Fall is here, which means leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down and it’s a great time to go places before winter comes.
Here are a few ideas to help you get started.
Visit the Apple orchard- Visit a apple orchard farm. Minnesota is a great place to get fresh apples from farms like: The Orchard Hill, Aamodt’s Apple Farm, Fischer Croix Farm Orchard, and Victoria Valley Orchard.
Visit a pumpkin patch- A pumpkin patch is where a garden of pumpkins are planted. Minnesota has around 140 pumpkin patches, some of them have rides, corn mazes, petting zoos, and some give you the opportunity to carve scary faces into pumpkins or bake and eat the seeds. Some pumpkin patch places provide a variety of different activities like: Schiltgen Farms LLC, Dehns Pumpkins, and Lendt’s Pumpkin Patch.
Duluth- The season is changing in Duluth, and the change comes with beautiful colored fall leaves. Duluth provides a variety of things other than to watch the leaf changes colors too. While you are there, you can head up to Spirit Mountain, tour the beautiful grounds at the historic Glensheen Mansion, explore Canal Park, Leif Erikson Park, the Duluth Rose Garden, and you can also take the train to the Hidden Pumpkin Patch on October 15–18.
Hiking- Hiking is when you go for long walks, especially in the country or woods. Hiking helps you build some strength in your quadriceps, hamstrings, and the muscles in your hips and lower legs. St. Paul has some great hiking places like: Winchell Trail, Shadow Falls Park, and Hidden Falls Regional Park.
Hayride- A hayride is a fun outdoor activity to get into the fall spirit. It involves a recreational ride in a wagon or cart pulled by a tractor, horses, or a truck. The wagon or cart is filled with hay, for it to be comfortable when seating, hence the name, hayride.
I attended Central High School the year of 2017-2018. Like all incoming high school freshman, I was confused and nervous. I attended Highland Park Middle School and really enjoyed it. There, I made a lot of friends and we were all planning on going to Highland Park High School together.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way I wanted and I ended up being placed at Central High School without my friends. This heart breaking change completely blind sided me, but through it I gained perspective on the differences of Central vs. Highland.
My first memorable experience as a new student was the Central vs. Highland football game. Being a Central student I sat at the Central student section at the game.
When entering the stadium I felt anxious because my old friends sat on the opposing side, and I found myself wishing to be with them. The Central side was nerve-racking and felt just like what you see in the movies.
The students were screaming “go home freshman!” and “Highland Sucks!” After 20 minutes I took off my Central sweatshirt and snuck across to the Highland side.
Although I felt comfortable for a few minutes I quickly realized I didn’t belong there either. It is not an uncommon feeling for any new student to feel lost and alone.
Looking back on this time in my life, now being a junior at Highland Park High School, it now feels like a normal coming of age experience.
So what’s the difference?
Central is a French immersion school compared to Highland, which is a Spanish immersion school.
Central is also a bigger school with a graduating class of 400 students. The large size teaches you independence, shows you diversity as well as real world conflicts.
Highland is a smaller school with a graduating class of 300. It is more sports focused and feels more like a neighborhood school.
Both high schools are International Baccalaureate (IB), however my experience has been that Highland integrates and focuses more on the IB program than at Central.
Families pain-stakingly choose their child’s high school for lots of different reasons. Some parents are looking for a challenging curriculum, others are interested in extracurricular activities.
What I learned from attending Central for one year was that both Highland and Central are good schools.
The new Hellboy film was released on April 12th of this year, and made only $40.8 million at the box office. There has been a lot of hate towards the reboot and I’m going to give my personal thoughts on the pros and cons of the movie.
Hellboy tells a story of a half-demon who works with a organization to stop demons and other creatures around the world. When Niue, the Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich), is resurrected, and out to get revenge on her past betrayal, and has intentions to reek havoc on the world, it is up to Hellboy (David Harbour) and his known associates to put a stop to her before all hell breaks loose.
