1. The LockerThe Wellesley Middle School Newspaper Fall 2010
Chilean Miners Rescued
By AJ
The Chilean miners were finally rescued Tuesday October 12th
. They had spent 65
days underground due to a massive collapse in the San Jose mine near Copiapo,
Chile. The mine cave center was at a depth of 1000 feet. The collapse sent down
700,000 tons of rock. This is a description of their entrapment and their survival.
The Chilean miners had some food from emergency supplies. Every 48 hours the
miners would eat 2 spoonfuls of tuna, half a cookie, and half a glass of milk. All the
miners starved for 17 days straight before the rescue team found them. Later when
the rescue team was able to drill to their cave, a diet of meat and rice to eat, and
medical supplies was sent to them through small holes.
Later games and electronics were also sent down into the mine. The miners got a
movie projector and were able to watch the Chilean football games. They were also
sent music players with speakers. Bibles. and rosaries. Surprisingly the miners
made part of their refuge into a casino where they played dice games, dominoes,
and cards. The doctors had the miners exercise so that they were strong and fit
enough to ride in the rescue capsule. It was important to keep both their minds and
bodies active while in captivity. Continued on page 2...
Gulf Oil Disaster
By Alex
Can you imagine Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill times eighteen? That would be the
size of the Gulf oil spill. It all started out when a bubble of highly explosive
methane gas was dislodged and blew up right beneath the drilling platform. Then,
the platform sank, and the pipe that brought oil to the platform broke. Eleven
people died in the blast. Oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico for months.
How could this happen? British Petroleum (BP), the drilling company in charge of
Deepwater Horizon, the name of the well, rushed through things and cut corners.
The cement they used as an extra wall between the pipe and water was not mixed
with the other materials correctly, and that is what let the gas bubble get in. Also,
BP failed to test whether or not the cement casing had bonded together correctly.
That is another precaution they could have taken to reduce chances of a blowout
or failure to keep the gasses under the sand. Unfortunately, these precautions
were not taken and we now have an environmental catastrophe on our hands.
The spill may seem bad, but it could have been a lot worse if BP had not done
anything. They tried multiple strategies to reduce the amount of oil entering the Gulf.
Right when the spill began, BP sent in boats to set the oil on fire and burn it off. Also,
chemicals called dispersants, which are used to break up the oil, making it easier to
Continued on page 2...
NEWS
EDITORIALS
COMICS
ACTIVITIES
STORIES
SPORTS
ART
Editors:
Bill
Noor
Melanie
Stephanie
Assistant Editors:
Molly
Athenee
Matt
Abby
Faculty Advisor:
Lynne Johnson

2. Chilean Miner Rescue cont. from front page…
The rescue of the miners was the toughest
rescue in history. On the first attempt to drill
down to the miners, the rescue team drilled a
hole that veered off just missing the trapped
miners tunnel. On the 22nd
of August the rescue
team received a sign of life when miners left a
note on the drilling equipment.
After first sending food and medical supplies to
the trapped miners, the rescue team began to
make an escape shaft so that the miners could be
brought up in a two-foot diameter capsule.
Finally on October 12th
the miners were pulled
out of the mine alive, one by one. This was both
an impressive engineering feat as well as an
emotional, miraculous rescue. The miners
received support and encouragement from all
over the world.
The miners survived and are now celebrities, but
they will continue on with life like the rest of us.
After being trapped for sixty-five days, the
miners are reunited with their families. They are
receiving monetary gifts and offers from around
the world, as this true story could eventually
become an inspiring book or movie.
In Chile, they will be heroes for the rest of their
lives. But most have said they will not return to
working in the mine. Some may have Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The miners had lost an estimated twenty-two
pounds each while underground. They used will-
power and positive thinking to force themselves
not to give up hope. From what the miners did,
to what they learned, they have taught the world
an amazing story of human survival and
community.
www.perthnow.com
http://in.reuters.com
http://news.yahoo.com
www.mirror.co.
www.denverpost.com
http://english.ntdtv.com
http://buzz.yahoo.com
http://news.yahoo.com
Gulf Oil Spill cont. from front page…
clean up. Farther out, helicopter teams flew
around the Gulf, looking for oil that escaped.
Once notified, skimmers, boats that filter oil out
of water, would go and clean it up.
The spill killed many animals. It killed crabs, fish,
pelicans, and many other sea-faring creatures. It
killed coral reefs as well. Corals house many fish
and invertebrates, so many fish also lost their
homes. The spill completely messed up the food
chain. The oil that washed up in the bayous, or
marshes, of the Gulf smothered plants. This
made it harder for herbivores to find food,
starting a chain reaction. In the water, it started
by killing microfauna, like eggs and plankton.
