“Mountains in Poland” photo by Niko Gladysz, 705
Going Back to “Normal” Opinion essay by Jade Chan, 805 As school starts again after March Break, things are getting a lot closer to being “normal”, but what is our “normal” now? For the last three years, almost my whole time in Middle School, I’ve been learning either from home or at school but socially distanced and with a mask. This has become my “new normal”, so I find the sudden changes daunting. One of the biggest shifts is that masks will no longer be mandatory. They have been a part of everyone’s
daily lives for the past few years and they provide a level of comfort for us all. I, personally, will find this challenging because I’m still concerned about contracting COVID since I live with parents who are older, so I don’t want to transmit it to them and put them at risk. It might seem like a strange thing to say, but I’ve gotten a bit used to not seeing people’s full faces. Masks hide a lot, and I honestly like it because I don’t have to worry about people critically looking at my facial features.
fast for it to last very long. My concerns aren’t limited to just COVID transmission but are also related to the huge mind-shift that is required by sitting so close together. I’ve actually become more comfortable and productive in class by being isolated at my desk and using music as background noise to keep me focused, so I am hesitant to make the switch back to groups. It would be very awkward to sit with others, but avoid socializing with them.
Finally, one of my more serious conAnother thing we’re switching back cerns is that we will be returning to to is clustering desks instead of leav- our regular routines in the dining hall. ing them separated in rows. Although During COVID, we used a grab-and-go I know it’s important to move tosystem, taking our food back to eat wards a more collaborative environ- with just our class cohorts. We would ment, I still feel it’s happening too often watch a movie during this time, Continued on p. 4
Hillfield Strathallan College—Middle School Student Newspaper
“Marvelous Monarch” photo by Annie Collins, 702
CONTENTS @theHelm—Issue 6: March & April 2022
3 International Women’s Day Learn how to #breakthebias with Sophia Liu
5 Why we keep singing about Bruno Encanto music explained by Zander Greco
18 The Wordle craze continues! Different versions of the game and how to play, by Majed ElAlfy
SPECIAL FEATURES 04 Scratch Game—try to beat this impossible game! 16 Best Month of the Year Student Survey 28-29 Mme Cheikh-Ali’s French Corner
REGULAR FEATURES 04 Monthly Comic 06 Local News 07 Sports Recap 08-09 Video Game Reviews 10 Podcast 11 Book Reviews 17 Dad Jokes 20 HSC Interview: Mrs. Ayotte 21 Student Spotlight
MONTHLY CHALLENGES 12 Forest of Reading: Participate to Vote! 12 Mr. Cormican’s Math Corner 13 Geography Corner 32 NYT Editorial Writing Contest
@theHelm is HSC’s Middle School paper
ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY 14-15 Political Cartoons 22-24 Photo Galleries 25-27 Art Gallery (+ artists of the month)
CREATIVE WRITING 19 February prompt entries 30-31 The Lost Foghorn Pt 3 by Juliet Finley
to all the students and teachers who contributed to this issue. Share your creative work for the final AprilMay issue via this Google Form
Ms Gutauskas & Ms Kee @theHelm ~ page 2
nized and celebrated as possible. Each year they create a theme to help with the movement of gender equality. The website also focuses on a global campaign as a by Sopha Liu, 804 call to action for gender equality; the organizers also donate a sigMarch 8th marks International nificant amount of money to feWomen’s Day. It is a day to celebrate and recognize all of the phe- male-focused charities. nomenal accomplishments and International Women’s Day 2022’s achievements made by women theme is to “#BreakTheBias”. throughout history. IWD (International Women’s Day) also There is a lot of bias in the world whether we admit it or not. Even focuses on raising awareness about women’s equality and fund- though a lot of the time it is subtle, bias makes it more difficult for raising for female-focused charia woman to advance in the world. ties. The bias in workplaces is especially awful. There are eighty-six women The Middle School recognized promoted for everyone hundred IWD by giving us the option to wear purple accessories and cloth- men. Discrimination against women in a workplace can be so signifiing. Purple, green and white are cant that there is a social term the colours that symbolize IWD. Purple signifies justice and dignity about it called the “glass ceiling”. The glass ceiling is a metaphor for while green symbolizes hope. how a woman can work as hard as or harder than anyone, but as she The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911. The celebra- climbs the ladder to success, she tion was first made known in Den- is only able to see the promotion; she is not actually able to get it. mark, Switzerland, Austria and
International Women’s Day
Germany on March 19th. Over one million men and women attended IWD rallies to demand rights for women, including the right to vote and work. Just before WWI, Russian women celebrated their first IWD on February 23rd, 1913. After some discussions, it was agreed that IWD would take place annually on March 8th. In 1975, IWD was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations. By the start of the 21st century, there was still very little acknowledgement of this day. In 2001, internationalwomensday.com was launched to make IWD as recog-
Just imagine a world where all genders are equal; there are no biases within your workplace or school. That is aspiration for the future. If you want to help break the bias, cross your arms and strike the “#BreakTheBias” pose.
Gender equality is a global issue. Although this will not be solved purely on the acts of International Women’s Day, it is certainly a step in the right direction for a gender equal world. Mr. McGall strikes the #BreakTheBias pose
Source Link
Important Dates in March and April March 8: International Women’s Day March 14: Commonwealth Day March 17: St. Patrick’s Day March 21: International Racial Discrimination Awareness Day
March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility
April 9: Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
April 14: International Day of Pink— Diversity and Inclusion of LGBTQ2S+
April 15-18: Easter Long Weekend April 19-22: Earth Week @HSC @theHelm ~ page 3
“Going Back to Normal” continued from p. 1 so there was less chatter. Being in the dining hall isn’t just the threat of being surrounded by people eating with their masks off, but also being forced into a noisy and crowded space. Because there will be hundreds of people in the room at the same time, everyone has to compete to have their voices heard which brings up the volume even more. I might’ve been used to it at one point, but honestly, the thought of it now is quite overwhelming.
only then, go back to eating in the dining hall? In fact, lifting a lot of these things could wait until September because there are only a few months left in the school year, and a lot of us would feel more comfortable and safe. Adults, are you listening? I hope so.
