Page 1

Special Thanks to…

Mrs. DoumanianPrincipal

Ms. HammondAdvisor

Rujula RaoEditor

2016-2017Volume 2The Horseshoe

Interview with Mr. Barelli

by Tarini Jaykumar and Lahari Desireddi

JBN Quote of the Quarter

“It’s nice to be important

but it is more important to

be nice.”

-Berneva Johnson

Fun Fact

100,000 pounds of candy

hearts are sold each day

during January 1 and

Valentine's Day

Continued on pg 2

The Dakota Access Pipeline

by Jacob Wang

We recently interviewed the

school dean, Mr. Barelli. He is

such an interesting and

amazing person. Did you

know that Mr. Barelli used to

be a police officer? It

surprised us too! Let’s get

started.

Rob Barelli was born in

Cleveland, Ohio and moved

here at a very young age.

His favorite color is yellow

(Mustang spirit!) and his favorite vacation that he has

gone on is to Pismo Beach. He has 3 kids. They are in

4th grade, 1st grade, and TK. All are at Baker

Elementary. After school, he likes to pull out the hair

that he has left, hang out with his kids, play baseball,

and have family time. His favorite flavor of ice cream

is black licorice, but if he can’t get it, he’ll just get

peanut butter chocolate. His favorite present he has

ever received was a batting cage from his parents

when he was in 8th or 9th grade. He loves spicy food

like enchiladas and lasagna. Yum! He loves to go to

the movies and likes to watch the San Francisco

Giants. He likes the movie “Dirty Harry”. His happiness

can be found by helping others, and that is what

inspired him to be a dean. He has a dog and a

hamster.

Mr.Barelli wanted to maintain fields at the AT&T

park as his profession other than a dean, if he had to

choose. He loves his job, though. He had to go

through 8 years of college in total in three colleges.

The main thing he likes about his job is the

opportunity to embed in the school community.There

isn’t really anything he doesn’t like about his job

except that he has to see kids deal with tough

situations and problems and being able to solve

them.

He didn’t specifically want this job from childhood

as his career but something that can let him help the

community is he looked forward to. His actual dream

was to be a professional baseball player. As many

The protest against the

construction of the Dakota

Access Pipeline has been raging

for months. This pipeline, built by

Energy Transport Partners and

costing about 3.7 billion dollars,

is planned to transport

approximately 470,000 barrels

of crude oil a day. The pipe will

run across four states, from

North Dakota to Illinois, and is

nearly 1,200 miles long.

The project is said to create a

cheaper and more efficient way

of transporting crude oil, rather

than the first transport with

trains and also will increase

profits for oil companies.

However, the Standing Rock

Sioux Native Americans and

their supporters argue that the

creation of such a pipe would

potentially contaminate their

water source and damage their

sacred burial site along the path

of the pipe.

Those that oppose the

construction of the pipeline have

gone in thousands to protest.

For the most part, the

demonstrations have been

peaceful. But at times, chaos

Facts about February

- Black History Month

- It is the shortest month of

the year

- Birthdays: Harry Styles,

Chloe Grace Moretz, The

WeekndContinued on pg 3

For nine years the Scripps spelling bee has been one of the nation’s

oldest and iconic competitions that have hosted over 10 million people

and 1,000 schools per year. This year was Moreland Middle School’s 4th

annual spelling bee, where nearly 100 students participated. The

winning words in last year’s national spelling bee were Feldenkrais (used

for a system of aided body movements intended to increase body

awareness and ease tension) and Gesellschaft (a rationally developed

mechanistic type of social relationship characterized by impersonally

contracted associations between persons). The winning spellers were

Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga. On January 10th, the preliminary

round of the spelling bee was hosted at MMS to decide who would go to

the finals on January 19th. Some examples of words from the 2014 MMS

spelling bee included: pontiff, evince, omnibus, abstruse, bonsai, dirndl,

schism, travesty, bourgeois, follicle, bodega and vestigial. At the finals,

each contestant came up to the stand and say the word. Then they

could ask for the origin, part of speech, or the definition, depending on

the word the judges asked them. Finally, they had to repeat the word.

Here are the amazing students who won the spelling bee:

Alex Du will move on to compete in the semifinals, and has a chance

to become one of the greatest spellers in the nation. The MMS Scripps

spelling bee is definitely one of the most important events of the year.

Page 2

The Dakota Access Pipeline

Continued from pg 1Pictures

taken by Amy Liu

had reigned, and police officers fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water

at the demonstrators. After much protesting, the project was

temporarily stalled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for more review

of the building plans.

However, on January 24, 2017, President Trump signed executive

actions to resume the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Trump stated that the construction is “subject to terms and conditions

negotiated by us [U.S. government]”.

What the future of the pipeline may be is unknown, but the

construction of the pipeline is sure to face more opposition.

