Poll of the Week

By: Rohini Josh

Number of bumper stickers on your parent's car
Zero was the winning number out of 23 votes

What manufacturer is your parent's car
Honda was the winning manufacturer

Donkeys versus Camels
5 to 4 donkeys win

Cake versus Cupcakes
7 to 2, everyone loves cake

Plain M&M's versus Preztel
5 to 3, plain is the winner

Owls versus Hawks
7 to 3

Rock and Rock versus Rap
Rock & Roll wins 9 to 0

Violin versus Viola
7 to 1, violin wins!

Dogs versus Cats
29 to 5, dogs win by a landslide!

Short sleeves versus long sleeves
Short sleeves win 25 to 7

Pizza versus Pie
Pizza wins - 20 to 13

Middle School versus Elementary School
17 to 3, Wood Hill students prefer middle school!

Instagram versus SnapChat
Instagram wins by 7 votes, - 10 to 3

Ice Cream versus Frozen Yogurt
13 to 10, Ice Cream wins by 3

Granny Smith versus Fiji apples
7 to 3, Granny Smith wins!

Fiction vs. NonFiction books
Fiction wins 8 to 3

Early bird vs. Night owl
3 to 8, Wood Hill student are night owls

Chocolate cake versus coffe cake
10 to 6, chocolate wins!

Wendy's versus Burger King
Wendy's wins by 2 votes - 8 to 6

Coke versus Pepsi
Coke by more than 13 votes - 18 to 5

Frozen movie versus Big Hero 6 movie
Frozen wins by 1 - 13 to 12

Teachers win Turkey Bowl 2014

By: Abby Chou and Gazette staff 

Teachers dominated once again during the 2014 Wood Hill Middle School Turkey Bowl on November 26, 2014. They won 20 to 14. The flag football sporting event was created to bring students and staff together and create a fun school tradition. It was a rainy and chilly day, but that didn't stop the rest of the school from cheering on their classmates from the sidelines. 

"I thought it was fun, it was quite enjoyable," said eighth grader Matt Allen. "We had a pretty good team this year. It's a great tradition and I hope we keep doing it."

The annual event has been held since 2002, and teachers have won all 13 years. It originated as an after-school activity but has since become a fun part of the day before Thanksgiving break. Typically about a quarter of Wood Hill staff play and three quarters of eighth graders join teams to take on their teachers. 

"The eighth graders are bound to win," said Principal Patrick Bucco. "They haven't won yet but it may be because they let their differences on the field affect their play and don't work as a team."

Images courtesy of Abby Chou and Emme Pitts 

A.J.F.L. players enjoy 'friday night lights'

By: Iliana Brouillette

On Friday, Oct. 10 many Andover Junior Football League (A.J.F.L.) players and eighth grade league cheerleaders and football players were invited to the Andover High School’s varsity football game for A.J.F.L Night. Once every A.J.F.L. season the high school showcases all the hard work the kids in the A.J.F.L. put in every week and invites them in for no charge.  

The game featured the Andover Warriors verses Billerica Warriors.

Members of the A.J.F.L. include students in the fourth through seventh grades. The 8th grade league is made up of all eighth grade students from all of the Andover middle schools. In the A.J.F.L. there are six teams: the Cowboys, Vikings, Chiefs, Ravens, Panthers, and the Stealers. All the teams were called one-by-one onto the field at half time. The teams were overjoyed when they were called out to the field. 

“A.J.F.L. Night was a blast.” said Katherine Barenboim, a former cheerleader. “The (football) team showed great effort,” added sixth grader Alana Miller. 

Some of the parents had different feelings about the long game. “I'm loving the game, but its very cold,” said Dylan Archambalt, the parent of an A.J.F.L. football player. 

In the end the Andover Warriors won the game 41-17. It was a great victory by Andover and fans are hoping for many more wins this season in all of the leagues.

Joke of the Week

By Vincent Candela

Q. What do Santa’s elves learn in school?
A. The Elfabet

Q: Who says sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me?
A: A guy who has never been hit by a dictionary.

