Reliving the Olympics by Ismail Ercan, Age 15Coral Springs, FL

The Olympic Summer Games brings together over 10,000 ath-letes from over 200 countries every four years to compete for 302 gold, silver, and bronze medals over 16 days. This prestigious event was re-cently hosted by the British city of London, which became the first city ever in the modern era to host the games for the third time. There are many things that will be remem-bered about this year’s games, from South African double leg am-putee Oscar Pistorius’ participa-tion in the 400m dash, and Misty May Trainor and Kary Walsh Jen-nings 3-peating for beach volley-ball gold, to the conclusion of US swimmer Michael Phelps’ incred-ible career.

The London Games commenced with an entertaining opening cer-emony directed by Slumdog Mil-lionaire director, Danny Boyle. The Shakespeare-inspired night broke many television records in the US and Great Britain, including being the most watched opening ceremo-ny in history according to NBC. One of the more exciting spectacles of the evening included Queen Elizabeth II, at a mere 86 years of age, “parachuting” into the Olym-pic stadium to the crowd’s delight. Another well-liked scene was Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean from the popular British comedy series, accompanying the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing “Chariots of Fire.” Everyone had their favorite moments from the opening ceremony, and it certainly hyped up the world for the com-mencement of the 30th Olympiad.

From Day One to Day Sixteen, the athletes played their hearts out for their nations and repre-sented them with pride. The 2 1/2 half weeks were highlighted with many success stories and disap-pointments. At the Aquatic Center, Michael Phelps got off to a slow start in his final Olympic games; he failed to medal in the 400m indi-vidual medley, and earned a disap-pointing silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay. After leading until the final 25 meters in the 200m but-terfly, Phelps was out-touched by South African Chad le Clos, a fan of his. Phelps would recuperate, ousting le Clos in the 100m butter-fly and finishing off his career with a win in the 4x200m relay along-side Ryan Lochte. Meanwhile, Mis-sy Franklin, the seventeen-year-old sensation from Colorado, had a great Olympics. She helped the US women earn bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay, and went on to win four gold medals, including setting a new world record in her signature event, the 200m backstroke.

As the host nation in 2008, China was the “golden” country at Bei-jing, finishing with the most gold medals out of any country at the games. Although they ended up set-tling for second to the US in Lon-don, they still performed extremely well and are expected to collect even more medals in Rio.

After a dismal start to their games as host nation, Great Britain recuperated wonderfully, capturing 65 medals, 29 of them being gold. Strong performances in cycling and rowing helped them finish third to only the U.S. and China on the final

medal count. Breakthrough gold medal performances included run-ner Mo Farrah’s gold in the 5 and 10 thousand meter run, and tennis superstar Andy Murray’s gold med-al win over Swiss maestro Roger Federer as well as his silver medal win in mixed doubles with teen-ager Laura Robson. Another break-through performance for Great Britain included diver Tom Daley’s bronze medal in the men’s 10m diving platform, his first Olympic medal.

From the high notes to the low notes…One of the major setbacks of this year’s Olympics was the badminton match fixing scandal that involved 4 pairs of women’s doubles teams: 2 South Korean, an Indonesian, and the defending world champion Chinese team. The controversy began during the qualification rounds when the Chi-nese pair of Yu Yu and Wang Xiaoli faced the Korean pair of Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na. Both sides consistently served into the net and hit long; the longest rally of the match was four strokes, un-heard of in this sport. After being jeered off the court by the crowd at Wembley Arena, the two teams were disqualified from the event by tournament officials. The Indo-nesians and the other Korean pair would later become disqualified as well despite a Korean appeal.

The objective behind the scandal was to earn an easier route to the gold medal match. By losing, the Korean pair could avoid playing other powerhouse pairs before the semifinals, ensuring them at least a shot at bronze medal or better. The Chinese, meanwhile wanted

to avoid having to knock out their compatriots in the quarterfinals should they beat the Koreans that day.

Many people were saddened by the incident and its consequences such as Christina Pedersen, a Dan-ish mixed doubles player. “I think

it’s really important they do some-thing about it, because we’ve been seeing it a lot [in recent times],’’ she said. “I can’t believe [the play-ers] could do it at the Olympics. It’s such a shame.’’

Despite this small setback, China’s domination of badminton continued as they swept all 5 gold medals in the sport. In women’s doubles, China’s second-ranked doubles team made up for their teammates’ disqualification by winning the gold. China has won 38 medals in badminton, 20 more than the next 2 countries (Indonesia and South Korea tied with 18) since 1992 in Barcelona, when the sport was introduced.

Elsewhere, the US women’s gymnastics team (comprised of Gabrielle Douglas, McKayla Ma-roney, Alexandra Raisman, Kyla Ross, and Jordyn Wieber) was hav-ing an incredible Olympics, oust-ing the Russians to win the team event, becoming the first US gym-nastics team since Atlanta’s “Mag-nificent Seven” to win gold. In the individual events, Gabby Douglas, aka “Flying Squirrel,” captured the gold in the individual all-around fi-nals as well as on the uneven bars. Team captain Alexandra (Aly) Raisman won gold in the floor ex-ercise and bronze on the balance beam. McKayla Maroney earned a disappointing but respectable silver on the vault as well.

Track and field was also in full flight with Usain Bolt defending his 3 gold medals in Beijing in the cat-egories of the 100, 200, and 4x100 meter relay race, solidifying his sta-tus as “a legend.” He has confirmed that he will be back in Rio, attempt-

ing a 3 peat, which would surely be legendary.

The US men had a solid per-formance in athletics (the formal name for track and field), earning 15 medals, 3 of them gold. Break-

THE CIRCLE GAZETTE Volume 3, Issue 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

A Newspaper by Children, of all Ages, from all Over the World

“How To Submit” See Ad Page 2

Please turn to page 6

Notes on…The Magical Ms. Plumby Emma Gómez, Age 8Margate, FL

The Magical Ms. Plum is a book by Bonny Becker. This book is about an elementary school teacher who has magic powers. She uses her magic to help kids break bad habits.

