THE MAVERICK TIMESTHE MAVERICK TIMESTHE MAVERICK TIMESTHE MAVERICK TIMES February 2017 Bradley Middle School

13345 Beatties Ford Road

(980)-343-5750

Editor: Logan K.

A STUDENT NEWSLETTER CREATED FOR STUDENTS BY STUDENTS...

Candy Grams

By: Jasmine M.

Candy grams are a tradition at Francis Bradley Middle School for another year. Students receive candy grams with little messages on them. All the money the school raises goes back to the school. You will receive the candy grams in your homeroom. It is only 50 cents. A little care goes a long way!

February Birthdays

By: Destiny H.

Gray, Deborah (2/1) McCoy, Jacqueline (2/1) Kennedy, Walter (2/2) Brandon, Jacqueline (2/9) Roy, Melissa (2/9) Lynch, Jeffrey (2/11) Peterson, Catherine (2/11) Smith, Jamie (2/18) Olney, Lauren (2/20)

Upcoming School Events in February

By: Chelsea W.

Feb 2- Basketball @ Martin

Feb 3- 2nd Quarter Maverick Celebration

Feb 3- 2nd Quarter Report Cards go home

Feb 6- Basketball @ Home vs Ranson

Feb 9- Basketball @ Ridge

Aquarius

By: Alexandra D.

Aquarius: Your element is air and your ruling planet is Uranus and Saturn. Some personal-ity traits of a Aquarius is that they are Trend-setters of the future, and you are also Intel-lectual and Innovative. Some positive traits are: truthfulness, just, curious, frank and im-aginative. The lucky day is Sunday and Sat-urday. The lucky numbers are: 4,8,13,17,22,26. Aquarius are also socially aware.

Pisces

By: Erica M.

It’s February! The last sign of the astrolog-ical shall rise! The Pisces! (February 19th through March 20th) These water signs are compassionate and wise human beings. They are very friendly but at the same time enjoy be-ing alone. They rule the planet Neptune and their lucky number is three. They hate criticism and anything violent or negative. The sign is most compatible with Scorpios and Cancers (the moonchildren.) They are gentle, kind, and often dreamy with relationships

Super Hero of the Month: Celeste F.

The Flash is a popular superhero, and his name is Barry Allen. He has a show on The CW and it first aired in October, 7th 2014. His powers came from a particle accelerator which was a world-

changing invention, it causes an explosion, it creates a freak storm and Barry is struck by lightning. He awakes from a coma nine months later with the power of SUPERSPEED!!!

College Basketball By: Cameron K

Well, College Football is over and now it’s time for some col-

lege hoops! If you’ve been watching football, here are

some items that you missed: Villanova was number 1 until they lost to Butler, Baylor was ranked number 1 for the first

time in program history, they lost to West Virginia. UCLA started the season on fire until they lost to Oregon, but the Bruins are still winning. Gonzaga is the only undefeated team in college basketball. Duke guard,

Grayson Allen, was suspended indefinitely, but he played his first game back from his suspension and peo-ple can’t handle him. His draft stock is going low. Coach K is out for a couple of weeks from a back surgery

and well, that’s all the “stuff” you missed while you were focused on football.

Groundhog Day

By: Christa N.

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2. Accord-ing to folktale, if it is cloudy when a groundhog leaves its burrow on this day, then the spring season will arrive early, some time before spring; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its den, where winter weather will persist for six more weeks. Modern customs of the holiday involve early morn-ing celebrations to watch the groundhog leave from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges celebrate the holi-day with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and performances for entertainment. Ground-hog Day was adopted in the U.S. in 1887. Clymer H. Freas was the editor of the local paper “Punxsutawney Spirit” at the time, and he began promoting the town’s groundhog as the official "Groundhog Day meteorologist". The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with Punxsutawney Phil. Ground-hog Day, already a widely recognized and popular tradition, re-ceived widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day.

January Pep Rally 6th and 7th

By: Brooke N.

