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Winter Issue Panther Press January, 2011 |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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1/25 State of the Union
2/6 Super Bowl XLV
2/17 Area Spelling Bee
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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If you have a comment or opinion, then submit your letter to
pantherpress@oakparkusd.org
Your letter may appear in the next issue of the
Panther Press.
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A CONTEST FOR YOU! PRIZES... HOW WELL HAVE YOU READ THE PANTHER PRESS? SUBMIT SURVEY BY TUESDAY, 1/24
CLICK HERE! |
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Trippy Trends of 2010
By Jessica Kupetsky
Special to the Panther Press
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Curse of the Snuggie
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Too Many Silly Bandz
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What's Coming up in Our Classrooms
By Sean Gurwich and Kenny Park
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7th Grade Humanities Flexible Grouping
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Medea Creek Middle School is a place for learners. Many students will be mastering new skills throughout the year. The subjects and projects they will be assigned are designed to give them the opportunity to have fun while learning new things. Toward the end of January, sixth-grade scientists will bestarting the Journey to the Center of Earth Projects.
Click Here for Full Article: Find Out about Upcoming Tasks in Class |
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Wind Energy Group
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Wind Power President Visits MCMS
By Sophie Sigel
On Thursday, January 13, Superintendent Dr. Tony Knight, Bob Hayes, President of Prevailing Wind Power, and Ms. West met at Medea Creek Middle School to work with MCMS's Idea to Impact Team led by MCMS 8th graders Kevin Bender, Greg Ebert, Tyler Kristensen, Eric Laifman, Sam Gunn, and Luke Wulf with teacher adviser, Jim Benton.
They are currently investigating the feasibility of siting a wind turbine on the MCMS campus. Eighth grade participant Eric Laifman mentioned how "cool and exciting" it would be to see an example of clean and renewable energy production along with "all of our conservation efforts." According to Laifman, Bob Hayes first presented himself and described his company by showing a PowerPoint. Next, he spoke about wind turbines and windmills. This talk was followed by a walk of the campus to test wind speeds at various locations and evaluate optimal locations for a 33 to 45 foot wind turbine. Hayes then informed the students where they could find power units, some prices of these devices, and the next steps in their efforts to harnessing energy from the wind for use at MCMS. Finally, he explained safety procedures, precautions and possible impacts worth considering. |
Kids and Obesity
By Erikka Somera

Did you know that kids across America are getting fatter and fatter every day?
In fact, one out of every five children is overweight or obese. Later in life, these children are at higher risk of suffering from health problems. Even worse, obesity is listed as the second deadliest cause of preventable death among Californians after tobacco. The immediate impact for many is stress, sadness, and anxiety. The question is how are they getting fatter?
Click Here for Full Article and a Survey: Find Out How This Affects Us
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Cyberbullies Are Mean
By N ick Richman and Kyle Ross
Bullying hurts. In the online world, where middle-school students typically spend an average of 1 hour and 18 minutes a day online each day, a form of bullying known as "cyberbullying" occurs, and that hurts, too. In fact, approximately 9 out of 10 middle-school students have had their feelings hurt online.
Why is this happening?
Click Here for Full Article: Find Out about The Effects at MCMS
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8th Graders Show Constitutional Spirit
By Yael Karoly Special to the Panther Press
 On Tuesday, December 14, Mr. White's Period 6/7 eighth-grade humanities class performed a "flash mob" (group of people who assemble suddenly and perform an unusual act then disperse) during lunch. Promptly at 12:17, I stood up on a bench and started to recite the School House Rock version of the Preamble. Little by little, students began to sing along, standing on the lunch tables. Many reacted differently to this event.
Click Here for Full Article
Click Here to View MCMS' Flash Mob |
 Kevin Lu-Geography Bee Champ Again On Wednesday, January 19, after claiming the Spelling Bee Champ title, 8th grader Kevin Lu won Medea Creek's annual Geography Bee, coordinated by Mrs. Curtis and Mrs. Wenker. Last year, Lu won as well. According to Wenker, Lu will take a written test here on campus which will be sent to Sacramento. Sacramento picks the top 100 student scores in the state for a "bee" that will be held in Sacramento in the spring. Last year, Lu qualified. Best wishes once again to Kevin Lu. |

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Ability Awareness Comes to Medea
By Brendan Kinney
Millions of Americans live with disabilities. On January 25-26, 2011, Medea's seventh graders will receive a special course, "Ability Awareness." This program provides students with an opportunity to learn what it would be like to live with a disability; to understand the struggles that many have to live with.
