By Ella French
Milltown Mel, a weather-predicting Groundhog from the state of New Jersey, passed away suddenly just one day before his big day: Groundhog Day. Every February 2 in the United States and Canada, there is an annual tradition where the shadow of a groundhog is used to predict when spring is going to arrive. This tradition has been going on since the 1880’s. The weather prediction is determined by if the groundhog sees his shadow, winter will last longer, and if it does not see his shadow, spring is on the way. This tradition has never been proven to be truthful or effective; it is more of a fun and superstitious way to predict the weather. Just days before Milltown Mel was set to make his prediction, he suddenly died. According to NBC News, Milltown Mel’s wranglers reported, “We wranglers are sad to report that Milltown Mel recently crossed over the rainbow bridge.” Milltown Mel was believed to be around 3 years old at the time of his death, although it has not been confirmed. So you may be wondering how Milltown Mel died. The truth is, the cause of death has not been confirmed. According to the Washington Post,” The wranglers added that the celebrity marmot’s death was ‘not such a shock’ because of the relatively short life span of a groundhog, but his death was nonetheless untimely. Most other groundhogs are hibernating, leaving the group without a viable understudy.” Some speculate that it could be due to his age, although he was very young for a groundhog in captivity to die. Since Milltown Mel died at a strange time of year, when groundhogs are hibernating, we all must wonder what was the true cause of his death? There is some speculation that Milltown Mel’s death is a bad omen for the weather ahead. Will we have an extremely long, cold and bitter winter? Or will Milltown Mel’s death give us a beautiful and flourishing spring? Only time will tell from here on out. Milltown Mel will have a replacement next year on Groundhog Day, but his years of prediction will always be remembered.
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By Nelson Martinez
Two teams that have a history of defeat face off in this year’s Super Bowl LVI (56). The Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams play this week in the nation’s largest competition. The Bengals were one of the worst teams in the last 2 years. The Bengals were terrible in 2019. Their record was 2-14, the worst team in the NFL at that point, but now this year Joe Burrow and Ja’marr Chase came from the same college LCU and now they're on the same team in the NFL. Ja’marr Chase is a rookie too so it's really crazy they are going all the way but they still have one more hard fight and that is the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams have one of the best defenses in the NFL with Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Jalen Ramsey and they are at home for the Super Bowl so they have home field advantage. It's a winner-take-all game so if you like football you should watch it. It's going to be great. By Greg Tucker
Have you ever wondered about what's going on or why things are the way they are at East? Well here at East High, scholars and staff have the opportunity to learn more about the happenings within our building and community via our town halls. At senior town halls, often led by Mrs. Blocker and/or Ms. Kankam, seniors can receive information regarding college, scholarships and job opportunities. Although these town halls are very beneficial for seniors, they are not exclusive to them; all scholars have town halls (grades 6 - 12) where admins discuss important changes within our school, honor students and pitch ideas to students that they may like. This communication is not a one way road as students are able to speak directly to administrators throughout and after the presentations. East High Scholars voice their opinions and ask questions that everyone else may have in mind. As well as the nitty gritty, town halls can be fun and relaxing. Students are often seen giggling amongst their peers and sharing a joke or two. Town halls are sometimes used to showcase the many talents of our students; Reganae Walters is a student who utilizes this time to share her talent with her peers, creating an atmosphere that briefly takes students and staff away from their regular school environment. Town halls are very informative and as they're usually held during family groups, they´re at little to no time-cost to you. Many questions that you or your peers have can be answered. If you haven't already, make yourself comfortable in our auditorium, get informed and be heard. By Lex Cornell
Should we have snow days or, now that we have the tech to do remote learning, should we get rid of snow days? In many schools, conversations are happening about if snow days should still be a thing after now knowing we can go online and still get an education. So why with our latest snow day, why did we not go remote? If we use more than the 3 snow days allotted, the school district has to add days to the summer or miss out on state funding. This would support the argument for doing remote instruction on snow days. Then the risk of using vacation or summer days or losing state funding for schools would be eliminated. Fully remote learning days would also help us stay on pace with the teaching and learning. A snow day interrupts the next day's lesson. When we return we often have to review or revisit or re-start the lesson from before the snow day. It is possible to lose up to 2 instructional days for every one snow day. In order for snow days to turn into fully remote instructional days, all districts would need to participate so daycare would not be an issue for teachers. Their children would also be doing fully remote learning on the same day at the same time. This new era of remote learning presents the possibility for uninterrupted education if everyone is on board. By Ryan Barnard-Amico
Teachers get paid sick days when they have to be absent and some would argue that students should also get “paid” sick days and be excused from assignments they miss when they are sick. Students should be treated the same as the staff and be allowed a certain amount of no-work sick days out of the school year. Not having the responsibility of completing assignments gives students the day to relax and focus on their mental and physical health. Having paid work days for students would benefit them in many ways that can help them succeed. One way is giving their brain a break can help it function better when it is needed most and can make them perform at their highest. According to National Partnership, “Paid sick days help parents meet their children's care needs, helping to lead to fewer absences and better long-term academic success.” Another way they benefit is that they can help prevent the spread of disease, keeping other kids healthy and safe. Especially at this time in the pandemic, this is very important. One thing that most schools are concerned about is the graduation rate of many students. It is known that a majority of students often drop out of school due to depression and anxiety of school work and graduating on time or at all. School can be very hard on not just staff but students as well and some may say students are affected more. Sick days help everyone ease nerves as long as needed until they feel fit to tackle their challenges they have. So “paid” sick days should not only be allowed for staff but they should be provided to everyone who should need it. By Ramir Wearen
