Congratulations to the Midtown Robotics Team!Congratulations to Aaron, temple, zhanae, and jordyn (The midtown robotics team) for competing in their first vex robotics competition at chesapeake high school on Saturday, January 14. They were the last bcps team standing after elimination rounds and made it all the way to semi-finals! Keep it up!

The right news from the right reporters

It’s time to vote! If you read my first issue and you followed your candidate then it’s almost time to vote. But hold your horses… eh elephants; it’s not quite time for Maryland’s primaries. In this issue I will focus on the winner of the early elections such as the Iowa Caucus. A caucus is a special type of election that is like the game “Take a Stand” only in groups, and it’s much more than a game! This type of election has the potential to decide who will represent each party in the general election (this year it’s the republican candidates who try to take the spotlight in this race. I will explain more in the next paragraph). Also I will give some background info about the winner of the caucus.Big news people, Mitt Romney won the caucus by just eight votes! The runner up was the underdog Rick Santorum with eight votes less than Romney. This race was also huge game changer. Candidate Michele Bachman dropped out after coming in fifth place and “hotshot” Rick Perry is debating whether or not to continue with his campaign. This cuts down the race to six people in just five months after the candidates announced they’d run! Right now the candidates are Ron Paul, Newt Ginrich, John Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry (undecided). The next primaries are on the twenty-first (South Carolina), and thirty-first (Nevada Caucus) of this month January. Background InformationMitt Romney was born March 12th 1947. He was the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007 and is currently running for the Republican nomination for presidency. He also ran for the nomination in 2008 but failed to get it, as we know because John McCain ran against Obama in general election and also lost. In the poll I ran at Midtown in my first addition of this column Romney came in second place with only one vote. Rick Perry got none. Michele Bachman got eight and Obama got the rest. On the tenth the New Hampshire primaries took place. The winner was Mitt Romney again! Good job! Stay tuned for the second part of this article about the following primaries and caucuses.

here is a photo of Mitt Romney at his “Ask Mitt Anything” sessions in Ames Iowa in 2011.

Sources: Wikipedia-Mitt Romney information and the graph was from google.Facebook v. twitter - Continued from page 1I interviewed a couple students in Middle school on their opinion on if they would rather have a Twitter or Facebook and which one they get on more.Aziza – “I think that Facebook is better because it’s more simple and Twitter is more complicated and I get on Facebook more than Twitter.”Kamani – “I think Twitter is better because many people say Facebook isn’t that much more popular than Twitter now and have moved on to a new website which is Twitter! And I get on Twitter more.”Jyeshier – “I think Facebook is better because its fun and you don’t have to pay any fee to use it and I get on Facebook more than Twitter because I converse and get in touch with friends from New Zealand!”Facebook and Twitter are becoming more and more in use every day with people all over the world! Using the two websites will give you more access to talking to your friends, and family who you haven’t seen in forever or just having an easier way to get in touch with each other. Twitter and Facebook are two amazing websites, but which one would you choose?

The academy news January 2012

The academy news

From left to right: paul, nailah, kyra, dayshirah, jada, jasmyne, maya, paul, & ms. Gray

Facebook v. twitterBy dayshirah giddins

Did you know that if you have a Facebook account you are one of the 800 million active users? 800 million is almost three times the population of the United States. Twitter has over 300 million users as of 2011, which is basically the total amount of citizens in the U.S.! Twitter and Facebook have changed the lives of many people by interacting with friends, family, and also finding old friends by internet. Now I’ll tell you the background of these two social networks!

Facebook was founded by Mark ZuckerBerg in Massachusetts, United States in 2004. Facebook allows anyone at LEAST 13 years old to be users. It was founded by Mark ZuckerBerg with his college roommates at Harvard. The website was first limited to college students at Harvard, then later, other college students at other universities were given access. Now, Facebook allows anyone to join, not just college students. Interestingly, 7.5 million Facebook users are under the age of 13 which violates the terms of service. 41.6% of the U.S. population has a Facebook account!

Twitter is a micro blogging service online website which enables users to send quick messages known as “tweets” to the public or their followers. On the website, you have followers who have access to seeing what you are currently doing or anything you feel like saying. Twitter has over 300 million users as of 2011, which is way less than the amount of people using Facebook! It was founded in San Francisco, California. It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and has been described as the “SMS” of the internet.

Mark your agendas![jan. 27]

[feb. 2&3]

[feb. 15]

[feb 20]

teacher professional development day – no school for students

middle school student led conferences – round 2!

middle school potluck in multipurpose room

President’s day – no school!

Political headlinesThe iowa caucus – by dever cunningham

The academy news [January 2012]

Have you ever heard stories from your family about when your parents were children? Have you ever wondered what your parents did when they were children? In this article you will find things that were considered cool back in the day. You will also find out that some of your own school staff were once kids like us!

