Monthly Archives: February 2024

Music/Concerts

The 2024 Grammys overview

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By: Calla Fragassi

Image created with Craiyon,com

The Grammys is an awards show that takes place once a year in the United States. It is hosted by The Recording Academy and recognizes the achievements of artists in the music industry. They are one of the four EGOT awards in the performing arts industry (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys) and were first presented on May 4, 1959. 

There are at least five nominees for each of the awards, and the big four Grammy categories are: Record of the Year (awarded to singer, producer, mixer, recording engineer, etc), Album of the Year (awarded to singer, producer, recording engineer, etc), Song of the Year (awarded to songwriter and singer of the song), and Best New Artist (awarded to a new artist who released music in the last year that established their spot in the music industry).

The Recording Academy also announced three new Grammy categories this year: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording. 

The Grammys this year took place Sunday, February 4, 2024 and there were many memorable moments at the show. There were 94 different categories for Grammy Awards, and this is a list of the winners and nominees of each of the 4 main awards:

Record of The Year

Winner: ““Flowers“ – Miley Cyrus

Nominees: “What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish

      “On My Mama” – Victoria Monét

      “Vampire” – Olivia Rodrigo

      “Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift

      “Kill Bill” – SZA

     ” Worship” – Jon Batiste

      “Not Strong Enough” – boygenius

“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus was written as a response to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” and reached 1 billion plays after 112 days of being released.

Personally, I think the song is great and it was fun to compare it to “When I Was Your Man,” but I do think it became very overplayed in a short amount of time. The message behind the song promoted individuality and that you should put yourself first but after a couple of listens, it became very repetitive. I think it deserves the recognition, but not Record of The Year”over a song like “Kill Bill”. 

Album of The Year

Winner: ‘Midnights’ – Taylor Swift

Nominees: ‘World Music Radio’ – Jon Batiste

      ‘Guts’ – Olivia Rodrigo

      ‘The record’ – boygenius

      ‘SOS’ – SZA

      ‘The Age of Pleasure’ – Janella Monáe

      ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’ – Lana Del Ray

      ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ – Miley Cyrus

‘Midnights’ is Taylor Swift’s most recent new album, which was released in October of 2022.

I really enjoyed the album, specifically songs like “Lavender Haze”, and “Snow on the Beach”, and even though I preferred SZA’s album ‘SOS’, I definitely think she deserved the spot for Album of The Year because of how big the album was when it first came out, and the anticipation of her new music that came with it. 

Song of The Year

Winner: “What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish

Nominees: “Vampire” – Olivia Rodrigo

     “Kill Bill “- SZA

      “Flowers” – Miley Cyrus

      “Dance The Night Away” – Dua Lipa

     ” Butterfly” – Jon Batiste

      “Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift

      “A&W” – Lana Del Ray

“What Was I Made For?” was first released in the ‘Barbie’ movie that came out this past summer.

The lyrics and meaning behind the song is very heartfelt and I believe it is a song many people can relate to. Out of all of the songs that were nominated for this award, I would say I think it definitely deserves the spot and the title of Song of The Year. It was the one song that stuck with me the most after watching the ‘Barbie’ movie with 45.6 million streams on Spotify. 

Best New Artist

Winner: Victoria Monét

Nominees: Jelly Roll

    The War And Treaty

    Noah Kahan

    Coco Jones

    Ice Spice

    Fred again

    Gracie Abrams

As for the Best New Artist category, I hadn’t heard of Victoria Monét until after the Grammys. This could have happened for multiple reasons, but I have heard and listened to music from every other artist except her.

I personally think Noah Kahan should have won the Best New Artist award. He released multiple different songs that took over social media and the radio like “Stick Season”, “Dial Drunk,” and other songs with features like Post Malone, Mumford and Sons and more. I’m sure Victoria Monét is deserving of the award, but I would have loved to see Noah Kahan win as well. 

The Grammys this year were a hit, and there were many highlights and a big record was set. This year, Taylor Swift became the artist with the most Album of The Year Grammys with previous wins from her albums ‘Fearless’ (2010), ‘1989’ (2016), ‘Folklore’ (2021) and ‘Midnights’ (2024). Miley Cyrus also won her first Grammy this year after being in the music industry since 2006.

The Grammys had multiple different performances by popular artists like Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Travis Scott, Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and more. The Grammys were extremely successful this year, and we can’t wait to see who will win awards next year!

