RKA GAZETTE

1.

RKA GAZETTE

Issue 2

DECEMBER 2012

RIVERDALE KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY GO TIGERS!

Senior Dinner By Courtney Segal,Chesea Garcia, Carlene Fontanez

This week the senior class participated in an annual RKA tradition, the Senior Dinner. Many decisions had to be made

concerning the dinner such as, location, style, type of food, and cost. Senior Advisor, Ms. Concepcion, worked hard to create an awesome dinner while keeping all variables in mind. Once all of those tangibles had been satisfied, the seniors had to pay and hand in a permission slip. However, not all seniors were invited. In order to be eligible, students had to be in good academic standing, practice acceptable behavior, and attend homeroom.

After some back and forth, the location of the senior dinner was made final. The seniors went to Banzai, a hibachi restaurant in Westchester. A total of 25 dollars allowed seniors to get soup and salad, steak, chicken, shrimp, fried rice, and noodles. Following the dinner, the seniors were served ice cream cake. The senior dinner was a great opportunity for the class to bond and enjoy a memorable dining experience.

On the evening of Thursday December 6th

, the seniors gathered in front of the school and waited to board the buses, which would take them to Banzai Habachi Steakhouse. Pictures were taken and hugs were exchanged as the seniors squealed with excitement and marveled at the fact that this day had finally arrived. Upon arriving at Banzai, the seniors arranged their seating assignments and began to soak in the fun atmosphere. Friendly wait staff and exciting chefs made the dinner a hit. The chefs created a large fire to begin the meal, made volcanoes out of onions, tossed vegetables in people’s mouths, and made various other jokes throughout the evening. All in all, the seniors enjoyed a yummy meal and got the chance to bond with classmates and administration in a relaxed setting. The teachers who attended made the night one to remember. A big thanks to Ms. Concepcion and the Class of 2013 for coming out and participating in this senior activity!

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 2

RKA Helps Sandy Victims!

By Noah Margolin

As the holiday season

approaches, many of us are looking

forward to the caroling, presents, and

holiday spirit. However, in places that

were devastated by Hurricane Sandy,

people are forced to live through the

holidays without clothes, a home, clean

water, and heat. A group of RKA

students in the Teen Action class felt that

they ought to take it upon themselves to

give back to the community and give

those affected by the Hurricane a special

present in the form of a generous

donation.

Over the last few weeks, Teen Action has

collected donations of food, clothes, and toiletries with

the plan to give them away to those who need it the

most. Now that they have finished accepting donations,

they have collected 75 boxfuls of donations. A few

selective students had also stayed afterschool to help in

the RKA effort, making posters to publicize our cause to

collect these donations.

The Teen Action group plans on organizing with

the 50th precinct and the residents of Breezy Point to

distribute the donations to the needy.

A BIG thank you to everyone who

contributed!

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 3

On October 26, 2012, Chef Rocco paid a visit to RKA to inform students of the options of

healthy eating. Since statistics point out that young people either have or will struggle with their

weight, he has made it his priority to inform students about eating healthy foods.

Chef Rocco came at the invitation of the Health Corp to teach adolescents about eating

healthy foods. Many 8th graders were excited to meet Chef Rocco. At the assembly, he informed

the students about the types of food they should eat as well as portion control. After showing the

dark side of fast food, he demonstrated how easily they can prepare delicious, healthy alternatives

to fast food, quickly. A short lesson on calories, the relationship between them and an individual’s

weight, and the importance of protein control started off the cooking portion of this visit.

Chef Rocco prepared pasta with a meat sauce meal. It looked good, and smelled good. He

informed the viewers that the pasta was whole wheat, and instead of using red meat, he used low

fat turkey. A sprinkle of olive oil, some carrots, celery, onion, garlic and whole tomatoes were added

to the sauce. I have to admit 325 calorie meal sure made mouths water. After the meal was

prepared, he thanked the 8th graders for being a great audience and took them outside to his truck

for food samples of what he had prepared. The bagged sample was filled with a pasta dish,

strawberries with whip cream and a refreshing bottle of water.

I devoured the meal with such enjoyment that I wished he had given seconds. In all, the Chef

visit provided a good opportunity for many people to sample to healthy food and learn about

healthy food. Thank you Chef Rocco for the food and we hope you will pay us another visit next

year.

Chef Rocco Visits RKA By Lindsay Maselli

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 4

WHO DAT?

