2 October 31, 2016
Standing Up
Without
Standing At All
“O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and
the home of the brave?” The words of our
National Anthem have filled up stadiums
with patriotism for many years, but in 2016,
the United States looks a little less hopeful. Athletes have been using the singing of
the anthem as an opportunity to protest the
racial inequality that has been flooding news
reports.
NFL football player Colin Kaepernick
and other athletes are raising awareness of
police shootings and other controversial
events by kneeling for the National Anthem
at games, instead of standing for the flag.
When asked why he was doing such an act,
Kaepernick declared, “I’m not going to
stand up to show pride in a flag for a country
that oppresses black people and people of
color…There are bodies in the street and
people getting paid to leave and getting
away with murder.”
However, many people are offended
by these televised protests. One extreme
Opinion
opinion is of Pastor Allen Joyner,
of Alabama.He said, “If you don’t
want to stand for the national anthem, you can line up over there
by the fence and let our military
personnel take a few shots at
you since they’re taking shots
for you.” While honoring our
“Although the way Kaepernick
and his followers are protesting
is controversial, racial injustice
and profiling are problems that
cannot be overlooked in our
country anymore.”
military for serving our country is important,
standing during the National Anthem at sporting events isn’t really necessary. According to
Mark Clague, an expert on “The Star Spangled
Banner,” playing the anthem at games “defines
sports as patriotic.” In other words: it’s good
propaganda.
Although the way Kaepernick and his
followers are protesting is controversial, racial
injustice and profiling are problems that cannot be overlooked in our country anymore.
So if one athlete can kneel to prove that racial
inequality is wrong, we should at least hear
him out. And if this gesture can start a movement to erase discrimination in our country for
good, that is truly bigger than sports.
—Madison Liberman
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
The Town Crier asked
Patriots how they feel about
NFL football player Colin
Kaepernick kneeling for the
National Anthem to protest
racial injustice. Below are some
of their responses:
“I think that Colin Kaepernick
has the right to speak out for his
freedom of opinion and if he
wants, he can continue to kneel
during the anthem. But if I was
an athlete, I wouldn’t kneel
down because I would respect
our wonderful army that fights
for us.”
—Eli Ghodooshim, 7th Grade
“I don’t believe he is disrespecting the country, but he’s
trying to prove a point. All lives
matter. There should be another way of protesting besides
kneeling. All he means is for
good.”
—Kyle Grassl, 8th Grade
“We have been talking about
this in Mr. Alpert’s class. I feel
like we should respect what
Colin Kaepernick is doing. It’s
a peaceful protest and some
people just don’t understand
that. The police force is taking
the lives of young innocent
African Americans. I feel like
we need to respect what Colin
Kaepernick is doing because it
is not hurting anybody.”
—Zaki Falls, 8th Grade
“My thought on the matter is
that I do agree with his reasons,
but I don’t think it was right for
him to sit out for the National
Anthem at a football game. His
intentions were understandable
in my opinion because equality is very important and it’s
not right that people are being
harmed, sometimes even killed.
Everyone should be treated
with respect, and although there
are instances where the harm
was not intentional...I feel like
this issue should not be taken
Photo: Evan Grochola lightly.”
—Miranda Schriver, 8th Grade
THE TOWN CRIER
October 31, 2016
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 3
TALKING HEADS
Should the school year start
after Labor Day like it used to?
“I think there is a reason that school starts when
it does. It’s a scheduling thing. However I would
like school to start after Labor Day, but that means
that it would have to end later, so I’m kind of on
the fence about it.” —Ms. Grayson
“No. I don’t think that we should start after Labor
Day. We should start the first semester before Labor
Day and end right before winter break. It’s hard
to come back and take finals after three weeks of
vacation.” —Ms. Esparza
TOWN CRIER POLL
Which presidential candidate
do you prefer?
Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump
46%
Neither/No Opinion
23%
31%
A poll of 6th, 7th and 8th grade homerooms was conducted by
Madison Liberman on Oct. 20, 2016 after the final debate.
VOLUME 61, ISSUE 1
Published by and for the students of
Paul ReveRe ChaRteR Middle
SChool and Magnet CenteR
1450 Allenford Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90049
Editors: Neyla Maher,
Paige Snepp, Dylan Tzung
Member of the National
Scholastic Press Association
Faculty Advisor: Mr. Wechsler
(1) Patriots pick up their iPads in
Town Hall. Photo: Evan Grochola
(2) Mr. Iannucci with 8th graders in
the Quad. Photo: Yael Berukhim
(3) “Twins” Ms. Clark (left) and Ms.
Hernandez. Photo: Gunnar Greve
(4) Yagi, the goat, is in the driver’s
seat at the farm. Photo: Justin Shafa
(5) Minoah (left) and Conner play
trumpet. Photo: Khadija Aghazada
(6) Isaias (left) and Logan take a
selfie in Rome. Photo: Isaias Alegria
(7) Lucas shows off his Adidas
sportswear. Photo: Justin Shafa
(8) Layla (left) and Anaya look like
superheroes. Photo: Asher Saven
“I think school should start after Labor Day
because it finally starts to cool down in
September. August is still a summer month.
Therefore, it is still hot. It is no fun being stuck
in a hot classroom all day.” –Charlotte Osterman
“School should not start after Labor Day. I like the
way it is now. The first semester starts in August
and ends at the end of the year, December. The
winter break will be speant for family and a time
to recharge and not on grading papers and doing
homework and projects.” –Ms. Combis
“I do like that the semester ends when we leave for
winter break. It makes it easier for students to start
fresh with a new semester upon returning from
winter break.” –Mr. Valerio
“Absolutely! Labor Day has always symbolized
the end of summer as we used to know it. Also,
the heat of August is an issue.” —Mr. Anderson
“I think that we should start school after Labor
Day because its still summer when we start school
now, instead of starting school in fall. When we
start school now, it is too hot.”
–Eli Ghodooshim
“No. Now that we’ve switched to starting school
before Labor Day, it would take too much money
and resources to switch back. All the planning and
adjustments that would have to be made would
not be worth starting school after Labor Day. ”
–Mr. Amos
Interviews and layout by Ethan Hamid
4 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
The Fresh New Teachers of Revere
By IRIS BERMAN
Last year Revere had many
teachers leave the school for retirement or other oppurtunities.
This means new teachers have
been brought into the Revere
world. Usually, it is the students
that have to adapt to Paul Revere, but this year seven new
teachers will have to get used to
the rules and ways of Revere.
Mr. Alpert is a new sixth
grade English/history teacher.
He received his teaching credential at CSUN. Mr. Alpert first
Mr. Alpert
described Revere as “professional, fast paced, and friendly.”
He also said, “There are so many
working parts, it’s very different from the elementary school
world.” He believes that writing is a skill set students haven’t
been properly taught about, so
he chose to teach English to give
it to his students.
Another new addition to the
Revere staff is Ms. Hubbard.
She is a new sixth grade math/
science teacher. Ms. Hubbard
attended Illinois Wesleyan University, and competed on their
basketball team. Then, she went
to Columbia College, and received a degree in fine arts. After this, she worked in the film
industry for fifteen years. “Revere is a positive learning environment on a really big campus.
The campus is so big that Ms.
Ms. Hubbard
Mabashov took me around in a
golf cart,” she said. Ms. Hubbard’s father was a mathematician, and he groomed her to see
math everywhere in everyday
life.
Ms. Wright has just joined
the Revere staff as an English/
history teacher. She received an
undergraduate degree in English at UCLA, and she ended
up loving the school so much
she worked there for ten years.
Ms. Wright
Ms. Wright has also worked as
a store operations manager, digital content coordinator, travel
agent, stage manager, and floor
manager. She loves books and
she hopes that some of her love
for literature is shared with her
classes. “Revere is a lovely
school with a diverse and friendly population of both students
and staff,” Ms. Wright said.
Mr. Sanders is a new sixth
grade math/science teacher. “I
love problem solving and knowing how the world works,” he
commented. Mr. Sanders has
also surfed for over 40 years
which has taught him many
concepts and lessons related
to Earth Science. He has been
teaching and working in school
administration for 23 years. He
thinks Revere is a large school,
with a professional and dedicated staff.
Mr. Sanders
Mr. Bilek is another new
teacher this year at Revere. He
attended college at UC Santa
Barbara, which sits right on the
beach. Mr. Bilek says that the
students at UC Santa Barbara
were very passionate about their
soccer team and everyone would
turn out to watch them play. He
has always had an interest in the
ideas and theories explored in
math and science. “Plus, who
doesn’t love a fun science experiment?” he asked. Mr. Bilek
says he is lucky to be working
at a school like Revere. “The
students are excited to learn and
the teachers really love what
they do. This school is one giant
Mr. Bilek
Dr. Tautkus
family and I cannot wait for the
years ahead,” he said.
Revere has also added a
new music/band teacher: Dr.
Tautkus, who went to USC. His
first impression of Revere is
that there is a lot of positive energy and everyone wants to help
each other succeed. “There’s
a specialness to being able to
communicate through music. It
brings out the fun side of most
people,” he said.
Another addition to the staff
this year is Mr. Krizman. He has
Mr. Krizman
an eighth grade homeroom, and
also teaches special education
classes. He chose to teach special education because he loves
working with students who really need extra help. Mr. Krizman
went to Lewis and Clark College, where he studied history.
“I had the best time of my life at
college, making friends from all
over the world,” he said. His first
impression of Revere is that “it
is a beautiful campus, with lots
of students and awesome administrators.”
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 5
New Faces from Other Places
Brand new 7th and 8th grade Patriots share their thoughts about adapting to Revere’s campus
BY ALIYA GOVINDRAJ
Paul Revere rolls out the red
carpet for hundreds of new students every year. Most of these
new Patriots are sixth graders, ready for their first year of
middle school; however there is
a modest amount of new seventh
and eighth graders. As a new seventh or eighth grader of Revere,
adjusting is a strenuous process
attributed to Revere’s large student body. Eighth grader Yael
Berukhim commented, “I was
very nervous about the size. My
old school only had 350 people
in total and to switch to a school
with over 2,000 is a big change.”
Charlie Capp agreed, saying he
was “blown away” after learning
the amount of kids at Revere.
Coming to a new school can be
a difficult experience especially
without one’s friends. Sofia Canter, a new seventh grader, shared
her opinion. “I was very nervous
about making new friends since
most friend groups have already
‘Clicked’.” These nerves were
shared by Cate Landis another
new Patriot who said, “I was also
nervous about making friends.”
Many of the students interviewed were also eager to start
P.E., “My old school didn’t have
very good sports and this school
Natalie Capp writing in Mr. Roig’s
english class. Photo: Aliya Govindraj
has varsity sports.” Sofia added.
Laila Tehrani spoke up saying,
“We can do more in P.E. because
the yard is a lot bigger than the
one at my old school.”
Hitsory and science are very
popular subjects among the new
stuents at Revere. “I am really
excited for history and science,
one of my goals is to get good
grades,” said seventh grader
Cate Landis. Contrary to Cate,
Charlie shared, “I am excited
for Journalism and English this
year. I love writing and expressing my creativity…” Laila Tehrani commented, “I’m excited
their goals for this year. “One of
my goals is to get good grades
and make a lot of new friends,”
Cate explained. Other students
shared their excitement for improving on sports, mile times,
and school subjects they had
previously struggled with. “ My
goal this year is to get better at
math and volleyball,” Ava said.
