TABLE OF CONTENTS P ages . 2,4, 5,& 8: Articles and More P age 3: Fiction Story

1. November 23, 2010 :Vol. 3 Issue 34 Riverview Panther Times Visit us online @ http://rvmspaper.webs.com/ Hanukkah Hanukkah is a Jewish festival of lights which takes place at the beginning of December and lasts for 8 days. It celebrates the recapture and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabaeus in 164 BC. Legend has it that once the Temple had been reclaimed, a lamp was lit for its rededication. The lamp miraculously burned for 8 days despite only having enough sacramental oil for one. To commemorate this a lamp is lit during every night of Hanukkah and is placed in an eight-branched candlestick called a menorah. The menorah is one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith. A menorah stands in synagogues. Another symbol of Judism is the Star of David. The Star of David has become a premier Jewish symbol. This six-pointed star, made of two interlocking triangles, can be found on mezuzahs, menorahs, tallis bags and kipot. TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages. 2,4, 5,& 8: Articles and More Page3: Fiction Story Page 6: Fun page Page 7: Student Art

2. Blackjack Blackjack (Also known as 21), is the most widely played card game in the world. In the game, all the players are given two cards, one placed face-up. Then each player looks at their cards and adds them up. All letters count as 10, except for an ace, which is a 11 or a 1, depending on what the player wants it to be. Then if someone has 21, they win, if no one has 21, the person with the highest score wins. Anyone over with a score over 21 loses instantly. A person can also get a ‘hit’, when someone get a hit they get a card and add it to their score. Blackjack is played usually with 2-5 people. Fun “Christmas” and “New Year’s” Facts~! ]“Jingle Bells” was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs in the world! ]Holly Berries are poisonous ] In Mexico, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming new year. ] The biggest selling Christmas Single is “White Christmas” done by a variety of different artists. ] ”Jingle Bells” was originally titled, “One Horse Open Sleigh” Famous December Birthdays!!!! December 3rd ~ Jake T. Austin December 3rd ~ Amanda Seyfried December 3rd ~ Ozzy Osborne December 5th ~ Walt Disney December 18th ~ Steven Spielberg December 18th ~ Brad Pitt December 28th ~ Denzel Washington December 20th ~ Tiger Woods By: Lacey Du Bois and Jennie Cladianos Star of David

3. A Little Boy I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And I wondered if the grandkids would even play with them. I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5, holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, “Are you sure I don’t have enough money” She replied a bit impatiently, “You know that you don’t have enough money for it.” The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that she had to go get some other things, and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, “It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it.” I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said “No, Santa can’t go where my sister is…I have to give the doll to my Momma to take to her”. I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said “She has gone to be with Jesus”. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go be with her. My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, “I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store”. Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he’d had taken at the front of the store. He said, “I want my Momma to take this with her so she don’t ever forget me. I love my Momma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister.” I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, “Shall we count that money one more time?” He grew excited and said “Yes, I just know it has to be enough.” So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, “Thank you for giving me enough money.” Then the boy said, “I just asked the heavans to give me enough money to buy this doll so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard me.” In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl, and the mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support or not. I hope that this woman is not the little boy’s mother. Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I felt terrible. I kept on thinking about that little boy and his mom. I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces. “We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.” From a story called “ A Little Boy” Retold by Taylor Porter

4. Staff Of The Month Nancy Guggemos ~Christmas Trivia~ 1.On the 8th day of Christmas, what did my true love give to me? A = Eight pipers piping. B = Eight lords a-leaping. C = Eight maids a-milking. 2.The Christmas Tree tradition originated in what country? A= Germany B= England C= United States 3.When is the 12th day of Christmas A= December 25th B= December 26th C= January 6th 4. In Australia, usual Christmas activities include: A= Building snowmen B= Sledding C= Surfing 5.“Mele Kalikimaka” is “Merry Christmas” in what language? A= Hawaiian B= Indonesian C= Swedish Nancy was born in San Pablo, California. She was born on May 18th, 55 years ago, I think you can do the math. Nancy went to school at Happy Valley in Lafayette for kindergarten through 6th grade. She went to Stanley in Lafayette and Pine Grove in Orinda for Junior High School. She also went to Miramonte High School in Orinda. Nancy Said, “ My favorite subject in High School was art.” Throughout Nancy’s life she has worked in an office at an auto body, an insurance company, and at a sporting goods store. She has worked at Riverview for 3 years now. She said, “ I first started volunteering because I like being a role model for children, then I took shop, Sears the job as a substitute for instructional aids, and I finally became the after school program’s site coordinator.” If she was not doing what she is now she said would probably learn to fly a helicopter. Nancy told us that she has traveled to Oregon and would like to travel to New York. Her favorite color is all the colors of the rainbow and her favorite language is French because she likes the way it is spoken. Nancy also told us that her hobby is sewing. Her favorite book is her cross stitching book and her favorite movies include Treasure Planet and Pirates of the Caribbean. Nancy’s favorite sports are baseball and basketball. Her favorite dinner time meal is chicken dumplings and her favorite dessert is pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Answers on page 6