MMS Scripps Spelling Beeby Shirina Agrawal

6th grade:

1st place- Tarini Jaykumar

2nd place- Lahari Desireddi

3rd place- Shrienidhi Gopalakrishnan

7th grade:

1st place- Lavanika Sharma

2nd place- Priyanshu Sharma

3rd place- Ashwin Rajan

8th grade:

1st place- Alex Du

2nd place- Shreyass Prem Sankar

3rd place- Haley Stringer

6th grade Spelling Bee Participants

6th grade Spelling Bee Winners w/ Awards

6th grade A Walk in Our Shoes PBL

Art Gallery - Oil Pastels

Page 3

Interview With Ms. Hammond

by Maharishi Rajarethenam

people know, this is his first year of

being a dean. The Trinidad

brothers were unforgettable

people to him in his life but we

really don’t know who they are.

The jobs he has gone through

previously in his life are a police

officer, P.E teacher, and baseball

coach.

All in all, Mr. Barelli has more

unknown facts within him that we

don’t realize. The short glimpse of

Mr. Barelli’s life that we got to see

was very interesting. We will see

you next time with a new member

from MMS. This is Lahari D. and

Tarini J. signing off!

Interview with Mr. Barelli

Continued from pg 1

Later in the Paper...

World News: Malaysian Boat Mishap, United Nations Poverty Plan: pg 7

Opinion Section: Pros & Cons of Cloning, Pros & Cons of Paying Kids for Good Grades: pgs 4, 5, & 6

Technology: New Life Changing Robots, Google’s Project Loon: pgs 6 & 8

Sports: Patrick Marleau Star Player: pg 8

Entertainment: The Evolution of Gaming: pg 7

Mrs. Hammond is a sixth-grade

core teacher. She was born in

Mountain View, California. Mrs.

Hammond's favorite color is

green. She has been working

as a teacher for four years.

Before she was a teacher, she

was a barista and Whole

Foods Bakery manager. Her

favorite movie is ¨Chef¨. She

says that it is a feel-good

movie. Her favorite thing to do

in her free time is to read

books. She became a

Due to the success of Romanian gymnastics coach Marta Karolyi, the five U.S. gymnasts

dominated the Rio Olympic Games, coming away with nine Olympic medals, the most a

women’s gymnastics team has ever gotten in Olympic history. The five women - Simone Biles,

Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian - dominated in Rio and

dubbed themselves the “Final Five” after the team final.

First, the U.S. women came into qualification being huge favorites and they destroyed the

competition almost 10 points above the second-place finisher, China. They then went to the

team final and won gold by such an overwhelming margin with a score of 184.897, beating

Russia, who got 176.688, by over 8 points! Two days after that, 19-year-old Simone Biles went

on to win the women’s individual all-around gold medal, in front of her teammate Aly Raisman

and Russia’s Aliya Mustafina. She then went to the vault final and picked up her third gold

medal in Rio. Not going into the bar final, she didn’t win a medal, but team USA’s Madison

Kocian won silver in that event. In the beam final, Simone Biles was favored for gold #4 but

stumbled on a front flip. She still took the bronze, and Laurie Hernandez took the silver. Yes,

Simone was also factored for her fifth gold medal, but due to the final beam stumble, and

dancing to music from the movie “Rio,” she got her fourth gold medal, and Aly Raisman took

the silver. Simone got a total of 9 Olympic medals, four gold, four silver, and one bronze, the

most amount of medals received by a women’s gymnastics team member. “[Simone] is the

first gymnast ever to win a team, all-around, and two event finals, since Larisa Latynina of the

Soviet Union in 1956,” said NBC gymnastics announcer Al Trautwig.

Marta Karolyi is why Team USA did so well and named themselves the “Final Five." Marta

had a humongous legacy career going back to Nadia Comaneci in 1976. She ended her

career this year, which is why the team chose “The Final Five” as their nickname. Karolyi has

been training them so far, including monthly training camps and lots of motivation. Without

her and her husband, Bela Karolyi, none of their success would’ve been possible. Another

reason they chose the nickname "Final Five" is that at the next Olympics, there will only be

four girls per team. Here come the "Fantastic Four"!

We Are the Final Five!

by Clara Schultz

teacher because when she

almost failed high school, two

teachers helped her pass. She

wants to do the same for her

students. Mrs. Hammonds dad

is her inspiration. He was a

Vietnam soldier.

When Mrs. Hammond gets

home, she cooks dinner. What

Mrs. Hammond hates about

her job is grading! What she

loves about her job is when a

student reaches their goal.

Mrs. Hammond is a great

core teacher. I had fun

interviewing her. This is

Maharishi Rajarathenam

signing off.

Page 4

All around you, there are thousands of

lifeforms surrounding you. There are

bacteria, insects, and humans. But what if

there were two of you? No, I’m not talking

about you and your twin sibling, I’m talking

about cloning, even though your twin sibling

can still be a “clone.” Cloning is defined by

the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as to

“Replicate (a fragment of DNA placed in an

organism) so that there is enough to

analyze or use in protein production.” Now

before you say that “It’s not possible,” think

twice. You might have learned this in

science, but cloning is possible. The incident

of Dolly, the Sheep, showed us that cloning

is possible. Now cloning farm animals would

be great. Our industries can go up, and

farms can produce more for us, the

consumers. Cloning is scientifically fantastic

and can benefit our economy. Opponents of

cloning will often argue that cloning is

unsafe and unuseful. It’s time to prove them

wrong!

