On April 9th, Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban visited
Medrano to talk to all of the business students in
Mrs. Hopkins’ class. Mark Cuban is an American
businessman; investor; and owner of the NBA's
Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia
Pictures; and the chairman of the HDTV cable
network AXS TV. He came to talk about everything
from how he got his start in business to how he gets
along with his fellow “sharks”. After the assembly
was over, I had the amazing opportunity to interview
him for this month’s newspaper.
What’s the wallpaper on your phone and/or
computer?
Picture of my family on my phone, me shooting hoops on pc.
What’s the one word you are guilty of using too
often?
Right. I say it far too often and cannot break the habit!
What is the last thing you searched on Google?
A workout schedule at my gym.
Who is the last person that called or texted
you?
David Falk (Sports agent)
The Eagle Nest Staff
Editor-In-Chief —
Jesus Quinonez
Assistant Editor —
Solo Williams
Writers &
Photographers —
Brandon Castro
Roberto Ibarra
Jacqueline Prieto
Mauricio Vazquez
Mirna Dominguez
Alejandra Rueda
Kimberly Valenzuela
Faculty Advisor —
Mr. Spillers
In this issue:
Cuban Visits
Editorial
2
Eagle Scholars
Interview with
Ms. Sigurdson
Band Success
3
Teachers vs.
Students
Baseball & Softball
4
Drive Like a Girl
Five Nights @
Freddy’s
5
Four Leaf Clovers
Disney Finds
St. Patrick’s Day
6
Eagle Excellence, Eagle Effort, Eagle Esteem Volume 2, Issue 5
THE EAGLE’S NEST
What was the last awkward situation
you were in and how did you handle it?
Forgot a belt, had to buy one at a store.
What TV show should everyone be
watching?
Shark Tank!
What is the one food you cannot
resist?
Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies.
What music are you currently listening
to?
Lots of Old School Hip Hop.
What movie makes you laugh the
most?
Any stupid movie. The dumber the better.
What drives you absolutely crazy?
People who eat with their mouth open.
To see more of what
Mark had to say
about the interview,
visit his blog:
http://bit.ly/1IzpmN5
March/April 2015
The Mark Cuban Interview By Mauricio Vazquez
Mark Cuban with Shark Tank co-star,
Daymond John
Mark Cuban Owner, Dallas Mavericks
QR Code Link Download a
QR Code app to scan
On
Thurs-
day
April
9th, the
business
classes
got the
chance
to receive a special speaker by the name of Mark
Cuban. Mark Cuban is an American businessman
and owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks. He
came to our school to talk to us about what it
takes to start a business. He told the students
about how he started his first business when he
was only 12 years old by selling trash bags. At the
end of the story he told us that a business
doesn’t have to be the next smartphone or the
newest app that it can be anything we’re passion-
ate about. He later went on to ex-
plain some of the businesses he has
invested in while on the TV show Shark Tank.
He informed us that he doesn’t really care
about the way the person presents his/her
company but the idea they have. He later
went on to tell us some of the business that
went wrong: Painted Pretzels, Gameface and
Toygaroo. At the end he advised that if we
want to start a business that we should do
something we like and that a business takes
time to grow.
M ark Cuban V i s i t s Medrano
b y J a c q u e l i n e P r i e t o
Page 2
The greatest joy of teaching
is watching caterpillars turn
into butterflies, or better
yet, eaglets into majestic eagles. That analogy seems quite
appropriate for 8th grader, Mauricio Vazquez. I’ve had the
pleasure of teaching Mauricio for 2 years now. Last year,
when he was in 7th grade, he consistently showed his great
depth and talent for writing. This is why I asked him to be
on the yearbook and newspaper staff for this year.
If you have read Mauricio’s articles in the Eagle’s Nest any-
time this year, you know just how talented this young man
is. Not only is he a great writer (and gets better every
day), but he is a great thinker. I am always amazed at how
he seemingly pulls great ideas out of thin air. He deftly
demonstrated this skill with a recent visit to Medrano by
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-host of
the ABC TV show, Shark Tank. Without fear, and unbe-
knownst to me (but what a very pleasant surprise!), Mauri-
cio asked Mr. Cuban for an interview. Mr. Cuban gave Mau-
ricio his email address, as he had to leave, and said to send
him the questions. Mauricio promptly did just that.