Basketball, Hockey, Scoreboard/Schedule, Swimming & Diving, Wrestling

Sports schedule for: Feb 19-24

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  ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE: FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 24  
MONDAYFEBRUARY 19 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 20
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Girls Basketball vs. CentralCentral High School
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 21
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
B: 4:15pm JV: 4:15pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. WashingtonHOME
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 22
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
B: 4:15pm JV: 4:15pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. St. Paul AcademyHOME
5:00pm (#1 vs. #8) 7:30pm (#4 vs. #5)5:30pm | 9:15pmBoys Hockey Sections vs. TBDAldrich Arena
6:00pm3:15pm | 9:15pmBoys Swimming Section PrelimsArt Downey Aquatic Center
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 23
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:00pm (#2 vs. #7) 7:30pm (#3 vs. #6)5:30pm | 9:15pmBoys Hockey Sections vs. TBDAldrich Arena
6:00pm Boys Diving Section PrelimsArt Downey Aquatic Center
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 24
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am Wrestling Individual SectionsCretin-Derham Hall
B: 11:30am JV: 2:00pm V: 4:30pm Boys Basketball vs. New Life AcademyHigh School for the Recording Arts
1:00pm10:15am | 4:30pmBoys Swimming Section FinalsArt Downey Aquatic Center
Books/Art

Book review about a boy’s and girl’s worst nightmare called ‘5 to 1’ by Holly Bodger

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By: Jefferson Palma

Image created with Craiyon,com

*Warning: Spoilers below

Have you ever heard of a dystopian world where a gender’s role plays an important part to your whole life?

The book called ‘5 to 1’ is an outstanding story that depicts this sort of life but in a poetic way.

It is a book in verse that is quick and captivating to read and uses outstanding ways to visually emphasize words.

‘5 to 1’ refers to the unbalance in both genders. Implying that for every 5 boys there’s only 1 girl. And to make it fair, the boys have to win each trial to ultimately win a girl for a richer and better life.

There are two perspectives in this book that depicts both main characters’ thoughts about the trials and tribulations they endured.

The author has some interesting ways of keeping a secret of Kiran’s plan throughout the story to keep the reader interested.

On page 9 it says, “I’m a puppet strung up in a box hanging over a theater of heads. Of faceless people,” which really shows the interesting idea Bodger wrote to illustrate the main character’s feeling of not being a human and more of being a property.

Although the book was quick and interesting to read, there were some flaws that would be better to change.

Both characters were very likeable, but I found myself not very immersed by the fact that the characters’ only thoughts were that they didn’t like their situation. It felt as if their thoughts were very repetitive and I felt a bit uninterested.

Another flaw I would like to add is that the book was lacking some details for the settings. I didn’t really get the idea of what it’s like in the book because of it.

In other words, there could have been some changes to improve the book more, otherwise I would recommend it to anyone who’s interested of a dystopian future with a bit of romance in the mix.

My final rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

Advice/How To, School Life

5 tips on how to stay organized

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By: Hermekay Dehaney

Being organized for school is one of the few keys to academic success. Knowing the different hacks on how to stay on top of school assignments can help reduce stress, manage your time, and help you prepare for the future. In this article, I will share some tips and strategies to help you stay organized for this semester and future semesters.

1.   Make a planner:  You can use digital or physical paper to make your planner. Making a planner is essential for staying consistent and keeping track of your many different assignments.

Start by writing down the days of the week, and write down the times you’re free, after that, you can start to write down the specific times for doing homework and studying. Make sure to include breaks in your schedule so you don’t get stressed out.

It’s okay to make a few changes to your schedule during the week, but try to stay consistent with your schedule as much as possible.

2.  Time management: Time management I would say it’s one of the most important skills to learn if you want to stay organized.  Avoid delaying assignments, and start setting realistic goals on ways to finish your assignments.

There are many different time managing methods. A few include the technique you might’ve learned in your Scot’s Strategy or AVID class and that is the SMART Goal which stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. It’s a technique that helps you to create realistic manageable goals. This technique is useful for people who want to set long-term goals, and it’s a great method to track and manage your time.

3.   Keep your study place clean: A messy study space can make it harder to stay productive in completing your assignments. Keep your space clean by removing unnecessary items, sorting, and keeping only what you need on your desk. Use folders, and notebooks to arrange your notes and assignments. This will make finding assignments when you need them a lot faster and easier.

