ASK THE PRINCIPAL! Julie Heng, on behalf of the Cougar Star:

Why would you like to have a student-run newspaper like the Cougar Star?

★ Mr. Carter: One of the most important aspects of a high quality school is the culture and climate. Having a school run newspaper will improve that culture and climate by providing a medium for which students can share and communicate thoughts, concerns, and suggestions to improve the quality of student life.

CS: What do you hope to achieve with the Cougar Star?

★ Mr. Carter: At Clague we have a very high level of a continuum of diversity as it relates to gender, race, religion, ethnicity and interest. This is an incredible opportunity to increase our understanding of one another through student voice. It is my sincere hope that students begin to celebrate all of the amazing academic and social opportunities that currently exist at Clague. Students will be inspired to let their voice be heard and take a more active role in creating and maintaining a positive climate that is conducive to growth and development. Finally, through the Cougar Star both staff and students can begin to create new traditions for future Clague students.

CS: What topics would you like to read about?

★ Mr. Carter: I am always interesting in learning students perspective on current events and your recommendations to solve the challenges of today. At some point you will be the generation making all of the decisions around the many challenges we face in our current society. I will be very interested in the multiple perspective on similar topics that reflect our student population.

★ Decision Making, Cyber Safety, School safety, Volunteerism, Community service opportunities, High School/ Post High School Aspirations, Poetry..... to name a few.

CS: What is your favorite part about Clague?

★ Mr. Carter: Hands down, having the opportunity to engage our students each day is my favorite part! As you all start the day and come enter the the school, I smile because I know that our staff and I have another chance to impact the future. We prepare long and bring our "A" game each day. I want to be the best servant leader for all of my students, teachers, families and the community. You are each incredibly special and I am thankful each day to share in your development.

A big THANK YOU to Mr. Carter for his continued support of the Cougar Star! We would also like to thank Ms. Siewert and Ms. Jensen for their advice when we created the newspaper.

 

  

 

Youth in Government: Middle Schoolers in Congress

Deniz Kirca, Guest Contributor Most of you reading this newspaper article are probably well aware that our school has many

extracurricular activities to offer its students. There really is something for everyone! If you are interested in math, you can go and join MathCounts. If you are more of a scientific student, say no more and pick up a few events in the Science Olympiad team. There are also many activities for our athletic students in our Clague sports teams. But what about us aspiring politicians out there? What about those of us who are intrigued by the way our government works and would like to learn more, and possibly even participate? Well fear not! There is something for you too. Youth in Government is here, and we are ready to get you started on your path to Congress.

My experience with Youth in Government was, to say the least, outstanding. Through this club, I and many other students from around the state of Michigan got a much better idea of how our government works and how our laws are created. During one of our meetings, we were told that we would be given about two months to prepare the bills (“bill” is the formal term for the pre-stage of a law) that we would present to our fellow Michigan students in a culminating event that occurred just last week. After we wrote and finalized our bills, we wrapped up Youth in Government in a three-day trip to Lansing that was truly one of the highlights of my year so far. We got to take over the House of Representatives and the Senate, assuming the roles of actual Congressmen. We debated bills that, if passed, would go on to the actual state government of Michigan! The best part is, if your bill gets passed through the youth government system, it gets sent to the governor to be considered as an actual law!

Think about it… what would look better on a resume or college application than a section about you being the proud creator of a law. But more importantly, Youth in Government is proof that, despite our age, we have a voice in our government. Youth in Government is not only a chance to learn more about the way our legislative system works, but a way to get our thoughts, ideas, and political opinions expressed and acknowledged in government. If you truly believe in an idea or concept, be it equality, justice, or fair pay, you don’t need to wait until you are an adult to empower others with your ideas and spark change in our society, you can do it right now! So if you want to get something accomplished in the legislative system and benefit Michigan at an early age, join Youth in Government next year!

C O O L C L A G U E C L U B S . . . Here are two popular clubs that can still be joined this far into the school year. If you have some free time, why not try one out? [summarized by Avani G.]

Practice Club: ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Location: Orchestra Room When: After school on Tuesdays until 4:30 pm. Who: Anyone interested in music! Extra Info: If you want to get better at any musical instrument, including voice, you need to practice! At practice club, get help from high school students, and have fun playing some music!

Debate Club: “We Love to Argue!” Location: Room 218 When: After school on Thursdays until 4:30 pm. Who: Anyone interested in debating! Extra Info: Ever disagreed about something and really want to argue about it, but something or someone is holding you back? Not letting you be free to say what you want? Join debate club where you can share your opinion without any strings attached!