That evening, Mark Cuban posted the interview on his per-
sonal blog (find the link/QR code on page 1, “The Mark Cu-
ban Interview”) calling Mauricio’s line of questioning “The
Best Interview I Have Done in a Long, Long Time.” Mr. Cu-
ban pointed out that he gets tired of the same questions
again and again. He explained how Mauricio’s questions were
insightful. Even more amazing, they were simple and to the
point. Folks, professional journalists get this wrong time and
time again.
To put the icing on the cake, you should check out the
comments made after the interview on Mr. Cuban’s blog.
Post after post praises Mauricio for his wonderful questions:
“Out of the norm is refreshing”, “The young man who posed
these questions to you is brilliant”, and “This reporter will go
on to head up MVN – Mauricio Vazquez Network”; all high
praise indeed and well deserved.
I hate that soon, this Eagle will fly away from Medrano, but
I am so excited for him to show the rest of the world just
how brilliant he is. Congratulations, Mauricio. I and the rest
of the Medrano faculty, staff, and student body couldn’t be
more proud that you are one of us.
Advisor Editorial
by Mr. Spillers
We here at the Eagle’s Nest are proud
to congratulate staff member, Mauricio
Vazquez, on the tremendous honor be-
stowed upon him of being the only 8th grad-
er named to the Dallas ISD Scholars for
2014-2015! Mauricio proves to be a most
valuable asset to the Eagle’s Nest team, day in and day out. Congratulations, Mauricio!
We are also so very proud of our
group of 7th graders that also made the list
of Dallas ISD Scholars for 2014-2015! They
are: Ana Benitez, Bryan Gonzalez, Giovana
Lozano, Gisselle Marin, James Mendoza,
Dulce Mercado, Alexa Morales, Samayra
Rosales, and Ronald Torres.
The 2014-2015 Dallas ISD Scholars
Recognition Ceremony was held on Thurs-
day, March 19th, 2015, at the Ellis Davis
Field House. DISD Superintendent Mikes
Miles was on hand to make a few remarks.
Congratulations to all of our
Eagle Scholars!
Eag le Scho lars ! Page 3
On Wednesday,
March 25th, the Medrano
Symphonic Band partici-pated in the DISD Pre-
UIL Band Contest. They represented our school
and community with great pride and suc-
cess. Their performance on stage and in the sight
-reading room was at a very high level musically
and technically. Some comments and critiques
from the judges’ panel…
“Band plays strong ensemble sound.” “Overall nice tone quality from individual
players.”
“Nice looking group.”
“Some really wonderful sounds in this
band!”
“Some excellent accuracy on Pinnacle.”
Stage performance ratings on a scale of 1-5, 1 being the highest (Superior):
1-1-2 for an overall 1st division rating
Sight-reading
1-1-1 for an overall 1st division rating
This achievement by the students placed them
in the top tier of band programs in our district.
On Wednesday, April 8, our Symphonic Band
competed in the UIL Re-
gion 20 Concert & Sight-reading Contest in Cedar
Hill. Their representa-
tion of our school was
simply tremendous
throughout the
day. They received
“Excellent” ratings from 5
out of the 6 judges on the panel. Out of all of the Dallas ISD schools, they
ranked 4th in overall ratings accomplishments. A
few of the judges’ comments…
“I enjoyed your performance today.”
“You are doing many things well.”
“Students have done a good job learning
their music.” “You are definitely on the right track for
success.”
“You did so many things well today.”
We are so very proud of their hard work and
dedication. A hearty congratulations to them all!!!
Band Success!
As told by Mr. Cote
$2000 Donation
by Alejandra Rueda
Farmers In-
surance created
“Thank Ameri-
ca’s Teachers”,
who recently
donated $2,000
to our school.
The money will
be used to build
a recreational
area beside the cafeteria which students will be able to use
for studying and hanging out. There will be new tables and a
soccer cage that we will share with the new school, Joe May
Elementary, being built across the street. Thanks to Lions
Raw, who contacted Farmers Insurance, we received the
money. When they visited, students got to play soccer, get
autographs from players from FC Dallas, and vote for a
teacher that may get a chance to win money. Principal
Sigurdson gave a speech to thank them for their generous
donation.
This year, like
always, we had
our Teachers vs.
Students basket-
ball game. Everyone
was excited and ready
to watch the game.
