Why Do We Do Homework? 

By Keont'e McKenzie and Owen Ables

Homework is not fun to do because it's stressful, time consuming, and doesn't always lead to meaningful learning.

Homework is so useless because it just stresses people out, people cheat on it, and not a lot of people do it. People like me have sports, church, and chores to do so I barely have time to do homework. Also it just weighs down my grades if I don't get it in, then I get in trouble, and then I'm grounded. Lastly, I never do homework and I still have a good grade. Plus students may feel like they don't have enough time to unwind, reflect on their day, and deal with stress. The pressure to complete homework often leads to students sacrificing sleep hours. 

Why is homework good, important, and is it helpful?

Well first it reinforces learning, improves academic performance, and teaches valuable life skills like time management and organization. Also it reinforces classroom learning, allows additional practice and review of concepts, and it helps develop essential skills like time management, self discipline, and critical thinking. Homework also helps to reinforce classroom learning while developing good study habits and life skills. And finally it also helps with improving student achievement, homework also involves parents in their children's learning.  

Artificial Intelligence 

Braydon Xiong

The Good About AI

AI is used for good and bad things. AI can help doctors find diseases and help cure those diseases. AI is a life-like technology that is highly educated and can do some things better than humans. AI can help with finding information about a lot of things whenever you need to find information about something. Instead of people updating the answers on Safari or Google, they have put AI to answer whatever questions people search up.  AI can and is still improving today. People are working on putting AI into human size dolls that can move their mouths and do hand motions and stuff. AI can be better than it is today.

The Bad About AI

However AI is used for lots of bad things. AI is starting to take over social media by being put into social media. Social media like Instagram, Tiktok, Google and many other things you have on your phone. AI spreads a lot of misinformation about people and things you ask on Google or Safari. People have said AI will not tell you what you are looking for. There are rumors that if you ask a question on Safari or Google if AI doesn’t know the answer it will give you a guessed answer because AI doesn’t know everything. It is scary that people want to start putting AI into human size dolls. AI is already taking over, imagine what AI could do if it was put into a human doll it would take over the world. Some people want that and some people don’t. If AI is put into dolls we don’t know what the outcome could be like.

   CRMS - Mr. Leach and Brooksy 

Jadyn Ogborn and Aurora Graw

          Mr.Leach Is a very awesome teacher and cares for our students at CRMS. We decided to ask him a couple questions about him and Brooksy, his service dog. Brooksy Is able to help Mr.Leach with detecting changes in Mr.Leach’s metabolism. His metabolism changes due to high stress and anxiety. When that happens Brooksy detects these changes which then from there brooksy does tactical redirection (He uses his body) to help calm Mr.Leach down and redirect his mind away from what’s causing him to be stressed and anxious. Some ways to help Mr.Leach and Brooksy feel more comfortable, when you would like to interact/pet Brooksy please be mindful and ask Mr.Leach first (If he says no it means no) If Mr.Leach says you can, he would like if all students would go slow and stay away from the top of brooksy's head. He is shy and nervous around strangers and gets scared easily if you move too fast or try to touch the top of his head. To be mindful about Mr.Leach make sure that he isn’t busy and keep in mind Brooksy is his dog and you need to respect both of their boundaries. Some misconceptions that Mr.Leach thinks people have about animals. He thinks back to any animal can be a service animal. He more thinks it takes the personality and intelligence that makes a good service animal.

We then asked some questions about how Brooksy is and how he feels about him. Mr.Leach said his favorite thing about Brooksy is “he is so calm and gentle. Really the best dog!” That may be an opinion of his, but most students and adults do love Brooksy and think the same thing as Mr.Leach. Mr.Leach then said his least favorite thing about him is “Nothing, he is the best boy!!” Most people would agree with this statement. Brooksy is really calm, doesn't bark, and sits when needed. Brooksy follows all the school rules and really is a good dog. Mr leach wished people knew how smart Brooksy is and the things that he is able to do, also how sweet he is such a sweet smart gentle boy. Brooksy helps many people here at CRMS, everytime I look at him I smile because of how adorable he is. There has been some incidences happening involving around Brooksy and some kids thinking its funny to harm or make jokes about him, we should all know it is wrong and referrals will happen if done, please respect all animals, think of Brooksy as you do of ur own pet and bestfriend, you wouldn't want anything go happen to them. When Brooksy and Mr.Leach get home, Brooksy likes to go relax, and play fetch.

