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Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections C0D3 4NG3L Annie Diep Volume 4 Issue 4 May 29, 2024 Image Provided by Annie Diep PROLOGUE Thirty years ago, alien beings, later referred to as “angels” -- due to their eerie resemblance to the messengers of God -- began descending and wreaking havoc on the land of Ethyst. The once peaceful and prosperous land of Ethyst became overran with monstrous beasts that are more similar to demons in nature than angels. It wasn’t clear what their intentions were. However, what was clear was that the power of these foreign beings overpowered those of Ethystians. From their ability to regenerate lost limbs, to their ability to intercept magnetic waves and perform intense light energy radiation, it was clear there was no way of defeating them, let alone eradicating them....or is there? These never-ending attacks led Ethystians to come together and use their wits to create weapons and develop technologies, as well as evolve within themselves different abilities to counteract these mystical beings. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections What Happened to DART? By Cody Sung Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by NASA While NASA was busy with many attempts to launch their Moon rocket in their Artemis 1 mission [1], they were also getting ready to crash a $314 million spacecraft into an asteroid [2]. The mission is named the Double Redirection Asteroid Test, or as it is commonly known, DART. NASA is conducting this mission to test whether spacecraft have the capability to change the orbit of an asteroid that could crash into Earth. According to NASA; however, the asteroid that DART crashed into, Dimorphos , doesn’t pose a threat to Earth [3]. Despite this, the mission would still provide useful information for scientists. By hurling DART at Dimorphos , NASA estimated that it would shorten its orbit time by around 1%, or 10 minutes [4]. Luckily, we likely won’t need to test this out soon, since according to NASA, there are no known asteroid threats to Earth for the next century [5]. Work beyond the initial conceptual phases for DART began in June 2017, and the final design and assembly phase began in August 2018. The spacecraft weighed 1,340 pounds, and its cargo includes devices needed for the mission such as sensors for navigation, a camera, an onboard computer for crash trajectory calculations, solar arrays, an antenna, and an ion thruster [6]. During the journey to Dimorphos , it had to carry an Italian spacecraft, LICIACube, which would be used to study the effects of DART’s impact. Despite all that the DART team had to accomplish, the spacecraft was completed in time for its launch on November 24, 2021, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California in a SpaceX Falcon 9 [7]. It would be a long journey ahead. Even going at about 4 miles a second, it would take the craft 9 months to reach Dimorphos. In preparation for its impact, there were many equipment tests to make sure the craft functioned properly. Everything worked properly, and two months before the impact, DART detected the Didymos system from 20 million miles away [6]. LICIACube was released one and a half months later, 15 days before the impact. Finally, on September 26, 2022, DART crashed into Dimorphos . The mission was a success. To astronomers worldwide, it was well worth the total $330 million cost of the mission [8]. LICIACube started to send images back to Earth a few minutes after the impact, showing the debris from DART’s impact [9]. In the following weeks, images from more sources started to stream in. It became quite clear that the impact shortened the orbital period of Dimorphos by around 32 minutes [10]. Thanks to this mission, we now know that if there is ever an asteroid that could hit Earth, we have a way to prevent its impact, although NASA scientists caution that we would have to do so years in advance for such a maneuver to be a success [4]. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections The Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan: What Led Up to It and What Is Happening Now By Sahar Ali Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 No Image available at this time AFGHANISTAN- On Saturday, May 1st, 2021, the Taliban started to take over Afghanistan, a country located in Central Asia. On Sunday, August 15th, 2021, the Taliban took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The country was finally taken over by the Taliban after twenty years of war with the United States. What Is the Taliban? The Taliban is a group of predominantly Pashtuns that are an Islamic fundamentalist group. They ruled Afghanistan previously from 1996 to 2001 until the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. In 2021, when the U.S. started to remove its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban once again started to take over. The Afghani people have been trying to flee their home country ever since the Taliban took control