Norup's Hidden Heroes: The Custodial Staff

By Mia D.

There are many people who work in the background of our daily lives who are barely noticed but are extremely important. This is the case for many school employees including janitors, lunch-aids, and more.

For this issue, we’ve interviewed custodian Mr. James Patrick. Mr. Patrick was born in Detroit, and works very hard to keep Norup clean. On a daily basis, Mr. Patrick deals with cleaning up messes and “kids not listening.” He’s one of the reasons the school maintains working order.

During his job, Mr. Patrick listens to music on the radio to make the work go faster. At the end of the day, Mr. Patrick enjoys relaxing with a nice game of pool. Being a janitor is a busy job that–of course –requires snack breaks. He usually chooses chocolate-peanut-butter granola bars.

Everyone’s life is filled with hidden heroes like Mr. Patrick. We just have to take time to notice them.

Norup’s Hidden Heroes is a series of articles written by Mia D., based on the interviews of custodians, janitors, and other maintenance staff. It is is intended to explore the inner lives of people encountered daily but seldom noticed. Subscribe to the Hawk Headlines blog for more articles like this.

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Student Showcase: Elemental Healing by Coral B.

Elemental Healing is a comic series by Coral B., a seventh grade student. She has been drawing for five years and loves the anime style.

Want your work featured by Hawk Headlines? Email noruphawkheadlines@gmail.com!

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Norup Students Choose Kindness

By Abby C.

A few months ago, an anonymous person put up sticky notes around the top and side borders of the mirror in the upstairs girls’ bathroom. They said things like “beautiful,” “amazing,” and “wonderful.” A few hours later, there were five sticky notes added, filling in the rest of the border. These new ones said things like “don’t care what they say!” and “You’re incredible!” Between the five new sticky notes, there were two distinguishably different handwritings. Someone also had written the letters “ur” (meaning “you are” or “you’re”) before all of the original sticky notes which had featured adjectives without attaching them to a person. 

Then, on Friday, February 10th, they were all taken down. The most widely accepted explanation is that the janitor took them down to clean the mirror. Several girls responded by putting up more sticky notes on the wall surrounding the mirror, and by the end of the day on Monday, there were dozens of positive messages decorating the wall. However, several of these had also been taken down as of Tuesday, and they had all been removed by Wednesday. This raises the possibility that someone is purposely taking down the sticky notes.

Even though the movement of putting positive messages in the bathroom has faced a couple minor bumps in the road, Norup students continue to try to make others smile. This is a big difference from a neighboring school just ten minutes away where there was a noose put up in the bathroom and white students chanted “Build That Wall!” in the lunchroom in front of Latino students.

Norup students are reacting to the division in our country with love and support instead of hate, and that can make all the difference for our students.

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Club Penguin: The End of an Era

By Morgan C.

Over the last 12 years, Club Penguin has run the world by storm. In 2007, there were over 12 million users from ages of 6-14. Now in 2017, it is shutting down on March 29th. This has created chaos all around the world.

This may upset you and that is the usual response, but on the bright side, the Disney Company is creating a new server called “Club Penguin Island.” It is still unknown for how it differs from the original game. If you’re already a member you will not have to pay anymore and no new memberships can be purchased.

The 12 year old MMO or Massively Multiplayer Online server is definitely being replaced by its new and improved self. The beautiful MMO will be forever in our memories.  

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February Entertainment Reviews

Stranger Things Review

By Charlotte C.

In 1983, Will Byers mysteriously vanishes; his mother Joyce Byers goes into full blown panic, launching a huge investigation. Will’s friends Dustin, Mike, and Lucas all go to find him one night and run into a usual girl, who might help them find Will. The locals, including Police chief Jim Hopper, Will’s brother Jonathan, Mike’s sister Nancy, Nancy’s friend Barb, and Nancy’s boyfriend Steve are all trying to find Will while dealing with the crazy ride called life.
This action packed supernatural thriller will cause you to sit at the edge of your seat. I couldn’t stop screaming, crying, and was in total suspense the whole time. I give this a 5/5 because it is probably my favorite show right now. I can’t wait for season two to come out on Halloween. The show is packed with 80s nostalgia, which had 80s kids going crazy. I love this show and I hope you watch it and enjoy it as much as I do.

Stranger Things Trailer 

By Maggie K. 

When the Super Bowl rolls around, many gather to watch and have fun.  Although it’s a sports event, many people tune in for the entertaining commercials, trailers, and half time show.  This year, many fans anticipated the first look at season two of a popular show: Stranger Things.  Watch the trailer here: Stranger Things Season 2 Trailer  Many fans of the show have already theorized events in the next season, based on the short clip.  There’s no way to tell what’s true until it is released on Halloween 2017.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Review by Carly S.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a wonderfully written novel about the FBI recruiting teens with special abilities. These teenagers do not have magical powers, but what they can do is just as helpful.  Throughout the book, they do mind-blowing things-but with a twist. This is not usually my type of book; however, the four-book series that The Naturals starts off is my new favorite.

