Sports at BKI
by Nylah Nash, Sapphire Walker, Faith Pierre, and Cori Ellison
Here are the rosters of our BKI Soccer and Basketball teams!
Soccer: Clyde, Zora, Cool, Chloe, Oliver, Renzo. Milo, Nicole, Nadal, Francesca
Basketball: Myles B (chaser), Jayden (left wing), Maddox (right wing), Ariel (tail), Mason, Riley, Ethan, Judah, Charles, Eli C, Felix, Xavier, Sebastian
So far, we’ve lost all games, but it’s alright cause we’re believe in BKI!! They can do it!! We’ve already seen improvement, since they almost won by 4 points in the last game (2/26).
Here’s what Coach Laidley had to say about our progress so far with the basketball team:”I think the first experience of the game was positive because we got to see our students play on a full court for the first time but we also got to see just different personalities on the court who work well together, who didn’t and for students to see its possible to build but also there is always more room for improvement. Along with everyone I can say we are ready to see our Terrapins grow and build throughout the course of the school year.”
Lights! Camera! Action!
by Dorothy McCarthy
Hello again! This is Dorothy McCarthy and I am the BKI show critic. A reminder: if you didn’t see my first column then *SPOILER WARNING*. Today I am going to be rating the show “Series of Unfortunate Events”. As some of you know this show is based on the amazing books by Lemony Snicket. In my opinion it was a very good book. It has an amazing plot line and surprises wherever you turn. The show showcases the wonderful plot line of the book. I love the way it is filmed. It is very creative and I would definitely recommend it.
This show stays very true to the book and films it in a very creative way. For example in the episode “The Wide Window Part One.“ It shows their worrywort aunt Josephine and her fear of well… everything, as well as how the Baudelaires get used to their new lifestyle while also trying to get their aunt to live her life to its fullest extent. What I really love about this show is how they film it with Patrick Warburton narrating as Lemony Snicket. It is very well thought out and very entertaining.
Now once again this is my opinion so if you didn’t enjoy this show that is fine, but to me it was very well made and fun! Thanks for reading!
❤ Dorothy
From Judah’s Desk: Football!!!
by Judah Caldwell
Today I will be talking about FOOTBALL. It is the most dangerous sport, the most violent sport. I mean people get concussions from this sport.
Football is based on three human attributes: Agility, strength, and sometimes skill. If you don’t have 1 to 2 of these things there is way less of a chance of you getting on a team.
Some people think it’s dumb, like why would you hurt you self for money. You might say, “It’s exactly what boxers do,” but they ram and tackle each other knowing there will be no repercussions because they are getting paid a lot to do it. Also football players know they are wearing an insane amount of cushion so they don’t feel any regret after tackling the offense team.
There are only 17 rules to this insane sport but nonetheless this game is crazy difficult. First you have to be athletic then you have to know all 17 rules and can’t forget them although you probably have a billion other sports activities or work to get to.
If you play in any sport when you’re in middle school, high school, or even college, if you are not doing well in classes you will be kicked off your team and maybe put into tutoring until your grades go up. Even after all that you have to remember to stay up to date on games and remember the 17 rules!From Judah’s Desk: Football!!!
U.S. Anti-Mask Mandates in Schools
by Clyde DeForest Brittelle
Many states, including Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah have banned school mask mandates. All of these states have Republican governors, Spencer Cox (Utah), Kevin Stitt (Oklahoma), Greg Abott (Texas), and Ron DeSantis (Florida). According to Nina Bae from the UCSF.edu, “A recent study published in Health Affairs, for example, compared the COVID-19 growth rate before and after mask mandates in 15 states and the District of Columbia. It found that mask mandates led to a slowdown in daily COVID-19 growth rate, which became more apparent over time. The first five days after a mandate, the daily growth rate slowed by 0.9 percentage-points compared to the five days prior to the mandate; at three weeks, the daily growth rate had slowed by 2 percentage-points.” Even though masks have been proven to be safe and effective numerous times, (like in the article) these states have made sure that their children will have to be completely unprotected when faced with a deadly virus.
When I interviewed Mr. Thomas, who teaches math for 6B and Eighth grade, his view was that it was “ironic because I think that the right wing chooses when to believe in ‘freedom’ and choice and when not to. An example is abortion and masks … I think particularly without a vaccine mandate across the country, school districts and/or local jurisdictions [should have the] choice to impose or not impose a mask mandate.” Thankfully our state has not outlawed mask mandates in schools and hopefully never will. Russell C. said, “ we should be wearing masks for our health (and stuff) We definitely should [be wearing them], it can’t hurt to wear a mask.”
