COYOTE CHRONICLEALWAYS FREE ISSUE NO. 4

INDEPENDENT DAY SCHOOL

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Avatar: Unoriginal Plot, but Thrilling to WatchIDS Students Discuss the Avatar Phenomenon

By Jessica W.

The 2009 film, Avatar, is a major box office hit and fun to watch. Eighth grader, Nico d.G., explains the film as, “a thrilling and amazing experience.” It earned $27 million on its opening date in the U.S. and Canada. It was the second largest December movie opening, just losing out to I Am Legend. What makes this movie so appealing? In addition to tons of action, the special effects are incredible. The entire movie is in 3-D. It is no wonder why it took 15 years to make this film. The movie’s director, James Cameron, is another reason why it is such a box office hit. He brought us such films as The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, and Titanic.

The movie takes places on another planet, called Pandora, in the year 2154. A company named RDS is mining the planet in order to find a valuable mineral called unobtanium. One kilo of unobtanium is worth $2 million dollars. The natives of the planet, the Na’vi, do not want foreigners on their planet for fear that the foreigners will exploit the planet’s natural resources for capital gain. One of the humans, Jake Sully, falls in love with a native named Neytiri. Even though the Na’vi people are supposed to be his enemies, he opens his mind and realizes that the humans are really the primitive ones.

While the special effects are amazing, the plot of this film is somewhat unoriginal. Many of my classmates agree with me that the plot has similarities to Pochohantas and Dances with Wolves. Overall, I give this three and a half stars and would recommend this to anyone even for the special effects alone.

Lower School Art ConnectionFifth grade students enjoyed viewing the world of the art classroom through various teleidoscopes. Students were encouraged to mix a wide range of colors for use in their circular paintings. Wassily Kandinsky’s colorful and whimsical paintings were inspiration for this project.

This issue’s winner of the Lower School Art Contest is Sadie S. This drawing is a teleidoscope drawing. It is drawn as if it is seen through a teleidoscope. Beautiful job, Sadie!

  -Camille M.

Check Out What’s Inside of Issue #4!Roving Reporters... 2HardWired... 3Tyler’s Sports... 4

Brown Bag Cooking... 7Ask Andrew and Maggie... 8

Games and More... 9

What is you’re favorite sport and why?

We asked the teachers the question above because we wanted to know what our teachers liked to do

when they recreate.

Here are their responses:

Ms. Dwyer said, “Tennis, it’s my family’s favorite activity.”

Mrs. Warner said, “I don’t play sports because I don’t like the competitive edge. However, I enjoy watching tennis and baseball on TV.”

Mrs. Ficke said, “Football because I enjoy the aggressive nature of the game (tackling!)”

Dr. B. said, “Tennis because it’s challenging and very strategic.”

Mrs. Effgen said, “I like to watch basketball and I like to run. I used to play basketball and it’s very fast paced.”

ROVING REPORTERSby Christine H., Anika Rose L., and

Rachel D.

This issue’s installment of Nature Watch focuses on the brilliantly colored Northern Cardinal. Best recognized by its bright red color, the Northern Cardinal is a large, long-tailed songbird with a hunched-over sitting posture and thick red beak. One of the few birds that do not migrate, this cardinal keeps its brilliant shade all year. Did you know that only the males have the bright coat and black faces? The females are a pale brown with only red on their tails, wings, and crest.

These birds are up early and their sweet whistles and tones are some of the first sounds in the morning. Their most common habitats are backyards, parks, wood lots, and shrubby, forest edges.

If you want to have these beautiful birds in your yard, try this project. Put cold water into an ice cube tray. Fill the tray half way with water. Top each section off with birdseed mix. Place the tray in the freezer with a toothpick in each cubicle. When you remove it from the freezer, carefully pull the toothpick out and thread a string through the hold. Hand it outside and watch these bright birds feast!

Hard-Wired The latest in technology from the perspective of Hayden H.By Hayden H.

CES, or the Consumer Electronic Show, was just held in Las Vegas. The CES is where companies come to show off their new gadgets and gizmos. This is the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. One of the most popular topics of conversation this year was the new developments in the world of television. For instance, Samsung is developing an LED TV, not LCD, that is 1 inch thick. It is also 3-D ready.

