By Jaxson Fordyce

On Wednesday, November 20, Mrs. Griffiths and Mrs. Welty escorted 18 sixth grade science students to the Pittsburgh Robotics Center. 

Students needed to write a brief essay and get parent permission to attend this fun event. The bus departed at 9:00 and arrived in Pittsburgh an hour later. When students entered, they were in a giant glass room with windows surrounding the whole area giving them great views of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny River. The next room was even bigger and more crowded, full of other schools on field trips too.

Many students pictured it would be set up like a museum, but instead there were high school and college students from different schools around the area presenting their robots at little booths. Students were able to walk around and look at them all. 

There were many different kinds of robots there with all different uses. One was a car and truck that could drive completely by itself using sensors to tell if there were other vehicles in front or behind it. There was a drone-type robot that could fly in the air without anybody controlling it and grab things off high shelves that humans would not be able to reach by themselves. There were automated 3D printers that could make more than one thing at once. There were also robots that you could use just for fun. There were robot dogs that acted just like real dogs. There were robots that could throw things into baskets and play games. There was also a mechanical arm that used sensors like the ones on the car and truck. It could follow your hand and pick things up.

After a very fun day learning all about the future of robotics, students returned to the school around 2:00 excited by all they had seen. Elise Armstrong shared, “My favorite part was talking to the people presenting about robotics.” Aria Kuhns explained, “I liked the robots that could interact with humans for fun.” Iyla Kozar said she just “liked seeing all the different robots.” While Jalie Albright added that she “liked the creative designs for the robots.” Vincent DeGruttola enjoyed the automotive section and thought the best part “were the cars and trucks that could move by themselves.” With so many interesting things to see and do, it is no wonder that the students had so many different favorite moments from the day.

By Zoey Beemiller

On November 22nd, the middle school hosted its first dance of the year from 6:00 to 8:00. For two hours, students were able to dance or socialize with their friends.

Student leadership and staff pitched in to help run concessions and clean up. Dylan Ross helped with door duties. Parker Thomas signed people in, and Kellie Martin pitched in to help with concessions the entire time. All of this showed teamwork and the determination to make everyone else's night the best it could possibly be.

For the past month the school and students worked hard to make this dance the best it could be. They had fruit punch and water, as well as some delicious frosted sugar cookies, pizza, and chocolate-chip cookies. The deejay was also renowned for playing “really good music” that was “fun to dance to” with some hits like Baby by Justin Beiber and Ludacris, and even Y.M.C.A by The Village People.

If dancing wasn’t your thing, there were still many things to do. When my friends and I were done dancing our hearts out, we found that each table was provided with a deck of UNO cards. Teamwork and friendships were tested. Snacks were even put on the line as people continued to play. When my friends and I were playing, we won a few cookies too. Some people were even running around the area, while others sat on benches and just spoke to each other.

The event was well arranged by the staff and students that pitched in. I also liked the fact that the people at different tables were allowed to play their own music away from the gym. As I was playing UNO, winning games and jamming out to songs, I was having the time of my life. It was a wonderful experience for everyone involved, even if you didn’t like dancing. If you missed out on this dance, I highly recommend going to the next one!

by Izabella Watkins and Georgia Skillings

This year the sixth grade had another successful trip to Deer Valley. The field trip sends half the classes to the camp one day, while the other half stays here at the school to do other fun activities. Then, the two groups switch activities the next day. Both have many fun activities like archery, boating, rock painting, gaga ball, nature walks, and many other fun games. We asked many students about what they enjoyed most during their two days. 

by Madolyn Pittman

As a new member of our school’s marching band, I’d like to give motivation to other students who may be on the fence about whether or not to join. Although it was hard to narrow it down to only five reasons, I hope they convince you to take a look into the activity!

1. You will make plenty of new friends, all of which will help and encourage you to put on your best show at halftime. 

2. Free entry! If you’re a big-time football fan, you’ll get to see our team improve throughout the season, all for free!

3. Improvement with your instrument. Before marching band, I personally had a tough time playing my saxophone, especially when I was on my own. But after marching band, my playing has drastically improved, and I even play songs for my family on the holidays!

