A SLICE OF PI

You may not know, but there’s a

new teacher in town! Her name is Ms. O’

Keefe, and she’s the new art teacher for 6th,

7th, and 8th grades at MSA!

She started teaching as a Teacher’s

Assistant at Red Pine Elementary and con-

tinued her career at Armstrong Elementary

and Hill Murray High School. She also

works at Sports-Clips, a haircut salon, part

time. Her interest of MSA sparked when she

heard MSA was a good school to teach at

and so far, she says the student body is real-

ly put together, paved, and enthusiastic to

learn. She likes that it is such a welcoming

environment, and she comments that she felt

very at home right away. She likes that the

students are so friendly and see her as a role

model and it helps her adjust to new job at

MSA. Her hobbies include hiking and travel-

ing, as well as painting outside of school. She

also likes to go out to lots of new exciting

restaurants to try new foods.

Her favorite thing about art is the

limitless amount of possibilities and that there

are no mistakes you cannot fix. She thinks

that there are so many great artists that inspire

others and that having the ability to record the

beauty of nature through artwork is amazing.

She likes to teach art because she likes seeing

what the students have to show. Also, she

likes how she has an overall planned lesson,

but it always changes her into being happi-

ly surprised to see the great work students

create.

Some of her favorite artists are

mainly Impressionists. She likes Vincent

Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Georgia O’

Keeffe. She once traveled to Italy and stud-

ied Renaissance artists, such as Leonardo

Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Her favorite

type of art is ceramics, but she does love

looking at other types of art, such as paint-

ings. She likes to go to museums where she

can see old favorites and new ones as well.

And that just about wraps up how

awesome and cool Ms. O’ Keefe is, and, if

you haven’t met her yet, you can stop by

room 102 and say hi! She always loves

seeing new students!

PAGE 3

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PAGE 1

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A new face arrives at MSA

College: something that seems far

away for some, but for others, lies close on the

horizon. It can be a decision that is difficult to

make, but the process of making the choice

can be aided by one of MSA’s newest addi-

tions, Ms. Reichel. Her job has two compo-

nents: teacher evaluations and college plan-

ning. The new

Assistant Direc-tor sits in on

classes to listen

to teachers. She

then follows up

and discusses

“what went well

and things they can do better than they’re al-

ready doing.” Ms. Reichel’s other job is to

help students in making their choice for col-

lege and a career path. “Getting your resume

together, planning for college, PSEO, and all that business” is what Ms. Reichel is here to

do.

After twenty years in education, Ms.

Reichel has played a number of roles in the

classroom and administration. However, after

going back to teaching, Ms. Reichel “missed

that piece of being able to work with more

than the students assigned in my classroom

and working more with teachers.” She has always been focused on a

career in education. Never consider-

ing anything else, she says her love

for being involved in the school is

because “you [the students] all are

what keep me young and excited

and happy to do things, because you

come with tons of

energy.”

Family is

one of Ms. Reichel’s top pri-

orities. As a mom

of two, she loves

“to watch them do things that they

love to do.” Watching her daughter

at horseback riding and her son at

karate are some of her favorite ac-

tivities. Ms. Reichel also loves to

read and is a photographer when

she has free time.

Since this is her first year, Ms. Reichel does not plan on making any huge

changes. In the future, however, she looks

forward to “providing more opportunities

for students.” She already likes the direc-

tion Mr. Kreischer has gone in with offer-

ing more AP classes and the STEAM pro-

ject, but she wants to first “take it all in

and figure out what’s

working” before al-

tering or implement-

ing anything new.

Ms.

Reichel’s favorite

aspect about MSA so

far? “The feeling of

family.” Students

“are going to push the boundaries and

make mistakes, but

that’s all part of liv-

ing and growing.”

She sees both the

effort students put in

to their academics

and the determination

of the teachers to

help each student be

successful. “Everybody here is connected,” Ms. Reichel says. “We help each other out.

We’re all here in it together.”

Have you met the new gym teacher at

Math and Science yet? Our new gym teacher is

Mr.Haase, a very enthusiastic and nice teacher.

He loves working at the Math and Science Acad-

emy. One of the things Mr. Haase likes most

about being a physical education teacher is that

he gets to work with a lot of kids throughout

many grades.

