Around Millikan ~ School News




Spring Extravaganza
Kayla Isenberg, Madelyn Kang, and Levon Sahakyan

            Thursday, April 7th, after school was the Spring Extravaganza, school fair. This fair takes place every year before open house. Millikan students look forward to this event, and the variety of booths, things to do, and food.
            Classes and special programs open and run their own booths. The booths we had this year were a great success. Mrs. Tanguay held the “famous” marriage booth again. Mrs. Stealey and the yearbook class had a booth with a Plinko board and a can throw where students could win prizes. The LGBTQ Straight Alliance had a booth about awareness and information about LGBTQ. Ms. Woolford had a booth were students could hold animals like chickens, turtles, and snakes. She even had a couple of goats. CAAM was showing films during the fair. Mrs. Wright had a face paint booth, henna painting, and teddy bears for sale.
            There was a lot of delicious food and treats being sold, too. The Kona ice cream truck came with rich flavors of ice cream. Pizza and drinks were being sold and even Mr. Plevak was grilling at the BBQ. The afternoon was a was lots of fun and a great success.

St. Patrick’s Day

Kayla Isenberg, and Madelyn Kang, and Levon Sahakyan

March 20, 2016



            On March 17, 2016, Millikan Middle School celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. The school held many activities to celebrate this fun holiday. For example, leadership organized the St. Patrick’s Day dance and Environmental Studies held a Floral Fundraiser. Also, to celebrate this holiday, students wore anything green.

The Floral Fundraiser held by Environmental Studies took place on March 16, 2016. They sold green carnations for the fundraiser. The green on the carnations represented the green of St. Patrick’s Day. The fundraiser was held at the covered lunch area at nutrition and lunch.

The St. Patrick’s Day dance was held on the day of St. Patrick’s Day. The dance took place at the Burrill Hall at lunchtime. The dance was filled with students that were dressed in many green clothes. Students had a great time on St. Patrick’s Day! 

What are Millikan Students doing during Spring Break?

Payton Cichowski, Sydney Goren, and Maya Naor

March 15, 2016


            Spring Break is finally here! That means a fun, school free week filled with many things to do, places to go, and people to see. The students around campus had many things to day about their Spring Break. Many students are going to places around the world while others are just staying home. Students will be visiting their friends and family, doing their extracurricular activities, and going on planes, cruises, or cars to get to their destination. Students have sport tournaments, and others are staying local and hitting the beach and spending times with friends. 

            Spring Break is a time for a break from studying and school and, instead, sleeping in and relaxing. It has been 10 weeks so far this semester and many students could really use this week’s break to their advantage!


Science Fair

Payton Cichowski. Sydney Goren, and Maya Naor

February 22, 2016


On Thursday February 18 Millikan hosts their first ever “ Science Fair Family Fun Night,” 5 to 7 p.m. in the Burrill Hall. During this night the students displayed their science fair projects and showcased some classroom activities. There were some special guests such as Mr. Liam Kennedy who is an inventor of the “ISS Above” display. Mr. Kennedy told us about the invention process and a chance for student’s experiments to go to the International Space Station.

           Students presented the best parts from projects in their classroom. Our school is excited to participate in the first ever national research study on the educational effectiveness of “Science Fairs call Science Fairs Under the Scope” organized by Educational Development Center. The science fair was full of intriguing ideas and will catch you eye in awe.


Valentine's Day Festivities

Alexis Alvarez, Alyssa Delgado, Valerie Herrera, Lauren Vaknin

February 16, 2016
 
          In the month of February, leading up to February 14, Millikan was doing a series of activities. Our Leadership class, sponsored by Ms. Harris, was preparing for a Valentines Dance and selling Valentine’s Day grams. The 8th grade class was also participating in the activities by selling cute stuffed animals, Valentine’s pens, a bear with balloons, a bear with flower package, and Valentine's Day cards to raise money for 8th grade activities.

          On February 11, there was a dance in the gym during lunch, hosted by leadership. There was music and students seem to enjoy it. Leadership also sold singing grams along with the choir students that would be performing the delivery. On Friday the 12th, song grams were delivered to classes adding to the fun of Valentine’s Day here at Millikan.

          Many students here at Millikan enjoyed Valentine's Day, we hope you did too.

Coffee With the Principal

Ethan Binns, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Angelo Lavina
January 28, 2016



                This months "Coffee With the Principal" was quite interesting. The LAUSD Budget that Millikan expected according to Mr. Plevack was expected p be $400,000.00 this semester, but instead Millikan received a MUCH smaller amount of only 120,000.00.The school does not have enough money to buy toilet paper or even regular paper, as Mr. Plevack stated, “I can't even pay for paper right now!" Normal school events will still be held, like the 8th Grade Dance, but we have run out of money to pay for school-funded field trips. LAUSD has sincerely disappointed the Millikan community.
Important Update: Millikan has freed up money so now buying paper and toilet paper is not a problem. Mr. Plevack is also in negotiations about getting additional money.
 
Spirit Week 2016

Ethan Binns, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Angelo Lavina

February 10, 2016



During the school week of January 25-January 29, 2016, Millikan's annual Spirit Week took place. Monday was Superhero Day, Tuesday was Twin Day, Wednesday was Jersey Day, Thursday was Throwback 70's and 80's day, and Friday was School Color Day where students were encouraged to wear any shade of blue.

Events and activities also took place on the 8th Grade Lawn. Monday was Musical Chairs, Tuesday was 3-legged Races, Wednesday was Chair Basketball, on Thursday, Soda Sipping Contests took place on the stage and Friday was our weekly music on the lawn. Millikan students had a blast participating in Spirit Week. Leadership hopes to hold another Spirit Week sometime in Spring.
 
LGBTQ(ties)

Jordan Ullman, Erik Yoo, and Phoebe Perkins



            “This room is like Vegas. Whatever happens here, stays here,” is the positive affirmation said at the beginning of every meeting by Ms. Cohen, one of the leaders of Millikan Middle School’s new LGBTQ+ Pride Club. Formed by Ms. Cohen, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Porter while being led by two of Millikan’s own students, the LGBTQ+ Pride Club provides a safe and welcoming environment for all members of the LGBTQ+ community and also for those who support it. Millikan Messenger sent three of their journalists to sit through one of the club’s meeting and we all have reported back that their eyes were opened to the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community as well as the positivity that surrounds it as well. In just one meeting, we learned, we laughed, and met some new people and gained some new perspectives, and we can only assume that their other meetings would have done just the same if not more. The clubs’ discussions focus on topics ranging from questioning yourself all the way to be as sure in yourself as you’ve ever been.

            This club takes like-minded students and gives them an opportunity to thrive without feeling scared of what the people surrounding them will say. Though this isn’t officially classified as a support group, it serves the same purpose. The members and teachers that make up this club support one another and truly make bonds and attachments to each other that will last after they all walk out of the school’s doors, if not lasting for life. This club helps anyone who needs it to accept themselves, find themselves, and most importantly love themselves. We guarantee that you will not regret sitting through a pride club meeting every Wednesday in room 35.

Black History Month

Jessica Gaisford, Opal Polad, and Raven Adair

February 8, 2015 

  

The month of February is Black History Month. We celebrate this month to admire the great African Americans who changed our lives. One way of showing our respect to them is through dance, song, and dramatic poetry readings. At Millikan Middle school we had our Black History Month Celebration on February 3rd hosted by Mrs. Tyler.

The series of assemblies consisted of information about African American athletes, stars, and known personalities. These people were presented in slideshows, dances, poetry, and music. The slideshows told about many of the African Americans accomplishments. As a tribute, they did a type of dance called Rythamation showing people fighting for their rights. With in the assembly students also presented poetry by Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. The show consisted of many beautiful and meaningful tributes.

             In conclusion Black History Month is very important to recognizing elements that Blacks contribute to the rich culture and diversity of our nation. The performance was well done and very entertaining, creating a very high student spirit on that day. It was a really great way to admire important African Americans who have changed our ways of life, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. We would like to thank all the teachers and students who worked so hard to contribute and participate in the performance. It was a very educational and memorable show.

Spelling Bee Article

Kayla Isenberg, Madelyn Kang, Levon Sahakyan

February 7, 2016


              On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 8:25, the twelve spelling bee finalists went to Burrill Hall for the final round of the school wide spelling bee. Each English class had the opportunity to perform a spelling bee. The winners from each class moved onto the spelling bee of their English period. From this round, there were twelve finalists. The sixth grade finalists were Jacob Zheng, Melissa Mouchamel, Mia Catalano, Ethan Atias, Sarah Kave, Andrew Knish, and K’La Santos-Villacorta. The seventh grade finalists were Christopher Zazueta, Margot Dayon, Katherine Manno, and Nicole Mkrtytchian. The eight grade finalist was Brennan Azizi. These twelve finalists moved onto the final school round in Burrill Hall to see who would take first place here at Millikan and be our school representative in the California Regional Spelling Bee. Mia Catalano came in first, followed by Melissa Mouchamel, and then Katherine Manno. Congratulations to Mia Catalano as she moves forward into the regionals. 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Phoebe Perkins, Jordan Ullman, Erik Yoo



On January 18, America celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He became a well-known pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. However, he soon resigned in the mid 1950’s to commit his life to the Civil Rights movement full time, which later awarded him with a Nobel Peace prize in 1964. With his “I Have a Dream” speech, he inspired many and is rightly thought of today as the greatest civil rights activist.

            Martin Luther King’s first organized protest was the bus boycott in Montgomery. The protest was inspired by the actions of Rosa Parks. He led the Washington March of 200,000 people. He gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the Washington March protest. His actions and protests led to the Civil Rights and voting acts in 1965. These acts let anyone with color vote and have equal rights.

            Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work for racial equality. On April 4, 2968 Martin Luther King was staying at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He was assassinated there on a balcony. Martin Luther King was a great person and leader. His actions helped change a segregated country. He helped everyone get equal rights and is one of the greatest civil rights activists ever.
 

Big Students, Bigger Information

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Angelo Lavina



                High School Informational night on October 23 2015 was a night for students and parents to get information on the next four years from staff and Valerie Costa. Hopefully you received quality information prior to next High School Night.

All seventh and eighth graders were welcome. High school is coming up in a flash and you eighth graders need as much information as you can get. It doesn’t hurt to go twice. High School Night was a success.

                The A-G high school requirements were covered by Mrs. Covert. They are the course requirements for you at high school. Keep up the good work on your way to high school. Mrs. Covert provided the audience with encouraging words and Tacar Adere briefed on her role as head of PTSA. The speakers were much appreciated and were a big help.

                When exploring schools, you will find three different types. There are Charter schools, Private schools and Public schools. Private schools are tuition based, but Public and Charter schools are tuition free. Private schools will provide you with financial aid, if you’re in need of any and choose to apply for it. Charter schools are funded by the level of enrollment they receive.
                Attention students you must perform at a D or higher this year. Don’t slack off though, because we would all love to see our school flourish with outstanding grades. Let’s strive for the best we know we are! Good luck fellow peers, on the next four years!

Jazz Band Concert

Maya Naor and Payton Cichowski

December 10, 2015



 The Jazz performance on the 13th of November was conducted by Mr. McGaffey. It was filled with a variety of instruments, such as the trumpet, sax, piano, drums, xylophone, flute and many more. For people who don't know what a jazz band is, it is a music group that plays Jazz music with many different instruments. It is commonly made up of a horn section and a rhythm section. The jazz band performed many different, familiar songs. In which they performed very well. 

A Visit from Author Kenneth Oppel

Raven Adair and Valerie Herrera



On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, Millikan Middle school had guest author Kenneth Oppel come to the school. There was a pre-sale of his book before he came. During his reading he shared the main parts of his book and left us with a cliff-hanger. The title of his book is The Nest. 

                    The gist of the book is very surprising. It is about a bay who has a sick little brother. In a dream, wasps come to him t offer a deal where they would be able to “fix” his baby brother. All he has to do is say yes. Little does he know, saying yes will not be what he thinks it will. While Oppel was reading, you could tell he thought about every word he put into his book. The audience seemed to be interested.

                    As stated above, students had the opportunity to buy Kenneth Oppel’s book in advance. He was asked, “What inspired you to wrote this book? How did the ideas some into mind?” Some ideas were inspired by his life. His daughter created one of the character’s name. Overall, Kenneth Oppel’s visit was successful.
 

New Teachers at Millikan Middle School

Payton Cichowski and Maya Naor

November 13, 2015



Have you heard?! There are some new, amazing teachers at Millikan Middle School! These eleven new teachers are Mr. Figlio, Ms. Fausner, Ms. Blasi, Ms. Lacour, Ms. Wiesenfield, Mr. Ing, Ms. Sugar, Mr. Friedrich, Mr. Dean, Ms. Garcia, and Mr. McGaffey. To get to know them better they were asked four questions. This is how the teachers responded:
            Ms. Fausner’s first week at Millikan has been exciting and crazy. She hasn’t taught middle school in a while so it was a little nerve racking for her. Her favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is that she really likes the people she is working with and meeting all of her new students. She has been teaching at an elementary school for the past seven years so teaching at a middle school is a big change for her. Some things she wanted her students to know about her was that she is married to her husband, Mark and has an 8th grade daughter and a son in 10th grade. She stated that she has the best dog in the world named Bailey and enjoys cooking, being with family and friends, and watching her kids play their sports.

Mr. Figlio’s first week at Millikan has been magical and has met so many kind and welcoming people! His favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is that his students love to learn while having fun, which makes him have fun. In the past he was a substitute teacher all around the valley in middle and high school, but he says Millikan is special because the students, parents, and staff are all involved in the educational process. Some things he would like his students to know about him is that he is funny and likes pizza, playing the guitar, and watching movies. He stated, “My name is hard to pronounce. Just call me Mr. F.!”

