Spring Issue
Jaguar Journal
Spring
Issue
Today We Learn
Tomorrow We Lead
The Math-a-Thon and Penny Wars: Success
By:Neha Murthy and Pramukh Sadanala
This year the Math-a-Thon and the Penny Wars was a big hit! All the
6th grade students were so enthusiastic and they raised a lot of money. It was
very competitive, but enjoyable. The kids were very generous; they went around
during their free time to raise money for St. Jude’s Research Hospital patients.
Some kids even raised $450! At St. Jude they serve children with cancer.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Hitting it
Out of
the PARCC!
2
Odyssey of
the Mind
3
T.J.M.S
Softball
4
School Spirit
Days
5
Kupkakes for
Kiva
6
Phoney
Baloney
7
And much
more!...
There was also the Penny Wars which went along with the Math-a-Thon.
All students and teachers in each math class wanted to win the grand prize, a
pizza party! Miss Margovskaya won the Penny wars. The St. Jude's hospital
now has a lot more money for the kids who deserve to have a better life.
The Penny Wars and the Math-a-thon was a huge success. It was run
by Ms. Kelly, Miss Margovskaya, Ms. Coppola, and Miss Ryan. Everybody
participated and surely all the kids in the hospital appreciate our hard work.
Hitting it out of the PARCC!
By Deshna Doshi and Sahiti Moduga
Were you panicking about the PARCC? The eighth graders took the PARCC first, then the
seventh graders took it next, and the sixth graders were the last. It was everyone’s first time taking
the PARCC, and nobody knew what was on it or how to manage the keyboard. Luckily, the teachers
took the students to practice and told them about each and every button on the screen to navigate
the test. All the teachers did a great job preparing all the students for the PARCC.
The eighth graders were the first ones to take the PARCC in the school. They were petrified
when taking the actual test. The practice tests were merely a representation of PARCC. Let’s see
what some of the eighth graders have to say. An eighth grader named Rohitha Madduluri was
interviewed abuot the PARCC.
“Rohitha, how was the PARCC?”
“I thought it was okay, not as bad as I expected it to be. Though I thought the multiplechoice was a tough cookie to crack!” Rohitha Madduluri responded.
“So, what was on the actual test?”
“There was one to three passages, comprehension, one to two essays and multiple-choice.”
Rohitha Madduluri added. Rohitha’s responses show that the test had many tasks. It had everything from attention grabbing stories to tackling questions. Everyone had a good experience with
the PARCC, including our beloved teachers. We got a chance to interview another eighth grader
named, Akhila Kolla.
“Akhila, according to you, how was the PARCC?”
“Well I thought the PARCC was easier than everyone said it would be.” Akhila Kolla replied.
“How difficult was the test?”
“I thought the multiple-choice was kind of rough on the edges. When it came to the drag and
drop sentences, I thought it was a choice of instinct, so I kind of got into a tangled mess!” Akhila
Kolla concluded.
Akhila’s experiences teach her to do better during the next test in May! Her focus and abilities are in her own hands. Now, she has the intention that she wants to make to pass the PARCC.
Everyone has tried their hardest and they shall fulfill their goals by succeeding in the
PARCC!
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From Scraps to Stardom: The Story of Odyssey
By Vibhu Agarwal and Praket Ehimay
You may have heard kids rushing through the hallways, after
school away from the dismissal doors. Well, this is because there is a
club going on where many skilled and intelligent kids, guided by 2 instructors, create a play with marvelous props and skillful acting. This is
the Odyssey of the Mind club and the advisors are Mrs.Peterson and
Mr.Mawn! Here, students prepared for a district-wide competition in
February at J.P. Stevens High School. The Odyssey Competition was a
great success and everybody had a blast.
There are 2 parts to the total performance of the team: LongTerm and Spontaneous. The long-term problem is two-thirds of the total score of the team. The spontaneous score is one-third . The longterm problem is where the team has to
create a play about a topic given to them. They have about four to five
months to prepare for the long-term. The long-term is all about using
scrap materials; anything from cans to cups to create the play! There
are more than 5 judges judging each play.