During P.E., these seventh graders will do a series of exercises in the gym intended to teach them more about the challenges of a living a disabled life. "People with disabilities are people with abilities."
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Cafeteria Trivia
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Mary Smolarski, MCMS Cafeteria
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By Morgan Shorts and Paige VanRadesky
Did you know that the MCMS cafeteria prices haven't raised at all since last year? Did you know that the cafeteria staff doesn't profit from the food that students buy?
The average dollar amount a student spends a day in the cafeteria is about $5. In addition, the money goes to the district office and not to our cafeteria staff.
Click Here to Read Full Article: Learn More Facts About the Cafeteria
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Medea Is Gifted and Talented
By Sophie Sigel
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Left to Right: Sam Gunn, Kevin Bender, Luke Wulf, Greg Ebert, Tyler Kristensen, and Eric Laifman Testing Wind Energy
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According to the NAGC, National Association for Gifted Students, there are approximately three-million gifted students, grades K-12, in the United States. A little over 100 of these students attend Medea Creek Middle School. Around 80 additional students are being evaluated for GATE this year. GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education.
For the first time, some GATE students at MCMS are participating in "Idea To Impact," a new county-wide science/environment competition.
Click Here to Read Full Article: Find Out about Current Projects
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Kevin Lu Crowned Spelling Bee Champ
By Camille Coss Special to the Panther Press
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Kevin Lu and Mr. Benioff
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On January 6, 2011, eighth grader Kevin Lu was crowned Spelling Bee champion after spelling "unnecessarily" correctly. In the library after school, coordinated by Mrs. Alison Stein, approximately 40 students participated in this year's Bee.
The runner-up was sixth grader Amanda Chang, a speller who quickly recited each and every word pronounced by principal, Mr. Benioff. According to both Mrs. Stein and Mrs. Lavene, who coordinates this event with Mrs. Stein, "This year's bee was by far the most intense and competitive.These spellers were amazing." Next month, Kevin Lu will represent Medea Creek as he proceeds to the next round at Ventura County's Area Bee.
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ASB Working for Us
By Netta Pinhas
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ASB's Rat Race
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ASB, Medea Creek Middle School's Associated Student Body, under the leadership of president Maris Paden and adviser, Mr. Steve White, keeps working hard to make the spirit events, games, and dances fun and enjoyable.
Click Here to Read Full Article: Find Out Recent and Upcoming Events |
Impressive Technology at MCMS
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7th graders Abbey Greenberg and Megan Herbert enjoy the SmartResponses, MacBooks, Slates, and SmartBoards
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By Brandon Hoffman and Jonathan Raskin
Students and teachers enjoy the technology in classrooms. It's new. It's innovative. It's exciting. Of course, as with any technology, there are always minor frustrations.We walked around campus and asked students and teachers to answer this question: How do you feel about the technology in your classrooms at Medea Creek?
Sarah Staitman, seventh grade: "I love the COWS and SmartBoards because they help me in school."
Click Here to Read More Student and Teacher Responses |
What We're Reading for AR
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6th Grader Cooper Miller finishing his Q2 AR book
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By Natasha Rowland
At Medea Creek, many students are hard at work finishing their books in order to fulfill the requirement for this quarter's A.R. (Accelerated Reader) program. Each quarter, students must read one of the 5,636 books on the A.R. list and then take a test on it. This system has been in place since the early 1990s and has been very successful.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog: Find out Most-Read Books and What Students Have the Most AR Points
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Medea Creek Is under Construction
By Brandon Hoffman and Jonathan Raskin
Medea Creek Middle School has greatly evolved since its opening year in September 1992. Today, in 2011, the school's classrooms are equipped with Smart Boards; COWS now graze around campus from class to class, enabling the students to learn in innovative ways. The daily announcements are now performed digitally and played on the SmartBoards.
