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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 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 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 Articles Advice Back to Sections Ask Ala: Maintaining Friendships By Ala Paruch Volume 1 Issue 7 April 22, 2021 Image provided by Tiny Buddha Q. Hey Ala, My friend and I are growing apart. It feels like I’m the only one trying to stay friends. As much as they’re a great person, I’m tired of putting in effort and getting nothing back. We’ve been friends forever, so I can’t just drop them. What can I do? A. Hello and thank you for asking this question. I must admit, this is definitely something not simple or straightforward. All friendships are intricate and work with their own rules and because of that they can stop working due to specific reasons. First of all, you should probably look back at the history of your friendship. How did everything start? Was it always a little bit one-sided? How did you really get to know each other? Has social distancing been a factor of what is happening? And most importantly, as you know yourself best, you have to analyze your own actions. Maybe you distanced yourself and now are trying to get back to the way things used to be? The other person might not want to talk to you as much because of some of your behaviors. During this time, you should also ask yourself what you want out of this friendship. Does the other person want the same? Just because you are used to something, doesn’t mean it should stay. Afterwards, consider having a serious conversation with them. You should be straightforward and get right to the point. Express to them the problems you are experiencing and some ways you would expect them to fix it. They have to want to keep this friendship as well as you and they need to show that with their effort. To feel more prepared, it can be helpful to write out a list of examples you want to mention, and you can write out some solutions yourself. Don’t forget to include the things you need to do better as well. You should come to some sort of consensus by the end of the conversation, but be aware that life is unpredictable, so be ready to adjust your plans along the way. If during your reflection, you come to the conclusion that this friendship it’s not exactly what you want anymore, you can try to just let the friendship go. Don’t abruptly end all contact, don’t burn any bridges, be calm and let it fall apart on its own. As hard as it may seem, not everything in life works out, and that is completely fine! You had good times together, you shared laughs and sorrows but sometimes it’s just the time to let it go. People change, times change, life changes, and you cannot keep hurting yourself or trying to force others to do something that is not going to bring you joy. Hold on tight, everything will be alright. There are always new friends to be made. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Artemis I – NASA’s Return to The Moon By Elyas Layachi Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by NASA On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong made history by becoming the first human to walk on the Moon, uttering his famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as he exited the lunar module. Out of the 15 total Apollo Missions, seven landed on the moon, with a total of twelve astronauts setting foot on the moon between 1969 and 1972. Since the Apollo moon landing, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has focused most of its resources on Low-Earth Orbit activities, including the Space Shuttle Program (1981 – 2011), the development of various space telescopes, and the construction and use of the International Space Station (1993 – present). However, NASA is not currently diverting all its resources to the ISS. With the help of private industries such as SpaceX and Boeing, NASA is using some of its resources to create both the Space Launch System, the world’s most powerful three-stage rocket system, and the Orion space capsule, the next-generation space capsule (based on the Apollo capsule’s design) that will be used to send humans to the Moon and even Mars soon. NASA created its Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion space capsule for its Artemis 1 Moon Program to return to the moon by the end of the decade. Construction on the Space Launch System began in 2011 by NASA and was completed in 2021. The super rocket can produce 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust during its launch and can be modified in several ways for different types of missions. According to NASA, the Orion spacecraft will serve “as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency and capability, sustain astronauts during