THE OVERACHIEVER 

International Academy 1020 E. Square Lake

Road Bloomfield Hills, MI

48304

November 2012 Vol. 9 Issue 4

Cover Design

Photo Description: On December 14th, at an elementary school in

Newtown, Connecticut, 20 children were shot and killed by a ruthless gunman. This issue is dedicated to those children.

In this issue...

Wake Up Call …….……...3 Christmas Trees.........…..…5 Entertainment…………...……7 School Play……….....…........9 Only at IA................Back Page

Staff

Principal Ms. Lynne Gibson

Associate Principle

Mr. Chris Smith

Faculty Facilitator

Ms. Sarah Clancy

Editor-in-Chief

Swathi Shanmugasundaram

News Editor

Ana Chaves

Features Editor Sneha Edupuganti Entertainment Editor Trusha Patel

Perspectives Editor Nancy Huang

Back Page Editor Tami Lacasse

Contributors

Sanjana Dayananda Rana Armaghan K. Ahmad Jenna Wang Snehanjani Edupuganti Katya Titova Trusha Patel Nancy Huang Patricia Liu

by SANJANA DAYANANDA

3 December 2012 News

Attack on Children-Wake up Call Terror struck the town of

Newton, Connecticut today. On Fri-day December 14th, 2012, 26 people, including 20 kindergarteners, were shot dead by a lone gunman. At 9:40 this morning, Sandy Hook elemen-tary school in Connecticut tragically awoke to gunshots. The shooter, Adam Lanza, was a 20-year-old man who opened fire on an elementary school, killing students along with several adults, including the school’s principal. The man killed his mother before taking his own life. The entire country has been sending condo-lences to the families who lost loved ones in this tragic event. Facebook, Twitter, and newsreels have blown up spreading awareness of this in-justice and the brutality of this killing. Even President Obama gave a heart-felt speech addressing the shooting and hinting at possible legislation to prevent such events from reoccur-ring. "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years, and each time I learn the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would, as a parent. And that was especially true today,” said the President during today’s press conference. No one can ignore the obvious increase in violent shoot-ings in the last few years. Americans have only recently recovered from the theatric crisis in Aurora, Colora-do, and the shooting today is now the second deadliest shooting in American history, following only the Virginia Tech incident. Since 2007, six mass shootings, including to-day’s, have taken place in this coun-try. Why does this keep happening?

Just a few months ago, Au-

rora was shaken by its own shooting. This shooter carried three different weapons and full-body bulletproof armor. This is no different than Lan-za who carried three weapons as well: a Glock, Sig Sauer, and a .223 Bushmaster. All six of these weap-ons were legally obtained by the shooters, arousing suspicion.

Some people claim that the lack of gun control has caused this massive increase in mass killings. According to the Washington Post, of the 61 mass shootings that have occurred in America, about 50 have been the fault of legally obtained weapons. Due to this, activists call for safer and more restrictive gun legislation, and an increase in gun control. However, many others argue that registered weapons are a means of safety. These citizens be-lieve condemning the right to bear arms will be ineffective in decreasing the occurrence of such shootings. These people cite the Second Amendment, in argument for gun rights. The debate rages on in sever-al states as concealed arms policies are reassessed. Regardless, it is undeniable that something must be done to stop the recent rise in shoot-ings. In a statement to the public, President Obama agreed with this call to action, saying, "These neigh-bors are our neighbors, and these children are our children, and we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this -- regardless of the politics.” As we consider such calami-ties as the attack on children in Con-necticut, we must also remember sorrowful events that have taken place elsewhere in the world. Re-cently, China faced their own catas-trophe as a single man stabbed 22 children outside their school. Alt-hough the victims survived, this day is forever marked by sadness as children all around the world faced assault and senseless violence. Leaders worldwide have realized the tragedy of these situations and it goes without saying that we will hold the victims of these events in our hearts. Children and adults, alike, were attacked today in a brutal and inhumane manner. Their suffering will hopefully give rise to more regu-lations to stop recurrences.

Parents should not have to worry for their child’s life while sending them to school. Parents should never have to lose their children in such a manner. Innocent children should not have their lives cut short before they have had a chance to live fully and achieve their childhood dreams. Chil-dren are a representation of the best of humanity with their endless hope and pure intentions; it is unbelievable that their incredible ambitions and joy could be extinguished so heartlessly. Echoing President Obama, "The ma-jority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids be-tween the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own." Their story will live in our hearts- we will never forget the children whose lives were taken so tragically, so abruptly and so wrongly.

