Middle School Murmur

holiday edition StaffEditor:

Andrew Rowan

Grammar EditorLiz Huettl

Writers:Esha NittoorAli ChesnickKatie Paw

Henry PowellAaron Klein

Callista CrisoninoAnthony Carrano

Kayla Patel Advisor:

Mrs. Casne

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The holidays are coming, and you know what that means- *holiday music plays.* It’s time to watch your favorite holiday classics. We have written reviews of some of our favorite holiday movies for you.

ElfThis film was released in 2003. It is rated PG, so it is holiday fun for everyone! The cheerful humor of actor, Will Ferrell, will have you laughing all the way. Buddy is a fun loving human who was brought up as an elf in the North Pole. Follow Buddy’s journey as he discovers the importance of joyfulness and holi-day spirit.

Home AloneThis 1990 classic is a joyful tale of a boy named Kevin who has an interesting experience when he is left home alone at the holidays. When Kevin’s entire family takes a trip to Paris, they accidently leave the 8-year-old home alone. After getting in fights with his family a lot, he thinks he can handle it. Little does he know that there are robbers trying to rob his very own house. Watch him hilariously manipulate these villains in this holiday comedy.

A Christmas StoryThis 1980’s film is a personal favorite of ours. It is the laugh-out-loud family film that will warm your heart for this holiday season. The story takes place in the 1940’s, and it follows 9 year old Ralphie and his Christmas story you will never forget. With characters and stories that will make you laugh until you cry, this movie is sure to be a holiday favorite for everyone in your family.

Eloise at ChristmastimeThis 7-star favorite is sure to make people from ages 3 to 303 laugh and feel the holiday spirit. 6-year-old Eloise, a favorite character in children’s books, lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City with her nanny and all of her pets. Watch as Eloise schemes plots to make the Plaza Hotel the wonderful place that she knows it is at Christmas. This will surely be one Christmas you won’t forget. (Continued on Page 3)

Holiday Movies By Ali Chesnick & Katie Paw

As part of a new program in the 2014-2015 school year, Middle Schoolers are finally being ush-ered into the modern classroom. Students are allowed to bring devices into the classroom. For the past couple of years, more and more students have been bringing their devices to class, and that has prompt-ed teachers to begin using the devices as tools. Now, some people think that Moorestown Friends School administrators are making it harder with the release of a new program; the Digital Drivers License. One newspaper staffer said “My Science teacher has been letting her students use their devices as stopwatch-es and calculators for the last few years. Why all of a sudden do we need to take tests and wait for licens-es just to do the same thing, on the school WiFi, compared to our own cell phone data?”. I sat down for three exclusive interviews with the Middle School computer teachers to find out. The program was chosen to begin this year for a few reasons. One of them is that Ms. Day was here over the summer and had time to lay out the program. Also, fifth graders were given iPads to use last year and “seeing that they had a successful trial-run they should be able to continue using their de-vices in class,” says Mrs. Harlan. “The program was only supposed to take six classes, but with any new program, there is a learn-ing curve.” says Mrs. Harlan. Ms. Day adds that because of only meeting one day out of six, the program seemed longer than it was. “I’d say you only spent about nine classes working on the Digital Drivers License, which is really just under two actual school weeks.” Controversy is swirling around the Digital Drivers License. Many questions on the test can be seen as having double answers. Many students complain that the test is too hard to get a passing grade of 100% correct. The technology teachers heard students and made the passing grade 90% or higher. Students are still having to take the test two or three times to pass. People are also confused about some of the multiple choice questions that could have more than one meaning. Some people are even saying that the answer listed is wrong. One question asks “Who should you direct your questions about a tech-nology situation that occurs at MFS?” The four options are “a friend”, “administrator and/or member of the technology department”, “guardian”, or “a trusted adult”. During a discussion during one of the Middle School Murmur Meetings, writers talked about how theoretically they should be able to talk to a guardian or trusted adult as well as an administrator. Another topic brought up by one of our writers was, “What does knowing that Google Chrome is a web browser, have to do with using my phone in class?”. Mrs. Harlan informed us that, although it may seem like there is more than one correct answer, she believes that there is “one best answer.” Mrs. Barna tells us “I would redo the test for next year, but this year’s test did ignite discussions about using technology safely and correctly.” Once students have their Digital Drivers License, recommended apps include Evernote, Google Drive, and Dropbox. “The students will really show the teachers how they can use the devices, so it’s really up to the students to show the teachers they know how to use the devices correctly,” says Mrs. Bar-na. This program is not intended to replace your overweight backpack but more of be a supplement to your studies. “It’s a growing process, and we are moving in the direction to replace your notebook.” Ms. Day said. It will be interesting to see how this program affects students, and to see which teachers integrate the program and use of technology in their lessons.

