ImagiNation
ImagiNation Station
Station
Editors: Evan, Allison, Ian, CJ
EXCLUSIVE NEWS TODAY
Introduction:
First of all, I would like to
apologize for the absence of last
month’s issue. At the last moment
before publishing, I ran the
articles through a professional
checker and found that over half
were copied and pasted from the
Internet! For this issue, we have
taken extra precautions to make
sure all of our articles are the
original work you are used to
getting. On a happier note, we
have started the Endangered
Species of the Month. It is March,
so we have our usual seasonal
articles, which include Saint
Patrick’s Day and Winter
Olympics. And stay tuned for our
etiquette issue next month!
Articles include: Saint Patrick’s Day, National Potato Chip Day, Endangered
Species of the Month, Invasive Species, Winter Olympics,
-Editor Evan Foster
The ImagiNation Station is the continuation of last year’s Imagine This, Imagine
That newsletter- it is essentially the same thing with a different title.
Only first names are used in the bylines-for a list of all workers see the text on
the right.
YOUR TITLE HERE
Staff: Kevin Bernstein, Valeria Briones, Ian Carazo,
James Carter, Evan Foster, Sebastian Giron, Charles
Idarola, Suniah Johnson, Bryce Malvasio, Allison
Martinez, Sabrina Mirabal, Sierra Moore, Jonathan
Neto, Jessica Nikaj, Xavier Paulos, Bethany Salcedo,
Ian Schrogie, Ethyan Waln and Ms. Zee.
Saint Patrick’s Day
By Evan,
Allison, Ian,
and CJ.
St Patrick was born in
Britain in 390 AD. When he
was 14 he was kidnapped
and brought to Ireland to
work as a shepherd. While
he was there he learned
about Christianity and
converted. He later escaped
from captivity because
Saint Patrick’s Day
Continued. himself. For example, he had
voices in his head told him
to do so. He died many
years later on March 17,
461 AD. The day he died
later became St. Patrick’s
Day. Many centuries later
he was granted the honor
of being the patron saint of
Ireland. It is said that he
drove the snakes from
Ireland when he returned
before his death.
Many historians believe
there were never any
snakes in Ireland because
the island split from the
mainland many millennia
before and there was no
evidence of snakes living in
Western Europe at that time.
Many theologians think that
this was symbolic to mean
that he drove the Pagans,
which were often associated
with snakes because of their
ties to Lucifer, out of Ireland.
It was celebrated as a minor
religious holiday and did not
become popular until the
1970s. Many customs we
now associate with St.
Patrick’s Day have nearly no
relation to St. Patrick
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics was a huge success in Sochi this year. Team USA
placed fourth with nine gold medals, seven silver and twelve bronze,
finishing with 28 medals total. Sochi did not expect the outcome to turn
out so well because of all the terrorist attacks. It was called the most
predictable disappointing event in history by CNN. The most shocking
part about the Olympics in Sochi was homosexuality being illegal and the
people against it. People being targeted for what they believe in worried
the Olympic community. From our survey we found out the most popular
sport was ice skating,
everyone thought that
the elegance of ice
skating is the most
interesting. The least
popular was Alpine
skiing. The most
unexpected loss for
Team USA was the
men’s half pipe
snowboarding. The
reigning champ Shaun
White who has won
the gold twice in a row
was defeated by the
underdog Iouri
Podladtchikov. Iouri
was a Russian born
citizen but competed
for Switzerland
because that is where
he grew up. The first
Olympic event was
performed by Madge
Syers in 1908. Syers
was the first woman to
compete in figure
skating events. Ice
skating wasn’t always
an Olympic sport; it
became a sport in
1924. Although in
modern times ice
nothing to do with leprechauns,
four-leaf clovers, and he wasn’t
even born Irish. Leprechauns are
actually a Celtic wives’ tale. They
were usually associated closely
with Fairies and were also very
well known for their mischief
which was associated with them
protecting their treasure. A
shamrock, on the other hand,
was a symbol of Irish pride and
represented spring and rebirth.
In fact, blue was more commonly
thought of in relation to St.
Patrick’s Day than green.
