All posts by HPSH Plaid Line

‘The False Prince’ – Review

By: Abisola Dosunmu

In a kingdom named Carthya, war is coming. To bring the divided people together, a nobleman named Conner devises a plan to find an orphan boy who looks enough like the king’s son, (who was thought to be lost at sea) and may be the last link to the royal family, as the entire royal family—king, queen, and heir— all recently died under mysterious circumstances. His plan includes three orphans, one of which is a cunning thief named Sage. Sage knows Conner’s plan is far from honorable—yet he’s forced to play the part of his puppet as his life hangs in the balance. Yet as more lies unfold, and more blood is shed, one lie becomes more important than the rest and all of it comes down to a single question.

Who’s really the puppet?

‘The False Prince’ is the first book in a five book series written by Jennifer A. Nielsen, and the name of the series is called the Ascendance Series. I read the books for the first time in 8th grade, and now they are one of my favorite books to read. From the fleshed out characters, to the humor, to the cliffhangers and the various twists and turns, once you start this book, you can’t put it down.

The book immediately introduces us to Sage, a clever and wily orphan, trying to steal some meat from the market to share with the other boys at the orphanage. He is quickly apprehended by Conner and loaded into Conner’s wagon along with the other orphans he’s found, Roden, the athletic one, Tobias, the smart one, and Latamer, the sick one.

When they finally stop the wagon, Conner reveals his plan to the boys. He’s trying to find the orphan boy who looks and acts enough like King Eckbert’s youngest son, Prince Jaron, who had been missing for the past four years. His plan is that whoever is named to be Prince Jaron can stop the country from going to war. The boys have two weeks to learn everything there is to know about being a prince, and then to be able to fool the king’s court into thinking they’re Jaron.

After that, Conner tells them that any boy who wishes to abstain from his plan can do so, and Latamer, being as sickly as he is, decides that he can’t be the fake prince because of his condition. Conner tells him it’s fine and he can return to the wagon, and Sage immediately senses something is wrong and tries to warn Latamer. Before he can, Cregan swiftly shoots Latamer with an arrow, killing him before he even reaches the wagon. The boys now understand that it’s too late to back out of Conner’s competition.

Sage is soon trapped in Conner’s deadly win or lose all game with the two other boys, just to have a chance to be Prince Jaron. The downside? The price of losing the game may be his life. As Sage moves from being a rundown orphan, to having the chance to be a king, and have everything at his fingertips, he’s racing against enemies, trying to save his life, his past, and most importantly, his country.

I definitely think this series is worth reading if you’re into medieval fantasy. I loved the humor, the fleshed out characters, the plot twists, the main character, and the way the book kinda threw you off and made you work to get to the conclusion.

I would rate the book a 4/5. The only reason I won’t give it a full review is that it’s not really a book that’s short and ties itself up quickly, which I understand kinda turns off some people from certain books (and I definitely had trouble putting all of my attention on the book, but it was worth it).

Mexico’s day of independence

By: Stephanie Caballero Benitez

*Note: For an English translation, please scroll down*

El día de la independencia de México se celebra entre los días 15 y 16 de septiembre. El 15 de Septiembre es el día en que el ‘grito de independencia’ es gritado. El grito es realizado por el presidente actual de México y transmitido por todo México, a veces también en las noticias de Estados Unidos. No solamente es un grito, este grito tiene importancia ya que los nombres de los héroes son ornados. Los ‘héroes’ son los que pelearon por la independencia de México. 

En la noche Septiembre 16, 1810 en Dolores, Hidalgo. Miguel Hidalgo, un sacerdote y Costilla fueron al pueblo y declararon que ya era suficiente. En ese pequeño pueblo de Guanajuato, Hidalgo dio el grito de Dolores, el grito de guerra de México. “¡Viva Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, muerte al mal gobierno, muerte a los gachupines !”. Esto empezó la guerra para la independencia de México. Miguel Hidalgo tuvo mucho apoyo de diferentes pueblos que el lidió al capital de México, desafortunadamente esto terminó con muchas muertes. Miguel fue capturado junto con José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros y Vicente Guerrero ya que el y Jose, Pavón, Mariano, y Vicente todos estaban contra los crueles realistas españoles. En Julio 30, 1811 Hidalgo fue ejecutado. 

