8th-grade frenzy: Field trip to UNM to see live play

Lincoln PRIDE—Personal Responsibility in Daily Endeavors

Leopards Rawwwr Volume 14, Issue 1 Quarter Three 2019-2020

by Adriana Sanchez and Bella Maez For the first time in a long time, the eighth-grade class at Lincoln Middle School took part in a field trip, to the Uni-versity of New Mexico cam-pus to watch a play based on the book 1984. The March 2 outing, orches-trated by gifted English lan-guage arts teacher Jessica Koppel and the eighth-grade teachers, included a bus ride to Albuquerque and an out-door lunch on Johnson Field. Students said they enjoyed learning in a different way. And, of course, their favorite part was being with their friends away from campus. Teachers, too, were pumped for the adventure. “I think it’s a good idea to have the kids watch a live

play,” said Anita Apodaca, an eighth-grade English lan-guage arts teacher, before the trip. “I’m very excited to see it.” While Ms. Koppel’s students read 1984, even those who

didn’t were happy to be part of the trip. The ELA teacher said she

overheard excitement on the bus ride back to Lincoln. “I think it will be a really fun day for the students,” said eighth-grade science teacher Tricia Urioste, before the trip. “I haven't read the story myself, but hopefully this will encourage the stu-dents to read it for them-selves.” Maybe Alyssa Delmolino will, even though she ended up not going on the trip to UNM’s Popejoy Hall. “I’m very interested to read

the book,” she said in late February. The novel 1984 is about a young man struggling with being oppressed by the dystopian society he lives in, where individuality is essentially banned. Leading up to the field trip, student Dailynn Ander-

by Moriah Ochoa and Kaylie-Ann Cabrera Imagine students creating models of the solar system or presentations that explain how spaceships are made. Could incorporating more hands-on projects into educa-tion be a solution to deeper learning? When posed with the idea,

teachers at Lincoln Middle School were intrigued. “Hands-on projects encour-age problem-solving collabo-ration,” said Pamela Elam, the art teacher. However, these types of school experiences would depend on attention span, maturity, and resources. Ms. Elam added that stu-dents would have to be crea-tive thinkers, the school would have to set an innova-tive schedule that addressed different learning skills, and content areas would need to work together to make the projects cross-curricular. Similarly, Brandon Lucero had positive things to say about hands-on projects. “Anything that could help the kids, I’m all for it,” said the eighth-grade teacher, whose focus is U.S. history. He added that this type of learning could improve the amount of information stu-

son was happy to be part of the experience and “do something fun outside of school.” In the days after the field trip, Ryan Brown made an admis-sion: He dosed off for a spell during the play. “But when I woke up, I actual-ly started to understand what was going on,” he said.

Could hands-on projects in school spark creativity, engagement?

Photo by Anita Apodaca

Inside This Issue

Kobe’s death * Page 2

Coronavirus * Page 4

New club * Page 5

dents comprehend. Yet, it could involve more work for teachers. Incorporating interactive experiences into school or at home is a way for par-ents and teachers to show young people how what they learn can be used in the real world. “Through hands-on learn-ing, students will often ac-tively create something, whether an essay, story, piece of art, construction project, or something else,” according to The Friends' Central School Blog. “It could show students they can use their education to achieve something.” Several Lincoln students agreed with the concept. Eighth-grader Trinity Jones said, “If they do what they’re best at, they'll do better. I have trouble pro-cessing information by myself.”

See article about student council field trip on page 3.

For eighth-grader Samantha Fisher, math, science and Eng-lish language arts would be the best classes for hands-on projects. “If I can see it in front of me, then I can do it myself,” she said.

Pa ge 2 Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

Fun bathroom passes at Lincoln Middle

by Liberty Matney and Angelica Acosta Many have spotted the fun passes that some teachers at Lincoln Middle School make students carry to the restroom these days. Clocks, stuffed animals and an Elmo guitar are among the objects moving up and down the hallways. When students no longer were required to purchase agendas this school year, each grade level was as-signed a different colored, laminated pass. To ensure they are returned to class-rooms, teachers tapped their imaginations. Reading intervention teacher Dominic Savinelli has a litter box. English language arts teacher Da-mon Cranston printed a pass that features Yoda. “Some teachers have been creative with what they at-tach to the passes,” said principal Jennifer Daddio. Michael Martinez, who teaches math to seventh-graders, finds the toy pass-es effective. “I do,” he said. “I really do.” For sure, the passes may be having a different effect on students. “I don’t like carrying around the passes that some of my teachers use,” said sixth-grader Gracie Matney. “It’s embarrassing.”