because they do not want to experience the harsh rules the Taliban enforced when they previously had power. What Led Up to The Takeover After the attacks that occurred on 9/11, the United States went to war with Afghanistan to eradicate al-Qaeda, the group responsible for committing the horrendous acts on September 11th, 2001. The U.S. troops stayed in Afghanistan for 20 years (2001-2021) until President Biden announced the full withdrawal of troops. Then slowly, the Taliban started to take over parts of Afghanistan, trying to get closer and closer to the capital, Kabul. The U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) trained the Afghan security forces for two decades and spent billions of dollars to equip them with weapons. Even then, the Afghan security forces could not prevent the Taliban from taking over. To make it worse, as the U.S. troops were pulling out of Afghanistan, the security forces started to weaken without support. Another factor that led up to the Taliban takeover was the corruption that took place in the Afghani government. The government did not provide the Afghani troops with enough supplies, food, or ammunition. As the Taliban started to take control over cities, there would be small battles between the Afghani forces and Taliban until the security forces surrendered. However, most cities were taken over by the Taliban without a fight. News About the President Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, did not appear to take action to stop the Taliban from taking over more parts of Afghanistan. Instead, he released a few public statements regarding the Taliban and then fled the country. According to Ghani, he fled to prevent any further bloodshed. Ashraf Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and he is currently there. Afghani Citizens Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the citizens have been trying to flee the country because they are worried that the Taliban will enforce the same harshly interpreted Islamic laws that they enforced in 1996. Afghanis have been fleeing to nearby countries such as Pakistan and Iran. In addition, some people have fled to Turkey, the U.S., Germany, the UAE, and Qatar. There have also been some evacuations that took place. The women of Afghanistan are also concerned that the Taliban have taken over. When the Taliban was in power from 1996-2001, they enforced strict laws that greatly affected women. Women were not allowed to have jobs and girls were not allowed to go to school and get an education. If women wanted to leave the house, they would have to cover themselves up and go to the outside world. Sometimes we do not realize how lucky we are to be able to do certain things like going to school every day. What Is Happening Now When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, they also created a new government and now are currently ruling the country. Not only that, but the Taliban also went as far as changing the flag of Afghanistan. In addition, the U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, however, the new rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban, will not receive any political recognition from the United States. What Could Happen Next It is not clear what is going to happen next in Afghanistan, but the future does not look very bright. But there are some things that can be done. Currently, Afghanistan is in a very desperate situation, and they require a lot of foreign aid. The European Union (EU), which is a political and economic group that consists of 27 European nations, and the U.S. could give Afghanistan more foreign aid and loans to stabilize the economy of Afghanistan. Without aid, it could also cause more problems of illegal immigration to nearby countries. The United States and the European Union could act to prevent these problems from occurring. Afghanistan was a beautiful country before the fighting started. Let us hope that this conflict ends so that the Afghanistan that people used to know is restored to its original beauty. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections Heckscher - Anonymous - 3 Entry 12 April 14, 2022 Acrylic Volume 2 Issue 6

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Interview with Mr. Lodato: Featured New Faculty Member Rehmat Kaur Volume 4 Issue 2 January 16, 2024 Image provided by Rehmat Kaur I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Lodato, the new Special Education teacher, and learning more about his journey that led him to being a teacher here at North. Before he started teaching, he coached baseball for around 8 or 9 years. He worked with a teacher and recognized many similarities between coaching baseball between 13 and 18 and teaching. He felt strong at communicating, teaching, and being hands-on with his players, and after discussing with his coach, he stated, "I decided to go into teaching, and I'm very lucky that I did!” Mr. Lodato played college baseball for a short time, but he wanted to complete his studies first. Following that, he opted to pursue an