Also, it bred oil-eating microbes, which depleted
oxygen. These two factors worked against the
fish, starting another chain reaction.
The spill hurt the economy of the south. Tourism
dropped, due to the oil. This meant hotel and
motel owners were not getting many customers.
Also, restaurants’ businesses were ruined. No one
wants to eat seafood from a place where the seas
are full of oil, even if the food is clean! Fishing
was destroyed with all the fish, crustaceans, and
shellfish dead. There was nothing for the
fisherman to catch. With tourism, dining, and
fishing halted, the economy was taking a beating.
The Gulf area spill will be remembered as an
historic disaster. The economy is down, and
wildlife is dead. However, there is a sense of
hope. In the Louisiana wetlands, life is coming
back. Grass is growing again. It may not be much
but it is an important first step. Hopefully, this
will spread across the gulf—not only in wildlife,
but in businesses too. Then, the Gulf of Mexico,
whether it happens in six months or six years,
will be able to return to its unique bayou culture,
and its unique way of American life.
National Goegraphic, October 2010 Issue.
http://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick/People-and-
Places/Ranger-Rick-on-the-Big-Oil-Spill.aspx

3. Mosque Field Trip Controversy
By Matthew & Keenan
Publishers of The Green Pufferfish
Organization Claims WMS Students “Prayed to
Allah” on Class Field Trip
On Tuesday, May 25th, 2010, sixth grade students from the
Wellesley Middle School (WMS) took a field trip to the Islamic
Society of Boston Cultural Center® (ISBCC) as part of an
Enduring Beliefs and the World Today social studies curriculum.
As most students watched the prayer, five joined the Islamic men
in the movements of the prayer. A mother chaperoning shot a
video of the students moving with and imitating the Muslim men.
Four months later, the video was released by the Americans for
Peace and Tolerance (APT), an association that has been critical
of the ISBCC. The video was published on their website.
According to press sources, the Americans for Peace and
Tolerance® waited until school was in session to release the
mother’s video in order to get a response from the school system
and parents. The APT then posted it on their website for the
public to view.
The press attempted to organize an interview with the mother who
shot the video, but was not successful. However, ABC News
received a memo from her attorney, Rob Meltzer, stating, “The
apology alone, without some concrete steps to ascertain the truth
and guarantee that this won’t happen again, is not likely to resolve
the matter.” He also stated that she plans to file a lawsuit against
the Wellesley Public School system, for violation of civil rights.
The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center® regularly hosts
school field trips to teach about their religion. ISBCC president,
Bilal Kareem, is worried that this is anti-Muslim sentiment, saying
to NECN reporters, “We get about 15 groups a month that reach
out to us…I think that’s the larger story – I mean what I’m
concerned about is that this fringe group, anti-Islamic,
Islamaphobic group [APT], which has made its mission to kind of
attack mosques, and this kind of association and others in
general...You’ve got the whole mosque issue being hot in the
news across the country, my guess is that this is when they’re
finally able to get traction. This group here is locally trying to
foment the same type of sentiment, which is really bad.”
Kareem claims that the five students joined the prayer on their
own, and that this issue is a school matter to ABC-TV, “It just
seems sort of a sensational kind of publicity seeking kind of
thing…I’ve double- and triple-checked with our tour guides and
she certainly didn’t invite them to participate in the prayer.”
Americans for Peace and Tolerance® is an organization that has
been against the mosque. Charles Jacobs, head of the APT
claims to WHDH-TV Boston, “People who have ties to the
mosque [ISBCC] have ties to people connected with terrorism.”
Jacobs claims that the woman came to him in advance, saying,
“There was this woman who kind of serendipitously met our staff
at another occasion and told us that this trip was planned and that
she was quite concerned about it. We suggested that if she was
going to go she bring a camera to see what was going on.”
Jacobs posted the video on his website Thursday, September 16.
That same night, his group left flyers on people’s cars at
Wellesley Middle School, the same night as back-to-school night,
during which parents of WMS students go to the school and learn
about their children’s classes. Jacobs also claims that the
mosque chosen for the field trip was too “radical,” and a more
“moderate” mosque should have been chosen. He says that the
ISBCC was teaching about the glories of Islamic history, hinting
that this was related to attempted conversion to Islam. He also
believes that the mosque taught false lessons on jihad, the act of
defending Islam, and the false information from these lessons has
not been corrected by the school.
In the conclusion of the video on the APT’s website, it states, “In
fact, all across the country there are reports of radical Islamic
groups, engaging in Dawa, which literally means proselytizing for
Islam, taking advantage of poorly conceived social studies
class…planting seeds of Islam inside non-Muslim students. If
your local school is taking field trips to a mosque, contact us.”
