The Wellesley Middle School Newspaper Fall 2009

The Locker

Still Fighting Today Now, you may be thinking, hey this isn’t happening now, right? It’s all over. Nothing to worry about… You are wrong. A few weeks ago, October 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, a woman was fired from Wal-Mart because she asked to be paid the same as her male colleagues. That is called discrimination. It’s still happening, even today. She sued Wal-Mart and got back $2 million. So girls, don’t let the fact that we have to work ten times harder than guys to make a good living stop you. Work hard, get good grades and prove history wrong that women are important!! Resourses: http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights#WomenWorkMoreThanMenButArePaidLess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=7049886

Contents Activity Pages

Comics News

Stories Sports

“The Locker” is produced by the current members of the

WMS Newspaper Club. WMS students who would like to contribute to future editions should listen to the school

announcements for future club meetings!

Editors: Yuto and Alice

Assistant Editors: Bill, Noor, Stephanie, Melanie

, and Haruki Faculty Advisor:

Lynne Johnson

Women and Our Rights: We’re Still Fighting By Alice The History The first meeting that discussed women’s rights was 168 years ago in July 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. Surprisingly, women today, even in the 21st century are still fighting for their rights about everything! In the past, women have always had less rights and career opportunities then men. Even though in the 20th century, women have earned their rights to vote and their right for a better education, but it wasn’t always that easy. Women were even sometimes considered the ‘weaker’ gender. They were said to not be able to perform tasks requiring knowledge or strength. They were left with caring for children and milking cows and washing cloths. They were wrong, because it has been proven that women have a greater tolerance for pain and live longer than men. Fighting for a Vote Women first started wanting their rights back in 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton even wrote “all men and women are created equal”. Women worked during the Civil war to end their suffrage, as well as for black people too. The black people got their rights but women still did not. A protest was presented in every congress meeting in 1878 but they all failed. Finally, an amendment was made in 1920, the nineteen amendment. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Three Brick Walls By Alyssa

Three brick walls led to a magical world, a life with no famine, disease, or distress. But too much of this world would make you greedy, selfish, and friendless. Tyler Gregory learned this lesson the hard way. He was poor, selfless, and confused. He wanted a better life for himself. He got up at four a.m, started baking loaves of bread for the day, then sat in the back of his tiny shop, waiting for customers. Only three came in on a good day. He gave away the rest of the bread to the homeless. He worried he would be homeless too soon. NYC is not a good place to be alone. But as he was sitting in the back of his shop on a cold December morning, he noticed something. As he pushed his chair back on the brick wall, it disappeared. He did it twice more on the other two brick walls and he felt the warmth of sunshine, and the smell of pastries. He was greeted by the call of birds, and rushing water. There was a tiny town. He was in a dream town, that had apparently been there for the five years that he was running his bakery.

“Why I don’t believe it. It’ s the dead of winter and there in the back of my shop, bright as summer!”

Tyler stayed there for three months. He ate like a king every night, and slept in a room the size of a one floored house. He forgot about the homeless without any bread. He forgot about his hope that today would be a better day. In fact he woke up thinking that nothing would be as good as the day before. Like I said he became selfish and greedy. He ordered, and bossed the people of the town around. The next day the tiny town started to fade. By sundown, it was almost gone. Tyler ran to his room and fell asleep hoping it would all be back to normal in the morning. But when he woke up, he was in his chair, in the back of his bakery. Tyler was wondering if it was a dream. But there was a sign on the wall that read…

YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOUR SECOND CHANCE ,SO YOU MAY NEVER VISIT IT AGAIN.

So he never did visit the tiny perfect world again. He learned to cope with his little apartment, and his little bakery.

The Cinderella Life Part I By Melanie

“What are you doing?!” One moment I was laying stones for the pathway to our house, the next I was on the ground with a 90% possibility of a broken rib from my step-mother. But living at Swan House wasn’t always this harsh, especially for the daughter of the owner. When my mother died, my dad went into a crisis. His first wife (my mother) used to be in control over the house while my dad, the rich wealthy owner of the land, ruled the village people with laws, regulations, taxes, and all that stuff with economics. The second wife, who was second in power, was second important. Then came all the other wives, a total of fourteen. I have only one step-sister and one brother who was sent away for education. My mother was the first and only wife who produced a son; which is also why she’s First Wife.

