I speak from personal experience when I say that it has plenty of horror, mystery and thrills. This makes it interesting for the average middle school student. One of the reasons the book is so popular is because of its format. It is one of the first books of its time to be written in the point of view of many people. One of the reasons I enjoyed Dracula so much was because I could connect to so many more vampire stories. Dracula is the original vampire. The book is almost like an encyclopedia when it comes to random vampire facts. I felt that Dracula was a

page turner. Normally, reading classic novels is not something that I enjoy doing. However, this novel is the best classic I have ever read. It easily tops Little Women, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn. I would give this book a five out of five stars. Itʼs a great book and definitely something that I think you would enjoy.

Divergentby Veronica Roth

Being different is never easy. Its downright impossible when revealing your secret means that you may die. This is what Beatrice Prior faces in Divergent by Veronica Roth. Some of the main conflicts you come across in this book include a broken family, discrimination against abnormality, and revolution. Beatrice lives in future Chicago, where the city is divided into five factions - Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, Amity and Dauntless. For Beatrice, living in Abnegation isnʼt easy. You must always be selfless. When Beatrice finds out that she is Divergent, or able to happily live in more than one faction, she is faced with a choice: should she leave her family, or will she live within the limits she has known all her life? In other words, should she do the right thing or the thing that she wants?

Anybody who enjoyed The Hunger Games will enjoy Divergent. The themes are very similar. Both Beatrice and Katniss have family issues, as well as government issues. They both have something to do with proving yourself when nobody believes in you. The story plots are also very similar. Everybody has secrets, and will do whatever needs to be done to protect them. Watching Beatrice grow and change in a world where everybody needs to be static is both funny and scary. Beatrice faces many dangers in her new life. It is hard for her to make new friends and fit in with new people. However, her journey through the world outside the safe bubble sheʼs been living in most of her life is definitely worth a read. It gives this book a four out of five stars. Itʼs amazing and very interesting, Many students will be able to connect with the protagonist. We are also all growing and trying to figure out where we belong in our ever-changing world. Read Divergent!!

Book Reviews: Check one out over Winter Break!

Book Reviews by Raquel Acevedo

HOLIDAY CRAFT CORNER

How To: Make a Paper Candy Cane

By Ryan Chong, Johnny Dewoski, Katie

Picirillo, Daniel Portillo, and Lance

Materials:

° Thick markers ° Scissors ° Tape° Pencil ° Square paper

1. Pick 3 different colors for your candy cane.

2. Draw thick lines along the bottom of the paper to make the letter “L”.

3. Leave some white space and then make another “L” with another color, and follow the previous lines.

4. Continue to make this pattern using all 3 different colors with white lines in between them.

5. Flip the paper over so the white side is facing up.

6. Roll all of the paper tightly around a pencil then tape the end (all 3 different colors should appear as you roll).

7. Take the pencil out carefully by pushing it out with another one.

8. Next, cut the tips off each end so it is even.

9. Roll the candy cane tube around the fat marker from one end until it is too hard to roll, about 1/3 of it.

10. Take the marker out and you have a candy cane.

5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

By: Johnny Dewoski & Daniel Portillo

Ingredients:

*1 stick of unsalted Butter *1 cup of sugar *1

large egg * 1 cup plus 2-3 tablespoon of flour

* 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Nelt the butter in the microwave

until soft.

3. Nix the sugar and the butter in a

bowl.

4. Crack the egg into the bowl.

5. Put flour and chocolate chips into

the bowl then mix.

6. Scoop a spoonful of dough onto a

baking tray 2 inches apart.

7. Put the tray in and bake it for 7-9