Features

By Scott  If you have no idea what to do this summer here are some things to do. You can go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science; it is N. Colorado Blvd. You can also go to the First Tee of Denver; it is a golf club that teaches you the basics of golf. One of its activities is building your own golf club! Located at 2500 York street / 80205 / 303-370-2326. Here are some more places you can go: YMCA- metro Denver, Denver Nuggets / Bill Hanzlik basketball camps and bladium sports, and camp chief Ouray. Talk about crammed! Here are some people that have a really crammed summer. There is Ethan who is going to South Dakota, Minnesota (largest mall in the U.S.A), Wisconsin (water park), Chicago, Saint Louis, and Kansas City. And all of these are road trips. Eddie is going to Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas City, Paris France, and maybe Hawaii; and during all these trips he will be taking a cooking class and a science class! There are lots of great things to do this summer. You can go on a cruise, you can go somewhere out of the country, you can take a road trip to somewhere, you can take a class, and you can play a sport. But don’t just stay home the whole summer.
 * Summer Things to Do **

**Computer Benchmarks** By Willy  I interviewed some kids about the bench- marks on the computer and most kids liked it. Some kids said that it was easier then than the writing one. Other kids said that it was better because you could do it faster.

The only thing I did not get about the benchmarks on the computer is that it was the same as the writing benchmark test.

Benchmark tests are taken at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year so they could see if you are learning at the school.

**//__ GOODBYE 8TH GRADERS __//** by Chris The eighth grade continuation is the ceremony where the eighth graders leave Merrill to go to a high school of their choice. This will take place in the auditorium on the 26th this month. Many kids are excited to leave Merrill and go to a high school. Mrs. Kellogg is excited that the kids are leaving because they are going to start a new adventure in life and try new things in school. She is also proud that they are going to high school and will hopefully go onto collage. The only way that eighth graders that can attend the continuation is if they don’t have any ones in any classes or any suspensions. If they do have any of these, they will be able to graduate but they just won't be able to attend the continuation. These are the only rules that you need to follow to attend the continuation. This is basically all that there is about the continuation besides saying goodbye. Only kids with good grades and no suspensions will be able to be part of this. This is the eighth grade continuation story.

=Interesting Reads for the Summer = = = By Jonathon  The interesting books list is finally up in Mrs. Clark’s room. During eighth period last Monday, she decided that it was time to start thinking about summer reading. There are many books found on the list, that range from funny and crazy to hard and serious. The books fill an interest for everyone, because all of the books are somewhat different. People have mixed emotions about reading over the summer, but Mrs. Clark hopes that the list will make them read a little more. After taking a survey to see whether people would read over the summer, close to half said yes they would. This concludes that the list was worth creating, because many kids will be reading. “The list is a good thing,” said Nick, “it may interest people, and cause them to read over the summer.” There are 13 books found on the reading list (take or give a few). The books overall fit everybody’s interest because they are not all the same. Many of the books are at grade level, but some of them are easy reads just for fun. Others, are very difficult and way above the average reading skills at this age. The Summer Reading list is located in Mrs. Clark’s room, and you can go look at it on weekdays from 7:20 to the time when she leaves. There are plenty of books for everyone that may interest you during the summer.

=Are you crazed yet????? = = (End of school) = = = = By Ryan =

====Students, of all ages, sizes, and genders, are going crazy for the end of school on May 26, 2010. Kids are not being calm and cannot control themselves. A lot of students, however, are trying to be really good so that the teachers will pass them and so that they can finish out the year on the teacher’s good side. Try to be good so you don’t have to come back this summer or do it over next year. There are many fun field trips going on making kids happy to be out of the classroom and there are fun activities in all classes to finish the year. There is also a secret activity on the last day making kids go crazy with anxiousness. Many students never want summer to end and some others want to come back to see friends and learn more. Chris, a Sixth grader, says “I’m excited for the end of school so I can hang out all day doing what I want to do.” Victoria, a sixth grader says “ I’m excited but I will get bored because most of my friends are at school and I won’t see them so I’m am not very excited.” So some people have different opinions about the end of school but have you seen the craze???? The weather is getting warm too, causing people to want to be outside which is a great part of the summer. The weather is also starting to make kids hot and sweaty so try to stay clean as best you can. The craze has just begun and in the next couple weeks, the craze will grow and before you know it, the craze will end and we will be on the best part of the year, summer. Are you crazed yet?????? ====

**__ Changes in next Year __** By: Christopher Scarborough

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> I have heard that there will be changes in next year’s school periods and classrooms. I have heard that periods will be 1 hour long and classrooms will be switched around the school. I am here with Mrs.Kellogg who is very generously answering all of my questions. The first question I asked was what changes will there be in next year? ‘Class’s will be switched and periods will be 1 hour long.’’ Well, why did this happen? ‘We had to make our best use of budget with staff and people.’’ Thank you very much. ‘Sure thing’’. I am here May 11th, 2010 at Merrill Middle School.