RKA HALLOWEEN DANCE By Chelsea Garcia

The month of October is a month filled with candy and costumes. This year RKA was lucky enough to continue their annual tradition of holding a successful high school Halloween Dance.

October 24, 2012, was a night to remember for many RKA students. The night was filled with spooky decorations, Domino’s pizza, and of course some of the best dance songs to groove to. While everyone hit off the night on the dance floor, many stopped to take pictures with all of the students and their creative costumes. We had a cafeteria filled with superheroes, cowboys/girls, bloody zombies, big babies, and even a mermaid.

From beginning to end, everyone seemed to be enjoying their night. All the smiles and laughter that brings RKA students and faculty together was clearly visible throughout the dance. We had teachers taking pictures, judging student costumes and even being part of the dance competition. If you were there, I’m sure the highlight of your night was seeing Ms. Prado cat daddy on the dance floor. This was just one of many student’s favorite parts of the night. There were also some new additions to our school dance that made it a successful one. As students got hungry, we had our very own Domino’s Pizza booth selling large pies at a low price of five bucks! We also had the privilege of having a professional photographer sell some beautiful pictures of all the fabulous costumes.

We ended the night with some creative gifts for three special students who stood out to the costume judges. Ms. O’Mara announced the winners of best costumes to a beautiful mermaid, a flashy Mad Hatter, and a funny cowboy in an inflatable ostrich suit! They were all surprised to look in their pumpkin gift basket to find not only a Dunkin Donuts gift card, but also three live goldfish swimming in their bowls.

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 5

College Fair

By Shivon Ramlal

RKA held its annual College Fair on Wednesday, October 17, right here in the gym. The fair was open to all students, parents, and the community.

Every year admission to college gets tougher. Over 50 college representatives were here to present and explain a bit about what their college is like. Programs, student life, financial aid, and scholarships were all discussed that evening. The college representatives were ready to take questions such as, “What is the admission rate?”, “What is campus life is like?” and many more. Some colleges even handed out a fee-waiver to anyone who filled out an application right there or gave in their contact information.

All of the colleges at the fair had representives directly from that college or university, who were knowledgeable about the educational institutions they were representing. Some of the colleges at the fair were Brauch, Harvard, Hunter, NY IT ,Penn State,York,Westchester Community College, to name a few.

Who’s In The Paper?

Editor-in-Chief Editors RKA News Awareness Shivon Ramlal Mr.Seuss Noah Margolin Arie Vasquez Courtney Segal Ms.Shulman Lindsay Maselli Courtney Segal Chelsea Garcia Carlene Fontanez Courtney Segal Noah Margolin Carlene Fontanez Life Style Horoscopes Who Dat? Entertainment Daniel McCauley Vera Mekuli Chelsea Garcia David Zhang Grecia Arellano Mariah Durojaye Chelase Garcia Jesse Pineda Sports Layout Hassan Jehan Shivon Ramlal Lindsay Maselli

RKA GAZETTE

Awareness

Hair Food

By Arie L Vasquez

There are foods that you eat on regular basis that you can physically put in your hair to either help it grow, give it nurturance or simply make it shine. There are 8 top foods that are known for improving the length, texture or the glow of your hair. Yogurt, avocado, mayonnaise, honey, apple cider, vinegar, eggs, cornstarch, and rosemary oil are known for their benefits in improving a person's hair. Hair is a very important feature for both boys and girls. It is right there along with your face, so we always want to make sure it looks as good as it did when you left the house in the morning. Hair needs to be parted at the right place, be fluffy and bouncy enough. Sometimes there are bigger problems or concerns when it comes to our hair. For instance, no girl likes split ends. It is one of our worst enemies. It doesn't look good and can be very noticeable! The only way to get rid of them is by getting a haircut. Many girls don't like cutting their hair. So there is another solution to split ends. Avocados! It's true it isn't only good for chips but also good at repairing those split ends. Mix the avocados with some coconut milk and apply it to your dry hair for about 30 minutes before washing your hair and just like that you have avoided a haircut and still got rid of those damaged ends. There are foods for many kinds of hair troubles. If you don't have split ends, but your hair is rather dry or too oily there is cornstarch and honey. Cornstarch is good for those with oily hair. It works by applying it to your roots massage the areas where you apply the starch and allow it to absorb all the oils. For dry hair, honey mixed with some olive oil can be applied to hair before washing. This helps soften, but most importantly, moisturizes your hair leaving it smooth and hydrated. Who knew that our very own hair would enjoy some of our favorite foods as much as we do ourselves.

