This blog contains student work ranging from news writing to editorial and also serves as a forum for the publishing of written work completed in some 7th and 8th grade classes. All postings are arranged so that the newest appear first. At this time our blog is read only, but content related issues that arise can be directed to Mr. Hadd
Posted by Kay. R., on April 7, 2010

There is a sign before the path that leads to the
overlooking rocks, that lists all of the people that died at the Huntington
Gorge. Another sign
commemorates a police officer that drowned, while in the
line of duty, attempting to rescue a deceased man from the gorge. Several signs
line the road along the river, informing swimmers and people to be careful, but
for the 18 victims it wasn’t enough. The path of water is like a serpentine,
jagged rocks lining the shores and waterfalls spraying water from above. This
rough course smoothes out after about 100 feet or more. Most of the victims are
dead before that part, from being pushed below the surface, caught under rocks
or dying of blunt force trauma from the rocks.
There have been many controversies on how to make the gorge
safer. Since then, a new owner purchased the gorge for $20,000. Nothing has
been done to ensure the safety of passerby’s, except the signs that seem to
have zero effect.
Journey into the Mist (part 2)
Posted by Wayne B. on April 7, 2010
“This is too much, it’s too much!” The deranged crewman shouted even though we were all sitting right next to him. Without warning the man jumped head first into the shark infested water. Apparently the crewman that jumped, was the brother of the other crewman on the raft.
“No, John!” the other crewman screamed with horror. He dived in with his brother.
“This place is making us crazy!” Josh said before he tried to take the plunge. Luckily we held him down. Then we saw it.
“Bloody hell!” The words slipped
from the captain’s mouth. We all stared in awe. Ahead of us a jagged cliff face
rose from the oceans depths. The cliff was as high as the
“Thank god!” I shouted. Just as I said that a high pitched shriek echoed down from the top of the cliff.
“What is that?” the captain asked.
“I don’t know!” I whispered.
“You’re the scientist!” The captain replied arrogantly.
The shriek came again.
“I got to get outta here!” Josh yelled. We tried to hold him back again but he slipped away. He took off through the break in the cliff. The shriek got louder and louder. Through an opening ahead of Josh sprung a little bipedal creature the size of a large dog. Josh stopped dead in his tracks. The little creature moved its head back and fourth like a chicken.
“What are you?” Josh said. We all stared in horror as the creature jumped and ripped Josh apart.
“Josh!” Sam screamed. But it was too late. After Josh lay dead on the ground more of the creatures sprung from the cliff. Then they saw us.
“Oh no!” I whispered. Sam’s shout had alerted the creatures of our presence. The creatures bolted toward us. No one said a thing. As the animals got closer, the features on their body lead me to believe that they were dinosaurs. The first dinosaur jumped onto the raft and sliced and diced the Captain and Sam. Then the rest of them boarded the raft. The weight of the dinosaurs held me under the lifeless bodies of my two friends. The creatures then jumped back to shore and dragged the bodies back into the gap that they came from.
I couldn’t help from crying, everyone
within two hundred miles of me was brutally murdered. The people on the ship
drown then my colleagues and the captain were ripped apart. I drifted from the shore back to the abyss
from which I came. Three days later I awoke on a ship on the coast of
Feet On!!!
Posted by Kay. R. and
A & J on April 6 ,2010

We asked Mr. Mahoney, the one who organized the maps
appearance at our school, seven questions about the map and the importance of
it to teaching students about different continents. Our first question to him
was, where did you first find out about the map? His answer, “From the Vermont
Geographic Alliance, last summer.” The second question that was asked of him
was, are there other maps like the
Because You Wanted To
Know
Posted by Jenna T.
and Brady W. On April 6, 2010
Mr. Mahoney was the 2nd teacher we interviewed he is a 7th grade social studies teacher. He
has two sisters and six brothers. As a kid he played baseball, flag
football, and competitive swimming. He attended U.V.M for 4 and Boston
College for 3. Mr. Mahoney was inspired to be an educator by specific
teachers who did their job very well and were memorable to him. He
enjoys exercising, walking his three English setters Mac, Maeve, and
cookie. Mr. Mahoney’s favorite thing to teach is current events.
Mr. Mahoney started teaching in 1979, he also taught at two schools in
Massachusetts for 2 years each and a school in Fairfield Connecticut
for 2 year. He likes having a plan for everyday but his physical spaces
are not exactly organized. His life long dream and major accomplishment
was to cross the country on a bicycle from Boston to Seattle. Mr.
Mahoney’s goals for the future are to stay in shape and
supportive for his family and friends and enjoy his life.
Ask Debra☻Advice Column
Posted on April 6, 2010
Question: What would you do if you were talking to one of your friends, and something bad comes up about one of your other friends, do I tell that friend? Or what do I do?
Answer: Well I think that no matter what I would tell my friend that, that person was saying bad stuff about him/her. I would ask the person who was saying the bad things about my friend to knock it off, that I don’t like it when they talk about my friend like that. Although, my opinion isn’t the only one that matters, so I interviewed a few people and took a poll.
Poll
Would you tell your friend what your other friend was saying about them?
16 people would definitely tell there friend about what they heard.
Would you not tell your friend what your other friend was saying about them?
10 people would not tell there friend what they heard.
Would you maybe tell your friend what your other friend was saying about them?
5 people would possibly tell their friend what they heard depending on what it was that they heard.
A few answers I got from the people I interviewed were “I would listen to them and then tell them that that person is my friend so stop talking about them like that.” Another person said “I would stay quiet and just listen to them” “If it was something really bad I would get mad at them and I would tell my friend.” “I would yell at them, and tell them that my friend is not like that” and the last person said “I would keep it to myself so that I wouldn’t hurt my friends feelings.” -Debra;)
Author Stereotypes
Posted by Marissa B. on April 6, 2010
I just finished reading Cast Two Shadows, a
historical fiction book about the Revolutionary War by Ann Rinaldi. Ann Rinaldi
has written several books about this time period. After I finished the book, I
found I didn’t really enjoy the book, or the writing style. There wasn’t really
anything wrong with it, and I know that some other people liked it. So I did a
little investigation to see some reviews by other readers. I discovered that
quite a few people said the book was very well written, and that they like the
focus on characters and family. There were also some that said the book had too
much of that, and they wanted to see more action and more of a plot. The book
is basically about a teenage girl discovering ‘the true nature of war’ and she
learns that she wants to be loyal to the Americans, because of what the British
have done to the people around her. Some reviews have said that the Revolution
was thrown in there as a subplot, and it all works around universal themes. As
a reader of fantasy books, I’m used to the idea of the original plot being the
‘meat’ of the book, with subplots about romance, friendship, etc alongside it,
to give the book more depth, and to connect to the readers. I don’t read as
many historical fiction books, but I discovered that this author’s writing
style wasn’t really like that. In quite a few of the reviews, regardless of
their own opinion of the book, readers have said the book is like this because
of the way that women stereotypically write books.
I’m not saying all women’s work is bad, not in any way. I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, and Tamora Pierce and Vivian Van Veda are pretty great too. But think about some of the best young adult fantasy out there. Lord of the Rings. Chronicles of Narnia. His Dark Materials. Earthsea. Pendragon. Bartimaeus. Abhorsen. Inheritance. Most of them are written by men, and a lot of them are read by males, as well. A lot of girls (especially teens) go for the realistic fiction, often focused on romance. Or a fantasy book that includes a lot of character development. And the majority of these books are written by women. There are always the people that don’t follow this, and some women can write really awesome fantasy and sci-fi books. But these women are anomalies, rather than the standard. But it’s about the way that different genders view literature and the world. Neither way is wrong or bad, and there are different types of writing that appeal to different types of people. Gender is one of the things that may decide what type of books you like without you even knowing.
It’s been proven since the beginning of time that men and women think differently. This is very evident in their writing. Women have been known to be more interested in personal aspects of the story, like character relations. Men are more interested in action, and telling about the events. It’s the way they write, and also what interests them. A lot of women writers prefer to get the reader involved with the characters themselves, whereas most men (especially fiction writers) like to involve the reader in the world and events, rather than just the characters. It varies with authors, genre, and everything else, but there are a lot of patterns in writing. The readers are often interested in books by their gender, because it’s also what appeals to them. Not that many women like to read about books with a ton of fighting and gore (that are mostly written by men), and not that many guys like to read about the romance that women authors focus on.