Mr. Haase went to Waldorf College to

get his AA degree then he transferred to Concor-

dia University from Waldorf to get his teaching

certificate. He came to MSA because he knew

Mr.Kreischer prior to MSA, as Mr.Kreischer had

hired him at his old school. Mr. Haase decided he

wanted to be a P.E and health teacher when he

was in eighth grade, because there was a teacher

assistant program for eighth grade health and P.E.

He applied, and he loved it. From that moment he

decided he wanted to be a P.E teacher. Mr. Haase

has been a classroom teacher, a health teacher,

and at his prior school he taught third graders. He

has taught at Mounds Park Academy and Central

Lutheran School before coming to MSA.

Mr. Haase really likes MSA. He says

that “the kids are very respectful here. You don’t

always have that in every school. Every kid is

willing to try and go outside their comfort zone to

try something new.” He also says that the faculty

at MSA is wonderful, and he is very pleased with

the brand new gym. Mr. Hasse says that his job is

to create an atmosphere where students have fun

with fitness and they are able to take home the

skills they learned in class and have fun with their

family and friends and live healthy lifestyles.

Mr.Haase is an amazing gym teacher and we are

glad that he is here.

October staff survey

Fall reminds you of many things

like school, red leaves, pumpkin spice lat-

tes… and, of course, Staff Survey! For our

first Staff Survey of the year, which we

know all of you missed over the summer,

we decided to ask the teachers, “If all of

your writing had to be in only one color,

what color would it be?” The winner turned

out to be black! The second most popular

choice is (surprisingly) blue. Our answers

also contain less common colors, like pink

and orange. And we will undoubtedly never

be free from the reign of the red pen. Thank

you, Teachers, for your answers to the first

staff survey of the school year!

PAGE 3 PAGE 3

‘Kiss Me Kate’ comes to MSA this issue was

brought to you by: This year, MSA’s theater kids

are performing Kiss Me Kate! Kiss Me

Kate is a play about a divorced couple

named Fred and Lilly, who are brought

together by Cole Porter who has written

a musical version of The Taming of the

Shrew. The actors act a great deal like

the characters in their play and soon

enough, a fight on opening night occurs

and threatens the production. There are

also the two thugs who have the mistak-

en idea that Fred owes their boss money

and insist on staying next to him all

night.

I have interviewed two of the

actresses in this play, Erin Riley and

Julianna Pundsack on their experiences

with acting and how they like MSA The-

ater so far.

Erin Riley is a newcomer to

MSA, but not to acting! She has been in

4 other plays including her role as Ruth

Beaumont in General Hospital and Sche-

herazade in Stories of Scheherazade. In

Kiss Me Kate, she plays Paula and she

likes her role because she has a solo

song. She likes theater because everyone

has similar interests, and she can be cra-

zy and express herself. She also likes

seeing the actors and the production

grow. Her favorite part is making

friends. Her thoughts so far on MSA

Theater are that she thinks everyone is

really friendly and everyone is learn-

ing and having fun. She thinks Mr.

Shelton and Ms. Hitchcock help a lot

to make this a fun experience. She

feels very welcomed as a new student

to MSA. Besides Theater, Erin is in

Art Club, Writing Club, and Choir.

Outside of school, Erin enjoys draw-

ing, reading, writing, and swimming.

Julianna Pundsack has been

in MSA Theater before. Her previous

roles have been Annette the servant

and a dog in Annie, and part of the

Ensemble in Grease. In Kiss Me Kate,

she plays a Cab Driver and a Haber-

dasher. She likes her roles because she

gets to be different people and gets to

interact with others without having a

huge part. She likes Theater because

you can have lots of fun and you get to

become someone else for a while. Her

favorite part of Theater is the dancing.

She enjoys that MSA Theater helped

her make more connections and

friends as well as boosted her confi-

dence and lets her take a break with

real life to become someone else on

stage. She likes playing guitar, read-

ing, writing, and coloring. Outside of

Theater, she is in MSA’s Dance Club.

And so there you have it

folks. That’s the inside scoop on how

Theater really is and it looks like the

results have come out pretty good. So

check out Kiss Me Kate! You won’t

regret it!