This movie seems to have a tough time making the pacing right. The film instantly starts off with narration and it seems as if they quickly rushed in the backstory for the antagonist just so they could get right into the Hellboy action.
Which brings me to the character Hellboy. Hellboy as a character is introduced somewhat quickly, they get right into the action when they show him. David Harbour is a great actor and portrayed the character really well in the new adaptation, he kind of is one of the very few things that keeps the movie going with his sarcastic and lazy attitude.
One downside I’d have to say is that he seems very weak as a fighter in scenes, which often in other movies adds more intensity, but he nearly dies by many different enemies in the movie and it kind of makes you disappointed in him.
It seems as if the movie tries adding a lot of side stories as well that never go anywhere. For example, Hellboy at one point joins his father’s old team to stop a group of giants. Out of the blue, they decide to betray Hellboy and attempt to kill him, but they all get killed off pretty much right away. The movie does this often, they’ll add many useless side stories that aren’t asssential to the plot, and they never go anywhere interesting.
The film action wise is honestly pretty enjoyable; it is filled with nonstop action and isn’t afraid to get bloody. The movie alone is very gory and I think they used a bit too much at times, and it doesn’t really get you to take scenes seriously. But once it comes to the action, it will often go on for a good 10 to 15 minutes and it’ll keep you entertained.
The visuals aren’t bad, but there are certain scenes where the CGI will look embarrassingly noticeable and you can tell they just threw it together quickly. But other than that, the visuals can often be pretty decent, they aren’t Planet of the Apes good, but it’s normal enough most of the time, where it doesn’t really bother you.
As I said earlier, the acting in the film is good, but the characters alone, besides Hellboy, aren’t that interesting. It seems as if they just made these characters and gave them a backstory and some powers and that’s about it. They don’t really give them enough personality, they’re just people who stick by Hellboy’s side most of the movie. Also, Hellboy’s father in the original Guillermo Del Toro series is more of an interesting and developed character, but in this one, he’s just in this movie for the sake of him being in it and isn’t really important to the plot.
Which brings me to comparing this film to Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation. This film had a director switch which really changed the whole Hellboy feel. The original one had a memorable style and color scheme to it; it felt like it was hardly worked on and it had an unsettling feel to it. This one is very lackluster compared to that and just feels like a gory, action packed comic bookish styled movie made solely for teens.
Now let’s talk about the soundtrack. The soundtrack is pretty fitting with the film’s style, it has heavy metal and early 2000’s remixes. Sometimes though, the music seems somewhat unneeded or it just doesn’t fit with the scene.
Overall, this movie is quite a mess. But it if you enjoy action packed and brutal movies and come just to see some action and don’t care about the plot, then this is your kind of movie. I myself think it is very enjoyable and action packed but story wise, it’s a mess and the writing is pretty awful.
I’d give this movie’s action a solid 7/10 and the story a 2/10.
Though the message is clear about the overwhelming use of plastics, some other product’s consequences are not quite as widely known. To be more knowledgeable, for the sake of the Earth, continue reading about these three deceiving products.
1. Soap
You may want to think twice about what kind of soap you are using the next time you wash your hands. Contrary to what you may think, soap is actually a substance that threatens the environment because of a toxin, triclosan, contained in it.
Case in point, the chemical is very persistent. It does not die off by water treatment, meaning that it can reach the oceans and other waterways. Not only does it destroy a bacteria within bodies of water, but the very bacteria that makes up the base of the food chain.
Luckily, in September 2016, there was a ban issued towards triclosan. It was said the products containing the chemicals were not ideal or safe for long term use.
Unfortunately, there are still soaps, deodorants, and kitchenware containing the toxin that should be avoided.
Do you think of chopsticks as a harmless wooden utensil used for eating? Sadly, you are mistaken, because China’s forests are sacrificing 1.18 million square meters to produce enough wood/bamboo to meet the demand, per year.
