THE PAW PRINT POST

In December, people across the world celebrate many different holidays. Some holidays

are based off of beliefs, while others are to commemorate their morals or events. There are

hundreds of traditions other than Christmas and Hanukah including Kwanzaa, and Sh gatsu.

These holidays are celebrated differently and for very different reasons. However, these

holidays are equally important as the more publicly known holidays.

Japan has a special holiday that is called Sh gatsu. Sh gatsu is the

name for the Japanese New Year, which is celebrated on January 1st.

Sh gatsu is considered the most important holiday in Japan. It is

celebrated to address the New Year and a new start, as well as a

goodbye to the current year. During this holiday people go to a shrine of

a deity (a god or goddess) to pay respects. There are many festivals and

parties with lots of food. Traditional dishes include soba (noodles) and

osechi ry ri (an assortment of foods that relates with prosperity and

health). Though, New Year is celebrated by most of the world, every

continent or country celebrates it differently.

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that originated in

Africa. Kwanzaa is about identity and honoring the African culture.

It is celebrated from December 26th to January 1st . Kwanzaa

lasts seven days and each day represents a different principle. The

first day is for unity. The second day represents self-determination.

The third day is for responsibility and the fourth is for cooperative

economics. The fifth day represents a sense of purpose. The sixth

day is for creativity and the seventh represents faith. These

principles are the main morals that are honored by this culture.

Though Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday it still holds an

important purpose.

December is a very exciting month for many and that comes with a lot of family time and

reflection. All around the world the traditions vary throughout the month. While one holiday may

focus on religion, another may be to celebrate an event. Though they may seem very different,

both have a meaning to the ones who celebrate them.

Holidays Around the World

B Vanessa Flores, Gabriel Maya

Photo credit:

newyearseveblog.com

The kinara has seven candles,

each representing one of the secen

principles.

Photo Credit; St. Johns Fisher

College

THE PAW PRINT POST

December Issue

Journalism Elective

Whats Trending?

Friends is a comedy show made by David Crane and Marta Kauffman

which centers around a group of friends. Friends takes place in New York

and has 10 seasons. The show is about six friends: Chandler, Monica,

Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe. It has been on Netflix since 2014,

however there was a rumor that this beloved show will leave the streaming

network. It was said that the contract Netflix had signed to allow

streaming was about to expire. It was said that the show would be leaving

Netflix and put on Warner Media. Friends is one of the most popular

shows on TV, and millions love to watch and re-watch all 10 seasons on

Netflix. You can imagine the havoc when people found out this show was

leaving

Ariana Grande released her new song and music video, Thank you, Next, on YouTube in November. As

expected, her song blew up and on November 17th it became number one on the Billboard Net 100.

Thank you, Next expresses Arianas appreciation for the things she has learned from her breakups. She

states the names of her exes and what she has learned from each of them. For example, she sings, one

taught me patience, relating to her most recent breakup with Pete Davidson in which they had gotten

engaged after less than a year of dating. Later in the song, Ariana says that she is in a new relationship with

herself, showing how she is focusing on self-love.

Arianas top hit features four movies in her famous music video: Mean Girls (2004), Bring It On (2000),

13 Going on 30 (2004), and Legally Blonde (2001). Her video pops up with different movie scenes

throughout it. The beginning features the burn book from Mean Girls. In the actual movie, the burn

book includes rumors and grudges that one of the main characters hold Regina George. During her

cheerleading scenes, Grande is in her legendary Toro's cheer outfit from the 2000s classic Bring It On. As

the video progresses, 13 Going On 30 is featured as Grande carries a dollhouse, passing an already-done

wedding. Once the movie gets close to an ending, we are surprised by Legally Blonde coming in as the hair

salon scene pops up. The video ends off with your original Mean Girls Jingle Bell Rock performance.

Fans of the TV series FRIENDS have been crazed about its absence soon on Netflix. All over the

social media app, Twitter", accounts have been using the #Justice4Friends petition to hold Netflix

accountable for their actions. Netflix, a streaming service, has said that their classic TV series would

leave on January 1st, 2019. Fans were depressed and believed that 2019 will start off as trash.

However, the spirit and love for FRIENDS is still alive. Thanks to countless petitioning, a brighter

side came down for the friends lovers. Netflix has delayed its shows leaving until 2020, with the fans

still sad, but happy they made a difference.

Is Friends Leaving?