Brooksy was adopted from Coco’s Heart Animal Rescue, and he has become an essential part of Mr. Leach’s life. Both Brooksy and Mr. Leach went through specialized training with an organization called Soldiers 6, which helps dogs like Brooksy become highly skilled service animals. This training has allowed Brooksy to meet Mr. Leach’s specific needs, and together, they make a perfect team. Having Brooksy at school has been a wonderful experience for Mr. Leach. Brooksy not only makes Mr. Leach's day easier by providing support, but he also brings joy to the entire school community. Mr. Leach appreciates how Brooksy’s presence benefits not just him but also other teachers and students. Brooksy has a unique way of making everyone feel more at ease and happier, and this is something Mr. Leach notices every day. Whether it's providing comfort to those who need it or simply being there to offer a calming presence, Brooksy has truly become an important member of the school family. Mr. Leach feels incredibly grateful to have Brooksy here, and he is proud to see the positive impact Brooksy has on others. 

But Brooksy doesn’t just help Mr. Leach—he helps everyone around him. If you’re feeling anxious or something seems wrong, Brooksy can sense it right away. His natural intuition allows him to know when someone needs extra support. If you’re having a tough day, there’s a good chance Brooksy will stay close by, offering comfort without hesitation and will probably not leave you alone. He has an amazing ability to connect with people and make them feel safe and understood. Brooksy is not just a dog; he’s a smart, empathetic, magnificent companion who loves everyone and everything, and he always seems to know just what to do to brighten someone’s day. Mr. Leach’s love for Brooksy goes beyond what words can express. He cares for Brooksy deeply, as anyone who has a close bond with a pet would. In fact, Mr. Leach loves Brooksy as much as you probably love your mom, or maybe even more. The connection they share is truly special, and it’s clear that Brooksy has brought immeasurable joy, comfort, and support into Mr. Leach’s life. Their bond is a beautiful reminder of how pets can change our lives for the better, offering not just love but a sense of purpose and belonging to everyone around them.

Why music is used by many people

By Mckenzie Letourneau

Did you know that therapists use music listening, songwriting, improvisation, and lyric analysis. Cognition, and speech as a way of therapy?  They use music as a way to improve mental health. Music helps with stress, and anxiety because studies show that listening to music helps bring down your heart rate, and stress levels.  People listen to music during work, or cleaning, or before doing something stressful. Music helps bring down your stress levels in a positive way without having to say anything to your therapist.  This proves music therapy is efficient and is a great way to bring down stress levels and helps clear your mind. 

“During world war 1 and world war 2 music therapy was used to help with trauma on the battlefield. Music therapy is also used in nursing homes, hospice facilities, psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, and drug rehabilitation centers (britannica.com)”. “The first reason why music helps with stress is because,  In the field of music therapy there was a surge of activity following World Wars 1 and 2.  Veteran hospitals in the United States employed musicians to work with soldiers who today would be diagnosed with post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD).  What they experienced while fighting in war will leave scars, and using music therapy to help heal those scars over time. Music therapy is also something you can train to have as your job in college, training in music therapy was offered worldwide at both undergraduate and graduate levels. There’s a variety of music genres and tools used in music therapy. Examples of inventions include improvisation, songwriting, lyric interpretation, and listening to and singing familiar music. The music used depends on the patient's needs and preferences. Music therapy is also used to help give a deep state of relaxation to hospice care”. (Britannica.com)

“In the treatment of autism, music can be an effective approach for young children who have yet to begin talking. Children on the autism spectrum are often drawn to music, which is in stark contrast to their often minimal responses to spoken language or environmental sounds. If music catches their attention, it can be used to facilitate their communication and social skill development (Britannica.com)”. “With patients who suffer from dementia, music therapists can bridge the loss of memory through music. The music of one’s youth is embedded deeply in the brain and can be accessed even late into the disease process. Recalling positive memories through music therapy can provide comfort, motivation, and relaxation when the person is anxious. Agitated, or in need of completing activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing (Britannica.com)”. “Similar to other therapists, music therapists work within the context of a relationship. Music therapists are trained in psychology, biology, and neurology, which helps them deliver optimal services to patients young or old (Britannica.com)”.

“ Music therapists will play a certain type of music during the session, and the person will listen to it, and express their feelings about what they are feeling, or what they think about the song. They can also explain feelings, memories, and mental imagery feelings thereby enabling personal insight and contemplation. Music therapy is also highly specialized for premature infants. Studies have indicated that the structured use of music therapy in the NICU can positively affect premature infants such as by improving feeding. This can result in reduced hospitalization stays and significant cost savings ( Britannica.com)”.

Some people say music doesn't help with anxiety, and that it doesn’t have any emotional value in life. “Some people who listen to music to lean into their sad feelings may end up feeling worse later,” Gustavson said.  