Ms. Lacour has had a great first week at Millikan and stated that “Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. My students are funny and amazing to work with!”  She also said that she misses her former school but is easily starting to think of Millikan as home. Her favorite things about teaching at Millikan are her amazing students! Before Millikan she taught at Hale Charter Academy for nine years and Madison Middle School for nine years, but the difference between these schools and Millikan is how nice the people are here. She would like her students to know that she loves to travel and has taken her students on class trips all over the world, this summer she will be traveling to Italy and France!

Ms. Blasi’s first week at Millikan was wonderful! Her favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is that she loves how the students are so kind, articulate, intelligent, and creative! The best thing about Millikan, she said is that most teachers seem to be so kind, supportive, and generous. She taught at a different middle school last year. She said “The biggest change is that now I come to school happy! Last year, I was miserable! So glad to be out of there!” Some things she would like her students to know about her are that she loves music, enjoys helping people, loves nature, animals, and would like to do anything that could help our planet.

Mr. McGaffey's first week at Millikan has been great! He stated that “Millikan’s students are smart and capable young adults who are a pleasure to work with.” His favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is that he enjoys  meeting and working with the facility at Millikan. He has taught at many schools but none of them had a turtle as a mascot! Some things he would like his students to know about him is that he likes to mountain bike, ski, study science, work with technology and read.

Ms. Wiesenfeld’s first week at Millikan has been great, her students were welcoming, understanding, and patient. She stated that her favorite thing about teaching at Millikan were all of the “The amazing students who fill my day with their bright energy- “Hi, Ms. W!” they say wherever I go.” At her other school, the greatest challenge was motivating her students to learn and to enjoy it, while here at Millikan everyone wants to do so well! Some hobbies she would like to share with her students here is that she loves poetry, acting, and art. She is looking forward to performing in a play in the next few months, but is totally committed to being a teacher here at Millikan!

Mr. Ing’s first week at Millikan has been crazy, getting used to a new place and new people. His favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is the diversity in the student body. He taught one year at Reed middle School and seven years at Einstein middle School. The biggest change is how big Millikan is. Some things he would like his students to know about him is that he enjoys watching sports, playing video games, reading comic books, and hanging out with his family and friends.

Ms. Sugar’s first week at Millikan has been exciting and fun, while getting to know her new classroom. Her favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is how Millikan embraces individuality and a variety of talents. In the past Ms. Sugar taught at a Special Education school, but the biggest change is how small her prior school was and how big Millikan is! Some things she would like her students to know about her is that she used to live in Chicago and misses seeing the leaves change and the holiday times in a bustling city. She also enjoys that theater and all of the arts.

Mr. Knauss’ first week at Millikan has been great! He enjoys working with all of students, teachers, and the administration. His favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is how friendly all the students are. He has taught at another school but the difference between them is that at Millikan the parents are much more involved. Some things he would like his students to know about him is that before he was a teacher he was a software engineer, but he still loves math and science!

Mr. Dean’s first week at Millikan has been busy! His favorite thing about teaching at Millikan is the students and the supportive atmosphere. The biggest change between his past school and Millikan is that for the past five years he has taught at college level and is now teaching middle school, so that has been a major change. Something he would likes his students to know about him is that he likes baseball, plays, and going to comedy shows. He also performs and trains in comedy and improv. His favorite thing to do, though, is spending time with his friends and family.

Ms. Garcia’s first week at Millikan has been great, although all the new faces and names were a bit of a challenge. Her favorite thing about teaching at Millikan so far is the friendliness of the administration, students, and staff. In the past she had taught at three different schools but the biggest change so far is the academic skill and creativity from the students. Some things she would like her students to know about her is that she likes to sing with her kids and trying to create Saturday Night Live skits from the humorous situations with her kids. She would like to also say that both of her kids went to Millikan as well!

As you can see all of these teachers have something to share. These teachers are new to the school so make sure they feel welcome. Now that you know a little about them all of them , don’t be shy to say hi!

8th Grade Movie Night

October 23, 2015
Caitlin Lim and Angelique Lorenzo  

             Friday, October 23, 2015 was 8th Grade Movie Night. This event took place at the 8th Grade Lawn from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM. Ms. Wasserman and the Millikan PTSA ran it.

            This event was to “reward students for grades, for students to see each other after school, and it was a fundraiser.” Ms. Wasserman, 8th grade counselor, says in an interview. Students would need their school ID and their 10 week report card with passing grades, no D’s or F’s and no more than 2 U’s in Work Habits and Cooperation to be eligible to get in. Snacks and food were sold as well as 8th grade spirit wear.
            Overall, this event was fun for eligible 8th graders. They got to enjoy the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with their friends. This year was different because “every counselor has a different idea” Said Ms. Wasserman. Lastly, this event was fun for her and the student.
Halloween 2015

Madelyn Kang and Jessica Gaisford

November 12, 2015


October 30, 2015, it was a day before Halloween but that didn’t stop Millikan students from dressing up. There were many creative costumes that the students wore this day. Students were dressed up as vampires, nerds, devils, angels, and etc.  Even some of the teachers dressed up on this day. Millikan teachers were dressed up as Chubaka, Ash from Pokémon, and much more.

Many interesting events took place on this day. One special event that took place on this day is when the 6th grade dancers performed “Thriller” on the 8th grade lawn at nutrition. Parents and students had permission to come and watch the dancers. The 6th grade dancers performed this dance four times from four different directions so the audience can clearly see their dance. Thanks to the dance teachers that taught the 6th grade dancers the “Thriller” dance routine, we were able to enjoy watching this dance.

Another interesting event that took place on this day was the Halloween Dance. Leadership was in charge of organizing the Halloween Dance. Burill Hall (the place where the Halloween Dance was taking place) was filled with loud music. The students that bought the tickets to the dance were able to dance and have fun with their friends.

Students were able to go all out and create some very unique costumes. Even some of the teachers were able to have fun on this day. One teacher, Mr. Chaidez dressed up as Chubaka and went from one class to another scaring students and teachers. In conclusion, October 30, 2015 was a very special day for Millikan.

Sherman Oaks Annual Street Fair 2015

Sydney Goren and Ethan Vernik

November 5, 2015



On Sunday, October 18,2015, Sherman Oaks had there annual Street Fair on Ventura between Van Nuys and Kester. Numerous booths were set up ranging from food booths such as lemonade stands, hotdogs, to advertisements for Ben Carson to clothes for sell. There were many adults of all ages but even more little children running around. Lots of teenagers came to hang out with their friends and family members. Many of the children were spending their Sunday going on the variety of rides and jumpers, which were some activities available.

            During the fair there were a lot of fun rides such as Super Slides and scrambler, also more little kid rides. There were a lot of performers from young kids to high school teens that performed songs and dances. There were many sponsors that advertised their companies, some included, Ralphs, Walgreens, Westfield Shopping Mall, Wells Fargo, Ford, and much more! An antique car show was at one end and the Original Bat Mobile was by the main stage. There was a huge performance stage were numerous schools ranging from elementary to high school performed. Some schools such as Harvard Westlake, Dixie Canyon, Walter-Reed, Millikan Middle School, CHAMPS, and more did little shows for the Sherman Oaks community.
            Overall, the fair was a blast, for all ages. There were many performers, sponsors, and lots people to watch. Many people can’t wait for the street fair next year, hope everyone comes to the many Street Fairs after this one.  


Performing Arts Magnet

Alyssa Delgado and Alexis Alvarez

November 2, 2015



            The Performing Arts Magnet and Mrs. Covert, the Performing Arts Coordinator, has great plans for this school year.

The Performing Arts Magnet and Academy are special programs offered here at Millikan Middle School. The magnet program has about 437 students that are enrolled. This Performing Arts Magnet has been at Millikan Middle School since 1994, 25 years and is rated the top performing arts middle school in Los Angeles Unified School District! The electives offered are drama, choir, musical theater, are and much more. Also, most all of the students that are enrolled in the performing arts magnet have dance as their physical education course. Another thing is that we have great shows throughout the year, plays, musicals, dance recitals, orchestra and chorale performances.

 If you would like to apply for the Performing Arts Magnet, you can visit E–choices on LAUSD.net. There are about 500 students on the waiting list every year. You will get the benefit of free transportation to and from school if you live at least five miles away from campus. Another good thing about it is that we have lots of artist educators that come to classrooms. Lots of students are already professional with agents, coaches, and even jobs! In conclusion, any student that has as interest in the arts can apply to the Performing Arts Magnet!


Performing Arts Academy

Opal Polad and Lauren Vaknin

November 2, 2015



            The Performing Arts Academy has Musical Theatre, Dance, Choir, Drama Production, and fun. Mr. Frome says, “Musical Theatre has an exciting year planned for you.” He also stated that he could tell you that you will want to dance, sing, and act with our actors and actresses when you see our productions. Musical Theatre produces two productions during the school year. Last years productions, “Little Shop of Horrors” and, “ In The Heights” were incredibly successful and we got to keep raising the bar higher and higher. The first Musical Theatre production will be performed during the first week of March 2016. The second production will be performed sometime in May 2016. The level of passion and commitment to a program from the students is spectacular. The students will only continue to grow as actors/actresses, students, and most importantly individuals.
            In the Dance Program of Performing Arts Academy we perform and prepare for Winterfest, Springfest, and Halloween (for the 6th graders).  Since it’s the 8th grades last year, they get to pair up and work on their 8th grade choreography. We have a lot planned for the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. The dance teachers this year (2015-2016) are Mrs. Nguyen, Mrs. Weiss, Ms. Tyler, and Mr. Burke. This year you will, “ Reflect, Revise, and Perform,” as the common core states. Throughout the year you will improve and learn different types of dances. We hope that everyone will have an amazing year with us.
We thank you all and support you throughout the year. The Preforming Arts Academy will be a blast with all of you involved. We love and appreciate your support and encourage you to come see all of our performances and shows. Performing Arts will have an amazing time with you! 

Millikan Middle School 8th Grade Assembly
Levon Sahakyan and Sarkis Veranyan

            The 8th grade assembly was on September 28, 2015. It took place at the Millikan Burrill Hall. All students went during their homeroom period. The assembly was about many things. Millikan staff talked about what will be happening in the future, and all of the things you have to do to culminate.
Ms. Wasserman went over the requirements to culminate 8th grade, class of 2016. The requirements used to be that you wouldn’t be able to graduate if you had “D’s.” Now they have changed it back to the normal requirements, which is you can fail a class.
At the assembly, they also passed out the students G.P.A. scores. This was only addressed to the kids that had a G.P.A. from 3 to 3.5, or 3.5 to 4. The G.P.A. paper also said if you are an honors student or not.
Lastly, this assembly was very important. It gave students important information they should know about 8th grade. If this assembly didn’t take place, many students wouldn’t be aware of the new rules and changes that have happened, resulting in students not graduating on stage.

PTSA Meeting September and October

Phoebe Perkins and Rosabella Webb

Hello teachers, students, and parents! There was a PTSA meeting on September 16, and the first social was soon to follow, in the last week of September. Both the meeting and the social were very productive. But if you didn’t get the chance to go to either, here are some important highlights of the meeting.

·      A fundraiser is going on where you can send in bags of clothes, and a portion of the proceeds goes to PTSA, if you need a bag to donate clothing items come to the next PTSA meeting

·      November 2nd is high school night

·      8th grade dance questions go to the chairperson

·      The Move Fund is now called the MAC Fund (Millikan Annual Contribution) to make the name’s acronym more understandable and straightforward

·      There are many fundraisers and activities available for parents to volunteer for, attend, or participate in; such as the Scoolaclothing drive; MAC Fund Annual contribution; canned food drive in November; Thanksgiving baskets; Piece of Cake

·      The Reflections Art  program is sponsored by PTSA

·      Mr. Plevack reported that Millikan has the second best test scores on the SBAC tests in LAUSD

·      Smarter Balance test scores are available if you see your counselor

·      The dance department is doing The Thriller dance on the Friday before Halloween

·      Guest speaker, Shayla Taylor helps with college preparation came to share with parents

·      Deadline for submissions for Reflections is Monday, October 26; There

·      are six categories, and make sure to have consent from anyone in your films, or

·      you will be disqualified. This year’s theme is Let Your Imagination Fly, and themes

·      for next year's competition come out in May. *Any original artwork will be

·      returned to the kids after the competition is over * First prize is an all expense

·      paid trip to Disney resort for the winner and an adult!

·      There is an 8th grade Civics Academy trip in May, 2016 to Boston. Fundraising to help students fund the trip is going on.  Civics Academy is closing after the 2016-17 school year

·      The only way to enter the Science Academy Stem Magnet is through E-Choices

Sixth Graders Learn the Ropes of Middle School

Ethan Binns and Erik Yoo

September 18, 2015

            At the end of their fifth week of middle school, the new sixth graders of Millikan Middle School attended an assembly with their counselor, Ms. Torrijos. Described what the new grading system, of A, B, C, D, and F, would be like. Ms. Nunez spoke about bullying and the effects it has on its victims. She highlighted the harsh types of bullying: Nonverbal, verbal, physical, emotional, and cyber bullying. She also spoke about sexual harassment and the punishment if someone is found guilty of it.

            In interviews with three sixth graders at Millikan, they shared their thoughts on the assembly. Elijah Gipson noted what he learned from the assembly, “Grades matter, especially when I’m in a good school.” Grace Bourassa explained how she felt about the middle school grading system, “ It’s a little confusing, but it helps to know your percentage in a class.” Serene Melikyan shared her thoughts about sexual harassment, “It’s bad and you might get kicked out of school (for it).”
 