It starts off like your average

cold, with symptoms like coughing, mus-

cle soreness, and even a fever, but in a

matter of days it can lead to possible

death—not just any kind of death, a slow

and painful one, with lots of internal

bleeding or even multiple organ failures.

What exactly is Ebola and why is every-

one so worried? Ebola is a virus that was

first documented in 1976. The virus is

carried by fruit bats and then transmitted

to animals and humans. Once humans

come into contact with the virus, it can

spread through direct contact via blood or

body fluids or through contact from any-

thing contaminated by the virus. The incu-

bation period after you’ve been infected

with Ebola is anywhere between 2 to 21

days, but humans can’t actually pass on

the virus until symptoms appear.

The scariest part about Ebola:

there is no cure. This isn’t the first out-

break of Ebola, but it sure has been the

deadliest. With over 8,000 cases and

4,000 deaths, Ebola has taken the world

by storm. The current outbreak began last

December in Guinea, when a young child

died from the disease. Then Ebola spread

rapidly to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Workers and health professionals from

across the globe have gone to help Ebola

patients, but not much can be done with-

out a vaccine.

The fear of Ebola has increased

greatly with the recent death of US vic-

tim, Thomas Eric Duncan. Lucky for us,

the CDC and US government are doing

everything they can to make sure Ebola is

contained and doesn’t spread. There have

been increased screenings at airports and

hospitals are even preparing for the worst

with Ebola drills. The fear of Ebola

spreading has become so serious that a

passenger was escorted off a US airways

flight for making a joke about having

Ebola.

Although tensions about Ebola

are high, you shouldn’t be too worried

about Ebola coming to Minnesota anytime

soon, but who knows? At least you’re

better informed and know what to look

for. Either way, if you’re feeling sick or

just have a cold its better to practice good

hygiene, so you can keep any germs from

spreading.

That’s the 411 on Ebola! For

more information visit the CDC’s web-

site.

We may not be able to do any-

thing about the time change, but we won-

dered what Math and Science Academy

students thought. Personally, I do not like

the time change. I interviewed ten students

at random to see what they thought of the

new time change and eighty percent abso-

lutely did not like the time change, ten

percent did like it, and ten percent did not

care. Some people believe that with the

new time change we are getting less sleep,

less time for extracurricular activities, and

less time for studying and doing home-

work. Many students have to take the bus

in the mornings, after their parents have

left for work, so they cannot participate in

any of the school's extracurricular activi-

ties. Some students also live outside the

busing zones, so they have to wake up at

the old time anyway. Also, the time change

interferes with some extracurricular activi-

ties and jobs, because these may start be-

fore school is over. Students involved in

afterschool activities have very little time

to do homework and get enough sleep.

Also, the new school start time is

causing kids to have to do more juggling

with activities. It is also good to get in the

habit of going to bed early and waking up

early. After all, the famous quote by Benja-

min Franklin says, "Early to bed, early to

rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and

wise”. With the old schedule kids were

able to go to bed early and wake up early;

however, the new schedule most forces

most kids into sleeping late, regardless of if

they wake up early. For some students,

they are able to do their homework in the

morning, but many find that it is a stressful

thing to do, considering that in the morn-

ings people have a limited time schedule,

and it is sometimes hard to predict how

long a new project will take. Also, if a

student rides the bus they may end up com-

ing home at 4:30, and in the winter it is

dark outside by then. The Math and Sci-

ence Academy can't do anything about the

time change, since District 833 provides

our busing, and one requirement of a char-

ter school is to have busing, we just better

get used to the new change.

I think the starting time is good

because of the following reasons. First,

every night we have a lot of homework,

so even if we finish at midnight, we still

get at least 8 hours of sleep. According

to Melinda Smith, you need at least 7

hours of sleep in order to function

properly and not get sleep deprived.

Second, having school activities in the

morning are better because your brain is

stronger, has more energy, and is well

rested. Therefore, if you have school

activities earlier in the morning, you

will do better, and give it you will have

more concentration.