Let’s start off by explaining how cloning

will work. According to

learn.genetics.utah.edu.com, cloning can

happen in two different ways. One way is

Artificial Embryo Twinning, and the other is

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Artificial

Embryo Twinning means is similar to the

way twins are born. It’s just external. The

embryo is separated into different cells and

placed in a different mother. All the cells are

the same, so all the newborns should be the

same. SCNT, or Somatic Cell Nuclear

Transfer, involves a longer, more

time-consuming process. If you don’t know

what a somatic cell is, it is just any cell other

than reproductive cells. Anyway, to make

Dolly the Sheep, this method was followed.

Editorial/Opinion

Cloning: It Should Be

Permitted

by Ishaan Iyer

Here’s what the scientists did: “To create

Dolly, researchers isolated a somatic cell

from an adult female sheep. Next, they

removed the nucleus and all of its DNA

from an egg cell. Then they transferred the

nucleus from the somatic cell to the egg

cell. After a couple of chemical tweaks, the

egg cell, with its new nucleus, was

behaving just like a freshly fertilized egg. It

developed into an embryo, which was

implanted into a surrogate mother and

carried to term.” That was a lot of

information. But genetics and heredity are

interesting, and cloning is even cooler.

Who knows? Maybe some of you might

research cloning even more.

Cloning should be utilized here in our

country for proper usage. Some may

assert that techniques for cloning aren’t at

a full capacity for us to use them. But just

think about all the important inventions

that happened because of trial and error.

Thomas Edison’s light bulb was through

trial and error. Alexander Graham Bell’s

telephone required trial and error.

Newton’s theory of gravity came

through trial and error. Nothing was

perfected on the first try. Without

testing the full capabilities of cloning,

you cannot argue that we shouldn’t

use it. We can make it better.

Also, cloning can help protect

endangered species from extinction.

Having a hundred of animals is better

than having zero. According to

Scientific American, “Since the early

2000s, using the same technique that

produced Dolly, researchers have

cloned several endangered and even

extinct mammals. Some animals

include a mouflon sheep and a bovine

known as a gaur in 2001; a kind of wild

cattle called a banteng in 2003; a wild

goat called the Pyrenean ibex in 2009;

and wild coyotes in 2012.” These

animals did barely survive, but the

thought of seeing this much success

overwhelmed scientists. We need to

take advantage of this incredible

piece of bioengineering. Maybe

someday soon, we all could change

the face of genetics itself.

It is time to take a new way of

genetics and bring that to fruition. We

should learn to adapt to what

scientists have done before us. I look

forward to seeing new endeavors

coming to life when it comes to our

vast world of science. If you are

interested in genetics and heredity, do

some more research. Keep up with the

news, and think about the benefits of

cloning. If we can bring back extinct

animals, maybe in the future we can

keep them for years to come.

Cloning: A Process that Will

Wreck Havoc

by Parthiv Krishnan

Genetic problems and mutations, diseases

early, premature death; I am addicted to

the topic of cloning, and I think it is one of

the heights of human biology and science.

But, I am also against it until scientists

work out the kinks. "What 'kinks?'" am I

referring too? Well, first of all, Most clones

end up with mutations, such as twisted or

missing limbs this is including their faces.

Also, they can generate diseases, like

arthritis, earlier in life. Like Dolly, the sheep,

most clones die prematurely. Now, this is

wrong. Scientists

should not clone at all until they are sure

that they have worked out the kink. Some

people may say: "Cloning can help

endangered species and possibly bring

extinct animals back to life!" Professor

Archer is trying to clone the extinct

Thylacine, most commonly known as the

Tasmanian Tiger. If he succeeds, the clone

will probably be mutated unless he figures

out the problem with the cloning

technique that he is using. So I count this

as animal cruelty, though the scientists

don't intend on the animals to be mutated.

But they should work on the technique,

and when they think that they have the

solution, then try it. It's much more

humane. Also, forget about ethics and it

being unnatural, it is not fair to the animals

we have left which will be left without

conservation efforts. If enough people had

cared in the first place, most of the

increasingly popular animals on the brink

Continued on pg 5

Page 5

From the independent, proud

state of Texas to the old state of

Massachusetts, numerous

amounts of students are fishing

cash for good grades or test

scores on AP (Advanced

Placement) and SAT exams. It

may sound like an extraordinary

idea to some, and others

disagree. Money plays an

important and valuable role in

our economy and can change

many perspectives on different

things, but is giving students

cash for fine grades and exams

an ideal idea? Proponents may

persuade you to believe test

taken with the program would

be like standardized tests. With

the competitivity of students

fighting for cash, there would be

a higher rate of cheating.

Cheating means testing would

require advisors to keep a look

out for devious rats.

Furthermore, the definition of

school is “an institution for

educating children,” not “an

institute for children to earn

money.” From the analysis,

giving students cash does not fit

the definition of school.

Psychologists Bob Brooks and

Sam Goldstein claimed,

“Participating at school for the

sheer pleasure of learning – is

soon eclipsed by the promise of

external rewards, and a child’s

natural enthusiasm for learning

may be dampened.” This means

the process wouldn’t teach kids

the value of learning.

