SPA Press - Oct. 2013 (Edition 12)

st. paul’s

academy press e d iti on

12

/

o ctob e r

2 01 3

2

| spa press

Letter { from the

EDITOR

}

Hello, SPA Students!

My name is Monique Crafford and I’m the editor of the St. Paul’s Academy Press this year. This is the first issue I’ve done for the paper (though I did do movie reviews last year) and though we’re still working out the kinks in the system, the paper will be up and running in no time.

The purpose of the paper is to inform students about current things such as music, film, fashion, and other interesting things teens should know. We have a bunch of very talented writers this year, as well as a very talented layout operator.

We also added new sections to the paper, such as jokes, poetry, and short stories, and we accept submissions to the short story section and the poetry section from students of all grade levels here at Saint Paul’s. We hope that a lot of students will participate in these sections so we can become a collective group and share our stories.

I’m very excited to be running the paper this year, and I hope that the information brought to you all in the paper will help you or interest you. As I said, the paper this year is a little different from other years, but it definitely shows off the creativity of our wonderful staff.

Now, I would like to take a moment to recognize that this paper would not be possible without all the writers, layout design, and our two superiors, Miss Harnish and Miss Dunn. They are all absolutely wonderful, and I feel that we are very blessed to have them working with us this year. Also, thanks to all the parents who encouraged their kids to write for the paper. Your support definitely shows in all the articles I receive and I’m glad that you all manage to give your children such a good lead on life.

I hope you enjoy the paper, and as editor I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share them in the Student’s Lounge, perhaps, and let us know how we did. The point of the paper is to get students interested, and to get us all working together collaboratively. To achieve this goal we will need opinions, contributions to the two open sections, perhaps even send in art work. This is the school paper. The school should take part.

I feel very honored to be in charge this year, and I can’t wait to see some contributions from all of you. For now, though, just sit back, relax, and enjoy this new issue of the SPAcademy Press.

Thanks,

Monique spa pre s s |

3

CONTRIBUTORS Braden Armstrong Funnies

PHOTOGRAPHY

Caitlyn Armstrong

Monique Crafford

FASHION & BEAUTY

EDITOR+movie review+poem

Gabrielle Blatz

Nicole Beaver

MUSIC REVIEW + poetry

MUSIC REVIEW

Hannah Guinto

Rachel Fletcher

LAYOUT ARTIST

BOOK REVIEW

Makailah Strandberg

Ms. Harnish

MONTHLY RECIPE

SUPERVISOR

Mikayla Bezooyen

Ms. Dunn

BOOK REVIEW + SHORT STORY

4

Miriam Siemens

| spa press

SUPERVISOR

06 B ack -t o -Sc h o ol F u nni e s 07 musi c rev i ew : t h e c i v i l w a r s 10 b o o k rev i e w : f r i nd l e 13 mo v i e rev i ew : sea o f m o ns te r s 15 si mpl e pho t o g r a p h y t i p s 16 f a l l f a s h i on 17 reci pe : p u m p ki n p i e 19 sho rt st o ry : j o f r o m s e a 20 po et ry : t hey wa nt e d t h i s 21 po et r y: a nx i e ty

c o n t e n t s spa spa pre pressss ||

5

Back-to-School Funnies

by Braden Armstrong

Why are some classes not very interesting?

Because they were developed by the BORED of Education!

What kind of school does Sherlock Holmes attend?

Elementary, my dear Watson.

Why was the teacher so cross-eyed?

He couldn’t control his pupils!

Why was the math book so sad?

It had too many problems!

6

| spa press Weitzman, Ilana et al. Jokelopedia: The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever. Workman Publishing, New York, 2006

M U S I C REV IEW

the CIVIL wars album by the civil wars

Origin: Nashville, Tennessee Genre: Americana/Folk/Alternative Country Record Label: Columbia, Sensibility Records Band Members: Joy Williams & John Paul White

spa pre s s |

7

Music Review

by Gabrielle Blatz

After months of being on hiatus, The Civil Wars are back in the music scene with their new self-titled album. This album features twelve incredible and haunting tracks that are each filled with a story. Although many bands fail to make their sophomore album memorable, The Civil Wars have beaten the odds and made a remarkable sequel to Barton Hollow.