Coming to a new school can
be unnerving but imagine coming to a new country. Twins Lila
and Levi Strasser, new to the
U.S. from Germany, explained
what this was like. Levi shares,
“In Berlin I could always go
German twins Lila and Levi at
their lockers. Photo: Paige Snepp
Astrid and Gabriel Hannah stand in front of the British flag in Mr. Fulling’s class, showing their patriotism for England. Photo: Aliya Govindraj
for Mr. Marino because history
seems really fun in his class and
Ms. Combis’ class seems like it
is going to be fun, educational,
and helpful for high school.”
Many of the students are also eager to pursue their electives. “I
am excited for yearbook because
at my old school the yearbook
elective wasn’t very serious and
now I’m excited to take it more
seriously and make an awesome
yearbook,” Yael remarked. Ava
Hurvitz shares Yael’s excitement. “There are so many activities that I couldn’t do at my old
school. Like the journalism elective, the music department, and
there was no farm.”
The new students also shared
anywhere at anytime. I could go
skating after school without calling my mom or doing all of that
complicated stuff.” He also explained the difference between
politics in Germany and the U.S.
“There are about 50 different
parties. Every four years there
is an election, similar to the U.S.
The party with the most votes
gets to choose a president, who
we call the Bundeskanzlerin.”
Lila agrees with her twin saying,
“In Germany someone like Donald Trump would never be able
to become president, because in
Germany you have to have been
working for the government for
years.” She also explained how
their school schedules worked.
“In Germany we didn’t have
the same periods each day. Our
school started at 9:00 a.m., and
ended at 3:45 p.m.” Levi shares
his goals for this year. “This
year I mostly want to improve
my behavior. In Germany I got
distracted easily which put my
work habits grade down a bit.”
Both the twins shared their enthusiasm for the year to come
and its exciting prospects.
Astrid and Gabriel Hannah
are new to Revere from England.
Gabriel gives a foreigner’s perspective on the upcoming election. “I don’t really know Donald Trump but I don’t like him
at all. He is very rude to people
who interview him.” His sister
agrees, saying she doesn’t know
many people that support him.
Astrid adds, “ I was most excited
about being in a totally different
place and a brand new school.
There are so many things to do
here that aren’t even possible
to do in England. The school
seemed like it was going to be
very different and scary. But
now I have loads of friends and
that has helped me feel not so
out of place and more comfortable.”
6 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Test Results Turn Heads
By NEYLA MAHER
Taking tests is known to advance a student’s knowledge,
as well as improve their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. For the first time,
the Common Core tests that all
LAUSD students took in May,
are being counted and added to
our permanent records. Patriots
who participated in the Smarter
Balance Online Assessments
for the 2015-2016 school year
scored very high for Revere,
beating last year’s scores.
The English and Math assessments were graded on four
level grading systems. The lowest level is “Standard Not Met,”
the next level up is “Standard
Nearly Met,” the third level is
“Standard Met” and the final and
top level is “Standard Exceeded.”
Most scores for Revere students fell within the two highest
levels, but as the charts below illustrate, the same cannot be said
for many other schools throughout LAUSD or the State of California overall.
In the English Language
Arts/Literacy tests, combining
Revere’s scores for standard met
and standard exceeded, Revere
had a 69%. The State overall had
a 48% score at the two top levels
and LAUSD had 39%. Meanwhile, in Mathematics, when
combining the top two levels,
Revere had a score of 57%, the
State had 37%, and LAUSD
scored a 26%.
The State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, issued a statement about the
importance of these standardized tests. “Because CAASPP
tests are given statewide,” he
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS
6th
7th
8th
Standard
Exceeded
28%
24%
25%
Standard
Met
40%
45%
42%
20%
17%
19%
12%
14%
14%
Standard
Nearly Met
Standard
Not Met
Standard
Exceeded
REVERE
STATE
26%
20%
LAUSD
14%
explained, “they provide an opportunity to measure the skills
of all students against the same
academic standards in the same
way, and results provide information schools can use to improve teaching and learning.”
The most recent tests administered in spring 2016 are the
first Smarter Balance Assessment tests that actually count,
since the ones administered in
spring 2015 were considered
trial runs as schools continued to
update their technology. At Revere, tests were taken on iPads.
According to Revere’s principal, Patriots exceeded all expectations. Mr. Iannucci commented, “I already knew Revere
did very well, even before the
official scores were released.
I am very proud of our students.
I expect Revere to grow again
this year.”
MATHEMATICS
6th
7th
8th
33%
36%
35%
26%
23%
21%
26%
23%
22%
15%
18%
22%
REVERE
STATE
34%
25%
Standard
Met
20%
28%
43%
25%
17%
23%
28%
LAUSD
10%
16%
27%
24%
Standard
Nearly Met
Standard
Not Met
25%
18%
13%
28%
36%
35%
18%
Graphs: California Department of Education
47%
There’s No Place
Like Paul Revere
By ELI PENN
Guest Contributor
Obviously starting a new
school is never easy, especially
when you have to wake up at 6
a.m. to get there, and you’re five
days late, and it’s a scorching
hot August day and, to top it all
off, you get sick the first day.
This school is Paul Revere, and
as of right now, I’m experiencing what is formally known as
going outside of your comfort
zone. I come from a school that
isn’t really that small, but it’s
tiny compared to Paul Revere.
It also was incredibly disorganized and chaotic. Revere is a
well-oiled machine compared
to my old school, so it’s hard to
get used to everything being so
well run.
On my first day, my parents
tell me to have a good day, but
I’m not sure what that means.
Have a “good day”? How am I
going to have a good day when
I don’t know a soul, I’m five
days late, and I can’t navigate
this monster. I guess they
meant, “Don’t have a bad day.”
Anyways, it’s only when I
arrive at school that I realize,
this school is HUGE. I know
from the second I get there that
with countless students, lockers
slamming, bells sounding to get
your classes, I’m going to get
lost, and I do, many times. Just
to make matters worse, I’m late
to most of my classes, I can’t
find my locker, and I find out
I’m way behind everyone in
academics. But I chose to go to
this school. I desperately
(continued on page 14)
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 7
Back to School Means Back to Work
Revere students are finally getting back into the swing of things after their summer vacations
By ISABEL GILL and
HALSEY HULSE
After 68 days of summer vacation, Patriots were ready to get
back to their stimulating school
schedule. The first few days of
school were full of visible panic
on many Patriots’ faces, new
and old. From getting new lockers to purchasing back to school
grams, students were in a frenzy
while starting school.
After waking up bright and
early for school, Patriots really
need the enthusiasm Mr. Iannucci brings to Revere’s campus
every day. As the school year
starts up again he comments
on the traffic situation here at
Revere. He says, “I believe our
traffic is much improved, more
families are taking advantage
our car pooling, charter buses,
and public transportation.” He
also mentions this year he thinks
Revere needs more consistency
in the school grading policy and
that the grade of an “A,” should
be the same in every class.
In order to thrive in their
new middle school environment
sixth graders can use these tips
written by some of Revere’s
7th graders, for a project in Mr.
Roig’s English
class. Morgan
Greenwald
and Grace
VanderVeen
think that it is
important that
students “don’t procrastinate
and ask for help if you need
it.” They also suggest students
should “find a group of friends,
and sit with them at lunch, since
it makes it much more enjoyable.” Abigail Aguilar and Melody Pulido believe that “making
new friends at a new school can
be hard. Fortunately there are a
few clubs and activities you can
go to.” With these helpful hints
sixth graders can have a great
first year at Revere.
Many sixth graders rushed to
get to class on time the first day
as the fear of being late was sitting in the back of their minds.
Perry Mains said, “I thought Revere would be a lot more stressful with more kids and bigger
classes, but it is less stressful
than I thought.” Another Patriot,
Layla Adeli, is excited about
“how big the campus is and
how many new people there are
to meet.” Although many sixth
graders were nervous to start
middle school, most of them
have gotten used to their new
schedule and are ready to be
back in school, after their long
summer break.
Seventh grade
students were
looking
forward to
showing
their
new teachers how
Morgan Greenwald (left) and Grace VanderVeen hold up their Survival
Photo: Isais Alegria
Guide for starting middle school at Paul Revere.
From left, Carly, Alexis, Natasha and Becca hold up notebooks to
study for a vocabulary quiz in Ms. Holler’s class. Photo: Nick Johansson
much they’ve learned after
successfully completing sixth
grade. Vinny Rhee says, “Sixth
grade was when we just played
and chilled, but now it’s time to
start preparing for the future.”
Fiona Engstad commented,
“The biggest change from sixth
grade to seventh grade is having six teachers instead of four.”
Ava Gardner is looking forward
to “getting new opportunities in
band, and “reading The Outsiders in Mr. Wechsler’s class.”
Annie Vinetz said, “Overall, the
biggest change has been making
new friends and learning who
my real friends are. This was a
change because I have met so
many amazing people, and realized that some people are better
friends than others.”
Following two years of hard
work in sixth and seventh grade,
this year’s eighth graders are
ready to work even harder to
finish their last year of middle
school strong. Jack Essner, this
year’s secretary, says he believes
“we are going to be treated
like adults instead of kids” and
“more is expected of us.” He has
also already noticed a change
in his amount of homework.
“There is a lot of work,” Jack
says, “most of it is opinionated
things like free writing and essays, but some of it is math as
well.” Other eighth graders are
looking forward to culmination,
the Disneyland trip, and getting
to eat in the Quad. Sophia Klotz
says, “I can’t wait to celebrate
the completion of middle school
with all of my friends and family.” Although eighth graders
will have a lot of responsibilities
and face lots of academic challenges this year, many are up for
the test.
Back to school grams are a
way to show appreciation to a
friend, teacher, or the staff on
campus. These grams tend to
make a huge profit, as the sixth
graders are very eager to buy
them Claudia Goore says, “Abo(continued on page 8)
8 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Arriving at Revere for a New School Year
(continued from page 7)
ut 1500 dollars was raised.” According to Gracie Binder, the
school President, “The money
goes toward school activities
that Leadership puts on, such as
dances or the book drive.” Atticus Parker explains the reasoning behind choosing to sell three
smarties and two dum-dums.
He says, “We did this so the
three smarties could outweigh
the two dum-dums. Smarties represent smart people and
dum-dums
represent
dumb people.” Gracie
mentioned she “enjoys selling back
to school grams
because it’s such
a rush of people
and I enjoy that
type of environment.”
Middle
School 101, held
in late July and
early August,
has helped many
incoming students to Revere
prepare for the school year. According to Mr. Koretz, not only
did students “learn how Revere
operates (policies, rules, etc.),”
and “get familiar with campus,”
but they also “learned about the
amazing activities and programs
that go on at Revere during the
year.” Mr. Koretz also said,
“We had about 200 students enrolled in the various programs.”
Thanks to Middle School 101,
newcomers are becoming more
comfortable in their middle
school environment.
With algebra being a very
challenging subject for many
students, the new algebra homerooms are a notable addition to
Revere. Ms. Stewart says, “The
students in the algebra homerooms are able to ask questions
and get extra help with concepts
as needed. As a result, students
will be able to see multiple approaches to problem solving.”
Mrs. Del Cambre says that in the
algebra homerooms
she’s also “teaching
students how to
help each other and
develop a caring,
team-spirited
atmosphere.”
The brand
new algebra
homerooms
“make our
students more
successful!” Mrs.
Del Cambre exclaimed. Overall,
the return to school has gone
smoothly. Many sixth graders have made new friends and
adapted to the middle school environment. Seventh and eighth
graders have gotten back into the
rhythm of their school schedule
as well.
