AISJ SOARING

YOUR WAY!

Newsletter Date

THE EAGLE View From Above

“EAGLE” STAFF

Rishni Bhandari

Nils Friberg

Hershel Jain

Akshat Jindsal

Nike Klemmer

Chumani Mokoena

Melvin Muketha

Darshan Pillay

Siddhant Ramesh

Jonathan Robinson

Ishaan Roy

Marco Vicente

Advisor: Ms C

 

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AISJ Middle School Publication Volume 1 Issue 1

Success After JOMUN

BY: Chumani Mokoena Jomun kicked it off with a bang. From the 28th

to the 30th of September it was sure to be a great conference in fact it was to be the best conference on its 10th anniversary. It all started on Friday the 28th when the “delegates” were re-quested to mingle and merge with other fellow delegates. At first they felt drawn back but after half an hour it all felt natural. The purpose of all the merging was to combine the respective resolutions to make the ultimate resolution that would cover the various topics faced by the world.

Saturday everyone was determined and serious on de-bating the topics at hand. The Human Rights Commission (HRC) had one of the most heated debates. They spent five to six hours on a resolution about Eradicating Violence against Women. There were also some comments made that were unprofessional yet humorous on a resolution that was faced before the ECOSOC committee. One of them was, “This resolution is like an oompa loompa. It is short and useless”. Later that day the delegates were set to go to Zoo Lake for dinner in an African restaurant called Moyo’s. People were socializing with others as if they had known each other for five years.

Sunday had “to be do or die” as everyone was rushing to get through eight resolutions in time. This was the day where the delegates concluded their arguments in hope of persuading the rest of the committee into voting for their resolution. In HRC five res-olutions were passed however one was scratched out because of the main submitter’s stance on matter. The Security Council had a lot of work to do throughout the conference as there were resolutions that were questionable there for requesting the SC to approve them before voting on them.

In conclusion the closing ceremony was emotional as the deputy secretary general Bonolo Ntlatleng burst in to tears because it was her last Jomun conference of her career. Well done to all Delegates who participated!

By Herschel Jain On the 18thof October, I had the opportunity to interview DR Andy about the new tuck shop. The head architecture of this project is Mr. David Croteau from Boston. He is also responsible for the suggestion and ideas. He is a kitchen de-signer. The purpose of replacing the old tuck shop is “It’s capacity, it’s not big enough for the students and the staff. It is highly noisy. The food takes a long time to be served and it is poorly designed.” Taking into consideration all of the facts there was a “strong need for opening a bigger and better tuck shop.” The new tuck shop will be much better and have some new features, which will make it more pleasing. “Some of the

new features are that there will be a floating roof, open so that air can flow in. The materials used to build it; wood, stone, white wood etc. There will be a lot of open elements. it will be more of like a food court and you will have identity cards and not use cash to pay.” This is how the identity cards will work; there will be money stored in your cards and you can swipe the identity cards and help yourself.

Something very unique about the tuck shop is, “ the material being used. It will be more practical and interesting and an AFRICAN feel. We are living in Africa so we thought it would be something different and the structure also has an African type of structure.” The ambience of the tuck shop will become more appealing.

The new tuck shop is expected to open by mid of February. This is because of the weather conditions and deliv-ery of materials, but it will open quite soon.” The old tuck shop will be converted into a Teaching and Learning Centre.

The Construction of the New Tuck Shop

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AISJ Past Events

Basketball Tournament Girls By: Mr. Westerbur Arriving in Mafeking, the AISJ Girls Basketball team was very excited and a little nervous as they were not sure how they would fair against the other teams. The end of the first day left them elated and unable to sleep, due to a brilliant performance under the lights against the home team ISSA girls achieving their first win. It’s a memory they won’t soon forget. The next day of pool play, brought some tough losses, however, they had fun in the sun, made friends from other schools and enjoyed cheering for our favorite teams. They capped off the night with a pizza party, charades, and a few games of knockout. They awoke the final day hoping to be playing for third place. Our wish came true and They found ourselves nervous once again as They would be playing a team that was very aggressive and had beaten us the day before. To prepare for the big game They walked through our plays, practiced positioning, discussed strategy, and pumped our-selves up to battle. When the final whistle blew, the final score read AISJ 9, Rainbow 5. They had played a new perfect game, shutting them down with our stifling defense. The excitement and smiles on the girls’ faces was priceless. Not only did They win third place, but they were also voted the most disciplined team in the girls’ bracket. As the girls walked to the bus at the end of the day to go home, you could see a new found confidence, pride and closeness as a team. It was a very rewarding experience