Here are the most recent/future improvements on campus:
Click Here for Full Article: Find Out the Specific Additions
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Spotlight on a Special Student
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7th Grader Blake Gifford
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By Jenna Salim
Seventh-grader Blake Gifford isn't your typical teenager. At age ten, when most children are most excited to play bikes, video games, or sports, Blake had a whole different idea for "fun." For fun, Blake prefers to give of his time. It's not to say that Blake doesn't enjoy playing the drums and playing lacrosse, too. As a small child, he and his mother heard on the radio that if you gave a day volunteering, it was possible to win a free ticket to Disneyland for a day.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog
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Spotlight on Mrs. Koepecke, A Special Teacher
By Ashkaan Khalilzadeh
Throughout Medea Creek, many remarkable teachers exist. A teacher might be special because he/she is new on this campus, another might be because of an extraordinary talent.
 This month's feature is on Mrs. Cyndy Koepcke, a sixth-grade drama and eighth-grade humanities teacher. Yes, she is talented in the classroom and is known to be creative, but her main talents exist off of Doubletree Road.
Click Here for Full Article: Find out about Mrs. Koepcke's Talents
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Sixth Graders Head to the Mountains
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Outdoor Ed's Adventure
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By Jake Friedman
The sixth-grade Outdoor Education program provides students the opportunity to leave campus and study at an overnight camp for several days.
After many years of the program being held in the same location, this year's sixth-grade Medea Creek Panthers were the first to experience a new locale.
Click Here for Full Article:Read about this year's trip
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Pause for Paws
By Mickey Colantouni and Netta Pinhas
The club "Pause for Paws" meets at 5th period lunch every other Wednesday in Room C-9 or C-18 and discusses ideas to collect food and money for both dog and cat shelters in Agoura and Ventura.
Click Here for Full Article: Learn about Club's Goals |
Panthers Make a Difference
By Jenna Salim
The Panthers Make a Difference Award is a yearly award for all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have
completed 3 years or 20 hours of approved community service. If you want to start volunteering, you can
contact Mrs. Bagheri, look at the Panther Pride newsletter, check the MCMS website, or listen to the morning announcements. MCMS believes that community service makes a well-rounded student. If you are interested in this this award, to to the MCMS Website to obtain the "Community Service Application."
Medea's Panthers do make a difference!
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The Darker Side of Texting |
Eighth Grader Tyler Kristensen Minimally Texts
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By Nicholas Branigan
Text messaging has become one of the most popular forms of communication in the world. The cost of a cell phone and SMS plan versus that of a computer and Internet connection has made it a very popular form of exchange throughout the world. Unlimited messaging plans have made it a natural choice for teens (and their parents!) everywhere. Most view texting as simply an alternative to calling someone on the phone, although this form of communication can be much more risky than that of a conversation over the phone. Click Here for Full Article
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Bullying Must Come to an End
By Conor Sapelli

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 Wasted Food at MCMS
By Alvin Cheng and Joel Ruditsky Do you feel that there is too much wasted food at MCMS? Well, you may be on to something. Every day, food is being wasted for no reason! Many people don't like the food that their parents pack them, don't have time to eat, would rather play basketball, or don't like the food in the cafeteria, so they feed the trash cans uneaten food.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog
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 Survey and Blog Results
By Reilly Johnson and Brendan Kinney
In the last issue of The Panther Press, we created a few surveys and blogs for your amusement. Here are some of the results.
Click Here for the Results and Our Viewpoints
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A Day in the Life at MCMS
By Alvin Cheng and Joel Ruditsky

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Where Are They Now?
By Skyler Roche and Jillian Tragerman
MCMS Grad Mrs. Sonnabend Actress, Mercedes McNab MCMS Grad Ms. Skiba (right) MCMS Graduate "We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere." J.R.R. Tolkien Ever wonder where people go after they leave Medea Creek Middle School and become adults? Some people decide to reside in other countries, while others remain in Oak Park. Some become doctors, teachers, athletes, actors, lawyers, accountants, among others.
Here are some students who attended Medea Creek (with culmination year) and where they are now.
Click Here to Find Out More about MCMS' Alumni
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 What's the Style
By Megan Helfand and Renee Henderson If you are asking what the style is lately, then you have asked the right people.
We share interesting facts for all of those fashionistas out there.
