7th-Grade Newspaper (February 2019)

Lion Pride Newspaper

3rd Edition Friday, February 1, 2019

Sports Section St, Mark’s Varsity Basketball The St. Mark’s varsity basketball team has gotten off to an unbelievable start of their season, going 24-5 in a very tough, grueling schedule. They have beaten Top 10 6A schools convincingly on the way to being a finalist of the very prestigious DISD tournament. The focus is on their unbelievable youth talent, but they also have very good seniors. We interviewed two of them, Dylan Osimetha and Austin Nadalini as well as their coach, Greg Guiler.

Dylan has played basketball since he was five, but didn't start playing competitive basketball until he was in 9th grade. Austin started playing in first grade, on a team from his own school, Highlander. He has played for the Lions since 7th grade, and been on varsity since he was a sophomore.

Lion Pride: As a senior, do you mentor any of the younger players on the team?

Dylan Osimetha: There is some aspect of mentoring, guiding through my experience and trying to pass it down to the younger players so they can have the best experience possible. I had struggles when I was their age and am able to help them with theirs by learning from my mistakes.

Austin Nadalini: It’s definitely part of my role this year as one of the older guys.

We have a younger talent, but guys who aren’t as experienced at the varsity level.

It has taught me that even though I’m supposed to be mentoring them, I can learn a lot from them. It has taught me to be open-minded.

LP: What is your favorite moment in your basketball career?

DO: In my freshman year, Coach Friesen punted a basketball in the middle of our practice and it hit the top of Spencer Gym. He was mad at us at the time, but looking back on it, it’s one of the funniest things that ever happened.

AN: It was probably beating ESD last year at home, we had a great crowd, and it was close, down to the wire.

LP: Where are you going to college, and will you play basketball?

DO: I am committed to Kenyon College in Ohio, a Division III school, to play basketball.

AN: I am probably going to the University of Vanderbilt. I do not think I will try to walk-on, but I will stay open-minded.

Coach Guiler is coaching his 14th year this season, and this his first time coaching at a school. He played a lot of basketball as a kid, and his dad coached him when he was younger. He started playing school ball in 7th grade, and played 4 years of college basketball at Cedarville University.

Lion Pride: How has coaching changed your perspective of a game rather than just playing?

Coach Guiler: I think every aspiring playing should do some coaching or officiating, it gives you empathy for the refs for what they endure. I started coaching at a camp when I was younger, and it helped me understand the game better. Even videogames can help players understand the game better.

LP: How do you approach the kids on the team who are getting big-time school college basketball scholarships?

CG: It’s really exciting. I feel like we’ve got not just the five guys who started most of our games, but even just some guys who played a lot of minutes have the potential to play college basketball, maybe even the half the team has that opportunity.

LP: Do you schedule non-SPC games against big schools for a challenging game?

CG: We play close to 30 games in a season, and only 10 of them are SPC games.

The other 20 games, I have a lot of freedom to schedule the right ones. We play multiple 6A and 5A schools that are really big and have super basketball reputations, we’ve played arguably the best player in Texas this year. It’ll be interesting how we respond for the SPC tournament after a few blowout games we’ve had.

NFL Season Review

On September 20, 2018 the New York Jets were beating the hapless Cleveland Browns 14-0 with 1:31 left in the 2nd quarter. The Browns starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, was injured, and it seemed their winless streak would continue to 20 games. They brought in the Heisman rookie from Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield who many thought was another waste of a draft pick. In 1005 days from 2015 to 2018 the Cleveland Browns won a total of one game. In 635 days from 2016 to 2018 they had not won a game at all. On that cold Thursday night in Cleveland, a miracle happened; the Browns won. Thanks to over 200 yards passing from Baker Mayfield and 103 yards receiving from Jarvis Landry, a city could finally celebrate their football team. In the 93 days after that, the Browns won six times, escaping the role of “joke of the NFL”.

That stands out as one of the most exciting points in the season, but not alone, as another backup (for the Buccaneers), Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for a combined 1,230 yards in three games, before going back into the shadows. The Texans won nine in a row, the Colts won 9 of 10, and the Cowboys won 7 of 8-the biggest winning streaks of the year. The undoubtedly best game of the year was the Week 11 shootout between two of the best teams in the league, the L.A. Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs. It went back and forth all game long, climaxing in a 54-51 L.A. victory.

