Will AI Take Over Newspapers?

By Lorenzo Lucas

If you haven't heard of AI, it is an artificial intelligence that can do many things. Depending on the app you choose to use, ChatGTP, Google Genesis, OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, amongst others, images and texts can be quickly generated artificially, including newspaper articles.  Here at the Lion’s Roar,  Mr. Biase feels that the use of AI  defeats the purpose of student participation in the newspaper. On other sites though, AI may soon take over the news. It appears to be easier to use AI to write an article in minutes, and not have to pay writers, AI just makes sense for the business minded. 

On TV news, AI may be used to come up with stories to write, but it may be harder for local news. AI is mostly used on smaller, clickbait online newspapers that do not have breaking news. Some of these sites will even use AI to generate title images! AI may be used most for travel, review, or other articles, even short stories and games. 

Most likely, live and breaking news will not be written by AI for now. One of the worst instances of a suspected AI generated article is the Jonny Razer biography dispute.  Next time you read an article, and it seems a little weird, it may be written by AI. 

Valentines Day

By: Ellie Mendez  

Illustration by: SiYi

As Valentine's Day approaches, it's important to prepare a thoughtful gesture for your beloved. Although love is always a beautiful thing, this special day reminds us to express our affection through heartfelt gifts and messages. 

Interestingly, the origins of this holiday can be traced back to the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated in mid-February. In addition, birds have become a symbol of this romantic occasion. To honor the tradition, candy and flowers, especially red roses, are popular gifts to convey beauty and love. So make sure to get your special someone something sweet and thoughtful to show your appreciation and affection.

 Did you know during the 18th and 19th centuries, puzzle purses gained popularity as Valentine's Day presents in England and the United States. A puzzle purse was composed of  folded pieces of paper with verses or messages inscribed on separate corners. To ensure that the recipient followed the correct sequence, the folds were typically numbered. As one unfolded a portion, they unraveled the puzzle and exposed a fragment of writing. On occasion, a small token of appreciation was concealed in the center of the puzzle purse.  

Also did you know Valentine's Day only gained popularity in Germany after World War II. However, Germans have added their own unique twist to the holiday by incorporating pigs, a symbol of good luck, into their Valentine's gifts. Additionally, large heart-shaped gingerbread cookies, called lebkuchen, are often given out on this day with handmade messages included.How cool is that! 

Wishing you a joyful Valentine's Day in any way possible! 

Roller Coasters

By: Rocco Lucas

A Very Wide Selection of Coasters

Wooden Coasters Wooden roller coasters were the first roller coasters made. Some wooden coaster companies are Gravity Group, they make family wooden coasters, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters or PTC, made Comet at Six Flags Great Escape. The Comet was built in 1947 and rebuilt at Great Escape in 1994.  Great Coasters International or GCI was founded in 1994. Intamin, founded in 1967, made El Toro,  a prefabricated wooden coaster.  The difference between a prefabricated wooden coaster and traditional is that prefabricated gets built like a steel coaster. Intamin made four prefabricated coasters.

Single Rail Coasters 

Wonder Woman Flight of Courage is the tallest single rail coaster in the world beating Jersey Devil Coaster. In America RMC has made Jersey Devil Coaster, Wonder Woman Flight of Courage, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, Stunt Pilot, and then the two prototypes, which are Wonder Woman Flight of Courage at Six Flags, Fiesta Texas and RailBlazer at California's Great America. Single rail coasters can have loops but none of them do, they have barrel rolls and zero G stalls. Single rail coasters can have launches but RMC did not do that, but Intamin made the Hot Racers and they did have a launch. RMC created two types of single rail coasters one of them is a raptor which they made, the other one is a T-Rex model, the T-Rex can go up to 500 feet tall, but RMC has not made any yet.

