1

Inside this Edition:

Showchoir Banquet

The Walking Dead

finale

Fire, Water, Air and

Earth

8th Grade Says Good

-bye

Ode to Carrots

Thirst Project

Ballet Dancers Secret

A Sequel for Nemo

Book Review

Kentucky Wildcats

Anne Frank

Band: What We

Think

#LikeAGirl

Secret to Morning

Powerpoints

Breakfast Around the

World

5SOS

Archery Team’s Suc-

cess

Country Talk

Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.” said Mrs. Jackie

Miller, a teacher at Petal Middle School. According to students who are pupils of the

Common Core curriculum, Common Core does nothing but overcomplicate simple

questions and confuse even the brightest of students. However after digging just a

little deeper by asking the teachers of Common Core, I have come to the conclusion

that some people judge too quickly and don’t realize the amazing improvements in

the students’ understanding of more complex curriculum. We asked four of the

teachers at Petal Middle School if Common Core was helpful and they all agreed

that it was an amazing set of standards. Mrs. Townsend, a language teacher at PMS,

was interviewed about the effects of Common Core to get a language arts point of

view. During the interview she was asked what she thought of the standards, she

said, “ It [is] very beneficial and it helps the students with real world problems.”

Hearing students and parents ranting and raving about Common Core and

how it is too much pressure and how it is “not worth it” or “non beneficial” makes

some people instantly conclude that Common Core is ineffective and useless.

Even I, a student, being taught common core, agreed that it wasn’t worth all of the

fuss it caused, but I was judging too quickly and I realized this when I interviewed

those teachers. I walked into the classroom and expecting the teachers to say

“Common Core is absolutely and utterly

disappointing.” However to my surprise, I

found that the people that are on the inside

of the deal realize the positive effects of

Common Core are numerous.

Many students don’t realize that

the fun activities they have enjoyed this

year were part of the teachers’ methods

for teaching common core. The Around

the Room activities that allow students to

use more conversation and collaboration

in math class were examples of those type of activities. “I’ve actually had fun this

PANTHER PRESS M A Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

Common Core: A Case of Judging

Too Quickly

By Analese Petty

2

P A G E 2

In The Mississippi Legislature

voted to withdraw from the

PARCC assessment for the

Common Core Standards in

January of this year. IAA nd

new IN

“Mississippi’s College- and Career-Ready Standards [same as Common Core standards] are the highest academic standards the state has ever had in its history. These standards spell out what students are expected to learn in English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8 and in high school.” Jan. 16 Washington Post

year trying to make math more fun and interesting for the

students, “ Mrs. Sowden said.

I didn’t understand why the teachers were teaching

us some of this curriculum that seemed so hard, so early, so

I asked why. Mrs. Ready and Mrs. Sowden both told me that

if we learn to do the skills now before high school we can

retain those skills and build off them later when we working

in our careers. In other words, we get an earlier start on learning the skills we need

for success in our adult life, so we will be better prepared. However, even the

teachers admitted, there has been too much testing this year. Thankfully, next

year’s state assessment test will have only one part.

Before starting this article, I had heard so many negative statements that

said all common core does is confuse students. As human beings, we often say,

“Ugh, this is hard,” but we may not think of how this hard work is helping us.

When I look back over the past few years as a student, I see that I have grown con-

sistently. Humans also often jump to conclusions. For instance, if a team loses a

game, we automatically assume that they’re not any good, but honestly, jumping to

such conclusions is a bad choice. Common core is a good set of standards. We will

continue to succeed, if we just start thinking, “Maybe common core is a good

thing...maybe I judged it’s effectiveness and, even its difficulty, a little too

quickly.”

P A N T H E R P R E S S

Teaching outside of the box

for a set of standards that

encourage students to think-

more.

According to a national survey of teacher perspectives on the common core

published online at http://www.edweek.org/media/

epe_survey_teacher_perspctives_common_core_2013.pdf

An overwhelming majority of teachers feel that the quality of the CCSS

is at least on par with their states’ prior standards.

On the whole, teachers also agree that implementing the common stan-

dards will help them to improve their own teaching and classroom prac-

tices.

3

P A G E 3

The banquet

was held at As-

bury Church. It

was beautifully

decorated and

was catered by

Oyster Half

Shell..

When Mrs. Maxie was a little girl, she grew up with

music in her family. Her dad was a singer and a musician, he

played the saxophone. She grew up in church and loving church

music. These things inspired her to become a music teacher.

When asked, how the choir has grown over the time that

she has been here. She responded, “ The program has grown by

numbers and I expect the choirs to be bigger and stronger.”

During her tenure, the Chevalier and Chanticleer choirs

made all superior at district and state choral festival, and they had

successful concert performances throughout the year. With Spark

showchoir, the season was also successful,. They came in second

place in the Homewood competition and first place in the State Showchoir competi-

tion. As she said when asked about the season: “It was great!”

According to Mrs. Maxie, there are three major things you need to have in

order to be in showchoir, choir, or on the crew: “You have to have a strong work ethic,

know your music, and be a team member.” Thanks for all you do, Mrs. Maxie!!

Celebrating a Successful Year by Tatyana Hollon

P A N T H E R P R E S S

The annual Showchoir

banquet was an oppor-

tunity for members to

receive awards for out-

standing work and to

spend time together

for a no-pressure eve-

ning of fun.