If someone has preexisting mental health issues — things like depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder — Oprean said that music could become harmful in specific settings. For these patients, music therapists will watch to see if their music use keeps them in states of distress rather than removes them from that state, especially if those patients have specific songs that are tied to traumatic events. 

Clearly music has more benefits for people than negatives, since it helps with stress and anxiety and people use it almost everyday to help them, or use it as a way to escape from hard times. They use this as a way to help kids with autism, and people in world war 1 and world war 2 to help with (PTSD). Music is also a way to keep themselves motivated, it keeps them calm during stressful times. 

Is social media helpful or harmful ?

By Allie Janos

 Is social media helpful or harmful? Well in this article we will explore the pros and cons of social media and maybe even decide what the answer is. So social media may be one of your favorite things but also may be not your favorite thing but in this article you will get to see the better of both sides.

 Why is social media good? Social media may be helpful in many ways in the article “ Pros and Cons of social media” it says the good thing about social media is that you can “ staying connected with family and friends worldwide via email,text,facetime,ect” more ways that the article “ Pros and Cons of social media” also said “quick access to information and research, banking and bill pay at our fingertips, online learning,job skills,content discovery(Youtube), great marketing tools, opportunities for remote employment.” Those are the ones that they listed but I am sure there are many more but those are some great examples that they gave.

Why is social media bad? Social media has been out since 1997 which may seem like a long time ago but if you think about it it was only around 28 years almost 30 years so not that long ago. So why are some reasons it may be bad? Well in the article “ Pros and Cons of Social media” they tell you about the well pros and cons of social media and here are the examples of cons in this case. In the article it says” Social media itself is not the problem. It is the way people use it in place of actual communication and in-person socializing. “Friends” on social media may not usually be friends, and may even be strangers.” I think this article is reasonable because it shows how everything in the internet is not as it might seem and all your “friends” that you have on the internet that you don't know in real life might not be as they seem, for all you know they could say there are one age and be way older or younger too. Another example from the article “ pros and cons of social media” it says “When you’re playing a game or accomplishing a task, you seek to do it as well as you can. Once you succeed, your brain will give you a dose of dopamine and other happiness hormones, making you happy.The same mechanism functions when you post a picture on Instagram or Facebook. Once you see all the subconsciously register it as a reward. But that's not all, social media is full of mood-modifying experiences.” In this part of the article it is saying that the more you post the more you feel happy and the more you want to post, or in other word it is super addicting. 

In conclusion social media can be both positive and negative in lots of many ways

After School Activities 

By Allie Janos

After school activities, there are so many after school activities to choose from. From sports like basketball, volleyball, and football to theater like plays and drama clubs and more things like art too. There are so many to choose from how can you find the right one. 

Basketball in the CRMS the basketball for 6th graders says “In this competitive basketball league, players will learn the skills and strategies of basketball with an emphasis on participation, teamwork and safety. Based on registration numbers, A and B level teams will be formed based on each player’s skill level. Teams practice after school and compete against other Anoka-Hennepin middle schools. Due to enrollment numbers and transportation scheduling, there may be times when parents/guardians will be asked to transport their students. Games will be on Wednesdays: March 26, April 2, 9, 16 starting 4:00pm." Basketball allows students to learn skills and strategies. There are different levels for different skill levels.

Volleyball, in the CRMS volleyball might be the sport for you. It has lots of opportunities for lots of different skills  you can come in at any skill level. In what it explains about the volleyball team it says “ In this competitive volleyball league, players will learn skills and strategies of volleyball with an emphasis on teamwork and safety. Based on registration numbers ,A and B levels teams will be formed based on each player's skill level. Teams practice after school and compete against Anoka-Hennepin middle schools. Due to enrollment numbers and transfer scheduling, there may be times when parents/guardians will be asked to transport their students.”  Volleyball might or might not be the sport for you but there are many more sports to choose from so make sure to choose the right one for you.

  Dance, have you considered your ability to express yourself through dance, well you can now with the CRMS dance team you can sign up and it says,”In this competitive dance team league, dancers will learn the skills of dance with an emphasis on participation, teamwork and safety. Based on registration numbers, A and B level teams will be formed based on each danser’s skill level. Dancers practice after school and compete against other Anoka-Henipin middle schools. Due to enrollment numbers and transportation scheduling, there may be times when parents/garduidens will be asked to transport their students. 