by Joshua Martinez and Colton Casaus When you hear on the news that there is a snow day, you may breathe a sigh of relief because you can play with friends and family instead of attend school. For the second Febru-ary in a row, there was a day when icy roads and snowy weather forced Rio Rancho

Public Schools’ officials to cancel classes, paving the way for students and staff to spend the day

doing an assortment of activi-ties. Ray Rodriguez, for one, kept

by Marcelino Whittle and Antonio Ramos Rache Morris will never for-get when his older brother passed two security guards to get Kobe Bryant’s autograph years ago at a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. The sixth-grader, like many across the world, was sad-dened when the basketball legend was killed in a helicop-ter crash Jan. 26 in California. The retired NBA player’s 13-year-old daughter also was killed, as well as seven others. Investigators say that heavy fog likely caused the accident. “It’s not right that a child died, as well,” said Michael Martinez, who teaches sev-enth-grade math. Alan Sanchez, seventh-grade physical education teacher, was stunned by the news, too. “It was very tragic,” he said. “He was a great person for the community, and it should never have happened.” Rache’s brother, also in sixth grade, said that Mr. Bryant was one of his favorite bas-ketball stars to watch. “I just loved his motivation, his hard work, and dedica-tion,” said Rashuad Morris. “He is one of the best players to walk this Earth. RIP, Kobe.”

very busy. He organized and cleaned his house on that Tuesday, allowing him to spend the next weekend having fun. “Snow days keep students and staff safe,” the drama teacher said. Kenneth Martinez’ day off from school included football and hot cocoa. “Snow days are really cool,” the seventh-grade student said.

The foggy

death of a

b-ball legend

Snow day celebrated in variety of ways

Lack of activity was the highlight of seventh-grade English-language arts teach-er Natosha Barricklow, who stayed next to her warm fireplace and watched mov-ies with her children. Stephanie Weinkauf snow-boarded instead of teaching a seventh-grade science les-son to her students. “We scooped up snow and had a snowball fight,” she said.

Imagination alive

in the hallways

Photos by

Liberty

Matney

Pa ge 3 Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

Students made their way around The Roundhouse by Maya Artiaga and Haylee Brooks Wouldn't it be fun to meet elected officials and learn about the New Mexico Legisla-ture? It certainly was, according to members of the Lincoln Middle School student council. On Valentine’s Day, a dozen stu-dents boarded the Rail Runner in Ber-nalillo and made their way to Santa Fe on the leadership field trip. When they arrived at the Roundhouse, they were led along an historical and artistic path about New Mex-ico. “My favorite thing I learned was the history of the Roundhouse and how it im-pacted people’s lives,” said seventh-grader Madyson Fairhurst. Jeremy Nunn-Rico, also a seventh-grader, had a take-away, too. He said he learned that the building where the state Legislature meets is “a museum,” due to the high number of art-work on the walls. While in the Roundhouse,

student council members were recognized by Rio Rancho Rep. Tim Lewis, who read each of their names as they sat on the rostrum in front of lawmakers’ desks, some of them adorned with flowers for the holiday. Later, they had their picture taken out front with several local representatives and a senator. LMS consumer science teach-er Rachel Garretson, who is the lead student council sponsor, thinks that it’s good for middle schoolers to get to “know all of our laws and the processes to create them.” Now that the trip is done, stu-dent council members are busy planning a community service project.

Announcements via video by Maddox Neely and Gage Jones Just hearing a student’s voice on the intercom may not be enough to get everyone’s at-tention at Lincoln Middle School in the morning. For that and other reasons, a new club has taken up residence on campus. “We wanted to give students a voice,” said Deb Hill, educa-tional technology specialist. In addition, said media litera-cy and pre-AVID teacher Kelly Pearce, “This is a great oppor-tunity to teach students skills that they could use later in life.” The Video Announcements Club produces the Lincoln Spotted News every Monday

after school. The video then is shown during homerooms on Wednesday. Do you think it’s an easy process? It starts with the writing team pulling up a Google doc with announcements on it and fine-tuning some of the lan-guage. On-air personalities practice their lines in front of a green screen, while the pro-duction crew handles the tech-nology end of things. The design team has created slides to open the segment and list club members in the ending credits. Music recently was added to start and con-clude the video. “I get to work on things I have never done before,” said Carlos Martinez Galvez, a sev-

enth-grader who is on the design team. Moriah Ochoa, an eighth-grader, is learning how to direct the entire pro-duction. “It is won-derful to see students excited to be part of something important,” Ms. Pearce said.