Some people my age are ready to be done with all the COVID restrictions, but there are also a lot of us who would prefer a more gradual transition, slowly removing one policy at a time. Would it not make sense to first remove masks, then re-engage in grouped seating, and then and
“Do schools favor extroverts?” - PLDlamplighter.org
Related reading: “Anxious about returning to ‘normal’ postCovid? You’re not alone” - Advisory.com
“How different personality types might adapt to life after COVID-19” - verywellmind.com “Meet the Introverts who are dreading going back to normal” - Washington Post
Scratch Game to try: Just Shapes and Beats reference
St. Patrick’s Day comic by Queena Qian, 803
by Tri Huynh, 603 Do you like Just Shapes and Beats? JSAB inspired my idea for this hard version of the game on Scratch. Click on the image below to play. Use W A S D for movement and space to dash. I had to get rid of a shield because it was malfunctioning for some reason. The game is really randomized so if you can get to 100 seconds while surviving with 10 damage, you are a true legend! @theHelm ~ page 4
What Makes Encanto Music So Great? by Zander Greco, 805 Encanto is an amazing movie. From start to finish it reminded me of other times when Disney was bold enough to embark on new creative projects. An example of this was Moana. Because of its success and size, unfortunately, Disney doesn’t need to innovate anymore. They can release uninspired remake after remake, and general audiences wouldn’t bat an eye. Disney is too big to fail. But that’s not to say that Disney can’t release beautiful masterpieces anymore because they certainly can—from Soul to Luca, to the subject of this article: Encanto. Encanto is great because of its willingness to root itself in Colombian culture through songs and visual representation. Today, I would like to examine the musical and cultural reasons why Encanto’s soundtrack became such a hit. Our examination begins in late-19thcentury Germany. Opera was one of the main components of the upperclass society in Europe. Theatre director and composer Richard Wagner had a new approach to opera: the “light motif” or Leitmotif. A Leitmotif is a short and repeated phrase of music that is closely related to a particular person, place, or idea. Leitmotifs are extremely common in western film. Often what filmmakers will do is play certain phrases as characters appear on screen the first time, presenting them together. An example of this is in Star Wars—whenever Darth Vader enters the frame, the “Imperial March” theme will play. This makes audiences aware that this music is associated with Darth Vader. Afterwards, even without seeing Darth Vader, when we hear the theme, we are reminded of Darth
Vader. But how does this tie into Encanto? Encanto has a lot of leitmotifs. For example, “The Ultimate Vision” and “La Candela” share a leitmotif, associating Bruno’s vision with the actual moment that it comes to pass. The leitmotifs in Encanto usually represent the idea of the miracle that gives the family their unique abilities. As context for those who haven’t watched the movie, the family has supernatural gifts they get from a magical candle to protect the people who live in the village below. Mirabel (the main protagonist) gets into conflict with Abuela (the head of the family), which divides the family, but they eventually reunite.
admits that from the start of the project, he didn’t know much about Colombian music or as he put it “a layman's understanding”. His solution to this was a two-week trip to Colombia, in which we visited various regions of the country and got a taste of Colombian music. As he stated in an interview with the press, “there are things that are really similar to rhythms in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and there are things that are totally distinct about Colombia and that part of the world.” Lin-Manuel Miranda was also the musical director of the movie, Moana. He noted that he went through a similar process with Polynesian culture and music. In another interview with the press, he said “that was a part of the world I really knew nothing about. […] The fun is falling in love with this culture, falling in love with the rhythms, and then writing as you’re falling in love. And that was exactly what happened with Colombia too.”
In summary, what makes the Encanto soundtrack so great is the devotion The second reason Encanto’s music to being culturally accurate while became so popular is because of adding a flair of creativity, using tradiwestern culture’s fascination with Latin pop music. This craving was am- tional staples of music like leitmotifs and syncopation, all while tapping plified in 2017, after the making of “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy into a rapidly-growing genre of music. Yankee. As Billboard Vice-President put it, “I don’t think this song [We Don’t Talk About Bruno] could have Sources: been No. 1 six years ago, pre‘Despacito’”. The post-Despacito scehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/ ne has been filled with hits such as music-latin/encanto-music-creativeCamillo Cabello’s “Havana” and process-1301928/ “Pepas” by Puerto Rican pop artist Farruko. The amazing harmonies, syncopation, and tempo of Latino music https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/ combined with the touch of personal- archive/2022/02/encanto-disneyity from the character’s traits add to music/621475/ the catchiness of this song. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ The final factor in Encanto’s great mu- what-is-a-leitmotif-definition/ sic is the obligation to the source. Musical director Lin-Manuel Miranda @theHelm ~ page 5
The Convoy: a Critical Look by Zander Greco, 805 The convoy’s grip on Ottawa ended about two months ago. In case you missed it, here is a swift recap of what happened. On January 28, 2022 a large group of trucks the protestors called the “Freedom Convoy” descended upon the capital city of Canada. At the peak of the protest in February, over 500 trucks occupied the “Red Zone” of Ottawa, which is the downtown heart of the city. Several smaller but still drastic protests occurred on the Ambassador Bridge (which links Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan) and Coutts, Alberta which is another vital trade route between the United States and Canada. The main protest lasted for three weeks before police action chipped away at the convoy’s numbers after Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act. What was the motive of the protestors? Like many protests, the goals of the truckers varied depending on who you ask. The protestors tended to be politically right-wing, having a shared dislike of governmentmandated healthcare implementations, the largest of which were the vaccination mandates. They also called for the removal of Justin Trudeau as prime minister of Canada. American political commentator Candace Owens tweeted; “STOP talking about Russia. Send American troops to Canada to deal with the tyrannical reign of Justin Trudeau Castro.” The tweet continues; “He has fundamentally declared himself dictator and is waging war on