Hybrid Coasters 

A hybrid coaster is a wood coaster that gets its wooden track removed or completely rebuilt so they can put a steel track on it to make a more intense version of the original wood coaster. Iron Gwazi is the tallest hybrid coaster with a height of 206 feet, 76 mph, and 4,057 feet of track. Zadra is the longest hybrid coaster with a length of 4,318 feet, 200 feet tall and a speed of 75 mph. Wicked Cyclone is a smaller scale RMC hybrid coaster with a length of 3,320 feet, 109 feet tall at a great cost of ten million dollars.

The Parks

Six Flags 

The new CEO raised the prices a lot. The most expensive membership used to be about $20 a month so 20x12 (12 for how many months are in a year) =240 so about $240, the new price is about $250 for a lot less stuff. The new CEO said that it would make Six Flags get more money so they can make it more premium. They got the worst profits since they filed for bankruptcy back in 2009. So far they made the food better and added a lot of events. One event is Scream Break, it is basically Fright Fest during the night in April. 

Six Flags Great Adventure

Did you know that Six Flags Great Adventure has the tallest coaster in the world, Kingda Ka. Opened in 2005 as the world's tallest fastest acceleration and speed, now it just has the height record at 456 feet. Six Flags Great Adventure has El Toro, if you watched the news you would now what happened to it 2 years in a row, 1 year it valleyed so basically on one of its turns it went backwards not having enough speed to pass it, and in 2022 it had a technical difficulty accrued when it got to a point in the coaster it jerked, and seriously injured the people on the train. Six Flags Great Adventure also has the most B&M coasters in the world, five in all,  they are Medusa steel coaster, Nitro, Batman, Green Lantern and, SuperMan which on April 17, 2023 turned 20 years old.

Six Flags Magic Mountain 

Did you know that Wonder Woman Flight of Courage is the tallest, longest and fastest single rail coaster in the world. Six Flags Magic Mountain has the most coasters of any park in the world. 

Six Flags New England

Did you know that SuperMan got the golden ticket award in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009. SuperMan is also the only Hyper coaster in New England, 217 feet tall. Six Flags New England also has the wooden coaster Thunderbolt which is a very old coaster, the oldest coaster at Six Flags New England. Their newest coaster was Wicked Cyclone in 2015.

Hershey Park 

Hershey park is adding in a new coaster, Wild Cat’s Revenge! Originally Wild Cat was a wood coaster, but RMC made it a hybrid! So it’s going to be called Wild Cat’s Revenge, it got topped off (the top track piece was placed) on April 17, 2023. Hershey Park is also one of the only parks with two Hyper coasters one of them is Skyrush the other one is Candemonium. Skyrush was built by Intamin, Candemonium was built by B&M.

Brands of Coasters

RMC

Almost every Six Flags park has one, a RMC Hybrid. Six Flags Over Texas has the first ever RMC Hybrid, New Texas Giant. With RMC Hybrid coasters the names are basically the same from the time they were wooden, some examples are Cyclone to Wicked Cyclone, Wild Cat to Wild Cat’s Revenge, Cyclone to Twisted Cyclone and Gwazi to Iron Gwazi. 

B&M

B&M makes inverted coasters, where your legs are swinging and the track is above you. Stand up coasters is basically what it says, you stand up on a coaster! Floorless coaster is when there is no floor and the track is below you so that your feet are right above the track, but do not touch the track. Flying coaster is when you lay down and the track is above you.

Intamin

Intamin has some good coaster designs and some bad ones. One of the bad ones is a 4D coaster. They copied the 4D freepin from S&S except Intamins is worse. They also made KingDa Ka the world's tallest coaster. When it opened it was the tallest, fastest and fastest acceleration. El Toro was also built by Intamin in 2022 it was voted best wooden coaster in the world by the people choice award. El Toro also broke down in 2021 and 2022.

Did you know that SuperMan at Six Flags New England was built in the year 2000 and ranked best steel coaster in the world five times, one in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. SuperMan the ride also got repainted to Bizzaro in 2009 but got its original superman coolers and theming back in 2016.

