SEARCH RESULTS

Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Ask Ala: Friends By Ala Paruch Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by Infared Q. Dear Ala, I am in seventh grade and I don't have many friends. I had a lot of friends in elementary school, but most of them went to Memorial. That on top of Covid-19 is making it difficult for me to talk to the ones that are in North. It is hard for me to socialize because we have to wear masks and socially distance. Do you have any advice to help me make new friends? Sincerely, “Too” Socially Distant A. Hello and thank you for the question! Making friends in this new environment is definitely something we have to get used to. Firstly, I would advise you to try to still talk to your friends that went to Memorial. You already have a connection, and it would be a shame to just let that go without trying. To make new friends at North, I would join some clubs that interest you, and don’t be afraid to reach out to the people who attend them. You can check out the Virtual Club Fair channel on the North High School Team and see what clubs you might like. Hope this helps! Q. Dear Ala, My friend and I are starting to fight a lot more often, and it usually ends with us not talking to each other for a while. I always try to avoid arguing, but sometimes we just start to disagree, and disagreeing turns into arguing, and arguing turns into not talking to each other for days on end. How do I avoid fights with my friend so that we don't engage in passive-aggressive bickering almost every day? From, Arguing Friend A. Hello and thank you for the question! It seems to me that you and your friend have to realize having different opinions is not bad thing. Everyone has different viewpoints on situations and topics, and disagreeing is inevitable. Additionally, when you realize that the “disagreeing” is turning into “arguing,” that might be a good point to take a moment for yourself and calm down. Taking time to sort things out is also not bad, it is actually crucial. Keeping up a relationship, any type, requires work and patience such as talking things out and taking time for yourself. If you are not in the right space, keeping up a friendship is off the list. Hope this helps and good luck! Q. Dear Ala, I'm angry at one of my friends, but I don't know how to let her know. I've tried giving her subtle hints, but she either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Since she can be sensitive sometimes, I'm afraid that if I tell her, she'll take it too much to heart. I just really don't want to ruin the friendship. Thanks for your help, Sensitive Friend A. Hello and thank you for the question! The best option would be to just confront her about it. Be straightforward with what is bothering you. If the matter is important to you, it will also be important to her. I’m glad you are trying to look out for her and consider the fact that she is sensitive. However, after this much effort, you can’t keep sacrificing your emotions for her. This will be a little bit of a wakeup call for her to pay closer attention to what you are trying to tell her in the future. Good luck! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections 7th Grade Band's Winter Concert By Cael Javier Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by VSCHSD Fine and Preforming Arts I am a 7th grader in Band, and just recently, we had a concert. This is the 2022 7th and 8th Grade Concert as told by a band kid. The 7th and 8th grade Band is directed by Mr. Michael Morris. The concert took place on 13 December 2022. To decide where we would be in Band, we had to do a playing test at the beginning of the year. Basically, we would play sheet music and depending on how we played those pieces, we would be assigned our parts in the songs. For dress code, we had to wear white or a light color on top and black or a dark color on the bottom. That was straightforward, but there were more details to the dress code, including how gentlemen had to wear a tie and ladies could only wear leggings under a skirt. There were also a few more adjustments like, no white socks, no sneakers, and no jeans if they weren’t a dark color. Before each piece, a student gave a speech about what we were about to play. The speakers were Cael Javier (me), Amiya Mohan, Christian Leon, and Andre Llubit. The pieces we performed on stage were: “Caribbean Christmas”, an Afro-Cuban arrangement of the carol “Angels We Have Heard on High”, “The Chipmunk Song”, a novelty song written by Ross Bagdasarian which is also the last Christmas/Holiday song to reach No. 1 on any U.S. singles records chart, “Chanukah: The Festival of Lights Overture”, which is an arrangement of traditional Hanukkah songs which are often sung during the Festival of Lights, “Fireball”, a piece by Brian Beck to challenge the musicians rhythmically, stylistically, and musically. Before we went on stage, we thought they forgot about us because Orchestra and Chorus took at least an hour. Apparently, we were just impatient. We had to wait in different classrooms while the other two ensembles performed. The classroom I was in was wild. It was just kids running around, blasting music from their phones, dancing, and somebody apparently got sick. None of the people in Band looked nervous when we got on stage, so that was a good sign. When we played the music, we sounded good, with few to no mistakes. It was exciting because it was our first concert at North for some of us. That was my point of view of the 2022 7th and 8th Grade Concert. An orchestra or chorus student might have told you a different story, which is why I think it was special to me. I also enjoyed it because performing on stage in front of many people is an opportunity that not many people get. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Pop Art Back to Sections Jaylen Lodge - Pop Art By Jaylen Lodge January 14, 2022 Acrylic Volume 2 Issue 3