The second wife, Anna, was and always has been jealous of my mother. Wanting the power for herself, trying to produce a male child, and creating wild experiments no one but I knew about. She tested her experiments on male monkeys and birds. Nothing would turn out how she wanted even if they were the slightest bit human looking. During my father’s crisis he confined himself to his room all day everyday leaving the second wife to control the land, exactly what she’d wanted. Then the tragedy happened. My father died. No one knew how, when, or what caused it. My father had started screaming when the clock chimed midnight. I had never heard a scream so agonized before in my entire life. Just as surprising as his scream came, it stopped so immediately, that all the people in the residence knew something was terribly wrong. The maids and the wives rushed to his bedside to find him turned into stone. Nobody could figure out how this happened or why. However the only wife that didn’t come rushing to their husband, was the second wife. Anna had become the Duchess. She had all the power and changed everything. Our lives were structured to how she wanted it, the food, taken and divided among the rich saving only an eighth of the remaining crops for the villagers. She even controlled the amounts and gender of children. Villagers were instructed to get up at six AM, be at the fields at seven AM, farm for six hours, receive lunch and break for an hour, work until seven PM, returned home at eight PM after bathing time, and receive dinner. Our land had become an equilibrium. The maids and servants of the Duchess were on the lucky side. They were served food and a home in Swan House; as long as they did as they were told. That’s what happened to me. The Duchess had two major goals in her life. The first was to have a son. The second was to kick me out of the house. Since I’m the daughter of the ruler of the land, I’m supposed to inherit all the land and rule it myself. However, my father’s will was never found. So there I lay, with possibly one or more broken ribs. “The stones are not straight! What did you think you were doing? Making what you thought was a pathway? Did you not even look at the plan for the pathway? Go back to the maid’s headquarters and send another here to clean up your mistakes. Actually, I change my mind. Clean up your stones and do not come in to the house until you finish laying the stones perfectly. You can just forget about dinner tonight!” Great. No dinner for the third time this week. I limped back to the maids storage closet to get a shovel or something to pull the stones out of the ground. Just as I reached the closet, I heard a bang and turned around just in time to see something small come darting towards my head. To be continued in the winter edition…

Only Jack

By Alexa

The last house on the dead-end street was empty and the people on the street planned on keeping it that way. There was nothing particularly scary about the house. It was well kept and looked like the others on the street but something, a lurking presence, kept the people away. Only one person had ever gone in that house; a little girl named Ruby. Her story went something like this: Late one afternoon Ruby was playing catch with her two older sisters Matilda and Olivia.

One of the tosses went over Ruby’s head and soared onto the lawn of the house at the end of the street.

“I’ll get it,” said Ruby and she headed towards the end of the street. When she reached the ball, she picked it up and just as she turned to run back, she glimpsed movement in the upstairs window. That’s odd, thought Ruby. Nobody lives here. The caretaker only comes on Tuesdays and today is Friday.

Suddenly, Ruby dropped the ball and ran to the front steps of the house. On the way there, the thorn from a rosebush snagged the bottom of her dress. She fell to the ground, a cloud of dust rising up around her. Quickly, she got up, brushed herself off, then continued running towards the door. When she reached it she turned the knob slowly, then flung the door open. No one. Cautiously, she stepped inside and looked around. There was no furniture, no pictures on the wall, no nothing. Just the empty shell of a house.

Ruby took a few more steps and called out “Hello? Anyone?” No response came. The sound of her footsteps echoed throughout the house. Remembering she had seen the movement upstairs, she began climbing the ornate staircase just as dusk settled over the sky. Halfway up the stairs, she heard a noise above her head. The attic! Ruby thought excitedly and hurried up the remaining stairs. She flew up the next flight leading to the attic but when she reached to the top, the sight that greeted her eyes was filled with cobwebs, dust, and a few old boxes that were crumbling away.

Ruby walked towards one of the boxes and opened it up. Bits of the box fell off into Ruby’s hand. She threw them aside and continued opening the box. It was full of dolls of all shapes and sizes. There were boy dolls and girl dolls in clothes that had long since lost their color.

