Football has a big win!

On Feb. 1st the Castro football team won big with an ending score of 35-0.They were playing Western Valley Middle School. The team is feeling tough after this win; they haven’t had the best season. But they’ve tried their hardest and that’s how they got that win. And some players have their own opinions like, Alberto, Anthony, Joseph, and Isaac.

Brissa and Laura

Spirit Week

This week is spirit week. Spirit week is when you dress up. We have comfy/cozy, mix match, twins/triplets, nerd day, and Cougar day. Comfy/cozy is when you bring pajamas. Mix match is when you don’t match your clothes. Twins/triplets is when two or three people have to come with the same or similar clothes. Nerd day is when you dress up like a nerd. For some people that might be pretty weird because style is very important to them. Lastly, Cougar day is when you bring your cougar shirt or maroon and gold. It's pretty cool bringing your cougar shirt because you get to represent your school. This week was the best. Spirit week is awesome.



By Lilibeth and Shelsy

Spirit Week

February 1 through Feb. 5 in Castro we have spirit week. For Monday we could take pajamas or something comfortable. Some girls from Castro brought bears. Also blankets. Tuesday it was mismatch day. An example is a red Converse and a black on. Another one is a pink sock and a white sock. Wednesday is twin or triplet day. You and your friend dress the same. Two girls got the same shirt and pants. They did their hair the same and everything. You could also dress the same with two of your friends and be triplets. Most of the boys were wearing a white shirt and khaki shorts. Thursday is nerd day. We could bring huge glasses. We could also put our pants all the way to our stomach. Friday is Cougar day. We could bring our Castro shirt or the colors of the school.

By Leslie

Tuesday we had mismatch day. Some students wear different kinds of socks and different kinds of shoes. People just used whatever so they could be colorful. I think that it was really not too exciting because almost all the students wore matching clothes. The great thing about this is that today we had twin day so, we have to have to pick someone from the school to be willing to be our twin for one day. On Thursday we have nerd day. What we could do is to put on huge glasses and we could bring a lot of books to look extremely nerdy.

By Brenda

Castro Library

The school library has lots of books to read. We sometimes go to the library when our books are due. When we went to the library for the very first time, there were too many books in the bookshelves. We sometimes lose our library books and we have to pay them. When our books are due last week and we returned the library books late, we have to pay the over due books. We always have to return the library books after we are done with our work and test. We sometimes always like to read some types of books like science fiction, horror, humor, mystery, and some other types of books we love to read. Before we enter the library, we always need to bring our i.d to checkout books because if we don’t bring our i.d, we have to read a magazine or a book you have brought at home.

We also use the computers to find some books we want to checkout. We sometimes have to take our books home to read over the weekend when we have nothing to do on weekends. You could go to the library before school and during lunchtime. Sometimes the library closes when school is over. But sometimes, student’s checkout books that they don’t like and they put the book in the wrong bookshelf. They sometimes write things inside of the books that have inappropriate writing in the cover of a library book. There are also magazines that you want to see if you don’t have an i.d. we don’t always visit the library because there are other classes who are in the library. That’s why we have a library at school so that we could checkout books in the library.

Spirit Week

This is how awesome our school is: we had spirit week. On Monday we had comfy/pajama day, Tuesday it was mix and match day. On Wednesday it was twin/triplets day, Thursday it was NERD DAY which a lot of teenagers like right now the style right now is to dress like nerds we all think that’s cool . On Friday is cougar spirit and I think that’s cool because we should represent our school and we should show people around us what school we go to. I think that they should keep doing this because it makes school more fun and it makes students want to come to school. It excites them. This week we had a BLAST!! It was the BOMB!! I HOPE WE HAVE ANOTHER SPIRIT WEEK!!

BY :Estefania G.

THIS WEEK WE HAVE SPIRIT WEEK.