My favorite part of the story is chapter three, “A Parrot for your Thoughts.” In this chap-ter, there was a boy named Eric. Eric always interrupted peo-ple and always finished other people’s sentences and jokes. He got a parrot and this parrot could read his thoughts. The parrot said Eric’s thoughts out loud so everybody could hear what he thought about them. He also got to experience how it felt to be interrupted all the time. So Eric learned his les-son about that. Since then Eric let other people finish their own sentences and jokes. This is my favorite chapter because it’s so well written that I could almost hear the voice of the parrot. Also, I thought this was a nice way to teach a lesson.

I was surprised to find out that the children cannot talk about Ms. Plum and what they

do in her class. Ms. Plum has blond hair and has plum col-ored glasses. She almost always wears a plum colored cardigan on top of a sun colored shirt. She also wears a skirt that is the color of a beautiful dark purple flower. The kids don’t know she is magical.

The book is recommended for children 8 and up but I person-ally think this book is good for younger readers, too, because it is easy to understand and it gives good ideas about how to break bad habits.

Top Three Performers at London 2012 Summer Olympic Games

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze TOTAL

1 United States of America 46 29 29 104

2 People's Republic of China 38 27 23 88

3 Great Britain 29 17 19 65

Graph: Top Three Performers at London 2012 Olympic Games

“The London Games commenced with an entertaining opening ceremony directed by

Slumdog Millionaire director, Danny Boyle.”

Living Healthy‘Tuna’ much of a good thingby Sara Cross, Age 11Boca Raton, FL

Hi kids! And welcome to Liv-ing Healthy, a column that talks about how to keep your body healthy and energized. Last month we talked all about the problems caused by the nuclear chemical Cesium in Pacific tuna. But there is actually a much big-ger problem with all tuna: the toxic liquid metal mercury.

Mercury builds up in your liver the same way Cesium does. It is not radioactive, but it is a poison. Symptoms of mer-cury exposure include hair loss, fatigue, depression, difficulty concentrating, and headaches. Symptoms of mercury poisoning include peripheral neuropathy, (symptoms are itching, burning, or pain), skin discoloration (pink cheeks, fingertips and toes), swelling, and desquamation (shedding of skin). There is on-going research about other prob-lems that mercury can cause.

Though a certain amount of mercury is naturally occurring, the single largest source of mer-cury is still coal burning power plants. The other main source is waste products such as com-pact fluorescent light bulbs. Other sources of toxic garbage are thermostats, thermometers,

and old batteries. The mercury leaches out of the landfill and the power plants into the water, and poisons the plants and fish.

The occasional tuna sand-wich is not what I am referring to this article. In small amounts it is not that much of a problem, but make tuna your treat instead of your everyday snack. The other recommendations that I have for you are the same as last month. Eat lower on the food chain to reduce mercury intake, and to download your local safe seafood guide, produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium at: www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/down-load.aspx.

For a fun and educational way to learn about safe fish, go to: ttp://www.epa.gov/water-science/fish/kids/.

Maneuver away from mercu-ry and be here for October!

PAGE 2 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 2012

Labor Day has been around for over a century. Labor Unions began celebrating Labor Day, dedicated to the achieve-ments of American workers, since the 1880s. It became an official national holiday, des-ignated as the first Monday in September, in 1894.

In the last 120 years since Labor Day has been celebrat-ed, the United States has seen huge changes for women in the workplace. Once relegated to such roles as teaching, nursing or waiting tables, now we find women in virtually every role you find a man.

This actually began when facto-ries and businesses needed work-ers during World War II, when the men went to fight in Europe or the Pacific. Women filled those jobs, and found they enjoyed it! Many were reluctant to leave those jobs when the men came back. Then the baby boom of the late 1940s and 1950s happened. Women again began to stay home to raise

their families.The Women’s Movement of the

1960s changed society again. At this point, women in huge num-bers went to college and went to work. Often they raised families while keeping their jobs. This was a rather new idea but caught on. It became a challenge to women to “have it all” – work and family.

My own family history certain-ly mirrors the history of women in the workforce. My mother, an educated office worker, tried to be a stay-at-home mother in the 1950s and 1960s, but often worked outside the home. She was widowed, divorced, then helped a husband run a business. All those times she had to work to support her family. I don’t be-lieve the Women’s Movement af-fected her decisions.

For me, it was never a question – I would definitely earn an edu-cation and have a career. I have been working since 1973, with only two breaks to have my two

children. Has it been difficult? Sometimes. But I had the help of a husband who worked nights to care for young children during the day. Also, the help of a young son who loved to cook. And, the workplace was changing. There was more understanding of wom-en who needed to take time off for sick children or appointments.

Does your Mom work? Do you know that 78% of mothers of children between 6 and 18 are in the workforce? That’s amaz-ing. Would you believe that, for the first time, the CEO of a For-tune 500 company is expecting a baby (Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer)? More is being made of that fact than the fact she is the youngest-ever CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

So, things have definitely changed for working Moms. Wish your Mom a happy and rest-ful Labor Day for me.

THE CIRCLE GAZETTE A Newspaper by Children for Children

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Labor Day for Working Moms

A Word From The Editor

Did You Know...… that Labor Day is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers? Labor Day has come to be celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In high society, Labor Day is considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable to wear white. In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons.

What is Labor Day?by Alizdair Sebastien Ray, Age 8Hope Mills, NC

Labor Day means two things: the end of summer, and the day off for working Moms and Dads. It has been celebrated as a national holiday since 1854. La-bor Day means that I spend time with my family, and it means going to the beach. Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays!

Scan our QR Code with your smart phone to read more online and see

the latest featured writers!

Did You Know... ... that QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readabil ity and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds (“modes”) of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, virtually any kind of data.