All of the sudden, Ruby heard a shuffling noise. She looked up. “Hello?”

“Hello,” a voice answered. “My name is Jack. Are you here to visit me?”

Ruby didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Where are you?”

“I am behind the box of dolls,” Jack replied. Ruby walked over to the box and found a Jack-in-the-Box sitting there. He was bathed in pale moonlight that illuminated his velvet jester’s hat and collar, his pointed chin, and his mischievous grin.

“I didn’t see you when I looked at the dolls before,” Ruby said suspiciously.

Ignoring her statement Jack said, “Oh, do you like my collection? It took a long time to gather all of them.”

“That’s nice,” Ruby said listening intently. “They are very detailed,” she said to Jack. “Where did you get them?” Jack was silent. He looked away from Ruby, fearing she might see his expression. Ruby didn’t pursue the question further. Instead she said, “Well, I should get going. Good-bye.”

“Wait!” Jack said, turning towards her again, his eyes staring deep into hers. “I have something to give you.” He tilted his head and smiled in the most devious way. “Come here, child.”

Back at home…

“She’s still not back!” Cried Ruby’s mother as she wrung her hands nervously. Her breathing shivered along with her voice.

“It’ll be okay Mother,” Matilda and Olivia said soothingly.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream broke through the air.

“That sounds like Ruby!” Ruby’s mother exclaimed. A second later she was out the door and in the street. Matilda and Olivia were at her heels.

“It’s coming from the house at the end of the road! Oh, my poor little Ruby! Someone rescue her! Help!” Ruby’s mother shouted repeatedly. “Help! Someone! Call the police!”

Hearing the shouting, all the people on the street were outside grumbling things like “What’s the matter?” or “What’s all the noise?” or “Who’s screaming?”

“Someone call the police! Please!” Ruby’s mother said, then she sank down to the ground and began to cry. “My daughter! She could be hurt!” She sobbed. Matilda and Olivia comforted her.

Then, a man came up to the group and said, “I called the police, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Ruby’s mother said softly. A few minutes later the police arrived and searched the house at the end of the street.

“We didn’t find your daughter Miss, only a box of dolls.”

And in that box of dolls you see, was a doll that looked like a little girl and she wore a dress with a tear at the bottom.

Even now, people still talk about what happened to Ruby. They blame ghosts and witches and curses, but both you and I know it was only Jack.

A Vanishing Act

By Stephanie

Chapter 1: Stolen

The case was in utter ruins. Glass shards cluttered the floor, imbedding the leather pillow. There was an indent in the pillow, like it had once held something. Which was true.

Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps. Shoot. Someone would find me soon, and I’d only been here for five minutes-hardly enough to do some hardcore investigating.

“Is anyone there?” the museum guard called, coming closer. Thud, thud, thud. He made so much noise the halls seemed to echo with it for ages. And when he reached the room I was in, it was empty.

My first thought as I landed on the ground below the window was, If all the guards are like that, then no wonder the thief wasn’t caught. He or she could’ve heard those footsteps a mile away!

Then I ran. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I was caught. It was the middle of the night, and hard to see. The area around the museum was shadowed and had absolutely no street lights, so it always looked rather haunted at night. During fall, the ground would be littered with slick, wet leaves; I slipped on several of those. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to get away from the museum before someone could yell at me for making such a racket.

...Oh. I’m getting ahead of myself again, aren’t I? Let me explain.

The morning newspaper had caused an uproar in town. It was the biggest one since...oh, who am I kidding; there has never been an uproar here. Anyways, it was because the Ruby Tiger’s Eye had been stolen. Not the news a groggy mind wants to hear first thing in the morning.

The Ruby Tiger’s Eye is our town’s national treasure, the one thing that actually draws other people here rather then them passing us by without a second thought. It’s a fist-sized red stone with black stripes decorating its surface. Because of its rarity, people were always trying to get their hands on it. Its original owner (who lived years and years back) eventually donated it to the museum. Traps and alarms were set, and eventually even a security camera was installed.

...The camera. Shoot! I totally forgot about it.

...Uh...where was I? Oh, yeah, the traps and stuff. Someone managed to get past all of the security (again, the guards would have been no help) and steal the Ruby Tiger’s Eye. And I’m trying to figure out who did it.

