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| News April 2003, Volume 6, No. 5 |
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Questions? Comments?
Tell us what you think!
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By Veronica M.
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| This ceramic fish, created by seventh grader Ashley K., is being judged at the National Art Competition in New York. | |
Both middle and high school students are entered in this contest.
The awards include a golden key, a silver key and an honorable mention.
"The Scholastic Art Contest is the largest student competition of its kind," said Mrs. Dengler, "Students between grade seven through nine can enter the competition. The artwork is judged on its originality, uniqueness, and quality of work."
Professional artists in Illinois judge the students artwork. There are about fifteen different categories of artwork that are entered in the art fair. These include ceramics, drawing, photography.
Eighth grader Lara P. won a gold key in photography, and Ashley K., seventh grade, won a gold key in ceramics. There were also three honorable mentions: Eighth graders Alex C., Trish H., and Mari D. All won honorable mentions in photography.
Lara P.'s and Ashley K.'s artwork will go to New York to the National Art Competition. Peacock is honored to have their students' artwork in the National competition. Many famous artists first started at the New York National Art Competition.
When interviewed recently, Lara explained that her artwork "was a picture of a reflection of leaves floating on water and a reflection of a house. I created it over the weekend for a photography class project."
Lara actually thought another piece of her artwork was better than her reflection picture. Lara is very excited that her work will go on to New York.
Ashley explained that her artwork, "was a ceramic fish." "In art class Mrs. Dengler showed our class how to create a fish," she added.
Ashley also likes to paint and draw. She did not expect it to win a certificate and a pin.
Mari's described her photo as "A black and white picture of my sister pushing a swing."
"I took my little sister to the park and then took the picture of her pushing the swing. I thought that it was cute enough to be an award-winning piece of artwork," she added.
Besides photography, Mari also likes to draw.
Trisha said, "For photography class, I took a black and white picture of my sister. We were at the park and I took a picture of her. I wasn't expecting to win anything!"
Trisha also likes to draw.
Alex said, "I shot a photo of my bike. I took the picture and then I developed it. I did not expect to win this award."
There were over two thousand entrees in the west region competition. Only seven hundred were chosen. These lucky five students from Peacock Middle School were chosen out of seven hundred for their skill, emerging style and originality.
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Is our school ready for a biological attack?
By Amy E.
If you have watched the news lately, you have seen the warnings saying that you should have plenty of duct tape and plastic tarp to block your windows. They also said that you should have a three day supply of food for each person in the building. Dr. Nickisch was interviewed to learn if our school had those supplies.
Though recent statements by government officials suggest that it is important for every building to be prepared with basic supplies, Dr. Nickisch said that covering the school with duct tape and plastic was a silly idea. Our school has too many vents to cover up and trying to cover the school wouldn't save us.
Dr. Nickisch stated that we have food and water stored in the school. We have stored, clean water because the water in Itasca used to be very rusty. We also have canned food left over from past food drives that we couldn't give away.
Because we don't have the duct tape and plastic, Dr. Nickisch stated that in the event of a biological attack, we would first call 911 and then go to the basement and wait for help.
Then the fire department would come and take us to a safer place.
New safety flipbooks have been placed in each room in our school. They list new safety procedures for many types of problems. That these brochures were recently provided might lead you to believe that they would have a plan for a terrorist attack. However, the closest thing on the list to a biological attack is a chemical spill.
To console the students who are afraid, Dr. Nickisch said that our whole town was well-prepared if something were to happen.
Hopefully, the sure-fire plan the village has will work. It is also important to note that there is a very low chance of an attack happening anywhere near our school.
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Band concert swings to railroad theme
By Megan and Sarah Z.
The crowd grew silent, the conductor raised his arms, the downbeat fell, and the concert began.
On February 23, the Concert Band, Varsity Band, and Jazz Band performed three pieces each at the Peacock Middle School Winter Band Concert. The concert featured a railroad theme which was a real hit. Two pieces to support this theme were Take the Blues Train and The Great Locomotive Chase.
The Great Locomotive Chase was based on a true event in which 19 union soldiers stole an important confederate train engine.
The Jazz Band kicked off the concert with three pieces: Killer Fox, Chili Pepper 101, and Gospel John.
Next, the Varsity Band played a composition by Mr. Loest called Dedicatum. This piece was dedicated to a beloved school principal Mary Drew who tragically died of pneumonia.
The Varsity Band also played Take the Blues Train, and Sea Song Trilogy.
The Concert Band finished the concert with Pevensey Castle, Fairest of the Fair and The Great Locomotive Chase.
Overall, Mr. Loest and others thought the concert was wonderful.
When the Jazz Band went to their competition, they got a Division I rating. All Jazz Band soloists did really well.
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What is good and what is right?
A lunchbox survey
By Eric A., finishing editor
Many people in school see lunch as the freedom time from learning, but are we really getting the nutrition we need from it?
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Most students felt that their parents should pack their lunches to make healthy meals. |
Many students rely on the vending machines for lunch. Of course, the students who proclaim their lunch is unhealthy are the ones who bring frozen food from home, and buy snacks at the vending machines.
Because of peer pressure, many students try to eat the same thing as their friends. Only about 25% of students eat a healthy diet, and most students eat the same thing day after day. Most students, however, concluded that they enjoyed their lunch.
Our school supplies vending machines to sell products, and to make some extra money. Is the school doing a good job?
Most food wrappers indicated a fattening six to twenty-four grams of fat. Some had even more.
Many students said they really don't care about nutrition. They just want the food to taste good.
Students indicated that they would like more variety in the vending machines. They wanted the foods offered to change every couple of weeks.
Many students eat mini Tony's pizza's from the vending machines every single day. This explains the long lines at the microwaves heating up food.
Most students felt that their parents should pack their lunches to make healthy meals. Others felt the school should supply healthier foods in the vending machines.
Another problem is that some students do not bring a lunch to school and tend to beg others so they can get their hands on leftover junk food.
Although 75% of students have unhealthy lunches we know how to make it better. The school should improve quality of food in the vending machines and/or require that parents provide their students with a healthy lunch.
All most students really care about is taste, and how much lunch will fill you up. Because the school probably will not require us to eat a nutritious lunch, it is up to us students to make smarter decisions on what to eat.
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