TMS 2012 Homeroom Heroes By Kayla Mayo & TuAnh Nguyen

All year long, students in all of Tyrrell Middle School’s homerooms have been working their hardest at attending school everyday, and displaying their best behavior so they wouldn’t receive infractions. Their attendance and infraction record was being watched closely by a program called Homeroom Heroes. All homeroom students got to know how they were doing when Mr. Simpson shared the progress on the morning announcements every week. It took commitment from every student to help their homeroom earn the reward. The homeroom with the highest percentage for attendance and the least number of infractions each week, got to go up first for lunch during their lunch period. Going up for lunch first may sound great, but the homeroom that maintained the highest percentage all year long won a trip to Lake Compounce!

Homeroom 106 will be enjoying a fun-filled day at Lake Compounce on June 6th. They will be able to go on all of the different rides, splash around in the water park, pig-out at the food stands, and play games to win great prizes. One popular ride is Boulderdash, a high-speed rollercoaster that travels through the woods at 65 miles per hour. This ride was recently voted the world’s best wooden rollercoaster! The water park just added Riptide Racer, four new waterslides that intertwine and then shoot out into a stomach-dropping plunge as kids race to the finish line with their friends!

Isn’t the possibility of winning a trip to an adventure park great motivation for students to want to attend school every day, and stay out of trouble? While the rest of the school is sitting in class doing schoolwork, your homeroom could be flying through the air on Lake Compounce’s thrilling rides! If your homeroom didn’t win the magnificent trip this year, just remember, there’s always next year!

For now, congratulations to our 2012 Homeroom Heroes—Homeroom 106!



Spotlight on… Mrs. Simon By Kayla Mayo

Mrs. Simon is a seventh grade reading teacher who loves having fun! Outside of school she likes to read books, watch her daughter’s rugby games, and visit her family and friends. Mrs. Simon especially loves vacationing at Duck Spray Beach, where her parents currently own a house. Mrs. Simon also enjoys sports. People may be surprised to learn that Mrs. Simon was very athletic growing up. She played four sports a year and earned ten varsity letters in high school! She also played Division 1 field hockey in college.

Choosing a career was easy for Mrs. Simon, because she always knew she wanted to work with kids. Of course, there is no better job than teaching if you want to be with kids all day! She had some strong role models growing up who influenced her as well. Mrs. Simon looked up to her middle school gym and social studies teachers. Her gym teacher was tough but fair, and made her students work hard to reach the best of their abilities. Her social studies teacher did fun and interesting activities such as making foods from different cultures and hosting ethnic dances. One of Mrs. Simon’s goals in life is to reach her full potential by extending her knowledge. Mrs. Simon’s teaching style in her own eyes is strict, but fair. Some advice Mrs. Simon has for her students would be never be afraid to ask questions, learn from your mistakes, have an open mind, and always try your best. Now that you know Mrs. Simon a little better, if you see her in the hallway, don’t hesitate to say, “Hello.”

Pirates of Penzance… A Big Hit! By Christine Allison & Marina Setaro

The TMS Players did a wonderful job performing this year’s school play, The Pirates of Penzance, Jr. The play was about a pirate named Fredrick, (played by Anthony DeLuco), who was no longer a pirate’s apprentice after his 21st birthday. He decided to leave his life as a pirate behind, and become an outstanding citizen. Fredrick and the other characters go on an amazing adventure.

Students from grades 6, 7, and 8 came together to put on this magnificent show. The leading roles were held by Anthony DeLuco as Fredrick, Jessica Irrizary as Mabel, Michael Rapisarda as the Pirate King, and Billy Nicol as the Major General. Mrs. Jones was an amazing director, and contributed to the play in many ways. The show could not have gone on without her!

Students also worked hard to make this play great. There was a huge audience at both the Friday and Saturday performances, and they showed their appreciation with enormous applause at the end. The Pirates of Penzance, Jr. was a huge success, thanks to everyone who contributed, especially the Construction Engineering Club, Art Club, Mr. Lerz, and Mr. Lindsey. Thanks, also, to the many local businesses who contributed to the program book, and to the parents, family, and friends who came to see the show.

TMS National Winners!!! By Evyn Callahan & Morgan Veronesi

Finally, after months of hard work, the Project Explore Lifesavers won the NewsBowl USA Competition. The team shown above, Joe Filippone, Alyse DeLuca, Preston Lavoie, Mike Christopher, Gina Vaccarelli, and Megan Doubleday answered a series of 50 questions about current events in science and technology, sports, entertainment, geography, national, and international economics and politics. Out of a possible 1,000 points, the Lifesavers scored a phenomenal 970 and took the whole competition! The other teams, the GummiBears, the Starbursts, and the Raisinets, also placed in the top ten. The GummiBears, came in second with 860 points, the Starbursts came in fifth with 770 points, and the Raisinets came in eighth with 740 points. Congratulations to all of the NewsBowl USA competitors from TMS 7th grade Project Explore!

i-MAC Workshop By Emily Scarcella

On May 1st and 2nd, the seventh grade students of Project Explore went to the Apple Store in the West Farms Mall to attend a workshop on creating and editing projects. There, they got to use several types of Apple products including the iPod, iPhone, and MacBook Pro. They also got a free tutorial on how to use the software, iMovie. Their goal was to complete a project of their choice in one hour on the MacBook Pro. Some students chose skits, commercials, photo montages, and reviews. Some even went all out, and brought props like crowns, hats, and swords. They used the iMovie software to complete their videos. The instructors then burned their finished products onto DVDs for them to take home. These workshops were a lot of fun, and the students learned a lot at the same time. To finish off a perfect day, the students then went to Red Robin for a fabulous lunch of burgers and fries. Red Robin...YUM!

Poetry in Motion...By Cynthia Dias and Melisa Tupkusic

Have you noticed the poems on pink paper hung around school lately? The seventh grade reading classes on the Marble Team are doing a project based on the Poetry in Motion group in New York. They post poems on buses, subways, and in about 468 subway stations all over New York. This group was founded around the 1980s so people could see the work of artists, not only poets, but musicians and painters, too. Student poems are everywhere at TMS - posted on windows, above water fountains, near the seventh grade display cases, and in the cafeteria. The poems that are up are based off of their location. Every three days, a new poem is posted in that specific area. For instance, a poem about nature might be hung on a window overlooking the TMS courtyard. The authors range from Emily Dickinson to William Shakespeare. While you are walking by or getting a drink, read the poem, it just might change your perspective about poetry.

A Spanish Adventure Miguel Christopher y Pablo Lavoie

On April 25th, the seventh and some eighth grade Spanish students took at trip to the Webster Theater in Harford. Senora DiDominzio and Senora Daniels brought their students to the Webster. They saw several musical performances along with many unique and interesting Spanish dances. The dances were from many Spanish countries including Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. Some students, and even Senora DiDominzio (after some prodding), were picked to go up on stage with the performers to dance their hearts out in front of the whole audience. For those who were watching, this was the funniest part of the show. Some students had the chance to go up on stage twice, to dance to different songs. Overall, the kids that went enjoyed themselves.



TMS Band Concert By Brennan Zynda

The night of May 17th was a spectacular one for the TMS Band. The crowd was treated to songs from many artists, from Muse to Michael Jackson, Katy Perry to Justin Bieber; and the crowd was amazed by the talent at Tyrrell. Students did a great job on the songs, Uprising, Beat It, Heal the World, Billie Jean, The Way You Make Me Feel, Firework, Down to Earth, and Dynamite, and were rewarded by a really enthusiastic audience.

After all of that, the TMS Jazz Band played their four songs - Livin’ on a Prayer, Don’t Know Why, Pokerface, and La Bamba. The crowd loved the entire performance, and particularly loved Greg’s solo in La Bamba. It was a great night thanks to the direction of Mrs. Curtiss!

Student Council Reported by Evyn Callahan

Unfortunately, Student Council has come to a close for this school year. But before they finished their year, they wanted to do something nice for the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week in May. During this week , teachers were treated to various prizes. Some of these included Tyrrell pens, a bag of M&Ms, and a poem. There were also raffles for Dunkin Donuts gift cards, and Mr. Simpson even won the grand prize, a pizza party for him and his team. Student Council says that it went really well and the teachers loved it! They are planning to do this project next year. All the Student Council members have worked hard to make this year a fun one for the students at Tyrrell. Some Spirit Week activities included Twin Day, Formal Day, and Mix-Match Day.

The Rome Project By Joseph Daddona

Recently, Miss Wry’s Social Studies classes were given the assignment to make a museum exhibit to go along with the Roman topic they were given. Topics ranged from Roman Law to The Coliseum. Students imagined that they had just graduated from a prestigious university with a degree in history. Also, they had been hired at the Museum of Ancient History and ,as stated in the first sentence, they had to make an exhibit honoring the sixteen hundredth anniversary of Rome’s fall.

Students also had a choice of doing a Power Point, a video, a Movie Maker production, a poster, or a model. They had to also do a short presentation for their project. For example, if someone had The Coliseum, then they might give the dimensions and the purpose of that structure, a work cited page, and reasons why their websites were trustworthy.