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SEPTEMBER 2012 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE PAGE 3

Synchro Olympic Resultsby Yasmin Daiha, Age 14Miramar, FL

I’m a synchronized swimmer in the Coral Springs Aquacades. The London 2012 Olympic Games happened this summer and there were many different sports to watch, such as: swimming, gym-nastics, boxing, volleyball, and

much more. There was one sport, though, that I was dying to watch and that was the Synchronized Swimming. Five days of the best teams and duets competing for gold. When I first laid eyes on the competitors, I thought of how much work they must have put into these routines. Ten

hours a day, every day, training for this chance. In the team cat-egory there were only eight teams which included Russia, China, Spain, Canada, Japan, Great Brit-ain, Egypt, and Australia. All the teams were breathtaking. They all stayed so synchronized it made me want to work 10 hours every day just to get as good as they are, but of course this takes time and effort. The results of the top three teams were, Gold: Russia with a score of 197.030, Silver: China with a score of 194.010, and Bronze: Spain with a score of 193.120. The duets, in my point of view, looked like a solo. The two swimmers would be on point with everything they did. I thought there was just one swimmer in the water. For the tech routines, they had a number of “figures” they had to perform and for the free routines they could do whatever they pleased to show how strong and flexible they really were.

The results of the top three duets were, Gold: Russia with a score of 197.1, Silver: Spain with a score of 192.9, and Bronze: China with a score of 192.870. These Olym-

pics were just amazing with many difficult competitions and three medals to give out. All the swim-mers did great and I really enjoyed watching them.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC):

A Must-Go-To Eventby Ismail Ercan, Age 15Coral Springs, FL

For the first time in its over two-decade history, the Del-ray Beach ITC, a profession-al men’s tennis tournament hosted by the City of Delray Beach, will feature the top three ranked American singles players, along with the num-ber one doubles team in the world in the same week. Lon-don gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan (also known as the Bryan Brothers),arguably the best doubles team ever assembled, have signed up to return to Delray Beach, where they have captured the title twice before. John Isner (cur-rent world number 10), will look to redeem himself af-ter a disappointing finish at Delray last year when he lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Former Florida residents Andy Roddick (no. 21) and Mardy Fish (no. 24) will look to make a statement at next year’s ITC which will

be held in late February at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

Both men have reached the fi-nals before, and Fish was the last American champion of the event in 2009, as the top seed.

During the US Open promo-tion (which is currently under-way), the Delray Beach ITC will be celebrating the signing of its American tennis stars by offering special discounted tickets for next year’s event. This amazing offer includes 50% off all grandstand tickets, 15% off reserved seats and 10% off box seats during the dura-tion of the US Open in New York, which runs from August 27 through September 14.

Mark Baron, the ITC tourna-ment director, was extremely pleased by the signing of the five American stars. “We’re excited to be bringing back the wildly popular Bryan Brothers who are already legends in the sport. This is the just the be-ginning of an epic year for us,” said Baron.

ATP players announce their schedule for the upcom-ing year usually three to four months in advance of the next season. While committing to a tournament usually guarantees

a player’s participation, some-times the players withdraw from the tournament due to in-jury or sickness. The opposite also happens quite often, when players who did not expect to play in the tournament sign up at the last moment and are awarded a wild card into the main draw.

Regardless of who plays in next year’s ITC, it will be an-other amazing event in South Florida. Be sure you don’t miss this great opportunity to

be up close and personal to your favorite tennis stars.

To purchase tickets call 561-330-6000, order online at www.YellowTennisBall.com or in-person at Walmart’s Ticketmaster outlets or the Delray Beach ITC box office (open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., 561-330-6000, 30 NW 1st Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33444). Complete tournament information is available on the Delray Beach ITC website, www.YellowTennisBall.com.

“All the teams were breathtaking, all stayed so synchronized.”“There was one sport, though, that I was dying to watch and

that was the Synchronized Swimming.”

Former Florida resident Andy Roddick (No. 21) looks for-ward to making a statement at next year’s International Tennis Championship which will be held in late February at the Delray Beach Tennis Center. Roddick has reached

the finals before. Photo Credit: CameraSport.

John Isner (current world number 10) will look to redeem himself after a disappointing finish at Delray last year.

Photo Credit: CameraSport.

Did You Know...… that YouTube has 490 mill ion users worldwide? The average user spends an average of 25 minutes on the site each time they visit. 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US. The longest video on YouTube is 48 hours (2 days!) The most watched video (that is not a music video) is “Charlie Bit My Finger” with currently 317 mill ion views, and the most watched music video is Justin Bieber ’s “Baby” which currently has over 536 mill ion views.

AN AWESOME SUMMERby Samile Daiha, Age 12Miramar, FL

This summer was very exciting! My sister Yasmin, our friend Adri-ana and I started making music vid-eos of different types of music and posting them on YouTube. It is very fun and exciting. We always like to use music that is very pumped up so we can enjoy doing it. In the first music video we made, we used the song “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” by Selena Gomez. Though

it was our very first video, it has the most likes and views. We are on our 4th video and hoping to post more soon.

We did the videos in plenty of places like the beach, restaurants, my house, and outside at the park. We were even about to make one in a canoe but that would not have worked out. Our first video has more than 12,000 views. You can see it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIwnacAGzug

How did we get started making

these videos? Adriana was looking for things to do on her iPad and she got this app called Video Star. At first, we didn’t know how to use it, but when we tried doing a song we learned quickly. Now we are post-ing videos on YouTube! We also did a music video with one of our synchro friends, Katrina. The name of the song is “Good Time” by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepson. To see more of our videos please go to rar-go67 on YouTube and we will be posting more videos! Thank you!

PAGE 4 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 2012

SUN SENTINEL AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

Educators can now sign up for free copies of the Sun Sen-tinel eEdition for the 2012-2013 school year.

The Sun Sentinel eEdition is a great source for INFOR-MATIONAL TEXT. It’s edu-cational, efficient, and easy to use. It makes learning fun for students by reaching them where they live – in an increas-ingly digital world. Features of the eEdition include: access to back issues of the Sun Sentinel, translation of articles, audio, enlarged font, ability to print photos or articles, emailing articles, hyperlinks, and much more!