Q: What do you get when you pamper your cow?
A: Spoiled milk!

Q:What type of ticks are on the moon?
A: Lunaticks!

Q: What did venus say when it rained acid all weekend?
A: I didn't plant-et that way

Q: What's the result of a butcher and cattle in space?
A: Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Q: Teacher, "why are you so late?"
A: Kid, "There was a sign outside that said 'school children: slow.'"

Q: What do boxers eat for dessert?
A: Pound cake

Q: What did Venus say when it rained acid all weekend?
A: I didn't plant-et that way

Q: What are 2 things that you can never have for breakfast?
A: Lunch and dinner

Q: What type of ticks are on the moon?
A: Lunaticks

Are you up for the challenge?

By Abby Chou and Emme Pitts

Destination Imagination (DI) is back! DI is a chance to have some fun with your closest friends and will make you more open-minded while preparing for a variety of challenges and competition. There are seven new challenges this year, which students will tackle using their creative spirit and teamwork. Wood Hill students are participating on a variety of teams this year, including one led by music teacher Mrs. Murray. "I think it is a fun experience socially, you can have imagination and let it out, it's a non-bullying place, and a great thing to do to do with friends, or to make new friends, and it's a creative way to show thinking," says Angelina Robbins, a member of Mrs. Murray's DI team.

The challenge themes are technical, scientific, structural, fine arts, improv, service learning, and an early learning challenge for grades K-2. Each team of 4-7 kids choose one challenge and prepare a solution to present (in an eight minute skit) at the regional competition in March. (regionals is the first competition, if you get 1st at Regionals, you go to States, and if you get 1st there you go to Globals in Tennessee.)

For the technical challenge, named Creature Feature, teams will have to make a fully-functioning creature to complete a series of tasks in the skit. For the fine arts challenge, named Feary Tales, teams will have to create a fairy tale about a character who faces and deals with a phobia. In the improv challenge, named The Improv Games, teams will create three independent two-minute improvisational skits with a one minute planning time and practice incorporating random elements.

Teams will also take part in an Instant Challenge, a 5-10 minute, task or performance-based challenge that stretches your teamwork and creativity to the limits. 

Book Review: The Blood Of Olympus by Rick Riordan

By: Celestine Gonzales

"The Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure story with witty, memorable characters, and an engrossing plot. Riordan puts characters Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel through the ultimate test to fulfill the prophecy that sparked readers' interest since the "The Last Olympian." Riordan doesn't disappoint in the fifth and final installment of the epic Heroes of Olympus series.

A drop-dead performance by Wood Hill Spanish students

By Billy Nicolakakis

Wood Hill Spanish students gave a drop-dead performance during the school’s annual El Dia De Los Muertos production. El Dia De Los Muertos is a holiday celebrated primarily in Spanish countries on November first and second, translating to the day of the dead.

The play, performed by seventh grade students, consisted of Spanish music cover songs, dancing and a story line about the three days of El Dia De Los Muertos in Mexico. Traditionally to celebrate, people dress up in costumes (mostly skeletons) and honor their deceased family members.

The production included a lot of dancing and was very colorful. The play was held second period on Monday, November third in the auditorium and it was open to students, staff and parents.

Casting Call! Students tryout for Fiddler Jr.

By: Katie Benjamin

Many students tried out for "Fiddler on the Roof Jr.", so many in fact, that practically all of the sheets for tryouts were filled and overflowing! Many students hoped to get a main role. Wood Hill students could be heard singing in the halls and practicing their lines for the upcoming play. 

Many students reported being nervous, but they all have high hopes for their parts. Mrs. Murray and Mrs. Rey directed the students. They played the piano while the people stood on stage and sang and acted their very best. 

Seventh grader Griffin Vieira said he was nervous, “But I went up there and Mrs. Rey and Mrs. Murray made me feel a lot better. I was still nervous a little bit, but at least I wasn’t as nervous as when I came in.” 