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RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 7

Electoral College By Courtney Segal

Many of you may think that the 2012 Presidential Election is over and that Barack Obama will serve the United States for

another term; in this instance, you are correct. However, not all Presidential elections have been as easy to determine. Firstly, it

is important to understand that there are two components, which go into electing the President of the United States. The

Popular Vote and the Electoral College are the determining factors in the Presidential election.

The Popular Vote is as simple as it sounds; majority rules. The Electoral College is unfortunately not as simple to

comprehend. The Electoral College is a group of electors who vote for the President. Electors are individuals who represent the

majority of each state. On Election Day, most people are excited to cast their vote and feel as though they have contributed to

the success of the candidate that they affiliate themselves with. This is not entirely the case.

This past election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was projected to be a close one. Many Americans

felt strongly about a variety of social and economic issues and took great pride in the candidate who they thought they voted for.

When a voter stands in the voting booth and indicates whether or not they are voting for Romney or Obama, they are actually

voting for the electors in their state. The number of electors for each state is determined by how many congressional members

they have in addition to the two senators each state has.

The first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, is when the electors from each state meet and cast

their votes for the election. Most states have a “winner takes all” system, which means that the candidate that won the state is

awarded all of the electoral votes of that particular state. However, some states have proportional representation, which means

that a distribution of the electoral votes is necessary.

The Electoral College has been around since the Founding Fathers and continues to be relevant in all of the

Presidential elections. Once you are of the age to vote, it is important to recognize all that goes into electing your President and

your role in the process.

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RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 8

A Day in the Life of a Senior During Crunch Time.

By Carlene Fontanez

Senior year may seem like fun and games to all the other grades, however, it is crunch time for all the RKA seniors scrambling to finish their college applications. Some may love the college application process while others may hate it, but we can all agree on one thing; this process is stressful.

The process of applying to college is long and arduous. Before a senior can send out any application they first need to know which schools they’d like to apply to. Figuring out which school is the best fit for you isn’t the easiest task. You have to ask yourself questions like do I want to leave New York or stay? Do I want to go to a big school or a small one?

Then there are college tours where you can go visit the school. You get to see how each campus varies and get a feel for the type you like. The people who work in admissions try and sell their school, so they try to make it seem like the best place ever. After a while, every school begins to sound the same.

Learning more and more about your prospective college never stops. Colleges send tons of emails, which highlight interesting parts about their school. They also send mail to your home with “fun” brochures and packets. We tend to actually take interest in one or two of the brochures and pile all the other on our dresser until the piles fall over.

The Internet plays a tremendous role in a senior’s life. We visit each college’s website and try to read up on the school as much as possible before getting bored and switching the tab to Facebook. We’re also able to book college interviews through their website. We then Google commonly asked questions in an interview to prepare ourselves for an interview that can either help us get accepted or rejected.

Finally, the lovely common application is completed and submitted online. The common application is accepted by the majority of colleges, however it is very tedious, making you want to pull all your hair out. They ask a million and one things. One of the requirements is a 500 word essay that is supposed to make you stand out from all the other seniors applying to college around the world. Not to mention, the extra 150 word supplements most colleges ask for. There are also many scholarship essays and other requirements all due by a certain deadline.

A day in the life of a senior during college crunch time can come off as a bit frightening for those who haven’t experienced it yet. However, the main word to remember is deadline. Once we’ve submitted our application to our final college, it’s time to celebrate. The stress and hard work will all be worth it once we start receiving our acceptance letters and know that we’ve reached a goal in life.

“East? I thought you said West?” By Noah Margolin

Imagine what it would be like to go to school in Japan or China, where the importance of education is much greater than here in America. In Eastern school protocol, educators ensure every individual child is on track with the curriculum and each child is supposed to know their subject just as well as the next student.

In Japan, an American reporter sat in an elementary school class, and noticed something that he wouldn’t see in America. He witnessed a child who misunderstood a topic in class. However, instead of giving the child the responsibility of studying on their own time, the teacher took the whole period in class to help the child understand it. On top of that, the entire class gave the child a round of applause when he finally understood the topic. Not only was there effort put in by the teacher to help the struggling student, but all the children in the class had also participated in trying to clarify the topic and help the student get it right.

Meanwhile, American teachers are less passionate about their students, as well as less available after class. They never actually ensure that the students know the subject in class. In addition to that, the students in America are also not taking responsibility for themselves by failing to go to their teachers and reviewing when they are available afterschool or during free periods. If teachers, administrators, and students all collaborated in making the American education system more intense then we would see the progress in education in this country like we see progress in education in Eastern countries. We would finally reach the point where our children were smarter than the technology they use all the time.