The following awards were given out at the banquet:

Outstanding crew member: Chloe Slade

Greatest boy dancer: Kyle Johnson

Greatest girl dancer: Mallory Extine

Outstanding boy vocalist: Semaj Silas

Outstanding girl vocalist: Kyra Lampley

Director Award (boy): Reagan Milliet

Director Award (girl): Anna Claire Gunn

Brave Award: Hannah Taylor

Student Vote (girl): Sydney Swafford

Student Vote (boy): Mason Moak

4

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This season concluded with the deaths of two new characters and the return of a recurring character.

The beginning of the episode showed Morgan, a well remembered friend of Rick. He was making eggs and coffee under a small fire when a strange man approached him. He had an odd "W" marking on him. The man seemed somber and depressed and Morgan willingly talked to him.

But not long after his arrival the man allegedly attacked Morgan and another man sprung out of the bushes. Morgan fought fiercely back and won. These men were part of a group called the "wolves". Morgan packed camp and started his trek to find Rick on the map he had found.

But to some people a very shocking part in the season finale was when one of the most popular characters, Daryl, risked his life for Aaron. You see, these two were trapped in a car that was surrounded by walkers. Daryl had volunteered to distract the walkers, so Aaron could escape. Luckily, Morgan showed up to save them.

This season Carol took her sass up a notch! She began to be the mother of the group once again as she was in the previous seasons before her exile. She pretty much terrified the young-est child of Jessie ,Sam, in order to prevent her from sharing and Rick's secret.

At the very end of the finale Daryl and Aaron brought Morgan to the Alexandria camp where the group was deciding about Rick's fate. Rick was trying his hardest to explain that they were never going to be safe and they would always have to keep their eyes open. Just before the meeting had begun a walker had gotten into camp, and Rick almost died killing it.

Finally after Pete burst into the meeting and legitimately killed Reg (after Reg would not agree to move out of his way), Deanna told Rick to "take care of him." We all know what that meant!! When Rick "took care" of him, he looked up to see the one and only Morgan.

As you can see, this episode was pretty action packed. From Morgan saving Daryl and Aaron to Glenn getting shot in the shoulder by Nicholas to Rick shooting Pete. This season went out in a bang.

Walking Dead Recap

By Jenna Fisher and Haley Dennis

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

“Rick was trying his

hardest to explain that

they were never going

to be safe and they

would always have to

keep their eyes open.”

Morgan returns to the show and has

to fight for his life against a new

group —the Wolves.

5

Fire, Water, Air, and Earth By Emily Breland and Cara Ellington

*This article is strictly meant to inform people about the history of zodiac signs*

“I love everything up high, the moon, I believe in stars”- Anonymous

It seems like the moon, sun, and stars have always been a mystery to man. There remains a big

interest in our modern day time n zodiac signs. Zodiac signs come from the constellations. They date

back to Babylonian times and the sky watchers of Mesopotamia who identified the five wandering stars,

which with the sun and moon form the seven original planets.

Babylonians watched the constellations, sun, and planets and noticed that they move through the

heavens. Astronomy is the study of the sun, moon, and the stars, but astrology is pseudoscience playing

up the “effect” of the movement of the heavenly bodies on human existence.

Interest in astrology has persisted throughout centuries occasionally becoming less of an interest,

but it always rebounds. Some say astrology is superstitious without any scientific basis. However,

man’s interest in the sky is at the heart of three separate stories: astronomy, astrology, and the calendar.

The word astrology comes from the Greek word astrologias, which means the study of stars. In

ancient times people of royal status had their own live-in personal astrologers and history tells us these

astrologers had dual roles of scholars and priests. It was considered a privilege to study the “Godlike

Science.”

Astrology is a complex system that encompasses more than what sun sign you were born under.

Each planet has its own rulership over the different zodiac signs and influences your birth chart as well

as the progressed chart created as your life develops through growth and change. There are, of course,

twelve signs of the zodiac. Individually, each of the zodiac signs is also associated with the natural ele-

ments of water, air, earth and fire. For example, some signs are considered more like the element of

fire. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are fire signs. According to astrologyzone.com “Fire signs are full of

power and light. They are highly creative and burst with enthusiasm and energy.” Also, according to

astrologyzone, the zodiac signs are influenced by three qualities: cardinal, fixed and mutable. The cardi-

nal signs are the natural leaders, while fixed signs are the ones who maintain order and stability, and the

mutable signs are the communicators. Basically, being born into a zodiac sign is supposed to have some

effect on the personality development of the individual. Astrology makes claims, such as people with

the fixed quality “can be a bit stubborn or stuck in a rut, a down side of their ability to stay the course.

Yet these signs are valued for their consistent, loyal, devoted, reliable and patient na-

tures .”(astrologyzone.com). The influence of a zodiac sign on a person’s development is highly contro-

versial because science has shown that the genes you inherit from your family and the environment you

grow up help to shape your personality. In other words, you may be more like your mom or dad or Aunt

Sally than another Taurus.

P A G E 5

6

:

A Horoscope is your personal advice from the stars that tells you what you should and should-

n’t do; for example, “Pisces: You should not go outside today”. A horoscope tells you how to go about

your day, and some people live their lives by what their horoscope tells them. This is probably the

most controversial part of the whole Zodiac sign issue. Some people believe that people who follow

their horoscopes are putting too much faith in what someone says their star chart reveals. Others see

the zodiac as replacing faith in the Creator of the stars with a faith in patterns that astrologers see in

the movement of the planets and stars.

