Author: ASOP Admin

Swimming

BY KAIA KARPE

STAFF WRITER

Swimming is important because it helps exercise the body. It is important to exercise because it helps keep the body healthy and working. Another role to keeping the body healthy is by eating the correct food; for example, fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. Swimming is also a great way to get to know new people and socialize; are racing in the same lane you might as well get to know them. It also is fun because you don’t have to be in a stinky gym with tons of stinky people. Swimming is also relaxing if you take the time to observe. It is relaxing because it is fun to feel the water on  sides as if you had fins (such as dolphin fins) along with dolphin kick in the deep side of the pool and feeling like you are a mermaid or a merman.

Mr. Sletten Interview

BY XUYING LEE

STAFF WRITER

So far, this MSA year has been off to a great start.  We’ve got to know many teachers and staff members, as well as students.  This will allow us to get to know our new teachers, and have many new learning experiences.  On this note, here is one way to get to know one of our new teachers, Mr. Sletten, the band and orchestra director.

1. How are you liking MSA so far?

This is my first year here at MSA so far.

2. How long have you been a teacher, and what have you taught so far?

I have been a teacher for the past nine years. I have taught in all aspects of music education in public schools; K-6 General Music, Choir 6-12 (never again), 5-12 Band and 6-12 Orchestra.

3. What do you enjoy most about teaching?

I truly enjoy working with students, making music and those “light bulb’ moments when things click. Also, I get to come to a job where I get to hear music every day and be myself!

4. What has been the hardest thing about teaching?

I have found that the hardest thing about teaching is when a student walks away from their instrument. Many times, parents approach me and tell me they wish they would have continued with their instrument throughout high school and even beyond high school. Music is a lifelong skill – a passion for all – and I am excited that I will be able to explore music even further here at MSA because of the talented musicians we have. 

5. Why did you choose to be a teacher? What do you enjoy about being a teacher?

When I first graduated high school, I had no idea what I wanted to study or what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted/needed to go to college so decided to attend a local university to start my generals as well as play my French horn in the band. Through building friendships and taking my first music theory class, I discovered my passion. Aside for exploring my options in college, I also knew I was a teacher because I taught swimming lessons for a number of years prior to college. I have never looked back since. Lastly, I had a wonderful band teacher, Mr. Johnson, who inspires me every day!

6. If you could pass on any wisdom you have for your students, what would you share?

Be fearlessly and courageously you! Easier said than done, I know. But middle school and high school is such a short period of time in your life. Friends are the family YOU get to choose; surround yourself with people who celebrate you for who you are. To this day, I am still really good friends with a very select few individuals I went to high school with. Everyone else went their own way, you move on.

7. Is there a quote or saying that you live your life by?

“If you can’t love yourself, how are you gonna love someone else!” RuPaul (paraphrased)

8. What inspires you to teach?

I am inspired by music that the students and I select. Knowing that we are all working together to make great pieces of literature come to life and take little bits and pieces from each of them to create a creative and emotional outlet for ourselves inspires me to teach. That is what is so unique about my position in a public school. 

9. Since you are the band and orchestra director, how many instruments can you play? What are they?

I started out on clarinet in the 6th grade; my mom and grandpa both played growing up. Prior to that, I had to take two years of piano as it was a requirement of my mothers in order to be in band. After playing clarinet for 8 months, I decided I wanted to be more independent and unique so I switched to the French horn which my sister had been playing for years. I figured she could teach me a thing or two. While I started getting better than her and she got frustrated because of it! When in college, we had to learn a basic understanding of how to play all of the instruments throughout our education but I really took to the cello; another instrument my sister was proficient on. Since graduating college, I have a solid understanding of how to play all of the instruments but I play the clarinet and trumpet the most. Upon accepting the position here at MSA I have discovered an accordion here that I am really looking forward to getting my hands on!

I believe this school year will be great with all of our new teachers and staff members.  I hope you take some time to appreciate a new teacher, and thank them for their hard work. I hope you got to know more about Mr. Sletten!