Also, most people have activi-

ties after school, and, if you have the

clubs during school, you can’t miss

your activity. For example, last year we

had clubs after school that we couldn’t

attend because it collided with our ac-

tivities. Next, if you couldn’t finish your

homework the night before, you can

finish it the next morning. Last year if

you couldn’t finish it during the night,

you would have to turn in your assign-

ment late. (Of course, unless you woke

up at 3 and tried to finish it.) Finally, we

can’t change the time change, so we’ll

have to get used to it.

IT’S GOOD. IT’S BAD.

Checkered Flag

The open road, the wind in your

hair, and the freedom to go anywhere you can

think of. Usually, it is impossible for kids to

feel that sensation. Now though, with the

release of Forza Horizon 2, anyone can feel

that freedom that comes with a car. Long time

Forza fans and newcomers to this incredible

game will be astounded by the features, the

cars, and the pure sensation of driving. The

game itself is for the Xbox One and, surpris-

ingly, the Xbox 360. The opening cut scene

explains the sensation that

I was talking about earlier.

Right after that, you jump

into Lamborghini’s newest

supercar- the Hurácan.

Zero to sixty miles per

hour takes a little more

than three seconds it has a

top speed of 202 miles per

hour. Just this drive lets you know how big

this world is, and how amazing the graphics

are. After a night of well-earned celebrating,

you switch to something a little slower.

For your first car you can choose

from a BMW Z4, a 1979 Cheverolet Camaro

SS, or a Toyota Supra GT. After that you

jump right into your first championship in

Castelletto, Italy. From here on out you have

almost complete freedom to drive, race, and

explore the car list.

Exploring the car list

should be at the top of

your priority list, be-

cause it is truly amaz-

ing. You can race any-

thing from a

Volkswagen Beetle to

the Bugatti Veyron SS.

Once you really explore the games features,

you discover a variety of features like tuning,

upgrading, and the paint shop.

In the end, Forza Horizon 2 is al-

most perfect. It is not only heaven for car

aficionados, but a perfect way to get into the

wonderful series that is Forza. With beautiful

graphics, amazing cars, and the sensation of

freedom, I rate Forza Horizon 2 a 10 out of

10.

POEM: The Long Awaited

For Season

The grass dances in the breeze

The sun sets behind the trees

The kids are screaming, full of joy

You see a little girl and boy

There are splashes from the pool

Everyone is staying cool

You ride your bike in the hot sun

Your family’s having lots of fun

You pack your car for a road trip

Then climb a mountain to the tip

You start to school shop at the store

Summer ends, but you want more

Cheerleaders being underpaid

Since Cheerleaders are working

very hard for their job every day, should their

salaries be increased? NFL Cheerleaders are

one of the most recognizable mainstays of

the sport, rooting on their teams in extreme

weather and performing routines for millions

of fans. Many believe that cheerleading is an

easy job where the girls just wear controver-

sial outfits and dance. However, cheerleading

is very intense and is like any other sport.

The cheerleaders are not compensated for

their equipment or training. There are about

16 games in an NFL season, which is not

enough time for the cheerleaders to earn

money. Their salaries depend on how many

games they cheer for. Training and practices

take up a great amount of their time. Cheer-

leaders do not have time for a second job. NFL Cheerleaders bring in as much

as $1 million dollars each season for their

teams in merchandising and promotions,

many get paid as little as $150 per game.

Cheerleaders get paid $9 per hour, while the

NFL pays Concession Stand Workers $12-

$18 per hour. Many of these skilled athletes

make less than $1000 per year, while an NFL

Mascot can make as much as $65,000 per

season. NFL Cheerleaders spend countless

hours at practice each week, perfecting their

routines, but most aren’t paid for any of it.

Each member is required to have highly spe-

cialized dance and athletic skills. Many

groups and celebrities and groups have tried

to raise awareness for this cause. Lacy T

(Raider’s cheerleader) said, “We are not paid

until the end of the season and have "fines"

for late arrival and other infractions deducted

from the paycheck.” A full game days’

worth of duties can last 12 hours. Unlike the

Redskins themselves, the cheerleaders don't

control use of their images, so the team can

reproduce their photos in a variety of promo-

tional materials without paying them any li-

censing fee. Three separate lawsuits against the

Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, and the

Buffalo Bills were filed for cheerleaders being

underpaid. Cheerleaders express that they are

not compensated at all for their equipment.