“There’s that prayer area where you see them praying, with men
and if you wanted to pray as a female, you can go over to the
female area, but the rest of us just stayed right there, they didn’t
ask us – no one had to leave, and no one was asked to pray. I
think, you know, if someone wanted to they weren’t going to stop
you, but no one was encouraged, no one was asked, there was –
no…She [producer of video] manipulated what actually
occurred,” says Dahri Myers, a chaperone on the mosque field
trip to WHDH-TV Boston.

4. Not all people think so positively. “It was totally inappropriate, to
be sure…they’ll fix it, and they’ll go forward. The kids will learn all
about each other’s religions and they’ll probably be a lot better for
it,” said a passerby at WMS to NECN.
A teacher at the middle school, Ms. Learner, agrees, saying that,
“[The students] should be complimented for it. It was very sweet
of them. I happen to greatly admire the program [Enduring
Beliefs and the World Today].”
“My husband and I thought it was opening their eyes to a different
type of practice,” explains Lisa Sheeler to WHDH-TV Boston.
Some people however, have strong feelings going past the
original video. “Here’s a group that says “Peace and Tolerance”
and what they’re preaching, appears to me, to be hate.”
Wellesley Public Schools superintendent Bella Wong apologized
to WMS parents in a letter sent out on Friday, September 16,
stating that the involvement of the students was a mistake, and
that she is sorry for the offense it may have caused. However
she also states that the school system will visit a mosque this
year.
According to recent polls by WHDH-TV Boston, 41% of people
say that the mosque field trip was appropriate, however 59%
disagree.
This article is an excerpt of a longer, more comprehensive article.
For more information and the full article, contact:
Matthew
Keenan
The Middle School Mosque Controversy
By Cameron
In late September, camera crews pulled up to the edge of Wellesley
Middle School, interviewing people, getting shots of the school. Why?
The reason is back in the spring, during the 6th grade World Religion
unit. When learning about Islam, the students took an innocent field
trip to a mosque, the Islamic place of worship. Parents were invited
to be chaperones, and the kids had a fun time. But a parent was
video taping the whole trip. Four months later, after the Americans
Peace and Tolerance made the video, it was released onto
YouTube.com. The video now had edits. When the people teaching
us about Islam said good things about Islam, the video made it sound
like they were trying to convert the kids to Islam. The climax of the
video was during the prayer ceremony, when some boys who weren’t
of the Islamic religion began to pray with the people who had come to
the mosque to pray. Students on the trip and parents, including one
mother who was interviewed for the cameras said that it was made
clear that the women were only saying what would be said when
prayers started, that she was translating. “It didn’t seem like anyone
asked the boys to pray.”
The Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) said it was against
radical Muslim teachings, and that the Mosque had already been
linked to Muslim Extremists. Some people, however, have wondered
why the video took so long to come out- the field trip was months
ago. While the APT says that’s how long it took to make the video,
with captions, but most don’t think it takes that long. “Look at CNN,”
one mother said. “They do that in a few hours. Sure they don’t have
that kind of technology, but four months?” People like her think it was
released to make people vote for a specific person in the upcoming
November elections. Search middle school mosque on YouTube.com
to see the video.
Bus Trouble
By Christina
Have you ever been forced to sit on the floor on the bus? Well many
students have. I have seen and experienced many people come up
to a teacher and tell them about some of the things wrong with the
middle school buses, but the complaint I’ve heard most is that
students are being forced sit on the ground. This is neither safe nor
fun for most students. Some people say that they are terrified to sit
near 8th graders. Others say people are taking up separate benches
for themselves or reserving them for friends. This is a serious issue
that bus drivers can’t do enough about.
To better understand the issue I interviewed a classmate. From this
interview I have realized that students may feel pressured to sit on
the floor. One reason this might happen is because there are no
official rules and that people sit by grade. I am aware that the 8th
graders take up the back of the buses, the 7th take the middle, and
the 6th get 2 or 3 rows. So may of the 6th graders are forced to sit on
the floor. I do agree that the buses should be divided by grade but
that it should be equally divided.
I also interviewed a policeman, and to my surprise there are no laws
about wearing seatbelts, standing, sitting on the floor, or any other
safety issues.
I suggest making a list of rules for the middle school buses. It could
say things like, 6th graders get the first 4 rows, 7th graders get the
middle 4 rows, and the 8th grade gets the back 4 rows. It could also
simply state that students must have a seat to sit on.
Why Announcements Don’t Work
By Cameron
You know the scene: its homeroom, everyone’s talking, your teacher
is telling them to quiet down, but no one can wait to tell what they did
last night. Then the bell rings, you head off to first period, and realize
you didn’t hear if soccer practice is cancelled over the PA. It’s a

5. common fact that when even one person is talking, the quiet, muffled
voice from the speakers is almost impossible to hear.
