Midterms Mark a Halfway Point

Chloe Verwiel

Staff Writer

As the weather outside gets cold and students return from their brief three day weekend, it is one of the most dreaded times of the year. The two weeks after break were spent hard at work. Teachers tried to get a last unit in and start the review for midterms. Students stressed about January 21 through January 23 as it was three days full of testing. These were not normal tests; they are midterms for full year courses and finals for semester courses.

  The weekend before the exams was a three day weekend. Don’t let that fool you, because most students were hard at work preparing. Midterms include everything learned so far that year, so there was a lot of content to study. The three days started with math and social studies on Wednesday. Thursday was English and science. Finally, to finish off the week, foreign languages and conflicts were Friday.

 Some students were lucky as they did not have midterms during every slot. These kids were fortunate enough to be allowed to either come in late or leave early.

 Overall, it was a stressful, but successful midterm period. As the exam period finished, it marked the end of the first semester of the 2014-2015 school year. “Midterms were a nerve wracking time, but now I am really looking forward to the second semester as I finish out my senior year,” remarked Senior Chanel D’Angelo. Now, we are over halfway through the year with no major exams till May and June.

AirAsia Flight Disappears

Katie Hunt & Bernadette del Prado

Staff Writers

AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They operate scheduled domestic and international flights to 100 destinations spanning 22 countries. The company has always been known for having very low-cost airline tickets, but now they seem to be only known for disappearing into the sea.

On December 27, 2014 AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared over the Java Sea flying from Surabaya-Juanda Airport (Indonesia) to Changi International Airport (Singapore). One hundred and fifty five passengers and seven flight crew members lost their lives from this tragic event. The plane path was experiencing poor weather condition, which caused the pilot to request the air traffic control pilot to fly 6,000ft higher. Three minutes after the request, the plane lost contact with the air traffic control.

Nearly 50 out of 162 bodies have been found but most are believed to still be lost inside the fuselage, or the main body of the airplane. However, the tail being found on January 12th has revealed the ‘black box’ that can tell families and loved ones exactly what happen on that flight to Singapore. The black box is only one of two parts to complete this puzzle of the AirAsia plane crash. It is in prime condition and has no damage to it at all. Researchers believe they will be able to retrieve the information in 1-2 days then translate it in a day.  

The remains of the plane are believed to be in the Java Sea and divers will search endlessly until they “return each family member on that plane to their rightful home.”

Prom 2015 Fundraising Picks Up with the New Year

Anna Sirianni

Staff Writer

New Hope-Solebury’s Junior and Senior Prom is set for the evening of Friday, May 29, at The Lake House Inn. Originally built in the 1700’s and standing beside the beautiful Lake Nockamixon, the venue has won architectural awards while becoming one of the premiere wedding destinations in Bucks County.

 In order to enjoy a night in the “Enchanted Garden”, this year’s prom theme, the junior class student government is vigorously planning fundraising events to keep ticket prices low and attendees satisfied.

 After Homecoming Weekend’s Volleyball tournament at the Fall Festival, last year’s weekly donut fundraisers, and hot chocolate sales at Haunted Woods 2014, the junior class has aligned with its benchmark fundraising goals, but still has work to do.

 The Class of 2016 operates the concession stand at every girls’ basketball game and has been selling coffee, hot dogs, and other snacks at home games.

 Along with junior class advisors Ms. Ryan and Mr. Bachart, the officers are working towards a student-organized benefit concert in the early spring, with performances by talented classmates.

 A dodgeball tournament will take place during Spirit Week 2015, as well as a Chipotle Night and potentially a Wing Fling around April.

 The first way to help out with prom fundraising is by partaking in the Valentine’s Day singing telegram service, during the week of February 16. During this, a student can hire a small student group to perform a song during homeroom for a teacher, friend, or significant other.

 With the springtime approaching, the junior class is working to secure funds for a successful prom. Students can help in this effort by participating in events and volunteering their time. Prom is a landmark event in many students’ high school careers, as it alludes to warmer weather and summer fun. A night in the “Enchanted Garden” will be one to remember for the student body, as seniors plunge into their future endeavors and juniors prepare for their last year at New Hope-Solebury.