Even though, we believe that Zodiac signs do not really shape our lives or our actual being,

they do cause a great interest within the modern day Pinterest-loving community. Zodiac signs were

developed long ago, but will probably always remain an interesting topic amongst people around the

globe.

P A N T H E R P R E S S

P A G E 6

7

We May Be Saying Good-Bye, But We Won’t Forget You by MaKayla Thompson Walking down the halls as a student for the first day of Petal Middle School was a bit nerve wreck-ing for most people. As we are now walking down the halls, we’re all filled with excitement knowing that summer is almost here. And we 8th graders are ready to get gone.

Through the years we've been here, some of us have noticed our teacher’s habits and sayings. Some are unforgettable, such as when Mrs. Moore says, “Don’t worry, you can pull it up,” if you make a bad grade. She also makes powerpoints with few words, so you have to listen and take notes. There is also Mrs. Ford, who makes you feel good about yourself even if you don’t get an answer right. She often says, ”Good job. It’s not right, but at least you made an effort.” And Mrs. Tichnell tells us stories about when she worked at a hospital and what her experience was like when she first saw wind turbines. She always tells us stories that tie in with the lesson she teaches.

Some of our teachers have a funny and wry personalities. For instance, Mrs. Sheffield, she has to be walking to talk. She also looks down her glasses at you if she’s reprimanding you and gives you that “Oh, no you did not just say that” look that your mother uses on you, according to Emily Breland. She also likes to joke around with her students. For instance, she often asks Austin McNease, ”So Austin, who are you going out with this week?”

Then there’s Mr.Vaughn, who talks with both hands and always calls his students by their last name. If you are not paying attention, you might hear one of his famous jokes, according to Amaya Thompson, such as, ”If Thompson had been paying attention, maybe this wouldn’t have happened in his-tory.”

Some of the things our teachers do are really helpful. Mrs. Sowden walks around the room as she talks, and often stops to draw “pictures” on the board to help her students get difficult concepts. And Mrs. Ready stays on topic; she doesn’t let the lesson drift off to something not related, according to one of her students, Luke Watkins. She gives lots of pats and winks to students who get their answers right. Yet, she isn’t afraid to admit to her classes that she is not always right. During a class discussion, if students really get into it, she bangs on her podium to bring order in her classroom, just like a judge in a court-room. Other things our teachers do are sweet and funny. For instance, Mrs. Britt twirls her hair as she talks. Mrs. Morgan is very sweet and helpful. According to Charity Brumfield, “I once came to her door during a meeting, and she dropped whatever she was doing in the meeting to help me.” And Mrs. Town-send is so understanding and gives you second chances. Then there is Mr. Hogan and Mr. Knight, who are known for greeting students in the hall with an enthusiastic, “Hey, how are you?” or “Good Morning!”

Then there is Mrs.Maxie, who looks like she is directing choir with her hands even when we are not singing and she’s just talking to us. She also sings your name when you are not paying attention or when she is happy to see you. I remember one time I walked in and was going to grab my binder off the shelf and she came out of her office and said (or sang), “Makayla!” in her singy-songy opera voice. And I responded, “Mrs.Carney!” in my not- so- opera, singy-songy voice.

All of these habits and somewhat odd and funny things our teachers do, will be what we remem-ber our teachers by. Either with their inspiring speeches or the way they teach and lead us, they have given us memories. As we go to Petal High School next year, we will make new memories and hopefully meet some more fun teachers, too. Farwell Petal Middle School and thank you to all the teachers, and the principals, and staff for being there for us and giving us all those second chances and great opportu-nities.

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

8

P A G E 8

Put YOUR Essay, Story or Poem Here:

P A N T H E R P R E S S

We are looking for

guest essays, sto-

ries and poems.

Submit that essay

or story or poem

you got an“A” on

or that no one has

even seen yet. IT

could end up spot-

lighted on this

page in our paper.

We want to pro-

vide your writing

with a wider audi-

ence.

My Love for Carrots!

By Charity Brumfield

The Color….How bright The fresh taste

One bite... I just might. I would never waste.

I would eat them every day. They are all I talk about. Yes, they are my “Bae.”

They never put me in doubt.

And when I am without I’m not really done. I might just shout,

“Just please give me one.”

9

The Thirst Project

By Amaya Thompson

Water is the greatest gift of nature. No civilization can live without it. Animals use it, as well as plants and humans.It is something we need. But what if the water was so bad, that no one could use it at all?

Beginning in the summer of 2007, The global water crisis has turned attention to the number of people without clean water to drink. Seth Maxwell-the founder and CEO of the Thirst Project, has worked with middle school and high school students internationally on social media. Others are also involved, such as, various celebrities, DoSomething.org, Key Club International, Follett Educational group, and GT Events to help people in developing countries get access to safe clean drinking water.

Why is this necessary, you ask? Almost one billion people on our planet don’t have access to clean water or the technology to create safe clean water. That is 1 out of 8 people on the planet. Approximately one child every 21 seconds will die from diseases caused by contaminated water. Lack of access to water pre-vents the growth of agriculture, education, and microfinance. Basically, without water, there is no quality of life or, in many cases, no life.