MS Social By Rishni Bhandari On the 19th of October, Friday our MS Social took place in the cafeteria. Classy Carnival was the theme. With the help of our STUCO members as well as Ms. Roberts and Mr. Sears our social was a great success. The original venue for the social was the Middleveld area but due to the heavy rains the social was moved to the cafeteria. The AISJ busses picked us up and dropped us back home. At about 7:00 pm all the busses arrived at school and that’s when the party started. People were damp from excitement. Going in and out of the cafeteria for fresh air, the whole cafeteria was buzzing with activities everywhere. While the dance floor was overflowing with people, there was a table loaded with drinks and food. If that wasn’t enough for you, there were also some activities planned by our STUCO members which were count the jelly beans, throw darts and mini basketball. At 9:00pm the social ended. Everyone bid good byes and then left for their respective busses. Overall this social was fantastic.

Mafikeng Basketball Tournament By: Marco Vicente Both boy and girl “A” teams traveled to Mafikeng to face the toughest basketball teams in the province. Fernando, Raoul, Jonathan, Quinten, Min Su, Paul, Jadyn, Hyun Wu, Nick, Izwi, Tyler, Nathan (French), and Matheus, thanks to these people the boys “A” team managed to come 4th out of eight of the best. They won 3 and lost 3 games, and unluckily they lost all their games by just one point. According to some of the players the tournament did not go really well as no one really stood out. Julia, Edmee, Aisha, Nike, Rishni and the rest of the girls “A” team managed to come 3rd out of 6 of the very best. Some of the boy’s basketball team said that they did not feel like they played to their full potential.

AISJ Middle School Events MS basketball tournament- on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012, our annual AISJ basketball tournament took place. Teams from all across southern Africa came to com-pete. The tournament was most of the day and it was on the weekend. The teams participated in the tournament and they were separated into different pools based on skill level and number of teams. It was an under fourteen tournament only. All four of our AISJ teams competed. These teams consisted of the Boys A and B teams and the girls A and B teams. AISJ has never won this tournament in the past three years that we have compet-ed in it. Thank you if you came out to support the team Music Café- On Thursday, November 8, there is music café! It is 3:15 to 4:45 after school so if you enjoy music, come out and listen to the grade 6 through 8 band and choir students who are showcasing their talents. A variety of music is going to be played throughout the showcase. This includes solos, duets, and more! It promises to be a great evening. So go and hear the middle schools best musicians and vocalist! Report Cards- On Friday, November 9, report cards go home to all MS students. Conferences- On Wed/Thurs., November 14 and 15, there is no school because of parent- teacher conferences. Students need to attend the conferences with parents. Spirit Week- From Monday, November 26 to Friday, November 30. This is your time to show how much spirit we have in the middle school! Each day there is a theme that you have to dress up in or do something related to it. Thanksgiving– There is no school on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 due to thanksgiving. Session 2 Activities– Starting November 5, session two activities are starting in the middle school. Soccer– On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday Spanish Master Chef– On Tuesday Chess– On Monday Speed stacks– On Monday Ultimate Frisbee– On Monday Swim Team– Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Yearbook– On Monday Inline Hockey– On Tuesday Rush Soccer– On Wednesday Hip Hop– On Wednesday Homework Club– On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays STUCO Elections– On Monday, November 5

Significance of November The month of November is special in many ways. This is what the month of November is dedicated to. The month of November is Aviation History Month. So take time to remember all of those people that contributed to flying! November is also Child Protection month. Do you feel protected? This month is all about that. It is also International Drum Month. So, all of you drummers in band should feel special. November is also Native American heritage month. It is also Peanut Butter Lovers month! November 13 is young reader’s day so make sure your reading!

Did you know that Novem-ber was named after the ninth month of the Roman calendar even though it is now the eleventh of the Gregorian calendar?

Did You Know?

Global News Around the World

Superstorm Sandy: It’s Aftermath It’s been one week since Sandy hit land. But what's amazing is to compare land to what was it before in the US. Like the land on the side of New Jersey. It was totally intact before the Superstorm. But after Sandy, part of the land has been ripped off. Originally, analysis were predicting that Sandy would cause 10-20 billion dollars of damages throughout the US. Now they are estimating 30-50 billion dollars. The victims of this storm are facing with many problems, but there are some things that are starting to get back into normal. Public schools in New York have opened back on Monday. There were still many people who did not have power in their house. People in New York made heat as the temperatures were dropping down. New York officials say that thousands of people will have to find other housing options. New York subways were flooded during the storm and the system is coming online but when some people when to look at the damage on the subway, they found out that some sections still need a lot of work.

