The Wildcat Roar
Volume 4
Number 4
Summer 2008
A Quarterly Publication of Rocky Hill Middle School
Highlights/Events at Rocky Hill during the 2007/2008
Chelsea Markot
feeling and energy. It was very funny.
A lot of the students were involved
with the scenes. When the women
were about to do a scene, they chose
a couple of people to become the
magical forest and to become other
main characters. I became one of the
magical trees in the magical forest
and whenever she said “the magical
forest”, we had to wave our branches
of leaves around and dance. It was
quite embarrassing. After watching
and being a part of the act, we went
back to class, all happy and laughing
from the funny scenes we had just
watched.
Our 2007-2008 School Year
is coming to an end but the memories
that we had will last a life time.
Medieval times
This event took a lot of preparation from the Social Studies teachers
(Mrs. Milli and Mr. Sweeney). It took
cooperation from the students and the
teachers. After getting spilt into
groups by color (yellow, red, green,
blue, red and yellow, and black and
white), we were put on buses and
driven to Medieval Times. While we
watched the amazing show, we were
served high quality meals like VIPs.
The first course was hot tomato
soup. The second course was hot
chicken with loads of seasonings,
spare ribs, herb-mashed potatoes and
a breadstick. For dessert, we each had
a homemade cookie. For drinks we
had soda in beer mugs while peasants
came around with flavored ice cubes
in fancy cups shaped like knight’s
helmets, horses, and blinking 3-D
cups.
The entire show consisted of
competitions and fighting with real
metal swords and weapons! We were
able to cheer on our knight. One of
the knights gave a white rose to a girl
that was in his color section. Most of
the seventh graders would agree that
it was a an exciting event.
project when the alarm went off, making me jump from my seat. As I was
leaving the classroom, I saw other students with only t-shirts. Some students
even had shorts on. You may recall that
April was a weird month when I was
raining and cold on certain days, warm
and pleasant on other days, and rainy
with normal April weather.
O n
that day only saw a few wore sweatshirts. Cleary no one was prepared for
a fire drill. Some how, my class didn’t
read the sign above the door and had
gone the wrong way down the stairs.
Since we were not prepared most of the
kids were drenched by the steady rain.
As I was looking around, many people
had sacrificed their sweatshirts and
coats for others who were soaked
through and through. We saw the best
and worst behavior of Rocky Hill that
day. Watching kids endure the cold and
sacrifice their sweatshirts for others
was definitely the best side that sometimes goes unnoticed. At the end, everyone was brought back into a warm
classroom, leaving the cold and wet
rain behind.
Fire drill On a Cold Rainy Day
Who would forget the Fire Drill on
that cold rainy day in April? Students
and teachers were forced out of their
warm and dry rooms by a fire alarm.
The drill wasn’t even planned by the
administration. It was an accident. A
student had accidentally touched a
switch in one of the portables and
triggered alarm, and we had to vacate
the building like we should. Well,
think about how we felt that day. I
was in the middle of a very important
During one of my classes, English
periods 1, 3, and 5 were brought in to
the cafeteria to watch Puck’s Pals performance. Two women from the group
Puck’s Pals performed small sections
of some of the main scenes. They had
small costumes that represented each
character that some people in the audience could wear. For one scene, they
had some people come up on the stage
and be two men from the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream while the two
women acted out memorized lines
from the script. They gave the scene
Two Drama Productions
with Sky Masterson, but he had problems with his fiancé, Adelaide who
had a very bad cold. But the bet had
to involve the mission doll, Sarah
Brown. She was a girl who was very
serious about her religion and did not
want to get into trouble. The bet was
that Sky Masterson should take Sarah
Brown to Havana, Cuba and he
would get $1,000. Everything was
going well, until gamblers ran out of
her mission and she found out about
the bet. Sky had promised Sarah a
full meeting for the mission. He made
up the promise and everything
worked out between Nathan and Adelaide and Sky and Sarah. It was a
spectacular event.
Charity Basketball Game
Many students had a chance to
try out for these great plays. One was
about a little girl, whose mother died
in 9-11 and she had to live on the
streets. She became friends with others on the street that helped her
through the hard times. Fantastical
Friends was about a boy who had
gone to the library to search for a
book to read, but couldn’t find anything. A librarian showed about the
many different kinds of books. She
made the books come to “life”! After
“reading” all the books, he chose to
read all of them and he also found out
that the librarian was a magical ghost
that wasn’t even alive!
In the spring we were able to see a
wonderful, old classic, Guys and
Dolls Jr. the musical. This musical
was about a gambler named Nathan
Detroit who wanted to make a bet
Puck Pal’s performance
This was the big event of the year!
Would you believe that this is the 7th
year that Rocky Hill has done this
program? The first year, Rocky Hill
Staff played against Police. I wish we
had been here to see that one! The
next three years was against Baker
Middle School. The last three has
been our teachers against our parents
and most of us have enjoyed the trill
of having our parents play against our
teachers. We just cheer for both sides.
The goal is to raise money for the
Breast Cancer Foundation and the
Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. This
game took on a new meaning after
we lost a beloved teacher, Mrs.
Margie Holmberg to Pancreatic cancer last year. We would like to thank
Ms. Tippit, one of our PE teachers,
for organizing this program. Our
teachers and staff do an outstanding
job of raising awareness, and fully
participating in the program. What a
great community!
There is so much that we cannot talk
about in this article, but we can say
that we have had an exciting school
year. We look forward to next year
with more adventures. Have a great
summer.
Reflections on Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a day set aside for
remembering and appreciating our
military men and women for their
service to our county. On this day, we
pause and reflect on the lives of those
who gave their live while fighting for
our freedom. To us, these guys are heroes in every sense of the word. We
take time, as we should, to honor them
on this day.
