illustration by Fred
Chaparral Times
December 21, 2007, Issue 7
Holidays Around the World
By Samantha
illustration by Andy
B
illustration by Andy
Holiday Gifts:
What’s Hot & What’s Not
By Kristina & Jayne
This is a look at what’s in / what’s out this year. The most important thing, over the holidays, is enjoying time with family and friends. But gifts are fun too!
HOT Red Sox items skinny jeans Jonas Brothers Juicy Couture Sports wear iPod Webkinz
NOT old dirty socks baggy jeans classical music Juicy Fruit underwear mp3 player neopets
y the time you finish reading this article, I will have taken you on a multi-cultural tour of celebrations that happen over the holidays. Also, keep in mind that Deewali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Las Posadas, Kwaanza, and Chinese New Year all have different meanings than just receiving presents. Deewali, or Diwali, is a festival of lights celebrated by Indians all over the world. This five-day festival celebrates a different idea or philosophy on each of its days. Like Hanukkah and Chinese New Year, Deewali occurs according to the lunar calendar, so it is on different days of our English calendar each year, but it always falls in October or November.
illustrations by Riddhi
illustrations by Fred
Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday, is another festival of lights that marks the historic victory of the Maccabees. Observed for eight days, this celebration is a time filled with rejoicing, games (spinning the dreidel), special foods (like latkes), and fun. Each night, families
light one candle in their menorah, until the final night when eight candles blaze. Christmas, to most Christians, is a time to celChinese New Year, ebrate the birth of Jesus. which usually occurs after This is usually celebrated January 1, celebrates the with a Christmas tree (pine coming year. Typically, small tree) that is decorated with children receive beautiful ornaments and lights. and elegantly embossed Las Posadas (“The Inns,” gold envelopes with money. in Spanish) is a Mexican To have a lucky new year, Catholic tradition to celethe Chinese usually wear brate the birth of Jesus by red clothing. Everyone enre-enacting the journey of joys the delicacies of ha Mary and Joseph to find an gow (shrimp dumplings), inn. The cha siu bao (sweet pork nacimiento buns), sticky rice cakes, and (“nativity shark fin soup. scene”) is Whether it’s over the important to traditional turkey this nine-day dinner, latkes, celebratamales, or tion. This shark fin illustration by Christine soup, famicheerful holiday is a time filled with lies and friends come tofriends and family, and, gether to celebrate these most of all, food! From wonderful holidays. This is tempting tamales to cham- what makes these days purrado (Mexican hot special and memorable. chocolate), these delicious Those of us at the Chaptreats bring people toarral Times wish all of the gether over the holidays. Chaparral families a merry Kwanzaa, which began Christmas, a happy in 1966, is an African Ameri- Hanukkah, a great Chinese can celebration of the new New Year, una Feliz year based on African harNavidad, and a fun-filled vest festivals. Lasting Deewali and Kwaanza! seven days, it begins on December 26. During Kwanzaa, people light a kinara, which is a special candleholder.
Online Gaming
Enter the Magic Kingdom
By Chris
Runescape
By John
D
o you know what VMK is? If you don’t, you should consider trying Virtual Magic Kingdom, or VMK. As a player, I can tell you all about it. This online game is absolutely free, no charges for anything, but you can buy stuff with credits. How do you earn credits, you may ask? What is the most expensive thing you can buy? You earn credits by playing games such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Fireworks, Remixed, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and many more fun games. The easiest and fastest way to earn credits is to play Haunted Mansion, where you get 10 credits per ghost. The
most expensive thing that players can buy is 30,000 credits. That’s a lot of ghosts! This game is so parentfriendly because it opens at 7:00 am and closes at 10:00 pm. It will also ban someone for 24 hours if that person gives out any information about where a player lives. Players are also banned for using bad language or doing virtual bad actions. Thus, your children are safe on VMK. So, what are you waiting for? Go to www.vmk.com, and join today.
I
n my opinion, Runescape is the most fun online game out there. Unlike VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom) or Club Penguin, Runescape is not just a virtual chat room. Instead of talking to other people, players advance through different levels in Runescape. When you begin playing Runescape, you are at level three. As you keep playing, you can climb higher. The highest level is 126, so you can play for
a long, long time. As you go, you can get all kinds of new armor and abilities. There are many types of armor: bronze, iron, steel, black, mythril, adamant, and rune. Although Runescape is free, you can access more options (like different types of armor) if you choose to pay $5 per month, but you must be over 13 to do so. To check out Runescape, go to www.runescape.com.