It’s also known that the events Mr. Frank says are important. You
hear about bake sales, clubs, sports, and the occasional reminder
not to be very rowdy on half days. Yet for over thirty years we still
use PA speakers. They just don’t work! We need a new way to do
announcements in the mornings.
I say Mr. Frank should email the teachers the list of announcements.
The teachers project up on the Smartboards, and every one can see
it without stopping their conversation. People with special needs can
be told the announcements separately. Maybe my way isn’t the best
solution, but one thing is sure: what we are doing now isn’t working.
Leaf Blowers – Not Very Green
By Matthew
There are lots of people in Wellesley working on "green" projects to
help the Earth. These projects includechanging to more eco-friendly
light bulbs, switching to hybrid cars, and doing more to recycle. But
there is one major cause of pollution in Wellesley that seems to be
ignored: the harm caused by gas powered leaf blowers.
Gas leaf blowers are everywhere in Wellesley, especially in the Falll.
And they are very harmful for the environment. They create
poisonous emissions, blow harmful dust and particles into the air that
we all breathe, and cause such loud noise that people's health is
made worse. In fact, they are so bad that over 400 communities in
the United States have voted to ban the use of gas powered leaf
blowers.
Here are three reasons why gas powered leaf blowers are so bad:
1. Pollution: gas powered leaf blowers burn a dirty mixture of gas
and oil that often does not get cleaned up by any clean filter such as
the catalytic converter filter in most cars. The result is a very
poisonous exhaust. Emissions from using a gas leaf blower for 30
minutes equals driving 7700 miles in a car at 30 mph. Some of the
exhaust emissions from these leaf blowers contain chemicals like
benzene and formaldehyde that scientists know cause cancer.
2. Dust and particles: leaf blowers blow dust, fecal matter (pet &
animal poop), pesticides, spores, pollen, and other substances into
the air the cause allergic diseases. Leaf blowers are estimated to
emit 2.6 pounds of this "dirty dust" into the air for each hour they are
used. This causes young children more sickness because they can't
defend against asthma. Senior citizens can get lung and breathing
problems. Scientists have identified at least 20 different biological
substances in this "dirty air" from leaf blowers that can cause health
problems for humans.
3. Noise: Leaf blowers, especially gas powered ones, are very
noisy. When your neighbor turns on his leaf blower or hires a
landscaper with leaf blowers, there is no escape from this nerve-
racking noise except to leaveyour house. People who have to hear
that much noise suffer from hearing loss, sleep problems, anxiety,
hostility, depression, and hypertension. The noise 50 feet away from
a leaf blower is the same as the noise from a garbage disposal (70-
80 decibels). The World Health Organization (WHO), the National
Institutes of Health, (NIH), the United Nations, and many scientific
and medical publications have recognized noise pollution as harmful
to humans. The town of Wellesley limits the hours leaf blowers can
be used. But these hours ignore the need for quiet during the day
required by babies, workers on the night shift, the ill and retired, and
the growing number of home workers.
All of the harmful problems of leaf blowers described above often
cause the most harm to the leaf blower operators themselves. These
are usually less fortunate members of our society who would have
trouble getting other jobs. It may be more work to rake a yard by
hand, but it is much healthier!
References:
a) www.noiseoff.org
b) "Health and Environmental Impact of Leaf Blowers", California
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
(Feb. 2000)
c) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_blower
Jack in the Box By Amanda
Day 1 in The Box:
My world is dark,
My world is a black box,
That doesn’t mean I’m alone,
I hear murmuring voices,
shuffling feet,
creaks of doors
I don’t think I’m suppose to hear that,
but They,
Those robots,
don’t know,
how much I can see.
I see that,
They will die eventually,
and I will rule.
They’re scared of that.
Too bad,
there’s nothing you can do about it.

8. ANAGRAMS
1: Enemy __________
2: Chain ___________
3: Regalia _________
4: Van Item ________
CHALLENGE!
5: Near Gym ________
6: What is the theme?
______________

9. A Fun Little Crossword
Submitted by Christina
Across:
2. Educators
4. Place of learning
5. Classmates you enjoy being
with
7. Subject using numbers
Down:
1. Transportation
3. Room to learn in
6. Learner

10. Peace
By Anna
Peace is a person helping
another
Peace is a butterfly
Peace is a dream
Yet to come
Peace is a pretty white dove
Peace is respect forever
Peace is a sparrow in flight
Peace is God’s warm hands
upon us
And peace will bid us good-
night
Now peace is only to visit
Here tomorrow and gone the
next day
But when respect is forever
Then peace will be here to
stay
Anagram Answers:
1: Yemen
2: China
3: Algeria
4: Vietnam
5: Germany
6: Countries is the theme

11. Hit it (Part 1)
By Melanie
“No.”