Thank You, Next

By Vanessa Flores and Giselle Bouzaglou

This photograph was taken

by Deccan Chronicle.

Sport-acular Jags

Sunday, December 9th quarterback for the Miami Dolphins

Kenyan Drake scored the winning touchdown in the last 7

seconds of the final quarter. They were down by 5 (33-29)

the Patriots were winning, no hope, but in the last seconds

Kenyan Drake pulled through and got the Miami Dolphins

a win for the ages.

Flag football is a sport in which girls and boys in 6th-8th grade can play here at the Ridge. Flag

football is like regular football, but instead of tackling, ball-carriers are downed by pulling a flag

or marker. The season will start in 2019, so the schedule is not yet available but congratulations

to all who made the team:

Kayla Barcenas and Hadley Turner

Flag Football Tryout Results Are In!

BOYS TEAM

Miami Miracles

By Hadley Turner

Kenyan Drake as he scores

the winning touchdown.

Photocredit: Al Diaz of Fox

GIRLS TEAM

Edrick Beckford Terrance Jackson

Lucas Helf Jake Lubar

Carlos Mallett Aaron Myles

Ryan Moje Jayshaun Dorvil

Mitchell Beckford Cole Esterline

Royal Smith Riley Fitzpatrick

Malique Sutherland Leo Herrera

Kyler Wolf Nathan Hernandez

Angela Cruzat Maya Yenor

Annabel Alazraki Melanie Villagran

Camryn Spruell Nandi Ramessar

Gianina Caffi Ryan Seiden

Kailyn Irwin Samantha Boles

Kate Charlotin Zoe Mullings

Kennedy Madison Taylor Zollo

Madison Byrne Selene Lopez

All About Volleyball

Here at IRMS we have numerous great clubs, sports, and extracurricular

activities, one of which is volleyball. Its volleyball season here at IRMS,

and there couldnt be a better time! The cold weather is just the boost we

need to win, and by how well the team did at their last game, you can tell

the boost worked. The volleyball team at IRMS mostly consists of eighth

graders, however, there are some sixth and seventh graders in the in the

mix. One of the team's players, Hunter Ring, one of the few seventh

graders who made the team, describes the game as, intense. and his

simple statement describes the game better than anyone else could,

Volleyball is a fast paced, swift, hard game, and it puts a hard strain on

its players. The team's players work very hard to play this straining

game, and maintain excellent grades, they work very hard, and they all

deserve a round of applause. The volleyball team for Indian Ridge is a

team you should think about joining regardless of the grade you're in.

By Kai Navarro and Samantha DeCapua

Hunter Ring is a 7th

grader on the boys

volleyball team.

Jaguar on the Spot

A new year of door decorating has started and teachers from all over the school are competing to

win the title of Door Decorating Champion.

Even though the contest is optional, many teachers decide to join to bond with their students or just

for their pure enjoyment. The teachers are given the chance to participate by themselves or join

forces with any other teachers that they neighbor. The doors were judged using a rubric that covers

the following points of originality, creativity, following the contest rules, and much more. Mrs. Hill,

the head director of the contest, says that there are selected kids who go around and judge the

doors. The contestants of the competition were given at least a week to create and decorate their

doors and were judged on December 18th and 19th. The doors that scored the most points

received one of the various prizes that will be distributed before the winter break.

From the past years at Indian ridge middle teachers from the different buildings have joined forces

and followed a theme to decorate their hallways. For instance, in building 5, Mrs. Ingraham and the

following teacher in that hallway followed the theme of the holiday movie Elf. The outcome of the

hallway decorations were captivating and memorizing. This is the first year that hallway and door

decorations are being judged as one, and now the stakes are higher. With more space to manipulate,

the contestants can expand their decorations to make a more cohesive picture.

Many teachers this year have come up with original themes to follow by to decorate their doors and

hallways. For example, Ms. Carter and her fellow teammates, Ms. Shabsels and Ms. Faeber, are

decorating around the theme of having a Marvellous Holiday using the Marvel characters in a

Christmas theme. There are also many other teachers decorating with a theme including Mrs.

Didier who is making a beautiful display using the theme of traveling and adventure. The teachers

in this competition have done amazing this year in decorating their doors.

A New Year Of Door Decorating

By: Madison Adkins and Hannah Brant

Ms. Didiers Yearbook class came in first with Around

the World In Santas Sleigh. The second place winner

was Mr. Laury, Mr. Arnold, and the rest of the SVE

team for the Charlie Brown Christmas. Third place

was Ms. Nortmann with 5 Days of Kindness.