Last March, the Thirst Project Foundation visited middle schools and college campuses across the nation. Ever Since ‘07, The Thirst Project has been raising awareness to get more people involved and they are starting to build wells in the communities in these various countries.

They have also helped in various developing countries, such as Africa and the Middle East. Over four thousand children die every day die from diseases caused by contaminated water. Diseases from this wa-ter kills 2.2 million people every year. With better technology they can get get access to clean, safe drinking water.

Another reason this cause is so important is that the young women in these struggling countries are the ones who are supposed to get the water for their families. The average distance a woman walks to collect water is 3.75 miles. The young girls spend so much time and energy on this necessary contribution to their families that they cannot attend school, which leaves more educational gaps in these communities.

Water is a Human Right, So join the Fight!

10

Ballet Dancers Brains Adapt to Pirouettes

By Katelin Montgomery

Have you ever seen a ballet performance where the dancers appear to effortlessly turn and spine and not get even the slightest bit dizzy? How does that happen? Imperial College in London did a study on the differences in a ballet dancer’s brain and a non ballet dancer’s brain. The study showed

that the dancers were able to suppress signals from the inner ear to the brain. The inner ear is the part of the head that controls whether or not you get dizzy. Ballet dancers use spotting to not move the head as much during a turn or make a Pirouette, a French word that translates, “to whorl” or “to turn”. This controls the dizziness.

Now scientist are studying the possibility that this study could help minimize the dizziness in people who are chronically dizzy. Usually dizziness is a temporary thing, but for those who are chronically dizzy, the dizziness goes on and on. The scientist studied 29 female ballet dancers and 20 female rowers about the same age and fitness level. The ladies were spun in chairs and were asked to turn a handle af-terwards to show how fa continue to register movement after the spinning stops). The scientist used Mag-netic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to look at the participant's brain structures. For the dancers, the spinning time was shorter compared to the rowers.

The more experienced the dancers the shorter the dizziness effect. Dr Barry Seemungal said, "It's not useful for a ballet dancer to feel dizzy or off balance. Their brains adapt over years of training to sup-press that input.” The dancers have learned to shut off the connection between the inner ear and the brain. One trick that ballet dancers use as they are learning how to spin is they place their thumb on their chin and their hand on their after they spin to help stop the dizziness until they get that part of their brain under control. Until the spinning stops, they learn to focus on the palm of their hand and this stops the room from spinning. One in four people experience chronic dizziness in their life time. So 25% of the population ex-periences this horrible disease.

Turning for a dancer is often crucial for a proper performance. As a ballet dancer of ten years, I barely notice dizziness when I do my Pirouettes. Though when one of my friends does a pirouette she still feels dizzy afterwards and has to sit down for a little bit. I have personally experienced this phenomenon and now know that somehow my ballet training will help me if I ever do develop some-thing as uncomfortableas chronic dizziness.

What’s New...

P A G E 1 0 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

Katilyn demonstrates the spotting technique

she was taught to help prevent dizziness dur-

ing her ballet moves.

11

By Hailey Cunningham We’ve all heard of the classic underwater adventure Finding Nemo; we

never expected a second movie of the greatest film alive! Well, now the cat’s out of the bag; there is a sequel. It is called Finding Dory! Ellen DeGeneres is the most excited! She tagged Oprah, Obama, and the FBI to see her new movie as soon as it comes out! She also counted down the exact minutes upon it’s arrival! (shown below) We can’t say we aren’t excited, either. I remember the days where I just simply sat down with a juice box and some gummy bears and watched this ocean exploration unfold right before my eyes.

It’s pretty magnificent that Disney can perfectly continue a great film classic and also keep the impatient crowd of Disney fans entertained. You want to know more about the film? Well, the setting ISN’T underwater! All we can tell you is to pay close attention and wait patiently. But, so far, all we know is this friendly-but-forgetful fish reunites with her family and everyone learns life lessons along the way. Join us on this great adventure about the love of family, the purest of loves, while getting to know these funny and crazy fish folk!

The casting is pretty genius, too. We love Ellen Degeneres, so why not cast her as Dory, again? We loved her in Finding Nemo, so this Finding Dory is sound-ing pretty thrilling, if you ask us. We just hope the sharks still believe that fish are friends, not food! Including the fish guests we will meet for this first time in this film. We hope they’re as nice as the school of swordfish that pointed out the way to Sydney!

We hope you enjoy this fast-moving, heart clenching, fish-friendly movie! Climb aboard the Dis-ney fandom! (A fandom is a fan base for those who don’t know). We hope you enjoy the movie as much as we think we will. By the way, the movie comes out in 2016, so hang tight! One more year until this amazing movie is released for the world to enjoy and cherish for years to come!

COMING SOON TO A THEATER..

P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

We’ve all heard of

the classic

underwater

adventure Finding

Nemo; we never

expected a

second movie of

the greatest film

alive! Well, now

the cat’s out of

the bag—there is

a sequel.