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RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 9

Lifestyle

Waking up a Super Hero By Daniel McCauley

The title may be a bit unrealistic, but we can try our best. Are you looking for that ‘jolt’ in the morning? How about

waking up to a drink that can also boost your brainpower? The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that green tea can “help improve memory in men.”

Where’s the evidence? Researchers evenly divided twelve men into two groups. The control group was given a placebo drink, while the experimental group was given the actual green tea. Subjects were given an MRI during a required memory test. What researchers found was that, “Compared to the placebo group, the green tea drinkers experienced an increase in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with working memory, which you need for problem solving and focus”.

Green tea contains many polyphenols, which could be the reason it reeks of so many benefits. These polyphenols help prevent the degeneration of neurons like dopamine , which have a large influence on brain activity.

Looks like you’ll be skipping your cup of Joe next time, while you give this stimulant a try

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Dry skin and cracked lips, Oh My! By Grecia Arellano

Everyone’s buzzing to find out where they can get this season’s new obsession. Since the climate is changing, so are people’s skin textures. This fall most people will be spotted with their personal favorite flavor of Baby Lips and lotion from The Body Shop. Baby Lips can easily be obtained by a visit to the drug store or any Target department store. As for any products from The Body Shop, wait for the holiday specials.

Baby Lips is a lip balm from Maybelline that is known for leaving lips moisturized and shiny. Although it doesn’t hydrate lips for 8 hours, it is still effective. This lip balm comes in five different flavors. Grape vine for those dark gloomy days, Cherry Me to add a shade of red to create a bold look, Pink Punch for those who love the color pink, Quenched, a clear that will emphasize your lip color, and lastly, Peach Kiss the perfect shade of nude lip stain that will go perfectly with a smokey eye shadow. Baby Lips is highly pigmented, therefore, can easily replace any lipstick. As a person who owns Pink Punch, I can truly say I love the way it makes my lips look and feel. The Body Shop is known for doing wonders to the skin and the endless amount of scents make moisturizing even more pleasant. Their body butters vary for different skin types making it simple to fulfill your skins needs. Body butter is a lot thicker than regular lotions because it isn’t water based. Some of my personal favorites include mango, papaya, and cocoa butter body butter.

Staying moisturized can be tricky, but having these essentials in your back pocket, will keep dryness at bay. Remember, happy and healthy skin is a happy and healthy person!!

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 10

Horoscopes

By Vera Mekuli & Mariah Durojaiye Virgo

Show your fun side!

Everyone will be able to

appreciate your

hardworking nature and

your entertaining

personality! Get out

there.

Aquarius Get your head in the books!

Like Geminis, you should be

investigating some sort of

new knowledge! You never

know what you'll find.

Gemini Put yourself in learning

mode. You're all about

learning new things and

surprising yourself. Get

out there and do some

research or just

surround yourself with a

new scene that you could

learn from. Go!

Aries Things may have not been

going your way lately. The

weekend looks much easier

and much more fun. Get

active and make your life

more productive. try to get

to know someone better!

Taurus Things may not seem in

tune so try to find your

inner self. Get

perspective from a friend.

Hopefully you'll find

relief from your

problems. There's

something fun brewing

this weekend, and it's

very interesting. Tune in!

Cancer If your feelings are not in

tune with happiness, you

need to take a break from

people taking away your

smile. Take a break from

your frustrations and

meditate. You'll feel a lot

better!

Leo If you're feeling lonely,

you might find new love

soon. In the meantime, try

not to be so aggressive. It

could help with

friendships.

Libra Balance out your life if

you're not feeling satisfied.

In the end, you'll be a lot

happier. Take the time out to

reach out to more friends

and study more to get your

school life in tune with your

personal life.

Scorpio You've been having a good

time in school and your

personal life, keep up the

good work! Always think

positive and the outcome

will always be beneficial

to you.

Sagittarius You may or may not be

worried about financial

problems, but brush it

off! With your strong and

ambitious exterior, you

won't be down for long!

Capricorn Take the time to breathe.

You are probably stressed

with school and deadlines.

Just relax, and take time

to smell the coffee!

Pisces Don't stress yourself out

with any new tensions in your

friendships. Clear the air

with them and try and get

them to understand your

sensitive nature.