The spontaneous is the exact opposite. It’s a think on your feet
problem, which you only have one to five minutes to solve. In the spontaneous, verbal problems are common. For the spontaneous, the team
doesn’t know their problem before hand, so they have to come up with
something on the spot. The spontaneous is all about your imagination
and your ideas. One of our own middle school’s teams even made it to
state! Congratulations!
TJMS Softball
By: Faith Michalski and Mackenzie Roe
“Strike three... you’re out!” The umpire yells. Softball is an
energetic sport that lots of kids enjoy playing. This is the first
year that TJMS is introducing it. Mrs.Bienvenue and Ms.
Ciccone are the coaches of this year’s team. They have
done so much work to put the first ever TJMS softball team
together. They have already had a meeting for the girls who
wish to try out. But, what has all the girls excited? The tryouts.
Tryouts began Wednesday, March 11. There are fifteen
girls on the team, and there were about thirty girls were at
the meeting, but only half of the girls will get in. Once the
team was chosen they would play against many different
schools. Practices and games will be held every day, until
about 4:45. Good luck to the team!
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Why Students Don’t Participate In Spirit Days
By Deshna Doshi
Though there may be many people participating in Spirit Day, the majority of the students don’t take part in it. Some people say that they don’t
have the specific clothes needed to participate. On normal school days,
we see students wearing the clothes that are supposed to be worn on
Spirit Days. Students usually find an excuse to not take part in a Spirit Day, but
they could at least participate for a few
days. We decided to ask some of the
students why they don’t participate in
Spirit Days. They were asked “Why do
you think students don’t participate in
Spirit Days?” One of the students said,
“My mom picks my clothes, so I don’t
get to choose.” This seems reasonable,
but students should try to inform their parents if any spirit days are
coming up. It looks like students don’t have much input on which
clothes to wear each day. Teachers would also like that students try to
participate in Spirit Days but it is not necessary. A sixth grader says that
she participates in Spirit Days and always tells her mom before hand
what she has to wear. This is her first year in middle school and she is already showing school spirit. This tells us that at least some of the students care to participate. There have been enough excuses, and now it’s
time students start taking part in Spirit Days.
Kupkakes For Kiva
By: Vibhu Agarwal
On Thursday, Feb 12th a successful project resulted in a “Kupkake Fest”.
These cupcakes were sold for $1 each and went to the cause of helping the
Kiva project. The Kiva project was made to help poor parts of the world get
some money so they can improve their lives. The way this works is that a person gives a loan to Kiva, and they will sponsor poor companies around the
world. The official name of this miraculous project is the “Kupkakes for Kiva”. You can also lend money online and transport the money to who you to
want send it to. Then when the person is successful you will earn your money
back.
We raised $607.56 for the 7th grade Kiva project! This is very beneficial for poor people around the world, as they can use this money to make
their lives better. The money we raised can help people invest in a business or
start their own to make money. When they get enough money to get better
living accommodations, they will repay their sponsor. That could be anyoneeven you! Anyone can lend money online and change a person’s life. We
should all be proud of ourselves for helping many people around the globe.
And we even get a treat- a delicious cupcake! The next time we have this
fundraiser, everyone should participate so we can help many more families
around the world!
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Phoney Baloney
BY: PRAMUKH SADANALA
Have you ever sat on the bus, and the person next to
you is constantly on his or her Instagram, Facebook,
Whatsapp, or randomly fiddling with their phone? Do not
let yourself be influenced by them. Studies show that
more people are using their phone and are having pains in
their neck, eyes, and shoulders. People who use their phones tilt their
head at a harmful angle. If you keep
your head at a 0 degree angle while
texting or something, you will have
10-12 pounds of pressure on your
neck. If you tilt it 30 degrees, you
would have 40 pounds of pressure on
your spine! Last but not least, if you tilt your head 60 degrees, you have 60 pounds of pressure on your spine!