Students always have a reason to strive for that A+ on their report card, whether it be extra

screen time or tickets to your favorite concert. Teachers even use pizza parties or homework

passes as rewards. Now, what if money is added into the equation? Some schools in the

United States have experimented with programs that give money to students for achieving

high grades. Having money rewards for students motivate them to try for higher test scores,

give a similar feeling to paychecks, and support low-income families. Although opponents of

this idea may argue

that spending money for grades is a wrong way to

motivate students, we must realize that it simulates

workforce pay. One of the points made on Debate.org

is, “You go to work because you need money, very

rarely because you enjoy it. The same thing goes for

school.” Adults do their job and in return receive a

paycheck. If they are promoted, they are given higher pay. This idea is very similar to pay for

students. It gives them a feeling of preparation for what the future holds and the rewards in

store. First of all, if pizza can motivate classrooms to aim for higher test scores, just imagine

what a cash reward will do! PBS Newshour interviewed elementary students who received

money for high scores on state testing. In the interview, they say that the cash prize made

them want to sleep early and study harder. This system is obviously benefitting students and

schools. Implementing this type of system on more schools has a possibility of dramatically

improving test scores. By giving out cash rewards, students will feel more motivated to study

and reach for the top scores.

Also, pay for grades is an excellent opportunity for low-income students. Washington, D.C.,

school chancellor Michelle Rhee states that these types of programs can prevent students

from taking more drastic measures for money. Students will prefer to earn money through

grades instead of being lured into crimes for cash. These programs can be a great help and

open windows for families. Low-income students will make money through higher grades,

and along the way, they are securing a brighter future with their academics.

To continue, paying kids to get good grades enforces the lesson that everything is earned

through hard work. In her article, “Should Students Get Paid for Good Grades?” Natasha

Quinonez writes, “Receiving money for grades shows them that they have actually to work

to get something.” Students, especially the younger ones, tend to ask and get what they

Paying Kids to Get Good

Grades is Not Wise

by Sherry Zhang

Kids Should Be Paid to Get Good Grades

by Krystle Catamura

Cloning: A Process that Will Wreck Havoc

Continued from pg 4

of extinction wouldn't be in

their current situation. And

when you start cloning extinct

animals, where does it end?

More importantly, bringing

back animals in this way will

significantly reduce future

conservationists because

everyone will hold the view

that we can merely clone

them instead. Cloning isn't

righting a wrong - it's an

absolute cop out. Plus Cloning

of extinct species bad for

wildlife's ecosystems. Not

cloning extinct animals is the

best thing for the wildlife’s

ecosystems. Once a species

disappears, the ecosystem

has to change, therefore

“Erasing Earth's Evolution.”

The ecosystem soon turns,

and the wildlife gets used to

it. If they start bringing back

dead animals, and putting

them back into their original

environment, they have to

change again; this could

make it worse; more species

could become extinct or

endangered. They could

prey or compete against

current wildlife, disturbing

the ecosystem. Finally, we

can't play God. Animals that

have become extinct have

done so for a reason. If they

went extinct on their own,

then it was meant to

happen. If humans killed off

all the animals, we have to

leave them all gone, or else

we will have never learned

anything at all. If we can just

bring back what we kill, then

it will become more common

not to care at all. We need to

learn to keep the animals we

have already and move on.

Continued on pg 6

Continued on pg 6

The world around us is evolving at light speed, and robotics is being taken to a whole new level. Let’s start with a friendly robot that is still changing from 2006 when it was first introduced. His name is Nao, and he was made by the company Aldebaran with three purposes: He was to be a lifelong companion to humans, provide an educational tool for all ages, and to help young programmers learn a fun way to program, making many apps to use on Nao. He is made to be endearing and lovable. Aldebaran says, “This is the primary goal… create an engaging, interactive companion and partner.” Before Nao became a friend to people, he was helping kids who had autism learn. Andrea Michaels, a teacher at Garnet Valley SchoolDistrict, says, “Many of the students in my room have extensive communication needs, and struggleto interact with peers and teachers.” The Nao robots provide them with the perfect opportunity topractice both speaking and listening skills.” Next, they have created a humanoid robot called Romeointended to deepen research on assistance for the elderly and those who can no longer move with agilityor as many degrees of freedom. Its height allows it to be able to do things that the elderly don’t have the ability to. Romeo, also known as Nao’s “big brother,” is being tested by an old man named Mr.Smith, who has difficulties getting places and has partial memory loss. This an example provided by Aldebaran of what a beginning of a day would be like having Romeo with Mr.Smith. “In the morning, Mr. Smith tells Romeo that he is going shopping for his lunch… notes this in his diary and informs Mr. Smith... to buy milk... Romeo says ‘see you later’ to Mr. Smith on seeing him leave, closing the door behind him… the telephone rings. Mr. Smith… picks up the phone… he tells Romeo that his grandchildren are coming to visit at 4 pm. Romeo puts the appointment in the diary… Given the time that this takes Mr. Smith... Romeo advises him… the robot detects that Mr. Smith is tired and offers to help prepare the meal… he is capable of preparing the meal..." I think Romeo would be a useful tool if I was Mr. Smith’s age and recently discharged from the hospital. As you can see, Romeo can be a very useful robot in this day and age. Pepper, the latest creation of Aldebaran is also known as the first robot designed to live with humans. Like Nao, Pepper is a friendly robot able to communicate with you through the most intuitive interface we know: voice, touch, and emotions. Aldebaran says Pepper is an excellent companion because, “Pepper can translate what state you are in using his knowledge of universal emotions (joy, surprise, anger, doubt, and sadness) and his ability to analyze your facial expression, body language and the words you use. He will guess your mood, and will even adapt to it. For example, he will try to cheer you up by playing your favorite song!” The company proudly states, “Formed in 2005, Aldebaran is the result of a dream, of the vision Bruno Maisonnier fostered since he was a child: build humanoid robots, a new human species for the benefit of humankind.”

