November 2013
Lincoln Knights Write
Thanksgiving: The Beginning
By: Yaser Hernandez
Do you know where the tradition of Thanksgiving originated?
The first Thanksgiving took place in October 1621, in the British
colony of Plymouth (modern day Massachusetts). However,
the United States Thanksgiving as we know it didn’t occur until
the 1800s. It was during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency that
Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday. The official
date of Thanksgiving was established by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt as the fourth Thursday of every November.
However, Thanksgiving isn’t just celebrated by Americans; it’s
also celebrated in Canada on the second Monday of
October.
Today, Thanksgiving is a day when American families gather
for an afternoon of food and football. On Thanksgiving,
families prepare a huge feast and eat together to celebrate
what they are thankful for. A staple of the Thanksgiving feast is
the turkey. Did you know that the state of Minnesota produces
the most turkey out of any other state in the U.S.? Thanksgiving
has been around for a very long time and has changed
throughout the years. How do you think it might change in the
years to come?
Connections
Korean Holidays
By: Tontionna Taylor
Since Thanksgiving is drawing near, I
thought it would be interesting to research
holidays and traditions celebrated by
other cultures. I learned the following
about two important Korean traditions.
During New Year’s Korea celebrates the
value of family. They visit their families and
spend time with them. They wear hanbok
which is a traditional dress. After that they
have to do a ceremonial ritual (deep
bow) which is important in Korea. It is
important because it gives respect to
ancestors and spirits. They offer their
ancestors food and drinks. After the
ceremonial ritual, the fun begins. Children
receive gifts and money. They eat big
feasts which are things like duk gook
(sliced rice cakes) and dumplings. The last
thing that they do is relax or play games
like kite flying, board games, or karaoke.
Another Korean holiday is Children’s Day.
Children’s Day is a day that respects and
honors children. It is a big holiday like New
Years. They celebrate Children’s Day on
May 5th. It was created by Bang JangHwan. He was a writer and a children’s
storyteller. Children get showered with gifts
and fun and get to go places like
amusement parks and zoos.
Lincoln Middle School Artwork By: Nas’zeik Metts
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Entertainment
Book Reviews
Title: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
Author: Philip Pullman
Genre: Fairy Tale
By: Nancy Ho
You all know the classic tales, right? Those fairy tales created by the Grimm
Brothers. Well, they collected and published these tales almost two centuries ago.
This book of fairy tales is not edited to sound childlike like the stories of our past;
instead this version is retold in a dark classic way by Philip Pullman. It still includes the
classics such as Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, but
with a twist.
“I wish I had a child
As white as snow,
As red as blood and
As black as ebony.” –a quote before the death of Snow White’s mother
Music Review
Artist: Katy Perry
Title: The House on Mango Street
Author: Sandra Cisneros
Genre: Fiction
By: Aseta Gboweah
Album: PRISM
The House on Mango Street is about Esperanza, and how her family goes
through difficult challenges and how they overcome them.
new album called PRISM, available on
My favorite part of the book is the short vignette “My Name. ‘’ During this
vignette, Esperanza explains the meaning of her name and why she dislikes it,
even if she shares it with her grandmother. She doesn’t want to be
disrespectful about her name, but she wants a name that better represents
who she feels she is within.
I recommend this book to anyone who is having challenges in their life. They
should read it to make connections and to find out how Esperanza and her
family overcome their challenges.
Title: The House on Mango Street
Author: Sandra Cisneros
Genre: Fiction
By: Caisa Coston
By: Alexia Losee
Katy is going to be coming out with a
October 22, 2013. In the Rolling Stone
reviews, Will Hermes commented about
the new album stating that this is
“Proving Perry can rock clichés in just
about any pop style, the latest taste of
her forthcoming LP Prism casts her as a
belt-it-out nineties base diva.” Rolling
Stone rated “Walking on Air” 3 out of 5
stars. My feelings are that in some parts
on the song sounds like music from the
80’s.
