The Mirror Winter Issue - School Events

Turkey Trials of 2025!

By Ruofan Ren

What kind of trials would turkeys face? It might seem like turkeys would take the general public to court to protest getting eaten as tradition. Well, our Turkey Trials are not those kinds of trials. So then, what are our Turkey Trials?

They are a fundraiser that raises money for the Family of New Paltz to give to families that need help funding their Thanksgiving dinner. After all the money is turned in, the NPMS Student Council hosts games for the donors to partake in some friendly competition. They play minute-to-win-it games all day in the gym and if you win a game, you either get to play dodge ball or win a prize (BUT, whoever gets 1st, 2nd, or 3rd from each grade gets a prize, too)! This year’s 1st place donated at least $800, 2nd place donated $500, and 3rd place donated $400. Some of the games this year were dodgeball, box stacking, musical chairs, rock-paper-scissors 6-7, duck-duck-duck basketball, hula-hoop dots, etc. You see? Nothing about turkeys in a courtroom taking the general public to trial for being eaten.

Here are some opinions about this year’s Turkey Trials. I interviewed 6th grade player Raiya Star-Gandelsman, 7th grade player Cindy Li, 8th grade player Dominick Canosa, and finally, 8th grade helper Milo Casimiro.

Question (for players): What game did you like the best with Turkey Trials?

Raiya: “I liked the box stacking game because it was fun and we worked together in a really good way.”

Cindy: “I liked the duck-duck-duck basketball game because I won a prize in that game.”

Dominick: “The game that I liked the best was probably the dodgeball game even though we had to combine teams, but the team that my team was with was with all of my other friends and it was really cool to see all of the other grades play too and get excited.”

Question (for players): What game didn’t you like with Turkey Trials?

Raiya: “I didn’t like the duck-duck-duck basketball game.”

Cindy: “I didn’t like the hula-hoop dot game because it was so hard to get a lot of dots.”

Dominick: “Probably the rock paper scissors 6-7 game.”

Question (for players): What could they improve for next year?

Raiya: “They could have more judges for dodgeball and not split our team up.”

Cindy: “Never do the hula-hoop dot game ever again because it wasn’t fair.”

Dominick: “I feel like they could have more time for dodgeball so the teams could play only with their teams and not other teams.”

Question (for helper): What were your responsibilities?

Milo: “Basically, we just set up and put away the games, and we judged the games.”

The Rosie Riveters ready for competition!

Look at all of those fundraisers ready for some fun!

A Christmas Carol:

The Experience of a Lifetime

By Iris Curtis & Ben Ingersoll 1/5/26

This December, the 7th grade went to Rhinebeck, NY, to see a life changing performance by the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center.

The little performance was of A Christmas Carol. The show consisted of six actors, around 10 total props, and a small stage. Even though the actors had limited resources, the performance was still spot on. And this is the story of “A Christmas Carol: The Experience of a Lifetime.”

We drove about 42 minutes on an exhausting journey, but it was all worth it in the end. We arrived on the premises, ready for a lackluster performance, but we were greeted with a masterpiece.

The theater was small and cozy with about 10 rows of seating with in total 165 seats, a small place for such a grand performance. The performance was around an hour and a half.

After the show the six extremely talented actors did a Q&A with the audience about their performance, and/or previous performances. The Education Director also came down for the Q&A.

Once the Q&A was finished, we all ate lunch in the parking lot. The experience in the parking lot was less than desired. People could get into the snowy winter wonderland of Rhinebeck, NY if they had snowboots, but it did cause some wet shoes! We then went back to our lovely school and watched the movie version with Ms. Rosen!

Here is some student reactions to the play:

“I thought the play was amazing and very well done,” says attendant and fellow Mirror member Iris Curtis.

“This play was above my high expectations! This was a worth-while adaptation of the book by Charles Dickens that had expressive actors and emotional scenes, this was no less than magnificent,” replied Mirror Member, Ben Ingersoll, a sophisticated writer on our team.

This wonderful play was a delight to all of the senses. With amazing actors and a breathtaking performance from everyone, this was worth the wait.