Classic Cinema Night

October 14,2015

Herrera and Raven Adair



On September 25,2015 Classic Cinema Night was held at Millikan Middle School from 6pm to 10pm. Many were encouraged to attend. At this event, one classic film, Star Wars, was shown. Classic Cinema Night was a fundraiser for Cinematic Arts Academy.

During the event snacks, pizza, and drinks were sold as part of the fundraiser. This event was a fundraiser to help out the Cinematic Arts Academy (CAAM) so that they are able to afford new equipment.

Classic Cinema Night was a success. They will have another event this month. The next event will be the Cinematic Arts Academy Phantom Film Festival on October 29, 2015 in Burrill Hall from 6pm to 10pm. CAAM hopes all who are able will attend.


TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH GOOGLE

Vanessa Hernandez and Campbell Snow

October 12, 2015

            Have you ever wanted to go to the Great Coral Reef, Eiffel Tower, or the Great Wall of China? Well now you can, because Google Expeditions is coming to Millikan! Google Expeditions is a virtual reality field trip. The goggles are made out of either cardboard or a light plastic in which you insert your phone to go to your destination. The Google app has 50+ different places to visit.  There are also versions of the app where instead of visiting places there are games to play.

            Google Expeditions gives the students opportunities to go on field trips to somewhere they cannot get to and/or afford. For instance, if the students are learning about the Roman Coliseum, they can visit and explore the structure. The Google card box offers a 360-degree view of each location with varied settings to select from.

            Teachers signed up an advance for the expedition related to what the students are learning in class. Google Expeditions visited and was stationed in different classrooms, labs, and the library.

            Ms. Carroll, the school librarian, said that she is planning an event for students to make their own goggles. She said it will take about three hours to make, but it will be worth it!
  
Magnet School Tours

Kayla Isenberg and Cady Loeb

October 6, 2015



         Friday, September 25, 2015, Millikan Middle School held the first of this years magnet tours. The tours will continue through Thursday, November 12, 2015. All visitors met in Burrill Hall, where coordinators discussed eighth grade culmination requirements and school rules. Ms. Connie Covert, who ran the tours, answered questions.  The principal, Mr. Plevack, stopped by for a quick word, then everyone was split up into two groups. Those interested in performing arts and those interested in science.

         The Performing Arts Magnet tour saw Mrs. Cohen, the seventh grade English teacher. They also stopped to visit Mr. McGaffey, the band teacher. Ms. Weiss and her students showed off their dance moves. Lastly, Mr. Krubsack had the choir sing a song for the group.

          The Science Academy (GATE/Highly Gifted/High Ability) Magnet tour started off with Mrs. Huff leading us to the Robotics room where me up with Mr. Lauchu. Parents asked questions and Lauchu went over the sixth grade curriculum. Some points we went over were, how to prepare for the admissions test, what the incoming sixth graders will need to know in terms of math and science and so on. The group was then able to speak with some eighth grade students and learn more about the program. 

            Both Magnet programs look forward to eager sixth graders applying for their programs!

7th Grade Assembly
Madelyn Kang and Jessica Gaisford
September 28,2015

There was a 7th Grade Assembly in Burill Hall on September 24th and 25th. The 7th grade counselor, Mrs. Zahler, led the assembly. During the assembly, Mrs. Zahler went over the rules and requirements for 8th grade culmination. She also encouraged the 7th graders to be successful in middle school.
Last year, the culminating requirements changed so the 7th grade grades count for culmination. The first and second semester grades are worth 5 points in 7th grade. In order to earn all points, students must have a C or higher in each of your classes. These points count toward the total of 30 points possible at the end of 8th grade. In order to culminate, you need to receive 21 out of 30 points.
While keeping up student’s good grades they have to maintain the rules of being safe, responsible, and respectful throughout middle school. Dress code is one of the most important rules to follow. In eighth grade, you can’t get more than three dress codes violations to meet the requirements to culminate on stage. Other than that students should keep positive and remain well behaved to be successful.
We learned more about the assembly after interviewing Kayla Isenberg, one of the 7th grader students that attended. She thought Mrs. Zahler explained the requirements for 8th grade culminations so that they were easy to understand. “Even though we were aware of these rules and requirements since 6th grade, it was nice to refresh our memories. I am very confident in meeting the standards of 8th grade.”
The 7th grade assembly specifically explained all the rules and requirements to culminate the 8th grade. It is important for a 7th grader to follow these rules and requirements because if a 7th grader does not follow them, it will prevent them from culminating on stage. Remember to be safe, responsible, and respectful! 

Millikan Book Fair

Levon Sahakyan and Sarkis Veranyan

September 15, 2015


            Students, parents, and teachers all had an opportunity to visit the Millikan Book Fair. At the book fair they sold many genres of books and pens, posters, and other school supplies. The book fair this year was in room 30. Ms. Carroll, our librarian, ran the fair like always with the help from our Millikan PTSA.
            Twenty percent of the money that the book fair makes is then used for buying new books for our school library. The book fair helps kids buy books that they have wanted and not been able to get yet. Our book fair had cool and fun books and educational books, too. The prices for most of the books, pens, and other supplies are very affordable what is best is the books are right here for us.
                        If you’re having trouble finding a book, our helpful PTSA members provided much help. Ms. Carroll helps with all your books needs, now she is available in the library if you need any assistance. Millikan’s book fair has been going on for many years, and every year it gets better.  If you missed the fair this year be sure to visit the library to check out books for reading and research!
 
Lauchu Tuesday

Sydney Goren and Ethan Vernik

September 20, 2015



         The purpose of Lauchu Tuesday is so that Mr. Lauchu can explain to the 8th grade science curriculum to the 8th graders.

         Since it is the 8th graders last year, Mr. Lauchu expects his best from them.  This year, they will be studying Physical Science, there will be much rigorous learning, lots of CST prep, and frequent study sessions.  Mr. Lauchu expects the students to try their best, do all classwork and homework and get an above average grade, in order to succeed in High School.

         CST’s are the week of May 11th and Mr. Lauchu’s goal for the 8th graders this year is that each of them will score over 600 on the exam.  This exam can make or break your future according on how you do.  The score on this exam goes is used to help determine your high school class schedule, like if you will be enrolled in AP science classes.  Mr. Lauchu knows that students may struggle to understand science, that’s why he holds tutoring during nutrition, lunch, and after school.
            Some of Mr. Lauchu’s students are willing to stay in at lunch, sit with a struggling student, and help them improve their grades.  Students, please keep in mind that science CST’s are very important.  Take advantage of all of your opportunities to get a good score on the science CST by studying, completing all assignments, and taking your schoolwork seriously.

 
Traffic Safety Assembly Visits Millikan

By: Jake Kirshen and Jordan Ullman

September 25, 2015



On September 2, 2015 during their History periods, all Millikan students went to see a Traffic Safety Assembly to help educate them in what can be the consequences if you are not careful in the streets. To emphasis their reason for visiting, the visitor talked to us about Conor Lynch. Conor Lynch’s story is a tragic one, and left us all in awe and sorrow. But this was only one of the crucial parts of this this assembly.
A highlight from this assembly is when he called up a few volunteers. These volunteers helped demonstrate some different situations involving traffic safety and how to approach it in a variety of different ways. For example, one situation involved a person riding a bike and then switching lanes so they would avoid a driver opening their car door. This taught students that when riding a bike, skateboarding, or scooter they should always be cautious about their surrounding environment.
After encouraging us to want to be more careful, the visitor then taught us some important facts that hopefully will last forever. More importantly he taught us, the future drivers, ways to be more careful. We all learned many things from this visit, that will help make a change, whether it’s big or small, in this world. We are the future, and we need to make sure we and all others get to be here to shape it.
 
Travel the World with Millikan

By Vanessa Hernandez and Campbell Snow

September 23, 2015



Knock, knock. Who’s there? Connecting. Connecting, who? Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum that visisted Millikan! From September 8th – 22nd the Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum was held in the Millikan library. There were over 900 objects in the collection. This years focus was on good luck charms and clothing. There were also games, toys, and sports. 

            Valerie Lezin, the founder and director of the museum said, ”This exhibit demonstrates how different but similar we all are.” Clothing changes from place to place and from occasion to occasion showing culture and tradition. This goes along with the main point that we are all doing the same things, but in our own way. No one is doing all thing all right and no one is doing it wrong. If we can learn to respect and understand these differences we will be much kinder to each other.

Sophia Gamez, seventh grade, said,” I liked the South African display because the jewelry was pretty and the dolls were cool.” Reese Hammons, seventh grader, really like India.

            So, the life lesson taken from the exhibits is that if we can learn to respect and understand each other’s beliefs and ways of life, then we will be a more tolerant, accepting, caring world.
Leadership 2015-16

Angelo Lavina and Pete Crow-Armstrong

September 9, 2015



As we say farewell to our long time teacher and friend, Mr. Cahn, we are delighted to say hello to our newest member, our leader, Ms. Harris. She encourages any new or returning students to be confident and to be a leader. Mrs. Harris chose to take over Leadership because she wanted to bring new ideas and events to the Millikan community and also to be a new leader, gladly taking over Mr. Cahn’s legacy.  Leadership will be beginning in the near future in room 40A.

After interviewing Ms. Harris, we found out that someone like her, who has been here for so long, can have some butterflies. She hopes for her incoming students to feel the same way, excited with a little bit of butterflies. She hopes that they will break out of her sham.  “Just because you will be new in Leadership, shouldn’t mean you have to be shy and do everything how it used to be.” Ms. Harris wants her students to be innovative and come up with of their own ideas.

Ms. Harris has decided to keep old traditions from the past years of Leadership. She has also announced that she will bring her own, new ideas for Millikan. She wants to give leadership a new feel with exciting events that she believes Millikan will love. Ms. Harris felt that this information should get out to you, the students of Millikan. She hopes her new ideas will be fun and will improve Leaderships activities.

We thank Mrs. Harris for taking over Leadership and continuing the legacy Mr. Cahn has left behind.

A Blast in the Past of Ronald Reagan

Ethan Binns and Erik Yoo

September 12, 2015




          The Civics Academy, of Millikan Middle School, went on its first field trip of the school year on September 10, 2015. The Civics Academy went to the Ronald Reagan Library, in Simi Valley, to educate the students about the history of one of our nation’s greatest presidents, Ronald Reagan.

          As the academy arrived at their destination, the very docents that would guide them through the museum welcomed and introduced themselves. Docents then escorted groups of students and chaperons into the museum, as they began their journey through the life of Ronald Reagan. Some of the memorable artifacts the academy was lucky enough to see were: a piece of the Berlin Wall, Reagan’s memorial site, Air Force One, and many other artifacts and relics of Mr. Reagan's Life.    
          Many students were also unaware of one of Ronald’s past professions, an announcer for the Chicago Cubs. People were also able to witness the preparation for the G.O.P. debate taking place September 16, 2015. At the end of the visit, they went through the football museum, where students were able to see the jerseys of many past and present N.F.L. stars, such as Tom Brady and John Elway.

            In an interview with Sydney Goren, a Civics Academy eighth grader who went on the trip, she explained, “The field trip was very educational, and it was a fun experience going through the history of Ronald Reagan. The parts I enjoyed most of the library, were going through the Football Museum, Ronald Reagan’s Memorial, and the beautiful view from the grounds of the library. The most interesting part of the museum was going through Air Force One, and learning about how the president traveled in the plane.”
 

Millikan's Back To School Night

Caitlin Lim ~Angelique Lorenzo

September 8, 2015

 

On Thursday, September 3rd Millikan's Back to School Night took place on campus. This event happens for parents so they have an opportunity to get involved in their child's education. "Parents will spend about 10 minutes in each class then a bell will ring for them to go to their child's next class." Stated by Mr. Meritt, the Assistant Principal.

During this event parents get to know more about their child's education so they can better help them succeed. We asked Mr. Meritt what his hopes were for the night. He responded, "My goal for the night is for parents to come and build a relationship with the teacher, so both the teacher and the parent can work together to help the students succeed." And that's exactly what happened. Parents got to ask many questions and share concerns they had. This event is mainly about parents getting involved in building connections; it was set up not changing schedules.

Overall Back to School Night is about parents getting involved in their child's education. Parents got to know their child's teachers, know what the child is going to learn, and know their child’s schedule. By building a bridge between home and school, teachers and families will better be able to work together so all students can be successful.


Remembering 9/11

Jessica Gaisford and Madelyn Kang

September 12, 2015



            Fourteen years ago, on September 11th, a tragic event took place in the United States. The terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, hijacked four planes, and destroyed multiple very important sites, some of the places were the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Thousands of people were injured and died on this day. Every year, on September 11th we take a moment of silence to remember those that we have lost. Here at Millikan we started the day with a moment of silence and members of our chore sang the Star Spangled Banner of the PA system for all students to hear and participate.

            On this date in our countries history, ninteen Al-Qaeda terrorists took control of four airplane flights: American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93. American Airlines Flight 11, and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the Twin Towers. Then, the American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. The last plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania instead of destroying the White House. The attacks took 2,996 lives and caused over 6,000 injuries.

            After the attack, the United States invaded Afghanistan and started a war called War on Terror. During these attacks, Al-Qaeda’s leader and founder, Osama Bin- Laden admitted that he was responsible for the attacks on 9/11. For a decade, he was able to run and escape from being captured. Then, in May 2011, the U.S military found and killed Osama Bin- Laden.