Who the heck are they??
by Dorothy McCarthy
Hello I am Dorothy McCarthy and I am here to get you more well acquainted with the wonderful teachers at BKI. Today I interviewed Ms Chunn! Ms Chunn is from Brooklyn NY, has a kid named Zachery who is in the 4th grade and a dog she has had for 10 years! She loves to write (she is currently writing a book right now)!
Ever since a young age Ms. Chunn has liked teaching. When she was a graduate at Columbia University she became a school volunteer for tutoring. She enjoyed it so much that she became a teacher. When Ms Chunn was in high school she had a hard time in math but she powered through it and kept going. Ms. Chunn became a teacher at BKI for its support and kindness! One of Ms Chunn’s favorite things to teach is realistic fiction; she has a lot of fun with it.
Lastly Ms Chunn left me with some words for all students in BKI: “It may sound cliche but be yourself, when I was in school I really wanted to fit in but I felt better once I was myself.”
I hope you enjoyed this article about Ms. Chunn! She is a very nice person and was a lot of fun to write about. Thanks for reading!
From Judah’s Desk: Soccer!!!
by Judah Caldwell
Soccer is one of the most popular and oldest sports in the world. According to athleticscholarships.net, “Records trace the history of soccer back more than 2,000 years ago to ancient China. Greece, Rome, and parts of Central America also claim to have started the sport; but it was England in 1863 that transitioned soccer, or what the British and many other people around the world call “football,” into the game we know today.
There are a lot of rules. Here are two of them:
- Don’t uses your hands (unless you’re the goalie)
- Don’t kick people
Those are the basic rules but there are more than 1,800 rules! This sport is also one of the most active sports in the world! In my point of view Soccer is a sport that many kids take as a joke but really it is an old sport so when you make up rules or say that “that’s not a rule” fact check it.
Natural Disasters
by Jaiden Johnson
Disasters come in a lot of ways: earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, and more. Natural disasters affect humans terribly because they have to go through losing property, injuries or even death. You can lose your house, city, and family. The impact on the cities is very harmful. People have to pay a lot of money from the disasters ruining buildings and it can lead people to feel depressed.
There have been many recent examples of natural disasters that have affected people:
On November 7, 2021, a hurricane named “Sam” hit Bermuda and had a maximum wind of 155 mph (250 km/h). It was the strongest hurricane in 2021.
On November 30, 2021, in Khasab, there was a flood that had many people struggling with their homes.
On December 21, 2021, there was a terrible tornado in some towns in Arkansas.
The biggest earthquake in 2021 had a giant magnitude of 8.2, they called it Chignik earthquake that happened in Alaska.
The way to prepare for a natural disaster is to find and keep as much food as you can, fill your car with gas so you don’t get stuck in the disaster and get injured, have a first aid kit, and prepare your house as best you can so it does not get destroyed.
BKI’s COVID Update
by Dorothy McCarthy
Hi I am Dorothy McCarthy and I am here to educate you on the new Covid variant omicron. Omicron has nearly doubled the daily Covid cases at a whopping 786,000 cases per day in NYC (as of January 20th, 2022). While this can sound very scary, those who are fully vaccinated, keep their masks on, and follow other safety precautions can stay safe. There’s always going to be break out cases but being fully vaccinated can bring down the chance of death by A LOT.
Here are some things you can do to remain safe.
- Become fully vaccinated
- Keep your mask on when at school
- When eating make sure there is a safe distance between you and someone else
- When a mask is needed to be off make sure you and others are quiet
- If possible try to be in a room with an air filtration system (even better a place where air can circulate)
Omicron can be very scary but hopefully knowing these things will make you feel more comfortable and safe!
Wrapping Up the Year with BKI
by Chloe Roberts and Natsumi Takeda
On December 16th, 2021, we went to interview kids as well as a teacher who stayed after school. We interviewed Marumi, Cool, (6th grade), Milo (7th grade), and Ms. Chunn about our school year and how it went for them. Let’s start with Ms. Chunn.
Ms. Chunn (Teacher)
Q: What was your favorite project this year
A: “Mesopotamia, the final one but I love projects though”
Q: What was your favorite moment of the year
A:I like when we volunteered at the church that was really nice”
Q: What was your favorite field trip
A: “I really like Governors Island because I really like to bike ride.”
Marumi (6th)
Q: What was your favorite project this year
A: I liked the math bake off because we got to eat food.”