The album kicks off with the track entitled “The One That Got Away”. This song provides a strong, distinctive sound that sets up the tone for the rest of the tracks. Williams takes the lead with powerful vocals that harmonize flawlessly with White’s lower voice. With added instruments, this song delivers an edgy tone that remains throughout the album. White takes the lead on the second track of the album entitled “I Had Me a Girl”. His low tenor voice combined with his high falsetto creates a masculine, commanding energy to the country-rock song. Williams adds a sweeter tone that evens out the track to create balance.

To add diversity, the duo winds down for a softer, melancholy track called “Tell Mama”. Lyrically enchanting, this song is as moving as it is dark. Williams performs with a more gentle approach that allows the listener to drift away.

My favourite track on the album would have to be “Devil’s Backbone”. This song is tough on all levels, and the combination of the drums and the power behind the vocalists brought this song to life.

Although The Civil Wars are known for their soft, acousticfolk sound, they have been experimenting more with country and rock genres that make this album truly unique. Each song told a vivid story, and the lyrics made their self-titled album dark and mysterious. This, in my opinion, is their best album yet.

OV

ER ALL

9.1 10

R AT I N G

88

| spa press | spa press

Music Review

by Nicole Beaver

I have listened to the album, and I am glad to say that the songs are what I’ve grown up to. Soft rock/Country, I believe the genre is. The song ‘From This Valley’ is a very spiritual one in close proximity to the ones my parents just loved to turn on during long, uneventful trips down south. I can imagine the song on a cassette tape, being played in our truck as we drive through miles and miles of forest. But there are a few songs with questionable values, I’ve noticed.

Take ‘Devil’s Backbone’ for example. The lyrics are talking about falling in love with an ungodly man and making wrong choices. But other than that, I’ve found little-to-no faults with the album. The Civil Wars also teamed up with Taylor Swift and, as many of you recall, wrote a hit song for the blockbuster movie ‘The Hunger Games’. It’s a favorite of mine, so I’m familiar with their work. All in all, I’ll tell you this; the album is a fresh breath from the rap and pop songs that we most often hear today.

G O D LY

5 5

M

N EANI GFUL

THEME

4 5

PURPOSE

C AT

CHY

3 5

B E AT spa pre s s | spa pre s s |

9 9

Frindle

---------------------- BOOK REVIEW ----------------------

Andrew Clements AUTHOR

Brian Selznick I L L U S T R AT O R

Summary

by Rachel Fletcher

Nick Allan is full of bright ideas. From making his classroom into a beach, to using what he learned about birds to annoy his teachers, he was constantly coming up with brilliant plots to make school a little less dull and a little more interesting. Now, in the boring backdrop of fifth grade L.A class, Nick thinks up his master plan.

When Nick is forced to write an oral report for his teacher, Mrs. Granger, the strict, dictionaryloving LA teacher, he learns what it takes to make a word. With that in mind, he recreates the word pen to frindle instead. A fierce battle commences, with all the middle school students on the side of the frindle, and Mrs. Granger and the teachers on the side of the pen. The word soon spreads like quick-fire, spreading first to other states, then across America, then even to Europe. Slowly the word gets out of Nick’s hand and into the world. However, the teachers do not give up. Does the word ever stop?

10 10

| s p a p r e ss | s p a p r e ss

Plot Explanation

by Mikayla Bezooyen

SPOILER ALERT!

Frindle is a story about Nick Allan, a young boy who has always had a knack for getting himself into trouble. Whether it was making a classroom into a tropical island, complete with sand, or using his knowledge of a blackbird to annoy his teacher without getting caught, he was always full of new ideas.

Nick was also known for delaying homework. He always knew just the right questions to ask, in the right timing, so that the teacher wouldn’t have time to give it out. But in grade five, it all changed.

Mrs. Granger, the teacher of the grade five Language Arts class was not about to be outsmarted. When he asked a quick question about where all of Mrs. Granger’s dictionaries came from, she answered that he must do a report on it and present it for the next class and then gave out the day’s homework. He had failed in what he did best. The next day, however, he did his report, making sure it lasted all class long. At the end he and Mrs. Granger had this conversation: “I still don’t really get the idea of why words all mean different things. Like, who says that d-o-g means that thing that goes ‘woof’ and wags its tail? Who says so?” And Mrs. Granger took the bait. “Who says dog means dog? You do, Nicholas. You and I and everyone in this class and this school and this town and this state and this country. We all agree. If we lived in France, we would all agree that the right word for that hairy four-legged creature was a different word–chien –it sounds like ‘sheen-en,’ but it means what d-o-g means to you and me. And in Germany they say hund , and so on, all around the globe. But if all of us in this room decided to call that creature something else, and if everyone else did, too then that’s what it would be called, and one day it would be written in the dictionary that way. We decide what goes in that book.”

