By Valentina Mellan

Ms. Traffanstedt (better known as Ms. T) has four different jobs. She decided to choose Waldo as a job because she likes how students are respectful and do the right thing. The money that she makes is never enough, but she still likes what she is doing.

The college she went to is Bakersfield College. Her favorite thing to do is to read a book and she would rather be reading than going on her phone. Her favorite food is Thai food, and her favorite drink is Diet Pepsi.

Ms. T is an instructional assistant. Her favorite weather is snow. The countries that she has been to are Mexico, Ireland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. One reason why she likes Waldo is because she gets to learn about other cultures and countries and people from around the world. Another reason she likes Waldo middle school is because she gets to help students be successful.

By Alejandra Garcia Villalobos

Some people don't know, but soccer is the number one sport in the world. A lot of people think soccer is just about being strong and kicking, but soccer is more than just that. In these interviews, you will learn about soccer and also get the perspective of a soccer coach as well as a student.

Mr. Trujillo is a staff member at Waldo Middle School who is a Graduation Coach making sure students go to school. He encourages them to do better in school, but when school hours are done he likes to coach students. He enjoys helping them have fun playing the game.

Q: “How long have you been a soccer coach?”

A: “I've been a soccer coach for about seven years”

Q: “What is the most important thing about soccer?”

A: “Communicate with your team because if you don't communicate, it's going to be hard getting from one end to the other.”

Q: “What inspired you to be a soccer coach?”

A: “Seeing the need that the kids wanted to do something. We didn't have soccer, so seeing the kids play inspired me. If the kids do good in soccer they will do good in school.”

Q: “What's your favorite thing about soccer?”

A: “I think my favorite thing is bonding.”

Jennifer Hernandez Cruz is a student at Waldo who enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends. She likes to learn more about soccer. If she has free time she enjoys playing soccer; this is her perspective about the game.

Q: “What inspired you to play soccer?”

A: “My little niece plays soccer and my dad told me to join. I said no because at the time I played volleyball, and then summer started and now I love soccer.”

Q: “What's your favorite thing about soccer?”

A: “Everything. I’m not stuck at home all day and I can go out and play with my friends.”

Q: “What do you think is the most important skill for soccer?”

A: “Definitely dribbling and having a strong leg.”

Q: “Do you think your soccer career will turn into something big?”

A: “If I'm still into soccer, obviously. If I just put hard work into it and my brother, cousin, and dad help me and support me it will turn into something big.”

These are two perspectives from the soccer community. Maybe this will help you understand soccer a little better. It's not just about strength. It's also about friendship and communication and more.

By Breanna Stubblefield

Q: What is your favorite part of teaching?

A: My favorite part is the lightbulb moment when a student finally gets the concept of what they didn’t know.

Q: What’s your least favorite part?

A: Memorizing all the details between schools is pretty hard.

Q: What was the first and last instrument you learned to play?

A: My first instrument was the piano, and the most recent was the bass and cello.

Q: Off topic, what are some pet peeves you have?

A: When students don’t practice, pencils with no erasers, and when my brother and sister annoy me to name a few.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say?

A: I am a cancer survivor. So many people died of cancer, and I’m proud to be a survivor.

By Italynn Michiuo and Valentina Mellan

Question: How many years have you worked at Waldo?

Answer: I have worked at Waldo Middle school for two years this is my third year.

Question: Do I like my job?

Answer: Yes, I love working with students and staff.

Question: What was your old job prior to being an Assistant Principal?

Answer: I was a PE teacher at Claggett Creek Middle School.

Question: Are you married?

Answer: I am not married.

Question: How many children do you have?

Answer: I have one son.

Question: Where are you from?

Answer: I am originally from South Carolina.

Question: When did you move to Oregon?

Answer: I moved to Oregon at the age of ten.

Question: Do I have family here?

Answer: Yes, my parents, my son and daughter in law, my grandson, two aunts, and lots of cousins.

Question: What schools did you attend?

Answer: I attended Bush Elementary for fifth and sixth grade, then Leslie for middle school and South for high school.

Question: Do you speak any other languages fluently?

Answer: No.

Do you have any siblings?

Answer: I have one older sister and one younger brother.

Question: Do you travel?

Answer: I have been to 23 states and three countries.

Question: What are your favorite hobbies?

Answer: I love to make quilts. I also watch a variety of sports and I watch old mystery movies.

By Breanna Stubblefied

Cuphead don’t deal with the devil (DDWTD) is a game about two cup brothers, Cuphead and Mugman, who gamble their souls to the devil. In order to get them back they need to get the souls of others in Inkwell Isle who also signed their souls away.

Cuphead the delicious last course (DLC) is after the cup brothers beat the devil and meet the Legendary Chalice (a ghost) who tricks Mugman to eat the Astral cookie that makes them switch places, turning Mugman into a ghost and making the Legendary Chalice into Ms.Chalice (a mortal). Ms. Chalice takes them to meet Chef Saltbaker to unveil their scheme to create the aforementioned Wondertart that’ll bring her back to life, permanently.

The two are a run and gun indie video game developed and published by StudioMDHR. They are mostly bosses, but some are run ’n gun stages with enemies and minibosses. DLC has all the bosses and run ‘n gun stages in DDWTD with additional bosses as well as some new additions to the old bosses. They are both very challenging games with most stages having a lot happening at once. Its design and characters feels like a 1930’s cartoon. If you enjoy hard games and/or run and gun indie video games, then you’d like Cuphead.

By Jenni Hernandez Cruz

Q: What is your favorite thing to do at Waldo ?

