Wasat (November 6, 2018)

Volume 3, Issue 2

6 November 2018

The Middle School Newspaper at King’s Academy Halloween Culture

by YonSu Hwang Halloween is a holiday that people celebrate every year, on October 31. Many people dress up into costumes and go trick-or-treating. About one quarter of the candy sold in U.S was supported by Halloween.

This shows that almost all households in United States celebrates Halloween.

Halloween is celebrated by a lot of countries but, it is celebrated the most in America. The Halloween culture spread in America by the Irish and Scottish immigrants that came in the nineteenth century. They spread the Halloween festivals to North America and helped to popularize the Halloween celebration.

Americans began to dress up into Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating. As the Halloween culture spread more widely, kids of all age, 80 to 90 percent in U.S celebrated Halloween. Not only children, adults, 65 percent in U.S started to participate in the Halloween parties and festivals too.

The most popular celebration in U.S, is wearing costumes and go trick-or-treating. When children go houses to houses saying ‘trick-or-treat,’ they hope to get full of candies. This tradition of trick-or-treating was since the 1920s from North America. In 2002, people in U.S used about an average of 44 dollars for costumes and decorations. For the Halloween celebration, Americans added watching scary movies, saying ghost stories, and going to haunted houses.

Other than eating candies in Halloween there are a lot of food that people enjoy eating. The most popular Halloween tradition foods are sweet flavored pumpkins or apples, pumpkin cakes, caramel/candy apples, roast pumpkin seeds, and edible things (mostly sweets) that look spooky. These foods are popular for not only children but, adults too. For each country there are similar but, different kinds of traditional foods that people enjoy eating.

For the Halloween symbols, one of the main is the Jack-o-lanterns. Jack-o-lanterns are carved pumpkins and usually it is put on the porches and doorsteps of houses. People carve spooky, funny, and comical faces to the pumpkins and put electronic lights or candles in the pumpkin to lighten it up, so it can add spookiness. Jack-o-lanterns are one of the decorations that people use for Halloween in U.S. The original Jack-o-lanterns were used to be carved by turnips, potatoes, and beets.

Halloween is not only for doing parties and festivals.

Halloween is also a custom of collecting money for the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) to help children. When children trick-or-treat, they collect bits of their candy and donate it to the UNICEF. Some families make the traditional Halloween foods/treats and donate them. Also, people donate the money they earned for trick-ortricking too.

Halloween is celebrated by many communities, and King’s Academy celebrates Halloween on October 23. On 23 October 2008, students gathered together after school and carved pumpkins and decorated King’s for the event. After the decorations (carving pumpkins, making spooky designs), students enjoyed the Halloween tradition food such as caramelized sweet potatoes and delicious pumpkin cannelloni together. Then, students got their costumes ready for trick-or-tricking. They did dance parties and a presentation of award that picked the best costume and dancer. Students that participated to the festival said that this Halloween party was a good opportunity to encourage internationalism and, also, a good opportunity to share and learn the Halloween culture for the ones who never experienced it.

Halloween ft. POV of Candy

by Lara Abuali

Volume 3, Issue 2 proceed to checkout. Ah!, I thought, surely this lawabiding citizen will walk off and leave us be. The opposite was true, however. This woman scoffed and took six of us in her hand, dropping us into her cart.

When I woke up, I was on the top shelf in what seemed to be a pantry. I saw Karen arrive in some weird black getup. She took the bowl, sat down and popped on some cat ears and gloves with hideous sequins on the knuckles. I thought she probably had her outfit designed by her youngest daughter in second grade, but when she looked down at her phone, I saw a glittery LV branded across the cat ears.

I remember my consciousness being formed. Before, I was a cacophony of parts, of crumbs and sugar, stamped into little squares. After a long rest in the Wintry Hell with my brothers, I was taken out and placed onto a cold rack. With that layer of milk chocolate poured over me, I became me. Mars.

I was set, with my brothers, neatly into a large box.

All I heard for the next three days were whispers from my brethren. After a long time, we were set down violently. I heard voices void of the sweetness that coated the cadences of my friends, and then I heard a terrible rip.

Light again! The face of a woman loomed, her eyebrows tragically straight. We got to see a ceiling go from terrible fluorescent lights to warm yellows, and we heard music playing, tinny and quiet.

Abruptly, we stopped, and Straight Brows leaned down and picked up my friends. Her hand closed over me, and I was grouped with another Mars, who was muttering something about how if the people didn’t show up in the first fifteen minutes we were legally allowed to leave.

My brothers were taken. I was confident I would never be unlucky enough to get picked, but I still had my doubts. I was just thinking the coast was clear and the raids were over when a mother with strongly blow-dried, bottle blonde hair reached over. A crackle on the speakers around us, however, discouraged her. The store is now closing. Please

The doorbell rang. Karen took a moment to tuck away the strands of her spiky hair and opened the door, her mouth stretched in a grotesque smile. I heard several children yell. Karen’s clawed hands reached for me.

I was dropped into some weird orange container. Just a minute later more candy was dropped over us. I tried to get closer to a Fruit Rollup. She was trembling like I did when I saw those terrible Valentino shoes on Karen.

“If things don’t work out,” she muttered, her voice sounding sweet but tinged with the tiniest needles of sourness, “please tell everyone—.”

I saw dark fingers closing around her. Through a gap in the candy above me, I saw the same fingers unwrap her. Amongst the screams of more sisters and brothers, I saw the brown hands raise the Fruit Rollup to a wide mouth with crooked white teeth. I watched, terrified, as her flesh was ripped mercilessly, torn apart and consumed by a pink-and-white vortex.

The evening was a nightmare. We swung around, and every so often her hand dug one of us out of the pile.