*I would like to thank Mr. Sletten for agreeing to do this interview with me.  Thank you Mr. Sletten!*

DIY Crafts

BY KAIA KARPE

STAFF WRITER

How to make a Halloween theme monster book of monsters notebook from Harry Potter:

Materials:

  • Notebook
  • Fur
  • Hot glue gun
  • Googly eyes
  • Red and white thick fabric
  • Adult supervision

Instructions:

  1. You place the notebook on the fur (have the notebook open!) and cut it into the notebook’s shape.
  2. Once you have finished the first step, you can cut the white fabric into teeth and then cut the red fabric into a tongue.
  3. Then, you hot glue the spot on the notebook (on the front cover) and place the red tongue fabric on that spot with hot glue. Hold it in place for about thirty seconds to one minute.
  4. Next, hot glue the teeth on and hold it for thirty seconds to one minute.
  5. Then, hot glue the fur (with the notebook open) on and hold it for a minute or two.
  6. After the glue on the fur seems dry, you can hot glue the eyes on.

It should look something like this:

Image from:

https://www.doodlecraftblog.com/2017/10/harry-potter-monster-book-of-monsters.html

Tardigrades

BY KAIA KARPE

STAFF WRITER

Staff Writer

Tardigrades are eight-legged micro-creatures with four to eight claws on each hand, also known as Water Bears. Tardigrades can live in water, moss, and lichens on trees. They can survive space, years of dehydration, and asteroid impacts. They may be able to survive asteroids like the ones that led the dinosaurs to extinction. Tardigrades can go up to thirty years without food; they can survive deep in the sea, in volcanoes, and in Arctic temperatures! Experts say that the Tardigrade’s lineage began 520 million to 100 million years ago. The only thing that may wipe out the Tardigrades is the death of the sun. Tardigrades eat cellular fluids. The Tardigrade can range from 0.05 mm to 1.2 mm long. Tardigrades were discovered by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. Also, in 1776, Italian clergyman and biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani discovered that water bears survive extreme conditions by making a transformation.

Works Cited

“Cold, Stunned Iguanas Are Falling from Trees in Florida.” The Washington Post. WP Company. Accessed February 7, 2020. http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/local/weather/cold-stunned-iguanas-are-falling-from-trees-in-florida/2020/01/22/07a23a40-853b-4ba4-8393-6a9db85a2837_video.html.

“Facts About Tardigrades.” LiveScience. Purch. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://www.livescience.com/57985-tardigrade-facts.html.

O’Neill, Mike. “Researchers Discover How ‘Water Bears’ Survive Extreme Conditions.” SciTechDaily, October 1, 2019. https://scitechdaily.com/researchers-discover-how-water-bears-survive-extreme-conditions/.

Smith, Casey. “These ‘Indestructible’ Animals Would Survive a Planet-Wide Apocalypse.” ‘Indestructible’ Tardigrades Would Survive a Planet-Wide Apocalypse, April 23, 2018. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/tardigrades-water-bears-extinction-earth-science/.

Wright, Jeremy. “Tardigrada (Water Bears).” Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 7, 2020. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tardigrada/#lifespan_longevity.

Image from:

https://www.livescience.com/indestructible-tardigrades-cannot-survive-heat.html

DIY Yarn Projects for Australia Wildfires

BY MAYA CRANDALL

STAFF WRITER

24.7 million acres burned, 25,000+ kangaroos, koalas, and other wildlife dead. The wildfires have created a national state of emergency in Australia. But how can we help from an ocean away? The MSA Yarn Society has been chipping in by knitting, sewing, and crocheting pouches for infant marsupials who have been rescued from the danger. I took up one of the projects myself, knitting a twelve by twelve centimeter wool pouch.

First, I started with 100% wool yarn. Anything mixed in with it could be harmful to the animals. I then casted on until the stitches were 24cm. in length. I then knit a standard garter stitch until the rows were 12 cm. long and casted off. After this, I folded the knitted sheet in half and stitched along the two sides, leaving the top open.

Voila! A perfect pouch for a sugar glider or a koala. But this isn’t all you can do. Talk to Mrs. Seeberger or join a session of Yarn Society, every Friday at 8:15 A.M., for more patterns and ideas! 


