19 | December | 2023 | Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News

By: Natalia Gercheva

As many of you may know, there are some popular movies that are going to be released at the end of 2023, and in 2024. In this article I will be going over what I think are some of the most significant movies coming out soon, and their release dates so you can mark your calendars and see them in theaters! Also, a link to the trailers will be attached under every movie! (All the release dates in the article are for the United States)

‘Wonka’ (December 15, 2023)

I wanted to start off by mentioning the movie ‘Wonka’ starring Timothée Chalamet which was released very recently! It is playing in many theaters around Minnesota, but the Highland Mann Theater is also playing it if you live in St. Paul, and want to watch it locally. The cast for this movie is extensive, featuring many famous celebrities. The movie is a prequel to Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. It follows the young Willy Wonka and his dream to make it big in the chocolate industry.

‘Wonka’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otNh9bTjXWg

‘Mean Girls’ (January 12, 2024)

As some of you may know, there is yet another ‘Mean Girls’ movie that will be released in 2024. It features some actors from the original movie such as Tina Fey and Tim Meadows. A couple of the new actors are Jenna Fischer and Christopher Briney. The plot also stays similar to the original movie, but it has more modern twists and new jokes. I think it will be interesting to see how it compares to the original movie, because it has such a big name to live up to.

‘Mean Girls’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtdbEgnUOk

Kung Fu Panda 4′ (March 8, 2024)

‘Kung Fu Panda’ is one of my favorite childhood collections of movies, so I am actually really looking forward to this coming out, and watching it. I have never disliked one of the movies, and based on the trailer it seems to have an interesting storyline. It is great to watch with your family, and with people of all ages.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inKs4eeHiI

‘Inside Out 2’ (June 14, 2024)

It has recently been announced that there will be an ‘Inside Out’ sequel, which also seems to have a good plot. The last movie came out in 2015, so I remember being just a kid when first watching it. The sequel explores Riley’s mind as she grows up as a teenager. It will feature new emotions, including Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. I am excited to see the movie since it has been many years since the first, and I hope it does well.

‘Inside Out 2’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWavstJydZU

‘Despicable Me 4’ (July 3, 2024)

Adding to the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise, the fourth movie will continue the story of Gru, his wife Lucy, and their adopted kids. It is still not super clear what the plot will be about, but based on the trailer it looks like there is a new villain to take down, and Gru’s twin brother is still there to help. I love ‘Despicable Me’ because it was also one of my main childhood movies, although it seems that the quality of the plot has been going down after each new movie they release. I really hope that’s not the case for this movie, and for now I am looking forward to seeing it.

‘Despicable Me 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74RIFFCiQDk

There are a couple more honorable mentions that haven’t all been completely confirmed, but may come out in 2024 that I just didn’t write about in this article. Some examples are ‘Paddington in Peru’, ‘Rush Hour 4’, ‘Deadpool 3’, and ‘Wicked’. I hope this article gave you some things to look forward to in the new year!

By: Jafar Abdi

Basketball season is here! With the excitement of the sport also comes teams and tryouts. Here at Highland, we have 3 different teams for you to play on: B-Squad (also known as C-Squad), JV (Junior Varsity), and Varsity.

According to Stack.com, “Feeling nervous before basketball tryouts is completely normal. Some of those nerves typically stem from fear of the unknown. When you don’t know what’s going to happen at a basketball tryout, it can be difficult to feel confident and prepared.” But what’s important is that you play hard and work even harder. Now here is what to expect.

Tryouts were November 20th-22nd, with the C-Squad trying out at 3-5PM and the other teams trying out at 5-7PM. There were a lot of basic offensive drills like either handed layups but there was also some defense like sliding/shuffling.

There was also around 30 players trying out, and the coach would most likely choose around 12-15. Players who already played for the C-Squad last year wouldn’t be chosen by the coach to play again, so good luck to them on the higher squads!

On top of regular drills, there was lots of conditioning with the coach having players doing “suicides” which is running up and down the court multiple times at a sprint.

Besides the actual content of the tryouts the actual players would be mostly freshman, seeing as the upperclassmen were trying out for the higher squads. Not to say that a sophomore or junior couldn’t participate in C-Squad tryouts, but that there were not that many people that age.

The coach would be looking for players who could be a leader on the court, with good sportsmanship, and were hard working, so you needed to make sure to give it your all.

The 1st game of the season was on Tuesday, Dec 5th, with Varsity and JV losing and C-Squad winning. All-in-all, basketball is a great sport to play, and it’s an even better feeling when you can play for your school. I wish everyone good luck and hopefully they have a good season!