Alexa Brenneman, a former Cincinnati Ben-

gal, said that in the 2013 season she was paid

$90 per game and $75 for public appearances.

She cheered for ten games in the season and 1

public appearance. Her total pay was $855.

She had worked over 300 hours that year. The

minimum hourly wage is $8.00 per hour, but

after calculations Alexa confirmed that she

was only paid $2.85 per hour. This was a huge

difference in the two hourly wages. This evi-

dence shows that the working conditions for

cheerleaders are dismal. According to the Bu-

reau of Labor Statistics, the May 2013 national

earnings for professional athletes in perfor-

mance arts estimated at $75,980 per year. That

is almost 89 times more than a cheerleader.

Cheerleaders also do all the flips that endanger

their lives and perform at a high level.

Overall, cheerleaders have to deal

with vigorous training and specific procedures

that they have to endure while not being com-

pensated for equipment and dismal wag-

es. Even though they are one of the most rec-

ognizable mainstays of the NFL, they are be-

ing significantly paid less than minimum

wage. Their performances are at a high level

and they are dedicated to their job. We believe

that these dedicated, talented, outstanding, and

humble individuals deserve to get paid more

for what they are doing.

There is a new addition to the teams

and activities at MSA, which is the volley-

ball team! The players have been working

their butts off, trying to win each and every

game. They practice

every Monday,

Wedenesday and Thurs-

day. But are we trying

too hard? Do we need to

relax? Maybe I`m

wrong, but sometimes

playing as if it`s a win-

or-die situation doesn`t

make you succeed. I

decided to talk to a few

of the players to see

what they think.

Sophie Bollin, a7th grader on the

team, said this was her first year playing

volleyball (which was such a surprise to me

because she plays like a pro!!).

“I was just frustrated,” she said.

Again, I think frustration is our worst enemy

right now. The pressure of being on the court,

in front of a large crowd of people, with all the

negativity and frustration on a player`s shoul-

ders, is so much to handle. Plus, it is a new

activity, which means it is a trial and error

process. But all that neg-

ativity will affect you

only if you make it that

way. Being confident

will make you do the

right things to win, to

help you win.

“We played good,” Jessi-

ca Koren, an 8th grade

player added. I have to

agree with that. We

played “good”. The

scores were extremely

close! There is still room for improvement

though. On a positive note, the girls were fo-

cused and took the games seriously. All the

games they lost were a chance to learn, and get

better.

Time for the 2014 Lego Robot-

ics to start up! What is Lego Robotics?

Lego Robotics is a competition that is

sponsored by FIRST. FIRST stands for:

For Inspiration and Recognition of Sci-

ence and Technology. In FIRST Lego

League (FLL) young people from the

ages of 9-14 get introduced to the fun

and exciting world of science and tech-nology. Each team gets to build and

program an

autonomous

robot using

the Lego

Mindstorms

robot set.

The robot is

used to score

points on a

playing sur-face by com-

pleting mis-

sions and

you also get

points from

your

presenta-

tion.

This year’s theme is World

Class, which is all about different types

of learning with modern technology. There are challenges like opening a

door, which represents opening a door

to a new classroom of learning, and

dropping a light bulb shaped block,

which means thinking outside the box

(Clever, huh?). There is also a challenge

that portrays a fun, energetic sport with

math and statistics and even a challenge

about how robotics can teach you

new skills.

You also have to have a

project that includes 3 compo-

nents: a problem or question, an innovative solution, and sharing

with others. In case we weren’t

able to know what our question

should look like, you could use the

format: “How could we improve

the way someone learns…” You’ll

also have to present your project to

a few judges. The projects can be

anything;

you could

even include the judges in

your presen-

tation.

Lego Robot-

ics is a com-

petition that

encourages

children to

learn and try

new things. It

helps build important

skills such

as problem

solving, reasonable thinking, and

logic. It also exercises your cogni-

tive thinking.

Unfortunately, there is no

room to sign up for a team because

all of them have already been

formed. However, it’s always free

to join next year and you can al-ways cheer on your school! How

will MSA’s Lego robots do this

year? Wait to find out and remem-

ber… GO MSA!!!

