The Dana Mariner The student news site of Richard Henry Dana Middle School Wed, 05 Jun 2019 05:19:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Apple Creating Smart Car Wed, 05 Jun 2019 05:02:27 +0000  

Apple has taken a big step and building a smart, driverless car. They started the project in 2014 and are currently still working on it. The release date is still unclear, but the planned date is 2020. There directly working on the electric car near its Cupertino Headquarters.


This occurred because Apple has grown as a company and now expand to different products. Apple has had a lot of background history. Their first computer was found in 1976. The founder was Steve Wozniak and it was the first ever product that Apple released. Apple’s first iPad that was released in the year of April 3, 2010, and it’s founder was Terry Gou. Apple has also came up with an idea of a T.V. they built in March 2007. Apple’s recent product that they have released were Air-pods which have just started getting popular in 2018 but they were released December 13, 2016. And finally, Apple’s legendary devices, the iPhone. The ip\Phone was released on June 29, 2007, and the founder was Steve Jobs. Until this day these products have blown up with popularity within the 2000’s era and has made Apple a huge corporation. But will this car be another hit or a disaster.

But what do other 7th graders say about this new car? Well, 7th grader Jillian Litton says, “I think that the car will end up being really cool. They might have a little bit of trouble and have to continue to redesign the car as the go and add new and different things but in the end I think it will end up great.”

It’s unknown if Apple wants to partner up with Volkswagen or Tesla to create the “Titan,” but what we do know is that  Apple is manufacturing the car to be electric and self driven. In 2017, Apple has been given a permit from the California DMV to test self driving on public roads. 7th grader Eeva Sogliuzzo says, “If they collaborated with Tesla, then I wouldn’t have a doubt that it would be the most high-tech car to be built.”

This is what they imagine the car to look like inside


But will this car have a system that has technology like most other smart cars? Apple states that, “We’re focusing on autonomous systems. It’s a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It’s probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on.”

If all goes well, this car will be a great product for the Apple corporation and let’s just hope that it does not backfire on Apple’s part.


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The Reason for California’s 2018 Wildfire Wed, 05 Jun 2019 05:00:19 +0000 On November 8th, 2018, a massive wildfire ignited in Butte County, California. Better known as the Camp Fire wildfire, the cause of the inferno was unknown, until investigators of the fire had blamed an electrical company for the cause.

The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history to date. It was also one of the deadliest wildfire in the United States since the Cloquet Fire, another deadly fire that had happened back in 1918. The wildfire caused 85 deaths, and covered an area of over 153,000 acres and destroyed over 18,000 structures.


An image of the fire. (Courtesy of Wired)

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the State of California’s agency that is responsible for the fire protection in state responsibility areas of California, as well as the administration of the state’s private as well as public forests. Investigators of Cal Fire say that the disastrous wildfire was caused by the transmission electrical lines that were owned by PG&E. Pacific Gas & Electric, or PG&E, is an electrical company that provides electric service and natural gas throughout a 70000-square mile service area in California.



Cal Fire had said that after a “very meticulous and thorough” investigation, they had determined that the Camp Fire was caused by the electrical company’s transmission lines. They had also determined that there were two ignition points. Although PG&E were to blame for the fire, there was another issue that may have helped spread the fire, which was the vegetation that had grown in the area. Winds may have also helped spread the fire more.

The aftermath of the wildfire. (Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle)

Although the Camp Fire was just last year, and was found out to be caused by PG&E, The company had been criticised before for not doing enough to reduce the risk of fires that were started by its’ electrical networks. In addition, PG&E recorded a $1 billion for liability from wildfires that were caused back in 2017.

If the companies that have risky and faulty electrical networks, it can cause damage to the environment and make a long-lasting impact in the future. Not only that, the communities that consist of many people, like kids and adults, will also be affected by the result. The faulty electrical lines that had caused the wildfire may cause more problems in the future if we don’t make a change soon or fix these problems, they can likely cause more damage in the future.

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5 Books To Read During Summer Wed, 05 Jun 2019 04:59:52 +0000 The school year is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean you should stop reading. There are an endless number of books that you can read while on break and those books might just open some questions you never even thought of before. What makes a family? How far do we need to venture to touch the stars? How many times can someone’s trust be broken? Those questions can also be answered by reading a sequel to the book or maybe another book like it. You might just find your own personal genre this season, but no matter what you might like, these books are sure to keep you busy all season long. Here are 10 books to read this summer.