Click Here for Full Article
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Winter Season Is Holiday Season
By Mickey Colantuoni and Netta Pinhas

The winter season brings about cold weather, warm friends, and those special weeks where you get gifts for being an "angel'' all year long. The winter season is usually considered "the holiday season" because Christmas, Hanukkah, and Chinese New Year, among others, are celebrated. Click Here for Full Article: Read About Holidays. Holiday Symbolism Trivia
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What Did You Do on Your Winter Vacation?
By Conor Sapelli
I've spent some time with some

charities this winter. I did it in part because I wanted to, part because of community service requirements and partly because this is something that my whole family does.
But, sometimes it does seem strange to know that all of this "stuff" is being collected and then what? Are there that many people out there in need of it? I figured that I'd do the reporter thing and get hot onto the trail of this whole caper.
Click Here for Full Article: Read about Local Charities and Conor's Involvement
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 Chilly Days
An Original Poem By Sophie Sigel "HOT, HOT, HOT!!!" I recite these words as my tongue imbibes my scorching apple cider, My comfy Snuggie and I are relaxing on the large couch, I smell a peppermint hot chocolate aroma floating through the house, Suddenly, a blisteringly chilly breeze sweeps into the air and awakes me, I snuggle up by the fire to keep myself warm.
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Renee Henderson and Megan Helfand provide advice with assistance by the MCMS counselors
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Advice for You
By Megan Helfand and Renee Henderson
Dear Megan and Renee,
My used-to-be good friend suddenly dislikes me, and I don't know why. Do you have any advice?
Thanks,
The Disliked
Dear Disliked,
I would personally ask that certain friend to find out what the problem is. And if he/she still doesn't like you, then he/she was never a friend at all. Anyways, "there are plenty of other fish in the sea."
Signed,
Megan and Renee
Click Here for More Questions and Answers.
Need Advice? Write anonymously in the Advice Blog and your "problem" might appear in our next issue of the Panther Press.
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Baby #1 Baby #2 Baby #3 Baby #4 Click here for the answers!
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 Best of the Best
By Sarah Howard Recently, I walked around school surveying sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students about their favorite songs, movies, and television shows. There were many results, but here is a list of the most popular:
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog
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 Top Apps
By Reilly Johnson and Brendan Kinney The App Store has a wide range of "apps" that are accessible by iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. The selected few below are popular action games.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog
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 Our Top 5 Video Games of 2010
By Andrew Stahlhuth and Steven Zadourian
Many students like to play video games. They play racing games, first- person shooters, adventure games, sports games, and many others. Here are our top five video games of 2010:
Click Here to Read Our Video Game Choices and to Blog
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7th grader Sarah Sigel's favorite holiday gift was a Nordstrom gift card
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 What Music Do You Like?
By Lauren Goodman What music do you like? What is your favorite song? While surveying random sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders, I found out each grade has very similar taste in music.
All of the middle-school students seem to be interested in pop, rock, and rap. Eminem and Justin Bieber were favored by most students.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog: Read about Students' Music Tastes
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10 Fun Facts!
By Andrew Stahlhuth and Steven Zadourian
Would you like to know some fascinating and unknown facts? Do you enjoy knowing facts that your friends may not?
For your enjoyment, here is a compilation of facts taken from the Internet:
1. A skunk's smell can be detected by a human from a mile away.
Click Here to Read the Rest of the Facts
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Special Pets |
7th Grader Sarah Howard's cat, Princess
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By Lauren Ricciotti
Medea Creek Middle School is full of animal lovers, and that means a lot of special pets. Anything from dogs to bunnies are special, but here are a few of these unique pets that stood out!
The first special pet is ZZ the chicken! Eighth grader Anisha Bagga is the proud owner of ZZ.
Click Here for Full Article
Click Here to Blog about Your Special Pet
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My Top 5 Winter Vacation Spots
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Eighth Grader Josh Kealer's (with Dakota) favorite winter spot is Yosemite
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By Jake Friedman
Lake Tahoe is the first vacation stop to look into this winter. It offers various activities such as boating, skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, etc... It is located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains and offers many gorgeous views.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog Your Favorite Winter Vacation Spot
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Recipes from around the World
By Jenna Salim  |
Butter Chicken: A Recipe Submitted by 7th Grader Pranav Kaygee
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Discover some amazing recipes around the world from your friends at Medea Creek Middle School!
