1
Have you ever wondered why leprechauns wear green? It turns out there's a boatload of reasons as to why green is the color of choice for the holiday. Originally, the official color of St. Patrick's Day was blue, but green began to dominate based on Ireland being known as "The Emerald Isle." As well as the fact that the flag of Ireland also contains a stripe of green. Religiously, a lot of Irish Catholics are known to wear green, while Protestants celebrate the holiday in orange. If you look at the flag, a stripe of white separates the two colors, thus white resembles "peace" between each set of religious beliefs. Leprechauns actually used to be red. Although the little Irishmen are now synonymous with the color green, they weren’t always. Early accounts of leprechauns describe them as wearing red and a variety of hats—often three-cornered. Also, sporting red is the rambunctious clurichaun, a mythical creature that shares many characteristics with the leprechaun. These beings are always described as drunk and surly. They are often seen in stories riding animals at night, or clearing out entire wine cellars. Some accounts explain these troublemakers as the night-form of leprechauns. After a hard day’s work, the bearded fairies get so tipsy that they become an entirely different species. Other stories describe them as a close rel-ative to the leprechaun. Now, some people think that finding a leprechaun would give you luck. Is that re-ally true though?
March/April 2017
Volume 9, issue 5
AWSD
The BLOB
Inside this
issue:
Main Article 1
Bloberta
Did You Know?
2
Life Hacks
Captain O
3
Top 10 4
Student of the
Month
5
Current Events
Embarrassing
Moments
11
Collage 15
The Best Literature on the Block
According to Irish legends, people lucky enough to find a leprechaun and capture him (or, in some stories, steal his magical ring, coin or amulet) can barter his freedom for his treas-ure. Leprechauns are usually said to be able to grant the person three wishes. Kind of like if you were to find a magic lamp and rub it, then you get three wishes. Maybe you would wish
for food, like maybe some ice cream. Do you think leprechauns like ice cream? Well, turns out Leprechauns eat different types of wild-flowers, nuts, potatoes, and mushrooms. They also enjoy fancy homemade beverages and on given occasions, they take dandelion tea. Since they live in a forest in Ireland, most of the leprechaun's diet is comprised of wild foods. So probably no ice cream. Did you know that there are no female leprechauns? Leprechauns actually come from fairies. It was said that a leprechaun was made from a birth defect. What hap-pened was that the Irish believed their kings and queens descended from gods. These gods took the form of fairies on earth. When-ever there was a leprechaun born to these fairies, they would give it its pot of gold and leave it on earth. That’s why leprechauns are so protective of their gold. So really easier said, leprechauns are the unwanted fairies that have been tossed aside by the rest of the community. As a result, leprechauns are described as grouchy, untrusting, and solitary creatures. So that’s what you didn’t know about leprechauns.
Things You Didn’t Know About Leprechauns By Jadyn P.
2
Dear Bloberta By ??
Page 2
The BLOB
Did You Know? By Savannah W.
1. Did you know Irish people thought wearing green made you invisible to lep-
rechauns or fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see?
2. Did you know wearing green has become a tradition today by the Irish people
to remind those who don’t wear green that leprechauns
are watching?
3. Did you know that in 1961, the business manager of
Chicago’s Journeymen Plumbers Local Union, Stephen
Bailey, got permission to turn the Chicago River green for
St. Patrick’s Day? Since they didn’t know the right
amount to use, they thought to use 100 pounds of vegeta-
ble dye which made the river turn green for a full week
compared to the 25 pounds used today.
4. Did you know that in Sweden and parts of Finland, a mini-Halloween takes
place on the Thursday or Saturday before Easter? Every year, little girls dress up
in rags, old clothes, skirts, shawls, and go door-to-door with a copper kettle
looking for treats. They are known as Easter witches.
Dear Bloberta,
My friend and I are always fighting over small things. What should I do?
-Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
When you and your friend fight you should try to see her/his point of view and she/he should do the same
for you. Also you guys should talk it out and try and understand why you guys are angry with one another.
- Bloberta
Dear Bloberta,
My friend and I got in a fist fight the other day and now my friend is not talking to me. What should I do?
- Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
If your friend is not wanting to talk to you just let him/her calm down and then try to apologize and/or fig-
ure out what led up to you guys getting into a fist fight.
3
Easter Egg Hacks By Bailey M.
Page 3
Volume 9, issue 5
Captain O By Jesse M.
Did you know that the Easter Bunny is a bunny?
