Ravin April 2012 Times - Riverfield Country Day School

Inside this issue... 

Cruiser wipeouts! 2 

Our MS soccer players 2 

Mystery Person 3 

Two original poems ... 3 

The Treaty, part 5 4 

Goin’ to Kansas City! 4 

The Leaf, the Volt, the i-MiEV 5 

IMAGE SEARCH 5 

Bogle talks about golf … 6 

Mystery Person 6 

Racing Junior Dragsters 7 

NBA playoffs start this month 7 

Remember Mario vs. Bowser? 8 

Sprite vs. 7Up — a taste test 8 

What is wiff-waff? 9 

Gimme some cake! 9 

Do you bring your lunch? 10 

Love Valley, part 4 10 

Volume V Number 5 

RAVIN’ TIMES is published monthly 

during the school year by the Middle 

School Newspaper elective class at 

Riverfield Country Day School in 

Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

This is a student-led publication. All 

opinions expressed are those of the 

individual writers and do not reflect 

positions of the staff, advisers or 

school administration. 

The staff reserves the right to edit 

any material submitted for publication. 

Contact the Newspaper Adviser 

at pdickey@riverfield.org. 

—NEWSPAPER STAFF— 

Zeke Clark 

Altug Delen 

Ashley Guterman 

James Morley 

Addison Standley 

Cade Stanger 

Tyler Violett 

Garrett Wheeler 

Logan Wheeler 

Ravin’ 

times 

April 2012 

— EMPTY BOWLS — 

Thursday night, April 5 from 

5:30 to 7 p.m. Come help us raise 

money for the Food Bank! 

Riverfield spring sports are here! 

By Zeke Clark 

8TH GRADE 

T 

he year has just been 

flying by, and we are 

already at that time 

of year when spring sports 

come around. 

This year, Riverfield’s 

spring sports consist of 

Golf, Soccer, and Tennis. 

The coaches for the Middle 

School teams are Jason 

Bogle (Golf), Lindsey 

Watts (Boys’ and Girls’ 

Soccer), Mike Schwartz 

(Boys’ Soccer), and Toby 

Clark (Tennis). Practices, 

games, and matches are 

already underway, and all 

the coaches are ecstatic for 

a fresh start at these three 

spring sports and hope for 

the best for their teams. 

Soccer is a fairly new 

sport to Riverfield, but the 

teams have seen much success 

in the first few seasons. 

The coaches hope to 

see even more success and 

growth for this season’s 

teams. Both the boys’ and 

girls’ teams practice three 

days a week after school on 

the football field. Both the 

boys’ and girls’ soccer 

teams have six games 

scheduled, plus at least one 

practice scrimmage for 

both teams. Both Coach 

Watts and Coach Schwartz 

are looking forward to another 

great Middle School 

soccer season, and hope to 

see much improvement 

from their teams. 

(For full coverage, see 

Cade Stanger’s article on 

page 2.) 

Golf has been offered 

here at Riverfield for several 

years now. In addition 

to Varsity basketball, Jason 

Bogle also coaches 

both Middle and Upper 

School Golf. The teams 

practice two days a week 

after school at nearby Page 

Belcher Golf Course. Although 

Coach Bogle has a 

very busy schedule due to 

teaching and being Riverfield’s 

Athletic Director, we 

are very privileged to have 

such a great person coaching 

these Middle School 

students on how to improve 

their golfing skills. 

(See James Morley’s interview 

with Coach Bogle on 

page 6.) 

Along with golf, tennis 

has also been offered here at 

Riverfield for several years, 

and Coach Clark has been 

happy sharing his many 

years of tennis experience 

with our players. The team 

practices on Mondays, 

Wednesdays, and Thursdays 

from 2:30 to 4:00 here on 

our new tennis courts. Coach 

Clark has eight matches and 

two tournaments scheduled 

for this year. He is well prepared 

with knowledge of the 

game to help students improve, 

and we can’t wait to 

see the players show off their 

skills during the matches. 