Trick or Treating:  

How Old is Too Old?

by McKinley Vanlandingham

As Halloween is coming up and people are starting to plan their costumes. The Lions Den writers began to ask two questions about Halloween and Trick-or-Treating.  What age should kids stop trick or treating?  And, what should be the cutoff age for dressing up in general?”

We had the opportunity to interview three teachers and ask them for their opinions. The first teacher is Mrs. Holly Lever who teaches 7th grade language arts. The second is Mrs. Amanda Morrison who teaches chorus and music and technology. The last teacher is Mr. Michael Demchak, who teaches technology education. 

Mrs. Holly Lever

Lions Den: “What age should kids stop going house to house and trick-or-treating?”

H.L: “I think as soon as you can drive and go and buy yourself candy.”

Lions Den: “So, would you say about 16”

H.L: “Yes, I’d say 16 is the limit.”

Lions Den: “What about dressing up in general when do you think the cut off age should be when you stop dressing up?”

H.L: “I don’t think there should be a limit. Everyone should have the freedom to celebrate the holiday and dress up.”

Lions Den: “Do you have any other comments you want to add to the topic?.”

H.L: “Not that I can think of.”

Lions Den: “Well, thank you for allowing me to interview you.”

H.L:”You're very welcome.”

Mrs. Amanda Morrison

Lions Den: What age do you think kids should stop going out and  trick-or-treating?

A.M: I think around when you start to drive, like around 16.

Lions Den: What about dressing up overall when do you think the cut off age should be?

A.M: Well I think you should NEVER stop dressing up. It’s a fun activity for ALL ages.

Lions Den: Do you have any other comments you want to add to the topic?

A.M: Yes. I think Halloween should always be on a Friday. 

Lions Den: Well, thank you for letting me interview you.

A.M: You're welcome.

Mr. Michael Demchak

Lions Den: When age should  kids stop going house to house and trick-or-treating?

M.D: I would say 16 or like, once you can drive.

Lions: Den: What about dressing up in general when do you think the cut off age should be when you stop dressing up?

M.D: I think it is complicated, cause I am not a big Halloween person. But, I would say if you have kids or are child trick or treating then, yeah dressing up is okay, otherwise I would say probably not.  Like I don’t dress up but when I have kids I will.

Lions Den: Do you have any other comments you want to add to the topic?.

M.D: Nope, I don’t think so.

Lions Den: Well, thank you for allowing me to interview you.

M.D: You're welcome, thank you for choosing me to interview..

{END OF INTERVIEW}

In conclusion, all teachers agreed that 16 is an appropriate age at which kids should stop trick or treating.  Clearly a popular response.  The question about a cutoff age for dressing up in general generated different opinions. Two teachers felt there should be no cut off for dressing up, while on the other hand, one teacher said the cut off should be 16-  unless you have children that are Trick-or-Treating.

Feel free to ask your friends and families for their own opinions, we hope you have a Happy Halloween.

Always be Alert 

By Elisavet Mendez

We all know you should not text and drive. But have you ever thought about what you would do if the person that was driving you was texting.  If you were in a situation in which there could be an accident if you don't speak out and tell the driver to put the phone away, would you?

Too many drivers feel the urge to text someone, or answer a call. They may realize they forgot to reply to an email, or a friend texts them. You may think to yourself, should I  ask the person who is on their phone to stop?  YES, definitely tell the person who is on their phone. Don’t  hesitate. It's really important to keep you and others safe, and by speaking out you can remind the driver that they are not really paying attention to the road. 

According to Google, “ It's estimated that at least 23% of all car accidents each year involve cell phone use – that is 1.3 million crashes. 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 were injured in accidents involving distracted drivers. 10% of fatal car accidents were reported to involve driver distraction.”  

This data proves that  there are WAY too many car accidents caused by people that are on their phones while driving- and just maybe by passengers not speaking out.  Do you want to protect your family and friends?  If so we suggest you always be alert, look out and speak out. 