The January pep rally was great, but the 6th and 7th graders were by far the best. The 6th grade was the best crowd ever! 6th Grade was very excited, loud, hyped up and very responsive to the cheers. The pep rally started off with the dance crew and 7th and 8th grade dance team doing their performances. Both were amazing! After the dancing was complete, we started the first quar-ter of the basketball game. Now, this wasn't just any basketball game, this game was the girls and boys Bradley basketball team which would switch off going against our staff. The first quarter was our girls game. For the first time the students took the game. After the first quarter of the game it was time for the cheerleaders to do their routine. That was our first time performing this routine! It was great! After the cheerleaders, the band performed and then the game continued. Finishing off the 7th grade pep rally with a loss for the students in the game. The 7th grade pep rally was equally good. They were a good crowd as well. Sadly, the students lost this game against the staff. The schedule was the same: Started with dance, then a game, then cheer, and finally the band. All of the performances were very successful and everyone did a great job. Besides losing to the staff, it was a great pep rally for both 6th and 7th grade.

Ways to Prepare for the EOG’s

By: Joey M.

Its finally reaching the end of the year, graduation for the 8th graders and most importantly the EOG’s or end-of-grade test. For the first time the 7th graders are taking their social studies EOC. Parents are trying to get their kids to prepare while kids are trying to have fun. There are many ways to have fun and study at the same time. For example, if you live near any friends you can have a study group. Another thing you could do is look up games on the internet, most of the kids are on there 24/7 anyway, why not make your parents proud for once. One of the most important things to do while preparing for the EOG’s is to relax, don't stress yourself. Stressing yourself has many side effects, one of those is your immune system will not work as well, which means you have a higher chance to get sick and that can cause you to miss a day of EOG’s. So while studying, remember relax and study in creative ways to remember the expected curriculum.

Is Valentine's Day a National Holiday

By: Lily R. Is Valentine's Day a national holiday? Valentine's Day is a holiday but it is not like Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. It is kind of like Halloween. What I mean by that is that we have school on Halloween and Valentine's Day and all the stores are open on those days. Valentine's Day is the day to honor your loved ones which is a great holiday. So, on Valen-tines Day people go out to dinner with their boyfriend or girlfriend or even their family. So basically, Valen-tine’s Day is a holiday but stores are still open and so is public transportation allowing you to get to various places on Valentine’s Day.

The History of Inauguration

By; Lucas B. Did you ever wonder when or what was the first Inauguration? Well, the definition of an inauguration is “the beginning or introduction of a system, policy, or period” or a “ceremony to mark the beginning of something.” In some cases, people think that an inauguration is just for the political reasons but that might not be true. Inauguration is a promise or an oath that states you swear to do your job or what is right. When was the first inauguration? ...Well, the first ever dated inauguration is, April 30th, 1789 and it was George Washington who made that oath. This one was held on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City. Why do people use the bible to do the oath? Not all presidents use the bible. John Adams swore on the book of the law, Theodore Roosevelt didn’t swear on any book although he did the second time, and finally, Lyndon Johnson swore on a Catholic Bible.

Super Villain of the Month

By: Joshua T.

Captain Cold is one of the main supervillains for The Flash. Cold is the leader of The Rogues, a loose criminal organization. Leonard Snart was raised by an abusive fa-ther and took refuge with his grandfather, who worked in a ice truck. When his grandfather died, Snart got tired of his father’s abuse and set out on a criminal career. Smart read an article that theorized that energy emissions of a cyclotron could interfere with the Flash's speed.

NFL Super Bowl Predic-tions

By: Jacob G.

If you are a fan of defense, a defensive coordinator or a former linebacker from back in your pee wee days, it might be best to avoid this game. Everybody else in Ameri-ca should be delighted, though. No quarterback in the NFL, and that in-cludes Brady, are performing at the level of Matt Ryan this season. He was number 1 in passing touchdowns during the regular season, with 40 respectively. So this game should be a good tight game. The Patriots have the best scoring defense in the league, and have yielded just 14.8 points per game since the midpoint of the season. Its’ op-ponents down the stretch were less than stellar —the Rams, 49ers, Jets (twice!) among them. The Texans were one of the most offensively challenged teams to make the Divisional Round in memory. So, is that scoring defense an illusion, or for real? Will the Patriots be able to handle the fast tempo Falcons? Will Julio Jones be the MVP if they win? Will Tom Brady win MVP?

February DIY

By: Kara W.

Valentine's Day Bookmarks

You will need: paint samples in a pink or red color that you like (You can get them for free at a hardware store). Heart shaped hole puncher, pink or red ribbon, and some stickers. 1. First you want to punch a hole near the top to the paint sample

and tie a ribbon around it.

2. Then you can add stickers where ever you want to on the paint sample.

3.You can also punch holes down the side for an awesome decoration.