1. The Body By Stephen King

The story concerns four young boys, growing up in a poor area of the 1960s Maine. The boys, Gordie Lachance, Vern Tessio, Chris Chambers and Teddy Duchamp, are all about to turn thirteen. When they hear about the death of another boy, who was walking in the forest miles from his home, they cannot resist the temptation to go and look for his body. Even though they know the journey will be long and dangerous. The adventure becomes a turning point in all their lives as they face the dangers and wonders of the world and some of the bigger questions of their lives to come. The Body is a story of four boys on the first step of their journey into adulthood.

2. One of Us is Lying By Karen M. McManus

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom and before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. According to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died but on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high profile classmates. Now all four of them suspects in his murder. Everyone in this story has secrets. What really matters is how far they would go to protect them.

3. Armada By Ernest Cline

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. He dreams that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will whisk him off on some grand space adventure. Zack isn’t so hopeful and knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe, but then he sees the flying saucer. Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the video game he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real, and his skills, as well as those of millions of gamers across the world, are needed to save the earth from what’s about to happen. It’s Zack’s chance to play the hero, but even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering if something about this scenario seems a little familiar.

4. Genius: The Game By Leopoldo Gout

The story follows three teenagers as they meet each other in order to find what they desire most, only to find out that meeting each other was exactly what they needed. Meet Rex, a 16-year old programing genius who is determined to find his brother, Teo, no matter what the cost. Rex creates WALKABOUT, a very complicated code that will allow him to track down his brother, the only problem is he has to find a quantum computer to run it. Meet Tunde, a 14-year old self-taught engineering genius who lives in Nigeria. It is not until a cruel General visits Tunde’s village to demand his help in creating a weapon that he realizes that his brain may be a curse. Meet Painted Wolf, a 15-year old genius who lives in Shanghai. She is one of China’s leading microbloggers who takes pride in exposing public officials who take bribes from mob figures. These three must stick together to achieve what they all want. How far will they go until trust becomes an issue?

5. Dry By Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

It is announced on the news that there is no water left in Southern California. People raid the stores to buy any fluids they can find and soon there is nothing left on the shelves. The parents of Alyssa and her brother Garrett fail to return after searching for water for their family, so the children set off in an attempt to find their parents. During their search, they befriend three other teenagers, and struggle to survive in the waterless landscape where people have become ruthless and wicked in order to survive. The panic and violence become too much and soon the government declares martial law and forces people into evacuation camps where there still is not enough water for everyone. The five children witness first hand how far humans will go to survive and how quickly society can collapse when basic human needs are not being met.

Even though the school year is ending, it doesn’t mean the reading should not be done. Reading doesn’t have to be an assignment, but can also be fun. Hopefully these books give you an interest in reading.

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Top 5 Tips To Becoming a Reading Counts Millionaire Wed, 05 Jun 2019 04:58:28 +0000 Being a student at Dana, you are probably familiar with the Millionaires Club and Reading Counts. Reading Counts is a test that you take to see if you understood the book of your choice. For this, read a book that you would enjoy. It can be a book from as strange and mysterious as Goosebumps, to as adventurous and mystical as the Percy Jackson series. After you read the book you take a quiz called Reading Counts. Once you log in using your password from your email, search the quiz based on the book you finished reading. Click on the quiz to take it. You will have 10 questions that you are required to answer. At the end of the quiz you will see how you did based on the computers grading.

The least amount of answers you can get wrong is three, after three you will not get any points for that book. If you read more that 1,000,000 words from books of your choice you get accepted into the Millionaires Lunch at the end of the year.  The lunch this year was in 5th period. Last year we had an amazing time eating pizza, playing games, getting trophies, and free prizes from the kind staff at school.

Tip #1: Being a Millionaire for two years now, I have things up my sleeve that could help you readers in the future. The first tip is to read books that you like and that you are comfortable reading. Some kids at Dana look for books to read that is either to high in Lexile that they don’t understand the book that they are reading, or they see how many words and points that the book has and they try to read it. They end up taking the test and they end up failing it because they don’t understand the book. Read a book that you like and that you can understand that will help you read it faster, and help you understand the quiz a little bit more.

Tip #2- Read for 30 minutes to an hour depending on your schedule and your book. If you are pressured to read then you are likely to forget the book that you are reading. If you take it a little slower you will have more time to understand the book that you are reading. And if you are reading to much you can have a hard time so take your time and read your book thoroughly.