Memorial Day is not just another holiday, it is the day when people
should acknowledge and appreciate the
sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
have claimed the lives of over 4000
men and women. To many Americans
who do not have family members in
any of the wars, the casualties are just
numbers and part of the daily news.
For family members whose husbands,
wives, sons, and daughters are on the
front lines of the battle, news about the
tragedies of the war can be devastating.
1
As we know, some have died, or have
been physically or mentally wounded
in combat.
On this past Memorial Day
there were ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery, to honor our
soldiers who paid the ultimate price.
Many paid visits to different memorial sites in Washington DC. There is
a lot that we can learn from history,
and a lot to be learned. Tom Brokaw,
the former news anchor of NBC
wrote a book, The Greatest Generation, to honor some remarkable
World War 11 veterans, who have
made a real difference in their generation as well as ours. One of the
soldiers that he wrote about is Thomas Broderick. Even though Thomas
Broderick became blind when he got
shot during the war, he showed himself to be a great warrior and hero, by
spending his life helping other veterans cope with their handicap.
On Memorial, President
Bush told everybody to observe a
moment of silence at 3PM to honor
our veterans. It was the least we
could do to thank them and their
families for fighting for our county.
The Editorial
By The Editorial Staff of The Wildcat Roar
TEXTING, TEXTING, TEXTING
Cell phones have become a
very important communication tool
for most Americans. According to the
Center on Media and Child Health,
roughly 60% of American teenagers
own cell phones. At Rocky Hill, over
65% of students own cell phones, and
many more students will own cell
phone before they get into high
school. It is fair to say that students at
Rocky Hill in turn with informational
technology. Like most teens and preteens student at our school use their
cell phone to make calls, text,
download and enjoy music, play
games, watch movies and use the
internet. What would they think of
next? I just use mine for what it was
originally meant for. Making phone
calls! According to a market research
The Wildcat Roar Staff
Supervising editor/facilitator
Ms. Odey Okoye
firm, Yankee Group, 54% of 8-12
year olds will have cell phones within
the next three years.
Cell phones provide a great
means of communication in cases of
emergency, as most kids would argue. Parents and teachers are looking
for ways to make this technology safe
and convenient for kids. Within the
past two years the cell phone itself
has been revolutionized to a point
where they have direct access to the
internet, people could download and
listen to music, play games, use video
technology etc. The texting feature is
most the most popular feature and
has become a very convenient way to
kids to stay connected. If kids are
texting in class, it means that they’re
From Rocky Hill Counseling
Services
Rocky Hill Page
Kami Kostolansky
Sports
Taylor Davis
(Chief Sports Editor)
Fashion and Entertainment
Shalom Sabwa
Brittany Boakye
Special Thanks to:
Mr. Sprites and Mr. Perone
Mrs. Quinn
Ms. Mahoney
The Media Center Staff
here! I think that texting should be
saved for outside of the learning environment.” Mrs. Benson, a seventh
grade English teacher says “As an
English teacher, I do not want it on
BCRs or Essays.” Mrs. Maish, a 7th
grade Science teacher thinks that it
okay to use texting in science blogs,
but her students know that they can’t
use it when writing graded assignments. Mrs. Wilkerson, an 8th grade
Science teacher says, “Texting is not
allowed during class, and if students
are texting, there’s no way they’re
paying attention.” As far as Mrs.
Smith, the FACS teacher, is concerned, “it should not be allowed in
school. Mrs. Katz, one of the Foreign
Language teachers, explained that “it
is distracting.”
It is okay to learn the “Texting
Lingo,” but people need to realize
that we need to use correct grammar
for school and work.
Where does this leave us?
Rocky Hill Middle School adheres to
MCPS policy on cell phone use. Students could have them, but they
should leave them in their lockers
and use them after school. As far as
texting goes, we can agree on one
thing: As long as we have cell
phones, and as long as they continue
to get even more sophisticated, people will continue to send text messages. The texting lingo? Well, it’s
here to stay. All we ask is that we
text responsibly.
Highlights of Counseling Service Activities in ’07-‘08
Chief Editors
Kiki Obiyor
Chelsea Markot
Comics Editor
Kiki Obiyor
not paying attention, and this
should be a major concern for
teachers and parents. It is not surprising that people have adapted a
texting lingo that makes it convenient to use the small screen of a cell
phone to send text messages.
Here are some of the commonly used ones: “OMG” for “Oh
my God,” “INBD” for “it’s no big
deal” TTYL for “talk to you later,”
L8er for “later.” U for you, Ur for
your, “THX” for “thanks.” The list
goes on and on. “JK” is used for
“just kidding.” “LOL” means
“laugh out loud.” “MOS” means
“mom over shoulder.” Talk about
sneaky kids! I can go on with this
seemly endless list. “Talk to you
later” is written as “T2UL8R,”
“Where are you?” is WRU. If Webster doesn’t catch up with this phenomenon, students may be soon
signing up for TEXTING 101 in
college!
What’s really interesting is
that the texting lingo is finding its
way to school assignments and formal writing. Some teachers at
Rocky Hill gave us their perspectives on this issue. Mrs. Stup, a 7th
grade English teacher told one of
our staff writers that some of her
students have used texting lingo.
She takes points off for
“convention.” Commenting on texting here at Rocky Hill, Mrs. Stup
said, “I don’t think school is a place
for texting. Really who do you have
to talk to? All of your friends are
This year counseling services
has been busy addressing the problem of bullying. They began with the
Student Leadership Program in October through fourth period classes in
which you learned how even a small
gesture can make the difference in
the feelings of a target. You learned
to be an ally and “Ten Ways to Take
a Stand” to change the climate of the
school. You also did a number of
follow up lessons which were delivered through different academic disciplines.
