The HCOS Weekly: Vol. 2, Ed. 9

The HCOS Weekly Vol. 2 Edition 9

Young Justice A TV Series Review

By Jesse Ongkili

Young Justice is a DC franchise television series focused on the lives of some of the most loved and adored sidekicks from the DC Universe. The members Robin (Dick Grayson), Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Zatanna, Rocket, and occaisionally Speedy embark on wild adventures both within (and outside of) the Justice League parameters.

The series itself takes place on Earth 16, and many of the heroes' ages have been adjusted to meet the desired demographic.

On a quest to prove themselves to the League and to their mentors, the group oten gets mixed in situations beyond their control as they struggle to work together as a team. The series holds many preteen themes as most of the main characters, being young teens themselves, are faced with maintaining their secret identities as school attendees whilst fighting crime on the side. The series delves deep into the emotions and relations between each of the characters. I'd highly recommend it if you are looking for a DC Comics television series tailored towards teens.

And now for the critique part. The series itself has minimal objectional content, having been rated TVPG for its cartoon and comic violence.

There is a fair bit of flirtatious behavior throughout the series, but in my opinion that is to be expected in a teenage-television program of this day and age. There are some (but not a lot of) suggestive themes throughout the series that I find may be oensive to certain individuals, but overall the series does a great job at keeping mature

topics to a minumum.

I personally am a fan of universal continuity and have had a lot of issues at first with the way the writers changed the ages of a lot of my favourite superheroes (and characteristics/personality of the villains), however this is one series that you will - over time - grow to love. A lot of the charaters go through everyday adolescent problems, making the series that much more relatable to people who've been in their shoes. The plots and overall storyline certainly isn't the strongest, but the connection between the charaters themselves along with their individual development more than makes up for it. Other than little tweaks such as dierent voice actors (Brent Spiner as Joker and Bruce Greenwood as Batman, much to my dismay) and alternative character designs, I would rate the series an eight out of ten.

"Although tense at times, Young Justice is ultimately about a group of spirited individuals learning how to work together as a team." Jesse Ongkili

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Feeding the World An Article

By Adley Soames 'World hunger', 'population growth', and 'GMO' (Genetically Modified Organisms) are all terms we are familiar with and aware of.

This article is going to cover that ground and clarify how our current food situation is playing out. I apologise for the length of this article, but since I plan to dedicate my life to the subject, I had to do it full justice.

next 35 years, Earth is expecting another 2 billion people. Developing countries are also becoming richer, rich enough to afford more food. It is estimated that the Earth will need to double its crop output within 35 years if it is to feed everyone.

So we need to double our food production and we have no more space to do so, how is this to be done? Industrial farmers say we should genetically modify crops to produce more. Green farmers say our farms should be blended into nature. Heritage farmers claim that small local farms feed the most people. All three have excellent points, and there's no need for a fight. Although the task of doubling production in 35 years seems impossible, we are seeing a lot of options for doing this. If combined, these options could easily increase efficiency to double what the production is now.

Reducing Waste

Currently 38.6% of the Earth's land is covered in farmland, and 14.9% of the Earth is covered with other human modified land, leaving 46.5% of the Earth undeveloped.

Most of the undeveloped land is made up of mountains, tundra, and deserts, with a small portion being forests. This small amount of forest is all we have let for potential farming ground, but for many reasons, destroying our last forests could prove fatal to ecosystems worldwide. So, the point is, we have no more room to farm.

Let's start with waste; developed countries discard 25% of their food due to high standards and unwanted letovers. With the rising awareness to be less wasteful, this amount of discarded food is beginning to decline. Undeveloped countries also lose 25% of their food due to poor storing conditions. As these countries develop they are gaining the funds to store food properly, further lowering the wastage level.

meat at a ratio of 1.1 pounds of food for every 1 pound of meat.

Fish also produce a large amount of useful waste that other sea creatures feed off of. This incredible efficiency has caused fish farms to take over the meat industry since the 1980s. Fish now surpasses beef in weight produced per year.

Industrial Farming Industrial research has been developing ways to genetically modify plants that produce more and use less fertilizer. Since GMO is considered unhealthy, many industrial farmers have switched their fields to non-GMO crops, which have played a big role in defending against diseases. Farmers also use i n d u s t r i a l wa s te i n s tea d o f fertilizer; systems like this reduce waste and save money at the same time.

Food Forests

Environmentalist farmers have been advancing the art of farms designed ater forests. These food forests are space efficient, water Aquaculture efficient and don't require machinery, fertilizer or pesticides. AlNow we will look at demand. In the Now for fish! Fish convert food into though this method is hard to

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replicate on an industrial level, it would prove very useful in developing countries with no access to machinery. These food forests support a natural diversity that would provide massive benefits to the environment if introduced on a large An Article

By Deanna Burmatoff scale.