I probably should leave it to the professionals, shouldn’t I? I just can’t resist a good mystery, though, and this is the worst thing that’s happened in our town. Ever. There always seems to be a screaming siren in the air now, and panicked citizens running to and fro.

...I’m getting off-topic. But aside from totally forgetting about the security camera, I had managed to get inside the museum (slipping inside after a rather careless guard), study the glass case for some two or three minutes, and even snag a “souvenir”.

There had been a piece of wool lying on the case. Some glass was imbedded in it, and it looked like it had been used to punch through to the Ruby Tiger’s Eye. It wouldn’t help me much (it’s at times like these I wish I could track scents as well as dogs could), but it was something. For now, I have quite a lot of wandering to do.

I found myself in an alley when the moon was dangerously low in the sky; I only had a few hours left. I’m not sure why I was here, but I was.

The wind howled past me, whistling like an ominous warning. A warning of what? What would happen if I went inside? I mean, it was pretty dark, but so was the rest of town. I took a tentative step forward so that shadows swallowed me up.

Thud.

I jumped. In a museum, footsteps aren’t so bad, unless it’s the middle of the night and they’re five feet away. In a dark alleyway, though, where anything and anyone could jump out at you, they’re positively eerie. I peered out into the murky night.

A pair of eyes stared back.

I gasped, rubbed my eyes, looked again. Nothing. But if someone-or something-had been there, they’d left something.

A single piece of paper, folded four times. One word was scribbled on the outside:

Viva.

What does the paper say? Who is Viva? And most of all...who stole the Ruby Tiger’s Eye? Find out in the winter edition of The Locker!

Lucy's Thanksgiving Megan

Lucy is 9. Her brother Max is 7. Max and Lucy have been really close their whole lives. Lucy is one of those kids who just keeps wanting new things until she has to clean her closet. Max is different. He is always thankful for what he has. He always with his toys until they break, so his mother doesn't have to go and buy him more. Lucy always thought that Max was silly for thinking like this. Max and Lucy were on the way to school when Max complained of a headache. Lucy decided it was nothing and brought him to the nurse. Later, during science (Lucy's favorite subject) Lucy got called to the office. She saw her mom there crying.

"What is wrong Mom?" Lucy asked. " Lucy asked.

"Just come with me to the car Lucy."

When they got to the car, Lucy's mom told her what happened. Max couldn't see when he went to the nurse. He got knocked out and had to go to the hospital. They got there and Max was immediately diagnosed with a brain tumor. Lucy was devastated.

"Where is he mom, where is Max," Lucy cried.

" He's in the intensive care unit, they are had to do surgery quickly so he will get better." She said.

That night, Lucy awoke in the waiting room, wondering why she was there. Where were mom and Max? But she remembered and sobbed and sobbed.

"He will be okay." She kept telling herself.

Max was still in the hospital when thanksgiving came around. They spent the day in the hospitals dining hall. Max decided he wanted to give thanks. Lucy realized she needed to appreciate life more. If Max could she could too. Three months later, Max's tumor was gone. Lucy was so thankful for him and her mother. She really learned a lot from an unfortunate event. Lucy didn't ask for another toy that whole year. Instead, she and Max donated all of their unwanted toys to a foundation that helped kids in the hospital by giving them little friends. Lucy was always thankful for everything after that because she realized that the most important things in life cannot be bought.

The Teeth By Charlotte

I hate summer. I don’t understand why everyone thinks it’s such a big deal, the weather is mostly too hot to do any thing and every one sat around fanning themselves, yeah, sounds like fun right?

The phone rang. I was too lazy to look for a handset so I just pushed the speaker phone button.

“Hullo?” I said, waiting for someone to ask for my mom or my sister. I never got phone calls.

“Dave?”

“Hey” I said.

“Hey yourself.” He replied. I snickered to myself about his weird greeting.

It was a kid from school, Rob. Rob was a pretty dull kid. He didn’t have many friends, but neither did I really. He asked if I wanted to go to the pool with him and his mom. I had nothing

better to do so I said yes, hoping none of the other kids from school were there to see me hanging out with him.