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What it Takes to be an Aspiring Author

By Sydney B.

With our population being past seven billion, the cold hard truth is one single person can have an extremely difficult time causing any sort of dent in our society. Many popular books that we know off the top of our heads such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling are the top goals of many young and adult authors. But, many people don’t know that many of these books that are “making it big” are ridiculously lucky.

Many times when publishing a book, authors have to submit and make revisions multiple times. Our beloved Harry Potter series had to go through many rejections before getting into print. J.K. Rowling got rejected by twelve companies before her book got excepted for publishing. To be an author, persistence, skill, and luck are needed more than anything.

Many publishing companies will turn someone down if they have any mistakes and/or “uninteresting” content. Even the process to get a book out to publishing companies can be rigorous and challenging. Most editing companies reject 99.5% of everything they see, which can seem scary to many aspiring authors.

If looking at more broad statistics, about 65,000 books are published every year. About two thirds of them are textbooks or professional books, leaving only about 12,000 left for other authors to publish. Only a few of these 12,000 can “make it big”. So, becoming an author requires knowledge, stubbornness, and pure luck. All authors should take this into consideration and make sure they are ready for the commitment.

Sources:

Dietrich, William. "The Writer's Odds Of Success". The Huffington Post, 2017, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-dietrich/the-writers-odds-of-succe_b_2806611.html.

Emmett, Rita. "Rita Emmett - What Are The Odds Of Getting Published?". Ritaemmett.Com, 2017, http://www.ritaemmett.com/articles/what-are-the-odds.htm.

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Quiz: What Book Character Are You?

By Rebecca F.

This book character quiz consists of a variety of questions, with a surplus of character outcomes. 

If you do not see the embedded quiz above, please click on the link below.

What Book Character Are You?

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North Carolina Teacher Develops Special Relationship with his Students

By Grace U.

North Carolina teacher Barry White Jr. has found an creative way to make his 40 fifth grade students feel special and welcome - he has given each their own personalized handshake. According to Mr. White, “The most critical component is the relationship, the rapport you build with your students because sometimes it can go underrated or overlooked… Before I’m able to deliver a substantial amount of content to them they have to invest in the teacher." He has also noted that he got the idea when he found out that Lebron James has special handshakes for each of his teammates. One of his students, Denise Hart, told reporters that he teaches his students to “do good” and appreciates having her own handshake because he has a “good relationship” with his students and he knows them on a personal level.

According to his LinkedIn, Mr. White has been teaching at Ashley Park Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past year and ten months. He has a degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from Claflin University and is currently working on his Masters of Business Administration so he can go into Educational Administration.

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Betsy DeVos: What Will the Future of Education Hold?

By Charlotte C.

On February 7, 2017, Betsy DeVos was confirmed to serve as Secretary of Education. Some think she is very qualified and is fit for the job; however, many think she is not, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders who both grilled Mrs. DeVos during her hearing on January 17, 2017.

Senator Warren sent DeVos a 16 page letter telling her how she is unqualified for the position of Secretary of Education. DeVos has said that she wants to get rid of public schools several times.

During the hearing most of the people there were appalled that she was okay with guns in schools and not knowing the basic things about education. Mrs. DeVos or her children have never attended public schools and have attended private school their whole education. Mrs. DeVos has a degree in business, so many are wondering why we are trusting her with the position of being in charge of our country’s and children's future.

She has been involved with education in Michigan as a Republican chairwoman and chair of the group American Federation for Children. Many educators in Michigan are very angry with some of the decisions that DeVos has made over her time in Michigan.

Education is what saves people from poverty and gives people the better skill set to work, so many people are concerned about letting this person, who knows nothing about education, run our country's schools?

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Kitten Dumped in Trash Gets a Second Chance At Life

By Mia D.

According to the ASPCA, 3.4 million cats walk into shelters each year, and even more die before they can get rescued. Luckily, a little kitten was found and given another opportunity at life by a good samaritan, named James Ryan.

The residential service driver James Ryan from Hunterdon County was simply starting his route at 4 in the morning. At the  transfer station, the loader operator met him with an abnormal question, “You like cats, right James?”

Earlier in the morning, a driver had found a kitten hidden in the trash can. James was known as a cat lover by his employees, so there was no question that he was going to rescue the little kitten.

When James went to rescue the animal, it let out an agonizing screech, that James says that he, “never wants to hear out of kitten for the rest of my life. My heart was breaking.” James proceeded to take the kitten to Tabby’s Place Cat Sanctuary in Ringoes, New Jersey. There, she was lovingly nicknamed Grace, and is on her way to a world class veterinary hospital to treat her leg. She is expected to make a full recovery.  Grace’s story has a happy ending  thanks to a man’s good deed.

This article originally appeared in Volume 3, Issue 2 of Hawk Headlines.

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