SEARCH RESULTS

Back to Articles News Back to Sections SPO Club Presentation By Carolina Figueroa and Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Image provided by Parents Website The SPO (Student Peer Organization) club, advised by Mrs. Melluso and Mrs. Christiansen, recently presented an educational lesson to the 7th grade. During the event, my classmates and I learned about coping mechanisms and how to control our emotions. As a North student, the balance of school, extra activities (like sports, clubs, etc.), homework and socialization can be stressful, but SPO offered manageable ways to deal with tough emotions. During the lesson, the SPO members taught the 7th grade students how to control and handle our emotions. My favorite activity was modeling the paper. During the lesson, my classmates and I first took a piece of paper and created it into whatever we wanted. I made a paper airplane, but other students created origami, paper snowflakes, folded the paper and so many other ideas. From this first paper activity, I learned that I have control over what the paper comes out as, and it’s the same with feelings. I am in charge of how I act and can only control myself. My emotions reflect on my actions, and if they get out of control, I may say or do things I might regret. Next SPO instructed my class to again design another paper project. After creating our first paper project, we used the same piece of paper and constructed something different. This time I folded my paper and created a bracelet while my classmates though of other ideas like shapes and more. SPO taught me with the second paper experiment that you can adjust the outcome of different situations This shows that with our feelings and emotions, they affect the outcome of a situation, but we can also adjust the issue if it takes an unexpected turn. In the past, I have tried different ways to deal with my emotions. A majority of those methods were good, but they didn’t work for me. SPO gave me a new way to think about the methods I used to work with my emotions. Figuring out and sorting the feelings and situations I can and cannot control made me think about how I used my emotions and how I reacted to them. When I sat down and thought about it, I realized that there are many emotions I can control and some that I can’t. I even did the activities that SPO taught us again, so that I could really reflect. When I was done, I felt a little better about my life because I knew more about myself than I did before. I would recommend that you sit down and think about how you have controlled your emotions in the past. It could help you figure out if you may need to change something in your life that you didn’t realize you had control over. It could also help you realize that you might need to stop trying to change something that you have no control over. Either way, thinking about your emotions and situations can help you better yourself. You can even use the activities specified in the second paragraph to do so! The SPO presentation really helped me progress in dealing with my emotions, and I feel that I learned great ways to help with coping and managing my feelings. I’m really looking forward to writing about SPO’s 2nd lesson! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Perspective Back to Sections Isabella Somma - Perspective By Isabella Somma December 16, 2020 Acrylic Volume 1 Issue 3

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Goodbye Ms. Suarez! By Elaine Ching Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Original photography by Mrs. Mansfield From being the advisor to multiple clubs to teaching in the Special Ed department and co-teaching in many subject areas, Ms. Suarez is wrapping up her North High School career, which began in 1988, this year. During recent years here at North, Ms. Suarez has served as the sole advisor to the Culture Society since the club was created just a few years ago. It is dedicated to exploring and teaching about different cultures. She has brought in speakers and special guests to share at club meetings. Due to her involvement and dedication, she helped multiple North students with the ability to experience new cultural foods and celebrations, along with registering the club with UNICEF to help those in need further as North pilots our first-ever chapter. As well as organizing multiple events over the years, this year’s International Night tickets were sold out, with students lining up after school to see if they could somehow still buy one and attend. That event is usually a big hit and includes food, dancing, and a fashion show contest. Ms. Suarez has proven herself to be a fantastic and hardworking advisor. Furthermore, Ms. Suarez also serves as co-advisor to the National Junior Honor Society at North. She helped with the beautifying of the courtyard alongside many NJHS members, as well as helping provide many NJHS members with service opportunities that helped them keep up with their service hour commitments. Not only this, but she cared about the NJHS members outside of their service at North, as she offered many activities and support for them. After speaking with a student who had Ms. Suarez as a teacher, they described her as a wonderful influence who pushed them to be their very best at math. In addition, the student said that they did try harder after being pushed. They said that this year was a difficult one for their academics due to the previous years with the coronavirus, so having a good teacher truly helped them. Also, they were saddened to hear that this would be Ms. Suarez’s last year as a teacher at North High School. This positive feedback demonstrates that Ms. Suarez is a wonderful advisor and a motivational teacher. Some quotes from North students who were thankful for having Ms. Suarez as a teacher/advisor: “She is motivated and enthusiastic when learning about other cultures, I’m really going to miss her” “Ms. Suarez was a wonderful advisor; I don’t know what I’m going to do next year without her!” “It’s a shame that she’s retiring, but I wish her all the best!” Some quotes from her North co-teachers: “After one of my colleagues inherited my co-teaching class with Ms. Suarez, I warned her: ‘She makes you work harder than you can ever imagine!’ She’s that dedicated to every aspect of her work and is always advocating for her students.” “She is a ROCK STAR co-teacher and an inspiration. She never stops working or thinking about her students and their needs, both academic and social-emotional. I never would have survived quarantine or hybrid teaching without her. She keeps in constant contact with her kids and their families and teachers – never accepting anything less than their best. And she gets it from them, and they succeed and move on. Her students and co-teachers are so fortunate to have her working for them, and I don’t know what we are going to do around here without her!” While the North community is saddened to see Ms. Suarez leave, we wish her all the best in her future adventures! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections LIFSA By Manal Layachi Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Original artwork by Hannah Lee On Saturday, February 5th, 2023, the 67th annual Long Island String Festival Association concert took place at Uniondale High School. Long Island’s best orchestra players performed beautifully on stage. Seniors Elyas Layachi (12th grade) and Hannah Lee (12th grade) were selected to participate in this festival. I interviewed both of them about their experience of playing in the LIFSA orchestra. Elyas’s Responses: What made you choose your instrument in elementary school? “I originally wanted to list the trumpet as my first choice, followed by the violin, and then percussion, but my dad convinced me that the violin should be my first choice because ‘it can play a wide range of songs.’” How did you feel when you got selected for LISFA? “I was very excited! I’ve heard of the festival since the fifth grade, and knew it was very hard to get into, so being selected was an absolute honor.” How did it feel to have five-hour rehearsals? “They were tiring, but by the second rehearsal I was used to it. I found it fun to work on music with people I did not know, and I was able to make some cool friends.” How did you feel when you were performing on stage? “It felt amazing. I felt very connected to the music and the group as a whole, and I had so much fun!” Did you like the music selections? “Yes, they were great selections and so much fun to prepare and perform.” What was your favorite part of LISFA? “My favorite part of LISFA was the performance for sure.” Do you plan on playing your instrument for the rest of your life? “I most certainly do! I hope to join an orchestra in college and continue taking lessons, as well as hopefully playing in a community orchestra after college.” What does music mean to you? “Music is a way of expressing myself in ways other than verbally and physically, and I find learning and playing music fun, challenging, and rewarding!” Hannah’s Responses: What made you choose your instrument in elementary school? “Honestly, I didn’t choose the violin in elementary school. I actually chose the flute in 4th grade. I had been taking private lessons for the violin and continued to play it in the school because the music teacher, Ms. Shannon, offered for me to join the elementary school orchestra.” How did you feel when you got selected for LISFA? “I was really excited when I was chosen for LISFA. It hadn’t been held since I was in ninth grade, since before COVID. I was so excited because to me it meant two things. The first is that the world was slowly returning to the state it had been in before COVID. The second was that I would be able to see people I had met in prior years at LISFA.” How did it feel to have five-hour rehearsals? “The five-hour rehearsals were so tiring. It was very draining to have the rehearsal for that long of a time period. However, I think it was worth it, as we sounded really great afterward! I also bonded with my stand partner during both rehearsals, which was nice!” How did you feel when you were performing on stage? “Performing on stage was wonderful. The exhilaration of playing in front of an audience and producing music that I had practiced for weeks on end and spent hours on was amazing. It was very exciting and a lot of fun!” Did you like the music selections? “I liked the music selections a lot. They chose good music; it gave interesting parts to all sections of the orchestra. My part was not too difficult, but still fun to play.” What was your favorite part of LISFA? “My favorite part of LISFA was talking to my stand partner in between section rehearsals. When the conductor was talking to other sections, I would whisper to my stand partner, which helped us get to know each other and bond a lot!” Do you plan on playing your instrument for the rest of your life? “I don’t know if I plan on playing it for the rest of my life. I will definitely play in college and join the orchestra there. However, beyond that I’m not sure if I’m going to continue to play. Perhaps I will for the fun of it, perhaps I won’t. Only time will tell!” What does music mean to you? “Music is a form of release. It’s always a good way to get rid of pent-up emotions. Transferring them into your playing is a wonderful way of creating expressive music and having an outlet for your emotions. I love music because it’s a sanctuary where I can let my emotions flow through the piece I’m working on.” The performance was incredible and breathtaking. Be sure to congratulate Elyas and Hannah on their amazing accomplishment. GO SPARTANS! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Ask Ala: Other Questions By Ala Paruch Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by Getty Images Q. Dear Ala, I feel like I have issues with writer's block, and sometimes do not know what to write in my story. Sometimes when I am writing a story, it takes me a half an hour to find a topic sentence. Furthermore, I get bored when I have to write something really long and time consuming. Finally, I have to read through my writing to make sure I did not make any spelling mistakes or grammar errors. What makes looking for errors in your writing hard is when you don’t know whether to put a comma or period after a word. Conclusion writing, I find, can be very hard and confusing for me. If you have any advice for me to help me be more efficient with my writing, then it would be much appreciated! Thanks! Sincerely, Writer’s Block A. Hello and thank you for the relatable question! Writer’s block is such a relatable issue for a lot of people, so I’m glad I get to answer your question. Inspiration is hard to find, so for the instances when you can’t find the topic sentence, I would just focus on the rest of the text or write something just to be there, knowing it is not going to be perfect. You can always come back to it and see what fits or edit it, so it works with the rest of your writing. To conquer long parts of the text planning everything out and dividing it into chunks could help. Let’s say the longer paragraph has 4 main points. Just do one at a time and take small breaks to refresh your mind a little bit. Proof-reading your own work can get pretty boring sometimes; I absolutely agree. To make the process more bearable, listen to some music. Be sure to listen to something that you enjoy, but doesn’t take up all your attention, so you can still focus on editing your paper. Looking for errors such as commas is quite tricky. You will learn more about them in English as you go along, though right now using a program such as Grammarly.com can help. Microsoft Word also has Grammar Check settings. I hope this helps and enjoy writing! Q. Dear Ala, Why do coronavirus cases get bigger in the cold weather? My mom told me it goes down in the summer because the heat kills the virus, but she also said it goes up in the cold weather, how does this work? -RonaQuestion A. Hello and thank you for the interesting question! Everything depends on the type of pathogen you are dealing with. Seasonality’s causes are something the science community is still not entirely sure about. So far, studies show that it is not so much that cases go down in the summer, but with coronavirus specifically, cases increased for the winter since people started gathering indoors where the virus spreads much more easily. Additionally, people are more likely to get sick during the winter as well, because your immune system is not as effective in the wintertime. Coronavirus does not seem to be affected by heat or cold, it’s more about what people are doing and where they do it. I hope this answers your question! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Backrooms By Liliana Ossa Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Image provided by Creepy Pasta Fandom What are “The Backrooms”? Have you ever heard of no-clipping out of reality (one traveling quickly enough to pass through any solid object like a wall without breaking it)? Well, if you ever did no-clip out of existence, you would probably end up in The Backrooms. The Backrooms are a group of levels found in an unknown reality, location, and time. They can only be accessed by glitching or “no-clipping” out of reality. They are also challenging to escape, with about 999 levels of millions of square feet long. You can only get to another level if you find a door that teleports you there or some portal, but you would have to be extremely lucky to find an outlet. The Backrooms also include unknown entities that no humans on Earth know of. Although they are just creepy-pasta on Wikipedia, they could be accurate, and we humans would never know since it’s complicated to no-clip out of reality. Level 0 Level 0 is only possible to get to by no-clipping into it. Level 0 contains superficial features such as a yellow colored wallpaper, a damp carpet that gives off a funky smell, and strangely placed fluorescent lighting that flickers every few seconds. Since Level 0 is known to be millions of square feet long, there’s barely any hope for escape because of the many other levels that you have to get through once you arrive. As you roam through the endless hallways, it gives you a feeling of nostalgia and déjá vu; you feel like you’ve been there before. While roaming through the hallways, even if you’re careful about the directions you move in and the hallways you wander through, you may end up at your starting point repeatedly. If this happens, it gives you even less hope to escape than you had in the first place. There are no entities in Level 0 because it’s the “tutorial level.” Still, the pattern of the lights flickering may trick you into thinking that someone else is with you because of the humming sound that comes from the lights. Traveling throughout the hallways for hours will eventually drive you insane, so luckily, food called “Almond Water” keeps you sane and decreases your fatigue and thirst level exists. Due to the millions of square feet that exist and GPS and compasses not working in The Backrooms, it isn’t easy to navigate through the many halls in Level 0. Overall, The Backrooms are extremely difficult to navigate, and there is most likely a 0% chance that you would be able to escape all the 999 levels that exist. The Backrooms are a terrifying place, and hopefully, they don’t exist because if they did, no one would know what to do if they ended up in one of the levels. The entities, fluorescent lights, nostalgia, and just navigating through the levels would drive humans to insanity in just minutes, so it’s a great thing that people are not known to no-clip out of reality easily or no-clip out of reality at all. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections The Strange Results of The Reverse Flynn Effect Max Ching Volume 5 Issue 1 September 20, 2024 Image Provided by Max Ching As society and technology have evolved with multiple inventions of life-changing machines like the radio, telephone, airplane, and many more, a theory stating that humans become smarter every decade has developed. This theory is called The Flynn Effect. According to The Debrief, James Flynn, who discovered a 13-point increase in an IQ test between 1932 and 1978, developed this theory in 1984; this theory has been fully accurate for the time being. However, researchers have claimed that in recent years, the average IQ has dropped. This is called, “The Reverse Flynn Effect.” As previously stated, The Reverse Flynn Effect is the exact opposite of The Flynn Effect , where IQ test scores drop instead of increase over decades. According to The Debrief , this effect has presented itself in Norway, Denmark, Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and the United States. So, why is this happening, and is there any way to prevent this from happening any further? There are many reasons why this trend is occurring. According to The Debrief , some researchers have suggested that education quality, poor nutrition, and a lack of confidence in test-taking among children contribute to the effect. Also, children may no longer respond well to IQ tests. This does not mean that humans have become mentally less intelligent in the past decades, but instead, maybe their ability to take exams has worsened. Even researchers have supported this claim. Doctor Elizabeth Dworak, a research Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, states, “It doesn’t mean their mental ability is lower or higher; it’s just a difference in scores that are favoring older or newer samples.” She has also said, “It could just be that they’re getting worse at taking tests or specifically worse at taking these kinds of tests.” So, this also proves that children are not actually becoming less intelligent, it is just that they may have a problem with taking exams. So, now that we have discovered why this event is occurring, we will now cover how to prevent this event from evolving even further. Well, according to The Debrief , environmental changes have been attributed to this effect; increased air pollution and lead exposure have been associated with drops in IQ levels. To prevent this effect from progressing, we could decrease air pollution by taking better care of plants, using less energy, limiting backyard and city fires, and using fewer fossil fuels. Also, not all mental skills are decreasing for children. Researchers have found that IQ scores related to spatial reasoning, or the ability to visualize 3D objects and draw conclusions based on limited information, have increased over time ( The Debrief). So, in conclusion, we have learned that the Reverse Flynn Effect is the exact opposite of the Flynn Effect, where it is evident that IQ scores have decreased over the past few decades. However, we have also learned that this could be because children just are not comfortable with taking tests. Also, we have learned that IQ scores relating to spatial reasoning, and the ability to draw conclusions and visualize objects has increased. So, although some might think that society is soon to be doomed due to the apparent dwindling IQ scores, this is not the case, as this effect can be reversed. SOURCES: https://thedebrief.org/new-study-reveals-sharp-decline-in-american-iq-scores-as-the-reverse-flynn-effect-takes-center-stage/ https://www.verywellmind.com/the-flynn-effect-7565614 BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Pumpkin Bars By Elaine Ching, Nora Rivera, and Angelina Odone Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Original photography by Angelina Odone In the mood for Thanksgiving-themed treats with a twist? Try these delectable Pumpkin Bars! What you’ll need: Crust: 2 cups and 2 tbsp all-purpose flour ½ tsp salt 1 cup powdered sugar 1 ½ cups unsalted butter 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla Filling: 7 eggs ½ cup flour 2 ½ cups sugar Pinch of salt 1 cup of pumpkin filling Steps: Pre-heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Cover pan in parchment paper. Make the crust: In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, salt, sugar, melted unsalted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes Let cool for about 10 minutes Make filling: In another bowl combine eggs, flour, sugar, and pumpkin filling. Pour over crust. Then bake for 25-30 minutes or longer if needed. Let cool and enjoy! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Party School | Jon Hart Jasmine Roberts Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 Image Provided by Max Ching The line, “TTK is short for the Taliban King. He has an insane story. His parents had been in the Taliban, and he’s an orphan,’’ on page two of Party School was one of the first sentences I have ever read that made me take a step back from the page and do a double take. Though this was not how the novel first introduced itself, it is certainly a memorable line which could be critiqued for its nonchalant reference to a piece of history that traumatized many and has solidified itself as a harrowing, controversial part of American history. The line nonetheless lays the focal ground for the tone, ideas, and humor of what was to come. In a more subjective way, the tone of the book felt similar to that of what I would find in an 80’s coming-of-age movie, such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , The Breakfast Club , or Heathers : raw, unadulterated, and relatable. Coming into this novel, I felt a breath of fresh air when I didn’t feel patronized by this idea of teenagers having a pure, innocent, prudent perspective of the world, ignorant of all its faults. The author did not hold pre-conceived notions of a young adult's ability to rationalize adult themes. With the growing influence of technology and social media, it would be a shame to see a novel for young adults try to filter out any of the reality of the hardships that come with growing up and discovering the core of adulthood, especially in more privileged stations. Thankfully, Party School does the exact opposite of my concerns, and I find myself connecting heavily to that feeling of drifting on a raft, where the tides seem to rise and set around you, channeling wherever they desire. Yet, you are stuck on those planks of bamboo, going whenever the wind feels like stirring, with little autonomy of your own. Trapped, some might say, by expectations, friends, romances, and society as a whole. The main character of Jon Hart’s novel, Dylan Millis, is your average, less than average, all-American boy, who finds himself in a place which goes against what is expected for a boy in his environment: a party school, or a college known for students being for attentive to parties than academics. The foundation of this storyline is overdone to the extent that a museum could be erected just for boys of this persuasion in literature. Though, it can still be entertaining when done right, that could explain why the trope is so popular. Dylan isn’t a perfect protagonist; he gets into more than enough instances of conflict, that are down-to-earth enough to be understandable yet done in a way that keeps the reader wanting more. For instance, Dylan’s internal struggle with his maturity and existence, and his external struggle in maintaining a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Rosemary, who encourages they experiment with dating. A high school relationship is starkly different from a relationship with two adults, who can drink, pay taxes, stay up as long as they want, have their hormones steady and frontal lobes better developed. This turmoil between internal and external conflict, between a more subconscious deep-seated problem versus a more, to be honest, issue that only two eighteen-year-olds would have, adds a layer of complexity to Dylan’s situation. It serves as a good example of when seemingly trivial conflict fosters deep character development. As we see within Dylan, once he slowly matures, gets his driver’s license, and finally rationalizes who he is. One of the rare things which all humans desire, is to understand. There’s a desire to understand yourself, the fears, the hopes, the pain, and the joy. Learning these things, as Party School shows, comes from experience, in ways that are unconventional, yet stick. Overall, I enjoyed the novel. It's pleasant enough for a quick read, as you drink tea and watch time buzz around you. It's sweet, funny, down-to-earth, and honest. It is definitely, a true American novel, with all the type beats that one would expect in an American, coming-of-age piece: sports, humility, romance, humor, and a bit of underdog charm. As this is Jon Hart’s first novel, I would say it is a strong first start, and I desire to see where he brings himself in the future, growing and evolving as an author. The publisher The Sager Group, sells itself as a multimedia content brand, for the artist and their free will. Though I have been skeptical of such things in the past, it is nonetheless nice to support the arts directly. So, I shall end this article the exact same way the novel ended itself. “Well then, I’m in,’’ (page 212). BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Fun Day! By Samantha Altieri Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by Augustine Magapan On Thursday, October fourteenth, the Valley Stream North Class of 2027 participated in a Fun Day. Seventh graders played a variety of outdoor games from periods one to three. The activities allowed the students to bond with each other and create memorable team-building experiences, while also providing them a chance to destress. Members of SPO helped facilitate the event, with some members participating in the games as well. With games from Jenga to kickball, the seventh graders had a great time! On Fun Day, the seventh graders were split into groups of eight to 15 students. Two to four SPO members were assigned to each group and guided the seventh graders through the activities, like a camp counselor would to their campers. There were a variety of activities the seventh graders participated in, including: Kickball – two groups faced each other off in this sport, with SPO members watching and pitching. Lawn Games – several groups participated in games such as Kam Jam, Spike ball, Connect 4, and a modified version of Badminton. Potato Sack Race – three groups versed each other in this fast-paced hopping race. Cup Pyramid – two groups faced off in this fast-paced building competition. Racing against the clock, the group that built the tallest cup structure won. The wind and other environmental factors added a nice twist, raising the stakes of the activity. Steal-the-Bacon – six to eight groups faced each other in this intense version of Steal-the-Bacon. Students on each team were assigned numbers, and those who had the same number (one on each side), when called out, had to race to retrieve the pin and bring it back to their team to earn the point. BACK TO TOP