To register, go to: www.Sun-Sentinel.com/nie (the form is located on the top right of the home page).

QUESTIONS? Please email NIEOlivehelp@sunsentinel.com.

Additionally, Sun Sentinel NIE will continue to create

and deliver curriculum guides throughout the year. Be on the lookout for email communica-tions regarding upcoming pro-grams, and visit www.SunSenti-nel.com/nie to view curriculum guides, interactive activities, lesson plans, and the program schedule for 2012/2013.

Did You Know...… that if you took a daily Sun Sentinel, folded and cut down all the pages to book size it would average between 250 and 350 pages each day!? That’s because the paper prints about sports, fashion, music, movies, science stories, horoscopes, puzzles, history, comics -- you name it, you can find it in the paper.

SARAH’S CINEMA

A Monthly Movie Reviewby Sarah Thompson, Age 13Boynton Beach, FL

The Amazing Spider-ManRated: PG-13

The plot:We rejoin Peter Parker, aka

Spider-Man, as a cheeky, spindly, and completely unthreatening high-school student, in this pre-quel to the original Spider-Man movies. Peter has a hard enough time navigating through his days. He deals with bullies and pain over the loss of his parents who disappeared when he was four. There is also the smart, charis-

matic, somewhat rebellious love of his life, Gwen Stacy, whom he doubts he will ever find the nerve to ask out. Then things get even more complicated: Peter is bitten by a genetically modified spider, and finds that it has given him spider-like abilities.

The verdict:The Amazing Spider-Man is

one part coming-of-age story, and one part superhero story. Boasting a whole new cast, from Spider-Man himself (played by Andrew Garfield) to a love inter-est whose story had not yet been told (played by Emma Stone), the movie will likely appeal to a larg-er audience, including those who might not have seen the original Spider-Man, but are interested in seeing this brand new take on it.

The movie was not what I ex-pected it to be, but I certainly did enjoy it. The typical super-hero movie follows the crime-fighting adventures of someone with inhuman physical abilities, and does its best to “wow” au-diences with action, stunts, and special effects. The Amazing Spider-Man, however, keeps the “wow!” factor to a minimum, and puts emphasis instead on the challenges of growing up and fig-uring things out.

Filled with romance, drama, and self-discovery, it is, over-all, a very different take on the superhero genre. Through the whole film, I wondered in the back of my mind: Okay, this is very calm…is there an explosion coming? Sudden death? A new villain? Something to make the audience jump? But, ultimately,

no. Small thrills throughout - a surprise here, a bad-guy run-in there - but the film always returns to the quieter, deeper intimacy of relationships and Peter’s epiphany from impish teen to trusted hero.

I have a feeling that this movie will evoke a different reaction from everyone who sees it. For example, an elderly couple sit-ting in front of me during the movie seemed to really like it. Like me, they were probably expecting something louder and more intense, but were pleasantly

surprised by the refreshing take on the superhero’s origin story.

And then, of course, there will be some like the little boy (may-be six or seven years old) who sat behind me. He wiggled around in his seat, clearly bored, and asked his father repeatedly if the villain was going to show up again.

The Amazing Spider-Man is different. Some might see it as a good thing, and some might see it as a bad thing. But you never will know unless you do see it…something I highly recommend!

The Dark Knight Legend, Junior Novel by Christopher Nolan A Book Review

by Alizdair Sebastien Ray , Age 8Hope Mills, NC

One evening Bruce Wayne went to a play with his par-ents. Bruce wanted to go home. He asked his father who told Bruce’s mother and they left. They were in an alley at 11: 26 PM when a man appeared and said “Give me your wallet and jewelry.” Bruce’s father said “No!” The man shot Bruce’s fa-ther and then his mother. He ran off with their wallet and jewel-ry. Bruce couldn’t stop crying. He ran off and came back 12 years later. Bruce joined a group called the League of Shadows, and became a full member within a couple of months. His

teacher wanted Bruce to destroy what his father had built. Bruce was mad and left and he became Batman. I hope you get a chance to read this Junior Novel be-cause it is about somebody who loses his parents and becomes a Super Hero.

Sleeping Freshmen Never LieBook Reviewby Aaron Organ age 14Coral Springs, FL

This book was required sum-mer reading for all incoming freshmen to Stoneman Douglas High School. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie is about a boy, Scott Hudson, and his three friends starting high school. The book starts the last day of their summer vacation. Little do they know that their lives will change forever.

Starting high school is never easy. Seniors take your lunch money. Girls you’ve known for-ever are suddenly beautiful and unattainable. Welcome to Scott Hudson’s freshman year of high school. Scott’s chronicle of his first year of bullies, romance, honors classes, and brotherhood is both laugh-out-loud funny and touchingly wise. He isn’t the handsomest or most popular guy around, and he doesn’t have a clue how to talk to Julia, who

once shared his peanut butter crackers and has morphed into the hot chick over the summer. Seniors smack him on the head on the bus. He doesn’t have classes with his best friends. His Spanish teacher has a thick French accent.

On top of his woes, his par-ents have announced that they’re having a baby, he loses out on a book reviewer’s position for the school newspaper, and he gets roped into running for the stu-dent council. This is a hilarious and bittersweet story about one freshman finding his place and becoming his own person almost completely by accident.

For all of us who started (or will start) high school feeling overwhelmed and out of place, Scott is a hero. Like all of us, he has his strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly he keeps his sense of humor, shown through his survival guide written to his soon-to-be-born brother or sister. Supported by his family and a

few close friends, Scott discovers there is a lot to get out of fresh-man year, assuming he doesn’t sleep right through it.

To find out how the story ends, read the book yourself. This story will take you through the life of a freshman and every turn in be-tween. This is a book that every freshman should read. So I give the novel 5 books out of 5!

