Music Review: Perfect Symmetry

By Simon

The British rock band, Keane, has finally come out with its third CD, Perfect Symmetry. Now, I've always been a fan of Keane, and I still am, but I'm sorry to say that I was not completely satisfied with its new sound. The band, in the beginning of its career, sounded beautiful and straight-forward, relying on the piano instead of guitars as its lead instrument. But it has now started experimenting with its sound to come across as more modern. If you ask me, it's only worth listening to the first three songs. It seems that Perfect Symmetry is not so perfect after all.

If you're interested in rock/pop music, I recommend listening to this band, but first listen to the other two albums, Under the Iron Sea and Hopes and Fears.

I give it a 7 out of ten.

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,

The new year has begun with ups and downs. Left and right you notice differences in the school: the new signs outside the building, the pumpkins decorating the breezeway, the new Ecokids' garden, and most importantly our new and improved Cougar Times web page!

This year the staff of the Cougar Times is devoted to informing you of everything exciting happening in our school. Last year, since the newspaper was new to all of us, there were only two editions. This year we plan to post new articles much more often. We are also planning on putting a whiteboard in the breezeway with poll questions, updates, and information about our web page. Interesting and fun new articles coming soon are a Haunted Hayride description, a music review, and a book review.

Remember this, these new changes to our newspaper are done to make you, the readers, excited about each new edition. Please contact one of our staff members if you have any ideas for stories that you would be interested in, and don't forget to check for new articles!

--Lianna and Chloe, editors

Letter From the Editors

Dear Readers,

It's spring (finally) and everyone has been busy! From plants to concerts, the whole school has been up and about. What are you reading for the spring? What are your plans for the summer? O'Neill or Haldane? How old is our school? Who won what in the Science Fair? The sax, what is it really? Why are the teachers holding up signs--are they protesting? What happened in the Spring Concert? What is happening in the courtyard?

All these questions are answered. Read carefully--you don't want to miss anything!

Welcome to the Cougar Times Newsblog, written by students for students. Comment on our articles and participate in our polls!

From,
Chloe and Lianna, Editors

(P.S. We would like to give a big thank you to Mrs. Rowe. Without her this would be impossible.)

Ecokids Grow Garden

By Nicklas

Have you seen the construction in the courtyard? Do you know what it’s for? Well the Ecokids are making a Wildlife Learning Garden in the courtyard. It’s going to have flowers and walkways. The Ecokids are very excited and are working extra extra hard.

The Ecokids designed this project just for this school. They Ecokids also say if you want to join the fun just get your hands in the dirt. This project will not be finished by the end of the school year. If you want to help this is how. You can help by going to a family work day. The next family work day is June 14, 1-4 pm. And here are some things you can do there: (1) plant prepared area, mulch and water; (2) set water/care schedule for the summer. So to finish the garden they will continue the project through the summer. Also they will work through the fall. You can contact GUFS parent Anne Symmes for more information about the garden.

Did you know that the Ecokids have their own Ecokids spot? It’s in the hallway by the office. Some things that I found out about the Ecokids spot is that it has environmental programs and helps the environment by recycling batteries, cell phones and ink jets.

They also have some advice on how to help or improve the environment. There is a big globe of a lot of the animals in the world. With 14 plastic bags you can drive a car for a mile, WOW! Did you also know that the average American uses tons of bags annually? Did you know that there is a box in the Ecokids' corner for unwanted glasses?

The Ecokids also had a recycling competition. The 5th-graders came in 1st. The 3rd-graders came in 2nd. And the 2nd-graders came in 3rd.

Local Author Leads Class

The Cougar Times welcomed local author and Wall Street Journal columnist Wendy Bounds to its last staff meeting of the school year June 6. In her book "Little Chapel on the River," Ms. Bounds captured the unique community spirit of Guinan's Pub and Country Store on Garrison Landing. She shared with the class her experience as a community blogger for the Little Chapel on the River website she later created to keep that same spirit going. Students wrote a story about the launch of their Spring edition and posted it on Ms. Bounds' blog during the class. Visit the Little Chapel on the River blog to see the launch story and read more about other community happenings in Garrison. Thank you, Wendy, for an inspiring day!

Teachers, BOE in Contract Talks

By Eryn and Chloe

The teachers and the Board of Education are currently in confidential contract negotiations. The contract expired in June of last year. School Principal Stephanie Impellittiere works under a separate contract.

Here are parts of the expired contract, which we found online at the website of Cornell University's ILR School's Martin P. Catherwood Library:

"Garrison Union Free School District and Garrison Teachers Association

Garrison Union Free School District

Garrison Teachers Association

Effective Date: 07/01/04

Expiration Date: 06/30/07

PERB ID Number: 5081 Unit Size: 33 Number of Pages: 28

ARTICLE 111: NEGOTIATION PROCEDURE 1. The District and the Association agree to mutually present all their demands on or before February 1 of the calendar year in which the Agreement expires. 2. All proposals made by either party shall be confidential and neither party shall release any information concerning their proposals or the content of meetings to any news media except by mutual consent."

The full text of the expired contract can be viewed at: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/perbcontracts/550/

Book Review: The Lightning Thief

By Lindy

Our featured book for this issue is "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan.

Mr. Berger, the Middle School English teacher, has recently taught the sixth graders their unit on Greek mythology. They have also performed plays with many of the characters from their studies. The plays went by the names of “Demeter and Persephone” and “Speed, a Story of Atalanta.” The plays and their unit tie in with their studies with the Mighty Theater program. One student, a sixth grader in the Middle School, commented that she thought the unit of Greek mythology was interesting and fun. She especially enjoyed the story of the Trojan Horse.

"The Lightning Thief" combines all of the gods from Mount Olympus as well as a captivating story with a most unusual main character. In this epic tale, you will find that looks can be deceiving and even those you trust can turn on you. Join Percy Jackson in his quest to fit in and solve the mystery of the strange beasts he seems to always be attracting. Along the way, experience how things can go wrong and something as simple as riding a bus can be lethal.

If you enjoy Greek mythology or just a good story, then "The Lightning Thief" is definitely the book for you. "The Lightning Thief" can be bought at stores such as Barnes and Noble or from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Thief-Percy-Jackson-Olympians/dp/0786838655/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211905262&sr=8-1.

If you have any questions about the Greek mythology in the book, all of the characters and tales related to Greek mythology can easily be found on Greek mythology websites such as:

http://www.greekmythology.com/
http://www.mythweb.com/
http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology
http://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/greek_myth.html

Garrison School Celebrates 100 Years!

By Maddie

We as Garrison students, teachers, parents and community members should all be excited for the 100th Year anniversary that our school will be celebrating this coming September!

In 1908, our ancestors and former community members watched as the historic cornerstone was being laid for the Garrison School. As some of you may not know, the first school for Garrison stood in St. Philip's Church. When the school was built, it was one of the top schools in the state. It took only $20,000 to build the school. The old building is still intact, adjoining the beautiful addition that we know of today.

Our community will be holding celebrations on the weekend of September 26 so save the date!

For more information, go to http://www.gufs.org/site_res_view_folder.aspx?id=78916b6d-b198-4a7c-9b1f-ca1d8ecc891c.