Chopsticks were once a product, but should now be considered a habit. As demand for chopsticks goes up, 20 million trees in China’s forests come down. Each tree is used to make 4,000 chopsticks, meaning China is producing 80 billion chopsticks per year. Sadly, this factual number goes far past the 57 billion chopsticks, per year, that China’s national forest bureau estimates are produced.
3. Sunscreen
Sunscreen, the goody two shoes of all substances, isn’t what it seems. Sadly, there is a salty secret behind the misty spray or white lotion you choose to use.
The oceans are greatly affected by humans and all our plastic and chemical usage, and this is no different. Sunscreen is suppose to prevent harm and damage to humans, but in the oceans it seems the coral and marine life are facing the ugly reality of sunscreen.
A common chemical known as oxybenzone, which is the main ingredient in sunscreen, is extremely toxic to young coral. The coral reefs’ development is affected by the toxin, which also damages their DNA. Their defenses against ocean bleaching is also lessened from exposure to oxybenzone.
I’m sure every student has, or will at one point, encounter a teacher that will only give out a limited number of bathroom passes for the quarter or semester. They may give out so few bathroom passes that even with your best attempts to not use the bathroom during that class you would be unable to avoid running out.
But why do teachers choose to enact such regulations?
I spoke with two teachers on why they choose to give out limited bathroom passes and their answers were rather similar. They want students to remain in class and focus on the material.
One of the teachers, when she had not had this rule, had too many students missing too much class time and felt it was likely they were goofing off in the bathroom.
Both teachers believe the number of passes they give out is sufficient so if it actually is an emergency they’ll be able to go, and that passing time, or the amount of time they will give them at the beginning of class (one teacher gives their students an extra 5 minutes at the beginning of class to use the bathroom), is enough.
One of the teachers also made the point as due to the new cellphone policy it is more likely that students will go to the bathroom just to use their phone.
They say these regulations have been working to accomplish their goals. Students are spending much more time in class and without having to manage what kids are in the bathroom or who is going next, class seems to run much smoother.
They say that each teacher runs their class a certain way and knows what is best for it, but if they are having problems with students using the bathroom, this is a solution for them.
However, the students I interviewed seemed to have some different ideas than the teachers. 8 out of 9 of them said that they did not support teachers giving out a limited number of bathroom passes. A majority of them did say there might be ways for the policy to be changed enough for them to support it though.
Most of them also said that while it depends on the class, passing time is not enough to use the bathroom, unlike what the teachers believe.
7 out of 9 of them said that it did not help students pay attention in class, as if they need to use the restroom, but are unable to, they would not be able to pay attention.
So, while teachers who implement this rule think it is good and helps students pay attention, students seem to be of the opposite opinion.
Freshmen year of high school is a challenging year, it’s stressful when it comes to finding your way around the school and adjusting to new people and the new classes. Some days are going to be hard and others days are not, but it will get better, just be patient with yourself and it will feel like home in no time.
Here are few tips to help you have a great year.
Keep up your studies – To have a great freshman year keep up to date with your classes. High school usually comes with more homework, so figure out how to get good grades and you will be right on track.
Put together a calendar to manage your time with homework and your studies. High school will be harder and it requires a lot of hard work to have success, so if you are struggling, don’t be afraid to ask for help or get a tutor to help you.
Challenge yourself – If you want to challenge yourself take one or two accelerated classes. To help decide which to take, look at the school courses and see what they offer.
Also, you can choose extracurricular classes to earn more credits. High school usually has great opportunities, so it’s a great time to try something new, like trying out for a sports team or joining some of our clubs here.
Choose something that your interested in and it will help you grow and take on a leadership role.
Adjustment – Another way to help you with freshmen year is making new friends. Sometimes, our friends from middle school are not always going to stay our friends so make extra effort to keep those friendships and also to make new friends.
High school will help you, it will introduce you to new activities that will help you to have a passion for something.