innocent Canadian protesters and those who have supported them financially.” Were the federal government's powers during an Emergencies Act too forceful? Well, to answer that question, we have to look back in history to when Justin Trudeau’s father was in office. Pierre Elliot Trudeau enacted the Emergencies Act (at the time called the War Measures Act) in an effort to stop the increasing violence from terrorist groups in Quebec. This was met with controversy and ultimately caused a debate on the power of the War Measures Act. This power was greatly reduced and resulted in the creation of the Emergencies Act. Although this still grants heaps of power to the Federal Government, it’s not enough power to justify the use of the term “Martial Law” by the protestors in Ottawa. The reason the protest went viral all over social media and caused Canada to have more news coverage than any time this century was because of the problems that truckers caused for local residents and businesses. Trucks blockaded an entire section of a Canada’s capital city. For the police force, there were three considerable problems to deal with while moving and clearing trucks: 1) it only takes a few trucks to clog a whole intersection, making responding very difficult; 2) trucks are almost impossible to tow without the driver's cooperation, which in this case was a significant problem—additionally, several key towing companies actually joined the convoy, leaving very few in charge of a huge issue; and 3) the sheer num@theHelm ~ page 6
ber of trucks filling up intersections made it difficult for the police force to act. All of these problems clearly left the Ottawa Police at a disadvantage. In conclusion, the truckers had a massive impact on Canada. However, it was not in the way that the protestors intended. While some rules and regulations changed because of the protest, it wasn’t as drastic as the protestors had hoped. On the other hand, it made enough of an impact for the Conservative Party to question its own leadership. As you might know, it was at this time that Erin O’ Toole was ousted as the leader of the Conservatives. Now, a power vacuum has opened up for another right-wing alternative to Erin O’ Toole. Pierre Poilievre seems like the frontrunner as of now, looking to challenge Justin Trudeau in the next federal election. So stay tuned to the news. As the Russian and Ukrainian conflict continues, Canadian politicians are going to have to keep rising to new challenges. Sources: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeaupremiers-cabinet-1.6350734 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada60281088 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a mericas
“Bee happy” by Annie Collins, 702
FAVOURITES
@theHelm ~ page 7
the silence from Sean Murray’s Twitter account. It stayed in this silence for a whole month, some claiming he took the money and ran. But after all the lies and controversy, an update was released. The company added new features such as base-building and improved space travel. People on the internet were stubborn about the new update but open to change in the future. Another update, then another and another. Hello Games worked relentlessly to make the game perfect.
A Reflection on No Man’s Sky by Zander Greco, 805 Hello Games, a small gaming company located in the United Kingdom, produced their first game in 2010. It was named Joe Danger. On release, it received fairly positive reviews from critics. Two years later, Hello Games released Joe Danger 2 and a subsequent mobile game. These sequels received mixed reviews but rake in tons of money—money that would be used for their team's biggest project yet, No Man’s Sky: an outer-space simulator that would be infinitely spanning and include new features never seen before in a video game. At E3 (the largest annual gaming convention) that year, the excitement blew up. All along the way the enthusiasm and expectation were building and building. So, how did it go wrong?
Today the game is amazing, and I would highly recommend it if you’re a fan of Minecraft or other survival multiplayer games. No Man’s Sky is a work of art now. It’s very fun, lighthearted, ceeding expectations continued to and all that the creators originally ingrow. However, two weeks before tended for the game. It feels really the official launch, the game was adventurous to explore unique planleaked on eBay and sold for $1250 to ets, visit the creatively designed creaa user named daymeeuhn. He posted tures, and interact with other people a video of him playing the game. He in multiplayer mode. No Man’s Sky is a commented on the game's incomstory of redemption in an industry plete status but reassured the audithat doesn’t allow second chances. I During the production of No Man’s ence that it would probably be fixed respect and admire the designers of Sky, the founder of the company, in the Day 1 Patch. Adding to this the game for persevering through the Sean Murray, complete interviews, growing storm, retailers and journal- hateful comments and threats. loads of interviews. The problem with ists started to get their hands on copthis is that Sean is not the most extro- ies weeks before the official release. Sources: verted person. In fact, he is starkly Sony tried to copyright strike the jour- https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06 the opposite, which is natural for a nalists reporting on the game, but it /17/10-things-we-learned-about-nogame developer. In these interviews, was far too little too late. mans-sky Sean would often make promises in the game that would be impossible The game went live. It was awful. The https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ for a small studio like Hello Games to game’s servers couldn’t handle the replicate in a real game. For example, concurrent players, and the develop- how-to-play-no-mans-sky-a-detailedbreakdown during a conference with IGN, he ers did their best to patch bugs on promised that the player would be the fly. There were so many bugs that https://kotaku.com/the-no-mans-skyable to interact in large space battles. most users couldn’t play. Adding to review-copy-debacle-1784873415 A feature like this would be difficult the pressure on the developers, for a AAA game studio with hundreds countless people on the internet of programmers, let alone a 6-12 per- watched this unfold. The biggest son team at Hello Games. Twitch streamers recorded it all live. IGN and other game reviewing sites In May of 2016, it was announced that had a field day with the entire inciNo Man’s Sky would be delayed from dent. After all the lies and controverJune 2016 to August 2016. People on sy, the public forgot about everything Twitter were outraged, but the exthat happened, partially because of @theHelm ~ page 8
Fitness
Hand Tracking
Did you know that VR actually helps you get fit? There are types of fitness training apps on VR that are free, and some games on VR really get you sweating. First Gorilla Tag. Gorilla Tag is a game where you get chased by lava monkeys and can swing on branches, climb mountains and much more. If you get tagged, you will become a lava monkey; the cycle continues. After an hour or two, you will have the time of your life and get exercise while you are at it. The next is an exercise program that gives you specific activities for each muscle and core in your body. The exercise program is called Supernatural. There is also another fitness app called Fitxr. It is a game with everything from boxing and ping pong to dancing, and lots of other sports. Did I mention you can play with your friends and compete with each other? You can!
