The HCOS WeeklyVol. 2 Edition 1

Welcome Back!

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. –Matthew 5:16

Verse of the Week

by Megan Ferguson

Let the school year begin and ‘May the odds be ever in your favor.’ Haha just kidding! I find the begin-ning of the school year something to look forward to! A!er a fantastic summer of going to the beach, staying up late, and getting tanned (haha yeah I wish), I like to jump into my brand new courses and en-joy a new routine. Oh wait. That means getting up earlier than 9:30. Maybe I don’t like school so much anymore. But regardless, school comes whether I like it or not, and I want to start off my first article with Matthew 5:16. I want to push us all towards living like Jesus, by not getting caught up in gossip, materialism, jealousy, bad atti-tudes, etc. Let’s love one another and let our lights shine, because I know that each and every one of you has a beautiful light to shine. Let’s make this the best school year ever!

by Jennica Wlodarczyk

It seems that summer goes by a lit-tle bit faster every year. As insane as it may seem, we’re beginning to delve into the 2014-2015 season of school. For some of us, that’s a scary thought. A few of my friends from HCOS and HCS are in Grade 12 this year, preparing to complete their last high school assignments and quizzes before going off into the real world of jobs and post-sec-ondary. Another bundle of my friends are Grade 8s, just starting to skim the surface of what it’s like to be a high school student with HCOS.

Last but not least, I cannot forget the many new students of all ages and grades that are experiencing HCOS for the first time. I’d like to welcome all of you to our school. I’m sure that I speak for both the faculty and the students when I say that we are very glad to have you on board, and pray that your expe-riences and time learning in our school would greatly benefit you in every way.

No matter how long we’ve been with the school or what grade level we are at, any one of us may feel at times that school is a big, scary thing barely survivable at the best of times. As we begin our courses this year, I’d like to share with you a Bible verse that has helped me

through times of stress or anxiety caused by pesky schoolwork. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who strength-ens me.” Schoolwork can be scary, especially when you’ve been out of touch for the entire summer, but remember that Jesus is always willing to help you. No job is too big for Him; therefore, no job is too big for you when you are living ac-cording to His Word. You are fully capable to conquer the beastly math textbooks that lay ahead of you!

I sincerely wish each and every one of you a wonderful and enjoyable school year. Learning is a gi!, and it is one that we have such easy ac-cess to in this day and age. Have fun with not only your schoolwork this year, but with your friends and family! This year is a doorway to new possibilities and experiences. Enjoy it while it lasts, and again, best wishes to you all.

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Literature CornerA place for YOU to showcase your writing!

Cataclysm

A StoryBy Jubilee Chiu

It is the year 2032. My name is Kaela Stryker, and this is how my story ends.

I was born and raised in the Sector 11. For the past 17 years of my life, life has been mundane and rou-tinely. Be that as it may, I’ve never been able to figure out what in the world (pun intended) this ominous gut feeling I had was foreboding. It was like my brain was whispering to me… It’s going to implode. Soon.

That may have been why I received a message last week from the One; no one clarified that for me. The message was a warning. I was to leave my home and travel to some type of Underground-Railroad-type of home and stay under the radar. The internet radar, that is. It seems that the situation is critical, because I was harshly instructed to fake my death on the internet, and my high school teacher was to help. Faking my death was no easy task; it was detrimental to my dearest friends and relatives. I may not have had a huge circle of friends, but I had very close ones and it breaks my heart to do this to them. There was no choice, though. Moments a!er I "died", oddly dressed people in masks came to take me to their base.

As we drove across the suspension bridge, my mind started racing. I was terrified. IT'S GOING TO IM-

PLODE. NOW. As if on cue, a gargan-tuan wave towered over us, block-ing out the sun. Tsunami. Of course. Bracing myself the best I could manage, I hollered, "FLOOR IT, DRIVER. WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!"

What happened next was all a blur; the tsunami wave hit the bridge dead center, just missing us. Oth-ers were not so fortunate. Every-thing went in slow motion as we sped against the crumbling bridge. I watched in dismay as the debris, cars and shipping containers got violently washed ashore.