4. An improvement neurologically. Neurologic scientists have proven time and time again that the brain’s memory capacity strengthens when you play a song without the music in front of you, and even playing in general can improve your academic life. 

5. The end of year vacation. At the end of the marching band season, the band goes on a (optional) vacation to a fun, out of state location! Some of these trips have included Disney World, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. 

By Ashley Ott

On Thursday, May 16, the seventh graders returned to Grandview and hosted its first ever Fun Fair to raise money for Action for Animals. As part of their fundraising efforts, students created several new games and activities including Spin Art, Lucky Duck Pond, Cake Walk, and dozens of other activities and refreshments for the students to spend their tickets on. As a result of all their hard work, the seventh graders raised $4,896.30!

Seeing familiar faces was a pleasant surprise for many seventh graders. Victor Iscrupe said, “A neighbor kid came to the stand and it was nice to see him.” Aviana DeCario added, “I saw my sibling in 5th grade, and it was fun.”

Dalayna Robinson explained, “It was very fun to be with different age groups and seeing them smile.” Hannah Desalvo agreed and shared, “The kids were very nice!” Phoenix Quick found himself reliving his childhood and stated, “When I saw the kids, I had memories come back from when we were students at the elementary school.” 

When combined with other fundraising activities including the sale of student-made dog treats and tug toys, the seventh graders were able to raise enough money to feed every pet waiting for their forever home at Derry's Action for Animals for 75 days! The event was a huge success and one the team hopes to revisit in the future. 

On May 24, Leighton Hoadwonic and Alex Komar were surprised at the sixth grade awards presentation when they were announced as this year's recipients of the Rebecca Anderson Scholarship Award.

The award is given by the Math department every year in memory of Rebecca Anderson, a beloved Derry Area Middle School 6th grade teacher. Voted on by the entire team of sixth grade teachers and specialists, the award is given to students who display a love of math and excellent character, traits that Rebecca Anderson embodied.

Congratulations to both students!

By Makenna Ridilla

As most of you know, in March at our middle school, we have a March Madness competition where we all get to pick a college that we want to represent in a basketball tournament.  We get to have one partner in our gym class to compete with, and most importantly, we all have tons of fun playing! I decided to ask students what they like about the challenge and found many different reasons!

Tye Rause - I like March Madness because I enjoy basketball and I am competitive.

Caleb Johnston - My favorite thing about March Madness is that I get to play on a team with my friend and like to play basketball for fun.

Marissa Eldridge - I like basketball!

Claire Zurinsky - I like my partner because I like her. 

Camryn Cinibulk - I enjoy that we got to fairly pick our partners instead of getting put into groups like we usually do. 

Evan Sanders - I enjoy March Madness because I am very competitive and love the sport.

Jakeb Bungard - I enjoy March Madness because I play basketball and I like to see the close games in the 4th quarters.

Michael Buterbaugh - Layups.

Carson McDowell - Everything!

Aubrey DeMase - Going against people.

Parker Thomas - I get to play with my friends. 

Hunter Myers - I like playing basketball for challenges.

Jazlyn Arnold - I like to be able to be with my friends and play basketball.

Brody Schleicher - I like my partner and my team. 

Dessie Horwat - I love the college my partner and I picked: PSU!

By Makenna Ridilla

Wade Huss - The music. 

Claire Zurinsky - The food.

Dylan Ross - Being with my friends! 

Tristan Kelly - Friends!

Marissa Eldridge - Being with my friends.

Troy Hugie - Dancing and singing! 

Leighton Hoadwonic - Food.

Laken Keith - Hanging out with Zoey the whole time.

Parker Thomas - Hanging out with my friends.

Mason Carota - The different color lights.

Katelynn Hamby - The different foods

Kellie Martin; My favorite part of the dance was that my friends were there

Dessie Horwat; My favorite thing would’ve had to be the song selection + the decor.

Emma Mentch; My favorite thing was hanging out with my friends

Alexis Lepley - My favorite thing about the dance was the pictures I took with my friends.

