Need Music Inspiration? I Got You! By Samantha Lozinski

Artists: 

- Lately, I discovered “Maggie Lindemann”, and I really like her music, because it kind of gives off Olivia Rodrigo vibes in a way. I love that she writes the kind of music that either makes you feel like you could cry your heart out, or dance around your room screaming the lyrics.(It depends on your mood.)

- “Tate McRae” is another amazing artist. One of the songs that you might recognize from her is “she’s all i wanna be.” So if you like that song, then chances are you will love her other music too.

Songs:

- “The Doctor Said” by Chloe Adams

- “Cages” by Maggie Lindemann

-“Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift

- “Teenage Mind” by Tate McRae

- “Uh Oh” by Tate McRae

- “you’re not special” by Maggie Lindemann

- “Bad Chick” by Liv Grace Blue

- “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry

- “Memories” by Conan Gray

- “ i hope ur miserable until ur dead” by Nessa Barrett

- “brutal” by Olivia Rodrigo

- “Numb Little Bug” by Em Beihold

- “Sweet Nothing” by Taylor Swift

- “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo 

- “Heather” by Conan Gray

- “As it Was” by Harry Styles

- “City of Angels” by Em Beihold

- “Dandelions” by Ruth B.

- “Happier” by Olivia Rodrigo

- “tear myself apart” by Tate McRae

Here’s a Spotify playlist with the songs above, and more. 🙂

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2peCGTzFo1sMPNJlRbUE3K

6th Grade Fun Night by Cora High

The 6th Grade Fun Night was on Wednesday night on October 26th for the 6th graders. The 6th Grade Fun Night was hosted by the Mountain Lions team, but all of the 6th graders could go. All of the money raised that night will go to the Mountain Lions for their field trips, field day and more fun stuff. 

The Wolves will have a Fun Night later in the year and the money from that will go to the Wolves for their field trips, field days and more fun stuff.

Mr.Tranell was the D.J., but other kids who wanted to help D.J. assisted Mr. Tranell. Kids could wear their halloween customs if they wanted to, but it wasn’t required. There was also really good food! 

Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Ammerman by Felix Sawers

Mr. Ammerman is a 6th grade science teacher at Park Forest Middle School. I guarantee you didn't know all of this about him.

Mr. Ammerman’s favorite subject to teach is science, even though he used to be a math teacher. The reason Mr. Ammerman gave is, “I started teaching science more than math.” Mr. Ammermans’s favorite team is our Penn State football team and his favorite sport is football.
You might be wondering what is  Mr.Ammerman’s favorite time of day but his favorite time of day is the morning. His favorite celebrity is Nick Saban. He is a football coach who coaches Alabama University. 

It turns out that being outside exercising and playing football is Mr. Ammerman’s favorite hobby. Mr. Ammerman said that his all time favorite food is pizza and his favorite place to eat his pizza is Brother’s Pizza.

Debate: Should we have a longer lunch time? By: Aparna Anand, Grade 6

Upon seeing the title, many students will probably agree that yes, we should have a longer lunch time. We get to have a longer break from our school work and we get to spend more time with friends on opposite teams. But while there are many benefits to the students when it comes to extended lunch, most administrators may not agree. 

What Some Administrators would say:

First of all, having a longer lunch break for students will reduce learning time in the classroom, which teachers will be discouraged at. And even with a whole block (80 minutes) in the mornings to cover all the necessary content, there’s always one or two things that have to get postponed to the next class, which can cause a delay in learning and lower grades for students. 

And this year, there’s a new schedule, where students will alternate classes on different days, so teachers are forced to postpone things even further. 

And some teachers would argue that because of our 15 minute recess during an alternating period, kids would be learning a lot less than they might already be. So what should we do?

What Students and some administrators would Say:

There are always two sides to a coin, and this has been a heavily weighted debate over the years. And most students differ against their teachers. Some administrators in certain schools across the country are too fighting for a longer lunch time for students.

According to Starved By the Bell, written by Harvard University, less time for lunch can deprive students of the healthful nutrients they need like vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients. And research suggests that when people eat faster, they tend to take in more calories and feel hungrier. And do we really want our kids/ students to grow up to be obese or have diabetes?

And many studies have shown that when kids have a longer time to eat, they can absorb more nutrients, improve their mental and physical health, and keep them at their best performance all day. Karen LeBillon, who was interviewed by the Public School Review Lunch Blog, says that “If we are giving our children a short lunch break, we are teaching them that food is an inconvenience, and eating is an interruption to their day.” And do we want students to adopt unhealthy eating habits and get sick when they’re older?

