Norup news & more.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

War in Space

War in Space
By Sydney B.

The new source of almost everything humans rely on nowadays lies in space. Satellites orbit around Earth and allow for communication, entertainment, business, monitoring and much more. They are so important that the US has spent over 5 billion dollars enhancing the space programs to keep them strong and secure.

Imagine the world with no communication: no way of calling someone miles away, no way of watching online videos. To some, this seems apocalyptic.

This is what could happen if countries start attacking each other via satellites, possibly knocking out vital sources for government, potentially forcing the country into chaos.

This is a definite possibility and is predicted to be the next “World War 3”. But, not having Netflix is not the biggest concern.

Space junk, one big problem, is sometimes caused by parts of space machines broken off or failed missile launch that may have destroyed satellites. This type of floating debris can end up damaging satellites, which would have a significant impact on a country’s economy and community.

There are also now satellites that are being designed to sabotage and inspect other satellites. This would be a main aggravator that could lead to a war in space.

Although this is concerning, there are measures being taken to slow down or even prevent this type of thing. Besides giving the issue finances, there has also been efforts to make treaties that would ban space weapons, although they still need work. There have also been efforts to clean up space.

Overall, a war in space would not be a surprise with today’s advancements and technologies. If that issue does come about, humans will have to deal with it in the safest way possible.

More info-


Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Spirit Week!

SPIRIT WEEK IS COMING SOON


Monday, May 22: Pajama Day


Tuesday, May 23: Black Out


Wednesday, May 24: Hawaiian Day


Thursday, May 25: Wacky Tacky Day


Friday, May 26: Grade Colors

  • 6th Grade- Red
  • 7th Grade- Blue
  • 8th Grade- White


Free The Whales

9:04 AM No comments

By Emily D.

In the small province of Vancouver, Canada, the park board held a vote that decided the future of many aquariums in the area: whether or not they may house whales and dolphins. After the Vancouver Aquarium announced that they were planning to build an extravagant beluga whale exhibit, some people looked into their "whale care". After two deaths of beluga whales in November and the lack of proof that the trainers/handlers could care properly for the animals, the ban was passed.
https://www.vanaqua.org/files/9213/1656/1357/belugas-aurora.jpg

Friday, May 12, 2017

March Miracles: Fun with a Purpose

By Morgan C. and Mia D. 

The ultimate basketball competition, March Miracles, is here! On the 23 of March, over a hundred people played a series of three-on-three basketball games against their fellow classmates. Our authors took on the task of interviewing the workers and players. In total, we interviewed 8 teams and 6 workers. Many teams from 6th to 8th grade competed, but only 6 teams could win in the highly-anticipated finals. The finals had guests, including CASA dancers, CASA's Encore, Norup’s school mascot, and the U of D mascot, Tommy Titan.

We asked the teams six questions: How they came up with their team name, how they expect to play, who their biggest competition will be, who they believe will win, the skill level of the team members, and if they would rather watch or play basketball. We found that Norup’s 3 on 3 basketball has a large variety of skill levels. On one girls team, The Pixie 6, only one of the six members has played on a basketball team, where the Sponge Ballers had three of five members with basketball experience. Many teams had low expectations for themselves, but ended up surpassing their expectations. The French Toast Mafia, an 8th grade girls team, hardly expected that they would make it to the finals; in fact, they originally planned to name their team The Losers. A majority of teams remained modest, but others were certain they would win. Hoops We Did It Again thought they would take victory, but they sadly did not make it to the finals. As for the boys game, there was high expectation for The Bape Ballers, because according to 5 Guys and a Fry, “They have Cody.” Unfortunately, The Bape Ballers suffered a fate similar to Hoops We Did It Again, and did not play in the finals. 