I closed my eyes and tried to distract myself each time. We were finally set down an eternity later. I could see yellow lights above us. Finally, we were safe. We were jolted again— someone looked down onto us. I saw crooked white teeth and shuddered.

My heart raced. She scooped me up. Her hands were warm— too warm— and pressed into my wrapper.

She stripped me of my last defense, and I could feel the edges of my body softening against her boiling fingers. She held me in her palms and admired me.

Oh, I thought desperately. She’s going to bless me with a cross and cleanse me of my sins!

Volume 3, Issue 2 As she opened her mouth, I said for her, In the name of the father— She was silent. I slowly realized what would happen.

I closed my eyes and waited.

Halloween Fun Facts

by Samir Tawasha Halloween is here, and it is time for a special edition of fun facts. This time the fun facts are Halloween themed.

1. The first Jack O Lanterns were made from turnips.

2. Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

3. The largest pumpkin ever weighed 836 pounds.

4. Harry Houdini died on Halloween night.

5. In Hollywood, there is a $1000 fine for using silly string on Halloween.

6. Americans purchase over 20 million pounds of Candy Corn.

7. The biggest pumpkin pie was 20 feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds.

8. Snickers are the number one favorite Halloween candy.

9. The scariest haunted house is located 80 feet underground.

by Selina Halaseh People who love what they are learning, are the people who will succeed in their education life, and they are more likely to engage in their schoolwork and receive positive feedback from teachers and parents. Indeed, love of learning may be particularly valuable during older age but enjoy the moment when you’re still a child and learning.

Parents and teachers understand how challenging it can be to spread the love of learning that was previously undeveloped, to make learning more entertaining, take a class just for fun or maybe go to online websites to play games or any kind of fun activities.

Education is concerned with exposing children to good, to truth, to beauty, to honesty, to love, to compassion, to integrity. These are the qualities which must inspire education. When you are learning always have positive feelings about learning new things, feel challenged, have a sense of possibility.

Research shows that motivation and engagement are essential for effective learning. Keeping students motivated and engaged in learning is not an easy task to achieve. Many teaching and learning conditions can play a role on student motivation.

One important learning condition is the teaching style of the educator. Educators are constantly trying to find methods to provide content in a way that will be remembered and keep students engaged in learning.

11. The fastest time to carve a pumpkin is 24.03 seconds.

When I’m trying to learn something, at first the content is difficult as I try to understand the vocabulary, acronyms, and any new ideas. As I start to recognize these terms and ideas, the study gets a bit easier, always remember: learn to live.

12. It is illegal to dress up as priest in Alabama.

A Love of Learning instead of a Fear of Failing

10. The word “witch” comes from Old English.

It means “wise woman”.

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13. October 30 is National Candy Corn day.

14. In Belleville, Illinois you get fined if you are over 12 and are trick or treating.

15. Chocolate makes-up about ¾ of trick or treater’s bags.

LEARNING BEGINS WITH WONDER!

How to overcome your biggest fear

by Yasmeen Abuelezam Every single person in the world has a fear. Everyone is afraid of something or someone. If someone told you they don’t fear anything, they would be lying. As you continue reading this article you will discover in 5 steps how to overcome your fear.

Volume 3, Issue 2 Step Number 1) Be aware. You must identify what you fear the most Step Number 2) You must be curious. While curiosity might have killed the cat it certainly won’t kill you.

Investigate your fears, get curious, discover what thoughts generate those fears and think about how you react to that fear.

Step Number 3) You have to take action. You can’t stay fearing these things forever it has to stop or at least the fear must decrease. You should think about your fear and face it. For example, think about what you fear the most and try to figure out why you fear it. That will really help.

Step Number 4) Talk to others about it. Other people may not have the same fear as you, so they will keep asking you why you fear that? And what do you see in it that scars you? Surprisingly that will help because they might get in your head and let you question yourself and maybe you will change your mind about your fear.

Step Number 5) Follow these steps and you will be fine.

Social Media

by Saad AlSaraf Social media is what humans use most of the time. It has pros and cons. Sometimes it’s good for us. Here comes the good side from social media. It can keep you updated from your friends and stay in touch with them. You can get some news from friends. Social media can make you feel happy for once.

While using social media most of the people act as if they are other people. They act as if they are happy but inside, they aren’t happy. Social media is booming from business. It’s a good comment that business is included in social media because viewers can know about this business and the business can be booming. Ads are all over social media to show viewers about some restaurants or products. It can help make the business running. It can help poverty and save lives. Sometimes people raise awareness by using social media and the viewer can be affected.

There is the dark side from it. Before social media, bullying was something only done by face-to-face.

Well now someone can be bullied online and public.

Moreover, it can lead to jealousy. You can watch those people being happy and thinking that you are lonely because you might not be happy. That leads to jealousy and makes you compare your lives with others, it is mentally unhealthy.

It is not healthy because it makes you forget what you are and what have you done. Well I am sure you know this it is addictive. It makes you addicted and changes your behavior by making you stuck by the social media trap. You can see that it is each one opinion to use social media, but I recommend following your opinion.

Dead Sea Tragedy

by Mohammad Badran Kids from different schools went for a trip to the dead sea. The plan was to go and eat then go to the dead sea. The coach decided to change the schedule to go to the Dead Sea first. It was raining so much. They went to bridge and it was flooded. Some kids fell into the water, and some kids fell on the rocks and died.

Fortunately, one of the coaches went down and tried to help and he saved 1 boy. 22 died sadly. Jordan was filled with tears and sadness.

Kings Academy’s response was that we went to school wearing black shirts and we had a moment of silence when we came to school and when we went to eat lunch, we also had a moment of silence.

Schools should watch out more on trips because it wasn’t the right time to go to the Dead Sea.