What we can do at PFMS?

After many schools increased the lunch break for students, overall performance boosted to incredibly high rates. And many teachers and administrators say that they made the right decision by increasing students’ lunch time. Let’s make PFMS one of those schools. 

A couple solutions- we can make the lunch line system more efficient- so that students can get their lunch faster and have more time to eat. Or, we can take away a minimal amount of time from morning classes and contribute that towards lunch. That way, classes after lunch like Tech Ed or World Languages will be slightly longer than usual. 

It’s important that us students have time to eat and a reasonable break from our studies. And while there are good arguments on both sides, who will win the debate? Will students rejoice and get a longer lunch time? Or will the administrators decline to change the current situation? ~



Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Kissell by Izzy Doliana & Vivienne Conroy

Interview with Mrs. Kissell

  • Favorite number?

  • 18 (birthday)

  • What do you want to be for Halloween?

  • Squirrel or a giant marshmallow

  • Who is your favorite student?

  •  Her son probably

  • Who is your favorite colleague?

  • Mrs. Packer

  • Favorite candy?

  • Starbursts 

  • What is your favorite shade of rainbow?

  • Misty Rainbow 

  • Why do you call students squirrels?

  • Watch them. Nervous energy.

  • If you ate a table, what would you do with the chairs?

  • Put the chairs together and lay down cause she would be sick

  • Favorite singer?

  • Adele and the Beatles, Billie Eilish, Queen, Lady Gaga, Madonna 

  •  If you were a dinosaur, which one would you be?

  • Some kind of herbivore, small, skinny, would be eaten by a larger carnivore.

  •  If you traveled back to the time of the cave people, what kind of cave art would you make?

  • Lots. trees with roses and rose bushes. Kitten in a cozy corner. Inspiring Quotes of other cave people

  • If a crocodile ate you, would you kick it?

  • Absolutely 

  • If you could go back in time, what time period would you go to?

  • 1960’s

  • Who is your favorite character in the Grinch?

  • Dog

  •  Worst but your favorite childhood costume?

  • I Dream of Jeannie or a Crayon

  • What’s your favorite letter?

  • M 

  • If a student ate a piece of wood, what would you do?

  • “Hey! Do I come to your house at night and chomp at your table? I do now.”

  • What is the grossest thing you have seen a kid do?

  • Have a chicken Mcnugget come out of their nose.

Year Round School? By Audra Miller

Should we have year round school?

For most people in this school, they’ve always had school from the end of August to the beginning of June. But some places in the world have school year round. Year round school means school is the whole year with no 3 month summer break. Many people here hate that idea because of the constant schooling without a big break. School makes you work hard and when you don’t have a summer break you don’t have months to relax. “The very thought of sending kids to school year-round makes some parents cringe. They balk at the idea of kids attending schools with no summer break. They question the value of a continuous school year interspersed with several short breaks. While the schedule is definitely not what the majority of adults grew up with, it's not nearly as onerous as some people think,” says Scholastic. Let's see what you think at the end.


But year round schooling isn’t always bad. It makes for longer breaks and un-interrupted learning. Every school in the country has 160 - 180 days of school every year. For us at Park Forest we have that continually with winter break, spring break and a couple days off throughout the year then off we go to summer break then to the next year of school. The pros are not as many interrupting breaks, and you have summer break to unwind before the next grade. Cons are constant school with only some days off and spring, winter and summer breaks.


But in ten states, year round school is different. They have the normal 160 - 180 days of school but instead they have it a year without summer break. “Kids in year-round schools attend classes for anywhere from six to nine weeks in a row, broken up by two- to four-week vacations. That, say some educators, keeps the learning process ongoing with minimal disruption. A Duke University study even suggested kids attending year-round schools are at a slight advantage, because they don't forget what they learned during the long summer break,” says Scholastic. Schooling with bigger breaks in between is nice for some students. Pros are longer breaks are nice, you do 6 weeks of school with a 2 week break sounds amazing. Cons are school is broken up and four week vacations can interrupt the learning process.


So what do you think, should we change to year round school or not?


Top Ten Scariest Halloween Movies by Zara Woodman

Top Ten Scariest Halloween Movies

It’s that time of the year where you huddle in a blanket by your jack o lanterns watching scary movies! So here’s my top ten scary movies that’ll be bound to give you a scare!


1. The Ring

2. Insidious

3. The Exorcist

4. Sinister 

5. Hereditary

6. The Nun

7. The Conjuring

8. The Shining

9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

10.  Halloween




Honorable Mentions:

In my opinion, these movies are the OG halloween movies, and they honestly deserve to be mentioned on this list! 


