Let’s think back to a time when men had mullets and Duran Duran was the most popular band.  The 1980’s.  Much was invented in this bizarre decade.  The Rubik’s cube for example.  But in the late half 1989, Nintendo came out with a wild new invention called the GameBoy. 

   The GameBoy revolutionized the handheld game consoles.  Back in the 80’s, handheld video games only played one game such as pong and pac-man.  But the Nintendo GameBoy played multiple games on one device.  By the 1990’s the GameBoy was the biggest thing since the Atari (made in 1972).

   Tuesday, Nintendo announced in Tokyo that they would be coming out with a new GameBoy design.  This new product would create 3D images on the screen without you having to wear glasses.  Not much was said by Nintendo but one thing is for sure, technology is advancing faster than Mario on lava.

by Sam H.

Google is a search engine or an experience that you’ll never forget!  Google has a logo that, depending on the day, won’t be the same blue, red, yellow, and green as it always is.  Holidays, the Olympics, famous dead people’s birthdays and some other just random “Google doodle” contest winning pictures, it changes for all. 

 Google doodles started almost 12 years ago in 1998, back when Google was with beta.  On special holidays Google will have a variety of doodles on that one holiday to express the many meanings, events, and people behind that holiday. The first actual Google doodle that had a design in between the letters was in ‘99, a Halloween Google doodle (the two Os were pumpkins). The first series of doodles was on the 4th of July in 2000.  

During the Olympics each day it has a different doodle having to do with the major event of that day. There’s even a doodle for the opening and closing ceremony. The first Olympic doodle was in the 2000  summer Olympics in Sydney. 

Google is so amazing; Google is all across the world, celebrating all types of holidays and dead people’s birthdays.  In 2001 there was a Google doodle for a Nobel price award ceremony on April 4th.  The season with the most Google doodles is the Christmas season, also my favorite.  Google brightens up the days of many people when they are surprised with a Google doodle that will never change!

by Alexis R.

Spring Break is coming… yay! This is one of the best times of the year! Spring Break is a time for getting away from school, work, and teachers. It’s also a time to hang with friends and get crazy! There are so many places to go and see.

One place would be the beach.The place where you can get in the water and lie in the sand; a place to read a good book and listen to music.

  Also, Wet-n-Wild can be a nice place to spend a day (depending on the weather). Of course, if you want to just chill with friends you can visit places like Golden Corral, Red Lobster, or maybe even Chuck E.Cheese’s!

I’ve been looking forward to this Spring Break for a long time!  I can’t wait to just relax and hang out. Happy Spring Break!

by  Ashleigh B.

 Welcome back baseball fans, it’s Spring Training 2010! This a spectacular year for baseball. Who will win the trophy this year? Will it be the New York Yankees going for a back-to-back championship? What about the Philadelphia Phillies?  Well, you are going to have to stay tuned to see which two teams make it to the World Series this year.

 I predict The Yankees and the Red Sox will make it to the World Series this year because they have the biggest rivalry in baseball history. The last time these two teams were in the World Series was 2004 and the stakes were high. Both wanted to beat the other for the golden trophy in the stands. But little did the audience know that there was going to be a change in plans during the game. Towards the fourth inning the audience was favoring that the Yankees were going to take the trophy home because they were holding on to the lead, and then the Red Sox made a remarkable comeback.

 In 2004, the Yankees held on to the lead for a while, just like the Phillies did this past season, so they could reclaim another championship over the Red Sox, but little did people know the Red Sox would soon overpower the confident team. This victory would make headlines across the country and start local commotion on who should really should have won the World Series.

Who knows if the Yankees and the Red Sox are destined to play eachother for a second time this century. So support your team to see if they have a reserved spot in the 2010 World Series    

by Stephen M.

Global Warming is a topic that has a lot of people talking about whether or not it is factual.  Some scientists and environmentalists have tried to prove this theory, while other experts think that Global Warming is a myth.  All over the world, Global Warming has probably been one of the most controversial subjects.

The whole issue with Global Warming, is really freaking people out. Global Warming was made popular by Al Gore, the vice president of the U.S. from 1993-2001, when he first announced it on October 4, 1998 during one of his presidential campaign addresses. After the idea of Global Warming spread, people began choosing sides. There were the believers and the nonbelievers (click).

The concept of Global Warming, the increase in the worlds temperature,  is still affecting everybody and everything, even our economy.  Twelve years later, our world’s scientists are still debating about what is going to happen to the  economy if the rate of pollution continues to rise. The amount of gas will skyrocket in a matter of years. In the last 10 years, the demand for gas has already been rising.

This  started during the industrial age, when people in Europe and the United States started to invent new technology at a fast rate, ranging from locomotives to gas-powered carriages. These were brilliant inventions during this time, and are still fascinating today. Since this time, people have greatly improved upon these inventions so they can be safer and more fuel efficient. Therefore, these improved inventions have helped to prevent additional carbon dioxide emitted from cars into the ozone layer.

By: Stephen M and Carl K

Spring Break is coming and many families will be going on road trips.  Whether you will be at your aunt’s house in nowhere-ville, or your rich grandparent’s house in the Hamptons, duct tape is always a good item to bring. 

Below I have listed a few uses for duct tape when your on a road trip (joking of course).

1.  If your luggage rips, repair the hole with some duct tape.

2.  if your tire gets a small hole in it, cover it up with some duct tape.

3.  If your tire gets a big hole in it, use lots of duct tape to cover up the hole. 

4.  If your tire completely explodes for no reason, build a new tire out of duct tape.

5.  If your little brother and or sister breaks one of their toys, give them a roll of duct tape to play with so they will stop crying.