Just as a refresher, the first
was in world studies class where you
were asked to find and count the
2
number of F’s in the phrase
"Finished files are the result of
years of scientific study combined
with the experience of many years.”
The objective was to understand
how everyone has blind spots when
looking at others just as you have
blind spots when looking at the
phrase.
Next, in science class, you
did a lesson called “Wounded
Hearts” about rumors in which you
crumpled a paper heart and tried to
smooth it out by apologizing for the
hurtful words used. The understanding from that lesson was that
no matter how much you apologize,
the hurt feelings are never completely erased.
Then in the spring you did
the first of a two-part lesson on
“Intent vs. Perception” through you
English class followed by part two
in arts classes in May. The objective of both was to help you recognize and understand that the intent
of a behavior or comment (from the
sender) is not always the same as
the perception of the behavior or
comment (to the receiver), but that
it is the responsibility of both individuals to make sure communication is clear.
The final follow up lesson
for the year will be “Cultural Scattergories” which will be done
through PE classes the first week of
June. The objective is to help you
understand how the culture of the
students in your class is the same
and different than your own and
how different aspects of culture
work together to make up each individual.
Counseling services hopes
both the Student Leadership Program from October and the follow
up lessons offered you enjoyment
and greater understanding of the
effects of bullying and your role in
changing the climate of the school.
Next year, they also anticipate you
remember the lessons and continue
to demonstrate allied behaviors toward others both at school and using various forms of technology
including the internet and phone
texting.
Rocky Hill Page
From the Absolutely Cool
Kids’ Files of Ms. Okoye
Ah-Mazing Teachers
By Kami Kostolansky, Staff Writer
By Ms. Okoye
Rocky Hill is special because of teachers who make a difference. We are proud to showcase
the following teachers, who have go
beyond teaching to inspire us.
Ms. Smetanick
Luis Jovel, a sixth grader
at Rocky Hill was hit by a car, a
little over a month ago, and is still
at Children’s hospital. We have
sent our thoughts and prayers to
his family during this difficult
time. We would like to recognize
and thank, Mrs. Patterson-Breese,
and Mrs. Rye for checking on
Luis and bringing encouraging
reports. Recent reports indicate
that Luis is doing better. We’ll
keep praying for a full recovery,
and we hope to see him back on
the hill. Most of us were shocked
and saddened by the tragic incident, but we have kept Luis and
his family in our thoughts and
prayers. We continue to send encouraging words to keep his spirits high.
One of Luis’ classmates,
Sarah Kaida had this to say, “Luis
is in my Homeroom and Science
class. He’s a very kind, sweet, and
funny person, and I hope that he
gets better soon! I can’t wait till
he comes back to school. I know
that a lot of people are very sad,
but he’ll be in our thoughts and
prayers. May God be with him.”
Maura Bennet and Darni
Patel talked about how Luis
showed PRIDE in the way he conducted himself. According to
Maura and Darni, “Luis Jovel is in
our Social Studies class and he’s
always prepared, respectful, involved, disciplined, and excellent.
We can’t even count how PRIDE
stickers he has received. He’s also
very funny in class, but he knows
that must stay on task. He’s eager
to work. He’s very energetic and
always paying attention to Mr.
8th
Mrs. Hebert
Our 6th grade nominee is
Mrs. Hebert. She has been teaching
for 14 years. Wow, that’s a lot! We
asked her how she felt about being
nominated and she responded very
excited.
What makes her special are
her hair and her ability to listen
even when we need to move on!
What sets her apart is her interaction with her students. She describes it as positive most of the
time! The things she wanted you to
know are that she loves teaching –
sometimes though she doesn’t like
everything about teaching. According to Mrs. Hebert “I am Ms.
Okoye’s (cuter) twin sister”
Our
grade nominee is
Mrs. Smatanick. She has been
teaching for 15 years. She feels
humbled and honored because there
a lot of awesome teachers at Rocky
Hill. When we asked her what made
her special, she told us that her hair
was amazing! She described her
interaction with her students as
“difficult and frustrating – Just kidding. My job is great…They make
teaching a hoot! We have a lot of
laughs and a lot of learning.” Here
are some things she wants us to
know about her in her own words
:“teaching is a wonderful profession. Working with young people is
NEVER boring and keeps me on
my toes! I love family, friends, and
dogs. (Not necessarily in that order).”
Mr. Sprites
Ms. Mahoney
Our 7th grade nominee is
Ms. Mahoney. She has been teaching here for 2 years. She is honored
to be chosen as teacher of the
month. What makes her special is
that she is a peace maker. She says
“I describe my interaction with my
students as trying to be openminded, and try to think about what
the students want to do and put that
into my lessons.” She wants you to
know “I love my job. Its different
everyday and it keeps me on my
toes. I’ve always known I wanted to
be a teacher and I love RHMS.
“I have been teaching for 16
years. I have been at Rocky Hill for
9 years and I taught elementary
school for 7 years. I am excited
about being nominated. I love
working with the staff and students
at Rocky Hill and enjoy my job. I
share my name with a soda can what else could it be?”
Mr. Sprites went on to talk about
what makes him special. “Oh yeah,
I am special all right! In all seriousness, I really try to treat each
student at school like my own kid. I
think I really try to understand what
typical MS students are going
through as these few years can be
rough. I like to have fun in class
and make learning interesting and
fun. I absolutely love teaching and
would not give it up on good days.
:-) My wife and I own our own
business! IF I could have "another
career,” it would be to create special effects in movies.”
Anderson. He helps with lots of
things. Also, he’s very loyal, and
we don’t recall him letting anyone
down.” Luis is definitely a great
kid, and we greatly miss him.