Webkins vs. Club Penguin
By Reya & Shea
D
o you play in one of the most popular virtual worlds on the Internet? If you’re one of the members of Club Penguin or Webkinz, please fill out the survey at the bottom of the page. If you’re not, you might want to read on and learn more about these intriguing sites. WebKinz To enter the Webkinz World, you need to buy a special stuffed animal. Attached to its paw is a small envelope that holds a secret code. This code allows you to go on the Webkinz website (www.Webkinz.com) and “adopt” your pet. You will start out with some kinzcash (money), a bedroom (you can buy another room later), and a special adoption gift. Your animal will appear on your screen, and you can control where it can go in your room. You can give your pet a name and decide if it is a boy or girl. To earn kinzcash, you can get a job, play games, go gem hunting, sell your old
things, and much more. With kinzcash, you can buy food, clothes, furniture—-basically anything you could possibly dream of for your pet. There are so many things you can do in Webkinz World, including making “friends” with other Webkinz by using your “cell phone.” You can also invite your friends over to your (virtual) house. Club Penguin Another popular virtual world is Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com), which you can play on a free account or by a paid membership. Either way, it is a lot of fun. In the beginning, you can choose a color for your penguin, but you can buy more colors with the “money” you earn later. You earn money by playing games or getting a job. If you are playing on a free account, you are limited to two pets, but you can get more if you are a paid member. Paid members also can buy awesome clothes or a rock’in igloo.
illustration by Gavin
When one penguin clicks on another penguin, a picture of that penguin pops up. Around the picture’s border are tabs and buttons that you can press to make friends, change the color of your penguin, or other options. You can also send messages to your friends or other penguins, or you can throw snowballs or travel to other places. After 30 days, free or paid members can become secret agents. Then they can go undercover and solve mysteries! Or, after 30 days, you can also become a tour guide who introduces new kids to Club Penguin. Both games are a blast for both boys and girls. Tell us which you like the best, and you might just win a prize!
SURVEY Which one do you like more? K Webkinz K Club Penguin K VMK K Runescape My name and grade:
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Movie Reviews
Isn’t It Enchanting?
By Riddhi
illustration by Cheyenne
E
nchanted, one of Disney’s newest movies, is a funny spoof with a pinch of almost every fairy tale. The movie starts out in the animated world of Andalasia, where a beautiful girl named Giselle (Amy Adams) is happily spending time with her animal friends. Suddenly, she is attacked by an ogre. Luckily, she is rescued by the dashing Prince Edward (James Marsden). The two fall in love and decide to get married. This causes a problem for Edward’s stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) because, if her stepson marries, she will lose her throne. To avoid this, Queen Narissa pushes Giselle down a well that is really a secret passage to a place where there are no “happily ever afters”: present-day New York city. Can this animated beauty survive in a place as cruel as our real world? Other than its great plot, Enchanted has some mesmerizing, realistic computer graphics. The whole cast was 100% dedicated the whole time. There were also some spoofy songs. I like how this movie is a spoof, but that also makes it a tiny bit tacky. The movie will appeal most to girls between the ages of 4 and 15, so boys might as well bring a sleep mask if they go. I think this is one of the top 10 movies of this year. Enchanted entertains the whole way through. Try not to fall off the edge of your seat at the end! The movie is definitely not your average fairy tale, but it ends happily ever after 2007-style.
Do You Believe in Magic?
By Katie
M
r. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a heartwarming tale about Mr. Magorium and his toyshop. Mr. Magorium is magical; in fact, he is 243 years old! Magical things happen in his toyshop. Two other characters include Mahoney, a wonderful piano player and composer, who works at the toyshop. Although she likes working there, she wants to work elsewhere and have a career that involves composing music. Eric, a misfit, is another main character. He is very smart, and, for that reason, people think he’s weird. There is also a mutant (accountant) who doesn’t believe in magic at first. Later, he changes his whole perspective from wanting to keep his distance from everything and everyone to wanting to get close to others and get involved in what’s going on. Although this is a pretty sad movie, everyone I know should see this magical tale.
questions & troubles by slipping a note into the blue box in the office. Anonymous will try to help in the next issue!**
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Ask Anonymous
Dear Anonymous, she says that I am rude, mean, and annoying! What should I do? I have a problem with a friend. She’s very rude, mean, and annoying. Then —- Troubled Friend
Dear Troubled Friend,
ship to stop her rude, mean, and annoying behavior, then I advise you to hang around with other people. Good luck!
illustration by Riddhi
ers her in your friendship. If she doesn’t care enough about your friend-
does, specifically, that bothers you. Talk it out, and see if anything both-
Tell your friend how you feel when she treats you badly. State what she
—-Anonymous
By Reya and Shea
O
n the first day of school, we wondered who the new girl in our class might be. Maryam turned out to be very interesting and very talented. Maryam can speak three languages fluently (English and two types of Arabic), and she’s learning a fourth (Spanish). There are many different versions of Arabic, but Maryam can speak the Iraqi and Jordanian types. Although she is only a fourth grader, Maryam has lived in several different countries. After she was born in California, she moved to Iraq, and then to Jordan, a country that is next to Iraq. Then, her family moved back to Iraq and, finally, this fall, back to California. Maryam has an older
brother named Mohammed, 11, and two sisters, Kauther, 5, and Shahad, 3. Both Maryam and Kauther are now at Chaparral. We asked Maryam which place she liked best of the places she’s lived. She told us that she liked California the most. One reason is that Maryam feels safer here. In Iraq, there were actually bombs on her own street! She liked Jordan, but not as much as California, and, especially, Claremont. Maryam feels that, here at Chaparral, the kids are fun to be around. Although Maryam loves it here, her kind relatives are still in Iraq (where a war is still taking place). She worries about her family members because she doesn’t want them to get hurt. We also learned that
Maryam and her sister Kauther came to Claremont from the Middle East.