It was fun seeing the different kinds of projects the students came up with, and a good way to learn about Rome

The Most Extravagant Day By Anthony DeLuco and Brennan Zynda

All year students look forward to the one day in June that they get to let loose at Holiday Hill! There are so many exhilarating activities, like horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, basketball, bouncy houses, inflatable water slides, spray paint tattoos, rock wall climbing, a playground, bungee-jumping, and karaoke. In addition to all of these activities there is non-stop food all day starting with donuts, cotton candy, an ice cream truck that is stationed there all day to feast upon, and other food like nachos, hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and fries. There are also free beverages for the whole day!

If you’re not able to go this year because of activity suspension, strive to do your best next year, because you don’t want to miss this great day!



Wolcott Recycles By Gabriella Leary and Emily Scarcella

If you could cut your household expenses significantly would you? Well, that’s what Mayor Dunn is trying to do for the Town of Wolcott - cut expenses. And he has asked that the TMS students help spread the word about recycling. Why? Because it’s great for the environment and a great way to save money.

To encourage recycling, our eighth grade Project Explore students have dedicated their time during and after school to painting five large signs with information regarding recycling on them. These signs will be placed in the most heavily traveled areas of Wolcott to encourage everyone to pick up a free recycling bin at the Town Garage, and to use these bins to store empty bottles, cans, papers, and cardboard. Wolcott will save $60 per ton on trash removal if everyone in Wolcott takes the time to recycle. Why recycle? So the town will spend less money on trash, and have more money to spend making Wolcott a better place in which to live.

Meeting Our Ancestors: Ellis Island Field Trip By Angelina Santos

Have you ever wanted to step into the shoes, and even same building as your oldest ancestors? On May 4th, the seventh graders here at Tyrrell Middle School were given the chance to go to Ellis Island and learn about the immigrants and how they were treated during their journey. Not only this, but they were able to view the Statue of Liberty; which 62% of Americans have never seen in person before. At the island, the students participated in a scavenger hunt that took place in the museum area of the Immigration Center. Lined along the backside of the Immigration Center is the ‘Wall of Honor” where you can see if your relatives passed through while emigrating to America. Although some names weren’t engraved into this wall, many kids found their last names, as well the last names of famous people. Although some students favored the five hour bus ride to and from New Jersey, many history-loving students felt as though they had more fun on the island, because there they gained more knowledge about immigration in the 1800s and 1900s. So, for all of the sixth graders that are reading this, start getting ready for this amazing field trip! Ask family members about your family history. Maybe you will discover that your roots trace back to immigrants who entered the U.S. through Ellis Island. It is a great way to learn about your past as well history.

Ellis Island Simulation By Brian Barker and Ryan Fishbein

On Friday, May 11th, the Tyrrell 7th graders took a trip back to the late 19th century. The students were given identities of immigrants and got the chance to experience what it was like to go through Ellis Island. We’re not referring to the actual field trip to Ellis Island that 7th graders took, though. The teachers of the 7th grade created a simulation of Ellis Island in the auditorium for the students. Some got the chance to travel in luxury while most had to travel in terrible conditions. The students got a chance to experience what it was like to be processed through Ellis Island and what it felt like to become American citizens. The students created passports for their Ellis Island identity, had to bring in money, and got the chance to take a few items to “America” from their home country. They had to go through an inspection before they entered America. The students were asked simple questions such as, “Who are you? How old are you? Where are you from? What was your job in your country?” The kids had to answer the questions as if they were really the immigrants. If they answered any questions wrong, they were detained and not allowed to enter America. However, if they answered all of them correctly, they entered and started their lives in their new country.

Although the teachers had to put in a lot of work for this activity, the students really got a lot out of it. It will definitely become a Tyrrell memorable moment!

The New Colossus Poem By Joe Filippone

On May 14th, all students in 7th grade had to recite part of the poem which is found on the Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus. The poem was written by Emma Lazarus. Students were graded on whether or not they could recite the poem without messing up. The students had to recite these poems in their writing classes either in front of the class or to the teacher separately. This poem went along with a unit on Ellis Island. To make the project more fun some students chose to wear foam Statue of Liberty crowns, hold torches in the air, and carry dictionaries at their sides. Any students who wore the outfit received five extra credit points and had their picture taken. Miss Bourdeau made a PowerPoint of all of the pictures and gave them nicknames. It was a lot of fun!

These Cats Rock! By: Samantha Hickey and Stephanie Mix

In April, the Tyrrell 6th graders went on a field trip to a New Britain Rock Cats game against the New England Fishercats. At the beginning of the game, some Tyrrell students were chosen to demonstrate the solar system on the field using colored balls . Even the teachers got into the spirit when Mr. Jones started a wave that spread across the stands! During the game, each Tyrrell student was given a hot dog and a water bottle. Students were allowed to bring money to buy unlimited popcorn or cotton-candy that melted in their mouths. But best of all, the students got to watch the Rock Cats rock their way to a win against the Fishercats, with a score of 10-7! It was a close game up until the end of the 9th inning when the rookie of the Rock Cats, Shawn Roof, showed his talent by scoring the 10th run to win the game!

M-O-S-Q-U-I-T-O By Caitlin Mahoney

Round one of the Tyrrell Spelling Bee began in the classrooms with students who spelled at least twenty of the given words accurately advancing on to the next round. Round two was held in the auditorium during school, where twenty students and three substitutes moved on to the final round.

The final round took place in the auditorium on the seventeenth of April. Words ranged from “exquisite” to “museum”, but the real difficult words didn’t appear until the two finalists, Gabrielle Hamel and Jillian Noack, took the stage. Words went back and forth, but when the word “mosquito” was

correctly spelled by Gabrielle, she had come in first, with Jillian in second. Both students made it to the state competition taking place in late May. Best of luck, sixth grade spellers!

Hanging With Opposites Maia Regan & Julia Williams

Have you walked down the sixth grade Diamond Team hallway lately? If you did, you would have seen bright, colorful mobiles hanging from the ceiling. Mrs. Mascetti-Johnson’s classes, along with Mrs. Nicol’s reading classes, have been studying poetry for the last few weeks. As part of their lessons, they wrote their own diamante poems. Within each line they wrote words describing two opposites. This project was fun filled and educational for the students to learn about poetry. Along with the students’ poems they had to create an image that represented each word. Each mobile was filled with color and creativity. They all put 100% into this project, and most would agree they all came out fabulous.

Angry Birds By Hailey Popovich

Have you ever played a real life version of an awesome game?  Well, the 6th graders are doing a   project in science that involves the magnificent  game Angry Birds thanks to the awesome teachers Mr. Jones and Mrs. Bove-Virr.  All the students will be making a marshmallow shooter that will be used to knock down objects in front of them.  Sounds fun, don't you think ?  This is an extremely fun way to learn about physics. Students will be learning about the force it takes to blow the marshmallows out of the shooters.  So, if you hear laughter or yelling coming from the sixth grade corridor,   it’s probably from all of the fun going on  in rooms 102 and 101.  All I know is that all the kids are getting pumped up for this upcoming project!

Chinese Characters By Evan Guerrera & Alex Hale

Did you know that the students of the sixth grade social studies classes created some exquisite Chinese fan art? These beautiful masterpieces consisted of intricate designs of their Chinese birth animals and personalities. As an added bonus, to up the ante, there was some extra credit. This challenge was for students to write their names in Chinese on their fans. Not only that, but they had to make drawings of their particular animals. While working on this project, the children really enjoyed the hands-on opportunity to take on a new language. The sixth graders were not only challenged to find out their animals, but what the traits of their creatures meant. This mini project was a lot of fun.

New York Botanical Garden Taylor Dalton & Amanda Morelli

Imagine traveling the world while only staying in one giant conservatory! The New York Botanical Garden showcases all of the world’s different forests and regions where interesting plants flourish! For example, The New York Botanical Garden has a hot, humid room which contains the rainforest. You may be asking yourself how the vast rainforest could be condensed down into one room, but The NYBG makes it happen. Also, there are rooms such as the African Desert, the Deserts of the Americas and the Upland rainforest. All of these show specific regions while other rooms just show a certain type of unique plant. For instance, the aquatic plants room will blow you away with the sophisticated fountain and the colorful orchids hanging from the ceiling.

Although the New York Botanical Garden seems like a place where you would only look at the plants, the 6th grade Project Explore students visited a workshop where they learned about the role of plants in the water cycle, and created a terrarium containing a Begonia to take home. After the hours spent on observing beautiful plants, the group was able to eat a healthy lunch at one of the two New York Botanical Garden restaurants, and spend their last moments browsing the gift shop where they could purchase Venus fly traps, cacti and small things like pencils and pens. All in all, it was an interesting trip at an extraordinarily beautiful place!



New York Field Trip By: Morgan Veronesi

Seventh grade Project Explore students have been waiting all year, and at last will go on their field trip to New York City. They will take a magnificent tour of the Guggenheim Museum, which was uniquely designed by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Guggenheim Museum holds some of the finest modern and contemporary art, and sits across from Central Park on Fifth Avenue.