(Frindle, Page 29, 31 copyright 1996 by Andrew Clements) And that got Nick to thinking. He remembered that when he was little, he called music gwagala. His family learned to realize that gwagala meant music. “Who says gwagala means music? You do, Nicholas.” And so when his friend dropped her pen, and he picked it up for her, he didn’t say, “Here is your pen”. He said, “Here’s your Frindle.” And that was when he got his big idea. The next day he asked for a Frindle at a store. The clerk was confused but he explained so that he would get his Frindle (pen).

Each day he got one of his friends to ask for a Frindle at that same store. Six days later, when someone asked for a Frindle, the lady grabbed for the pens and asked if they wanted blue or black. Frindle was becoming a word!

The six kids who decided to use Frindle took this oath: “From this day on and forever, I will never use the word PEN again. Instead, I will use the word FRINDLE, and I will do everything possible so others will, too.” (Frindle, pg. 38 Copyright 1996 By Andrew Clements) This started a word war. The six kids worked hard and were rewarded with all the kids in the entire school using the new word ‘Frindle’. Soon, if anyone used the word Frindle, they would stay after school to write one hundred sentences on the board. Mrs. Granger wrote something in an envelope and got Nick to sign it so he would know the contents of it hadn’t been changed. Would the word Frindle stick, or would it die away and never be heard of again? And what was in Mrs. Granger’s envelope? spa pre s s | spa pre s s |

11 11

Weaknesses The weaknesses of this book were few and very far between. In fact, there are almost none that are strong enough to bring to light. The only thing I would say is that it is a little unlikely for a word like that to go from a trouble-making plot to a worldwide excitement in about a year. However, the author displayed the transition so smoothly and so believably, I hardly noticed this.

Strengths On the other hand, Frindle has several strengths that made it an amazing book to read. For one, it grabbed my interest immediately. Starting out with a funny punch and continuing the momentum until it finishes, it will hold you captive until the end. Secondly, it is relatable. If I was in his school, I would definitely create my class room into a beach, and probably also attempt my luck at a new word.

Every character quirk of every character can be totally related to real people. In fact, Nick reminds me of my uncle, who is constantly making life a little less boring. Also, the end is unexpected, but not so much that it is confusing. Nothing ruins a book better than a confusing ending. Frindle’s ending is just the right balance of simplicity and the unexpected, giving it a very heart-warming ending that finishes it perfectly.

Personal Thoughts When I first saw this book I was a little wary. It looked adolescent, small and insignificant. However, I should not have judged it by its cover. I was truly astounded at this humble looking book. It is anything but humble, and is truly an amazing adventure to immerse yourself in. It is a kind, worthwhile book that leaves you feeling a mix of contentment and excitement, like you want to try putting a word in the dictionary as well. Any age can read this book and thoroughly enjoy it. I certainly did. By the way, the word frindle is not in the dictionary. I checked.

Reported by: Rachel Fletcher & Mikayla Bezooyen

12

| s p a p r e ss

Movie Review by Monique Crafford spa pres s |

13

Sea of Monsters is the second film in the series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Starring Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario, the film appeals mostly to teens or families with children over the age of six but under the age of eighteen. While the film as a whole was enjoyable, it wasn`t the best I`ve seen this year, and it felt a little rushed. Each time we just got into a scene, the characters would be thrown into another area, and all the action felt too quick and choppy to get the audience emotionally involved. In my mind, it was poor work on the screenwriter’s part, and while the book had a lot of opportunity to be something spectacular, this film wasn’t everything I thought it could have been.

The film follows Percy Jackson and his bestfriend/ love interest, Annabeth Chase, with their sidekicks Grover and Tyson, as they search for the golden fleece to rescue the dying tree that protects the barrier of Camp Half-Blood. For those of you who haven’t read the book or seen the first movie, Camp Half-Blood is a camp for demi-gods, such as those from Greek Mythology.

