Santa Rita Times: Volume 8

Monday February 27, 2024

Santa Rita Times

About this publication

Students in Journalism Club collaborate, design, and create the Santa Rita newspaper. We hope you enjoy Volume 8.

New Year's Traditions Around the World

Written by Madison Deremo

Fireworks to Ring in the New Year

Fireworks Display in Sydney, Australia

New Years in different countries and continents are all remarkably different. This is why we have different traditions all around the world. Some country’s traditions are unique and some are more popular, such as watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City or eating black eyed peas for good luck.

In Spain, they ring in the new year by eating twelve grapes to symbolize starting the year fresh. Eating twelve grapes counts down the clock. For each chime of the hour, the Spanish guzzle down a grape. By the time it hits midnight, they finish their 12th.

In Ireland, people make way for a healthy and prosperous new year by banging loaves of bread against the floor and wall. This is also known to ward off evil spirits and seems pretty fun.

In Denmark, they ring in the new year by smashing dishes. This is believed to bring your loved ones the best of luck and give you a huge mess to deal with after. Not to mention buying all new plates to replace the ones you’ve broken.

In Columbia, people carry around suitcases on New Year’s Eve day and, I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, they’re just traveling.” But it is told that this will bring you fortune and prosperity. Not to mention, the suitcases are empty! Can you imagine traveling to New York for new years and forgetting your party hat?

"How did you ring in the New Year?"

Fireworks are a common tradition around the globe to help ring in the New Year. While all fireworks are spectacular, some cities have shows that are considered better than others.

New York is one of those cities. Every year, the firework show lasts around 25 minutes and uses over 75,000 shells! Another city that tops our display firework show is Sydney, Australia to be exact. Sydney is one of the first places in the world to welcome fireworks as a tradition. Paris, also known as "the city of lights and love", also has a wonderful firework display the night of December 31st. This city is pretty unpredictable when it comes to there firework display. The last city on the list is Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Rio's firework show takes place off the shore of Copacabana Beach and lasts around 15 to 20 minutes. You'll be lucky if it's any shorter, but I’m sure you wouldn't mind because the colors are amazing!

Fireworks everywhere are amazing, even in our little town of San Angelo, Texas. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed them this year as we ring in 2024!

Our journalism team voted on the best firework show from the listed locations and here are our standings:

Sydney, Australia
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Paris, France
New York City, United States

Local News

The long awaited announcement of the Santa Rita sheep decorating contest.

And the Winner is....

Interview by Madison Deremo

Do you remember the battle of the sheep from our November issue of the Santa Rita Times? Well, Journalism Club has been pondering for weeks and we finally have your results right here, right now. The standards and scoring guides we used are: having the most falcon pride, most detailed and most creative. The team at the Santa Rita Times had a very difficult time picking the winning sheep, as all of our sheep were amazing in their own unique and special ways.

4th Grader Joy Allen and her winning sheep design

Interview with Joy Allen

The Santa Rita Times recently sat down with multi-talented 4th grader, Joy Allen, from the one-and-only Santa Rita Elementary in San Angelo, Texas. We decided to interview Joy to see how she felt after this tremendous win.

Why did you decide to decorate a sheep?
"I wanted to do it for fun and thought it would be fun!"

What was your inspiration for your design?
"Since Santa Rita's mascot is a falcon, I decided to include one in my drawing.”

How does it feel being the overall winner of the Santa Rita Battle of the Sheep?
"I feel happy and proud my hard work paid off."

Local News

What is a resolution and should you be making one this year? Hattie Wehner gives us all the details!

Falcon’s New Year’s Resolutions

Written by Hattie Wehner

New Year, New Falcon

The definition of resolution is “the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.” In kid friendly terms this means making a plan to change something about your life. Many people make resolutions at the beginning of the new year. Some people want to try something new in their life while some people want to stop doing something in their life like a bad habit. People do this to improve their life. I interviewed some Santa Rita Falcons on their new year’s resolutions.

Some students are planning to start something new for the their new years resolution. Ella Perez in 4th grade is going to start drinking more water. She plans to drink 2 bottles of water a day. John Paul Reyes in 4th grade also wants to start a new routine. He plans to start eating better in the new year.