Tip #3- When reading your selected book take notes on certain pages. Taking notes a critical part in becoming a millionaire. When you take notes you are making it easier to remember key points in your book, things that are gonna be on the test. You can go back and check your notes to see if you are good enough to take the test. You can even turn it into a fun quiz game with some friends. Make sure you take notes for your next reading counts test.

Tip #4- Make sure your selected book is on the scholastic reading counts. This hack will save you from reading a basically time consuming book. If your book is not on the reading counts list of books then it does not have a test. This tip will save you from banging your head on your table and you could be saving some time to read a different book that is on the reading counts list. Some books that you can read is Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Harry Potter by JK Rowling, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Land of Stories by Chris Colfer, White Fang by Jack London, and so much more.

Tip #5- Read for fun. Reading a book that someone has told you to read is not fun. When you choose a book to read for fun however it makes it way more interesting and easier to read. Force reading also does not make you understand the book you are reading, when reading for fun interests you way more making you want to read the book more and more.

But in another person’s perspective what’s it like being a millionaire. Well, 7th grader Nadia Atkins, a two time millionaire says, “Being a millionaire is rewarding and kind of fun because you can find a bunch of cool books and authors you may not have heard of before, and some of the prizes that you can win at the party are free books, socks, tiaras, medals, and trophies.”  

Follow these simple and easy millionaires tips to get into the millionaires club even faster than normal. Witt these hacks you could make the club in December if you really want to try, believe me I have done these tips and they are life savers. Remember you are only competing against yourself in these battles so if you see someone who is flying through books and who has gotten in before you, just relax and take a breath. Your time will come and you will get in.

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Dahlicious Creamery: An Instagrammable Treat Wed, 05 Jun 2019 04:57:56 +0000 If you guys have in Instagram account, you have probably seen rolled ice cream around. Rolled ice cream is a trending food item on Instagram and consists of using liquid nitrogen to cool a metal plate to scrape custom ice cream into rolled tubes., With summer coming right up this would be a perfect treat.

Dahlicious Creamery is a really trendy spot that has many ice cream formations such as rolled ice cream which is the most famous, ice cream sandwiches, and so much more. Dahlicious Creamery has many things on their menu such as the Red Head, the most famous  item, the Galaxy, and the Cookie Monster, just to name a few.

The service of this dessert place is pleasant and welcoming. They will make you anything you want, even from the secret menu. The place is also really cozy with the dim lights and the smell of the freshly made ice cream is heavenly. The chalkboard helps customers discover what they want to order.

Chalkboard Menu at Dahlicious Creamery

What get at this delicious place is the Cookie Monster Rolled Ice Cream. This ice cream is blue vanilla ice cream, with crushed up oreo cookies, and chocolate chip cookies mixed in it. It is smooth, rich, creamy, and the little bit of chocolate from the cookies adds a little bit or crunch and a rich taste to the ice cream.

Cookie Monster Rolled Ice Cream

The next ice cream that I would get is the Pardon My French Toast. This rolled up ice cream is a mixture of caramel ice cream with Cinnamon Toast Crunch on top. It is not as Instagramable as Cookie Monster, but it is way better in taste. It is sweet, rich, and creamy. The caramel flavour is not to strong and sweet, but the crunch of that crispy sweet cinnamon and sugar coated cereal really make it a whole new level in flavor

Pardon My French Toast Rolled Ice Cream

These ice creams are so good in my opinion but what do other 7th graders think of this ice cream. Well, 7th grader Sonia Valencia says, “I like their ice cream because their flavours are unique and they taste real good too, and the texture is perfect.”

Well this place is amazing, so when you are in the mood for taking some Instagram pictures and near Dahlicious Creamery go try these amazing ice creams.

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UCLA Basketball Team Banned? Wed, 05 Jun 2019 04:56:27 +0000 On May 7th the UCLA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores were released and turned out to be very, very, bad.

UCLA are dragging everyone into their shared embarrassments of losing on the field, under performing on the court, mid-season coaching dismissals, federal bribery charges, pay-for-admissions scandals and much more. And now the UCLA basketball team is in danger of being ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in coming seasons under new coach Mick Cronin. 

Each team receives a single-year APR score which is then grouped with prior results to form a multi-year score that determines postseason eligibility. These are the scores: Stanford: 997, Washington: 986, Utah: 980, Arizona State: 974, Oregon State: 973, USC: 973, Colorado: 971, Washington State: 970, Cal: 961, Arizona: 960, Oregon: 958, UCLA: 933. Then last and definitely least UCLA at a score of 933. This score shows that UCLA is dangerously close to being below the 930-point threshold which would trigger a postseason ban. If the multi-year score that is released next spring dips below 930, the Bruins would be ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2021.

