top of page
This site was designed with the
.com
website builder. Create your website today.Start Now

Read our newest column: SuperTeachers and about the possible Sparring Club! Also, Don't forget to donate to the NEAAAT Quiz Bowl Team!

NEAAAT @ Scaling STEM

Friday, April 15, 2016

 

Issue XIII

by Allie Monahan

     Isabelle Wilson, Jamar Armstrong, and I were chosen to go to got to Scaling STEM in Durham to present our Chase the Goose project. We along with several other students were chosen to present our school through our STEM project. We got many questions and all the adults were very impressed by our age (we were the youngest there). We as well were impressed by the other student’s projects, one group had been assigned to create an interactive kid's toy. We were very honored to be able to go, even though we had to wake up at 3 AM…

     Along with presenting it was an amazing learning experience for us as well. In the morning before we did our first presentation we along with Mr. Harris, Mrs. Alcott, Mrs. Rook, and Mr. Sharp from ECSU listened to a quick speech and had to create the tallest tower out of newspaper and masking tape that would support our object (a plastic baseball). Once we had finished our first presentation we ate lunch and heard from Ainissa G. Ramirez, a Science Evangelist and author on STEM and how it should be implemented more in schools today. She was an amazing motivational speaker, and after her lecture, we went off for our second and last presentation. After we left, our teachers stayed for multiple STEM-related sessions. Overall this was an amazing experience and we hope to go again next year.

NEAAAT Beat

  • Fri. April 15: NASA Aerospace Academy

  • Sat. April 16 @7: NEAAAT Formal

  • Thu. April 21: Board of Directors

  • Fri. April 22: Earth Day Community Project

  • Wed. April 27: Start of High School Class Registration

  • Fri. April 29: NASA Aerospace Academy

  • Fri. April 29: Early Release

Chase Update!

     We got to go to Raleigh to the STEM conference to present the Chase project along with Seniors from multiple other schools presenting their projects assigned to them. Many people were impressed of our age and that this project was not assigned. We were very pleased and honored to be chosen to present at the STEM conference (thank you so much, Mrs. Rook!). We are also very pleased to announce that Chase and Cassie (Chase’s mate) have built a nest! To our knowledge, there are no eggs in it yet but we could be wrong. Sometimes geese put another layer over the eggs for protection and Chase and Cassie both are very protective of the nest. Lastly, if you want more information on Chase, he now has his own Facebook page! You can look for him under “Chase the Goose”, and get to daily updates you may like his page. The other two geese (Denny and Denise) have around four eggs, so we are very excited to see gooselings!

      Recently in Mrs. Rook’s class, students participated in an experiment dealing with earlobes, tables, and the simulation of discrimination. The experience began in the hallway. Mrs. Rook asked each class to line up, and then she walked past each person in the line and looked at their ears. Upon inspection, she then told each student to go to either the “blue table” or the “dirty table”. After the students sat down in their designated areas, she discussed her reasoning behind the seating arrangements: the students with unattached earlobes were assigned the seats that were generally thought as the desirable ones, as they were decorated with blue tablecloths, bowls of mints, and flowers. The students with the attached earlobes, however, were not so lucky. They were forced to sit at the tables, some overturned, that were covered in trash, food crumbs, and other various undesirable things.

     Different classes, as Mrs. Rook explained, responded differently to this situation. Some classes chose to treat this experiment like a game, and two sides antagonized each other. The occasional student decided to protest and then leave the classroom. After a few minutes of play, the class settled down to listen to Mrs. Rook discuss that, although this was just fun and games to us, it was a serious issue of prejudice and discrimination. Instances such as the Holocaust and the conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda originally stemmed from classifications of certain groups of people who were categorized solely on characteristics such as their hair color, eye color, nose length, sexuality, and spiritual beliefs. These classifications led to years of injustice, hate, and eventually genocide. Overall, I think that the majority of the student body can agree that this was an eye-opening experience and that it is important to promote acceptance and peace instead of hatred, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Earlobe Experience

by Lauren Cox

On  April 23, Worldwide celebrates National Take a Chance Day.  On this day, take a chance on your dreams and your goals.  If you want to try something new, but you were too afraid, this is the day where you take the risk.  