  If you would like to contribute your voice to the Cougar Star, email thecougarstar@gmail.com! We try to print all the articles we receive. Note: the opinions in this issue are solely of the writers, and do not fully represent the Cougar Star, nor Clague Middle School.

Why We Should Honor Those Who Sacrificed Themselves for Their Country By Phoebe Yi, Editor

Gunshots ring, the stench of war is everywhere, you can almost smell the fear of the soldiers. This is the battlefield, where the countless lives have been lost because of the hate between countries. Later, the bodies of the soldiers are sent back home for a proper funeral, and honored for serving the country courageously. That is what we should do, honor those who sacrificed themselves for their country. For they knowingly signed themselves up for this dangerous job, so we can have the rights that we have, and make the choices we make. For these reasons, we should honor the soldiers, dead or alive.

We, as American citizens are able to live freely compared to many other countries. We have free speech, are able to run for elected office, freedom to worship, we have the right to vote in elections for public officials, and so on. But all these rights also come with a cost. In order to keep our country safe from harm’s way, our veterans pledge to their lives to our defense. It takes a great deal of courage, commitment, and because of their selflessness, that is how and why we have the rights we have today.

Another reason we should honor those who sacrificed themselves for this Country is to protect basic human rights. One is freedom of thought, and another is freedom to say what we want. We can openly criticise the government, and not stand up for the pledge; but even so, that doesn’t mean the soldiers abandon us. They keep on fighting to make sure we have basic human rights, even when we are ever so defiant.

When war starts, all of us are afraid, so are the soldiers. They overcome their fear so they can protect what they love behind the lines. Soldiers willingly sign a paper literally saying, “I am willing to risk my life to protect others.” But ‘risk my life’ may not just be everything, they are willing to risk themselves to never see their kids, spouse, siblings, and relatives ever again. But even once they survive and come back, they are almost never the same. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is common among returning veterans. The scenes of war haunts them when they come back. Soldiers don’t only sign a paper saying, “I am willing to risk my life to protect others” but also know “I am willing ruin my life to keep other’s lives from getting ruined.”

It is evident that the soldiers have sacrificed a lot to keep us safe. Then why aren’t they receiving the recognition the deserve? Some veterans may not receive a bit of gratitude or honor they deserved when they went to their graves. These veterans are not ordinary - they are real-life heroes who have protected our country from dangerous threats. As the soldiers fight for our rights, we should remember that they are out there, and honor them for what they do.

 

★ YouTube Stars ★ Sometimes, reaching for the stars is the same as reaching for your camera

By Jasmine Xu and Emma Chen, Staff Writers

We interviewed a few Clague students at random to see what favorite type of YouTuber they liked to watch → “My heroes don’t wear

capes - they hold a camera.”

Random Clague students have voted for 12 Youtubers, one for each of the “12 days of Christmas”!

Voted # Real Name Main Channel Youtube Name Actual Subscriber Count (as of December 1st)

1 Dan Howell Danisnotonfire 5, 329, 889

2 Caspar Lee Caspar 5, 367, 005

3 Ryan Higa Nigahiga 15, 681, 777

4 Phil Lester AmazingPhil 3, 141, 046

4 John Green Vlogbrothers (with Hank Green) 2, 684, 057

5 The Buzzfeed Team BuzzfeedVideo 8, 331, 094

7 Zoe Sugg Zoella 9, 575, 977

8 Sean “Jack” McLoughlin

JackSepticEye 7, 478, 649

9 Mark Fischbach Markiplier 10, 581, 023

9 Jenna Marbles JennaMarbles 16, 656, 768

11 Felix Kjellberg PewDiePie 40, 651, 156

12 Grace Helbig GraceHelbig 2, 794, 591

Are 8K Televisions Worth It? By Stefan Mitroi, Staff Writer

8K televisions are known for their pixel dense displays, impressive resolutions, and incredible realism. In fact, they are eight times more pixel dense than the current HD standard (1920x1080), which means it is the closest thing we have to a life-like display at this time. Some people even say it's like looking out of a window. The question is, what can this technology be used for and who would buy it with a whopping price tag of up to $130,000 dollars?

Currently, 8K monitors don't have many applications for the average consumer. Many companies state that 8K televisions are primarily designed for corporate use. Companies like Sharp and Samsung say that 8K televisions can be used to display art in museums or to display blueprints for industrial designers. Technology companies at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) displayed their 8K televisions in interesting ways. Sharp mounted their 8K television onto the wall with a fancy stereo speaker setup at its sides. Companies like Sharp are trying to push this technology forward to be unanimously accepted among the cable broadcasting industry. But the push Sharp and companies like it are trying to make lacks momentum and many cable companies are not ready to upgrade their infrastructure to support this new technology. I think that these companies believe this technology will not move forward and will not be accepted any time soon. I don't think the 8K TV manufacturers are scrambling to produce these monitors either, because their slow manufacturing process helps keep prices high.