Rob’s mom pulled outside my house and beeped her horn. I ran out carrying a towel and five dollars my mom gave me. I hopped into the car ad Rob’s mom headed off to the pool.

We swam and splashed each other for a while; it was actually kind of fun. Then we got out and Rob’s mom gave us some money to buy lunch.

I walked up to the snack counter and realized I still had a water football that Rob and I had been tossing around earlier in my hand. It was a mini football, so I ordered pizza and clamped the water football in my teeth so I could pay. Will, a kid who was in my math class at school ran up behind me.

“Dude, gimme the ball!” He said loudly, I realized I didn’t really have a choice so I put my five dollar bill on the snack counter and reached up to my mouth for it, he was too fast. He whipped his hand up and before I had a chance to relax my grip on the ball, he ripped it out of my mouth for me.

My mouth tasted all salty, blood. I reached up to my mouth and felt inside. Some thing didn’t feel right. I ran into the men’s changing rooms and looked in the mirror. My two front teeth were gone and there was blood dripping from the corners of my mouth. I looked like a vampire. I grabbed some napkins and shoved them in my mouth to try to absorb some of the blood. Then I ran out to ask Rob’s mom to drive me home so I could avoid further embarrassment.

Will was waiting for me as I exited the locker rooms.

"Dude, what happened to your face?” he laughed as all his friends walked up behind him. I recognized them.

“You look like a vampire!” they all laughed at me. I turned away and ran towards Rob and his mom, who both looked worried. Rob’s mom said “I think its time to go” She picked up all our stuff and hurried off towards the parking lot. Rob and I followed. I ended up in the emergency room for oral surgery most of the night.

When I walked into school the next morning, I was greeted by Will, who looked almost happy to see me.

“What’s up vampire kid?” He said so loud, I was sure everyone could hear. I glared at him as everyone around snickered and giggled.

That day at lunch, as I exited the lunch line I looked for a table to sit at. Will saw me looking and said, “Yo vampire kid, come and sit with us!” I knew he just wanted to make fun of me. I continued to scan the lunch room for places to sit. I

spotted Rob, sitting alone as usual. I walked right passed Will, with my head held high, and sat myself next to Rob.

“Hey” I said.

“Hey yourself.” He replied. I still thought his greeting was a little weird, but this time I just smiled.

Mystery in New York Noor

“Woo-hoo!” Lynn cried, swinging her bag on her hotel bed. “I can’t believe we’ve made it!”

“I know,” Myra cried, excitedly. “We’ve arrived!”

The three girls—Myra, Lynn, and Alicia had arrived at their destination: New York City! Together, the girls and their families would spend a whole week in the city, staying in a grand hotel.

“Girls,” Alicia’s mom, Mrs. Calvin, peeked in. “Get dressed. We’re going out to dinner, okay?”

“Where?” Alicia cried, sighing as she unpacked her suitcase. “I brought nothing that isn’t fancy.”

“Dear, it’s only a restaurant. Not even that fancy,” Mrs. Calvin smiled at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Just get ready.”

Lynn, Myra, and Alicia all slipped into pretty but not-too-fancy clothes. In seconds, they were outside in the brisk, dark night. “We’ll walk,” Mr. Horvan, Myra’s father, announced. “It’s not very far from The Grande Hotel. Let’s go!”

The party of eleven trooped down the brightly-lit sidewalk. The girls passed hundreds of flashy store signs, all that read: BARGAINS!

“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Percy, Lynn’s mother, sighed. “Look at that beautiful park. It’s lit up with lights, decoration, and flowers!”

“Let’s go closer and have a peek.” Mr. Percy suggested.

As Lynn neared the park she realized white, beautifully shaped angel-statues were resting around the park. She rushed to one angel and sat down on a bench, peering at all the sights.

Alicia followed and set down her purse. “Wow! Lynn, did you see that humongous tree? It’s so big and they’ve decorated it so much! Look!”

“I know!” Myra rushed over, her lilac skirt fluttering behind her. “They even stuck fake presents under the tree!”

“Fake?” echoed Lynn.

“Yeah. I know because my younger sister, Amelia, tried to open one. Of course, it didn’t open. Now she’s crying over there with Dad. See?”

The girls laughed.