Although, the music video has yet to be
officially released, 2,245,977 people
The book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is very interesting. It
has nothing but little vignettes. The narrator’s name is Esperanza. The
beginning of the book is about how Esperanza wanted friends.
viewed the video in the first week on the
My favorite part of the book is the vignette, “Our Good Day”. It’s about how
Esperanza was walking down the street and a little girl stepped in front of her
and said “five dollars and I will be your friend forever”. So Esperanza paid five
dollars. A girl named Cathy who claimed to be Esperanza’s friend till Tuesday
got mad at her for paying the five dollars.
“Birthday”, “Walking on Air”,
web. The songs that are on the album
include: “Roar”, “Legendary Lovers”,
“Unconditionally”, “Dark Horse”, “This Is
How We Do”, “International Smile”,
“Ghost”, “Love Me”, “This Moment”,
“Double Rainbow”, “By The Grace of
If you read the book The House on Mango Street you will love it. It’s very
interesting. You will tell everyone about how interesting this book is and
convince people to read it, like I just did.
God”, “Spiritual”, “It Takes Two”, and
lastly “Choose your Battles”.
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Entertainment cont.…
Movie Reviews
Title: World War Z
By: Daiton Diabo
In the movie, World War Z, zombies first take over New York City then take over the world. Most
of the setting takes place in New York City in 2013 where scientists are attacked and infected
by a zombie they are studying. The main character (Brad Pitt), finds a way to not be sensed
by the zombies. As he fights zombies he tries to find out their weaknesses. The zombies
attempt to take over the world, infecting everyone, but for some reason they don’t attack
people who suffer chronic sicknesses. If you watch this movie, you will wonder; what would
happen if zombies really did exist?
Video Game Reviews
Title: Grand Theft Auto 5
By: Amya Benjamin
The newest Grand Theft Auto just came out on September 17th. You can find this game
at GameStop, Game Craze, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and other places that sell the
newest video games. Grand Theft Auto 5 is full of gangs, shooting, explosives, missions,
and exploring.
You can use cell phones, drive cars, fly airplanes and travel the world. You can choose
different characters once you reach a certain point and also shop for cars and clothing.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is a great game and is worth the cost.
Title: NBA 2K12
By: Travius Berkley
Come As You Are
What Are You Thankful For?
An Interview with Mrs.
Richard
By: Alyssa Hills
Q: What are you thankful for?
A: I am thankful for my family.
Q: Why are you thankful for
your family?
A: Without my family it would
be a boring life.
Q: When did you realize that
you were thankful for your
family?
A: I realized I was thankful for
my family when I became an
adult.
Q: Why are they so important
to you?
A: I think that when you get
older you realize how
important they are to you and
how important it is to stick
together.
Q: How does your family help
you in life?
A: My family helps me out a lot
and each person has their own
way of helping me.
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Hobbies & Technology
How to…
Make a Ninja Star
By: Nishad Biswa
Everyone wants to be a ninja and now you
can with the ninja star! Imagine that you are
fighting enemies with only paper, but then the
paper transforms into a weapon that destroys
your enemies. Now I will tell you how to make
the deadly ninja star. There are 21 steps:
To Get the iPhones 5S or iPhone 5C?
By: Thomas Fountaine
Imagine buying an iPhone and an iPhone scanner to
unlock it designed in your favorite color? Well, you are in
luck because this is an option with the new iPhone 5S
and the iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5S has great features
including scanning your finger to get on the graphics
rather than using a password. Another great feature of
the iPhone 5C is that it can stand with a special case.
I asked Albert, my tech savvy uncle which new iPhone
he thinks people should get. He said, “If you were going
to get an iPhone, I would pick an iPhone 5S because it
has better features. The iPhone 5C is similar to the regular
iPhone5 but can come in different colors. The iPhone 5S
has a scanner in which you use your finger to unlock it.
Your finger becomes the key.”
Step 1: Start with a square piece of origami
paper, but if you only have regular 8.5 x 11
paper, follow these instructions to make a
square sheet.
Step 2: Fold the paper in half, and then unfold.
Step 3: Cut in half. (I like to fold in half
backwards and forwards repeatedly creasing
really well, and then slowly tear it in half).