Back to Artwork Black American Artists Back to Sections Domestic ID, V By Willie Cole February 12, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 5 Medium: Steam-Iron Scorches with Graphite on Paper Mounted in Window Frame, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Johnny Depp Court Case By Sahar Ali Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by Marca So, many of us have heard about the now-infamous case between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, right? You might have consumed some information via social media regarding the exes’ lawsuits against each other. You might have even seen memes surrounding the case through apps such as TikTok or Instagram. In this article, I aim to efficiently outline and explain the events that led up to the case, specifically in hopes of providing necessary context. The case revolves around famous actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Depp is best known for playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean . Heard is best known for her roles in Never Back Down , Drive Angry , The Rum Diary and Aquaman . In February 2015, the pair wed; however, their marriage only lasted until January 2017. Later in 2018, Amber Heard wrote an op-ed published in the Washington Post . It was headlined “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” Heard never mentioned Depp’s name in her account, but she makes it abundantly clear that her ex-husband abused her during their short marriage. After the publication of this op-ed, Depp sued Heard in March 2019 for defamation. In short, defamation is a false statement asserted by a third party about an individual in public. This may damage one’s reputation. It may include statements in written or verbal form. In this case, only the written op-ed was considered. In simple terms, Heard’s op-ed is the root of this case, and Depp won the suit. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Dolores By Nora Chery Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by iMedia The house was silent, warm, and, most importantly, freshly clean. Martha sighed, rose from her knees, and plopped the red-stained cloth into the equally red water of the bucket. Rippling from the sudden impact, red water sloshed into the dark wood floor. The woman glared at the red puddle but was interrupted by the booming ticks of the grandfather clock. She was late for work, once again. The bucket and puddle were neglected in exchange for her heels and inexpensive coat, which she promptly grabbed. When her hands reached for her purse, she paused and shifted her gaze to the top of the staircase. "I'll get you something better to eat as soon as I get back!" she called sweetly, and she was off. She walked from the edge of the street to the Southern rural town. This was a typical morning for Martha Furguson. Martha was a polite and modest lady around her late thirties and, like most of the women around her age in town, loved to chitchat, hated pests, and loved nothing more than the lovely clothes from the boutique. With two eyes and two small hands, using them to grimace at the price of the beautiful dress she wanted, she looked like most the women in their late 30s. As stated before, she was a polite and modest lady, and everything about her was polite and humble. Most people in town would have agreed if it wasn't for her living in a haunted house. Most children would describe her home as horrifying, and older townsfolk would admit it gave off eerie vibes. If you were a new, freshly moved-in citizen and saw the house, you would've been confused by the rumors. It was a lovely little white house, the kind you would want your old, retired self to live in. It had the basics of a house; electricity, clean running water, and a solid green roof. There was one factor that gave the house its reputation; the child that lived in it, Dolores Furguson. To many, she was a mysterious entity, a tiny malevolent phantom. However, her only crime was hermitage. Some say screams resonate from inside the house, particularly Dolores's room. Rumors had flown as they always do, but Martha always giggled at them when confronted about it. "Why those are just tall tales told by little children" she'd claim with a defensive smile. "Dolores is just a sickly child, that's all, nothing spooky about it." Being the mother of a child with an unfavorable social status resulted in her having little to no friends. Still, she reassured herself multiple times that it was