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Service Learning

Philile Pre School -Siddhant Ramesh

Grade7 is going to Philile Pre School for service learning this year. Philile Pre School is a non-profit organization that educates kids who don’t have enough money to go to school. This organization is helping less fortu-nate kids giving them pre school education to help them complete educa-tion. Grade 7 is going twice a year to the amazing place to play and have fun with the kids there. Grades 7 have selected leaders that plan and discuss what activities they would do when they are there. Most of the children speak Zulu and the leaders made activities for their age so that they don’t have any trouble understanding the activity so that they have fun. Philile will be fun and all 7-Graders are encouraged to come because the kids are super excited for you guys and it will be a great experience.

Philile Pre School Kids having fun!

Reading Buddies By: Akshat Jindal

Grade 6 goes to Riversands up to four times a month to read books to their buddies. Riversands is a school for low income families in Diepsloot. Grade 6 choose books to read to kids who study there. They are paired up with one or two kids to read to them. They go there to teach the kids and improve their reading skills. Grade 6 brings snacks and juices for them so they can relax, eat and have fun while lis-tening to them. Grade 6 likes it and are excited to go again and have some fun!

River Sands kids chatting and having fun

Tuck Shop Duty- 8th Grade By: Jonathan Robinson

Since the start of the 2012- 2013 school year at AISJ, the eighth grades have been doing tuck shop duty as their community service project. Every day at lunch, a group of four eighth graders go and serve 30 minutes in the tuck shop. Each person in eighth grade has to serve at least once a semester. This promotes an attitude of service and selflessness in the middle school. Within the group of four employees, there is one supervisor. The supervisor of the group keeps everyone working hard and doing their job. If you do your job exceptionally, you can possibly be chosen as one of the employees of the month and earn a prize. Even if you don’t win employ-ee of the month, you still get something good out of it. You gain a new understand-ing of everything that people that work in the tuck shop do. You also see everything that goes into making the tuck shop run.

Tyler and Julia Tuck Shop Employees

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INTERVIEWS

AN INSPIRATION FROM THE PAST AN INTERVIEW WITH MY UNCLE THOMAS SCHNEIDER, FREIBURG DEUTSCHLAND, 1958 By: Nike Klemmer

Thomas Schneider, born 1958 recently talked to me, and I got a chance to take a brief glance into his past. We started out with some of his teenage experiences. The first thing that came to his mind was his first car. He had worked for two years two buy it. He took it out on his first drive in the city and his uncle crashed into him.

When asked about his lifestyle and who inspired him to live the way he does he said, “When I was nineteen I had to serve one year in community service. I worked in an old people’s home and the old people inspired me they told me to sit in a rocking chair when I’m old, think back on my life and smile.” During our interview he was sitting in his rocking chair and smiled as he talked about his past.

He spoke about his childhood and how he considered some Editor: Herschel thing as normal that has changed now. He mentioned the TV and the computer. He said

that back then you had to be a millionaire to afford a computer and often the computers would fill out a whole room. That is how big they were. He only bought a TV a couple of years ago.

He talked about sad and difficult times in his life and he referred back to the old peo-ple’s home where he was there when nine people died of old age or sickness. “It was difficult to let them go, having washed them and fed them just five months earlier. It was very difficult for me to cope with that.” He also ended his school in 12th grade because he didn’t have enough credit to go on to college which was a very difficult time for him.

He had some recommendations for today’s teens, “Do what you love set some realistic goals in your life and be there the person you want to be not the person other people tell you to be.”

Mr. Schneider said that not one person but his whole family represents him. Because they are always there for him they are always there for each other and even though they would fight now and then, they knew they had to work together to stay alive and that inspired him.

He said that the one place he wants to return is his home in Wittnau, Freiburg, Germa-ny. He grew up there and even though he was out of Germany, he always had the urge to return. He is happy where he is and doesn’t want to live anywhere else.

A TRIP BACK IN TIME By: Rishni Bhandari

Recently I interviewed Trupti Bhandari, my mother, born in the year of 1976. Growing up in Mumbai in her teenage years was a lot different than they are now. She told me about her life at school. She went to a school called St. Thomas High School. In those days school was a very significant part of life. Asking her whether she considered her teachers nice and friendly or, aliens from another planet she replied, (Laughs) “Well, I had a variety of teachers at my school and most of them were nice but strict people. But of course there were exceptions. I had a few teachers who I wouldn’t mind if I never saw their face again.