Make sure you come out 

and support your fellow student 

athletes! 

Addison Standley, Cade Stanger, and James Morley show that Golf, 

Soccer, and Tennis are now in full swing. PHOTO BY ZEKE CLARK

2 

Longboarding 

By Cade Stanger 

7TH GRADE 

L 

ongboarding is a 

very popular thing 

to do. Recently people 

have been getting more 

interested in it. Longboarding 

is kind of like 

skateboarding, but many 

people say it is better. 

There are many different 

types of boards. Some 

are made for doing tricks, 

and some are for just 

cruising. 

Cruisers are a popular 

type of longboard. They 

are really easy to ride and 

can go pretty fast on a little 

slope. Many people like 

to go to Riverside and 

longboard. 

The bad part about 

longboarding is that it is 

very easy to wipeout. Wiping 

out hurts really bad 

PHOTO: ATMORHON.BLOGSPOT.COM 

and is easy to do when 

going down a big hill. 

Some people hate 

wearing helmets but in 

the end, wearing a helmet 

can help you a lot, 

especially if you crash or 

wipeout. 

People who cannot 

afford an expensive 

longboard usually make 

their own. Some people 

even want to make their 

own because you can 

customize the shape and 

the art on the bottom. 

Even if you do have 

the money to buy one, 

making your own is 

really fun and you don’t 

have to spend your 

money. 

The price of longboards 

and cruisers 

range from $100-200. 

They are expensive but 

worth the money. 

Spring soccer starts 

T 

his year, the Middle 

School boys’ soccer 

team is being 

coached by our English 

teacher, Ms. Watts, with 

the help of Mike Schwartz. 

Mr. Schwartz is also coaching 

Varsity soccer. He was 

recruited from Holland 

Hall. The Middle School 

girls’ team is also being 

coached by Ms. Watts. 

Both teams practice on 

Mondays, Wednesdays, 

and Thursdays from 2 to 4. 

Before the season 

started, Riverfield’s Middle 

School soccer coaches were 

worried about how many 

players they would have. 

At the time, there weren’t 

enough players for the 

boys’ team, but in time 

enough signed up to build 

a team. 

The boys’ team now has 

12 players: Braden Bates, 

Zeke Clark, Cullen Harvey, 

Jad Jaafar, Evan Keely, 

Franklin Pace, Tater Pugh, 

Tollie Pugh, Luke Smolen, 

Cade Stanger, Sammy 

Weimer, and Eleazar Tikimerov. 

The girls’ team has 13 

players: Grace Clark, Bella 

Coster, Brooklyn Farley, 

Olivia Graves, Emma Keely, 

Erica Kelly, Reese Goettel, 

Julia Hale, Ryan Lenard, 

Madison O’Bar, Kate 

Rhynes, Kaylen Smith, and 

Rachel Wolf. 

Both Middle School 

teams lost their first games, 

but they have done better 

since then. These hard working 

middle schoolers will 

practice and practice until 

soccer season is over. We all 

look forward to seeing our 

players succeed this season! 

This year’s soccer players include Zeke Clark and Cade Stanger (top) 

and Kate Rhynes and Erica Kelley. PHOTOS BY CADE STANGER 

RAVIN’ TIMES April 2012

Mystery Person 

By Ashley Guterman 

6TH GRADE 

T 

his Mystery Person is 

going to be a difficult 

one. Have fun trying 

to guess, or telling your 

friends that you guessed 

when you really looked on 

the back page or asked 

someone. I will give you only 

one hint: This person is a 7th 

grader. 

Ashley: What is your favorite 

color? 

?: Spring green. 

A: Interesting. Moving on, 

what is your favorite show? 

?: That ’70s Show. 

A: What’s your favorite 

sport? 

?: Basketball. 

A: Shoe size? 

?: 10½. 

A: Coke or Pepsi? 

?: Coca-Cola. 

