The year 2025 has just started and a lot has happened already. Amongst  the many things that have happened, are the changes in our weather. This year started with some huge and disastrous fires that unfortunately have caused great destruction and deaths to some cities such as Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes in Los Angeles. These fires were due to a combination of  long durations of drought and activity of powerful offshore winds.

Many parts of the country have also had their share of bad weather in the form of winter storms and Illinois  has not been exempted from these. 

Tuesday, January 21st 2025, was  the coldest day so far this winter for Kane County and neighboring counties, when they were hit by the Arctic Blast (a sudden, sharp drop in temperature caused by cold air from the Arctic moving into lower latitudes).

Temperatures were as low as 17 degrees below zero with wind chills as low as 23 degrees below zero. These dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on an exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

Warnings were sent out for drivers to use caution while traveling outside and for people to wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves for protection. 

District 300 closed its schools as a result of the extremely cold temperatures  and provided its students with an E-learning day as a way to protect them. Which I think wasn’t too bad with some nice cuddling blanket and a warm cup of hot cocoa. With that said, let us just hope  January 21, 2025 stays the

the coldest day of this year. What do you think?

Marthur Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, activist, and political philosopholer who fought for the rights of colored people. His most famous and iconic moment was his “I have a dream” speech made by him. Back in the 1900s, colored people didn’t have the same rights and white people. They couldn’t attend the same schools, parks, and even water fountains were seperated. During this time, the term “whitewashing” sprung up. Whitewashing is when white people try and “fix” the skin color of black people/POC. MLK Jr. fought agaisnt the discrimination and fought for the minorities targetted. Unfortunately, MLK Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. Every year, on the third Monday of January we celebrate this brave man and all he did to make sure everyone was treated equally in the United States.

 Frozen Musical

The Frozen Musical is about the movie Frozen. This play had tons of people who joined and is a big hit this year. Our directors are doing a phenomenal job at doing their job by making sure that everyone is doing the right thing. 

 The leads insist of Lainery Doherty, Allie Gospodarek, Conner Tibbetts, Elliot Angsurat, Frankie Lorenz, Jaxen Heine, Avery Gougis, Tiffany Le, Leanna Sihweil, Aubrey Young, Erin Cranston, Ariana Oldenburg, Tyler Stoobe, Javey Baird, Jessa Arcales, Mason Prince, Ashley Manoj, Payton Tamondong, Khloe Lawton, Caitlyn COhn, Maria Pilar, Siena LaMothe, Solveig Nelson, Nico Jenson, Cam Mallo, Daphne Goss, Lila Serafini, Evert Oldenburg.

  This musical is going to be performed at Elgin COmmunity COllege in some time in April.

Dundee Middle School has many wonderful teachers who have a wide range of hobbies outside of teaching.  Hobbies allow for teachers to bring their interests into the classroom and share them with students.  

One teacher we’d like to spotlight is Mr. Nielsen (Mr. N) who is an innovative technology teacher for all students at DMS.  This is Mr. N’s first year teaching and DMS, but has been teaching for a total of 13 years.  Some of his hobbies are spending time with his family, watching movies and tv, fantasy football and 3D printing.  3D printing has become quite popular, but Mr. N has been doing it for 7 years.  

When I asked Mr. N how he got interested in 3D printing, he said, “ I started by building my own 3D printer from a DIY kit and was quickly amazed on how you can create something out of nothing.”   3D printing is where you create a three dimensional object based off of a digital file using melted plastic.  You can print almost anything you’d like.  Mr. N likes to print animals, toys and statues.  I was lucky enough to be in Mr. N’s class this year, not only was it a lot of fun and very interesting, but we also all got a fidget that he printed and created himself!  We are glad that Mr. N shared one of his hobbies with us and showed us what 3D printing is all about.                                                                         

Christmas & Hanukkah 

Christmas and Hanukkah are two celebrations that occur around the same time, some people think that they hold similar traditions. But they actually are quite different. Hanukkah is a minor holiday, it became popular in the United States because it was close to Christmas and that's how Jew started to celebrate it more.

Hanukkah: In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication”, and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from occupying foreign forces. It is also known as a military holiday but most Jews don’t know that. It has turned into a holiday of hope. People celebrate them by lighting the menorah every night with one more candle. People exchange small gifts and eat latkes which are potato pancakes with sour cream or apple sauce and jelly donuts. And they also do a short prayer when she lights the candles. The major Jewish holiday is high holy days which starts with Rosh Hashanah (new years) and ends with Yom Kipper (the day of reckoning).

Christmas: Christmas is a more celebrated holiday with around 2 billion people celebrating it. Over 160 countries consider Christmas to be one of the most important dates in the calendar. Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. The most popular Christmas tradition would include decorating trees, exchanging gifts, and watching Christmas movies.  

   Decorating a tree:

• A beloved tradition that involves selecting and decorating trees with lights and ornaments.

   Exchanging gifts:

• The tradition is based on the Christian tradition of the Magi giving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus. 

   Other Traditions:

• Baking Christmas cookies

• Writing a letter to Santa

• Singing Christmas carols

• Wearing an ugly sweater

• Hosting a White Elephant party

• Personalizing Christmas stockings 

• Opening an advent calendar 

• Playing with Elf on the Shelf.

Thailand: New Year's Eve at Jomtien Beach, Thailand.  Everyone celebrates at the beach. Paper lanterns are released and look like fireflies on a summer night. Fireworks go off all night, not just at midnight and looking down the curving beach you see the beauty of New Year’s in Thailand.

Peru: New Year’s in Cusco, Peru. Everyone gathers in the main square for a big party. The lucky color for the new year is yellow. Hats, glasses, and even  yellow underwear are worn for luck. At midnight everyone is treated to a shower of tiny flower buds used as confetti and fireworks above!

Monaco: People come from all over to the city of Monte Carlo to celebrate the new year.  Near midnight, the crowds are drawn to the Casino. Lights reflect on the casino in rotating patterns and bubbles float through the air. Above the doorways of the casino acrobats entertain the crowd swinging in flipping around.  Like many other places around the world, the crowd counts down to midnight and the fireworks fly.

Italy: New Year’s in Italy is celebrated with friends and family at home or in a restaurant. They wear red for luck! A traditional new year’s meal includes lentils with a juicy pork sausage on the top. The more lentils you eat, the more wealth you will have in the upcoming year. Panettone is an Italian sweet bread that is served for dessert. At midnight, Italians eat 12 grapes for luck and prosperity for the year. Finally, you can go outside to ring in the new year with a toast and fireworks.

Philippines: The Medianoche is a feast at midnight where people eat twelve round fruits around the round table. There are many superstitions, and one of them is to jump at twelve to get taller. In my experience, our family always makes asado and fruit salad.

Denmark: In Denmark, when the clock strikes midnight, everyone in their village stands up on a chair and jumps “into the new year.” In a village, everyone is invited into eachothers house to visit.