 

Tech Cafe Re-Opening!

by Isabella Kelly-Goss

     On April 15th Tech Cafe at Port Discover will have a grand re-opening after a four month remodeling hiatus. Tech Cafe is a science based teen hang-out on Friday nights. Tech Cafe originally opened in January of 2015. The remodeling of Tech Cafe was funded through a Borroughs Wellcome grant designed to fund new regional STEM labs and is a student science enrichment fund. Tech cafe has not only redone the entire upstairs(where Tech Cafe is held) decor, but the grant also funded some really cool new equipment! Port Discover’s program now has robotic kits, 3-D printers, and soon a green screen and audio/video recording equipment. Tech Cafe is open to all students middle school and up from 7-10. The price of admission is $8 for non-members of Port DIscover and $5 for members. The reopening date of April 15th will include a NEAAAT discount, so be sure to ask about the NEAAAT student 2 for 1!

SuperTeacher! - Mr. Agraz

by Leigha Hendrick

     The new science teacher, Mr. Agraz, currently teaching Earth science and Physical science was asked what superpower he would want to have? This question is asked to all of the teachers during the interview stage. He chose to have spider-like abilities, just like marvel character spiderman. He chose such because he wanted to go anywhere like a spider, and use spider webs. I asked what name he would choose for himself and he chose “Arachno!”. When asked what he would wear he said “No cape it’ll only slow me down! But I haven’t put much thought into it” so at least he’ll have something to think about.

Ask Athena!

My best friend and I keep fighting how can I stop it? -BFF?

 

Dear, BFF?

     First of all, I’m sorry you and your friend keep fighting, but hopefully, after reading this article you can patch things up with them. Think of how the fighting starts. Is there immediate tension between you two or is there civil conversation before the screaming? If so, the first person starting the argument maybe they have something else on their mind-- family issues, boyfriend/ girlfriend problems, a new friend, insecurities, etc. Try to confront them about this and if it’s vice versa think about problems that you might be having that cause you to lash out on your friend. Another possibility could be that you and your friend have grown apart. This means that maybe you have both matured in a way that causes you both to think completely different than the others leading to a battle of opinions and ‘conflict’ ;). To solve this there are two solutions: talk out your conflict or go your separate ways. I recommend talking. If you ever feel like you and your friend are getting too heated too often there’s always the option of taking a break. No, not forever, just until you can cool down and go back to the friends you were before. Good luck with your friendship!

 

Love,

Athena

Sparring Club

by Wayne Sawyer

     Ever thought of medieval knights in battle and how they fought? Ever wanted to learn to fight like they did? That is what I’m hoping to accomplish with Sparring Club. You will learn the techniques and the history of the techniques. I am hoping that the sparring club will advance to the point where we can go to tournaments and compete against other people in full contact fights. I am hoping to have sparring club up and going before the end of the year, but because of complications with the proposal process, it is taking longer than planned.This is something that would help set us apart from other schools and bring more attention to students choice. To join the club, send me an email and voice your interest. A small fee may be required to join. Any questions please email me at dorseysawyer@northeastacademy.org

     I sent out a google form asking students what professional athlete they would want to be for a day and why. How do you think it would be to fill their shoes for the day? Quite a few students had great answers, which I will share below. Even though I was asking the question, I am also going to answer it myself.

    I would love to be Bastian Schweinsteiger, a midfielder for Manchester United. He is indeed a soccer player. I feel like it would very challenging to be in his position for a day because I would have to go through 8 hours of training and practice with one of the best teams in the world.

    Quite a few students replied with Stephen Curry, point guard for the Golden State Warriors. They said that they would be him because he is very inspirational and for his superb talent. They all said that it would be very hard to replace him because it would mean training and practicing vigorously and going to games.

Some more responses were Gareth Bale, Floyd Mayweather, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger, Kevin Durant, and Megan Willis. AAlthough many people would aspire to be a professional athlete, I don’t think that they understand the how complex and challenging it can be to “go pro”. I asked this to see what some students thought about being a professional athlete and to see what they thought it would be like and how it would be if they were indeed their chosen athlete.

     Even though many people say that being a professional athlete isn’t all money and playing sports, it is a lifestyle no one ever gets used to; I have to agree with it, even though I may not be a professional athlete, I have done enough research and asking around to figure out that it is very taxing life and job.

What Athlete Would You Be?

by David Johnson 

You are Almost There

By: Ivone’ Tatem

 

‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

                                  ~ Albert Einstein

 

As we all know, our school year is coming to an end.

Normally around this time people feel like giving in.

However, this action should not be taken.

In order to keep our focus we must awaken.

Not only for what is right before us, but for what is yet to come.

This means we cannot go back to what has already been done.

Keep your balance! Hold on!