Hand tracking is a very cool thing to experience in VR. Hand tracking is when your headset tracks your hand motion. So, instead of using a controller, you can play with your hands and not waste batteries on your controllers. Unfortunately, most games on VR do not allow hand tracking for some reason. Still, some games allow by Oliver Wojciechowski, 601 it, like The Line, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, Vacation Simulator, Waltz Have you ever wanted to know what of the Wizard, Hand Physics Lab, and more you can do with Oculus? Then, I so much more. Also, you can add a These were some games and features will break down some games and fea- feature to your Oculus so that when- of the Oculus Quest 2. I hope to see tures of the Oculus Quest 2 for you. ever you put your controllers down you soon on the Oculus Quest 2! on the ground, it will automatically turn on hand tracking.
Games and features of the Oculus Quest 2
Photo by Elly Chen, 803 @theHelm ~ page 9
Podcast
Meera: This book is about Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price— and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a Ep. 2: Six of Crows chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond Isuri Fernando (804) and Meera Ghelani his wildest (806) dreams. But he can’t pull it off *intro music* alone. A convict with a thirst for Isuri: Hey bookies, welcome back to anrevenge, a sharpother episode of Overbooked! shooter who can’t walk away Meera: We are both so glad that you guys from a wager, a were able to join us for yet another epirunaway with a sode. privileged past, a spy known as the Isuri: This is our second book review! Wraith, a Heartrender Meera: Just in case you guys are new using her magic here, my name is Meera and myself and to survive the Isuri run this podcast! We upload monthly slums, a thief with and we would love to know how we a gift for unlikely could improve or what book you would escapes. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that like us to review next time! You can email might stand between the world and deus to either 036440@hsc.on.ca which is struction—if they don’t kill each other Isuri’s email or 039135@hsc.on.ca which first. is my email. Now without further ado, enjoy! Isuri: This plot makes me want to read the book. I definitely would recommend *music* this book to people around my age if they want to follow Kaz and his friends Meera: For this episode, we will be rethrough a little heist. Okay! Next I am viewing Six of Crows. going to list the six main characters. At least I know that much. Meanwhile Isuri: This book was actually Meera’s Meera will talk a little about them. choice! Meera: Sounds good.
Overbooked
“Couple” art by Hollythat Yates-Krull, 702 Meera: Yep!digital For those of you read Isuri: The six main characters are Kaz, our little piece in @theHelm last month, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, and Matthias. you would know what book we are reviewing. Speaking of that, I certainly hope Meera: So, I’ll start with Kaz. He was at least some of you took a look at our raised in Ketterdam and has built his reprecommendations. utation there as someone not to be disappointed. His close crew usually consists Isuri: Definitely! Now, let's get started on of Inej. Kaz had saved her from being the questions. So… technically Meera is enslaved, and she has been his spy ever the only one who has read this but she since. Then there’s Jesper, who is an avid pretty much spoiled the plot. gambler at the club that Kaz owns. He is the sharpshooter of the group. The last Meera: Ok… first question. three are Nina, Matthias, and Wylan. Nina is a Grisha, meaning she has powers. Hers Isuri: Yep! So, what is the plot of this specifically are being able to control book? things like someone's pulse or their inter@theHelm ~ page 10
nal organs. Matthias is a druskelle, which is a highly trained Grisha hunter. His job was actually how he met Nina. Wylan is from a wealthy family, but because he is illiterate, they neglected him and he ran away. He is the brains and inside information of the group. Isuri: Wow, they seem like a good team! Btw my favourite character is Jesper! What did you like about this book? Meera: I really liked how the author dived deep into the backstories of each character as the book progressed. It really explained the way they acted and their personalities. Isuri: Yeah! That would make the book so much more meaningful and just really deep. Are there any other books by Leigh Bardugo that you would recommend? Meera: Well there is obviously the sequel to Six of Crows, which is Crooked Kingdom. Then there is a trilogy in which the events are set right before Six of Crows. You may have heard of the Netflix adaptation, but I recommend reading Shadow and Bone before you watch it. Isuri: That is definitely always a good idea. Meera: Definitely. Isuri: You guys have reached the end of episode 2! We really hope you enjoyed it. Meera: Yep! And don’t forget to email us any recommendations or feedback that you have. Isuri: Thank you so much for tuning into this month’s episode. Meera: We really hope to see you for our next episode! Isuri: And as always, enjoy reading! *ending music*
The Darkest Minds:
Book Review by Sabrina Kiung, 703 (NOTE: THESE BOOKS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 12+)
The Darkest Minds is a thrilling book series written by Alexandra Bracken. The series consists of four books (The Darkest Minds, Never Fade, In the Afterlight, and Through the Dark) with a connected storyline and many unexpected plot twists.
parents’ minds when she was very young. Her parents didn’t recognize her so they called the police who were actually PSFs. PSF is a government created organization to control and contain Psi children (Psi is a Greek letter used to represent the study of parapsychology and Psionics). Ruby was taken away from her parents and brought to the busiest and cruelest rehabilitation camp, Thurmond.