Digital Drivers License Comes To Middle School By Andrew Rowan

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The Polar ExpressGrab some hot chocolate and prepare for an epic holiday adventure. The Polar Express is one of the best an-imated holiday movies. It tells the story of a young boy who is quickly doubting the idea that there is a Santa Claus. He is invited on a journey that will surely change his life. This is a heartwarming movie that will be sure to restore your belief in Santa Claus.

The Santa ClauseTravel back to 1994 with this Disney classic! Scott Calvin doesn’t believe in Santa; his son, Charlie, is trying to hang on to his holiday spirit but is finding it harder and harder to believe. On Christmas Eve, Scott accidental-ly makes Santa fall off of his roof. When he puts on the vacant Santa suit, he somehow becomes the next Santa. Watch as he juggles his child, who believes in him more than anybody, his ex-wife, who thinks it’s unhealthy, and his need to bring holiday joy back to all children. This movie is another personal favorite of ours, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole ChristmasLast, but certainly not least, we take it all the way back with this 1966 animated TV special. This is the story based on the legendary Christmas book by none other than Dr. Seuss. The Grinch despises this much beloved holiday more than anyone. The only thing he hates more than Christmas is Christmas in Whoville. The Whos always make noise and laughter on Christmas, so he tries to plot a way to steal the holiday cheer. This wonderful special will make your heart grow two sizes too big.

We hope you have fun with our holiday movie suggestions, and that they brighten your holiday season.

Holiday Movies (Continued from Cover)

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Welcome to Henry show, where we talk not food, not sports, but light novels (or is it novela?).  As per usual, I shall repeat myself “Without further ado, let’s talk books”.

“Piper decided to jump off the roof ”. Quite a strange opener. The Girl Who Could Fly is about Piper McCloud (her name is cloud? seriously!?) a girl who can… I’ll leave that up to you. She reveals her strange power at a baseball game and is promptly taken to I.N.S.A.N.E.. There we have X-ray Smitty, tiny Violet, su-personic Myrtle, Daisy the Hulk, Conrad, with an IQ of OVER 9000, Bella who makes double rainbows (what does it mean?), Lily with telekinesis, Jasper who does absolutely nothing, Nalen and Ahmed who can start a hurricane, and Kimber who can literally fry your brain. Upon learning I.N.S.A.N.E is an institute for getting rid of special abilities, Piper and Co. must escape, involving a black cricket, stone shoes, and a dude named Boris. Anyways, the whole sequel thing is complicated. I want to say that there will be a sequel, but it’s con-fusing. At the end of the book there’s a character we know nothing about, a secret facility that we also know nothing about, and a whole lack of backstory. However, the book came out in 2008, so there’s a big ‘ol contro-versy war. And I’m stuck in the crossfire as an independent and innocent (okay, not innocent) book lover. So, lets hope the future remains bright for The Girl Who Could Fly.

You are all Unwanted. Not quite. How would I pay my rent without readers? So, as you probably guessed, the book here is called The Unwanteds. The Unwanteds… well, you’re going to need some backstory. In the land of Quill, people are split into three categories when they reach 13: Wanted, Unwanted, and Necessary. The normal people become Necessaries, oh lets just call them what they are, slaves. The smart and strong ones are Wanteds, who are raised to either join the government or military. The Unwanteds are those who commit crimes. The crimes? Singing, dancing, acting, drawing, basically being creative. So naturally, the punishment is death. That makes sense. But wait, there’s more. The Unwanteds will not be dumped in the Great Lake of Boiling Oil (that’s a great name). They will instead be rescued by Marcus Today (first McCloud, now Today). From there, the next stop is Artime. A place of magic and creativity, until something terrible hap-pens. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN! In terms of successors, three sequels so far with three more to come. Fellow book lovers, it is time to wrap things up. But we still have some time, so let us make merry and read around the warm fire. I have a great book called Warriors with a story fiery enough to rival my fanfic-tions. So, I chose this book because the main characters are cats. Fun, eh? In this story, we follow Rusty a “kittypet” living with his “twolegs” A.K.A. humans, (took me a while to figure it out). Rusty here decides that he wants to live in the wild. That’s it. Well, it’s a bit more complicated. He joins ThunderClan, one of four clans. The others are ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan. He then hunts, fights, and does action-y stuff. Well, it’s hard to write without giving away spoilers. But, at the risk of sounding cliche, Rusty does an epic blah blah blah quest blah blah blah blah save the clans blah blah over the course of six books. After those six books, we have 3 more series, each following different cats. Then we have mangas, super editions, prequels, and a whole lot of stuff I don’t want to get in to. So, that’s it for now. See ya!