Especially a teacher named Stella; she was one of the meanest and merciless people you could ever think of. I recently met her at my school’s reunion in India and believe it or not she hadn’t changed one bit. With that same strict look in her eyes, her graceful way of talking, I real-ized some people never change. ”

Entertainment in those times was quite plain and simple. There weren’t 20 different forms of entertainment they just had a TV and a radio. “There was only one channel called ‘Doordarshan’ which broadcasted every Saturday night at 8:30 sharp. Everyone would wrap up whatever they were doing and sit down to watch that one show. Listening to her talk I could al-most hear the sound of everyone landing on their couches and pressing the power button on their remote control. She added, “The radio was very popular but I personally wasn’t too fond of it.”

Sports are one of the major likes in most teen lives. Turns out that it was a favorite in my mother’s teen life as well. She was very much into sports. She played field hockey, she was into running, long jump and she did athletics. She took these sports very seriously. Asking her where she got this inspiration from, she replied “My older sister, Neeta. She was my inspiration in stud-ies, as well as sports.”

Everyone makes decisions but are they always the correct ones? This question came to my mind and I decided to ask my mother whether if she had a chance to go back in time and fix one thing what would it be and why would she choose to fix it? Thinking for about 5 minutes she answered, “My parents had always wanted to me to be a doctor and that was my wish as well. To achieve that dream I worked pretty hard throughout my schooling years. In grade 12 I got a good result in medicine but not good enough. So I was pretty disappointed. I then decided to do MBA which was a great decision made, now that I think about it. So no I would not want to undo that decision.”

Eventually ending the interview I asked her the question, how much would you rate your childhood out of 10? After a few minutes of thinking she responded “I would rate my childhood an 8\10. We could’ve been a little more resourceful. For example having a bigger house. But at the end of the day I loved my life. My parents are my idols; they never made me feel like I needed anything. I really love them.” Thanking my mother I ended the interview with a lot of thoughts stirring in my mind and this interview really set me thinking about how different her life was com-pared to mine. My mother is a real inspiration to me.

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Back in Time, Durban INTERVIEW WITH TRACY WELCH BORN IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA 1973 By Chumani Mokoena

I recently interviewed my best fried’s mother Tracy Welch. She was born on September 8th 1973 and had two sisters called Jamie and Carron. She was born during the Apartheid era. This was a terri-ble time period for people in South Africa They were separated by race and were not allowed to interact with each, other but nothing stopped Tracy from being the social person she was and always would be. She loved people and she was determined to speak to whoever she considered her friend no matter what their race was.

She went to St Victoria’s college for girls in Durban. She loved going to school, but she always had a question, “Why are there only white people at my school?’’ She realized what was happening outside of her world. She would always hear the news on the radio about riots in Johannesburg a city she had al-ways dreamed of going to. She would constantly ask her mother if they could go to Johannesburg and she would say no. Out of curiosity she asked her teacher why there were no kids of other races in the school. Her teacher said because they are not allowed to come to the school and at that point in her life she real-ized why she kept hearing about the fighting in Johannesburg.

In 1989 she turned 16 and she said that was one of her favorite moments in her teenage life. She had a splendid day with family and friends in honor of her 16th birthday. She got to go scuba diving with her friends and her favorite highlight of that day was when they had a mud fight. It was supposed to be kids vs. adults in the fight but things went the opposite way and eventually no one had any allies to rely on but themselves. Eventually it came down to her and her best friend Melissa. ‘’Melissa had the last say in the fight by hitting me at the back of my head and I lost balance’’. Melissa is still her best friend and is the only person she talks to from her childhood. Tracy’s children’s names are Melissa and Jonathan and she decid-ed to name her little girl Melissa because of the love and respect she had for her best friend.

‘’I have to say that being a teenager was one of my proudest moments and I if I could I would go back to those days but I would change the apartheid era and make it democratic to all South Africans”. She also says that she wished kids now would just take a look at all the things they have access to and think about how much effort it took for the last generation to build a future for them.