You must keep moving because your ending has to be strong.

Organized Madness

by Samuel Avondo

     To preface this, I have wonderful filler skills. Contrary to popular belief I am not, in fact, dead. But enough about the part where I’m definitely not an undead indentured servant to the people running the newspaper, and definitely not worshiping Cthulhu, or any other sort of Lovecraftian beasts or old gods. The Necronomicon is just a set piece, and definitely not made of human flesh. At all. In any way,

     There’s a thing that (not)everyone is preparing for. The Formal, a gathering where couples and it’s complicated’s gather to strut about and show off how they look together, whether it’s appalling or sweet or somewhere in between. And some of you, like me, have been having to deal with people talking about it and people asking you to talk about it since it was announced. There’s tickets that you buy (as you’ve likely heard with all of the E-mails, radio announcements, people talking), which some people have complained about the pricing of, and yes, 524 pesos for one person and 698 for two is a fairly large amount, but there is the cost of the venue and food and other amenities to think about.

     There is a GoFundMe campaign to allow the nerds of the 8th grade Quiz Bowl team to go on a trip to the national competition. The web page for it can be found elsewhere on this page, should you wish to donate and assist them in reaching their goal of 4434 euros.

     There're benchmarks. As far as I know they’re actual benchmarks this time, rather than a mid-term exam like the last ones were.  Though it’s entirely possible that I’m wrong about that part.

     If you haven’t been informed (I don’t know how it’s possible you haven’t been, unless you are a student who doesn’t actually go to this school at all [in which case why are you even reading this?] or an interested adult who is just now reading this newspaper [in that case why are you reading this article to start with and not asking someone officially affiliated with the school for information?]) there’s an Engineering project that’s been going on for a while. There you get to build a Rollercoaster out of wooden bits and then watch as marbles make the descent into madness that is whatever design your group of unwitting mortals have decided to make to appease your teacher and receive a grade for something so ultimately unimportant on the grand cosmic scale, biding your time until the great divide that will tear us all apart and enlighten us on the―sorry, I’ve been reading things recently. Totally not letting my Lovecraftian lord recite his bizarre rhetoric through me. Not at all. There’s nothing here at all.

     And it’s after this bout of misguided and filling nonsense that was the majority of the article, that I must (un)regretfully tell you that my wonderful piece of organized madness has to conclude.

(Strangely enough, this is my opinion. Do not get your formal in a twist about it.)

     I have nothing to say so here is the advice.

 

I'm in love with a guy named Joe, but I have trouble telling him. :(

     It’s okay, he’ll understand. Joe Biden is a really great guy.

 

I just got new glasses, but I've realized that they make me look like a hipster. HALP

      It’s fine. Just go to the local coffee shop, NOT STARBUCKS! Go, drink ALL the coffee, then say, “This place is too mainstream…” Then leave. It’ll be alright.

 

I have a very strange obsession with Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette. How do I make myself seem normal?

     You need to take this horse by the reins.

 

I'm in love with a guy who doesn't commit. UGH HELPPPP.

     Do what I did! Lock him in your basement! Works 99.9% of the time! Note: Make sure they are ALIVE. And maybe fed…

 

I can't stop using hashtags. It's 2016! #help #whatiswrongwithme #tired #ialsoneedsleep #saveme

     It’s okay, classic white girl, it’ll be okay. Drink some starbucks and post about how Kim Kardashian is your inspiration.

 

You're a penguin and you say that you are sarcastic. Also, you say that you like in North Carolina and Penguins do not live anywhere near North Carolina. The nearest area that penguins live in is in South America. You do not live in South America. We also can't forget that the Penguins diet (krill) aren't in NC. You would also need to have the ability to read and write to write a column. Now it is my turn to be the sarcastic one, I have the facts that you cannot be a penguin and have put my sarcasm in your column. - The Sarcastic Deer

      First off, I never said I live in North Carolina. Little do you know, Antarctica has GREAT wifi. Second, when you say it is YOUR turn to be the sarcastic one, the following comment is anything but. Third, deer are the LEAST sarcastic animal. Have you SEEN Bambi?

 

I hate you with a burning passion. I wanna slap you.

      Nicest thing I’ve heard all day… Thank you… *Single tear*

 

Could you not title it like this again thank you

     Just for that I’m doing it again, twice as long. Thanks for reminding me.

 

My nose is still huge!!! When are you going to write about my nose!?!?!?!?

     I apologize for not talking about it before… I didn’t wanna be…. Nosy….