undergraduate degree in Communications with a minor in English at SUNY Farmingdale. It started with Liberal Arts, then moved on to Communications and a lot of public speaking. After finishing his Bachelor's degree, he leaned toward Journalism and English. After deciding what he wanted to do, he went to Molloy University for a dual master's degree in English and Special Education. Mr. Lodato only heard positive things about North from Mr. Pandolfi, and he felt fortunate that his résumé was accepted and handed to Mrs. Vickse, who ended up interviewing him. " Here we are, and this place is great, I love it! " Mr. Lodato added. Currently he co-teaches two IST classes with special education students. He has a 10th grade IST class (Earth Science with Mr. Roveto) and an 11th grade IST class (English with Ms. Belbol) for individual skill development. He also finished his first season coaching Junior High Football in fall, coaches Varsity Girls Basketball in winter and will jump on board with Mr. Sanfilippo and Mr. Casella for Varsity Baseball Team in spring. What do you love most about teaching? “The connections that you make with the students. Everyone remembers, at least for me when I was in high school. You remember the teachers that you really liked or really did not have good experiences with, and I always try to remind myself of that and go on the side of being the one that kids do remember in a good way. It is important, especially in the age group of 14 to 18 the high school age when lots is going on and you are trying to figure out what you want to do in life, so it is important to have an adult figure point you in the right direction.” What characteristics do students want their teachers to possess? “Kindness, lead with kindness. I'm a big believer in first impressions, so especially as a new teacher I don’t want to come in, not that I'm like this anyway, but you don't want to come in with the grumpy face or being angry. As a substitute, I learned fast, I was a substitute teacher for the last two years at Island trees at Levittown. If you walk in with a bad attitude, the kids feed off that. I think their day takes a hit if you walk in with a bad attitude. So, I think kindness and positivity goes a long way as a teacher.” How was your first day or week here at North? “It was cool, I mean it was different, being in a different area you always have to take some time to adjust a little bit but I'm lucky that I have a special ed department that's so welcoming. There's so many of us and everyone has been super welcoming and nice and upfront. It also helps that I coached football guys over the summer. There were summer clinics, I knew some people already before the first day of school, I knew Mr. Casella, Coach P, and a couple of other football guys and I also knew Mr. Pandolfi like I said. Knowing people in the building, instead of just walking into a place without knowing anybody definitely helps.” His advice to cope with stress and to motivate students is to look at the bigger picture. It is easier to take steps little by little instead of having negative thoughts. “I try to motivate them to finish the task at hand, instead of just looking at the grand scheme of things” Mr. Lodato adds. Mr. Lodato shared this beautiful quote: “ Show me your friends and I’ll show you what kind of person you are” Mr. Lodato’s dad has told him since middle school, and it really resonated with him. He states that it is important to surround yourself with good people doing the right thing and are on the path of having a good life. Some fun facts about Mr. Lodato are that he enjoys sushi and that The Great Gatsby is his favorite novel. He read it in high school, and it is the book that stayed with him the most. Fall is his favorite season because “ football is on, it's hoodie season, and I associate fall with peace and relaxation." He also enjoys watching hockey, playing baseball, and reading autobiographies. Mr. Lodato is an exceptional individual with a lot of enthusiasm, and we are extremely fortunate to have him as a teacher here at North. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Back to Sections Gilana Etame By Gilana Etame Volume 3 Issue 1

Back to Artwork Who Am I Back to Sections Sophia Mura - Who Am I? By Sophia Mura November 19, 2021 Volume 2 Issue 2

Back to Artwork Art Guild Back to Sections Art Guild- Chamille Malcolm Chamille Malcolm November 6, 2023 Mixed Media Volume 4 Issue 1