The half-bloods, or demigods, stay there and learn to yield their powers and use weapons and all those other fun things. However, in order for them to live in peace, a girl named Thalia Grace died and her father, Zeus, turned her into a tree which protected the border.

Now, in Sea of Monsters, someone has poisoned the Thalia tree, and the border has been shattered. So, cue Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and newly found sea god half-brother, the Cyclops, Tyson. They go off in search of the Golden Fleece of myth, which can save Thalia.

On their journey, they run into a lot of trouble, such as a cab ride with the three fates, Luke (the main antagonist)’s goons kidnapping Grover, getting stuck on a yacht with a hellhound, and a lot of other wonderful things. Though the visuals were believable, there was nothing new that impressed me all that much. The Kraken-ish type thing that swallows them when they enter the Mediterranean is basic and al-

14

| s p a p r e ss

though I liked the idea of the rotating teeth, it’s been done, in basically every pirate movie ever made, as well as Clash of the Titans. I liked the comedic element that they added with Clarice’s zombie veteran ship crew. It was in the book, and I liked it then too, but it didn’t leave an impression the way the film’s ones did.

While we’re on the topic of ‘in comparison to the book,’ I’d like to say I was impressed with how many elements from the book the film actually contained.

In the first film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the movie had nothing, and I mean nothing to do with the books. Now, however, the film and the book share a lot more common elements, which made me, and a lot of other Riordan fans, very happy.

As far as the main impression the film left on me after I was out of the cinema, the screenwriting was completely backwards and followed no structure at all, the action sequences made me almost dizzy in their speed, though the choreography for those needed work too. The amount of times they killed and revived characters bordered on ridiculous, and I thought they should have stopped at, oh I don’t know… One? However, the characters were well portrayed by the actors, especially Leven Rambin’s take on Clarice from Ares cabin. The visuals for the Hippocampus were amazing, and the zombie crew were entertaining enough, but the Cyclopes needed definite improvement as far as their believability goes. Also, they replaced Chiron for this film, which upset me because I always hate when they replace main characters.

In conclusion, the overall rating I give this film is a 6/10, because even though it was an entertaining way to pass the time, the plot structure was completely wacky, the visual effects were boring, and I couldn’t really get emotionally involved in anything.

There were redeeming qualities, but it’s a one-timewatch, for sure.

SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

by Miriam Siemens

Throughout the year I will be introducing photography terms and how to use them to improve your photographic skills. By learning these terms you will be able to use settings besides “auto” and get the picture to actually be taken by you yourself.

I once heard a photographer say “It’s not the camera that takes the picture, but the person behind it.” I believe this means the person has to be comfortable with their camera and know how to use it by using manual settings instead of “auto”. Therefore, I will help you get to know your camera better. I am not a professional but an amateur so as I write these articles I personally will be learning along with all of you.

First I would like to introduce the aperture also referred to as f-stop, f-number, focal ratio, or relative aperture. The aperture is the opening in the lens and the quantitative number of lens speed so it’s very important. It also affects the sharpness of the picture. The higher the f-stop number is the smaller the aperture is. Another thing it affect is the lighting of the picture because if the lens opening is larger, then more light is let in which is why shutter speed is also important to set right when setting aperture. The standard f-stop scale is f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64, f/90, and f/128. The equation for the f-stop is N(Notation) = f(Focus)/D(Diameter), so if the Focus is 10mm and Diameter 5mm the f-stop would equal f/2. The f/2 would be a relatively larger aperture compared to f/8.

To learn more, click here.

To continue the effect of aperture I will introduce depth of field for a better understanding. Depth of field has to do with how open the lens is. Depth of field plays in harmony with aperture because a narrower depth of field means the f-stop number is larger, hence a smaller lens opening, (aperture). This means objects up close will be sharper. The opposite would be a large depth of field, a smaller f-stop number, and thus the background would be sharper than the object up close. For the picture below I used f/8, therefore the squirrel is sharp, the background blurry as the depth if field is narrower than it would be at f/2. A decent base exposure would be f/8 as it allows a suitable depth of field, (which is affected by the aperture setting) and appropriate lens speed. I hope this helped all of you. Enjoy taking pictures!

