Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections In Honor of Gina Pellettiere Navrosedip Kundlas Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 Image provided by Massapequa Funeral Home In the world of music, a teacher's grace, Gina Pellettiere, a shining face. Dude, was her call, all fun through and through, In her community, bonds forever grew.   In the band that felt like a family's embrace, She built a supportive, positive space. A safe haven where her students could be, Impacting their lives, a legacy to see.   Energetic and full of life's zest, She inspired her students, always their best. Happiest memories, nugget fights and more, Creating bonds that our hearts still adore.   As she played the trumpet, her passion did show, In band camp and karaoke, a vibrant flow. Her love for her students, an unwavering flame, Inspiring a music teacher, in her name.   In her work, music's rhythm, and band's charm, She led with devotion, with warmth and calm. She'd ask about muffins, the weather, and more, Creating moments worth cherishing for sure.   Gina Pellettiere, a teacher so dear, In the world of music, she's always near. Her impact, her energy, her legacy, so grand, In the hearts of her students, forever to stand. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Nightmare Before Christmas - A Reaction Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 Image provided by Tim Burton and Rick Heinrichs As the spooky season rears its ugly head and Halloween draws closer and closer, people are starting to rewatch older Halloween movies to get into the spooky mood. The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the most well-known Halloween movies to date and is still very popular. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 stop-motion film not directed by Tim Burton contrary to popular belief but by Henry Selick who also directed Coraline . Although he didn’t direct the movie, Tim Burton produced and wrote its story. Production of the movie started in 1991 and was finally completed in October 1993. That Halloween season marked the first of many years of merchandise, costumes, and the movie’s popularity. The Nightmare Before Christmas takes place in Halloween Town. A dark, scary place where its residents prepare for Halloween each day. Our protagonist, Jack Skellington, is the representative of this town. He is respected and revered, but something is missing. We follow Jack as he travels outside Halloween Town for the first time and discovers Christmas. He feels as if he has discovered a part of him that was missing. We watch as he tries to introduce Christmas to Halloween Town and even attempts to replace Santa Claus himself. He kidnaps Santa Claus and takes over Christmas, trying to deliver presents all over the world. While Jack tries to prepare for Christmas, Santa is taken by Oogie Boogie, an evildoer in Halloween Town, and is held captive. Despite his efforts, Jack’s attempts to replace Santa fail and he is unable to deliver all the presents. Through his failure, Jack realizes that he doesn’t need to take over Christmas when he can fully appreciate Halloween Town and what it has to offer him. He returns to Halloween Town to free Santa Claus from Oogie Boogie so Santa can save Christmas. Overall, the movie is an enjoyable watch and great for a comfortable Saturday in autumn. The stop-motion animation creates a cozy feeling that, despite the movie’s Halloween theme, makes it feel a lot more Christmas-y. Stop motion is a difficult animation style that requires each scene of the film to be shot photo by photo, with someone moving each figure after every picture. Knowing this, I have such a large amount of respect for the people who were a part of the production of this film. This animation style fits the movie perfectly and helps create the nostalgic feeling the movie has today. Not only is the animation impeccable but the compositions are just as great. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a musical and each musical number was masterfully crafted by Danny Elfman. Each song is so catchy; I found myself humming them for weeks after I rewatched the movie. Even the background music makes every scene so impactful. Each song fit the scene it was in and made me enjoy the movie even more. The Nightmare Before Christmas is an amazing movie that I would highly recommend to anybody who hasn’t seen it. Valley Stream North recently hosted a movie night showing the movie with snacks and a dark spooky atmosphere for you to enjoy. Even if you missed the showing, watching this movie is definitely worth your time. Whether you see it as a Christmas or Halloween movie, one thing is clear. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a movie that will invoke nostalgia and Halloween joy for years to come. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Ducks By Navrosedip Kindles Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by Elaine Ching so softly floating lovely ripples in the lake Oh my…… such cute ducks! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Cody's Words of Advice Cody Sung Volume 5 Issue 1 September 20, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching It has been an amazing five years at Valley Stream North High School. Before I leave, I want to give a few words of advice. Don’t procrastinate. I procrastinate with everything (even with this article!) and while I have made it out, it was very stressful sometimes. Something that I found helpful is taking breaks every 30 minutes. Use around 5 minutes to drink, exercise, or do anything else that you find helpful, and then focus for the next 30 minutes. Keep going until you are done with the task. Manage your time well. I always struggled with this since I always underestimated the time I needed to do a certain task. Always allot significantly more time to a task than you think it takes. Additionally, start early with big projects. I always waited until the last day or last few days, and I always stayed up multiple hours late finishing the project. My mom was not happy. Starting early allows you to spread out the project over many days and not have to crunch everything into a few days. There’s always the issue of you having so much work to do in a day that it doesn’t allow you to work on the project, and a more spread-out approach helps mitigate this – just work more on the project a different day when you have less work! Find a balance in life. I don’t have specific advice about this as it depends on the person, but don’t try to overload yourself with classes and activities – it’s a great way to harm your mental health. Yes, sometimes you must do that (*cough* beloved Asian parents cough ), but if you do, pick classes and activities you genuinely find enjoyable. No, “activities” doesn’t mean that you should relax for multiple hours and cram work in at the end of the day (see the first paragraph on procrastination). And as a final piece of advice: stay informed about science and the news in general. It never hurts knowing more about what’s going on in the world. Thank you for reading my articles in the North Star , and good luck. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Nostalgic Musings Back to Sections Sophia Song - Nostalgic Musings - 4 By Sophia Song February 10, 2022 Photography Volume 2 Issue 4

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections Do we need to "cancel" Thanksgiving? By Habib Rattani Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Image provided by Getty Images Covid cases have risen once again, so should people cancel Thanksgiving celebrations altogether? Some people agree while others disagree. Personally, I feel everyone can have their own opinion, but they should be free to make their own choices. Individuals should be able to make their own decision, but it is hard with all the opinions going around in the news and on the internet. These opinions spread fast and far, influencing others to believe certain things including on this matter. America stands for freedom, so individuals can make their own decision without one person or group dictating what they can or cannot do in their own homes. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with loved ones and be thankful for what you have. If everyone in the household tested negative and is comfortable with being around one another, then I don't see an issue. If everyone is Covid-free and keeping precautions in place, they should be able to have a gathering. At the end of the day, it's all up to the attendees attending the event being organized. There are some set guidelines, but there has been advice given by health experts stating their concern and suggesting everyone stays home and celebrates with only the individuals living in their household. According to some statements by health experts, ABC news reported "The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to celebrate with people in your household," the agency reported what one of those experts said: "If you do plan to spend Thanksgiving with people outside your household, take steps to make your celebration safer. My hope is I think a lot of people were not going to travel who did in the past," he said. "I think a lot of people made that decision already for a variety of reasons. My hope is the folks who were on the fence and were hoping to travel, you know, thinking about it, planning a little bit, will now realize it's not the time to travel." I agree with the enthusiasm towards taking precautions, but the fact of the matter is, if someone feels safe and comfortable enough, they should be able to travel. I don't agree with health experts adding comments toward the matter which may manipulate the audience in one direction or another. A number of Covid deaths were due to other health issues in the individual’s body, but the “cause of death” would be reported as due to Covid. For example, someone may pass away from Covid, but also had heart disease or diabetes. There are many underlying factors that go into the cause of death due to Covid, not just Covid alone.  People need to attend to all of their health needs, especially during the pandemic. In some cases, celebrating Thanksgiving with people not living in your household could be unsafe. Covid cases have risen once again and the second wave is said to be upon us. Due to some of these factors, I can justify the concern of others for travelling and spending Thanksgiving with more distant loved ones as an issue. Due to these concerns, precautions should be taken. For example, if you had planned on travel, you should have been tested, and quarantined, to make sure you do not affect others if you happen to have Covid. As reported by ABC news, “The CDC says to make Thanksgiving safer; if you are with friends or family outside your household, you should wear a well-fitting mask, keep 6 feet of distance from people who do not live with you, and keep hands clean. The agency also recommends bringing your own plate, cups, and utensils, store your mask safely while eating and drinking, avoid going in and out of the kitchen while food is being prepared, and using single-use options for condiments and food containers.” These are some suggested safety