Photo by Kelly Pearce

Photo by Kelly Pearce

by Julia Rangel, Piper Harmer, and Francine Chavarria Pride Club is a safe place, no matter who you are. But due to scheduling and dips in attendance, it has not been consistent this school year, some students say. For example, it was suspended during October and restarted in the new year, with club member attendance down. No matter, those involved with Tuesday morning Pride Club meetings know the group will continue to be a part of Lincoln Middle School’s culture. “People should be allowed to be who they are and show who they are,” said counselor Sheryl Bauer, club sponsor, adding that she hopes attend-ance will return to normal. London Fort, a seventh-grader, sees the importance of focusing on the diversity that the club promotes. “I personally think people should be able to choose their own” ways of living, she said. If you are interested, the club meets at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesdays in Room 313. Photo by Pam Elam

LMS art stu-

dents cele-

brate their

work at the

RRPS art

show. Pic-

tured left to

right: Moriah

Ochoa (eighth

grade), Julia

Rangel and

Kalayah

Romero

(seventh

grade).

Kalayah’s

work was

named Best

in Show.

S Kitts Pa ge 4

by Mario Templeton, Ian Williams, and Xavier Otero When it comes to the latest coronavirus, it’s all about being proactive, according to Lincoln Middle School’s nurse. Suggestions include wash-ing hands carefully, covering coughs, and staying home when sick. “It’s not if it hits the U.S.,” said Julee Amador. “It’s when it hits. We better be more prepared for when that happens.” Her comments were made before the first deaths in the United States from the COVID-19 virus made head-lines. As of early March, more than 25 Americans had died and 30 states were ef-

fected. Globally, more than 3,800 had died, according to the World Health Organi-zation. The sickness may have originated from bats in Asia, which is the epicenter of the disease. Other coun-tries hard-hit by COVID-19 include Italy, Iran, and South Korea. Symptoms can mirror the flu. When people test posi-tive, they are quarantined for at least two weeks. Older people are the larg-est group affected by the sickness. Although children may be carriers, they often do not become symptomat-ic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. As the coronavirus contin-ues to spread to countries

Coronavirus: clean your hands, don’t touch mouth

Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

by Adam Potter, David Shadle, and Wesley Cartwright Candidates have been en-gaged in U.S. presidential elections for more than 200 years. Yet, some say this primary season has been more interesting than others because of a long list of Dem-ocrats hoping to take President Donald Trump’s spot in the White House. At one point, there was a field of 29 diverse candidates vying for the top office. As of March 11, former vice presi-dent Joe Biden had a sub-stantial lead over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, after prima-ries held on Super Tuesday and Big Tuesday. “I feel the Democratic Party

seems like it has been split-ting these last few years, and this could possibly change within the next few elections,” said Lincoln coun-selor Gage Romansky. The wide open field, how-ever, is the mark of a de-

mocracy. “That’s the great thing about Ameri-ca,” said Brandon Lucero, eighth-grade U.S. history teacher. “No mat-ter who you are, you can vote or run in the sys-tem.”

Even students have noticed the number of Democrats taking to social media to try and convince the electorate that there needs to be a change in presidential lead-ership. “It’s definitely a difficult one this year,” said seventh-grader Lathan Coca.

by Madelyn Minifie and Emily Schimmel Even though New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s free-college proposal made it through the state Legislature in Febru-ary, the fate of the plan is still foggy. Lawmakers set aside $17 million so that state residents can go to college tuition free, which is about half of what the state’s leader had envisioned. At Lincoln Middle School, there were mixed feelings about the governor’s idea. For example, eighth-grader Ella Parker said it could take away people’s willingness to put effort into their dream to attend, including applying for scholarships. “Free college would be a bad thing because people have to work for it and actually want to get into col-lege,” she said. Gage Ro-mansky, an LMS counselor, said college never really would be free, because the money has to come from somewhere. “A lot of our kids should go to community college, so they can figure stuff out,” he said, adding that it is less expensive than four-year universi-ties. Still, the thought of providing the opportunity for more New Mexico students to attend college is a positive one for Rachel Garretson, who has children already at institutions of higher education and one set to begin in the fall. During a student council field trip to the Roundhouse toward the end of the 2020 month-long session, the consumer science teacher even asked a Rio Rancho legislator about the college bill. “It would help me out financially,” Ms. Garretson said.

outside of Asia, fictional news stories are becoming more prevalent, especially on social media. “I feel like there’s a lot of hype about it and a lot of fear for no reason,” said seventh-grade science teacher Jennifer Rossiter. “There is a lot of misinformation involving the coronavirus.” To present balanced, factual information, some Lincoln homeroom teachers recently showed a BrainPOP video about COVID-19 to their stu-dents. Ms. Rossiter’s colleague, Mi-chael Sylvester, who teaches sixth-graders, had some ad-vice. “Do what you can to not leave germs behind,” he said. Lincoln students, meanwhile, are talking about coronavirus in and out of the classroom.