 

I'm in love with my best friend but she has a boyfriend

     You, sir, are in the friendzone. You better sit down and watch some TV because you’re gonna be there for a while.

 

Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

     https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070214060816AAZAfiC

 

Who is the Sarcastic Deer? Can you figure it out?

     Nope, don’t care.

 

What is a Mountain Chicken?

     So I looked this up out of pure curiosity, and well, it’s a frog. Yes, a mountain chicken… is a frog. It's called the mountain chicken.

 

I'm having a serious issue: I have this friend, and we joke around sometimes about robbing a bank, killing the police and going to rule Cuba where we can smoke cigars for the rest of our lives. Well, some weeks ago he disappeared and the a bank was robbed that day. Then, on March 22 he was in Cuba. It made international news. I think he may have been serious with those jokes.

     Just lay low for a while. As far as the cops know you had no part in this. Also, just a warning your friend may come to tie up loose ends. Have fun.

 

Very often, I am spammed with emails that are entitled "Sarcastic advise column, the emails have been sent out to the point where I probably have around 20 emails with the name "sarcastic advice column". The emails are sent to every individual Northeast Academy email, as opposed to just being sent to the people that actually previously filled out a sarcastic advice column email. What should I do?

     Suck it up. I’m lazy. Deal with it.

 

Just going to say that I think formal is incredibly stupid. Why get dressed up, for like 4 hours?

      I did have a long humorous response of my real thoughts on formal… but the newspaper is making me be hyped. Woo formal. Its cool bro. It’ll be cool fam. Turn up. #helpme #freedomofpress

 

Sir what is the point of doing this column if you dont care? Lol

      You know what… You’re right! I QUIT! HAHAHA! FREEDOM!

Sarcastic Advice

We're headed to Nationals! 

 

     The NEAAAT middle school quiz bowl team qualified for the national tournament in Atlanta in early May. We have until May 1st to raise $5,000 to make this educational trip possible. Please visit the link to our GoFundMe campaign. Donating to the fund and sharing the link are great ways to help us reach our goal.

 

 

 

Thank you!

The NEAAAT Quiz Bowl Team

Weird Fear

by Jorim Cole

 

So, Tiabox

     You fear going insane as I have. Agateophobia can be known as dementophobia (fear of becoming insane) or maniaphobia (fear of insanity). This phobia can cause you to keep away from people that you interact with, even your loved ones. It is usually caused by a traumatic event that happened in your youth, and forms in your mind as “protection” from such circumstances.

     Some people are in a constant panic due to this fear. Symptoms can include: emotions of fear, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, perspiration, an inability to speak, and an irregular heartbeat. For some, this fear is constant, but others need direct stimuli for the fear to manifest itself. Agateophobia can be treated through therapy, and drugs can treat it, though the relief may come with side effects.

 

P.S. Pleading that you are criminally insane in court is not a “get out of jail free card” when in court.

Jokes!

by Alan Sessor Jr.

 

Alan’s Note To Readers: Sorry about the bad puns, plz don’t hurt meh.

  1. I can tell you this now, this is going to be a very punny set of jokes.

  2. What did the Tin Man say when he got run over by a steamroller?
    “Curses! Foil again!”

  3. Remember that meme I created?
    No?    Don’t worry it’s difficult to rememeber

  4. I was thinking about making a pun involving cheese, but then I thought of a grater one.

  5. What do you call a line of rabbits hopping backwards?
    A receding hare-line

  6. Which is faster, heat or cold?
    Heat! Because you can catch a cold

  7. Why is six afraid of seven?
    Because seven eight nine!

  8. Which dinosaur knew the most words?
    The Thesaurus

  9. Why are Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and the rest always wet?
    Because they are rain deer,

  10. You can’t trust atoms. They make up everything

  11. Why can’t you explain puns to kleptomaniacs?
    They always take things literally

  12. All these punny puns quack me up

  13. I saw a Manatee struggling to do something
    All I could think of was “Oh the humanatee”

  14. I wanna make a joke about Sodium, but Na....

  15. My friend was using annoying bird noises to annoy me, but toucan play at that game.

  16. I hate insect jokes, they really bug me

  17. What do Elf’s learn in school?
    The elf-abet

  18. Why can’t the bicycle stand on its own?
    It’s two tired.

  19. It was an emotional wedding.
    Even the cake was in tiers

  20. Yesterday a clown held the door open for me.
    I thought it was a nice jester.

bottom of page