Colossians 3

Meat Living the New Life Meat is a very inefficient way to eat; cows take 6.8 pounds of food to create 1 pound of meat. Most of our current farmland is used for pasture; if this was converted into crops we would increase food production. So if worst comes to worst we can all become vegetarians. I shall miss you, bacon.

Verses 1-4 "Since you have been raised to a new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is Local Farming your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His As a last point, small local farms glory." export less food, but end up feeding more people. Since the farms require more care, most of the food is eaten by the farmers. In modern times, most of the population lives in the city while farmers make up a small fraction of the population. If this statistic was a more balanced, more people would be fed.

These are a few of the strategies for increasing the amount of food we produce. If implemented, population and lack of food production won't be a problem for a few generations. Efficient farming can multiply the amount of food we produce and majorly cut back the environmental impact. But in order to make this happen we need to shit our thinking. Farming can no longer be about maximum production, as that has created numerous disasters. It needs to be about efficient use of resources, space and time.

"Since you have been raised to a new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand." What does this mean to us? Well first of all, we know we have been raised to a new life with Christ. Next this verse tells us that we should "set our sights on the realities of heaven".

How can we do this? What does setting sights on the realities of heaven look like?

What are some realities of heaven?

Some things that come to my mind are eternal life, living with God forever, meeting and being with each and every Christian who walked this earth (and will walk this earth), promise of a new heaven and new earth, pearly gates/roads of gold/ walls of precious stones/the Tree of Life, etc. We know we can look forward to these things because they are mentioned in the Bible.

Revelations, Daniel, the Gospels, and many other books of the Bible talk about Heaven and what it will be like. No one can know for sure what heaven will look like; only God knows. But we can look forward to and focus on the things of heaven, rather than the things of earth. For earthly things will fade away and be no more, but God and His glories will last for ever!

"Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." This ties in with the realities of heaven. If we focus on heavenly things, we won't get caught up in worldly things. We won't have any ties keeping us from looking forward to God's kingdom.

"For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." I find it interesting how it says, "your real life is hidden with Christ in God." That would probably refer to God's plan for our lives.

No one knows their future; only God knows. Christ is God; therefore He would know our futures. And Christ can help us fulfil our purposes, according to God's will.

"And when Christ, who is your life,

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is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory." This first part tells us that Christ is our life.

We should live our lives for Christ.

Christ gave us His life, so the least we can do is give Him ours and live for His glory. And when Christ returns again and is revealed to the whole world, we as Christians will share in all His glory. What does this mean to you? (This reminds me of the verse that says we are all co-inheritors with Christ.)

Verses 5-7 "So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.

Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world."

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slander, and dirty language. 9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us."

Notice verses 9 and 10. They talk about stripping off the old nature and putting on the new nature, as if they were clothing. That's an interesting metaphor, don't you think? The second part of 10 says, "and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him." In this new life, we should strive to be like Christ in all that we say, do, and think. It will be hard, but God will give us strength if we truly seek to be like These verses are pretty straight- Him. forward. Now that we are living the new life in Christ, we should no longer sin. It also tells us that we shouldn't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. If you think about it, that is true. Greedy people always want more, more, more, whether it's food, money, possessions, friends, status, etc. All those things are worldly, not of God. These things will take our focus off of God, and Satan will use them to keep us away from God. But we don't have to live that way anymore, because Jesus has given us a new life. He will give you the strength you need to stay on the right path and live your life for Him. Verses 12-15 "Since God chose you to be the Verses 8-11 holy people he loves, you must "But now is the time to get rid of clothe yourselves with tenderanger, rage, malicious behavior, hearted mercy, kindness, humility,

gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful."

"Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Forgive others, because the Lord forgave you. Clothe yourselves with love.

Let peace rule in your hearts. Always be thankful. These guidelines will help us to live like Christ did.

Verses 16-17 "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."

What is the message of Christ?

How can we let it fill our lives?

I like verse 17. "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."

This verse is a pretty good guideline for our lives. It is telling us to say and do everything for Jesus.

But also, our words and actions should show the love of Jesus working in our lives, so that other people will see that and in turn give their lives to Jesus as well.

Verses 18-19 "18 Wives, submit to your hus-

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bands, as is fitting for those who look up to you. belong to the Lord.

