The HPCMS Chronicle

By Cara Giardina Everyone has information. Whether it’s your criminal record, birth certificate, or even the password to your email. However, it is up to you to decide whether or not you would like someone else to know said information. Well, some media and large technology companies want to know all of everyone’s information, one way or another. Let’s start off with Facebook. Facebook is an extremely large social media website, with about 2.32 billion monthly users worldwide. That’s pretty big, right? Well, compare it to this. There are about 8 billion people on earth. That means that about ¼ of the total world population uses Facebook. However, Facebook has had many scandals lately. But do we know exactly why? It’s because they have been keeping track of account information, such as passwords, ID, posts, pictures, and they even track what you do on Facebook. Seemingly normal for a social media website, right? Well get this; they’ve been sharing it with other social media and...

By Amelia Volker, Frida Rios and Sarah Horie Show your school spirit with these sweet and savory treats. So crank up Baby Shark and turn on a Shark Week! Vegetable Sharks The first treat we’re going to teach you how to make are vegetable sharks. You will need cucumbers, carrots, pickles, and any other vegetables that are like the ones listed above. That’s IT. Your first step is to cut out a triangle in the front of your vegetable. Then, if you want, poke one hole right through in your vegetable where you would place eyes on a shark. If you want to get fancy you can cut out fins and a tails and with a toothpick place the shark details in the correct spots. You can even play a game of pin the the tail on the shark! Shark At Sea Next, we will tell you how to create “Shark At Sea.”You can either buy pre-made vanilla pudding or make it yourself. Then, dye your pudding blue and break up graham crackers. Take your graham cracker crumble and put it on half of your cup/bowl and pl...

By Laura Ciuca  January 31,2019 The world is becoming more and more polluted and warmer by the minute, but why? Let's start with pollution. In the picture above with all the trash cans in a lake you can imagine how horrible pollution is for the environment. By throwing so much garbage in lakes, ponds and seas we are making pollution and global warming at the same time and by polluting we are minimizing the amount of oxygen in the air.  There is basically only one way to think about this, nature gave and still gives us so many things we need to survive and and we are repaying nature by destroying it. According to the site World Wildlife , pollution is destroying forests, plants and making humans sick. “Pollution may muddy landscapes, poison soils and waterways, or kill plants and animals. Humans are also regularly harmed by pollution. Long term exposure to air pollution, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer a...

By Lareen Miah What is your favorite thing about HPCMS? Let’s find out! “My favorite thing about HPCMS is the amazing community of students and staff! Every day students work hard and creatively to tackle the cool projects their teachers design to engage them in scholarship,” says Ms.Goodman, one of the best principals in the world. “I love PE...P.E is my favorite thing about HPCMS,” says Lilah Rivera, a sixth grader. Most students hate the tests because some say P.E is a educational course related to maintaining the human body through physical exercises. “My favorite thing about HPCMS are the teachers. For example, Mr. DeBois. He is so kind, and he tells jokes sometimes. He also keeps the mood light in his classroom. Second period is my favorite. Mr. DeBois never fails to crack a smile out of you. If any students are reading this right now, if you have anything you need to deal with or talk about, he is very trustworthy and you can talk to him about anything. Therefore, the t...

By George Haraguchi These are Fire Ants. Fire ants are from South America and have a painful bite.  Have you ever wondered what species of ant you are looking at? Well, you might have seen the ants wandering on the sidewalk or in the grass, but you don’t really look up close at the traits that define them. Sometimes it’s what they look like that defines them or what they do. This is a leafcutter ant. Leafcutter ants are know for cutting up leaves and using it for farming the food they produce for their colony. People usually think there is only one species of ant, and that is usually black ants. The reason that people mostly see black ants is because they aren’t looking close enough. Most ants are dark colors and if you don’t look close enough they all look the same. Black. Most people think ants are just annoying, but others love ants because of their fascination. Asian Marauder Ants eating a superworm. Asian Marauder Ants scientific name is Pheidologeton diversus...