They spent a few more minutes gazing at the beautiful park when Mrs. Horvan interrupted, “Come, girls! Let’s go! No time to waste!” Alicia, Lynn, and Myra got up. They continued tramping down the sidewalks for six minutes when Alicia burst out, “MOM! I left my purse on the bench! Oh, no! It was the one Grandma gave me…!”

Lynn could see Alicia was close to tears. “I’ll go back and get it!”“Nonsense, we’ll all go.” Mr. Percy proclaimed. “Let’s go.”

“No, no, I don’t think so.” Mrs. Calvin said. “The restaurant is right there!”

“We’ll go and get it.” Myra offered. “We’ll run there and get it.”“Now, girls, that’s out of the question—” Mrs. Horvan cried, loudly.

“Look, why don’t we go into the restaurant?” Mrs. Calvin said. “Alicia, it’s just a purse—”

“PLEASE?” Alicia cried. “We’ll run there, get it, and run back. Myra and Lynn will come. We won’t lose sight of each other.”

“They are fourteen.” Mrs. Calvin said, looking doubtfully at the others. “I suppose. But, COME RIGHT BACK!”

“We will!” Alicia smiled. The three girls raced down the sidewalk when the heard a, “Wait!” A small blond girl, age three, stumbled to the girls. “Me lost.” She announced.

“She’s … lost?” Alicia asked, slowly. “Well, what will we…?” “Where will we take her?” Lynn echoed.But, Myra’s soft heart melted. “No! What can we do? She’s so cold and—”

“Look, we’re NOT supposed to take strangers home. What if her mother comes home?” Lynn demanded. “Really, Myra!”

Myra’s eyes drooped and she said softly the girl, “We’ll help you.”

“I’m getting my purse!” Alicia announced.

But, Myra wouldn’t leave the girl.

Finally, all four plodded into the park. Alicia ran to the bench, stunned. “It’s gone! Who would want to rob a child’s purse?”

The dark park was filled with eerie shadows. Old, silent people sat on benches eating dinners. A few homeless sat in the empty doorways of shops, staring into the park.

“Maybe this is the wrong bench.” Lynn suggested. Suddenly, an eerie moan echoed through the park. The girl clung to Myra’s hand.

Lynn reached for Alicia’s arm to pull her home when she couldn’t find one. Afraid, she whispered, “Alicia?” then louder. “Alicia!”

“ALICIA!” Myra cried.

Their friend was gone in the scary, creepy, shivering park. Alone.

To be continued in the winter edition...

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

By Katrina From an old family recipe…

Ingredients: • 1 package of fudge cake mix • ¾ a cup of Wesson oil • ¾ a cup of water • ½ a cup of sour cream • 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix (don’t make it, just throw it in the batter) • 4 eggs • 10 oz package of semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients together except for the eggs and chocolate chips. Add the eggs one at a time. Next add the chocolate chips. Then pour the batter into a well-greased bundt pan (Pam for Baking works great!) Bake it at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Then let it cool in the bundt pan before removing. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the cake if you want that. Lastly, ENJOY!

sondraha

Rectangle

Fall Word Search By: Joanna Wu

F Q B W N R C U C S K A W F N C P F I G

H A T W M E M O T L M T U G N Q L U W Z

L T L E J B M F L T E K C A J I S C Q L

I S V L C M E A B O N U R Y A U T U M N

O X W Y E E K O U R R O X P P E T Q R L

S U M L N T A T L A H F F N U D L G E W

L Z T D Z P R S P D V S U H M J I W D F

Y V B W O E C P W B V H P L P T C B Q R

S X P W M S L H S A U Q S X K U R M E P

T D S O H E N X E A Z M D K I R U G J K

Z E J F S M M H O L J T P I N K R P K V

R E B M E V O N A C P D T Z A E D A G N

R F Q U V D B C J R T A I J C Y O S N C

T R E E Q C V M Y D V O M S O H F G R T

O U R F K X X D I U R E B H R D M R O C

W H Q Z I W N X E R U U S E N O E O C B

S E U H K J L S L M G P O T R D V Q I A

X P I U O E E I R K H L H G I B L S J Z

Q O X O A Q P B R Y D K I C U E A B C T

X Q Z F R T U Q L O C V S P L T G O W X

ACORN APPLES AUTUMN CIDER COLORFUL CORN FALL GOURD

HARVEST JACKET LEAF MAPLE NOVEMBER TREE TURKEY

OAK OCTOBER PILGRIM PUMPKIN RAKE SEPTEMBER SQUASH

New WMS Locker Advice Column!