Mrs. Rye has kept in touch
with Luis and his family. Here is
what she said about one of her beloved student, “Luis has a fantastic
sense of humor! I love the raps he
does with Bruno! Get better soon
Luis! We all miss you and are praying for a speedy recovery!”
Mrs. Patterson-Breese has
helped Luis’ teachers and friends
cope with this tragedy by checking
on Luis and his family and giving
encouraging reports. She has also
been a strong support for his family
Here is Mrs. Patterson Breese in her
own words: “I have seen Luis
throughout the year. He has always
been a fun loving kid with a ton of
friends around him. The pictures
from Outdoor Education, say everything about him. Always a smile
and a friend. Since his accident 5
weeks ago, I have had the opportunity to get to know his family. They
are a close, loving, and family, that
has a strong commitment to God.
Through this trial, they have shown
great strength and courage without
falter. I know that they are extremely thankful for all of the support they have received from the
school, church, and community outreach. They continue to be very
positive and being with them is
very uplifting. We are looking forward to Luis coming back to
school, and it's just a matter of
time.”.
As our sixth graders begin
their transition to 7th grade, they
continue to hope and pray for Luis’
speedy recovery. We all look forward to seeing Luis back in 7th
grade. There is no doubt that Luis
misses his friends and classmates.
Knowing the caring, funny, helpful
and friendly person that Luis is, I’m
sure that he too can’t wait to be reunited with his Rocky Hill pall.
Keep up the good work, Luis! We
miss you, we love you, and we want
you back on the hill.
Journalists in Training, JIC
Are you interested in writing and editing
news articles? The Wildcat Roar would like
to hear from you. Contact Ms. Okoye at
301 353 8282X162
3
Writers’ Corner
Dedicated to Mrs. Margie Holmberg
Check These Books Out
Book Reviews
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE
TRAVELING PANTS
Novel By: Ann Brashares
Review By: Shalom Sabwa
The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants is a novel written by Ann
Brashares about four best friends,
who share something special. The
magic of the Pants was discovered
when they found a pair of thrift-store
jeans that magically fit all of their
shapes and sizes. To stay together
during summer vacation they pass the
pants from one “sister” to another.
The Pants first go to Lena who is visiting her grandparents in Santorini,
Greece. Then they travel to Tibby
who stay home. After that they go to
Carmen who goes to see her father in
South Carolina. Finally the pants ar-
rive at Bridget's camp in Baja,
Mexico. The pants help each sister
go through the first summer without
them being together. In the end they
all come together and help a friend
redo a right a wrong. This is a great
story about friendship, and overcoming stereotypes. The main characters learn that they’re unique, yet
share a lot in common. I strongly
recommend this books to girls because they can easily relate to the
characters in this story.
Thinking about 6th Grade
NO HOMEWORK!
Emotions are needed for this grade.
Sad, happy, amazed, perplexed, mad.
All of those emotions are made.
For me, those semesters weren’t bad.
Projects and assignments
They’re like lions sneaking up on
you.
Is there a day when this statement’s
true:
NO HOMEWORK!
The night of my first day,
I smile into the night sky,
So silent there I lay,
This should not be passed by….
I think.
I dream of Social Studies,
And then there is FACS,
At lunch I see all of my buddies,
This is where I relax.
I wake up every day.
I am feeling so gassed.
It’s already May,
The year flies by so fast.
June the twelfth two-thousand eight,
The very last day,
My realization was late,
And here is what I say:
It might have been a good year,
I honestly can’t tell,
I might ask a peer,
But I’ll always love the ring of the bell…
-Stephen Pancrazio
New World
The first day,
I walked in with
sweaty hands, dry throat,
and a nervous expression on my
face.
I was dumbfounded about everything.
The people,
the places, the whole new world.
I felt like going back to elementary
school,
the place I knew.
But as the days passed by,
I became more confident,
and now at the end of the year,
I’m brave, bold, and ready,
for my first day of being a 7th grader.
Rocky Hill takes reading very seriously. Have you noticed the sign in
front of Mr. Whiting's office? Go and check it out. It says, “Reading is Serious Business.” It is a direct quote from Jay Mytra, who wrote it when he as a
sixth grader in Ms. Okoye’s class. Jay will be in 8th Grade next year.
Our Media Specialist, Mrs. Wilson always has a smile on her face
when she sees students coming into the media center to check out books. She
keeps track of students who read 25 books and inducts them into the prestigious 25 Club. She also gives special awards to outstanding readers. I take
reading very seriously, and I gives me a great pleasure to see students reading
and actually enjoying what they read. I enjoy listening to my students share
fascinating stories with me.
Mrs. Wilson is always willing to share reviews and tips about some of
the books that we have in the media center, and perhaps some books that you
may find in a library near you. Most of these books are from the Black Eyed
Susan Books. I won’t tell you everything because I want you to read them and
find out.
Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach
It’s bad enough to be named Hero after one of Shakespeare’s most famous
characters and put up with all the teasing, but then Hero moves to a new
school, and her loving parents are clueless about her difficulties. Very soon,
however, an intriguing, elderly neighbor Mrs. Roth tells Hero about the enormous diamond rumored to be hidden in her new house. That gets her attention!
Do You Know the Monkey Man? By Dorri Hillst ead Butler
Samantha was three when her twin sister drowned in the local Iowa quarry
and her father up and left. Now 13, she is determined to investigate the past,
because her mother refuses to talk about it. Best friend Angela, not all that
happy with her own absentee father, can't see what the big deal is, but is willing to help Samantha in her investigation.
Writing and reading
Books always want their feeding.
Now I really want to start seeing:
NO HOMEWORK!
Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
I have to say that I’ve been curious about this book. Most of my students read
it during this school year and really loved it.