Track Update

3….2…1 Go! You hear the blar-

ring horn and you start running

with all your might. You keep

going for second lap and you start

to feel a bit woozy, but you don’t

want all that practice to go to

nothing. Then, you see the finish

line, and you start running your

hardest. “BAM!” You’re at the

finish line and you are exhausted.

On October 9th, there was a con-

ference meet (which was a 5K).

MSA won Junior Boy’s Varsity.

MSA was also the runner-up for Boy’s and Girl’s Varsity. It was a very

tough race with Trinity this year. Congratulations to all of you who ran in the

conference meet on October 9th!

MSA’s Karate Queen

Who is MSA’s very own Karate Queen?

Yukino Nakamura! Yukino Nakamura is the youngest

member of the US National Karate team. She is go-

ing to Switzerland for an international competition.

Her karate dreams started at age 10, when she started

karate, and only started competing 2 years ago! She

won second place in a youth black belt karate tourna-

ment in Texas this summer, and this placement got

her nominated for the national team. She is excited to

go to her first international competition and to contin-

ue meeting people who will help and support her

throughout her career. Everyone wish her luck! We

will be looking forward to seeing how the competition

goes when she returns! Look in next issue’s sport spot

for an update.

The footsteps were the only thing able to be heard

along the road. The moon in the ink black sky was size of a

penny, the same coin the boy twirled between his fingers as

he walked along. The date on the coin read 2017, a hundred

years in the past. The penny was an artifact now and the

boy held one of the few rare ones left in existence. He

tossed it into the air and caught it carefully in one hand. His

eyes darted around nervously as he walked. He’d pause

every so often to check for other footsteps. Stepping over a

crack in the road, he crossed the street.

Still haven’t gotten to this side of town yet, he

thought in annoyance while shaking his head. Roads were

bad in many places, having been paved over to fill cracks

and holes countless times. The road workers were getting

more and more negligent of the streets. When winter would

come, the water would freeze into the cracks left to create

holes larger than the past ones. Cement used was cheap and

driving was dangerous. Only the rich could afford to live in

a town with good streets and even those were layers upon

layers of tar.

The boy lived in a poor neighborhood. But, he

thought determinedly, that’s all going to change tonight. He

quickened his pace, dodged the weak streetlamp light, and

looked about him once again. Closing his fingers around

the coin, he stuffed his fist into his pocket. His shorts were

frayed at the edges and his shirt sleeves had been cut off for

the excruciating summer. He looked each direction thrice

before crossing the road. Down one way were houses. They

were eerily elongated and none looked even remotely the

same. The houses could be personalized, and many people

chose to update them every hour. Down the other way,

there was the central super market: a giant monster of brick

and metal. That was where he needed to go.

A few late-night shoppers bustled about the mar-

ket. They were hurried, wanting to get home. You could

order everything online and have it delivered the very next

day, but some preferred their things right then. Their carts

were filled with anything: food, hardware supplies, and

even exotic animals. The boy dodged them, jumping slight-

ly when anyone crossed his path. He was nervous; having

an artifact was dangerous.

Beep Beep Beep!

“Aww man! They got away Again.” Says

officer Bones, the tall and professional German shep-

herd. His job is the best police officer in the world of

Animal Kingdom. “Well, why not go chase after

him?” says the slightly overweight police officer,

Fluffy. He is a very intimidating beagle with blue eyes

and a donut. “Cause we obviously can’t catch him!”

replies officer Bones. “Sor-ee.” Says Fluffy, sticking

his tongue out at Officer Bones. “ Ugh, I was umm…

just kidding?” “Fine then” And they watched as all

that’s left, a shadow, runs off into the cold air…

And so, not far from that scene, in a differ-

ent land, lived a small dragon named Keeko. He was

an ice dragon, and lived in a cave that was surrounded

by harsh weather. This dragon had a fox as his com-

panion. Not just any fox, it was the rare wind fox.