According to Digitaltrends.com, the first major 8K broadcast will be the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After looking at an 8K TV from LG, Caleb Denison the author of the article from Digital Trends states, "After a few moments of watching moving footage, we were sold." He was so taken by the clarity of the monitor that he went so far as to call it "delicious eye candy." I think 8K TVs are an amazing technology and I am confident that they will revolutionize the future of television. However, their prices are ghastly to the everyday consumer. If I want one of these, I don't think my pocket change will be enough, I better start saving now! Photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gznaL78T_i4

An Editor’s Opinion By Tomas Stegemann, Editor

I am an avid consumer of video games and technology, and I would love to get my hands on one of these 8K monitors, but the fact remains: the prices are far too high. The prices that we must pay for high quality displays are completely understandable from a business point of view, but unfortunate for those of us who are waiting for the day when good technology becomes affordable and easily accessible. The bright side of this is that while the prices for advanced monitors are too high for the average consumer at this point in time, that may change very quickly. Technology grows and advances every day, and I have no doubt that 8K monitors will quickly become the new standard for screens.

The most important part of December: Winter Break!

 

By Avani Guduri and Sophie Stillwagon, Staff Writers Let’s be honest here: what’s better about winter then winter break? White snow, a new year, winter break is right around the corner! Winter break is the first “real” break of the school year and since the

holidays are coming up, many of us enjoy having time off to relax, have fun and not have to deal with schoolwork.

Winter Break lasts for two weeks, starting right after school December 18th, 2015 until January 3rd; everyone returns to school on January 4th. This gives us about two weeks to take a break, relax, and have some fun with family and friends.

"Winter break is the best!" said seventh-grader Marisa R. For her, winter break is a time to spend time with friends and family, "while taking a break from the business of school." She especially enjoys winter activities like sledding.

New Year’s Eve is another aspect of the break that many people enjoy. Things like staying up until mid-night to witness the new year begin and celebrating with friends and family are two things that many people enjoy. Who doesn’t like staying up late?

As many of you know, lots of people take this time to travel. Not counting summer vacation, winter break is the largest break from school. Two weeks gives everyone plenty of time to travel to various parts of Michigan, the United States, and around the world!

Did you know? Winter break is technically 18 days long if you count the weekends! It’s our second longest break, and because of winter break, we only go to school half of the month of December. This year winter break starts one day earlier than last year, on the first day of winter (December 21st)!

Don’t waste a minute of the break, it doesn’t come often- enjoy it to its fullest! 

 

Hello, reader! What you are seeing is YOUR NEW CLAGUE NEWSPAPER, The Cougar Star!

☆☆Note to first-time readers: the Cougar Star is parodying the words of former President Abraham Lincoln, a newspaper written by Cougars, for Cougars, of Cougars, which hopefully will not perish from the Earth anytime soon. It’s the news we want to write as well as enjoy to read. We’re writing for YOU, and whether that be about the best new books or Dan and Phil, if that’s what you’d like to read, that is ultimately what you will!

☆☆Note for the high-tech digital-age generation: a newspaper is a collection of feature articles, editorials, and current up-to-date information to entertain and inform an audience.

Reporting and journalism has been around since the dawn of time … essentially, gossip falls into this category, along with classic fanfiction. In this day and age, we are being confronted from all sides by journalism in its many forms: on websites, no-staple folded paper stacks, on apps, every time anyone opens their mouth to tell you something - it’s all the press in its freest form.

Schools and students often exercise their opinions. Here on staff, we students regularly report on the events in our world most important to us, but we focus on diverse submitted work from all Clague students!

☆☆Note for astonished wannabe-published-artists or strong-willed speakers wishing a voice: we are accepting all kinds of submitted work, highlighting the achievements of our students from our middle school staff and tons of submitted work, as you’ll see in this issue: drawings, poetry, stories, opinions, and more! (Want your work published? Send us your stuff here: thecougarstar@gmail.com and look for your work in our next possible issues!)

And there you have it - the Cougar Star - with the student definitions from your first editor. This isn’t just a business journal with Wall Street stock updates, or a 24/7 Presidential Election report. This is the Cougar Star - Clague’s new student newspaper. This is all about YOU!

This is your star, and whatever you do, let it shine brightly. (Also, maybe keep a copy. You never know how much this will be worth one day!)

Your founder and editor, Signing off for now,

Julie Heng