That’s a lot! What else would your doctor say if you complain on your pains?
Divergent Movie Review
By Gena Murphy
‘’A new place, a new name. I can be named here”. -Beatrice Prior
In the movie Divergent, the whole world was destroyed in a war, except Chicago. The main character is Beatrice Prior and she is one of the most amazing and inspirational figure ever. Factions are the groups you go in, but you
never go back to your family. The factions are Dauntless, Amity, Erudite, Abnegation, Candor, and the factionless. Beatrice Prior chose Dauntless because she is very brave. Overall, this movie is a favorite because it has exotic action scenes and amazing characters everybody loves.
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Iron Man 3
By: Sreekar Vedula
Did you ever watch the coolest Marvel Movies? This movie is called
Iron Man 3. This movie is about a guy whose name is Tony Stark,
who once was a normal, rich billionaire whose whole life changed
one day. In this movie, Stark’s old mate, Aldrich Killian wants Pepper to join AIM, but while that is happening the Mandarin is torturing Stark. After the Avengers battle
they fought, he has been getting
anxiety attacks. One day, his friend
Happy was in an explosion, he was
admitted to the hospital and Stark
figured out that the Mandarin was
the result of this explosion. Then
Stark wants to fight him. When Stark
is upgrading his suit another one of
his friends named Maya comes to say
that she needs his help. Suddenly,
his house got blown up by helicopters. After that Stark sinks to the
bottom of the ocean with his suit on.
Will Tony get out of there alive or
will he die?
The reason many liked this movie is because the animation of this
movie was amazing. For example,
the people breathe fire! The other reason why many people choose
this is that Iron Man is their favorite superhero. Go online or buy
the DVD to watch this movie because this movie is awesome, but
before you watch this movie, be sure to watch the previous
movies.
Taking The PARCC
By: Abhivrudh Kandala and Sreekar Vedula
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The Jaguar Journal Comic Strip
By: Erica Kwon
Cheesier Than Swiss
By Praket Ehimay
Funny Fact:
The richest man in Asia is named Ka-Shing. (Ka-ching!)
Jokes:
Who says sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?
A guy who has obviously never been hit by a dictionary.
Who earns a living by driving their customers away?
A taxi driver.
“I’m going bananas!” That’s what I say to my bananas when I’m leaving the house.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson went camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went
to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Holmes woke Watson up and said,
“Watson, look at the stars, and tell me what you see.” Watson then replied, ”Well, I can see
many stars.” Holmes then asked, “What can you understand from that?” Watson thought and
then replied, ”If there are stars, that would mean that there are solar systems, which would
mean there is a high probability of life.” Holmes got frustrated and screamed, “No Watson! If
we can see the stars, it means someone stole our tent!”
In a plane about to crash, there were 4 people and 3 parachutes. Among these people, there
was a genius, a chef, an old priest, and a high-school boy. The genius grabbed a parachute, and
jumped off saying,”I’m the smartest person that ever lived! I can’t die!”
The chef went next, grabbing a parachute, saying, “My food won’t taste good if I’m dead!” As
he said this, he jumped off, leaving the last parachute to the old priest or the high-schooler.
The old priest said to the high-school boy,”Son, I’ve lived very long, but you have a whole life
ahead of you. I think you should take the final parachute.” As the high-school boy strapped it
on, he found another parachute and gave it to the priest. The priest, in shock, asked, “Oh my!
Where did you find this extra parachute? I thought there were only 3 parachutes!” The highschool boy replied, “There was. But do you remember the guy that thought he was the smartest person ever, the genius? Well, the “genius” grabbed my backpack.
Ripoff Items:
Fire-Proof Matches
An All-Day pass to “Star Gazing.”
Things That’ll Make You Think:
Do fish get thirsty?
Why doesn’t glue get stuck inside the bottle?
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Spring
By: Abhivrudh Kandala, Praveen Balakrishnan, and An Nguyen