"I was going to learn how to protect farms and villages from things that go
bump in the night. Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked
beasties would be all in a day's work. That's what the Spook did, and I was
going to be his apprentice." Thus states twelve-year-old Thomas Ward, as the
seventh son of a seventh son, he has no inheritance coming his way and is
bored with farm work. Even though his new job-Apprentice to the Spook will
mean that superstitious villagers will forever shun him, Tom is eager to go off
to adventure with the tall, hooded man he calls the Spook. Do wonder what
happened? Well, read and find out!
-Francesca Montalto
Road to 7th Grade
6th grade is almost done
Wow, it was so much fun!
The year was such a blast!
It went by so fast
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie By Jordan Sonnenblick
Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the AllStar Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly
annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed
with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. Salted with humor and
peppered with devastating realities, DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS
PIE is a heart warming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.
Around the corner came Baseball
Day
Baseball, I love to play
My favorite part was Outdoor Ed
I heard a story about the dead
Heat by Mike Lupica
Mike Lupica’s keen feel for dialogue and insight to the teenage boy’s psyche
makes for another great YA novel. Lupica is also deft at storytelling and reminds us why baseball makes great reading. Regular games are too slow, but
in the hands of a gifted writer, we get only the high points of the action and
then baseball is riveting reading, as this author clearly demonstrates.
Cabin 13 gave me a fright
I could hardly sleep at night
I’m sad 6th grade is almost done
I’m looking forward to the 7th grade
FUN!
-Henna Shah
What Relay Means To Me
Middle School
By: Derek Klahre
Will it be cool?
Or will it be cruel?
Five periods a day.
Oh what should I say?
New teachers, buses, friends, and
school.
What if I forget the rule?
Well, it came and it went.
The rules weren't even bent!
And I get to do it again next year,
I'm on my way to a great career!
-Chloe Maczka
Early in the morning I awake
Knowing about the big day ahead of me
Believing I can make a difference
Change lives of those who have this horrible battle to fight
Making sure that there is a cure to come
Raising money for such a good cause
Knowing that some day
Lives will be saved
There will be a difference one day
One Day
One Night
-Melika Maghboul
4
Sports
Charity Basketball Night
Super Kobe
By Taylor Davis
By Taylor Davis
Averaging 33.3 points per game in the playoffs,
Kobe Bryant is on his way to win his 4 th NBA title.
Koby Bryant
Kobe Bryant has been ripping up the court in the playoffs
with roughly 33 points a gameand
is hoping not just to win an MVP
but an NBA title for his team.
Bryant won his first MVP
on May 4 and received it from
David Stern before Game 2 of the
Lakers-Jazz match-up. Bryant celebrated his award incredibly with 34
points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, not
to mention the win for his team. 2
days after the game he gave a press
conference and thanked many people,
especially his teammates. “This is a
team award. This isn’t an individual
award,” Kobe said thankfully. Kobe
has worked hard for 12 years to get
this award. Kobe has always has
great expectations, from his 13th
overall pick in 1996 and his 3 titles in
2000-2002 to finally his first MVP
award. Bryant won by a landslide
too, winning 54 more first place
votes than the runner-up, Chris Paul.
But the question still remains: can Kobe bring
another title to Los Angeles. They
haven’t done it since the 2002 season
when the Lakers were one of the
NBA’s greatest teams. The Lakers
are on their way now to win another
NBA title and are trying to bring the
amazing dynasty they once had back
and they have a great chance of doing
it with an
There was a lot more than just the basketball game to have fun in Rocky Hill’s 7th
annual night of giving.
The New National Treasure
The Washington Nationals are looking for their
new stadium to give them hope for a successful
season.
By Taylor Davis
Nationals Park isn’t just a
new stadium for the Nationals to
play in. It is a chance for this new
franchise to start over and forget 3
unsuccessful seasons. The Nationals have yet to finish a season with
a winning percentage over .500.
Now, with this new stadium, they
believe it’s their turn to do something special.
RFK Stadium was destroyed on May 4, 2006 and construction began that same month. It
cost $611 million to build the new
stadium and hopefully that’ll be
worth it. It was certainly worth it on
opening day for Washington. An attendance of 39,386 watched in delight as Ryan Zimmerman hit a walkoff homerun to give the Nationals a
great start to their 2008 season. It was
the perfect way to kick the season
off. It gave the hope of a good season
back to the fans of Washington. The
opening night made history also. According to WashingtonPost.com, it
was the most watched opening day
on ESPN in its history. It was a very
memorable night for Washington.
I have gone to National Park
and it really was a memorable night.
There was a great atmosphere in the
stadium. Throughout the night the
game was competitive and to top it
off, Wil Nieves of the Nationals hit a
walk-off homer to give the Nats another win.
Although the Nationals are
on the bottom of the NL East right
now, there are enough games to turn
it around. And if not, there will be
next year. The Nationals are enjoying
their new stadium which might just
be the “National Treasure” they were
looking for.
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Rocky Hill’s 7th annual charity
basketball game was full of different emotions obviously including
sadness for our past teacher Mrs.
Holmberg. The sponsor, Ms. Tippett, got choked up talking about
her dear friend. It was an emotional
night for everyone, but the point of
the night was to have fun and donate money to the Susan G. Komen
For the Cure and the Pancreatic
Cancer Action Network. Raising
nearly $8000 for the two charities,
everyone had a good time. Unfortunately, this was $2000 short of having Mr. Whiting and Mrs. Tippett
dye their hair pink. Some of the
money went to Luis Jovel’s family
who is still in critical condition after a fatal accident.