Welcome to the Circle Gazette WEEKLY! Scan the QR Code to go directly to the Circle Ga-

zette WEEKLY and have it saved in your history! At the Circle Gazette young writers find an opportunity to tell their stories and opinions; and to play an active role in their communities as reporters. Our full edi-tion prints bi-monthly. On paper it is available via sub-scriptions and at relevant locations such as museums, schools and libraries. In digital form, the Circle Ga-zette is available through different media outlets and partners. This publication is packed with the latest sto-ries, poetry and art by children of all ages, about cur-

rent affairs, the environment, sports, health, and entertain-ment. World happenings and information move faster and faster everyday and young people are on top of things. Enjoy our WEEKLY.

~ Patty Gómez

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE PAGE 5

Community Story: Prateek Sachdev by Ismail Ercan, Age 15Coral Springs, FL

Kohl’s, a national department store chain that has stores in 49 out of the 50 US states, has recently started a scholarship program entitled “Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program.” This pro-gram annually honors over 2,200 young volunteers throughout the nation for helping make “their communities a better place to live,” according to the store’s website. The program gives out prizes to store winners, regional winners, and national winners, based upon their projects, their benefits, and their outcome.

Just this past summer, Pra-teek Sachdev, a former senior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Se-nior High School and a South Florida resident, was a region-al winner of the scholarship program. He was awarded a $1,000 scholarship towards his education at the University of Michigan in the fall.

Sachdev, also a 2012 Silver Knight nominee, was nominated for the Kohl’s Cares scholar-ship by one of his teachers for his work in developing an e-

learning platform website for students who have problems with math and English. Prateek became involved after Dr. Deb-orah Levy, founder of the Levy Learning Center in Hollywood, asked him and a few classmates to join in on “creating a website where students could access and learn English and math in a new way,” said Prateek. “Students nowadays are more attracted to technology than sitting in a classroom… it was a new, inno-vative approach.”

Prateek, who spent over six months designing the website sforss.com, says that the stu-dents can register, log in, and start practicing exercises on the computer immediately. “We are currently not seeing much im-provement with our learning methods in some schools,” said Prateek. He’s got a point. In a study done by the National Cen-ter for Education Statistics, one out of every seven Americans lacks the English level to read an average children’s chapter book. “I think that e-platform might be good idea - since the students today spend a lot of time seated in front of a com-puter. I wanted the platform to

be fun and attractive.”Prateek has passed on his

website to a peer at Krop Senior High while he plans on pursuing other projects in web develop-ment in the future. In the mean-time, the site is thriving and Prateek says that they will try to keep it up for “as long as pos-sible.” Prateek shares with other young kids and teens that would like to start their own project to benefit the community: “Find your skill, what you’re best at, and find a way to implement that skill into real life… and help other kids.”

Did You Know...… that Australia has such a unique variety of animals that 83% of mammals that inhabit the continent live nowhere else in the world? These endemic animals have evolved differently from other animals around the world because of the unique geography and climate of Australia. One example is that there are almost no placental animals, or animals whose young spend their entire gestation period inside the mother’s womb, in Australia. Instead, most mammals in Australia are marsupials, animals whose young complete their gestation period outside of the body in a special pouch. Australia is also home to one of the last surviving species of monotremes, mammals which lay eggs, known as the platypus.

‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ PROGRAMKIWANIS OF LITTLE HAVANA

FOUNDATION AND THE MIAMI MARLINS SUPPORTING EDUCATION

Thousands of school supplies

were distributed to elementary school students.

The Back to School Cara-van that began the first day of the new school year distributed thousands of school supplies to low income students giv-ing them a boost from the very start. Each student received a backpack containing 4 pencils, 4 notebooks, 3 folders, safety scissors, glue stick, crayons, ruler, color markers, composi-tion book, and filler paper.

The effort was launched on Thursday, August 16, at Marlins Ballpark, where children from the Little Havana area, San Juan Bosco Learning Center and the Institute for Child & Family Health received backpacks re-plete with school supplies.

Since 1991, the Kiwanis of Little Havana has been distribut-ing school supplies to students. “The Back to School program is a main project of our organiza-tion and we remain steadfast to the mission of nurturing future leaders and productive citizens through education; leading the way to a brighter tomorrow,” states Eugenio Hernandez, Chairman of the Kiwanis of Little Havana Foundation. The Kiwanis of Little Havana and the Foundation is a 501(c)(3)

organization conducting proj-ects and programs that greatly impact the youth of South Flor-ida; programs that are educa-tional, athletic and recreational in nature and begin at infancy and through college graduation. “We enjoy welcoming the stu-dents to the new school year, making sure they attend school well-prepared and motivated to learn,” adds Henry Jimenez, President of the club.

The Marlins Foundation supports the charity partners of the Miami Marlins through philanthropy and service. The Foundation is committed to im-proving the lives of our youth through education, the arts and baseball, with a special focus on children with special needs. The funds raised by the Foundation provide unique experiences for kids in our schools, parks and on the water. The Foundation community partnerships and outreach efforts demonstrate the Marlins’ leadership in cor-porate responsibility and civic engagement. “The Marlins are proud to continue this special Back to School tradition,” said Alfredo Mesa, Executive Di-rector of the Marlins Founda-tion. “This is a special tradition that will continue to grow at Marlins Park.”

South Florida Youth Recognized for Supporting their Communities

2012 Kohl’s Cares® Scholarships RecipientsTwo Miami-area youth re-

cently were awarded $1,000 Kohl’s Cares® regional scholar-ships for their impactful efforts in your community. These amazing young children are truly making a difference in their community. The two local recipients are:

Micaela Price, 11, is from East Rockland Key. Micaela is being recognized by Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program for organiz-ing her own food drive at Sugar-loaf Elementary School, in which she collected more than a ton of food. Inspired by a summer help-ing her Dad collect food donations for the local food pantry, Micaela was determined to continue help-ing those in need. With the help of her honors club, Micaela helped organize an extremely successful food drive that plans on being an annual event. Micaela is a straight A student who also volunteers at her church.