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One famous musician in the 80’s was the King of Pop: Michael Jackson! Here is a list of his top 10 songs:1. Beat It2. Thriller 3. Off the Wall 4. Billie Jean5. Wanna be Starting

Something6. Human Nature 7. Rock With You8. Say, Say, Say9. Man in The Mirror10. Smooth Criminal

Here are some popular fashions of the 80’s. These are the things that our parents wore when they were kids, if they lived in the 80s.1. Leg Warmers2. Members Only Jackets3. Acid Washed Jeans 4. Shoulder Pads 5. Jellies 6. Ray Ban Warfarer Sunglasses7. Mesh Hair Ties 8. Slap Bracelets9. Adidas10. Green Lipstick

Video games were also used back in the 80s. Ten of the most popular games back then include:1. Pacman 2. Space Invaders3. Frogger4. Donkey Kong

5. Duck Hunt6. Pong7. Asteroids8. Star Castle 9. Simon10. Moon Patrol

Now we will have a few interviews from staff that lived back then. Our first interview is with Ms. Keaton.Q: Did you live in the 80’s?A: Yes Q: What was your favorite part about living back then?A: My favorite part was the fashion and the music!

Q: Where did you spend most of your time? Why?A: New York City because it was full of action excitement and that’s where all the rappers hung out.Q: What was your best friend’s name?A: Nancy.Q: What Kind of activities did you do you do with your best friend?A: We went to school together and we liked to dance together!

Now we have an interview from the middle school mathematics teacher Ms. LeCompte!Q: Did you live in the 80’s?A: YesQ: What was your favorite part about it?A:I The people were kinder, and I liked hanging out with my friends.

Back in the dayLife in the 80’s by maya ashley

Michael Jackson released his album, “thriller,” in

1982!

Popular 80’s fashion

Editor’s note – by jada Kelly

Hey readers! In this newsletter, we are talking about best articles, stars, New Years, 1980’s and other great topics. I hope you enjoy all of these articles, and I really do believe that you will! Next quarter we will have new journalists…but always remember our journalists because they’ve worked hard! If you’re interested in joining, you really should consider signing up for quarter 3!

The academy news [January 2012]

January birthdays by dayshirah giddins

Beyonce by: Nailah Stanford

This article is about Beyonce and how she became a star from performing with her group on Star Search as a child. Her group’s name was “Girl Time.” When they were signed to Columbia Records, they changed their name to “Destiny’s Child” in the late 1990s. Destiny’s Child included 4 members: Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Latoya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson. Then Latoya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson quit from Destiny’s Child. Afterwards they found Michelle Williams, a former backup vocalist for Monica. But a couple of years later, Destiny’s Child went their separate ways. Then Beyonce became a big star; she did songs like “Me, Myself, and I.” She became the first female artist to win 8 Grammys. She did a couple of movies like Dream Girls, Cadillac Records, Austin Powers In Gold Member, and Obsessed.

She met Jay-Z at the age of 18, and then later they did an album together in which they performed the song “Bonnie and Clyde.” Jay-Z and Beyonce started to date years later. She did her fourth solo album including one song, “I Was Here.” Here is the chorus from “I Was Here.”

I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of timeKnow there was something that, and something that I left behind.When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets Leave something to remember, so they won't forget.

Recently, Beyonce had her first child. She showed up with her baby bump at the VMA Awards in 2011. Then on January 9, 2012, she gave birth to a baby girl name Blue Ivy. Be the lookout for Beyonce’s first baby picture! Thank you I hope you liked my article

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Give me a break!By kyra smith

Are you excited to spend your winter break with your family, friends, and anyone else that you choose? And are you even more excited to spend your winter break doing anything that you want to do? I know that I want that. Spending time with your family increases your love for them and you might do something fun with them! You’ll be hearing how a couple of middle school students plan to spend their winter break. Then, you’ll hear from a couple of students and teachers about how their winter break actually went!

First we’ll hear from paloma hunter.Q: Who do you usually spend your winter break with? A: I usually spend winter break with my dad.Q: Who do you want to spend winter break with?A: I want to spend Christmas break with my family.Q: Are you excited to go away from school and to spend time with your family?A: I’m excited because of the presents from my family and snow.

Now we will be hearing from Amber Shaw!Q: Who do you usually spend your winter break with?A: I usually spend winter break with my family.Q: If you couldn’t spend winter break with your family, who would you spend it with?A: If I couldn’t spend it with my immediate family, I would spend it with my cousins because I don’t see them that much.Q: Are you excited to stop worrying about school and just relax?A: Yes, I’m excited!

Now we will hear from a teacher on how she spent her winter break and if it was good or horrible. We will be hearing from my favorite teacher, Ms. Gray.Q: Was your winter break good or terrible?