A: Talking to students and communicating with the students.

Q: Why did you want to work at Waldo?

A: Because I can relate to the students. I know how they feel and I can help them reach their goals.

Q: Why do you love Waldo?

A: I love the students and the staff. It is good to communicate with them and make a good impression so I can have a good relationship with them.

Q: Is it easy to be a teacher at Waldo?

A: No, you need to be patient with the students. You need to explain the work in a lot of different ways so they can understand it.

Q: How long do you think you are going to work at Waldo?

A: I would like to work here for a long time, but it's not my opinion. If the school doesn't want me to work here it will be sad, but if it is for the best it is OK. I would like to work here at Waldo for a long time.

By Ezran Crain

Waldo Middle School has many clubs for different people, but there's a club made for a large variety of people, and that club is Waldo's own GSA. Waldo's GSA is run by Waldo's 7th-grade counselor, Ms.Rose-Arias, and she's been running it for 2 years.

Ms.Rose-Arias was interviewed to talk about the rules of the club. She discussed what the club is about and how GSA has helped people. Ms. Rose-Arias was asked several questions regarding GSA, and she gave great answers about what it's like running a club as well as why she started this club at Waldo.

Q: What is GSA about?

A: GSA is about gender and sexuality. It provides a safe place for LGBTQ+ kids to learn about overcoming adversity and the rights they have. The goal of GSA is to give kids a place to meet others like them and make a safe, welcoming environment to be themselves without judgment.

Q: What is the goal of GSA?

A: The goal of GSA is to become an accepted and safe place in school. By being an accepted group of people at school, we could make school a safe place for LGBTQ+ kids.

Q: What is the best part of running a club?

A: Running a club is exciting. The best part of running one is seeing the relationships between the kids grow. I can see the kids learn about themselves, and how to use ideas that have been floating in their heads for a long time.

Q: Why did you make GSA?

A: LGBTQ+ students are underserved in school and it's something I feel passionate about. Helping kids learn about themselves and giving them a safe place to express themselves feels great.

Q: What are some rules of GSA?

A: The most important rule of GSA is that whatever happens in this room stays in this room unless someone is getting hurt. This is an extremely important rule because this club is a club all about privacy. If you talk about what someone has said about themselves outside of this room, you could out them when they haven't come out yet.

Joining GSA is simple. On Monday after school, you go to the library, and once you enter you ask Ms. Rose-Arias to sign up. When you do, she’ll lead you to her laptop and tell you to write your name and the date. Anyone with questions can contact Ms. Rose-Arias at rose-arias_amanda@salkeiz.k12.or.us

By Alejandra Garcia Villalobos & Jennifer Hernandez Cruz

Ms. Lopez does a lot to help students, and we asked her what she likes most about Waldo.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: The kids and working with kids.

Q: What do you think is the most important thing about being a staff member here at Waldo?

A :Building connections with student and helping them to succeed.

Q: What is the most difficult thing about being a volleyball coach?

A: Keeping the team morale up is difficult. Sometimes players when players are not winning they will give up and stop trying.

Q: How would you describe your relationship with students?

A: I am trusting, caring, respectful, enthusiastic, dependable, and authoritative.

By Koda Elmore

The dark crow’s eyes shine so bright

shine like a ruby, dark at night

so red, so shiny, I can see it behind me

hurry hurry, the thing is behind us

So hairy, so big like a 1760s wig

feet the size of a truck

come on come on, let's hurry up

The crow perched on top of his shoulder

Like it is the holder of the stone

The stone, as dark as night

If you stare into it you see stars

Wake up, wake up, my mom said to me

it was all just a dream, how could it be?

it felt so real to me

By Kateryna Bass

All the way from Tokyo, Japan, 19-year-old Sean Olson visited Waldo Middle School in room 110 to share his experience studying at Willamette University and adapting to the new environment. One reason for such a trip was because he heard Oregon is a running state, and a fun fact about Sean is that he’s a runner! He likes that Oregon is flat with a lot of room for running, and he also appreciates the variety of sushi restaurants here.

It's common knowledge that Oregon and Japan have a lot of differences, after all they are located on two different sides of the globe. But what are the differences? Sean pointed out that people here in the U.S speak out about issues and opinions way more than they do in Japan. School life is different too, because they require students to wear uniforms and don't allow hair dye, piercings, or tattoos which are associated with the Yakuza in Japanese culture. In fact some places even have signs out that say individuals with tattoos cannot enter.

An interesting fact about schools in Japan is that they don't have cafeterias. According to Sean they actually bring and eat food inside their classrooms. In Japanese culture, people are generally focused on serving balanced meals, usually consisting of fish and rice.

What really stood out to Sean was the big portion sizes at restaurants compared to those in Japan. “The small sized drinks are the size of our large!” he exclaimed. He noticed we don't use very many coins either, mainly focusing on paper currency, while Japan has entire wallets dedicated to them.

The main reason Sean visited Waldo Middle School was to share tips in interviewing since he has experience writing for the school newspaper at his college! He talked about the process of creating a story based on the latest events, and how difficult communication can be working with others that have busy schedules. Below are the tips Sean shared when it comes to writing a story

• include another perspective

• visuals and titles mean a lot

• try sounding like a friend when interviewing and crack a few jokes

• complex vocab doesn't mean success

• fact check information

• consider social impact

• consider both sides of the argument

• plan ahead! ----> finish in advance

• be respectful towards different opinions

Waldo students were glad to have Sean visit their classroom, and it was a very informative interaction. Much thanks to Sean and to the organizers at Willamette University’s Language in Motion for making this presentation happen.