Viera and other students were hopeful they landed their part. “Yeah, I think I have a fair chance of getting it,” said Viera, who landed the role of Perchik.  

“I was pretty scared because I never did this before and there was no one but the teachers in there,” said eighth grader Audrey Bartlett, who was hoping to land her dream role. Many seventh and eighth graders tried out for the play. Bartlett said the teachers were very helpful, "they were nice, and they didn’t make you feel nervous.” Bartlett joins the Tuesday Chorus. 

“I was a little nervous, to be honest,” said Michael Makiej, a seventh grader, who will play Mordcha on stage.  “The teachers seemed to help out a lot and they relieved my stress, and they said it was okay. They were overall helpful.” 

Student Valerie MacDonald reported getting nervous before her audition and wasn't sure about what role she'd play. “I didn’t have a specific part (in mind), and I don’t think I got a good one,” she said. MacDonald joins the Thursday Chorus. 

Was stage fright an issue? Not for Farrah Sousa, who joins the Tuesday Chorus on stage.  

“First, I sang, and the teachers said I was the first to do some choreography, and they could tell I have been in plays before,” she said. “My voice was very shaky, but they made me feel very comfortable.” 

She added, “It was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to find out what I’ll get!"

Ameera Mazraany was feeling slightly nervous after her audition and wasn't sure she landed her dream role, saying, “I was really shaky and I wasn’t sure what they were going to think of me.” Mazraany will sing with the Thursday Chorus. 

Wood Hill students were enthusiastic about putting on "Fiddler on the Roof Jr." The Gazette would like to wish good luck to all of the students and teachers in this year’s school play, and to all of the stage and tech crew. 

Come listen to the sounds 'of the night'

By Lekhya Sathi

On Oct. 30, seventh and eighth grade students from Wood Hill, West, and Doherty will gather at the Collins Center to play in a Halloween-themed concert dubbed Music of the Night. Chorus singers will perform the songs “A Night Ride” and “Old Abram Brown.” Band performers will play “Phantom of the Opera Medley” and “Japanese Folk Trilogy.” The orchestra will perform “Nightshift,” “Butterflies at Night” and “House of Untold Horrors.”

Chorus, according to an eighth grader at Wood Hill, was doing okay and would be ready by the concert if everyone keeps practicing. Another eighth grader from the same school, said band was doing good but didn’t elaborate, while an 8th grade orchestra student said orchestra wasn’t completely ready but was doing well, especially considering the difficulty of the pieces.

Do these groups ever feel competitive when performing to a large crowd? According to a Wood Hill chorus student all three programs showcase different talents so there should be no need to compete with each other.

Students visit Holt Hill

Students on 6West visited Holt Hill in Andover on Tuesday, Oct. 7 to take photographs to go along with their haiku poetry project. Check out some images below.

The Snazzy, Jazzy First Dance

Seventh grader Nick Moore assists DJ 1 O'clock Waffles. 

By: Celestine Gonzales

Wood Hill’s first dance on Friday, Sept. 26, proved to be a major success! Students had a lot of fun dancing to their favorite songs, talking to their friends, and stuffing themselves with candy. Some songs that girls really liked included: “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift, “Problem” by Ariana Grande, “This is How We Do” by Katy Perry, and “Neon Lights” by Demi Lovato.

The boys’ favorites were: “Turn Down For What” by DJ Snake and Lil Jon and “Animals” by Maroon 5. All around favorites were: “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea, and “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande.

About halfway through the dance a dance contest was declared. The song was “Happy” by 

Sixth graders strike a pose at the dance. 

Pharrell Williams and the judge was student DJ Ethan Gasse, aka, 1 O’clock Waffles. The winners of the contest were: sixth graders Benji Mirragliotta and Joel Asare.

Wood Hill students form a conga line at the dance. 

Overall, the dance was a huge hit and a great kickoff to the school year. It was a truly memorable dance, students said.