4.  Take organized notes: Writing clear, and organized notes can help you have a clear understanding of what you’re learning, and it’s also a good way to study. There are many different ways to take notes such as  Cornell, bullet points, outline, mind mapping, etc.  Find out which one works the best for you, and start writing.

No matter which method you choose to use to take notes, I suggest simplifying your notes and highlighting important things that you may need to retain.

Also, remember to use different notebooks for different subjects, or if you have those 5 subject notebooks, make sure you’re only using one section for one class.

Organizing, revising, and being consistent with your notes can help you understand the material better, and it’s especially useful if you have an upcoming test to study for.

5. Prioritize your time based on importance: Managing your time effectively is important for staying organized. A technique I use is that I divide my assignments based on the due date and their importance. If the due date is coming up, I prioritize that assignment first. If it’s a large summative project, I take some time out every day adding to the assignment little by little, so that by the time the due date is here, I won’t be stressed about completing it.

Staying consistent and organized takes a lot of hard work to do, but if you try to implement these 5 tips into your routine you’ll see much needed difference in your everyday life.

Movies/TV/Theaters, Music/Concerts

‘Operation Mincemeat’: How the hit West-End musical interrogates our ideas of history

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By: Jocelyn Knorr

‘Operation Mincemeat’ is the invention of musical comedy group SpitLip, (comprised of David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts). This bombastic little show has enraptured audiences in London and beyond. But much more lurks beneath the surface of this West End sensation, and it would be a disservice not to bring it to light.

‘Operation Mincemeat’ is nearly inescapable if you’ve ever interacted with the theatre corner of the internet; countless people post photos in front of the yellow-illuminated Fortune Theater, or the yellow curtain dubbed the “spaghetti curtain” by fans.

The soundtrack—blending 1940s instruments with modern, almost Beyoncé-esque pop music—has over 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

And the story’s certainly more than enough to capture the imagination—it’s a true story harkening back to the Second World War about a crack team of intelligence experts and administrators who made a man out of thin air, an identity to legitimize a commandeered corpse left on the shore of Spain, carrying documents implying a future Allied incursion into occupied Europe via Sardinia and Greece. These forged plans made Italy redirect its troops to the areas it thought would be affected, while the Allies were free to march into Sicily. The war movie practically writes itself; and thanks to SpitLip, it has. But, it also contains some clever expectation subversion that you might not find unless you’re looking.

The typical conventions of a movie from the “war story” genre are as follows; our protagonist, an often incredibly self-assured man, gets his mission from an authority figure, assembles a team, and sets out to do what he has to do. Typically, the mission has some kind of crisis in the final hour. ‘Operation Mincemeat’ follows this convention very well—our cocky, self-assured young protagonist (Ewen Montagu) receives a mission from an authority (Colonel Bevan, the man running the War Office. He tasks his agents to come up with a plan that will reroute Axis troops away from Sicily), assembles a team (takes Charles Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie under his wing, a nervous, socially-awkward man from R&D and a young woman desperate to do more for the war than make tea, respectively) endures a third-act crisis (mistakes in the orders regarding the forged paperwork) and achieves his goal in the end.

But there’s alterations to it, especially in the case of our protagonist. Monty starts the play by talking Charles into letting Monty hijack his plans, and turns out to be so self-centered that he’s writing a movie about himself and his involvement in the incredibly top-secret plan. He’s accomplishing this via smuggling eyes-only files out of MI5 headquarters and handing them over to his brother, a suspected Russian spy. By taking the typical flaws of the war story protagonist and exaggerating them, a magnifying glass is held up to the whole genre.

There’s also the fact that it takes place within the War Office. The characters are safe behind their desks; they are in the privileged position of experiencing the glory of being part of the war without actually having to risk their lives. This is reflected upon by Colonel Bevan, who speaks almost with guilt about the fact that they are the ones making the strategic decisions, but the young men of England are the ones who will suffer the consequences. This is unusual for the war story genre that ‘Operation Mincemeat’ parodies and operates within, but the musical shows incredible sympathy towards the civilians and regular soldiers who are put in harm’s way.