“Why not?!” I protested.
“Because you’re a girl. This is a boy’s only volleyball
team,” the coach crossed his arms.
“But I can play better than some of the boys on the team!” I
shouted pointing to the four scrawny kids sitting on the side
lines. The rest of the boys’ volleyball team were practicing
while Craig, Jordan, Aaron, and I fought with Coach Ned.
“Just let her play, Coach. It can’t hurt anybody, only the
other team,” Craig said backing me up.
“Yeah, we need skills like hers. It’s like a volleyball star in
a girl’s body!” Jordan exclaimed. There was a long and
awkward silence. I gave him a look.
“Jordan, you’re such an idiot,” Aaron said bluntly. Jordan
glared at him.
“If you want to play, go join the girls’ team over on that
side!” Coach pointed to the other side of the gym where the
girls were just standing by the net chatting and laughing.
The girls’ team’s coach was painting her nails.
“They’re not even practicing! The girls’ team don’t have
the same persistence as the guys do! Look at them, they’re
just standing there talking about their nails!” All of us
looked at him expectantly. Coach’s eyes almost softened
for a moment. Then they reverted back to their cold glare
state.
“I said no and that’s final! If you protest anymore than you
already have, you won’t even be allowed to watch our
games!” Coach stormed away and screamed at the boys to
pick up their practice. I bit my lip and began to walk
towards the bathrooms to change out of the uniform Craig
had lent me.
“Hey,” Craig grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.
“Don’t worry about it, Star. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“I don’t think so, he seemed pretty serious. Thanks for
trying anyway, but if I can’t play along side you guys, I
don’t want to play at all.”
“The girls team isn’t that bad. They just need a tougher
coach than that lazy old bag over there. You could
volunteer and whip them into shape!” Aaron suggested.
“Nah, I’m not even old enough to be a coach. I’m younger
than all of those girls so I highly doubt they’d listen. I have
some studying to do at home, I might as well get on that.
See you guys in school,” I gave them a wave and walked
towards the empty changing rooms. I snuck into the boys’
changing room and stuffed Craig’s old uniform into his bag
before heading home. I took the bus back to my school and
walked from there.
As I walked through the center of town, past all the little
shops and stores, I passed by a Halloween shop. Everything
was on sale starting at 50% off. Including wigs. I pushed
open the door.
“Hi there. Just to let you know, all wigs are on sale starting
50% off. Do you need any help? Or are you just
browsing?” The counter lady asked. I could tell she really
didn’t care.
She was slouching in her chair looking into her laptop. She
wore a name tag with the name Bridget on it.
“Um… I’m looking for a wig,” I mumbled lamely.
“Hm. What color?” Bridget looked up at me. She took in
my tied-back chestnut-colored hair and weird electric blue
eyes. She looked at my high cheekbones and ears that were
set too far back.
“You need blond. That’s what you need. To match those
perfect electric eyes. Come on, I’ll show you what you
need,” she smiled.
At first, she showed me a lot of long haired girl wigs. I told
her I needed a guy’s wig. Bridget raised her eyebrows but
led me over to some wicked hairstyles.
“If you’re going to cosplay as a guy, you definitely want
golden brown spikes. It’ll match your cheekbones better.
Here, I’ll help you put it on.” I let her pull into the
changing room. The store was empty except for her and I,
but I wasn’t surprised due to the low range of costumes.
She wrapped my hair into a bun and snapped a hair net onto
my head. She took the pins and clipped the wig into place.
“How does it look?” She asked me. I nodded in approval.
The pins hurt a little, but I wasn’t expecting a dozen sharp
pins not to.
“Will it stay in if I’m doing a lot of rigorous activity?” I
asked her.
“Hun, there‘s only one way to take this wig off and it‘s this
clip under the elastic.”
I was grinning from ear to ear as I left the shop with a
plastic bag in hand.
To be continued...
HAUNTED?
By Margaret
Maggie walked home slowly, scuffing her boots in the piles of
leaves. The air was blowing cold gusts at her , swirling the
leaves up and up, a tiny tornado of red, orange ,and yellow.
Maggie had just started middle school, and it was already
autumn. She liked all her teachers, but something kept

12. worrying her. Something was strange; something was
different. Something was not right.
For example, whenever her class walked into a classroom, the
teachers stopped talking, and looked guilty. Her Art teacher
was even chanting something when they crept in the room
silently.
"What could be happening?" Maggie asked her friend, Polly,
in the cafeteria later that week.
"Well…" Polly said (Polly had an overactive imagination,
sometimes), "it's almost Halloween… and you never know,
before Halloween. "
"What are you getting at, Polly? " Maggie said impatiently.
"I think maybe our teachers are witches!"