I’ve mentioned this in an earlier article, and I’ll say it again: it’s all about the audience, and what people are expecting. People like Ann Rinaldi keep writing a whole bunch of their types of books, because the fans already know the writing style and they like it. If Ann Rinaldi was to write a science fiction book with lots of action, her fans would be disappointed because it’s not what they’re used to. Science fiction fans would see it’s by Ann Rinaldi and use the judgment they have gained from her other books. Almost nobody would read it. So, a lot of the time, it’s the work of both the author and the fans that gets the author pigeon-holed into a specific writing style. It’s always interesting to see the work of a fledgling novelist. They’re unknown in the world of literature. Their first couple of books define them as a writer. Not because of what they actually like to write, but because of how they’ve already been stereotyped.
Because You
Wanted to Know
Written By Jenna T. and Brady W. on April 6, 2010
Mr. Calano used to be a physical education teacher but now he is our principal. He enjoys baseball, hockey, and more recently golf. Mr. Calano follows the Giants, and the Yankees. As a child he played baseball, and soccer. Mr. Calano’s hobbies are jogging, and reading action books. His favorite subjects have always been science and math. He attended Champlain College for two years, Johnson State College for two years, and U.V.M for two years. He became an educator because school was always important to him and he wants to make a positive impact on his students. He started teaching in 1978. He taught at Fairfield center school for two years. He thinks being organized is very important because it makes life easier and orderly. His accomplishments are having the opportunity to work with so many dedicated teachers, a very supportive community, but most of all is to work with and get to know so many wonderful Georgia students. Hs goals for the future are to finish his time as an educator at Georgia Elementary Middle School.
Journey Into The Mist
Posted by Wayne Billado on April 6, 2010
A few years back, my colleagues and I were sipping our daily
cup of black coffee. When we were all startled by the ring of a phone.
“Hello,” I said. “Greetings, may I speak with Dr.
Bond?” Demanded the strange voice. “This is him,” I
said. “Hello, Dr. Bond. I would like to inform you that you are
assigned to a ship heading east into the Atlantic, for scientific
research.” I was confused.“What does that mean in simpler
terms,” I inquired. “You are going to venture into the
Bermuda Triangle,” the strange voice replied. A chill crawled up
my spine like icy
fingers.
“What?” I screamed. Click. The woman on the other line
abruptly hung up, as if the phone line was cut, leaving my colleagues
staring at me in confusion.
Sam, one of my colleagues that I had worked with on many research
projects, knew that I was not one to be easily disturbed. He got up
from his chair walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and
said, “Its bad… isn’t it.” It wasn’t
meant as a question. Then there was a loud knock on the wooden door.
Josh Eisenhower rose from the couch located in the back of the room.
The door flung open. A military man of forty or so, stood in the
doorway. “Hello, I’m General James Hadd. Sorry about your
door,” the man in the uniform stated in a firm voice.
“No problem, the janitors will fix it.” William said.
“You will be joining me and other scientist’s on a journey
of a lifetime.” The General’s loud voice boomed.
Half an hour later we were sitting in a large ship dubbed Old Iron Sides. Thirty minutes after a thorough inspection, my colleagues and I were on our way into the Bermuda Triangle. The trip into the dead center of the Triangle would take approximately three hours. For the first hour and a half the ship ride was peaceful. The wind in my hair, the sun on my face and Sam puking his guts out over the edge of the ship. Sam was never fond of boating but he loved the ocean.
Then everything suddenly changed, the wind started to pick up, the
water started to get choppy, the sun faded away and a thick, eerie fog
engulfed the ship. As we all scrambled inside. The captain of the ship,
Ron Zimmermann, noticed that the compass was spinning wildly. Out of
the corner of my eye I spotted a strange object rushing toward the
ship, Sam saw it too. Three seconds later we realized that the object
was an oil tanker, five times larger than our ship.
“Oh my god, lets get inside!” Sam yelled.
“Hurry!” Shouted Josh, as the bow of the tanker collided
with the starboard side of our vessel.
Down in the boiler room an ear splitting sound ruptured the eardrums of the crew. “What the heck is that?” Screamed a random sailor. The hull on the right of the ship split in two and water rushed in. The crew drowned before they realized what was happening. Old iron sides sank in ten minutes. The tanker had caused Old Iron Sides to shatter like glass. Yet it kept sailing at 20 knots. The captain Ron didn’t join his ship in its watery grave.
Josh, Sam, Ron, two crewmen and myself survived the terrible tragedy. We had all sprinted to a life boat before the ship sank. Those that didn’t drown were picked off one by one by sharks. We then drifted into the mist…
Because You Wanted To
Know
Posted by Jenna T.
and Brady W. On April 5, 2010
Mr.
Hadd is an 8th grade social studies teacher at Georgia. He
likes to cook, garden, build things, and go mountain biking. Mr. Hadd was
inspired to become a teacher because he thought it would be rewarding and
according to him it is. Mr. Hadd went to Keene State College for four years,
and then University
of New England for three.
He started teaching in 1999, and his first teaching job was at Colchester for one year. His favorite thing to teach is the
American Revolution. As a child his favorite subject was science, and
throughout college it was history. Mr.
Hadd has one sister. He also has one cat
named Noah. Mr. Hadd likes to follow the Boston Red Sox, New York Knicks,
Boston Celtics, and really any NBA team. Mr. Hadd’s favorite sport is
Basketball, and he played it as a child. Along with Basketball he did track and
field, and ran cross country. When it comes to being organized Mr. Hadd says
that there is plenty of room for disorganization. His life long dream has
always been is to travel to as many places as possible. His goals for the future are to write a book,
improve his teaching, travel to new places, and to stay healthy and happy.
2010 Graduating Class
Posted by Jessica H. and Jillian B. on April 5, 2010
The 2010 8th grade class will be graduating on the15th of June. A grand total of 67 students will be stepping up to the podium to receive their graduating certificates. The young adults are now approaching an unknown future that GEMS has prepared them for.
All eighth grade students will be missed for their unique and friendly personalities. The eighth graders have become very close with this year’s seventh graders. Sadly, the seventh graders will not be able to share the graduating experience, and will be left to follow the graduating classes’ footprints. The eighth graders will also miss their long run at GEMS. We asked four of this year’s graduating students a little about their eighth grade experience and memories. When we asked what they would miss most Carlton L. answered “My seventh grade friends, and the eighth graders going to different high schools.” Loudon G. replied with a quick response “all of my friends made my eighth grade experience all that much better.” Some of the teachers left great impressions on the graduating class. Meghan P. chose “Mrs. O’Brien because the way she interacted with the kids.” Throughout your years at GEMS, your peers can play an important role. Summer A. believes that her friends “are always there for me and they always make me feel better.” They have made her year easier. Having friends at her side 100% of the time helped her out a lot.
The teachers will also miss the graduating class of 2010. They have watched them grow as students and as young adults. Mrs. O’Brien said “the students are awesome, one of the best groups ever.” Teachers have different strategies of keeping their students engaged Ms. Bove decides to do “activities that allowed them to express the high energy and humor that they display already; like acting, giving speeches, sharing from their journals, and presenting projects.” Staff plays an important role on teachers as do the students. “Keeping things organized and moving forward. Success is always the goal.” Mr. King said. Like we said before the 8th grade class will be missed there is one thing Mr. Hadd will miss most and those are” the individuals and personalities.” Our principal, Mr. Calano believes that “this group of students is very active in all areas of school; student council, band, sports, world of a difference, and after school programs. They have been a smiley engaging group of students.”
Good luck 8th
graders!
Because You Wanted To Know
Posted by Jenna T. and Brady W. on April 5, 2010
Mrs.
O’Brien is an 8TH grade math teacher. As a child she played soccer,
basketball, cross country, and softball. Mrs. O’Brien loves to bike. Her
hobbies are biking, reading, playing with her granddaughter, Lillian, and
hiking. She has four siblings. She also has one dog named Cody, and a cat named
Simba. Her inspiration to become an educator came from her 11th
grade guidance counselor who pushed her to go to college. She attended Johnson
State College for two years, C.C.V for two years, Trinity for one and a half
years, and U.V.M for three years earning her masters degree in education. She
started teaching in 1997. She also taught at EnosburgMiddle School
for three years. Her favorite subjects as a child were math and history and she still enjoys them both now. Her
favorite thing to teach is algebra. Her life long dream is to bike across America after
she has retired. Her goals for the future are to finish her masters and take
some “fun” classes.