Before it started, I
asked people who they
thought would win. I
found my fellow re-
porter Roberto Ibarra
in the stands and asked who he thought would win the game. “I think the
students will win because they had a season of training.” Since I had one
student’s perspective, I thought I might as well get a teacher’s. I found
Coach Hyunh and asked him what he thought. “The teachers are going to
destroy the students!” he replied. Will this be the year the students re-
deem themselves and become the first team to beat the teachers? Or will
they suffer defeat again?
Starting the game, the teachers quickly scored four points. Oscar Avila
scored the first two points for the students. Robert Nooks then scored, 6
-6. Starting into the second quarter Cynthia Dominguez scored, putting
the students in the lead for the first time in the game. Ezekiel Clark then
scored 5 points. Mr. Garcia tried to bring back the teachers by scoring.
This ended the second quarter with the score tied at 12-
12. At the beginning of the third quarter, Coach Epps put
the teachers in the lead. Out of nowhere, Mr. Dixon made 2 amazing
dunks. Anthony Dominguez then scored; first point for the students
in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 20
-14, teachers in the lead.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Mr. Jones showed us what
he’s got and started dancing. This might have distracted the students
because Mr. Jones grabbed a steal and scored. Further into the quar-
ter, Mr. Garcia and Coach Lowery worked together to gain 4 points
for the teachers. At the end of the quarter, the teachers were still
winning, 37-14. Starting the fifth quarter, Kendrick Murphy scored.
Mr. Dixon scored another amazing dunk! Before the game ended, we
got surprised, as all the students came off the bench and entered the
game.
In the end, the teachers won 48-24. We eighth graders now pass
on the torch to
the seventh grad-
ers, so hopefully
next year, day
the teachers will
go down.
Teachers v s . S tudent s b y J e s u s Q u i n o n e z
Page 4
Batter up!
Baseball sea-
son is finally here
and Coach Stewart
is super excited to
see how this year
comes out. He has
chosen the best he
can find and hopes
they will push them-
selves to the limit
for the “W”. Pitch-
er Anthony Dominguez, I think, is the most excit-
ed of all to strike out as many people as possible. I
wish them the best this season because Coach
Stewart has no chill when he is upset.
For the girls, softball season has already start-
ed and they’re undefeated so far, making them feel
more confident of themselves for the upcoming
games. Coach Hyunh doesn’t really look excited or
happy, but I know he is secretly more excited than
the girls. Coach Walker is pumped up to guide the
team to more victories! Pitcher Kimberly Valenzue-
la is nervous for the next game because she hasn’t
pitched before but she knows she’ll try her best.
Hopefully, it goes as good as volleyball season, since
they
have the
coaches
and the
will to
push
them-
selves.
Baseball & Softball
by Brandon Castro
Danica Patrick, is a
female NASCAR
racer. She is the
most successful
woman in the history of Ameri-
can open-wheel-racing. She is
the first woman to lead the
Indy 500 and the first woman
to win the pole position at the
Daytona 500. ‘’I was brought up
to be the fastest driver not the
fastest girl.’’ Danica says.
Danica dropped out of high
school to pursue her dream of
becoming a NASCAR racer.
She was named rookie of the
year at the 2005 IRL (Indy Rac-
ing League). ‘’That’s how I’ve always approached my ca-
reer. I’ve been lucky to make enough to make history and
be the first woman to do many things. We have a lot
more history to make and we are excited to
do it,’’ she says. Her youth and good looks has given
her a lot of great media opportunities. She has served
as a host on Spike TV, featured on the cover of sports
illustrated, and has appeared in commercials and music
videos; she also published her autobiography in 2006,
Danica: Crossing the Line.
Dr ive L ike a G i r l b y K i m V a l e n z u e l a
Page 5
Five Nights at Freddy’s (aka FNAF) is a very popular
game. Scott Cawthon, the creator of FNAF, has now
taken scary to a whole new level by making Five Nights
at Freddy’s 3! In this game, there’s only one animatronic
(robotic animal), named Springtrap. In FNAF 2, the
building burned down, killing BB (Balloon Boy), Mangle,
toy Freddy,
Chica, Bonnie,
and Foxy. But,
there was still
one left, in this
case,
Springtrap. So,
when they
opened the
new building,
which is a haunted house, he was in a locked room.
Basically, the point of the game is to make it to six a.m.
without getting caught by Springtrap. If you look to the
left, there’s an orange button. When you press it, a
screen will pop up with the words: “Audio”, “Camera”,
“Ventilations”, and “Reboot All”. These are the reboot
options
you use
when
some-
thing
goes
wrong.