Another aspect in which ‘Operation Mincemeat’ shows this sympathy is regarding the corpse that’s key to the plot. Monty brags about how easy it was to get and how the fact that the man it used to be was “just some tramp,” means less paperwork—but rather than impressed, the team is horrified, both at the idea of using someone’s dead body without permission and the callous attitude he seems to have about it. It would be easy to crack another war joke here, to satirize the British military or the common view of military men, but they don’t. Every step of the way, they choose to remind us that he used to be a man, and the unauthorized use of his corpse is a violation.

This culminates in the final lines of the musical, where they tell us the man’s real name and what his story was; Glyndwr Michael, a young man from Wales who came to London when he fell on hard times. By exhibiting this sympathy and extending  a hero’s remembrance to everyone, the whole musical drives home the fact that everyone has value, everyone deserves to be honored as contributors to history—even those who served without knowing it.

Tech/Games

Everything we know about the upcoming Little Nightmares Game: ‘Little Nightmares III’

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By: Julia Yang

Official image of game from Bandai

Are you a fan of ‘Little Nightmares’, or just interested? Well, you’re in luck, today I’ve decided to explain the situation to you in full form! Shall we?

As of last year, ‘Little Nightmares III’ was revealed with a new trailer as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023.

Unlike ‘Little Nightmares I’ and II, ‘Little Nightmares III’ seems to take away our beloved girl in a yellow raincoat: Six. Fans are mildly upset about this news as they’ve grown so attached to Six, but are ecstatic nonetheless and can’t wait for this game to come out.

Instead of Six and Mono, this third game stars two completely new characters: Low and Alone. Low seems to be a dark skinned boy with a white plague mask, beige shirt, grayish brown shorts, a blue cape, a bow and arrow, and a colorful bracelet around his ankle. Alone has paler skin with ginger hair and wears a green jumpsuit, a brown helmet, goggles, and a belt around her torso to hold a wrench. Low and Alone are two children exploring the place called ‘Nowhere’.

Here’s the official description for ‘Little Nightmares III’:
“Embark on a new adventure in the unique world of Little Nightmares.

In Little Nightmares III, you follow the journey of Low & Alone, as they search for a path that could lead them out of the Nowhere.

Trapped within the Spiral, a cluster of disturbing places, the two friends will have to work together to survive in a dangerous world full of delusions and escape the grasp of an even greater threat lurking in the shadows.

For the first time in the franchise, face your childhood fears together with a friend using online co-op, or solo with an AI companion.”

Yes, you read that right. For the first time ever in the ‘Little Nightmares’ games, you’re able to play with a friend in co-op! Fans are extremely happy about this news, as they expected ‘Little Nightmares II’ to be co-op with Mono and Six but were let down when they announced it was still a single-player, and Six would be controlled by AI.

I will link all trailers, the quick sneak peek gameplay, and the Bandai Namco website for ‘Little Nightmares III’ below.

‘Little Nightmares’ doesn’t have a release date, but is expected to be released this year in 2024. So, be ready, and be excited, for the brand new game!

Official Bandai Namco ‘Little Nightmares III’ Website:

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/little-nightmares/little-nightmares-iii

Official ‘Little Nightmares III’ Trailer

https://youtu.be/XFHOsobwFrA?feature=shared

Gamescom Opening Night Reveal Trailer

https://youtu.be/UjrtoFazU1U?feature=shared

‘Little Nightmares III’ Necropolis Gameplay Walkthrough:

https://youtu.be/zrMLhz17l-Y?feature=shared

PRIZM, Student Creative Art

1st time drawing a car

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By: Jefferson Palma

I drew this because I had an idea to draw a luxurious car. I don’t normally draw cars and don’t color as well.

I believe it went pretty well although the shading and the coloring needs a tad bit more improvement, because the part I didn’t really like was the side of the car. The coloring seemed very off but I’m not too bothered by it. 

I had fun drawing and coloring it and it wasn’t so bad. My favorite part was the shading of the window. It looks very nice and realistic.

I hope you enjoy my art as much as I did working on it.

