Letter from the editor, Hey readers, I hope you are all doing well. We have all been working very hard and we are all focused on our tasks. We are hungry for success. However, you have to earn it and pay your dues. We all have amazing opportunities here at Turquoise. It is easy to be pessimistic and cynical about everything, but we really need to be grateful for what we have in our lives. And who? When we protect the pack, the world is a much better place. So much happening in our world, all at once, all at the same time. Let’s continue to lift each other up. Please and thank you. Positivity: it’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing. Have a wonderful Spring Break!! - Mr. Lujan jlujan@ttschool.org Weather By Isis The past 3 weeks of weather have been very interesting with the snow and wind and rain. After the 2 snow days in a row on Valentine’s Day and then the really windy days that caused a bunch of tumbleweeds to block the one door by the nurses office. It's been really interesting. Speaking of wind, the strongest wind ever recorded was in 1935 during the Labor Day hurricane, with winds of 185 mph. Another weather record is the most amount of snow ever recorded which was in 1911 in Tamarack, California with 451 inches (37.5 feet) of snow. This month however the weather is going to be taking a turn from the cold windy weather of winter into the 50s and 60s of spring. So be prepared for some slightly warmer weather. Also in other March news, St Patricks day is coming up! On the 17th of March be sure to wear some green. Fifth Graders Preparing for Middle School Written by: Keilyn Tarango As an eighth grader preparing for high school, I forget to think about another milestone: the fifth graders that are moving into middle school. It is another important step in your life that should be talked about more. My sixth grade experience was, personally, a train wreck. It made me think that middle school was going to be a bad time for me. Because of my attitude towards it, it felt like it was a terrible time. But now in eighth grade, I will miss it and all the memories I made, and I regret not treasuring my middle school years.. And I do not want anybody to start off their middle school experience badly. I want them to have a good perspective for it so that they can enjoy it. It is a very important time period where you learn to mature, make friends, start being more responsible, and gradually become more independent. It is a time to grow as a person and prepare for high school. I decided to interview my fifth grade sister. I asked her if she is ready for middle school, what her goals are, if she is excited or not, if she is scared, and why. Differences Between Elementary and Middle School One of the biggest differences I have seen between middle school and elementary, is the schedules. For elementary school, they have to line up before switching onto the next class. In middle school, you have periods. Basically, when the class period ends, you have about four minutes to walk to your next class on time. This is called a passing period. If you get to your class late you get marked tardy. Another difference is the electives you take. You get a paper asking what electives you would like to take: art, history, creative writing, physical education, health, or newspaper. You usually get up to two electives. Plus this new class is called a learning lab. This class allows you to make up any missing assignments from other classes, but you can also read. Another difference is the fact that you stay in school for thirty minutes more than elementary. You are also not just restricted to being separated in your grade, you are mixed with 7th, 8th and 6th graders. This allows you to make friends of a different age than you. You also learn to mature a lot. You learn which friends are for you and not for you. Classes are also more advanced, of course. Last year, a girl named took a 7th grade math class in 6th grade, and Jireh Arroyo Cano now she is joining the 8th graders as a 7th grader. This is a really good thing that you can do if you have the opportunity to. Another thing is the dances. We have had about 3 school dances this year, and we are planning to have another one to celebrate the end of the year. These dances raise money for things like the trips happening for middle school this year. They are also a super fun time. For all my Mexican people out there that love dancing, they are definitely for you. There are a variety of songs played that are inclusive and enjoyable for everybody attending. It is definitely something you should experience at least once in middle school. Interview The person interviewed is a fifth grader by the name of Kimberly Tarango. “How is your fifth grade year going so far Kimberly?” “It’s going really well, I think it has been my favorite year so far!” “That’s amazing. Are you excited to move into middle school?” “To be completely honest, I’m kind of scared. Middle school is really close, and I don’t think I’m ready for it.” “Why do you think you’re not ready?” “Because I feel like the work will be too hard, and I’ll have trouble making more friends. I also feel like people are going to judge me. Especially eighth graders and seventh graders because they are older than me.” “Would you like some advice?” “Sure.” “It is inevitable that people won’t judge you. You can’t please everyone and that's perfectly fine. Your true friends will be people who like you for who you are. And making friends in middle school will actually be easy because of the diversity. The work over, of course, will be more challenging, but don’t let it stress you out. It’s really not as bad as it seems. And if people judge you for being ‘young’ they need to grow up.” If you are going to middle school soon, just remember, you don’t have to be fully prepared for it. Just enjoy it as much as you possibly can, and spread that joy and kindness to the people around you. The Break We’ve All Needed By: Nevaeh Reyes As February ends and March begins, our spring break is close. A break that has been much needed, a whole week to relax and not have to wake up early or stress about work. These past months have been stressful, especially for the 8th graders. Almost every class has an essay due, capstone projects and many other things due in a very short amount of time. To help prepare them for high school, I asked 8th grade student Keilyn Tarango if school is stressful. This was her answer, “ Yes it is, I need that break. School has actually been so boring and stressful”. Second, 8th grade student RJ tells me, ”Yes, it's very stressful and a lot to take” is what RJ had to say. School can be very draining emotionally and physically for students, we need time and have a good break. March marks the 3 months of school left for students. This is a very important time period for the 8th graders leaving for high school. Are the 8th graders ready for high school, this 8th grader tells me ”I'm not ready honestly, I'm kinda scared”. High school is a different world, and middle schoolers are excited and very nervous for the next 4 years of their life. This break might even help students who haven't decided what high school there going to decide and apply before it's too late. The break will be a week long, allowing students to focus on relaxing and getting their