Students at Castro like to come to school not wearing uniforms and the same thing all over and over. So that’s why we have spirit week. On Monday we had pajama day. On Tuesday we had mix and mis-match day. On Wednesday we have twin day. On Thursday we have nerd day. And on Friday we have Cougar day. It’s cool to see people how they dress. It’s nice too when we can take pajamas to school because we don’t have to wake up and look for clothes to wear for school. We just wake up and do our hair and eat then just go to school. I’m sure that a lot of students liked that day. Today it seemed like if a lot people liked the mix and mismatch, because a lot of students dressed up all crazy and not matching haha. Wednesday is twin day and I’m sure that students at Castro are going to like it. Also when it’s nerd day I’m sure that almost every body is going to come dressed up like a nerd. I like it when its nerd day cause I like to see the different kind of people how they come dressed up like a nerd. On Friday it’s cougar day and it’s when we wear a cougar shirt and that’s normal here at Castro but that’s also nice that all the students at Castro are wearing the same shirt. That’s what it’s all about when it’s spirit week.

Yarixa

School Lunch

In the school cafeteria, we always eat good lunch during lunchtime. We always have to drink milk because it is good for our bodies and the people in the cafeteria serve us food when we get really hungry from doing so much work in class. And after we eat lunch, we go outside and play basketball and we hang out with some people who are our friends and we sometimes do homework whenever we are bored. When we go to lunch, some people have to pay for the food like I pay the lunch for one dollar. And if we don’t pay the lunch we have to bring two dollars instead.



At the cafeteria, we buy snacks for only 50 cents. There are chips and Gatorade. I like the snacks and drinks in the cafeteria because it has delicious food in the school lunch. After we eat our lunch, we go outside or go to the bathroom if it is an emergency. Sometimes, students have to hide their chips and drinks in their backpack to drink or eat it later when they go outside. And when they are done with their snacks and drinks, they leave it on the floor and they start to liter garbage on the floor and not throwing it into the trashcan. That is called littering.

The food in the cafeteria was sometimes good and sometimes bad. When we pick up our food, it sometimes has hair or some bugs on our lunch tray at my last school. But it never happens in our school at Castro. The school cafeteria has some food that we don’t like so instead, we get our own lunches! We sometimes eat pizza because everyone loves pizza. They don’t always serve pizza because they make different food like tamales, macaroni & cheese, tacos, and all other types of food we eat. We also eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Fridays, which is our other favorite food at school. And that’s why we eat lunch at school because the school lunch is the best!

Karina

New electives. How’s it going?

We recently received new electives and we wanted to know how the students liked them. So we took the liberty of asking our students about it. Some of our students didn’t want to be recorded. But we took note of what they said. Our questions were, “what is your elective?” “Do you like it?” and “If you could choose a different elective what would it be?” Many liked them and many didn’t. They all had different opinions. Some of our students were strongly opposed to their new elective.

Laura and Flor

Castro Middle School

Castro Middle School is a new school they built last year. The two years that I have been here have been the greatest school years ever. The 8^th graders are going to be the first students to graduate from Castro middle school! I loved 7^th grade because I had the greatest teachers ever and because I had a lot of 6^th and 7^th grade friends. I wish I could repeat that year. 8^th grade is going well for me and I have lots of friends and we don’t do much in 8^th grade. It’s pretty easy except for when we have big test. In the first semester I had P.E. but now I have photojournalism, so far it’s been better than P.E. We do a lot in here though. There’s a little bullying at Castro but I think we’re all getting over bullying. These two years that I’ve been at Castro have been the best. This is the school to be at.

Miguel, Jairo

Spirit Week!

Starting Monday Feb. 1 through all that week it's going to be spirit week. It is going to be fun to wear these things to school. On Monday, it's going to be pajama day. On Tuesday, it's going to be mix and match day. On Wednesday it's going to be twin day. The one that I think its going to be the funniest is on Thursday. It is nerd day. The last one is going to be on Friday. It is going to be representing our school. It is Cougar day. I cant wait until next week.

Angel

What’s your opinion on the school lunch?

Some students hate the lunch they have at the school others really like it. Some of the food they have is ok and others are just plain disgusting. I understand that the school may be on a budget but they could at least get better tasting food. This is mine and many others' opinion.

Daniel

Update on Robert and Jerking

For those reading the Downs Dispatch, Robert started here at Castro and for now he's staying here. You're not the only school that can jerk. Don't think you're the best unless somebody proves it. I've seen many people jerk from your schools. I'm not saying we're the best, but we're not the worst. Maybe some of your guys are the best, but no, not at all. This is my opinion. You actually make other people feel bad by saying you're the best. Stop being unfair and stop saying your the best.