Since all of the children have IAAN, adults, who are not The Darkest Minds affected by series has an exhilathis, use rating storyline about a disease called something called Calm Control also IAAN (Idiopathic Adolescent Acute known as the White Noise to subdue Neurodegeneration) that has plagued the children throughout the series. In all of the children in the U.S. Rarely the rehabilitation camps, the children any of the children survived, but the are categorized into different colour ones who did developed special abili- groups depending on their abilities. ties or as some people call it, superThe colours consist of red, orange, powers. In the beginning of the story, President Gray makes an announcement stating that all children who have any signs of abnormal behaviours must be reported to be sent to rehabilitation camps. The protagonist, Ruby, has accidentally wiped her
@theHelm ~ page 11
yellow, green, and blue. The most dangerous and powerful colours are red and orange. Reds, the strongest and most aggressive, are able to create and manipulate fire. Oranges are the most dangerous and feared colour because they have the power of mind control. I recommend this book to students and teachers who enjoy dystopian novel series. The Darkest Minds is science fiction book with some romance that plays along well with the characters and plot. Beware, this book is incredibly dark. Will Ruby be able to escape Thurmond and stop President Gray? Will she be able to save all of the children suffering all over the U.S.A?
It is the only Canadian awards program where students select the winners. Students are encouraged to read at least 5 of the 10 nominated books in a category of their choice to be eligible to vote. Voting will take place in April.
The Forest of Reading celebrates Canadian authors, publishers, and illustrators.
More information about voting will come in the spring. Visit the topic page here
MATH CORNER
by Mr. Cormican
Grade 5 and 6 April Challenge: Work with a partner to investigate whether these statements are always, sometimes or never true. For each investigation, show a counterexample or proof to support your answer.
Grade 7 and 8 April Challenge: Irrational Bounds Number Theory Mathletics 8-10
@theHelm ~ page 12
Geography Corner by James Li (704) and Jimmy Li (705) Now the Geography Corner contains multiple choice questions to prevent searching the answers on the internet, so try your best to guess the answer!
Easy Level B. Lake Malawi
1. Which of the following countries have a land border with China? A. Japan B. Thailand C. South Korea D. Turkmenistan E. Afghanistan F. Iran
2. In the following options, which one is not on the Canadian Coat of Arms? A. maple leaves B. beaver C. flag of the UK D. flag of New France E. a lion F. a crown
3.How many wars are happening right now?
1.What is the source of the Nile River? A. Lake Victoria
Hard Level
A. 1
C. Lake Tanganyika
2. How many countries have territories on the mainland of South America? (Including Colonial Powers!)
B. 2
C. 5
D. 10
E. 12
F. 17
4.What’s the distance between the northernmost and southernmost point of Canada? A. 3677 km B. 3992 km C. 4555 km D. 4614 km E. 5500 km F. 5514 km
3.Where are the Ural Mountains located?
5.If you go directly south from HSC campus and get to South America, which country would you get to?
A.
A. Guyana
A.
12
B. 13
Kazakhstan
C. 14
B. Russia
C. Norway
F. France
4.What's considered the “easternmost” country of the world? A.
Japan
B. New Zealand
C. Kiribati
5.What’s the northernmost country in Africa? A.
Tunisia B. Algeria
B. Ecuador C. Brazil G. Venezuela
D. Colombia E. Suriname
BONUS QUESTION of the Month! What’s the DEEPEST lake in Ontario?
C. Egypt
“A view of Pittsburgh” photo by Maria Titov, 705
@theHelm ~ page 13
1.Lake Ontario 2. Lake Superior 3.Lake Erie 4.Lake Nipigon
5. 6. 7. 8.
Lake Lake Lake Lake
Titicaca Mazinaw Simcoe Huron
Political Cartoons
by Surina Mehdiratta, 805
by Queena Qian, 803 @theHelm ~ page 14
by Layla Jahshan, 803
by Caitlyn Green, 803
Political Cartoons
by Sarah Simek, 802 by Gwen Forster, 805
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Results for the Best Month of the Year! by Adi Katoch (803), William Wang (802), Zander Greco (805), Sophia Liu (804), Majed ElAlfy (801) & Gavin Lee (802) Last month we released a poll about arguably the most important debate topic of all time; “What is the best month of the year?” After we received 100 votes we ended the poll, so thank you to everyone who responded on the form, as you helped voice your opinions on this very important question.
of bias because my birthday is in June; however, it is the Friday of summer months if you think about it because it is half school, and then it leads you directly into summer, just The results are….. like how Friday leads you into the 1. With 13% of the votes are July weekend. Plus, we all know the faand January mous saying: Friday is the best day of 2. With 12%, December the week. In school, there is barely 3. With 11% is September and any work in June and at the end of June the year you have a class celebration 4. With 8% it is May and October and party, and then it's summertime. 5. With 7% is March and August This month is better than its other 6. With 4% is November and Feb- summer competitors because as my ruary rock-solid argument said before, June 7. And lastly, with 2% of the is Friday, and Friday is the best day of votes is April the week, and therefore June is the best month of the year! One important takeaway from this poll is that the opinions of the Middle Sophia: In my profesSchool are split between summer and sional opinion, the best winter, and also that barely anyone month of the year is Janlikes April; more power to you if you uary. I am completely enjoy it. unbiased as my birthday Now we will be talking about our opinions on this debate, and they are very serious. Adi: I personally believe that June is the best month, and I may have a bit
Will: January is the best month. Majed: I’m of the opinion that February is the best month, and while I am a little biased as my birthday is in February, even if it wasn’t, my opinion wouldn’t change. First of all, winter is the best season, and February just amplifies that. There’s lots of snow (and snow days!), it’s usually pretty cold but not too cold like in January, and the March Break is right around the corner. While yes, there aren’t many holidays in February, taking the time to just relax with a cold month where you can stay inside, or go and play in the snow is nice.
is in March. My favourite season is winter because of the snow. January is the month with the best snow since the snow is actually snow rather than slush or ice. Zander: December is the best month because daddy December punishes the naughty on Photo by Angela Xiong, 801 Christmas day. @theHelm ~ page 16
Interesting (I’m running out of adjectives)
Dad Jokes
J: Why don’t we play poker in R: Why wouldn’t the sesame the jungle? Too many cheetahs.
seed leave the casino? He was on a roll.