After lunch, the students will go see Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark on Broadway. This musical showcases amazing stunt-work, breath-taking visual designs, and the combinations of the best characters. This trip is going to be full of amazing and exciting sights to see in New York City for all of the students!

What Exactly Is A Reading Calendar? By Caitlin Frosolone

Mrs. Uccello’s first period honors reading class decided at the beginning of May to make wonderful calendars for their Mother’s Day presents. Since the class was studying poems, they made poem calendars. Each student wrote a poem for each month, using the skills they learned like rhyme, rhythm and repetition. They then found calendars and printed them along with their poems. After Mrs. Uccello put together the students calendars, they were complete and were ready to gift. I am sure that the students’ mothers loved hanging up their calendars!



Cupcake Wars...a TV review By Chloe Chance

If you are like me and like to watch shows that involve contests and baking, then you have probably heard of the TV show Cupcake Wars. But if you haven’t, you should definitely look into it. It won’t disappoint you!

Cupcake Wars is a contest with top bakers working on a certain theme the judges give, such as the holidays, underwater creatures, or big events coming up that most people know about. After each stage, one group of bakers gets eliminated because the cupcakes are not up to par. The overall winners usually win a money prize, or get to show their cupcakes at a party.

I really like this show, and would give it five stars. It includes lots of drama, making it interesting, entertaining, and amusing. I also like to watch the different techniques of frosting cupcakes.

This show can be found on the Food Network.

Wide Awake…a music review By Emily Cofrancesco

Katy Perry just released her new song, “Wide Awake” on Saturday, May 20th, at the Billboard Music Awards. Her performance captivated the audience as she came down from the ceiling on a white fabric swing. Other trapeze artists hung around her twirling and dancing. The song was written for her upcoming 3D movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me which will be in theaters July 5th. Unlike most of her upbeat exciting songs, “Wide Awake” is slower, which let’s her voice take the lead. She has a strong, powerful voice that you can hear loud and clear as she sings with so much emotion. The song is already 51 on iTunes top one hundred songs, after just being released a day ago. I would strongly recommend this song to any middle school girls looking for a great new favorite song. Check it out on iTunes today!

The Lucky One...a movie review By Zoe Beckley & Gina Vaccarelli

In the latest box office must-see, The Lucky One, Zac Efron plays the role of a U.S. Marine named Logan. He had witnessed the death of many friends in an explosion during the war. Right before they were killed, Logan walked over to an object that had caught his eye. It was a picture of a beautiful young woman, and it had the words “Keep Safe” written on the back of it. Logan believed that the girl in the picture was his guardian angel, saving him while the others died. After he returned to America, he set off on a journey to find the girl who had saved his life, to thank her. The girl is played by Taylor Schilling, He travels to the state of Louisiana using the background image of the picture to lead him to where she lives. Join him on his journey filled with twists and turns and a little bit of romance along the way. This movie is a great one to see with friends.

Matched...a book review By Serena Charbonneau

The book Matched, by Ally Condie, takes place in a dystopian society. In this society, officials decide who you love, where you work, and when you die. The main character is Cassia who is forced to decide between her best friend, Xander (a perfect match for her) and an intriguing stranger, Ky. Who will she choose? How will that affect her life and the people around her? Will her choice be for the better or worse?

Matched is a #1 New York Times best-selling series, “The hottest young adult title to hit bookstores since The Hunger Games,” says Entertainment Weekly.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a lot of romance, a bit of action, and tales of futuristic cities gone very wrong. This original story will grab your attention on the first page, and keep the suspense building until the final page. If you have not read Matched, you are missing out on a great tale. You can find this book at the Wolcott Public Library, book stores (such as Barnes and Noble), and even in the TMS media center!



TMS Baseball By Steve Urbanski

Once again this year, the Tyrrell baseball team is doing a fantastic job with zero losses to date. In fact, Tyrrell hasn't lost a game in years, and they don't plan on doing so now. The TMS pitchers dominate the game, and assure that teams never get too many runs. In addition, the TMS batting lineup is powerful one through ten, so there is never a game where Tyrrell goes scoreless. All of the other teams are in fear when they find out that they have to play Tyrrell. Unfortunately for Tyrrell, being undefeated is not an easy thing because they always have the most to lose, and the opposing teams always bring their best effort. Luckily, the TMS winning streak has not been broken even with the teams playing them hard. Tyrrell has a couple of games left, and has a great chance to take the Jr. NVL championship again this year. Good luck Tyrrell… and hit the cover off the ball!!!

TMS Track Nick Comeau & Matt Mastropietro

During the month of April, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders started going to practices to get ready for track. All students were able to make the team because there were enough coaches. The students have been going to practices at the high school to prepare them for the events that they will be doing at the track meets. There are many events for them to participate in. Other things that they do at practice include running up hills, running around the school for 25 minutes, doing two warm– up laps around the track, and they also do exercises in the middle of the football field at the high school. After students are done with warm-ups, they get to go and practice their events by themselves or in groups. There are five meets this season for track. Our first meet is home and the other 4 of our meets are away. Track season ends on Thursday, May 24th, when the final track meet will take place. Overall, this track season has gone very well, and hopefully many 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will join track next year.

TMS Softball By Gabby Leary & Kaitlyn Lofgren

The Tyrrell Middle School Softball Team is doing great. So far, the girls are undefeated and are still going strong. Mrs. Matfus, Mrs. Nicol and Coach Frank are doing a great job coaching the softball team to a winning season. Helping the coaches along are Carly Venditti, Rachael Schippani and René Miller, the co-captains of the 2012 team. Once Tyrrell beats Torrington and West Side, they will have beaten all teams in the league. With their great defense and strong offense, the Tyrrell Tornadoes have shut down many teams or have sometimes only allowed a few runs. The girls are on their way to being JNVL champs. If you’d like to be a part of a winning team, are willing to work hard, and can keep your grades up to par, why not try out for the Tyrrell Middle School Softball Team next year?

Intramural Volleyball By Kaitlyn Lofgren

Intramural Volleyball is an excellent way to play volleyball against your classmates without the pressure and practice time that comes along with playing on the regular TMS team. There are about twenty students on this new intramural volleyball team. You might ask what gave Mrs. Boisvert the idea to create such a fun team. Well, when her daughter was in the middle school, they had an intramural volleyball team. She didn't want to try-out for the official volleyball team, so she joined the intramural team. She then played volleyball all the way through high school. Intramural volleyball is all about having fun! It’s a good opportunity to either learn how to play or keep playing during the off seasons of other teams. The athletes love this new idea, and hope to play again next year. Don’t miss the sign up for this next year!

Lasting Impressions From Our TMS 8th Graders ...By Alyse DeLuca & Megan Doubleday

Recently, some departing TMS 8th graders shared some of their favorite Tyrrell memories with us. Here are just a few of them:



Christina Velezis- going to Boston

Bianca Bartoli- at Ellis Island a bird pooped on my head

Ryan Pawlak- Boston was so much fun with all of my friends

Matt DelBuono- the undefeated basketball team was a memory I will have forever

Collin Jenkins- 6th grade Chinese class was the best

Bri Heston- the Duck Tour around Boston

Taylor Piacentini- the track team was a blast

Chris Maisto- winning all of our baseball games

René Miller- undefeated softball team

Amanda Japs- playing for the Tyrrell Girls basketball team

Gina Valenti- Greek Day in 7th grade

Bri Longo- Tyrrell Dance Team

Students of the Month

The following students were recognized as Students of the Month for the months of April and May. They were selected by their teachers because of their outstanding effort and overall behavior. These students, and all of the Students of the Month for the entire year along with their parents will be recognized with a complimentary breakfast in early June.

April


Lillian Briggs, Kayla Mayo

Jessica Bylyku, Kirsten Morin

Alyse DeLuca, Alexis Otano

Anna Forrest, Rachael Schippani

Brad Grasso, Gina Vaccarelli

Evan Kulig, Wenting Zheng


May


Alex Bernier, Conner Hillman

Alen Bosnic, Tiana Laurendeau

Brandan Brown, Preston Lavoie

Chloe Chance, Tyler Nadeau

Emily Cofrancesco, Greg Pomerleau

Ana Forrest, Rouaa Sahbani

Students Hunger for the Hunger Games by Megan Doubleday

It was 12 o’clock midnight and over 500,000 people around the country were lined up to see what? The Hunger Games! This is the hottest new movie of the year, and it’s making people crazy! The students here at Tyrrell also went crazy when they found out they were getting to go to The Hunger Games movie if they had read the book. After the permission slips were passed around, The Hunger Games field trip was the buzz everyone was talking about. While the Tyrrell students did not get to go to the midnight opening, over 200 TMS students did get to go to Rave Motion Pictures in Southington the next day.
On Friday, March 23rd, the students came to school wearing their Hunger Games T-shirts and carrying non-perishable canned goods. Students were making a connection between the starving characters in the book to the many families in Wolcott who don’t have enough to eat. The students of Tyrrell decided to make a donation to help fill the town green’s gazebo with food. Everyone attending The Hunger Games movie brought in a canned food item totaling enough food to fill six large boxes! The Hunger Games is what really inspired kids to join in on this activity. The students were happy to help the people of our town.
Once in the theater, everyone was filled with excitement anticipating the start of the movie, and they were not disappointed. The movie was fantastic—almost as good as the book! When it was over the students were sad it ended, but were looking forward to participate in the amazing activities the teachers had planned for them.