= The Mysteries of Shadows =

By Arturo
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you know what shadows are? Merrill Middle School invites kids from elementary schools to come and get a look Merrill so they can choose to come to Merrill. Kids can call and schedule a day to came. Here is a shadow telling how it is it at Merrill. Some of the questions were,” Do you like being a shadow,” his response was “Yes, it’s good to see a new place and to get to see a middle school and see what things one can do in middle school.” My shadow and I went to all the periods except for 6th 7th and 8th period. Shadows have to leave at 12 after lunch. Another question I asked was “Would you recommend this school to other students?” His response was “Most kids already have a school in mind.” Having a shadow is a great way to meet someone new from a different school or from a different country. You could meet some one that you have a lot in common or nothing at all. My shadow was mostly excited to learn about technology. I also asked him if he thought that middle school was going to be hard but he said, “ It depends on the classes.” That is a day with a shadow; the mystery of shadows has been unveiled. = =

= = = What About the Science Fair? =

By Nick
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What about science fair? Some people ask. This years science fair has been graded as “going to be successful, one of the best group of students ever” by Mrs. Larson. This year the 6th grade science fair was fun for all, even the parents. The 7th and 8th grade honors science are also doing it. Some students have the option to do it and want to do it, so they can.

The kid’s say that the science fair is “very fun.” They think that the science fair is like a test, one that’s fun. The judges for this year’s science fair are teachers from Community Recourses Incorporated. Mrs. Larson the 6th grade honors science teacher never finds science fair’s too frustrating, even dealing with the kids who ignored it. Although she agrees that not having it in on time isn’t okay, considering they had 16 weeks to complete the assignment. “Science fair is just fun,” says Mrs. Larson.

The parents also agree with the teachers saying, “The ongoing nature of this project helps students to plan and allocate time. The presentation board encourages creativity, and organization of data.” The parents believe that the science fair is necessary because “It promotes scientific thinking and strategy.” Obviously, the parents like the science fair and strongly encourage it. Teachers always love it. According to everyone this year’s science fair has been “fun and full of learning.”

= =

= = = News From Science (Mrs. Larson) =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In science class, all sixth graders have started a new book about water as a resource. They are learning what can waste water by using too much and how to stop that water waste. Take shorter showers, water the grass for a few minutes less, and make sure to put a very full load into a dishwasher or washing machine to put all the water to good use and save water wasting. This book will teach all sixth graders how to save water so that we have it for more time as a resource! Also, the Honors class is doing the Science fair, which is due April 21, 2010. They had 16 weeks to do the projects, which Mrs. Larson has approved. Mrs. Larson has told sixth graders that they are doing current events every week until the end of the school year. But the good part is they can pick any current event for ourselves. Keep up on the news from science to know what is going on right now.

= __ Why Must He Go??? __ =

By Ethan
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As we all know, every great thing in life has an end, such as Mr. Walter’s fantastic carrier. After teaching for 29 years, and working at Merrill for 18, Mr. Walter has retired. Mr. Walter plans to find a part time job. He also plans to spend more time with his grand children. He wants to visit Merrill during the fall when he becomes a substitute. Many students are very sad Mr. Walter is leaving. Students say he was the greatest gym coach they have ever had. Everyone wishes he would stay. Mr. Walter says his decision was very hard to make. He will miss the staff and students a lot. The new teacher is going to be David Kersten coming from the K-8 school Greenly. “I would like to thank all of the parents and students for their support over the years… Live well,” Mr. Walter.