The Jaguar Den

Everyone is waiting for Winter Break, and most have exciting plans ahead to spend

time with family and friends, or to celebrate holidays like Christmas, Hanukah, or

Kwanzaa. Tons of people traveled around the world to be with their loved ones.

Also, everybody has different traditions and ways to spend winter break. At IRMS,

many Jaguars went out of town and enjoyed their vacation, while others stayed at

home with their closest family for the holidays. If you were staying home to spend

the holiday, there are many things you could have done around Broward County.

Some events you could have participated in were things such as seeing Christmas

lights at Gulfstream Park up until December 31 during their annual New Years Eve

Party. Or, if you celebrated Kwanzaa, at Ujamaa, a huge Kwanzaa celebration was

held on December 29th at Cultural Expressions in Hollywood, or maybe you could

have chilled out at Dania or Hollywood beaches with your friends and family. Many

students were excited for the gifts that they also received over break, but often forget

the real meaning of the holidays.

Nevaeh Bustillo, a 7th

grader, has big plans. She

plans on going to St.

Augustine because she wants

to be with her family.

Jack Dickstien, an 8th garder

plans on going to

Nashville, Tennessee.

Mackenzie Osenkowski, an

8th grader who would like

to have fun with her friends

and family.

Photos taken by Hunter Ring.

Winter Break Is Finally Here!

By Chiara Cremonti & Valerie Roa

Up For Debate

Colin Tinder, a sixth

grader at Indian Ridge

Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights is celebrated with the lighting of the

menorah, traditional foods, games, and gifts. This holiday was inspired

by the miracle of the long-lasting oil. Even though there was only enough

oil to keep the menorahs candles burning for a single day, the flames

continued burning for eight nights. Currently, at Indian Ridge, students

and staff do not have school off for Hanukkah. Hanukkah may not be

celebrated by the majority of Broward County, but it is still an important

holiday to some people. So, the question is should we have Hanukkah

off?

A Jewish menorah, a

very important symbol

needed for Hanukkah.

Photo Credit:

Thinkstock

Jaguars and Dreidels

By Ciara Matthews and Hannah Keller

Having Hanukkah off could be very beneficial to those celebrating it.

First of all, many people such as Colin Tinder think students shouldnt

have school off for Hanukkah because it is, only at night. But if we did

have school off some of the people that celebrate Hanukkah might spend

their day celebrating in ways they normally wouldnt be able to because

of school. Secondly, not having Hanukkah off isnt right considering we

get school off for the last two weeks of December for Winter break

which most people consider Christmas break. It doesnt seem fair to have

Christmas off and not Hanukkah.

Having Hanukkah off could be beneficial, but it will most likely be bad

for schools. If we have one week off for Hanukkah and two weeks off for

Winter Break, we would have all of December off of school. Even though

this would be fun for all the kids that celebrate the holidays, this will be

hard on them in the end. When important tests and the FSAs come

afterwards, they will have forgotten all that they have learned. The reason

we dont have Hanukkah off is because only 234,000 people out of the

1.936 million people in Broward County celebrate this holiday.

Pros.

Cons.

Jaguar Judges

Jeans are pieces of clothing that are popular, but uncomfortable and shouldnt be able to

be worn when it is 65 degrees or lower for students. There are many reasons why its

against the dress code. Some of them are thin, and are informal. Indian Ridge should

keep the policy of no jeans no matter what.

Some jeans are thin which in many reasons can be bad. Thin jeans are, of course, thin, so

they dont really do the job of keeping you warm and jeans dont do that job in general.

But just remember youll only be able to wear them when its 50 degrees or lower, so

youll be cold since the lighter a color is the less heat it absorbs, and jeans are normally

blue. Thicker jeans are a better choice but are still more lingering on the thin side.

Jeans are also informal wear while a good school environment is formal. In the school it

is a formal wear place for all students to maintain a positive and upbeat learning area. It's

even worse when they are ripped jeans because they dont look professional or school

appropriate. The schools students are also to look professional, but jeans are sort of like

every day or street wear for informal events. School is treated as a formal thing and for

that we wear formal attire because that what you are supposed to do. Ripped jeans are

even worse because they are the opposite of formal wear in general.