This summer, your not going to be sitting around I guarantee It, after you read these last 4 things to do this summer.
7th on the list of things to do on the list of places to go is the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory located in Waterbury Vermont. From the scoop shop to the actual factory ice cream is everywhere. You can see everything and get free samples. You will find a flavor graveyard, a huge ice cream shop and the largest selection of ice cream you’ll ever see, and it still keeps its hippie flare. For more information go to http://www.benjerry.com/
Rating:
Fun: A+
Exciting: C
Captivating: A
Athletic: C
Cost Wise: B-
Overall: B-
8th on the list, is the super underwater play ground of echo. This place is amazing with all sorts of exhibits even some hands on ones, this is by far the most extensive, well made, and intriguing place in Vermont. And it teaches you, not only about Vermont, but the world. Frogs, lizards, fish, turtles, and tons more beings live in this wonderland. This place is incredible, theirs so much to do its insane, for more information go to: http://www.echovermont.org/
Rating:
Fun: B-
Exciting: B-
Captivating: A+
Athletic: C
Cost wise: A-
Overall: B-
9th on the list of things to do this summer is the Shelburne museum.
This place is just a big, mostly outdoor, museum. Its located in
Shelburne (duh) and is made up of exhibits that are not just the things
inside, but the buildings itself. Every building is historical in some
way. The round barn, 50’s home, owl cottage, the Ticonderoga
steam ship, the steam engine, and tons more, each building (or boat, or
train) has a place in history. With exhibits like the tiny circus this
place has something for everyone. For more information go to:
http://www.shelburnemuseum.org/
Rating:
Fun: B-
Exciting: C+
Captivating: A+
Athletic: B-
Cost Wise: A
Overall: B-
10th on the list is the Church Street marketplace in Burlington. This street is in Burlington with more stores than the university mall. Church street as you can guess has a church at the end of it that you can see from any point on the street Church street has tons stores and small markets out side as well has a mall. For more info go to: http://www.churchstmarketplace.com/static/page/churchstreetmarketplace/shop.html
Rating:
Fun: B-
Exciting: B
Captivating: B
Athletic: C-
Cost Wise: B-
Overall: C+
That concludes the 10 things to do this summer. So get out there and go do something.
Because You Wanted to Know
Posted by Jenna T. and Brady W. on
Mr. Hardy is a 7th grade mathematics teacher.
He enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, photography, and biking. Mr. Hardy follows
the Dallas Cowboys, and the Boston Red Sox. He is also interested in volleyball,
golf, tennis, hunting, and fishing. As a child he played soccer, baseball, and
basketball. He has two siblings. Mr. Hardy has a dog named Linus, and a cat
named Lola. His high school science teacher inspired him to become an educator
because he was a good story teller, a cool guy, and knew his stuff. He enjoys
teaching math. In that subject he loves teaching probability, and algebra.
Mr. Hardy has always loved science and math. He attended Johnson state college
for four years and earned his Bachelors degree; he also went to U.V.M and
earned his masters. He started teaching in 1995. He taught at Bakersfield
for five years and Charlotte for seven before he
came to Georgia.
Mr. Hardy thinks it is important to be organized because it makes life easier
when you know where to find things. His life long dream and accomplishment is
to live a happy life, raise a family, and make the world a better place. Mr. Hardy’s
goals for the future are to live that same dream.
Soda Tax
Posted by Marissa B. on April 2, 2010
There’s no way you can deny that Americans are getting
fatter. We’re eating more unhealthy food than ever before, as well as way more
of it. Recently, the proposition of a tax on sugary drinks has been debated,
and people all over the nation are considering its benefits and consequences.
What it really boils down to is: will the soda tax really make
Since soda
really starting becoming popular in the 1970’s, the obesity in kids ages 12-19
has tripled. Coincidence? I think not. The average consumption of soda is 600
12-ounce cans a year. That’s about 1.5 cans of soda a day, on average. And the scary thing is that there are a lot of
people that don’t drink any at all, meaning a bunch of people are drinking
three, four, five or more cans a day. If you look at it by the liters, the
average for Americans is 216 liters a year. That means that, on average, an
American consumes a 2-liter bottle of soda in 3-4 days. That’s usually how long
it takes for my 5-person family to drink that much soda. Soda is the #1 drink
in
Now let’s take a look at the effects that this much soda has on people. If you look at the ingredients list of 12-oz can Classic Coke, there’s carbonated water (which is what makes up most of soft-drinks, it’s the liquid that makes it fizzy), sugar (usually high-fructose corn syrup, but sometimes sucrose), caffeine (from kola nuts; considered a drug, and can be addictive), caramel coloring (to give it the color, and some taste), and other natural flavorings (including vanilla, cinnamon, and glycerol). And the nutrition facts: 39 grams of sugar, 140 calories, and 39 carbs. That’s more than nine teaspoons of sugar, in 1 can of Coke that most people drink in 1 serving. Imagine if you had six cans a day. That would be over 54 teaspoons of sugar. That’s half a pound. If you continued this for 1 week, you would have over three and a half pounds of sugar in your body, which is really bad for you if you don’t use it, causing high blood pressure and obesity. The calories aren’t really so bad, but they can still add up. To work off those 140 calories from 1 can, you would have to walk at 5 mph for about 11 minutes. Doesn’t sound so bad, right? But think about the scenario with six cans. Then, you’re walking for over an hour to burn off those calories. You might think you normally walk about an hour a day, but it also depends on what other stuff that you’re eating. Normally, people need about 2,000 calories. Regular meals take up so many of those calories already, more than you can use. Americans consume 250-300 calories more than they did a couple decades ago, and they’re not even doing as much to work it off. I’m not saying you should start calorie-counting, but you do have to be mindful of what you’re eating and drinking.
Now that we
know the health aspects of drinking soda, we can start talking about the tax
itself. People have been talking about it since fall 2009, as well as throwing
around ideas of a ‘junk food tax’ that have already been in
The tax that is being proposed is a penny an ounce on sugary drinks. So how much of an effect does this have? The average price of a 2-liter bottle of soda is $1.35, according to Beverage Digest. At 67.6 oz, this tax would add 50% to the price, and make it about $2. The taxes are being considered going towards health care. The tax would generate $1 billion and reduce the consumption of the drinks by 15%.
One issue that has been opposing the soda tax is the American freedom. It’s the same thing about when the British were putting taxes on the Americans during the Revolution that made our country. The problem isn’t the tax itself, the problem is how much it’s reducing freedom. If they’re taxing soda, what’s next? So many things have already been taxed, but food and beverages bought from the grocery store aren’t. What’s to stop the government from taxing everything? Some also believe that the government will just take the money and use it for their own purposes, rather than putting it back into something that will help people, like health care or education.
The soda
tax could be a good way to curb obesity if it is used in the right way, but
many Americans are opposing it because it could be unaffordable, is taking away
freedom, or may not work. As President Obama said last fall, it could be an
idea to explore and may make
Because You Wanted to Know
Posted by Jenna T. and Brady W. on April 1, 2010
Grammy Awards 2010 Dresses
Posted by Kay. R. on April 1, 2010
One
of the most important award shows in the Hollywood world is the
Grammys. The 2010 Grammys were held on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles.
Many of the world’s most famous celebrities strut their stuff on
the Red Carpet before the award ceremony. This Red Carpet event is a
celebrity’s way to show off their strut but also their designer
outfit. I will judge a few of the celebrities’ wardrobe, in five
categories; style, color, embellishments, length and the overall look.
I will decide if they were fab or failed.
Fergie, a member of the pop group The Black Eyed Peas, arrives
dressed in a dress by Emilio Pucci and accessorized with Jessica
Robinson jewelry and Le Silla strappy sandals.
Style- The style fits her body very well, shows off her curves. I love how the dress is strapless, making the look a bit edgier.
Color- The color looks amazing with her tan skin and dark brown hair, it contrasts very well.
Embellishments- The only embellishment on Fergie’s dress is the
silver piece of fabric that slithers in the front of the dress and
turns into a thin strap. It adds sparkle, making the dress stand out
more.