By Kiara Gonzalez Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook - these are all examples of social media. Yes, I know, social media can sometimes be good. But not always. We have to get to the bad stuff. So the question we want to ask ourselves is what are the negative things that social media can do to your brain? When you are on social media, for example, your brain starts to get used to it, to want more. You will then start to have trouble falling asleep. Why? Because your brain is going to want to stay on social media. According to Bustle , “your phone, computer, and tablet might be to blame” for not being able to get enough sleep. According to the Nationwide Children’s Research Institute, an average teenager needs 9 ½ hours of sleep but in the US teens only get around 7 ¼ of sleep. If you add social media to the equation, teens are losing even more sleep. In addition, social media impacts your independence. You stop thinking for yourself. Wh...

Destined A Novel by Katy Simpson Prologue Amorette rubbed the mark on her left forearm and sighed. She had just turned 14, and that meant she only had two more years until she was sent to Lovelorn. Her parents were starting to worry, and they never worried. The worst part was that because she spoke English fluently, it meant that her soulmate could be in America, England, Ireland, Canada or South Africa, and those are just a few! They definitely didn’t live in France, which meant that she was going to have to do some traveling. Amorette Amour Lovelace was the only child of Precious Smith and Lennan Lovelace. From her dad’s side of the family, there had been couples who were soulmates for generations, and she was the next. Her mother was the lucky one who had been Matched to a soulmate. The Lovelorn was an estate that the Lovelace family owned for the people who had never found soulmates. There were a few families like the Lovelaces, who had long lines of soulmates to speak...

By Starlyn Reyes Amazon HQ2 - The Basics Some of you may already know this, but Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and The Washington Post, is planning to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to Long Island City as well as to Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. They will start construction sometime in 2020 , but Amazon will begin to occupy the Citi Building right here in Court Square starting this year. This could mean that New York City’s population will grow because Amazon will bring many new employees to Long Island City. According to nyc.gov , Amazon says they want to bring about 40,000 workers to the new HQ2 and they say that 25,000 of those jobs will be new hires from New York City. This means thousands of people will apply for the opportunity to work for Amazon. This also means that NYC’s subway and commuter rails will be packed with Amazon employees trying to get to work. NYC Subway Will Be Packed With Amazon Employees With Amazon in Long Island City, the New York subway will be more...

By Paige Staley HPCMS, Room 303 - On January 24th classes stopped and for periods 1 and 2 we took a test known as the DRP. Many students at HPCMS wondered - why do we do this? Well, my name is Paige and I am going to explain the DRP, its purpose and why we do it. WHY DO WE DO IT? The DRP is actually very important. In a survey, 53% of HPCMS students agree. “It’s important because it shows your progression throughout the school year,” said Caden Jarin of 603. The DRP stands for Degrees of Reading Power and it helps determine where you are as a reader. It is a test where you answer as many questions as possible and get as may right as possible so teachers and staff can determine your reading score and your growth. “We do the DRP to get quick data about what students are like as readers,” said Leah Grossman, a 7th grade ELA teacher. WHAT’S ITS PURPOSE?  The DRP...

By Pema Yangchen Hi, my name is Pema Yangchen and I’m doing an HPCMS student profile on a new student each month! A few months ago, the New York Times published an article on 48 of the coolest kids in New York and it inspired me to do a profile on some of the amazing kids we have right here at HPCMS! This week we will start with the super smart, determined and friendly Jada Pilgrim! Jada Pilgrim Age: 11 years old  Grade: 6th grade Dream Job: A veterinarian Favorite Color: Rose gold Dream Car: Lamborghini Favorite Show: iCarly Favorite Movie: Megalodon Favorite Book/Series: Harry Potter Favorite Subject: Mathematics Favorite Sport: Volleyball Favorite Accessory: Hoop earrings Favorite Song Right Now: Rise Up by Andra Day Favorite place in HPCMS: The library Pet Peeve(s): When people eat with their mouths open Celebrity Crush(es): A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Chris Brown Funniest (but appropriately funny) moment from this year: When Pema lost her pants at a volleyball ...