Riverbend June 6-14, 2014! By Myia

     

Counting down less than 20 days until Riverbend 2014! It's one of the best parts of summer for almost everyone in the Chattanooga area. It would be really fun if everyone could come out and listen to all of the amazing singers that come all the way to Chattanooga to do something different for us every year. Riverbend is always a fun way to start your summer. There will be a couple of really good country singers this year like Justin Moore and many others. I think that this year just might be one of the wildest and most exciting Riverbends that we have had in a long time!  
     One of the best parts of having Riverbend every year is just being able to take part of your summer to hang out with so many of your friends and meet so many nice people. It's really cool because you are able to buy this pin. This pin is a token for you to go see every celebrity that shows up for us at Riverbend for a couple of nights. It's a great deal and the best way for me to describe it is this way: It's just plain FUN! So If you have nothing to do this summer, come on and get your Riverbend pin so you can enjoy yourself this summer. 

 Source: www.riverbendfestival.com

Book Fair Fiesta, May 5-9, by Maggie

Red Bank Middle School is having a book fair! It will be on May 5th-9th from 7:15 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the Media Center. There will be lots of books and fun school supplies.

     Some of the books include Divergent by Veronica Roth, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, Poison by Bridget Zinn, Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson, The Distance Between Us by Kasie West, and many more. There will also be new posters!

     If you want to learn more or visit the book fair online go to the link below.

  www.scholastic.com/fair

Chattanooga's Public Libraries by Maggie

 

There are many events for teens at our local public library and many teens don't even know where the library is. There are 4 local libraries in Chattanooga. The main (downtown)  library is located at 1001 Broad Street. It is open on Monday-Thursday 9a.m.-8p.m. and Friday- Saturday 9a.m.-6p.m. It is closed on Sunday. Another one of our libraries is located at 278 Northgate Mall Drive. It is open on Monday and Thursday 11a.m.-8p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday 9a.m.-6p.m. and Sunday 1a.m.-5p.m.

    Every Monday at the downtown brach,  there is an event called PokeMondays for ages 8-18 where you can have Pokemon card battles with other kids. It is from 5pm to 6pm. At the Northgate branch, there is a Dungeons and Dragons event where you play dungeons and Dragons, on Saturday, April 12th, from 2:30pm to 5:30 pm, for ages 12-18. Another event is at Northgate on Thursday, April 24th, called Chattanooga storytelling circle from 6pm to 7:30pm.

    If you want to learn about more events then go to the website down below.

Source: www.chattlibrary.org

Ms. Griffith By Christine

     

Are your teachers fun or boring? Some teachers try to make their classes fun and interesting while others don't care or try to make it boring on purpose.  When you're an art teacher, your class has to be interesting especially the teacher themselves. Ms. Griffith is our art teacher here at Red Bank Middle School and she's a very fun teacher and person. Below are some interesting things she shared about herself.

• From where did you graduate? Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
• What was it that made you want to be a teacher? I was an independent artist and had my own studio. During that time I realized what I enjoyed most about art was being able to tell others about it so I got the idea to become a teacher.
• What was your art career like before you became a teacher? I had a studio where I made and sold pottery called permanent mud. I worked for a ceramic artist named Dan Chen.
• Who is your favorite artist? I don't have a favorite. There are many I like. I think you are drawn to different artists at different times.
• What are your hobbies? Being a mom. I don't have a lot of  time for my own art right now, but as my daughter is getting older I'm getting excited about getting to do that. I have been trying to run and garden.
• What would you do if you were famous? I would be a sculptor. I love sculpting. I love using metal. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than cutting through metal.
• What is your preferred art style? Sculpting
•  If you had one superpower what would it be? The power to spread kindness and to keep people happy.
• How many art pieces have you done? A bunch. I've made 8 or 10 big sculptures.
• What is your motto? Do no harm, just be good, and spread kindness. I don't really have a motto. It's all about keeping perspective.

Mrs. Koehl by Myia

       

     Almost everyone in the school knows who Mrs. Koehl is. She is one of the sixth grade math teachers at Red Bank Middle School. When she was in middle school, math was her favorite subject. Her favorite teacher in middle school was her math teacher. She told me that she loves teaching math. She went to UTC for five years and majored in Elementary Education, pre-k through third grade. She has an endorsement in middle school. She became a teacher because she wanted to be a positive role model for kids. Inside her classroom, her teaching motto is a quote by Teton Lakota. It simply says “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will learn. Involve me and I will understand.” Outside of teaching math, Mrs. Koehl loves traveling to the Dominican Republic, hiking and crafting.

     Mrs. Koehl isn’t only a math teacher. She is an amazing cheerleading coach too! This year she had a great group of young ladies not just on the sidelines, but also in the classroom. She was just a little cutie Kindergartener when she first became a cheerleader. She had been interested in coaching since she was just a little girl. When she was younger, she was also interested in basketball, volleyball, and softball. She decided to become a cheerleading coach because she wanted to be a good mentor. The most challenging part of it all was just being brand new to everything and figuring out how it all worked. One thing that she loved this year was being able to pick the team and watch them improve, but the best part of coaching last year was just getting to be around her team.

Minecraft By Maggie

   

 Some people think that Minecraft is only a low resolution video game that does not really do anything but “rot your mind”. However, I believe it brings out the creative side that you might not have known you had. Minecraft is a video game known as a "sandbox"(an “open world” game). A sandbox is an area that you can roam freely and do whatever you please. The name of the game explains what you do, you mine and craft, but you also can build. Minecraft was created by one man, Markus “Notch” Persson,  and was expanded and published on by a group called Mojang. Minecraft was released for PC (computer) on May 17, 2009. Minecraft has received many awards and even has its own convention named “Minecon”. Minecon is held in a different place each year. Last years’ Minecon was held at Orlando, Florida with an attendance of 7,500 people. Minecraft is a game that keeps updating even though it has already been released. You appear, or spawn, in a randomly created world in an area called a biome, which are areas with different weather.

     When playing Minecraft lots of people feel that the main goal in Minecraft is getting to "The End". The End is not actually the end of the game, but if you reach The End it is a pretty big deal. When you reach the end you have to fight an Ender Dragon. To reach The End you have to find a rare area called a "Stronghold". Then you have to kill endermen in order to open the passage to “The End”. I would also suggest finding enough diamond to make a sword and armor. It would take around 28 diamonds to make everything. These are tricky to get due to the fact that diamonds are the second most rare ore to obtain. The most rare ore is an emerald. Coal is the most common ore in Minecraft. Next is iron, then gold, lapis lazuli, diamonds, and lastly emerald. 

      These are some reasons why Minecraft is not just a game that rots your mind. I hope you enjoyed learning about Minecraft, and if you want to learn more click on the link below. 

Sources

www.minecraft.net

JCPenney Closing its Northgate Mall Store in Hixson By Brenda

              (Mike Pare)
     CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. has been working to breathe new life into the 42 year old mall since the company purchased it from the General Growth Properties for $11.5 million in cash in 2011. CBL is going to open a 63,000 square foot store in JCPenney’s old store. A representative of the Hixson Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce said, “He imagines the Penny closing will hurt, but said it will free up space for future development.”

      The company operates 1,100 mid-market department stores in the United States, and is trying to win back shoppers after suffering from a 25% drop in sales. CBL said that “Other than the other locations under redevelopment, it has no vacant anchor locations in its core portfolio.” CBL is one of the largest owners and developers of the malls and shopping centers in the city.

                                  Sources      

               http://www.timesfreepress.com