Welcome Back to School!

By Lorenzo Lucas

After a long summer… we are back at school! This school year, you will learn, make new friends, and have fun! Some important things to remind 7th and 8th graders, and for 6th graders to start doing for the first time. 

Check PAWS - Every day, remember to check what you have scheduled for PAWS. You WILL get into trouble if you forget - so check, check, check!

Be Kind to Others - Respect your classmates and teachers! There is no penalty to being kind. Remember - Treat others the way YOU want to be treated.

Participate in Class - Participation in class is important, and may count towards your grade. Also, participation can be fun!

Study - Want good grades? Don't forget to study! Read, go over today's work, and have parents or friends make study sheets.

Go to Sleep - Sleeping can improve memory and concentration. If you go to sleep, you will also have energy for the next day!

Have Fun - Just because you are at school doesn't mean you can't have fun. Pick fun PAWS options and participate in fun activities. If you haven't joined a club yet, try one out!

Be Prepared - Be prepared for anything. A pop quiz, hard work, and bringing your stuff to class. 

Get Ready for High School - Mainly for 8th graders, you should get ready for high school. If you thought middle school was hard, you should start to study more, get more rest, and participate in class, but don't worry! You will do great! 

Now that you know what to do in middle school, you can have a great time!

This year, Jockey Hollow is focusing on the power of curiosity. Like last year, we will most likely learn about curiosity and how it affects how we learn at school. Also, new AC units have been installed throughout the school, so learning can be more comfortable!  

The Jockey Hollow newspaper club wishes everybody a happy back to school, and to have a wonderful school year ahead!

Saint Patrick's Day

By Sidney Lampley 

“Isn’t Saint Patrick a leprechaun?” That is what I thought when I first started researching this article. A lot of people don’t think of Saint Patrick's Day as a holiday, just an excuse to get a day off of school. Don’t get me kidding, I do love a day off of school, but once you hear the history of the day, you’ll realize that Saint Patricks day is more than just a day off of school.

St. Patrick's Day takes place annually on March 17. This day is the anniversary of  St. Patrick's death. You are probably thinking, “Who is Saint Patrick?” Saint Patrick, who lived during the 15th century, is thought of as the protector, or guiding saint as they call it, of Ireland and its national apostle. 

The story was, Patrick lived in Britain until he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave when he was sixteen. He later escaped but ended up staying in Ireland where he was credited with bringing christianity to his people. In the centuries following Patrick's life, the myth became more and more established in Irish culture.

Of course we can never really know if all the stories surrounding St. Patrick are true. There are many myths that added to the lore of Saint Patrick as he became the historical figure that he is  today. There is the famous tale about Patrick being attacked by snakes. He concluded that the snakes were the devil’s doing, so he banished all snakes to the ocean, never to be seen again. Which stories do you believe?

So no, Saint Patrick wasn’t a Leprechaun. He was a historic man that did great things for his adopted country, whether they were entirely true or exaggerated.

How to Study for a Test

By Lorenzo Lucas

Studying for a test might be hard for some people. Some people find it hard to focus, some people find it hard to study effectively, and some try their best, but don't ace the test. Here are some tips to help you study better for your next test. 

Make a Quizlet or Blooket

If your teacher gives you a paper to look over, try making a Quizlet of a Blooket. Also, if your teacher already made a Quizlet, just transfer it into a Blooket! This is a fun way to help memorize your information.

Write stuff down

If your parents don't like you studying on the computer, or you don't have access to the internet, try writing stuff down on paper.

Make goals

If you have time management issues, try to make a goal for how much time you should study each day.

Quiz yourself

After doing all of the studying, quiz yourself to make sure you know the facts. Also, you can have family or friends quiz you too.

Hopefully now you can study better and get better grades on your next tests. Happy Studying!

You’re Halfway There! 