Only 2 left in the animal kingdom. His name was

Shaboo. That very night, Keeko heard an ominous

voice in his dream. “You must go to the all-knowing

Cavern. There you will seek an amulet. Not just any

ordinary amulet, but one that glows blue in darkness

and green in light. When you find the amulet, freeze

it. And put it on a pedestal. After, you must…”

Keeko, Keeko! Wake up! “What is sooooooooo im-

portant that you had to wake me up!?” Says Keeko.

“Nothing much, just the fact that a blizzard is about to

cause our home to cave in!” screamed Shaboo. “Don’t

worry about it I’ll fly us out of here.” Replies Keeko,

yawning. Yet just then, rocks started to fall. “Hmm,

maybe I should be worried.” Says Keeko wondering-

ly. Keeko beckoned to Shaboo to come and have a

ride on his back. Right when they were about to leave,

the supplies they brought with them got stuck under a

rock a millimeter outside of the cave. “Leave the

stuff!” yells Keeko in the howling wind. Then, Sha-

boo bites through the rope that had gotten stuck under

the rock, and breaks free. They made it out a few sec-

onds after the final rock fell. Keeko and Shaboo went

on through the blizzard and kept an eye out for shel-

ter. “There, Keeko! Turn that way!” says Shaboo. He

was pointing to a small cavern. “Fine” Keeko says.

Once they entered the cavern, Shaboo tried to start a

fire. Once the fire was started, they both sat there

together with no food or supply what so ever. “Hey,

Shaboo, why don’t we go explore this cavern?” “Let’s

do it in the morning.” Answers Shaboo. So that night,

Keeko heard the same mysterious voice in his head…

“You are now closer; it is now up to you…” Keeko

then woke up startled to the sound of wind shaking

the cavern. “Better not tell Shaboo for now.” He

thought. When morning came around it was still dark

due to the raging blizzard and Shaboo decided to see

if there were any more sticks blown into the cavern so

he can make a torch from the previous fire. When

Shaboo finished successfully, Keeko came in and they

set off to explore the cavern. While they searched,

they noticed paintings along the walls. There were

paintings of necklaces or amulets and there were

MANY of them. Yet when they both had gone to the

side of the multiple amulets, they saw one. It was

colored half green and half blue. Both sides shining

vibrantly. “Oh no, this must be related to my

dream…” thought Keeko in alarm. “Let’s keep mov-

ing.” said Shaboo. Keeko took one last look at the

bright amulet and kept going. Then, they slammed

into a door. Shaboo pulled on the handles. “Its

locked.” he said in defeat. Keeko then breathed his icy

breath over the handles and it froze. “What did you do

that for?” asked Shaboo. And then, with his claws,

Keeko sliced at the frozen handles and they fell off,

opening the door. “Wow!” they both exclaimed in

unison. For in front of them was…

Ingredients for the Bars: 2 c. sugar 4 eggs 1 c. oil 2 c. flour 2 tsp. salt 1 ½ c. walnuts, chopped 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. baking soda 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

Ingredients for Frosting: 3 oz. cream cheese ¾ stick butter (6 Tbs.) 1 ¾ c. powdered sugar 1 Tbs. vanilla

I don’t believe in love. Actually, let me

make that more clear: I don’t believe in love at first

sight...at all. While I can’t say anything about an

actual emotional bond that is built between two indi-

viduals through years of trials and tears (yet), I do

feel that the concept of love at first sight is ridicu-

lous. That’s just the prepackaged crap that Holly-

wood and Nicholas Sparks sell to impressionable

ignoramuses for a fatter profit. I mean, what are the

chances that you’ll automatically connect with this

random stranger you see on the street? Nonexistent,

that’s what. Even if you do meet an absolutely

dreamy guy/girl, and you feel that you “know their

soul” or something of that nature, you’ll still sound

absolutely insane to everyone else around you (I’m

talking Twilight insane, here). Oh sure, maybe every-

one else just doesn’t understand you, maybe they

haven’t met their own “twoo luv” yet, but honestly?