Page 6

Kids Should Be Paid to Get Good Grades

Continued from pg 5

Students shouldn’t be learning for

money, but instead for the

knowledge possessed in the

subject. A question we should all

contemplate about is if the reward

suddenly stops, would students still

be motivated to try hard in school?

Students at schools in Chicago

could earn up to $2,000 if they’re

incredibly lucky. From the outside

you see students receiving money

from the school, but from where

does the money come? The money

funded by the government gave to

the schools are collected by taxes

and taxes are paid by citizens. If

every school were to have this

program, residents would need to

pay more taxes.

Residents already pay about 45%

of tax each year and adding the

cash program would just bring the

percentage higher.

Students all around the U.S.

would think it’s a spontaneous idea

for schools to give a cash reward

for good grades and test scores.

It’s a tempting offer, but many

things would need to be classified

first. Tax paid every year may

increase and students wouldn’t

take education for its content but

instead for the money. You

shouldn’t be paid for learning

something especially when many

other children around the world

don’t get the opportunity to be in

your shoes.

Paying Kids to Get Good

Grades is Not Wise

Continued from pg 5

A New World of Robotics

by Shreyass Prem Sankar

want without realizing its

value. Earning their money

through hard work and

grades can teach them

that money doesn't grow

on trees. It will also show

the importance of saving

for what they want.

Rewards give students an

incentive to study hard,

but cash can become a

stronger motivation to

strive for the top. Cash for

grades work as a

motivation, benefits

low-income families, and

teaches students the value

of money. Schools from

different parts of the

country have tried this

reward system and

witnessed an increase in

better test scores and a

student’s will to study. Money

for high grades is just

another way to get students

excited for their next test.

Some students are worn out

by the stressful, mediocre

day to day school life, cash

rewards for top test scores

might just change that.

Page 7

When the first game console was released, people were amazed by the simple

technology of pong, which was lame yet fun in their time because they never played

video games before yet back then gamers were just playing for fun but when the video

games started to evolve so did the gamers. When computers made the video game, it

was a revolution. People all around the globe were playing video games then people

started to make tournaments for the best of the best. The arcade was the natural

gaming hub for people and still is to this day. I go there sometimes, an arcade out in

Bakersfield, that has Donkey Kong, and my high score is 1st, and no one ever

challenged me. An arcade may be competitive, but let me tell you about the time I went

to IEM ( intel extreme masters), a place meant for gaming tournaments. My cousin and I

went there with VIP passes, so we got to go to the twitch suite and below the stage to

play games that had not been released. It was incredible, and we got free t-shirts and

other cool gear. There are so many competitive people out there who play for things like

money. The gaming world is a very competitive place.

The Evolution of Gaming

by Mikey Lee

U.N. Radical Plan of Stopping

Poverty

by Samvrit Srinath

16 United Nations countries are planning to create a procedure or idea that could

increase the economy of most, if not all countries and decimate poverty all over the

world. This campaign or board is represented by high officials from the United Kingdom,

Liberia, and Indonesia. United Nations is urging more to join as there have been only 16

nations who are willing to participate in this radical idea.

The primary cause of poverty is due to taxing such as G77, etc. but all of these nations

are willing to spend 0.7% of their national growth or profit aid. With that percentile, the

U.S is donating about 18,200,000,000 or about 18 billion dollars per year! With this money

alone from the U.S., the United Nations is planning on saving multiple African countries

and Indonesian areas due to many causes of child labor and poor economies in those

areas. Ever since 1990, the world population of extreme poverty has decreased by

27.5%.

The World Bank, the United Nations’ organization for helping world relief programs,

plans to help 50 million people per year, about a million people per week from extreme

poverty. Abject poverty is when a worker earns less than $1.25 per day which is much

less than minimum wage. What the World Bank wants to do is to create many more

policies to raise incomes for many people around the world. For one policy is to make

Africa like China, where there will be multiple territories instead of the many countries of

Africa. In China, the government owns all the land, and its economy grows at a steady

rate.

