Volume 1, Issue 5 (June 2011) - The Heschel School

Hip, Hip, Hoorays for the Hot
Summer Days!
By Alexa Ringer
Russell Baker, a notable journalist
and author of the Pulitzer Prize- winning
autobiography, Growing Up, said this,
“Ah, summer, what power you have to
make us suffer and like it.” This could be
interpreted in several different ways, but
here is one. After a long, grueling year of
school, children and adults alike suffer
from the need for a summer break. Just
as suddenly as it comes, it goes, and upsets
almost everyone. Despite all of this,
we all still love it.
Inventions made in winter for our
summer enjoyment: Did you know in
the winter of 1905, an 11-year-old boy
named Frank Epperson invented the
first popsicle? He created it completely
by accident by leaving a mixture of powdered
soda and water with a stirring
stick, on his porch. He awoke the next
morning and found a frozen pop! He
first named his frozen pop an “Epsicle”,
but when he got older his kids asked for
“Pop’s” sicle and the new name was born.
Here are some summer themed
jokes to start an enjoyable summer:
Q: What does the sun drink out of?
A: Sunglasses
Q: Which letter of the alphabet is
the coolest?
A: Iced tea
Finally, for those of you traveling,
Russell Baker had this to say, “The worst
thing about being a tourist is having other
tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
Have a wonderful and safe summer.
◆
The Heschel Herald
Needs
YOU
in September!
Sleep Deprivation
By Jonathan Mack
Usher says in his song, “DJ Got Us
Fallin’ in Love Again,” “Thank God the
week is done, I feel like a zombie come
back to life.” He could not be more
correct. There are many students who
complain about their lack of sleep. It is
recommended that the average middle
school student get 9 hours of sleep per
night, according to an article in The Science
Daily.* A small sampling of Heschel
students revealed that the average Heschel
Middle School Student gets 8 hours
of shut-eye a night, with many getting
below 7.5 hours.
A group of students were recently
interviewed to find out the causes of this
issue, as well as their comments. Sixth
grader Eliana Salmon says, “You wake
up in the morning and go to bed late.
Then you wake up early the next morning
and go to bed late also. It’s just a big
cycle and the tiredness builds up as the
week progresses.” Jordan Ofek, who gets
an average of 6.5 hours of sleep per night
and Clara Eshaghpour who gets an average
of 7 hours of sleep per night, both
agree with Eliana.
Fly, cont’d from page 7
advance the study of anatomy, astronomy,
and civil engineering.
DaVinci was born in Vinci, Italy, in
1452 and died on May 2, 1519, in France.
He was left-handed, and wrote in his
journal in Italian, backwards. ehT naM
etorW sdrawkcaB ekiL sihT. DaVinci’s
father was an artist, so that is probably
where Leonardo, early on, learned his
skills.
Several sixth graders had positive
responses to the exhibit: “It was amazing!
It was a really great way to introduce
our current science unit on flight.” Nathan
Finkle said, “I really thought it was
fascinating how DaVinci was 300–400
years ahead of his time. I thought that
seeing his journals and some models of
his ideas was fun and interesting. Overall,
I had a great time.” Ilana Stein added,
“I liked seeing all the cool sculptures he
created.” Leonardo DaVinci defined
what a renaissance person is: a man of
multiple talents and interests. ◆
According to students, there are
many reasons for lack of sleep. “Lack of
sleep causes lack of focus, and therefore
teachers should think about this when
they assign homework, and they should
think about whether they want their students
to pay attention in class the next
day, or not,” says an anonymous sixth
grader who thinks that homework is
the greatest cause. “Many students get
little sleep because they are apprehensive
about a test/quiz the next day, or are
anticipating an exciting event,” says Logan
Geller. He thinks that apprehension
is a major reason for sleep deprivation.
“Some students don’t get enough sleep
because they feel the need to beat their
video game record, and not get their
needed rest,” says Noah Shapiro. Another
big reason for lack of sleep is procrastination,
which leads to pileup of homework,
and late nights with little sleep.
So when you can, see if you can
catch nine hours of this essential shuteye;
you will greatly appreciate it later! ◆
*Source: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/
06/080609071341.htm
Soaring, cont’d from page 9
club members commented on their experiences
with Soaring Words. Two
sixth graders said, “We really enjoyed
the project.” Another sixth grader said,
“It was really nice and fun to make the
blankets.”
After the program, it was clear that
people enjoyed decorating a simple blanket,
and giving a short time of their lives
to improve another child’s life. Most
people also agreed that this would be
a fun activity for the whole school to
take part in after Hesed Day, instead of
watching a movie. Everyone could decorate
one square of a quilt that a sick child
might treasure for the rest of his or her
life.
Most members agreed that this organization
is powerful, because they
have the ability to make a sick child happier
with something as simple as a blanket;
a blanket that took the group twenty
minutes to make. ◆
The Joseph Slifka Middle School June 2011 ◆ 11