Reference

spa pres s |

15

Fall Fashion

by Caitlyn Armstrong

16

| s p a p r e ss

by Makailah Strandberg

1 pumpkin 1 recipe pastry for a single crust pie 2 eggs 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tbsp all- purpose flour ½ tsp salt 2 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

spa pre s s |

17

by Makailah Strandberg

1

Cut pumpkin in half & remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake @ 325º F (165 º C) for 30-40 mines, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender.

Increase oven temperature to 450º F (230º C.)

2

In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, and 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition.

3

Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.

4

Bake 10 mines @ 450ºF (230ºC), then reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (175ºC). Bake an additional 40 to 50 mines, or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 mines before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavors.

18

| s p a p r e ss

Jo From Sea

by Mikayla Bezooyen

I am sitting here, shivering from the icy cold water that surrounds me. I still can’t believe my uncle Kadens beautiful ship, The Dragonfly, is sinking. Let me explain myself. I am Josephine Fronnianne Seadicon. Most of Captain Kadens sail men call me Jo from Sea or just Jo. I like these simple names much better. Even though I am young, I am The Dragonflies first mate.

When the ship started to sink, Captain Kaden tried to convince me of going into the lifeboat.

He told Jack, the captain’s adviser, to come take my place. I refused. I said “I am The Dragonflies first mate. I will go down with the ship and with Captain Kaden, my wonderful uncle.”

The men clapped in respect and Captain Kaden began to cry as only a man can cry. Then he begged, “You are still a young girl! You have your whole life ahead of you. Please save your life and go into the life boat! I shook my head furiously.

So here I am, sitting in a slowly sinking ship. I had dreamed about this moment but I had never imagined such terror. Anyway, now the water has reached my waist. Captain Kaden came back from wherever he went. “It’s no use.” He stated. “I can’t fix it.” We collapsed into silence. This is how my life is going to end. “Captain Kaden.” I gulp “Goodbye.” Tears rolled down his face. “Goodbye, Jo from Sea.” He says slowly.

The water rises to my chest. Soon it is up to my neck. My head is underwater. I can’t breathe.

“Here ends the life of a thirteen year old ship girl.” I think. A peace washes over me like waves on a sandy beach. I see a light. And then I see angels.

spa pre s s |

19

They W anted This

by Monique Crafford

I wonder what would happen If we weighed the world, In its current state and from, Including society and weapons and nature Against the feather of truth On the scales of justice In the underworld, where Anubis keeps them.

What if we just all picked up the world And carried it down there, to wherever the scales are And we just drop it right there, on one side, no counter weight.

I wouldn’t be a set-up, of course, we couldn’t rig the scale We’d just put the world there, like a heart And see if there’s any truth in there at all.

Because, you see, if the scale tipped over, The world would fall and be destroyed In some sort of river or eaten by some sort of beast Which wouldn’t make much difference to its end now, either way.

Think of it. As the sea levels rise, the world is destroyed.

By some sort of river, but we could just swim away Or build a really big boat where we could all live Because we would know it’s coming.

Ah, but if the world was devoured by a beast, Nothing would change at all.

We wouldn’t see it coming, or feel the teeth rip us apart.

A beast like this would be more subtle, inching closer every day.

Until suddenly it has us in its maw, and swallows us whole Into the belly of the beast, Into the darkness that somewhere in us we knew was approaching.

But still we don’t see it, because the beast is a charm speaker.

We knew it was coming but we refused to believe, They rigged the scales, because they wanted this.

The beast tamers, or the servants of the beast, I’m not sure They wanted the beast to attack.

Because, you see, oh dear, you see, don’t you?

They own the bullets, and they own the bandages So the beast is doing them a favor as it rips the world apart.

They sold the beasts teeth to it years ago, And now they’re selling us the bandages to cover their tracks.

But what they think we don’t know, or don’t see, or ignore Is that they wanted this.

They wanted a war.

20

| s p a p r e ss

I’ve fallen and I can’t be free.

Darkness is a friend, But only to anxiety.

Anx iety

by Gabrielle Blatz

I’ve got a brain that won’t mend, And it’s dying to see If I will fight or defend For its right to be free.

These messages it sends Speak quietly to thee “When will this fight end?”

It ends with me.

spa pre s s |

21

[

spa press e di t i o n

2013 - 2014

1 2

]