            We learned more about the personal side of 9/11 by interviewing Mrs. Tanguay. When the attack started, Mrs. Tanguay was at school and she was shocked, scared, and sad. Mrs. Tanguay’s father had been close to the attacks and fortunately survived without an injury. Sadly, his assistant had been in building one of the Twin Towers and didn’t make it out. Mrs. Tanguay believes that the USA did not deserve this attack, but America had wronged them before as well.

            After the attacks, there were many closing, cancellations, and evacuations of other sites because of fear for further attacks.  The destruction of the World Trade Center took a long time to clean-up, it was completed in May, 2002.The Pentagon was repaired in a year. There were many memorials built to remember those who passed away on 9/11. One example is the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. September 11th was a tragic day that we will never forget and is nationally recognized as Patriot Day.

Battle of the Books

Cady Loeb and Kayla Isenburg

September 1, 2015



         “Battle of the Books is an exciting reading competition for all students” Mrs. Carroll, our school librarian. Teams of four to six students work together to read all twenty books on the 2015-2016 reading list. If you want to form one of these teams, ask Mrs. Carroll in the library. After doing so, you can meet with your team as often as you like during lunch. Once every month there will be a meeting for all teams in the library.
           During the competition, teams will be asked questions about their reading, such as, “In what book did one of the characters suddenly see the color red?” Teams would then answer with the title and author: “The Giver by Lois Lowry.” You will read a variety of books, from Eleanor and Park to The Red Pyramid to The Phantom Tollbooth.To get the full list, go to the library or visit the library link on the Millikan web site.
           This year the official meet will be held at Millikan in early March. Help from teachers and parents is needed, with gifts, food, set-up, and clean up. Adults who are interested in volunteering, contact the library at (818) 528-1635. Everyone is looking forward to this year’s competitions. When asked what she was looking forward to, Sophia Ortner, a previous Battle of the Books contestant coming back again this year, said she was, “excited to read all the new books and make some new friends.” 
Let’s get everyone this excited about reading!


Millikan’s Dean Shares Important Rules of Middle School

Daniel Kang and Forrest Mesina

September 1, 20 15



On August 26th and 28th, a discipline assembly took place in Burrill Hall. The main reason for this event was to review and remind the students about the importance of following school rules. So in a way, a “How to Survive Middle School Guide.”
In speaking with Ms. Nunez after the assembly, we learned what she believes the three most important rules are for new students…

So as you can see, being a good friend and making/having good friends, focusing on your studies, and not getting caught up in gossip and rumors is the way to go. Follow these rules and you can get through middle school in a breeze. 


 

ID Photos and Picture Day

Jake Kirshen & Armen Nalbandyan

August 28, 2015



Students took id and yearbook photos on Thursday, August 27th during PE or Dance classes in Burrill Hall. The LifeTouch photographers helped student pose for an amazing picture. Yearbook students assisted with the lines and organization as best they could on this very busy day.

Students are currently receiving their ID cards and photos should come in soon to be sent home to parents for viewing and purchase. If your child could not make it to this photo day, Life Touch will arrange with Millikan another date for a make-up pictures. Make sure you have your picture taken so that it will be in this year’s yearbook!

 

The First Millikan PTSA Meeting of 2015-16

Raven Adair and Valerie Herrera

September 1, 2015



         The Millikan PTSA (Parent, Teacher, Student, Association) is an organization that allows the school community to become more involved with things here at Millikan. Meetings take place on the third Wednesday of every month in the school library. The first PTSA meeting of the year was on August 26th from 6-7:30 pm. This month dinner was provided to all who attended. Last year the PTSA had 646 members and this year we began the school year with 647 members. If you have not joined yet, please do!
         We welcome the new board to the 2015-2016 PTSA council: President -Takar Adair, Co-Vice Presidents - Justin Rogan and Julia Emeltchenko, Secretary - Jane Macfie, and Treasurer - Michael Bustos.
         Some of the things PTSA does for Millikan include: monthly student socials at lunch for student members, materials and financial support for special student programs, holiday meals for needy families in our community, and fun fundraising events, such as Comedy Night.
         There are also great opportunities for families to volunteer here at Millikan. Please sign-up and join a committee. Be an active member of our PTSA. The next PTSA meeting will be Wednesday, September 16th, please come and be an active part of the Millikan community.



Welcome to Millikan!

Phoebe Perkins and Rosabella Webb

August 20, 2015



Welcome back to Millikan everyone! To our new sixth graders, here’s a little bit about the proud Millikan turtles. We have lots of school spirit, and different unique programs that let students learn using their interests and skills. Millikan has a diverse population, and every student is encouraged to try their best. Now that you know a little bit about us, here are some quotes from some of Millikan’s newest sixth graders.
We asked a few sixth graders what they were excited for in their upcoming middle school years. “Well the thing I’m most excited about for middle school is probably meeting new teachers. I’ve already met them I also want to meet new people.
But overall, middle school so far just seems fun.” Anthony Madera
“I’m really excited for middle school because I get to meet a bunch of different kids, and a bunch of different teachers, and I’m mostly excited to meeting new friends. I’m also really excited to learn new things that I wouldn’t be able to learn in a different school.” Laila Giliox
“I’m excited for middle school because it’s a whole new thing, with lockers, and different classes, and also I love science, because I’m in the Science Academy!” Ziva Glazer
We hope everyone has a good 2015-16 school year here at Millikan Middle
School. GO TURTLES!




 2014-2015 School Year

Volunteer Brunch

Joseph Park and Duncan Lazarow



            Millikan has amazing volunteers that help our school and teachers in so many ways. They’ve done campus beautification, work with our PTSA, help with performances, and so much more. The teachers moral group wanted to give back to the volunteers for all the help they’ve done.

            They decided a good way to give back would be a brunch to all the volunteers. Mrs. Wright shared that the brunch thanks our volunteers with orange juice and pastries, and an orchestra serenade.

            We think that the volunteers really enjoyed the morning and had a nice brunch. They were also all presented with an award for their service. We also would like to thank the volunteers for all the help!

Bottle Rockets

Daniel Kang & Ethan Kong   

         Launching in 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF! Millikan Middle School had its very own rocket launch thanks to Mr. Lauchu and his Science Academy students. Hard work, determination, and hours of preparation surely paid off for this exciting event.

Mr. Lauchu ‘s student expectations, “Before they build or shoot the bottle rockets they have to do some math to find the acceleration, trajectory, and the velocity for the rockets to be launched.” He thought they worked really hard for this event. Students completed projects were above- and-beyond due to their interest in getting ready of launch day. He is more than satisfied by the results and how hard they work to do their best.

In the end Mr. Lauchu and his kids had a great time shooting the bottle rockets. Mr. Lauchu will continue with these amazing projects in the future along with his Science Academy kids. We all look forward to seeing more of these amazing projects in the future.

Music In The Park
Liam Howell and Andrew Dermovsesian
               Music in the park was an instructional music festival. Bands all across America traveled to play at this wonderful event. While performing, judges give instructional criticism and give the band an overall rating. Two of Millikan’s amazing bands earned the privilege of having the ability to perform at the event.
              Third and fourth period band classes both played songs for the judges. Fourth period played “Into the Clouds!” and third period played The Billboard March.” There were great performances from both of the periods. Both the third and fourth period classes earned excellent reviews. Overall, the total of 85 students performed spectacularly.

                  I strongly advise if you are a band student to attend the Music in The Park events in the future. Ms. Hirako stated, “Music in The Park  is the number one way to challenge bands and help them strive to get better.” The judges guide and critique bands as part of a learning experience.

               Overall, music teachers and band students all around our community loved the event. We believe performers will gain prestige and recognition from this event. Thank you to Ms. Hirako for setting up the chance to perform.



Walking to Cure MS

Madelyn Kang and Jessica Gaisford 

       Sunday, April 19, the Civics Academy joined Pasadena in the walk for MS. Mrs. Tanguay’s mother, Fay suffers from multiple sclerosis everyday. The walk this year was to cure MS in children. Today, kids are being diagnosed between the ages of 11 and 25. As of today, the Civics Academy has raised $3087. 
               Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease that progresses over time. The disease causes damages to the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms may include numbness, impairment of muscles, blurred vision, and fatigue. 200,000 to 3 million people in the United States get diagnosed with MS each year. Physical therapy and medications that suppress the immune system can help with symptoms and slow disease progression. 
 Many students participated in this event. We interviewed one of the walkers, Valerie Herrera. She participated in the walk on April 19. She walked 3.2 miles with her family and friend. The students that walked in the walk all wore the blue shirt that said “Friends of Fay” and “Caring for KC”. There were many sponsors that dedicated their time and effort. Valerie Herrera ended the interview by saying,” The MS walk is very fun to participate in”
Although MS is still affecting the world today, every walk makes it closer to find a cure. Every step we take makes it closer to curing MS. Special thanks to Mrs. Huff and Mrs. Tanguay and to everyone who participated. Finding a cure for MS, one student at a time! 





A Black History Celebration

Ethan Binns & Sydney Goren

April 12, 2015

“African Americans have played a part in every field in human achievement. Black artists, craftsmen, poets, philosophers, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes and politicians, mark every era of American history all of which demonstrate great courage and originality. These people are the history of America and we all celebrate their combined achievements.”


              This event is taking place because the history of all cultures deserves to be celebrated and acknowledged. It will educate and celebrate a very important part of our American culture, and America’s past. This is an event that applies to all, no matter race, color, gender, or culture, because we can all benefit from learning the history of African American history. In the show, there will be some student created work, but teachers will be contributing voice, music, drama, dance, visual art, literature and poetry, cultural, and academic performance pieces. It took up to around 2 months to put this presentation together with the help and assistance from dance teachers Ms. Weiss, Ms. Daniels, and Mr. Burke. This show stretched 3,4,and 5 periods, because of all the visual arts numbers that were being presented.


            In an interview with Ms. Tyler, she explained her reasoning for running the event, “I want people to be aware of all different races and colors, and for people not to discriminate against others.” During the event students were wearing elaborate costumes to better understand the background. Literature and art, poetry will be read from other eras of American history.
 



Two Historic Events Worth Remembering

Olivia Goldberg and Arpi Ourkhan

Armenian Genocide

            The Armenian Genocide took place 100 years ago from April 24, 2105-the genocides remembrance day. The day April 24th is significant because it was the day that Armenian intellectuals, artists, poets, religious leaders, and writers were gathered together and slaughtered. The Armenian Genocide is the killing of about 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1918 by the Turkish. The Turkish also forcibly took over almost all of the Armenian territory, shrinking it immensely. The genocide took place during World War | under Ottoman Empire rule. The Turkish refuse to take responsibility for the genocide or even acknowledge it, and it is illegal for them to talk about it in Turkey. Turkey is currently a very important ally of the United States, so President Obama didnt talk about the genocide to avoid jeopardizing our relationship with them, even though he said he would when he was running for president.

Holocaust

            The holocaust is a genocide that took place during World War ||. Its remembrance day was on April 16, 2015. Over six million Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust by German Nazis led by Adolph Hitler. Hitler planned to wipe out all Jewish people by brutally torturing, enslaving, and murdering them. It started with the Germans taking away a lot of the Jews rights, and then they were sent to concentration camps where they were forced to do hard labor or be killed. Some of the camps were death camps (such as Auschwitz) and their purpose was to kill as many Jews as possible. Some Jews were killed by gas showers, other starved or were worked to death, and others were shot randomly just for the Nazis to make a statement. All of the bodies were burned. Towards the end of the war, the Allies went to all the concentration camps and liberated the Jews and camps. Hitler committed suicide before he was caught. The Holocaust lasted form 1941 to 1945.

The Spring Vocal Concert
Liam Howell and Daniel Elizalde
            The vocal concert was hosted by Mr. Krubsack and was the culminating project of the four choir classes here at Millikan. Two sixth grade choirs and two seventh/eighth grade choirs. The cast from "The Heights" and "Little Shop of Horrors" also participated. The show was loved by both the performers and crowd. 
            During the concert Mr. Krubsack picked a few soloists. Some of these people include Sawyer Peace, Janah Goss, and Virginia Trent who sang the beautiful song “Route 66”. Her song created, “ooh’s and aah’s” from the audience but honestly so did every song preformed.


            The attendance of the concert was around 350 on the first night and nearly 200 on the second night. The attendance turned out to be better than what Mr. Krubsack expected. The vocal concert brought in great performance and wonderful profit for Millikan's Music and Dance Department.

          The vocal concert was a great way to put on a lovely show, but also a for the students to practice the pressure of an audience. The vocal concert benefited Millikan as a school and the music department immensely.

PTSA Showcase
Makayla Fornaldes and Chanel Ohana

        This year Millikan had its first PTSA Showcase on April 23, 2015, from 3:30pm to 6:00pm, right before Open House. There were many booths at the fair, some of which include the nail booth, root beer float booth, Millikan leadership booth, Cona Ice truck, henna booth, barbecue stand, and a petting zoo. We would also like to big a big thanks to the enthusiastic DJ who made the become lively.  
         The fair was extremely enjoyable and fun. Everyone who went had an amazing time and loved all the booths and activities. It was an all around amazing thanks to everyone who helped plan it, especially the 2014-2015 PTSA president, Zira Vassallo. 


Field Trip To Birmingham, Show Time
Daniela Navarro and Nery Chicas


         On April 23rd Mr. Frome's and Ms. Weiss' classes went on a field trip to Birmingham High School. The students met in Mr. Frome's room after 1st period and took two separate buses to get there.  There the students watched the play "Mulan", performed by the high school students. "Mulan" was about a young girl who later learned how to become a warrior. The students here at Millikan seemed to enjoy the play, and was overall a great field trip. 
 