Maggie's first reaction was to laugh, but she stopped after
considering it for a minute. Witches aren't real, right? But
when she thought about it…the signs were sort of pointing in
that direction… "Maybe" she said, "just maybe…you could be
right."
After school that day, Polly and Maggie gathered some friends
and met in the library. The girls shared their information, and
smiled knowingly when they saw the idea dawn on the other
girls.
"What do we do? Do we have a plan?" said Emma. (Emma
loved to have a definite plan, and was good at making them,
too.)
"Well…that's what we need you for." Maggie said. Polly
nodded.
A day later, the girls met before school. Each girl had a
notebook, pencil, and a card. They nodded to each other,
exchanged a few mumbled words, then left to go to their
classes.
And the things got even stranger. Maggie saw a pot–a
cauldron?–on her teachers desk, and a funny black cloak thing
in her closet. She quickly wrote these things down, and
checked off her teacher's name on the card.
Meanwhile, Polly made some discoveries, too. When she
slipped into her math class a bit early, she saw her teacher
guiltily shoving a broom under her desk!
As it turned out, all the girls had seen similar things. So after
school, they went to the principal to tell him all about it.
When they told their problem he smiled and said "Really? Is
that so?" several times. But they could tell that something was
wrong here. It was then that Maggie saw his guilty look, and
his hand inching forward to hide the tiny black kitten under his
desk...
To be continued...
At Hollis Mansion
By Noor
Prologue
The red Jeep wound its way through the maze of
twisting roads. A huge, stone mansion loomed
ahead. The roads were empty. The clouds pushed
against gray mist but were ignored. Beyond the Jeep
lay a meandering road that led to the mansion. A
forest, with dark peering leaves surrounded the
back wall of the mansion.
Part 1: The Dream Vacation
The Jeep pulled up in the long driveway next to the
mansion. A boy and a girl slipped out and onto the
winding, gravelly drive. Daisy, blonde-haired with a
huge imagination, rubbed her shoulders and stretched
out her legs. Nathan, the younger boy yawned and
murmured, “I’m so tired…”
Mrs. Brick, mother of Daisy and Nathan, hopped out of
the car and grabbed her purse. She told hold of two
suitcases and stared up at the tall, towering mansion.
“Well,” she exclaimed, brightly. “This will be your
home for the next two months! Don’t you think it’ll be a
lovely summer vacation?”
Daisy loved adventure and she had looked forward to
this trip wholeheartedly. Secretly, she thought it was
great fun to live in a house no one else had been in for
fifteen years.
Mr. Brick waved a key in the air and strode up the
stone steps. With a flourish, he unlocked the front door
and thrust it open.
Nathan looked at Daisy with a slightly uncertain
expression. “You go first, Daisy.” Nathan was not as
thrilled as Daisy to explore a three-hundred-year-old
mansion.
Daisy marched up the stone steps. The mansion looked
at least a thousand years old, about to crumble on her
head. Mounted on the front door was a small plaque
that had a picture of an angry vulture. The wind
whistled in Daisy’s ear.
Perfect, she thought.
Mr. Brick held open the door and beckoned to Daisy and
Nathan. Finally, Daisy took hold of Nathan’s red
shirt and dragged him inside. The first thing they saw
was a portrait of a tall, dignified man. His face looked
pleasant but his eyes were glaring. Mrs. Brick was at
their heals. She became deathly silent as if a change
had overcome her.
Daisy’s arms began to get goose bumps but from the
chill, not from spookiness. When she turned around, she
swept her gaze through the rooms. The floor was thick
with dust. Daisy leaned down and brushed her finger on

13. the marble floor. Her finger was covered with a brown
film. When Daisy took a closer look she saw faint
footsteps on the floor. As if someone had just treaded on
these floors. Except… the travel agency had mentioned
that no one had been here for fifteen years.
Daisy looked up. The chandelier above her was filled
with candles nearly burned to the bottom.
Mrs. Brick floated through the house, mentally noting
any broken or torn objects that needed replacing. Daisy
followed her mother.
“Hey, Daisy, c’mere!” Nathan called, tugging his
sister’s sleeve. Daisy stepped gingerly over a suitcase.
Nathan was at the windows. The curtains, once a
dreamy lilac were now a faded, grimy gray. The
curtains’ fringe looked as if a dog had chewed it away.
Moths had gotten to the curtain before Daisy and
Nathan. They looked as if they had had a feast. One
corner of the curtain, however, looked as if it were
hastily ripped off.
“Maybe someone got hurt and needed a bandage,”
Nathan piped up, earnestly. “Maybe a soldier lived
here!”
“I doubt it,” Daisy answered, dryly. She inspected the
curtain. It looked like a prehistoric artifact. Even
better. Maybe some prehistoric ghost lived here too.