 Contact a junior class officer, Ms. Ryan, Mr. Bachart, or @NHSHS2016 on Twitter for more information regarding upcoming fundraising events.

 

First Spacecraft Touches Down on Comet

Mitch Lewis

Staff Writer

 On November 12, at about 11 am Eastern Standard Time, the spacecraft Philae, touched down on the surface of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, a comet 317 million miles away. This marked the first time in human history that a man made object touched down and landed on a comet. The mission chased the comet for over 4 billion miles and finally touched down on the comet after a decade long journey through space.  

 The 1 Billion Euro mission was named the Rosetta mission and was launched on March 2, 2004. The mission utilized many gravity assists to propel itself at a high speed through space. Its first flyby of Earth occurred on March 4, 2004. It then made a close flyby of Mars, getting as low and 250 Km (160 mi) above Mars’ surface documenting its surface and analyzing the atmosphere. The mission then returned to Earth for its second flyby on Nov. 13, 2007. With the gravity assist from the Earth, Rosetta flung itself towards Asteroid 2867 Steins. On Sept. 5, 2008 Rosetta reached the Asteroid and its instruments took pictures to analyze the Asteroid. Rosetta returned to Earth for its third and final flyby on Nov. 12, 2009. Rosetta then on July 10, 2010, made a close flyby of Lutetia 21, a large main belt asteroid, and recorded images of about 50% of its surface.

 Once these missions were completed, the Rosetta engineers set another astronomical body in their sights. This time a comet. In May 2014, Rosetta began a series of burns that decreased the relative velocity of Rosetta and its target. Rosetta’s target was 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, a comet that was at a distance more than twice that of Mars’ orbit. The comet orbits the sun every 6.5 years and it roughly 2.5 miles long at its widest and largest points. The comet is travelling over 80,000 mph through space and is also rotating. The surface of  67P was unmapped prior to Rosetta’s arrival. Upon arrival, the spacecraft documented the surface of the comet and by August 25, five landing sites had been found and proposed.

 On Nov. 12, 2014, Rosetta lander, Philae, touched down on the surface of the comet and was stable on the surface after two bounces due to a technical failure of the landers’ landing harpoons. The lander will search through the comet looking for organic compounds that could be evidence of how life came to Earth. Comets are some of the oldest objects in the observable universe and are usually compiled of ice shards and dust. This instance was the first time in human history that a man made object has landed on the nucleus of a comet.

New Hope Serves Lunch to Those Who Served Our Country

Victoria Siano & Claudia Kolinchak

Staff writers

  On November 11, 2014, Girl Scout troops of all ages, along with teachers and other local members of the community, met at noon in the district conference office in the New Hope Solebury High School to honor our local Veterans with a luncheon.

  At the luncheon, Veterans who served our country in various wars, including World War II and Vietnam, ate a delicious lunch while Girl Scout members sang a song. Every Girl Scout member in the New Hope Solebury School District got up in front of the twenty to thirty Veterans and sang “God Bless America” to thank them for their service to our country. The Veterans swayed and hummed along to the tune. Some of them even joined in the joyous singing.

  Also, the New Hope Solebury Girl Scouts banded together to recite the poem “Veterans Day” by Cheryl Dyson and to hand out gifts and pins. As Veterans were given their presents, the guests who attended shook hands and thanked them for their service. Some were even wearing their old uniforms, while others were wearing red, white, and blue.

  “It was a great luncheon to honor the people who have served our country,” says Autumn Marshall, one of the twenty Girl Scouts who attended the ceremony. Emily Goodyear, another Girl Scout who has been attending the luncheon for over 5 years, states “It was nice to see the smiles on all the Veteran’s faces and know we were doing something worth our time” .

  This annual event is a fantastic way to show the community’s gratitude for the service of our local Veterans. Every year it is a great success and enjoyed by both Girl Scouts and the men and women who have once served our country.

Early Snow Hits The US

Thomas Muzekari

Staff Writer

  Temperatures have been very cold across the U.S. as of late with snow occurring in many places. On Tuesday, November 18, temperatures were freezing or below freezing in all 50 states. Snowmobiles and snowplows were out as many places across the country had snow. This bad weather caused some traffic jams, closed roads, school closings, accidents, and cancellations of many other activities and such. Temperatures were 15-30 degrees below average on the whole eastern half of the United States.