Student Voices
Jared Adelman and Valerie Herrera

  April 28, 2015

            Student Voices is student created work. Students audition for their exhibit and then the showing was on April 16 in Burrill Hall. Many students take part in this show to express dances and show art projects, and much more.

            We interviewed Mrs. Weiss about the show production. She expressed to us that the whole production is mainly student run. The participants rehearse for their part in the play hoping they will get chosen. Student Voices expresses the accomplishments of students at Millikan Middle School. A couple of things students also show are science projects and skits.

            Mrs. Weiss encourages many to audition and join to witness the hard work projects people have practiced for. She says the finished product of the show makes her proud of the students. The students that participated as well as the students that put together the whole show.



Welcome to Our Town

Madelyn Kang and Jessica Gaisford


The “Our Town” performance was on stage at Millikan on March 13, 14, 20, and 21st. We were able to attend the event on March 21 to see the Gibb’s cast. The play was for the Performing Arts 8th grade of 2015. The last play was their way to show appreciation for their town.

            There were two families, the Gibbs family and the Webb family. In the Gibbs family, there was a son named George. George had a liking of baseball but his parents opposed of his hobby. In the Webb family, there was a daughter named Emily. Emily had a crush on George and George liked Emily, too. They were to spend their future together but something terrible happened. . .

            We look the time to ask one of our peers, Jordan Ullman, a few questions about what he thought of the play. Jordan liked the play and was not influenced by other opinions. He found the set design accurate to the original play. He says the play was well thought out although some events in history are hard to interpret. Jordan liked Act 3 the most, for he found it intriguing. While he thought some things needed to be changed, the play was accurate and classic.

            In conclusion, the viewers were impressed with the show. The “Our Town” Gibb’s cast performance was a seat-filling show. The hardworking director and stage crew made it possible to make the play successful. Special thanks to Ms. Conte for creating a wonderful performance. Now next time, our town is in your town, go visit it.
 
Fairytale Trials

Daniel O’Neil & Solana Segal

         On March 20th, the 8th grade Civics Academy went to the Van Nuys courthouse for the annual “Fairytale Trials”. This year’s fairytale was Hansel and Gretel and the objective was to try the father for attempted murder. Mr. Slade helped with it. He chose three students to be on the prosecuting team and three on the defense team. There were 12 members of the jury, 2 alternate jurors and 5 witnesses.

         The trial lasted a little bit over 2 hours and the jury talked about the trial. The defense and prosecution started off with their opening statements. After opening statements, they called in the witnesses and evidence. Finally they gave their closing statements so that the jury can decide innocence.


         The jury had to be unanimous so all 12 of the jurors had to come to the same decision. The final decision was that the father was guilty of attempted murder. One member actually thought that the dad was innocent, but the other members convinced him that he was not. It didn’t take much to convince him that the father was guilty.
 

Deep In The Blue
Andrew Dermovsesian and Omer Barnea
March 18, 2015

      On Wednesday February 18, 2015, Mrs. Pohjonen's and Mr. Louis' class went on a whale watching field trip in Long Beach. Mrs. Pohjonen has a specialty homeroom has a specialty homeroom that goes on a lot of field trips. The drive to Long Beach took about two and a half hours. The students said the drive was very uncomfortable.
     When the students unboarded the bus, they started walking to the boat. Surprisingly enough, it took the students only five minuted before boarding the boat. The students were out on the boat for about two hours. During the boat ride, the students saw only one whale. Mrs. Pohjonen's class was very disappointed, but said they still had a fun time. It was very unfortunate that they only saw one whale. Luckily for them, nobody got seasick. The students said they wished the whale was closer so the could have taken pictures.
     Students said they were very welcomed to have the privilege and time to go on the whale watching trip. Even though it was a long trip, and saw only one whale, they said the experience was worth it. They thought getting out of class was a good break for the day. Overall, the students said they had a blast and would do it again.





8th Grade Formal

Makayla Fornaldes & Jordan Ullman

         The Great Gatsby has made its way back to Millikan Middle School for the 2015 8th Grade Formal! This fancy dance took place on February 20, 2015 from 6 PM to 9 PM in Burrill Hall. At the dance there was a great deal of different foods, music from the DJ, and of course the spectacular students. Food was catered from many different places for example: Pinks Hot Dogs, Panda Express, Torpedo Potato, and even a nacho station! In a recent interview with Ms. Torrijos, our 8th grade counselor, we were told there was a lot of planning and preparation going on to make the night as great as it was.

         “The purpose of all these activities are to encourage students to do their best, Ms. Torrijos tells Millikan Messenger. I just want them to be motivated and put all their best effort in what they do. In the end, the dance ended up being a success for everyone. 8th Grade Formal was a fun night for everyone, and remember the Famous Fifteens will only keep getting better!

Costume Design Goes to LACMA

Olivia Goldberg and Arpi Ourkhan

March 11, 2015

           

            On Friday, February 28, 2015, Costume Design took a trip to LACMA. Costume Design is a class taught by Mrs. Wright where the students discuss, research, and design costumes. Almost all of Costume Design went on the field trip with Mrs. Wright. The class was accompanied by parent chaperones who came to supervise, and the class was divided into  groups of five and six. The trip was a great opportunity for the students to see a variety of different costumes and to learn about the way they were designed.

            In an interview with Mrs. Wright, we asked her about what she thought about the trip. She said, It was a fantastic opportunity to visit the Academy Theatre, especially since it was the Friday before the Academy Awards.She also told us, There was a wonderful docent to meet with us before and gave us an overview of the exhibition.We also asked some of the students in Costume Design about what they liked most about the trip, and they said that they enjoyed some of the old costumes from My Fair Lady and the way that they were made. They liked the slippers from The Wizard of Oz, the Austin Powers suit, and the costumes from a lot of Meryl Streep plays and movies. They also enjoyed the superhero section, costumes form Dream Girls, and how behind some of the costumes there was a hologram of the actor wearing the costume and the costume designer talking about the costume.

            In conclusion, this trip was an excellent chance for the Costume Design students to learn a lot about making costumes and also have fun. Mrs. Wright said it was, A rare opportunity to see iconic costumes from a variety of movies and to appreciate the costume designers who created them.The students are extremely lucky to have been able to take such an incredible trip to LACMA.



SBAC - Wifi Stress Test
Nery Chicas and Daniella Navarro
March 10, 2015
           The stress test was to test the devices and how they might respond to the network, and really how much the network can do at once. Mr. Alvarado shared more information as he is our technology wizard.
           There were pver 200 devices on line and the main difficulty was that the wireless network was not strong enough to allow all the activity resulting in all online devices dropping connections.  Mr. Alvarado included that he worked with Ms. Estrada to make sure that the appliances were ready a day before the test    
             "This wasn't a regular test in which you passed or failed," included Mr. Alvarado. This test was a success letting us know what areas the district needs to improve on, since this was mandatory for all schools taking the smarter balanced tests. Overall, they now know what areas to improve so when the actual tests come, we'll be prepared.


Sneak Peak @ SAT

Joseph Park and Andrew Dermovsesian

March 9, 2015

Students take the PSAT to prepare them for taking the SAT during their. The PSAT is just to show the 8th graders what they will be learning about in high school.
We have interviewed Mrs. Estrada (Who is in charge of the PSAT) some of the questions everybody is wondering about. The PSAT is a practice SAT test. The test is $15 to take. Only 100 students are allowed to take the test but most times under 100 kids take the test. This test prepares you for high school. You should study math and English to prepare for the test.
We also interviewed a student who took the PSAT to tell you what they thought about it. This test had a lot of difficult material that was hard to understand. They feel that they are taking the test to soon. It is a good exposure to what you are going to learn in high school. The test shows you what you need to study for and succeed in high school.

 
Robotics Team Takes the Win

Article courtesy of the 
Science Academy
March 10, 2015

             
We would like to congratulate tow of Millikan Science Academy's Robotics teams, Quantum Flux and Parallax, for their performance at the VEX California State Championships, in Pasadena on February 14. Quantum Flux, with team members Aeden Gasser-Brennan (8th), Ben Adelstein (8th), and Echo Seireeni (6th), and Parallax, with Jeffrey Shen (8th), Rosie Dierking (6th), and Cat Vess-Ovsiannkov (6th), both made the playoffs and met in the final match where Quantum Flux emerged as the State Champions, which qualified them to represent California at the VEX World Championships in April in Louisville, Kentuky.
              On Feb 21, Parallax entered a Programming Skills competition in Chula Vista, where they placed first, and additionally posted a score high enough to qualify them for the World Championship!  
We wish both teams all the best at Worlds!


School Science Fair

Solana Segal and Jared Adelman

March 9, 2015


         On February 26th the School Science Fair took place. Later on March 7th, the Science Academy Science Fair took place. The Science Fair is for all grades of the school. Each class as a whole participates in the fair. The project is based off testing a hypothesis.

         The first place winners are Cooper Zell from 6th grade, Jonah Henry from 7th grade, and Nora Jones from 8th grade. We caught up with Cooper Zell, whose experiment “Got Clogs” focused on which toilet paper flushed the fastest. The hardest part of the experiment was keeping all the variables stable through all the test runs. His favorite part was going through the project while helping others with the information.

         We also interviewed the 7th grade winner Jonah Henry, who has participated two years in a row. His project “Clean Energy to Clean Water” focused on desalinating water using solar power. The hardest part for him was finding the correct parameters with the materials he had. His favorite part was physically running the experiment.

         We interviewed Mrs. McLemore, whose classes participated in the Science Fair. Her favorite part was seeing all the diversity among the projects from dance to sublimation. With these projects, she could see the passion put into them. She had taken a three year break and came back because she feels that the project is cross-disciplinary and could be very beneficial. She will do it next year.

         Finally we interviewed the coordinator of the fair, Mrs. Burnett. The first year we did a science fair was around 2009. The hardest part about the fair is organizing all the boards and keeping track off all the papers. Her motivation is because the science fair is cross-curricular and that all students should have a chance at doing a project like this. 




“Behind the Doors of Little Shop”

By: Jessica Gaisford, Valerie Herrera, Madelyn Kang, Caitlin Lim

February 20, 2015

After many days of rehearsal, on February 12, 2015 “The Little Shop of Horrors” play began. The show was successful with an outstanding 1600 tickets sold. Seats were filled with smiling faces, impressed with the actors/ actresses. Unfortunately the show ended February 14. Fortunately the majority of the Millikan Middle School students were able to watch the show.

         Skid Row is a street that people live on when they are disadvantaged. Seymour works at a flower shop for Mrs. Mushnik, his caretaker as a child. One day he sees a total eclipse that creates a mysterious plant. The plant attracts attention to the flower shop. When the plant started to die, Seymour tries to feed it but realizes it only drinks blood. Later he realizes that it is a talking plant. When the plant starts complaining about who he should eat next, the dentist, Audrey’s abusive boyfriend, gets eaten. Audrey and Seymour finally see that they like each other. But in the end, the plant dying in Seymour’s arms eats Audrey.

         The stage crewmembers and Mr. Frome built the sets of the show. It took about three weeks to build the sets. Not only did making the sets take long but perfecting the acting took long as well. The props for the show as well, took quite a bit of time. For example the different sizes for the man-eating plant. Stage crew helped moving all the props and costumes back the Mr. Frome’s classroom.

         We interviewed one of the stage crewmembers, Frankie Nelson. She was satisfied with the performance and the set up of the show. “It was fun to set up and watch the different casts and what kind of performance each actor/ actress can express.” Frankie filled us in by showing us the back stage. She informed us about the character transactions. When someone forgets their line, a stage crewmember whispers it to them.

         In the end, you can tell the show took a lot of work. The actors/actresses took notes, which led to a well thought out performance. The time consuming work paid off, leaving achieved crewmembers and actors/actresses happy.

 
Little Shop of Horrors (Downtown)

Musical Theatre Production

By: Lyndsey Kim and Shihyun Kim

February 16, 2015

         GULP! SWALLOW! ACTION! Curious about what that means? We’re talking about the Musical Theatre Production, Little Shop of Horrors. This show took place at February 13th in Burrill Hall and everybody could tell that a lot of effort was put into this show. We interviewed Mr. Frome, our very own director for this production. As we predicted, he gave us very positive feedback on the kids.
         Before the production happened we asked him a few questions regarding the students and the performance quality. He told us that the audience should prepare to see and incredible group of kids performing who has created a family-like bond. He also said that here was going to be amazing lights, sounds, props, and costumes, and oh boy was he right. The cast of this production had great teamwork and a great bond. On stage, they seemed to be really close and united as a cast. Let’s not forget the beautiful lights and props. There really was a lot of effort and time put into this production.
         All that preparing sure paid off. Mr. Frome was thrilled with the performance and we’re sure the other teachers were just as proud. Mr. Frome said that he knows that the students will just continue to get better and better. Also, he feels that the importance of these productions is how the students and faculty build a special bond and how it provides everyone the opportunity to pursue their dreams and share the arts with hundreds and thousands of people. At the end of the show, Mr. Frome announced how he was so proud of the cast and crew for this production. We’re really excited to see how future shows will turn out and hope to see all of them. Great job Little Shop of Horrors cast and crew!