For more ideas and tips to help you during your freshman year, you can visit one of these sites:
Have you ever stressed out for days before you have to present in front of a class?
Or when you’re presenting and all you can do is fidget with your sweatshirt laces and pace around awkwardly?
Maybe you just can’t stop looking at the ground when you’re talking because you’re scared that people are giving you weird looks while you are in front of the class.
If you have experienced any of these, then this article is for you!
My name is Leo Brock, and I have struggled with all of these and many more. Over the last 2018-2019 school year, I have become a lot more confident with my public speaking.
Here are some tips for you to become a better public speaker!
When the teacher asks if anyone wants to volunteer, go for it. There are absolutely no downsides to it when you look further into volunteering.
If you volunteer to go first, it impresses your teacher, you can get it over with right away, and there is nothing before you for your classmates and teacher to base your presentation on. You’ll be completely original.
Alright, you managed to get in front of the class…you’re presenting…what do you do with those lovely big eyes of yours?
I know that it can be nerve racking looking up. But the best way to keep your eyes ahead of you is to slowly look to your right, and move your way to your left around the perimeter of the wall. This way you won’t be looking at the ground or have to look at your classmates.
Your teacher will like that you have your head up looking at your classmates but little do they know you’re just looking at all of their kitten posters along the walls.
What I’ve always had the most trouble with is not knowing what to do with my hands.
It can be very off putting to teachers if you are fidgeting with something while you’re presenting and it’s visually distracting. A good way to get rid of that is when you are talking, use your hands to put emphasis behind your words.
For example, you can point at pictures or the subject you are talking about on your presentation. Also, you can use your hands to physically describe something whether it’s the size, or shape, or action of what you are talking about.
The biggest key to a presentation is being confident. Even if what you’re presenting isn’t that good, just think that you volunteered to go up in front of the class and followed the last 4 steps perfectly.
No one else in that class did that except you.
Speak loudly, so you can hear your own voice bouncing off the walls. Also, think to yourself…when this presentation is over, you’re done, and you’ve got nothing else to worry about. You are currently killing your presentation and you can get happy knowing it’ll finally be over soon. That alone will raise that voice up a little bit too.
I very much hope these tips have helped you, they have most certainly helped me.
Until my next article, I’ll leave you with this one.
Ballet Folklórico is one of the many ways to express Mexican culture. Ballet Folklórico is a dance that represents all of the regions in Mexico; therefore, it has many different types of dances, clothing, and music within the category.
These dances were practiced and performed as early as the 17th century and started to become more popular in the 18th century, after the War of Independence.
The most popular and widely known type of Folklorico is the Folklorico dances of Jalisco. A traditional Folklorico Jalisco dress is made of a fabric called poplin. The colors of the dresses are strong such as red, Mexican pink, and yellow. The shirt part of the dress has sleeves that go up to the elbow. Both the skirt and the dress are decorated with ribbons that match the dress.
The men wear a typical charro suit which is made up of long tight pants with decorations on the sides. Along with the pants there is a matching jacket and silk tie. They also wear a wide-brimmed hat, or sombrero, with the outfit.
All Folklorico dances consist of a lot of movement of the whole body. There is a lot of footwork, legwork, use of the torso, and armwork. In many dances the ladies use their skirts with coordination and elegance to produce beautiful waves of color emanating from their dresses.
Others, such as the style of Gerruero, use other forms to get the people’s attention besides using their skirts. Guerrero dances consist of both males and females using a pañuelo (handkerchief) while they dance, moving it in an infinity symbol like motion.
In many other dances such as those from Nayarit and Colima, the men use machetes while they dance, producing a loud noise and a great reaction from their audiences.
There are many groups all around the world that teach the wonders of Ballet Folklorico that usually focus on all the different types of dances from all the regions in Mexico. Joining a group allows one to connect with their Mexican culture or learn of Mexican culture, and this makes learning Ballet Folklorico all the more fun.
The Official Online Newspaper of the Highland Park Scots
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