Hoy hay ocasiones en que el 5 de Mayo se confunde con el día de la independencia. Aunque son similares, el 5 de mayo es celebrado por una guerra ganada contra el Segundo Imperio Francés. El día de la independencia es celebrado con una fiesta grande, fuegos artificiales, desfiles, bailes, músicos, también se venden comidas típicas. En México es muy común ver a personas vestidas con ropa tradicional y los colores de México durante estas fechas. Aunque típicamente el grito es dado en México también se da en Minnesota, en El Consulado de México a las 12 de la noche.

Para mas informacion, por favor visite: 

For those of you unable to read Spanish, here is the English translation:

Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated between September 15 and 16. September 15 is the day that the “Cry for independence” is given. The cry is made by the current president of Mexico and broadcast throughout Mexico, and sometimes on the US news as well. It is not only a war cry, this cry has importance since the names of the heroes are honored. The ‘heroes’ are those who fought for the independence of Mexico.

On the night of September 16, 1810, in Dolores, Hidalgo Miguel Hidalgo, a priest, and Costilla went to town and declared enough was enough. In that small town of Guanajuato, Hidalgo gave the cry of Dolores, the Mexican war cry. “Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe, death to the bad government, death to the gachupines!”

This started the war for the independence of Mexico. Miguel Hidalgo had a lot of support from different towns that he brought to the capital of Mexico, unfortunately this ended with many deaths.

Miguel was captured along with José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros, and Vicente Guerrero since he and Jose, Pavón, Mariano, and Vicente were all against the cruel Spanish royalists. On July 30, 1811 Hidalgo was executed.

Today, there are times when May 5 is confused with Independence Day. Although similar, May 5 is celebrated for a war won against the Second French Empire.

Independence Day is celebrated with a big party, fireworks, parades, dances, musicians, and typical foods are also sold. In Mexico, it is very common to see people dressed in traditional clothing and the colors of Mexico during these dates.

Although the cry is typically given in Mexico, it is also given in Minnesota, at the Mexican Consulate, at 12 midnight.

Pros and cons of the grading system

By: Addison Strack

Grades are looked at in many different ways. Some people consider them a good thing, while others feel the opposite way. This article will be sharing information about how grades, and the grading system, are both positive and negative, and how they impact students.

Pros

There are many benefits to the grading system that can help students in their academic careers. One of the main purposes that the grading system serves is to give students feedback on their assignments and tests. This feedback can help students to improve their work, and learn more about themselves, and their learning style.

Grades also help teachers understand where their students are at in their learning levels. This can give teachers an idea of who might need some extra help, and who understands the assignments.

Another benefit that grades have is giving students a goal, and something to work for. This teaches them important skills they’ll need for their future, such as setting a goal, and making a plan to achieve this goal.

Another way that grades prepare students for the future is by teaching them how to use the feedback they receive.

One final positive about grades is that they are almost universally used, and this makes them fairly easy to understand.

Cons

Although the grading system does have many positive aspects to it, there are some negative parts to it as well.

One of the main downsides to the grading system is that it can cause students a lot of stress and anxiety. Students have a lot of pressure to have good grades from not only parents and teachers, but themselves as well. If students receive a bad grade, this can lower their self esteem and confidence.

According to UOpeople.edu, in a survey, 80% of college freshmen said that their self-worth was connected to their grades. This means that they felt that whatever grade they got determined if they were good enough or not.

Earlier, it was mentioned that students can have pressure from their parents to get good grades. This is because many parents consider grades a reflection of how much their child is paying attention, and/or trying in school. They may punish their children if they receive a bad grade, and this can lead to a strained relationship between a parent and child.

One final downside to the grading system is that it doesn’t necessarily represent a student’s understanding of a topic accurately. Everyone is different, and has different ways of learning and understanding information.

Many students will attempt to memorize information that will be on their next assessment, but don’t actually understand or learn what they are memorizing, and forget a lot of the information after the assessment.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the grading system has many different positive and negative impacts, and there are many differing opinions of whether it is a good or bad thing. There is solid evidence and strong arguments for both sides of this question, but the answer may never be decided.

If you would like to read more about the pros and cons of the grading system, feel free to check out these website:

Spotlight on HPSH volleyball player Alyssa Ramos

By: Ayamei Her

Alyssa Ramos is on Highland’s varsity volleyball team. The position she plays is libero which she says “I honestly love playing libero I didn’t think I would but it feels right and I feel like I have more control over both the game and the ball.” Alyssa says it fits her because she’s good at defense, running the back court, and she isn’t the tallest or the most aggressive on the team. Being on the volleyball team is about being committed, being open to own up to your mistakes, and wanting to fix them. 