As the regular season wound down, the Philadelphia Eagles won three in a row to edge out the Minnesota Vikings for the last playoff spot in the NFC, while the Colts defeated the Titans in the last game of the season to steal the last one in

the AFC. Four favorites emerged-Saints, Rams, Chiefs, and Patriots. These four combined for 49 wins and 15 losses, and found each other in the conference championships. Both games were incredible, with controversy in each. With under two minutes left in the Rams-Saints game, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed an obvious passing interference on a Saints wideout, but wasn’t called. This sparked a massive controversy because everyone, even Robey-Coleman, admitted it was passing interference. The Saints would almost have definitely won, due to the position the game was in, but the Rams won in overtime, and punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. In the other one, the game pretty much came down to the overtime coin toss, which the Patriots won. With both offenses humming along, and the defenses tired out, the team with the ball first would most likely win, which is what happened. Many are saying the NFL overtime rules should be changed, and I agree. The Super Bowl is on February 3rd between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, and most people are cheering for the Rams. The Lion Pride staff predicts a high-scoring affair, something like 45-41 Rams, so get ready for the big game!

School Section Winn Science Center One of the most anticipated things from the first half of the year was the Winn Science Center. It was going to give so many opportunities to us. Some of the additions added to give us those opportunities were the maker space, DNA lab, and the new planetarium. We interviewed 7th grade science teacher Mr. Smith to see what he thought about the new building: Lion Pride: ​How do you think the Winn Science Center will help the future the science department?

Mr. Smith: ​The Winn Science Center will help in a number of ways1. It provides state of the art facilities to teach marksmen, including the planetarium.

2. It provides a space for workshops/programs for students and teachers from outside St Mark's.

LP: ​What were the main reasons for renovating the old science building?

Mr.S: ​To provide the same level of cutting edge science education that exists in the new building.

LP: ​What is your favorite part of the new building?

Mr.S: ​My temporary room and the cave bear are a toss up for favorite.

LP: ​How do you think the new spaces such as the Makers Space will affect activities on a daily basis?

Mr.S: The Makers Space will provide additional support for marksmen to enhance their other classes and develop individual projects. Including the one I offered to my classes to work on 3 dimensional quadrats.

Celebrate 7

On Sunday the 13th, seventh graders from St. Mark’s and Hockaday enjoyed roller skating, eating pizza and cookies, and playing arcade games at the Thunderbird Roller Rink. Students played games such as freeze skate, a corners dice game, and limbo. Many arcade games were available such as a whack-a-mole game, a basketball game, and a road trip prize game. Many of the parents were helping out at the event.

Celebrate 7 was a fun event that encouraged the students to interact with each other. Every event has fun activities that are organized by the parents. There are always a lot of students there, and there are always snacks or pizza.

Entertainment Section

Review Section

Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze​ ​by Rick Riordan.

This next Trials of Apollo book is amazing. There are lots of twists and turns.

Apollo is still mortal and fighting the triumvirate. The sorceress Medea is on the loose, recreating the Labyrinth, but this time, she uses the essence of the Titan Helios, the sun titan. The emperor Caligula, the last emperor in the triumvirate that they have left to fight, wants to kill Apollo and become the new sun god. Can Medea and Caligula defeat Apollo and Meg? Will there be a new sun god in the West? Read the book to find out.

“Aquaman” directed by James Wan. This movie is absolutely brilliant. Non-stop action and kid-appropriate violence, is mixed in with humor to create the next best movie. Aquaman goes on a quest to unite all the lost nations of Atlantis. He must find a legendary trident that gives him

extra power. He must reclaim kingship from his half-brother. Will this half-breed save Atlantis from civil war? Will he be able to stop his younger brother from attacking the people on shore? Find out in this movie.

“The Sixth Sense” directed by ​M. Night Shyamalan The Sixth Sense is an amazing movie, my favorite horror/drama movie. It involves a young boy who has a secret ability revealed midway through the movie (don’t watch the trailer, it gives it away). There is a middle-aged male therapist with a wife, and the two meet. There’s not much I can say about this movie without revealing too much, but I will say this: watch all of it. ;)

Fortnite Pt. 2

Google Images

Welp. We’re back. And a little late. So...the Christmas Update. Here’s a quick recap: We got new skins.