Mr. Brick entered the home, carrying four more
suitcases. He panted slightly, dropped the suitcases
with a thud and said, “Why don’t I start a fire in that
fireplace and we’ll have some s’mores?”
Mrs. Brick rummaged through a large plastic bag that
held some groceries. “Here’s a can of juice… Some
bread… Aha! We’ll have sandwiches and s’mores for
dinner… Not much of a nutritious dinner but what can I
say?…”
Daisy followed her mother into the large kitchen. A
huge black stove took up one corner of the kitchen. It,
too, looked ancient. Another great item that would look
like fun to explore.
Ker-plunk!
Daisy looked around the kitchen, trying to place where
the noise was coming from. She loved solving mysteries.
A small, round table was placed in the exact center of
the room. It had only three legs. The fourth one was
shattered on the ground. Gray curtains shrouded the
windows as if trying to conceal some secrets within.
A thick coat of dust lined nearly everything in the
house and dark shadows seem to lurk around every
corner.
This summer vacation was really looking up.
~
Half an hour later, the Bricks sat cross-legged on the
floor of the living room. White sheets covered all the
couches and chairs. The room was dark except for the
glowing fire. Mr. Brick poked the logs with a stick and
a shower of glittering ashes flew up.
“There’s a forest out back where you might find some
interesting bird and insect species,” Mrs. Brick piped up
as she took a big bite of a cheese-and-tomato sandwich.
“And also some interesting species of ghosts,” Nathan
muttered under his breath.
“And, not too far away is a beach!” Mr. Brick added as
he munched on an apple.
“It sounds pretty … fun, Dad,” Nathan replied,
uncertainly. “But, how long will it take for the house to
be… fixed up?”
“Where will we sleep?” asked Daisy, licking some
chocolate off her fingers. She hoped they could sleep in
sleeping bags to make the whole “spooky” effect even
spookier.
“Tomorrow we’ll clean this whole house floor to
ceiling,” Mrs. Brick promised. “Don’t worry, dear. It
looks a little dusty, but nothing we can’t fix.”
“Where will we sleep?” repeated Daisy.
Mr. Brick pointed a finger upstairs. “You’ll have your
own rooms.”
Shuffle, shuffle… Shuffle…
Cre-e-e-eeak.
Upstairs came a noise of a baseball bat trying to force a
window open.
Mr. Brick yawned and stretched. “It’s been a long day,
kids. I say we hit the sack.”
“I’m not too tired,” Nathan replied as he finished off
his sandwich. “I want to explore.”
“Oh, me too!” Daisy grinned at her brother. “Mom,
can’t we—?”
“Nathan, Daisy, I think we should all sleep.
Tomorrow, you’ll have plenty of time to explore.” Mrs.
Brick began to pile up paper plates, cups, and napkins.
“But, Mom, I’m not tired or scared or—” she was
interrupted.
A scream pierced through the darkness, bouncing off the
walls and ceilings.
It wasn’t Nathan, Daisy, or Mr. and Mrs. Brick.
Which meant—
There was someone else in the house…with them.
Daisy hopped up and darted up the stairs, leaving her
family beside the fire.
(To be continued in the winter edition of “The Locker)
Please recycle this
newspaper :0

14. Boston Sports Teams
By Shahen
Number 86 Semih Erden just came to the Celtics. In 2008, he was chosen as the 30th
pick in the second round.
He is 6 foot 11 inches being tall is one of his strengths as a Basketball player. He’s from Turkey and is 24 years
old. Smih is supposed to be a very affective rookie this year for the Celtics. His stats were impressive in the
preseason.
2010 Preseason Stats
PPG 5.8
RPG 4.40
APG 1.3
EFF + 8.12
The Patriots drafted Devin McCourtny in the first round, with the 27th pick. He’s a tough 22-year-old
cornerback (defensive backfield) and great at special teams He has the number 32 and he is 5 foot 11” and for
his university he went to Rogers State University. In his senior college year he had 74 tackles and 1
interception. He was rated 4 out of 167 CB’s in college.
Kickoff Returns
G Ret. Yards Avg. TD
13 14 356 25.43 1
For the second overall from the Plymouth Whalers the Bruins got center
Tyler Seguin. He has the number 19 and is 6 foot 1”. He shoots right and is
from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He’s 18 and just got his first goal against
the Coyotes a few weeks ago.
Regular Season
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
2008-09 Plymouth Whalers OHL 61 21 46 67 28
2009-10 Plymouth Whalers OHL 63 48 58 106 54
The Red Sox are in a very tough situation right now. They need to stop the Yankees
from getting Cliff Lee or else the Yankees will be unstoppable. They need to get
him or prevent him from going to the Yankees. I think next season the Red Sox
need to get better shortstops, hitters and good relievers. If they can do that, they will
be a very good team the next year.