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= The Green Team =

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Green Team is known all over the school for recycling what is in the classrooms. Each trimester a different grade level was in this so this trimester it is the eighth graders. This takes place during fourth period on Mondays and Thursdays, and it happens in the hallways of the school. Mr. Weaver is the teacher who is the head of it all and he had some things to say about the Green Team. The only people who do this are kids in his class who just recycle. He also believes that this is a great cause for the environment and everyone in it. He loves this for the kids because it allows them to do something different around the school. He also thinks this is fun to do because the kids don’t goof around and they do a good job at it. Mr. Weaver thinks this will influence people to think that recycling is a normal part of life and not an expectation. It should be basic basic thing and not extra. The assembly that we had on 11/9/09 on recycling was Mr. Weaver's way of saying the benefits of recycling and saying that it is great to the whole school. Lastly he believes that whenever you see a green team member in action just smile and say ‘thanks’ because they are helping so much. They are also not garbage men and they are not forced to do it at all. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> I had also asked Nick and this is what he had said: "We just go around recycling for the school which, to me is fun and good for the environment." Nick did this during 6th period and thinks that it helps saves the planet. He also thought it was fun to do but hard since we had not got the new carts with wheels then. Nick hopes that this will get people to recycle at home because they see how good this is. This is what Nick thinks about the Green Team since he was in it. ======

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> This is what these two people who is/were in the Green Team and they both think it is a great thing to do for the environment. Kids in the Green Team are never forced to recycle so they are just doing something extra for our school. They recycle for every classroom so it also helps the teachers in those classrooms. Recycling is never an expectation it should just be an extra thing to do. Recycling is good for the environment and everyone in it. ======

= CSAP =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A week before everyone left for spring break Mrs. Clark started an elective. They have been working together for a week deciding what issue to work on, the bathrooms, lunchroom and ETC. In the end they chose to work on the problems in the lunchroom. Many people are asking why they started an elective this late in the year and so suddenly. The real reason is because all the mainstream classes are getting full. The mainstream classes like gym, art and maybe music are good for ELA English language Acquisition kids because those classes don’t involve as much talking in English. So the purpose of her elective is to pull kids out that are fluent in English. Mrs. Clark’s elective is kind of like BIG; the kids are coming up with what they want to do to help the lunchroom problems. Some of the many ideas they came up with are they want to make the food healthy and not processed. They want to talk to the head of the food for DPS. They thought of asking whole foods for a donation or help. They want to see if they had a salad and the lunch food would they really eat the salad. The 8th graders have also complained that there is no food left for them. People like Taylor and the rest of the class are working on these problems. Mrs. Clark says that the kids are doing most the planning and she is helping getting it done. They are thinking of different ways to educate the rest of the school. They want to take field trips and other things. Now they need to see if this works. They want to help with the problems in the lunchroom in the last few weeks of school. That is why they started it and this is where they are going with it.

= = = Focus Tickets =

by Eddie
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Focus tickets Merrills positive behavior tickets.This months focus ticket color is purple. Which side are you on? If you have any responses to this comment feel free to talk to us in Mrs.Wilcoxs class 3rd period.


 * = <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The Yes Side

This months focus ticket color is purple. Which side are you on? If you have any responses to this comment feel free to talk to us in Mrs.Wilcoxs class 3rd period. Apparently some people really like focus tickets! In october until today focus tickets have been given out by teachers or have they? some people complain they are not being given out Scott said and I quote “the only bad thing is that they are not being given out”. But Mrs. Kellogg said” they are good because it lets teachers give prizes to the good kids in class.” “They are good because they let kids have something to turn in and be happy about” said Mrs. Larson. well apparently for some kids they are good. But wait until you hear the other side!

thanks to: Mrs. Kellogg, Scott (6th grade) and, Mrs.Larson! ||=  ||= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The No Side

The majority of people do not like focus tickets. Which side are you on? If you have any responses to this comment feel free to talk to us in Mrs.Wilcoxs class 3rd period. But that is ok. Mrs. Clark says” They should give better prizes like something that would take away school time and then I bet people would turn them in more!” They need to have better prizes” says almost every person I interviewed. Mrs.wilcox said she did not even really understand focus tickets! Some people even got violent like Winston who said ”I do not think it is a good thing it is bad”. Some people just lose them. But apparently Ms. Frank said “Every one loses them but what Ms. Smith does is very good, she collects the ones with our name and turns them in the office.” apparently some kids say they are bad. But wait until you hear the other side!

thanks to: Mrs. Clark,Mrs.Wilcox and Paradise and Winston. ||

SEVENTH GRADE HONORS TECH

By Mohammed The seventh grade honors technology class, has been taking videos. Some are for the school and for the fifth graders who are coming to Merrill next year. They have been working on these videos for about three months and they’ve worked really hard to make them. Some of the students are done with their videos and have continued but others are still working hard.

