3rd Edition

Henry Long is an 8th grader and has been playing the clarinet for about five years. He was inspired to play the clarinet by Mr.Bailey who came to his elementary school to give an intro to a variety of instruments. In Henry’s words “ It was tough at first to get into but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy!” He shared with us that he had previously learned to play recorder the year before and said it was similar to the clarinet so he gave it a shot. We asked Henry what he saw for himself in the future and he said “ I love marine animals so it would be cool to be a marine biologist when I grow up!” We also asked Mr. Brown what he saw for Henry’s future, he enthusiastically stated “Future senator and maybe a run for the white house” To top it off Henry is also in band, track, club phenomenon (community service), went to nashua plays, is in the national junior honor society, gets straight A’s, and all his teachers think he is responsible and quick to help.

Paul Feldpausch is an 8th grader with a brother in 6th. We have heard from Mrs. O’ Neil that he is an “amazing coder, creative, independent, persistent, and a problem solver!” When we interviewed Paul he said he wants to get into a good college and is great at math and science. He also loves to play with his siblings. He has gotten into honor roll many times and from our experience he's very nice.

Vianny Jimenez, a 6th grader, was recommended to us by Mr. Delanoy. She is in honor roll, and in Mr. Delanoy words “Vianny is selfless and always helping her peers as well as her teachers in the classroom. She consistently works very hard in the classroom and her grades show it!”

Can you get past all 5 levels?

Questions

Level 1: Easiest Ever

Q: What has legs but cannot walk?

Level 2: Easy

Q: How much dirt is in a hole 5 feet deep and 4 feet wide?

Q: What has 4 fingers and a thumb but isn't alive?

Level 3: Moderate

Q: What is the end of everything?

Level 4: Hard

Q: What being travels on four legs, then transfers to two, then transfers to three?

Q: I speak without a mouth, and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?

Level 5: Genius

Q: What can run but never walks, has a mouth, but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed, but never sleeps?

Answers

Level 1: A chair or a table

Level 2:

• None (there is no dirt in a hole)

• A glove

Level 3: “g”

Level 4:

• A person who crawls as a baby, walks as an adult, and walks with a cane in their final years

• An Echo

Level 5: A river (fun fact: This is one of the riddles that the ancient Egyptian sphinx asked people, and no one could solve it)

Pictures by Somi G.

Do teachers ever make you free-read during class? The horror! To save you the trouble of browsing, here are some books to read for this summer and the next school year, coming from two avid book readers.

Books Maya Recommends

• The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee

The Mysterious Benedict Society consists of three main books, as well as two books that contain the backstory of one of the characters, and the future of all of them. It follows the story of Reynie Muldoon, a gifted orphan in Stonetown. When he and his caretaker Miss Perumal finds an article in the newspaper for a special opportunity, Reynie is up for the challenge. After some tests, Reynie meets with all the others who passed, which is only three. They are given an opportunity by Mr. Benedict, the one who organized it all, to go into a school and try to find its secrets. With twists and turns done in the most delicate of ways, you’ll just have to find the secrets yourself. This book series is a solid 10/10! It was charming, had a wonderful sense of mystery, and the best characters since The Lord of The Rings. There was never a boring moment while reading!

• The Secret Series, Pseudonymous Bosch (aka Raphael Simon)

The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch is a five book series that follows the story of Cass, a serious survivalist, and Max-Ernest, an (un)hopeful comedian/magician. This duo must find their missing weird classmate, Benjamin Blake from The Midnight Sun Spa. But there's no way The Midnight Sun could be that bad! After all, they’re all so beautiful and kind… right? This book series is overall a 9/10. It has a wonderful sense of mystery, a theme of the struggles of friendship, and shows that parents aren’t always perfect, even if they try. The reason this didn’t get a full rating is because Max-Ernest’s struggles with his family are often swept under the rug. This story's references and variety of characters were really what got me into reading more books like this, and Mr. Bosch/Simon has become one of my favorite authors.

Books Diya Suggests

• The Wizards of Once, Cressida Cowell (Quartet)

How can we not forget The Wizards of Once? Written by Cressida Cowell, our story begins in the land of Wizards, who were magic, and Warriors, who were not. Xar is the son of the King of Wizards, yet he cannot cast a single spell, while Wish, daughter of the Queen of Warriors, has a banned magic object of her own. They collide in the wildwood, on the trail of a witch, which sparks an unimaginable adventure that changes the lives of their kingdoms. I give this book a 9/10. These books dropped me into a fantasy wormhole (and I thank them for it). It is one of the younger fantasy books that coaxed my love for reading.

By Maya D.