- Daisy

Second Semester at Castro

It’s the next half of Castro’s 2009-2010 school year. Things are off to a great start. Some things might be the same like class work is still in progress and everyone learns something new everyday. There are a few different things like electives and even more bully awareness. The school has been well and is in good shape.

Brissa

Girl’s Basketball Team

We could make it to the playoffs if we win the rest of our games. We won 4 games and lost 4 games. They have only two more games left hopefully there lucky. Our opinion is that the best player on the team is Marissa. She scores most of points in some games if not her it is a 6th grader, her name is Aubrey. The rest of the players are pretty good. We have a good team and great sportsmanship towards other teams. Yesterday we found out that we made the playoffs.

Galileo

Student in 8th grade are grade wants to stay another year, all kids want to go to high school for who knows what reason. The district made it harder for students to pass by saying we need a B to pass and that are starting to worry about not passing the 8th grade because of their grades. Nobody in 8 Galileo scores are 6o% of are grade. Students think that the district shouldn’t have done that because now they are worried they might flunk. Students who had good grade might be getting bad grades right now because they raised the passing grade to a B. this is why its harder for students to pass because of Galileo.

Miguel ,Jairo

No uniform

Why do we have to wear uniforms? It would be better with out uniforms.
The school would look colorful. Some student doesn’t have money to buy
uniforms. We think normal clothes are way better then uniform. The
teachers say that when we wear too much of a color we are in a gang.
Another idea can be that every Friday we can wear normal clothes.

By: Leslie

Jerking .

Jerkin’s a Habit now a days. Everybody tends to do and enjoy it. Especially in this school, Mr.Pina supports the jerkers by doing battles and giving prices to those who jerk the best . We have plenty of jerkers here at school. Better yet a crew named Nasty Minded. Mr.Pina’s somewhat proud by saying that he’s proud and believes that we show positive behavior. Since we’re 8^th Graders he believes we’re some what of a role model . That’s pretty much what’s up at school.

Daisy.

Jerking

Jerkin is a dance that everybody does. It’s a hobby where everybody learns or invents their own moves like there are battles and all so group battles but the thing is you have to have your own moves or thats gonna be called cheating. They’re even songs to get you pumped up.

That’s how you jerk so we invented a crew named Nasty Minded Jerks. The moves of jerking we’re doing is called reject, heal and toe kneedrop, jump over your leg. And also foot work.

Luis

School uniform

Why does all middle scholars have to wear uniform at school? For me it’s much better to wear normal clothes, so everyone could be satisfied. If everybody wears normal clothes they would be much better at paying attention in class. The principle always thinks that if we wear black and red we are on a gang, but we aren’t. I think that if we could wear black and red to school it will be great even though we aren’t using normal clothes at school.

By: Brenda

PE Class

The last semester, I had so much fun in p.e. We played lots of sports in p.e for example; we played football, basketball, kickball, and all other sports we played in p.e. We also had a great time in health class. We learned everything about losing weight and how to see how many calories every food it has. We also did free time on Fridays but not every Friday. We also played medic dodge ball whenever we had a bad weather outside. We sometimes had to do some sports activities or go for a walk for a few laps until class is over. 1st semester was the best!

We also had a great time in health class. We began learning about what’s in our bodies and know how to do CPR. We also do exercises before we go to health class like sit-ups, running from cone-to-cone, jump rope, and all other stuff we do in health class. We also write the definitions in health class that was the best! We sometimes watch a video but not all the time. We also went outside to do obstacle courses some times in health class and also in the gym. We also had to write in our notebooks to take notes in health class. Health class was the best!

Sometimes, we have substitute teachers in p.e when our p.e teachers are absent or unable to go to school. We sometimes play kickball, which is our favorite sport we do when our p.e teachers did not make it to school. P.e and health class sometimes get together to play dodge ball or doing free time sometimes we go to p.e. We started to have fun in p.e and health class because we had good times in that class. We wanted to stay in p.e more but we had to go to our new electives sadly. We will always remember the good times we did in p.e and health classes.

By Karina