A tragic picture from the Connecticut shooting of two young schoolchildren– anxious in the midst of the chaos. Sorrow and suffering are clear in this picture and truly evoke the severity of the event. Photo by: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15907407-elementary-school-massacre-20-children-among-28-killed-in-connecticut-slaughter?lite

by RANA ARMAGHAN K. AHMAD

News The Overachiever 4 Does McAfee Need His Own Firewall?

John McAfee, founder of the anti-virus software company McAfee Inc., could use some protection of his own, recently. The business mo-gul has found himself in the midst of a murder investigation and is cur-rently evading police in Belize. McAfee claims that he is innocent, Belizean police are pursuing him relentlessly and the details of the situation are still in dispute.

As it stands, McAfee is ac-cused of the murder of Gregory Faull, his neighbor in San Pedro, Belize. McAfee has claimed full in-nocence in this entire ordeal and denies any conflicts with Faull. Alleg-edly, the two were often at odds be-cause of McAfee’s boisterous dogs, but McAfee denies any real issues. The accused man has explained that although he received some com-plaints about the dogs from Faull, these actions were not unique to Faull and he barely spoke to the man. Gregory Faull’s dead body was found on December 8th, in in his home on Ambergris Caye, about 300 yards from McAfee's home. Faull had a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Upon discovery of the body, Belizean police conducted a full search of the premises, finding nothing. Since then, McAfee has put forth the claim that he was in fact on the property, simply buried under sand to hide from the police. He ar-gues that the Belizean police are biased against him, but simply have the wrong man. Since the accusation of murder, media sources have been reporting irrational behavior on this man’s part, bordering on insanity; even the prime minister of Belize has been quoted as saying that McAfee is “bonkers” and should help in the murder case.

McAfee has excused this behavior as a façade for protection.

After being named a wanted person by Belize officials, McAfee escaped to Guatemala. Finally, on December 6, 2012, McAfee was de-tained in Guatemala for illegally en-tering the country. He continued to write on his blog and update the world on his condition throughout the entire period of uncertainty. His situ-ation was reviewed by a court in Guatemala, but unfortunately for him, they ruled to remove him from the country.

McAfee petitioned for political asylum, but his request was not granted.

Much to the world’s surprise, McAfee then proceeded to fake a heart attack. Recently, he has admitted that his supposed heart issues were simply ruses to stall his eventual deportation. Of course, this stunt did not bolster McAfee’s public image; yet, the busi-nessman claims that it was only commit-ted as a last attempt to protect himself from the Belizean government.

After being forced to evacuate Guatemala, McAfee chose to come to the United States. On December 12, John McAfee arrived in Miami. Lately, he has said that he is willing to speak to police, but will not return to Belize, and that he hopes to find a sense of normali-ty in the United States. He speaks of concerns for the welfare of his girl-friends in Belize, but has thus far main-tained his innocence. On Friday, McAfee participated in an interview in which he reiterated his denial of many accusations against him, such as the claim that he was running a metham-phetamine lab. He instead, put forth allegations of torture and inappropriate

conduct on the behalf of Belizean offi-cials. He has stressed his desire to settle down in peace and release the stress of his pursuit by Belizean police. Neverthe-less, he recently sold the rights to his story to people with hopes of turning it into an upcoming blockbuster.

Whether or not McAfee is guilty of murdering Gregory Faull is something that only time will tell. The circumstances of this murder seem quite off, but the truth is sure to emerge eventually- per-haps you’ll see it soon, in a theater near you.

This software company founder, McAfee, has found himself in a difficult situation. He is currently evading Belizean police in a murder investigation. As of now, he is residing in the United States. Photo by: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-mcafee-launches-new-blog-391993

by SNEHANJANI EDUPUGANTI

by ANONYMOUS Christmas Trees December 2012 Features

Tips for Going Green! Every issue, the Overachiever will be sharing a new idea to help you live an eco-friendly life. So, keep a look-out for more green tips in future issues!

Tip for December: Remember to turn off the lights in a room

if there is no one in there! What’s the point in wasting all that elec-

tricity?

