Tyrone the First and Tyrone the Second

By Lisa and Madeline

It was a sad day when Tyrone the First died the first day he was introduced to Mrs. Fargeorge’s class. Tyrone was a Siamese Fighting Fish, and he was incredibly sick one. There were a lot of warning signs that Tyrone was going to die quick. He wobbled strangely as he attempted to swim, and some alleged that there was a problem with his bladder. He flipped onto one side more than four times. Whatever the cause, his scales were deadly pale, the color of crisp snow.  He seemed awfully ill. Some of the 7th graders predicted that Tyrone was going to have a short lifespan. And he did.  

He died the next day, lifeless in the water. Well, let’s just say we were unhappy that Tyrone the First died in a flash. Mrs. Fargeorge used his death as an advantage to buy another fish at PETCO, for free. She vowed that she would buy a new one. A few days later, a new fish had taken Tyrone’s place. It was named Tyrone the Second.

He was blue with a mix of vibrant red. He glittered the moment a ray light hit his scales. His impressive long fins gave a motion of power to his every move. His beady black eyes shone with pride. He swam with amazing grace in the water. Tyrone the Second was healthy and had no ill symptoms. He is the new and current fish of the 7West science classroom. He adapted quickly to his environment, taking in the premises of the aquarium to himself.  

Being a Siamese Fighting Fish, he guarded his territory with fierceness and pride. Feeding him, however, was a challenge. He ate his food pellets one by one, slowly grasping them in his mouth. Sometimes, he would avoid some of the food given to him! Fortunately, he ate most of the pellets.

Nowadays, Tyrone’s attention has been overshadowed by Panda, our new guinea pig. However, Tyrone still puts people in awe by his spectacular beauty. Don’t mess with Tyrone the Second.  Being a Siamese Fighting Fish, his stunning beauty hides a sheath of evil. Never, ever, underestimate this tough fish.    

Professor Fix-It: Hamster Expert

Dear Professor Fix-It,
What’s a European Hamster? One of my classmates keeps talking about them!
Sincerely,
Hamster Questioner


Dear Hamster Questioner,
If your classmate continually talks about these hamsters, I would ask them about European Hamsters. Typically when people talk about things a lot is when they know a lot about the subject. Your classmate probably wants to talk about it with other kids. Hope that helps!
Sincerely,
Professor Fix-It

THINK Week

By Nate Allen

Three weeks ago Wood Hill hosted a fantastic THINK Week! It made us 6th graders think more about being safe online and kind to others. Everyday we would have a different article to read and a question to answer based on the THINK acronym (T: truthful, H: helpful, I: inspiring, N: necessary, K: kind). There was a lot of very interesting information that I didn't know. An example of this is that Google's age restriction is 13 and older. We also watched the Screenagers movie trailer and I can't wait to watch it in seventh grade. Ismael, a 6th grade student said, “I think it was really nice that the teachers, principal, and staff thought of this and I think it would be good to unplug for a bit.” Raj, another 6th grade student, said, “I think THINK Week was a really nice time to unplug and think about the important things like being kind to others and ourselves.”

One article we read was about kids in high school that used Twitter to post positive tweets about their fellow students. This is amazing! The fact that they're using a social media platform that can spread bad remarks about others to be kind to their fellow peers is very cool. One tweet read, “Shadow Warrior Okay, hands down. You have the COOLEST name out our school. It is very powerful and courageous, you hold such a high authority it seems with such a name as Shadow Warrior! Good luck and the BEST of wishes to you in your future!” I think that this is one of the ways we should be using social media. Social media is a really good way to be kind to others! Wood Hill students can submit kindness tweets in The Hub to be posted to our Twitter wall bulletin board. Thanks to all of the people that made THINK Week happen and remember be safe online.

Yankee Candle Fundraiser

By: Pritha Yalakkishettar

Please support Wood Hill Middle School PAC! PAC stands for Parent Advisory Council, they organize all the school’s fundraisers and after the cookie orders we now have a Yankee Candle fundraiser! Wood Hill PAC teamed up with Yankee Candle which is a huge company that sells a wide variety of scents, decor items, and premium candles. Wood Hill wants you to get some amazing smelling products for yourself and to call all your friends and family to get some for themselves too! You can order online or through catalog shopping.

Here are some important dates you should know for this fundraiser. The sale starts Oct. 20, and end Nov. 3. Delivery of orders come 2-4 weeks after placing your order. When you’re ready to place your order, checks should be made out to Wood Hill Middle School PAC. Fill out the pink sheet with the number of items that you want, you will get the sheet and more information in the Yankee Candle envelope that your homeroom teacher will pass out. Hurry up and get those orders in now!