SOURCES:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043

Science Fair

BY XUYING LEE AND PRANU VEDERE

STAFF WRITERS

MSA is holding its First Annual Science Fair! It is for students in grades 6-8. It is hosted by the MSA Science Club on Thursday, April 9th, 2020 from 6:00 – 8:30 pm.  Participants shall perform an experiment and present their projects to judges and parents, as well as share some interesting science topics with the MSA community. This is a great opportunity to work with friends and show off some astonishing pieces of art. If you are looking to participate, complete the following form to receive more information: https://forms.gle/4U3e7ZKYikUFxkFJ7

Image Source: https://medium.com/machine-learning-world/best-popular-science-youtube-channels-767a73add30a

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

BY LYNNE INOUYE AND SYDNEY WESCHCKE

STAFF WRITERS 

Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew to become a renowned activist and was the first private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday after his assasination. It took some time, though, before the holiday came to be.

Four days after his assassination, John Coyers attempted to get Martin Luther King Jr. an offical holiday for his contributions to pushing African-American rights. However, after trying for years and years, Coyers still had no real progress on the matter. It wasn’t until the 1980s that support for the idea started to grow; the Congressional Black Caucus, or the CBC, got 6 million signatures supporting a holiday, and Stevie Wonder wrote a hit song called “Happy Birthday,” raising awareness for the cause. Public support grew until in 1983, the 20 year anniversary of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the legislation was finally signed by President Ronald Reagon. 

However, this wasn’t quite the end of the ordeal. Despite the fact that it was official, Martin Luther King Jr. Day wasn’t celebrated as a federal holiday until 1986. Not all states recognized it, some believing that the holiday should instead celebrate the leaders of the confederacy.  This belief remains to this day, to an extent. Though all states have celebrated it as of 2000, a few choose to honor the confederate leaders, too. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has faced a long fight in order to be implemented. Despite all the trials it faced, it remains an official holiday today – a way to honor a man who stood for freedom and equality. After reading this article, hopefully you will consider the significance of January 20th this year and reflect on the day’s long history. Thanks for reading!

Sources

https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-day-controversial-origins-of-the-holiday

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/

Picture: https://www.google.com/search?q=mlk+jr&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS856US856&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjX6vaEnLTnAhUZCc0KHQgvB8cQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1707&bih=821#imgrc=dQFjmTA8Il0F-M

Los Trabalenguas

POR MAYA CRANDALL

COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR IN-TRAINING

Tongue twisters, or trabalenguas, are an excellent way to improve your Spanish pronunciation and speed! Here are a few to try:

  • To Practice ‘m’ Sounds

Mi mamá me mima mucho.

(My mom spoils me a lot.)

  • To Practice ‘b’ Sounds

El bebé bebe bebidas con burbujas.

(The baby drinks beverages with bubbles.)


  • To Practice ‘p and c’ Sounds

Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico, con un pico pica papas Pepe Pecas.

(Joe Freckles chops potatoes with a pick, with a pick Joe Freckles chops potatoes.)

  • To Practice ‘rr’ Sounds

Erre con erre guitarra, erre con erre barril. Rápido corren los carros, cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril.

(R and r guitar, r and r barrel. The carts roll along quickly, laden with sugar from the train.)

  • To Practice ‘cua and cue’ Sounds

Cuando cuentes cuentos, cuenta cuantos cuentos cuentas cuando cuentes cuentos.

(When you tell stories, say how many stories you tell when you tell stories.)

  • Super Challenge!

El volcán de Parangaricutirimícuaro se quiere desparangaricutiriguarízar, y él que lo desparangaricutiricuarízare será un buen desparangaricutirimízador.

(The volcano of Parangaricutirimicuaro wants to “desparangaricutiriguarize” and whoever “desparangaricutiriguarizes” it will be a good “desparangaricutiriguarizer.”)

Say these as often as possible, and you’ll be speaking Spanish fast in no time!

Tongue Twisters courtesy of SpanishDict: https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/tongue-twisters-in-spanish

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