Jordan Lasek - My favorite part of the dance was hanging out with my friends.

Peyton Thomas - My favorite part of the dance was dancing with my friends and taking pictures with them.

Kennedy Kulik - My favorite part was seeing my friends.

Sophia Wiltsie - My favorite thing about the dance was seeing all my friends. 

Saverio Calabrace - My favorite thing about the dance was talking with my friends.

Cameron Beeman - Spending time with friends. 

Mia Sacco - I like hanging out with my friends and dressing up. 

Dane Marts - The music. 

It looks like everyone had a blast at the middle school beach dance! It really was fun for everyone, not just the dancing or games, but also the company of close friends. I know that we are all excited for the next school dance!

By Derek Lee

We have all had a teacher that we really liked and made us look forward to class. But it’s weird how different students will pick different teachers as their favorites. I decided to ask sixth grade students who their favorite teacher is this year and why. After hearing their reasons, a lot of these teachers seem nice and like they would be good to have.

Dane Marts said, “Mr. Hackman is my favorite teacher because he likes what I like too and he helps classmates and he is really nice." Brody Schleicher stated, “Mrs. Cox because she is the nicest teacher out of all of them and she is a very good teacher.” Haydyn Horwat said, “Mr. Keller because he is fun. We do fun activities in his room.” In my opinion, that would be cool as well. Next, Mason Carota stated, “Mrs. Gordon because she is the nicest teacher.” I also thought she was a nice teacher when we got separated from Mrs. Kerin to go with Mrs. Gordon. McKenzie Rester said, “Mr. Keller because he is really funny.” He sounds like a great teacher! Izzy Sever chose Mrs. Gordon because “Her class is enjoyable.” Christopher Hilty said “Mrs. Robertson because she is fun.” Jacob Rich stated “Mrs. Roll because she is so nice and funny.” I agree, even my mom said that she seemed funny when we were at the orientation. Logan Smail said, “Mrs. Yanoff is nice because she is kind.” Hunter Koring stated that “Mrs. Hoffner is kind, nice, and amazing.” Xavier Kohuth said, “Mrs. Hoffner because she is funny.” I would agree. Kyra Weaver also chose Mrs. Hoffner because “She is really nice and funny.” Finally, Dominic Simoncin said “Mrs. Smeltzer because she allows phones after class.” I agree! She is a great teacher.

The best thing about this list is how many different teachers were named. We are lucky to have so many nice teachers in sixth grade.

by Madolyn Pittman 

Over the morning announcements, you may hear something along the lines of, “Midday homerooms -Grade 7 House meetings today.” Since Houses are a very new concept here at our school, you may be curious about what we’re doing in these midday meetings. It turns out, the answer is a very fun and beneficial activity we like to call The House Cup Competition!

To add a bit of backstory, this competition was created by the Ron Clark Academy in 2007, but the inspiration goes as far back as the 1800s! Originally, the “House System” (which inspired The House Cup Competition) was first introduced in British boarding schools, similar to Hogwarts, to help students in their social and academic lives. The Houses created by the Ron Clark Academy are Altruismo (Portuguese for "Givers"), Isibindi (Zulu for "Courage"), Reveur (French for "Dreamers"), and Amistad (Spanish for "Friendship"). Each of these Houses is color coded as well, with Altruismo being black, Isibindi being green, Reveur being blue, and Amistad being red. On our sorting day, students chose a balloon to pop over their head, and the color confetti that covered them when it popped revealed their House to them.

Students can earn daily points for their House through showing good character, school spirit, having academic success, participating in athletics or class- or schoolwide competitions. Teachers are constantly entering points into the House app, which updates in real time so students can always see the latest point tally on the leaderboard.

Mrs. Key-Shaw explains, “I think Houses are a really fun way to be competitive and to build character at the same time.” Mr. Smith added, “I’m really impressed by the way the Houses have been set up, while also enjoying the monthly and weekly challenges that are being set up. I feel it allows our students to demonstrate success in a variety of areas.” And finally Mrs. Bridge said, “I think Houses are providing 7th grade students with a connection to school and their team, while also being fun!”