A: …Really now? Have you 

had any arrests? 

?: Not yet. 

A: What’s your favorite 

school subject? 

?: Recess. 

A: Cute. What do you do 

for a hobby? 

?: I draw. 

A: Last question. What’s 

your favorite movie? 

?: Tower Heist. 

A: Thank you for your 

time. 

?: You’re welcome. 

Screeching in the bursting light, 

I fight my fears and run to hide. 

Being overpowered at every word, 

This was more than just absurd. 

In the crackle, I speed my pace, 

Running from what was once a race. 

The lightning crashes without a trace, 

But in the light, I see his face. 

O R I G I N A L P O E T R Y 

EMPTY BOWLS 

PHOTO 

Do you think you know who this is? The answer is on the back page. 

PHOTO BY ASHLEY GUTERMAN 

Love, hate — it’s all the same. 

For some people like you 

It’s just a game. 

I’m Not afraid to point fingers, 

Just to point names, 

Until I saw Hope 

Who left as fast as it came. 

On Thursday night, April 5, Riverfield’s Diversity Committee will host our 6th annual Empty Bowls event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

Families are invited to come and enjoy dinner while bidding on unique ceramic bowls made by Riverfield students. The bowls 

serve as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the 

Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Adults $5, Children $3. Sign up now at the front desk. 

April 2012 RAVIN’ TIMES 

3

THE TREATY, part 5 

By Garrett Wheeler 

7TH GRADE 

Previously in “The 

Treaty”: Alistair and the 

Darium soldiers trained 

hard for the coming battle 

against Jarigo. Prince Carnell 

told Alistair he wanted 

to fight to honor his fallen 

father, King Darium. The 

next day, the armies met 

on the battlefield … 

T 

he Darium and 

Jarigo knights 

yelled as they ran 

toward each other with 

swords, spears, and maces 

in hands. The armies ran 

into each other as the battle 

began. 

Soldiers were killed all 

around. Alistair entered 

the battle cautiously, keeping 

his eye on Carnell to 

make sure he was always 

with him. 

Carnell looked at Alistair 

and whispered, “I’m 

E 

very year in the 

spring, Riverfield’s 

entire Middle School 

goes on a big field trip. 

We always go to a large, 

popular city in a nearby 

state. Last year, we went to 

Oklahoma City. The year 

before, we went to St. Louis, 

Missouri. 

This year, on April 20, 

we’re going to Kansas City, 

Missouri. 

Throughout this school 

year and last, there have 

been fundraising events to 

help raise enough money for 

Spring Trips, such as Legacy. 

Students will agree that all 

the work required by these 

fundraising events will be 

scared.” 

Alistair smiled and replied, 

“We all are.” 

The battle continued as 

more soldiers fell and 

more blood was spilled. 

The fight was the most 

intense the two kingdoms 

had ever fought. 

Finally, as the sun be- 

well worth the trip. 

On March 1, I was able 

to ask Mrs. Maxey where 

we are going when we get 

to Kansas City. She said 

she has an exciting trip 

gan to set, the fighting 

came to an end. The Darium 

army had prevailed. 

Blood stained the green 

grass of the battlefield 

where many men lay on 

the ground, motionless. 

Alistair looked at the field. 

He saw many dead soldiers, 

more from Jarigo 

PHOTO: PICTURES.4EVER.EDU 

planned. Some of the 

places we’re going to are 

the Steamboat Arabia Mu- 

seum, the Nelson-Atkins 

Museum of Art, and the 

College Basketball Experi- 

than Darium. But someone 

was missing. Suddenly, 

Alistair’s eyes widened. 

“Carnell! Where are 

you?” he shouted. 

Alistair began searching 

everywhere, across the 

battlefield and around the 

walls of the kingdom, but 

the prince could not be 

found. He then heard a 

faint cry. It was Carnell, 

shouting from the castle. 

“Help!” 