You don’t know anything about this person or their

personality, especially since you’ve just met them for

the first time, and you’re already head over heels in

love? You’re just head over heels in lust—that just

means you like the way their facial features are ar-

ranged! You have no idea what he/she is like in every-

day life, even if you start dating right away (which is

incredibly impulsive of you, by the way), because

when someone tries to impress you, they’ll disguise

all their faults and defects. Why? To lure you into

their tangled web of sweet nothings and honeyed lies,

so that once you’re chained down to them by way of

marriage/shared inhabitation, they can show their true

colors—and you can’t escape. Seriously, when cou-

ples first start off, they are ridiculously lovey-dovey,

sometimes even calling each other cute little nick-

names and whatnot; however, as time goes on, people

get tired of putting up this facade of perfection and

instead will allow their real, much more unattractive

personality come out. Of course, not everyone does

with the goal of hurting you in mind, but we all do it

whether we’re conscious of it or not, because we’re

trying to get the person we have a crush on. Still, I

know there will always be optimists out there in the

world, so I leave you with this last note: if you do

believe in love at first sight, good luck to

you...because you’ll need it. Bars: Add cream sugar , eggs and

oil. Add remaining ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30

minutes. Do not over bake. These

bars should be baked in a jellyroll

pan. Frost when cool. Frosting: Beat until creamy. Frost

bars. Sprinkle top with finely-

crushed nuts.

Do you like magical books that whisk you away to a land of fantasy and

wonder? Well I do! And for all you Potterheads and Demigods out there, boy do I

have a treat for you! The marvelous author, Shannon Messenger, has presented you

with TWO BOOKS in a new series called Keeper of the Lost Cities in which you

can delve into and enjoy! They are about a girl name Sophie who is a super genius

ten year old and is taking college courses. She has a secret ability - hearing peo-

ple’s minds and innermost thoughts! She is then whisked off to the land of elves

where she learns she is part of a great mysterious society in her world. Not only are

her new friends and family at risk, but also her old human family! This book is my

ultimate recommendation and I have found that few MSA students have seen or

heard of this beautiful book! I highly suggest this book due to wonderful sensory

descriptions and amazing plot as well as deep thought and amazing main character.

I absolutely love this book and if my opinion is not enough to sway you so far that

you will go out to give it a try, then I will still highly suggest you give it a try!

That’s it for now, happy reading!

You’ll need:

1) Candle Wax flakes (I sug-

gest soy flakes)

2) Candle Wicks

3) Skewers or chopsticks

4) Jars (you can use any jar

depending on how big you

want your candle to be)

5) Spices

6) A pan for melting the wax

Step 1: Star t by melting your

candle wax flakes, if you use soy

flakes it will melt a lot easier. I

nestled an old pan inside another

pan to make it melt easier.

Step 2: As the wax is melting,

dip the candlewicks into the wax

and place them at the bottom of

the jar. Use the skewer or the

chopstick, and wrap the candle

wick around it to help hold it in

center.

Step 3: When the wax is almost

melted, remove from heat, and

stir or swirl the remaining wax.

Add the spices and stir well.

Step 4: Pour the wax into the

jars and let it cool completely.

Step 5: Trim the wick and you

are done!

You can use

the candles

as a décor in

your room,

or put them

in your

kitchen for a

nice fall

smell! I used mine for the dining

room table for use during dinner.

King Arthur: I am your king.

Woman: Well, I didn't vote for you.

King Arthur: You don't vote for kings.

Woman: Well how'd you become king then?

[Angelic music plays... ]

King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm

clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft

Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signify-

ing by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to

carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.

Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women

lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a

system of government. Supreme executive power

derives

from a

mandate

from the

masses,

not from

some

farcical

aquatic ceremony. – Monty Python and the Holy

Grail

Bilita Mpash (n): Bantu word for “amazing dream”.

Hygge (v): Danish verb meaning “ relaxing with loved ones and good friends” .

Shemomedjamo (n): Georgian word for the times that you continue to eat a large

meal even if you’re completely full.

Mamihlapinatapei (n): a wordless, meaningful look shared between two individuals

who want something to happen but neither of them initiate anything.

Jayus (n): Indonesian word describing the times when someone tells such a terrible

joke that it’s hard not to laugh.

These bars will get your taste buds

excited! The smell of the bars, and of

course the taste, will want you crav-

ing them like no other treat. These

bars are great for family parties, fall

festivities, and of course, an after

school treat.