Prior to the game, there
were many excellent prizes and opportunities to bid for at the silent
auction. These prizes included principle for a day, a signed Caron Butler jersey, and your name in the
drop off circle! But there were
many more prizes to raffle off at
halftime of the game. Mrs. Rogers
won the signed Redskins football in
a the raffle, Miranda Fennel won
the Ipod Touch, and Anthony Ghaly
and Haley Tabarango won the Nintendo DS’s. The climatic event of
the half-court shot to win the car
was taken by Ms. Tippett who
just missed the basket. Also,
given at halftime were the
“Willpower Awards”. These
were given to kids whose parents
had gone away to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. These kids
were Amanda O’Brien, Michael
Jacob, Jonathan Caballero, Max
Williamson, and David Wilson.
Then the basketball game
was the fun part. For the most
part it was a competitive game
but the teachers in the end could
not keep up. The parents showed
the teachers what it was like to
lose, beating them 66-58. The
key for the parents might have
been their height over the teachers. Most of the parents had a
few inches on the parents. This
helped on both sides of the ball.
It worked on the offensive side to
sink shots the teachers couldn’t
block. On the defensive side, it
helped the parents reject the shots
the teachers might have made.
No matter whom you were rooting for, it was a fun time for everyone. It was a great night of giving and thanks to all who donated. Come next year for another one of these special Rocky
Hill evenings.
Thanks For The Memories
Tishina Tittley
Middle school has definitely been something different,
an amazing part of my life. I can
still remember my first day being
a student at Rocky Hill Middle
School, and Mr. Long telling me
that the locker rooms didn’t usually smell as bad as they did that
day. Outdoor Ed in sixth grade
was probably the most exciting
part of middle school. We had so
much fun playing games like
“Predator and Prey” (even
though it was raining) and telling
scary stories at night.
Medieval Times in 7th
grade was awesome! Getting to
learn about knights and court
manners while having fun was
the best. One of the knights even
threw me a rose ? . And finally,
8th grade. This school year feels
like it just literally flew by. Everyone’s heading off in different
directions, and I know this I
might never see some of my
friends again. I just want to say
right now that I will miss ALL of
my friends SOOO MUCH! And I
want to thank them for all the
good times we’ve had together.
And for putting up with me.
I also cannot forget my
super-duper awesome teachers. I
noticed that if eighth grade
rocked, then the eighth grade
teachers are the ones who rocked
it. So I want to thank Mr. Hyde,
Mrs. Kamuf, Mr. Burke, Mr.
Lohr, Ms. Kastenhuber, Mr. Molley, and Ms. Carpenter for this
amazing last year of middle
school. I’m, absolutely, 100%
positive that I will never ever,
ever learn from teachers as cool
as you all.
Now, to my teachers:
Mr. Hyde, I know having me as a
student for two years isn’t exactly a fairy-tale wish come true
so I really want to thank you for
putting up with me. I think I like
the eighth grade social studies
curriculum better than the seventh grade curriculum.
Mrs. Kamuf thank you
thank you thank you thank you
so much for the award!!! Ever
since Diana got it last years, I’ve
been dreaming about getting Outstanding Orchestra Member
award since FOREVER. Isn’t it
weird how I got Diana’s seat too?
Mr. Burke, you have
helped me in a way that none of
my other gym teachers have: you
helped me increase my zero
hand-eye coordination to one
hand-eye coordination. I can assure you that I won’t get much
higher than that.
Mr. Lohr, next time you
should walk up to the students
desk and Hand them the candy
instead of throwing the candy; I
can’t catch so I don’t like answering grammar book questions. But
I have seriously never liked English until this year, and I’m not
just saying this because everyone
says it. It’s true. I couldn’t have
asked for a better homeroom and
English teacher.
Ms. Kastenhuber, I swear
that you are the best Spanish
teacher in the world! I couldn’t
have asked for a better or nicer
teacher to learn from. I will miss
you!
Mr. Molley, science has
never been interesting to me because it was always so boring. But
this year, we go to do labs and
interact. I love it when we learn as
a teacher and class instead of
teacher and student. Science was
definitely one of my favorite
classes this year. And that’s a first
? .
Ms. Carpenter, math became such a fun class when eighth
grade started. We have so many
awesome people in the class and
you are the awesome teacher who
makes this class the best. You
love period 7 the most, right?
Thank you Rocky Hill for
this amazing year! I bet everyone’s waiting for summer 2008 to
start, huh? Eighth graders better
soak up as much Vitamin D possible, because in September it’s
back to books, but MUCH different. Hope everyone has fun in
high school! WE’RE GOING TO
BE FRESHMEN NEXT YEAR!
David Chong
Some decisions I had were
making the right friends, because
friends have a big impact in your
life. As 6th grade/4th quarter was
ending, I was happy to notice 7th
grade came. I met new friends, but
that is where my grades started slipping. One big problem for me was
always Spanish. But I made it past
to 8th grade ? .
Triumphs: Some of my triumphs were my physical abilities. I
increased in speed, and strength.
Another triumph was my education:
learning English, Spanish, science,
physical education, math, social
studies, and art. I definitely look
forward to high school and college
? .
Thanks to all my teachers.
Mac Raum
In Ms. Okoye’s Reading
class in 6th grade, our class was
forced to read a book called The Delany Sisters. The book was extremely
boring, and I’m sure no one wanted
to read it, so my friend, John and I
didn’t. It was actually one of our
deepest ambitions, then, to annoy and
disrupt Ms. Okoye’s class without
going too far. We still hold the record
for giving her the most gray hair.
During class she would give us “quiet
time to read this ridiculous book.
John and I never read, instead we
would flip our book upside down and
talk. We loved it when she would get
so frustrated with us and call us little
monsters.
I remember this one class
period when we were talking behind
our lopsided books and Ms. Okoye
came up right behind us and asked us
what were doing. We told her that we
were reading, and she pointed out
that our books were upside down.