Alistair ran through 

the streets and up into the 

castle. His brow was 

sweating from the previous 

fighting and the 

knowledge that Carnell 

was in trouble. As he made 

it to the top of the castle, 

he finally saw the prince. 

He also saw the last Jarigo 

soldier. The knight was 

holding Carnell with a 

sword to his throat. 

(To be continued …) 

Spring Trip to Kansas City this year 

PHOTO: MLSREVERSEMORTGAGE.COM 

CREATIVE 

FICTION 

ence. We’re also going to a 

special museum called Science 

City that is in a restored 

train station. 

While we are at Science 

City, there are four major 

exhibits we could see — Titanic: 

The Artifact Exhibition, 

DinoLab, Gross Science, 

and the Engineering 

Lego Robotics Challenge. 

The Titanic one is just a museum, 

but DinoLab, Gross 

Science, and Lego Robotics 

are interactive. On March 13, 

we were asked which we 

wanted to do. In the next few 

weeks, we will get to see 

which one we’ll go to. 

The spring trip will be 

loads of fun! 

4 RAVIN’ TIMES April 2012

The electric car revolution … 

By Altug Delen 

6TH GRADE 

C 

ars pollute the earth 

along with other vehicles, 

power plants, 

refineries, gasoline-powered 

lawnmowers, and many 

other things. But many people 

are trying to fix this by 

using eco-friendly energy 

sources like solar panels and 

windmills, generators instead 

of power plants, electric 

powered lawnmowers, 

and other solutions. 

Cars remain a major 

source of pollution. There 

are so many cars in the 

IMAGE 1 — WHO IS THIS? 


world, and almost all of 

them run on gasoline, 

which pollutes. Hybrid 

gasoline-electric cars are a 

step in the right direction, 

but they do not entirely 

solve the problem. Unfortunately, 

totally electric 

cars have had their problems. 

Some early models 

were only able to go 20 

miles on a 24-hour charge. 

But then the Nissan 

people invented an electric 

car called the Nissan Leaf. 

The Leaf is a zero emission, 

100% electric car that 

can go 100 miles on a 6-8 

hour charge. The bad thing 

about it is that it doesn’t 

charge on a regular outlet. 

It requires a different type 

of power outlet that you 

have to install to the main 

power supply of your 

house. But it is still a pretty 

good, futuristic car. 

In addition, Chevrolet 

now makes a zero 

emission car called the 

Chevy Volt. The Volt 

looks futuristic, too. 

Then Mitsubishi got 

jealous. They have now 

made an electric car 

called the i-MiEV. It is a 

zero emission car that is 

a hatchback that looks 

Guess what? Charlie Heldebrandt found the ITEM SEARCH box featured in our last issue! 

There was a Buggati Veyron Hot Wheel inside. Good job, Charlie — you deserve an invisible star! 

Ravin’ Times Image SEARCH ! 

Can you correctly identify the people in these images? 

If you think you know who they are, fill in the blanks 

under each photo, sign your name, and drop this page 

in the RAVIN’ TIMES BOX located in the LAC Commons. 

Your name ________________________________ 


IMAGE 7 — WHO IS THIS? IMAGE 8 — WHO IS THIS? 


PHOTOS BY ALTUG DELEN 



similar to a Smart car. 

More and more companies 

are making electric, zero 

emission cars, which leads to 

the question: Will most of 

the cars in the world be electric 

one day? 

A Nissan Leaf … PHOTO: AUTOBLOG.COM 




5

Interview with Coach Bogle 

By James Morley 

6TH GRADE 

S 

ince spring sports 

have started, I 

wanted to interview 

someone who is coaching 

one of the Middle School 

teams. Coach Jason Bogle 

is Riverfield’s Athletic Director, 

and he is also the 

head coach of the boys’ 

and girls’ golf teams. I 

spoke with him a few 

weeks ago, and here’s our 

interview! 

James: Hi, Coach! I was 

wondering if you could 

answer a few questions 

about Golf for the newspaper. 