Q: What was your favorite moment of the year
A: “Afterschool because I get to watch anime and draw.”
Q: What was your favorite field trip
A: “Bowling because it was fun competing.”
Cool (6th)
Q: What was your favorite project this year
A: My favorite project so far this year was the baking one since we got to eat stuff.”
Q: What was your favorite moment of the yearA: My favorite field trip was going mini golfing, that was pretty fun.”
Q: What was your favorite field trip
A: “I liked every part, I don’t have a favorite moment.”
Milo (7th)
Q: What was your favorite project this year
A: making your own business in Mr. Laidly where we estimated stuff.
Q: What was your favorite moment of the year
A: Bowling, because it’s fun.”
Q: What was your favorite field trip
A: Getting to go home because it gives me a break from the work I did all day.
Lights, Camera, Action!
by Dorothy McCarthy
Hello again! This is Dorothy McCarthy and I am the BKI show critic. A reminder: if you didn’t see my first column then *SPOILER WARNING*. Today I am going to be rating the show “Series of Unfortunate Events”. As some of you know this show is based on the amazing books by Lemony Snicket. In my opinion it was a very good book. It has an amazing plot line and surprises wherever you turn. The show showcases the wonderful plot line of the book. I love the way it is filmed. It is very creative and I would definitely recommend it.
This show stays very true to the book and films it in a very creative way. For example in episode “The Wide Window Part One.“ It shows their worrywort aunt Josephine and her fear of well… everything, asa well as how the Baudelaires get used to their new lifestyle while also trying to get their aunt to live her life to its fullest extent. What I really love about this show is how they film it with Patrick Warburton narrating as Lemony Snicket. It is very well thought out and very entertaining.
Now once again this is my opinion so if you didn’t enjoy this show that is fine, but to me it was very well made and fun! Thanks for reading! ❤ Dorothy
A Brief History of the Anti-Vaccination Movement
by Clyde Brittelle
I’m a person with a passion for history, living through an unprecedented global pandemic when many people are coming out against the Covid-19 vaccine. I was interested in finding out if this movement against a vaccine has happened before. I wanted to know if there have been people who have come out against other vaccines that revolutionized medicine and kept millions of people safe. I personally believe that it’s important to look at current events through a historical lens. It helps you understand more about people’s decisions and why they made them.
So, when did anti-vaccination sentiment actually start? Surprisingly, the anti-vaccination movement started in the 1800’s with the smallpox vaccine. The smallpox vaccine produced widespread panic and objection in Victorian England due to a large misunderstanding and skepticism of medicine as a whole. Some clergymen claimed that it was “un-Christian” because the vaccine came from a cow. Finally, after around 6 decades, Parliament implemented mandatory vaccination for anyone 14 years or under with the Act of 1867. There was public pushback to this law, and many people complained about their personal freedoms. The law was still put into effect despite their complaints.
The 1980’s and the 1990’s did not produce a lot of new vaccines, but instead, produced a lot of anti-vaccination sentiment. Multiple celebrities, and even a pediatrician came out in the defense of the anti-vaccination movement in scientific journals. Most of these articles had to do with the supposed relationship between diseases like autism and the MMR vaccine. These claims were eventually debunked, and many of the scientific journals that published anti-vaccination papers publicly denounced them.
Jeff Zients, who is President Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, said at a White House briefing on 11/17/2021, “For perspective, it took about fifty days for us to reach 10% of adults with one shot, just 10 days in our program being in full strength we’re in 10% of kids. And when the polio vaccine was first rolled out for kids in the 1950’s it took about 3 months to cross two and a half million shots in arms.” According to the CDC as of this week, 80% of Americans have now received their first shot. Maybe the reason that it took longer to vaccinate kids with the polio vaccine than the Covid vaccines is because Covid has more immediate effects on your life than polio does? That’s just one thought about the difference in the response time.
Even though many vaccines initially produced widespread distress and opposition, most people now just take them without any objection. I wonder if maybe a reason for the loud backlash to the Covid-19 vaccine is because it’s something new, and new things can be scary. Hopefully as it gets more routine to get the shot, the disapproval from those people will just fade away. That doesn’t mean that there’s an excuse for endangering the lives of others and putting what you want to hear over what Dr. Fauci, the CDC and the majority of all medical and scientific experts are saying that you should, in order to keep yourself and those around you safe.
When I look at history repeating, I do wonder if people can ever break out of this cycle of upholding their personal beliefs over the information that scientists, doctors and medical experts know and understand, when they are faced with a new vaccine.
THE TERRAPIN TIMES 