Eighth-grader Rhiannon Pena believes that it should not be-come the subject of jokes. “If it isn’t taken seriously, this can cause an outbreak,” she said.

Free college in New Mexico? Presidential field narrowing

Quarter Four March 30-April 3: Spring Break

April 6, 7, 9: Honor Roll Assemblies

April 13-17: State testing in homerooms

May 15, 18, 19: End-Of-Course Exams

(Exam makeup day will be May 20.)

Created by Madelyn Minifie

by Gabriel Bittel and Tyshaun Williams Lincoln Middle School is home to volleyball, basketball, football, and baseball, among other sports. Why shouldn’t it have a soccer team, too? It is a question that seems to be on students’ minds every year. “We should have a soccer team, because a lot of kids like soccer and we can only mainly play it during lunch,” said seventh-grader Diego Briones, who has played on community teams for seven years. Jennifer Daddio, in her first year as the school’s princi-pal, has a feeling there would be enough interest. As someone who runs, works out and lifts weights, she values athletics. In high school, she played field hockey, basketball and soft-ball. “It would be nice to have a soccer team, because we could get more students in-volved in more activities and sports,” she said. Kimberly Platero, a special-education teacher, agreed. “We have lots of soccer kids at our school who could have a chance to show us their talents,” she said. Should Lincoln Middle School have a soccer team?

Pa ge 5 Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

Kick it to LMS First for everything LMS 7th-grade basketball victorious over MVMS by Bryson Martinez and Francisco Aguilar Lincoln Middle School’s seventh-grade basketball players had never beaten Mountain View Middle School. That was true up until January. With a score of 47-42, the squad finally bested its biggest Rio Rancho Public Schools rival. More than a month later, Cameron Dyer still remem-bered what went through his mind. “I think that I had nothing to lose and that I had to at least try and play my best,” he said. Coach Brandon Lucero, who teaches eighth-grade

American history, will carry pos-itive memories of the past sea-son with him always. “My goal was teaching the

sport, having a good time, and bonding with the players,” he said. Greer Gessler, who coached the eighth-grade team, has a similar ap-proach. He knows that bas-ketball players give 110 per-cent. “LMS basket-ball is like a legacy,” said the seventh-

grade English language arts teacher. “They have always been good and the tradition has been kept alive.”

by Dominic Legendre and Avery Fluck Do words like airplanes, aerodynamics, and flight pique your interest? Then the Aviation Club might be for you. The new Lincoln Middle School club got off the ground because of reading intervention teacher Domi-nic Savinelli and math inter-vention teacher Forrest Konetzni. “We started because, when we talked a lot about our hobbies, they (students) showed a lot of interest,” said Mr. Konetzni. Both teachers are model

aviation enthusi-asts. “We wanted to share that with our school,” said Mr. Savinelli. The club is all about teaching students about flight through models, as well as having fun. It is based on S.T.E.M., which revolves around science, technology,

New Lincoln Middle School club is flying high on Fridays

engi-neering, and math. Club members spend their time testing the mod-els in the old gym and out-doors. “Aviation is one of

the most influential discoveries we have made, and it affects everything, from the way we travel to the way goods and

Photo by Brandon Lucero

How track and field is a goal-setting sport by Affinity Archuleta and Emanuel Diaz “Track changes you as a person.” That’s what the coach of the Lincoln track and field team believes.

“It’s the sport where you can set a goal for yourself and achieve it,” said counselor Gage Romansky, who oversees the seventh- and eighth-grade LMS athletes. They started heading in February to Rio Ran-cho High School each afternoon to join students from other area middle schools for prac-tice. Mr. Romansky enjoys the sport because he sees links between it and counseling, be-

cause both are meant to sup-port young people. He is excit-ed for the March meets that will allow his athletes to com-pete in running, throwing, and jumping events. Mayzie Platero, a seventh-grader, is one of his sprinters. “It is fun and challenging,” she said. Another runner, seventh-grader Asianna Nguyen, sees plenty of benefits to being on the track and field team.

services are moved around the Earth,” Mr. Savinelli said. On a recent Friday after school, club members gath-ered in his classroom and looked at an array of models sitting on tables. They also watched a flight video stream-ing on a QOMO board. Aldo Maldonado, a sixth-grader, was among them. “I love planes, fixing things, and making things,” he said. The planes do not always fly with precision. Those that took flight on this March after-noon suffered damage, which Mr. Savinelli and Mr. Konetzni know comes with the territory. But that did not deter them from trying again the next week.