LIFE AS A TEEN IN SOUTH AFRICA By Herschel Jain I recently interviewed Mrs. Sherry, a South African born and brought up in Johannesburg. She gave me a quick glance at her childhood. She told me about how life was and believes that there was a lot of fun in that time .She is married to an Israelite and has a son named Ariel. She has one sister and two brothers. They are an extended family. There’s a lot of love amongst them but when they were young it was fights and scratching each other’s backs and getting the dominance and superiority. “Our common aim was to get the at-tention of our parents, get our brothers and sisters in to trouble, and take all the love for our-selves. Even if we fought we loved each other a lot. In our family we were supposed to follow some basic norms and expectations. They were, we should be happy, share our problems with our parents, do the work, co-operate, respect each other and love them. Well you see these are some things which I also expect my child to follow. I feel that your generation has many chances and the children of today have a much relaxed and enjoyable life. I think, teens live your lives and grasp the opportunities. This is the only chance to live, live it to the fullest. Remember there will be always someone to hurt you or stab you, but go over these hurdles. Don’t let them stop you go over them don’t be scared or you won’t make any worth of your life. So go on get it, but look right, left, front and back and stroll along with your life.” She said that her memorable experiences were… “I guess it was when I had met my first boy-friend. First of all it was the talking that got us to know each other then we started dating and down the line we were in a relationship. I sometimes felt it was a wrong thing but I never paid attention to that thought. I was happy; shy it was a mixture of all feelings.” The other thing which reminded her of her childhood was when as a family they went to the US. We went around the USA in an open bus it was amazing! They visited Shakespeare house and museums and it was wonderful. “The lifestyle back then was quite different. Nowadays you will see children with their gadgets and doing all sorts of things playing, on their Psp's X-box’s and so on. Back then in our time we were mad about marbles, chalks, drawing, painting, coloring and hopscotch. We use to play out on the streets. We would gather on the streets and play till the night and then return home. South Africa was much safer back then. It is not realistic to send my son on the streets to play. If I would, I would probably find myself in the police station lodging a complaint it was not like that back then. Our mothers would cook and say see you tonight and you see we had the free-dom to go on the roads.” The other amazing yet creepy thing was a typewriter. Whatever we typed it use to come out on a neat printed sheet. ‘It was scary and a wonder how that actually happened and for that time it was pretty much advanced. The other thing was the radio. We would spend hours listening to it they watched a show called Car Squats it was pretty popular at their time. Finally after thanking her I wrapped up my interview.

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Countdown for 2012! By- Herschel Jain Be it the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Quran, or actual scientific findings, it is believed that the world will end someday, but the question which arises, is the world going to end in 2012? Some believe that it will and have started to panic, while others just turn a deaf ear to this hoax. The ones who believe in this are swimming in the pool of panic. This news has created a lot of hype around the world. Well, it is true that, there are a lot of catastrophic set of events going on, tsunamis in the USA volcanoes and earthquakes in Japan and more. But is the world going to end in 2012? It is believed that if the world ends in 2012 then it will end on the 21st or 23rd of December. When all of a sudden during thunder, day becomes night and then night becomes day you will hear people shouting “The world is about to end, don’t forget I love you!” The same prediction was made in 2009 and 2011 but here we are still breathing on earth. The Mayans are an old civilized group who are well known for art, architecture numerology and more. The Mayans are wildly popular for their esteemed calendar. And this popularity is worth deserving too. The Mayan calendar puts forth the end of the world take place sometime in winter solstice 2012. Science is probably the most plausible source of information these days; it is logical and can be followed and believed by everyone. As per science, the sun is slowly expanding into a big huge red giant. In fact, it will expand to such an extent that it will engulf our little 3rd rock. So, much before this "engulfing" takes place, the heat, gravity and chemical reactions will cause earth to become dead and lifeless. However, this phenomenon will take time to occur, 5 million years to be precise. The Islamic holy book, Quran, is one of the most respected pieces of literature for its scientific approach and accurate calculations about the future. As per the complex calculations in the Quran, the world will come to an end in 1710 AH, which will be during 2280 AD. What the Holy Bible has to say in this regard is; the world will be struck by a certain plague. This plague will cause panic and death. Three years post this plague's announcement, 2/3rd of the world's population will have died, either due to the plague or otherwise. This will mark the beginning of the end of the world. In light of this fact, the world has been struck by "H1N1" or "Swine" flu - the plague. As per reports and hospital surveys, it has been observed that at the rate at which this flu is affecting the world, in a span of three years, 2/3rd of the world's population could be wiped out by it. We have some statements that agree and disagree in an equal amount. I believe that at this time with all the extreme high technology we have it would be more reliable to believe science. Till now we have not seen any signs of complete mass depletion on the earth, but you never know, a question of real suspicion.

 

Child Fatality By: Nike Klemmer You see it every day, in front of you; a mother or a father with their small child in the front seat. Parents either don’t have time to buckle their children into the back seat or don’t have a certified children’s seat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “When properly installed in passenger cars, child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71% for children under age one, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1-4. Among children younger than five, an estimated 3,894 lives were saved by child restraints from 1975-1997. Ensure that you do not let your children sit in a car or in any other vehicle of transportation without considering their safety first.

Children die every day because the seat belt does not hold them properly because they are not tall enough. Small children might get strangled in a car accident because they are too small to be held properly in their seatbelt. Baby carriers, when set into the front car seat the wrong way around, can result in serious injury or death to the baby.