Coach Bogle: I am always 

happy to talk about 

any of our sports at Riverfield! 

ARTWORK FROM MLBDAILYPICS.COM 

6 

Cactus League Teams: 

1. Arizona Diamondbacks 

2. Chicago Cubs 

3. Chicago White Sox 

4. Cincinnati Reds 

5. Cleveland Indians 

6. Colorado Rockies 

7. Kansas City Royals 

8. Los Angeles Angels 

9. Los Angeles Dodgers 

10. Milwaukee Brewers 

11. Oakland A’s 

12. San Diego Padres 

13. San Francisco Giants 

14. Seattle Mariners 

15. Texas Rangers 

J: How long has Riverfield 

offered golf as a spring 

sport? 

CB: Five years. 

J: Have you coached Riverfield 

Golf from the start? 

CB: Yes. 

J: Who is currently on the 

team? 

CB: We are still putting 

the team together, but 

right now the Middle 

School team consists of 

Matthew Bogle, Zack Davenport, 

Kyle Ensey, Bailey 

Gower, Stephen Holland, 

Ben Smith, Addison Standley, 

James Taylor, and 

Garrett Wheeler. We have 

one girl playing on the 

Middle School team this 

year, Elora Wymore. 

J: Where is the team currently 

practicing? 

CB: We practice on Mondays 

and Wednesdays 

from 3:20 to 4:30 at Page 

Belcher Golf Course. 

J: When do you start playing 

games? 

CB: Most competitions are 

during April and May. 

J: Do you coach all the 

teams? Or does another 

teacher or faculty member 

help you out? 

CB: I coach all of the Golf 

teams. Mrs. Goodwin, 

Kate’s Mom, helps us out 

during the season. She is a 

golf pro at the Oaks Country 

Club, and she does a 

great job with all the players. 

J: How long have you been 

coaching golf? 

CB: Six years. 

J: When you were in middle 

school, did you play 

golf? 

CB: My school did not 

have golf in middle school, 

but I did play during the 

summer. 

J: How often do you play 

golf now? 

CB: During the summer, I 

try to play a couple of 

times a month. 

J: Thank you for your 

time. 

CB: You are welcome. 

Thank you for your interest 

in Riverfield Golf. 

PHOTO BY JAMES MORLEY 

MLB starting up again 

Grapefruit League Teams: 

1. Atlanta Braves 

2. Baltimore Orioles 

3. Boston Red Sox 

4. Detroit Tigers 

5. Houston Astros 

6. Miami Marlins 

7. Minnesota Twins 

8. New York Mets 

9. New York Yankees 

10. Philadelphia Phillies 

11. Pittsburg Pirates 

12. St. Louis Cardinals 

13. Tampa Bay Rays 

14. Toronto Blue Jays 

15. Washington Nationals 

I 

f you play a professional 

sport, most of 

your time will be donated 

to that sport to practice 

and play games. But 

some sports require more 

time than others. 

For instance, in basketball 

you don’t have to practice 

three hours every day. 

But in baseball, you must 

practice every day just to 

stay on the roster. If you 

want to become an all-time 

great, you will probably 

have to practice about four 

hours a day. The season for 

major league baseball’s 

season lasts for about 

seven months. 

There is a reason for 

this. Baseball has the second 

longest season in pro- 

fessional sports behind 

hockey. For example, this 

year when the Saint Louis 

Cardinals won the World 

Series, just a couple of 

months later they had already 

started practices again. 

Then in a couple of weeks, 

Spring Training started up 

again. 

There are two leagues in 

Spring Training: the Cac 

tus League in Arizona, and 

the Grapefruit League in 

Florida. Spring training 

started on January 31, but 

opening day for the actual 

season for all teams will be 

March 30. 

Whichever team you are 

rooting for, good luck! I 

know I will be rooting for my 

Redbirds! 