Back on the bus, everyone couldn't stop talking about their favorite parts of the movie. They were a bit disappointed when the teachers announced the activities for the afternoon had to be postponed, but not for long because they were satisfied with the breathtaking movie, and they weren't going to let one setback ruin their happy mood. Of course there was lots of talk about book two and the next movie on the horizon!

Spotlight on… Ms. Trovato By Kayla Mayo

You know Ms. Trovato as a fun, seventh grade science teacher, but who is she outside of school? In her free time, she loves reading, playing sports, and spending time with her niece and nephew. In fact, family is very important to Ms. Trovato, and her role model is her mother because she is a sweet, strong, caring individual who would do anything for her family and friends. Ms. Trovato strives to be the type of person her mother is. Her favorite childhood memory is going to her family’s cabin in New Hampshire every winter where they would go sledding, skating, and snowmobiling. Did you know that Ms. Trovato always knew she wanted to have a profession in the science field? It wasn’t until college, though, that she decided that she wanted to be a teacher. She came to this realization through a program that taught science to elementary students. When Ms. Trovato saw all of the smiling faces during a lab, she knew she wanted to teach. While Ms. Trovato believes rules are important in a classroom, she also feels that laughter is the best way to get any point across. So, next time you see Ms. Trovato, you will know her better as a person instead of “just another teacher.” Go ahead and say hello - she’s awesome!

Students Rally for Excellence by Nick Comeau & Zach Lepore

Since so many students were fretting about the CMTs, a few amazing teachers in our school put together the famous CMT Rally. The students loved hearing Mr. Simpson telling them how excellent their scores were compared to all the other schools in our state. Students who scored all 5’s on the CMTs were given a certificate and a pin to put on their graduation gowns in 8th grade. Also, the students who improved by two levels were recognized with certificates and pins.
After this, Ms. Tafuto made a surprise deal between the students, Mr. Simpson, and Mrs. Tansley. The deal was if our school’s CMT average was in the ninetieth percentile of the state scores, then Mrs. Tansley would dye her hair blue and Mr. Simpson would shave his head bald! Next, the favorite act at TMS, King Lee and the Magnificent Three, Mr. Kelsey, Mr. Goldstone, Mr. Toller, and Mr. Terry, performed the CMT Rap. Last of all came the t-shirt toss. The students shouted in fun as Mrs. Tansley, Mr. Simpson, and several teachers tossed t-shirts into the crowd. There were a lot of shirts thrown this year, which made many students happy! Overall, the CMT rally got everyone pumped and ready to tackle the CMTs.

Writing Book Trailers by Chloe Chance

The seventh grade writing classes are making book trailers for their favorite books. They are trying to persuade others to read books they think are really good, the same way a movie preview tries to draw audiences.
Students can use one of two programs to make their trailers. Some people are using Movie Maker, while others are using Powerpoint. Movie Maker is good because there are lots of features to use. Students could use special effects, and make the background a fun color. But Movie Maker is not always reliable for saving work, and sometimes it gets lost. Powerpoint, while not having as many special effects, is a nice choice because it is more reliable.
Students will only have a few days to work on their trailers and make them very interesting. Then, they will present them to their classes and put their persuasion skills to the test. Some books, like The Hunger Games, will be easier to make look interesting. Other books don’t have as much suspense, and will be harder to sell. However, all books can look exciting if students work hard enough and choose carefully what they put in their trailers, and what they leave out.
One bonus of doing this project is that the presentations will be convenient for any students looking for a good book to read. I bet some will even be keeping a list of what books they want to read.This project is very fun and entertaining, and I am sure the seventh graders will get a lot out of it!

Mr. Rocca's School of Fish by Christie Allison & Joe Daddona

As some students may already know, each year 7th grade science teacher, Mr. Rocca, welcomes in a new school of fish. In November, Mr. Rocca got 400 trout eggs delivered to his classroom. His students participate in caring for the little fishes, watching them grow, feeding them, and giving them the living requirements they need to stay healthy. The students do things like clean the trout’s water, keep the chiller set to around 46 degrees F, and train the fish at the top of the tank to swim. Students are assigned a particular month when they come in to check on the trout on a daily basis; and they receive extra credit for their effort. Unfortunately, despite their vigilant care, there are currently only about 200 fish left in the tank. This year all participants are determined to keep these fish alive and well so that when they grow big enough at the end of the year, they could be released into their natural habitat– a stream. Mr. Rocca tells The Tyrrell Times sources that the fish seem to be doing well. Some trout have already grown fins. Surely, all of the students have done their best to make sure these trout have felt welcome in Mr. Rocca’s School of Fish!

Scaled Drawing Cartoon Project by Justine Bracco

To finish off the third quarter, and to have some fun during the CMTs, Mrs.Baker’s and Mrs. Sanzo’s honors classes are doing scaled drawings of cartoon characters! This project teaches students how to transfer drawings to scale using math skills. On March 13th, all of these classes were introduced to the cartoon project. Many students have started this project with unusual excitement. There are cartoons ranging from the old and timeless Felix the Cat to the new and well-known Phineas and Ferb. Tiny pictures of these characters are turned into beautiful, larger drawings that could stand out anywhere.
Throughout the years, students have enjoyed this project because it not only gives them the chance to draw their favorite carton characters, but it also takes their minds off of the CMTs. Best of all is the fact that no matter how hard drawing might be for a student, everyone who does this project comes out with perfect pictures!

TMS Celebrates World Language Month by Zoe Beckley and Gina Vaccarelli

March is World Language Month. The Spanish and French teachers in the school organized many activities to celebrate this time. All students who take a foreign language were welcome to participate. One activity was a poster or collage contest. The students could have entered their posters or collages that represented the theme which was “World Language: Gateway to the Global Marketplace”. Another activity held was the International Food Fair. This was held on March 29th after school, and the people who came had to bring a food representing a culture from around the world. Students’ families were also able to join them. For the Trivia Contest, held three Mondays and Fridays in March, the students could win prizes by answering questions about world languages or cultures that were read during the morning announcements. The final activity was a cultural assembly, it took place on April 2nd. The Peruvian musical group, Inkawasi performed traditional music of the Andes and demonstrated various musical instruments. The month was very exciting for the world language students.

STUDENT COUNCIL REPORT by Evyn Callahan

Once again, the Tyrrell Middle School Student Council has organized a successful fundraiser for the March of Dimes. From February 27th to the 3rd of March, Student Council members went around to homerooms selling estimation sheets so that the students could guess how many dimes were in the jar. The winner received a pizza party for themselves and five friends in Mrs. Kotwicki’s FCS room during their lunch period. The money from this fundraiser was submitted to the March of Dimes to help with research and medical costs for children born prematurely. In the end, the students of Tyrrell were gladly able to say they raised $72 for a very worthwhile charity.

Going Outside in February? by Angie Santos

On February 13, 2012, Tyrrell students who earned their Star Wars Reward got to go outside for a brief fifteen minute break. Although many states suffered the chilling temperatures a normal winter would bring, an average of twenty-eight degrees, Connecticut wouldn’t stand for that kind of weather. We were lucky enough to stay at a warm and cozy fifty-two degrees! While students in these other states were suffering, Tyrrell’s students spotted the long-forgotten grass with laughter and happiness since they haven’t gone outside during school in the longest while.
Kaitlyn Lofgren, a seventh grader in Mrs. Sanzo’s homeroom said, “ It was nice to go outside since we were trapped inside all winter. Most students agreed with Kaitlyn and thought it was great to be outside and to get fresh air. Whether it was to play ball or just roam the field with friends, it was sure nice to take a look at the outside world and have the chance to spend time with school friends.
So far we’ve handled snow in October, a delayed Halloween, and spring-like temperatures in February. What’s next, snow in July?

Mime Presentation by Matt Mastropietro

In January, Robert Rivest came to Tyrrell Middle School to perform a mime presentation aimed at teaching students about reading. It helped them learn how certain expressions help tell a reader how the character in the story feels. The mime did many amazing things. First, he showed students some of his basic talents. He pretended he was stuck in a box, pretended he was playing tug-of-war, and even asked students to play a “pretend” game of baseball with him!. All the performances he did looked very real! He picked lots of students to come up on stage and follow exactly what he was doing. It was almost like Simon Says except he didn't say anything. Finally, he played out scenes of books. He played many characters throughout the scenes. His performances looked so real. Truly, all of the students enjoyed the show.