(Center picture) Melody (left) and
Abigail hold up their School
Survivial Guide. Photo: Halsey Hulse
A group of 7th grade patriots use Ipads during MS 101. Photo: Jack Soller
Bennett Golad poses while other students wait in line. Photo: Joey Chae
After lunch, Mr. Olmedo directs a large group of 6th and 7th graders coming from the cafeteria up to their classes and to P.E. Photo: Madeline Glenn
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 9
Ms. Martinez speaks to many parents during Back-to-School Night. Photo: Dakota White
Mr. Iannucci patrols at morning drop-off. Photo: Isabel Gill
Student Council members sell Back-to-School Grams to parents. Photo: David Orlinsky
Julia and Melanie open their lockers. Photo: Halsey Hulse
7th graders pose for the camera with their friends during lunch. Photo: Nicklas Johansson
Ms. Del Cambre helps Josh in HR. Photo: Tristan Larsson
10 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
5 Days of Fun
And Fashion
Spirit Week is celebrated on Revere’s campus
By JACK GRAZER
The Paul Revere halls glowed with smiles and laughs as twins and
rainbow shirts and insane socks marked a week of wonder starting on
Mon, Sept. 26. “My favorite thing about Spirit Week is that you get
to do different things and wear stuff you wouldn’t normally wear to
school,” said Emily Schwartz. What was Giovanni Ferrero’s favorite
thing about Spirit Week? “I like getting into the yearbook!”
Max
Elyana
RAINBOW DAY is considered the brightest day of Spirit Week, and it
kicked off the week with a colorful bang. Tie-dyed students played
dodgeball and unleashed their inner hippie energy all over the school.
Sam
Nick
Maya
TWIN DAY was the most legendary day for everyone. The awesome
day of the radical relay race! As far as the eye can see, twins could
be spotted running, laughing and blasting up the spirit all the way.
SPORTS DAY showed how strong team spirit is here at Revere.
Sports fans played an athletic game of capture the flag at lunch. This
was definitely the perfect day to suit up and support your team.
Tessa
Darla
Eric
CRAZY SOCK DAY was the perfect day to express patriots’ great humor. There are always such clever, creative socks that brought bright
eyes and smiles go from ear to ear. The obstacle course was a blast
for the students in their socks to complete a crazy series of challenges.
BLACK AND WHITE DAY was last but not least. The Oreo relay race is
sure to put a huge smile on the face of all students. A lot of the students enjoyed the team races. There was black and white all over the
school along with friends ending their eventful week filled with fun.
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 11
Making New Buds at Revere’s Lunch Clubs
By CHARLES CAPP
Ah Club Day, where new
clubs are produced, and old ones
keep thriving. Students signed
up for clubs at the quad on Tues.
Aug. 30. Teachers were able to
sponsor new clubs for students
to join. The clubs include everything from Book Club to Circle
of Friends to Brain Games.
“I don’t do it for the
money, but it did help to
get paid last year so we
could have money for
snacks and food.”
—MS. MaRtinez
Club Day offered numerous opportunities to meet new
people. At lunch, all of the tables for each club were set up
and decorated. At the Academic
Decathlon table, one of the club
members Julia, was talking
about how her club was doing,
“This club has been around for
seven years…we get about 30
kids each year,” Said Julia who
is a co-president of the club.
“We meet up on Wednesday’s
but I wish it were a different day,
since we have sort of a competition with the Community Service Club. Everyone just wants
to get their community service
out of the way, so we lose some
club members.”
Over at a very festive table,
the GSA and Stand for the Silent Club, faculty advisor Ms.
Martinez was talking about if it
was different situation now that
club leaders don’t get paid for
sponsoring a club. She said, “I
don’t do it for the money, but it
did help to get paid last year so
we could have money for snacks
and food.”
Ms. Longway was at the
Circle of Friends table, and she
talked about if it made a difference that she didn’t get paid. She
said, “Last year I didn’t get paid
anyway, so no, it didn’t make a
difference.” She talked about
how long this club has been going, and how many kids usually
join. “This club has been around
for about five years…usually 50
to 100 kids join and it’s lots of
fun,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Community
Service Club has wasted no time
in fulfilling its mission. During lunch, club members sold
custom-made buttons to raise
money for worthwhile causes.
Now they have a T-shirt fundraiser underway. “Not only will
you get a killer shirt, you’ll be
supporting a great cause,” says
Mr. Valerio.
Now that two months have
passed since Club Day, the clubs
are up and running and allowing
Patriots of all ages and interests
to have fun and make new buds.
2016-2017
CLUBS
Monday
HORTICulTuRe
Farm-Robertson
CHESS CLUB
F5-Esparza
Tuesday
GAY STRAIGHT AllIANCe/
STAND FOR THe SIleNT
D3-Cruz - Martinez
SCI-FI MADNeSS
M3-Clark
PING-PONG
K2-Tokeshi
GSA and SFTS allies stand at
their table. Photo: Madeline Glenn
Wednesday
BRAIN GAMeS
X7-McDermott
ACADEMIC
DECATHLON
E4-Hamanishi
COMMuNITY SeRvICe
Town Hall-Valerio
SIT WITH US
C6 - Kruger
ASIAN APPReCIATION
J5-Jacques
Mr. Slavin manages the Council
Club table. Photo: Madeline Glenn
Thursday
Richard holds a colorful sign,
promoting Revere’s Community
Service Club. Photo: Madeline Glenn
HeBReW CluB
B5-DelCambre
CIRCle OF FRIeNDS
Town Hall-Longway
BOOK CLUB
K1-Hyman
COUNCIL CLUB
S3-Slavin
PING-PONG
K2-Tokeshi
The new “Sit With Us” antibullying club has their second
meeting. Photo: Charlie Capp
Friday
Mr. Cos promotes the Comic
Book Club. Photo: Madeline Glenn
COMIC BOOK CLUB
L1-Cos
SPORTS TAlK COuNCIl
N4-Alpert
DRAMA CluB
X1-Jackson
Sci-Fi clubbers pose with advisor
Ms. Clark. Photo: Madeline Glenn
12 October 31, 2016
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
THE TOWN CRIER
New Leaders Sprint Off the Starting Line
By ALEXANDRA
SCHOETTLER
Every year, seventh and
eighth grade Patriots have the
opportunity to be part of the
Leadership elective. Student
Council recruits new members
each year, but this time around,
they got a new teacher as well.
Mr. Springer recently replaced
Mrs. Istrin as faculty advisor
of Student Council. He teaches
sixth grade math, science, and
art. When asked why he was
chosen to take over Leadership,
he said, “I spent time with the
leadership class and was impressed with the students. When
she [Mrs. Istrin] left, she asked
if I would take it on, and I was
excited to be part of our Leadership team.”
Part of being in Leadership is
running for office. The positions
of president, vice president, secretary, historian and treasurer
are available. At the end of the
year, sixth and seventh graders
vote for the person they want to
fill each office. This year, Grace
Binder is Revere’s president. “It
Our vice president this year
is Jeremy Nelson, an eighth
grade Patriot. “I wanted more
responsibility. I wanted my ideas
to matter more,” said Jeremy.
One of his ideas is to change the
dance themes. He also said, “I
realized that grams could be sold
at the same time as dance tickets.” Jeremy says that he wants
“to make a difference” and “enhance the non-academic aspect
to the school day.”
The job of secretary has been
taken over by eighth grader Jack
Essner. “The reason I ran for sec-
wanted to make a difference
at our school.” He, like all the
other Student Council members,
has many ideas. “One idea I had
was a granola bar drive.” People
would bring in granola bars and
then they would get passed on to
under-privileged kids to put in
their lunches.
Kiara Zarabian is the treasurer this year. She says, “I am
very responsible and I’m very
good at handling and organizing
money… I like to help around
the school and be a part of a big
program to help everyone.” She
Nahmi (left) and Jeremy pitch back-to-school grams.
retary was because I am a very
organized person and thought
that my talent could assist others
in Leadership.” He has an idea to
visit an organization that puts together lunches for the homeless.
Isaac Alkin is this year’s historian. He is in seventh grade,
and said he “wanted to be a part
of Student Council because I
feels great,” Grace said about her
new position. Some of her promises include raising more money
for campus beautification. She
says that she can accomplish this
“by allocating money from the
funds we have and raising additional money to cover any short
fall.” She believes everyone
needs to “litter less and recycle
more!”
Photo: Alexandra Schoettler
continued, “One idea that I had
was a dance in the gym split up
into 4 seasons.”
In addition to the students in
office, there are many representatives in Student Council. They
include seventh graders Jada Asgar, Maya De Ganyar, Bilguudei
Enkhbold, Joe Fisher, Elyana
Goren, Isabelle Huang, Jessica
Gracie Binder
President
Jessica and Jack make a poster
for grams. Photo: Alexandra Schoettler
Mr. Springer
Faculty
Advisor
Photo: Joey Chae
Jeremy Nelson
Vice President
Joe sets up Capture the Flag on
Sept. 28. Photo: Alexandra Schoettler
Jacobs, Nahmi Natan, Adelaide
Saab and Kavita Sekhon. Eighth
grade representatives are Jacie
Bryant, Claudia Goore, Atticus
Parker, Ysabelle Sibley and Nathalia Wyss.
Mr. Springer thinks that the
Leadership group “brings more
excitement to the school. They
inspire us to make a difference
in our community as well.” This
year, Leadership will most likely
be putting on events like dances,
the book drive, grams, and other
things. Mr. Springer says, “We
are brainstorming new ideas as
well.”
The new team will be advertising their events all throughout
the school year. Upcoming fundraisers are announced over the
loudspeaker, on posters around
the school, and through representatives on campus.
Isaac Alkin
Historian
Jack Essner
Secretary
Kiara Zarabian
Treasurer
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 13
Traffic Jams May Not Be Sweet, But Solutions Are
Alternatives have
been formed to keep
Paul Revere from
being road killed
By COLE HERRON
Each morning Revere is
over-ridden with traffic. It slows
down cars at drop-off and pickup and puts people off schedule.
Traffic leaves many students
alone after school and has their
parents rushing to pick them up.
Some parents are even dangerously dropping their children off
at Sunset in order to avoid the
congested front driveway. This
mistake is not only dangerous, it
could even be lethal. Fortunately, Revere has a plan to put the
brakes on this issue.
Revere is steering itself out
of this dilemma by joining carpooltoschool.com, an online
carpooling service that helps
kids get to school. This cloud
based software matches students
with other students who live in
their neighborhood so they can
meet up and carpool together to
school. This system also gives
its users the ability to send themselves emails and texts that alert
them when their carpool buddy
is close and if they are driving
that day.
Out of all our Patriots’ methods of getting to school (see survey, right), eighth graders Dimitri Lupescu and Jamison Wesson
might possibly have the most
unique route.
“I wake up at 6:20 and skate
board about four or five blocks
The Big Blue Bus brings smiling Patriots to school each morning, safely and on time. Photo: Mr. Wechsler
How do you get to school on a typical day?
Revere students took a survey regarding how they get to school,
and here are the results from 1,864 students (out of 2,100):
733 (39%) ride in a single family car
500 (27%) carpool with other students
264 (14%) ride on a LAUSD Magnet Bus
147 (8%) ride on a parent-sponsored Tumbleweed Bus
72
(4%) ride on a LAUSD PWT Bus
52
(3%) ride on the Metro Bus
57
(3%) ride on the Big Blue Bus
31
(2%) walk
8
(0%) ride a bike
from my house to the train station,” Dimitri says. “Then I ride
the train to the Bundy station.
From there I skateboard over
to the 14 and take a bus that
Mark is dropped off at Revere’s horseshoe driveway. Photo: Cole Herron
brings me to the circle in front
of school.”
Dimitri’s ride home is also
complicated. “I take the 43 and
the bus to Burgamont, then take
the train back to the Westwood
station, and skateboard another
4-5 blocks home.”