22Slaves, obey your earthly mas19Husbands, love your wives and ters in everything you do. Try to never treat them harshly. please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve Now, I know verses 18-19 might them sincerely because of your not apply to us right now as teens, reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work but it will surely apply to you later willingly at whatever you do, as on in life. Just keep this in mind for though you were working for the now, and remember to follow it Lord rather than for people. 24 Relater on in your life. member that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and Verses 20-21 that the Master you are serving is Christ.[e] 25 But if you do what is 20Children, always obey your par- wrong, you will be paid back for ents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 the wrong you have done. For God Fathers, do not aggravate your has no favorites." children, or they will become discouraged."

I know you guys aren't qualified as "children" anymore, but God still wants you to obey your parents.

They only want what's best for you. And I sure hope none of you are fathers yet! But we can keep this in mind for the future. We can also apply this to those who look up to us. Younger siblings, friends, younger kids at church, whoever.

They will see your example and will naturally want to be like you. I know, sometimes siblings can get annoying‌ but try to be kind and gentle with your words.

"A g g ra va te " ca n a l s o m ea n "annoy", "irritate", "provoke", and stu like that. Fathers are usually proud of their children and want them to get the best that is possible. Parents like to raise their expectations of their kids. If kids can't meet those expectations, then of course they will get discouraged because they can't please their parents. This isn't good. It is better to not raise expectations in the first place, then no one will get discouraged. Have healthy pride and reasonable expectations regarding those who

nitely do my best at my schoolwork and try to please Him. That's how it should be for everything we do, whether it's school, work, or just chores around the house. We should always do our best at what we do, and do it to please God. Colossians 4:1 "Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master - in heaven."

I am including this verse because it fits along with what we were just reading. Again, there are no physical slaves or masters here in Canada, but this can also apply to the workforce. Bosses, teachers, principals, anyone who is in charge of someone else, we as Christians should remember this verse and put it into practice. Because basically, we are trying to be like Christ. Whatever the situation, think about how Jesus would act and do the same. WWJD, right?

Let's pray. "Dear God, thank You for Your word that was read today.

Thank You for sending us Jesus, Your Son. Thank You, Jesus, that You died for our sins and were raised to life again, and that we may also be raised to a new life through You. Help us to remember these guidelines for our new lives.

Give us the strength we need to live like You did. Help us as Christians to get along with each other and to live in love, and clothe us with the Fruits of the Spirit. Thank You again, for bringing us together to learn more about You. Be with each and every one of us, and bless the rest of our week. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

Sometimes we take for granted that Canada is a free country, and that there are no slaves here. I know I sure do. But deep down, there is something that we are slaves to. God should be our master (all the time!), but sometimes we are slaves to other things, like school. School is a big one! For me, anyway. I try to remember this verse whenever I have doubts about school: Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Colossians 3:23). ~Taken and adapted from the FelThink about it this way. Imagine lowship of Followers Bible Study~ God is your teacher! I would defi-

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Student Photo Gallery

Photo taken by Deanna Burmato, Grade 11

Photo taken by Ethan Johnson, Grade 9

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Photo taken by Lael Louw, Grade 9

Photo taken by Lael Louw, Grade 9 Photo taken by Lael Louw, Grade 9

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Photo taken by Lael Louw, Grade 9

Brenizer Method In this beautiful picture of a guitar Word Search in snow, 9th grade HCOS student Lael Louw used a special photography technique to get the effect she wanted. The Brenizer Method (also Find these words in Melody known as Bokeh Panorama) re- Brocke's word search to the right! quires multiple pictures to be put into one, creating a clear, stunning effect on the overall finished prod- BEACH uct. In this picture, Lael used 63 BIRDS separate images to create this pho- OCEAN tograph.

SOCCER SUNSHINE Hats off to the fourteen-year-old SWIMMING for going through such a tedious VOLLEYBALL process in order to create a beautiful picture.

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Meet Samara Wlodarczyk An Interview

By Jennica Wlodarczyk 1. Hello, Samara! Let's start o this interview by having you tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

My name is Samara. My favourite colour is green. I am eleven years old. I don't know what I want to be yet, but I like reading and playing with children. I don't know how you could make a career out of reading. If I was an editor, I would probably read too much and never edit. If the endings were sad, I might edit them.

2. What's your favourite word?

"Um." You say it when you don't know things, and it makes you feel dumb and smart at the same time, so, um... her.

span, and I'm like that when I hug someone. I'll hug them, walk away, 3. What movies are your favourite?

5. What would be your dying ad- then come back and hug them I like Marvel movies and movies vice to your family and friends? again 'cause I forgot. that aren't dumb.

I'd probably just say, "Don't die and don't forget me or I will come 9. What is your favourite food? to you in your dreams." That could I have many favourite foods! One is be good or bad, but at least you cheeseburgers, one is pierogis, and wouldn't forget me! one is real macaroni and cheese.