Did you know that a four leaf clover is green?
Did you know that an Easter egg is a normal egg, just
dyed?
Did you know that a rainbow is colored?
Put an egg
inside of a
whisk to
color it and
get a cool
design.
4
Top Ten By Jesse M.
Easter Activities
1. Egg and spoon race
2. Jelly bean guessing game
3. Read Easter and Spring
children’s books
4. Plant flowers
5. Decorate an Easter egg
6. Make chocolate fondue
7. Create Easter crafts
8. Give a gift basket
9. Make brunch together
10. Go to church
St. Patrick’s Day
Foods
1. Shepherd’s pie
2. Corned-beef
3. Irish soda bread
4. Corned-beef brisket
5. Green eggs and ham
6. Cabbage soup
7. Cabbage rolls
8. Shamrock shake
9. Corned-beef hash
10. Fried cabbage
Easter Candies
1. Cadbury Eggs
2. Peeps
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter
Eggs
4. Pastel M&M’s
5. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
6. Chocolate Bunny Lolli-
pops
7. Hershey’s Miniatures
Easter Candy Bars
8. Robin Eggs
9. Chocolate Eggs
10.SweetTart Ducks,
Chicks, and Bunnies
Best Places to Celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day
1. Pittsburg
2. Boston
3. Davenport
4. Buffalo
5. Philadelphia
6. Savannah
7. Kansas City
8. Cleveland
9. St. Louis
10. Chicago
5
February Students of the Month By Savannah W.
8th
4th 5th
7th 6th
Brooke D.
Lirian H. Kelsey G.
Christian B. Thomas H.
6
Monthly Polls By Bailey M.
Easter Bunny Origins By Jesse M.
Most of us know that Easter was orig-
inated from Jesus’s resurrection. What
we might not know is where his fluffy
little friend came from. That’s
right, I am talking about the
Easter Bunny. The Easter
Bunny was a big part of all of
our lives at one time or another.
When Easter rolls around,
we all get pretty excited to see
what he hid for us. The thing
we don’t think about is where
he came from. Bunnies have
been associated with spring since ancient
times. One theory is that the Easter
Bunny first arrived in America in the
1700’s with German
immigrants who settled in Pennsylva-
nia. The immigrants brought their
tradition of an egg-laying hare that they
called Osterhase or Oshter Haws.
The German’s children would
make nests for the Easter Bunny
to come lay its colored eggs in.
Eventually, that custom expanded
and soon enough chocolate, other
types of gifts, and candies were
added. The Easter nest also soon
turned to Easter baskets. Thanks to the
German’s traditions, we now have a fun
surprise for us every Easter morning.
7
March Student of the Month By Savannah W.
8th
Victoria V.
7th
Clayton W. 6th
Alex M.
5th
Anthony N.
4th
Clark H.
8
Athletes of the Month By Savannah W. 8th grader “Max G. has been competing in track for three years and it show in
his veteran leadership with new throwers and improving technique. He is very
confident and comfortable with practice and the meets and it allows others to
feed off this and have success because of it. He is always willing to work and
very enthusiastic about track which makes him a joy to coach,” as said by
Coach Funderburk. Good job Max. Keep up the nice work!
8th grader “Bailey M. is dedicated to becoming a better track athlete. She works ex-
tremely hard at practice every day and enjoys the competition at the meets. Bailey
puts in extra practice time to work on improving her times and distances,” as told
by Coach Munck. Wow, Bailey, Super Job!
7th grader “Theo W. is a very strong runner in the 100, 200, and 400. He is at
the top of the pack in every meet and works hard to stay there. Theo ran an
excellent 800 at the Weston Invite running 2:28 and holding of a late push
from another very strong runner from Cove to take first place in the event,”
as stated from Coach Funderburk. Super job, Theo, your fast!
7th grader “Charli K. works hard in practice and focuses on improving her sprint-
ing and jumping. She is open to trying new events even if it might be difficult.
Charli is a leader on the track. She is encouraging to her teammates,” as said by
Coach Munck. Nice job, Charlie. You’re doing great!
6th grader “Alex M. is a very passionate track athlete taking on events most
others shy away from. Alex enjoys running both the 100 and 300 hurdles
along with the 1500 with the remarkable thing being that all three of these
races are back-to-back-to-back in a meet. His joy for the track has already
taken him far and it will only take him further in the next coming years,” as
told by Coach Funderburk. Let’s go Alex! You’re doing awesome!