Dimitri’s friend and fellow
commuter Jamison says, “Last
year I carpooled to school. I like
my new route though.” Despite
its complications, he says it’s
“more exciting than frustrating.”
Along with carpooling, other
unsung saviors of the school’s
congested driveway are the
buses, which replace the space
that dozens of cars would overload. Along with that, buses
help get kids home safely and
leave parents free to work.
On top of all this, it only costs
a dollar.
Recently, a few Patriot
parents decided to create their
own bus service, made as an
alternative method of transportation in case moms and dads
want a more “private” way for
their children to get to school.
It brings up to 52 students to
school each morning for a cost
of $1,600 a year. The bus stops
at seven places before arriving at school, and already has a
waiting list to get in.
The promise of a private
bus may sound tempting, but
Mr. Iannucci still has the power
of donuts on his side, which he
offers to students who take the
Big Blue Bus (pictured above)
to school with him every Friday.
Though traffic is tireing out
Revere, the school is working
to clear up the flood of incoming traffic, as well as clearing
up some of the smog that clouds
the city.
“Be Cool...CARPOOl!” declares
the marquee. Photo: Sidd Shendrikar
14 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
New to Revere
(continued from page 6)
wanted to get away from my old
school. So I push forward. I’m
nervous, and I’m lost in everything, but I push forward.
By lunch, I’m sweating,
not only from running from
class to class, but from the August heat. I look around and see
everyone smiling and I feel like
I am the only one not smiling.
My day isn’t picture perfect,
but it’s not terrible either. After
five frantic minutes of running,
I find my bus. I walk down the
aisle filled with backpacks, and
eventually I’m able to find a seat.
I realize I was always used
to being a big fish in a small
pond rather than being a small
fish in an ocean. I am still trying
to figure it all out: the routine,
the way the school works, my
social life here. I think it’s funny
because as I’m writing this, I’m
also experiencing it. I realize
that this is a journey, barely
beginning, and it’s going to be a
tough experience, but I accepted
it on day one and I am ready to
work through the challenges.
There’s no place like Revere
and I am happy to be here.
Doctor Advises
Patriot ‘Patients’
Mr. Anderson helps 8th graders before school in E3. Photo: Paige Snepp
Ready for Geometry?
Geometry is one of the most
vigorous classes at Paul Revere,
and it is the highest math class
offered at many other middle
schools. Mr. Anderson, the only
geometry teacher here at Revere,
has geometry tutoring before
homeroom, from 7:15-7:45, on
Tuesday through Friday. He primarily answers questions from
the homework he assigned the
day before.
Many students feel that the
geometry tutoring really helps
them. Halsey Hulse occasionally
attends the morning geometry
tutoring, and she said, “It is very
helpful to go to the geometry
tutoring because Mr. Anderson
helps you and explains the problems in depth.”
Mr. Anderson’s tutoring is
only for students who want specific math help, but Revere also
has a homework help club for all
subjects that meets before and
after school.
—Siddhartha Shendrikar
This Membership
Rewards Effort
Many middle school students are stressed over high
school and college. For these
anxious students, a membership
to the California Junior Scholarship Federation might help.
For those who don’t know, the
CJSF recognizes and celebrates
hard school work and contributions to the community. A CJSF
membership can help students
applying for colleges,. Those
who earn three memberships,
one for each semester, become
an Honor Member, which offers
many advantages. The membership is based on grades, work
habits, and cooperation marks.
All members are required to
complete 2.5 hours of community service. All interested Patriots
can check out the CJSF link on
the Paul Revere website.
—Charles Capp
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Dr. George LaBrot came to
Town Hall for the first “Roads
to Your Future” talk this year to
discuss his career in medicine.
Dr. LaBrot is 70 years old and
a grandfather, and he grew up in
Wisconsin.Throughout his years
as a doctor, he has traveled to
many exotic places, including
Southeast Asia, and speaks different languages. Patriots had a
chance to ask Dr. LaBrot questions about his life and career.
Margot Barrett: When you
were in middle school did you
take it seriously?
Dr. L: Yes, I liked learning and
it was a case of curiosity.
Justin Shafa: Did you do lots of
extra curricular activities out
of school?
Dr. L: No, I did not, but colleges
do look for activities you did
and you have a better chance
of getting accepted if you have
done a lot of them.
Evan Grochola: At what age
did you want to be a doctor?
Dr. L: When I was 12-13, I
had an interest in the human
body and enjoyed working with
people.
Luke Shuman: What interested
you most about medicine?
Dr. L: Back then when I was
12 and got very sick, I saw the
relationships between the nurses
and doctors and I wanted to be a
part of their world.
From left, Anouk, Isabel and Madison check a story. Photo:Charles Capp
Reporting for Success
The NSPA, or National
Scholastic Press Association, has
officially announced the 2016
newspaper finalist nominations.
The organization considered a
total of 266 entries nationwide,
and then narrowed the list down
to the top 50. Revere was one of
only two middle school newspapers that made it into the top 50.
Town Crier faculty advisor
Mr. Wechsler said, “The NSPA
promotes high-quality journalism through its high-quality
guidelines that show my students how any real newspaper
should operate. I know that
when we follow these standards,
we will be successful.”
Isabel Gill, one of the editors
of last year’s publications, is already looking forward to a full
year of hard work. “I hope that
we are able to reach our full potential as a team and as individuals. I want us to be able to get out
a quality newspaper as often as
possible.” —Charles Capp
Annie Vinetz: Did you ever
consider another career?
Dr. L: No, I was pretty focused
on being a doctor and going to
college kept me on track.
Ms. Holler welcomes Dr. LaBrot
to Town Hall. Photo: Paige Snepp
THE TOWN CRIER
October 31, 2016
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 15
Yagi (right) and Nibbles show
affection towards each other
in their enclosure on the farm.
Photo : Nicklas Johansson
Farm
Family
Flourishes
Two goats and two
bunnies are brand new
additions to the farm
By EMILY SCHWARTZ
Paul Revere is constantly
growing, and it might not always
be the new students. Mr. Honda
has created the farm to give kids
an entertaining and safe environment during nutrition and lunch.
The farm is a place to connect
his students to the real world
and to learn about life science
through animals. Kids look
forward to going back to school
just because of the farm. Seventh
grade patriot, Aidan Snead explained, “I’m most looking forward to being on the farm with
all of the guinea pigs because I
like animals.” Many different
types of animals are donated to
the farm throughout the course
of the school year.
Before this school year started, Mr. Honda added two special
family members to the Revere
farm: Yagi and Nibbles, 25 week
old baby goats. The new goats
are shy, but once picked up, they
slowly relax. “Any change for
an animal is going to be stressful, but it’s our job to make the
Joey (left) and Olive cuddle in the hay under
Photo : Joey Chae
their hutch at their home.
animals feel at home and teach
them that humans are nice and
gentle and not harmful,” Mr.
Honda explained. Yagi and
Nibbles are starting to learn that
humans are friends, not enemies.
Mr. Honda has a system that will
train the goats to relax. The kids
get to hold the goats for a minute
and then they have to pass them
on to the next patriot.
The goats live in a habitat
with a tortoise named Fatty Fatty Two-by-Four While there are
many other animals on the farm,
including chickens, ducks, rabbits, guniea pigs, turkeys, snakes,
and more... the goats have not
met their other farm mates, aside
from their roommate. They have
only been at Paul Revere for a
few weeks, so they are still just
settling in. Eighth grade patriot,
Sloan Senofsky, one of Mr. Honda’s service workers said, “the
goats are with the tortoise because they eat similar food.” He
also thought that if the goats became friends with the chickens,
“...it would be funny because the
chickens are shy, but the goats
aren’t.” According to Sloan, the
future holds the possibility that
the goats will be able to meet the
other animals on the farm.
The goats weren’t the only
new additions to the farm this
year. The second group of animals that came to Revere this
year was a group of chickens
that, according to Mr. Honda,
“are very happy to be part of the
Paul Revere farm. They get to
be ‘free range’ every day for the
rest of their lives. Very rare life
Two chickens explore the large area behind the fence at
Photo : Evan Grochola
the Paul Revere Middle School farm.
for a chicken if you know what I
mean.”
The third duo that came to
the Revere Farm this year was
a pair of lop-eared bunnies that
were donated by Alexandra
Schoettler. The two bunnies are
named Joey and Olive. The inspiration for Joey’s name came
from Joey Chae, a 7th grade Patriot at the school who is a friend
of Alexandra. Joey (the bunny)
is Alexandra’s sister’s bunny
who decided to name it after
Joey (the human).
Kids enjoy going to the
farm regularly. Seventh grader
Sara Samii said, “I go to the
farm because I love animals and
it’s so much fun spending time
with them.” Many people have
agreed with each other that the
farm is a great way to meet new
people especially those who
haven’t set on a group of friends
this year. Sara goes to the farm
with about 7 or 8 of her friends.
Another seventh grade Patriot,
Kayla Brunell, has held the goats
during her science class with Mr.
Honda. She enjoys holding Nibbles because she feels that he is
very playful and hyper. She says,
“The goats like to try to get away
but once you get hold of them
they feel like fuzzy blankets.”
Mr. Honda would like to add
another goat to the farm. He also
would like to have three more
turkeys. There was also some
buzz that there would be a pig
this year! “So far it’s just a rumor,” Mr. Honda said. “No pig
as of yet.” But if he could add
any new animal to the farm it
would be a friend for “Fatty-Fatty-Two-By-Four (the turtle Yagi
and Nibbles live with). “That
would be nice for him,” said Mr.
Honda.
Nibbles and Fatty-Fatty-Two-byPhoto: Evan Grochola
Four play.
16 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Superb
Superstars
Viewing
Onions
Counting
Colors
Matthew sorts his bag of M&M’s in Mr. Aochi’s fourth
period science class for his Ratio lab. Photo: Dylan Tzung
Josie Conrad, seventh grader, won the first
Superstar of the year. Photo: Porter Comstock
Abby and Will observe tomato and
onion cells in science. Photo: Dylan Tzung
Revere
Recycles
Aiding
Anti Bullying
New Student Council members, Jessica, Adelaide, and Jack collect recycling from different Revere homerooms. Photo: Dylan Tzung
Plague
Presentations
Patriots wear orange clothes to support antibullying. Photo: Ethan Hamid
Hopping
Halloween
Dance
Patriots get into the Halloween spirit during Revere’s annual Halloween
dance that took place in Town Hall on Friday, October 28th. Photo: Dylan Tzung
Jonlyn presents in Mr. Hamanishi’s class. Photo: Emily Schwartz
First
Hand Art
Anya shows off her colorful artwork, displayed outside the main
office, titled, Getting Our Hands on Art. Photo: Alexandra Schoettler
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Bashing
Bullying
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 17
First Fire
Drill
Mr. Olmedo asks Ryan a question in the bullying assembly that occured in the auditorium, during third period. Photo: Nicklas Johansson
Getting
Goldfish
All Revere Patriots flood to the grass P.e. field, during homeroom, for
the very first fire drill of the 2016-2017 school year. Photo: Nicklas Johansson
Campus
News and Notes
Wishing
for
Books
By Dylan Tzung and
Paige Snepp
Sarah and Oona tape the 2 liter bottles containing the goldfish that were
given to them during Mr. Cos’s fourth period science class. Photo: Dylan Tzung
Isaiah writes a title down on his wish list during Revere’s Annual Book Fair, held in Town Hall this year. Photo: Tristan Larsson
Buying
Beneficial
Buttons
Delivering
Doves
Blown
Away
Sadie and Kat watch patiently as their Windy 500 Community Service Club members sold buttons in the
Community Service Club delivquad to raise money for their button sale. Photo: Paige Snepp
ered peace grams. Photo: Dylan Tzung car tested by Mr. Aochi’s fan. Photo: Aaron Yamin
18 October 31, 2016
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Entertainment
Seventh grader
Ava Cooper
(purple dress)
on set of the
movie Hostiles.