While some students are starting something new, others want to stop a bad habit for the new year. John Paul Reyes in 4th grade wants to stop being lazy. Avaline

Ideas by Hailie Parks

Lozano-Gassett in 3rd grade is hoping to stop biting her fingernails. Finally, Bear Goldman in 5th grade wants to stop talking while other people are talking.

That is how some Santa Rita falcons are choosing to start their new year. How will you?

Image from the Baton Rouge Clinic AMC

Aren’t falcons cool? The way they spread their wings, soaring high up in the sky. These fearless creatures have changed over time, step-by-step, just like our Santa Rita Falcons. Like us, falcons learn how to fly because flying for a falcon is one of the most valuable things a falcon can learn. Our Santa Rita Falcons learn how to read, write, understand math calculations, and of course, how to be creative. All of these studies are valuable to Santa Rita students and continue to build on one another. I mean, think about it: how can you be expected to write if you can’t read?

Another thing that falcons learn is how to hunt. This skill helps them to survive. Kids at school thrive when they feel loved and safe. Being kind and spreading joy is our recipe to prepare for the real world. Our Santa Rita students learn to pick each other up when feeling down, support each other when someone’s in need, and comfort and encourage when someone is shy. Like falcons have survival skills, these are ours.

Falcons also have a mother that encourages them to be brave, yet careful, with their newly learned skills. In school, to support and help, our fellow teachers guide our brave falcons to grow, learn, and change. In order to thrive, falcon learners must master topics in math, reading and writing. All the skills are extraordinary for both our fearless Santa Rita falcons and real falcons alike.

Campus News

Take a closer look at the newest face on our campus: Falco the Falcon!

New Year, New Mascot

Interviews Done by Sutton Boling

Just like having new clubs this semester, we also have a new face on our campus. Meet Falco, our new mascot! I can confidently share that the cheerleaders think having a mascot is a great idea. Can you imagine going to a football game and there is no mascot? There wouldn’t be anyone to amp up the crowd or to do funny dances. I think it is safe to say, this will be the most interesting year yet for our Santa Rita cheer squad!

How does it feel to be the school mascot and represent Santa Rita?
Falco: "Great! I love doing this."

What is your favorite thing about being Falco?
Falco: "Getting to see everyone cheering for Santa Rita."

What is your favorite thing to do as Falco?
Falco: "My favorite thing is amping up the crowd."

Do you think being the mascot will improve The Santa Rita Cheer Squad?
Falco: "Yes!"

Do you think having a mascot will amp up the energy at school events?
Brynlee V.: "Yes, because he amps up the crowd and he gives high-fives, knuckles and he does funny dances."

Do you have anything against having mascot on the cheer squad?
Lucy K.: "No, I don’t."

Do you think the mascot will make the cheer squad better?
Andrea I.: "Yes, because it’s more entertaining to the audience and we get to have more people involved and it makes the crowd more excited."

Are you proud of Falco?
Phoebe J.: "Yes! Very proud!"

Picture provided by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Santa Rita's Newest Mascot: FALCO!

World News

Traveling is fun and exciting, but did you know it has many other added benefits? Read more to find out why you should travel in the New Year.

Why You Should Travel More In 2024

Researched & Written by Tiana Williams

Everyone already knows that traveling is amazing! There are a thousand reasons why you should travel in the New Year. Instead of staying in San Angelo, Texas, take a look at a few main ideas of why you should plan a getaway.

BROADENING YOUR CULTURAL AWARENESS
You may not be aware of other cultures that people are a part of, such as the Japanese and African cultures. Broadening your awareness of cultures will help you care about other places that practice different beliefs and traditions. This awareness helps others to be sensitive towards people from different backgrounds.

BOOSTING YOUR CREATIVITY
Staying in one place will not give you a chance to enhance your creativity. If you never experience different environments, you don't know what is out there. You should travel abroad to places so you can broaden your awareness of different cultural styles and creativity.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE
Traveling takes a lot of planning and communication. Let’s say you are on a shier side and you want to up your confidence level. To get it back, you decide to go somewhere other then a place you’ve been to or lived your whole life. Getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new people is great for your confidence. There are many ways you can do this, such as different countries having an array of different music and dancing festivals and gatherings to go to.

REDUCED HEALTH ISSUES
Did you know that traveling can help you with your mental health? A area traveling can help with is stress and anxiety. By traveling, you can focus on new things. It can also help with your sleep, by reducing anxiety or stress. On a trip, you can have more time to relax and not be paranoid about other negative things going on.