We asked the workers only five questions: Why they chose choose to be a worker, why in that specific area of work, if they like to watch basketball, what sports they play and if they are just working to get out of class. From this set of questions, we concluded that many people were working because it was something they liked to do. The majority also do like watching basketball. One of the Hawk Headlines staff, Emily D, did photography of the players. She told us that she “likes to take pictures and it’s a good chance to help out the school.” Many of the six people we interviewed also played sports that were not only basketball. These include sports like archery, martial arts, figure skating, track, and soccer. These were all played by one very eccentric photographer, Brandon M. The last question we asked the workers, "Are you doing this just to get out of school?" drew out many laughs and "no" responses, but also some proud "yes"es. 

In the end, all involved in March Miracles-the teams, the staff, and even the people watching-had a great time. However, in the end, the true importance of this event is not the fun and games. The profits of this event go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Jack's Place for Autism, and over the years, March Miracles has raised tens of thousands of dollars for these wonderful organizations. Congratulations to all the winners from every grade and team, and thank you to everyone who made this event possible! 

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

What is Dark Matter?

By Sydney B.

Everyone has heard of the term dark matter at one point in their lives whether they knew what it meant or not. Although some people might just see it as a cool name for some stuff in space, it’s much more than that.

According to NASA, dark matter is a type of matter that makes up 27% of the universe, the rest being made of dark energy and normal matter. To actually define dark matter is a tough job because of what scientists know about it. They know more of what dark matter is not than what it is.


First of all, dark matter is not antimatter. Antimatter is a type of matter that does not exist in our universe. Scientists know this about dark matter because it does not have any of the distinct properties of dark matter, which includes gamma radiation being released when antimatter gets destroyed with normal matter. Scientists also know that dark matter isn’t anything that they can detect because of our lack of ability to detect it. One thing that they do know about dark matter, is that it’s dark.


Dark matter, however, should not be confused with dark energy. Dark energy makes up 68% of the universe and it is known as a property of space. The space that stretches outside of our galaxy and outside of all the galaxies surrounding it and even farther than this possesses dark energy. This theory was presented by Albert Einstein who said that as our universe expands and fills up space that contains the dark energy, that space will continue going out. Meaning our universe is never ending and will keep expanding.


Basically, dark matter and dark energy are mysterious and even scientists know hardly anything about it. Possibly getting closer to an explanation is exciting and worth the buzz of news.



Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Beauty and the Beast Review

By Charlotte C.

On March 17, 2017, Disney released a live action version of Beauty and the Beast. The "tale as old as time" stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as The Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, and Josh Gad as Lefou. The movie centers around a young women named Belle who lives in a small French village. Her father, an artist (even though he is an inventor in the original), gets lost on his way to the market and ends up at a mysterious castle with magical objects. He tries to take a rose from the castle's garden, but he ends up as a prisoner to the terrifying beast that lives there. Belle finds her father and takes his place, staying in the castle with the beast. Overtime, they develop a friendship, and–eventually–they fall in love.

I love this new version. I love the old one as well, but the new version adds more background to the story. I also love the new songs they added, such as "Evermore" and "Days in the Sun" that give more insight into the characters' emotions. I also enjoy the character changes that they made. Overall, I loved this and I enjoyed it very much  4.5/5 stars.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

LGBT+ Rights in Finland


By Morgan C

The world has become more aware and accepting of the LGBT+ community. More and more countries have been confirming the legalization of same-sex marriage. For example, on March 1st, 2017, the country of Finland legalized it with 27 out of 47 council members' approval. The Finnish government legalized not only same-sex marriage, but also the ability to change one’s gender (even though it is still difficult for people because it requires a surgery). This proves that the world is getting closer and closer to being more equal.

Twilight Saga Review

By Carly Spagnuolo

The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer is a very underrated book because of its plot line: a vampire falls for a human and she loves him back. However, there are variables to the story that do not just affect their love lives, but rather add complexity to other aspects of the story. In addition, the book is very well-written, so a person who doesn't like the plot can still enjoy the book's quality. One must not judge a book by its cover or by what others think of it since not all books are for everybody. Ultimately, how well-written the book is determines how much the reader will enjoy and appreciate it.