To this, in 3 years, 13% of Africa’s extreme poverty population has become

sustainable, and with this rate, we could have all poverty in the Sub-Saharan region

destroyed by 2019. The world bank plans to increase the economy of Sub-Saharan

regions by influencing the government of many countries to start exporting many

natural resources. Also, urbanization will increase the economy opportunities of

education and allows for many job opportunities such as healthcare, software, and

robotics in this age. Jim Yong Kim, says that in the next century, there will be a significant

advancement in African lands and there will be no cases of poverty in Africa.

Poverty is still creates a negative effect on the world, but according to the World Bank

and the United Nations, poverty will be obliterated in the next few years in areas around

the world.

Malaysian Boat Sank on

Lunar New Year

by Nana Osawa

January 28, 2017. It was the start of

the Lunar New Year holidays. The

day should’ve been happy for

everyone. However, a sad thing

happened that evening: A Malaysia

boat sank.

According to Bloomberg, the boat

departed Kota Kinabalu on Saturday,

January 28, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. and it

was reported missing after about 12

hours. It was on the way to Pulau

Mengalum, an island about 60

kilometers west, as stated in Time.

The question is, how did the boat

sink? The head of the Malaysian

Maritime Enforcement Agency said,

“The boat was ‘broken’ after being hit

by waves and sank.” As of January

29, 2017, two crews survived by

swimming to a nearby island, and 18

passengers were found by

fishermen, and five passengers were

rescued by a tug boat, so in a total of

23 passengers and two crews were

saved, as reported by British

Broadcasting Corporation(BBC).

However, the head of the Malaysian

navy, Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad

Badaruddin tells that ships and a

C130 aircraft were still searching for

six missing people in the searching

area of 400 Nautical square miles. It

seems like it was just an ordinary

accident, but this event might ruin

the relationship between China and

Malaysia more. First of all, according

to Yahoo News, in March, 2014, the

Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared.

On that airplane, there were 293

people, and since most of them were

Chinese, Malaysian authorities were

angrily criticized. This event already

made the relationship between those

two countries weak. Nobody knows

what is going to happen next.

Page 8

Project Loon

by Ojas JoshiPatrick Marleau

by Lindsay Barnes

Project Loon is a pilot by Google, or Google X, to provide fast, efficient, and reliable

internet to rural and remote places. They use balloons that are placed high in the

stratosphere and use a satellite to provide internet access to homes. The balloons

are placed at an altitude of approximately 11 miles.

There is an inflator inside the balloon to adjust its altitude onto the right flight path.

Solar panels supply the balloons with energy, which is stored in batteries during the

night. There is also an antenna which allows the balloon to communicate to the

other balloons. Additionally, there are computers, electronics, GPS trackers, and a

foam brick which communicates with air traffic and other such things. According to

the article “Project Loon,” these balloons can grow up to the size of a small aircraft.

These balloons can stay up in the air for around 100-200 days at a time. When they

collapse, a parachute is deployed, and it slowly floats back down to Earth. So

people don’t get freaked out, the balloon has a safety warning saying, “ Scientific

Project.” There is also a phone number included, and a certain amount of prize

money if you call that number. The signal of the balloon is collected by a particular

antenna, which is shaped like a sphere. There are some competitors to this project

like the Facebook drones and SpaceX satellites, but they are not as marketable as

Project Loon. Google X approved this unusual project for one reason: the internet.

“Patrick Marleau is the first player to

score four goals in a single period since

Mario Lemieux in 1997.”-Rotoworld

There have been more than 20,000

NHL hockey games since Mario

Lemieux scored his four goals in a

single period, now it’s been done again.

It’s been done by our very own Patrick

Marleau who is on the San Jose

Sharks. It seems as if scoring four goals

in a single period is every hockey

player’s dream, but yet so difficult. Only

twelve other players besides Marleau

have done that.

“It’s an exceptional feat when you’re

22. Never mind when you’re 37 in the

middle of seven games in 11 nights.

Great player. It was wonderful to be a

part of it,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer

said of Marleau just after he scored his

fourth goal in a single period. Patrick

scored his four goals against the

Colorado Avalanche on January 23 in

the third period. They were all amazing,

but one outshone the rest. Marleau’s

last goal, a breakaway, was

outstanding. His teammate passed

him the puck, he dodged around the

defenders, then it was just him and the

goalie, and he shoots, and he scores!

The crowd goes wild! He just made his

fourth goal in the single period,

Marleau has just made history!

Marleau is a 37-year-old left wing on

the San Jose Sharks hockey team and

was the Sharks’ team captain from

2004 to 2009. Patrick was born in

Canada and was on the gold-medal

winning Canadian Olympic Team in

2010 and 2014. Patrick is also one of

the few hockey players that have

scored 500 GOALS in history!

Thanks for reading The Horseshoe!

Upcoming Events:

March 2nd - District String Festival

March 3rd - Kona Ice on Campus

March 9th - District Band Festival

March 10th - No School

March 30th - Science Fair

March 31st - 3rd Quarter Ends

Riddles:

1. Feed me and I live, yet give me

a drink and I die. What am I?

2. What begins with T , ends with

T , and has T in it?

3. Which vehicle is spelled the

same forwards and backwards?