(•<>•)

"KAELA! Wake up!" That was Lucas. What is he doing here?

" C ' m o n , y o u n e e d t o d o something! She's out cold." Ariana?!

"Please, Kaela. I'm begging you. Wake up!" He pleaded again.

(•<>•)

I gasp for oxygen -- terrible idea. My sinuses sting with the water that'd forced its way in. According to Lucas and Ariana, our car had slid into the raging waters below, along with the bridge. We miracu-lously made it out alive, consider-ing the fact that I fainted and had to be dragged along. The sharp, charred rocks that covered the shore contrasted what was le! of the buildings -- mounds of rubble and debris. Amongst the scarce few buildings still standing, Lucas

pointed out a specific building that we were supposed to be at hours a g o . T h e b u i l d i n g w a s n o spectacle, with solid grey walls and an overall monochromatic design. Despite the unimpressive exterior, the interior was striking. Glass pan-els, white walls and minimalistic furniture made for a sleek, clean feel.

Apparently this was where Lucas and Ariana were working at, in the HoverFlight repairs and recruit-ment departments. Neither knew the purpose of my faked death, which was peculiar. Recruitment teams are usually fully briefed by the One. My thoughts were sud-denly interrupted, though.

A crackle and a snap over the inter-com, then an announcement fol-lowed. “LUCAS KNIGHT AND ARIANA JACOBS, REPORT TO OFFICE [ONE].” A holographic message also ap-peared overhead, visible to every-one in the common area.

I turn my head to Lucas and Ariana hoping for a quick explanation, but they were already speedwalking away towards ‘Office [ONE]’.

“Right, leave me here, all alone! Great! See you around, friends…” I mumbled under my breath.

Being the only raven-haired girl in the building meant lots of stares, and not all of them were friendly. As a result, chipper wasn’t exactly what a passerby would describe me as; it’d be something along the lines of “that grumpy Asian girl pouting by the water fountain”.

All complaints aside, I ended up going exploring. There were dozens and dozens of offices, mostly lower-class employees. The doors had some sort of locking

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mechanism I’ve never come across before; it was composed of glass-like cubes, gears and chains. Fancy. Wandering down a harshly lit hall, I realized that it was actual-ly naturally lit. Since when did mid-day sunshine get so starkly white?! Looking out for more than 5 sec-onds was barely possible. My eyes already burned with such intensity that hot tears started clouding my vision. Oookay, we are walking away…look away…look away!

*OOF!!*

“AH, I am so sorry!” I gushed, com-pletely flustered.

A deep, melodic voice replied, “It’s alright, miss. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, thank you – Mr. Evans”, I said sheepishly, having read his nametag. I didn’t look fine, I know that much. I bet my eyeliner was smudged and giving me panda eyes.

“Are you by any chance Miss Kaela Stryker?” He smiled.

“That’s me, sir. How…how do you know who I am?” To be honest, I was kind of freaked out. He better not be a creepy stalker.

Mr. Evans had a pensive look on his face, then said, “It’s actually a long, complicated story, Miss Stryker. You’re no ordinary teenaged girl. We found you 17 years ago, aban-doned in the middle of a crop cir-cle that read ‘PROTECT KAELA STRYKER’ in Gallifreyan. We thought it was some sick prank, but a!er some tests, you proved to be a genetically enhanced human. Since then, you were placed in a trusted family’s care, and raised to hopefully save the world one day. It sounds ridiculous, but we’ve

been monitoring your brain activi-ty and that constant gut feeling you had is real. The Tsunami hit the bridge you were on, the exact moment you had the feeling that something terrible was about to unfold.”

His words turned into a drone as I went into a stupor of disbelief. I…wasn’t wholly human?

“You actually died, Kaela. The wave hit the car you were in. It doesn’t seem that way to you be-cause you were programmed in a way that alters the memory of your death somehow so that you never know you’ve died. You CANNOT know that you’ve died; it’s fatal to you. I’m only telling you this be-cause the One alerted me mo-ments ago that it is your time to go. Farewell, Miss Stryker. God-speed.” He finished, his face down-cast.