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Self Confidence By Manal Layachi Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Original photography by Elyas Layachi You might wonder, what is the meaning of self-confidence? Self-confidence is how someone feels about themselves and their abilities. It involves trusting yourself and your decisions. I play many sports, and they require a lot of self-confidence, especially running. It’s 90% mental and 10% physical. During the cross-country season, I had difficulty keeping up with the more experienced runners. I missed most of the meets because I was scared to compete, and my self-confidence wasn’t there. I kept telling myself, “I can’t do this. It’s impossible and too hard.” I did not perform that well during the races because I wasn’t trying to compete with other people. I ran slower than I wanted to. My self-esteem and confidence were very low. Athletes have a hard time with their self-confidence all the time. There is always a little voice in their head telling them that they can’t do it or it’s too hard. Our thoughts influence our actions. There are many simple ways to boost your self-confidence. First, get away from the people who will tear you down. Another thing you can do is write a list of what makes you unique and different from other people. You should have positive self-affirmations that you can tell yourself every day. My self-affirmation is, “I can do this. I am strong.” A quote by Eleanor Roosevelt says, “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face … we must do that which we think we cannot.” This statement tells us that we shouldn’t be scared to do things. Instead, we should try to do the things that we think we cannot do even though we may feel like we can’t. That is how you build your self-confidence. Once you face many obstacles, you learn from those experiences and feel more confident about yourself and what you can accomplish. So, the day of my last meet, I wasn’t mentally prepared when we arrived, but I was ready after my coach and brother gave me a pep-talk. Even though the race was hard, I got through it with a positive mindset. My proudest moment was when I crossed that finish line with a smile on my face. I competed and regained my self-confidence. I ended up getting fifth place out of twenty-three people! All in all, people gain self-confidence in their own way, and anyone can do it if they just take a leap and never give up. In order to grow, you must embrace the uncomfortable, and use it to improve. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Pakistan’s Devastating Floods By Sahar Ali Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Al Jazeera Pakistan. A country located in South Asia with India to the east, Afghanistan and Iran to the west, and China to the north. The Arabian Sea is to Pakistan’s south. In June of 2022, Pakistan’s monsoon season began; however, it caused unprecedented flooding. The country received 190% more rain this summer. The Pakistani government declared a national emergency after more than 33 million people were affected. At least 1.7 million homes were destroyed, and thousands of people were killed as an effect of the floods. Causes of the Floods Prolonged rainfall: This is where rainfall occurs for a long period of time, causing land around a river to become saturated. This type of rainfall hit Pakistan in a series of monsoonal depressions, which are storms with low pressure. During the summer of 2022, the country experienced 8 monsoonal depressions. Heatwaves: During March and April, Pakistan was hit with heat waves. Climate change made these heatwaves 30% more likely to occur. As an effect of the heatwaves, some of Pakistan’s 7,000 glaciers began to melt rapidly into the Indus River. La Niña: This is an event that causes warmer-than-average temperatures in the ocean. La Niña added more moisture and fueled the monsoon depressions. Dam issues: Pakistan needs to work on its engineering priorities. If the country does this, then irrigation and flood control would improve. Dam issues made the rainwater uncontrollable. Overall, the main cause of these floods is climate change. Pakistan is only responsible for 1% of the total amount of human-produced emissions; however, it is the 18th most vulnerable country to climate change impacts. Effects of the Floods Damages: Pakistan’s floods have caused more than $30 billion in damage. As a result of the floods, 1.7 million houses were destroyed as well as 18,000 schools. Furthermore, 1,460 health facilities were affected. The floods also caused the death of 800,000 livestock and damaged 2.0 million hectares of crops and orchards. The destruction of food crops resulted in $2.3 billion in damages. Many bridges and many kilometers of roads were also destroyed. Effects on Pakistanis: As the amount of rainfall slowly decreased, millions of people were left stranded in the water without food or shelter, making them susceptible to diseases. In the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, there have been outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and some skin infections. 6.4 million Pakistanis needed humanitarian aid by early September. What we can do to help Pakistan Due to the floods, people in Pakistan are in dire need of shelter, food, and clean drinking water. You can donate to Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan , which is a nonprofit organization that will provide the people of Pakistan with medical camps, tarpaulins, tents, and food. For overseas donations, you can donate to Aghosh USA and Aghosh UK which are partners of the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan. BACK TO TOP