K: What did the tomato say to S: What lights up a soccer by Sophia Liu, 804
the other tomato during a race? Ketchup.
T: A termite walks into the
A: When is a door not a door?
bar and asks, ”Is the bar tender here?”
When it’s ajar.
B: Where can you
U: What did the uni-
buy chicken broth in bulk? The stock market.
corn say to the tomatoes growing in the field? UNO-corn!
C: How do you stop
V: How do you tell if a
a bull from charging? Cancel its credit card.
D: How does a duck buy lipstick? She just puts it on her bill.
E: If athletes get athlete’s foot, what do elves get? Mistle-toes.
F: Why did the mushroom go
stadium? A soccer match.
vampire is sick? By how much he is coffin.
L: What do you call a cow with W: How did the barber win two legs? Lean beef!
the race? He knew a shortcut.
M: What do you call a pile of
X: Why can’t you eXplain
cats? A meow-ntain.
N: What kind of music do planets like? Neptunes.
puns to kleptomaniacs? They always take things, literally.
Y: Why did the yogurt go to the art exhibition? Because it was cultured.
to the party? Because he was a O: What’s the best way to fungi. burn 1000 calories? Leave the Z: I applied for the position of pizza in the oven. a keeper at the zoo but turns G: What do horses say when they fall? “Help, I’ve fallen and P: What do you get when you out I was not koala-fied. I can’t giddy up”. drop a piano down a mine shaft? A-flat minor. H: Why do bees have sticky hair? Because they use honey- Q: People used to say that you shouldn’t clean your ears with combs. Q-tips. But I haven’t heard that for a while. I: Why are the Irish so wealthy? Because their capital is always Dublin. @theHelm ~ page 17
Wordle Variations
arrows displayed it can be somewhat self-explanatory.
by Majed ElAlfy, 801
The last game that actually revolves around guessing EngOk, so you’ve heard of Wordle, the hit lish words is Squabble, which game where you have 6 guesses to is exactly the same as Wordle, guess a random word each day. But except you are put head-tohave you heard of Worldle? Mathler? head with others trying to These are two of the many spin-offs guess words fastest. Each of Wordle (If you don’t know what word you guess correctly, you Wordle is, there is an article about it gain time on your timer, and if in the February issue), and through you guess words incorrectly, this article, I will be going over the you will lose time. You also variations that I know of, but there lose a point per second, so are plenty more for us to find and you can’t think too long about it. solve (the links to all of these games There are two different modes, blitz are at the end of this article) and Squabble royale, which are the same format but the time and numLet’s first start with the ones closest ber of opponents changes between to Wordle, in Quordle and Octordle. the two. There’s even a two-player These three are all word guessing co-op mode in ‘Wordle off,’ where games, but as you might be able to you and a friend can join together to tell from the names have more words try and find the word! for you to guess. Both are played in the exact same fashion as Wordle, guessing words with green yellow and gray to indicate where letters are in the word. In Quordle, there are 4 words you have to guess, and you are given 9 tries to do so, and in Octordle, there are 8 words to guess with 13 attempts. Just as a note before we continue, most of these spinoffs have practice modes, so even Lastly, I will talk about some other after you complete the daily mode Wordles that follow the same format you can still continue playing. but are on different topics. Squardle is the second one I will talk about, as it is fairly complex. The goal is to solve a 5x5 grid with 6 words (image below), and are given 10 guesses to do so, but every time you get a word right, you are given another guess. The different colours and rules are also explained below, though with the
only difference being that in Nerdle, you also guess the answer—another layer of difficulty. Lastly, there are two geographybased Wordles, Globle and Worldle. In Globle, you have to guess the country based on colour-coded proximity on the globe displayed by the website. Next, in Worldle, there is a silhouette of a country that you have to guess, and with each guess, you can see how far away it is, the direction of where the correct country is, and how correct your guess was compared to the answer.
Due to the insane popularity of Wordle, there will be many spin-offs and variations as people copy the success of Wordle, but ultimately there will likely not likely be another game that reaches the same level of For our music lovers, there’s Byrdle, a success. They are definitely fun to game where you guess different mu- play as a variation to Wordle. sical-related words from around the https://www.byrdle.net/ world (choir, Zadok, and motet to name a few). Then there’s Squirdle, a https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/ https://www.quordle.com/#/ Pokémon version of Wordle, and https://squabble.me/ Dungleon, which is a sort of dungeon- https://globle-game.com/ style Wordle; it’s best explained by https://octordle.com/ playing it. https://www.dungleon.com/ There are two different math Wordles: Nerdle, and Mathler. Both follow the same concept, using digits and operations instead of words, with the @theHelm ~ page 18
https://squirdle.fireblend.com/daily https://fubargames.se/squardle/ https://nerdlegame.com/ https://mathler.com/ http://wordle.jonyork.net/
Writing Prompt Stories Sentence-starter prompt: The night bore many secrets, secrets that I am about to tell you… Entry by Sabrina Kiung, 703 It all started with an unplanned family road trip. Dad had told Maya and I that we were going on an “unexpected and fun adventure!”. Obviously, my sister thought it was normal, since she’s only six, but I was a little skeptical, especially since it was 10 o’clock at night. Of course, I still agreed to go because nothing could go terribly wrong… right? “Have you guys packed your bags?” Dad asked with a forced smile. His face was pale and sweat dripped down the sides. “Um… yeah, but why do we need to pack clothes for three days?” I asked him while studying him carefully. “Oh, it’s just in case we decide to stay overnight somewhere. No big deal!” “Alright then-” “Let’s go already!” Maya whined. Dad chuckled, “You guys go to the car. I’ll just grab a few more
@theHelm writing prompts by Ahana Kulkarni (604) and Alisha Hemani (702)
things!” Then he immediately turned I searched for a solid ten away from us to head to his room. minutes and all I found was a key that “What are you hiding from us, I’d never seen before. I saw my dad Dad?” I thought to myself. I was dethrough the rearview mirror locking bating whether or not I should follow the front door, so I quickly shoved him, but Maya grabbed my sleeve the key into my pocket. I sat back and yanked me outside, clearly oblivi- down into my seat and pretended to ous to the situation. be on my phone. (to be continued…) We got into the car and threw our bags into the Entry by Nischal Amin, 703 back seat. My mind was still Free Verse Poem holding up a The night bore many secrets defensive barrier mak- Secrets that I am about to tell you ing me ques- The Dark Side of the Earth unravels tion Dad even Unleashing Daunting Beasts that wander through the night more. My in- Every night trembling and screaming occurs stincts were Beast that are CONSUMING HUMANS telling me to Or passed by the title, Demon scan the en- After consuming, unpleasant actions occur Gaining energy gives demons the power to produce mintire car for ions any clue of The more humans they abduct the stronger they get where we The unknown continues and the more deceasing it gets were going, which I reluc- Will eventually be the end tantly did.