12

A Summer Book Choice

Review by Cady Layton

Asylum By Madeline Roux

Sixteen year old Daniel Crawford was an outcast in high school

and was determined to make friends his last summer before college at

New Hampshire College Prep. Soon, Dan learns his summer dorm is a

former asylum for the criminally insane. Dan also soon befriends Abby

and Jordan and the three of them explore the hidden parts of the mysteri-

ous summer home. They soon find out it is no coincidence the three of

them ended up there. Brookline asylum hold untold secrets and some of

them refuse to stay buried. “Featuring found photos of unsettling history

and real abandoned asylums and filled with spine-chilling mystery Made-

line Roux’s Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius

and insanity.” www.ny.times.com/books

P A G E 1 2

P A N T H E R P R E S S

BOOKS recom-

mended for teens by

goodreads.com

Google each of these

books and read an an-

notated bibliography

to see if you might like

to pick one of these

tried and reader rec-

ommended reads.

Just One Wish

By Janette Rallison

Stargirl by Jerry

Spinelli

The Absolutely True

Diary of a Part-Time

Indian by Sherman

Alexie

The Eighth Day by

Dianne K. Salerni

Gregor the Over-

lander bySuzanne

Collins

Banner in the Sky

James Ramsey Ullman

Millions by Frank

Boyce Cottrell

My Side of the Moun-

tain by Jean Craighead

George

The Prisoner of Cell

25 ( Michael Vey

mystery) by Richard

Paul Evans

Fairest by Gail Carson

Levine

13

The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats are the record holders for the most wins in a row with 38. No one seemed to be able to be competition for the Wildcats led by sophomore twin guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison, freshman guard Karl-Anthony Towns, and junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein. They dominated the regular season for the most part with only a two close games. They beat Ole Miss by three in overtime, then four nights later they beat Texas A&M, by only 6 in a game that needed 2 overtimes to decide the win-ner. They dominated the tournament by beating Hampton (16) 79-56 in the round of 64, Cincinnati (8) 64-51 in the round of 32, West Virginia (5) 78-39 in the sweet 16, but it wasn't until the elite 8 when they were put to the test and only beat Notre Dame by 2. They finally secured their spot in the final four. Where they would face fellow 1 seed Wisconsin. Kentucky started the game to a 5-0 run but from there it was an evenly based game where two amazing basketball teams went head to head for a shot to win the NCAA National Championships. The game went right down to the wire but the Badgers just had too much momentum for

the Wildcats to overcome. The game ended with a Wisconsin win 71-64. Although the Wildcats couldn’t finish with an undefeated record, they still made his-tory and most of their players are coming back, so watch out!! Because they will be a real contender for next year’s championship too.

ALMOST PERFECT By Azaviar Plummer

P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

14

P A G E 1 4

Anne Frank: We Still Care

Anne Frank Died Earlier Than Thought

By Katelin Montgomery

Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager, during World War II had

been hiding from Adolf Hitler's soldiers to stay alive and out of concentration camps. For many, reading Anne

Frank’s diary was their introduction to the Holocaust, a terrible time in world history. Anne Frank was given a

red plaid diary for her 13th birthday to write in. She did and brought it into hiding with her and wrote about

what she was going through at the time.

She died at the young age of 15 from typhus, but now researchers think she died a month earlier than origi-

nally thought. Her original death date was determined by Dutch authorities. Dutch authorities said that she

died March 31, 1945. Researchers evaluated testimonies of survivors and Anne’s diary again, and now the new

evidence contradicts the original date.

In 1944 Anne and seven others were caught hiding and were forced into a concentration camp for those

of the Jewish religion. The concentration camp name was Auschwitz-Birkenau. Later on, Anne and her sister

were separated from their mother and were forced to work as slaves at camp Bergen-Belsen.

Witnesses say that the sisters were showing symptoms of typhus before February 7. If you start to show

symptoms on February 7 you probably wouldn’t survive to March 31st, according to cnn. The typhus outbreak

caused thousands of people to die everyday during this time period. According to cnnnews.com ,”Typhus is an

infectious disease caused by lice that breaks out in places with poor hygiene. The disease causes high fever,

chills and skin eruptions.” Twelve days after symptoms appear there is a high chance of death.

Blitz, Anne’s friend in the camp said, ”Anne never gave up hope. She was absolutely convinced that she

would survive.”

Though the date of her and her sister Margot’s death is still unclear, the sad fact is that they both died

too young. Her life is still an intense topic of study. We are at least able to read the world famous diary that

has been translated into more than 70 different languages in over 60 nations.

Many authors have used parts of Anne Frank’s story in their novels. An example would be John

Green’s, The Fault In Our Stars. In this novel, a chapter takes place in

Anne Frank’s house where the main characters Hazel and Augustus

started to fall deeply in love.

Anne’s now famous diary.

15

P A G E 1 5

What We Think….. By Bethany Lancaster

P A N T H E R P R E S S

Band

Ah, yes, the Petal Middle School band. So many people say "Oh you're in band? I'm so sorry!" Like, no, I don't need your pity, sympathy, or apologizes. I enjoyed band thoroughly. Whether it be chair tests, the instructor, or the music.

I only joined band because all my brothers were in band, all of them in brass, like me. I thought it would be interesting for Mr. G and Mr. Lymon to see yet another Lancaster. The truth is they did not prefer my brothers over non-trouble making kids; no, the instructors did NOT even like my brothers. (Ha ha ha) But they still got me as well.