A: It was great!Q: How did you spend your break? A: I spent the first half of the break seeing my new nephew, Connor. He was born on December 16, 2011. And I spent the second half of the break visiting my family in Altoona, Pennsylvania.Q: Did you stay in town or did you go out of town?A: Yes, I went out of town.

Now you’ll hear from one 6th grade student, Aziza Fahie about how her break went. Q: how was your winter break?A: It was good.Q: Who did you mostly spend your winter break with?A: I mostly spent my time with my baby brother, Makhai, and my mom.Q: Did you stay in town for your winter break?A: Yes.

New Year, New You!By Jasmyne CrawfordHAPPY NEW YEAR! For this article, I interviewed 4 people from journalism. New Year’s Day is when you celebrate a new year, every year, in every single country on the planet Earth.

COUNT DOWN! 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Q. What do you do on January 1st on New Year’s Day?Maya: I stayed home with my mom and ate because my mom cooks.Jada: I stayed up until midnight with my sister. We watched the movie Elf and then we went to watch the fireworks. Kyra: I watched TV with my grandparents and then watched the fireworks.Jasmyne: I went downtown with my family to eat at the harbor and watch the fireworks.

Q. Who did you do all of that with?Maya: My mom, sister, and brothers.Jada: My mom.Jasmyne: My mom, dad, uncle, sisters, and other family members.Kyra: My grandparents

Q. If you didn’t do this, what would you do? Maya: I would go to Times Square in New York to see the New Years Ball fall down. Jada: I would go downtown to the Harbor to the Cheesecake Factory, eat, and watch the fireworks.Jasmyne: I would stay home with my family, watch the fireworks from downtown because our house is only about 20 minutes away from downtown harbor and we are really close, and then I would watch TV to see everyone in New York.Kyra: I would sit in the house and watch TV all night.

New Year’s Day is when you celebrate a new year, every year, in every single country in the world. The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner. People have chosen to make extreme changes in everything from 2011 and made a big jump from 2011 to 2012. What is your New Year’s Resolution?

THANK YOU FOR READING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Top Articles of 2011By Dever CunninghamIn the spirit of the New Year, I decided to pick the top articles from 2011. It’s a new year and a fresh start, but we can acknowledge some great pieces of writing from last year, right? Bear with me here, this is my first real opinion article, so it might not be great. But I’ll get better with practice. Now to the articles! These are the most fun articles of 2011 in no particular order…

1. Kids Korner By Paul Hager2. Labor Day Speedway By Eterick

Stonley3. 1 out of 147 By Lauryn McBroom4. March Holidays By Amber Shaw

Winter break page5. The Photography of Mr.

Michels By Tyla Clements6. The North Bay Experience By

Taylor Carter and Urban Expedition Follow Up By Aziza Fahie

7. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! By Taylor Tynes

These are the most fun articles I have seen this year. These are not ranked, so don’t interpret it that way. I do not intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. All the articles I saw were great; these were just the ones that stuck out the most. If you have any disagreements with this list come see me. Hope you enjoyed them!

Temple M-Martial – jan. 21

Mr. Greenawalt– jan. 29Ms. Gray – jan. 27

Jada Kelly – jan. 29

Maya Ashley – jan. 29

Dayshirah giddins – jan. 31

Rodney Richardson–jan. 31

Oovoo vs. SkypeBy Jada Kelly

What is OOVOO? What is Skype? These are both websites for videochatting!

Skype was invented in August 2003. It has 663 million users. You can get Skype on your iphone, ipad, iPod, or DSI XL. You can add up to nine people on video chat, and you can text chat.

OOVOO was invented in August 2007. OOVOO is newer than skype. It has 35 million users. It also has 12 way video chat and text chat. You can use it on your phone, computer, ipad and ipod. You have to install OOVOO in your computer!

I interviewed two people, Anaya McCall and Jyeshier Privitt, about Oovoo and Skype.

Me: Do you have an OOVOO or a Skype?Anaya: I have bothMe: Which one do you get on the most?Anaya: OovooMe: How would you describe Skype?Anaya: Boring, blue, dry, and ugly

Me: Do you have an OOVOO or a Skype?Jyeshier: OOVOOMe: Why do you have an OOVOO?Jyeshier: To talk to my friends and family.Me: If you had a Skype how would you describe it?

The academy news Kids’ korner with paul hager – new years edition

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New years word search

Countdown Dayshirah Happy Loving January Martin luther king New gifts New start New years Resolution Snow Surprise Twelve Vacations winterNEW YEARS WORD SCRAMBLE!

Owsn _______________________ estunolrois _______________________Bneignnig _______________________ ppayh _______________________Milfya _______________________ rpetais _______________________nriwet _______________________ rjnyaua _______________________ifnders _______________________ rwneasye _______________________

sudoku