Patriots on the Big Screen
By DYLAN TZUNG
Revere is full of students
with an array of talents including
musical talents, athletic abilities,
and other artistic specialties, but
two seventh graders, Jack Grazer and Ava Cooper, have a knack
for acting.
The new movie It, starring
Revere’s very own Jack Grazer,
is set to hit the big screen on
September 8, 2017. The movie
is a remaster of the 1980’s miniseries as well as an adaptation
of Stephen King’s 1986 horror
novel about a demon that terrorizes seven kids, attacking their
worst fears and phobias. In It,
Jack Grazer, plays the role of
Eddie Kaspbrak. Jack said, “Eddie and I both are very similar
in some ways. We both are very
concerned with being sanitary
and staying away from germs.
Eddie and I are both afraid of
many things but learn to face
them. And most of all, Eddie and
I are both loyal friends.”
Jack has acted in a total of
three movies, including Tales
of Halloween, in which he
played the part of young Jimmy,
Scales, where he played the role
of Adam Wilts, and his current
project It, where he is playing
the part of Eddie.
Although the movie is still
in the production process, Jack
already describes it as his most
memorable acting experience
yet. He explained, “I have made
so many life-long best friends
on this film along with working
with some incredible breathtaking actors and actresses. This
film is one of many to come that
will always stay near and dear to
my heart.”
Despite the fact that Jack is
not able to be physically attending school during the filming
of the movie, he is still given
schoolwork from his Paul Revere teachers. He also has an onset instructor who educates him
while he isn’t working in front of
the camera. Jack said, “It is pretty hard to concentrate on school
and film at the same time but I
manage it. The reason I follow
through with the whole acting
thing is because I truly enjoy it
and I am very passionate about
the craft.”
Ava Cooper has also acted
in three movies. She said, “I
was an extra in a film called
Crazy Heart, and I had a small
part as one of the seven children
in Black Mass. Most recently, I
played a young girl in an upcoming movie, Hostiles. I get shot by
Comanche Indians, and my sister and I’s death kind of lead the
story on.”
Katie Silverman (left) and Jack
Grazer in Tales of Halloween.
Jack doing his homework with
the studio teacher Laurel Wood.
Hostiles, directed and written by Scott Cooper, Ava’s dad,
will be released sometime in the
fall of 2017. It is based in the
year 1892, post Civil War and it
is about the relationship between
the Indians and the soldiers.
When asked about her on set experience, Ava said, “I was working with such amazing people,
such as Rosamund Pike, Scott
Shepherd, and the one and only
Christian Bale.” For Ava, her
acting doesn’t have much of an
effect on her schoolwork. Most
of the films she has acted in were
filmed in the middle of the summer and out of state.
Because Ava’s father is a
director, she said, “I have lived
on sets of movies for most of my
life, but acting has never really
been a lifelong dream of mine. I
love it, but I don’t really know
what I want to be yet.” Jack also
grew up in and around the film
industry with his father and uncle as role models, but Jack said
that his inspiration to act didn’t
come from those experiences.
As a toddler, Jack liked to dress
up and act like a pirate or an archaeologist. He said, “Being an
actor or performer has always
been my passion and outlet. Theatre is and always will be one of
my favorite ways to express my
ability to perform.”
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
TREND TALK
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 19
Maya (left),
Oona and
Nico hold
up the much
anticipated
Harry Potter
script. Photo:
Pokemon
Pandemonium
Anouk Wijeratne
By KOUROSH SAHMEDINI
Recently, you may have
seen people zooming up
the ramp afterschool and
tripping like a cartoon
character. You might be
wondering what caused
this strange phenomenon. It’s the latest
game called Pokémon
Go, where people walk around looking to
catch all the Pokémon virtual creatures.
There are many examples of people going
crazy over Pokémon Go. While I was in
New York last summer, I remember that
around 8 p.m., I noticed a huge group of
forty people running around, and I decided
to follow them. They were chasing after a
rare Pokémon called Venusaur. I then followed them back to Columbus Square and
saw hundreds of people surrounding the
statue. Every once in a while, I someone
would find a rare Pokémon nearby and
scream like a kid that just saw a piece of
candy.
There are actually many other hazardous outcomes of the game. In Arizona, a
couple was arrested for abandoning their
two-year-old child to play Pokémon Go.
Another example was when two men were
playing the game and staring at their smart
phone screens and ended up with serious
injuries after walking off a 90-foot cliff.
It’s crazy that all of these adults who
are supposed to be role models for our society, scream in hysterics for a silly game.
Pokémon Go exploits just how twisted our
society is when we have adults quitting
their jobs and police that are on duty and
playing Pokémon Go. This shows that
many people only want to stay distracted
with silliness and don’t care much about
helping our society focus on more important issues.
Yet even with all these problems,
Pokémon Go does have some positives.
Many people say that since they began
playing Pokémon Go they’ve gotten a lot
more exercise than they used to.
Even though Pokémon does have a
couple positives, I don’t think that there
are enough to overshadow the undeniable
negatives. People are dying because of this
game. Maybe Pokémon Go just needs to
Pokéstop.
Wizard World Is Back in Business
The magical spell of the new
Harry Potter script has spread
throughout Revere’s campus
By ANOUK WIJERATNE
The world fell under the spell of J.K.
Rowling’s bestselling, immensely popular
Harry Potter series when it hit bookstores
in 1997, and the popularity of these awardwinning books has never died down. When
news spread that a play was in the works,
fans from all over the globe couldn’t wait.
When tickets started selling in October of
2015, “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child”
sold out almost immediately.
“The Cursed Child” features the new
generation of wizards and witches, and their
misadventures at Hogwarts. For fans expecting to see familiar characters, they won’t be
disappointed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are
main components of the play and old unfinished plots are revisited. In fact, the play was
in such demand that tickets sold out almost
immediately and the script is predicted to be
the bestselling book of 2016, a feat almost
unheard of by a play. “Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child” offers a little a something for
everyone: magic, excitement, action, danger,
and romance. Venturing into the wizarding
world yet again, author J.K. Rowling and
playwrights John Tiffany, and Jack Throne
have written a play Muggles of all ages can
enjoy.
The play, now also a book, is available
for purchase worldwide. Those who didn’t
buy tickets or don’t live in the UK are now
able to read the play. We asked a couple Patriots what they thought about the new installment to the Harry Potter series. “At the
beginning of the play I was somewhat disori-
ented because of the fact that there are three
different authors, but then later on I started
to realize how each of the three authors made
the overall story cohesive,” said eighth grader Nico Van Hoen. She continued, “When I
heard there was going to be an eighth part
in the Harry Potter series, I was excited, to
say the least. I waited for weeks until its release date and I have to say, it does not disappoint. Although it was a somewhat similar
storyline to the original books, it was told in
a completely new and exciting way, it kept
me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
I would recommend this play to any Harry
Potter fan as it is a good ending to the original books.”
Maya Demontreux had a slightly different point of view. “I enjoyed the play less
than I thought I would,” the 8th grader remarked. “I had high expectations for the
book but it fell a little short. The play was
written in a completely different fashion
than the other seven books. Because it was a
play, it lacked much of the description I was
expecting from Rowling. However, I would
recommend other Harry Potter fans to read
this. It does clear up some of the concepts
left in the seventh book, but it is sad seeing
the characters grow up.”
Now that the highly anticipated play
is here, old fans and newcomers who have
not yet read the script will have a chance to
judge for themselves whether “The Cursed
Child” exceeded expectations or was simply
dreadful. Some loved the dramatic return to
the Harry Potter universe, others pointed out
flaws and disappointments. With twists and
turns on every page, a scheming villain, and
strange new revelations, this play may not be
for everyone, but it’s certainly here to stay.
It’s the Harry Potter continuation for a whole
new generation.
THE TOWN CRIER
20 October 31, 2016
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Movies This Summer Were Not a Bummer
A+
B+
C
Paramount Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
Walt Disney Studios
About halfway through the 2016 summer,
the “Star Trek” franchise returned to the
theaters with another sequel called Star
Trek Beyond. It is an action movie where
the Enterprise is under attack and forced
to crash land mysterious planet and must
find away to get back home. This was the
third movie so far. The beginning of the
film was exciting and kept me engaged in
the action movie until middle. I thought that
the soundtrack helped by building suspense
during the important scenes throughout the
film. It shared a similar style to “Star Wars,”
especially because it was directed by former
Patriot J.J. Abrams as well. The movie
became very tedious and boring. There was
hardly any action and a lot only dialogue
scenes, which deducted the movie’s success
in the long run. If there hadn’t been so many
boring scenes, the movie might have been
out of this world good.
—Alexander Denham
Suicide Squad is an amazing actionadventure movie with humor and suspense.
It’s about a group of dangerous super
villains chosen by a government official
for a top-secret mission. Director David
Ayer keeps you on the edge of your seat the
whole time and makes you wonder what
will happen next. Some characters such
as Deadshot, (Will Smith), Harley Quinn,
(Margot Robbie), and The Joker, (Jared
Leto) make this is a must see movie. After
all, who wouldn’t want to see all of DC
Comics’ greatest villains fight on the same
team? Although this was a crowd-pleasing
movie, it had some flaws. The plot changed
many times and got confusing, and it has
many under-used characters that made the
movie hard to keep up with. But overall if
you want to see an action-packed movie
with humor and suspense, “Suicide Squad”
might just be the movie to die for.
—Aaron Yamin
As the reboot of the adored original,
Pete’s Dragon makes audiences’ hearts
soar higher than the lovable giant that fans
have loved since 1977. The story revolves
around an orphan named Pete who becomes
best friends with an immensely endearing
dragon that he names Elliot. They spend a
glorious six years frolicking in the woods
together until one day the two experience
an earth-shattering change. The story built
up very well when it came to the climax.
I winced with every crash, my eyes grew
wider with every tremendous wing flap. I
felt empathy towards the main characters,
but the minor characters in the movie were
underdeveloped. This movie was incredibly
moving and conveyed a strong message
about love, loyalty, and not judging a book
by its cover. The story was so close to impeccable that I believe that it will become a
new Disney classic.
—Paige Snepp
A-
A
A
Columbia Pictures
Lionsgate
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios
Ghostbusters is as scary as it is hilarious, just like the ghosts in the movie. There
are spooks and jump-scares that will leave
you feeling like you are standing next to the
characters. The hilarious script is laugh-outloud funny and at the same time heartwarming and inspiring. The professor, Erin
Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), is a clever woman
who rediscovers her love for the paranormal with the help of Abby Yates (Melissa
McCarthy). She is a scientist, who has been
searching for ghosts her whole life. She
finally finds one, with the help of Jillian
Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), her trusty
partner and friend. In their hunt for ghosts,
they pick up Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a
subway station worker with a sassy attitude.
With its sidesplitting script and motivational
characters, “Ghostbusters” is one of the best
movies of 2016, because it is a great movie
that almost everyone will love although it
doesn’t continue with the other movies.
—Josephine Chae
Nerve is a fantastic movie that is full of humor and intensity. The movie introduces the
character Vee (Emma Roberts), a responsible teenager who rarely ever takes risks. Her
best friend, with the opposite personality
shows her an online game, called “Nerve,”
and pressures her to sign up. “Nerve” is
like truth or dare, minus the truth. It dares
players to do dangerous things and film
themselves doing it, and it pays them a
certain amount of money per dare if they
reach success in the given amount of time.