The lovely subject of chair tests.... We all hate them. Except MAYBE Dawson Hoover, who lives for those moments. (We're friends, so it's cool if I call him out on this.) However, it does get the members used to playing in front of a group. Supposedly, it kills your nerves to play in front of peers, but I don't see how.

The music is great! We play the music the instructors tell us to, and more often than not, the music has a really good drum line or beat. It's saddening how badly the music sounds without percussion. It's actually really surprising how good you sound when it's just your section, but how more amazing it sounds when we all play together.

NOW THAT WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF BAND, I would like to point out that marching band is indeed a sport. The definition of a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment." Let's discuss this, okay?

Physical exertion: Well, you try surviving band camp, okay? If marching on field in formation, not being able to catch your breath, but still having to play the notes correct, is not considered a sport.... Hm.

Skill: if side and jazz stepping with a sousaphone isn't skill, your understanding of the word skill is out of whack.

Team: You're questioning that we're a team?

Competition: There are so many competitions; just check out our calendar sometime, okay?

So in conclusion, the instructors were much more than fabulous, chair tests suck, the music is also fab, and band IS a sport. Sorry (not really). Bye✌.

16

#LikeAGirl By Mackenzie Smith

Dear Future Journalism Student,

Journalism is about teamwork. You should learn that if you do not have teamwork then you

will have a difficult time in journalism. Journalism isn’t all about taking pictures or just a free

period to do what you want. It is about working together and taking responsibility in your

writing. You have to be able to listen to your teacher, meet the deadline of your task, and most of

all, have a good attitude. Your teacher isn’t going to do all the work herself; she is going to need

your help to make this journalism class the best it can be.

In the auditorium, did you ever look at the powerpoints? Yeah, well I am going to let you in

on the basic steps to operate the powerpoint. First, you have to go to your google slides, and put

today’s date and everything else your teacher tells you to put on there. Next, you will have to share

with your teacher. Then, the next day you need to go to the back of the stage. (SOO EXCITING!) In

the back of the stage you have to go to the black cart and take the blue cord, and attach it to the

projector. Then, I would put the sound cord (if you have a video) in before I turn on the projector,

but it is your choice. Then, after the sound cord is in, turn on the projector. You will have to cut off

the lights in the back, but I would advise you to do that first so you can memorize which ones need

to be cut off. Don’t forget to keep the side lights on.

Overall, I believe that you will do an excellent job since I’m retiring. If you mess up, try, try

again. Don’t forget to be the best you can be.

Sincerely,

Danielle Ware

P.S. I used a lot of smiley faces because you want everyone to start their day off with a

smile. Don’t forget my signature symbol.

P A G E 1 6 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

In the youtube video #likeagirl made in cooperation with Always, director Lauren Greenfield captures

the meaning of the common insulting phrase. In this video people came to a realization how badly they were

hurting others and even themselves. Whenever someone says “You hit like a girl!”, it really hurts women and

girls. Young teen girls who are already vulnerable from puberty are affected when another person questions

their gender’s strength and abilities. When older teen girls were asked after making such a statement about

why they had just made fun of themselves, most did not even realize they were doing so.

When very young girls are asked to run like a girl or hit like a girl, they responded in a positive way—

-they ran as fast as they could and gave it all they had. These girls show what the response should look like.

However, when teenage girls are asked to run like a girl, they respond as if the stereotype was real and began

to play out what everyone thinks a girl runs like. This video was made to prove that the stereotype does hurt

girls. As one of the women responded, “Why can’t run like a girl also mean win the race?”

This video was made to keep people from making girls doubt themselves. It asks us to think about

what you say and how much it can impact a person.

View the video by opening this URL in youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

The Secret Behind the Morning Powerpoints...

17

P A G E 1 7

I have eaten

plaintains

before

when we

were in the

food court

at the mall.

They are

really sweet

and have a

nice tex-

ture.

“I have been

interested in

different kinds

of food ever

since I was

little.”

“

There are many different kind of cultures in the entire

world and each have their own meals they eat that are dif-

ferent from ours. I have been interested in different kinds

of food ever since I was little. My family went to different

restaurants that range from Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexi-

can, and of course American food. Some of them I have

tried, and some I have not had the chance to—-yet.

Burkina Faso-millet seed porridge

This breakfast is mainly eaten in Africa and it consists of millet, which is a

group of highly variable small-seeded grasses. It is eaten sweet (with milk

and sugar added at the end of the cooking process) or savoury with meat or

vegetable stews.

Japan-rice and natto

Natto is a meal with soybeans that are fermented with bacteria, and have a

slimy texture. Sounds tasty right? It isn’t the most pleasant smelling as it

lies somewhere between cheese and old socks. Do you know why this food

is popular even with all of these downsides? Natto gives you beautiful skin,

a healthy heart, strong bones,and is vitamin rich. Source-http://

www.thejapanguy.com/japanese-food-what-is-natto/

New Zealand- toast covered with Vegemite

Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from leftover brew-

ers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives.

Pakistan- Rooh afza and milk

Rooh Afza-is a fermented, but non-alcoholic, concentrated squash mixture

made with fruits, herbs and vegetable extracts.

Jamaica- plantains, peanuts, and cornmeal

Plantain is a banana containing high levels of

starch and little sugar. Harvested green, they

are widely used as a cooked vegetable in the

tropics.