Mardi Gras Comes to TMS

Students in all French classes had fun celebrating Mardi Gras at the end of February. They learned about the history and traditions of this holiday, as well as the various ways it is celebrated in different areas of the French-speaking world. Students cooked and sampled foods associated with the holiday, and created their own masks and jesters.
Each class then voted for the most beautiful, most original, and best Mardi Gras themed masks, as well as for the best jester.

Greek Day by Anthony DeLuco & Brennan Zynda

As of this writing, this year’s Greek Day is planned for April 5th, 2012. This is an exhilarating day for all seventh graders, one they look forward to all year long. The seventh grade homerooms are competing to win the title of Ultimate Gods/Goddesses. Although the homeroom teachers usually get along very well, they will have on their game faces come April 5th! The homeroom teacher gods and goddesses on the Granite team include: Mrs. Simon as Zeus wearing the color yellow, Ms. Bourdeau as Aphrodite with the color pink, Mrs. Baker as Poseidon with the color blue, Ms. Wry as Hermes with the color black, and finally Mr. Rocca as Ares with the color red. For the Marble team Mr. Toller is Hades sporting grey as his color, Mrs. Werenko as Artemis with the color white, Mrs. Mumley as Dionysus with the color purple, Mrs. Sanzo as Apollo with the color of orange, and last but not least, Mrs. Trovato as Athena will be dressed in the color of green.
In preparation of the event several challenges were held. One challenge gave the students a chance to create a T-shirt design for the 2012 Greek Day event. The winners, Cynthia Diaz and Melisa Tupkusic, received extra points for their homeroom. Another exciting event before Greek Day was the Penny Wars. The rules were that the homeroom with the most pennies in their jar would win a pizza party for their homeroom. Mrs. Trovato was the past winner for two years in a row, but the other homerooms are looking to defeat this champion!
On the actual Greek Day there will be a variety of activities. In the morning, storyteller, Jeff Benoit, will be performing “Chariot of the Sun,” a mythological show. Also, the seventh grade homerooms will be taking part in various games against each other to get points for their homerooms. Then, in the afternoon, students will be competing in the Homeroom vs. Homeroom Olympics. The winner will receive the trophy currently held by Mrs. Werenko, a Marble Team English teacher. There are other solo competition prizes for students to win. So get ready for competition, get on your war face, let’s hear your battle cry...and let the games begin!

World Education Games by Emily Cofrancesco

In early March, Tyrrell Project Explore students competed in a world-wide competition to raise money for U.N.I.C.E.F, a global humanitarian relief organization, which provides children with education, health care, clean water, food, and plenty more. The 6th grade students competed in a spelling competition, the 7th graders were in a math competition, and the 8th graders competed in science. The 8th grade came in 12th in the world competing as a team, and Matt Stojanov placed an amazing 33rd out of 1.57 million students around the world! Matthew will receive the Ruby Award, while Tyrrell will receive the prestigious Gold Award.
All of the students were glad to help the United Nations in their humanitarian efforts, and had lots of fun doing it! Megan Doubleday, a competitor in the math competition said, “It felt great to know I was using my knowledge to help less fortunate children.”
Together, Tyrrell raised enough money to send one "School-in-a-Box" which sends basic school supplies like chalkboards, globes, rulers, clocks, pencils, notebooks, and more to help kids learn just like us. The 8th grade Project Explore students saw a sample of a School-In-A-Box last year when they visited the United Nations on a field trip to New York City.

Animals In the Building? By Autumn Briglia & Selena Capozzi & Raven Cody

Do you think you know all of Peru’s incredible animals in all the different regions? From sloths to llamas to dolphins, the sixth grade Spanish classes and Señorita Martineau learned about the different animals living in different regions. Not only did they learn, but also made creative masks to go with it. All the students in room 404, during the month of January, were able to pick what animal they wanted, from an assigned region like las moñtanas, la costa, and el desierto. In class they spent several weeks learning about Peru from many powerpoints, and decided this would be an interesting way to wrap up the lesson. The students created the masks out of construction paper, tracers, and other crafty materials. This experience helped the students expand their knowledge about Peru’s environment.

Owl Pellet Dissection By William Platt & Michael Polzella

The students in Mr. Jones’ and Mrs. Bove-Virr’s science classes dissected owl pellets in March. The students had been learning about the food web and the owl pellets were a good way for the students to see exactly what the owls had digested. In preparation for the activity, the students performed virtual owl pellet dissections online. When it came time for the real dissection, each student paired up with a partner and got their own owl pellet to dissect. An owl pellet is formed after an owl eats its meal and it regurgitates the parts that cannot be eaten such as bones, fur, and feathers. These are most of the things that the students found in the pellets. When the pairs finished their dissections, they had the opportunity to take home anything they found in their pellets. This was a great and fun experience for all the students.

Math Shape Project By Jessica Bylyku, Jayda Cavanaugh, & Regan Richard

“I’m going to name mine Colorful Mr. Buggy!” says a 6th grade Diamond Team student in Mrs. Cox’s math class. In the last few weeks, students have been testing their symmetrical skills by creating monsters out of the many shapes they recently learned. The students had the opportunity to use tracers, because these projects had to be just perfect! In fact, Mrs. Cox was going to be testing symmetrical skills, so students had to be absolutely positive that everything in their design was smooth and symmetrical. The purpose of this fun activity was to teach students about the new polygons and their symmetry. It was also a way to review for the upcoming CMTs. What perfect timing! Students in Mr. Goldstone’s classes also did the activity. There were restrictions on the designs, a certain number of each shape the students had to use, and they had to be creative! “You can name your creation whatever you would like, as long as you don’t name it Mrs. Cox!,” joked the hilarious Mrs. Cox. I must say there were some very unique and interesting creations! All 6th graders were entertained and delighted by this magnificent project!

Who's Your Inner Super Hero? by Donaven Bianchi, Marek Czyzycki, and Kyle Graveline

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s a super hero, here to save the day! In Mrs. Nicol’s and Mrs. Mascetti-Johnson’s classes, all of the sixth grade students are creating super heroes who save the world from all of the everyday injustices. The purpose of this activity is to learn about theme by creating a Seuss-like character such as the characters found in The Lorax and The Sneetches. These super heroes have three special powers and character traits that help them fight for their cause. For example, Crime Buster, Grandma Betty Whiteman, and Dr. Dollar fight their own villains like Swiper the Box, The Grumpy Old Mole, and Peggy Cat Burglar. Students are really enjoying creating posters and puppets to go along with their favorite super heroes. Do you know who your inner super hero is? Do you know a cause worth fighting for?

Lights, Camera, Action! by Ethan Pernal & Domenic Setaro

Have you seen eighth grade Project Explore students working with tripods in the hallways? Well, that is because they have been learning about videography by creating and editing their very own videos! Students have learned how to properly utilize a videocamera as well as iMovie, a program similar to MovieMaker, except on the Mac. Although the project was a handful at times, everyone finally got their creative juices flowing and made their projects a great success. The creativity and personalities of the students shine through in the diversity of the projects. For instance, one group acted out a mock presidential debate, due to their keen
interest in politics. Another group used their sense of humor to create a skit abouta genie and a lamp. Others produced spoofs on books,movies, TV commercials, and TV news. One group even filmed a video of“Tyrrell After Dark”. NickRoth, “enjoyed the challenge of the project.” Most groups are just finishing up voice-overs, sound effects, and music. Then they will get to see each other’s work—something everyone is looking forward to! The projects allowed everyone to work together, help each other out, share talents, and have a great time.

Class Dojo? by Maia Regan & Taylor Riviezzo

What is Class Dojo you ask? Just one of the best reward systems for the sixth grade Diamond and Platinum Teams! With this website, teachers can collect data and keep track of their students’ behavior in class. For example, if students are misbehaving, they will get negative points, which decreases their individual and class scores. Throughout the year, teachers will set goals, and if students meet those goals, they will receive rewards based on the number of points they earn. Being that teachers don’t have to stop teaching to talk to students about not talking and staying on task, Class Dojo is a good way to remind students about behavior without actually reminding them about behavior!

The Hunger Games...a movie review by Lauren Romeo

The highly anticipated movie of the popular trilogy, The Hunger Games, hit theaters this March. The action packed, yet romantic blockbuster stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson, as Peeta, Katniss’ fellow tribute (who also happens to be madly in love with her), and Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Katniss’ longtime friend and hunting partner. The movie, very similar to the book, deals with touchy subjects such as war, politics, love, and morals. The movie is rated PG-13 for some disturbing content, but in a way it is that edgy content that draws the viewer in, and leads them to experience the rollercoaster of emotions conveyed by the many members of the Hunger Games. Even though it is rare for a movie to be as good as its book, this film definitely measures up. Additionally, its action and romance targets both boys and girls, therefore offering something for everyone.