RAVIN’ TIMES April 2012

A unique interest … 

By Logan Wheeler 

6TH GRADE 

A 

shley Guterman, a 

6th grade student 

here at Riverfield, 

is involved in an activity 

that is very impressive and 

unique. I decided to interview 

her about what she is 

doing. 

Logan: When did you 

decide to join the Junior 

Dragster competition? 

Ashley: I decided to join 

after my sister joined. My 

brother and sister both do 

it now, and I thought it 

would be fun to try. 

L: Where are the competitions 

held? 

A: At Tulsa Raceway Park, 

which my dad used to own. 

L: What type of car do you 

have? 

A: I am driving an MX2. 

It’s a blue Junior Dragster 

with ghost flames. 

L: How fast can your car 

go? 

A: It can reach the speed 

of 80 mph. 

L: Have you won anything 

yet? 

A: I won a plaque at the 

Exotic Car Show competition 

in December where 

they judge you on the look 

of your car. 

L: Have you competed in 

any races yet? 

A: No, but my first race 

will be on March 31. I am 

still practicing. 

L: Do you think you will 

enjoy it? 

A: It is a lot of fun! It’s 

scary at first, but then you 

get the hang of it. 

L: How do you think you 

will feel during the races 

when they start? 

A: I think I will be confi- 

dent, excited … and really, 

really nervous. 

L: Good luck, and thank 

you for your time, Ashley! 

A: No problem! 

NBA playoffs start this month 

O 

n April 28, the NBA 

(National Basketball 

Association) playoffs 

will begin. 

The NBA is divided into 

two conferences, the Eastern 

and the Western. There are 

30 teams in the NBA, so 

each conference has 15 

teams. There are three divisions 

in each conference, 

and each division holds five 

teams. 

At the end of the regular 

season, the top eight teams 

in each conference go to the 

playoffs to decide the national 

championship. In the 

playoffs, the NBA decides 

which teams will play each 

other by their rank, which is 

determined by their record. 

For example, rank 1 plays 8, 

2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 

plays 5. In each match-up, 

the first team that wins four 

out of seven games moves on 

to the next round of the 

playoffs. 

Basketball season is almost 

over this year, so fans 

are now looking forward to 


the playoffs. This season 

there are only 66 games 

instead of the normal 82 

EASTERN CONFERENCE 

Atlantic Division 

Philadelphia 76ers (28-22) 

Boston Celtics (28-22) 

New York Knicks (26-25) 

Central Division 

Chicago Bulls (41-11) 

Indiana Pacers (29-20) 

Southeast Division 

Miami Heat (35-13) 

Orlando Magic (32-19) 

Atlanta Hawks (30-22) 

because of the NBA lockout. 

Basketball fans already 

have a pretty good 

idea of who’s going to the 

playoffs. Here are the most 

likely contenders (below). 

WESTERN CONFERENCE 

Northwest Division 

Oklahoma City Thunder (38-12) 

Utah Jazz (27-24) 

Denver Nuggets (27-24) 

Minnesota Timberwolves (25-27) 

Trail Blazers (23-27) 

Pacific Division 

Los Angeles Lakers (31-19) 

Los Angeles Clippers (29-21) 

Phoenix Suns (25-26) 

Southwest Division 

San Antonio Spurs (35-12) 

Dallas Mavericks (29-22) 

Memphis Grizzlies (27-21) 

Houston Rockets (27-24) 

ARTWORK: LIVE.DRJAYS.COM 

“Fire In the Flames” is Ashley’s 

car (in blue.) 

PHOTO BY ASHLEY GUTERMAN 

7

Retro Game Review: Super Mario 

By Addison Standley 

8TH GRADE 

W 

hen Super 

Mario Bros. was 

released on the 

Nintendo Entertainment 

System in 1985, gamers 

everywhere were blown 

away by this astonishing 

achievement of a game. 

This game has not only 

stood the test of time for 

the past 25 years, but is 

also one of the greatest 

games of all time. 