The WMS question box is in the main office – feel free to write for advice in the next issue :0)

Question: What should you do if you think your friends are using you because they need help with homework? ~ Used

Dear Used, If you think you’re friends are just using you for homework help, don’t help them. If they say they won’t be your friends anymore, then you’ll know that they aren’t truly your friends. Hope this helps! ~ Paige

Dear Used, You should see if they are really your friends and if they aren’t stop helping them with their homework and if they are, help them with their homework less often. If you can’t tell, do their homework less and see what there reaction is and that should help. ~Your friend Parker

Random Facts By Julian and Rishi

1. Odontophobia is the fear of teeth 2. In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times

the equator 3. The most money ever paid for a cow at an auction was 1.3 million

dollars 4. A Neanderthal’s brain was larger than yours is 5. The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ,

Richard Nixon, Elvis Presley 6. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet 7. American car horns beep in the tone of F (road rage) 8. The United States have never lost a war in which mules were used 9. The average person spends about 10,950 minutes, 182.5 hours, or

around 7.6 days a year on the toilet, assuming you are on the toilet for 30 minutes everyday

10. ¾ of all flights in the United States are delayed

Which fact is false, in other words which is the lie? Answer: #10

The source we got this information from was www.cs.cmu.edu/~bingbin/

Word Search Solution F + + + + R C + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A + + + E + O + + + + + + + + + + + + + + L + + B + + L T E K C A J + + + + + + + + L + M E + + O + + + + A U T U M N + + + + + E K + + + R + + + P + + + + + + + + + + T A + + A + F + + U + + + + + + + + + + P R + P + + + U + M + + + + + + + + + + E + P + + + + + L P T + + + + + + + + + S L H S A U Q S + K U + + + + + + + + + E + + E + + + + + I R + + + + + + + + S + + H O L + + + + N K + + K + R E B M E V O N A C P + + + A E + A + + + + + + + + + + + R T A + + C Y O + N + T R E E + + + M + D V O M + O + + + R + + + + + + + + + I + R E B + R + + R O + + + + + + + + + + R + U S E N + E + C + + + + + + + L + + + G + O T R D + + + + + + + + + E + + + + + L + G I + + + + + + + + + A + + + + + + + I C + + + + + + + + + F + + + + + + + + + P + + + + + +

Autumn Red, yellow, orange

leaves, Come drifting to the

ground Twirling slowly,

falling.

Children playing, laughing,

Running in the cool autumn air

As a cool breeze whispers in the

treetops.

The smell of pumpkin pie fills the

air As well as the smell

of burning leaves And of fires in the

fireplace.

Up high in the treetops,

Trees with leaves and

Trees without Bend and sway in the autumn wind.