APR is calculated by measuring whether athletes remain in school and in good academic standing. Undergraduate transfers and players leaving early for the NFL or NBA draft lower the score. The score the NCAA uses to determine postseason eligibility is a four-year average and UCLA had scores of 942, 907, 977 and 905 in its last four seasons under former coach Steve Alford. That means the ‘942’ will be removed from the calculation in the spring. That means the Bruins need a score above 928 to avoid dipping below 930 for their average. The Bruins are dangerously close to getting a postseason ban, will they pull through and avoid it?

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The History Of Memorial Day Tue, 04 Jun 2019 21:40:42 +0000 We have a countless number of holidays in the United States of America and most of these holidays have greater importance when it comes to their history. Holidays are supposed to allow individuals to celebrate or honor an event or tradition of cultural or religious importance. While some of these holidays cause a commotion others deserve the utmost respect when celebrating and a holiday that holds the most respect is Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is a holiday we have in order to celebrate and honor America’s dead soldiers. It’s also the holiday that officially kicks off summer, which is celebrated with cookouts, picnics, and fun in the sun. Memorial Day is an American holiday, held on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

It was originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. The Civil War ended in the spring of 1865 and had taken more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding tributes to these fallen soldiers by decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.  After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then established as a national holiday throughout the United States with a new name of Memorial Day.


Memorial Day is celebrated by countless people in many different ways. 6th Grader Brooke Sullivan said, ”I don’t have anyone in my family that served but my family and I just hang out to celebrate the holiday”. Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, which included military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. Americans also celebrate Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war, a tradition that began with a World War I poem. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it marks the beginning of summer. 6th grader Emily Overholt explained how “I celebrate Memorial Day in order to honor my great grandfather and cousin. We go to my grandmother’s house and we have a cookout.”


Memorial Day is a big part of our nation’s history and it might just be a big part of your life. It doesn’t matter whether you have a family member that served, this holiday should be respected by even you. We have this holiday to honor and remember.

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Beautiful and Dangerous Yellow Bloom Strikes California Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:22:30 +0000 Recently in California, black mustard flowers are sprouting and spreading all around and are releasing harmful chemicals that prevent native plant germination.

But not only does the Black Mustard flower push out native California growth, but it also sucks up all the water present around them. This leaves California’s poppies, lupine, and other plants to decrease in numbers while volunteers hope that if they plant enough of a different arrangement of plants, they could eventually balance out the previous numbers and restore what the Black Mustard destroyed.

The Black Mustard plant invaded California in the late 1700s and was confirmed when scientists examined some the bricks left on the coast to search for original or native plants based on the seeds and pollen in or around the brick.

The Black Mustard plant is usually found on central and southern coasts of California due to the immense rainwater they received. And although the plant may look gorgeous and harmless at first, it will not only kill native growth but also cause wildfires when dried up. These wildfires can spread and inflict damage to nearby farms, animals, and civilization causing them to retreat from their area while even some leave with injuries.

Some of the volunteers as mentioned, work under a man named Joseph Algiers to pull weeds and plant native species while keeping in mind that they could manage the growth rate and even slow down how many are sprouted so they can save nearby vegetation and plants, but also prevent chances of a wildfire.

Joseph Algiers is a restoration ecologist for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. He leads a team of volunteers to clean up the Black Mustard weeds before they cause further damage to the environment.

They can grow up to 10 feet tall and although it can cause danger, biologists identified the worst offenders as the ‘Evil 25’ and didn’t include the Black Mustard. “It would probably be easier to get another man on the moon than to get rid of this invasive plant on a regional scale,” Algiers said as stated from NBC news.

The black mustard plant is a danger to the environment and causes serious damage to the environment if not treated.

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The Effect of Empathy in Others Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:22:14 +0000 Empathy is the ability to be able to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings in order to know how to respond appropriately to the situation. An example of empathy can be feeling the same amount of excitement and joy in another person as they do when they tell you that they got a new puppy.

A lack of empathy in relationships can lead to the relationship becoming one sided and overall uninteresting.

Empathy is important because people who lack empathy from other people will develop low emotional intelligence and will not be able to fully understand the emotions of others. This could lead to the person lacking empathy to developing manipulative behaviors, the lack of regard for their safety or safety of others, and impulsive and hurtful behavior that could lead to unhealthy relationships.

