Spartan Voices
"Your inside look at Spartan Life"
Ramadan is a special month in Islam when Muslims focus on faith, self-discipline, and giving charity. During Ramadan, many Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, which means they don’t eat or drink during the day. While many people know Ramadan as a time of fasting, it represents so much more than going without food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Fasting teaches patience, self-control, and empathy for those who may not always have access to basic needs. It’s also a time to focus on becoming a better person, avoiding bad habits, being more mindful of words and actions, and treating others with kindness and respect. Charity is strongly suggested during Ramadan. Giving to those in need, whether through donations or simple acts of kindness is an important way to strengthen communities and support others. Each day, the fast is broken with a meal called “iftar.” It’s often shared with families, friends, or the community. Before dawn, people wake up for “suhoor”, a meal they eat before fasting throughout the day. Not everyone fasts during Ramadan. Young children, people who are sick, people who are traveling, nursing moms, pregnant women, girls on their cycle, and anyone who has a valid reason do not have to fast.
"Here are five facts about the New Magnificent Foxface!
1. Bright Warning Colors
The magnificent foxface has a bright yellow body with a dark face mask. These bold colors warn predators that the fish is venomous.
2. Venomous Spines
It has venomous spines on its dorsal fins. If a predator (or a person) touches them, the spines can deliver a painful sting.
3. Herbivore
This fish mostly eats algae and seaweed on coral reefs, which helps keep reef ecosystems healthy.
4. Native Habitat
Magnificent foxface fish live in the coral reefs of the western Pacific Ocean, especially around places like Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
5. It Gets Its Name From Its Face
The Magnificent Foxface is called “foxface” because its pointed snout and face shape look similar to a fox’s face. This unique head shape makes it easy to recognize among reef fish."
Check out this New Magnificent Foxface in our Gates Chili aquarium!
This year’s musical is Singing in the Rain. In this show, we follow Hollywood’s transition from silent films to talkies. Don Lockwood is a very famous movie star, and his best friend Cosmo Brown loves to play the piano. Lina Lamont is a big star in love with Don despite him not sharing her feelings. Lina isn’t quite cut out for talkies so underrated Cathy Seldon steps in as her voice with the help of Don, and Cosmo.
This show includes over 80 students. We interviewed the leads of the show, and this is what they told us:
Amari Rivera (Lina Lamont) 11th Grade
Q – Describe your character.
A- “Lina is very loud and confident, sadly she is obnoxious and self-centered. Despite this people like her because of her beauty.”
Q- What’s your favorite thing about the show?
A- “My favorite thing about the show is that I get to be pied, and be as loud as I want. I also love getting closer with people and feeling accepted.”
Dante Stewart (Cosmo Brown) 12th Grade
Q – Describe your character.
A- “Cosmo is super energetic. He plays the piano for everything, and he’s the only reason why Don is where he is now.
Q- What’s your favorite thing about the show?
A- “My favorite thing about the show is all the dances. Even though they're tiring, they are my favorite dances in all the musicals I’ve done.”
Liana Quan (Cathy Seldon) 11th Grade
Q – Describe your character.
A- “I think Cathy is very humble and she likes to speak her mind. She is also very self-aware and kindhearted.”
Q- What’s your favorite thing about the show?
A- “I like that I can be with my friends all the time doing what I love. My favorite thing that I do in the musical is jumping out of a cake.”
John Culhane (Don Lockwood) 12th Grade
Q – Describe your character.
A- “Don Lockwood is a famous star. His character starts as entitled, but eventually he meets Cathy and falls in love with her, becoming a better person.”
Q- What’s your favorite thing about the show?
A – “I really like the cast and the crew, Everyone’s really cool and fun.”
Overall, this is an amazing show that is very fun to watch, and by what we were told, fun to perform as well. We don’t know yet what is planned for next year, but we hope it to be just as great if not even more so.
If you are interested in tickets, they are available at gateschili.org/tickets
"Mrs. Walberger is a math teacher here at gates chili and she also helps people after school at the Hub. She has always wanted to be a teacher. She babysat a lot when she was younger because she liked working with kids. She graduated from Gates Chili in 1997 and then went to Geneseo and finished in 2001 and later went to Nazareth and graduated in 2003.
Outside of school she has a busy life. She’s married to Mr. Walberger, the psychology teacher and they have two kids. She also has a Boston Terrier named Josie. Her favorite food is pizza with mushrooms and peppers, and she likes working out, doing Pilates, and running. If she could go anywhere for a weekend, she would pick some quiet beach on a faraway island with no people around. One random fun fact about her is that she can read and write upside down, which is cool."
Saint Patrick's day was first created to honor the man Saint Patrick, originally named Maewyn Succat but changed his name when he became a man of God. He was a Christan Missionary who helped spread Christianity and the Gospel in Ireland in the 5th century. While he is famous for his work in Ireland he was actually born in Roman Britian but was kidnapped at 16 and brought to Ireland become a slave. He worked as a slave for many years before he escaped, but it was during that time that he found his faith. When he escaped he went back to Britian but God called him to go back to Ireland to teach Christianity to the Irish. In Ireland he created many different churches traveling all across the country. One of his favorite ways to explain the gospel was connecting the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to the shamrock and its three leaves which led to the shamrock and its connection to the holiday which is still around today. He eventually died sometime around March 17, 461 AD which why we celeborate on that day. As Irish immigrants started to spread around the world and more specifically to the United States the popularity of the holiday grew to what it is now where people wear green, decorate with shamrocks, and celebrate Irish culture, music, and food.
Green wakes the world on Saint Patrick’s Day,
soft blessings drifting through the air
like shamrocks carried by a gentle wind.
The frost loosens its final grip,
and small brave shoots push upward,
quiet promises returning to the light.
Spring lifts her face to the warming sun,
painting fields with tender color
and calling the birds back into song.
And just as Patrick once carried hope
into shadowed places,
spring carries life forward.
As nature rising, brings a steady and sure wind.
On Wednesday, March 4th, the Gates Chili PACA Club traveled to Walt Disney Elementary School. While on this trip, the PACA Club spoke about how to become a healthy adult through exercise and a healthy diet, and we also talked a bit about how to prevent substance abuse. After we introduced ourselves and discussed healthy habits, we moved into a fun relay bowling game.
The PACA Club members worked with the 2nd and 3rd graders in a relay game, with everyone showing great teamwork and leadership abilities. The PACA Club would like to thank Disney Elementary for having us. We had an amazing time working with the kids.