  • Friday the 13th

  • Child’s Play

  • Scream

  •  Halloween (original)

  • Nightmare on elm street

  • Poltergeist

  • It

(I also had to add this)

Mr. Cimino’s 2nd Grade Summer Vacation Video

Best Halloween costumes for multiple people!  by Addy Lloyd

Best Halloween costumes for multiple people! 

Only have one person to do this with? That's fine! There's a lot to choose from!


Thing 1 and Thing 2 

Luigi and Mario 

Angel and Devil 

SpongeBob and Patrick 

Cat and a dog 

Ladybug and Cat Noir 


M&Ms 

Cheerleaders 

Lilo and  Stitch 

Incredibles 

Minions 

Fairies 

Aliens 

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy 

Anna and Elsa 

Ghostbusters 

Buzz Lightyear and Woody 

Shaggy and Scooby

Cinderella and Fairy Godmother 

Ghosts 



Sam's Chocolate Milk Reviews and Rankings

Hey, it’s me, Sam Rockmore, remember how I ranked every month? Now I’m doing it with chocolate milk. What I’m ranking it on is taste, overratedness (The more overrated it is, the less points it gets.), and how easy it is to get. Thanks to my friend P.J at chocolate milk reviews for his descriptions.

Disclaimer: If your favourite is Meyer Dairy, you can stay mad.

Chocolate Milk Brands Being Ranked: Byler, Valewood, Meyer Dairy, Gallikers, Penn State Creamery, and Homemade.

Eighth: Meyer Dairy. 9/30

I mean, the stuff is good, not at all notable, but good. It got 5/10 points in the taste department, 4/10 because you can only get it in one place, but at least it’s nearby but, Meyer Dairy, Frankly, Is THE MOST OVERRATED CHOCOLATE MILK EVER. Every time I talk about chocolate milk, someone will pipe up and be like, “oH, hAVe yOU tRiED mEYeR DaIRy? iT’S tHAt gOOd!” Meyer Dairy is not that good. Stay mad. Chocolate milk reviews:

The fat content outperforms its ‘reduced’ (2%) billing from a creaminess standpoint, lending an indulgence supported (but not highlighted) by cocoa flavour.

Oh also, I emailed him and asked him about Meyer Dairy, these were his exact words: The fact that Meyer Dairy has a big following in the State College area is a clear cut example of the old adage "People like what they know, and don't know what they like." It's local, it's available, it's even in glass bottles (ooh...). So why do they cap their chocolate milk at 2%? Definitely not surprised though that it's loved by the locals-- but there's lots of better chocolate milk in that area (Reedsville Creamery is fantastic, obviously Byler, and even the Berkey (whole) choc milk is better in my opinion)

Seventh: Galliker's chocolate milk. 10/30

Who? Why? When? Why does this exist? Who makes this garbage? It only scored 10 points because it’s available pretty much everywhere in the state. Our school buys this nasty gunk for some reason, when there are so many better chocolate milks in the area. The chocolate is more like hand sanitizer than chocolate, and the milk tastes slightly off. Chocolate milk reviews’ description: Sweetish start, and relatively watery conclusion to each sip. It neither stands above nor dips below ‘average’ in any major way.

Sixth: Valewood (11/30).  This, this doesn’t taste like chocolate milk? It feels like you’re drinking something just to drink. There is no chocolate whatsoever. It’s still pretty underrated (8/10), because absolutely nobody knows what this is. It doesn’t have chocolate? Taste: (1/10) You can only buy it in one store in a different town so it scores a 2/10 here. Still not great.

Fifth or Fourth: Chocolate Water (15/30) You may be asking yourself, “Why?” Instead, ask yourself, “Why not?” Chocolate water is created with water, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and a spoon. (10/10) in easiness to get. I mean, it doesn’t taste great, but not that bad either, (2/10) and it’s slightly underrated. (3/10)

Also, Audrey Condon gives it a 30/30. (I was interviewing people in art.) Chocolate Milk Reviews has not rated this. Yet.

Fourth or Fifth: Homemade  (15/30) It’s super overrated but tastes better than chocolate water. I’ll cut to the chase on this one. Taste: 5/10. Overratedness: 0/10. Easiness to get: 10/10. Chocolate milk Reviews has not reviewed this either.