Step 4: Fold the halves in half again so it's
thinner.
Step 5: Fold both sheets down in half.
Step 6: Unfold. All we need is the halfway
crease.
Step 7: Fold the top half to the side as shown
without passing the halfway crease.
Step 8: Fold the lower half of both sheets
opposite of the upper half.
Step 9: Turn both paper over so they match
the positions as shown.
Step 10: Fold the top squares of both sheets in
half as shown.
Step 11: Fold the bottom squares of both
sheets in half as shown.
Step 12: Fold the top triangles in as shown, but
make sure the base of the triangle does not
pass the halfway crease.
Step 13: Also fold in the bottom triangles of
both sheets.
Step 14: Unfold the top and bottom triangles
of both sheets.
Step 15: Turn the right sheet over and position
it exactly as shown.
Step 16: Place the right sheet on top of the left
sheet.
Step 17: Tuck the right flap of the bottom sheet
under the left side of the top sheet.
Step 18: Tuck the left flap of the bottom sheet
under the right side of the top sheet.
Step 19: Turn the figure over.
Step 20: Tuck the above flap into the pocket
of the top sheet.
Step 21: Tuck the lower flap into the other
pocket of the top sheet. Finish!
Now you're a ninja with a four point ninja star!
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Sports
Pro
Greg Jennings
By: Shamar Boatwright
Greg Jennings, the #15 wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, just recently
signed a deal with the NFL football team, the Minnesota Vikings for a contract
guaranteed $47.5 million dollars. Jennings announced he switched teams
during a July 16th 2013 interview on the ESPN sports channel. He switched from
the Green Bay Packers where he won a Super Bowl with the team in 2011.
Jennings was born on September 21st 1983 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Greg
Jennings was drafted out of Western Michigan University where he played
college football in 2006 for the second round of the NFL draft. He was traded
to the Green Bay Packers as a wide receiver, but is now on the Vikings football
team.
In a recent interview when Greg was asked about his feelings surrounding the
Minnesota Vikings, he replied “I’m not a selfish guy. It is more about giving my
guys an opportunity to do what we need to do.” What I think he was saying is
that since Jennings is a really good wide receiver he wants to give guys on the
bench a chance to show what skills they have too, especially when it comes to
these guys getting the ball thrown to them from a Super Bowl Champ
quarterback like Aaron Rodgers.
Philadelphia Eagles
By: My’kel Godbold
The Philadelphia Eagles record is 3-4. The teams that beat the Philadelphia
Eagles this year include, the Cowboys, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers. The
Eagles won against the Redskins, Giants, and Buccaneers. Nick Foles has been
the starting quarterback since Michael Vick’s injury, but now too is injured so
they will have a different quarterback. No names have been released at the
moment. LeSean McCoy is having a great passing season in leading and
rushing. That’s what’s up with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Drew Brees
By: Malachi Chambers
Drew Brees was born in Austin, Texas on January 15 th 1979. Personally, I think
Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL league. Drew Brees went
to Westlake High School, and then he enrolled at Purdue University where he
led the Boilermakers to the Big Ten Championship and made a Rose Bowl
appearance. In 2001, Drew Brees got drafted by the San Diego Chargers. In
2006, Drew Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints and steered them to
victory in the Super Bowl XLIV. Since winning the Super Bowl XLIV, Drew Brees
has made valuable contributions to the New Orleans community and
elsewhere. Drew Brees has a foundation called The Brees Dream Foundation,
whose aim is to fight cancer and help children in need.
Local Sports
Lincoln Soccer Team
2013
Congratulations to the
Lincoln Soccer Team 2013 for
having a great year. This
year’s members included:
Emily Pilger, Sabrina Duncan,
Grace Eberst, Neira Salkic,
Mackenzie Holtsbery, Sung
Par, Yuridiana Morales,
Mariamo Mkoma, Seaira
Hunter, Trinity Brown (Team
Manager) and Hawa Brima.
Coach Kaufman wanted to
give thanks to everyone who
helped this season including
Coach Robert. She said, “We
had a GREAT season and lots
of fun.”
Go Lincoln!
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