  New York was a state that was pummeled with snow as snow piled all over the Empire State. An outrageous amount of snow came down In Buffalo. Buffalo is a place known for getting snow. There was a snowstorm there of over four feet of snow which resulted in a 132 mile stretch of the Thruway (main New York highway) being closed. Snow poured down at about five inches per hour. Almost 150 vehicles were stuck on the Thruway. State troopers delivered blankets on snowmobiles to motorists in stranded vehicles. This was all just in one day. After the next day, there was six feet of snow on the grounds of Buffalo. Elsewhere, in Lancaster, NY, there were also ferocious winds and a whopping four feet of snow. Heavy wind gusts and 18 inches of snow in Michigan resulted in cancelled flights at the Grand Rapids airport. Many flights were cancelled across the country. In parts of Wisconsin and Michigan two feet of snow piled on the ground. Icy roads in different places caused there to be accidents. Schools were closed in many places such as North Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

  Snow is expected to come in bunches this winter according to many meteorologists. With the snow already starting in November and being present in many areas across the U.S. already. With snow already piling in many places in the country, people should be ready for a snowy winter. It is incredible how Buffalo got almost six feet of snow Tuesday, Nov.18. Buffalo, of course being a place that is used to getting a lot of snow, had one of the biggest snow storms they’ve had in a while, and it came very early. There were not many snowstorms on the East Coast last year, but there could be many more this year. Snow has already came to many East Coast states (Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, etc). People will have to wait to see and will at least for now, be ready for a snowy winter.

Republicans take the Senate

Nick Damarodis

Editor-in-Chief

Election night was a sweep for Republicans after results from the November 4 midterm elections started to pour in. Voters across the country hit the polls with different intentions, but the largest area of concern was the economy. Many voters felt a need to vote for the Republicans to push against President Obama’s policies, in particular recent troubles with foreign policy and the difficult implementation of Obamacare.

Currently the Republicans have gained 8 seats in the Senate. Incumbents were defeated in Arkansas, Colorado, and North Carolina, and open seats led to GOP victories in South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Iowa and Alaska. Many of these states voted for republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, but had popular democrat incumbent senators who either retired or lost in this year’s wave election.

On election night, candidate Joni Ernst’s victory was the seat that gave Republicans the majority in the Senate. She declared that evening, “We’re going to Washington...Let’s make them squeal” with thunderous applause coming from the crowd. Ernst’s rising national attention has many republicans excited to see her in action in coming years.

Colorado’s senate race also helped the GOP reach their goal of six gains that evening, with candidate Cory Gardner winning a race that experts suggested as safely democrat. “Tonight, we shook up the Senate. You shook up the Senate” Gardner told the crowd on election night after the projection for his victory came out.

The Senate result from Alaska came out on Nov. 12, after several days of vote counting gave Republican Dan Sullivan a slim, but important seat for the GOP’s new senate majority.

Of all the races election night, the Virginia Senate race ended up being the surprisingly close race. Republican Ed Gillespie nearly defeated once popular incumbent democrat Mark Warner. Several pundits have argued that the closeness of this race alone proves how big the republican wave truly was.

Several unexpected gubernatorial gains were brought to republicans on election night as well, with gains in democratic strongholds Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Another governor’s mansion was won in Arkansas, even after the democratic challenger brought in favorite son Bill Clinton to help campaign for him. Republicans did lose one gubernatorial seat, Pennsylvania, but held on to competitive seats in Michigan, Maine, Wisconsin, and the biggest swing state, Florida.

In the House, republicans also gained new seats in numerous districts with either democrat incumbents or districts that voted for Obama. In Utah’s 4th congressional district, the election of Mia Love brought the first black woman to ever represent the Republican party into the U.S. congress. In her historic speech, Love announced she “will return power back to the people and away from Washington” once she starts her term in office. Seats in Colorado and Virginia that were heavily targeted by democrats also stayed in republican hands election night.

Although there are not clear goals for the next congress, most republicans hope to make inroads in passing the keystone XL pipeline bill, corporate tax reform, and attempting to stop Obamacare. It looks like the President will be using the power of veto quite often for the next two years. Now both republicans and democrats will begin assigning leadership roles and creating legislation.