mind back to working and ready to start again. We haven't had many breaks lately so this is going to be very enjoyable. But school isn't just stressful to 8th graders, it's stressful to everyone including the teachers. I asked Mr. Lujan if he gets stressed from school and being a teacher, this is what he told me. “ It can be, sometimes, I do a lot of meditation, I like to confront whatever I'm dealing with. You need time to reflect”. So the teachers definitely need the break, not only to spend time with friends or family, but to work on lesson plans and get ready for the upcoming weeks till the end of school. Allowing students, teachers, and staff to spend more time with family and friends. Many people don't have much time to spend with their families, it's extremely important to everyone. Having school for 5 days and around 8 hours, doesn't really allow time for students and staff to spend with families. Staff often does not get off at 3 or 3:30, but rather is much later in the day. Having a week off will allow students and staff to spend quality time with family or pets. School can be very draining emotionally and physically for students, we need time and have a good break. March marks the 3 months of school left for students. This is a very important time period for the 8th graders leaving for high school. Are the 8th graders ready for high school, this 8th grader tells me ”I'm not ready honestly, I'm kinda scared”. High school is a different world, and middle schoolers are excited and very nervous for the next 4 years of their life. Students need a break to recuperate and calm down their minds. A study shows that no break regularly can lead to significant decreases in academic work, and in some cases serious health conditions like anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Being overwhelmed is another important factor in not having a break. Being overwhelmed can cause many problems in people, such as mental slowness, difficulty concentrating. Which is very much needed for school. Research also shows a break allows your brain to refocus, and refresh your body and mind. Increasing the ability to focus and be productive and willing to work on academic activities. In conclusion, School is one of the most important things for anyone to go to, providing many choices for your life. A higher education can be very beneficial, helping get a job with higher pay, helping sustain your lifestyle. Although you don't need an amazing education to do things in life it can help. But none of this is helpful without a break to recoup and relax your mind and body. So I hope everyone enjoys their break, and takes advantage of the seven days off! ChatGPT for good or for bad? By Roberto Vega ChatGPT Is a new AI that has gotten popular for being able to write articles, poetry, and other things all with the input of an idea. ChatGPT sources its data from articles, websites and other sources of information to eventually learn and output the best string of words that relate to your input. But because of the usefulness of the bot and how surprisingly easy it is to access it, there have been reports that multiple college and highschool students are using it to write articles for them. An article from USA today states that, “A survey, which was done in early February, found that 63% of students and 72% of teachers agreed with the sentiment that ChatGPT is just another example of why we can’t keep doing things the old way for schools in the modern world," and 73% of teachers said the the tool, "can help students learn more.” Which does bring up the question on if we should incorporate AI into schools and classrooms. The only main concern about the use of ChatGPT is the lack of creativity from students using ChatGPT. Because of this (and the fact that you can cheat with said ChatGPT) some schools have banned it or the use of any AI learning in general. “One survey of 203 K-12 teachers from Study.com found that more than 70% of teachers, "have not received any faculty guidance on ChatGPT," 43% "think ChatGPT will make their jobs more difficult," and about 1 in 4 have caught a student ChatGPT to cheat on assignments .” Says USA today. But we can't doubt the use of it either because of the possibilities on what bots like ChatGPT can bring for learning. But in order to use anything like this it is certain that there will be certain restrictions and rules on using AI. But we will all have to see in time if it will be for the good or bad. Beatlemania in Britain By Christopher Hernandez Miche Timmy, a 10 year old boy, was skipping down the street with his brand new hat, peacefully. Suddenly, in the distance, a crowd of people holding posters of almost similar looking people run in Timmy's direction. They all trample Timmy, leaving him crippeled, in order to get to the other side where the same people in the poster are walking, as they all shout, "It's The Beatles!". Beatlemania was the fanaticism following the English rock band, The Beatles. The word Beatlemania was used to describe the ecstatic, female-led fan cultured teenagers who were obsessed with The Beatles as they began to gain popularity. Beatlemania arised in 1963 in Britain, when they released their singles, "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". This led to a huge group of teens fantasizing over The Beatles, dominated by girls. Although there were many fans, this was only the beginning of Beatlemania, since most of Beatlemania, and The Beatles music were in Britain. A lot of times, when The Beatles had a concert, they couldn’t hear themselves play because of all the screaming a bunch of fangirls did. When The Beatles had just begun their career, there weren’t any huge wall amps like Marshall amps. Since they couldn’t hear themselves play, they ended up playing bad on purpose since no one could hear them and it wouldn’t be noticed. Unfortunately, due to beatlemania they stopped touring because they weren’t getting any better. In order to get better they started practicing in studios to get better. They stopped touring in 1966 with their last tour being in 1966, they played Revolver, and Yesterday and Today. Fortunately, Beatlemania eased the JFK situation, and other counter culture things going on around the world. Since their music was all about peace, love and happiness, it was like an escape from all the horrible things going on around the world. Pitbulls, dobermans and rottweilers By Emmanuel Pitbulls, dobermans and rottweilers are misunderstood people who say that they will turn on you. Well I come to tell you that these people don't know much about them. They are sometimes abused for money, dog fights and other things but there are good people that are willing to give these dog's a better place and environment for them.Plus they can be part of the family these dogs are very emotional and inpatient. Trypanophobia (fear of needles) By Julian Santos Trypanophobia is having a fear of medical procedures that involve needles. People get trypophobia because they probably had a traumatic experience with needlessness when they were a child. Trypanophobia is most common in children 2-3. Most children have trypanophobia and some adults grow out of it, but some don’t. 1-10 adults still have a fear of needles. Some symptoms you can experience are dizziness,fainting,panic attacks , Etc.