Track have you considered whether you are fast or not but you also have to consider the time and effort and practice you would have to put into it. In the CRMS page for track it says “Participants are taught proper track and field training techniques with an emphasis on participation, teamwork and safety. Teams practice after school and compete against other Anoka-Hennepin middle schools. Due to enrollment numbers and transportation scheduling, there may be time when parents/guardians will be asked to transport their students.” so after reading this you may consider track or decide that it is not for you but at least if you are interested give it a try.

 Well after reading this you might have found something that seems interesting to you or maybe not so interesting.you also might have found that something you can completely sort out of the picture that you know you won't want to do. Well I hope this article helped you at least find something you might like or something that you might be interested in maybe even something that is not on here that is outside out after school stuff but overall I hoped this helped.

 For more info go to https://ahschools.ce.eleyo.com/

  Ups And Downs About GoGuardian

By: Braydon Xiong

1. Downs about GoGuardian

Sometimes when kids have to do research about something or do something on the chromebook for actual schoolwork it is blocked when teachers have GoGuardian on. Also, teachers abuse it and use it too much. For example, teachers will leave it on all day even if no one is doing suspicious things on the chromebook. Teachers should only turn it on when needed like when someone is actually playing games or anything suspicious. 

2. Ups about GoGuardian 

GoGuardian makes kids focus more and so they are not distracted whenever they are using computers or laptops. It is not right to abuse it even if you see a lot of kids playing games on their chromebook all class. One thing teachers could do instead of abusing GoGuardian is if the teacher is teaching something, teachers should call on the kids that are playing games and make them answer the questions. If they're playing games they can’t be paying attention so if they don’t know the answer then teachers can just tell them to close their chromebook. If that doesn’t work then they should use GoGuardian but that should be their first option to do.

Why Not To Cut School Budgets 

JT Bratton and Ronnie Scott

You should not cut budgets for this Core and that's what this essay is about. We want you to keep this Core for us and future students because it helps us become better students and writers. Our topics are learning and the experience. 

We learn more about grammar and writing in this class than you can in a normal ELA class. We get to enjoy writing by picking our own formats of essays and topics so we can enjoy it. From doing this we can learn to journal better and have better grammar and will prepare us for all the writing we do in high school. 

From the extra writing we learn more vocabulary and write better essays. We get one on one help and suggestions from Ms. Hirt and we can make more complex essays. Over the years this would help us so we can get in better colleges and get better grades. This does not only help in ELA, this can help in science with claim, evidence, and reasoning and other classes. From this Core we can become better students in every subject and become better writers and speakers.

The experience of being in a school newspaper or post is fun. You get to make things for the whole school to see and read about. People like to see the school newspaper and see what the articles are about. The school newspaper is a huge part for all the people, lots of people talk about the school newspaper Core and what it does. The school newspaper is a huge part of school for us. Our friends talk about it and our families. We always have new ideas and new things to write about and it has lots of creative minds that make the ideas and help all the people in the school learn about our topics.

In conclusion you should keep this Core so we can become better writers and have better vocabulary and write better. Our topics were learning and the experience. This is a fun Core and helps us grow as students. The school newspaper will always make people have fun while keeping people updated on the latest news about CRMS.

Things to know about highschool before you go into highschool

By Tristan Vasquez

First thing you need to know about going into highschool  is that you are going to have to start waking up at 6:00 because now school ends at 2:20. Besides your new wake up time and your new schedule you can't forget the new big building. Besides you there will be 2,332 other students. That's a big jump from 1,521 students in middle school. Also when you go into highschool you will start to have a lot more options in classes these can include general academic classes/honor classes and AP classes.

Along with new classes and a new wake up time you are going to get new lunchrooms .Also the lunchroom is really really big because of how many students  are going to be there. So on your first day it might be a little hard to find your friends. If you don't like loud noises or places the lunchroom is not going to be the best part about your day. But some upsides to this loud and big lunchroom are the amount of new people to meet and talk to.

A big part of highschool is sports especially if you're an athlete some of the main sports in highschool include football outdoor track and field  basketball baseball and soccer but if you really want to play some  sports like nordic skiing alpine skiing and wrestling you might have to wait till december or later. And as a middle child who has played sports like Football in 6th grade, I can say that it is really fun to play sports for a school and if playing sports in middle school was fun just wait till high school.

While you are in highschool you will start having future career goals,more college options you will also start learning more important life skills and start to do more things in summer. Some things you should do in highschool are to start volunteering. You can also do an internship. Lots of things people like about high school spirit week: your crew/friends  clubs, activities, extracurriculars.another thing to look out for in high school is how much of your time it will be taking up. So be careful about planning things with family and friends because highschool and its homework are going to be cutting into your personal time. Have fun in high school!