Think Primoris Issue 1

THINK PRIMORIS

October 2016

Issue 1

Inside this issue...

Introducing Think Primoris: 2
A Letter from the Founding Editors

Meet the Editors 3

Back to School 4

Meet Our New Teachers 6

Letter from the Editors

The founding editors of Think Primoris!

Dear Readers,
Let us introduce ourselves.
We are Andrew Markov, Clara Kim, Jaime Kim, and Joshua Kindler, the founding
editors of Think Primoris, our first-ever school newsletter.
We’re all in the Archimedes class, and we love taking pictures, editing, writing,
filmmaking, and keeping up to date with all the goings-on at Primoris. These inter-
ests lead us to the perfect club—the Newsletter/Yearbook Club.
We hope that this club will help us develop our interests mentioned above, and we
cannot wait for what the year holds for us. We’re ecstatic to learn new skills and
pass down all our tips and advice for the future editors of Think Primoris.
We have already learned a lot in putting together this first issue. For example,
we’ve realized that we might like a more contemporary platform better. In true
Primoris spirit, we are currently brainstorming ways to share school news in more
creative, engaging ways. We also have a lot of ideas about what we want to put in
forthcoming issues, including an advice column and student artwork.
In the meantime, please enjoy our kickoff issue. More about all of us on the next
page!
Yours Truly,
Andrew, Clara, Jaime, and Josh

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Meet the Editors

The founding editors of Think Primoris?

Andrew Markov Clara Kim

Age: 13 Age: 14
Grade/Class: 8th Grade/Archimedes Grade/Class: 9th Grade/Archimedes
Hobby: Playing video games Hobby: Baking
Favorite Sport: Soccer and Football Favorite Sport: Dance and Soccer
Favorite Color: Orange Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Subject: Chemistry Favorite Subject: Chemistry

Jaime Kim Josh Kindler

Age: 14 Age: 12
Grade/Class: 9th Grade/Archimedes Grade/Class: 7th Grade/Archimedes
Hobby: Writing, Art, Playing Games Hobby: Cooking
Favorite Sport: Volleyball Favorite Sport: Football and Baseball
Favorite Color: Mint Green Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Subject: English Favorite Subject: Filmmaking/
Photography

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Nobels and Pulitzers explore ways to show, not tell, in their writing.

BACK TO SCHOOL

JAIME KIM

Filled with laugher, old and new faces, and a buzzing
enthusiasm in all students, the first day of school started off
with a school-wide meeting that reiterated the meaning of
P.R.I.D.E. (Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and
Empathy), went through all new teacher introductions, and
ended with the discussion of the 2016-17 school year’s theme—
spreading positivity!
“How can we spread positivity throughout the school year?”
asked Ms. Cara to the school.
All students were jumping up and down to answer. “I don’t think
I’ve ever seen students so full of energy just on the first day of
school,” commented a teacher.
“If someone is having a bad day, we can encourage them,”
suggested one Michelin student. Judging from the success of last
year’s theme, which was “the kindness virus,” this year’s theme
will similarly help bring out our best energy.

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The addition of Innovative Fridays is truly a blessing, with
entertaining classes such as Shakespeare Theatre, Art, and
Music. After-school clubs manage to add another layer of
entertainment and creative learning.
Primoris Academy is back in action for its fourth year! If the first
day was any indication of what this school year will be like, it’s
going to be a great one.

What Have We Been Up to Since September 6th?

Workshopping “snapshot stories”

Warming up for auditions

Hard at Word Work!