For the fifth grade videos Mohammed and Dulce have been going to teachers and adults interviewing them. They did this so when the new students get to Merrill they’ll know who every one here is. They have some spooky videos to scare them. But they really want them to feel welcomed and to have a good taste in their mouths when they leave Merrill.

Dulce and Mohammed really want these future sixth graders to have the best year they can, and that the students at Merrill all provide it. They will show them what kind of school Merrill is and come to see how they like it or dislike it. They will love some things but hate others like tucking in and wearing collard shirts. Something’s they’ll like are the Socials and the no tuck for buck days.

They really hope these kids have the best year of their lives or they could just hate it, but they really expect that these future sixth graders to have the best school year they’ve ever had and for them to keep coming back here. They want Merrill Middle School to be the best school any student has been to.

In conclusion they just want to say that these seventh graders have been working real hard to produce these videos and I’d think fifth graders would be grateful to get all this information about Merrill. We think Merrill is a good school.

=
Ms. Stromberg's new haircut is catching many people's attention, especially the school newspaper. She has taken a dramatic change from brunette to the classic blond. But does this hairstyle really suit her? After many interviews the truth leaked out!=====

My first interview was with the staff member herself, Ms. Stromberg. During this struggling interview Stromberg admitted that she wanted her hair to slowly turn grey. This is why she decided to go blond. She wouldn't tell us why she wanted to go grey and she was very uncomfortable answering many of the questions.

Next, I went to ask some students their opinions. The first student I interviewed was a seventh grader, Jeffery. He commented, "Stromberg should change her hair back to her natural color. She doesn't look as good blond." Another seventh grader, Sam, said she loved Stromberg's new hair but going blond was a bad idea. "Stromberg would look a lot better if she changed back to her original color."

Overall, the student body gives Stromberg thumbs down on her new hairstyle. 99.9% of everyone I interviewed didn't like the hairstyle. If I were Stromberg I would go back to the original hair color, but it's her choice. Whatever makes her feel better about herself should be her choice.

By Dulce


Have you seen the new face at the main office? I got an answer for you. Her name is Ms. Gibson and she is a “student” principal. She is practicing to be a principal at Merrill. She comes to Merrill on Wednesdays and Fridays. She goes to Cory on Mondays and Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings. The other part of the day she goes to college. She is going to be here all year. She said, “I would like an opportunity to create a school were everybody learns and has fun. That kids are safe and have fun, but kids have to learn." She interviewed at other schools and she choose Merrill and Cory. She feels welcome at Merrill and she likes knowing all the students. She is going to be her all year. She said “I love Merrill”

Focus By Joseph

This year at Merrill we have new character expectations that we expect every student to follow. The expectation are called FOCUS: the F stands for Fairness, the O stands for Ownership, the C stands for Community, the U stands for Understanding, and the S stands for Safety.

A team of teachers from Cory and Merrill and the principals gathered together and came up with the expectations. Right now students and teachers are really following this expectation, this happened while students were in summer break. FOCUS is important for the community.

Prevention For The Swine Flu.

by Courtney
As most people know flu season is just right around the corner. But this year most people are not worried about just a little winter flu. Most people in the year of 2009 are worried about getting one of the most deadly flu’s, the swine flu. This year the swine flu is one of the most deadly diseases in the United States. The swine flu is originally from Mexico City were it first started. But swine isn’t just a regular flu it is a flu that came from pigs in Mexico.

The swine flu is a flu that can be spread very easily but a couple ways to be safe is to always wash your hands after touching anything that might have been touched by someone who is sick in any way. If you or anyone else sneezes while being around you remind them to sneeze in their elbow or in a tissue or Kleenex. If you are in school at the time that you are sick nurses and doctors recommend that you go home and stay home until either the sickness or the fever goes away if you have one. For all teens in America the suggested amount of sleep they should get is about ten hours a night. Another thing that should be done to prevent the swine flu is to eat 3 healthy meals a day.