3-D appeared to be a big trend at CES. The movie Avatar really helped to bring 3-D to the mainstream. Before only geeks and kids saw 3-D movies, now everyone is looking to 3-D as the newest innovation. Personally, I don't want everything to become 3-D if I still have to wear those glasses. Sadly, the world is years from being able to watch 3-D movies without looking through plastic glasses. Another big problem with the whole 3-D craze is that it can give you a headache. One of the reasons why I didn't completely enjoy Avatar was because I had a mild headache throughout the movie. If companies can somehow fix the need for ugly and uncomfortable glasses, plus the likelihood of a headache, I would be in total support of the all things 3-D.

Also featured at the CES was Toshiba’s TV with a cell processor. This cell processor is the one that is in the Playstation 3. It is famous for being the best of its kind and delivering a stunning visual. The new Cell TV can take any 2-D video and make it 3-D. It provides a nearly unsurpassed visual.

At CES, new ways to spend money did not stop at TV’s. Netbooks have increased in popularity at an astounding rate. Netbooks are laptops that have a screen size of around 10 inches. Their portability is appealing to many people. It is the kind of thing that you would throw in a bag for an hour and a half long car trip. However, it is not something you would use as your main computer. They are fairly cheap at only around $500 for a decent machine. Many companies like Linovo have made tablet/netbook hybrids. The screen of the netbook is a touchscreen and it can swivel. If you want to work with something into photoshop, you can turn the screen around and use your fingers instead of a mouse cursor. This is a big deal for graphic designers.

There was so much going on at CES, it is nearly impossible to sum it up in one page. There were huge innovations in the ways we will view video to small things like wirelessly being able to charge a device. CES is one of the most interesting conventions anyone could attend. Maybe next year, IDS could send a representative to report on the details. I might be able to clear my schedule.

Nature WatchBy Michael Elizabeth G.

Science and Nature

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SportsNFL Week 11By Tyler M.

There were countless amazing games in 2009, from the NHL to the MLB. In this article, I am going to count down, in my opinion, the five best moments in the world of sports in 2009.

5. March 12, 2009: NCAA BAsketball: UCONN vs. Syracuse

This game was almost as tiring to watch as it must have been to play in Madison Square Garden. There were six overtimes! Needless to say, it was a close game. In the end, Syracuse ended up winning, 127-117. It was an exhilarating game, the longest in Big East history. Every moment kept the fans on the edge of their seats.

4. September 27, 2009: NFL: Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers

This year, one of the oldest quarterbacks in the game of football joined the Minnesota vikings and contributed to their 27-24 victory against the 49ers. This man is none other than Brett Favre. With two seconds left in the game, Favre threw a bomb from the 37 yard line into the back of the end zone. After the throw, he went down and looked up to see his wide receiver, Greg Lewis, with the ball in the end zone. He threw his hands up in the air and high-fived all his teammates; he knew that this is a game he and his teammates would never forget. All the fans in the Metro Dome were going crazy the moment he caught the ball. It was truly a moment to remember.

3.August 7, 2009: MLB: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red SoxOn August 7th, all eyes were on the Yankees and Red Sox in 15th inning. What more do I have to say? This game was memorable for both Yankee and Red Sox fans alike. I thought the game might go on forever. After 5 hours and 33 minutes of scoreless innings, ALex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees ended the silence. By the time Red Sox pitcher, Junichi Tazawa, turned his head and looked up, the ball was long gone. As A-Rod rounded the bases with his hands held high, he knew he had just made history.

2.July 23, 2009: MLB: Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay RaysNot many pitchers can say they have pitched a perfect game, with no hits and no walks. However, on July 23rd, Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox, added himself to this exclusive list. A picture of Buehrle, with his glove on his head and a smile on his face, made every headline that next day. This game was so great because even thought the all the fans were captivated, watching and waiting to see Mark Buerle and his magic perfect game unfold.

1.May 23, 2009: NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando MagicOne headline from this game read, “The King Does it Again.” With virtually no time left in the final period, LeBron James made NBA history. As James dribbled down the course he stopped at the top of the three point arch and looked at the basket and then at the clock. He knew head about one second to make this shot. He set himself quickly and let it fly. Everyone looked up as the buzzer sounded. The shot went through the net. LeBron threw his hands up and ran to his cheering teammates. The fans looked at the score: 96-95. The Cavaliers had one it!

2009 was an amazing year in sports, no matter what team you root for. In my mind, true sports fans will agree that these games demonstrated tremendous athleticism and contained a little bit of magic.