But John and I had already discussed
what we were going to do if this happened. We both started reading the
book to the class upside down, and
Ms. Okoye screamed and picked up
her rain stick to hit us, while screaming, “You little monsters!” That was
the greatest class, and I credit Ms.
Okoye for surviving Period 7 Reading class of 2006. Oh, I’m pretty
sure that John and only read up to
page 9, when everyone else finished
the book.
Halftime At the Charity Basketball
Event On May 16, 2008
Name: Kimberly Neff
I remember on the first
day of sixth grade, when I first
walked through those great doors,
I remember thinking, “wow, this
school is huge I’m never going to
be able to find my way around
here,” and now after going here
all this time, I can’t believe I ever
thought this place was huge because now it seems very small.
Also, I remember Olympic Day in 6th and how in social
studies we had to build a temple
with only a certain amount of paper and paperclips. I remember
how Mr. Cook went around to
each group and made fun of their
temple by either making it fall
down by one touch of a finger or
by making some silly joke about
what it looks like.
Then, I remember, when he came to our group
he flicked one of our loose beams
and it swung, but he gave us the
gold medal because he said ours
was the only one that actually
looked like a temple and was still
standing. I had some really good
times at RHMS, and I’m really
going to miss coming here next
year.
Shaine Dixon, a 6th Grader, performing with the Step Team during the
Charity Basketball event.
Brittany Boakye
The Rocky Hill Charity
Basketball game took on a new
meaning after we lost her to pancreatic cancer a little over a year ago.
The basketball game, auctions, interesting bets make this event even
more special. The funds go to
support the Susan G. Komen For
the Cure and the Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network. On May 16 staff
and parents played basketball for
the fun of it and for a very good
cause. Half time is usually the best
part. Half time started out with The
Step Team stomping from both
doors at each side of the gym. People in the front row would holler,
and the whole team would follow.
6
This short and sweet performance caught the eyes and ears
of everyone there. After their performance Rocky Hill staff defined
the meaning of willpower and
where the word came from. A
breast cancer survivor spoke about
how her life has been. After that
Willpower awards were given to
Jonathan Caballero, Michael Emmet, and Amanda O’Brian, who
was visibly shaking when she
walked up to receive her award.
Anyone in attendance was then
given the opportunity to dance and
have fun.
This certainly was the best
and the most exciting night Rocky
Hill has ever had.
Today’s Technology
The Geek Guru
THE GEEK GURU
Yes, it’s those annoying questions
that you wonder so much about.
COMMON Q: WHAT’S WITH
ELECTRICITY AND WATER?
To tell the truth, I don’t
know. All I can say is that they are
unstable together. There have been
many situations where someone has
dropped an electric device into water. Especially cell phones, right? I
REALLY don’t know what the little
protons and neutrons do, but I do
believe that they are just plain unstable and practically HATE each
other. (Not really, but I think you
get it). Whatever you do, don’t mix
those two. They just don’t mix.
COMMON Q: HOW
COME MY COMPUTER WON’T
LET ME LOAD SOMETHING?
Well this could occur for
many reasons. A lot of times, my
computer makes a window pop up
to say, “’______’ wants to
download a file to your computer.”
Then it will say under that text,
“Allow change; Block change.”
Your computer is programmed to
keep you away from viruses on
your command. Sometimes, your
computer will not function because
the size of the file is too big, or the
computer is still processing work.
(Refer to Geek Guru #1, Question
2). Sometimes the computer encounters an error and cannot process. These errors could be many
things, so it is too much to explain.
COMMON Q: HOW IS IT
THAT WE CAN DOWNLOAD
THINGS?
Never really
thought about this when you were
downloading the demo of your favorite computer game off of
Download.com, were you? When
you click that “ok” button, you are
agreeing to download a file. That
means you computer basically says,
“Your wish is my command,” and
sets up to receive data. The data is
picked up through the internet. The
RAM, (Geek Guru #1, Question 2),
gets the information stored into
your computer. Basically, your
computer just picks up the information and drags it in, storing it in the
RAM. Later, you can access that
data whenever you want in most
cases.
Some people don’t
know how to work the simplest
game system. Some people can’t
even do this - attach a file to your
email. I’m sure some of you are
thinking, pfft, yeah, that’s the easiest thing to do. Some people don’t
involve around things like that.
Why not take a look, just for all
those people who might not know,
okay?
Q: HOW DO YOU ATTACH A FILE TO A MESSAGE?
First of all, you’ve got to
make sure that the email site you
use has an attach button for email.
If your email site does not have an
attach button, you cannot attach a
file. To tell the truth, I do not know
any sites that do not have an attach
button for email. Now, you must
make sure that the file you want to
send is saved into a path that you
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO DO
THINGS. THERE ARE SOME
PEOPLE WHO JUST CAN’T. IS
THIS QUESTION FOR YOU?
Game Review:
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Yeah – It’s a game review.
(So sorry we just thought of them
now). And it’s the Legend of Zelda.
Not just the Legend of Zelda, but
twilight princess, one of the series’
best games.
The game all starts with a
regular young man named Link who
wishes to be the village mayor. But of
course, he’s not, and all he’s probably
recognized as is… well, some guy.
But besides that, Link is soon ready
to get on his horse and travel to the
Hyrule castle town and deliver a mes-
For the rest of the game, you
are left to go through many dungeons, conquering the evil in this
action game. You will learn new
sword techniques along the way, as
well as meeting a few new characters,
and some new weapons too.
In this game you also need to
use your brain! You will encounter
complicated and also less complicated puzzles in the dungeons. In
order to move on, you have to think.
The answer could be so very obvious.