6.  If you get annoyed by your little brother and or sister, who is sitting next to you, build a wall out of duct tape to seperate you.

7.  If your window breaks, build a new one out of duct tape.

8.  If your parent tries to play those questionnaire games on the pieces of paper, destroy your newly built duct tape window, throw the questionnaire sheets out the open area, then build the window again out of duct tape. 

9.  If your shirt tears, make a new one out of duct tape.

10.  If luggage tears while your in the car, your tire completely explodes randomly, your little brother/sister just broke their new toy, and your window breaks, you get a hole in your shirt, and you survived the trip all the way to your aunt house, make a pillow out of duct tape and sleep until its time to leave.

by Sam H.

In two months and a few days, I will be a ninth grader! The eighth graders this year, should now be prepping for a new school and a larger population. Switching from middle school to high school is a big change! As you have it now, you are surrounded by younger people, but soon, in high school, the students will be older…with cars!

I’m not really scared to leave here and go to highschool, but it’s going to be very eye opening. I’m getting ready for highschool by paying good attention in my classes and listening to the advice of my teachers. I’m getting excited about the new changes of a bigger population, more opportunities and a larger learning experience. Next year, I’ll be going to Boone High School, home of the Braves! When we leave Howard Middle School, most of us will be split amongst : Jone’s , Boone , Edgewater , and Olympia . Some of the challenges we will face will be: fitting in, keeping grades up, and staying on task.

Some  important tips to keep in mind once you get to high school are: 1. Don’t get caught up in boy or girl drama! 2. Focus on school all day, then go home and chill and do homework. 3. Stay off of MySpace, Facebook and the Internet until all of your homework is done!

Going to a high school is a life changing event that can effect all aspects of your life like : personalities might change, friendships are tested as well as difficult and monumental tests like the  SAT and ACT tests for college. High school is going to be very different that middle school and I have started to ask myself many questions.  How am I going to get to class on time? Am I going to have A or B lunch? Will I be anti-social in high school? 

All of these questions will soon find an answer and I know that somehow, I’ll find my place in high school amongst some new friends and some old. Change can be scary but it often leads to new and exciting times, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy the journey! 

-Jacqueline B.

Welcome to March Madness. March Madness begins with the  announcement of  the teams competing for the “Championship Trophy” and a chance to get their basketball court floor refurbished in honor of  winning the championship game. Over 36 teams are competing for this trophy this year. Who will win this year? Stay tuned to find out!

This event started a few decades ago in an effort to determine the best basketball team in the country. Over the years, more and more colleges have joined the challenge to prove that their team is number one in the country. In order for a team to win the championship trophy, they must meet a host of criteria. It’s a single elimination challenge out of 64 teams. The competing athletes must play as a team and have confidence in their coaches, who guide them to the finals. The competing teams will play against the country’s strongest, starting at the beginning and making it to the final four teams. If a team wins in the final four, they can play in the finals where they have a chance to win the March Madness trophy of 2010.

So support your favorite team as they compete this prestigious trophy! My bets are on Syracuse , I hope they win this year!!!

By: Stephen M

On March 10,2010, the Senate’s “Bill Six” was passed.  This bill is basically replacing the FCAT with federal tests.  It’s not only the FCAT that they’re taking away either.  The bill is taking away all state taxes and putting federal tests into place for students nationwide.  So, what does this mean for you and our teachers?  

What this means for the teachers:

 The teachers, in my opinion, are affected the most by this bill. The bill puts teachers in a position to only be paid based on the students test scores, and not years of experience.  Teachers must be certified and re-trained  based on the student’s test scores.  The bill will do away with state payments for national board certified teachers.  Also, if a state tries to pay its teachers based on years of experience, then the state will lose funding. 

What this means for the students:

 The students right now are probably thinking that this is going to be great, no more FCAT! Well, it’s not such a good thing after all.  No more FCAT means that there will actually be more tests, one test for each of the four major subjects.  That translates into one test for math, science, history, and language arts.   

My opinion:

 In my opinion, this bill wasn’t well thought out.  I am pretty sure that the teachers don’t like it, and I know the students don’t like it. So if we, teachers and students, don’t like it, then why should it even be an idea?

To read more about this, Click Here  

 Please leave a comment telling me what you think about this new bill, is it fair? Does it make things better for learning or worse? Are teachers being treated unfairly or does this measure protect education from complacent teachers?

by Sam H.

Popular people. Who are they? How did they become popular? Well, let me tell you one thing, popularity isn’t about being head cheerleader or captain of the football team, that’s only in movies! There are different kinds of popular,  for example, you could be popular only with the smart people, or you could be popular with the hipsters.

To define popular,  I classify it as being well known and good looking. Not everyone wants to be popular, because if they do one thing wrong, everyone ends up knowing about it and it can be humiliating. Then again, other people like to be popular because they get more attention.

Being popular can be thought of as a selfish thing or it can be used to benefit others. One can be selfish by being self-centered or showy with money or possessions, or wasting all of your allowance on clothes. For example, “Oh my gawwwsh, I got this new really cute dress from Louis Vuitton!” 

Popularity can also be used in a caring way by making a difference in the world. For instance, Miley Cyrus is popular and she uses her celebrity to promote green programs that benefit the environment.

 Popularity isn’t everything, but in some circumstances it may be used to promote good things. Just remember who you are, what is important in life and what isn’t. Popular or not, we all have positive qualities that are important to the world.

-Stephanie (Kimmy) L.