Birdie rocks Peacock
By Ashley S., Features Editor

It's spring musical time again, and this year, Bye Bye Birdie will be the feature presentation.

The director, Mr. Travis, chose Bye Bye Birdie over three other musicals: Into the Woods, Once Upon a Mattress, and The Sound of Music.

Bye Bye Birdie is more or less the story of Elvis and his fans. Elvis was drafted into the army, which broke many teenage girls' hearts. The story is the same, only in Bye Bye Birdie, the rock star's name is Conrad Birdie.

Seventh grader Megan K. earned the one of the leading roles, Kim Macafee (pronounced Mac-a-fee). Eighth grader Alyssa J. will play Mrs. Peterson, another principal character in this year's play.

Alyssa's classmate, Christine H. (Rosie, and Nelly in South Pacific) is glad she got the part. She said that she hopes the cast has a ton of fun this year!

Kyle A. is once again playing opposite Christine, as Albert Peterson, Conrad Birdie's manager.

Conrad is played by eighth grader, Jon M., who surprised many of his fellow students with his singing talent earlier this year.

Jon's classmate, Jackie B., is playing the role of Ursula Merkle. Jackie's character narrates the entire play, talking directly to the audience in the enthusiastic way teenage girls talk about their idols.

Practicing for the play has already begun, and will continue up until the performances on April 26 and 27.

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Students gear up for science fair
By Steve G.

According to sixth grade science teacher, Mr. Koenig, the purpose of the science fair is to give kids who are interested in science a chance to take it a step further. It's supposed to be a learning experience.

There will be approximately nine sixth grade exhibits at the fair.

In order to prepare the students for the science fair, Mr. Koenig talks in class about the scientific method. He explains how to set-up an experiment, and about how you have to have a variable. He helps students get their scientific materials together, listens to their questions, and tries to make helpful suggestions.

To encourage students to participate in the science fair, Mr. Koenig awards participants between thirty to one hundred extra credit points.

Mr. Koenig commented that he did wish there was a little more interest in the fair among students, but he added that it changed from year to year.

Seventh grade science teacher, Mr Larsen, was also concerned about the drop in participation. "The participation this year in the seventh grade is not as good as last year," he explained.

To help students prepare for the science fair, Mr. Larsen explains how to make a good experiment, in terms of both ideas and the step by step procedure. To encourage students to participate, he offers them extra credit, and reminds them how much fun it can be.

Ms. Krefetz, the eighth grade science teacher, follows the same procedure as her colleagues in helping students prepare for the fair. She helps them formulate and state the problem that they want to solve.

There are eight groups of eighth graders in this year's fair.

To encourage students to participate in the science fair, Ms. Krefetz tells students they will have fun. Furthermore, if they win the golden test-tube, all tests are negated.

The project that impressed me the most last year, commented Ms. Krefetz, was Elizabeth Furgat's examination of truth in labeling. She compared five different orange juices to see whether the amount of vitamin C listed on the label actually was in the juice.

This experiment, Ms.Krefetz explained, took a lot of knowledge of chemistry and higher math.

Sixth grader Ashley Dawson is freezing elements and chemically testing them. She chose that because she thought it would be interesting.

Asheley's classmates, Rose D'Angelo and Marina LaPorte are testing power and energy bars to see if they really work.

The science fair will be held on Saturday, February 10, from 9:00 till noon in the Peacock gymnasium.

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Vending machines receive positive reviews
By Laura B.

After a long delay, Peacock has installed new vending machines. Before the installation of the new machines, many students complained that the old machines were always breaking down.

The new vending machine company sells a variety of items, ranging from LifeSavers to a whole lunch course like pizza.

Most students interviewed said that they thought the new prices were pretty fair for a vending machine. [give some price e.g.'s]

Some others, however, commented that they thought the prices could be lowered.

"The wait for the machines was not worth it," some students complained.

One sixth grader commented that the wait was definitely not worth it because we had to go without microwaves for such a long time.

When asked about the quality of the food, sixth grader Joanna Dimova replied, "The food is o.k., but not great. I like the Barb-B-Que Rib Sandwiches.

Joanna's classmate, Kristen Scholl, agreed with her, commenting "The Rib Sandwiches are great."

Megan Elliot added, "the vending machines are o.k., but their pizza is great."

On the whole, students seem to like the new vending machines and appreciate their advantages.

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Chess tournament tests the best
By Alyssa J.

The chess tournament had a great turnout. Nine of the chess club members participated. They included Kevin K., Carl L., Pat D., Mike K., Rebecca M., Rob P., Jimmy A., Jacek M. and Andre C.

Team members prepared for the tournament, which was for club members only, by playing every week.

The elimination was by brackets. Everyone played until there were only two players left. They were Kevin K. and Carl L.

The game was on. Kevin said that this game was the hardest he had ever played. In the end, Carl won first and Kevin took second.

Chess Club meets every Tuesday from 3:00-4:00, after school in room 104.

There will be an all school tournament in the spring. All students are invited to attend.

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