okay. She had her Dolores to look after. But the memory of what happened to her daughter still stuck to her like a permanent splinter; it still hurt from time to time. She was in her early thirties and sleeping next to her husband. She remembered strange high-pitched noises coming from downstairs in the kitchen. Her husband sleepily descended to investigate, yet all Martha could hear was his frightened mumbling. Then came the screaming. First, her husband, then someone (or something) else. Frozen in bed, all she could think about was her daughter, who was hopefully sleeping in the other room. Forcing herself from her bed, she snatched a letter opener off her desk; she would do her best to protect her daughter. As she stepped into the kitchen, all she saw was her daughter. There, Dolores stood in the center of an empty kitchen, crying with a bloodstained mouth. The police came to question Marget and her daughter, and an officer was kind enough to help her hang missing posters for her husband. Yet, some part of Marget knew it was too late; her life had been changed forever. Dolores was a sweet, bubbly child, but after that tragic night, it faded immediately. Dolores stopped eating and playing; some days, it seemed like Dolores had never even moved an inch. Martha always suspected Dolores was more active when she wasn't home, working a late shift. The day Martha came home to see Dolores covered in red, she knew her worst fears were confirmed. Nothing would change, and this was never getting better. She stared at her daughter, momentarily horrified due to her monstrous appearance, elongated teeth, and nails, pupils transformed to slits. This creature was her daughter, but a form of her daughter that would never see the light of day. Martha's daughter was barely a human, just a tiny animal in her daughter's skin. She did her best to remind herself that, despite all, Dolores was still her daughter, even if she smelled like blood and death. Martha kept her head up. She went to work and took care of the flowers, the kinds that Dolores used to love, though Dolores now didn't seem to know what flowers were. When Martha earned enough money to go clothes shopping at the boutique, she treated herself to a few beautiful dresses and shoes. She attempted to bring Dolores home a dress, but her daughter ran at the sight of the dress as if one touch could kill her. Margret struggled to dodge the pain of her daughter's continued rejections. As she passed a happy couple and their children, a twinge of pain filled her chest; why couldn't her family have just been normal? On the worst days, she sat with her back pressed to her daughter's bedroom door, dreaming about the tranquil domestic life she lost that fateful night. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections "Ghost" Artist Statement By Alena Moreira Volume 1 Issue 7 April 22, 2021 Original artwork by Alena Moreira The longer we are apart, the more we fade from memory. Until we are only left with the feeling of what used to be. I have memories, stored lovingly in the golden And silver And wooden chests of my mind, Memories I long to hold onto, But memories that slowly crumble away under the unrelenting ticking of time. Like a worn photograph, there are tears and rips, holes and thinning spots, faded and blurred objects. Like Luke Merz’s Memory/Loss #9 there are beautiful details and emptiness, filled only with a feeling of loss. And now, time has been cruel to us. We’ve been apart for too long, our only connection a pixelated face, sometimes with features indistinguishable. Are you more than a face? I can’t remember. You fade away with each passing day, until one day, I fear, you will be invisible, the only proof of your existence the space you leave behind. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Line Back to Sections Lillian Dolan - What is Line - 1 By Lillian Dolan November 1, 2020 Photography Volume 1 Issue 1 This picture displays the lines on a manhole cover. It was taken at around noon.

ABOUT US Welcome to North Star, Valley Stream North High School's Student News Magazine, and POLARIS, North's Literary Magazine! Whether you want to read about your specific interests or browse the work of talented students, we have something for everyone. Any suggestions are welcome and should be emailed to northstarmag20@gmail.com . Happy reading! AWARDS 3RD PLACE BEST LAYOUT ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2021 1ST PLACE BEST VISUAL ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2022 2ND PLACE BEST OPINION PIECE ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2022 3RD PLACE BEST NEWS ARTICLE ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2022 HONORABLE MENTION BEST LAYOUT ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2024 3RD PLACE BEST VISUAL ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2024 HONORABLE MENTION BEST FEATURE ADELPHI QUILL AWARDS 2025 MEET THE EDITORS Read More Noa Cordova She/Her/Hers EDITOR IN CHIEF cordovan01@vschsd.org Hello North Students! My name is Noa Cordova, and besides writing, I have a passion for languages, traveling, learning, and getting to know others. Apart from North Star, I am an active member of several clubs