Usually it’s RIGHT THERE. (It’s
happened before.) Yes - even video
sage. But before he could, he and
some of his childhood buddies get
ambushed. (Pretty random, huh? I
have to cut to the chase you know).
Later he wakes from his faint sleep
and goes farther into a mysterious
path that leads to a dark portal.
Oooh… Of course, he gets close, and
somehow becomes a wolf. He later
wakes from another faint sleep, in a
very dark and gloomy jail. There, he
meets a mysterious being named
Midna, from a place called the twilight world…
remember. I like to make my own
folder on the computer so that I can
get right through it without a problem. Now, go log on to your email
recipient or if you’re already logged
in, stay logged in. Click the New
Email button, or respond to an
email button. Now you should have
your “write email” page. Now, I
first like to attach the file so I won’t
forget the path. Next, click the Attach button, (on yahoo emails, the
“attach” button has a paperclip next
to the words), and a new window
will pop up. Now, click the file you
want and BOOM! The file may or
may not be scanned when you attach it. If it does say that it is scanning, just wait a minute. Depending
on how big the file size, the time
varies. Now just type your message
and go! Now you try. Wasn’t hard
at all, was it?
games require some work!
I don’t know what you’re
thinking, but this is the best game
I’ve ever played on the Nintendo
GameCube. It’s also on Wii, since it
was so highly demanded. Also, if
you’re really in to great graphics,
you’ve got to check out some screenshots.
Now what do I think of this
game? It couldn’t be any better, except that there are no voices in the cut
scenes! That’s a huge con! Speaking
of cons, let’s take a look at them.
The Cons:
No voiceovers
Many controls
The pros:
Good graphics
Long storyline
Many extra activities
Much more…
I tried to think of cons the best I
could. I’m sure that there are more on
your mind if you’ve ever played this
game. But overall, I think that this
should be a recommended game for
anyone who loves action, animals,
and creativity. Even if you don’t like
any of those things, you might still
like it. If you think this might be the
game for you, (even though it’s a bit
old now), go check out some videos
and screenshots at gamespot.com!
GOT TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS? SEND THEM TO THE
WILDCAT ROAR AND THE
GEEK GURU WILL BE AT
YOUR SERVICE?
7
Recipes for the Summer
Fun in the Sun
BY: Shalom Sabwa
Fizzy Pineapple Punch
Can you believe in a month or less you’ll be school-free, and summer ready?
Whether you’re lounging by the pool or making friends at a camp, be sure
you make every second count because in two months you’ll be back hitting
those books! Here are some great things you can do over the summer:
You need:
• 1 huge can of 100% pineapple juice
1 two liter bottle of 7-up (not diet)
•
•
•
•
Go to the pool
Go shopping
Parties!
Go to summer school I know you’re like no way, that’s a waste of time!
But it really isn’t, going to summer school can prepare you for courses
you’re taking next year!)
• Volunteer!
…and last but not least, hang out with friends, or meet new ones!
Directions: Combine the juice and soda in one large bowl. Stir until mixed. It is
great for parties and serves up to 20-30 people.
EZ Pizzas
You need:
1 graham cracker
Cream cheese
Any of your favorite fresh fruit
•
•
Directions: spread cream cheese carefully onto a graham cracker. Decorate it
with fresh fruit. You could even try wheat crackers with cream cheese and vegetable slices.
Whatever you do over the summer, remember just to have fun, be yourself
and be ready to get back to school.
One Something More
That night I did despise
By Kiki Obiyor
My friend turned her head to me
Telling all the lies
I just wanted to yell to her
That, I would not despise
Dedicated to those people who
wish for something special
I looked up to the ceiling
I looked down to the floor
I smiled at my report card
Asking for something more
I put my foot on the edge of the
step
With my binder in my hand
I smiled at a passerby
But the wall was still bland
I chased that dog out on the road
With anger in my eyes
A rock forced under my foot
PB Dip
You need:
A bowl
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup strawberry yogurt.
•
•
I turned my pencil in my journal
I turned to the last page
Maybe in that section
I would write like a sage
Directions: Combine in the bowl and serve as a dip with pretzels, pita slices,
fruit, or veggies.
Crunchy Munchies
You need:
• A handful of nuts
• A handful of cereal
• A handful of dried fruit
• A handful of mini crackers
• A handful of pretzels
A few chocolate chips.
I looked up at the ceiling
I looked down at the floor
I turned my head to all those people
I just need one something more
The Haiku Haiku
By Kiki Obiyor
Directions: Combine the snacks together in one bowl. Mix it up and munch
away!
Add five syllables
Seven on the second one
Then a five again
Deli Roll
You need:
A lettuce leaf
Your favorite lunch meat
A slice of cheese
Tomatoes or any other vegetable
•
•
•
MCPS Graphics
and Publishing
Directions: Start with the leaf of lettuce. Next put your lunch meat and cheese.
Then put your veggies. Roll it up and enjoy. You can also add ranch dressing or
other things to make it your own.
Fancy Fruit
You need:
Any of your favorite fruit (bananas, strawberries, apple slices…etc.)
Your favorite yogurt
•
Directions: Stick the fruit onto bamboo skewers. Then spoon yogurt into a
small dish and use it as a dipping sauce.
Yogurt Pop
You need:
• Any flavor yogurt
A plastic spoon
Directions: Open a small yogurt container, stick the plastic spoon in and freeze
it overnight. The next day, dip the container in warm water, twist the spoon,
slide the container off, and you have a yogurt pop.
Fruity Parfait
You need:
Plain or vanilla yogurt
Blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries
Rice Krispies or granola
•
•
Directions: Layer yogurt, your choice of fruit, and granola (or Rice Krispies).
Then layer it with yogurt, granola (or Rice Krispies), and a strawberry.
Enjoy!
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