Imagine, you’re a mother or a father with two children on your way to the grocery store and you have an accident. You survive because you have a seatbelt and an airbag to keep you from smashing your head into the wheel or flying through the window but you didn’t buckle your children properly in their seat. Your four year old flew straight through the front window because she was bouncing up and down on the back seat. Now you lost both your children because you were in a rush. Was that really necessary?

Ask yourself if it is really that important to get to your destination, that you don’t have time to buckle in your children to prevent them from injury? Until we take action to create a law that states that not wearing a seatbelt is illegal, parents or guardians of the children have to make sure that the children are strapped in properly because after all, your children are the only ones you have and you have to protect them when you’re on the road. Take action today and ensure the safety of your children on the road. Buckle up first, then drive.

 

Get Healthy! Play Video Games By: Siddhant Ramesh Video games are good for health. They help solve problems easier and faster, relive pain and improve

eyesight. There are some negative effects but those only affected people who play 12 hours a day. They are no problems if you play video games for short periods of time.

Video games help you solve problems easier and quicker. Some mystery games have problems that need to be solved in order to proceed to the next level so people who play them have more knowledge how to solve it without getting frustrated. They also help people not to worry about anything when in trouble. They also help in multitasking. Scientists say that video games increase your brain power.

Adults always say video games make your eyesight weak and if you play too much you will need glasses but that is totally not true. Scientists in University of Rochester found out 30 hours of first person shooter game increases eyesight by 58 percent! So now you can correct your parents when they say that.

Video games also help your hand eye coordination. Scientists tested doctors and found out that surgeons had minimal errors when doing a surgery by playing video games. Some hospitals use gaming for warm-ups for surgeons. Video game makers can make video games for doctors to make them better so that they are successful most of the time.

Now you know that video games help people and keep them healthy. Beware if you sit on your coach all day eating and playing it won’t keep you fit!

 

Imbizo, Is It Really Worthwhile? By: Marco Vicente Imbizo, is it really worthwhile? Is it helping students

learn? Some say yes, others say not so much. There are three types of imbizo, READ, advisory activities and study hall/extra help. All of these have different uses but what do the students think. Do they really need imbizo?

READ, do we need read? We already have language arts anyway. In READ the teacher sometimes reads aloud and there is silent reading. It is said that the class discusses their books but it barely happens. An actual fact is that READ should not be an imbizo. What’s the point? Everyone can always read at home, not to mention people read in Language Arts. READ, just ask yourself do you really think READ is really needed?

Most people need study hall. People always prefer it when they get home and they don’t have homework. Study hall is a time where students can work on homework with their teacher if they need help, instead of going to school the next day and asking for help, or even receive detention. Not to mention the eighth graders receive oops slips. When an eighth grader receives three oops slips in one subject they get an email sent to their parents. So just imagine not having any homework when you get home. If you have an after school activity and you get home all tired. Is that the time you really want to do homework?

Another thing to mention is that Wednesdays are good because students need a break once in a while from different things. Wednesdays are also good because it is an early release and students want to arrive home early. It gives students more than enough time to finish their homework and then have time to have fun or relax. Students find some advisory activities worthwhile, but some activities are just not needed. The only imbizos that we should have are advisory activities and study hall/extra help. Advisory activities can help students learn different skills, like working as a group and keeping everyone involved. Ask yourself; which imbizo is really worthwhile?

People need a choice of imbizo. Let students choose to either have READ, study hall or advisory activities on every imbizo day, which means that the students have a choice of imbizo. People feel like they have freedom when they have a choice of a different variety of options.

 Hang Out Areas By: Jonathan Robinson

Since the start of the 2012-13 school year at AISJ, the school has started introducing a set of new rules and restrictions. These include “go to areas,” “hang out areas,” and, “no go areas. These new ideas stop you from going to certain areas in the middle school. Basically, they put everyone in a contained area if they just want to talk. No going by other people’s lockers and no playing basketball during breaks is what the news rules say. In eighth grade I think the only “hang out area” that teachers allow us to go is the new amphitheater. If you try to go into the area by the lockers or up to the basketball courts, you are immediately told to leave there and sometimes if you’re really unlucky, you get a punishment or a long conversation about why you were there.

A lot of eighth grade students make jokes about these new rules because they think that their totally ridiculous. It seems like even though there are cameras all around the lockers, no one trusts them to behave. People that I interviewed knew from their friends and personal experiences that the cameras work; and in a way, that strikes fear into them. The fact that anything and everything that you do is caught on camera and can be used against you. That should be enough to stop us from doing anything bad or anything that their trying to prevent happening around the lockers. It seems like the teachers don’t trust us to behave and act like the 13 and 14 year olds that we are. People have been to the office over this, and it’s only gotten worse.

