Match the teacher to their baby picture!
​​Ritika R.
Staff Reporter

Who is ready for some fun? Below you will five MSN teachers' baby pictures. Can you guess who each one is? Take a guess on this form!

MSN Construction Update
​AMS - Anonymous Middle Schooler
Staff Reporter

Note from Author:  I’m sure everyone knows about all the construction that has been going on at Middle North, or at least have heard the mysterious drilling noises some point in time during one of your classes, but do you know exactly what all the new additions actually are? Or, what the mystifying hallways that appeared seemingly overnight lead to? Well I had the same questions as you, and decided to investigate. I decided to interview Ms. Stern and take a tour around the school. Hope this answers some of your questions!

The new school areas include:
  • 2 new pods 
    • Five classrooms in each pods
  • A courtyard in each of the pods
  • Several new classrooms
  • A new gym
  • New locker rooms
  • New gender neutral bathrooms
  • New hallways
  • New band/orchestra room
  • New chorus room
  • New fitness room

Interview with Ms. Stern

I first asked Ms. Stern what steps were needed to get the construction into motion. Ms. Stern explained that the school went to the school board and explained that MSN needed more space for all the students that were coming in. The board approved it, and then the community needed to decide whether to pass a referendum that would give us the money to build. Obviously the referendum passed, and we were given the money to begin construction. 

Next I asked what the new spaces will be used for. Ms. Stern explained that some teachers are going to be moving into the new spaces which will allow the school to continue to expand as needed. Another goal is to have a dual language wing, where the Spanish and Dual Language classes will be. Right now some teachers have to share classrooms or, don’t have enough space. 

Additional spaces include new band/orchestra and choir room. These spaces are beautiful with soaring windows that allow in a lot of light. There is also another gym being built with top-of-the-line facilities. This will help the p.e. department significantly since they have been short on space for so long. 
Amongst the new facilities are new locker rooms. Ms. Stern explained that because of COVID, students were not allowed to change for gym classes so they were unable to be used this year. It's really neat that the boys and girls locker rooms are connected by a long hallway.....in between there are two gender neutral bathrooms. These bathrooms are accessible to all students who need them. What is also nice is that there is an elevator for anyone who needs it.

Hope you enjoyed my tour of the new spaces being built at MSN. I can't wait to see what everything looks like next year when it's finished.

Art Club
Ritika R.
Staff Reporter

The art club is one of the many after school clubs MSN has to offer. The club meets every Monday after school with Ms. Altshuler. While at art club you make and talk about art. You can work on individual art projects or you can work on a project given by Mrs. Altshuler. If this sounds like something you would like to try, check it out next school year.
Look at some of their amazing creations below.

Science Olympiad
Ghostwriter
Staff Reporter

The Middle North Science Olympiad Team had a fantastic year! They competed in many competitions and had many accomplishments.
Some of the highlights are below:

In January, the Hawthorn Middle North Science Olympiad team competed in the National Science Olympiad practice invitational. Over 2000 students and 174 teams competed.  This was the first competition for many 6th graders!  Hawthorn placed 21st, 64th and 75th which is amazing to have all teams in the top half especially since it was many of their first competitions.  

Then on March 6th, the Hawthorn Middle North Science Olympiad Varsity Team earned the title of Regional Champions for the 3rd year in a row  The varsity team received over 16 first place finishes for a dominating finish in their Regional. The JV teams did outstanding as well and received over 11 first place finishes. 

Finally the Middle North Varsity Science Olympiad Team were runners-up to the two national teams and 3rd in State! This is the HIGHEST ever placement at State for Middle North. Varsity Team members included: Shruthi M., Anya S., Eeman D., Kristina S., Aishi A., Zoe M., Rodrigo B., Om K., Stephen C., Cal S., Madelyn W., Hamiz I., Arushi P., Shivam A., and Rohit D. Coached by Mrs. Frayman and Mrs. Sabharwal, the team worked hard to shine during their first virtual season.

School Play High School Musical

Staff Reporter

This year's school play is "High School Musical" Jr., and it MSN's first virtual play. The students have learned so much about the process of putting on a show and gained a new perspective of the production process. 
They have also really grown close as a cast and it was such an uplifting experience for the directors and the students under challenging circumstances. The play will be broadcast virtually on May 27th and 28th at 7:00 p.m. Check the MSN website for information on broadcast/streaming.