Length- The length is kind of short, but the shortness is Fergie’s personality. It could be a few inches longer.
Overall Look- The overall look is very well put together, and is Red Carpet worthy
Carrie Underwood, a legendary country singer, arrives on the Red Carpet wearing a dress by Georges Chakra and a Swarovski crystal clutch.
Style- The style of the dress looks a bit too much like a Greek goddess/ bridal dress.
Color- The color, white, adds to the Greek goddess/ bridal look, it
could have had a more cream or ivory tint. The color does compliment
her fair hair and skin, but it would better if it were worn to a
costume party not the Grammys.
Embellishments- The embellishments at the top of the dress look very high fashion and beautiful but the dress is not right.
Length- The length is great; it would look weird if it were any shorter than floor length.
Overall Look- The overall look, as I said before, looks too bridal. It could pass for a wedding dress.
Taylor Swift, the new 20 year old rising country star, wore a dress by Kaufman Franco, jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Style- The trumpet/ mermaid style is a very vogue, but she is too
thin to wear this style. The rectangle neck line makes the dress look
like a puzzle and that particular spot is just missing a piece.
Color- The color is ok, nothing fabulous. Taylor Swift has an extremely
light complexion, making the dress clash with her skin and hair.
Embellishments- The sparkles on the dress do add pizzazz, but the dress looks like a costume or prom dress gone wrong.
Length- The length is great, considering the style of the dress is always long.
Overall Look- The overall look does not flatter Taylor Swift’s body or look, the outfit is a disappointment.
Miley Cyrus, the slowly sinking pop singer walked the carpet wearing a mini dress by Herve Leger and black gladiator heels
Style- The long sleeve does not work with the rest of the dress, it should be strapless.
Color- The color is too dark, and does not match her hair. Dark brown and a dark slate color do not match.
Embellishments- The shine on the dress’s fabric catches the light and does blind you, but not in a good way.
Length- The length is too short for her age.
Overall Look- The overall look is much too old for Cyrus, she is only 17 not 25.
Jennifer Nettles, part of the country singing group Sugarland. Struts
her stuff on the Red Carpet wearing a dress form Victoria
Beckam’s collection.
Style- The style is very flattering, on Jennifer Nettles petite body.
Color- The color at first glance looks red but really is a pinkish- red. I hate the color.
Embellishments- The criss- cross design on the back is very stylish.
Length- The length is too long, Some scissors should shorten the dress by about 6 inches.
Overall Look- The overall dress is not impressive, but does not completely fail. It has a prom appearance.
Some celebrities pass with a high grade and others fail miserably. But
its not entirely their fault, the designer of the dress is blamed
partially for making that celebrity look horrible. Celebrities are
humans too, so making a bad choice on an outfit to wear to one of the
most influential awards shows won’t ruin them, just earn a
nomination for “Worst Dressed.”
Because You Wanted to Know
Posted by Jenna T and Brady W on March 31, 2010
Mr. King is a teacher here at Georgia. He teaches 8th grade science. Mr. King is a great fisherman. He loves to get out on the lake and fish for hours. He has been on countless fishing trips. Woodworking is also one of Mr. King’s hobbies. He runs the Tech classes here at Georgia as choice classes. As a child Mr. King played football, baseball, soccer, and wrestling. When he got older he played college football for four years. Mr. King was inspired to become a teacher because he didn’t want to do research, but he ended up doing it anyway. His favorite thing to teach is physics because it has a lot of hands on components. As a kid he enjoyed history, in high school his favorite subject was science, in college he liked biology, and now Mr. King loves problem solving. He started teaching in 1987 at Westford for two years, and began at Georgia in 1989. He believes that being organized makes it easier to function everyday. Mr. King has two siblings, one older sister and a younger brother. He also has 4 dogs and 2 cats. The dogs’ names are Chelsey, Gwinn, Gracie, and Daisy. The cats’ names are George and Moe. Mr. King’s goals for the future are to stay healthy and fish more.
Because You Wanted to
Know
Posted by Jenna T and
Brady Won March 31, 2010
Mrs. Driver is a 7th grade language arts teacher here in Georgia. She has four siblings. She also has a yellow lab. As a kid her favorite subject was history. Mrs. Driver played Field hockey, Tennis, and participated in Gymnastics. She is interested in hockey, running, triathlons and marathons. She follows many athletic teams including the Middlebury college hockey team, U.V.M hockey team, the New England Patriots, and the Georgia Chargers. Her hobbies are running, biking, swimming, reading, cooking, and antique. Her grandfather, Bob White was her main inspiration. He enjoyed lessons students could learn on the playing field. Mrs. Driver’s favorite thing to teach is reading because she likes watching students get excited and interested in books. Mrs. Driver attended U.V.M for nine years total four years for her undergraduate, 2 years for her masters, and another three for her doctoral. She started teaching in 1986. Her first teaching job was in Winooski for summer school. She likes to be organized because it saves time. Her life long dream is to become an artist and her goals for the future are to finish an Ironman triathlon.
Tuning Out Teens
Posted by Kay. R. on
March 31, 2010
One of the devices that rule the average teenager’s life is
the iPod designed by Apple. Many models of the original iPod have been made,
such as; the iPod Touch, iPod Nano with a Video Camera, the Shuffle or the
original Nano. The most popular iPod now in 2010 is probably the iPod touch
because you can access internet, download Apps and it has a touch screen (iPod
Touch) or a video camera (iPod Nano 5th generation). Apple is still
designing new iPods that include special features like a touch screen. Apple
created a site called iTunes a site where people can download music, videos and
Apps. Many students use iTunes as their source of music for their iPods. But
when do students listen to their iPod or what do students have on their iPod?
I asked 20 students and some teachers what they had on their iPod, what model of an iPod they have (Touch, Nano etc.) and when they listen to their iPod the most. 18 out of the people that I surveyed had an iPod and 2 out of the 20 had an MP3. Out of the 20 people I surveyed, 17 said that they had more music on their iPod, 2 out of 20 said that they had more Apps and 1 out of the 20 said that they have more photos. 7 out of the 20, listen to their iPod or MP3 player when they are bored, 5 out of the 20 listen to their iPod on the bus and 8 out of the 20 listen to their iPod whenever they can. As explained before, Apple has made many models of the iPod that enhances the previous iPod. For example; the newest iPod Nano is the 5th Generation that has video camera and also is longer and thinner than the previous Nanos. 8 out of the 20 said that they owned the iPod Touch, 10 out of the 20 said that they own a Nano and 2 out of the 20 own an MP3 player.
Technology has taken over the world; with internet, cells phones and iPods. Soon somebody will invent a machine that brushes your teeth for you. But tuning out to your iPod or watching the latest video, isn’t bad thing, just an ordinary teen thing.
Posted by Marissa B on March 30, 2010
Newspapers. Television. Internet. Movies. Games. Radio.
Magazines. These are all part of the mass media. Mass media is designed
specifically to reach a large audience. Media in general plays a crucial role
in forming public opinion, and actually creating society. Media is infamous for
saying stuff that’s not true to make you believe a certain thing, and also for
blowing things up to gigantic proportions. The former is what I’ll be focusing
on in this article.