Neal Shusterman Visits Millikan Middle School

by Duncan Lazarow & Benji Levine
February 24, 2015



       “No matter how good your story is, it can always get better.” Neal Shusterman started out his writing career in the summer of 8th grade. It started when he read the book and saw the movie, “Jaws”.  This book and movie inspired him to write a story that same year about man-eating Lobsters and vicious creatures taking over the town. Today, many years later, he is an accomplished writer with over 45 books published. 
    Shusterman’s most recent book is called Unwind. The thrilling book is about how the government of the United Kingdom is making plans to capture homeless people and harvest their body parts for what they consider more valuable citizens. For example, if a veteran lost a leg fighting for the UK, they would use a homeless person’s leg  for the veteran.
       Neil Shusterman writes his books in a specific method. He starts with a notebook and does four drafts per chapter. Then, in his fifth draft, he brings them all together and creates a sixth draft. Once he thinks his sixth draft is perfect, he calls it the “real one” and sends it to his publisher. Incredibly, he never writes just one book at a time. He usually has three books published simultaneously.
      Millikan Middle School was lucky to have Neil Shusterman as a speaker.  It turned out that Birmingham High wanted him to speak at their school but they couldn’t afford his fee, so they asked Millikan Middle School and Water Reed Middle School if they would like share the cost Millikan gladly agreed. Our librarian, Ms. Carroll, loves when authors visit because they encourage the students to check out books from the library. Ms. Carroll especially enjoyed Shusterman’s discussion about how many drafts he does for each of his books.
         An inside secret that Ms. Carroll shared with us is that he also has written a couple of movies such as “Pixel Perfect”.  He sends his screenplays through Google Docs, allowing it to be accessed by producers and directors.



Environmental Studies Monthly Update

By: Lyndsey Kim & Shihyun Kim


            February was a very busy month for the Environmental Studies students. Many things have happened and many things will happen. They are planning so much for the future and their teacher Ms. Woolford has them working around the clock. When we interviewed Ms. Woolford herself, she told us many things that she has planned out for her kids.

            First, she told us very exciting news! The famous Jane Goodall institute visited our very own Environmental Studies group. They informed them that Jane Goodall herself talks about our Environmental Studies students all around the world! She acknowledges that we have the longest Roots and Shoots program and she is inviting them in March to the LA arboretum to participate in their annual environmental fair, to show off their farm.

            Next, in the month of love, Ms. Woolford and her kids have grown many beautiful flowers for their first floral fundraiser! If you have that special someone you would like to give flowers to, take out your wallets and visit Rm. 50 and buy a gorgeous bouquet of hand picked flowers. While on the subject of flowers, the students are very excited to be growing flowers for our Famous Fifteen’s graduation ceremony. So, eighth graders, get ready for an awesome stage to walk across.

            Third, the winter/fall crops are now fully grown and Ms. Woolford and her kids are very excited on what to do with them. They will be most likely donating them to the San Fernando rescue mission to help homeless families eat organic vegetables. Now that the winter/fall crops have gone, because the weather is getting hot, they plan on putting in the spring/summer crops early.

As you can see, Ms. Woolford keeps her students very busy. She has a lot in mind for this month and obviously has even more for the future. She loves this program because she gets to have a chance to see her young farmers learn about this planet firsthand. Think this is a lot? Get ready to see, or in this case read, about what she has planned for March!


Millikan Middle School Science Academy Updates

By: Ethan Binns and Jared Adelman

February 23, 2015


            For the months of February and March, the Millikan Middle School Science Academy would like to inform you that the Science Academy Science Fair is from March 2nd to March 7th. The parent viewing night is on March 5th from 6-7pm. Also, March 13th is the acceptance deadline for incoming students. 





The Huntington Library Visiting the Past
By: Ethan Kong & Daniel Kang
February 19, 2015
         There are many unique libraries in the world, but none like the Huntington Library. Mr. Joseph and his 6th and 7th grade classes were fortunate to take a trip to this unique site. The Huntington Library is a unique library because it consists of museums, gardens, and libraries. Many people have different reasons to visit to the library such as viewing the rare artifacts, enjoying the beautiful gardens, and spectating the unique museums.
         We interviewed two student from Mr. Joseph’s class that went on the field trip. One of the students replied “The Huntington was special because I was able to to see the past and the present through rare artifacts. I mostly enjoyed the Japanese gardens because brought out Japanese cultures. And yes, I plan on visiting the Huntington again.” The second student replied “ What made the the Huntington special was being able to see all the gardens and beautiful artifacts from the past. I also enjoyed the Japanese garden because it was very peaceful and all the sites were beautiful. I would like to come and visit the Huntington Library once again in the future.
         The Huntington Library, is a mix of a library, museum, and gardens. There are many people in the world that are interested in lost artifacts and enjoying the peaceful beautiful gardens. If any of this sounds interesting to you then the Huntington Library is the perfect place for you to visit.


Valentines Day @ Millikan
By: Nery Chicas and Daniella Navarro
February 15, 2015
               The Valentine’s Day dance was Friday, February 13th! Some of the 6th and 7th grade students shared their thoughts about the dance. While the dance was mostly 6th graders with some 7th graders joining them they enjoyed dancing! There was lots of dancing going on and it looked like people were having a good time. Everyone said that they were having a great time and they were enjoying themselves. The only thing that was different was this dance wasn't in Burrill Hall, as usual, instead it was in gym. But just like every other dance there was a DJ and fun lighting.




Sing your Heart Away!

By: Chanel Ohana & Jordan Ullman



         Recently on February 13, 2015 Valentines Day grams were presented to those who purchased them for their loved ones. The grams were presented by various groups of singers brought in by Mr. Krubsack’s choir classes. The groups individually rehearsed an appropriate love song for their performances.

         The students/faculty that purchased a gram had a heart shaped lollipop along with a song dedicated to them. It was a very special event and brought together many people.

         The fundraiser was very beneficial to Millikan because Millikan loves raising money that could improve school life in any way! These Valentines Day grams come around every year for this special time of the month of February and are a great way to bring together friends and also help fund money for all sorts of causes.

Winter Festival

By Andrew Dermovsesian, Omer Barnea, and Joseph Park

February 12, 2015





Winter Fest a big festival put on by many of the performing arts programs here at Millikan Middle School putting together the best pieces from the first semester.  Millikan Middle School presenting Winter Fest since we established our performing arts program.  Once again this year we had many great performances.  Winter Fest included two dances from Mrs. Weiss, one dance from Mrs. Daniels, one dance from Mrs. Tyler, and beautiful songs performed by Mr. Krubsack’s students.

Mrs. Weiss’ students have been practicing for four months and she said her students were well prepared.  Her students performed dances to “Once Upon A December” and “Feeling Good.”  Mrs. Weiss’ students said they felt great performing and felt the dances went as planned. The students one concern was they would like to have better costumes.

Ms. Tyler’s students have been preparing for Winter Fest for a few weeks.  Her students were also well prepared.  Ms. Tyler says that Winter Fest went as planned for her students.  Forty-five students performed a piece from Don Quixote

Ms. Daniels’ students were rehearsing for about two months.  Her students danced to “All About That Bass.”  She says her students were well prepared for their dance.  If she could do anything different she would make the choreography more challenging. 

Shakhina Devran is a choir student in Mr. Krubsack’s class.  She was a soloist in the Hebrew song “Od Lo Ahavti Dai.”  She said she really enjoyed the opportunity to perform at winter fest.  If she could do anything differently she would have more solos and sing songs that she loves. 

Winter Fest went well for all the dance and choir students.  They enjoyed the opportunity to perform and be apart of Winter Fest. They hope to do it again Next year! 



PTSA Comedy Night

By Jared Adelman and Liam Howell

February 13, 2015

 

            On January 27 th, 2015, The PTSA hosted a Comedy Night Fundraiser at the Sportsman’s Lodge. Comedians Carlos Mencia, Ralfie May, Bobby Lee, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Skyler Stone, and Theo Von performed. Around 300 adults, parents, Millikan Staff, friends and family attended this event sharing in an evening of fun and laughter.

         Dad of a sixth grade performing arts student, Skyler Stone, who is a professional comedian, helped to organize this event. He had the connections to invite other acclaimed comedians to perform along with him. People really laughed during this funny night.

           In an interview with Carrie Adelman she stated, “The event was funny and was enjoyable night. It seemed like everyone was having a lot of fun.” Mrs. Adelman admired the performances by the comedians and believes Millikan should definitely have a fundraiser like that again.

Intramural Football!

By: Daniel O’Neil and Ethan Binns

February 10, 2015

           

This years’ 2015 intramural football was absolutely amazing. All games in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade have all been exciting, resulting in high scoring games. We interviewed 8th grade winning team captain, Daniel O’Neil, from D1 Bound:


Daniel shared that the season has been awesome! From all three years of football teams he’s been on over the years, this was the best! This years eight grade team was just great! The chemistry we had with each other helped us play better than ever before. Because of this we were able to run four different plays. This year’s eighth grade team was able to comeback from the losers bracket and beat the odds.


The 6th grade winner’s team was Alabama, and the 7th grade winners were the Chicago Bears! We congratulate them on their successful win as well!


         Speaking of football…the biggest talk in school was our annual “Super-Duper Bowl!” Our annual “Super-Duper Bowl” took place on Friday February 6th, 2015. The 8th Grade All-Stars vs. The Millikan (old and rundown) Faculty/Staff! Unfortunately, the 8th graders were destroyed by the Millikan faculty/staff Team, maybe they aren’t as old and rundown as we originally thought. The final score of the game was 7 to 35 faculty and staff. Quarterback, Daniel “Oh, my – Oh, my” O’Neil and Aryan “Salt Water” Salian, combined for four interceptions. The MVP of the game was Mr. “Tom Brady” Grady for his amazing touchdown passes. Maybe our 2016 “Super-Duper Bowl” will have a different outcome!
 
Can-Can Run

By: Andrew Dermovsesian, Daniel Elizalde

February 13, 2015

            The Can-Can run is where P.E. teacher Mr. Cahn runs for the canned food drive. For every 1000 cans, Mr. Cahn runs one mile. The number of laps he runs is based off of the number of cans collected. Students sometimes even run with him for extra credit. We asked a student why he thought this was important and his statement was “…because it will help you run faster.”. We asked another student how they felt about this event. They responded by saying “good, also cool.”
          Mr. Cahn shared how he felt about the Can – Can Run. He said that after he was finished running he felt tired and old. We also asked what was going through his head while he was running. He responded with how he was proud of how many cans the students donated and when he finally finished running 5 miles = 20 laps. Later, we asked if it was hard for him to run the 5 miles even though he runs in the morning. He responded by saying it wasn't hard it was just hotter than the usual morning weather.
            The Can-Can run is an interesting way to encourage kids to donate cans because who doesn’t want to see a P.E teacher run all those laps?! We hope people donate more and more cans every year!!




Civics/Science Dance

By: Solana Segal and Jordan Ullman

February 10, 2015



         The Civics Academy and Science (STEM) Academy recently paired up to throw a dance. The dance took place on January 30, 2015. The night was filled with groovy beats from the DJ, dancing with friends, food, and lots of sweet treats! There were also parent volunteers. This was a night special for friends and gave both academies an opportunity to bond with one another.   



The dance is a very successful fundraiser; each academy raised about $750, so, the dance was a big success. Everyone had a great time and we are looking forward to the one that is taking place next year. This dance was a great way to bond with your friends in Science Academy or Civics Academy or even make new friends with people you didn’t even know.


It was also a big social event, for parents and other families in the academies and we are hopeful that that Civics Academy and Science Academy will pair up to make another fun event!


Burrill Hall – Make-Over

Nery Chicas and Daniella Navarro

February 12, 2015



    Burrill Hall has been has been under construction for the past few months, it is finally done and ready to be used. Millikan got the opportunity to use bond money for the repairs and upgrades. Bond money is usually used for building new schools, but Millikan got the chance to use some of the money for Burrill Hall. We got this information during an interview with Mr. Gardin. He gave us much more information about this project.

          The new updates for Burrill Hall have been great for performing arts students and their audiences. Some of the new updates are LED lighting and handicapped bathrooms. It took several crews many months coming in and out of Burrill Hall making slow by steady improvements, but Burrill Hall finally came together.

          Burill Hall is usually used for performing arts electives, such as, drama, musical theater, dance, band, orchestra, and choir. "Musical theater has been left homeless," said Mr.Gardin. Overall, the new improvements are great!


First Meal of the Day

February 8, 2015

By: Amber Figueroa and Ashley Montoya



                        The breakfast in the class is happening all around LAUSD. Breakfast is provided in our classrooms and first prepared in the cafeteria. LAUSD is doing this because they believe students who eat breakfast focus more in class. Some teachers do not like breakfast in class because it takes up time from their teaching and/or the food makes a mess. As well, some of the food is more healthy than other options.

            Every LAUSD school has a cafeteria manager, Millikan’s is Alfred Nichols. We asked why Millikan is providing Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC). Mr. Nichols responded, “The state decided on BIC. This started because they said it improves test scores. Also, the school gets 6 cents for every child that eats breakfast.” While many schools started the BIC program over the past two years Millikan’s start date was to begin on January 29, 2015.     

            Sharnice Jackson an 8th grader here at Millikan shared that she likes BIC “because the food is free and although I don’t like the food sometimes it cures my hunger because in the morning I do not have time to eat." In Sharnice’s homeroom students are allowed to use their cell phones during that first 10 minutes, which she says she likes, "because the people who are not eating have something to do during those 10 minutes."

Hailey Freedman a 8th grader shared her feelings about BIC as well. Hailey stated she does not like BIC, "First of all takes away homeroom time, and learning time. I have also read many reports about people's stomach hurting after it. And the students who take the bus can easily eat on the bus." She stated, "I would serve healthy cereal, fruits, and coffee cake."  

            Angel Mosqueda shared that he was concerned, “because I have math first period and it takes time away from my math education."  