You are now finished with your new super cool bookmark! You can decorate it anyway you wish. The options are endless.

Weird Holidays

By: Katie T.

On February 1st, it is National Get Up Day. National Get Up Day is used to share inspiring stories of perseverance. February 2nd is National Groundhog Day. It is believed that if the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. February 3rd is National The Day that Music Died Day. This day is used to celebrate singers that have died and the music they left behind. February 4th is National Homemade Soup Day. This is used to explore all the soup recipes and make some of your own. February 5th is National Nutella Day. This is the day that we can use Nutella on all things tasty! February 6th is National Frozen Yogurt Day. Everyone can go out to any place that serves frozen yogurt and enjoy themselves. February 7th is National Periodic Table Day. We learn about the different elements and their effect on science. February 8th is National Fly a Kite Day. This day is used to celebrate kite enthusiasts around the world. February 9th is National Bagel Day. This day is dedicated to all bagel lovers out there! February 10th is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. This is made for those who find cream cheese and chocolate irresistible. February 11th is Na-tional Inventors Day. All the life changing inventors of our world are recognized on this special day. February 12th is National Plum Pudding Day. It's used to learn more about this dessert. February 13 is National Tortellini Day. We celebrate this day so you can enjoy your favorite tortellini. February 14 is National Cream Filled Chocolate Day. This would be a wonderful gift to give someone that you love!

Celebrities Birthday in February

By: TaAsia M.

Some of your favorite celebrities birthdays are in February! Harry Styles birthday is February 1st and he’s turning 23. Everyone’s favorite soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, is turning the big 32 on February 5! R&B star The Weekend's birth-day is February 16, and he’s turning 27 years old! The legendary basketball player, Michael Jordan’s birthday is February 17 and he’s turning 54! Lastly, Rihanna’s birthday is February 20, and she’s turning 29! These are the famous birth-day’s for the month of February!

20 Facts about Valentine's Day

By: Amber K. and Madison V.

~ About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are

exchanged each year.

~If you’re single don’t despair. You can celebrate Singles Awareness Day .

Meant as an alternative to Valentine’s Day, the holiday is for single people to cel-

ebrate their single status.

~In Finland Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into

“Friend’s day”.

~Many believe the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss about 1,000

years ago

~Girls of medieval times ate weird foods on Valentine’s Day to make them dream

of their future spouse.

~In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who

would be their Valentine.

~England’s King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday of Valentine’s

Day.

~Doctors of the 1800s commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm

their pining for lost love.

~Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in the

late 1800s.

Tom Brady

By: Luke S.

Early this February Tom Brady will lead the New England Patriots to the 51st super bowl ( Super Bowl LI ) against the Atlanta Falcons. The Patriots are favored to win and if they do they will have won 5 super bowls out of 9. A year earlier, negative attention was drawn to Tom Brady after he was accused of de-flating footballs in the AFC championship game which they went on to eventually win the super bowl. Many peo-ple think of him as just a cheater but in reality he is much more than that. Who is the real Tom Brady? Tom Brady is the husband of Gisele Bundchen, and the father of two kids: Benjamin Brady and John Moynahan (Ex wife is Bridget Moynahan). He is the son of Tom Brady Sr. who is the owner of an insurance firm. Tom Brady played foot-ball in high school and in his senior year he struggled to get under the radar of college scouts. He was eventually drafted to Michigan University and played there until he was drafted by the New England patriots in the sixth round of the NFL draft. He was a backup until he proved himself when the Patriots starter was hurt and Tom Brady led the Patriots to a super bowl victory. His career went up from there.

What Is Valentine’s Day?

By: Chase K.

Of course we all know what Valentine’s day stands for. It’s that one time of the year we celebrate love and give each other chocolate and giant teddy bears, but there's so much more. Valentine’s day is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14th. It was originally celebrated as a feast to rec-ognize one of the most early saints, Saint Valentinus. Sounds real boring right? Well, it gets more exciting. So it turns out Valentinus had some magical powers and other stuff of that sort. He was allowing illegal marriages at the time. Next thing he knew he was in jail on death row for such actions. While he was imprisoned, he healed the daughter of his jailer. With that deed he wrote her a note reading “with love, your Valentine.” soon after he was executed. So pretty interesting right? These days we celebrate this occasion with teddy bears, chocolates, heart candies, and flowers.

Happy Valentine’s day!