By now, you’ve definitely heard of the Twilight phenomenon. If you haven’t, you’re probably living under a rock. Where you don’t have internet anyway, so you couldn’t be reading this. Anyway, the first book in the “saga”, Twilight, was published in 2005. The book was a huge commercial success, becoming the best-selling book in 2008, spending 91 weeks on the New York Times Best-seller list, and selling 17 million copies worldwide. So, now that we know these basic statistics, we can figure out why this happened. For the first few months after it was released, and the time around the release of the movie, every blog, newspaper, and magazine was talking about it. By talking about it, I mean huge, front-page stuff. Soon, everyone knew what Twilight was. Controversy grew, and critics of the series started publishing their opinions. But this drew even more fans of the phenomenon. So, the question now is: why did this series become so popular? Why didn’t other series become this popular? The reason is the target audience. Which are the screaming teenage fangirls. The truth is, almost anybody that is knowledgeable about writing and literature will agree that the writing itself is not top-notch. Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a mixed review, noting several times the writing quality of the book: "[Twilight] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character.” Reviews such as this have appeared from dozens of magazines, book critics, and official reviews. If you look at it simply as a work of literature, it really is sloppy writing. But who are the people that don’t? The fans. If you hear someone talking about how much they love Twilight, chances are they’re saying how hot Edward or Jacob is, or how they love the romance between the characters. How often do you hear fans noting the writing quality, or the plot development? Almost never. So, how did this series get the fame that many believe it doesn’t deserve? First is the target audience. The media knows exactly who the book was written for, and they figure out how to make it even more appealing to the fans. A lot of the fans read magazines such as People, Seventeen, etc. So, the media knows to publish the most coverage on Twilight in these magazines, because they know a large percentage of fans will see it. This is where they do their most of blowing-stuff-way-out-of-proportion junk. Whole stories speculating if Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson are getting back together (even though they were only doing it for the publicity in the first place) and other stories like this. And, since the magazines are right there in the checkout at stores, everyone sees them anyway. And whether they like Twilight or not, they still know about it from these types of things, as well as other stuff such as posters, clothes, and, of course, we can’t forget the fans. Even if you try to avoid it, you still hear about it one way or another. If it wasn’t for the hype, and all the fans acting like it was so great, would Twilight be one of the most well-known ‘phenomenons’ of the decade? Probably not. But due to the fans over-rating it, and the hype from the media, it is now known worldwide, by fans and haters.
Another thing that has to do with hype and being well-known (that probably isn’t well-known to most of you, but was huge on the ‘interwebz’) was the internet meme BoxxyBabee. (Or, any internet meme, for that matter) Boxxy was a camgirl on Gaia Online and Youtube that returned from a long hiatus in January 2008. On a request from a Gaia friend, she made two webcam videos, of her just talking hyperactively about random topics. So what? She was just another camgirl. There are thousands of them on Youtube, and they don’t get that much fame. Then, about a year later, one of the videos was posted on the site i-am-bored.com. This was spotted by a user from 7-chan (a popular internet forum) and posted on the random /b/ board. Other users on /b/ found Boxxy oddly mesmerizing and captivating. They started posting her videos on other sites, and soon Boxxy spread all over the internet. Soon, two groups were created: Operation Valkyrie, the fans that were trying to find out everything about her, and the Center for Boxxy Control and Restriction (CBCR) that was trying to lay false trails, delete information, and make things harder in general for the fans. Both sides were posting images either for or against Boxxy on 4-chan, and turned the site into a battle ground. It was, essentially, a civil war that was never won. Boxxy died down, and although she sometimes resurfaces in reference to other posts.
So, why did she become so famous, and why was she different from thousands of other of camgirls? The answer lies in the mystery of it all. What made her so strange and hyperactive? Why did she randomly have strange accents? What was up with her strange mannerisms and habits? Did she have ADHD? Tourettes? Was she a troll? And most importantly, who was she and why did she leave Gaia and Youtube? Some of these questions have been answered officially, but most people now think she’s just another troll, which pretty much answers everything. The biggest part of why she became so famous was because of the two sides that were having a war over her, and the controversy that grew.
Basically, the things that make things so hyped-up and famous is the over-exaggeration of them, and two or more opposing sides. Many phenomenons have passed since the beginning of time, and they all have their fans and haters. What the haters don’t realize, though, is that they’re actually helping the popularity of the thing they’re hating. You can’t have a world without controversy, and it’s the controversy that sometimes makes a mountain out of a molehill.
The
Potato Famine
Posted by A
& J on March 29, 2010
Starting in 1845 and
lasting for six years a fungus called “blight” spread through Ireland. The
fungus turned all the potatoes into black mush, making them uneatable for
people. Since the potato was the main Irish source of food, about 1 million Irish
people died of starvation. Then about another million left Ireland to places like America, Britain,
and Australia,
and another half of million were evicted from their tiny one roomed homes. There
were other foods that could be found on the land or from the ocean, like fish
and dulse but that was cleared out very soon after the famine started. Even
grass was striped from the lands and eaten. People even went to dangerous
measures to get a small amount of food. They would tie a rope around their
waist and climb down a steep windy cliff to get a few wild birds eggs, most ended
up dying by attempting this. There was nothing to eat except foods you had to
pay for like bread and few had any money. Most had sold all their belongings
for a little bit of money to by a small amount of food. The next few springs
the Irish replanted potato but once again the fungus spread through them and
left the people starved. In 1850 the fungus stopped rotting the potatoes and
the famine was gone soon after. None of this would have had such a big effect
if the Irish didn’t rely on one food. All the fields were potato fields and
nothing else they should have had a Varity of crops planted, so that way when the
blight had spread through Ireland then there would have been other foods for
the Irish to eat and they would have had not starved to death. Neither would
they have had to flee the country, so many of us would not be here. Those of
you who are Irish would probably be living in Ireland if the Irish would have
planted more than just potatoes.
The Importance of Sports
Published By: Jessica H and Jillian B on March 29, 2010
Sports are considered very important on many levels to many people. Sports have good effects on everyone’s lifestyles. Playing youth sports can create positive self- esteem. Feelings can lead to a success, at home, and in the classroom. You can create friendships with teammates, and develop strong bonds with those around you. Instead tending to do harmful choices, sports can help avoid being tempted to do troublesome acts. Participating in sports can help provide a healthy lifestyle, and maintain a healthy weight.
Some activities have more of a result on you then others. Our physical education teacher, Mr. Coleman believes that aerobic activity involving your heart and lungs is very effective. Our active social studies teacher Mr. Mahoney believes that swimming and cross- country are great because they use all your muscles and get you outdoors. Certain sports are more capable of burning calories. For example while participating in basketball for about an hour, assuming it is a non game scenario, you are expected to burn an approximate 408 calories. Playing toss with a football or baseball you are capable of burning up to 107 calories in an hour. Most people overlook jumping rope, it is actually one of the best cardio workouts one could do for a greater effect. In fact, if you are going at a moderate speed while jumping rope you can burn up to 680 calories. When playing a singles game in tennis you can burn 540 calories in an hour. All of these can be done in as little as an hour.
Athletic role models are an important aspect on a youth
athlete. They look up to these role models throughout their life. Mr. Coleman has looked up to Derek Jeter for
a long time. He believes Derek Jeter has an unbelievable work ethic and natural
talent. He is also inspired by Derek’s respect for the game. According to him
Derek Jeter is fun to watch. Derek Jeter is also a great role model because of
his charity work in NYC. Mr. Mahoney believes that anyone who consistently
stays fit and active has the right to be a role model.
Different
people have different ways of staying physically fit. Mr. Mahoney prefers to
walk a few times a week while he is accompanied by his three dogs. He also enjoys
swimming. Mr. Coleman takes pleasure in skiing, golfing, playing hockey, playing
softball, biking, hiking, and swimming.

Posted by Marissa B. on March 26, 2010
This is the continuation of my first journalism article, Weekly Websites. If you don’t get what’s going on here or need a recap, you can scroll down and find the first installment.
This week I will be reviewing Snopes, Quizlet, Miniclip, and
Newgrounds.
Entertainment
Snopes.com
Snopes is the master site of FAQ and urban legends: researching them, then either debunking or proving them. It has categories on tons of stuff, everything from luck to legality. If you hear something that may not be true and want to know more about it, Snopes is the place to go. According to viewpoints.com, 99% of people would recommend it to others. Snopes has a search box, so if you just need to find something out really quickly, just type it in the search box, and look for the colored dot or the true/false indicator that declares it fact or fiction. You can use it for researching something you were unsure about, quick reference, or learning something new. If you have the time to spare, you can also read about how the myths originated, and why they’re believed.
A lot of the users say they wish it had more publicity, and you also can’t copy the text, making sharing in emails difficult. Speaking of emails, everyone hates forwards and chain letters. Unless you think they’re true, of course. Well, Snopes has the actual answers to most of the chain letters that are circulating. So before you send off a forward, check Snopes to see if it’s actually true, and save your friends’ inboxes from being plagued by yet another chain letter.