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Arts and Entertainment

Style Studies: Lesson #4

By Mackenzie C. and Frankie E.

One of our all time favorite pieces is a classic white button down. If there were to be only one thing in your closet, you would want a white button down. This is a classic trend, meaning that it was in style fifty years ago and will be in style fifty years from now. It is perfect for people of all ages. You can also wear it in all seasons; it is a style staple. What we love about a white button down is that there are a million ways to wear it. You can dress it up for a dinner out or wear it to school with jeans. We like it paired with a pair of dark skinny jeans tucked into a pair of boots or accessorize with whatever jewelry you like.

Cheetah print is one of the biggest trends of this season. It is always in style for fall/winter time period. What’s great about cheetah print is that it comes in so many forms. You can buy cheetah shoes, bags, or scarves. The best way to wear cheetah print is with a black outfit. This way the flamboyant print takes center stage.

Although not spring yet, spring clothing line are arriving in stores. For the coming season, we are seeing a lot of color! Personally, we like it in the form of accessories. It can be easy to go overboard with the color. Wear a bright necklace or shoes with a simple outfit. White is also always a good choice for spring because it is clean and crisp. Pair something bright with maybe a tee shirt and some white shorts. But remember, you can’t wear those shorts yet; the warm jacket remains the necessary item for the season.

Just because we all are hoping for spring, does not mean it is here yet. Sadly, we still have to stick to our warm jackets and boots. Maybe adding a cheetah print scarf to your winter outfit will brighten it up. The spring clothing will also be in stores shortly, though this does not mean we can begin to wear the majority of it. So hang in there, spring will come soon enough but until then, continue to wear those winter clothes.

Spotlight on IDS’ Ms. KleedermanBy Jonathan F.

Why do she like teaching?Ms. Kleederman likes teaching because she enjoys getting to know the students and helping them. One of her favorite parts of her job is getting to laugh so much each day with the teachers and students.What is her favorite kind of book?Ms. Kleederman likes historical fiction. She likes to learn something when she reads.What is your favorite book?Her favorite book is The Poisonwood Bible. She describes that she read the book when she was in 10th grade. It was the first book that made her discover how powerful words can be.What is her favorite food?Watermelon!What is her second favorite subject? (We all know her favorite subject is history!)She enjoys English and Environmental Science. She describes, “I enjoy anything where I can lean about the world around me.”How did she come to IDS?She came to IDS because she was writing her thesis and wanted a school to writing about. Once she visited the school and learned about its unique opportunities and close-knit community, she knew that she wanted to work here.Most importantly, what is her favorite smencil flavor?GINGERBREAD!

Hey! LOOK at This New Column!Each issue, Jonathan F. will be interviewing a teacher at IDS. These teacher profiles will allow us to see the teachers that make this school what it is. This issue, he chose Ms. Kleederman because she is the advisor for this newspaper and helps us to produce each issue of the Coyote Chronicle.

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Creative Musings10 THINGS A BEST FRIEND SHOULD NEVER DO

By Katy S.T.

1. A best friend should never laugh at or tease you when you are feeling down.

2. A best friend should never make you feel bad.3. A best friend should never shun you. They should talk to

you if there is something wrong.4. A best friend should never tell a secret that you told them

not to tell.5. A best friend should never talk behind your back.6. A best friend should never be anything but caring and

supportive to you. 7. A best friend should never do mean things to you so that

other people will like them.8. A best friend should never leave you hanging.9. A best friend should never be jealous of you.10. A best friend should never want to end your

friendship.

There are many beautiful cats in the world. One of the most common and most beautiful is the American Shorthair. It is a very athletic cat and has a more powerfully built body than its British relative. An American Shorthair also has harder fur and a more elongated face than the British Shorthair.

The American Shorthairs’ ancestors are thought to be the cats that accompanied early European settlers in North America. They were the first cats to adapt to the climate, landscape, and lifestyle.

American Shorthairs are courageous, intelligent, and energetic cats.

There are many different varieties of the American Shorthair. However, they all have rounded feet with pads that maths the color of their coat. Their legs are typically quite muscular.

As I have noted, these are beautiful, wonderful cats. Meow!

Cat CornerAdvocating for the Undercat! By J. Hannah F. and Allwynne B.