The game also allows people to sign up as
a “watcher,” so they can keep an eye on the
players. But when Vee accidently breaks
the rules of the game, she will have to face
the wrath of “Nerve.” Vee will have to learn
how to deal with the drama of love, friendship, and life at its hardest times. Overall,
“Nerve” is a great movie that will inspire
many about how a shy girl can quickly find
confidence by taking some risks.
—Madeline Glenn
With its beautiful mix of colorful characters
and hidden themes, Finding Dory swims
into audiences’ hearts while carrying on the
classic feel of the original movie, “Finding
Nemo.” A young bright-eyed Dory with
short-term memory loss, Bailey the beluga
whale who can’t use his echolocation, Destiny the whale shark who has poor eyesight,
and Hank the septopus team together in this
great adventure. Dory’s problems represent childhood disabilities and losing your
parents. As Dory’s memories suddenly return
to her in flashbacks of her childhood, a journey awaits with new sea creature friends as
well as old (several appearances from Nemo
and Marlin) when she sets off to unlock the
secrets of her past. With heartfelt moments
that make you tear-up balanced with the true
magic of Disney and Pixar, “Finding Dory”
captures the spirit and fun of a timeless family film mixed with themes you don’t want
to overlook in a children’s movie.
—Madison Liberman
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 21
Music Makers Start the Year Off on a Good Note
By AVA HURVITZ
The Music Department is
one of the many interesting and
unique electives you can do here
at Paul Revere. From what I’ve
seen so far, it takes a lot of grit
and a strong mindset to play an
instrument. Mornell and Sean
are two very different students
but the one thing they both
have in common is a strong passion for music. Here is a small
glimpse into their lives.
First, there’s Mornell Alma.
She is a new student to Revere.
She is only in sixth grade but has
been singing her whole life. She
is in the choir. Last year, when
Mornell was in fifth grade she
was in the LAUSD gifted choir.
So far, Mornell loves the music
department. She is having lots
of fun and this experience in the
department has been very inspiring to her. Some of the things
she loves are the teachers and
the organization skills of the department.
The next student is Sean
Vercos. He is in 8th grade and
this is his third year in the music
department so he is very familiar with it. He plays the trum-
Ms. Jacques (left), Dr. Tautkus
and Ms. Cronin share a smile.
pet in the band. When asked if
he liked any of the new changes
in the department, he said that
he was sad to see Mr. Miyoshi,
the previous band teacher go,
but that he loves Dr. Tautkus and
said that he was definitely one
of his favorite teachers. Sean’s
favorite thing about the music
department is how he can learn
new music pieces and can create
a sound not only from the instrument, but also from himself.
One thing Sean thinks the music
department can improve on is
playing different instruments in
different songs. But otherwise,
he thinks the music department
is one of the most fun and exciting electives one can get into.
Now that you know about
the students, let’s talk about the
magic that is being taught behind the scenes. Every student
needs a teacher and according to
Sean and Mornell, these students
have some really clef-er ones.
First, there’s Ms. Cronin.
This is her fifth year teaching
choir at Revere. She has been a
music teacher for 48 years, and
a profession 1 Choral Conductor
for 39 years. She started teaching at a very young age, with
piano students while in middle
school. When asked what she
would be doing if she didn’t
work at Revere, she said “I teach
and perform music 24/7. So,
if not at Revere, I would teach
somewhere else”. She also conducts an adult community choir
called the Concert Singers. The
choir was named one of the best
choirs in L.A by CBS and KNX
news radio. She also conducts
choir and Orchestra at a church,
so evenings and weekends are
also filled with music making.
Ms. Cronin really wasn’t kidding when she said 24/7!
The next teacher is one of the
newest additions to this school,
Dr. Tautkus. He has worked
in two schools so far. The first
one was Valley Academy of Arts
and Sciences in Grenade Hill.
The second one was Kennedy
High School. He specializes in
brass instrument but “double”
on voice and many woodwinds.
Saxophonists in Dr. Tautkus’s band create a melody. Photo: Josephine Chae
Ms. Jacques’s orchestra homeroom practices a tune. Photo: Alex Denham
Ms. Cronin’s period 4 choir belts out a joyful song. Photo: Halsey Hulse
When asked what he was going to do differently this year
he said that he is going to try to
keep many of the same traditions
because doing things the same
helps build traditions. “PRMS
has a very strong band tradition.
I am going to keep many of the
traditions and try to build in just
a bit more time”.
The last teacher, but certainly not least, is Ms. Jacques.
She has been teaching at Revere
since 1994. She said she has a
busy year ahead. “In May, the
Chamber Orchestra will play a
piece written just for them by
a well-known composer. I have
been speaking with the composer by phone and email and have
some wonderful things planned
for us!”
But first, all three music
teachers are preparing for the series of winter concerts beginning
the week of Dec. 12.
22 October 31, 2016
TREND TALK
Lifestyle
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Benefits of
Benevolence
By PAIGE SNEPP
Kindness and support
can spring from any
corner of the globe.
Recently, a miniature
miracle occurred close
to a local Domino’s
Pizza in Salem, Oregon.
Kirk Alexander, a frequent customer, ceased
to order pizza for eleven days. The management sent an employee to check on the
customer. The employee knocked on Alexander’s door and when he did not answer,
he called the police. He was then found in
critical condition, and was then taken to a
hospital. He is now in stable health. Now
that’s quality customer service!
Just like Domino’s, Revere does its
part to help those in need. Revere helps its
community and its students. Students are
required to complete five hours of community service. Many aid at animal shelters,
campus beautification days, and much
more. There is even a community service
club going on all year! Revere also holds
button and gram sales, can drives, and
Fun Runs that benefit Revere and those in
need.
Revere also is willing to help with
many students’ emotional needs. All of
the staff at Revere are willing to listen to
and help students. There are even clubs
completely dedicated to the support of others. GSA is a perfect example. Ms. Martinez, the club’s advisor, says GSA club
members “would like everyone on campus
to be able to feel safe to be who they really
are without fear bullied or teased,” no
matter their sexual identity or orientation.
Circle of Friends Club is also a place to go
and make new friends or spend time with
current friends all while playing terrific
boardgames.
From mandatory community service,
to clubs that provide support, Revere’s
constant message to all of its students is to
extend a helping hand to others who are in
need of one. It teaches them to help their
community and peers thrive in an safe and
beautiful environment. Revere is constantly providing people with the benefits
of benevolence.
Patriots jetted all
over the world
last summer.
Vacation Getaways
This summer, Patriots took flight to different continents
By JOSEPHINE CHAE and
MADELINE GLENN
Over the summer, many students and
teachers traveled around the world to enjoy the longest and hottest break of the
year. From the East to the West, our peers
sailed over seas and soared through the sky.
Meeting new animals and going on wacky
endeavors, fellow Patriots experienced exciting moments, which will last forever in
their memories. Patriots were on a mission to
have the best possible vacation world wide.
We’ve compiled some of the most absurd
split-second photographs that went on during the craziest summer yet!
(1) 8th grader Paige Snepp visited Nara,
Japan, and was greeted by a handful of deer!
She held out some crackers and let them eat
from her hand. It was a once-in-a-lifetime
moment. “I was mobbed by deer!” Paige
says. She also visited China and several areas in Japan. Paige says that being surrounded by deer was a little bit scary, but she had a
really great time on vacation.
(2) Dylan Tzung and her family went on
a road trip over the summer, and one of their
stops was in Big Sur, California. She went
hiking through a vast amount of trees, and
one of them was hollow and enormous, allowing her to stand inside of it. Not only was
she able to stand inside a tree way bigger
than her, but she also went kayaking in Monterey Bay and jet skiing on the beautiful Bass
Lake. Overall, Dylan and her family enjoyed
their week long road trip up the incredible
California Coast.
(3) Madeline Glenn, a seventh grade
patriot, went whitewater river rafting on
the South Fork of the American River, near
Sacramento. From morning to dusk, she and
her family went down the river. After going
through a immense rapid, Madeline and her
father plunged into the water. Luckily, they
were both able to make it back into the raft
safely.
(4) Over the summer, 7th grader Nicklas
Johansson made a splash in Lake Langered,
Sweden. Plunging into the crisp, cool water,
he fell in love with Sweden all over again.
Enjoying the many water activities in Sweden, he went fishing many times, and also
went to an amusement park. Although Nick
spent most of his time on the water, he also
enjoyed playing soccer, and going mushroom hunting. After finding them, he cooks
and eats them. Nicklas and his family love
Sweden and everything about it.
(5) Mrs. Robertson, the school’s horticulture teacher took her children, Jamie,
Garrett, and even her dog, kayaking in Morro Bay. Jamie (7th grade) says that her experience was “very fun and wet.” Not only did
they spend time on the glimmering surface
of the water, they also went to a museum and
went camping next to Morro Rock! Overall,
the Robertsons had a great time on their trip.
(continued on page 24)
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 23
Dylan in Big Sur
Paige in Japan
Maddie in the American River
1
2
3
Nicklas in Sweden
The Robertsons in Morro Bay
4
5
Danielle in Hawaii
Claudia in Israel
Addy in Cuba
6
7
8
Angela in Hawaii
Ava in Spain
Ms. Kruger in Switzerland
9
10
11
24 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Getaways
Ethan scuba-dives with tons
of fish in Key West, Miami.
Emily on a VIP tour at Universal Studios.
David relaxes by the pool on a
hot day in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sophia stands by the Capital
Joe in the busy Times Square, New York. Building in Washington DC.
lexi at the legendary Statue
of Liberty at Liberty Island.
Joey crosses the catwalk at
Abbie by the Western Wall in Jerusalam. Bella wakeboards in Sanger, CA. summer camp in Big Bear.
Kira kayaks in Yosemite National Park.
Sadie smiles in China.
Kourosh and Mandana in New York.
Ananya stands with the Power Rangers at Comic-Con.
Tala at the Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve in lebanon.
(continued from page 22)
6) 8th grader Danielle Ulbrich went parasailing with her
sister and a family friend in
Maui, Hawaii. The three flew
over the Pacific Ocean, and
they all expressed their feelings
physically as they skimmed the
water.
7) Claudia Goore spent some
of her summer in Israel, where
she was found floating around in
the Dead Sea. She had her Bat
Mitzvah in Israel, but also rode
a camel and explored ancient
ruins. Claudia had an awesome
time in Israel.
8) Addy Saab stopped at a
tourist stop in Cuba where there
was a cowboy with a bull, offering a ride for only 1 Cuban Peso
(equivalent to 1 U.S. dollar).
Addy enjoyed riding the bull,
claiming it was very different
than riding a horse.
9) Angela Cameron enjoyed
her vacation to Hawaii, where
she got the chance to go zip-lining above rivers and the ocean.
Angela literally soared through
the air on her awesome trip.
10) Ava Bernd went to Madrid, Spain during her summer
break. She got to go to an art
museum, where she explored
some famous works. She also
saw the Palacio Real de Madrid,
or the Royal Palace. Ava had a
super fun time on her vacation.
11) Students aren’t the only
ones who need a nice getaway
during the summer... teachers do
too. Ms. Kruger spent her break
going to Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where she got to hike
near super tall mountains and
drive all over the country. Ms.
Kruger says she had a fantastic
time exploring Switzerland.
Some of Paul Revere’s newest recruits also visited cool
places on their sumer break.