Most people know how Christ-mas works: we get presents, we sing carols, we spend quality time with the family while drinking hot chocolate inside a comforting home that protects us from the cold snowy winter outside. Howev-er, some of the little details of Christmas have just became tradi-tions. Tradition that nowadays, people know little meaning behind. For example, do you really know why the Christmas tree is im-portant and why it is tradition that the presents are under this Christ-mas tree?

Evergreen trees are decorated with beautiful lights and ornaments of all kinds and placed inside the home for a majority of the month of December. Why evergreen trees? Well in some cultures, evergreen trees are believed to be keep away the witches, ghosts, and other evil spirits!

In general though, evergreen trees are symbols of the green plants and remind people of Spring season that is to follow this season.

Beautifully lit Christmas tree

Believe it or not, Americans origi-nally found the idea of a Christ-mas tree to be somewhat abnor-mal and odd. The first one actual-ly was displayed in 1830s by Ger-man settlers. This was long after many of the other cultures began displaying Christmas trees! The tradition of having a Christmas

trees in everyone’s home be-came a real tradition after a pho-tograph was taken of Queen Vic-toria and her children around a Christmas tree. After seeing this photographs, many Americans wanted to follow this trend and place these trees in their homes too around Christmas time.

Initially, Christmas trees were just placed with no decoration and lights. The tradition was just to have a Christmas tree in the house around Christmas time. However as time passed, new decorations began becoming tra-dition. Today, we see Christmas trees in most homes during this time of the year...and now we know why!

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.worldofchristmas.net/images/christmas-tree1.jpg

by KATYA TITOVA

6 Features The Overachiever

Stress Relief they can make an immense amount of difference in your stress level and make you feel much better.

Tip #1 Do not give up.

We all have that one class where no matter how hard we try and how much we focus, the concepts still do not make sense. It is almost as if the teacher is out to get you. But it is im-portant, especially during cases such as these, to be persistent and not give up. The teachers are there to help you in any way they can, so why not use them?

Tip #2: Keep things in perspective.

You have your deadlines for projects and assessments told beforehand just so you can keep up with it and not fall behind. Most of the time, stress is caused from procrastination. Whether it is finishing up the project the class period before or studying for a test the night before, stress can find its way to you very quickly and with ease.

Tip #3: Reward yourself.

This simple tip is one that many of us fail to recognize the significance of. How often do you treat yourself to a yummy snack or a fun activity when you accomplish some homework, perhaps? Taking breaks in between stressful work is sure to help the brain relax before it becomes filled with too much

It is that time of the year again! No, not the holiday with the beauti-

ful lights and the wonderful pre-sents. It’s time for something every

high school student dreads and many may even have nightmares

of: midterms!

Stress may come in numerous ways and can seem impossible to handle!

It seems as if time flew by with the stress of the daily homework and projects and tests. Before we knew it, we already reached the end of the first semester. However, it is around these midterms times that everyone at IA fall to the terror of stress and find themselves worrying about practically anything and eve-rything. But it really does not have to be that way! As IA students, it is natural for us to overstress and as a result, we just become less pro-ductive and worry more.

To save the day, here a few tips that you can follow in order to keep your stress levels low during such a intense time of the year! Although each tips is fairly small and can al-most seem insignificant, when put together they can make an im-mense amount of difference in your stress level and make you feel much better.

stress and worry. The best way you can do this is by leaving the house for a little while and possibly getting some exercise. For instance you can go on a walk with a friend! Just remember to do something that you will enjoy.

These tips may come off as cliché or something you have already heard million times before; however, they are so forgotten so quickly when stress takes over the mind and it is important to not let stress win out this battle. The little things in life matter immensely when they are all put together and that is some-thing important to keep in mind! No matter how bogged down you might get over the stressful things in your life, you must always keep smiling and just wishing for the best and eventually things will go just the way you want them to!