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 11

Entertainment

New Twilight Movie By Jesse Pineda

The final chapter in the mega million-dollar series “Twilight saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2” was about

love, war, and franchise immortality. After Bella almost dying during pregnancy, her husband, Edward saved her life by biting her. Now that they have a half vampire and half-human daughter named Renesmee, she has become the center of attention of the Volturi (a vampire coven). They believe she is only a vampire and does not trust what she will do as a young vampire. The Cullens and friends protect Renesmee and to show the Volturi that she has a beating heart.

Despite the slow start Mr. Condon closes the series in fine, smooth style. He gives fans all the lovely flowers, conditioned hair and lightly erotic, dreamy kisses they deserve. Just as smartly he also shakes the series up with an unexpectedly fierce, entertaining battle that finds the Cullens, flanked by their wolf friends and various vampire allies, facing down the Volturi. Set on a snowy field, this whirlwind of clashing fangs and flying fur rouses Bella to action. It also injects the movie with an invigorating energy that the movies have rarely sustained since the first “Twilight,” when Catherine Hardwicke, a messy but spirited director, introduced Bella and Edward. It turns out that there’s something to be said about watching these two lovebirds tap into their inner monsters. It’s bloody good fun while it lasts.

Drake Finally Graduates High School By David Zhang

This past Wednesday, rap superstar Drake revealed on Twitter that he had finally graduated from high school, ten years after he had decided to drop out against his mother’s wishes. The star dropped out because of the opportunity to co-star on the TV show “Degrassi: The Next Generation” at the age of 15.

Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, shared on a San Francisco radio station about his decision to drop out. “I knew I wanted to do music, but I dropped out of high school against my mother’s wishes.” His music career hasn’t failed him yet with the production of various mix tapes early in his career that eventually led to album sales, which also opened chances for endorsements. In fact, he earned about $20.5 million from May 2011 to May 2012, which earned him the 6th rank on Forbes’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. Drake’s inspiration for finishing high school came when he was invited by the University of Kentucky’s basketball coach, John Calipari, to be a guest coach during the Big Blue Madness scrimmage. Drake bonded with the team over the years and even got a ring when the team won the national title this year. It was the feeling of the school experience again at Kentucky that Drake credited for giving him inspiration to finish high school.

As he finished high school, Drake also revealed some of his grades as well, “97% on my final exam. 88% in the course”. Drake said that it was one of the greatest feelings in his life and also made his mother happy too as he is now a high school graduate.

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RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 12

Ask the Wise Old Owl

Dear Wise Owl, The other day I caught my boyfriend cheating on me while at his job. I walked in on them while they were flirting and about to kiss. I felt like Freddy Krueger ripped my heart out and just threw it away. I don’t know how to deal with this painful break up. From Ellen Dear Ellen, There are many more squirrels in the bushes, just don’t go nuts. Forget him girlfriend! He obviously doesn’t want you anymore, get over it. Don’t be a Debby Downer and let’s go party with Elmo! The Owl Dear Wise Owl, So I’m devastated right now because there has been this girl who I’ve been stalking for a year now and I want her so badly. But I don’t think she likes me, She always looks at me funny and when I text her she doesn’t respond. I want her to be mine and play Pokémon all day and just watch cartoons in her apartment. Should I continue to just stalk and wait for her or just leave it alone or go ask her out? From Dexter Dear Stalker Child, This obviously isn’t healthy for you to be stalking. Go up to the girl and be like listen woman I want to play Pokémon with you so badly and watch Barney all day long. Show her who the boss is! Don’t be afraid to give her a little present also like a nice big diamond ring! Shine bright like a diamond. How does that sound? The Owl Dear Wise Owl, My friends and I have recently wanted to get our friend Matt a surprise birthday present. But my friends George and Niall have been planning it and haven’t included me and Harry. Harry and I feel very left out and think it is unfair that another person outside of our click would know about the present and not us. I think it is totally unfair. What should I do? From Derek Dear Derek, You go up to your friends and you tell them to get their butts in line and demand to know what the present is. You tell them that if they won’t tell you then you will steal their gift from them. Don’t take any solid excretory product from the bowels attitude from them. And in case that doesn’t work then to the z formation snap. Works every time! The Owl

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RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 13

Rockefeller Tree Lighting

By Chelsea Garcia

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, NBC held its annual tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. People from all

over the world joined New Yorkers as they kicked off the holiday season.