Meet Ayla. She is an American Shorthair cat. Ayla and her sister, Cookie, were left on the doorstep of Ms. Deb’s home in the middle of winter last year. Both cats were sick and unhealthy. If it wasn't for Ms. Deb, Ayla and Cookie may have died, but not that enjoy the warmth and comfort of Mrs. Deb’s home.

Ayla is loud and energetic. She is a playful cat that would enjoy the home of a family with children.

If you are interested in adopting Ayla, Cookies, or another cat from CATALES, please contact Ms. Deb at 860-344-9304.

Brown Bag CookingFrom Our Recipe Box to Your Lunchbox! By Caroline C. and Betty S.

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In this article, we decided to give you recipes to create an entire lunch. This lunch is easy to make and will give you energy for the rest of your day. It is also very healthy for you and beats a lunchable any day. So, enjoy and feel proud of creating a three-course meal for yourself.

Quesadillas INGREDIENTS:1 flour tortilla1/8 cup of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese1/8 cup of shredded Mozzarella Cheese (for extra stringiness)1/8 cup of chicken (cooked)1/8 diced peppers and onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine cheeses, chicken, and peppers in a small bowl.2. Spread wax paper on the counter and lay out your tortilla and spread the filling over half of the tortilla. Then fold over the tortilla.3. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and turn the burner on to medium-high. You might need an adults help when you put the quesadilla in he pan for 1-2 minutes. Then flip over the quesadilla with a spatula for 1-2 minutes.4. Eat and enjoy!!

Fruit Salad

INGREDIENTS:4 Sliced strawberries1/8 cup of Cantaloupe1/8 cup of Honeydew1 tablespoon of sugar

DIRECTIONS:1. Put fruit in a medium sized container and add

tablespoon of sugar.2. Here comes the fun part!! Shake the fruit to mix it.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

Dough: :1⁄2 cup shortening 1 1⁄2 cups sugar2 eggs1 1⁄2 teaspoons cream of tartar1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt2 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:3 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:1. Preheat oven to 375°F.2. Beat butter, shortening, sugar and eggs together until

creamy. Add cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, then blend. Add flour and mix well. Chilling overnight is preferred; otherwise at least two hours.

3. Combine topping ingredients in small, shallow bowl. After chilling, shape dough into balls about 1 1⁄2 inches in diameter. Drop dough balls into topping mixture and coat entire surface well. Place on ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake in a 375°F degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand one minute and remove to cooling racks. Bakes about 3 dozen cookies!!!

Ask Andrew and MaggieBy Maggie H. and Andrew M.

Dear Wind Weaker, I often have the same problem! Here are some things that I do when I have trouble memorizing information.

1) Try making flashcards.It sounds basic, but it really works. Breaking up a huge mass of information into little pieces that you can learn over time is really helpful. In addition, just making the flashcards helps you learn some of the information.

2) Use your computer.Sometimes finding information associated with an easy to play game helps the information stick in your brain. For example, there are free games on the computer that help you learn anything from math facts to geography.

3) Find a friend.You’re not the only one out there having trouble learning new information. Check with another student to see if the two of you can get together in study hall or after school to quiz each other.

4) Use acronyms.An acronym is a word formed from the initial letter of another word. For example, to read a piece of music many people use the phrase, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.” The first letter of every word in this phrase represents the note on the bar of music.

5) Don’t procrastinate.Do not cram learning all your information into the night before the test. Try learning the information over a number of days, reviewing a little bit each night. That way, by the night before the test you won’t have to be anxiously cramming in two weeks of information.

I hope that this helps you.

Andrew M.

Dear Wind Weaker, I think you should make a game out of studying. That is what I often do. Creating a game makes it more fun and helps the facts stay in your memory. Andrew has some great suggestions too. I am not saying that you should make a whole board game and everything. You could take an old board game and make new rules.

I wish you the best of luck.

Maggie H.

Dear Andrew and Maggie, I have a problem with studying. I can never get myself motivated to study or really learn the material. Do you have any advice?

Struggling,Wind Weaker

ChrisCrossBy Chris M.

Games and More

For this issue, I thought of a new idea for my word game section, and I was dying to try it. I want to introduce Rebus puzzles. These images I found online. Rebus puzzles are puzzles with pictures and words with addition and subtraction problems.

Readers, your task is to add up the pictures and words to make a word or phrase. Happy playing!

HomecomersBy Jordan S.