1. Fire 2. Teapot 3. Racecar

Page 5

The Future of Driving:

Dangers of Driverless Cars

by Krystle Catamura

The Future of Driving:

Society is Ready for Driverless Cars

by Jacob Wang Self-driving cars are growing in popularity among the people

of our society. Many successful companies including Tesla and

Google are focusing on the development of such cars. Cars

that require no drivers not only are more efficient but also

provide passengers with a more relaxing kind of

transportation. The future of our society lies with the develop of

autonomous cars. As our society progresses into the future, we

will inevitably face challenges. The only way to further progress

is to overcome those challenges with dexterity.

According to the IEEE Spectrum article, “The Scary

Efficiency of Autonomous Intersections” by Evan Ackerman,

the reason why our society has traffic lights is to maintain the

safety of its people. Meanwhile, autonomous cars aren’t

restricted to humans who don’t have the capability to make

crucial decisions. Instead of having to wait at red lights for

safety measures, autonomous cars can easily bypass the

busiest of intersections with speed. We won’t have to waste

half our day waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Having

automated cars will eliminate the time we spend each day on

the road and in turn increasing our time to work. The

introduction of self-driving cars to our society brings along a

more comfortable way of traveling. As the Newsela article

“PRO/CON: How safe are cars that can drive themselves?” by

Tribune News Service states, “Instead of being tiring, it [driving]

will be relaxing. Passengers will be able to catch up on their

reading. They will be able to watch TV”. Unfortunately, driving

to work today may seem like a hassle. There are many traffic

lights and traffic only grows worse every day. But with the

luxury of having not to drive, one essentially has another free

hour before work. He/she can catch up on sleep or even

complete unfinished work.

However, many people in our society believe

self-driving cars to be unsafe. They believe that computers are

not as reliable as a person’s decisions. But again, as stated in

the IEEE Spectrum, autonomous cars are not limited to the

physical restrictions which we face. They can easily avoid the

accidents we cause on the road with their technology. The

article “Self-Driving Cars Could Save 300,000 Lives Per Decade

in America” from The Atlantic by Adrienne LaFrance reveals

that “Researchers estimate that driverless cars could, by

midcentury, reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90 percent”.

Basing the statistics off of the fatalities in 2013, over 29,447

lives could be saved just by autonomous cars. From an even

Times are changing, and we now have hoverboards, flying

drones, and even virtual reality! As things continue to change,

more and more is being introduced into society. Now, we ask

the question: Should we have self-driving cars? Companies

have begun presenting the idea, but the company Google is

the very first to suggest cars without steering wheels or brakes.

Crazy, right? Although proponents of self-driving cars may

argue that they are safer, many flaws make self- driving cars

extremely dangerous to users. Not to mention, these

autonomous cars are too vulnerable to hackers, are

hazardous editions to our roads, and will affect thousands of

employees. Self-driving cars should not run on our streets.

To start off, self-driving cars will have an adverse impact on

transportation industries and employees. Eventually, our

technology is expected to get to a point where having

someone in the driver’s seat won’t even be necessary. With a

better way to get from place to place without needing to take

control of a wheel- companies such as Uber and Lyft will suffer

tremendous losses. As these cars continue to advance, even

buses and the taxi industry will be affected. You may wonder,

why does the disbandment of these companies matter? Now,

we must think about their employees, these drivers who travel

the roads for a living. According to MakeUseOf.com, tech

journalist Brad Merrill writes, “This would leave the following

people jobless: 180,000 taxi drivers, 160,000 Uber drivers,

500,000 school bus drivers, and 160,000 transit bus drivers, for

a total of 1 million jobs.” Many Americans will unfairly suffer the

ramifications of these newer vehicles. It is not right that we

leave them jobless just because more modern technology has

surfaced.

Another setback of self-driving cars is the privacy and safety

that the driver will lose. These cars will run on new technology

which allows hackers and third parties to access your

information and worst of all, location. It will come to a point

where anybody can track your movements. This enormous

loss of privacy will endanger our safety. Also, companies will be

able to control your stops so that it benefits their sponsorship.

For example, your self-driving Google car may take you to

Peet’s Coffee even though Starbucks is the most efficient and

closest shop. The car would do this because they may be

sponsored by Peet’s Coffee, like the advertisements you see

on the internet. In The Atlantic’s Continued on pg 6 Continued on pg 6

Page 8

How to Make Slime or Silly Putty

by Clara Schultz

Slime is really trendy at MMS right now. Whenever I am in the lockers in P.E., at least

three people have slime out. Here is an easy way to make slime with ingredients that are easy

to find, and that you might even have at home.

Ingredients you need:

● Glue, the amount of glue you use is the approximate amount of slime

● One of the following: Borax and water, liquid starch, liquid laundry detergents such as

Tide, Gain, or Bounty (not all work), or baking soda and eye drops or contact lens

solution

Procedure:

First, empty your glue into a mixing bowl or plate. Then, you can add pretty much

whatever you like! Add water to make it more slimy. Or, for example, you could put in food

coloring to color it, lotion to make it really stretchy, or shaving cream to increase the volume of

the slime and make it more fluffy.