A key part to a relationship is the empathy aspect of it. Empathy is an important value in all relationships because it allows people to connect with one another and try to understand each other and possibly come to terms with resolving a conflict. Empathy gives people common ground in order to allow one another to speak and be heard, it allows a space for someone to experience the emotions another person is feeling by their words, allowing the listener to imagine what it takes to be that other person in that situation.

Empathy plays an important interpersonal and social role, enabling sharing of experiences, needs, and desires between individuals and providing an emotional bridge that encourages social behavior. This capacity requires an intense interplay of neuronic networks and enables the person to grasp the emotions of others, and try to resonate with them emotionally and cognitively. This also requires the person to take in the perspective of others, and to distinguish between our own and others’ emotions to come to a solution.

The psychology of empathy is even more of a vital topic. In the field of psychology, empathy is described as a central concept. According to a piece of an article from the Lesley University website, “From a mental health perspective, those who have high levels of empathy are more likely to function well in society, reporting in larger social circles and more satisfying relationships. Lack of empathy, therefore, is one indication of conditions like antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. In addition, for mental health professionals such as therapists, having empathy for clients is an important part of successful treatment.”

Overall, empathy plays a very crucial role in human and social interaction. The study of empathy is an ongoing area of major interest for psychologists and neuroscientists in many fields, with new research appearing regularly. It is important to empathize with others in situations where it’s needed, for not only their well being but yours too.

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Pokemon Detective Pikachu Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:20:02 +0000 Pokemon was created in 1998 and has come a long long way. The first Pokemon movie was in 1998 was called, you guessed it, Pokemon. But since then animation has come so far, for example in the new Detective Pikachu movie it makes all of the adorable pokemon you know and love look shockingly real. This movie starts out introducing us to Tim Goodman who is a 21-year old insurance salesman who has lost all interest in pokemon training due to his father not being around after his mother died. For most of his life, he lived with his grandma living away from his dad. But he got a call that his father and his father’s partner had died in a car crash after investigating a case. After he hears about this he goes to his dad’s apartment in Ryme.

He travels to Ryme City, a city that bans Pokémon fighting and capturing but pushes the bonds of humans and Pokémon alike. Tim also meets a young girl named Lucy Stevens who wants to be a reporter along with her Psyduck and is suspicious of Harry’s death. While reminiscing in his apartment, Tim encounters a Pokemon, it was a Pikachu that can speak and only he can somehow understand. Their conversation was shortly interrupted by the Aipom’s attacking them that were under the influence of a purple gas drug called R that Tim accidentally released within a vile in his dad’s desk.

They go to a café where Pikachu reveals that he is a detective who was Harry’s police partner and that they were investigating a case together when Harry disappeared. The only clue to Pikachu’s identity and Harry’s whereabouts being the hat labeled with Harry’s name.

Tim argues with a police lieutenant that Harry may be alive, but they show him the video of Harry’s crash, explaining that it would have been impossible. Soon, Tim and Pikachu are met by Ms. Norman who takes them to see Ryme City’s benefactor Howard Clifford, who had once tried to cure his ailing condition and instead created the city Ryme. He shows him more revealing footage of Harry surviving the attack, apparently caused by the recently escaped Mewtwo.

The group breaks into the lab facility Harry was investigating and learn that Dr. Ann Laurent, was experimenting on Mewtwo, who had been recaptured after escaping 20 years earlier. They are soon attacked by several Pokemon who chase them out of the building but are fended off by Lucy’s Psyduck. They then escape but Pikachu is gravely injured and dying. Tim manages to speak with a Bulbasaur that takes them to a clearing in the forest where they are greeted by Mewtwo who heals Pikachu. Mewtwo attempts to reveal its intent but is captured. Pikachu then leaves Tim after Mewtwo showed him what actually happened that night.

Pikachu comes across the area where Harry crashed his car and finds out that it was not Mewtwo who attacked the car. He runs to go find and warn Tim.but Tim reaches Howard before Pikachu can et to him to warn him but learns too late that Howard is evil and intends to transfer his consciousnesses into Mewtwo and use R drug so that the Pokémon can merge with their owners. Pikachu returns to battle Howard. He defeats Howard and the Mewtwo reverts everything back to normal.

In the end, this was a great movie with a lot of action and laughs. Fans are sure to enjoy this film.


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