Oh, and chocolate. Chocolate ice 6. What was one of the coolest cream cake. moments in your life?

One moment I really liked was 10. Thanks for agreeing to be interwhen it was Christmas and Shaela viewed, Samara! If you had $50, (my older sister who I don't see where would you spend it? very much) was there, as was the I would want to spend it at Starrest of our family. bucks and Wal-Mart.

4. If you could go on a vacation to any one place for two weeks, where would you go?

I would go to Jazz's house! Well, u n l e s s s h e wa s a l rea d y o n vacation. Then I'd cry 'cause I couldn't get into her house or see

7. Who is a big inspiration in your life?

I am an inspiration to myself.

8. Tell us a random fact about yourself.

Goldfish don't have a big memory

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Super Comics + Star Trek A Collection of Art

By Joshua Wlodarczyk

"Old Spock" by Joshua Wlodarczyk

"Gamers" by Joshua Wlodarczyk

"Young Spock" by Joshua Wlodarczyk

"James T. Kirk" by Joshua Wlodarczyk

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Kill-Zone A Short Story

By Melody Brocke Bang, bang, bang!

The street was lit by a myriad hues of orange and red. Sparks few everywhere as bullets grazed o a metal jeep. Clay and mortar crumpled from the houses, now empty as families fled in a desperate attempt to save their lives.

What kind of weapon is that?

Twenty-four year old Victoria Wayward's racing brain wondered. The bullets were obviously from a gun.

But that didn't explain the fire engulfed the street.

Ater five years training, she had received her first mission. Iraq. A team of twenty special counter intelligence agents sent in to locate and destroy a local terrorist group.

The report said the shipment was being received at noon that night.

Victoria fired her gun into the street. Bulletproof vest clad agents to her right did the same. It was an attempt to clear a path for five agents to reach the warehouse.

There was a scream and an unheard thud as a body fell. The other agents were down before they made it half way.

"I'm going around the back," Victoria shouted.

E a c h a ge n t w a s s p e c i a l l y equipped with a hand-grenade sized bomb. The mission was simple-destroy the weapons. The government had been very clear about that. They had also been clear that, should there be any hostages inside, they would deny any involvement with the mission. As far as the world was concerned, the government knew nothing of this

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elite team of agents.

Victoria unlatched the pin from the explosive. Judging by the explosions she heard, her team had created a diversion. She through the bomb into the warehouse. She couldn't look inside. It undoubtedly did contain hostages.

She ran. There was an eight second delay on the timer. Enough time to get out of the kill-zone.

She fell to the ground as the explosion went o. Bits of debris shot everywhere. Her ears rung.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

There was a wind-like sound in the ear. She at first thought it was the helo. But the extraction point was fity clicks to the north.

Wincing in pain, Victoria turned. A dragon emerged from the ruins, its dark scales glowing from the explosion and heat. It's jaws opened wide, fire spilling out in her direction. It flew closer.

Well, she thought ruefully. That explains the fire.

NING Contests and Events Announcement An Article

By Jennica Wlodarczyk The HCOS Ning is always buzzing with excitement and communitybased fun. Read-A-Thon 2015 and the Online School/Ning Talent Show are two of the prominent events happening right now. If you love reading extra-curricular books (fiction or non-fiction), the Read-AThon 2015 is a great way for you to read, write reviews, and get a chance to win Amazon git certificates! In addition, this fun, easy contest will also have a random draw that all eligible participating

students' names will be put into.

The prize for this draw is a Kobo EReader! As you can see, not only will this contest be fun and enlightening, but it is also packed with rewarding prizes.

The Online School/Ning Talent Show will be open to students Grade 8-12. Submissions will be sent to Mrs. Pippa Davies and Ms. Erin Duncan, two of the Learning Commons teachers. Join the group in NING to read more about the prizes (Amazon git certificates are also involved in this contest), regulations, and ideas for what talents you can showcase! Make sure to submit your talent video on the group discussion threads, and to keep it at three and a half minutes maximum. I can't wait to see what kinds of amazing feats the students of HCOS and beyond will submit this year!

Submissions and Photography Recognition!

A Friendly Reminder From Your Editor Hey guys! Yet again, I'm here to remind you that the HCOS Weekly is always looking for submissions from other HCOS students. Photography, art, articles, essays, poetry, and fiction are all welcome to be published in this student-run newspaper. If you have any questions or ideas for future issues of our paper, please shoot an email to hcosweekly@outlook.com. We're always excited to receive word from our readers. Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day.

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Weekly LOL Compiled and Submitted by Genevieve Ward and Jennica Wlodarczyk

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