By Olivia Boyd

NBA By Alex As the NBA season starts I am very interested in seeing how the new signings come out, especially the signings that happened over the off season. I think the signing of Rasheed Wallace will help the Celtics a lot. As well as bringing in Marquies Daniels who can play three diffrent positions. That gives Doc Rivers, (Celtics head coach,) a lot of options with the lineup and allows some rest for the Celtics big three including a healthy Kevin Garnett who is coming off of knee surgery. On the other side of the East, the Cavs gain Shaq from Pheonix, and, the Lakers resign Lamar Odom as well as picking up Ron Artest, a deadly three shooter who could be a big help to the Lakers if Kobe Bryant goes out. He is also a go to shooter when they are in need of scoring. Then there is Pau Gasol grabbing rebounds and also scoring. One other team that made there mark last season is the Orlando Magic. Before losing to Kobe and the Lakers in the Finals, they pulled a stunning upset by beating the heavily favored Cavaliers in the semi finals. But with all star and defensive player of the year Dwight Howard leading the way, they are a teriffic up and coming team. I think that this year will definetly be full of competition. As for the rookies, Tyler Hansbrough has some unmistakable talent, but many people say Blake Griffin is best. I can’t wait to see who comes out on top. I also want to see another guy do well, his name is Stephen Curry. He has been taught by his dad, another great NBA three shooter. With his father and a great college career behind him, I wonder what impact he will have on the NBA this season. Sorry, I Guess I Was Wrong By Jonathan Last year, I wrote four articles in the paper, each with strong opinions about what I thought about certain players or teams. A columnist’s job is to have an opinion and express it to the reader. On the other hand, when a columnist is wrong, he ought to say so. So . . . OK, maybe I was wrong: In last year’s fall edition, I wrote that the Red Sox trading Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay was a highly successful trade, as Bay would turn out as a better player than Ramirez. This year, Manny batted .290, while Bay batted only .267. In the post-season, Manny batted .281 with a home run and four RBIs and led his team to the NLCS, while Bay went just 1 for 8 without an RBI or extra-base hit as the Red Sox got swept in the ALDS, the first round of the playoffs. In the winter edition of last year’s paper, I wrote about the then-numerous reasons why Brett Favre should have retired a long time ago. I argued that Favre threw too many interceptions (1 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio, throwing 22 of each last tear) to be a starting NFL quarterback, never mind a star. This year, through week six, Favre’s touchdown to interception ratio is 6 to 1, as he has thrown at least one touchdown in every game, totaling 12 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Favre completion percentage is at 69.7 % (third in the NFL), the highest it’s ever been, including 1996, the year his Packers won the Super Bowl. The Vikings are 6-0, just one of four undefeated teams and one of two six win teams in the NFL, and are second in the NFL with 189 points scored. In the spring edition, I wrote predictions for the 2009 baseball season. My World Series champion: the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yes; the 70-

92, NL West last place Arizona Diamondbacks. The team whose closer only had 24 saves. The team whose team leader’s batting average (Justin Upton) barely hit .300. The team who was in the bottom half of the league in batting average, runs, runs allowed, ERA, and opponent batting average. Enough said. In the summer edition, I recommended that the Red Sox send struggling star David Ortiz down to the minor leagues. The following month, Ortiz proceeded to hit .320 with seven home runs. After hitting just .185 with one home run and 18 RBIs in the first two months of the seasons, he hit .264 with 27 home runs and 50 RBIs the rest of the way. Coaches always say to learn from your mistakes, which I feel I have. That’s why I say with the utmost confidence, Baltimore 24, New Orleans 20 in the Super Bowl.

Home Town Achievement Written by Matt As the MLB season comes to a close, many of you sports fans have turned to other sports such as football and hockey. One local story this year has been the career beginnings of Wellesley native and former WMS student Nate Freiman who is steadily moving up the ranks of the San Diego Padres organization. I recently got the chance to interview the 1st basemen about how growing up in Wellesley made his dreams come true. Nate Freiman grew up playing Wellesley Little League and attending the public schools. He then went on to Duke University where he majored in History, was selected 3 straight years to the All-ACC academic baseball team and led the team in 2008 with a .381 average, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs all in 39 games. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2009 MLB draft. This season, he produced the most home runs and RBIs for the Class A Eugene Emeralds of Oregon. When asked about his inspiration, Nate told me that he started playing baseball at 5 years of age and loved it. At the middle school

he played on the 8th grade baseball team under Mr. Kelton. He had a great time on the team, and during his 3 years at WMS he had an awesome experience. Nate’s childhood in Wellesley created who he is today. After the high school, Nate attended Duke University and majored in History. With the preparation he got at Wellesley High School, Nate was awarded with academic accolades such as the ACC conference academic honor roll. When he wasn’t playing baseball or working hard in school, he was writing for the WMS newspaper formerly called “The Spot” or editing for the “Bradford” in high school. His life in the Wellesley Public Schools prepared him for great achievements at Duke. Nate’s message to kids today is that whatever you’re doing “is supposed to be fun” and that “if you’re not having fun, it’s not worth it.” He has lived by this and look where he is now. You can follow Nate’s career on the San Diego Padres websites and the official site of the Eugene Emeralds.  Bibliography Nate Freiman Bio - Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site - GoDuke.com Eugene Emeralds: Home