measures that could be taken which do make sense and help provide as much safety as possible for those who choose to celebrate Thanksgiving with people outside their immediate household. Even with these suggestions, the decision should be up to the person without others' opinion manipulating the individual's thought process. Agencies and media outlets’ opinions weighing too heavily could create drastic measures being taken, like banning travel altogether. A solution to the problem could be as simple as providing insight on statistics and the current situations for the area you wanted to travel to for the holiday. Depending on all the evidence and looking at the situation wisely, if the individual is comfortable with traveling, they should be free to do so. However, precautions should be taken, for example, wearing a mask when travelling, staying six feet apart, and getting tested. The real question is: do you think Thanksgiving should be “canceled” due to Covid? BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Gurleen Kaur - Memory Project By Gurleen Kaur March 18, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 6

Back to Articles Art & Culture Back to Sections Artistic Perspective By Olivia Muscatelli Volume 1 Issue 3 December 16, 2020 Original artwork by Olivia Muscatelli The images I enjoy taking the most are of landscapes. Like Ansel Adams, a famous landscape photographer, I visualize each picture before taking it. I think about the way I want the picture to look in the final image before I start shooting and prefer a realistic approach rather than relying on heavy editing. I also believe careful composition and balancing the contrast between the light and dark areas of an image lead to the best results. These were all techniques Ansel Adams applied to his work. Although he is known for black-and-white photographs, I also like to use color to bring more life to certain images. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections E/2022 E3 (ZTF) – The “Green” Comet By Elyas Layachi Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by Marca In March 2022, the comet E/2022 E3 (ZTF) was spotted by astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Masci near Jupiter. This comet contains a form of diatomic carbon, causing the comet to appear green when it is blasted by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. This property of E/2022 E3 is the comet’s defining characteristic. However, what makes E/2022 E3 even more special is that the last time it has been visible to humans with the naked eye was during the Last Ice Age, over 50,000 years ago. Now, in 2023, the green comet is its closest to Earth, making for a marvelous sight for humans across the globe. The green comet (E/2022 E3) has a large elliptical orbit around the Sun located around the inner solar system, and it takes the object 50,000 Earth years to travel once around the Sun. As a result of its slow orbit in comparison to Earth’s one-year orbit, the comet is impossible to see for much of its orbit without technological aid. This was the case for the past 50,000 years, until February 1st and February 2nd of 2023, when the comet was a mere 26 million miles (about 41,842,944 km) from the surface of Earth. At such a distance, and with its distinct green hue, the green comet was visible to the naked eye at locations with low light pollution and clear skies. Viewers across the globe had the opportunity to view the rare green comet, and it is highly likely that we are the last humans to be able to view the green comet from Earth’s surface without technological aid for the next 50,000 years, due to the comet’s large orbit around the sun. The comet provided scientists with insight into the properties of diatomic carbon; the compound is not easily studied on Earth due to its high instability and reactivity. Furthermore, it can only be found in extremely energetic or low-oxygen environments like stars, comets, and the interstellar medium, according to phys.org . Comet E/2022 E3 is an incredibly special phenomenon, and its passage near Earth is a rare occurrence. However, the green comet is not the only rare celestial object set to illuminate the night sky, with objects such as other small asteroids and meteor showers set to appear regularly throughout the rest of the year. Additionally, with the recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, more phenomena than ever before will be able to be studied by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), expanding our knowledge of the universe. Refrences: https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-green-comet-aka-comet-c-2022-e3-ztf/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64252258.amp BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Morning Roast By Erin St. Angelo Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Original artwork by Kimberly Shrestha The sun awakens from its slumber As the sky changes from black to blue. The birds sing and dance, For they are joyous to fetch food. A quiet ranch lay on a sloped hill, Basking in the sun’s glory. The smell of fresh, steaming, hot Coffee fills the man’s nose. The sheets were cold beside him, His wife's whereabouts are unknown. He leaves the warm, cozy King-sized mattress to make breakfast. The bittersweet decadent beans become Fragrant as they brew. The man and woman share their 'Good mornings', cherishing each other's presence. Their first sips of the roast burns down their Throats, a satisfying burn. Their senses becoming more alert. The man sighs in comfort and enjoyment, Now ready to start his day. BACK TO TOP