February 29th comes once every four years. Every month of the year has at least 30 days, except for February. It’s the only month that has 28 OR 29 days. Firstly, let's get into the most interesting part of it all: why does February 29th come every four years? This is called a “Leap Year.” On these days, the year has become 366 days long instead of the typical 365. According to cbc.ca, “We do it to play catch-up, ‘we’ as in Earth.” A year is based on the time it takes for the Earth to orbit around the sun once. It takes about 365 days and 6 hours for the Earth to do this. Over the years, those extra 6 hours can add up. To make up for this, another 24 hours is added to the calendar during certain years. That’s why we sometimes end up with February 29. Now typically the next thing most may wonder is what happens to those born on February 29th? These people are called “leaplings” or a leaper and because their birthdays fall on the 29th; they're forced to celebrate their birthdays on February 28th or March 1st. I find February to be a very interesting month. It's such a short month but yet full of so many important dates Black History Month, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day and so much more. By C’Morra Cuffie
From New York to Paris to Milan, February 10 to the 28th marks Fashion Week all over the world. Fashion week is a big fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or “houses” display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence trends for the current and upcoming seasons. Fashion critics are also there providing their readers with the latest styles and trends at fashion shows. Fashion magazines and newspapers rely on these fashion critics; they also recommend which styles are best for casual or business settings and critique designers on their latest productions. Fasionweekonline.com quotes William Leach Land of Desire and says, “The first fashion show was likely held in 1903, at a New York City specialty store called Ehrich Brothers. By the 1920s shows had already gone mainstream, mainly held at department stores and hotels.” It also says “In 1943, fashion super-publicist Eleanor Lambert decided to cluster these shows into a particular time frame, called alternately “Fashion Press Week” and “Press Week.” Fashion week is held all around the world, mainly held in the “Big 4:” New York, London, Milan and Paris, but not everyone thinks it is a good thing. Since fashion week happens all over the world it has a big environmental impact. According to “Fashionista’’ it says, “It all seems like a waste of money and time that just leaves you feeling bad about yourself at the end of the week,” commented an editor. “There are too many people attending the shows who don't need to be there and causing too much waste and unsustainable environmental damage,” one Australia-based editor wrote. “I don't think fashion shows are the most responsible option for fashion brands these days.” Since fashion brands have to show their latest collection somehow, they should continue having a fashion week, just reduce the days and try to come up with ways to prevent any environmental damage. There are many famous successful African American models but specifically the first African American model was Pat Cleveland. According to Wikipedia, “Cleveland's career as a model began in 1966 when she was on a subway platform with a friend en route to class and was noticed by the assistant to Carrie Donovan, fashion editor at Vogue. Donovan, impressed by Cleveland's fashionable clothing, invited her to tour the Vogue offices and the magazine subsequently published a feature on her as an up-and-coming young designer. The article led to her being approached by Ebony which asked Cleveland if she would perform as model for its Fashion Fair national runway tour.” Pat Cleveland of course dealt with racism but that doesn't stop her from achieving being a runway model and print model in the 1960s and 1970s. She should also get more recognition for achieving such a thing. Since Fashion week is a very stressful week for everybody who is in it and is participating it's also nice to have for consumers to look to understand a brand’s messaging, values, and what they stand for. It's also your opportunity to possibly see a celebrity attending the show in one of the “Big 4 Cities” throughout those days! By Cameron Northan
Early Graduation comes with a lot of benefits, but it also comes with its own unique set of challenges. Students who are considering graduating early should know their options, opportunities, and challenges that come with it. One might consider graduating early because of a plethora of reasons, whether you want the extra time to focus on working, want to get a higher education sooner, or just to not have to deal with another year of high school. Whatever the reason may be, these are the benefits of graduating high school early on.
These are just a few of the benefits that can be obtained by graduating early, but graduating early isn’t just a purely beneficial action you can take. It has several obstacles, so one might ask, “what about the downsides of graduating high school early?”
Despite the reasons you may not want to graduate early, but even with all potential benefits and obstacles, in the end, this is a decision that is completely up to you regardless of what opinions others may have on the subject. You are deciding what YOU want to do with YOUR life, take what you love and aspire to do and run with it. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it, so carefully consider the best path to achieve your dreams. By Aryana St. Marthe
Valentine’s Day is typically seen as a loving and romantic holiday. However, it has a dark history that you may not know about. We all know that Valentine’s Day is the day everyone shows their love towards each other, but what about in Rome during the 3rd century? Arnie Seipel posted that no one actually knows where The Feast of Lupercalia (the original name for Valentine’s Day) originated but in Rome they celebrated it in an unusual way. According to Noel Lenski, historian at University of Colorado at Boulder, “the men would sacrifice a dog and a goat then whip the woman with the backs of the slain animal.” The history behind this holiday is very much shocking because it's considered a loving, romantic holiday not something that has abusive husbands and animals are getting sacrificed. This holiday grew more romanticized over the years because of Shakespeare and Chaucer. They put it to work and it helped them become more popular in Britain and the rest of Europe. Eventually, it became a tradition and handmade paper cards were a way of showing your love towards someone. It made its way around the world and people started doing it everywhere. Throughout the years people have started to celebrate Valentine's Day in their own way. Some buy their loved ones jewelry and others buy them flowers and chocolates. Some people celebrate it in a SAD (Single Awareness Day) way, by buying themselves chocolates and flowers. Unfortunately, some people even spend their time the way the Romans did. To read more about the dark background of Valentine’s Day here is the link to the website: https://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day |
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