On an interview for the Circle Gazette, Micaela Pierce described how much it meant for her to be of help to so many people in her community. “It is surprising to realize how many people need help and how much food is need-

ed,” said Pierce. “Helping others made me feel good. It meant a lot to me,” Pierce added.

Young kids can make a differ-ence and through her work, Mi-caela Pierce encourages her peers to find a way to help others. At her school, many children partici-pated in this food drive; some by bringing in donations from home, some by helping Micaela and her dad carry food to the local food pantry. Micaela Pierce continues to volunteer in her community. She finds time every month to support the charity work of her church and other local centers that offer help to those in need.

Prateek Sachdev, 18, of Aven-tura is being recognized for de-veloping an e-learning program to help kids learn reading and math in a fun, technological way. After a teacher at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School introduced Prateek to problems with the US educational system and low lit-eracy rates, he used his computer programming skills to develop an interactive and attractive learn-ing program for children. Prateek spent more than 500 hours de-veloping the e-learning program

and it is currently being used by various schools in three coun-ties (Dade, Broward, and Palm-Beach).

Kohl’s Cares® regional schol-arships are to be used toward post-secondary education. More than 35,000 nominees nationwide were considered for this award, which recognizes youth who are actively working to make a posi-tive impact on their community. We are pleased to announce that these two regional-level winners reside in the Miami area!

The Platypusby Kate Maier, Age 8Sunrise, FL

What do you think of when I say the word platypus? Do you think of a mammal that lays eggs? Perhaps you think of a beaver-like creature with a duck bill. Maybe what comes to mind is Perry the Platypus, family pet and secret agent on Disney Chan-nel’s “Phineas and Ferb.” That’s a good start, but there is so much more to know about the platypus.

The platypus is the only animal in the world with a bill, webbed feet and thick, slick fur. Its bill looks like a duck’s bill, but it is soft like leather. Its feet have claws for digging and webs for swim-ming. Its tail is long and strong like a beaver’s tail. It weighs be-

tween 4.4 and 4.8 pounds and is 17 to 20 inches long.

You can only find the platypus in Australia. It lives in hot and cold climates. The platypus burrows in banks of freshwater rivers, lakes and creeks. The narrow burrow leads to a sleeping chamber at the end. The burrow is a tight fit and squeezes out any water the platy-pus might have in its fur.

The platypus finds food in the freshwater next to its habitat. It uses its bill like a big spoon and scoops up its meal from under-water. The mammal then surfaces to breathe and chew its food. The platypus enjoys a delicious diet rich in worms, insects, fish eggs, plankton, tadpoles, and shrimp. Remind me to never accept a din-ner invitation from a platypus.

Prateek Sachdev

Micaela Price

Did You Know...… that Kohl’s is a is an American department store chain headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin? As of September 2011, Kohls operated 1,089 stores in 49 states. The chain was the 20th-largest retailer in the United States in 2011 in terms of revenue. Every year, Kohl’s recognizes and rewards young volunteers (ages 6-18) across the country for their amazing contributions to their communities. The 2013 nomination period will be Feb 1- Mar 15, 2013. More information at (319)341-2932 or kohls@act.org.

Press Release Press Release Press Release

PAGE 6 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 2012

through performances included de-cathlon athlete Eaton Ashton who won the gold alongside teammate Trey Hardee who earned silver.

The US women earned 14 med-als, however they doubled the men’s gold medal earnings, winning six. They were led by Alison Felix, who avenged her Beijing silver in the 200m by winning gold. The six time medalist would add two more gold medals to her already sterling career. Alongside Felix were Sanya Richards Ross (2 gold) and Carmelita Jeter (1 of each: gold, silver, bronze) who helped the US break the world record in the 4x100m relay and win gold in the 4x400m relay as well.

Women’s soccer was also a highly publicized event at this year’s Olym-pic Games. The US women had come off from losing a heartbreaker to Japan in the World Cup finals and were looking to re-assert themselves as the team to beat and capture gold. Before they even got to the finals, they were challenged by a deter-

mined Canadian team that almost pulled off the upset of the tourna-ment, falling to the US in extra time. The resilient US squad came from behind three separate times in the game and the incredible effort was capped off when US striker Alex Morgan netted a header in stoppage time to win the game 4-3.

Then came the gold medal match against Japan, which was certainly just as entertaining as advertised. The US women were looking for their third consecutive gold medal and Japan was in their first gold medal match. The game was su-perb, with both teams being evenly matched and having many opportu-nities to score. But the hero of the match for the US was an unlikely one, Carli Lloyd, the experienced US midfielder who had been re-moved from her starting position on the team. She proved why she deserved to be starting on the pitch that day, in front of over 80,203 fans at Wembley Stadium, where every

soccer player dreams to have a big game. Those 80,000 fans were the largest number of fans attending a women’s Olympic soccer match in history. Lloyd netted both US goals: a header from a few yards from the goal off an Alex Morgan cross, and an absolute rocket from 20 yards out into the bottom left corner that left the Japanese defenders scratch-ing their heads. Japan did show off their fighting “never count us out” spirit that won them the World Cup last year by pulling one goal back in the 63rd minute. The next 30 minutes seemed to tick on forever for the Americans. The Japanese seemed closer to equalizing with every at-tack they made and if it weren’t for a few heroic saves by Hope Solo, Ja-pan would have extended the game to extra time. But the Americans sur-vived the test and emerged as gold medalists yet again! Final score: USA 2 – Japan 1.

The final two days of the Olym-pics brought an air of excitement as both American basketball teams, men and women, were looking to defend their Beijing gold medals. The women proved that they were simply unstoppable, winning their 5th straight gold medal and 41st consecutive game at the Olympics.

They defeated France comfortably in the gold medal match by over 35 points, putting pressure on the men to deliver.