Getting on the team isn’t always an easy process. Alyssa was on the varsity team last year but that doesn’t mean her spot this year was guaranteed; she still fought to keep her spot and to show that she deserved to keep it and stay on varsity. Everyone tries out for the team all together.

There’s 5 days of tryouts and boot camp was everyday from 9-2 with a lunch break. During the boot camp, they broke down the skills, did conditioning to see who could keep up, and practiced passing and serving. The boot camp also included seeing how you could play defense and offense. It was about who deserved a spot on the teams, but it’s not just about how you play it’s also about your attitude and mindset. 

Image taken from: The official volleyball instagram of the HPSH team: hpvb_2022

Most of the team has been playing together for a long time. Some players have more experience than others because they play club volleyball which is also the reason why not everyone on the team is going at the same pace or playing on the same level.

Playing volleyball is mostly about having fun, but it’s also “A game of mistakes,” which is how Alyssa Ramos described it. To prepare for games they study the other team’s and their players to see their weakest and strongest players and play accordingly. 

Last year, the Highland varsity volleyball team was state bound. Alyssa says it was scary and didn’t realize it was the real deal until they placed 1st in the conference. She also adds that it was an amazing experience that was incredibly fun. 

Image taken from: The official volleyball instagram of the HPSH team: hpvb_2022

I asked Alyssa what her words of inspiration were to help young girls stay motivated and continue on with volleyball, and she said, “If you really want a spot on the team you have to go out and show them what you’re capable of and if you get the spot, show them that you earned it. Everyone makes mistakes, volleyball is a game of mistakes. You have to have the right mindset for the game and practices. Give it your all even in practice.” 

Image taken from: The official volleyball instagram of the HPSH team: hpvb_2022

Sports schedule for: Oct 3-8

 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE: OCTOBER 3 – OCTOBER 8
MONDAYOCTOBER 3 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
3:30pm Tennis Sections vs. HardingHOME
4:00pm / 4:00pm 6:00pm Boys Soccer vs. SimleyHOME
5:30pm / 5:30pm 7:00pm4:45pm / 8:15pmVolleyball vs. Como ParkComo Park High School
6:00pm4:30pm / 8:00pmJV Football vs. Como ParkComo Park High School
TUESDAYOCTOBER 4
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:00pm / 7:00pm3:30pm / 6:30pm 5:30pm / 8:30pmGirls Soccer vs. CentralCentral High School
WEDNESDAYOCTOBER 5
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    
THURSDAYOCTOBER 6
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:30pm / 4:30pm  4:30pm3:15pm / 6:00pmBoys Soccer vs. KennedyBloomington Kennedy High School
5:00pm / 7:00pm Girls Soccer vs. South St. PaulHOME
5:30pm / 5:30pm 7:00pm Volleyball vs. CentralHOME
FRIDAYOCTOBER 7
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:30pm / 5:30pm 7:00pm Volleyball vs. HardingHOME
7:00pm4:00pm / 9:30pmFootball vs. Mound WestonkaMound Westonka High School
SATURDAYOCTOBER 8
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
10:30am6:45am / 2:00pmCross Country MeetArrowwood Resort – Alexandria
1:00pm Boys Varsity Soccer vs. SouthwestMPLS Southwest  High School

The Riverview Theater: History, hospitality, and Hitchcock

By: Julia Sikorski Roehsner

The Riverview Theater is not your typical movie theater. Based in Minneapolis’ Longfellow neighborhood, Riverview Theater was established in December of 1948. Since then, though all projection and sound equipment has been updated, the building itself still reflects those mid-1900s.

Unlike many movie theaters, the Riverview has just one screen. Among its distinctive architectural features are an open-spaced lobby with couches, a copper drinking fountain, marble countertop tables, and a proscenium.

Concessions include popcorn, soft drinks, and candy. Popcorn is made fresh daily with real melted butter. All prices are extremely reasonable.

Not able to fit a movie into your schedule, or planning a fun stay-at-home night? The Riverview welcomes patrons to stop in whenever the theater is open to buy concession items to go, with popcorn one dollar off usual prices.

Though the theater was forced to close down in the middle of March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic–not reopening its doors until late May of 2021–the owner, Loren Williams, offered popcorn, slushies, and candy to go throughout the lockdown and placed inspirational quotes from movies and actors on the marquee.