By Aaron,
Mikey, James
and Sabrina
skating is done with
short dresses and
leggings, back in the
days they wore long
dresses. Although ice
skating did not begin
in the U.S, it is widely
known across the 50
states. The Olympics
contain many great
athletes from around
the world. Most of
these athletes have
been practicing their
whole life. You have
to be at least 12 years
old to start training. So
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if you are
interested you can see
it in person or from the
comfort of your own
home. So enjoy the
winter Olympics and
go for the gold!
Invasive Species
By: Dani,
Destiny and
Fabiana
Have you ever heard about
invasive species? They are
species of animals that inhabit
other areas that they are not
native to. This happens very
often all over the world,
especially in the Florida
everglades. Many types of
wildlife have grown all over the
marshy land. This usually
results when people bring
exotic animals to either be
pets or to get rid of a
problem. When these savages
grow into bigger animals,
people let them go in the
natural, new environment.
They thrive and take over.
Now many hunt them hoping
to reduce numbers but the
animals don’t give up easily…
One type of animal we are
currently fighting is the snake.
There are over 2900 species
and 375 are venomous
worldwide. Snakes are
reptiles and cold blooded
which means they can’t
control their body
temperatures. The four most
common snakes would be the
Burmese Python, Boa
Constrictor, Reticulated Python,
and Green Anaconda. The
Reticulated Python is one of the
most common invasive snakes in
Florida. They have a life span of
25 years in captivity and 20
years in the wild. Their common
size is 16 to 32 feet and weigh at
the most 250 pounds. They
mainly feed on birds, squirrels,
rats, and even deer. They usually
live in steamy rain forests and
depend on water sources to
attract prey. The female
reticulated python lays 20 to 80
Endangered
Species of The Month
Florida has many endangered animals, many of which we are not
aware. One of the most known endangered animals in Florida is
the West Indian manatees. Manatees are a very gentle species of
mammal that are endangered because of our ignorance to how
dangerous humans can be towards them. Many people aren’t
aware of the danger these kind animals are in because of us.
Manatees are vegetarians and they eat a lot of seaweed. They are
usually found in warm waters and near sea beds. They eat as
much as 100 pounds
of seaweed every
day. Manatees are
also very big,
growing up to 13 feet
and weighing up to
3,000 pounds.
These creatures
cause no harm to
the environment, yet
they receive a lot in
their direction. They
are truly gentle
giants. Manatees are
very big and may
look scary at first,
but once you get a
good look they can
be the cutest animal.
Manatees look like a
cow, which is where
they got their
nickname, the sea
eggs at a time and incubates for
around 90 days. The reticulated python
is a major threat to our natural Florida
wildlife. If we don’t stop it from growing
it can spread drastically. Their original
habitat is in the Amazon. If you find one
dead or alive you should stop, get out of
the area and call 911. From there they
will dispatch a Venom One team and ask
you to show them to the snake. Be
careful at all times and keep your pets
(dogs, cats, etc.) safe inside your house.
You never know when something could
happen. Some other fun facts would be
that there is actually a theory that they
came from a hurricane. Also over 1000
hunters signed up to kill them for 1000
dollars per snake. The name of the
contest was 2013 Python Challenge. Be
careful and the next exotic pet you have
and cannot take care of, don’t release it
and give it to someone who can care for
it. If you do that, you can prevent the
spread of invasive species.
cow. They have
whiskers on their
snouts, which helps
them eat because
sometimes the food
that the manatees
eat slips out of their
mouths. These
gentle giants are
very passive and
calm animals. The
lifespan of manatees
are sixty years or
more. Manatees eat
their food near the
shore and go up to
the surface to take a
breath. Many
By: Jessica,
Lucky, Rosa,
and
Francesca
manatees are killed
by careless
motorboat drivers
who do not watch
out for sea life. They
are also in danger
because of the
pollution in the
water. Manatees
would not be
endangered if
humans weren’t
around. Though they
are occasionally
killed by other
scenarios, humans
are to blame for the
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small numbers that they
consist of today. They
have no natural enemies
except for people, which
shows how careful we
have to start being.
Endangered animals are
very important and they
have feelings too. These
wonderful animals are
endangered because of
our carelessness and
ignorance about them.
These mammals are
one of the most popular
endangered animal and
we still ignore the fact
that we are the cause of
their deaths. If humans
stayed away from the
manatees, they wouldn’t
be endangered.
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