Photo #1 Courtesy of:

http://access.ewu.edu/Images/CAPS/Stress1.png

Photo #2 Courtesy of:

http://www.cartoonlogodesigns.com/images/misc/Smiley%20faces/smiley%20face.jpg

by TRUSHA PATEL

December 2012 Entertainment 7 Movies Perfect for Christmas

Christmas is around the cor-ner and it is time to pump up our Christmas spirit. What better way to fill ourselves with Christmas cheers than watching classic winter holiday movies. Not to mention, its midwinter break and we are finished with mid-terms, so let us relax and watch some movies with our friends and family. Here’s a list of brilliant movies that are sure to bring you into the Christmas mode. The Polar Express

The Muppet Christmas Carol The Santa Clause The Nightmare Before Christmas A Christmas Carol Home Alone Elf Miracle on 34th Street A Christmas Story A Charlie Brown Christmas How the Grinch Stole Christmas Mickey’s Christmas Carol Home Alone 2: Lost in New York It’s A Wonderful Life Harry Potter Movies Christmas Do-Over Holiday in Handcuffs Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas The Dog Who Saved Christmas Snowglobe Desperately Seeking Santa 12 Dates of Christmas Christmas Cupid Twas the Night Before Christmas

Jack Frost Snow Love Actually Richie Rich's Christmas Wish Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too A Dennis the Menace Christmas The Year Without a Santa Claus Rudolph's Shiny New Year Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town The Santa Clause 2 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause A Very Brady Christmas Unaccompanied Minors Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas Disney's A Christmas Carol Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Polar_express.jpg/220px-Polar_express.jpg

A Christmas Carol

The play “A Christmas Carol” is a popular event dur-ing the holiday event. Whether one is to read the play or to watch a performance, they are bound to find their inner Christ-mas spirit. The story was first published in 1893 as a novella written by Charles Dickens. It has then over time been adapted as a film, a play, stage opera, among other me-dia. The main character is Ebenezer Scrooge and the plot is set seven years after the death of his business partner, Jacob Marley.

Scrooge is a very unhappy man who does not behave well with other people. There is no place of kindness or compas-sion in his heart. One evening, Scrooge returns home and meets Marley’s ghost. As pun-ishment for his greedy and self-fish life his spirit is fated to wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Mar-ley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. He tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts later that night. The first spirit is the Ghost of Christmas Past, the second is the Ghost of Christ-mas Present, and the third is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. What do the spirits offer to Scrooge? Will he transform into a joyful man and with a compassionate heart? Will

Check out the nearest library to find a copy of the text written by Dickens. Or if you are in the mood for a movie, Disney’s version of A Christ-mas Carol is sure to entertain you. Either way, this Christmas classic is sure to bring out the true spirit and joy of Christmas.

Photo: http://screencrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/christmascarol05.jpg

Entertainment The Overachiever 8

Band Review: The Hurts

by JENNA WANG

There comes a moment in every teenager’s life when they wake up and one day and realize that there is more to life than Top 40 mu-sic. Perhaps they will log in to lastfm.com, set the radio station to Coldplay (the least mainstream band they can think of, yet still painfully mainstream), and let the shuffle car-ry away. That was just the process of how I discovered Hurts, the band that now runs my life, and perma-nently occupies the center spot of the musical shrine in my soul. I won’t attempt to so much as spread the infectious adoration to every reader of The Overachiever, as each indi-vidual’s musical taste is different from the next’s, but I do hope that you will walk away from this article with the inspiration to take the time to listen to this fantastically underrat-ed band.

Hurts is a two-man British duo based in Manchester, consisting of lead singer Theo Hutchcraft and pianist-synthesizer Adam Anderson. One depressive December night, when a group of their friends got into a fight at a pub, the two men both stepped out into the cold outside to get away from the ruckus and met for the first time. The connection was instantaneous: some short months later, the band was born. They spent some time as a group named Dag-gers with several other musicians, before branching off independently to form Hurts.

The first thing that might strike you about the band, most likely, is that Theo and Adam look like male mod-els straight out of a spread in Vogue. This is as much because of their dress code as their good genes: Hurts is known for always saddling up in elegant suits, crisp white shirts, and their trademark slicked-back hair. This definitive look has helped mold and grow their image as a graceful,

well-put-together, and certainly mod-ern band.