their missions and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.” Its heat shield is designed similarly to that of the Apollo capsule, but Orion is larger and can house four astronauts as opposed to three. Artemis 1, the first in a series of Artemis missions, will be the first unmanned flight test of both components of Artemis: SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will launch Orion into Earth orbit while releasing 10 small satellites, and Orion will use its propulsion systems to maneuver around the moon and return to Earth. The launch was originally planned for August 2022, but NASA delayed the launch to October 2022 due to rocket malfunctions and tropical storm Ian. The new launch date is now November 14th, 2022, with a launch window opening at 12:07 AM Eastern. If all goes well and Artemis 1 proves to be successful, NASA will continue to work through its Artemis timeline, preparing for Artemis 2, the first scheduled crew mission of NASA’s Orion Spacecraft and SLS. It has a planned mission duration of 10 days and is expected to be launched in May 2024. In total, the Artemis program plans to have three launches, but that is subject to change depending on the results of those launches. Artemis 1 is paving the way for humans to set foot once again on the Moon. As NASA says in their launch advertisements, “We are going back to the moon!” Be sure to tune in to NASA’s social media live streams on November 14th, 2022, to witness history in the making. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Family Photo By Luiginna Frederique January 20, 2021 Photography Volume 1 Issue 4

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Spring Recap 2024 Rehmat Kaur Volume 5 Issue 2 November 25, 2024 Image Provided by Sophia Song Girls Varsity Softball had 7 wins and 12 losses. Tiffany Melendez earned All-County and Conference Player of the Yea r. She hit .692 with 45 hits and 38 runs. Alyanna Nadal was All-County and Jainessa Melendez was Honorable Mention All County . Lia Giaconelli won the Nassau County Coaches’ Scholarship . We lost in the quarterfinals to Seaford 7-4 and won the VSCHSD’s Inaugural Team Grit Award. Boys Varsity Baseball was again a playoff team, had a solid season, and lost in the playoffs to Clarke High School, who eventually won the County Championship. Nick Lang and Anthony Rivera were All Conference players. Jimmy Stroehlein was an All-League player. Defensive MVP was Gavin Ferreira . Girls Varsity Badminton had 3 wins and 14 losses, with many new athletes joining the team and few returning. One of their highlights was beating Massapequa over Spring Break. The first singles and Captain, Rehmat Kaur , showed great performance with scores like 21-1 and 21-4, winning in straight sets against Evergreen Charter. Second singles and Captain, Melanie Cevada, gaining victory with her tremendous play against in straight sets with East Rockaway with a score of 21-15. Their first doubles Captain Richmia Erisnor and Marcia Salinas won their match against Westbury with straight sets and an impeccable score of 21-9. The team has greatly improved throughout the season and got some memorable wins. Girls’ Flag Football finished with a 10-4 overall record, making the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. The season ended with a playoff loss to MacArthur High School. Big contributors the past season were Ava Suaza who was dominant on defense prior to her injury. Ryann Blount , caught a touchdown in our playoff game. NORTH STAR’s own Sports Photographer Sophia Songveeratham had several flag pulls, Victoria Singh ran the ball well, and Gianna Acevedo , an unsung hero, played center, caught a touchdown, made key blocks, catches, and helped our offense be successful. Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse completed their season with 5 wins and 11 losses with scores of 6-1 (Uniondale), 6-0 (Lawrence), 7- 4 (Freeport), 5-4 (Hempstead), and winning their last game against Uniondale with score 7-6. Captains Imran Paul and Luke Tartamella both played tremendously throughout the season with great shots, goals and assists. Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse ended their season with 2 wins and 12 losses. Freshman at the time, Eshal Ikram made her Varsity debut as goalie and made over 75 saves for the season. Hailey Quinlan mastered defense for the second year in front of the goal as well as Addison McGrath , second-year starter with leading assists. Ariella Vera , Milania Rivera , Juliana Dekel and Sabrina Garufi added to the District's attack and midfield showing potential for the next season. Gia Piccolo and Aryana Phillips truly added to the teams attack and midfield scoring goals and keeping defenders away. Aleeza Dhillon , Jennifer Larosiliere , Mia Graine were excellent defenders causing turnovers and helping transition the game from one end of the field to the other. It was an exciting season with a brand-new team that really worked hard and got better throughout the season. Girls’ Varsity Spring Track : The girls won the Division Championships. However, they lost the Conference Championships and County Championships. All-County Paige Fessler County Champion – High Jump, 3rd place – 400m Hurdles Moanna Thelusca County Champion – Discus, 2nd place – Shot Put Nattaly Lindo County Champion – Shot Put Brooke Fessler 2nd place – High Jump Chantelle Gamory 3rd place – Pole Vault Gabriela Bonilla 3rd place – Pole Vault All-Division Jazmyn Dorsey Division Champion – 4x100m Relay, Long Jump and Triple Jump Lexie Sowerby Division Champion – 4x100m Relay and 100m, 2nd place – 200m Paige Fessler Division Champion – 400m Hurdles and High Jump Nattaly Lindo Division Champion – Shot Put, 2nd place – Discus Moanna Thelusca Division Champion – Discus, 2nd place – Shot Put Alyanna Nadal Division Champion – 100m Hurdles Uzoma Nweze Division Champion – 4x100m Relay Alissa Azor Division Champion – 4x100m Relay Arielle Tieschmaker 2nd place – 1500m Cianna Nadal 2nd place – 100m Hurdles Brooke Fessler 2nd place – High Jump Dadiana Delance 3rd place – 1500m Chantelle Gamory 3rd place – Pole Vault Boys Varsity Spring Track : The boys won the Conference Championships and the Division Championships. However, they lost the County Championships. All-County Raphael Baez 2nd place – High Jump, 3rd place – Long Jump Jayden Gonzalez 3rd place – High Jump Mathew Olivencia 3rd place – Pole Vault Sedgeley Duperval 2nd place – Long Jump, 3rd place – 400m Matteo Somma 3rd place – 3200m All-Division Raphael Baez Division Champion – Long Jump, 3rd place – 200m Matteo Somma Division Champion – 3200m Kevin Beltran Division Champion – 1600m Michael Muoio Division Champion – Pole Vault Antonio Casoria Division Champion – Shot Put Jayden Gonzalez Division Champion – High Jump Jaden Frederique 2nd place – Discus, 3rd place – Shot Put Samuel Onuoha 2nd place – Triple Jump Danial Haq 2nd place – Shot Put Nigel Monrose 2nd place – 400m Hurdles Matthew Hunt 2nd place – High Jump Mathew Olivencia 2nd place – Pole Vault Dominick Rios 3rd place – 400m Hurdles Marcus Chiu 3rd place – 110m Hurdles Maxximus Estrada 3rd place – Pole Vault BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Now That the 2020 Presidential Election is Over, What Comes Next For Us? By Logan Balsan Volume 1 Issue 3 December 16, 2020 Image provided by the Herald As Former Vice President Al Gore said when he conceded to then-Governor George W. Bush in the contested 2000 Presidential Election, “This has been an extraordinary election!” The 2020 Elections have truly been extraordinary. Trump will join the list of single-term Presidents, and historic popular vote levels have been reached, as Biden surpassed the 80,000,000 vote mark. However, after the January Georgia Senate Runoffs between Senators Kelly Loeffler (R) and David Perdue (R) versus Raphael Warnock (D) and Jon Ossoff (D) respectively, what’s next for New Yorkers? Well, county and town elections aren’t so far away. In 2021, an off-year from normal federal and other gubernatorial-related positions, several Town of Hempstead and Nassau County positions are up, and several key races will be up for grabs for both political parties. Let’s start with the Town of Hempstead. In 2021, the positions of Town Supervisor, District Members 1 and 6 of the Town Council, and Town Clerk are up for election. A key race in this area is the Town Supervisor’s Race, as incumbent Supervisor Donald X. Clavin, Jr. (R) narrowly defeated incumbent Supervisor Laura Gillen (D) in 2019 for the position. Throughout his first term, Clavin has been seen as a strong leader during the pandemic, although he did attend a controversial event at the Plattdeutsch that was feared to be a “super-spreader” event. He has also been seen battling Nassau County Executive Laura Curran (D) over certain aid funds during the pandemic. This will be a big race to watch next November. Hempstead Town Clerk, Kate Murray, a former Town Supervisor, is up for re-election. She defeated incumbent Clerk Sylvia Cabana (D) in 2019 alongside Clavin’s win for Supervisor. Murray won by a bigger margin than Clavin won in the Supervisor’s election. Finally, District One member Dorothy Goosby, a Democrat, and District 6 member, Dennis Dunne, who had run a campaign in 2020 against incumbent State Senator Kevin Thomas, are also up for re-election. These are all races that may be close come election night 2021. Onto the Nassau County elections in 2021. We have incumbent County Executive Laura Curran (D) is up for election. She is the first woman to serve in the position and the first Democrat since