Click here for some amazing recipes and to blog one of your own: Maybe it will appear in our next issue of the Panther Press
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MCMS Students Busy Playing Sports
By Nick Richman and Kyle Ross
How many of you have nothing to do, besides homework, after school? Are you tired of hearing your mom or dad tell you to go outside and play? How much fun is that? Shooting hoops by yourself?
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Eighth grader AYBA player Jason Rosove goes in for the lay-up as Alvin Cheng plays defense.
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Kicking a soccer ball into a net in the yard? Bouncing a ball in and out of the house to hear your mom scream, "No balls in the house!"
Fortunately, in the community of Oak Park, there are many different sports offered to middle-school students throughout the school year.
Click Here to Read Full Article: Find Out What Sports MCMS Students Are Playing  |
8th Grader Jake Rosen Loves Trampoline Dunking
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 Sports in SchoolBy Jake Friedman and Andrew Stahlhuth Intramural sports are very important for middle-school students because it gives public schools a chance to participate in sports at school. According to Coach Calce who runs this program, "Basically the program is a series of sports we play against a school Lindero (Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura), our rival school. This is a tradition that goes back easily twenty years."
Click Here for Full Article |
 Super Bowl Picks
By Ashkaan Khalizaheh For forty-three years, the National Football League has held the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is known as the greatest event in American football. The previous Super Bowl had 106 million people watching worldwide, and every year the Super Bowl is played in a different venue. Last year it was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida.
For the 2011 season, it will be played at the Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on February 6. I have four favorite teams in the NFL who I think are the best; specifically, the top two teams in each conference; the AFC and the NFC.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog: Read Ashkaan's Super Bowl Picks
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Eighth grader Sam Gunn, a die-hard UCLA fan, and USC fan Brag Billig have had a friendly rivalry for years.
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USC Dominates UCLA
By Lauren Ricciotti Anyone who is a sports fan knows the huge rivalry between UCLA and USC. The rivalry is even more notable because both schools are located in the same city within a twelve-mile radius.
The games create so much excitement; they have been called "The Los Angeles City Championship," "The Crosstown Showdown," and even "The Battle of LA." The pre-game rituals are even more intense, filled with competitions and pranks.
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog: Read about Football, Basketball, and Academics
Has UCLA Alum Coach Calce Switched Sides? Watch video clip here
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7th grader UCLA fan Caleb Broberg
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Top 5 NBA Players of 2010-2011
By Sean Gurwich and Kenny Park
The season of 2010-2011 is a great season for all the superstars of the NBA. There are many players that
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7th Grader Daniel Magat Loves Kobe
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deserve to be called "the NBA's Top 5," but these are the players we feel are the stars of the 2010 -2011 season.
These players contribute so much to their team and are the reasons why the NBA is a place where "amazing happens."
Click Here for Full Article and to Blog: Read Sean and Kenny's Top 5 Players
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Our Staff
 Adviser and Editor-in-Chief: Mrs. Stein
Adviser to Mrs. Stein: Mr. Benioff
Web Supporter: Mrs. Ragini Aggarwal
Web Master: Sarah Howard
Parent Editor: Mrs. Kathy Peterson
Assistant to Parent Editor: Lauren Ricciotti
Senior Peer Editor: Juliana Furgala
Peer Editors: Nicholas Branigan, Lauren Goodman, Kenny Park
Assistant Web Design and Support: Reilly Johnson
MCMS Photographers: Mickey Colantuoni, Jenna Salim
Staff Photographers, Survey/Blog Masters: Morgan Shorts, Sophie Sigel
Assistants to the Adviser/Advertising: Skyler Roche, Conor Sapelli, Jillian Tragerman
Click Here for the Rest of Our Staff |
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The Panther Press Website Is Proudly Sponsored by the MCMS PFA.
 Special Thanks to Ragini Aggarwal | | |
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Artwork by Netta Pinhas.
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Panther Press, A Middle School Publication
Medea Creek Middle School Mrs. Alison Stein, Adviser 1002 Doubletree Road pantherpress@oakparkusd.org Oak Park, CA 91377 (818) 707-7922
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