Jeans are against our dress codes for many reasons. One example is that jeans have many

pockets that are special because you really cant see if there is something inside of them

or if there isnt. As a result, somebody could bring something unwanted or dangerous on

the campus. Another thing is that jeans could be uncomfortable since they can be tight

even if they are the right size. Jeans are also bad for running mostly for the P.E. and

yoga classes, since for yoga you must focus and stretch, but jeans can be tight which

results of your attention being divided. If jeans were ever allowed to be worn in school,

there would be many more problems.

Jaguars in Jeans?

By Marvin Mercelus

Dear Jaguars...

Many students in Indian Ridge struggle to speak up for what they believe is right, but truthfully

there is nothing wrong with it and it is undeniably paramount to do so. Although, vocalizing

opinions may be a step out of the comfort zone, this is a skill that is needed to be acknowledged. A

great example of this courage is nine-year old Riley Morrison writing to Stephen Curry expressing

her frustration regarding his shoes not being available in girl sizes. A nine-year old girl stood up to a

beyond celebrity for what she thought was right. As a result, Stephen Curry fixed the problem and

added the shoes in girl sizes. Evidently, taking a page out of Rileys book can be very useful for life

in the long run. Riley is a great role model and sets a high standard for students in Indian Ridge to

speak up when they disagree on a certain topic considering every circumstance.

7th Grader Taeyoung Kim is inspired by Riley as she states, Since Riley is only nine years old and

making a difference, then I along with many others can make a difference as well. Also, Tyler

Jenkins insinuates he can make a difference and use Riley as an icon. Essentially, students at our

school are taking what she did and exploiting it for themselves. Other than students being inspired

by Riley to stand up for themselves, but some students have come up with ways to help other

students who struggle to express their feelings. To illustrate, 6th grader Brody Miller says he can

help others by explaining to them that it is okay to disagree and help them speak up to whatever or

whoever it is they oppose. I can may even be able to use this story as an example. Understand, it is

not about Riley writing to Stephen Curry, but it is about Indian Ridge students having the

fearlessness to make what you think heard. If A nine-year old girl is stepping out of the boundaries

and standing up for herself, then without a doubt, everyone can as well.

Taeyoung Kim, a seventh

grader.

Photo Credit:

Ella Glassman

Tyler Jenkins, a student from

second hour peer counseling.

Photo Credit:

Ella Glassman

Feel Good

Dream Catchers is an amazing fundraiser at Indian Ridge Middle. The program takes students who

arent going to get a lot for Christmas and lets other students and families bring in toys for them. 7th

grader Kira Chen states that she does plan on helping bring toys for Dream Catchers. The program was

founded by Mrs. Tower and the PTO. Mrs. Tower says that she loves helping kids. Jonna Rauh says It

makes kids happy around the holidays and it makes the feel loved. We encourage others to bring toys. It

makes the students who give feel good about themselves. Emmanuel Moise says, It makes me feel good

about myself because I get to do something nice for others. Gioela Velasquez says It will put a big smile

on their faces! This is a great way to spread cheer for the holidays. Dream Catchers started right after

Thanksgiving and it ended December 19th. Overall this is a great program. It definitely raises kids spirts,

not just the ones getting, but the ones giving.

On September 1, 2018 two cancer survivors got married at Saint Jude Research Hospital in Memphis.

Lindsey Wilkerson and Joel Alsup were both patients in Saint Judes when they were children. Lindsey

Wilkerson discovered in 1991 she had acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Joel Alsup discovered in 1987

he had osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, which resulted an amputation of his right arm. The two have

known each other ever since, 25 years ago.

When Joel was 7 years old his father said, Joel was having a hard time buckling his seat and I thought he

was just messing around and, Joel and I were playing catch with the baseball in the backyard he was using

his left arm to catch thats when I knew something was wrong. Right now, Lindsey Wilkerson is 37 years

old and Joel Alsup is 38 years old, the two said, we are cancer free. The newlyweds stated, When, we

arrived at St. Jude, we were told that the bonds we would form with the other families would be the

strongest wed ever know. Turns out those words could not be more true, and they lived happily ever

after!

Kira Chen, a seventh

grader.

Photo Credit: Ella

Glassman

Ms. Tower, in charge

of Dream Catchers.

Photo Credit: Ella

Glassman

Saint Judes survivors get married

Spreading Holiday Spirit by Giving Back

By: Ella Glassman

Time to Take A Stand

By: Carlos Mallett

By Gabriel Pacheco, Jaden Little

and Brianna Harrison