Breakfast Around the World by Jaickie Patel

P A N T H E R P R E S S

Natto is the only

thing I don’t really

plan on eating be-

cause the texture

and taste doesn’t

seem appealing.

18

China- rice gruel, pickled tofu, dried egg strips

Rice gruel-Gruel is a type of food consisting of some type of

cereal—oat, wheat or rye flour, or rice—boiled in water or

milk. It is a thinner version of porridge (think oatmeal,

cream of wheat or any other hot cereal) that may be more

often drunk than eaten and may not need to be cooked.

India- idli with tea

Idli-A savory cake that is made by steaming a batter of rice and lentils. This is normally eaten at breakfast

in India and served with tea. The cakes are usually two to three

inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consist-

ing of fermented black lentils. (de-husked) and rice.

Summer is the time for NO SCHOOL, right? But, did you know that you can lose up to three months of

the skills you gained this year over the summer months. Admit it, the days do get a little bit long and boring

before summer’s up. If you would like to participate in fun, learning activities, Passport to Learning may be

your ticket to keeping those skills from slipping.

You can join an online Google classroom (accessible from anywhere you can get on the internet) and

have access to three new activities every two weeks, one from math, one from language arts, and one from sci-

ence. That’s just 3 activities, and you have 2 whole weeks to get them done!! It won’t take up too much of

your summer, and it will help you start school off ahead instead of behind.

You’ll also be able to visit the library each Wednesday beginning June 3, from 8:00 to 3:00. You can

use the computers there, or check out books, or do some extra computer based learning activities. There are

rewards for choosing to complete these totally voluntary activities. There will be a mid-point incentive this

summer for all students who have completed the first 2 sets of activities by June 24th. Those who complete all

activities will receive a t-shirt that can be worn on ANY day of the next school year. That’s any day (or every

day if you wash it often) !! You don’t like polo shirts, get on board and use a little of that free time (that can

get kind of long and boring, remember) for some fun but educational activities.

Passport to Learning by Mrs. Holley

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

I usually eat idli for lunch and not really for breakfast, but we

usually eat it with stew as shown in the picture. There are many

ingredients in the stew and we cover it with the idli.

I have not eaten rice gruel before, but it kind

of resembles cereal or even oatmeal.

19

Summer’s Band (5SOS) By Hailey Cunningham

There have been a few ‘changes’ in the music industry that dated way back to 2011 when they were

just starting out, but started to finally get some recognition in 2013. You might be wondering who they are;

of course, they are the continuously-rising-to-stardom 5 Seconds of Summer (or better known as 5SOS; pro-

nounced 5sause) The funny and dreamy members have made their way to fame and along the way have also

acquired a fandom! These four boys have amazing talents that some of us are glad they decided to share

with the world.

If you want to know the band, you must know their names and their most noticeable features. For

starters, the lead singer is Luke Robert Hemmings. He has a lip ring on his left side and perfectly blond,

quiffed up hair. The next member is Calum Thomas Hood. He looks distinctly ‘Chinese’ but he is actually

Kiwi (no, not a fruit, a person from New Zealand) and Scottish . He is the bassist and has tattoos on his arms

and blond highlights on the front of his brown hair. Ashton Fletcher Irwin is the band’s drummer. He has

curly hair and always works out. The last and certainly not the least member is Michael Gordon Clifford. He

is the guitarist. He usually has dyed hair (the color changes often), and he has an eyebrow piercing. Now

that you know the members a little, let’s move on to their songs.

Their songs have an amazing blend of soft rock and pop. All of the members sing from time to time,

but Luke is the one at the microphone most of the time. His raspy voice puts the perfect edge to their music.

Some of my favorites are ‘Beside You’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Lost Boy’, ‘Voodoo Doll’, and many more. If you are

just beginning to fall in love with them, or just becoming curious about them, these songs are highly recom-

mended by me.

The members are extremely fun and sweet, but what else sticks out about them? Michael is the funny,

wild, showboat gamer who lives it up on stage in front of countless people. His quirky dance moves never

fail him when he’s entertaining someone! Luke is a little clumsy, weird, awkward, and overall, would be the

perfect funny first date. He’s sweet and passionate and all the perfect mixtures of exciting! Ashton is a little

shy, sensitive, has the most contagious, adorable laugh, and very defined dimples. You’ll love him instantly!

Calum Hood is crazy, wild, and loud. But weirdly, in some interviews, he seldom talks… what’s wrong, Ca-

lum? Be the loud talented boy we know and love from the stage!

“Why 5SOS, you say? There’s only 4 of them!” Some questions similar to these roam around all of

the time, but luckily, we’re here to end these continuous questions. Well, the band member Michael Clifford

came up with the name in class one fateful day after they had had trouble deciding on a list of names, and

their logo is 4 tally marks with a slash through them.

The meaning behind the logo is much deeper than peo-

ple stress. It means one tally for each member, and one

more to keep them tied together. Aww, let’s hope

they’ll always be together!

Now that you’ve experienced a little bit of their

music, know the secret behind the logo, and have dis-

covered their quirky personalities, it’s never too late to

join in a fandom. And I sincerely recommend this fun,

sweet, and also very talented band to devote your time

to listening to and loving. So what are you wait-

ing for?! Go listen to their songs! Your adven-

ture starts now! (You’re welcome in advance.)