By: J. Ryan O’Shea 

Attention students of Jockey Hollow Middle School, Main Campus and STEM!  You are halfway there!  Quarter 2 ends on Wednesday, January 18th. Which means Semester 1 is over. Quarter 3 and Semester 2 bring us into the home stretch of the school year!  For some of you, in 6th Grade, you’ve done great in your first Semester. Only one more to go this year! In 7th Grade, the ending of Semester 1 means you are exactly halfway through your entire middle school career. Think about it, two semesters in 6th Grade plus the first semester in 7th Grade. That’s one half. Then you have the 2nd Semester in 7th Grade and the second in 8th Grade.

Congratulations 7th Grade! You have two halfway points to celebrate. And last but no least, 8th Grade. You guys are starting your final two quarters, or final semester at Jockey Hollow. Think back to the years passed……wait a minute! No! Don’t think back to the beginning, think ahead. You can think back when it’s all over. But like I said, we’re only halfway there! 6th, 7th and 8th Graders: What are you looking forward to in these final two quarters? Is it a U.A. class you like? A field trip you’re going on? An activity or club you want to do here at J.H.? Enjoy the final 2 Quarters in this school year! Happy halfway!       

In the Shadows of the Lion's Den

By:  Sydney Lampley

November's Lion's Den spotlight is Mrs. Coppola! She is an amazing teacher that has been teaching for almost 20 years! But in this article we are focusing on the things she does behind the scenes.

Everybody loves the competitions and fun PBIS activities that we do here at Jockey Hollow, but not a lot of people know who organizes these fun things. Mrs.Coppola is one of the many people that help with these activities, she has helped with the Pumpkin decorating contest, (which is her personal favorite) the gingerbread house contest, the canine dog show last year, and so much more. Mrs.Coppola loves helping with these fundraisers and competitions and we know a lot of other people do too. The next competition starts next week! In celebration of the holidays coming up, it will be a gingerbread house competition, I hope you will consider participating! 

If you have any questions, email Mrs.Coppola at : rcoppola@monroeps.org

Have You Ever Wanted to Join a Club But Didn’t Know the Benefits? 

Then this article is for you.

By Sidney Lampley

Clubs and after school activities are a great way to become involved in your school. It can help you academically improve in a subject, or just be somewhere fun to go to after school.  There are many clubs and organizations for different interests. We have Art club, Drama club, history club, running club/cross country, and so much more. 

There are so many benefits to joining a club. It can help you make new friends, support busy families, help you discover and develop new hobbies or skills, you can gain leadership skills, you can get help academically, it can even help you gain confidence.

There are so many different clubs offered and every one provides at least one of the benefits listed here. Homework club for example. Homework Club gives you a place to work on homework with the help of teachers if needed. Another example could be Art Club. It gives you a place where you can express yourself and maybe even make some good friends at the same time. Clubs also provide support for busy parents as well because club members stay an extra forty-five minutes after school.  Families don’t even have to worry about picking up their students, because the school provides late buses. All you have to do is sign up in front of the office at your convenience.   

There are many benefits to joining a club or after school activity. To see the list of all the clubs we offer, click here  Clubs and Activities Descriptions

Lunch Cancelation 

By - Madeline Kahn and Brody Philbin

Are you ever staring up at the clock before lunch with what feels like a starving pit in your stomach?  Well, you’re going to have a tough time concentrating on work because lunch is being canceled.

Mr. Crowley and Ms. Strong called us to a secret meeting after school on Friday, March 11, at Chalk Hill. They instructed us to write an article about lunch being canceled because an assembly would be too wild and full of angry students. We asked why lunch would be canceled. Mrs. Strong said this, “Lunch is too crazy, plus studies show that it’s better to eat at home than at school.” 

And then they said if we didn’t share this, we wouldn’t get PAWS sessions for the rest of the year (and maybe even next year, too) that made us scramble to find our chromebooks because PAWS is the best. Believe us, we didn’t want to write this in the first place.