6th Grader “Lily L. is naturally a talented runner. She is excellent at sprint-
ing and jumping. She will be a great addition to the track team if she contin-
ues to work hard,” as said from Couch Munck. Great job, Lily!
9
Fabulous Faculty By Nevin M.
Wacky Laws By Savannah W.
Did you know that in Oklahoma, no baseball team
can hit a ball over the fence or out of a ballpark?
Did you know that a person can’t dye ducklings, baby
chicks, or bunnies in Kentucky?
Did you know it is against the law for a rabbit to
race down the street in North Carolina?
Did you know that playing a pinball machine
anywhere in South Carolina is against the law?
Mrs. Olson has been chosen for April’s Fabulous Faculty.
Mrs. Vescio says that she is a very hard working teacher.
Incorporates lots of technology into her students’ learning
environment. She has been
working hard with the new math
curriculum, to make students
better mathematicians. She is a
kind and pleasant teacher and
she also coaches our hi8gh
school tennis team.
10
Celebrity Look-Alike By Jesse M.
Countdown By Tristin G.
50 school days until summer break
as of March 23!
Ben H. Roshon Fegan
Mrs. Robel Ellen Pompeo
11
Embarrassing Moments By Tristin G.
One time, I tried jumping into a pool and my feet got caught on the rim of the pool
and I fell in face first.
-Anonymous
One time I was teaching and I had one of the old fashioned projectors. The light com-
ing from the machine was making my shirt see through and my students could see my
undergarments.
-Anonymous
Current Events By Bailey M.
On Saturday, at Yosemite National Park, a young boy, nine years old, was swept away by the currents of Vernal Falls, but not the actual falls. The riv-er that came just yards away from the huge drop, took this lit-tle boy in, and was about to take him on the deadliest ride he would experience. Alec Smith heard the little boy’s mom crying
and praying to herself. Alec
jumped over a safety fence
and into the river by the little
boy who was now just feet
away from the giant fall. Alec
swam to the little boy, grabbed
him, and swam to the side. Al-
ec risked his life for a little boy
he didn’t know.
12
Recipe of the Month By Nevin M.
Irish Chocolate Cream Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of chocolate cookie crumbs, 1/3 cup of confection-
ers’ sugar, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ cup of but-
ter, 3 (8 ounces) packages of cream cheese, softened, 1 ¼ cup
white sugar, 3 tablespoons of
all purpose flour, ¼ cup of
unsweetened cocoa powder,
and 3 eggs.
Directions: Prep: 20m Cook: 1hr 20m Ready in: 9hr 20m
1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix together the
cookie crumbs, confectioners’ sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add
melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of
a 9-inch spring foam pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10
minutes; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450F.
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white sugar, ¼ cup
cocoa and flour. Beat at medium speed until well blended
and smooth. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each ad-
dition. Blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur; mix-
ing on low speed. Pour filling over bake crust.
3. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce oven tem-
perature to 250 degrees F and continue baking for 60
minutes.
13
Critics’ Corner By Tristin G.
Logan is an intense action movie
about a weary Logan caring for an
ailing Professor X somewhere on
the Mexican border. However, Lo-
gan's attempts to hide from the
world and his legacy are upended
when a young mutant arrives, pur-
sued by dark forces. The film fol-
lows a past-his-prime Logan em-
barking on a road trip across a dys-
topian future America for one final
mission.
Grey’s Anatomy is a dramatic but ro-
mantic comedy that is about talented
surgeons who have complicated lives
inside and outside of the hospital.
Sometimes their emotions affect their
surgical ability and their medical deci-
sions. The show is based around the
main character Meredith Grey in her
intern year with her four other col-
logues trying to make through their
surgical beginnings too. Things are
tough at first, seeing the reality of how
fast paced the hospital and their new
lives are going to be. Soon they all fig-
ure out their way around the hospital
and their soon to be surgical careers.
18
AWSD
Brain Teasers By Nevin M.
http://
wms.athwest.k12.or.us
BLOB Staff
Jadyn
Bailey M.
Rylee
Sammie
Taylor
Savannah
Victoria
Abigayle
Jesse
Tristin
Hunter
Bailey B.
Nevin
Sponsor:
Mrs. Turner
Editor:
Rylee M.
1) What does the bunny want to do when he grows up?
2) How does Easter end?
3) What do you call a line of bunnies marching backwards?
1) Join the Hare Force 2) With the letter R 3) A receding hair line