If using borax and water, you need to make a borax solution and slime activator. Put 1

teaspoon of borax with 3-4 cups of lukewarm water. Mix well until the borax dissolves. Let this

mixture cool if possible. I find that liquid starch causes the slime to be more like silly putty, and

the baking soda and eye drops or contact lens solution method makes the slime much thicker.

FYI: You won’t use all of the slime activator.

Next, start adding whatever you are using as your slime activator (borax solution,

liquid starch, liquid laundry detergent, or baking soda and eye drops/contact lens solution), a

little bit at a time, to the mixture with glue. You will see the slime start to form. Once it is no

longer sticky, take it out of the mixing bowl and start kneading it. The slime will clump together

even more and become less slippery and sticky. The slime is now finished!

What’s going on?

Glue is a shear-thinning liquid, and a polymer. A shear-thinning liquid is a liquid that

becomes less viscous when shear stress is applied. When the borax solution or other slime

activator is added, the large molecules in the glue join together and can no longer slide around.

The slime, for instance, is a shear-thickening substance, meaning a liquid that becomes more

viscous when shear stress is applied. This is why the mixture clumps together when the slime

activator is added and the mixture becomes thicker.

Adulting School: A New

Way to Learn

by Shreyass Prem Sankar

“Learning how to learn is

life's most important skill,” says

Tony Buzan. Adults, they are

the person you look up to when

you’re a kid, the person that

you revolve around, and who

you admire. You have probably

heard the word, life skills, many

times whether you were

roaming the internet, or by

talking to your parents. The

word adulting also applies to

life skills, because you learn the

life skills that are imperative to

your childhood, on your journey

to be an adult. Be it fixing a tire,

or a window, chopping logs,

managing money, or even

cooking. The things kids are

supposed to know as adults

aren’t being taught, so in result

Stanford’s grocery shopping

course, and even The Adulting

School in Portland have

popped up.

The Adulting School said,

“We know you're sick of feeling

like you're pretending to be a

grown-up and that someone's

going to realize you don't know

the sh#t you're supposed to

know.” These kinds of things

are popping up because they

are not learning what they

need to, to become an adult.

Many of these courses could

be helpful even to me. Their 4

categories include financial

basics, health + wellness, make

it + fix-it skills, and relationships

and communication. My point

being that we should start

learning how to act like a

mature person and have the

knowledge of one as well.

MMS’ 10th Anniversary

by Shirina Agrawal

This year is the 10th

anniversary of Moreland

Middle School! Before

Moreland Middle Middle was

founded the Moreland School

District had two middle

schools: Samuel Curtis

Rogers Middle School and

Elvira Castro Middle School,

which were close

competitors. In 2006 the two

middle schools closed and

formed one middle school on

Elvira Castro Middle School’s

campus. They named that

school Moreland Middle

School. Elvira Castro Middle

School opened in 1958.

Samuel Curtis Middle School

opened a few years later in

1961. The Moreland School

District was founded in 1851

and was one of the first

school districts in the area.

The students were taught in a

private house of a teacher

named, Charles La Follette.

Later Zecheriah Moreland

sold his home to be used as a

schoolhouse for the students.

This schoolhouse was

located at the intersection of

Saratoga and Payne Avenue.

This was their only

Schoolhouse from 1894 to

Continued on pg 9

Thanks for reading The Horseshoe!! Now it’s time for some games and trivia!

Page 9

MMS’ 10th Anniversary

Continued from pg 8

to 1948. In 1948 a new schoolhouse was built, and the old

house was torn down. This schoolhouse was used from 1948

to 1975. The district was given the name Moreland in 1862

after Zecheriah Moreland who helped found the district.

Eventually, more and more schoolhouses were formed, and it

developed into the beautiful district we know today.

Moreland Middle School has won two critical awards during

these ten years. The California Distinguished School Award

in 2011 and the Glenn Hoffman Award in 2011. All in all, it has

been a great ten years for Moreland Middle School and I

hope the next ten years will be just as good.

Pictures from Around the School

taken by Amy Liu

Game Club

6th grade courts

Mustang Market

Fall Leaves

More on the next page...

2016 Pop Culture Quiz

Both big hits in 2016, the songs "Sorry" and "Love Yourself" were released by which Canadian singer and songwriter?

a. Justin Bieber

b. Bif Naked

c. Avril Lavigne

d. Shania Twain

Which movie won the Oscar for Best Picture at the

2016 Academy Awards ceremony? a. The Martian

b. The Big Short

c. Bridge of Spies

d. Spotlight

Rihanna hit number one on the Billboard 200 in

March of 2016 with what album? a. Unapologetic

b. Loud

c. Talk That Talk

d. Anti

Finish the title to this March 2016 film release -

Batman v ????? - Dawn of Justice. a. Captain America

b. Superman

c. Ironman

d. Spider-man

Answers: a, d, d, b

Page 10

Upcoming Events:

January 13th- Kona Ice on Campus

January 16th- No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 19th- 2nd Quarter ends

January 20th- No School

Spring Sports:

Girls’ Volleyball

Boys’ Soccer

Track & Field

Maze

Have a Great 2017 !! :)