Aysa Aghchay traveled to Italy,
France, and Iran. She saw many
iconic landmarks and visited her
family. Mateo Sanamaria went
to South America, where he saw
many waterfalls and did tons of
shopping. Rachel Hachamovitch
visited New Zealand and got to
see her family and go skiing.
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 25
The Patriots take
in Italy and the
Island of Capri.
european explorations
By TESSA SMIGLA
For the twelve action-packed
days in late June to early July,
Ms. Daley traveled alongside a
group of ten students all the way
to Europe to explore Spain and
Italy. Over the time they were
in Europe, the group toured
Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona,
Civitavecchia, Island of Capri,
Pompeii, and Rome. While in
Madrid, they walked around in
Puerta del Sol, also known as the
“heart of the city” and visited the
Prado Museum. They learned
about its history and toured the
Palacio Real.
The group navigated their
way through Rome, where they
stopped to explore the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
The next day, they toured the
Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.
Ms. Daley exclaimed, “There
were beautiful paintings, sculptures, architecture, mosaics and
unbelievable art everywhere!”
During meal times, the students and Ms. Daley were able
to experiment with new and
unfamiliar foods and found
themselves in love with the European cuisine.
“The best meal I had on
the trip was probably paella,”
said 8th grader Nina Polishook.
“We were sitting in Barcelona
enjoying the beach, and I also
tried mussels for the first time.”
Another favorite was gelato. 7th
grader Julia Abbot said, “I had a
delicious meal in Rome of spaghetti and gelato at a place my
dad had visited 30 years ago.”
Some of the students had
struggled with the time change
while others were able to adjust
easily. “It was not difficult to
adjust to the time change because
I was so happy to be in Europe
and was ready for my adventure,” said Ms. Daley. However,
Nina said, “The time change
was a real pain to get over, especially since we couldn’t appreciate the art of the Prado Museum
while jet lagged.”
Although not fluent in the
different languages, Ms. Daley
and the students didn’t have
much of a problem communicating. “There was no language dif-
While touring, Ms. Daley snaps a selfie.
ficulty, since many people spoke
English,” Ms. Daley stated.
According to 8th grader Adah
Hickert, “We learned how to say
‘Thank You’ in both languages.”
While they were in Europe,
Ms. Daley and the students saw
tons of sites and learned many
new things. “I loved Pompeii
the most of all the attractions we
saw,” said Nina. “It was fascinating learning about the daily
lives of these people, who were
solidified in ash forever.”
Adah Hickert added, “Where
we were traveling, there was so
much history that was still intact. They were even using the
facade of an ancient building to
build a mall inside.”
Jenna Chudacoff loved the
prices in Europe. “The most interesting thing I saw on the trip
was that you could negotiate
some of the prices. You could
get a shirt for 20 Euros instead
of 30 Euros,” said the 8th grader.
Julia exclaimed, “I loved seeing Pompeii! I didn’t believe we
could get to touch 4,000-yearold stone houses. I even got a
4,000 year old rock carved into
the shape of a flower.”
If given the chance to
return to one of the places they
went to, Jenna said, “I would go
back to Rome because the food
was good, the people were nice,
and the overall city was cool.”
Adah’s choice? “Barcelona.
Absolutely Barcelona,” she exclaimed.
Julia said, “I would revisit
Rome because the history there
was so amazing! We got to see
the Forum, the Trevi Fountain,
and the Pantheon! My personal
favorite was Pompeii!”
Ms. Daley said, “I want to
go back to the Island of Capri. I
felt that I had found paradise on
Earth. Capri was extraordinary!”
Jenna said, “It was a life
changing experience with all
my friends that was hysterical,
crazy, fun, cool and something I
won’t forget.”
Next summer, Ms. Daley
and her student group will be
exploring Ireland, Scotland and
England—and visiting the Harry
Potter Studio in London. Anyone interested in going is urged
to see Ms. Daley in Room X-11.
Patriots Nina and Adah play fight in the Colosseum. The group enjoys lunch after morning touring.
26 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Ecstatic Extensions
Hannah Williams had red and black extensions in her hair for about 6 weeks. This
seventh grader got these crazy colored extensions in Las Vegas right before school
started. Hannah was able to wash her hair
like any normal girl despite these crocheted
braids. Now, her hair is back to normal.
Milan Brazil is a sixth grader who also sported these bright extensions. She had hot pink
yarn braided into her hair for about 7 days.
Her aunt put them in for her, and she hopes
to get them done again if her aunt has time.
It took her 3 hours to get the extensions out,
and her head still hurts.
Sixth grader Anjali Somerville was inspired
to follow this hair trend after seeing it on a
mannequin in a store. For 1 month, she had
blue, pink and purple yarn in her hair. During the couple of hours it took for her mom
to put them in, she said that her head barely
hurt. She was able to take these out herself.
October 31, 2016
ABOUT ATHLETICS
Sports
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 27
Lessons from
The Olympics
By TRISTAN LUCAS
The Olympic flame may
have died out in Rio, but
there is still a flame in
the hearts of Olympians
and fans. The flame will
awaken at the next summer Olympics in Tokyo.
But, the winter Olympics
are right around the
corner in 2018 in Pyeongchang.
Even though Michael Phelps is going
into his 30s and is one of the oldest swimmers in the water, he still inspires me to
play the sport I love with all effort. Ashton
Eaton who competes in ten sports inspires
me to do as many sports as possible. Usain
Bolt never gives up on being the fastest
man in the world, which inspires many,
including me, to get the Sub-Six T-shirt at
P.E.
There are also some kids who have
gold medals in Revere sports like basketball, running, soccer, wrestling, tennis,
volleyball, and golf. The Olympics will
motivate students at Revere to strive for
the gold medal and be the best at what
they do.
The Paralympics have the same meaning as the normal Olympics. But at Rio,
they were contemplating whether to have
the Paralympics. After some discussing,
they let the Paralympics take place. It
became the second most watched Paralympics after London 2012. They have the
same heart, strength, and fury. Disability
does not pull you down even in school.
If you have any disabilities you can be in
Algebra or Geometry and/or all Honors
classes. You also can have a gold medal
for having good heart and being a good
friend and having respect for others and
caring as character traits.
The Olympics can also influence students with good grade to strive for more
education. If you are in all honors classes
or in an Algebra class or a Geometry class,
you would have a gold medal in education.
Being the nicest kid in the school or the
most caring student in the school. Everybody can have a gold medal. It doesn’t
have to be sports, but also education.
After school P.E.P. classes
for fall include basketball,
lacrosse, cross country
and more.
Patriots Peppy from P.E.P.
By SIDDARTHA SHENDRIKAR
Many Patriots have signed up for P.E.P.,
an after school program to enrich themselves
physically and intellectually. P.E.P. has activities ranging from basketball to intro to
coding.
The first P.E.P. session started Sept. 6
and ends next Friday, Nov. 4. All of Paul
Revere’s varsity teams compete in the
Delphic League, which is one of the most
competitive leagues in the state of California. Schools such as Brentwood, HarvardWestlake, Heritage Christian, Village Christian, Chaminade, Campbell Hall, and Sierra
Canyon all competing in the Delphic League.
Tryouts are finished for the girls volleyball team. P.E.P. has a dance team next session, which has a preparation class this session. It also has intramurals for the highly
competitive basketball team, and soccer
team. They both start tryouts in November.
Creative writing 101 and paper art are
some of the academic classes. Intro to Coding was sold out at the end of registration
week.
In the next session, there will be soccer
and basketball teams. The soccer team has
one varsity team that includes people from
sixth through eighth grade. The basketball
team has a junior varsity and varsity team.
The basketball team was the hit of the 20152016 season. The varsity coach for the basketball team, Darren Morrison, holds clinics
on Saturdays so that players can get a closer
look at making one of the teams.
Jared Cristall, a new student, joined
Basketball Intramurals. He wanted a better
chance on the basketball team, “I think it is
very well coached and helps you get a better chance to get on one of the teams. . .getting to know others with similar skill level
is important, you have to get to know them
because we’ll be going to high school with
them.”
Another fall sport is lacrosse, which will
have tryouts later in the year. The intramurals for lacrosse are happening now. Lucas
Schepps-Brown said, “It helps with my
shooting and passing so that I can prepare
for the team in January.” Lucas was on the
team last year as a sixth grader.
Soccer is another sport in session two
that has tryouts. Soccer only has one team
(continued on page 29)
28 October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Revere Runners
Train to Reign
Track stars return to their pursuit to top the leaderboards
The school year has started
and many students aren’t looking forward to Tuesday and
Thursday. The mile day started
the week after Labor Day and
will continue on for the remain-
der of the year, all leading up to
the cross country races. However, some Patriots are looking
forward to the miles, particularly
the ones who can finish them the
quickest. Here’s a look at some
of Revere’s running stars.
Miranda Schriver, eighth
grader, is the fastest female Patriot. Last year, she ran an 8:51
on the cross country girls final,
second only to Lila Copeland.
She also has obtained every shirt
(excluding Silver Bullet), and
managed to do that in the sixth
grade as well. “My brother and I
train over the weekend, running
three miles every Saturday with
our Labradoodle, Scarlett, and
Beagle, Max.”
She’s referring to her twin,
eighth grader Lucas Schriver,
who is one of this year’s top
three fastest runners. Lucas’s
recent miles all clock in around
5:20. “My goal this year is to improve my mile time and hopefully get Sub-Five,” he says. Lucas
has won the boys cross country
race each of his past two years at
Revere. “I wear a Batman bracelet and occasional Batman socks,
which makes me feel even faster
than I am.” Lucas is getting a little bit faster each year, improving
his mile time by 6 seconds since
his best in sixth grade. His advice
to fellow Patriots is simple: “Always try your best, and run your
hardest.”
Eighth grader Anna Schow is
looking to compete in this year’s
cross country race for the third
year in a row. Last year she finished second in her grade, improving from her eighth place
finish the year before. Also an
avid soccer player, she admits,
“When we do sprints and stuff
it helps me with my running.”
She looks forward to improve
her Iron Man and Flash times as
well as winning the cross country race.
Athletic seventh grader Asher
Saven says, “I really adore running because I feel like it makes
my problems diminish. The rush
of running is my favorite feeling.” Asher plays sports seven
days a week. He plays basketball, soccer and he runs. He
said, “I love running around
UCLA and I try to do it every
day.” Asher’s current best mile
is 5:44. Asher always tries his
hardest and strives to achieve his
personal best mile time.
Sophie Gowen seventh grader,
hopes to win this year’s grade
cross country race. “I would like
to win this year’s girls race for
my grade,” says Sophie. Sophie
already has a 6:01 mile time, an
Iron Man time under 36 minutes,
and Spiderman. “I just play soccer, which helps me with my
running,” she says. Last year
Sophie finished second for 6th
grade girls in the cross country
race, just behind Abbey Guerrero.
David Tobin is a competitive
athlete that plays many sports.
The seventh grader plays football, water polo, runs track and
field, and swims. This year, he
ran a 5:45 Sub-Six, and also attained Flash with 11:59. “This
year my goal is to return to the
cross country race and beat Kyle
Roberts.” Kyle has also mentioned that he hopes to beat David at the annual race. Last year,
Kyle finished second for sixth
grade boys.
Miranda
Schriver is
currently the
fastest female
Patriot.
By DAVID ORLINSKY
Lucas
Schriver
was the
fastest
seventh
grader
last year.
October 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 29
Patriots Get Peppy
Sixth grader Todd Valkov is already running away with the
shirts. Todd’s 34 minute IronMan is currently best among all
sixth graders and his 5:59 mile
time is an impressive mark as
well. “I play soccer and tennis,
which helps me with my running,” he says. The new Revere
student looks to win his grade’s
cross country race this year. The
sixth grader looks up to Lucas
Schriver, stating, “Lucas inspires me to keep running hard.”