The 2012 US men’s team has been consistently compared to the “Dream Team” of Barcelona 1992, undoubtedly the greatest basketball team ever assembled. That 1992 team was comprised of basketball legends including Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Charles Barkley. This 2012 Olym-pic team was comprised of players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bry-ant, and Kevin Durant, the current best players in the NBA. There was much pressure upon this year’s team to deliver and defend their Beijing gold and they did….although not as convincingly as the original “Dream Team.” In the final, they faced Spain, whom they defeated in the Beijing final. The game never seemed to get away from either team. The moment one team would seem to be starting a run, the other team would pull it back even.

One of the main problems of this year’s Olympic men’s basketball team was their lack of size in the paint against Spain. Spain has three of the best centers in the NBA, Paul and Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka,

each coming from great seasons. Fortunately for the Americans, Marc Gasol got into foul trouble early and this allowed the Americans to slow-ly but surely build an insurmount-able lead in the fourth quarter. The game wasn’t decided until the final two minutes; LeBron hit a clutch three pointer and point guard Chris Paul drove to the rim to separate the two teams by 11 points. Final score: USA 107 – Spain 100.

This year’s Olympic Summer Games will certainly go down in the record books for many great reasons. London’s remarkable 16 day event will surely be missed as people turn on their televisions ev-ery day. For the athletes, it’s time to start celebrating their tremendous accomplishments and start prepar-ing for 2016 with new goals made and records to be broken. The next generation of athletes has also been inspired, waiting for their turn to shine. Rio is waiting for them!

The Harp of Paradise Gardenby Lindsey Sauer, Age 15Coral Springs, FL

The bright fluorescent lights reflected off Jessica’s chestnut brown hair, making her look as though she was an angel from Heaven. Her sleeping so peace-fully made him both angry and sad because when she awoke, there would be nothing he could do to heal her dying body and bring her home. Naturally, his thoughts drifted to his late wife and how he hadn’t been able to save her. Oh, how he longed for the days when the three of them laughed and played in the neigh-boring meadows of their white Victorian house. But those days were over and would forever be a memory only he could see. Fall-ing asleep, he imagined that he had somehow discovered a cure which allowed Jessica to elude her slow death.

When he awakened from his slumber, he found himself in the hospital waiting room, only it wasn’t the same hospi-tal where he had fallen asleep. Across the room a pair of slid-ing doors opened and revealed a well-dressed man. Scanning the room with his intense blue eyes, the man finally spotted Jessica’s father. He crossed the room and placed a large parcel at the fa-ther’s feet. On top of the parcel lay a card which in bold writing said: “Use it well.”

14 Days LaterThe morning sunshine touched

his cheeks as it trickled through the trees. For the past two weeks, he had traveled through this dif-ferent world seeking the Paradise Garden and, more specifically, the Water of Life, which ran through the garden. He had gath-ered information about the Water

of Life and had immediately set out to find it and bring it to his daughter. The Water of Life could heal any injury or illness, and Jes-sica’s father planned on bringing it home to her. However, there was a trick to taking the water from the river. Since the Water of Life was so valuable, all who drink or take from the river must first leave a gift as a token of ap-preciation. When the father ap-proached the river, he knelt to the ground and placed the harp that had come from the parcel in the hospital room. Slowly, the harp began to play a beautiful bird song that sounded sweeter than sugar. Once this task was com-pleted, the father filled his silver flask, which he had acquired on his quest through the worlds. As soon as his flask was full, strange things began to happen. Every-thing around him began blinking from a fluorescent white, to the

garden and back again. Then … he was asleep.

The father’s eyes blinked open. “What a strange dream,” thought the father. As he stirred in his chair, he felt something smooth and cold in his hand. Looking down, he was surprised to find the silver flask from his dream. “But how? Could it really be?” he thought. He noticed a small scratch on his hand. He decided to test the water. Taking a small sip of the water, he carefully watched as the skin sealed itself around the scratch, leaving no trace that it had been there. He looked at his daughter, then to the flask. “She is not dying today,” he thought. Carefully, he raised the flask to the fluids bag, draining it. He turned to Jessica’s frail body. He waited. Tears filled his eyes when nothing happened. He turned away, no longer able to bear the sight of her dying body, help-

less to do anything. He reached for the door as a faint voice said, “Daddy?”

He closed the door and ro-tated toward Jessica, wondering if what he was hearing was true. He closed his eyes and re-opened them, trying to make sense of everything. When he glanced toward the bed, instead of see-ing Jessica sleeping, he saw that she was looking back at him. She looked haggard and frail, but still she was awake and better.

Walking AloneEpisode IIIby Jadzia Escoto, Age 11Coral Springs, FL

I went out to the store that same day. I tried to make the wolf, that I named Midnight, stay at the house, but he wouldn’t stay. Don’t ask how I knew he was a guy, I just did. I walked Mid-night into the house, grabbed my wallet and started my way to the store. But my wolf appeared out of nowhere next to me. I stared at him, he stared back at me. I began to walk again toward the store, and he followed in pur-suit. When I entered the store, no

one gave any attention to my pet wolf. His navy blue eyes peered into my eyes. I turned around and scanned the wall, choosing a collar made of black leather. I took it off the shelf and tried it on Midnight. The collar grew bigger and fit snuggly on his fur-ry neck. I took it off and stared at it in amazement, but soon switched my focus to my pet. I strolled over to the counter and paid for the collar. I bent down and placed it on Midnight’s neck. We both made our way through the door. As I started my way home, Midnight walked a few paces the other way. He

stopped and turned to me. I took a few steps in his direction. He continued in that direction and I followed. He led me to a thick patch of tightly pressed together trees, a forest. It got dark; it was starting to become difficult to follow my black wolf. Finally, after what seemed forever, we stumbled our way into a clear-ing. It was like a small room with trees for walls and branches overhead for a ceiling. But here, the light was a golden color, painting everything in liquid gold. Leaves weaved their way into my hair. Suddenly, my wolf started to pounce around. He jumped and danced all over the place. He stopped and stared at me, asking me through his eyes to play with him. I started walk-ing towards him and sat down in a patch of gold leaves. He came closer to me and bent his head and rested it on my lap. When I

started to pet his head, he rolled on his back and I scratched his belly. Then he jumped up and took a few steps away from me. I ran toward him, and he ran from me in a playful manner. I chased him, kicking up leaves in my wake. I ran and chased him till I was breathless, col-lapsing on the ground. Midnight came to me and cuddled into my side. We stayed like that until I glanced at my watch. It was get-ting late! I tugged at Midnight and he finally got up and led me through the woods until we reached my house. I stepped in-side my house, walked up to my bed and changed into some clean clothes. I fell on the bed and fell asleep. I felt something jump up and shake my bed before resting itself on my stomach. I peeked through my half-closed eyes and saw Midnight, asleep. I fell into a peaceful deep sleep. Amazing.