If you
don’t fix
the vents,
you will
start to see frightening hallucinations of the dead anima-
tronics, so be careful.
If you look to the right, there’s a blue button. This is
your camera. This is where you look for Springtrap.
There’s also two buttons on the camera screen in the
bottom left corner. Play audio is used to lure Springtrap
into another room and the second button is your vents.
You can double-tap one vent to seal it while Springtrap is
in it.
DON’T LET SPRINGTRAP FIND YOU OR ELSE……
BOOO! If games are not your thing, it was just an-
nounced that a movie adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s
is coming out sometime in the future! Springtrap on the
big screen! Ahhhhhhhhh!
Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 News
by Solo Williams
Foxy, Balloon Boy, Marionette, Freddy,
and Mangle are ready to play!
Springtrap is coming for you!
Don’t Get Left Out!
Buy Your YEARBOOK TODAY!
Only $22
Just Saying...
Every-
one
knows
that the
four
leaf clo-
ver
brings
you
good
luck,
but when did the tradition start? No one
knows when it started, but its origin is in
the bible when Eve takes a four leaf clover
out of God’s paradise before getting ban-
ished. The three leaf clover represents The
Father, The Son and The Holy spirit while
the four leaf clover represents God’s glory,
but some people think it brings luck just
because it is rare to find one. They are
usually found in piles of clovers with white
on the base of the leaf and are linked with
rainbows and leprechauns.
Four Lea f C lovers
b y R o b e r t o I b a r r a
Page 6
1. When it was released, The Lion King came
under fire when people thought the word “SEX”
could be read in a puff of dust during one scene. Animators
claimed that the dust actually spells “SFX” which is a refer-
ence to the film’s special effects team.
2. Beast’s appearance in Beauty and the Beast is a com-
bination of several animals. It’s said he has the head of a buf-
falo, the brow of a gorilla, the body of a bear, the mane of a
lion, the tusks of a boar, and the legs and tail of a wolf.
3. Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled can be seen in
Frozen.
4. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck can all be seen
making a brief appearance in The Little Mermaid.
5. If the events of Finding Nemo actually happened, and
Nemo’s mother and siblings were eaten, Nemo’s father
would have developed female sex organs and bred with
Nemo.
6. When a 10-year-old girl with cancer was too sick to see
“Up”, Pixar flew an employee to her house with a DVD of
the movie. She died seven hours after her private screening.
7. Walt Disney received one regular Oscar stat-
ue and seven smaller statues when Snow White
and the Seven Dwarves won an honorary
Academy Award.
8. Walt Disney once hired 11 little people to
dress up as Pinocchio and greet children. After being left with
an entire day’s worth of food and wine, the actors ended up
naked and screaming swear words at the crowd at the film’s
premiere by mid-afternoon.
[They had no strings to hold them down! - Mr. S]
9. Technically, alcohol and the resulting hallucinations are
what unlock Dumbo’s potential in Dumbo.
10. In the original Peter Pan book, he killed the Lost Boys
when they got too old.
11. Goofy’s wife died in a car accident off screen.
12. Disney made a World War 2 propaganda film. It won an
Oscar.
13. Piglet is actually a boy.
14. The real story of The Little Mermaid involves her get-
ting her tail split into two, excruciating pain for every step she
took as a human, and not even getting to marry the Prince but
instead dissolving into sea foam and her spirit having to earn
her soul one good deed at a time.
Surprising Disney Movie Facts
by Mauricio Vazquez
St . Pat r ick ’s Day
b y M i r n a D o m i n g u e z
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated
every year on March 17. This
holiday is usually praised with
wearing green clothing and dying
everything from food to drinks in
green dye. Ireland is nicknamed
"Emerald Isle," it represents spring and it’s the color of sham-
rocks. Saint Patrick’s Day celebrates the Roman Catholic’s feast
day for the patron saint of Ireland. But why do we really cele-
brate Saint Patrick’s Day? Saint Patrick was born in Roman Brit-
ain, but he was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as
a slave.
He later entered the church like his father and grandfather,
as a missionary. Patrick went around the island converting pa-
gans (a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the
main world religions) into Christians. Legend has it, that he
performed many miracles such as driving all the snakes out of
Ireland into the sea. During his travels, he and his companions
prayed to God for food when wild pigs wandered in front of
them. We should celebrate what St. Patrick did for the people
of Ireland and not just party.