(604) @theHelm ~ page 19
HSC INTERVIEW
Q: How has your job changed since the pandemic started?
with Mrs. Ayotte
A: During the first year when we were at home, we had to shift to only online resources, so we had to by Saejin ensure we had enough additional Yoon (703) online resources at all levels when and Willow we were at home, like meeting with Norman students over Zoom instead of the (705) classroom. When we were back on campus, we created a book delivery which will continue after the panToday, we’ll be talking with Mrs. demic because it has worked out Ayotte, HSC’s Learning Commons really well. Coordinator. As Grade 7 students, we visit the Learning Commons for Q: Do you prefer teaching younger creative learning activities about a children or older grades? variety of topics. One of our favourA: I actually like variety. Different ites was the Bookish Escape Room age groups present different needs. in December, but Mrs. Ayotte does I like seeing different ages of stuso much more than that! She works dents here. with students, sets up book displays, coordinates super-fun events Q: What do you love most about your job? (like the Scholastic Book Fair that took place before the break), and A: I love seeing all the different stuoversees everything going on within dents from the different schools, the Learning Commons. We which is unique to the librarians as thought it would be neat to ask her most teachers only see one level of a bit more about her job and her age at school. I also love being a liexperience at HSC! brarian as well, obviously!
etc. and they have helped me with other students as well. Q: What was your favourite school subject growing up? A: I always liked math even though it wasn’t my best subject, I loved doing it. I also liked English. Q: What is your favourite book? A: A couple of books I love are called The Giving Tree by S. Silverstein and The Kite Runner. Those are two of my favourites, but I love them so much! Q: Who’s your favourite author? A: I like different authors depending on my mood or the period of time. There are things I’ve chosen to read at certain periods of time which I couldn’t read at others. Q: What’s the most treasured book in the library? A: I think that any books that have spread kindness would be very treasured. Q: When did you decide you wanted to become a librarian?
A: I decided after I did my underQ: How long have you been working Q: What struggles have you encoungraduate degree. A couple years at HSC? tered throughout your career? after graduating university. A: Over 5 years. A: I don’t know if I’d call it a struggle Q: What book would you most recbut there's a constant switch of re- ommend to a middle school stuQ: What are some of the big differences between being a librarian and sources and how resources are avail- dent? able. I find it very important to being head of the Learning ComA: I think that’s different for every teach children about technology mons? and online safety, making sure they student, so when I recommend a A: We work as a team in the Learnuse proper resources. ing Commons including the ElemenQ: How have your kids changed your tary Learning Commons, Senior job? Learning Commons, Living Room, and LaunchPad. A few examples of A: I think that one of the things that things I am responsible for include have helped as they have gotten the accounts, scheduling and plan- older, they give me a better underning. standing of what they like to read, @theHelm ~ page 20
book, I like to know what their interests are, favourite genres, books they’ve read in the past, etc. So it would be different for everyone I see.
ty to do all of that?
meeting with students individually, as well as updating our resources so that students could access them online.
A: I like being creative in different ways, and I like to try new things. I have also done escape rooms previously, and I try to find new ways stu- Q: Do you think that you will be Q: Who is a person you look up to at dents can learn best while having fun working at HSC until you retire? If so, HSC? Or do you have any other role as well. do you think you will continue in the models in your life? Q: What did your job look like when same position? A: I would say I’m inspired by the we were doing at home learning? students here and what they do everyday. A: My job was sort of split time beQ: Our class loved the escape room tween meeting with students online you prepared for us a few months and having various classes online, back! Where do you find the creativi-
A: Yes, I think probably both. This is actually the last year I have children at HSC, so I know that it will be different, but yes, I hope that I will be here until I retire.
Student Spotlight: Pearl Zhao A big congratulations to Pearl Zhao (703) on her gold-medal win for Skate Ontario! Pearl won a gold medal out of 51 other skaters at a competition for Skate Ontario on February 13 in Brampton. Keep training hard, Pearl—way to go!
Quotation selected by Brenna Bobko, 701
Pearl Zhao (middle #1!)
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Student Photography
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Gallery by Elly Chen, 803
Gallery by Elly Chen, cont’d...
Photos by Pearl Naik, 803
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Photo by Tyler Clifford, 701
Photo by Pearl Naik, 803
“Flourishing Flower” by Annie Collins, 702 @theHelm ~ page 24
Coming up soon—May is Arts Month! Stay tuned for more information about art galleries, music performances, and the Middle School Musical
“Atsushi” (above) and “Akutagawa” (below) sketches by Elly Chen, 803
Drawings by Tabetha Grant, 503
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Tabetha Grant, 503
Clara Tiong, 602
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Marcus Chen, 702
Angela Xiong, 801
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The French Corner! | Le coin français
Photo source link
Photo source link
1 Source link
par Mme Cheikh Ali
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A Lost Foghorn Part 3 by Juliet Finley, 705
you weren’t a murderer.” “That was different,” Paul insisted. “You didn’t do anything wrong. That light house keeper is a murderer.”