One reason that Mr. Crowley shared is that kids are getting hurt at lunch, one kid hurt their foot running to a friend’s table since bags were in the rows, and another broke both of their arms slam-dunking their trash and hitting their arms in the worst way on a garbage can, the poor kid can barely move them. “This is all happening because no one at all listens to the teachers that tell them to sit down.” Says Mr. DelVecchio from Main Campus.

Also, teachers from both campuses are reporting kids throwing, and they mean actually throwing their trash into the garbage cans. “We don’t often see a kid who actually puts their trash into the garbage cans rather than throws it.” States Mrs. Shaw from STEM.

The last reason, in which Mr. Crowley and Mrs. Strong gave us, is that COVID - 19 rates are going up too high and not a lot of people realize it. Some kids are breaking the rule of no more than eight or four at a table at STEM and too many people are sitting at a table at Jockey. One kid from Main Campus said they saw a table with about 15 kids. 

So, in conclusion, lunch is being canceled. We are so sorry.  A few more things:

April fools!

Quick Notes - 

None of these quotes in the article are real and none of the teachers in this article were actually involved in this, the topics are fake, Mr. Crowley and Mrs. Strong did not pull us into a secret meeting, and if you believed this you’re crazy because this entire article was a scam to begin with. You got fooled big time! Enjoy your lunch, or don’t- it doesn’t really affect us. 

How Halloween Is Different This Year

• by Ryane Nelson

This year Covid has struck down many parts of our lives. But, one of the things that Covid has struck down on hardest is the ability to let kids be kids. 

This year instead of making friends that will last until the 4th grade or so, Kindergarteners are learning how to wash their hands and stay away from other children.  But one of the things that children are at least a little free to do is trick-or-treat.  The  State of Connecticut had shared guidelines for how to have a safe Halloween.  Here is the link:   CT.GOV-Connecticut 

Recommendations For Halloween 2020

Here are some of the basic guidelines for Halloween this year.

• For people who choose to hand out candy:

• Before you answer the door, make sure your face covering is in place over your nose and mouth, wash or sanitize your hands before answering door.

• Remain six feet from the Trick-or-Treater.

• Place the candy inside the child’s bag for them instead of having them take it from the bowl themselves.

• Homes providing candy may set up hand sanitizer stations outside or parents/guardians can pack a travel bottle of their own.

• For Trick or Treaters

• It is not recommended to trick-or-treat with people outside of your household.

• Remain six feet away from people outside your household at all times.

• All trick-or-treating participants should wear a mask or face covering while outside at all times.

• A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth or surgical mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and does not leave gaps around the face.

• Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth or surgical mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.

• Do not wear a costume rubber mask over another face covering of any kind.

How to Play the Trumpet

By:Anastazja M.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to play the trumpet,then I’m going to tell you. I’m going to teach you how to oil your valves on the trumpet, and I’m going to tell you the first three notes. And the last thing will be about how to make a sound come out of the trumpet.

When you are oiling your valves, you need to unscrew them first. Then you take out your valve, but not all the way out. After that, rotate the valve as you squeeze out some oil from the oil bottle. Don’t squeeze it too hard or it might go on your pants. Next, screw the valves back on, and press the buttons down a few times to see if you added enough oil.

Now, I’ll teach you the first three notes I learned. The first note I learned was a C. Make sure you don’t tighten your lips or you might play a G! You don’t need to press down any of the buttons to play a C. Once you know how to play a C, then you can play the next note. The next note is a D. For this note, you have to press down the first valve, and the third valve. The first is the one closest to the mouthpiece, and the third valve is the one opposite of you. Once you know how to play a D, then you can play the next note. The next note is an E. An E is the first valve, and the second valve. The second valve is in the middle(that’s probably what you guessed). And those are all the notes that I will teach you for now.

To make a sound come out of the trumpet, it’s almost like you are spitting in the mouthpiece, but not really. If you want to play lower notes, you have to loosen your lips. If you want to play higher notes, then tighten your lips, and always remember, practice, practice, practice!

I hope you learned something new!