Riverview Theater is constantly showing new movies that cater to all ages, both recently released movies and second-runs. Favorites of the past include ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,’ ‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ ‘Encanto,’ and ‘Frozen II.’

One of their biggest coming attractions is a Hitchcock Film Festival, beginning September 30th and ending October 6th. Classic thrillers will be shown multiple days throughout the week at varying times. Tickets are on sale now for just $7, discounted to $5 for seniors and students, as well as attendees of any Tuesday showings.

Included in the Fest are ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Birds,’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much.’ It is an occasion you won’t want to miss.

The Riverview Theater isn’t just a movie theater; it’s a beloved and heavily supported part of the community. New customers are always appreciated and welcome.

The theater is within just fifteen minutes driving distance from Highland Park Senior High.

For more information, please visit:

Barbacoa Tacos

By: Gabe Kleiber

Barbacoa Tacos

Marinade ingredients:
Juice from 3 oranges and 2 Limes 1/4 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
a lot of freshly ground black pepper several pinches of kosher salt
2 Tbsp of Mexican oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp of Cumin
1/3 Cup of White Vinegar

Barbacoa ingredients:
1 large tomato, cut into chunks
1/4 large onion, quartered
3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned) 1 cup water
1 cup beef broth
1 lime, juiced
more salt and pepper

For the tacos: Corn tortillas, cilantro, chopped diced onion, your favorite salsa, and limes for squeezing.

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a 2-gallon Ziploc bag. Add the beef and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

2. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a blender, or small food processor, add fresh tomato, quartered onion, chipotle chiles, water, beef broth, and lime juice. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

3. Heat a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, remove the roast from the marinade and shake off excess liquid. Sear the roast for a few minutes on each side until a deep brown crust forms. Remove from heat.

4. Add the barbacoa puree on top of the beef roast and place in the preheated oven. Roast for approximately three hours, or until the beef is very tender and shreds easily.

5. Shred the beef.

6. Make tacos! Serve the beef in corn tortillas with all the toppings, including fresh-squeezed lime.

It is pleasantly spicy, but the meat still retains a lot of the marinade flavor. Because of this, the onions aren’t as present flavor wise, but still provide a great crunch; a very different texture compared to the rest of the dish.

The cilantro adds color and freshness, which I enjoy. I like lime on it too, but use it conservatively because it can overpower some of the more subtle flavors in the dish.

No complaints with anything to do with the food itself. It isn’t very time consuming, but there is a lot of waiting time in between cooking.

Overall, I would recommend making this recipe and give it a 7.9/10.

Note: Though this recipe has been modified, and made my own, you can find the original recipe here:

NEW STUDENT SHARES HER EXPERIENCE AT HIGHLAND PARK SENIOR HIGH AS A NEW FRESHMAN !!

By: Jhari Boayla

As a freshman sometimes I feel like things can be tough and people are also going to be a lot more tough on you, especially since it’s your first year attending and experiencing high school. And it’s understandable that that’s how your parents and your teachers are because it’s showing how much they care about you and how much they want you to succeed in the future.

When I first came to Highland with all the students and everything, I felt like it was completely different; there were more students and different faces. I also felt like it was much more different for me because it was more different than middle school. There was more space around the building and I felt like and it would be very confusing for me to find places. I would have to walk around the building a few times just to find where I needed to get to.

One thing that I really didn’t like about orientation was that they weren’t really any help to me because when I got to school the first day, I still didn’t know where I was going. We we rushed through the building and didn’t really get the chance to find where our classes would be.

One thing that I like about the high school though, is that it is different, not a bad or good different, but different than in the middle. I was very scared at first to be coming into high school because I was very scared of growing up and I felt like I was growing up too fast.

I also thought that I wouldn’t like meeting some new people and I was very scared that people weren’t going to like me, especially the older kids.

But, other than that, so far everything has been going okay and well.

‘The Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin’: Is the risk worth the reward?

By: Mia David

On September 5th, 2022, National Geographic released the documentary series ‘The Edge of the Unknown.’ It was filmed and produced by photographer, filmmaker, and mountain athlete Jimmy Chin.

The series consists of 10 episodes that each follow athletes doing extreme sports. From snowboarders and skiers to rock climbers and kayakers, Jimmy Chin tells the stories of athletes risking their lives for their sport.

