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Winter/Spring 2022

The PS249 Student Newspaper

Should we still keep on our masks?

Kevin Galeno and Justin Lubin, 5th Grade

Black Youtubers to Watch

As of Monday, March 7th, students age 5 and up in NYC public schools were no longer required to wear a mask. Students now only wear masks if their families choose. P.S. 249 5th graders responded to a survey asking what they think about the new rules for wearing masks in school.

In order to see how our grade felt about this change we created a survey and gave it out to 5th grade students.

How tired of wearing a mask are you?
This was question we were sure we knew the answer to, but the response was surprising. Over 33% of people in 5th grade said they were not tired of masks, in fact they were loving it! But, almost an equal amount of people said "OMG, I'M OVER IT!!! (continued on page 3)

By Diara Dollar, Class 4-302

Family friendly Youtube channels are harder and harder to find. Especially those with Black stars. Learn about some of the best ones to watch, like Naiah and Ellie, Akilah Collins and The Onyx Family. These shows are great for kids and families to watch together. (Continued on page 11)

Should we still keep on our masks? FRONT & P.3

Black Youtubers to Watch FRONT & P.11

What's Going On In Ukraine? P.5

The American Civil War P. 8

Among Us P.10

The Truth Behind Valentines Day P.13

Holiday History P.14

Valentines Crafts P. 17

Dominican Independence Day P.19

Dr. Mae Jemison P.22

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Opinion: Plastic Water Bottles P.26

Debate It!: Should Schools Start Later? P.28

Interview: Ms. Musso P.31

African American Women In History P. 33

Make Strawberry Boba P.35

Lunar New Year P.36

T-Rex: King of The Dinosaurs P.40

Your Horoscopes P.44

Caton Classifieds P.45

"A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself."

- Arthur Miller

This shows that people really got used to wearing masks, but after the mandate ended, they are still scared.

Do you feel ready to take off your mask at school?
This was another question we asked. The results showed that 30% said it was time to end mask wearing. However, over 40% was feeling a little scared, even though they still wanted to take off the mask.

Do you feel uncomfortable wearing a mask when others around you are not wearing theirs?
The next question we asked really wanted to know if people feel ok wearing a mask when others around them are not.

People are tired of wearing masks.

The Damage Covid Can Do
Coronavirus is very dangerous. Over 759,000 people have died of COVID in the U.S.. It can also cause serious illness that can put you in the hospital for months. Jobs were lost and businesses closed, leaving a lot of people suffering because they didn't have money to pay bills. Kids know how bad it was to do remote learning because school had to be shut down. A lot of kids lost time learning or didn't learn very well.

How Vaccines Can Help
Researchers think that as more people are vaccinated and become immune to Covid-19, the number of cases will continue to go down. Immunity to the virus means the body can fight it off and it won’t spread around. When enough people are immune to Covid-19 the illness is no longer a serious threat. But experts think we need something called herd immunity to stop the spread. Herd immunity means that 75% to 85% of people need to be vaccinated. Right now, only 60% of people in the USA are vaccinated, so we have a ways to go to get there.

mRNA vaccines were invented during the pandemic. These are new kinds of vaccines that had never been used before.

Almost half of the responders said that it made them feel strange but, they were ok with it. Only 19% of people said that it would make them feel uncomfortable.

How do your parents feel about you wearing a mask?
Finally the survey asked about parents feelings on masks. 41% said their parents were ok with them removing their masks in school. It's been a few weeks since the survey came out and it seems like only a quarter of the 5th grade is without a mask. So we wanted to ask the whole school to see what everyone thinks. Do you agree with the 5th graders surveyed?

Click the clipboard picture above to respond with your opinion!

What's Going On In Ukraine?

P.S. 249 Newspaper Staff Discussion About Ukraine's War Against Russia

I heard that...

- Russia is attacking Ukraine, regular people getting hurt and killed
- Innocent children are being killed by bombs
- Many soldiers have died
- Some Ukrainian people are helping the Russian soldiers
- It's going to be World War 3
- In the past Ukraine was a part of Russia, but they became their own country

- Ukrainians are hiding underground in basements and subways

Q: What have you heard about Ukraine?

- Police are telling the people to leave Ukraine
- The Ukrainian President said if Russia's president doesn't sit down to talk with Ukraine, then Russia's people should demand their president stop the war
- Mostly women and kids are evacuating (leaving), men age 16 to 60 have to stay in the country to fight.
- The Ukraine president says that the US and the EU have let him down, they haven't closed the sky to bombings.
- President Zelensky said he has to keep fight for his country, even if he dies

What do you want to learn about Ukraine?

- Who started the war? Why did it begin? Why is Russia using missiles and bombs against Ukrainians?

- The president of Ukraine decided to stay in his country to help fight against the Russians

- Many kids moving to other countries because their parents have to stay and fight for their land, and they want the kids to be safe

- What will the Ukrainian president do next if most of the country leaves or is killed?

- Worried about how will the U.S. be affected? Will we be going to war? Do we have have to worry about being bombed?

- Will Zelensky and Putin talk? Will they resolve the war?

Your questions answered...

Adapted from USA Today

Russian troops attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022. There were explosions in Kyiv and other cities. Ukraine's government called it a "full-scale war." Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. As the attack began, he gave a speech warning other countries. He said if anyone tries to get involved, it would "lead to consequences you have never seen in history." About 36,000 Ukrainian military members are preparing for battle. Ukraine is gathering more troops.

Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine?
Ukraine and Russia are two different countries. Not long ago, they used to be the same country, called the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union fell apart in 1991. Ukraine's government says Russia wants to destroy Ukraine. They have been wanting to move away from Russia's power ever since. Putin claims he is defending Russian speaking people in Ukraine. Specifically, he said he is defending Donetsk and Luhansk, areas of eastern Ukraine, close to Russia. The areas left Ukrainian control in 2014. Russia claims that Ukraine is trying to take the areas back. Ukraine has denied this.
How NATO is involved
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a group of different countries' militaries. Twenty-eight European countries and two North American countries (The U.S. and Canada) are members. It has military troops stationed in Eastern and Central Europe. Ukraine is not a member of NATO. Russia isn't either. Ukraine wants to join NATO.
Putin does not want Ukraine to join NATO because he sees it as a threat to Russia. In December 2021, Putin gave the U.S. and NATO a list of demands, including a promise to never let Ukraine enter NATO. He also demanded that NATO decrease its military presence in Europe, NATO refused. Putin does not believe Ukraine has a right to exist as a separate country, these are his main reasons for going to war.

The American Civil War

By Amin Rahman, Class 5-101

The American Civil War was a war fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the main cause of the American Civil War was slavery, the reason people were fighting over slavery was because some states (mostly the Confederacy) wanted to keep slavery, but other states (mostly the Union) did not want to keep slaves, and wanted to abolish slavery.

What is the Union and the Confederacy- and what is the difference?

What is the American Civil War?

The Union (or the North) included the states Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire and New Mexico. The Union was mainly fighting for reunification. The Union was opposed by the Confederacy. The Confederacy (or the South) was a group of seceded states including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. They fought to defend slavery and also fought against the Union in the American Civil War.

Vocabulary

abolish (verb) - to put to an end or stop!
secede (verb) - to withdraw from a group or organization