Back to Artwork Spotlight Back to Sections XSCAPISM I By Osaiyekemwen Ogbemudia March 18, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 6

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections The Compliment of Red By Elizabeth Andre November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Art & Culture Back to Sections Eid al-Fitr and Ramadan By Charis Hackman Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Image provided by Creative World UK The Culture Society talked about Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, two special holidays for those who follow the religion of Islam. These Holidays are observed through prayer and fasting. Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar, a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. The holiday is a commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation. Ramadan is also regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days. One of the main traditions during Ramadan is fasting or not eating, called swam in Arabic; basically Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink, or smoke during the day and can eat when it is dark out. But Muslims who are or seriously ill, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating don’t have to fast. The main point behind fasting is that Muslims practice discipline and self-control and is good practice for showing restraint for the rest of the year. On a usual day during Ramadan, families have to get up very early, before the sun comes up, and have a predawn meal called Sahūr . When the sun comes up, they do their morning prayers and the fast begins. Once the sun sets, family and friends gather for a meal called iftar , they then break their fast with water, milk and three dates, a type of sweet fruit and then eat dinner together. Charity or Zakāt  in Arabic, is also an important tradition, while people are fasting, they are encouraged to give as much as they can and a percentage of their income to the poor and do as many good deeds as possible. Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", or simply Eid, is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. Since, Islam is one of the largest religions in the world, each region has different ways to celebrate Eid. Eid al-Fitr lasts 3 days where people dress up, preform special prayers, greet each other with “Eid Mubarak,” meaning “Blessed Eid” and with formal embraces, visit family, friends, and family graves, and exchange gifts, like sweet foods, eidia  offerings in money bags, and games for children. Muslim families give donations to the poor, known as Zakat al-Fitr, or charity of fast-breaking in Arabic, normally with food like barley, rice, dates were given, instead of money. In countries where Muslims make up most of the population, the three-day Eid celebration is an official government and school holiday. “Some families even decorate their houses with lights, candles, and colored banners”. Muslims families also hold celebration with friends and family preparing and eating dinner with special dishes, desserts, and other foods together. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections My Dream Closeted Entry 1 April 14, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 6