Basketball, Gymnastics, Hockey, Nordic Skiing, Scoreboard/Schedule, Swimming & Diving

Sports schedule for: Feb 12-17

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  ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE: FEBRUARY 12  – FEBRUARY 17  
MONDAYFEBRUARY 12 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:15pm | 6:00pm Girls Basketball vs. Twin Cities AcademyHOME
6:00pm Boys Swimming and Diving Twin Cities MeetMPLS Southwest High School
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 13
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:30pm Girls Basketball vs. Recording ArtsHigh School for the  Recording Arts
B: 5:30pm JV: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm Boys Basketball vs. HardingHarding High School
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 14
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
11:00amDeparture – 4:00pm on February 13Girls Nordic Ski State MeetGiants Ridge
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 15
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
11:30amReturn – 3:00pmGirls Nordic Ski State MeetGiants Ridge
B: 4:15pm JV: 4:15pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. CentralHOME
7:00pm Girls Basketball vs. Hiawatha CollegiateHiawatha Collegiate High School
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 16
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
JV – 5:15pm V – 7:00pm Boys Hockey vs. Holy AngelsRichfield Ice Arena
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 17
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am7:00am | 3:00pmWrestling SectionsSouth St. Paul High School
JV: 1:00pm V: 3:00pm Boys Hockey vs. KennedyBloomington Ice Garden
6:00pm Gymnastics SectionsRoseville High School
Editorials/Student Voice

Elementary school highlights

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By: Cleo Newton        

I used to go to a Chinese immersion elementary school. All the core classes were taught in Chinese, and the only classes that weren’t taught in Chinese were gym, art and science.

Our kindergarten teacher, Li Laoshi, went on maternity leave for pretty much the whole year. She came back to visit some of the time but she wasn’t really there most of the time.

Our sub was named Jia Laoshi, I don’t think anybody liked her. She was really strict, she wasn’t really a good teacher, and wasn’t good with kids. There were times when she would put kids in timeout for really small reasons. She once put the entire class in timeout for 6 min because a couple kids were talking. She set a timer on her iPad and everyone just sat in silence waiting for the timer to go off.

One day, I was coming back from recess and was talking with my friends like everyone else. Class started and everyone was supposed to be quiet, a few people, including me, were still stalking. Jia Laoshi sent me to a timeout. I think it kinda makes sense that I would get sent to timeout for talking during class, but I don’t think it was fair that I was the only one getting sent to timeout. A couple minutes later one of my friends got sent to timeout for the same reason. She sat down on the other side of the room and I waved to her. The teacher saw me waving and immediately sent me to the buddy room. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone in the other classroom at the time.

Elementary school was pretty interesting. Like everyone, I had ups and downs. I don’t think the teachers did a good job helping everyone in the school. I have a friend whose sibling didn’t have any friends at school at all. Their teachers never did anything about it. That friend eventually transferred schools due to bullying in 4th grade.

Teachers also punished some kids unfairly. My experiences in elementary school never got that bad; I had a good time most of the time. I still think that the teachers could have done a better job trying to connect and understand their students instead of jumping to conclusions or punishing them when there was a misunderstanding. Of course, not all the teachers were like this.

Many years have passed since I’ve gone to this school. I still visit during their holidays and celebrations. Many things have changed, like the interior design. Most of the old teachers have left over the years, I only recognize about 3 teachers now including the principal. I plan to visit as often as I can.

Getting To Know/History, Travel/Food

Breaking down the cost of each part of a McDonald’s burger will surprise you

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By: Oak Berg

Image created with Wonder

Breaking down the cost of each part of a McDonald’s burger will surprise you.

The main ingredient, the beef patty, is the main reason of the cost. the meat might taste good to some people and might taste bad to others, which changes the overall taste of the burger. the patty is around 15-20 cents adding up to the total price

Fresh lettuce and tomatoes also add to both the flavor and price of the burger. Some people prefer to take lettuce and tomatoes off their burgers (price doesn’t change), lettuce and tomatoes at McDonald’s averagely cost 5-10 cents.

Cheese adds to the flavor and price of the burger, some people may like hamburgers more than cheeseburgers, this doesn’t effect the price for the buyer but the average slice of cheese costs 6 cents.

The labor price is high with the workers for preparing and making the burger needing a lot of pay. With employee wages, training programs, etc, the average McDonald’s hourly wage is $15 for a new worker.

Facility price includes paying for the building, land, and food stock. All of these things add to the overall cost of making a burger.

Marketing and advertising prices also contribute to the burger’s cost. They need to make the brand big and grow their customer base. This also adds to the price of the McDonald’s burger.

Even though the cost breakdown and the components may change, the normal price of a McDonald’s burger to be manufactured is around 40 cents and to buy one it costs around $3-4 for the buyer depending on where you live in the US. McDonald’s needs to make a profit or they would go out of business, so they raise the price on their burger by many times the original price.