Maryam is a Muslim. She says that, in Iraq and Jordan, most people are Muslim, while here Muslims are more rare. They celebrate different holidays than Christians, Jews, or peo-
ple of other religions. We really recommend that you get to know Maryam. She is very interesting, and there is much more to learn about her.
The Scoop: Meet Mr. Muir
By Eric
photo by Eric
M
r. Muir is new to Chaparral this year, where he is teaching 4th grade in room 12. We wanted to get to know him a little better, and we are happy to bring you The Scoop about Mr. Muir. Q: Where did you work before coming to Chaparral? A: I worked all over the Claremont school district, and I was in charge of the computer networks. Q: Did you teach before? A: Yes, I first became a teacher in 1978. I’ve taught at Sycamore Elementary School, Claremont High School, and Claremont Graduate University.
Q: What do you like best about teaching fourth grade at Chaparral? A: I like the students here, and I like to teach about California history. Chaparral is a great school. Q: Where were you born, and who is in your family? A: I was born in Chico, CA. I now have a wife and two sons. My younger son is 21, and the older one is 25. Q: What do you like to do in your free time? A: I like to read, go rock climbing, and spend time in my cabin in the Sierras. Q: What makes you special? A: I’m lucky to be related to John Muir.
Mr Muir started teaching fourth grade at Chaparral this year.
photo by Shea
Meet a New Roadrunner Maryam
Touchdown for Roadrunners
By Michael
T
his year, flag football is back, and it’s better than ever. The season lasts for about 1/3 of the school year. With the help of Mr. Knox, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders are once again snatching the famous flag from each other. Games happen on the turf at lunch recess 3 times/week when the weather is good. For those of us unfamiliar with flag football, it is regular football where winning is accomplished by retrieving a little flag from your team’s opponents. There are 4 fourth-grade teams, 4 fifth-grade teams, and 8 sixth-grade teams competing this season. Playoffs pit the best teams against each other. The fourth-grade champions are team #2, led by Max , and the fifthgrade champs are team #1, led by Ethan .
At press time, there were four sixth-grade teams in the playoffs: #1, #3, #4, and #6. May the best team win! Mr. Knox, the referees, and the fans enjoy watching the students play and stay out of trouble. According to referee Chris ,
“It’s a great chance to make new friends.” Flag football is less about the little flag and more about having fun, staying healthy, and, as Chris says, making new friends.
Claim Your Coat! e lost and found has lots of items. Be sure to look before you leave for Winter Break as items left will be donated to Our Savior Center in El Monte, which provides health and education services to those in need.
Congratulations Bookmark Winners! Rukku won 1st place among 5th graders, and Andy won 2nd place among 5th graders, for their bookmark designs for the Claremont Public Library. Stop by the library and see these two Chaparral Times staff members’ award-winning designs.
photo by Hannah
Shannen planned games, soccer shoot-outs, and funny holiday clothing competitions when she was Principal for a Day on December 13.
Happy Holidays!
photo by Katelyn
photo by Katie
Holiday Spirit—A Claremont House gets the full Christmas treatment.
photo by Savannah
Music, Music, Music
By Monique & Christin
W
illustration by Cheyenne
Music Survey Results
Green Day had twice the number of votes as Fall Out Boy (although FOB was a favorite among girls!) The winner of our music survey is: Robert Delaware (5th grade). Come to the office to claim your prize!
e appreciate everyone who participated in our music survey. See the results below. We will offer another one soon This month, in hip-hop and R&B, we have found many new songs. For starters, we have the music videos “Crank dat Spiderman” and “Crank dat Batman” by Soulja Boy. Also, there is a very touching song out by Alicia Keys called “No One.” There is also a wild song by Birdman called “Pop Bottles.” In our opinion, “Shawty,” by The-Dream, rates a 10. Finally, “She Said, I Said,” by NLT, is one of our favorite love songs. In the world of pop music, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake debuted a new song call “Until the End of Time.” The Cheetah Girls have a new song out called “Fuego,”
which is an active song. If you buy their new album, you’ll really enjoy it. Miley Cyrus / Hannah Montana is off to a good start with her second album, Hannah Montana 2. I, Monique, like Hannah Montana because she’s a really good role model. If you have any advice, or a good idea for a music survey (like Rihanna vs. Fergie), please write it down and put it in the blue box in the office. ‘Til next time, this is Music, Music, Music.
Chaparral Times
Entertainment Editor Cheyenne Features Editor Rukku News Editor Jayne Opinion Editor Kristina Sports Editor Gavin
Chaparral Times
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