To resolve this problem, I think that all of the eighth graders agree that they should be free. We think that we should be trusted. If they are allowed to be wherever we want to be, there would be a much happier middle school.

 

A Phone Call That Leads to Death By: Rishni Bhandari

You might think that drunk driving, speeding and jumping traffic lights are the major causes of car accidents but you will be surprised to know that texting or talking on the phone are as big of a factor to traffic accidents. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that, “Motorists using a cell phone were four times more prone to getting into a car accident than those not using a cellphone.”

Cellphone drivers can be unpredictable. They might not know where they’re going as they’re too distracted on their cellphones. They might jump a signal and run over a pedestrian. Hundreds of pedestrians die or get seriously injured due to drivers who are on their phone. These accidents not only cause serious injury but also might result in death. Just like we have a law against drinking and driving we also need one against the usage of cellphone while driving.

Drivers need to be more responsible while using a phone. Drivers can always use voicemail to answer calls or have a passenger next to them to take a message. Another suggestion is to simply keep the phone off. Next time you’re driving, before picking up your phone just think to yourself, is this call really that important to risk a life for it?

Hang up and drive!  

Editorial

OPINION

OPINION

7

Fun Stuff

NEED SOME ADVICE Dear Lady Helper, There are three people in my group of friends who like to bully others. Now, they are teasing me because I come from a different country than the United States. I like these people and still want to be part of the group; howev-er, I do not like being tease about being born outside the USA. What can I do? Sad Inside Dear Sad Inside, Here is my advice. I personally think that you should confront them about this attitude. Try to make them understand that there are other states and countries out of USA. If these guys are really your friends then they should un-derstand what you mean and should stop. But if they don’t listen then think are they really your friends? Or just people you know and they pretend to be your friends? You had also mentioned that there are more friends in your group. Try sticking around with them. If what I told you doesn’t work out. Don’t lose faith in yourself and always remember it’s better to be who you really are rather than faking who you’re not. Sincerely, Lady Helper Dear Dish-It,

I went to my first AISJ middle school dance in October, and you know what? Nobody danced with me! Every single one of my friends, whether they wore a cute dress or not, got asked to dance except me! I was just walking around while my friends were off dancing with someone. I came home feeling sorry for myself and broken-hearted. I know somebody must like me, but may-be they just haven't collected the courage to tell me. Signed: Didn’t Dance

Dear Didn’t Dance

It takes a lot of courage, especially for guys in middle school to ask girls to dance because they're just as scared that the girl will say NO! There's defi-nitely someone for you. He may not come along right this second but chances are you won’t wait too long If there's someone in particular that you have your heart set on, why not ask him to dance next time? There's no rule that girls can't be the first one to make the move!

Your friend the advice guy

Hunger Games the Movie Siddhant Ramesh

The film Hunger games is based on the book by Suzanne Collins. It is a movie I am sure almost everyone knows. It is just a little different from the book. It’s got MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen and many more. It will make you watch it more than once. I watched the movie before I read the book because I didn’t want to know everything. The fight in the film is really good. It takes place in the future where there is this event called Hunger Games where people fight each other to their death. The last one alive gets items/ food to their district which is kind of like a village since their districts are poor. I recommend this movie because most have you have read or heard this book and it would be more interesting if you guys see it visually and it is really amazing and interesting. You might have a dif-ferent idea if you read the book and you also see if you were close to it. I would like this book to be read aloud at silent reading and after every advisory finishes the book we can watch the movie at school as we did for Freak the Mighty. I liked the movie more than the book because I like to watch things visually.

Entertainment to the Max By: Chumani M

A recent study done by Bundle Corporation showed the statistics of how much money people in the US spend on entertainment. The average monthly cost of Entertainment for people in U.S. is $48. The median monthly expense, which is sometimes a better indicator of typical spending behavior, of Entertainment for people in U.S. is $15. At the extremes, the 10th percentile (low spenders) spent $2 on Entertainment, and the 90th percentile (high spend-ers) spent $.Average households in U.S. spend an average of $552 per month on Food & Drink, $463 on Getting Around, $535 on House & Home, $736 on Shopping, $680 on Health & Family, and $229 on Travel & Leisure per month. These facts prove how much people value entertainment and the amounts of money that people spend on entertainment in the US alone. Since the modern era has emerged, children have been entertaining themselves with electronic equipment. This equipment includes Playstation3 and Xbox which cost between $400 and $600.

This is the case at AISJ when a survey was carried out on the 13th of September. The survey was for 6, 7and 8th grade of 20 kids in each grade proved the research right. The survey consisted of questions like what gaming consoles they preferred and what laptop brands they preferred.