(Left to right; Michael Clifford, Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings)

20

The team has only been in existence for two years, but coaches Scott Conway and Robin Rector have

already taken their teams to a World Competition and won this year’s state competition. The high school was

named 2015 Aimes State Champion in Class 6A and Petal Middle School won the 2015 Class 3A Middle

School State Championship. After winning at the state level, they

went to Lousiville, Kentucky to compete in the National Champi-

onship Tournament. There were over 12, 000 students in this com-

petition and our team came in 85th out of a field of 200 teams.

They will advance to the World Competition Tournament

again. Last year, they competed against archers from 25 states as

well as archers from Canada, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe,

and Mongolia, according to Teresa Holifield. The Middle School

Panthers ranked 20th at the NASP World Competition in 2014.

Wherever they go next, we know they will represent us with pride

and skill.

Archery Team Goes to State and Represents Petal Middle

School in a BIG Way by Carrington Brewer

David Scott won first place overall in the State competition by

shooting a 287. Check out his individual trophy.

Riley Powell shot the 2nd Highest Score

in the competition with a 282.

This impressive

trophy was

brought home af-

ter our team

placed first in the

state and won the

right to go to

Nationals and

compete against

199 other U.S.

teams. Overall,

Petal had the top

three high scorers

in the state since

3rd place was

shot by John Rob-

inson, who at-

tends PHS.

21

.“How many countries are there?”

It seems like an easy question to answer, doesn’t it? Just grab a map and start counting, right? Well, no. It actually depends on how you define the word “country”. For the sake of this article, I’m going to use Mer-riam-Webster’s dictionary, which defines country as “an area of land that is controlled by its own govern-ment.” Still, this definition seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Well, the problem is, “country” is a subjective word, meaning it means something different to many different people.

First of all, not all maps are equal. Borders are subject to change and differentiate depending on where you got that map from. But the easiest and admittedly least violent way is done by a special committee founded after World War II, the United Nations. It probably gives the most accurate count. The UN officially recognizes 192 countries. But there’s a catch!

Think of the UN as a class roster, but one that doesn’t include everyone depending on each students’ opin-ions of the other students. Take the Vatican City, for example, which technically is a country, but isn’t a member of the United Nations. The Vatican’s exact sovereignty situation is complicated (you can thank Benito Mussolini for that). I will explain that now.

Before 1870, a large portion of the Italian peninsula was ruled by a country called the Papal States. How-ever, years of war by imperialist Italian monarchs eventually reduced the Papal States to a small district in-side Rome called Saint Peter’s Basilica. For the next seventy years, the Papal States refused to recognize that the Kingdom of Italy existed, while at the same time complaining about being massacred by the King-dom of Italy. The Italian king at the time decided that it’d be best to just wait the Vatican out, and hope that soon enough, they’d surrender.

But, generations came and went, and five popes and sixty years later, the Vatican still hadn’t given up. Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy at the time, was tired of hearing the Vatican complain. So, he came up with a document in order to score some political points, which kind of looked like this:

“To Pope; From Italy, 1. Italy gives Vatican to Pope. 2. Italy gives the Pope a bunch of apology money

In return:

1. Pope acknowledges that Italy exists.

2. Pope promises to remain neutral in politics and wars.”

A new country, Vatican City, was born. However, other countries aren’t that confusing.

Take the Republic of Kosovo, a small country which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Let’s say Kosovo wants to join the UN, but membership requires that none of the “Big Five” countries choose to re-ject you. The “Big Five” in the UN are five countries that are ranked among the UN’s most powerful. They are as follows: The United States of America, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The French Republic, The People’s Republic of China, and The Russian Federation. —-continued on next page

COUNTRY TALK

By Luke Watkins

P A G E 2 1

22

Let’s say Britain, the US, and China all recognize Kosovo as a country, but Russia and France just think it’s a rebellious little sister of Serbia. Since Kosovo got rejected by two members of the Big Five, they are unable to join the United Na-tions.

But Kosovo isn’t the only place that wants to be considered its own country. There’s Transistria, The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (which, hilariously is only recognized by Turkey), The Nogorno-Karabakh Republic, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, all of which are not fully recognized by all the members of the "Big Five".

Now you might be thinking "OK, what's the deal? I don't care if these guys think this place is a country. Is it or not?" The answer is...maybe. These countries are all autonomous to some extent. Most have their own passports, currency, and government, and more or less control over the territory they claim is theirs.

What makes the concept of some of these areas fuzzy is that they're almost always born of conflict. Think about it like this. While the United States is clearly a country now, in 1776, not so much. Back then it was just a rebellious part of the UK. Much like what happened nearly a century later when she got her own rebel, which other countries refused to recognize, the Confederate States of America.

A notably awkward case is The Republic of China. No, not the incredibly large China you hear about in the news, but the small island known as Taiwan. Officially, the People's Republic of China is the mainland, and The Republic of China is Taiwan. However, the People’s Republic of China still claims sovereignty over Taiwan, and the other problem is, that only 146 UN nations recognize The People's Republic of China (aka mainland) as actually existing. This resulted from the Chinese Civil War, which is another long story

So I guess after this the answer comes rather simply. "How many countries are there?" Well, how many do you want there to be?

Page 22

Yellow is the Peo-ple’s Republic of China, and red is the Republic of China.