At this point, my head was spin-ning and the last thing I saw was the roof opening, and a hoverplane picking my limp body up de!ly. Where am I going?

Rainy Days

A WishBy Jazzannah Green

Green walls, a white ceiling, and a dark brown wooden floor. That’s what greeted me when I woke. My clock over the fireplace mantel ticked steadily, and I could hear the gentle sounds of a tree branch scraping the outside wall behind me. Rain drizzled gently down my window, and the whole house was silent, fitting with the somber, gray mood. My gaze wandered about

the room, crossing my book-shelves, dresser, and falling on the parted, roof to floor curtains. I got up, gently pulling the light grey covers back, and padded across to my window seat, clad only in a white nightshirt. My book-nook, as I called it, was freshly made, with the pillows fluffed up, and the white crocheted quilt folded neatly. The windows by it were closed, save for one, which was currently letting a gentle gust of wind through. The entire sky was gray and cloudy, a peaceful, calm-ing weather, and I could look out across our extensive lawn, and see the trimmed grass, the pruned hedges lining the long, winding driveway. Puddles were collecting on the pavement walkway that wound through the flower garden, spilling over the edges into the dirt, which was already beginning to become muddy. Thunder rum-bled in the distance, and a smile pulled at the edges of my lips. This was going to be a reading day. I silently walked to the large book-shelves, and ran my fingertips across the covers, reveling in the knowledge that I could go any-where I wanted, and yet stay in the comforts of my room. I closed my eyes, and stopped, my hand rest-ing on a book. I pulled it out, and looked at the cover: Jane Eyre. I was going to the world of ball gowns and romance today, to cry, and laugh with her. I settled into the window seat, and pulled my quilt up over my knees, leaning back into the plush pillows, and right before I cracked open the book cover, I looked out the win-dow, at the beauty of the grounds. The breeze coming through the window made me shiver, and drawing my quilt closer, I started reading, losing myself in the mys-teries of books.

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Kristina FedorovJubilee ChiuJoshua Wlodarczyk

Jesse's Art-Icle

Jesse's Art Galleria

Hey guys, Jesse here!

As you can see, I have attempted to draw three of our HCOS Weekly staff in this week's character theme: PIRATES! I will be doing an art showcase segment like this in each issue, and the person I want to draw is YOU! If you are interest-ed or would like to have yourself transformed into the theme of the week, please message me on S k y p e o r a t hcosweekly@outlook.com. Follow those steps, and you can count on seeing yourself in the next issue! This upcoming week's theme will be MIDDLE EARTH, so be sure to put in your request ASAP!

NOTE: Only the first three requests will be drawn in this theme (possi-bly a fourth), so be sure to mes-sage us right away!

Editor's Note:

Dr. Wise

Hello, readers. Do you remember the advice column we had up last year? Well, Dr. Wise (known in some realms as Kristina Fedorov) is back again for the 2014-2015 school year! If you have any ques-tions, whether they're serious or silly, please do not hesitate to send them in tohcosweekly@outlook.com. We en-joy receiving questions from all of you, and Dr. Wise is wiser than ever now that she's completing her last year of school. Wow, right?

Thank you for taking the time to read this note, and have a fabulous day!

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Back To School - By Joshua Wlodarczyk

compiled and submitted by Genevieve Ward

Weekly LOL

Super Comics

A Super

Announcement

Joshua Wlodarczyk, the creator of the "Super Comics" series, has a very special announcement! He has decided to create a series of comics based around "home-schooler moments." If you have any special stories about com-ments you've received a!er some-one learned you were a home-schooler, odd things you've done as a homeschooler, or a favourite homeschooler joke, send them in to Joshua athcosweekly@outlook.com

He will then take your anecdote and turn it into a comic! Please in-clude a physical description of yourself and any other people in-volved in the comic so that he can create a character for you. Remem-ber, Joshua's comics are roughly three scenes long. Keep your story short so that he can make properly-paced comic for it!

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Weekly LOL continued...