Viking Chronicles - New Brighton Middle School!

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Editorial – Gum At Schoolby Adrian SamsonSome research suggeststhat gum can help keepyour brain active andcan help some peopleconcentrate.One of the most commonlyenforced and commonlybroken school rules is the ruleagainst chewing gum oncampus. This rule comeslargely from fear of kidssticking gum under tables,spitting it on the ground, oreven having it stuck in anindividual’s hair.Though there are manyreasons why educators don’twant students to chew gum atschool, there are also benefitsto chewing gum for somestudents. Some researchsuggests that gum can helpkeep your brain active andcan help some peopleconcentrate. Additionally, ithelps those who are prone tofidgeting sit still and focus.For example, chewing gumhelps me focus and helpskeep me from chewing theinside of my mouth.At other schools I’veattended, a commonexplanation for this rule isthat gum can do bad things toyour teeth, but there arealready things that areallowed at school that are badfor people’s teeth. Also, fourout of five dentistsrecommend Trident.I know that there are a lot ofproblems with poorlydiscarded gum byirresponsible gum chewers,but that problem alreadyexists with the current rule inplace. I believe that thepeople who would like tochew gum at school, butchoose to follow this rule, areresponsible enough to keepfrom dropping, throwing, andspitting their gumeverywhere.There are solutions to thisproblem other than banninggum completely. A good way toprevent gum from finding itsway under people’s shoes is torestrict gum to a “gum-chewingarea.” That would likely be asuccessful way to keep gumchewingcontrolled andsupervised. Perhaps a parentvolunteer or student councilmembers could provide thissupervision and make sure thatthe gum is disposed of properly.While I respect the valid reasonsfor banning gum at school, thereare also positive aspects toallowing gum at school.Additionally, there are solutionsto this problem beyond banninggum completely. Perhaps a trialrun of a week or a month inwhich limited gum-chewingwere allowed at school woulddetermine if students can handlethis responsibility.Rylie’s Advice Columnby Rylie O’BrienQ: My best friend has been avoiding me. How do I talk to her and find out what’s wrong?A: Well, you might want to try going up to her and asking why she has been avoiding you or asking her what’swrong. She might not be avoiding you specifically. It’s possible that she might be upset about something thathas nothing to do with you. So if you go up to her ask if she is okay and she doesn’t want to talk, I would justgive her some space, and let her be alone. If you know why she is angry at you, then I would either leave heralone or try to help. Some people want to be alone when they are upset, but others might not know what to do inthat situation and they might need some support.Q; I’m new to this school. How do I make new friends?A: It’s always hard switching to a new school whether it is in the beginning of a school year or the middle of aschool year. What I would do is just be friendly and go up to some people who seem nice and are in some ofyour classes. Try and meet new people every day and just stay with them and their group of friends and oddsare, they will introduce you to other people. If a person you approach isn’t welcoming, then don’t becomefriends with them. It also may help If you know someone else that goes to school here so that you can talk tothem and find out who they think is nice. Then they can help you make friends. Just remember that most peopleare really friendly here at New Brighton Middle School, so there is no need to be shy or scared.Page 4 of 8
Mix It Up At Lunch Dayby Max BushnellDid you ever have an urge to make newfriends? Well on Tuesday, October 18, theopportunity is yours! This is the date of “MixIt up Day,” a national event at lunch,dedicated to sitting with individuals withwhom you are not acquainted.If you choose to participate, come on into thecafeteria during lunch and you will be greetedwarmly by getting assigned a seat at a table,filled with a random assortment of people. Ateach table, there will be a stack of conversationstarters, which will allow you and your fellowstudents to get to know each other a little better.If you join in the festivities, you will certainlyenjoy the new friends you acquire. If you don’tfeel like participating, then you don’t have to,we just ask you to eat outside.Let’s mix it up and make some newfriends on Tuesday!Bullyingby Ashi SmithAre you against bullying? Whether it’s inperson, over the Internet, or in public,bullying is wrong and always will be. Most ofus don’t notice or accept how big of a problemit is and how it affects people. Almosteveryone has experienced bullying orwitnessed it and I would be astonished ifsomeone said that they don’t believe that it isan important issue.Imagine your best friend is spreading rumorsand gossip about you. To your surprise anddismay, you realize that she isn’t as good of afriend as you thought. She clearly doesn’trealize how much this type of bullying canhurt. If you try to explain to her how heractions have affected you and she doesn’trespond positively, then it would be a goodtime to talk to an adult.Whether it is over the Internet or in person, noone should have to put up with bullying.Bullying online can be even more hurtfulbecause almost everyone can see it and willalways have access to it. Amber Carlton, oneof our eighth grade peers, says, “Cyberbullyingis a big issue and if you wouldn’t saythose hurtful words in person, then youshouldn’t post them online.” Another student,Alexis Oviedo, agrees with Amber along withalmost every other kid I interviewed at ourschool.Based on my research, more than half the kidsour age spend much of their free time - whennot with friends or at other after-schoolactivities - on Facebook, Twitter, Formspring,Myspace, Tumblr, Gmail, Yahoo, ClubPenguin, or other chat rooms or photo-sharingsites, and one-third of the comments peoplepost is negative, according to an employee ofFacebook.There have been many self-conscious andscared teens who have harmed themselvesafter being bullied. Because of the terrorsand tragedies of bullying, in the mostextreme situations, some have cutthemselves or even committed suicide.Almost everyone has been bullied, whetherit was someone stealing your crayons infirst grade or losing your best friend overgossip in eighth grade. We all know how itfeels to be bullied and I’m guessing that noone enjoyed it. When you hear about peoplebeing bullied, many middle school studentsprobably think that it is not that big of adeal, and that no one in his or her rightmind would harm himself or herselfbecause of such treatment, but some peopleare so deeply wounded by bullying that theydo harm themselves. Kids have been toldthat they are stupid, dumb, fake, retarded,ugly, fat, worthless, and have no friends.Once people say those words to someone,they start to think it’s true. I have beencalled all these things at one time oranother, but I just think that if someone hasthe nerve to call me or my friends thosenames, then something terrible must begoing on in their head or life. They justdon’t understand that it is wrong.So as you can see, bullying is harmful. It isalso dangerous, and in the most extremeinstances, has caused some to take theirlives or caused people to go to jail.Bullying can tear apart people’s amazinglives and make them feel that there is noreason to live. There can be people youaren’t fond of, but that does not mean youhave to mess up their life or anyone else’s.Bullying can tear apartpeople’s amazing livesand make them feel thatthere is no reason tolive.Page 5 of 8
Page 1 and 2: October 17, 2011Volume 1, Issue 1Vi
Page 3: Tangerine Moon - A New Magazine by
Page 7 and 8: SportsNew Brighton’s 8th Grade Gi

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