Educational: √+
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √
Minimal ads/popups: √- / √
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √
Compete.com February 2010 number of site visits: 8,646,571
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 2,042
My Rating: 8.5/10
Education
Quizlet.com
Quizlet allows you to create your own flashcards, and then you can test, learn, or familiarize. It works great for vocab and virtually any other subject that includes semi-short answers. You can also take other user’s quizzes, but a lot of them are pretty specific, as people make them for their own classes. Some of the most popular are U.S. Presidents, capitals, and other general groups that have one answer. This is a great site to use if you don’t have someone to quiz you, or you just prefer a different approach. Quizlet has categories in Languages, Math & Science, Social Studies, Arts & Literature, and Professional & Careers, as well as standardized testing preparation. Quizlet also has an iPhone app, which is currently the #1 educational app in the iTunes store. The reason it’s so popular for iPhones is probably because it’s really easy to do on-the-go and by yourself, and is a great way to study for a quiz last-minute on the way to school.
If you’re just starting a set of flashcards, you can just choose the ‘familiarize’ option and you can go through all the flashcards, and it will show you the other side when you click ‘show term’ or ‘show definition.’ After you’ve finished this, you can go onto the ‘learn’ option. This format asks you the terms, and you have to see if you can remember the definitions. It will show if you’re correct or not, and count your scores at the end. The ‘test’ option sets it up like a real test might, with some multiple choice, matching, true/false, and written questions. While it’s set at a default, you can change the type and number of questions. At the end, you’ll see the correct answers and get a letter grade and percentage. There are also 2 other activities: Scatter and Space Race. Scatter is basically a game of matching. You have to drag and drop the terms onto their correct definitions, while being timed. Space Race is a game to test how quickly you can provide the definition for the term. You can also share and discuss results with your classmates easily. It’s great for any school age, since it has flashcards on all sorts of topics.
Educational: √+
Entertainment: √-
Kid-Friendly: √+
Minimal ads/popups: √+
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √+
Compete.com February 2010 number of site visits: 472,668
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 35,222
My Rating: 9/10
Games
Miniclip.com
As with a lot of gaming sites, Miniclip has games for different age categories, but the main users are middle school kids. It has a higher maturity level than the last gaming site I reviewed (Candystand) because there’s more violence-related games. Miniclip has action, shoot-em-up, sports, puzzle, and motorsports categories, plus more specific ones when you click on ‘more.’ Miniclip has also recently added some aspects of social networking, including adding friends, playing against them in games, and sending them messages. You can also play in multiplayer PvP games. Most of the games are flash and browser-based, but there are a few where you have to either download or pay for a full version. If you scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and category pages, it also has an alphabetical list of all the games, which is great for looking for games if you can’t search for them. There’s also a section called ‘Sketch Star’ where users can make pictures, cartoons, and animations and submit them. All of the games feature high-score lists. And if you need help with anything, you can get it a lot quicker than a lot of other websites via the FAQ, forum, and help section. The forum is also a great place for users to share game tips. The quality of the games is excellent, which also makes it the most popular gaming site.
Educational: √-
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √+
Minimal ads/popups: √
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √+
Compete.com February 2010 number of site visits: 10,259,687
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 358
My Rating: 9.5/10
General
Newgrounds.com
Newgrounds is a site that declares it has ‘Everything, by Everyone.’ And it does have a lot of different stuff. Games, animations, music, gadgets, art, movies, forums, and they’re all user submitted. A lot of them are really cool, but you still need to be wary of some of the more inappropriate stuff on this site. A fair number of the games and animations have some violence in them, as well as stuff that may only be appropriate for a 13+ audience. The worst stuff is contained in the ‘Mature’ section, but there is some stuff around the site that may not be ok for kids, as well as the forum.
The site is popular for its rating ability; you can rate and have suggestions for any user’s submissions.
The front page has the ‘featured’ stuff in all the categories, as well as links to some of other popular sites, like Gaia Online and downloadable games.
Educational: √-
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √-
Minimal ads/popups: √
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √+
Compete.com February 2010 number of site visits: 6,093,824
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 784
My Rating: 8/10
NOTE: For the last couple of weeks (starting in the next article) I’m also going to have a Gadgets section. This will have stuff that’s cool, and you can interact with, but you can do stuff on your own and it’s not really a game. (Here is an example.)
Because You Wanted to Know
Posted by Jenna T. and Brady W. on March 25, 2010
Mr. Emery is a 7th grade science teacher here at Georgia. Mr. Emery was hired to work at Georgia in 1994. He was inspired to become a teacher by his parents. His father was a principal at the high school he attended and his mother was a reading teacher. Mr. Emery has three brothers and one sister and a family cat named Max. He enjoys walking through the woods, hunting, or just observing nature. As a kid he played Football, Basketball, and Track. Mr. Emery is very interested in football. He is a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Emery has a rule that if the Steelers win, you have no homework that night. He has posters and signs all over his room to show how much he really likes them. Mr. Emery went to school in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and then he finally settled down and graduated from Castleton State College here in Vermont. His favorite thing to teach is the human body. Looking at Mr. Emery’s desk you might not think he is organized, but he actually does like to be. His goals for the future are to remain happy, healthy, and enjoy the outdoors in the North East Kingdom.
10 Places to Go and Things to Do in
Northern Vermont this Summer
Posted by Will J on March 24, 2010
As we all know summer can be extremely boring sometimes. We all get lazy trying to find things to do and just end up watching TV, I’m going to try and change that. I’m going to find 10 places that will get you off your feet and go do something.
The first place to go to in Northern
Vermont has to be Racquet's Edge recreational center. If you do any
kind of outdoor activity from tennis to rock climbing this is the place to go.
The place includes pools, Tennis courts, climbing wall, Spinning room
(Stationary Bikes), field house, Running/track, Pilates, and Yoga. Plus tons of
other stuff. Just the fact that theirs so much stuff makes it an amazing place
to go. Rackets edge has locations in Essex, Williston, South
Burlington and Eastwood Dr. For more information go to;http://www.sfedge.com/page.php?pid=1&pname=Home%20Page,home
RATING:
Fun:
A
Exciting:
B+
Captivating:
C
Athletic:
A+
Cost
wise: B-
Overall:
A-

Second is got to be sandbar beach by far the warmest cleanest beach in north of Vermont. It’s a wonderful place to do just drive your boat, swim, fish, whatever. It’s simply a clean fresh sparkling utopia of water in the middle of nowhere, Lake Champlain. For more information go to; http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/sandbar.htm
RATING:
Fun:
A-
Exciting:
B
Captivating:
A
Athletic:
C+
Cost
wise: B+
Overall:
B+
to go and a fun thing to do. When you get to the top
it’s a whole other world. For more inThird must be the one thing we have a lot of in a small
state, mountains, hiking more so. Hiking is awesome you really get to see the
great outdoors. Mount Mansfield,
Camels Hump, and a bunch of big hills with little trails. Vermont’s mountains aren’t tall, but we have
so many it’s a great place formation on Mt. Mansfield
state parks go to http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/smugglers.htm
Fun:
B+
Exciting:
B-
Captivating:
A+
Athletic: B
Cost wise: B-
Overall: B
These are the first 3 look on next week for the second set of places to go this summer in northern Vermont, and have fun!
Game Review
Need For Speed Shift
Posted by Wayne B. on March 24, 2010
Need For Speed Shift developed by BLACKBOX studios is a
simulation racing game that has a feel of arcade racing. Released in September
of 2009 Shift can make you shake as you battle tough competitors while you
fight to not slide off the track as your engine peaks at eight thousand rpm.
The career and quick race modes are pretty intense. With
racing styles from drifting to endurance races, Shift really tests your driving
skills. (Incredible graphics like around one hundred mph your vision of the
interior of the car starts to blur and you focus on the track). Real world
tracks make you think twice about when to hit the brakes.
Game reviews range from bad to so-so to great, but the
intensity and graphics say a lot. I have played this game and enjoy it very
much but that’s for you to decide. You may choose cars from BMW, Nissan, Ford, Lamborghini,
Dodge and Porsche to name a few. For names of all cars check out this web site:
http://www.nfscars.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24538
In most of Need For Speed games there are three tiers but in
Shift there’s includes an additional tier (tier four). A tier is a group of
cars that have similar performance stats horsepower, handling, braking etc.
Tier one cars is every day cars with low performance, tier two cars have higher
performance stats cars that you don’t see going down I-89. Tier three cars are
high –end performance cars. Tier four cars are straight up supercars. A tier
can also be a group of races specifically for a certain tier of cars (1-4). The
ultimate goal in the game is to win the NFS world tour (tier five).