The premise for the 

game is quite simple: 

Mario (and his brother 

Luigi if you are doing multiplayer) 

travel throughout 

the Mushroom Kingdom 

and battle monsters in 

order to save Princess 

Toadstool from the main 

villain Bowser. It’s a simplistic 

story, but it’s an 

endearing one at that. Everything 

about this game is 

as close to perfection as 

video games get. The controls 

are responsive and 

precise, the environments 

are beautiful and detailed 

(for its time), and the enemies 

and music are memorable. 

Koji Kondo created 

some of the most memorable 

tunes in gaming just 

through some simple 

bleeps and boops. 

Secret wormholes to 

later worlds can be found 

by doing specific actions, 

such as pressing down in a 

wormhole, or breaking 

some bricks in a ceiling to 

get to a ledge. Even now, 

it’s always fun to explore 

the world and try to dis- 

PHOTO: THESTUDENTROOM.CO.UK 

cover new rooms or levels. 

Super Mario Bros. is 

one of the best games of all 

PHOTO: EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG 

Sprite vs. 7Up: 

A blind taste test 

O 

n March 5 we had a 

taste test in the 

Middle School 

Commons after lunch to 

see which type of drink 

people really liked better: 

Sprite or 7Up. 

I randomly asked 

twelve students (two boys 

and two girls from each of 

6th, 7th, and 8th grades) to 

volunteer for the taste test. 

First, we asked them which 

drink they thought they 

preferred. Then we had 

them drink samples of 

both drinks from identical, 

unmarked cups. They had 

no way of knowing which 

sample was their “preferred” 

drink. After they 

time, and should be preserved 

and remembered 

for generations to come. 

had tasted both samples, we 

asked them which one they 

liked best and recorded the 

results. 

Interestingly, five of the 

12 people tested did NOT 

pick the drink they thought 

they preferred. That’s almost 

half! In addition, a majority 

of the girls (5 of 6) thought 

Sprite tasted better, while a 

majority of the boys (4 of 6) 

picked 7Up. Girls commented 

that the Sprite sample 

was “bubblier” and had a 

stronger flavor, while the 

boys said that 7Up was 

“smoother.” 

Which drink do you like 

better? Maybe you should 

try the other one again! 


The history of ping-pong 

By Tyler Violett 

8TH GRADE 

P 

ing-pong, also known 

as “table tennis,” 

originated in Britain 

during the 1880s. 

The game was commonly 

known as “wiff-waff” then, 

and it was played after dinner 

as a parlor game. The net 

was made of a row of books, 

and the paddles were two 

more books. Players hit a 

golf ball back and forth over 

the row of books. 

Wiff-waff soon caught 

the attention of manufacturers, 

who started making and 

selling equipment for the 

game. The British manufacturer 

J. Jaques & Son Ltd. 

trademarked the name “ping 

-pong” in 1901. That name 

and table tennis are the 

most commonly used 

names for the game today. 

Jaques later sold the 

name “Ping-Pong” to the 

Parker Brothers in the U.S. 

Also in 1901, the celluloid 

ball was discovered in 

the U.S. by a British player 

named James Gibbs. When 

Gibbs saw the ball, he 

thought it would be perfect 

for “ping-pong.” That year, 

rubber was put on both 

sides of wooden paddles to 

form modern rackets. 

The International Table 

Tennis Foundation (ITTF) 

was founded in 1926, and 

they hosted the first World 

Championship that year in 

London. 

In 1988, table tennis 

was introduced as an 

Olympic sport. In 2000, 

the ITTF switched the size 

of the ball from 30mm to a 

PHOTOS: NWASIANWEEKLY.COM and GAMESONLAND.COM 

What is your favorite flavor of cake? 


GRAPH BY TYLER VIOLETT 

40mm ball that has more air 

resistance to slow down the 

game. Table tennis is now 

known and played all over 

the world. 