GLEE... a TV review by Lauren Romeo

Glee is a musical drama-comedy about a group of outcasts joined together by their glee club, New Directions. This club is led by the school’s Spanish teacher, Will Schuester. The show mainly follows Rachael Berry and her fiancé Finn Hudson, but also other glee club members and New Direction’s archenemy Sue Sylvester, coach of the Cheerio Cheerleaders.This is a fantastic show for teens and adults to watch for a number of reasons. One reason is because it offers a wide variety of music that anyone can enjoy. and there are always new songs in every episode. Additionally, the intense and true-to-life plotlines add that perfect touch that gets you hooked. You can’t help connecting to at least one of the characters, because they all have something about them that makes them seem very real.For these reasons and beyond, I highly recommend watching this fantastic show, which returns in early April for season 4. You’ve got nothing to lose!

Music Review: The Hunger Games by Brennan Zynda

“Welcome to the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games! And remember, may the odds be ever in your favor.” While Katniss and Peeta are struggling to survive, there is an appropriate song to go along with their each and every move. You may like this movie’s soundtrack if you like Indie Rock. I would give this soundtrack two out of five stars. It was too slow for me, and was very much like an opera in the first song. After that, the songs were a bit faster but were also somewhat like country music, which I don’t like. Some of the artists include Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, and Miranda Lambert. There was also a song by Kid Cudi, a rapper. “The Ruler and the Killer,” by Kid Cudi and “Come Away to the Water,” by Maroon 5 were quicker paced. This is why I would give this track 2 stars, but you should check it out for yourself!

The Death Cure by Serena Charbonneau

This heart-stopping tale consists of mystery and suspense that will have you hooked until the very last page. The final book in the Maze Runner Trilogy, called The Death Cure, brings back a character we have known in previous chapters, Thomas, the child with an incredible, genius mind who has escaped from the “Maze” and is now a prisoner in a dull, jail-like cell to which he is confined. Little does he know that his life is at stake. The descriptive writing in this book is unbelievable, and it reads exactly like a movie... while you’re reading it, it will become your reality. This story deals with the flare, an incurable, human disease that is extremely dangerous and deadly. Who will survive? Who is immune to this horrific sickness? Of course, you will have to read the book to find out. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy fiction, and most of all, the chance to imagine themselves in a completely different world. This is such an unbelievably original book, and that, in my opinion, makes it the best book in the series.

TMS Dance Team Goes Undefeated!!! by Morgan Veronesi

Recently, the season for the TMS Dance Team came to an end. The girls were very successful, and because of all of their hard work they came out undefeated! They went to three different competitions, and scored the highest in their division for each of them.
There were forty members on the team, a great mixture of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The team also had four team captains that put pep in their step before each competition. They were great examples to the younger girls in showing them what it’s like to be a leader and a dancer. Keeping track of all of the members, were four coaches - Mrs. Albini, Mrs. Carroll, Mrs. Boutote and Mrs. Weber.
In preparation of the competitions in January and February, the team needed some great choreography. The choreographer who worked with the girls was Leona Janetty. When the team’s run was over they had the annual end of the year banquet where everyone got a trophy for being on the team. The eighth graders were also given a flower as a sendoff. But they will never be forgotten. The team will always remember all of the wonderful times they shared
together as a team!

TMS Teacher Trivia...by Christie Allison & Joe Daddona

· ONJES– has a small yarn owl _ _ _ _ _
· ORCAC– LOVES food _ _ _ _ _
· YWR– has awesome band-aids _ _ _
· OLGSONDET– coaches Cross-Country and Track _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
· ENPAT– loves music! _ _ _ _ _
· CELOUCL– is on Team Edward for Twilight! _ _ _ _ _ _ _
· ERTRY– plays guitar _ _ _ _ _
· ELKYES– can juggle! _ _ _ _ _ _
· ARGUBS– LOVES Perry the Platypus _ _ _ _ _ _
· ISFH– Katherine’s dad _ _ _ _
· UMYLEM– Jane Austen fan _ _ _ _ _ _
· OURBEADU- Loves John Mayer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
· ASTNERSI– J’adore la chien _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My Awful March Birthday by Steven Urbanski

Every year, starting in third grade, I have had an awful gift for my birthday. You may wonder what it is. It is three little letters that makes everyone cringe. This is what we call the CMTs. Then for days I am stuck taking tests for hours on end. There is no way to escape them. Some like to consider it as Childrens’ Mind Torture not Connecticut Mastery Test. I just consider it the worst birthday gift ever...every year, same time, same place, same bubbles!

Students of the Month

February
Emma Adduci, Bianca Bartoli
Serena Charbonneau, Mason Cipriano
Hannah Critelli, Mark Emons
Caitlin Frosolone, Alyssa Gorman
Gabby Leary, Christopher Maisto
Joshua Rapisarda, Rachael Schippani



March
Alen Bosnic, Anthony DeLuco
Emma Gargano, Michael Harkin
Jessica Irizarry, Emily Janiero
Jonathan Maldonado, Ryan Pawlak
Michael Perrault, Emma Reagan
Nicholas Roth, Michael Roy

It's That Time Again! By TuAnh Nguyen & Melisa Tupkusic

Every February, Tyrrell Middle School comes alive with excitement about the annual Secret Valentine Flower Sale. It’s just the thing to liven up a dreary time of year. This fundraiser is run by Project Explore students, but the proceeds benefit all TMS students through the student activity fund. For just one dollar, students can send silk roses and matching valentines containing personalized messages to all of their friends and teachers at Tyrrell. Beginning the week before Valentine’s Day, Project Explore students will be selling these flowers and messages in the café during all lunch periods. Then, on Valentine's Day, they will be delivered to all homerooms.

This is a great way to make new friends, connect with old ones, or just send someone some cheer. Everyone surely enjoys receiving valentines...and yes, boys love receiving flowers, too! The only problem there has been with the Secret Valentine Flower Sale in the past is that the flowers always sell out before everyone has had the opportunity to buy them. More than 1,000 flowers will be sold! This shows how much Tyrrell Middle School looks forward to the flower sale every year. So if you don’t want to disappoint your friends, better buy early in the week, because once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Thanks to everyone who supports this annual sale. Whether you choose to send valentines to five friends or just one, you will be helping make TMS a better place, because caring is contagious!

Spotlight on...Mrs. Carroll By Evyn Callahan & Morgan Veronesi

This edition of The Tyrrell Times has the spotlight on Tyrrell’s most energetic and spectacular 8th grade special education teacher here at Tyrrell Middle School, and her name is Mrs. Carroll. Her favorite color is any shade of yellow, and her favorite Christmas carol to sing is, “Do You See What I See?” In her free time she enjoys cross-stitching. Cross-stitching is a popular form of counted thread embroidery which is usually in a square pattern. You may have not known, but Mrs. Carroll is also the coordinator of the TMS Dance Team, which means that she signs the whole team up for competitions and makes sure that everyone’s grades are up to par. Mrs. Carroll is very kind, and she doesn’t bite. So, if you want to go see her and her amazingly super smile that appears everyday, then go see her in Rm 303!

Looking Forward With Naviance By Serena Charbonneau & Angie Santos

Children should be able to explore a variety of career options. Some say middle school students are too young for this, but actually, their brains have developed to the point where they need to be thinking about the future. Naviance is a learning site where students may send and receive messages from guidance counselors, and also explore different careers online. When first logging on, visitors are greeted with a message welcoming them to this outstanding program. Next comes a quiz which asks many different questions about themselves.

We talked to Mrs. Hovland to get more info. Her main opinion of Naviance was, “ This site’s main purpose is to help students to learn more about themselves and their interests.” Mrs. Hovland also stated, “You will be able to explore different college and career options. On Naviance, you will be given a list of recommended sites that you may look at on the web.”

The fantastic feature is that students will be able to save the sites they visit and options they browse by simply saving it to a file on Naviance. Also, they will be able to look at this folder at any time, even next year. Keep in mind that students will be able to check Naviance in school and also at home. This will allow their parents to be part of this program also. So go ahead, and dare to dream about your future. It’s closer than you think!

Singing it Out By Anthony DeLuco

This year, the students of Tyrrell Middle School, along with many other students from schools around the state, are taking part in a singing challenge called Regionals. Regionals is a competition against yourself to see how well you can do. You go to your first rehearsal to practice a song for the audition. The music you learn at the rehearsal is the song the judges will critique you on. You are judged on tonality, pitch accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, technique, pronunciation, expression, scales, and sight singing. The results determine whether you made it in or not.

If you get past the judging, then you have to learn all of the other songs that the other schools have to study, learn, and sing to the judges. Once you learn these songs, you perform them at a spring festival along with the other people that made it. This festival will be held at Platt High School in Meriden on Saturday, March 2nd and Sunday March 3rd.

This is a great opportunity to really embrace your singing abilities and to challenge yourself to get better and work harder to achieve maximum potential. Even if you don't make it through to the finals, it’s a great challenge, and you should be proud for even
trying.

T - BONE Stankus By Gabby Leary and Emily Scarcella

Tom Stankus, also known as T-BONE Stankus, appeared at Tyrrell Middle School in his annual holiday sing-along. At the assembly, a variety of seasonal songs were sung such as “Dominic the Donkey”, and “Jingle Bells”. Our eighth graders were able to hit the dance floor, and show their moves to the traditional “12 Twelve Days of Christmas.” To end the show, the eighth graders and Ms. Bourdeau, a new teacher at Tyrrell Middle School, danced along to “The Unicorn Song” which has become a tradition at Tyrrell. To accompany T-BONE, the children of our TMS teachers twirled and danced their way around the gymnasium. Students can’t wait to welcome T-BONE back to our school next holiday season!