The customization in NFS Shift is pretty advanced. You can
create your own vinyl styles or pick a pre-made livery. Livery is a group of
vinyl’s. The pre-made livery makes cars look like racecars. Three tiers of
performance parts, high-end racing parts, interior upgrades and body kits make
cars fly off the finish line!
Need For Speed Shift is a contender with Forza Motorsport 3 and Grand Tourismo 5 two other top racing games. Shift is available on XBOX 360, PS3, PSP, PC,
Ask Debra☻ Advice Column
Submitted on March 22, 2010
Question: Some of my friends on Facebook are bullying/ harassing me. What do I do to prevent this?
Answer: To prevent your friends from
bullying or harassing you online, you could delete them as a friend and or
block them. You also could “report abuse” on the site. Also you should go to an
adult, if it’s at school go to Mrs. Getty or Mrs. Little, you could even go to
one of the teachers. If it’s out of school you could go to your parents or
older siblings, you could also go to the bully’s parents to help you. I
interviewed a few teachers about it, the questions I asked them were “What
would you do if you were bullied online?” and “What advice would you give to a
person who was being bullied?” I also asked “what advice would you give to a
person who was being bullied by one person online but was friends with that
person at school?” “Do you think online bullying is happening a lot?” One
teacher said “I would put them on ignore. If I was a child I would talk to my
friends about it.” Another teacher said they “would talk to that person at
school and tell them that it hurts my feeling.” That same teacher said they
think online bullying is happening more because “kids are using technology
more.” Another adult said “Stop, block, and tell, stop meaning don’t respond,
block meaning block the person, and tell meaning tell an adult.” “Ask the
friend why they’re talking like that, they don’t like it.” And ask yourself
“are they a true friend?” Hope this
helps
Spreading Like Wildfire
Posted by Kay R. on March 18, 2010

The saga consists of four books; Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Twilight introduces the basic story; of two the star-crossed lovers, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, but are limited in their relationship due to the fact that Edward is vampire. In New Moon, Edward decides to leave Bella, because he thinks that her being with him, is a danger to her safety. Edward’s departure drives Bella into a deep depression but is pulled out by her best friend, Jacob who, by now is a werewolf. Bella soon finds out that Edward is in trouble. Her quest to save him brings her to the city of power, for the vampire world. Eclipse, is the journey of the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob and to the bloody battlefield. Breaking Dawn is the final chapter in Bella and Edward’s story. Bella and Edward become united, and are surprised with an unexpected package that threatens Bella’s life. Once again the Cullen family, the wolf pack, Bella and some friends come together for the last battle. These books demonstrate a perfect romance and an action story with a bite.
Twilight: the movie, had its premiere on November 17th,
2008 in
Many fans became fans by viewing the movies before reading the books. The books are very long; they range from 498 pages to 768 pages. The movies cannot be three hours long, so in pre-production the director and writer have to decide what to events in the books are most crucial. The movies show the basic story but by reading the books you are informed on the whole story. The books are, by far, much better than the movies.
The lives that the Twilight phenomenon has altered the most… are the stars of the movies. Kristen Stewart, 19, plays the main character, Bella Swan. Robert Pattinson, 23, plays the vampire, Edward Cullen. Taylor Lautner, 18, plays the werewolf best friend, Jacob Black.
The Twilight Saga has won the hearts of teenage girls and the cover of almost every gossip magazine. From the amazing books to the movies, the Twilight phenomenon will continue to spread and gain more and more fans.
Posted by: A&J March 18th 2010
Have you ever had a question about the school lunches but
never had the time or guts to go and ask? Well we thought we would make it
easier for you by asking for you. Here are the answers to some of the questions
you asked us.
Because
You Wanted To Know
Posted by Jenna T and Brady Won March 17, 2010
We will be interviewing teachers on a weekly basis at Georgia Elementary Middle School to find
out what they do on their free time. We want to find out what interests them, their hobbies, and their goals for the future.
Our first interview was Ms. Bove who teaches 8th grade language arts. Recently we learned a little more about Ms. Bove as a person and not just a teacher. Ms. Bove as a kid played basketball and softball. Growing up her favorite subject was English. She has 1 sibling. Ms. Bove was inspired to be an educator by her 10th grade English teacher who taught her way more than the 10th grade curriculum. Ms. Bove is interested in sports including basketball, hockey, and baseball. Some professional sports teams she follows are the New England Patriots, and The Boston Red Sox. Ms. Bove attended U.V.M for 4 years. While in college her favorite subject was political science. She enjoys teaching writing. Ms. Bove also taught at Burlington, South Burlington, and Colchester high school as a para-educator. She believes that being organized is important so it is easier to find what she needs when she needs it. Her life long dream is to write a book someday. Her goals for the future are to work towards a graduate degree and eventually a doctorate degree in English or Education.
Jiggy or Mr. Mahoney?
Posted by:
Wayne B. on March 17, 2010
Most teachers go by their last name, but one corny and enthusiastic seventh grade teacher is often called Mr. Jiggy, which has gained popularity over the years. This teacher is Mr. Mahoney, the seventh grade Social Studies teacher. To find out how and when this name started I interviewed Mr. Jiggy, himself. I asked Mr. Mahoney six questions about his nickname.
When I asked Mr. Mahoney which name preferred to be called
by, he responded, “I’m okay with Jiggy but I prefer my real name. Then I asked
who started calling him Jiggy and when. “Well Parker D. really started it, and
then others joined in.” next I asked when the name started. “Around 2008, 2009ish.”
Then I wanted to know if other teachers call him Jiggy as well. “No.” My final
questions were, where did he get the saying “are we Jiggy with it?” and do you
think your nickname is disrespectful? He responded, “Well I got the saying from
Mrs. Crosby and I don’t think the name is disrespectful.”
During lunch period I asked forty students whether or not they call Mr. Mahoney by his real name or his nickname. These students were in the 7th and 8th grades. Sixteen students were for Jiggy, twenty students were for Mr. Mahoney, and two students were for both names. Teachers like Mr. Mahoney give some students respectful nicknames, the teachers should also have respectful nicknames.

Posted by Marissa B. on March 17, 2010
As the internet’s popularity grows, more and more websites are appearing. Truthfully, a lot of them aren’t that great. Due to this, some people have disregarded the Web altogether, even though there are a lot of great sites out there. This will be a weekly column on some of the best sites (based on reviews, statistics, and my own personal opinion), in different categories: Entertainment, Education, Games, and General. The first three are pretty self-explanatory, but general will just include other websites that may have stuff in at least two of the other categories, or may not exactly have any of them. I’ll try to have at least one website in each category once a week. So, without further ado, these are some websites and my reviews.
NOTE: The compete.com statistics for the page/user visits are for the month of January ONLY; they are not cumulative.
NOTE: Websites are graded in different categories in what I believe makes a good website:
-Educational, meaning how much you can learn from the site
-Entertainment, meaning how enjoyable the site is, and how
much it entertains people
-Kid-friendly, meaning that the material is appropriate for
children 13 and below
-Minimal ads/popups, meaning the site doesn’t have too much
of these (higher rating means less)
-Variety/Quantity, meaning the site has either a lot of
different types of things, or just a lot of material
-Good design, meaning how well the site is set up, if it
looks good/appealing
Ratings, bad to good: X, √-, √, √+
Entertainment:
Listverse.com
Listverse is, as you can guess, a site of lists, called the
List Universe by users. (But Listverse is just a cooler name for the URL and
logo.) There are lists on virtually every topic, from 10 Best US History
Moments, to 10 Coolest Transformers. Lists are user-submitted, and people can
comment on lists. Most of it is pretty kid friendly and safe, with minimal
popups. A popular theme with Listverse users is that they identify themselves
with the Listverse community, in a way. Most of the major list-posters and
commenters know each other, and it’s generally not just random people that come
along and post inappropriate comments. In fact, you can sometimes learn more
from reading the comments and other people’s opinion on the topic than you do
from the list.
Listverse generally publishes only 2-3 lists per day, due to the fact that the lists are, for the most part, lengthy and have a lot of information about the particular objects on the list. Listverse specializes in little factlets, unsolved mysteries, and oddities.