The Adventure of Super Cat The Battle Begins

by Alizdair Sebastien Ray, Age 8Hope Mills, NC

At 5 p.m. in New York

City, Super Cat was trying to find Fluffy. He was creat-ing an army of cats. Super Cat thought that Fluffy was in New York, but he wasn’t sure where. Super Cat found Fluffy’s location in up-state Rhode Island. He flew over the hot, red lava sur-rounding Fluffy’s castle, and then faced some cat guards. He flew over them and landed in the forbidden castle. Su-per Cat needed to find the red square button to shut down all the monsters. He proceeded to take an invisible pill to find the red button. The pill only gave Super Cat 20 minutes of invisibility. He had to find the button fast. The time was winding down to 10 seconds and 9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 and 0. He finally found the button and pressed it. Fluffy appeared like a puff of gray smoke in front of him. He said that was actually the button to unlock and free all of the monsters. Super Cat couldn’t lock the cages back. Would Fluffy be able to take over the World? Or would Super Cat destroy all the monsters? Find out in the next thrilling story of The Adventures of Super Cat!

Reliving the Olympics by Ismail ErcanContinued from page 1

“From Day One to Day Sixteen, the athletes played their hearts out for their nations and represented them with pride.”

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE PAGE 7

Chorus of Memoryby Daniela Gómez, Age 12Margate, FL

Hear it if you can,Its voice a melodious chimeUnheard by the ears of manBut a sound inside your mind.

Smell it if you can,Prickling your nose like cinnamonBetter than sizzling bacon in a frying pan!But only your heart by this smell was won.

See it if you can,Like the shadowy, round, and peaceful moonAs clear as a well-made planBut only inside your mind this sight glides like a loon

Feel it if you can,Like the cool caress of the seaAs rough as the waves that ran,But you cannot feel it physically.

Taste it if you can,Warm, buttery, and sweetMelting on the tongue, this cake from a panBut only in your mind do these feelings meet…

… In Memories.

Rainingby Kate Maier, Age 8Sunrise, FL

Listen! Do you hear …The drip-drop, drip-dropOf the water falling from the sky?The splish-splosh, splish-sploshOf the boy’s sneakers walking his dog?The shhhhh, shhhhhOf the water rushing down the street gutter?The woooosshhhh, woooosshhhhOf the car’s tires gliding down the street?The wooooop, wooooopOf the blaring alarm to warn us of the lightning strike?It’s raining outside.

Acrobaticsby Lyra Potter, Age 9

Homosassa Springs, Fl

Acro is really funAcro is really niceYou get to do flips, backbends, cartwheelsand so so so so so much more!!!

Illustrated by author. Marker on paper.

Nighttime Soundsby Daniela Gómez, Age 12Margate, FL

Soft cricket chirps heardLeaves sway to unheard musicNature is at rest.

Nighttime Soundsby Daniela Gómez, Age 12Margate, FL

Soft cricket chirps heardLeaves sway to unheard musicNature is at rest.

Why?by Lyra Potter, Age 9Homosassa Springs, FL

Why can’t I be the first person to land on the moon?

Why can’t there be no gravity?

Why can’t I fly in the solar system?

Why can’t I be a rubber band?

Why? Why? Why?

Illustrated by author. Marker on paper.

Did You Know...…that there’s a reason phone numbers are only seven digits? It ’s because seven is the maximum capacity of our short-term memory. Humans have three types of memory: Long-term, which is where those memories of summer vacations are stored. Sense memory, which enables you to do two things at once, l ike knit and talk on the phone. The sensory part takes over the knitt ing so you don’t have to think about it. The third type of memory is short-term – which is where you store things you don’t need for long, l ike people’s names at a party, or your shopping l ist. Short-term memory can hold, on average, 7 things at a time. If you need to remember more than that, write it down.

The Ocean Racerby Lindsey Sauer, Age 15Coral Springs, FL

Incredibly gifted, she prepared for what lay ahead.Her intense blue eyes stared intently into the deep blue ocean;Her heart beat rapidly with each excited breath,Her loyal friends faithfully encouraged her from the crowded sidelines.Filled with pride, her parents bestowed the courage of a tiger,Always prepared, she rarely skipped a practice.

She bears in mind the techniques drilled into her bones;She dreams of victory and secures her place in the race.Lindsey is an ocean racer, as sweet as can be, with the heart of a bull.

PAGE 8 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 2012

“Elephant”Soft pastels on paper

by Ellie Gómez, Age 6Margate, FL

“Self-portrait”Crayons and pencil on paper

by Andrew Maier, Age 5Sunrise, FL

“Elephant”Soft pastels on paper

by Emily Greenfield, Age 6Sunrise, FL

“Chameleon Change”Acrylics on paper

by Abigail Abrams, Age 6Created when author was 5Fort Lauderdale, FL

“Dinosaur”Oil pastels on paper

by Elizabeth Abrams, Age 8Created when author was 5

Fort Lauderdale, FL

“Cat”Pencil on paper

by Bailey Bergsma, Age 10Lake Worth, FL

“Kangaroo Wonders” Pencil on paper

by Larissa Ma, Age 8Parkland, Fl