We got new dances.

We got snow(Unlike Dallas) We got new locations(Polar Peak, Happy Hamlet, Frosty Flights) Greasy Grove (Frozen under a lake) and Risky Reels(Now the Block which features Creative Mode builds) are no longer locations Oh, Creative too.

We got planes(Which got nerfed but are still OP) We got ziplines.

We got an Infinity Sword (Vaulted now) Polar Peak melted, exposing more of the castle and dragon eggs??!!

We got a suppressed sniper (All we need is a suppressed shotgun to finish off the series) The regular SMGs got removed and replaced with the suppressed ones (The suppressed ones are lasers) And for some reason there’s a floating ice sphere which turned into a giant Ice King which turned into the ice storm event.

Sorry if I missed anything.

Fortnite V7.20 Updates and Patch Notes Epic Games is released Fortnite V7.20 on January 16 and in this new release they are including new items such as the Scoped Revolver and the Glider Redeployment item but also a new LTM, One Shot. We have included the details of each new update below. It should be noted that this follows last week’s V7.10 which brought into Fortnite gameplay the Suppressed Sniper Rifle.

LTM: One Shot There is low gravity and every player has 50 HP to start off. Snipers are the only weapon and bandages are the only healing item. The only weapons in this mode

are Hunting Rifles and Sniper Rifles(Bolt Action, Heavy, and Suppressed, no Scoped ARs). Semi-Auto Snipers and Bounce Pads have been removed from the Vault in this mode.

Weapons + Items Scoped Revolver Available in Epic and Legendary variants.Fires Medium Ammo.

42 / 44 damage per shot.

Available from floor loot, chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines.

Added Glider Redeploy, an item ● This item takes up an inventory slot and can be found from normal loot sources. ● Gliders do not need to be selected to deploy. Activate them by pressing your jump button while in mid-air. ● Rarity is Rare. ● Gliders come with 10 charges. ● Each deploy uses a charge. When all charges are used the item disappears. ● Glider redeploy does not consume a charge when using a Launch Pad, Rift-to-Go, or respawning in a LTM. ● Found from floor loot, chests, vending machines, and llamas.

Minigun adjustments ● Added an overheating mechanic. Overheat occurs after approximately 6 seconds of continuous fire. ● Reduced the wind-up time by 37%.

● Updated audio for the Minigun.

Rarity adjustments ● Balloons changed from Epic to Rare. ● Stink Bomb changed from Epic to Rare. ● Scoped AR decreased from Rare/Epic to Uncommon/Rare.

All snipers now have the same drop off as the Heavy Sniper Rifle: ● Bolt Action Sniper Rifle ● Suppressed Sniper Rifle ● Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle Hunting Rifle ● Weapon first-shot accuracy now works with icy feet and while on ziplines.

Scoped AR The reticle center dot on Scoped Rifles has been reduced in size. This will mitigate situations where it appears you’re on your target but still miss the shot.

Trap drop chance adjustments ● Total drop chance of Traps from floor loot increased from 3.98% to 4.73%. ● Drop chance from floor loot increased from 0.26% to 0.73%. ● Drop chance from Loot Llamas increased from 6.63% to 15.47%.

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Drop chance from floor loot increased from 0.53% to 0.98%.

Drop chance from Loot Llamas increased from 13.25% to 20.77%.

Drop chance from floor loot decreased from 0.8% to 0.73%.

Drop chance from Loot Llamas decreased from 20.42% to 15.47%.

Small shields max stack size has been decreased from 10 to 6.

Chiller Grenades ● New grenades have been added that knock players away and freeze their feet at the same time making them slide around. ● These items are of the grey rarity and are under the consumables category.

Credits We could not have done this without our sponsor, Mr. Mank, and our writers and editors: Ben Adams Hudson Brown William Clarke Henry Hoak Arnav Lahoti Asa McCaleb Nathan Meyer Peyton Militello?!?!

Tyler Tang Thomas Whitehurst