including STOP, SPO, and SADD. As Editorial section leader, I write articles on current world and school events. If you are interested in keeping up with significant topics in society or our school community, check out the Editorial section! Everyone should have their voice heard, so feel free to share your ideas and write for the Editorial section. Read More Elaine Ching She/Her/Hers LEAD LAYOUT & SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGNER, ART SECTION EDITOR chinge@vschsd.org Hi readers! I'm Elaine Ching, but you can call me Laney. I'm the Social Media Designer, Lead Layout Designer, and Art Section Editor. I make and post flyers and promotions for new articles and issues on the North Star Instagram, @vsnorthstarmag. Along with this I organize the North Star and Polaris website. I also do illustrations, recipes, and some creative writing. Outside of North Star you can find me drawing, painting, doing some variation of music or art, reading, and being in clubs like the Culture Society and Art Club. Read More Isabel Barrett She/Her/Hers FEATURE SECTION EDITOR barreti@vschsd.org Hi! I’m Isabel Barrett, the editor for the Featured section of North Star. If you enjoy human interest stories, then the Featured section is for you! Besides writing, I also enjoy art, playing video games, and making websites, and I’m part of the Tri-M Honor Society and Drama Club. I look forward to sharing fun and interesting stories with our community this year! Read More Sahar Ali She/Her/Hers NEWS SECTION EDITOR alis02@vschsd.org Hey guys! My name is Sahar Ali and I’m editor for the news section. You can see that my articles range from political news to current world events, and you may occasionally find me in the feature section too. Along with writing articles, I do winter track and badminton in the spring. I can’t wait to read all your submissions and if you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to send me an email anytime! Read More Leah Ally She/Her/Hers MANAGING EDITOR allyl3497@vschsd.org Hi! I‘m Leah Ally, the managing editor of North Star. I enjoy writing about sports and current events. Outside of North Star, I’m apart of various clubs and sports such as, basketball and softball. Feel free to contact me with any questions through my VSN email and I look forward to working with you all! Read More Marco Alvarez He/Him/His LAYOUT TEAM & SPREADSHEET MANAGER alvarezm02@vschsd.org Hello all! I am part of the Layout Team and I manage the spreadsheet for the North Star and Polaris Magazine. My goal is to help publish the works of your fellow students. You may have seen me around in other activities or classes, so know that I keep your interests in mind when I meet with other members and editors. I look forward to sharing your work with our community this year! Read More Rachel Ezeadichie Any ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA SECTION EDITOR/TREASURER ezeadicr@vschsd.org Hello! My name is Rachel Ezeadichie, and I am the Entertainment and Media Editor for the North Star. I love watching new shows and analyzing all types of media. If you’re interested in the coverage of new or interesting shows, books, or movies, you can find it in my section. I’m also apart of Spartan Update and Drama Club, so you can see me performing or covering many school events. I’m excited to be an editor for North Star and can’t wait to keep writing! Read More Rehmat Kaur She/Her/Hers SPORTS SECTION EDITOR, HISTORY COLUMNIST rkaurr3015@vschsd.org Hello, dear readers! I'm Rehmat Kaur, the North Star's SPORTS Editor and History Columnist. All my Feature History articles will be under the column named "Tales Through Time". I will also be assisting our fellow writers with ideas and see them through to completion. Outside of North Star, I also take part in sports. I'm Girl's Varsity Badminton Team's Captain and play for our school's Tennis team. I'm also a member of SPO which helps the 7th graders have a wonderful first year at North. I'm looking forward to having an exquisite time and helping you in bringing out your creative side. NORTH STAR SENIORS CREDITS FACULTY ADVISOR Mrs. Christy Mansfield EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Noa Cordova MANAGING EDITOR Leah Ally NEWS SECTION EDITOR Sahar Ali FEATURE SECTION EDITOR Isabel Barret SPORTS EDITOR, HISTORY COLUMNIST Rehmat Kaur ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA SECTION EDITOR Rachel Ezeadichie POLARIS EDITOR ... ARTWORK SECTION EDITOR Elaine Ching SENIOR LAYOUT EDITOR Elaine Ching SPREADSHEET MANAGER/ASSISTANT LAYOUT EDITOR Marco Alvarez ASSISTANT LAYOUT EDITOR Max Ching SENIOR SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Elaine Ching TREASURER Leah Ally STUDENT ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR Mrs. Amy Italiano PRINCIPAL Dr. Robin Small ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Mrs. Jennifer Buonaspina ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Mr. Fabian Jara ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Mr. Charles Loiseau LOUD AMERICAN Garrick Neuner

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections An Artistic Escape Entry 3 April 14, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 6