Book Report #2 By Henry Powell

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Aaron and Henry here again to help you out with all your geeky needs. The talk around town lately has been that there is a new Jurassic Park movie, titled Jurassic World. In this movie, the humans have found an unknown way to make the dinosaurs not eat people. However, they just had to make a genetically engineered dinosaur, that is “highly intelligent” and “kills everything that moves”. We don’t have to much info to go on, with there only being one trailer, but we can hope that there will be another one soon. Well, onto the next movie. He always said he would be back. Well, Arnold is. This movie is Terminator Genisys. Its plot, according to IMDB, is “The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John’s fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack him from both fronts; past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever.” That’s all. But for all you Doctor Who fanatics, Matt Smith is starring an unnamed role in Terminator Genisys! Well that’s all for now, until next time, geronimo!

Cite: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340138/

Everyone knows about the show Shrek. It was an absolute hit. It was probably my favorite play that the school has put on. Donkey and Farquaad were hilarious. Shrek had just the right amount of annoyance with Donkey. As for Fiona, she was great. It looked like she was actually in love with Shrek. But the props were mag-nificent. Anyone who saw the Dragon knew how hard the builder worked on it. Bravo director to an amazing play. I can’t wait till the spring play to see what you come up with next. Also shout out to the middle school actors. You guys were great.The Dragon was absolutely amazing in the play Shrek. It was one of the best props. In my opinion, it should have  gone on Broadway.  I asked the builder Mr.Webster some questions. Q:  How hard was it to build the dragon? A:  Complicated, because of all the moving parts and bent wood.Q:  How hard was it to build the dragon?A:  “ I found the dragon complicated, because of the moving parts and all of the bent wood”Q:  How hard was it to put on the finishing touches?A:  “It had taken a couple of weeks, because of the fabric and painting was also very difficult.”Q:  Was it fun to build the dragon?A:  “It was fun to do something new and solve challenging problems.”Q:  What was the most challenging part?A:  “ It was challenging to find the time.”Q:  What will happen to the dragon afterwards?A:  “I don’t know hopefully it will go to a somewhere.”Q:  What was the dragon made out of?A:  “Wood, foam, paper mache, fabric, and a harness.”Q:  Who built the dragon?A:  “ I did  with help from my wife.”

Shrek: The Musical By Callista Crisonino

Geek Guys with Aaron and Henry

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The one thing you can count on for the holidays is the food- except when the food is worse than your scream-ing baby cousin. Here are some of our school’s staff and student’s worst holiday foods.

The teachers really came up with some disgusting foods. One seventh grade teacher commented on her sister-in-law’s plastic turkey. It turns out her sister-in-law baked the plastic ring that is in the turkey with the turkey. While another teacher explained how one time she ate a vegetarian turkey covered in a bad tasting gravy with way too many spices. Another teacher spoke of a yucky pumpkin pie with absolutely no sugar.

Some students had a thing or two to say about some of their stomach unfriendly foods. One seventh grad-er told me about mashed potatoes at her grandmother’s house that were the color of a school bus. Another seventh grader told me about cooked grapes. These were apparently bitter, yellow, and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Finally more than one student commented on the dreaded Gefilte Fish. This fish was far from tasty. According to the students, it was pink, slimy and gross.

Here are some more of the new students to MFS this year!

Marcella is a new student to MFS this year. Previously she went to school at Davis Elementary. She has many hobbies, but her favorite thing to do his play with her friends. Her favorite subject is Math. She plans on playing soccer next year for MFS. She also does not plan on playing musical instruments for MFS.

Jasmine is also new this school and previously went to Hartford Middle School. Her favorite subject is math. The most interesting thing she saw were seals in California while boogie boarding. She plans on playing basketball and lacrosse. Jasmine does not plan on being in the play for MFS.

Albert is new here to MFS, he used to go to Yorkship Elementary School. He also has many hobbies including art. This year his favorite subject is English. He plans on playing soccer next year for the school. He also plays the guitar for the school. Next time you see one of the new students walking in the hall, stop and say “hi.”

7th Grade New Students By Anthony Carrano

Worst Holiday Foods By Esha Nittoor

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Pictured: Albert(Marcella & Jasmine not avaliable for pic-ture.)

Word Scramble By Kayla Patel

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