Overall, traveling is a great thing. It has many benefits and can open your eyes to new ideas and perspectives. Only one question remains: where will you be traveling to in the New Year?

Picture provided by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Travel & More

Read up on some fabulous places to book your next family vacation.

Get Your Travel On In The New Year

Suggestions by Tiana Williams

The places you can choose to travel in the New Year are endless, so our Journalist Tiana Williams has listed a few options below on where you could travel to first.

South Africa

Japan

Germany

South Africa gives you a new chance for exotic scenery. In South Africa, you can take wild safari rides to witness and lay eyes upon South Africa’s most exotic animals. Another fact about Cape Town,

Germany can tend to be on the pricey side, however, this place will fill your soul with countless beautiful art styles and festivals

is they have lively festivals and food to eat, like Braai and Bunny Chow. Many New Year's celebrations are enjoyed outside due to its warmer weather.

Japan gives you an opportunity for new things like manga, anime, gigantic buildings, authentic ramen and lots and lots of sushi. They have one of the best way of celebrating the New Year by ritual of purification and renewal known as joya no kane (除夜の鐘). The Buddhism temples ring their bells 108 times during festival as it is thought to clear the slate and start the New Year fresh.

on every block throughout the year. The history is also fascinating for all you history

buffs out there. With it's history, just make sure to visit a museum or castle while you are there.

Overall, you and your family should travel abroad and discover all the beautiful sights that our world has to offer. It’s a great opportunity to experience new adventures and learn things. Where are you flying off to next?

Opinions

Journalist Ariana Armendariz looks into the benefits of staying up late & going to bed early.

Sunrise or Sunset: Diving Into the Facts

Written by Ariana Armendariz

Inside the world, there are humans who are morning people and night people. But which one is heather to be? Is there one way of living that is proven to be better than the other? In this article, you will be given facts about both sides and it is your job to decide which positively affects your physical and mental health more.

Bright and Early Birds

According to thehealthy.com, when scientists have experiments on this topic, they have found out that your body was made to be a morning person. This is because your brain thinks that you are supposed to be asleep when it is dark and awake when it is bright. (Daylight savings is a different story.) Some people also believe that if you are a morning person, you are happier during the day. Another test in Germany has shown that the morning students in a high school got better grades than the afternoon and night students.

Late, Night Owls

There are a lot of healthy things about being a morning person. But what about all the night people? According to exploringyourmind.com, people who are night owls are more creative than other people. They are able to expand their imagination which helps them to be creative.

Although all these facts may convince you that morning is better, this last one might change the minds of people who love baseball. According to the same study, people who are morning people are not as good at baseball as night people.

Now it is your turn to decide. Which type of lifestyle is healthier for you physically and mentally? Share your opinion with a friend!

According to healthline.com, night owls have more energy during the night. This is because they have stayed up late, so many times their body saves up most of its energy for the night. If they become artists or writers when they get older, they are able to work better than others during this time. This is because most people with this job like to work in peace, or in other words, when people are asleep they can work better. Since they stay up late anyway, they will not be as tired as morning people with this job.

One disadvantage about being a night person is that they tend to get sick more often. This is because with not as much sleep as a morning person, their body is not as immune to illnesses as other people and they do not have much energy.

A Year In Review

Do you remember all that happened 2023? If not, it’s ok, because this article is about to remind you of all the major events of the year 2023. So read away and remember the good old days.

Major Sporting Event

Information Provided by Braxton Belmont

NFL player Damar Hamlin collapses in cardiac arrest during the Bills/Bangles Monday Night football game on January 2nd, 2023. The Texas Rangers win the first World Series in franchise history.

Highest Grossing Movie

#1 Barbie with $636,225,983

Swift’s Nation

Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989. In June of 2006 Taylor released her first song "Tim McGraw." Over the years, Taylor Swift has had many popular songs, but one of her most popular songs is her recently released "Anti-Hero" which was performed along with many other top hits in her 2023 The Eras Tour. Taylor also began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, in the fall of 2023. Chaos has since erupted.

Top 4 Most Popular Songs

Extreme Weather

Flowers - Miley Cyrus
Last Night - Morgan Wallen
Kill Bill - SZA
Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift

1 drought event, 2 floods, 19 severe storms, 1 tropical cyclone, 1 wildfire, 1 winter snow storm & the planet's warmest year on record