Third: Creamery (16/30). It’s a nice, basic chocolate milk, but great taste wise. 10/10. Sure, you can only get it in one place, but it’s downtown, so I give it a 6/10. It wouldn’t be overrated, but if you google the best chocolate milk, The Creamery will show up. Super Overrated. (0/10) Chocolate Milk Reviews: Straightforwardly delicious, whole chocolate milk that easily could be the standard for university creameries across the nation. Everything looks and feels in place, it doesn’t take a lot of risks, but doesn’t need to in order to warm the heart.

Second: Halo Farm (20/30) Halo Farm. You may be asking what that is. It’s an amazing chocolate milk in Trenton, New Jersey. Of course, being in a different state and in one store, it has to get a zero on easiness to get, sadly. The taste is ten, it’s amazing, but not as good as first place. It’s ten for overratedness, since nobody here knows what it is. If you happen to go to Trenton, you have to try this. Sadly, Chocolate Milk Reviews has not tried this yet.

First: Byler's (31/30) The best chocolate milk in the realm. If you disagree, stay mad, and try this chocolate milk. There is a lot to say about this one. First of all, it’s goat milk, which the main difference I can taste is that it’s extra creamy. Also, if you’re lactose intolerant, you can still drink this, due to the fact that goat milk doesn’t have as much lactose. Second of all, Mr. Byler, the guy who makes this chocolate milk is one of the nicest people I know. And third, it’s completely amazing taste wise as well. The taste is also amazing, the best of all time. 14/10 for taste. Unlike Meyer Dairy, it’s actually that good. 10/10 for overratedness, since nobody knows what this even is. 7/10 for how easy it is to get, you can find it at our Wegmans, various farmers markets, and his actual farm in Belleville. One more time: If you disagree, stay mad.

Drink Mr. Byler’s chocolate milk and read my other stuff, see you next time,

-Sam Rockmore


Halloween by Alyra Myers-Finnegan

Halloween is a holiday every year on October 31st.

The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts because it was believed that the dead would come back to life. Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive activities, costumes and eating treats like candy, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, candy corn, caramel apples, candied apples, caramel corn, and apple bread.

PFMS Accessibility Challenges and Solutions by Dylan Simon

6th Grade Tetherball

PFMS is a great school to be a part of, but there are some issues that we may need to pick up on. One of our problems is the tetherball pole below the 6th grade basketball courts. Usually, the people who line up to play are a lot taller than me, and I know that I and everyone else who is shorter would definitely lose a game in a heartbeat. However, don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge and don’t mind playing. But since I am shorter than “average” I find that a few everyday activities that we do in PFMS are rather challenging due to our height. Our first idea is to create a tetherball pole better for a shorter group of kids at PFMS. Everyone who plays wants a chance at winning, so it's only right to give that to this group.


Instrument Storage Room

The band/music department storage room is definitely  a challenge. For those of you who don't know, I play the cello, which is about the size of a small child and a little shorter than me. So when you have to hoist it two feet above you because the bottom shelf is full, it can be dangerous for me and my cello. I've also seen really tall people putting their cello on the bottom shelf.  Mr Shafer has told kids that if you are tall you need to put their instruments on the top shelf,but it's clear that some of those kids did not listen. So I propose that we make 2 of the 4 shelves for cellos for shorter kids, so it is easier to put away.This also goes for Violinists and Viola players,they get their own shelves but I have seen people struggling to put them away as well. 

This was a short article, but I think it supplies a lot of information about struggles for shorter kids at school.Thanks for reading!




Image Sources: Google Images and Getty Images

Should Social Media Be Banned at School? By Ella Caldwell

Should schools block media sites on computers? There are pros and cons.  For example, you could use the sites to research, but you could also just be on social media when you should be doing school work. People are on both sides, and I can see why.

One con that could push schools to block websites is that teachers can’t be watching every student's computer at all times to control online safety. So for convenience reasons schools will block them. But on the other side of that schools want to teach kids how to use the internet safely, and by blocking all these websites just like that, but that could be avoiding that teaching opportunity.

Another thing to keep in perspective is that students can just go home and see the stuff you're keeping from them. Also students could use these sites to get information, or teachers can use these websites to teach from. For example people could use instagram or twitter to see what people post and what they post about. I know in 7th grade English we talked about narcissists, so you could use what people post to see if they are narcissistic or not.

There's much debate that schools are too strict on what they are blocking and limiting on school devices. But these debates get talked over to keeping it the way it’s been because they want to keep kids the safest they can. But on the other hand it could help students research and it would be easier sometimes. What's your opinion?


Source: https://www.netnanny.com/blog/why-schools-block-websites-and-you-should-too/