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Meet Our New Teachers

Mr. Dan: Shakespeare Theatre

Q: How long have you been in theatre/doing theatre?
A: I have been doing theatre since high school, but did not
seriously pursue it as a career until about six years ago.
Q: What got you so interested in pursuing the field of the-
atre to teach it to others?
A: About ten years ago, my younger step-daughter was in-
volved with Children's Shakespeare Theatre. It was a very
eye-opening experience, seeing how such young people could
handle the verse and prose of Shakespeare. I began to get
involved as a set designer and armourer (I made leather ar-
mor for Troilus and Cressida, and shields for Henry V) before
starting training to become a director. Once I began teaching and directing, it became a
singular focus in my life. The joy I get when I see the understanding blossom, and a young
actor grows suddenly under my tutelage, is immeasurable.”
Q: What college did you graduate from?
A: I studied music at SUNY New Paltz (violin and viola) and Theatre at Rockland Community
College, but have no degree. Most of my theatre training has come from Shakespeare & Co.
(one of the oldest and largest Shakespeare festivals in the U.S.), The Linklater Center in
NYC, Rhona Silverbush (Author of Speak the Verse), Ben Crystal (Author of Shakespeare's
Words), Bedlam Theatre in NYC, The Fiasco Theatre in NYC, and I owe a great debt to Di-
ana Green, the Artistic Director of Children's Shakespeare Theatre, for setting me on this
path.
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: My favorite color. Well, it varies. There are shades of brown that I adore, and some blue
-green shades too. I can't say I have one favorite.
Q: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
A: My favorite ice cream flavor—well, I don't actually eat ice cream, due to lactose issues,
but Mango Sorbet is my go-to frozen treat.
Q: Any fun fact about you?
A: A fun fact about me: I played fiddle in a traditional Celtic trio at the 25th Anniversary
Woodstock Festival in 1994. We played at the same time as Metallica, and I could hear
them as loudly as my bandmates—even though they were on the other side of a hill. It was
a very interesting performance!

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Dr. Oxana: Chemistry and Biology

Q: How long have you been involved in biology and chemistry?
A: I started to work in a scientific lab as a junior college student in 1990, when I was 21
years old. My scientific career was 17 years long, and included graduate and postgraduate
training, defense of my PhD thesis, several postdoctoral positions and work in a biotechno-
logical company. I received my Green Card as an outstanding scientist in 2008 and soon af-
ter that I started teaching science in a high school and in college. Also, I tutored science
and math for high school and college students in Westchester County, NY.
Q: What got you so interested in pursuing a career in science?
A: During my scientific career, I was interested in the mechanisms of learning and memory,
and, in particular, in memory consolidation. I also conducted experiments in behavioral
neuroscience and molecular neurobiology, and the main questions I asked were: “How do
changes in brain biochemistry affect behavior?” and “What genes affect various types of be-
havior?”
Q: What college did you graduate from?
A: I graduated from Moscow State University in 1993, with a combined (Bachelors in Science
and Master in Science) degree in Human and Animal Physiology. I defended my PhD thesis in
Neuroscience in 1999 at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: Green and blue
Q: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
A: Neapolitan
Q: Any fun fact about you?
A: I am very tall and I have very loud voice and usually during the first three days of my
teaching, the students are terrified. Because of that, the first week of the academic year is
the most difficult week for me. But then the students learn very fast that I am absolutely
harmless and they are going to graduate from my class successfully and with a smile on their
face. I like this thin border at the beginning of the year, when scared and concerned faces
in my classroom change to laughing and confident and determined faces. Guys, it is going to
be alright, I promise!

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Ms. Olga: Robotics/Coding and Math

Q: What do you teach?
A: I teach robotics/coding to ages 8 and up and math to 9-year-olds.
Q: What is your background in robotics? How long have you been in the field?
A: I have a bachelor’s/master’s in computer science and studied artificial intelligence in
university, so that may have influenced me in some way. I’ve been coaching robot compe-
titions for five years now. I like everything tech.
Q: What college did you graduate from?
A: Kiev National University in Ukraine, and Rutgers University

Q: Favorite Color?
A: Purple
Q: Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?
A: Chocolate Peanut Butter
Q: Any fun fact about you?
A: Went Skydiving before, climbed a volcano in Mexi-
co, went on backcountry trip in Alaska and met a bear
family at our camping spot.

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