“I feel like it disturbs learning time, I feel like its messy, and ants come out, but, LAUSD has good intentions,” shared Isaac Harris. “LAUSD has good intentions, but I don’t think that they are going about this the right way and there are loopholes and problems that the good is drowned by the bad.” Finally, “I think there shouldn’t be food with peanuts because of people with allergies and they should have a vegetarian option because it is not fair.”

Teachers also shared opinions about BIC. Mr.Cahn said, “I wish they would have breakfast at home, but if they can’t then it’s a good idea.” Because P.E. teachers classroom are outside and they have very large classes, where can they serve BIC? “All the students (P.E. and dance) go to the covered lunch area to eat breakfast.” In response to the food selections, Mr. Cahn told us, “I have not sampled all the food, but I think the coffee cake is good, I don’t drink milk, and the apples look good.”

Ms. Tanguay shared, “Well, I don’t have a period one right now, but I’ve seen progress because I walk around and look at all the different classes having fun with their breakfast and the students talking while eating. It’s also hard because some of the teachers don’t know if they should take all the food or just take one.”

In conclusion we have had mixed emotions about this decision. This is very helpful to all the students who don’t get a chance to eat at home and they can learn more without thinking about being hungry. It seems the teachers didn’t agree with the idea at first, but now they are coming while students eat BIC. The students also like it because they get to talk with their friends while they eat. It is still a concern that some kids feel judged about eating because the kids around them may not be. Overall, everyone seems to enjoy BIC now better then they thought they might, and it’s turning out to be a great success.   

High School Night

By: Jordan Ullman and Makayla Fornaldes

February 9, 2015



            Millikan Middle School annual ‘High School Night’ event took place on November 6, 2014. This event specializes in helping 8th graders, who soon enough go off to high school, in choosing a high school that has the right fit for them. This gives students and parents an opportunity to look for schools that are a perfect fit for their unique passions and academic aspirations. There were roughly 30 high schools that participated in our annual ‘High School Night’. There were also many home schools (schools close to Millikan) that participated, some including: Campbell Hall, CHAMPS, Grant HS, North Hollywood HS, Oakwood School, The Buckley School, etc.
            Some of the participating high schools brought some significant items along with them. North Hollywood Zoo Magnet brought a chicken to represent their zoo-tastic school! Other high schools gave out informational pamphlets and presented PowerPoint’s to show what the high school can offer to its students and how they benefit from the provided resources.
            This night opens up many doors for our students and parents to see high schools of their choice and gain more knowledge on schools that weren’t already on their minds. We want to thank ALL high schools made the event happen:

ARTES/ Cesar Chavez Learning Academies

Birmingham Community Charter HS

Campbell Hall HS

Canoga Park HS

CHAMPS HS

Francis Poly Technic High School

Grant HS Communication

Grant HS Freshman Academy

Hamilton HS (Magnet)

Harvard Westlake

Immaculate Heart HS

J.F. Kennedy HS Arch. & Digital Arts Magnet

New Community Jewish High School

North Hollywood Humanities/SAS

North Hollywood Zoo Magnet

Oakwood School

Providence Catholic HS

Ramon Cortines HS Visual & PA

Reseda Science Magnet School

Sun Valley Magnet School

Taft HS

The Buckley School

VIP

Van Nuys HS

VAPA Legacy High School Complex

Verdugo Hills HS


Rainbow Council’s Stuffed Animal Drive

By Leon Schmidt

January 27, 2015





Rainbow Council spreads joy to homeless and abused children during the holiday season!




Mrs. Michelle-Henderson’s Rainbow Council held a stuffed animal drive through homerooms here at Millikan Middle School. Thanks to the generosity of the students, families and teachers there were plenty of stuffed animals to share with several children’s locations. On December 18, 2014, Rainbow Council took a field trip to two shelters for children.

Kids of all ages greeted Rainbow Council with excitement and anticipation in their eyes as we got off the bus at each location. The kids’ faces were ecstatic; it looked like it was the happiest moment of their life. After we played and shared activities with the kids, they each received a new stuffed animal. We left with mixed emotions of being heart warmed because we were able to share something with kids that are so appreciative and sad because they were so very sad to see us leave.

         While Rainbow Council was able to visit two locations on their fieldtrip day, the rest of the stuffed animals were delivered to seven other shelters by Mrs. Michelle-Henderson and her husband as they not only shared a new stuffed animal but spread holiday cheer.


Skateland
By Jared Adelman and Benjamin Levine
January 21, 2015

            The Millikan Civics and Science Academies held a fundraiser at Skateland in Northridge on November 21, 2014 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. With the help from our parent volunteers, we were able to have a delicious bake sale with items like chips, cupcakes, soda, and cookies. Overall, this was a great way to raise money for the Civics and Science Academies.
            While some kids skated and played games, others were cashing in tickets for cool prizes. As some skaters were skating like pros, others were skating for the very first time. One thing was for sure everybody was, enjoying whatever he or she was doing. We asked 7th grade Civics student, Leon Schmidt, what his favorite things were about Skateland. He responded, “I loved the atmosphere. There was always something to do. If you didn’t want to skate, there was an arcade.”
            There were lots of games, food, and much more. Thanks to all our attendees and volunteers, we were able to raise lots of money for the Civics and Science Academies. Everyone had a blast and we all can’t wait for next year!

Staff vs. 8th grade All-Star Softball Game   
Daniel O’Neil & Tomer Alfandari 
            Friday October 24, there was an 8th grade All Star vs. Faculty softball game. This event took place on the P.E. field during lunch. 16 8th graders and 16 teachers participated.
            The captain of the 8th grade game was Levi Thomas. I got an interview with him after the game. Here it is. I asked him, “How did it feel to be captain?” He said “I was good, I felt like I had control of the team.” Next I asked him, “When Mr. Duffy nearly killed you, what was going through your head, how did it feel?” He replied and screamed “I had full momentum to the ball and I got trampled! I felt embarrassed because the whole school was watching.” I told him “I was upset about loosing, what about you” He told me “Yes I was upset about loosing and I was very frustrated that the teachers embarrassed us!” I asked him, “who do you believe was the best teacher?” He said in confidence, “Mr. Lewis and Mr. D were great. Mr. Lewis played amazing for his first time.” The last question I asked was “What could have you done better?’” He answered, “I could of motivated my team more and I could of hit it better.”
The 8th graders lost and got their butts whooped. They only got a few runs and not even the whole team got to hit! The staff almost ran every play! Mr. Lewis was the first faculty member in Millikan Middle School history to hit two home runs in one game. During the game, Mrs. Macklemore hit and ran to first. While she was running, Mr. Duffy was running from 2nd to 3rd and Captain Levi Thomas was going after the ball and got trampled. A few of his team members ran to him to help him up. He looked dead for a few seconds! This was absolutely a great game to watch.





NO NEED TO COMPLAIN

By Grata Toode (a.k.a. L. Axelson)



I could complain and
find reasons to cry,
get angry
grow bitter
sit back, pout
and sigh
grab gloom clouds
make sad sounds,
and just want to die
let depression
destroy me
let life
pass me by.

BUT,
I think of the homeless
the sick
and the poor,
the victims of hurricanes
the victims of war,
the innocent babies
left out in the cold,
the lost missing children
first kidnapped
than sold.

My life with its troubles
its everyday snags
its days of dark feelings
when each minute drags,
are nothing but challenges
building my power
feeding my soul
adding fuel to my fire
making me stronger
more ready to soar
reminding me daily
what I’m thankful for.
My life is not over
my thoughts can run free.
I’m filled with such gratitude
just to be ME!!!



When Millikan Middle School Classrooms were surveyed we found that we all have reasons to be grateful!
Millikan is thankful for:



·      Our friends, family, teachers and a great education.

·      Our close peers and academy programs.

·      Encouragement from teacher so that we can do better.

·      Our opportunity for a great education.

·      Starbucks.

·      Diversity.

·      Parents who provide for us.

·      Getting into Millikan.

·      Roof as our shelter.

·      Life.

·      Students with passion.

·      Electronics.

·     Students who make us laugh everyday and the kindness they show to one  another.

·      Having a great and vivid imagination.

·      My Civics brothers and sisters.

·      Wi-fi.

·      We have the best students ever.

·      Food on the table.

·      Our health.

·      All the special activities that Millikan offers us.

·      Our specialty homerooms.

·      The atmosphere here at Millikan, we can get along with everyone.

·      Drama Production and the electives we have.

·      We have freedom of speech to be able to express ourselves.

·      We are at a safe, gang-free school.

·      Nutrition and lunch breaks.

·      Dance classes.

·      Lockers

·      Sports.

·      We know people that are alive and cancer free after a long battle.

·      The world and all the people I know.

·      Food, family, clothes, and the school’s coffeecake

·      Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks.

·      Fun.

·      Basketball courts.

·      Our siblings.

·      Teachers who teach and provide education for their students.

·      School pictures that have been taken of me.

·      Fun Friday movies.

·      Turkey.

·      Friends that I have made this year.

·      Performances.

·      That we are aloud to be creative and show our creativity.

·      My phone, contact and connection with other people.

·      Ice Cream.

·      Netflix.

·      Having the ability to take a break from school/work.

·      Social Media websites like Instagram.

·      Music.

·      Freedom of religion.

·      Video games that are fun and entertaining.

·      Art supplies.

·      Performing Arts.

·      8th grade lawn.

·      Musical Theater.

·      No uniforms.

·      A clean environment.

·      Nice teachers.

·      Film.

·      Pizza.

·      Chipotle.

·      In ‘n Out.

·      U.S. Military helping us to feel safe.

·      Medical supplies.

·      Being alive. 
*     Love.



Caring For Cancer
By: Jordan Ullman & Benjamin Levine

Cancer is a battle that takes an army of hope to win. "Whether you have the disease, or know someone who has it, it can affect you either way." Ms. Estrada, breast cancer survivor, gives us the 411 on this special event.

Millikan Cares is an annual event that helps fund money to fight the battle against cancer. This year’s event which took place on Friday, November 7, we were able to raise $2,000 for the fight against cancer in just one 40 minute lunch period.

With the hard work of not only the students, but also the staff and volunteers, we can make a difference. We can make a difference for the children going through the struggles of cancer, and that is priceless.

So next year, when you see teachers getting hit with water balloons, join in! It's fun and it’s for a good cause...





 


Millikan Cares
      
The Civics Academy organized amazing activities on November 7th to raise money through an event called Millikan Cares. The money raised is for the oncology program at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. Civics Academy students raised $2000 that was awarded to a representative from the hospital on November 21st.







Students for Nutrition and eXercise

         

William Boyd and Daniel Elizalde          
        Students for nutrition and exercise or “SNaX” is a program coming soon to Millikan. This program will be run by Ms. Wasserman, and the mission for SNaX will be to increase nutrition and exercise in students so we can be healthy and ready to go when we need to.

          A brand new addition to our school cafeteria will be a “hydration station.” A hydration station is a fountain that dispenses fresh filtered water into cups for us. This will be coming soon maybe even next semester.

          When was the last time you ate food from our cafeteria? Did you know that our cafeteria manager used to be a chef? Well come on down to eat delicious healthy meals that are fresh and have additions personally prepared by the cafeteria manager.

       Ms. Wasserman head of the SNaX program here at our school encourages all students to drink more water, eat more nutritionally, and to increase your physical education.

Battle of the Books!

We Shall Read!

Lyndsey Kim and Shihyun Kim

    Are you ready for the Battle of the Books? This fun and educational competition allows you to read books that you love, with your friends! The way this works is, there are 5 teams of 4 to 6 people and you are assigned to read 20 books. At the end, there is a quiz round where you are tested on the books you’ve read. This year, four schools are meeting up and competing in March. A bonus is, any student of any grade level can participate!

         We interviewed our school librarian about this event and we got a lot of information. “The BOTBs is a reading completion with five teams competing in a quiz after they have read 20 books. This year, four schools, so far are going to participate.” The focus is on mainly fiction books. And when asked what the purpose is, our librarian responded, “It is a fun way to give children the opportunity to read lots of books with their friends. And yes, I believe every book you read helps with your being a better reader.” Our librarian stated that she likes working with our students, "however, in this competition, students work individually and there aren’t a lot of interactions with them.” We wanted to know who can participate. "All students can participate. They also have mixed level teams.” While our librarian, Ms. Carroll stated, “I didn’t particularly start this event, but schools joined as a large group and that's how it all got started.” As you can see, we learned a lot of information from this interview.

         So, how fun is Battle of the books?! It’s an awesome experience for reading more often, getting you pumped up for an exciting event, and interacting with your peers! If you’re interested, sign up ASAP and tell your friends, too! If you feel as if you don’t read enough, Battle of the Books got you covered. GO MILLIKAN TURTLES!

Millikan Middle Schools Tours

Olivia Goldberg, Chanel Ohana, and Arpi Ourkhan



            Throughout the year, Millikan Middle School provides multiple opportunities for fifth grade students and their parents to come and explore our magnificent school. There are both magnet tours and academy tours. On the academy tour, you visit classes from all different academies including the science, film, and performing arts academies. On the magnet tours, you only visit performing arts and magnet classes.

                  During an interview with our magnet coordinator Mrs. Covert, she described these tours as information sessions for visiting guests.The tours last for approximately two hours, but usually more because parents stay later for clarification on their questions.

         This year Ms. Covert changed things up a bit. She is having students lead the tours. Ms. Covert asks different teachers which students are knowledgeable and articulate. They take groups of people into different classrooms and answer as many questions as possible. This year, there have been 9 tours so far, gathering about 120 people each day. This adds up to about 1,080 people this year, with more to come. There have been so many reservations this year that Ms. Covert has added four extra tours. These tours are extremely informative and great for people interested in our school.