Door Decorating Contest By Steve Urbanski

This year, most homerooms at TMS participated in the Annual Door Decorating Competition. This is a good way to bring out some creativity while having some fun. In the past, the doors have had themes anywhere from a Caribbean Christmas to a basic Disney movie theme. During this activity kids get together as a class and decorate their homeroom doors. Judges then walk around and decide which door deserves first place. The winning homeroom is rewarded with a great prize.

This year the winners were Ms.Trovato and Mrs. Sanzo. They had a Fire vs. Ice design that really stood out. They had almost flawless doors. These doors won because of their creativity. One homeroom was fire and other was ice. Each of the students was assigned an elf or character to put their face on and then put on the door. These doors were truly amazing. There were many new, wonderful ideas this year so it was hard to pick only one door. All the doors were great. Thanks to all homerooms for participating.

Tyrrell Talent Showcase By Melisa Tupkusic

So, where did everyone go Friday, December 2nd? The Tyrrell Talent Show, of course! More than half the school, along with their families, filled the auditorium. The show included two hilarious emcees, Billy Nicol and Melisa Tupkusic, almost thirty amazing acts, a phenomenal stage crew, our awesome dance team, and the high school dance team. Mrs. Carroll, the person who made it all happen, stayed backstage with students the entire time, and helped them out with funny jokes and last minute nerves. Some of the acts were the Capristo twins performing a lyrical duet, 6th grader Amanda tapdancing to Boots, and the Tyrrell Dance Team Captains dance. All of these were followed by one last majestic performance…..King Lee and the Majestic Three, AKA Mr. Goldstone, Mr. Terry, Mr. Toller, and of course Mr. Kelsey. Bravo to everyone who performed... and many thanks to a great audience. For those of you who did not attend this year, don’t miss it next December!

Student Council Reported by Ryan Fishbein

The TMS Student Council has done two major projects this marking period. One of them is the holiday chain sale. The students sold chains for twenty-five cents each during all lunch waves, and each grade competed to have the longest chain. The grade with the longest chain got an ice cream sandwich treat the day that they came back from Christmas break. This year the 6th grade won the competition. The Student Council also ran a Blue Ribbon Sale where students sold blue ribbons to raise money to help stamp out child abuse. The sale of the blue ribbons ended Friday, January 27th.

Letters About Literature By Nick Comeau and Zach Lepore

The seventh grade Granite Team teachers, Mrs. Simon and Ms. Bourdeau, have entered their students in a national contest called Letters about Literature. This contest requires students to write a letter to the author of a book that influenced them. This letter must be a minimum of 300 words with a maximum of 600 words. Our reading teachers have been working with students on different techniques for developing their own perspective of things. Students created a ‘sloppy copy’, and eventually turned it into their final copy. A few of the most popular books the students have chosen are The Hunger Games, The Lost Hero, and the Maze Runner. These books have inspired the students in one way or another, whether looking at the world from a new perspective or now really wanting to pursue a certain dream. The purpose of writing these letters is not to compliment the authors, but to relate the books to their personal goals or beliefs. The six National Winners (two per grade level) will receive a five hundred dollar gift card to Target, and a ten thousand dollar LAL Reading Promotion Grant for their school or community library. The students are anxiously waiting to see how the Tyrrell students did in the contest. Fingers crossed!

7th Grade China Project By Brennan Zynda

The seventh grade students have had many projects that they’ve enjoyed, but so far, this China Project was probably their favorite project of the year. The students had to make a poster, a “Box of Knowledge,” or a PowerPoint showing what their invention/item was. The project had to include who created their invention, when their item became important, what dynasty this invention was created in, why this item was important, what materials were used to make this item, what purpose it served, how it affected society, if this object appeared in any other historical time, and whether or not this invention is still used today. Throughout this entire project, the students learned a lot about the history of ancient China. The entire seventh grade loved this project!

Seventh Graders Write Children’s Books By Preston Lavoie

The children’s books made by the students in Ms. Bourdeau’s, Mrs. Simon’s, Mrs. Werenko’s, and Ms. Mumley’s classes were a lot of hard work. After doing six-word memoirs to practice including morals in stories, students moved on to the children's books, because many children’s books have morals to teach. Some of the seventh graders’ books are really funny; and some have unusual characters. These include, Zola the Zebra, Patty the Pig, and Steve the Lace Less Shoe. As you can see, the students often used alliteration to bring their books to life. The books have a dedication page, a meet the author page, and of course include the drawings the students created. After working hard on the books in school and at home, the books were sent off to be published. The actual books should be received around February. Overall, it was a great experience for the students to get published and have their very own books to share with family members and friends.

TMS Students Win Sumdog Contest By Joe Filippone

All Project Explore students at Tyrrell Middle School participated in an on-line math contest on sumdog.com which is a website filled with some pretty great math games. The competition took place from December 5th to December 15th. Students from all over the country took part in the competition. There were so many schools trying to win the grand prize that schools were divided into regions. Tyrrell was in the Connecticut and Rhode Island territory. Tyrrell was a frontrunner at the start, but found themselves in a tight race for first place with New Milford Middle School on the last day. In the end, Tyrrell finished on top. Our top scorers contributing to the win were Kaylee Hale, followed by Simon Kubrynski, and Alex Hale. In fact, they were in the top ten in the overall competition! Tyrrell won the 1st Place trophy and an $850 prize for the school . Nice job!

Chorus Behind the Scenes By Chloe Chance

The students who participated in the winter chorus concert have been working hard on their songs since the beginning of the year. In fact, they started the holiday songs on the very first day of music classes in September!
This year’s winter chorus concert featured five songs, covering all of the winter holidays. Some were upbeat, while others could have put you to sleep. But there was always a really interesting switch every time the chorus changed from one song to the next. Some students really got into the holiday season when they showed up wearing Santa hats, elf ears, or reindeer antlers. Students really like working with Mrs. Jones. And it was obvious that the audience really enjoyed the winter chorus concert by the overwhelming applause at the end of the show! If you like to sing, like to be a member of a group, and like to hear those applause, you should seriously think about joining chorus. Then you will be the one onstage next year!

The Wonderful Winter Concert By Zoe Beckley & Gina Vaccarelli

The talented students of the Tyrrell Band performed a seasonal winter concert on Monday, December 19th. It was held in the school’s auditorium at 7 o’clock in the evening. Over seventy students participated in the concert. This was the first middle school concert for Tyrrell’s new band teacher, Mrs. Curtiss. As a joke, she decided to start the show off with the elementary school all-time favorite...Hot Cross Buns!
The real program included such songs as Huron Carol, Christmas Classic, and Christmas Sleigh Ride. The band played their Christmas music in unison. There were also opportunities for the more advanced students to play short solos. When the band played a medley of holiday songs, of course, the audience was invited to sing along. Both the students and the audience got into the holiday spirit by enjoying the seasonal songs. Altogether the concert was a huge success.

Science Students Measure Up! by Evan Guerrera, Alex Hale & Dan Kubrynski

When Mrs. Bove-Virr’s and Mr. Jones`s science classes were learning about measurement, students got to design a new classroom as a project. All 6th graders were given a partly finished science room design which they then had to finish. This assignment was done to practice measuring because students had to have the exact measurements, the same as the actual room. After the measuring was completed, students got busy making their own designs for what they would like the classroom to look like. The only criteria was that they had to have the room seat 25 students, and they had to label what they drew with the key they created. All of the students worked exceptionally hard on this project because they knew it would be taken as a test grade. Everyone that participated in this assignment said they enjoyed it. For the most part, the sixth grade students did a splendid job!

A Christmas Play By Caitlin Frosolone

Mrs. Uccello’s honors reading class recently read the book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The purpose of reading this book was to learn about how characters can change in a story if something remarkable happens to change them. As a reward for reading this difficult book, Mrs. Uccello took her students to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. The Palace is a very fancy place, so everyone dressed in their very best outfits. Students of the Waterbury Arts Magnet School put on an amazing play. Mrs. Uccello’s students were so glad they got to go on this exciting field trip. They had a great time reading the book and watching the play!

Super Spanish Projects By Raven Cody & Jayda Cavanaugh

In Senorita Martineau’s sixth grade Spanish classes, the students got to do various projects during the month of December. The purpose of the projects was to help learn all the vocabulary words in Unit 1. These words included all colors, numbers, animals, classroom objects, weather words, and even the words for the four seasons. The students enjoyed making posters, game boards, and dictionaries. Some even worked on skits. Everyone agreed that assignments like this one make learning fun!