15. Celtics Extinguish Heat in
Season Opener
By Daniel
The Celtics pounded the Miami Heat in the first game of
the season, the score 80-88. They were ahead by as
much as 19 points, but in the end, it was a close game.
Ray Allen had a great game, scoring 20 points. Paul
Pierce scored 19 points and Kevin Garnett scored 10
points. O’Neal scored a neat ally-hoop and played nice
defense, while the Heat’s Big 3 struggled to coordinate
and work well together. So far, it looks like a promising
season for the Celtics.
What was once the “Big Three” is now the “Big Four”.
The members of the big three are Paul Pierce, the Boston
small forward, Ray Allen shooting guard and Kevin
Garnett power forward contributed to the Celtics 17th
world title in the 2008 season. Pierce was a Celtic for 12
years since being drafted by Boston in 1998. Allen and
Garnett were both drafted by Minnesota in ’95 and ’96
and were drafted by Boston in 2007. With Boston center
Kendrick Perkins out until at least February with
preseason ACL surgery, the Celtics will have to rely on
the oldest player in the NBA. 38 year-old Shaquille
O’Neal drafted in 1992 has joined the Celtics to fill in
for Perkins with newcomer Jermaine O’Neal.
Outlook For The Season: Ray Allen is coming back
from his worst season since his rookie year in 1996.
Allen is expected to still be able to score 15-16 points a
game but his age is catching up to him at 35. Pierce is
coming back from a solid season in 2009. However
Pierce is also getting on in years at 33 and is getting
slightly slower but is still expected to be a big player. He
just signed a 4-year $61,000,000 contract and will finish
his career as a Celtic.
Kevin Garnett is also coming back from a good season
but his numbers are slowly getting worse since he joined
the team in ’07. Shaquille O’Neal will mainly be playing
center for the Celtics this season but when Perkins
comes back Shaq will likely only play for short periods
of time. At 38 his age and physical condition are
catching up to him and he is at the end of his career. I
hope this year we play more games like this one. GO
CELTICS!!!
Hockey Sticks and Helmets
By Christian
At the start of the season, you’d like to have new equipment,
right? This is my equipment that I would recommend. So for
helmets, I recently had a Bauer 1500. It’s a basic starter
helmet that most people find comfortable but don’t buy again.
But if you’re starting hockey, I would recommend it. I have a
Reebok 4K with a CCM (Tacks?) cage. The 4K is OK,
because it’s an out of the box fit with a adjustable head size. It
lets out sweat and keeps you cooler than the Bauer 1500, but
isn’t as protective as any of the higher priced Bauer, CCM,
Reebok, Easton, and so on helmets.
For sticks, I have a NikeBauer Vapor V2 with a Patty Kane
curve, the original Bauer Vapor (before NikeBauer) shaft,
with a Bauer Vapor X blade with a Kane curve, a Reebok 4K
with a Datsyuk curve, and a Reebok 9K O-tech stick with a
Hamrlik curve. I’m getting a Bauer One95 in the mail soon. I
would not recommend any of the sticks I have, except for the
9K and the original Bauer. If you want them, it’s too bad. (Out
of stock.) The V2 has the most flex you’ll ever find and is
easy to break. The 4K is too heavy. I would recommend a
Bauer TotalOne stick, it looks really good in performance but
costs a lot. Another choice is the Easton ST, as it’s great for
anything and it’s very durable. It’s cheaper than most sticks.
Another great stick is the Easton SE16. It has incredible feel,
but the blade wears out too quickly. Even though the Easton
S19 looks really good, don’t buy that. It’s as expensive as a
TotalOne and breaks really easily. The new CCM U+CL 2011
version is great, and is used by many NHLers. But, you have
to wait a little longer because it’s not on the market. And now,
Warrior has come out with their last Dolomite, which is less
than a TotalOne and more expensive than a ST. It’s great stick
but I prefer it with the Spyne blade. Also, don’t get a Reebok
8.0.8, it’s only good for slapshots. I recommend it for
defensemen who only take slapshots. If you get a really good
deal on a Easton S17 2009 version, don’t buy it. The blade is
so flexible, and I can’t get any snap off of it. In my opinion, if
you have a soft blade, the impact is absorbed by the blade And
comes out weaker.
Hope you guys and girls out there take my opinion, and I’ll
write a new review next time. Oh yeah, and the Bauer One80
and One60 are OK to get along with last year’s One95.
The Celtics big 3, left to right Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen
Right picture, Shaquille O’Neal
The Easton SE16 stick.
HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAYS TO
EVERYONE AT WMS
Next issue of The Locker in 2011!

16. WMS ARTIST PAGE
Digital Art by Rachel (above)
Digital Art by Kevin (right)
Zentangle Mandala by Josephina (below)