The Attendance Challenge 
Liam Howell and Jared Adelman
November 14, 2014
            The Attendance Challenge is a competition for students to get the highest attendance rate possible.  The goal of the Attendance Challenge is to increase the attendance of students so they can get the best education possible.  Hopefully, the prize of the competition will make students want to come to school.  If the students come to school, they will receive the best learning experience, and that is what really matters. 
            The mission for the administration is to keep student in school to have a flourished learning experience.  "Low attendance and truancy often have a direct link to crime." Mrs. Green informed.  The main idea of this competition is to decrease the ratio of truancy.
            The people with the best attendance from each grade will be put int a raffle.  If their name is drawn from the raffle, they will be able to select from a various selection of prizes. These may include an iPod touch, electronic device accessories, and other prizes.
            Mrs. Green will determine the winners from a chart on MISIS, as shown in the picture. The people's names on this chart with the best attendance rate will be put into the raffle.  If their name is drawn, they will be able to select their prize.
            In the end, the goal is simple; get children to school so they will have a good learning experience.  The prize is the built in hook, but the good attendance is the challenge.  The race for the best attendance is on.




Turtle of the Month

Isabella Carrillo, Duncan Lazarow, and Leon Schmidt



The Millikan Middle School Leadership class has a great way of honoring students that are doing well in academics and citizenship. Once a month students who are nominated by their teachers are honored in a Turtle of the Month assembly.



Turtle of the Month students honored in November are:





Michael Adelman                     Hana Almony                 Sebastian Angel
Jaklin Astvatsatryan                 Dylan Backman              Sam Blake  
Shamari Blanchard                   Haley Brooks                 Sophia Cetinyan   
Nick Coronado                         Roman Cuestas               Rebecca Deluca
Ashley Espinoza                       Johnny Factora               Chandler Fields
Claudia Felix                            Jhias Flamerua               Aryan Gonoodi
Aastha Gurung                         Lauren Harris                 Aviv Hazan
Hans Kampani                         Evan Klein                      Iliana Kleiner
Erin Ko                                    Preni Kodabakshian        Emilia Lundmark
Maria Malinina                        Natalie Mastrangelo       Scout McLaglen
Jasmine Melgar-Hernandez     Natalie Metcalf               Natalie Nodar
Dylan Parker                            Avo Perchimyan             Sarah Preimesberge
Enrique Rodriguez                   Aryan Salian                  Sydney Shiotani
Shayna Slade                            Zachary Smith               Anthony Soakyan
Ani Tsctinyan                           Anna Tutundzhyan         Isabella Vodos
Nicole Waldman                      Aaliyah Walker               Aubrianna Wilson
Coral Yehezkel                        Charlotte Zerouni





Halloween at Millikan
Amber Figueroa and Ashley Montoya
November 2, 2015
            Halloween is very exciting at Millikan. But we all need rules when it comes to the dressing up part. Most kids think "It’s Halloween so we can dress however we want." But that is not true. The dean Ms.Nunez wants us to have a fun day but she has to make some rules. On Halloween kids think she is to strict but the truth is she is being fair and not as strict as other days. 
            This Halloween a lot of our teachers and students dressed up. The best part of Halloween was when the sixth graders did thriller during nutrition on the 8th grade lawn and the 8th grade stage. Everyone had a blast watching the new students make their big entrance. During the day at Millikan we had amazing different costumes shown on the stage and around the campus.
                        Millikan had costumes from babies to Pokémon characters. Some costumes were a bit extravagant, but its Halloween so people can dress up as whoever they want. All students and all teachers had an amazing day and hopefully this can continue for many more years. Hopefully every eighth grader had an amazing day for their last Halloween at Millikan.
            Every year at Millikan a group of students from leadership make a haunted house for Halloween. This year it was scary for some students but for others it was not scary at all. Two students were in the entrance opening the door to enter and one student was in the very end to open the door so the people can exit. About three kids had flashlights leading the kids through the haunted house. Many students were in the house wearing masks or costumes to scare the kids walking through them.
            The Haunted house was shaped as a maze this year. You had to make left and right turns in each corner. Since it was dark you couldn’t see when people were coming up to you and scare you. There were spider webs everywhere and this gray sheet that was your single to tell you to go to the left or right. Towards the end of the maze there was this table filled of Halloween stuff and on the wall was fake blood shaped as hand-prints.
            Daniel O'Neil from leadership who helped make the Haunted House. Daniel shared that, "Most of leadership came to Millikan on a Sunday to help set It up the Haunted House. It is the same as last year, but a bit scarier. Having a haunted house is totally worth it."  


The Phantom Film Festival
Are you ready to be terrified out of your coffin!?!
By: Ethan Kong & Andrew Dermovsesian

       Every year the Cinematic Arts Academy of Millikan Middle School make a terrifying film to be shown during the Phantom film Festival. The Phantom Film Festival is where students can showcase the results of their efforts from their Halloween challenges. This activity allows students to use what they learned in class to make a film that can be shown during the festival. Students of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade in Ms.Bennett's class make terrifying films that get nominated into the festival by the most votes by the students of Millikan Middle School.
During the festival student’s films that got nominated into the festival will be judged for their Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Story by a panel of industry professionals and independent filmmakers. This years judges will be: Alison Farr, Jeffrey Daniels, Jim and Dawn O’Keeffe, Jim, Karen, Cameron, Christopher Covell, and Scott Thomas. Students will receive an “Official Selection” medallion for participating in the Film Festival and Audience Choice Awards will be given to the winner with the most votes for each grade level.
     These are the students that won last years Phantom Film Festival. In 6th grade we have Casey Hawkes in 1st place with Monster Mares that got 50% vote, we also have Makenna Cannon in 2nd place with Don't Look under the Bed that got 40% vote, and finally in the 6th grade we have Maximilian Muench that got 3rd place with the film Urban Reptile that got 37% votes. In the 7th grade we have Jeremy Basset in 1st place with Bad JuJu with 60% votes, we also have Cameron Mouton in 2nd place with The Present that got 35% votes, and finally for the 7th grade contestants we have Riley Siegler in 3rd place with Time Goes By that got 30% votes. Also, the WINNER-Best Festival 2013 goes to Bad JuJu-Jeremy Basset.




Millikan’s Basketball Hotshots
Tomer Alfandari and Daniel O’Neil

     We have the winners for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade intramural basketball lunch league!  The 6th grade winning team was the Duke Blue Devils with the captain Leenoy Forkosh. The 7th grade winning team was the Cavaliers with captain Ethan Binns. The 8th grade winning team was $QUAD with captain Daniel O’Neil. There was a regular season with ranking and defining of the teams through the brackets to get to the playoffs. All leagues were definitely fun to watch, but the division that stood out most was 8th grade.
         $quad was the team that people thought would win from the beginning but, there was doubt, after losing a few games during the season. These are the words from captain Daniel O’Neil, “It has been very exciting and emotional to play, we had a little bit of doubt, but, we pulled it off during the Playoffs” Tomer, “How does it feel to knock down 5 consecutive three pointers and pull off the victory against Adam Taragano and the Special – K Ballers?” O’Neil, “It felt really good, I love when there are ooohhs and ahhs in the crowd.”
         7th grade was exciting to watch as well. They started with five teams, but there was only one winner and the captain of that team was Ethan Binns. Tomer interviewed Ethan after his game wanting to know if it was hard to win.  Ethan, “We just tried our best and won.” The final score was 26 to 18.” When asked who the top players on the team were, Ethan replied, “I don’t consider anybody a top player, we are all a team.”

          6th grade was a tough league according to many players, but the playoffs were even harder. The winning team was Duke Blue Devils. We all know the captain of the winning team, Leenoy Forkosh, had tough playoffs. His team had to beat the other team, North Carolina Tarheels, two times in the finals because it was double elimination. Leenoy stated that, “the regular season was okay, but the semi finals and finals were really hard, because the teams took it more seriously in the playoffs.” In the semifinals the score was 25 to 24 and the second and final game was 24 to 2. Leenoy, “ To win the final game we had to double team their best player named Aviv.”

            This was a great competition and we look forward to the All-Star game at the end of the year!



Connecting Cultures

Nery Chicas and Daniela Navarro

October 25, 2014



        Everything connects with cultural beliefs around the world. Connecting Cultures taught us much about the history of cultures around the world. Our guest speaker gave details about different religions and their historical and cultural background. She talked about religion, gods, instruments, and much more explaining how they all connect to each other. Some of the religions that still exist today are Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam, all of these religions have one thing in common, they all have gods. No matter what God, Jesus, Ganesha, Allah, they are all worshiped. They all connect with one another in a way.      

        The study of religion wasn't all about gods and rules, there are some fun things too. In some religions, when kids come of age, they do specific rituals where they might wear masks or do something special. Some people play instruments to learn and embrace a part of their culture. Sometimes people just play an instrument from other cultures to learn, that’s how it connects.     

        Overall, cultures can connect with the religion you believe or follow.  Different people believe in different things and no one should pass judgment on another.  Learning about our past was a great experience Millikan students. 



Costume Design

Amber Figueroa and Ashley Montoya

October 26, 2014

            An elective at Millikan is costume design. This elective shows how kids can make costumes for plays and models. Costume design helps kids learn more about the different types of clothing and fabrics. The making of costume design has been at Millikan for many years. It doesn’t just teach the kids new stuff it also teaches adults new stuff about costumes they might have not known about.

            The teacher who runs costume design is Mrs. Wright. She's not just an elective teacher she is also an eighth grade English teacher.  On October 21, Ashley Montoya interviewed her about costume design. In total she asked her four questions. The first question we asked her was how does she run costume design? Her answer was " Right now we have divided up into groups to create costumes for specific characters from the play Peter Pan for the DTASC fall festival. Some students are responsible for sewing, designing, and illustrations. Other students are responsible are fit models. All students participate in doing research to develop the costume concept." DTASC stands for " Drama Teachers Association Southern California" The second question we asked her was  “What materials do you use for the costumes?” She answered by saying " We are working with fabrics generously donated by Mood fabric on La Brea. We have a variety of fabrics such as Chantilly lace, Chiffon suede sequined (sheik fabric), duchess satin, and a variety of other novelty fabric."

            The third question we asked was “Is this what you love doing?” Mrs. Wright responded happily, "Yes I adore costume design. I became interested in costuming when I worked for a reparatory theater company. I have always enjoyed all kinds of design even as a little girl. My mom used to make clothes for me. I designed the clothes when I was growing up." The last question we asked her was Do you enjoy doing this? Her answer was "Yes I adore watching the designs come to life to see the creativity of all my students and a I love seeing the collaboration that happens in a class setting such as costume design."

            That is everything about costume design and a little information about the teacher herself. Again Costume Design is an elective for only seventh and eighth graders. If your interested you can sign up for your last two years at Millikan. This elective will be great experiences to anyone and it will be fun.   


A Phenomenal Trip to CIMI
By Olivia Goldberg, Chanel Ohana, and Arpi Ourkhan
           
            On October 10, 2014,our Math Academy took a trip to CIMI. CIMI stands for Catalina Island Marine Institute. It was a three-hour trip to a magnificent place. CIMI They took a thirty-minute to one-hour drive to a dock, and then a two-hour boat ride to two harbors, and then a one-mile hike to Cherry Cove. During an interview with student Lindsey Kim, she stated that throughout the course of the trip, all of the students went snorkeling, kayaking, and participated science labs. The days at CIMI were definitely worth it because everybody had an amazing time.
            The Math Academy stayed in CIMI for three days and two nights. All of the students were separated into groups, doing a different activity each day. On the first day, groups 1-4 went snorkeling. In the meantime, groups 5-8 went kayaking, while groups 9-12 did science labs. The groups alternated their activities each day. In an interview with teacher Mr. Joseph, he said that the groups were very large. He also said that he learned a lot about the different activities they did, and also learned a lot about the students.
             
           Some things Mr. Joseph said he didn't enjoy were the bathrooms, disgusting!, how far away the camp was from the dining area, and how there was no restroom by the water. His favorite things were night snorkeling because he saw many new things, the tide pool, and all of the science labs. People slept in pairs of two in tent-like shelters.  On the last day, the students ate lunch on the boat home, thinking about how amazing they're trip was and what an incredible experience it had been.



Trip into Tolerance
Jared Adelman
September 22, 2014
            As the Millikan Middle School Civics Academy rolled up to the Museum of Tolerance on September 18th, emotion was everywhere.  While the 7th and 8th graders knew what was ahead from their previous visits, 6th graders had wonder written all over them. We all lined up, about to experience some intense things, to say the least.
            We separated into groups, each led by a museum guide who would oversee our tour. My guide’s name was Elaine. She first led us downstairs, into the Holocaust Wing of the museum. Here all the students were given an “identity or life” of an actual child who lived during the Holocaust.  This affected all of the Civics students differently, as many of our assigned children died and others had their families torn apart.
            In this exhibit, amidst the strobe lights and recordings of actual events, we learned an important lesson - treat others the way you want to be treated. That’s a main theme of what the museum aims to demonstrate. Treat everyone equally. Be tolerant. 
             After the Holocaust section, we visited the Point of View “POV” Diner. Here, we viewed real life scenarios, such as car accidents and bullying, and we were asked “what would we do in this situation?” My group experienced a cyber-bullying situation, and we had to decide who out of 4 characters handled it best.
            Our situation gave a real good lesson to tweens and teens. Bullying will only stop if you speak up. Again, be tolerant of everyone.
            As we drove away from the Museum Of Tolerance, it seemed as though all the Civics students had learned something. Tolerance, hatred, prejudice and segregation have all been part of our past and are even part of the present. However, and most of all, we learned to be tolerant of others despite our differences.