Whether you just read the newest list or are looking through the archives, Listverse is a great website to spend time and either entertain or educate.
Educational: √
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √
Minimal ads/popups: √
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √
Compete.com January 2010 number of site visits: 656,856
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 8,567th
My Rating: 8.5/10
Education:
Shmoop.com
Shmoop actually isn’t very well known, considering the information that’s on it. It’s a site for both learning guides and teaching resources, and provides a clearer explanation than a lot of textbooks or other websites do. Shmoop has summaries and in-depth analyses of classic literature, well-known poems, today’s bestsellers, and events in U.S. History, as well as biographies of the world’s greatest people, and analysis of songs. Recently, Shmoop has also added a study guide for AP exams.
In the analyses, many of the articles also contain wit and even some pop culture references, to appeal and be understandable to the 21st-century audience. You also won’t see much encyclopedia-type wording that often makes your eyes glaze over. The writers at Shmoop try to make an article as easy to understand as possible by having relatively concise articles, but with a lot of information.
Shmoop’s writers are mostly Ph.D. students from some of the nation’s top universities, mainly Harvard, Stanford, Berkley, and Princeton.
Grade levels: 7-12, and Teacher Resources
Educational: √+
Entertainment: √-
Kid-Friendly: √
Minimal ads/popups: √+
Variety/Quantity: √
Good Design: √
Compete.com January 2010 number of site visits: 224,225
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 43,439th
My Rating: 9/10
Games: 
Candystand.com
Most of these games are targeted towards younger kids, in an effort to be family-safe, which means minimal violence in all games, and not as many shooter games as you may find at other sites. There are tons of categories of online games, as well as downloadable ones, and all of them are well-designed games, because of the fact that users cannot submit their own games. For websites that do have this option, it causes a significant drop in the quality of games, because some people just submit poorly designed games.
One thing Candystand has against it is the ads. There are ads on the right side of every page (except on the game pages, they are on top of the game) and they also run before the game. Some of them might not be considered kid-friendly, which some parents complain about. They also make the page take longer to load, which could be a problem for slower computers.
A theme that Candystand has unique from other game sites is that you have a chance of winning prizes, just from playing games. If you sign up for an account, you will get a certain number of tickets for games you play, depending on your game score. These tickets can be redeemed to get entry into a Ticket Drawing, a sweepstakes to win real-life prizes.
Educational: √ (Puzzle Games)
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √+
Minimal ads/popups: X
Variety/Quantity: √
Good Design: √+
Compete.com January 2010 number of site visits: 2,081,275
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 5,758th
My Rating: 8.5/10
General:
I-Am-Bored.com 
As you can probably guess by the name, this site is designed to make those long, boring days a lot more bearable. It has many different categories, including flash games, funny and entertaining articles, news and politics, quizzes, educational lessons, and even a whole category for science discoveries. This really is a website that has something for everyone.
Top Ten Reviews calls i-am-bored the “most entertaining website on the internet,” and guarantees that it won’t have any adware or spyware, and has very few popups.
I-Am-Bored claims that their website is kid-friendly, and 99% of the stuff is. But, as users can and do submit their own articles, there may be a few offensive or inappropriate pages or ads. Although every great website does have a few of these articles, there’s plenty of other entertaining articles to look at without going to these. Another thing related to use-submitted articles is that it’s mostly a site where you have to look a bit to find something that interests you. Most of the websites I put on here will be more of a quality-over-quantity, but on I-Am-Bored, there are just so many different articles that if you do some hunting, you’re bound to find a couple of articles to ease your feeling of boredom.
Educational: √-
Entertainment: √+
Kid-Friendly: √-
Minimal ads/popups: √-
Variety/Quantity: √+
Good Design: √
Compete.com January 2010 number of site visits: 723,474
Alexa.com Traffic Rating: 4,725th
My Rating: 7.5/10
Top five guitar players of all time of all time!
Posted by Will J. on March 17, 2010
There are tons of good guitar
players out their but only a few can be called the best of the best and I’ve
found them. These 5 live and breathe guitar. The top of the list. They are
guitar playing phenomenons.
5. Stevie Ray Vaughn; is a blues guitar player who has influence almost every other genre of guitar, in some way. Although he is a blues guitar player he still plays fast and doesn’t lose the blues feel. He has great style with his big hat with his signature feather. Stevie make Stratocaster fireworks on his debut album “Texas flood”. Just by the fact that he is the blues guitar idle of blues guitar idles puts him on my list as number 5.
4. Joe Satriani; one of the G3 “great three” along with Stevie Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen , Travel all over to bring amazing live music to the world. Joe Satriani plays incredible riffs and stays cool at all times (as shown by “Cool No.9”one of his more famous songs). He seems to never stop amazing his audience with his speed and effortless ease, he is by far one of the greatest guitar players ever, and that’s whys he’s number 4 on my list of greatest guitar players of all time.
3. Bucket Head; Bucket Head is essentially a 7 foot tall
guy with a white plastic mask and a chicken bucket on his head, with 4 inch
fingers and a oversized guitar (literally). Bucket Head has appeared in one of
the hardest songs in guitar hero 2 “Jordan”. He plays some of the back
ground music for horror movies. The reason, he can literally make any noise
possible on a guitar. On stage he has a odd way to jack up the audience first
he is escorted on stage wail he “plays dumb” then he bursts out playing any
song he thinks of, then throws toys of himself to the audience. On top of that he
does the robot perfectly, and can whip nun chucks like nothing you’ve ever seen
before. He’s a bit “different”, but none the less extremely talented and number
3 on my list of greats guitar players of all time.
2. Eric Johnson; Eric Johnson is a huge tech head, in the way he plays. Eric is known to have come up with some of the hardest songs to play ever, such as Cliffs of Dover. He is calm on stage and always looks like he’s having fun. Eric plays incredibly perfectionate and extremely fast. Also he has a really cool British Revolutionary War coat. Therefore he’s number 2 on my list.
1. Jimi Hendrix; when looking around at what people thought as “the greatest guitar player ever” I found a recurring name this name was on the top of all most every top list I found Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was the lead guitar player/singer for “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”. Jimi was born to play guitar he was in his natural place when playing. It seemed as though he played while he slept. He had a huge stage presence and did everything from lighting a guitar on fire, to playing a guitar with his teeth. Jimi has of the greatest hits ever. Voodoo Chile, and Purple Haze, along with other of the best songs ever. And yes his name is spelled Jimi. With his funky style and the fact that he is incredibly skilled puts him at the top of my list for the greatest guitar player ever.
Celebration Of The Arts
Posted by Jillian B and Jessica H on March 16, 2010
Students go through a professional procedure, to get to center stage. First things first students are most likely to practice on their own, preparing themselves, for what is soon to come. Students then audition for the talent show, by showing a brief example of what they are planning to perform. Usually everyone makes it, unless the act is inappropriate. An act is preferably limited to two minutes, thus allowing everyone time to perform. Then, after a couple of weeks, they go to dress rehearsals. There they are expected to wear the planned outfit for the actual show. That way we can make sure that everyone is prepared and there are no problems. Then, finally, the next night is the BIG night. Performers arrive a bit earlier, for assurance, so they can ready themselves and others. If your act is later in the show, you can enjoy the other displays of talent. As your act approaches, you get ready behind stage. Finally, the presenter announces your name, and you, the performer, are called to the stage. Now, it’s your time to shine.
Most acts are different from others. Some people prefer to be serious, while others enjoy the opportunity to get some laughs. Phoebe M-C, a previous performer, said “I did it for fun, it was on a whim.” Other students take this seriously and try to do well, Lauren W said, “It was a fun thing to do, and its fun to watch too. If you do well, it’s a great feeling.”
The talent show was started to
“give kids a chance to shine, and show off their individual talent. You aren’t
always given chances like that.” Mrs. Sink said. Before the talent show began,
the school held gym shows. These shows consisted of gymnast routines. This show
didn’t offer an opportunity to all students with other talents. Therefore, 18
years ago, the school was inspired to “have an avenue of expression, for students
to showcase their talent.” Mrs. Volatile-Wood said. That way we could start a
talent show for all talents.
Posted by Kay R. on March 16, 2010
In
the Lake Victoria zone, especially Mwanza, Shinyanga and the Mara regions,
which is in
Albinism
is 5 times more likely to occur in
A
court in