“You might want to sit down,” Peter muttered. “The boat was going to sink. You know that now, and you were supposed to be the only survivor, then you go and try Paul didn’t listen and headed towards to kill the lighthouse keeper, but you the lighthouse without a look backdie in the process. That’s why I don’t wards. want you to do it, I don’t want you to Suddenly, Peter stopped falling. He die.” felt two strong hands on his back, “Paul, wait!” Peter cried. “Listen to and then he began to head up tome and then I won’t try to stop you.” Paul stared at Peter. “But my brothwards the surface of the water. Peter Paul stopped and turned around to er,” he said sadly, “what about him?” didn’t know who was doing this, but face Peter. “Go on, but I don’t think “Would he want you to die trying to whoever was doing it was a strong you’ll change my mind.” protect his memory?” Peter asked. swimmer. Suddenly, he broke through the surface of the water, “You saved my life twice, and the first Paul didn’t say anything. “Fine,” he coughing and gasping for air. Whoev- time you told me you weren’t a mur- said. “I’m doing this for my brother. er had pushed him up put him onto a der. You said if you can help someone Wait, Peter, you're from the future?” raft, then dived back into the water. and you don‘t, you’re killing them. Time and time again, the person But if you go and came up with boys from the ship; kill the lighthouse soon, all the boys were on the raft, keeper, you’ll be a and the person who saved them murderer. I owe swam them to shore. They were all you my life and placed on the sandy shore. The perI’m not going to son who saved them stood up, and let you kill somePeter saw that it was Paul. one because they caused an acci“Did anyone else survive?” Paul dent. I know the asked. “Has anyone seen my older person was silly brother?” and deserves to be punished, but if Everyone shook their heads and then you kill them, Paul sat down and began to cry. you’re going to punish yourself. “Why didn’t the lighthouse keeper Don’t harm anyturn the light on?” Paul asked. No one one. You’re not a answered. killer—you’re a boy. I won’t let “I think he just didn’t do it because he you do anything was too lazy,” said Paul, jumping to that could harm his feet. “I’ll kill him. My brother died, you.” and the lighthouse keeper will die.” Peter jumped up and stopped him. “You were telling “Don’t,” Peter begged. “You told me me something “The Lamborghini” by Namir Sarraf, 701 As Peter sank, he saw other people trying to escape the freezing water. Why was I sent here? Peter wondered, why here, why now? Was I supposed to die? Peter wondered these things as he sank farther from the surface.
“But if you kill the lighthouse keeper, you’ll be as much of a killer as they are,” Peter said. “You saved my life twice and I won’t let you have blood on your hands.”
when we were on the boat earlier,” Paul said. “What is it?”
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“Yes,” Peter mumbled. “I flicked on the light in the lighthouse and suddenly I was in this time.” “If you flicked the light again, then would you get sent back to your time?” Paul asked. “It’s worth a try,” Peter said. So Paul and Peter climbed up to the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper lay on the ground, asleep, and the light wasn’t on. Paul looked angrily at the lighthouse keeper and Peter put his hand on Paul's chest. “Don’t try to do something you don’t want to do.”
“You aren’t letting me go,” Peter said. “I will never forget the boy who saved my life, you’re the only reason I’m alive. Thank you, Paul. I’ll never forget you.”
and William, their father was the lighthouse keeper, and Peter lived with his parents and his brother in a cottage near the lighthouse, Peter had never met Brian, and Paul IV and William were descendants of the Peter stepped forward and flicked original Paul, who had saved many the switch. Again the room got foggy boys’ lives when he became lightand Peter was thrown onto the floor house keeper, and named his son where he fell asleep. Peter. Peter woke up, lying on the floor, in the lighthouse, but the lighthouse was different from when he had first come to it. It was well kept, and there was someone polishing the light.
“What are you doing here, Pete?” Paul nodded. ”Okay, Peter,” he said. The keeper asked when he saw Pe“Flick the switch.” ter. “The twins are on the beach.” Peter walked down to the beach and Peter stepped forward, but Paul when he got there he saw two boys stopped him. “I don’t know if I can in the water, both laughing and playlet you go,” Paul whispered. ing. “Hey Pete,” one of the boys called. “Come on in.” Peter ran into the water and began to play with the boys, but he got a really close look at one of them and stopped. They were both splitting images of Paul.
Peter ate dinner at his friends’ house and laughed and joked with them. After dinner they went into the lighthouse and explored. Peter found a box, shoved deep in a closet, on it was written: For Peter Peter opened the box and inside was a note and a sailor's cap—the one Paul had worn the night the ship went down. The note read: Peter, I have married and had a son. I am a lighthouse keeper now, and I never sleep on the job. I don’t know if this note will reach you, but if it does, I want to thank you for saving my life. Yours, Paul Peter read the note again and again. As he read it, he could hear Paul’s voice talking and laughing, and he once saw Paul walk across the room.
Now Peter has grown older, and he has a wife and three children. He still “Hey Pete,” one of spends a lot of time with William and the boys said. “Come Paul IV. His children love his tales to our house for din- about the original Paul. His youngest ner, we have somechild is named Josephine, his next to thing to show you.” youngest child’s name is Oliver. His oldest is named Paul, and he owns That night Peter went the sailor’s cap that Paul I left Peter. to the lighthouse, Peter’s eldest son is not named after and learned quite a Paul IV as everyone thinks, but after bit about what his life Paul I. The boy who risked his life to was like. His friends’ save Peter. names were Paul IV “The 1982 Porsche 944” by Niko Gladysz, 705 @theHelm ~ page 31
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