Mt. Major hike review

By Abinaya Ganesh and Christina Ilie

Last Saturday, we went hiking with Mr.DeFusco and Mrs.Sullivan up Mt. Major in Alton, NH. Mrs.Sullivan’s two dogs, Nemo and Pepper, joined us too! A group of nine students on the 14th of October met at 8:30 a.m. at Wood Hill. We split into two groups, got in the car, and started the 2 hour drive up to New Hampshire. When we got there, it was very crowded. People swarmed around like bees, just people everywhere! We finally started our trek up the mountain. Pepper and Nemo seemed the most enthusiastic to start hiking. The scenery was beautiful that high up. We kept stopping to take pictures, and we weren’t even at the top yet!

When we got to the top, we ate lunch, with the company of many bees and wasps. We waited about 15 minutes for Mrs. Sullivan and her dogs. We later found out that they lost the easy trail and had to come up with the hard one. We took a 30 minute lunch break, then started back down the mountain. Going down was harder than I thought it would be. At one point, we had to walk sideways to get down. Going down, we met a very friendly dog. He tried to pick up my friend, but she fell off the dog. To get to the cars, we had to walk along the very busy road. Unfortunately, Nemo and Pepper are TERRIFIED of cars. We got back school cheerful but tired. Overall, I think we all had an awesome experience.

Cultural Cuisine: Crêpes

By Grant Moore

This week in the Wood Hill Gazette, we are featuring a new section for Cultural Cuisine. Now, each week we will interview students around the school for their cultures cooking recipes and ideas. Cultural cuisine will also have a little history lesson right before each recipe! It will also include what might happen on weeks to come. We want all types of recipes from the simplest to the most complicated.

We want to know other cultures food, not just the boring normal food like a hamburger or a chicken wing. The Wood Hill Gazette wants to see interesting food from all countries like Germany, China, Italy, Sweden, South Korea, Japan, France, Canada, America, England, Ireland, Denmark, Russia, Mexico, and all the rest. We hope to put your family’s cultural cooking recipes in the Wood Hill Gazette this week, and weeks to come!

For our first weeks recipe, we will have a recipe from the author of this article, me, Grant Moore. I love the idea of French cooking; flavorful, elegant, and most of all, delicious! I will have a recipe on crêpes. The history of crêpes goes back to the 1100’s. Crêpes were invented in a place called Brittany [brit-n-ee] that is located in the Northwest region of France. That century, buckwheat was introduced to Brittany. Buckwheat is one of the key ingredients in buckwheat flour, which is used to make crêpes and is also used to make pancakes and other foods like that. Buckwheat is not a wheat, it is a seed. It is also gluten free! The word “crêpes” is derived from the Latin crispus meaning “curled”. Crêpes can be curled and rolled. I like to put Nutella in my crêpes, and then dress it in whipped cream and maple syrup. This recipe is sure to make your mouth water. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
1 cup cold water
1 cup cold milk
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups flour
4 Tbs melted butter
A rubber scraper

Making the Crêpes:
After finding the ingredients you need, put the liquids, eggs and salt into an electric blender. Add the flour, then the butter. Cover the blender and blend it at top speed for 1 minute. This recipe should make 25 to 30 crêpes if you make each one 6 to 6 ½ inches in diameter, to make half, put half of each ingredient in the blender. Take a skillet or pan that is 1 inch larger in diameter than the crêpe, rub butter on the pan or skillet, and pour an amount of the batter equalling the directed diameter onto the pan or skillet. Put the pan or skillet on a stove and put on medium heat and wait until the pan or skillet is just beginning to smoke then take the crêpe off. Finally, the crêpe should be all set and ready to eat. But don't forget to roll those crêpes!

Recipe Facts

• To test if your crêpes will be light and thin, like they should be, you can use the first crêpe as a test subject.
• Crêpes can also be used as a lunch, also known as a savory crêpe. Instead of stuffing the crêpes with strawberries, Nutella or whipped cream, you can stuff them with ham, cheese or turkey.
• A lot of the times people forget to put the top on the blender…

[Recipe from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”]

Cookie Dough Orders

By Pritha Yalakkishettar

Cookies? Who said cookies? I want cookies! Then order the amazing flavors of different cookies from the Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough and Lyman Orchards Crisps! Support Wood Hill’s latest fundraiser. Order your cookie dough by Oct. 24. That’s next week, so you better get your order forms ready! Have any questions? You can express your doubts by calling this number: 978-247-8800. The delivery date is Nov. 15, 2017. Guess what? The homeroom with the most cookie dough order forms wins...wait for it...a PIZZA PARTY!

You can order all kinds of different flavors, chocolate chip, strawberry shortcake, oatmeal raisin, and more! Plus they’re not only selling cookie dough, they’re also selling crisps! Apple crisps, peach crisps and even bumbleberry crisps! So, what are you waiting for? Get those orders in, and get them in fast, so that your homeroom can win a pizza party!