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Purple 8 Ball By Elizabeth Andre November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Influence of TikTok By Augustine Magapan Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Google In September 2016, ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, launched an app called TikTok. The well-favored app was initially the famous Musical.ly app until ByteDance bought it and converted it into the social media known today. As time progressed throughout the years, more people used the app every day. Today, in over 150 countries, TikTok has over one billion users. An average user would open the application about 8 times per day; consequently, it is shown that TikTok has a strong influence on people. Why is that? Our brains have a mechanism of releasing dopamine, a type of neurotransmitter that plays a part in how we feel pleasure. Our phone activity would cause the release of dopamine in our brains which make us feel motivated and happy. When your brain starts to understand this release of dopamine based on what you are doing on your phone, your brain will have the urge to crawl back to the phone for more releases of dopamine. This causes phone addictions for most people because of the happiness they get from going on their phones. TikTok is one of the reasons people are addicted to their phones. An average user would open the application about 8 times per day creating an addiction to a person. This is due to the TikTok videos being short and sweet which creates a diversified “for you page” purposely to keep a user’s attention going from one to another. The videos would be relevant to the dopamine excretion that the brain would release since the TikToks are filtered to a person’s interest making the phone user feel good and want more of it. That is just one aspect of TikTok. People are influenced by TikTok so easily that their habits change. Another aspect of TikTok that influences a person is their music taste. Music is used in many ways. It mainly promotes our well-being since we usually use it to tranquilize ourselves and spurt out our emotions freely. It also helps identify and understand who we are and how to impact society. Initially, people would use Musical.ly to express themselves in videos with music they enjoy before TikTok came on. Multiple trends would arise from certain songs. In TikTok, people now express themselves even further with music. People dance to it. Some express certain parts of the song and identify why it is impactful. Music in TikTok can create a whole new playlist because of the new “for you page” algorithm. TikTok knows what music you would like as well, not just the videos that you are interested in. Usually, people tend to look at which “sounds” or music is trending at the moment and start to hop on board with the bandwagon by doing whatever dance or just recording themselves with the song. I enjoyed certain songs I found on my feed and added them to a playlist on Spotify because they were enjoyable and helped me express my emotions better. Finally, even though it is important to realize how many people in this world have an addiction and strong influence on themselves by being on social media, it can also improve someone’s health. Not all the influence and content on TikTok are useless or unhealthy amounts of entertainment. People can learn new things on TikTok that can be implemented in a person’s normal routine, or perhaps a new diet. Cooking and exercising and also advice for family, school, and relationships are posted as well. Another portion of the content can come from schools or businesses trying to promote their products as well which can flourish the economic state of the online world as well. Overall, TikTok has transformed the metaverse immensely and people from all over the world are using it daily for an excessive amount of time. In the end, however, people can continue to reach out and stay connected with family and friends while being overall healthy by making TikToks or sending them. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Beyond The Pool: Interview with Varsity Swimmer Sarah Flynn Melanie Cevada Volume 5 Issue 4 April 8, 2025 Image Provided by Sarah Flynn In 2023, Valley Stream North was proud to announce a new addition to the fall sports season lineup: District Girls Swimming. Among this new team, junior Sarah Flynn is one of the first students to compete. In this interview, Sarah shares her experience both personally and with her team. When did you begin swimming? Flynn: “I started swimming when I was around 4 or 5 years old. It's always been a sort of constant in my life, but it didn't get serious until they started a team here at Valley Stream. I've swam on other teams for the past 12 years, but having the varsity experience is far more significant. With a varsity team, I now have the ability to compete for my school at bigger competitions such as divisions and counties, and I have a better chance of getting seen by college coaches.” What or who inspired you to begin swimming? Flynn: “I would say my family was the biggest inspiration to me and the reason why I began swimming so young. I would always watch my sister's practices and meets and wanted to be just like her. My parents were also very involved in the team, so I always felt comfortable in that environment.” How was your experience with the team this past season? Flynn: “My experience with the team this season was really fun. The coaches are so nice and encouraging, and the girls on the team are so friendly. This season, we got to compete at the county championships and made finals which was very exciting for all of us. The bond that we have as a team is very rewarding!” What is your routine? Flynn: “This past season, our schedule was a bit erratic. We typically had practice for 2-3 days and had one meet each week. When we get to the pool, we warm up for about 20-30 minutes and then get into our main set.” How do you balance school and sports in your schedule? Flynn: “At first, I found it hard to balance swimming and schoolwork, but it was something I got better at throughout the season. I always made sure to note when I had practice or meets so I could leave myself enough time to complete my work without rushing at the last minute.” How have you handled high-pressure situations during meets? Flynn: “Some meets can be stressful for me, so I try to remind myself that I'm doing it to see improvements in my own times rather than trying to beat my opponents. I focus my energy on getting a personal best time and use the stress to push myself harder.” How have you improved your performance this season, and what would you do differently for the next season? Flynn: “This season, I was able to improve my performance by focusing on more specific goals. Last season, I didn't really have a goal in mind for myself so I couldn't reach where I exactly wanted to be. This season, I set myself on getting a time to make it to the counties meet, and I was able to accomplish that. Next season, I'll try to work on becoming a more well-rounded swimmer and focusing on other events.” Share a moment when the advice from your coach significantly improved your performance. Flynn: “My coach was very good at giving advice and constantly reminded us how much the little things mattered. She told us how our starts and turns are and where we can make small adjustments that will improve our races. Most people focus only on the stroke, but focusing on those little details was much more beneficial to me and to the rest of the team as well.” What conflict(s) did you encounter this season, and how did you resolve this? Flynn: “Toward the end of my season, I was a bit conflicted because I didn't think I would make the Counties cut. It was my goal, but I decided to not be too hard on myself if I didn't make the cut. Instead of focusing on the fear that I might not reach my goal, I focused on swimming as best as I could, and I ended up making the cut!” What advice would you give to any students interested in joining the team? Flynn: “I would recommend this team to anybody who is willing to put in the work. The girls and coaches are so friendly to everyone, and I think it's such a good environment. Swimming could be of the harder sports to pick up, but we are welcoming to people of all skill levels! Everybody starts somewhere, and there is no reason to be discouraged. We are always looking for more swimmers to build the team!” BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections New North Staff Jeselys Vazquez Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 Image provided by Jeselys Vazquez Hello Spartans! Every year we get new and wonderful staff that make our school community more special than ever before. Ms. Tariq is one of the new school counselors, who stuck out to me and intrigued me to know more about her and share it with students, so you know your new staff better. Ms. Tariq has been a counselor for 8 years. Before coming to North, she worked in the city before kids and a family came along. All her life she wanted to be a school counselor, but Ms. Tariq’s life took her to a different road where she worked for the airlines in her college days and traveled around different countries. However, she was going back and forth on wanting to study while working at the same time. Soon as life went on, Ms. Tariq realized that as she got older and wiser, with her heart guiding her to where she is meant to be, she decided she had to fulfill her dream. The thing that influenced her job most as a school counselor at North is that her parents were immigrants. Growing up, there were times of struggle, which is why she understands students’ struggles when it comes to education and having the right guidance when troubled and wanting to help her students become successful for their future goals. Especially with having that experience and understanding to push through and work up to the major she wanted, without giving up, has had an incredible impact on how far she has come. Having that personal experience and knowledge helps Ms. Tariq understand the struggles of students and what they go through, how they are feeling, and help guide seniors when going through the change from high school to college. She also guides students through their high school experience, making sure to work their schedule with the classes they need to graduate. Some fun facts about Ms. Tariq are that she speaks 4 languages; she learnt them growing up as family and friends spoke, and she worked in a translation center. Ms. Tariq says that work is “Very busy, there is never a dull moment. I look forward to meeting students, and always have a packed schedule due to seniors this time of year.” A daily struggle Ms. Tariq encounters is students not being happy with their schedule: they want more free periods. So far since she started working at North, Ms. Tariq likes the community since everyone looks out for one another and she always receives a friendly smile. However, Ms. Tariq does not have much time to socialize with teachers, to get to know others better, and chat with students often, but she still tries her best. Every day, her goal is to make sure all her students graduate the best way possible, get to love North, say their experience was worth it, and be glad to be part of the North family. In fact, Ms. Tariq even has a piece of advice that an incredible, wise woman said to her that has stuck with her till today and keeps her going. “Dr. Small said to me that it does not matter if someone likes you or not, as long as you like yourself, that is all that matters.” BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Comic Back to Sections You Got This! By Alain Deen December 16, 2020 Digital Art Volume 1 Issue 3

Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Zaiden Jackson - Portrait - 2 By Zaiden Jackson January 20, 2021 Photography Volume 1 Issue 4