Tom Suozzi held the office in the late 2000s. Curran won in 2019 after incumbent County Executive Ed Mangano (R) was exposed, tried, and convicted for committing federal crimes during his ten years in office. This will be a heated election, as Republicans have traditionally held this position over the years. Lastly, the legislature is up. In contrast to Curran’s affiliation with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party controls the legislature, which first flipped back in 2019. These elections have proven crucial for the County Executive’s election, as it foreshadows a possible winner in the end. While these Elections aren’t until November of 2021, they are the ones to watch. The vast majority of North’s current seniors will be 18 years old and eligible to vote in these elections which will likely be their first, if they get registered and decide to vote. These elections change a lot more than you might think about life here in New York and in Nassau County. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections The Global Food Crisis: The First Move By Raj Singh Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by WFP Ten weeks. The media and experts generally say we have ten more weeks until a global food shortage. Americans eat 3600 calories worth of food in a day, and the average Indian eats 2200 calories a day. Livestock alone in America eats enough food to feed 800 million people on Earth. We eat a lot, and the same is true for Europe, Oceania, and other North and South American countries. We live in a society that consumes extreme amounts of food, and that will not fare well in the future shortage. The Russo-Ukrainian War is a major cause of the upcoming crisis. Ukraine and Russia produce a huge portion of Earth’s wheat, and with the war going on, production in Ukraine is limited. As soldiers take land, crops cannot be planted. Crops that are planted go nowhere since Russia blockaded the Ukrainian ports. This has a direct effect on Africa in particular as they cannot produce enough wheat to feed their massive, growing population. The fertilizer shortage is not as famous as the food shortage right now, but it is much worse. China and Russia control the global fertilizer production, while America and India produce their own fertilizer for their farming industries. But for the rest of the world, they have to buy from China and Russia. Since sanctions have been implemented on Russia, they and China have postponed the export of fertilizer. Despite what history class tells you, most people on Earth still practice monoculture, planting the same plant year after year, so their soil is poor, and they rely on fertilizer. In particular, Central Asia’s former Soviet states, such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, rely on Russian wheat and fertilizer exports that have been withheld from them. It is probable that many citizens will become refugees and go to Europe, causing problems and potential destabilizing in the West, which would be a victory for China and Russia. China has been hoarding every resource it can get near itself. For the past couple of years, China has been stocking up on Ukrainian wheat to keep. In addition, with their current zero-Covid lockdowns, China has kept thousands of cargo ships off the shore of Shanghai as storage. China seems to have been preparing for a global food crisis for a long time, and when the crisis hits, they won’t be affected as badly. This problem was caused by the new Cold War going on between the West (America, Europe, and Oceania) and the Chinese-Russian alliance that has been solidified by a recent pact that openly declares to be the new world order to challenge the West. This upcoming global crisis is a move of a pawn by the Chinese and Russians; therefore, this means that a new Cold War has not only arisen but will affect the lives of billions of people globally. We have to depend on our government and ourselves to steer the world away from this crisis, and we have to act now if we want to avoid a refugee crisis. Millions, if not billions, could starve. Sources: https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/average-calorie-intake-human-per-day-versus-recommendation-1867.html https://www.india.com/lifestyle/diet-of-average-indian-lacks-protein-fruit-vegetables-4066766/ https://www.reuters.com/business/sanctions-bite-russia-fertilizer-shortage-imperils-world-food-supply-2022-03-23/ https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/russia-and-china-unveil-a-pact-against-america-and-the-west https://www.fox29.com/news/world-wheat-supply-food-shortage-un-security-council-sara-menker BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Nightmare on Main Street Back to Sections My Costume By Katherine Cevada October 8, 2021 Volume 2 Issue 1