If you don't see the appeal yet, I am here to tell you that our school Houses are anything but boring! We have monthly activities/challenges that have unique themes such as Superhero Day, Fall Fun Day, and the Fall Rush! These activities are usually held two periods a month, meaning we get to spend two periods of our day just having fun trying to earn points for our House while bonding with our fellow students! Each month, students are also selected by the House leaders to spin our massive points wheel to earn bonus points for their House! The entire grade level went crazy when Logan Sledge landed on 50 points for his House! 

As part of our Houses Competition, we have also taken on the school's annual Farkleberry Fair. Each house is pitching in and taking on a beneficial fundraising challenge to raise money for the Children's Hospital Free Care Fund. The goal was to raise an additional $2,000 ($500 from each House) on top of the $4,000 the fair usually makes. If successful, we will have raised at least $6,000 for sick children and their families! To reach their goal, Amistad hosted a festive movie night all middle schoolers could participate in. Altruismo did a carwash which raised a whopping $370! Isibindi called local businesses to ask for money and sponsors. Finally, Reveur sold hot chocolate at the Derry Light Up Night. It’s very rewarding to be kind and help even a little bit, but it is also super fun and educational! Personally, I’ve learned to calculate profit, teamwork skills, and how important it is to work efficiently under pressure.

In the second half of the year, we'll continue to have more challenges and another service project. And at the end of the year, the House whose students have earned the most points will be declared our school's first-ever House Cup Champions! I, for one, cannot wait for the challenges yet to come! 

By Isabel Armstrong

Our Middle School’s annual Pie Auction was held on Sunday, November 5th. This event is hosted by Mrs. Huber and her student leadership team in the One-Room Schoolhouse. The Pie Auction is always a huge success and makes a shocking amount of money with pies!

This year 8th grade student council member Lydia Harter volunteered to have a bake sale. She took time out of her day to bake cookies and make other treats. This was great because not everyone can bid high enough to purchase a pie. The bake sale allowed people to purchase goodies without buying a pie. Through this act, Lydia Harter was able to raise $86.

The student leadership team also had crafts and activities for young children. The pie auction might not be of much interest to small children, but while their parents bid on pies, various student volunteers helped them make crafts to keep them occupied. This year, there was coloring, leaf shading, and even face paint.

As usual, the most popular pie was once again the chicken pot pie. For nine consecutive years, the same man has purchased this pie for an astronomical amount of money. This generous man, Mr. Smith, saves up his money year-round to “win” this special pie knowing that his bid will go to a good cause.

This year the one-room school house was only filled with about half the amount of people there normally are. However, even though there weren’t as many people as in prior years, the auction still raised a lot of money. With all the pies sold, the event managed to raise $960. This money will be donated to the Derry Area School District Foundation. The Derry Area Middle School Student Leadership Team hopes that you can attend next year's Pie Auction and continue this fun tradition! 

by Derek Lee

On the last day before our Thanksgiving break, the entire Middle School participated in our annual Turkey Trot, a two-mile race around our Middle School and High School down to Grandview and back to the stadium. After the race, I spoke to several students to see what they thought about this event, and it was clear: They liked it!

Hunter Koring said he thought the Turkey Trot was pretty good, and explained, ‘I wanted to walk instead of being in class.” Christopher Hilty agreed and said, “I wanted to be outside.” Jacob Rich shared, “It was fun because I could talk with my friends.” Dane Marts stated that he liked the leader board and also enjoyed hanging out with his friends. Alex Grohal was excited because he had a special hat and won the raffle because of it! Ethan Wigand wasn’t a big fan of the rain and mud, but overall he thought, “It was fun and easy.” Kyra Weaver talked about how hard she worked during the race. She explained, “It was pretty good. I lost my breath halfway and was exhausted half of the way, but the hot chocolate was good!” Jaxson Gibsonalso enjoyed the event, sharing, “It was good because all of my friends were doing it with me and we could talk whenever we wanted.”

It’s clear that you don’t have to be a star athlete to enjoy the Turkey Trot. Most of the students just like getting outside, getting active, and enjoying time with their friends…all things to be thankful for!