C 

ake is one of 

many different 

types of 

desserts. My favorite 

flavor of cake is 

chocolate. What is 

your favorite? 

On Wednesday, 

February 29, I polled 

69 Riverfield middle 

school students during 

lunch. 

The most popular 

flavor of cake was 

chocolate. Angel 

food and red velvet 

tied for second. 

Cheesecake came in 

third. Then, in order 

from most to least 

favorite were: vanilla, 

strawberry, 

carrot cake, strawberry 

shortcake, coconut, 

and pineapple 

cake. 

9

POLL: Home or School Lunch? 

By Zeke Clark 

8TH GRADE 

Y 

ou may be wondering 

how many people 

actually order 

lunch from the school, and 

how many people pack 

their lunch every morning 

from home. If so, today I 

can give you the exact results 

from the Middle 

School students. 

On March 5, I asked 

each of the students at 

lunch whether they 

brought their own lunch 

from home, or ordered 

lunch from the school. 

Here are the results: 

HOME 

LUNCH 

LOVE VALLEY, part 4 

By Heather Ruskoski 

8TH GRADE 

Synopsis: Blaze finally 

escaped and met Maria, 

who was accompanied by 

Misty’s foal. Maria told 

Blaze that Misty had died. 

The three horses then left 

Love Valley to start a new 

life together … 

S 

immering heat beat 

down on the mare as 

she forced her hooves 

to move one after the other, 

crunching through the dry 

summer grass. 

As Misty marched on, 

she thought back to the time 

when she had first awakened 

after giving birth, the sun 

shining in her eyes. She 

jolted suddenly, half expecting 

her foal to be beside her. 

But no one was there. 

Days later when her 

strength returned, Misty had 

galloped around the entire 

valley in search of Maria and 

her child to no avail. Saddened, 

she decided to look 

for them outside of the 

valley, beyond the river 

and even the trees if necessary, 

because her baby was 

all she had left in life. 

Misty snapped back to 

the present and swatted 

away a fly with her long, 

cream-colored tail. She 

had walked for days in the 

MYSTERY PERSON: Olivia Graves. Did you guess correctly? 

SCHOOL 

LUNCH 

GRAPHIC BY ZEKE CLARK 

heat until she finally came 

to the winding river and 

crossed it. And still she 

struggled on. 

Out beyond the river 

and the trees was another 

valley, and in that valley 

stood a tall, handsome 

black stallion. He stood in 

a field of grass with a 

young foal, not knowing 

the foal was his own. Every 

PHOTO: UNDESIGNEDART.DEVIANTART.COM 

I polled 69 students: 20 

ate school lunch, and 49 

brought lunch from home. 

Although there are a lot 

more students that pack 

their own lunch, the students 

that do eat lunch 

from the cafeteria here at 

Riverfield seem to really 

enjoy it. 

Why do so many 

choose to bring lunch from 

home? According to 6th 

grader Noah Laubach, “I’ve 

brought my own lunch 

since I was in 3rd grade. 

That way, I always know 

what I’m going to have.” 

Which do you prefer? 

CREATIVE 

FICTION 

day Blaze had grieved for his 

lost love. Reflecting on his 

decision to leave home, he 

ripped another mouthful of 

grass and chewed slowly. 

The sun was slowly setting. 

Glancing upward, Blaze 

saw a horse coming through 

a parting in the trees at the 

top of a nearby hill. The 

horse looked exhausted but 

confident. It reminded him 

of Misty. 

Misty walked through the 

tall trees as the sky began to 

darken into shades of orange 

and pink. She felt the breeze 

catch her mane and blow it 

softly. When she came to the 

edge of the tall hill, she 

looked down into the valley. 

There she saw a black horse 

with a foal, and in the distance 

she saw a horse that 

looked like her friend, 

Maria. Misty started down 

the hill toward them to get a 

better look. 

(To be continued …)

Ravin April 2012 Times - Riverfield Country Day School

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?