Forrest Brock returned to Revere
since his departure in sixth grade.
After a year away from the mile
day, the eighth grader claims he
is, “back and more determined
than ever.” That showed through
as he ran a 5:33 Sub-Six and
an 11:58 Flash within weeks
of returning to Revere. In sixth
grade he finished second in the
cross- country race. This year,
he hopes to beat his second place
finish in the 2015 cross country
race, and come away with a win.
Abbey Guerrero is currently the
fastest female in seventh grade.
Last year, she tied for third overall in the girls cross country race,
and finished first in her grade by
17 seconds, with a time of 9:13.
She comments, “I hope to again
win the cross country race, and
improve on my shirt times.” She
currently has three shirts including, Sub-Six, Flash, and Wonder
Woman. She is working on earning more and more shirts every
week.
Eighth grader Dimitri Lupescu
isn’t your typical Revere runner,
since he takes a different approach than many of the other
fast Patriots. “Running is not really my sport, water polo is. But,
treading water and the physical
parts of water polo help me with
running.” Dimitri achieved a
time of 8:28 in last year’s cross
country race and looks to improve this year. His fastest mile
time is 5:28, which he also hopes
to improve.
Eighth grader Brett Bailey takes
running seriously. “It’s important to train outside of school,”
he says. Unlike other Patriots,
running is the only sport Brett
participates in. He currently has
Sub-Six, Flash, and Iron Man,
and he is also currently holding the top Revere mile time
this year at 5:17. “My goal for
this year is to get Sub-Five and
Superman for sure!” Last year,
Brett finished seventh overall in
the cross country race.
Kyle Roberts is a running superstar. The seventh grader currently holds a 5:47 mile, a 11:49
Flash time, and has a 33:09 Iron
Man time. His goal for this year
is to “return to the cross country
race and defeat David Tobin.”
The two friends have a friendly
running rivalry as David mentions on page 28. Last year,
Kyle did not place in the top ten
overall for male Patriots, but he
hopes to win his grade in the
cross country race this year.
(continued from page 27)
from sixth to eighth grade. In
the first session, there is a class
called Riders Soccer Academy,
for players who did not make
the team. This class is in the first
session; an eighth grader named
Arsham Mohammadi said, “It’s
an advantage because they teach
you the skills you need in a
game. I’ve noticed improvement
in my soccer skills. It is fun
learning new skills and learning
those skills from professional
soccer coaches.” A soccer player
named Dylan Walsh, who is in
seventh grade, said, “I take private lessons with the coaches,
Mele and Kelly.”
Shea McNulty, a seventh
grader said, “[Being on] the Revere soccer team was one of the
coolest experiences I have had
at this school. It was amazing
to see a team come together so
fast.”
Nick Collins was on the
boys soccer team last year in
seventh grade and he said, “Last
year I prepared by doing a lot of
distance running and made sure I
touched the ball everyday. It was
a very fun and competitive experience.”
Another team in session one
is the girls tennis team. The girls
tennis team is undefeated. Fritze Mayer, one of the players in
eighth grade said, “I individually
prepared for the team. Last year I
looked up to the eighth graders.”
There are intramurals for tennis
which help enhance tennis skills,
but space is limited. The boys
tennis team is in spring.
An eighth grader, Lucas
Schriver, who currently hasn’t
lost a race, said, “cross country
is really fun and competitive
throughout all three years. Cross
country is more training to boost
my endurance. Cross country has a farther distance than
track.”
More athletic classes to look
forward to is track and field, basketball skills, boys volleyball,
and more.
P.E.P. has even more activities in sessions two and three
such as track and field, soccer
team, dance team, surf team,
basketball team, and the boys
volleyball team.
30 Ocotober 31, 2016
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Joe Taylor
Porter Comstock
Jack Gurevitch
Swinging from the West Coast to the East
Local teams travel
to N.Y. for a storied
baseball tournament
By JOE TAYLOR
and ALEX DENHAM
Many Patriots—including Mr.
Iannucci— spent summer at the
ballgame. They were cheering
for LA’s hometown team, the
Dodgers. However, there were a
few Patriots who were not in the
stands, but on the field in Cooperstown New York, the home
of the Baseball Hall of Fame. All
summer long, an annual tournament took place there, with
new teams arriving each week.
Three different local teams were
among the swarms.
The Patriot-riddled West
Los Angeles Bruins arrived to
play in this tournament on the
week of August 6. Joe Taylor,
Ryder Cataldi, Jack Woods,
Richie Rosen, Ben Lorber and
Jabe Payne took the field to play
in a tournament called “Cooperstown Dreams Park,” joining a
total 104 teams from around the
country. This was one of the two
tournaments in Cooperstown.
The Bruins entered the playoffs at 5-1 and seeded 23rd out
of 104. They played their first watched online, so that was pretelimination game against a team ty cool.”
from Vermont, and won easily,
The second tournament in
boosted by a homerun by a pa- Cooperstown is called “All-Star
triot, Ryder Cataldi. In the whole Village,” which another L.A. littournament he hit 2 homeruns, tle league team played in on the
and Joe Taylor hit one as well. same week as the Bruins. L.A.
The Bruins run was sadly over Xtreme Gold was one of the
in the next game, losing
47 teams playing there,
a heart breaker to the
and they had some
Patterson Pirates
Patriots on the
by 3 runs. They
roster too—Porstill did exter Comstock,
tremely well,
Aiden Jbarra,
placing 17th
and Malcolm
out of 104
Hobert. Porteams comter Comstock
peting in this
said, “ It was
tournament.
very fun— it
When asked
really was the
about his time in
best experience
Jack Woods
the “Dreams Park,
ever. The comJack Woods said,
petition was pretty
hard. The fields were just
“I really loved Cooperstown. There were so many fun incredible— there were no bad
activities to do, from baseball hops, the ball didn’t stop when
to team bonding. . . My favorite it was hit on the ground and the
moment in Cooperstown was dirt was great too. I once pitched
getting a hit against Florida Dia- two shutout innings en route to
mond Force. Not only because a win against the Michigan Cothey were the champions of the bras. I was so excited when I
tournament, but because Coo- heard that I got the pitching win.
perstown was filming the game I also hit two doubles!”
Xtreme Gold entered the
and some of my family members
playoffs placed 35th out of 47
teams in All-Star Village, and
with a 1-4 record. But they
picked up their act for the elimination games. They won their
first playoff game 10-3 and their
second game was a W as well—
a 19-6 final score. But their ride
was finished in the third round
of the playoffs, as they lost 11-5
and were eliminated. They finished strong, finishing 11th out
of 47 teams in All-Star Village.
Both Porter and Jack see futures for themselves in baseball,
and maybe even a spot in the
Baseball Hall of Fame, which is
in Cooperstown. Porter says he
hopes to play in college and get
drafted by a major league team.
Jack says he wants to play as
long as he can.
Another L.A. team traveled
to Cooperstown to play in the
“Cooperstown Dreams Park”
tournament.
The Pacific Palisades Allstars
went to compete as the Pali
Waves. The team included four
Patriots—Owen Roy, Jack
Bowden, Jack Gurevitch and
Alex Denham. Every player also
got a chance to visit the National
Baseball Hall of Fame.
On a hot summer day at
Jack Bowden
Richie Rosen
Ben Lorber
October 31, 2016
1:45 p.m., Jack Gurevitch threw
the first pitch into the strike zone
to start the tournament. The
Pali Waves played their first six
games with a 6-0 record through
the pool games and beat five
of the six teams by twelve or
more runs.
They seeded seventh and
played their first playoff game
Wednesday night. This close
game came down to the last inning where they were down by
three. They came back, however, and came away victorious.
The Waves were on their way
to the sweet 16 of Cooperstown
Dreams Park.
The team started their second playoff game at 8:30 in the
morning on Thursday against
The Motor City Mud Dogs from
Detroit. Pali jumped out onto an
eleven run lead in the third inning. However, the Mud Dogs
didn’t go down without a fight.
They made their way back into
the game by consistently hitting
homeruns. By the fourth inning
Pali was up by a few runs. After
a few more homeruns the Mud
Dogs had taken the lead.
Later in the inning Pali failed
to score any runs against the
Mud Dogs, who were pitching
well. In the 5th inning the Mud
Dogs pulled away from Pali getting hit after hit and extended the
lead to 12. Pali wouldn’t score
any more runs and lost their final
game.
Even though the players
hadn’t won the tournament, they
still had enjoyed the trip. “The
best part about the Hall of Fame
was seeing Babe Ruth’s jersey
and Jackie Robinson’s cleats,”
remarked Jack Bowden.
“My favorite moment at
the Dreams Park was being in
the barracks with all my best
friends,” said Jack Gurevitch. “I
got to meet and trade pins with
people from all over the country.
It was also very cool hitting a
homerun at the Dreams Park,”
Xtreme Gold placed 11th
out of 47 teams in “All-Star
Village” and In “Cooperstown
Dreams Park” the Pali Waves
placed 9th and the Bruins placed
17th out of 104 teams. Maybe
one day all these players will
travel back to Cooperstown—as
Hall of Famers.
THE TOWN CRIER
Paul Revere Charter Middle School 31
Showing Off Shirts
Revere’s P.E. department offers superhero shirts to athletic students
Superman
awarded for earning 4
out of the 8 shirts
Miranda Schriver
Miranda, an eighth
grader, has all 8 shirts
that are offered. She
says that Spiderman
was a hard shirt to get.
“In sixth grade when I
got it, it was very challenging. Pole climbs
are my weakness.”
Iron Man
Wonder Woman
awarded to girls when
they run one mile under
6:30
Maya Demontreux
Maya, eighth grade,
has Wonder Woman
with a time of 6:17.
“I tried for Wonder
Woman in 6th grade
and after getting
multiple 6:30 miles, I
finally got it.”
Sub-Six
awarded for running 5
miles under 40 minutes
awarded for running one
mile under six minutes
Lucas Schriver
8th grade Patriot Lucas
got Iron Man for the
first time in sixth
grade, and has gotten
it every year since. His
best time (so far) is
30:17.
“I wanted to get all the
running shirts . . . Iron
Man was the first one
I got.”
Zanae Woods
Zanae, a seventh
grader, got Sub-Six last
year. She has a time of
5:51. Zanae says that
she plans to get Superman (or Superwoman)
by 8th grade.
“I tried a few times. . .
I just tried my best.”
“Don’t give up.”
Batman
awarded for completing
the obstacle course and a
grass lap in 3 minutes
Ivan Vasquez
Ivan is a seventh grade
Patriot. He has the Batman shirt and a time
of 2:56.
“I tried a couple times
last year. . . It was really easy.”
Spiderman
Flash
awarded to boys for
running 2 miles under 12
minutes, and under 13
minutes for girls
Max Burger
Max, a 7th grader, ran
Flash about 3 weeks
ago and got 11:53.
“I took a warm up run
and then stretched. I
took little sips of water
. . . Then I just ran.”
Cross Country
awarded for climbing the
pole 10 times under 5
minutes
awarded to Patriots who
get into the schoolwide
cross country race finals
Michael Hughes
Eighth grader Michael
Hughes has the Spiderman shirt. Michael got
a time of 2:01, one
of the fastest times
recorded.
“Last year I decided
that I wanted to get the
shirts . . . I run and do
martial arts.”
Adelaide Saab
She got into the finals
of the 6th grade cross
country race last year.
“I knew this race was
only 1/2 mile longer
than my usual distance,
so I trained the same.
. . I would like to get
this shirt again.”