Photo by Kelly Pearce

S Kitts Pa ge 6 Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

by Riley Donart and Leon Gilliam The Lincoln Middle School baseball season is underway, with the first games played in early March with tallies in the win column. For yet another year, the sport’s coaches, players and fans are hoping it will be one filled with big wins. Last school year, for example, one of the teams beat Rio Rancho Middle School by 10 points. “The A team (made up most-ly of eighth-grade athletes) is going to go undefeated this year,” predicted LMS athletic director Daniel Cunningham.

Active lunches highlight entertainment

LMS baseball team is here to win

by Zack Garcia and Kylii Gilliam Lincoln lunchtime has become more than just eating and talking to friends. First there was karaoke. Then came rounds of cornhole tossing. The latest is limbo. Are these forms of entertainment, some of them in the cafe-teria and others on the patio, important? “Absolutely,” said seventh-grade math teacher Michael Mar-tinez. “I think it’s fun, and it gives you something to do be-sides mess around.” Counselor Gage Romansky has made some of these events possible. If he has his way, other opportunities will be in stu-dents’ futures, including sports matches on the field. “I think they are a good idea,” he said. “I think we need to do more.” Some students wouldn’t mind more active options at the lunches. “It brings us together,” said Waylon Henderson, who is in seventh grade. “Honestly, they are good activities.” So, how low can you go?

Alan Sanchez, seventh-grade physical education teacher, is of a similar mindset. He knows the sport well, since he played Little League and continued through his sophomore year in high school. “Hopefully the season goes well,” he said. “They have a good set of boys and they have a good set of coaches.” Noah Serna, a seventh-grader on one of Lin-

coln’s teams, has played the spring sport for seven years. What is his goal for this sea-son? “I don't really have a goal, just to play and try to win as many games as we can,” he said.

Unexpected ending excitement by Jacob Lesperance and AB San Juan Ten was an important part of the 2020 Super Bowl. With the Kansas City Chiefs down by 10 points against the San Francisco 49ers and 10 minutes left, the Chiefs came back to win the biggest game of the season. Several teachers were happy that the underdogs won – and that other teams did not make it to the Super Bowl at all. “I was very worried that the Patriots would go, but I was very relieved that they did not,” said Michael Sylvester, who teaches sixth-grade sci-ence. The New England team was beat in a wild card game early in January. However, not everyone was happy about the outcome of the Feb. 2 Super Bowl, includ-ing Colton Baca, a seventh-grader at Lincoln. “I wanted the 49ers to win the game because they are my favorite team and have been since I was born,” he said. “It was a good game until the last 10 minutes.” For Michael Martinez, a math teacher, the halftime show also was fun to watch. It was “entertaining because I grew up hearing the sing-ers,” the seventh-grade teacher said of musicians Jen-nifer Lopez and Shakira.

Team ready to spring into action by Wesley Jepsen and Adrian Jurado The temperatures are rising. That must mean the girls’ soft-ball team is spending its after-noons on the field. “LMS softball has been a big part of this school,” said ath-letic director Daniel Cunning-ham. “We always come on strong and we hope to keep succeeding.” That success is based on ded-ication from players like sev-enth-grader Sophia Baeza, who has been playing softball for more than four years. She said she works best when eve-ryone on the team is involved in practices and activities. Last season’s record was 18-

14-4. The team’s coach hopes to add more wins this year. “We’re going to be travel-ing quite a bit this year,” said Josh Holley, who is also a Lincoln educational assistant. Games on the schedule include some against Rio Rancho and Eagle Ridge middle schools.