The athletes tell stories of times they were forced to question whether risking their life is worth the reward.

Angel Collinson is one of the best skiers in the world, male or female, and in episode 2, she makes her way up to Alaska to ski down some of the most unique and challenging terrains in the world. While making her way down the line, Angel stumbles and falls 1000 ft down to the bottom of the mountain.

Angel is shaken to her core. It was a rude awakening that forced her to reflect on her career; the hours she spent on the slopes and the childhood she had lost to the sport.

After that, it was simple for her. She walked away from skiing ultimately, much to the shock of her family and friends. She didn’t feel the risk and sacrifice were worth the title she earned and the rewards she got.

Not everybody feels this way after facing the extreme danger of the Alaskan mountains. In episode 5, Travis Rice says, “There are so many little mini breakthroughs. I, to this day, continue to chase that feeling that gives me a sense of living.”

Travis gets caught in a deadly avalanche and somehow makes it out with no serious injuries. Although Travis almost lost his life that day, he is quick to get back on the slopes with the support of those around him.

In Travis’ case, it raises the question of whether or not someone should give up something that could take their life if that means losing the one thing that makes them feel alive.

One last example is Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbuic, who kayak in rivers in Central Africa with their mentor and friend Henri Coetzee. Throughout the journey, they face the threat of crocodiles and hippos. One day, on the river, Henri’s kayak is flipped, and a crocodile drags him under the water; Ben and Chris have to quickly paddle away because there is no hope for saving him.

These athletes continue to experience different life-threatening events and have to pause and reflect on their choices. For some, it’s simply lowering the stakes or walking away; for others, they jump right back into the game.

For those who don’t spend their days climbing mountains, it’s hard to understand how you could get back to the sport after a terrible accident. Chin describes it like this, “In the adventure world, there is a certain understanding that we choose to do what we do and we do it intentionally.”

Chin has an episode discussing his life-threatening adventure where he should have died but miraculously made it out alive. However, like others, he can’t resist the thrill and adventure he finds in the mountains. He says in episode 8, “It’s really impossible to describe the insatiable calling of the big mountains.”

For people like Travis, Ben, Chris, and other athletes in the series, the call to adventure is unlike anything else. Whether it’s mountains, rivers, or the ocean, it’s impossible not to return to the one place you feel alive.

This idea of the risk worth the reward could be debated for a long time. We can pull in different aspects like the level of risk, family and loved ones, and the health of individual people. We must also consider the love, passion, and freedom said person feels towards these sports.

You can watch this series on Disney+.

Who was the late Queen of England and what was the impact of her sudden death

By: Domingo Basso

The late Queen of England: Queen Elizabeth II, who was born on April 21, 1926, in Mayfair London, died September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. According to ‘The New York Times’ she died peacefully but the cause of her death was not specified due to the Royal Palace not disclosing that information. Despite that being true, a royal biographer claimed that the Queen was suffering from a bone condition and Lady Colin Campbell, a royal expert who has written about Princess Diana, went as far as to claim that the Queen had died from bone cancer. 

After the Queen passed away, her son, who was commonly known as “The Prince of Wales” became King Charles III, and now has the throne. Before becoming King, he already established over 20 charities and supported many different causes regarding the environment, rural communities, the construction, the arts, healthcare, and education.

But, now let’s move on to how the world is dealing with the loss of a figure as important as her Majesty. Sources such as ‘The Washington Post’ say that very soon after her death became known to the public, there were a quarter of a million people in line to see and pay their respects to the Queen once it became possible to do so. (that’s 250,000 people!) So many people wanted to pay their respects to her that there was a queue that grew so long that the queue time would reach up to 24 hours at a point. In fact, the queue grew so large that there had to be a line to get in the line to pay respects.

 The state funeral for the Queen happened at Westminster Abbey on Monday, the 19th of September, at 11am, and the funeral service was live-streamed on YouTube so that more people could be able to mourn her passing. To end the funeral service, there was 2 minutes of silence followed by the national anthem, to bring it to a close. 

So, the death of Queen Elizabeth II impacted a LOT of people around the world, and especially the citizens of the United Kingdom due to her rule having lasted decades. Her impact was massive due to how the UK runs to this day. So, we can only hope for the best for the citizens of the United Kingdom with the loss of somebody very important to all of them. And we can also hope that their newest ruler, the King, may be able to live up to the name of his late predecessor.

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