If the looks are smooth, then, the music that Hurts produces may certainly been liquid metal (you decide for yourself whether it’s gold or silver). The group utilizes bass, string, electronic, operatic, and per-cussive instruments to form one col-lective sound. is not your typical pop or rock band—Hurts blends multiple genres of music to make their own unique blend. Theo’s voice is haunt-ing and enticing like a human cello, soulful in its bass notes and fleeting in the highs. Adam, playing at the keyboard, fuses grand piano with trance downbeats effortlessly to ac-company the vocals. From their first breakout single “Wonderful Life” that put them on the British musical radar to romantic slows like “The Water,” Hurts crafts all their songs carefully and complexly. For me, the first and undoubtedly best song I ever lis-tened to by Hurts was their stunning-ly ethereal song “Illuminated”. In-deed, Hurts demonstrates an im-pressively wide range of musicality while still retaining the original quality that captured so many attentive lis-teners in the first place, making them truly special by my perspective.

Photo: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dr5N2KEqwq0/TjQ_VzjnOOI/AAAAAAAAAsU/YOW1QefvOBw/s1600/Hurts%252B%252BPNG4.png

The band currently has one album out, Happiness (2010), and a second one, Exile, due in November 2013. This winter, though, as all cel-ebrative festivities are reaching their apexes this December, and over-played Christmas carols bombard us all, I especially recommend taking a listen to their holiday song “All I Want For Christmas Is New Year’s Day.” The spirited but uniquely yearning melody of this tune is bound to be a refreshing breath of air amidst all the wonderful but sometimes chaotic festivities—particularly if you are not feeling like the peppiest person in the world when Christmas Day comes rolling around. So go on, give any one Hurts song a try, and you might soon be experiencing exactly what Theo Hutchcraft and Adam An-derson felt when they stepped out of the bar one cold December night: a sense of curious uncertainty in the beginning, but a solid conviction by the end of the night that, without a doubt, something new and magical is about to happen. Caption: The looks and the talent: Adam Anderson (left) and Theo Hutchcraft (right) of the British band Hurts

by NANCY HUANG

Perspectives The Overachiever 9

School Play

Image taken from: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/school-play-color.html

Recently I went to a tech rehearsal.

My god.

It was a bit chaotic, none of the orga-nized planning that I tended to see in the school plays that I’ve been in. The Importance of Being Earnest tech rehearsal really takes the cake for organized chaos. Actually, it was-n’t even organized chaos. It was real-ly just people running around with a lot of different jobs, occasionally yell-ing at each other.

I interviewed the Stage Manager of Phoenix Theater Co., Vedha Ghanta, about how the school play is coming along. If anyone knows Vedha Ghan-ta, you’d know that if there were ever a novel written about her it would be titled Extracurriculars: A Love Story.

Nonetheless, she is wholly dedicated to this production, no matter how many after school activ-ities she does (which include Year-book, Robotics, Full Orchestra, Anime Club, writing Overachiever articles, and more. I’m pretty sure if she were ever to leave IA the walls of the school would actually col-lapse).

Here is what she has to

say: What’s your position in

PTC? Stage Manager, like se-

cond in command. And I’m in charge of making Tech and theater come together in an effort to make everything work. It’s AMAZING.

How’s the play coming

along (tech or theater-wise)? Well, we have a very

strong base and everyone’s work-ing hard to do their best. We’ve had a lot of issues this year, with trying to find a new theater head and hav-ing to start so late in the game. But in the end we’ve all come together and are giving it our all. And I think the play will truly be amazing and worth it in the end.

How long have you guys

been preparing for this play? Since mid to late October.

Could you describe a typical tech meeting/rehearsal day?

[Laughs.] Well, tech doesn’t have a typical weekly schedule, as we do tech for the entire school, not just for theater. It’s pretty hectic. Actors have a weekly schedule though.

What are all the roles

that people play in tech (runners, sound, lights, etc.)?

Front lights, sound sys-tem, spotlights, runners, and light board. And heads for each section.

Besides the school play,

what other school events have you guys taken care of/will take care of?

The IASA show, the fash-ion show. Odds and ends, helping set up the stage for college nights and stuff. We will do it for all the plays, Mr. IA, and we already did IFAF.

Basically, tech is serious,

legit business. Applause for Vedha Ghanta and her crew! The Im-portance of Being Earnest will be shown on January 26th from 7:00 to 9:00, and January 27th from 4:00 to 6:00. Go see it immediately and show your support for every-one in Phoenix Theater Company!