The results were 60% of the 8th graders said they preferred Ps3 and 25% said Xbox and 15% other. 7th graders 55% said Ps3, 25% was Xbox and 20% said other. 6th graders said 43% Ps3, 33% Xbox and 24% other.

In conclusion this survey really shows how much middle school kids value entertainment and the amount of money they spend on the entertainment. Children have grown to have a passion for gaming.

8

Sports

And Others News

Happy Ending in Redhill By: Ishaan Roy

The track team from

Middle school performed to the

expectations in what for many

students in Middle school were

their last meet in track and field.

AISJ though didn’t get many

firsts, seconds or thirds in field

events, runners made it up in the track events. Most of the runners, who per-

formed in Redhill, got many firsts, seconds and thirds. Coached by Mrs. Weis,

she was very proud of the performance and commitment given by all the ath-

letes participating. Though this was the last track meet for most of the Middle

school, many students were sad but they were also happy to perform to the ex-

pectations in the Redhill School.

Could Didier Drogba Come Back By: Akshat Jindal 34 years old Didier Drogba, one of the best strikers in the world could be coming back to the English Premier League because of financial crisis in Shanghai FC. He left to Shanghai FC on 20TH June, 2012 as a free trans-fer as his contract was over. He clearly left Chelsea FC for more money as he earned 115,000 pounds per week in Chelsea and now he is earning 215,000pounds per week in Shanghai, making him the highest paid player in Asia and one of the highest earning players in the world. Arsenal Football Club and Chelsea Football Club are chas-ing Drogba because he is available for a free transfer. The Sun claim that Arsenal has already contacted the Chinese outfit about the possibility of bringing Drogba back to London. Arsenal’s manager, Arsenal Wenger is said to be keen on strengthening his strike-force following the departure of Robin van Persie and with just 2 goals in their first 3 games this season, a January move for the powerful Ivory Coast international could be in the cards. But what many wonder is Can Arsenal afford his wages?

Aliens are Real. By Darshan Pillay

We are not alone from the beginning of time we have been sharing the universe with aliens also known as extraterrestrials. Some of those “ETS” may want to de-stroy us or other may want to befriend us. if that’s the case we must be prepared for an evasion or an alliance. Some of you may not believe this but the proof is out there, sure they may not be wookies or Vulcans but they do exists the problem is knowing what is real and what is a hoax.

Hoaxes can vary there’s the classic crop circle which is pattern made in a field. There’s also lights in the sky and many more hoaxes. One of the most famous ones is Roswell where a top secret weather balloon crashed and

the evidence was removed and destroyed how-ever eye witness-es said that it was and alien space craft but who was telling the truth.

Two Sides of Truth BY: Akshat Jindal Recently the 7th graders read The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo. Beverley Naidoo came to our school on 1st October, 2012. She talked about her own writing career and she answered questions the children had. She writes realistic fiction filled with emotion and actions. “Beverley Naidoo was born in South Africa on 21 May, 1943 and grew up under apartheid. As a student, she began to question the apartheid regime and was later arrested for her actions as part of the resistance movement in South Africa. In 1965, she came to England and married another South African exile; they have two children. She graduated from the University of York with a BA in Education in 1968.’’ – Wikipedia

The Other Side of Truth is a story of two children Sade and Femi. The setting is Lagos, Nigeria and London, England. The main theme of the book is Truth and how it can get you in trouble. The. Sade is a 12 year old courageous Nigerian girl. Femi is Sade’s brother. Mr.Folarin Solaja is Sade and Femi’s dad. He is a well-known writer in Nigeria. He is only one of the few writers in the country who was courageous enough to write the truth about the Nigerian Government. Ms. Solaja, Sade and Femi’s mother, gets shot at the beginning of the book.

Sade remembers something that her parents told about lying. She remembered her mom saying “The truth keeps a hand cleaner than soap.’’ Sade remembered this after she lied about her last name to the refugee’s authority in London. This clearly leads to how the truth can get you in trouble or how sometimes it’s really hard to tell the truth. If she didn’t lie her dad could get killed in Nigeria.

I recommend this book to everyone who likes to read realistic fiction.

School Girl Shot in North-West Pakistan By: Ishaan Roy Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen year old girl, was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on the 9th of October, 2012. Taliban insurgents said that Malala Yousafzai deserved to die because she was involved in the struggle for education for girls. In 2009, Malala Yousafzai wrote a blog for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban and what she feels like. Now, she is in Birmingham, United Kingdom to get treatment. Doctors feel that the treatment may take months for her to heal up. Dr. David Rosser, a doctor in the Queen Elizabeth hospital, said that she was making good progress, but she has a long way to go and is not yet out of the woods.