Remember these facts show that we students can prevent getting the swine flu, and help others not get it also.

by Charis
I am sure many of you remember the technology food sale. Fortunately this year it is coming back. The food sale will start again starting September first. At the technology food sale there will be many things being sold. The things being sold will be things like hot cheetos, fruit snacks, beef jerky, peanut butter crackers fruit roll ups, and pickles.

Surprisingly these snacks are actually healthy. For example the hot cheetos that are 1 ounce have 2 grams of protein 15 carbohydrates and 0 grams of fiber. The peanut butter crackers contain 6 grams of protein 3 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber 12 grams of fat and 23 carbohydrates. The fruit roll ups contain 10 grams of sugar and 17 carbohydrates. The beef jerky contains 3 grams of fat 3 grams of protein and 2 carbs. As you can see the technology has pretty good food so don’t forget to buy.

So the next time you have about 50 cents in your pocket don’t resist the overwhelming temptation to buy a delicious yet healthy snack.

Who’s The Blond? by Billy

Ms. Stromberg’s hair is the big talk around the school. Unfortunately most people don’t necessarily love it. Some kids think she is even wearing a wig and kids have come up from behind and tried to pull it off. The main reason why she dyed it blond is because she is going for the gray look. Obviously it’s not gray but when it does go gray it’s not going to be such a dramatic change from light blond to gray. It all happened about the weekend of August 15th. Ms. Stromberg went to a place called Sally’s Beauty-Supply. One of the workers there suggested that she use a product that just takes out all the original color and go strait to gray, that unfortunately didn’t happen. But, before she dyed it gray she was going to Sally’s and dying it black every six weeks or so.

So with the change of Ms. Stromberg’s hair and the big talk around school people are actually starting to settle down to the color and some kids even like it, but then again some kids don’t. But, at about late January, early February you will see her hair gray. This is the big talk about Ms. Stromberg’s hair.

**First day of school**

By Luis
====The first day of school is always nerve-raking for some kids and a very special day for other kids. At Merrill Merrill Middle school the opening day for sixth graders was August 19, 2009. The sixth graders learned where the lunchroom, auditorium, and the classes are at. They also got to know where their locker was at and how to open it. For seventh and eight graders school started August 20, 2009. When they arrived at Merrill Middle School they saw a lot of different kids lined up at a desk with the beginning letter of their last name so they could get their schedule and planner. This happened right outside.==== ====When you got in they gave you to choices. 1st choice was to get in line again and get you locker. 2nd choice was to go to the lunchroom and eat breakfast. As soon as the bell rang you had to go to your locker and put your supplies away and go to your new class. Everything was different from seventh grade like you used to have lunch after fourth period and now you have lunch after sixth period. Also your electives are first and fourth period. This is what Troy thought ” I think it was better than all the other first days of school because it was smooth.” Dehrian had to say ” It was nice to start a new year and it was pretty cool.”==== ====So the sixth graders started a new year really nervous and a day before the seventh and eight graders so they could learn where all their classes were and where their lockers were. Everything was different from the year before like new teachers, new school, new friends, and new classes. So when you start a new school year don’t expect anything to be easy because everything will change and there will come more challenges that you have to face.====

= 6th Grade Academy = = =

A new year means new 6th graders. People always think the first day of the 6th grade is going to be hard. They’re right, but the new program at Merrill made it a lot easier.
==== The new program is called the 6th grade academy. This program is funded for three years. This program allows 6th graders to come to the school two days before they usually would. Merrill usually allows the 6th graders to come in 1 day before the 7th and the 8th graders. This gives them more time to get to know their teachers and to get to know the building. This year the students came Monday when the 7th and the 8th graders came in on Thursday. These additional days allowed the 6th graders to get a couple more days to further know the school. That is the main idea of the 6th grade academy. ==== ==== I had the chance to interview the teacher in charge of the 6th grade academy, Ms. Mackenzie. She thinks it was very effective, she also thought the academy gave the 6th graders a chance to get to know each other. This would help the shy students get to know the other 6th graders as well as the teachers. It should have helped the students become more comfortable in larger crowds. I had the chance to interview Jackson (a sixth grader at Merrill.) Allow me to explain the activities for the academy. The first day consisted of icebreakers, team building and they went over the qualities of a good sixth grader. The second day entailed locker practice, a full tour, a reading a book on middle school success. This is what the sixth grade academy entailed. ====