10 December 2012 Perspectives

Ask the Dude! by THE DUDE Got a question? Relationship issues? Family matters? Problems about school? Unsolvable HL math equations? Ask the Dude! All letters to The Dude are subject to publication in the International Academy High School Overachiever. Names of correspondents guaranteed confidential. Want to submit a question of your own? Drop off a note in the box at the main office! Dear Dude, The only thing my dad is inter-ested in is sports. He never paid attention to me when I was taking ballet and art

Good Deeds by NANCY HUANG

One of the things I love about this school is its diversity. This is a disclaimer, because this article actually has nothing to do with diver-sity. But I do love eating samosas, or onigiri, or that transparent spring roll stuff. The point, however, is that dur-ing the month of December, you have people believing in a myriad of dif-ferent things. And one of those things is Santa Claus. You know that song that repeats that one phrase, you better watch out, better not cry? Basically telling kids to be good and not get into trouble? Well. Because I am pretty shallow whenever expensive gifts and huge, brightly-wrapped pre-sents are involved, December is about the only month that I pay heed to those lyrics. Don’t laugh, it gets better. Today after school I hung out in the library for a short while (even man-aged to score a plate of that transpar-ent spring roll stuff) and happened to come across one of my senior friends helping out Ms. Miner. Because the

only technology that I am even remotely an expert in is the Inter-net, my phone, and my iPod, I can only say with complete accuracy that they were doing something with little blue boxes, battery packets, and screwdrivers. My friend (let’s call her Jenna) probably knew that the only technology I could handle was the spork on my good days, so she was gracious enough to not hand me a screwdriver and put me on the simple task of opening battery packets. Battery packets at the IA, if you didn’t know, come encased in two-by-two plastic baggies, which is basically gift wrap from hell. They are impossi-ble to open with your bare hands. Halfway through my first one, Jenna recommended that I grab a pen from the nearest desk and get busy shredding. The point of all this is, I did a good deed. Completely ru-ined my nails, but it was for a

good cause. I can breeze through the month of December with a clear conscious. I deserve something good from Santa, now. There is no way he will be able to refuse me a pony this year. I highly recommend that you try out this fantastic, utterly foolproof plan to gain more pre-sents. Happy Holidays, kiddies, and good luck.

and stuff, but now that I’m on a sports team, it’s like he couldn’t be prouder of me. Here’s the thing: I totally hate sports. I only tried out for the team to make him happy. I want to quit, but my dad says once you’ve accepted a position on a team, you can’t quit, because you’ll be letting the team down. I’m thinking, screw the team. I want to get back to ballet. What’s your advice? Soccer Sucks Dear Sucks, Life’s short. The fact that you hate the sport so much means

that there’s no way you’ll be play-ing at your full potential. The team would actually be better off if you quit and they found some-one willing to play with heart. Tell your dad that you know he’s trying to teach you good values, but if you don’t try new things, you’ll never know what you’re best at. And you can only make time for new things by quitting the things you KNOW don’t work for you. The Dude

The Back Page Everything else you could want in the news. December has finally graced us with its (not so snowy) breeze and we are almost done with school for the year

of 2012 ladies and gents! Despite the great disappointment in Mother Nature so far this year, there is still plenty of time

this winter for a real snowfall. With midterms right in front of our rosy faces, rest assured none of it will actually matter

once the Apocalypse finally occurs on Friday, starting a series of cataclysmic events in which case school will be the last

of our worries. But in all seriousness, there is no need to stress over midterms! It will only add to the pressure. Keep pa-

tient! While balancing your workload, take the last week of your life as an opportunity to hypothetically ponder over eve-

rything in your life that you would lose and APPRECIATE IT! Tell your friends they are great at being friends and hug

your parents often. Thank your teachers for giving you an education, and thank your favorite authors for spilling their wis-

dom onto paper.

2012 is coming to a fast end, and this school year is almost halfway over. Reflect on the positives, and focus on

what to look forward to, and what to appreciate now. This next two weeks of Winter Break for some will be for celebrating

holidays, for some will be relaxing, and I hope all will be crossing their fingers for snow. Nonetheless, enjoy yourselves

and catch you on Earth’s next journey around the sun.

by PATRICIA LIU

Crossword of the Month

Last Month’s Answers: Across 1. Pumpkin Pie 3. Mashed Potatoes 4. Football 6. Turkey 7.Thursday 8. Pumpkin Down 1. Pilgrims 2. November 5. Stuffing