5. Movie Review: Unstoppable Game Review: Zelda-The Minish Cap Hello again, I’m reviewing a new game like I did in the last issue. I will review a game called Zelda the Minish Cap. To start it off, I will tell you about the Minish. The Minish are tiny creatures that only show to children, and but not to adults. They live in the forest, and some in the town. The idea of the game is that the bad guy, Vatti, wins a sword contest, and puts a curse on Princess Zelda. You are Link and have to save her. The way to do it is to fuse the four elements to break the curse. The four elements (wind, fire, earth, and water) are scattered around the Hyrule province. This game is pretty easy if you know what too do. Like for me, this game is a piece of cake. This game is definitely worth the money you pay. This game is a 10 out of 10. Seeyou in the next issue. By Cale Woods Unstoppable is a story about train conductor (Denzel Washington) who’s about to be laid off due to cutbacks. The new person to the crew, who all the old guys hate because he’s been hired to take their jobs away. The pair are forced into a life or death situation when they have to stop a runaway train carrying a shipment of toxic chemicals headed straight towards them, schools, children, horses, cows, and anything else Scott could come up with for a train to destroy. Also, watch for when the badger that crosses the tracks right before the train hits the horse trailer. It not only shows how fast the train is really going, but it’s actually a real badger that gets in the way of the train. Rottentomatoes.com- 87% people liked it. By Justin Hagan

6. ~Christmas Trivia Answers~ • B. - Eight lords a-leaping • A. - Germany • A. - December 25th • C. - Surfing • A. - Hawaiian

7. Student Art The Mysterious Mustache Man By Jenna and Reyna Once upon a time, there were three girls. They’re names were Sophie, Kelly, and April. They were having a sleepover and were buying candy from Wal-Mart to eat. They were waiting in the car for April’s mom and her friend Crystal to come back, when they saw the strangest thing. They saw a man and his friend, only the man had a mysterious mustache. It looked like this: Continued on next page

8. (continued from previous page) April honked her mom’s mini van’s horn at the mysterious mustache man and his friend said a bad word at them. But he left. Then, he came back and April said,” Hey man. I like your mustache!” The mustache man said,” Aww, thanks. My friend told me to cut it this way. Everybody has been complimenting me on it.” April said,” Your welcome!” then they all went home and never saw him again. The Chronicles of the S.S.P (AKA: Super Strong Platypus) By: Dustin Reynolds This story begins when Peder, Jake, and I go through a secret operation and turn into the S.S.P. Then once we are famous a scientist in Japan starts a top secret mutation on a hamburger. When this super mysterious hamburger mutation is over it becomes a super powerful mutated hamburger. The scientist then said “I will call um…um I guess… hamburger man” Muahahahgh-uh, getting too old for that laugh!” Then the scientist commands the hamburger “Go to America and destroy the S.S.P When the hamburger man gets to America, it goes straight to the S.S.P station. It gets there it starts to destroy the Platypus army surrounding the S.S.P station. While this is happening the whole inside of the station hears the havoc and Jake says after he looks out the window, “Run Platypus! There’s a mutated hamburger outside destroying and eating the army!” Then Peder says “ Be quite Jake!” “Huh?” Replied Jake. Then I yell, “We have a super powerful mutated hamburger man outside trying to kill us [And maybe you will get some brains with your next paycheck!] “What?” They said together. “I said... Oh never mind! Just get your butts in those suits and get outside and start fighting!” I said. “Okay Donkey.” They said. So we finally get outside and start fighting the hamburger guy. An army of French fries come out of nowhere and start fighting us. So Jake makes a stupid remark and said “let eat them!” So I say “whatever Jake! Do what you want!” Jake replied “Yeah!” Ten minutes later Peder says, “I’m stuffed!” I answered, “Keep eating Peder!” So when all the French fries are gone, we got to attack the hamburger guy and we realized he’s not there. So we all say “where did that hamburger guy go?” Hamburger man answers “I’m over here!” SO we turn around and we see a giant army of big macs. “Aaahhh!” To Be Continued… Staff Patch Murphy-Editor Lacey DuBois Dustin Reynolds Reyna Zepeda Jenna Coito Jennie Cladianos Taylor Porter Cale Woods Justin Hagan LeendaCalfy Sam Pouard Michelle VolkertsTJ Wahl Mr. Olson : Editor-in-Chief MykalaMortenson