The night began early for some as they lined up to have the best view of the beautiful tree. This year’s tree

was an 80 ft. Norway spruce that proved itself durable, as it stood tall throughout hurricane Sandy. It came to New

York from the back yard of Joe Barku’s house, in Flanders, New Jersey. As most people enjoyed the tree light up on

Wednesday, others waited around Joe Barku’s house to see the amazing process of the tree being cut down and

lifted 20 ft into the air onto a huge truck over the GW Bridge. Once it arrived at Rockefeller Center, it was decorated

with more than 30,000 multi-colored, energy efficient lights and topped off with a beautiful Swarovski star.

Before Mayor Bloomberg had the honor of lighting up this magnificent tree, the holiday vibes came to life

with performances from Rod Stewart, CeeLo Green, Scotty McCreery, Il Volo, Victoria Justice, Brooke White, Mariah

Carey, Trace Adkins, Tony Bennett, and our beautiful Rockette’s. New York was filled with tons of happy faces

singing along to our favorite Christmas songs like “All I want for Christmas” and “Jingle Bells”.

Although the crowd was up to 5 blocks long with viewers watching from TV screens, many weren’t able to

make it to this event. The tree will be up to view until January 7, 2013. So kick off your holidays with a visit to

Rockefeller Center and while you’re at it you can go ice-skating and get some holiday shopping done.

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 14

SPORTS

1000th

Points By Hassan Jehan

As the basketball season began on November 28th, 2012, our school prepared for the game against Clinton HS. The first game began and after much anticipation Chris Williams scored his 1000th point and became the second person in RKA history who has to reach this milestone.

Filled with pride and joy, Chris stood next to his mom, uncle and coach Zulauf with the 1000th point ball to show all of RKA how far he has come and how hard he has worked to achieve this milestone. Interviewing Chris Williams, he answered a couple of important questions.

How do you feel about your 1000th point? “I’m glad I scored my 1000th point but I wish it was a dunk. I didn’t have a fast break so I just

did a layup”.

How does it feel to be the second in RKA history to reach this milestone? “I feel accomplished being the 2nd person in RKA history to score 1000 points. When I

leave the school people will remember Jeremy Smith and Chris Williams as legends”.

What are your future goals for this season? “My future goal for the season this year is to make it to playoffs. We have good chemistry

going so far it’s looking like a good year. I also would like to break Jeremy Smith’s record”. Going down in RKA history, Chris Williams will leave the school as the second person to

ever score 1000 points at RKA.

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 15

WHO DAT?? By Chelsea Garcia

Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy is honored to have a new teacher to replace Mr. Ramsey.

Unfortunately, Mr. Ramsey moved on to a job at another school, but we luckily found an great teacher to

take his place right away. Mr. Tsai has been able to meet many new teachers and high school students.

This year he is teaching Physics and Chemistry.

Coming a long way from the hot summer feeling of Southern California, Mr. Tsai is getting used

to the breezy days in New York. He explains that if it weren’t for his phone and maps, he would be

completely lost in the city. Mr. Tsai is not only getting used to his new job as a high school teacher, but

he’s also adapting to his new neighborhood and home in Riverdale.

Before this summer, Mr. Tsai had been spending his time working at different schools in

California while he was getting his education in Biochemistry at CSULA. Outside of school, he likes to

play the violin and listen to different types of music, from classical to indie to symphonic metal. Some of

his favorite bands and artists are Bach, Swedish House Mafia, Arcade Fire, Broken Bells, and the Hush

Sound.

Many of you may find that Mr. Tsai is pretty similar to the rest of us. Although he is new to RKA,

he has been adapting well, and has seen some pretty good grades in his classes. His goal for the school

year is to have all his students do well on their regents and help them in any way he can to reach their

goals.

RKA GAZETTE | Issue 2 16

SEASON GREETINGS!!

Science Corner

Math3

The pattern of shading in one quarter of a square is shown in the diagram. If this pattern is continued indefinitely, what fraction of the large square will eventually be shaded?

http://www.aplusclick.com/t.htm?level=12;q=971

Literary Box

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS449US452&biw=1336&bih=862&tbm=isch&tbnid=05qCzdoiI9iprM:&imgrefurl=http://anguishedrepose.com/2010/12/28/check-out-this-amazing-2010-blizzard-time-

lapse/&docid=vhWsFPCjlcF2YM&imgurl=http://quads9.homestead.com/files/PoemSnowB.jpg&w=495&h=300&ei=Enu1UNK0GqT10gGf14G4CQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=556&sig=104744160333536668138&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=219&start=0&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:109&tx=127&ty=40

History Tomb

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rma/lowres/rman14065l.jpg