Photos by Gage Romansky

Photo by Paula Blagrave

Pa ge 7 Leopards Rawwwr Vo lume 14, Issue 1

Supporting school that suffered water damage

by Patrick Barlow and Aiden McClain When a nearby school flooded, Lincoln Middle School staff were quick to offer support. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School suffered a broken pipe on January 30, which resulted in three cancelled school days and temporary relocation of some kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms. Teachers lost supplies and items that they paid for with their own money. “I was so sad for all the teachers who lost their ma-terials,” said sev-enth-grade science teacher Stephanie Weinkauf, whose daughter attends MLK. Added Jackson Roybal, a seventh-grader, “I felt real-ly bad for the teachers.” Yet, the plight of the elementary school brought the com-munity together. For example, Lincoln teachers donated gift cards and a handmade sign made by art teacher Pam Elam. “We were happy to help out and donate over $480 in gift cards,” said educational technology specialist Deb Hill, who coordinated the effort. MLK’s principal, Jessica Kettler, was appreciative of every donation that came in, including new notebooks, crayons, and pencils. Businesses, churches, and families offered sup-port. “Schools are often the heart of communities,” she said. “We are so thankful and very proud of our community.”

by Amy Do and Briah Coochwikvia You may have thought a week dedicated to kindness earlier this semester was great. But what about a year-long Lincoln Middle School Kindness Club that sprinkles positive goodness each week? “All of us are working on the same goal of being kind to one another,” said counselor Sheryl Bauer, who sponsors the club. Each Tuesday during their lunchtime, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders dream up new ways to reach that goal. They cre-ate posters, put kind messages inside ran-dom library books, and are getting ready to use cups to make a kind sign on a,campus fence. “You are helping oth-ers,” said Kaelyn Hep-burn, who is in sixth grade. The club is working,

she added, because “people are participating.” The club worked with other organizations on campus to provide activities during Kind-ness Week, which was held as part of the Great Kindness Challenge Jan. 27-31. There were kind quotes during morn-ing announcements, chalk drawings and flower-making during lunch, themed dress-up days, and selfies with friends. Kindness lives on as the club takes on new projects. Kaelyn said she hops everyone treats each other in the best possible way, every day.

SPREADING THE KINDNESS

Photo by Rick Salgado

Amplify science Testing changes transform 2020

by Ella Conaway and Jocelynn Trujillo-Ortega Not only will state testing this spring come from a different company, but where students will take the test also is changing. During the week of April 13-17, Lincoln Middle School sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders will take New Mexico's Measures of Student Success & Achievement (NM-MSSA) on devices in hom-eroom classrooms. Unlike the past, the test will not be timed. In moving away from Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), the state had to find a new testing publisher. “Changing from Pearson to Cognia will be smooth,” said assis-tant principal Betty Scheppmann, who oversees testing. Deb Hill, educational technology specialist, is pleased so far with testing preparation. She helped oversee makeups in early March when eighth-graders took the two-day New Mexico As-sessment of Science Readiness (NM-ASR), which is part of the same testing platform. This year, science testing across the state moved from seventh to eighth grade. Tricia Urioste, who teaches eighth-grade science, understands the intention behind these sorts of assessments, but ponders whether there should be more hands-on testing approaches. Meanwhile, student Isaiah Vigil wonders why there is a dis-connect between grades and standardized testing. “Why do we have to have a week of testing if it does not affect our grades?” the eighth-grade student said .

by Jay Worthen and Nathan Moritz Science is part of the mid-dle school experience. But with the new curriculum this year that focuses more on simulations than hands-on labs, some are wishing the experi-ence went deeper. “I dislike it be-cause I can’t learn that much from it,” said Summer Moritz, a sixth-grader, who re-members more interactive activities in ele-mentary school. Amplify, according to its website, “was designed to give students engaging, realistic experiences that mirror how scientists and engineers actually work. To do this, the Lawrence Hall of

Science and Amplify created compelling print and digital resources that work seamless-ly together to enable students' investigations and explora-tions.” Eighth-grade science teach-

er Tricia Urioste sees the pros of the technology-heavy platform, includ-ing the high quality of the simulations. But, she also notes that it can be repetitive. The other eighth-grade science teacher, Burton Melancon, also is trying to stay positive. After

all, the program’s first year is still in progress. Just like most things these days, some students are hap-py to engage in science in the digital world. “I think kids enjoy it,” said assistant principal Betty Scheppmann.

Photo by Kelly Pearce

Vo lume 14, Issue 1 Page 8 Leopards Rawwwr

by Haylee Brooks EDITORIAL CARTOONS by Moriah Ochoa

Eighth-graders take part in the Houses for Hounds project, building doghouses for animals at

Watermelon Mountain Ranch Animal Center.

This issue of the Leopards Roar was

created by students in Ms. Kelly

Pearce’s media literacy classes.

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR

HARD WORK!

Photos by

Erin Lucero