A Hallway Rainforest By Taylor Dalton & Amanda Morelli

Did you ever walk by Mrs. Wright’s and Mrs. Garbus’ social studies classrooms and wonder, “Am I in a rainforest...or a school”? The creative students in the sixth grade wing used their artistic skills to decorate the white school walls with the various levels of the rainforest. Classes voted on a team leader to guide them through their decorating journey. The bright students created impressive visuals using their choice of interesting plants and unique animals. Each plant or animal was used to create the well-detailed layer of the forest his or her class was assigned to. Some of the visuals include origami and beautifully drawn images. Next time you are walking by the fun-filled sixth grade classrooms, be sure to take in the gorgeous sight of the hallway rainforest!

Student Leadership Conference By Evan Guerrera & Alex Hale

In early January, twelve very lucky Project Explore sixth graders were chosen to attend the CAS Student Leadership Conference at Naugatuck Valley Community College. It was fun for the students to try to find their classrooms in the huge campus building. The students participated in three different workshops aimed at teaching about decision-making, communicating, and problem solving. These activities made their leadership skills spike to unknown levels! The students also had time for a lunch break and a closing performance by a member of the circus. He called students from the audience to help him with his many stunts, and it was pretty funny. This was an amazing experience for all twelve sixth graders, and it should help them throughout the remainder of their lives.

Character In a Bag by jessica Bylyku, Selina Capozzi, & Regan Richard

Sixth grade Diamond Team reading students in Mrs. Nicol’s and Mrs. Mascetti-Johnson’s classes completed a project in December called “Character in a Bag”. Students were assigned to make a bag decorated with objects that would best describe a chosen character from the short story Ta-Na-E-Ka. The purpose of this project was to focus the students’ minds on how to recognize character traits, and what items can be used to represent them. The students presented their creative and clever projects to other students during their reading classes. One could tell by all the smiles on everyone’s faces that they really enjoyed that. Way to go Mrs. Nicol and Mrs. M-J!

Team Read Update! by David Lofgren

Sixth grade students who were hall of Fame readers got to participate in the reading reward for the first marking period which was a free breakfast (including hot chocolate), and an opportunity to play games with their friends. For about an hour and a half, students met in the café and played games like Yahtzee, Clue, and many others. What a great way to spend a morning at TMS! If you missed this reward, start reading so you won’t miss out on the next one! I’m sure the teachers are planning something great, and I want to see you there!

Miss Connecticut Visits TMS by Erin MacDonald, Caitlin Mahoney, and Jillian Noack

In December, the Tyrrell sixth graders got a visit from Miss Connecticut. She came to the TMS auditorium to discuss the importance of cancer awareness, even for young adults. She read the students a book that she wrote herself, which was about a little girl surviving cancer. After the book, Miss Connecticut had the students work together in homerooms to complete two questions, ‘What facts did you learn after reading the book, and what is your homeroom most passionate about?’ The point of the lesson was to show how important it is to protect yourself from cancer by eating healthy and exercising daily.

Tyrrell Cheerleaders Show Their Spirit by Evyn Callahan

The Tyrrell Cheerleading Team has once again begun another great season. These girls are depending on coach Anna Bartoli, Amber their choreographer, and team captains Bianca Bartoli, Racheal Bisaillon, Brianna Heston, and Gianna Polzella to lead them to victory. The cheerleading team has been working particularly hard on their competition cheer, which they come back after school to work on for about two hours, three days a week. They also enjoy going to the TMS boys’ and girls’ basketball games to show their school spirit. During one of these Tyrrell games, I decided to ask 6th grader, Amber Belval some questions about the cheerleading team. When I asked her what she would like the team to accomplish this year, she replied, “To get first place in all of our competitions, and be great cheerleaders for the boys’ and girls’ basketballteams.” I also wanted to know what her favorite part of cheerleading was. Amber informed me, “Being able to work as a team.” Judging from how well this squad performs together, I’m sure many of these girls on the team have the same thoughts. Best of luck on your upcoming competitions!

TMS Boys Basketball by Ryan Fishbein

The Monday that we came back from Thanksgiving break the TMS boys basketball team started their season off. The team consists of all eighth graders except for Justin Fernandez, the only 7th grader on the team. “I don’t feel left out being the only 7th grader,“ states Justin, “many people congratulated me on this accomplishment.” He told us that their practices are held Monday through Thursday with no practice on Friday. However, there can be games held on any day of the week. The team has to dress up for the away games. During home games they can wear regular clothes. The team is undefeated so far and hopes to keep it that way until the end of the season. Tyrn Flowers is one of the best players on the team. Chris Spring, Rob Pisani, Nick Hassan, Matt Finke, Nate Filippone, Chris Maisto, Matt Warren, Matt Delbuono, Cole Phelps, Jack Rocco, Zach Ligi, and Shamari Thomas make up the rest of the team. The people who control this wild house of a team are Mr. Blacker and Mr. Terry who are both 8th grade teachers. We hope that the Tyrrell basketball team has another successful year.

TMS Girls Basketball by Kaitlyn Lofgren

The TMS girls basketball team did very well this year! With the help of coaches, Mrs. Nicol and Mrs. Stevenson, the girls had a great offensive and defensive lineup. The captains, Briana Japs, Amanda Japs and Ally Hickey were a great help to the coaches with warm-ups and other tasks that were needed.
For every home game, the girls showed their team spirit by wearing their uniform tops and their sweatshirts to school. For away games they dressed to impress with dress pants or skirts. The school spirit continued with Bri and Amanda Japs, Maddie Greenstein, Megan Doubleday and Ally Hickey starting off each game in their game faces trying to intimidate their opponents!
We wish the 8th graders good luck in high school, especially Stats Roth. You will be greatly missed by all. Go Tyrrell!!!

Breaking Dawn: Pt. 1...a movie review by Lauren Romeo

In the first ten days, the fourth installment of the Twilight Saga brought in a grand total of $221 million. The movie (rated PG-13) stars Kristen Stewart as Bella, a teen head-over-heels in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Bella’s werewolf friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), however, is opposed to Edward’s marriage proposal and wants nothing to do with them. When Bella becomes pregnant with a dangerous half human, half vampire child, Jacob vows to protect her. This movie is full of drama and even some comedy, as well as intense scenes. It’s the perfect flick for teenage girls and women who have read the books, but keep in mind that this is not recommended for young children. Even though Rolling Stone gave this movie one out of four stars (just for the record, it was a man who reviewed it), I would give it three stars with its only downfall being that it was a little slow and overly-dramatic at times. However, I argue that this is the best movie yet because it has just enough romance and tons of action. If you have read the books or watched the other movies, Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is definitely worth checking out.

Big Bang Theory...a TV review by Emily Cofrancesco & Megan Doubleday

The Big Bang Theory is an hysterical sitcom about two amazingly smart geeks who live together and share extremely funny memories. Their neighbor Penny is a very pretty actress wannabe who fails to realize how nerdy Leonard and Sheldon really are. Sheldon is a very strict man who sticks to the schedule. He is an uptight, obsessive compulsive physicist. Leonard is very nerdy but does get some girls, until he chases them away with his bad jokes and his corny personality. Their two friends, Howard and Raj add a funny twist, with their quirky attitudes. As you watch this show you can’t stop yourself from laughing at the group’s outrageous personalities. This really funny show is recommended for an older audience due to its advanced vocabulary.

Adele...a music review by Christine Allison

Remember the hit songs Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, or even the newest song out right now, Set Fire to the Rain? Well, these songs and many more are featured on the Adele 21 album. You’ve probably recognize Adele for her great voice and alto tone. She can make any song interesting with just opening her mouth to sing. On her album, there are many meaningful songs that all speak of her past experiences and times. Adele has made a great name for herself in the music business with all that she has to offer to us music lovers out here. Her album came out on January 2011, but is still generating today’s radio hits. Be sure to check out Adele’s album, Adele 21.

Divergent...a book review by Kayla Mayo

Divergent, written by Veronica Roth, is an action-packed adventure with all sorts of shocking events. The main character Beatrice, or Tris must make a choice that will set her entire life on one course...literally! When she chooses to become one of the risk takers her entire world is turned upside down. She falls for a bad boy and puts her future in grave danger. The choices she makes during tough times will make or break her. Some of the decisions made by the characters will break your heart! Every time you think you’ve got the story figured out it takes a turn for the better or the worse. You can make this book whatever you want by viewing all of Roth‘s writing choices. You will be on the edge of your seat as you witness betrayals, romantic situations, heart-wrenching decisions, and revenge that will make you cringe. Edgy personalities and jealousy change some of the characters into monsters, and the reader is left trying to figure out who can really be trusted. This book will keep you wanting more.

Students of the Month

January
Christie Allison, Amanda Morelli
Brandon Conroy, Alyssa Murphy
Megan Fennell, Justin Proteau
Nathan Filippone, Nicholas Roth
Christopher Ligi, Gina Vaccarelli
Brendan Manzolli, Brennan Zynda


December
Evyn Callahan, Matt Mastropietro
Carrigan Costello, Allie Mix
Matt DiBrino, Stephanie Mix
Ryan Fishbein, Cole Phelps
Ally Hickey, Alexa Phillips
Emily Homewood, Lauryn Santos