The Case Middle School
Courier
Volume 6
Issue 4
March
2010
Produced by the Students of Punahou School, 1601 Punahou Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Punahou Book Drive:
Bringing the Gift of
Reading to Others
Photos by K. Yonamine
THE BAND
Lends a Hand
for Haiti
From left to right, Alana Todd,
Ellen Ashford, Ally Mullen, Ashlee
Grover, Kristin Nishimura, and
La‘akea Marquez. Not Pictured:
Roxy Kiesling and Kirsten Bishop.
Photo and Photoshop work
by M. Feldman & M. Masuda
By Kaitlyn Yonamine
T
he Punahou School Book Drive
is coming, and fast! This Book
Drive started on
February 9, and
will continue
through March 9.
To get more
information about
this book drive,
the Courier interviewed Mrs. Cathy
Kawano-Ching.
How many
books are collected total from
the Book Drive?
Mrs. Kawano-Ching told us that
last year around 200 boxes of
books were collected!
What kind of books are donated?
There are many books collected,
ranging from age groups infant
to adult. Most of the books collected, however, are for toddlers to
around sixth graders.
How are students involved
with the Book Drive?
In the first grade, they have a
100 Books Day. In seventh grade,
we had a movie night where the
admission was one book. They
collected over 300 books from the
By Mackenzie Feldman & Mia Masuda
T
he CMS Courier sat down
with a group of 8th grade
girls who call
themselves
“THE BAND.”
But they’re
not just any
middle school
band, they’re
trying to show
people that you
can make a difference through
music.
Alana Todd,
Ashlee Grover,
Ally Mullen,
Kirsten Bishop,
La‘akea Marquez, Roxy
Kiesling, Ellen
Ashford, and
Kristin Nishimura have already began to make a
difference with their music.
It all started when they tried
out for the 2010 CMS POPS Talent
Show, singing the popular song by
Boys Like Girls, Love Drunk.
Ally Mullen says, “We thought
it would be great to try out and
blow people’s minds with our music and love.”
grade.
In one of the eighth grade advisories, they have a book challenge
to bring in lots of books.
Other helpers
have made signs to
put up, and book
marks for the books
they donate.
There are three
goals for this schoolwide literacy initiative.
One, is to support
the K-12 book drive.
Two, is to raise
awareness of literacy
issues. And three is to encourage
our own literacy development.
The books in this year’s drive
will be donated to Na‘alehu Elementary School, Hawaii Literacy
(reading rooms), Kokua Kalihi Valley, and Read Aloud America.
You can visit the web site www.
theliteracysite.com if you want to
donate books to other organizations.
In chapel, Mr. Jed Gaines, a
representative from Read Aloud
America, recently talked to the
students about RAP, the Read
Aloud Programs, and to raise
awareness at Punahou about
illiteracy issues.
But like many other students,
THE BAND was cut from POPS.
But did getting cut from POPS
stop this band?
NO WAY!
Immediately
after POPS
turned them
down and the
devastating
earthquake in
Haiti struck,
they decided
to persevere
and change the
message, lyrics
and purpose of
their music.
They chose
to dedicate
their songs,
time, and
thoughts to
educating and
raising awareness for Haiti.
Besides raising awareness, they
raised $601.72 for Haiti at the recent Martin Luther King Jr. Parade.
With lyrics like “Hot sweat and
blurry eyes, A hundred thousand
people lost their lives, Haiti, stuck
under debris, Their door to the
future is jammed shut, But now
…continued on page 2
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Just in Case:
My Favorite
Song Is...
or this edition of the Courier’s
“Just in Case,” we asked:
“What is your favorite song, why,
and who is it by?”
Here are the answers:
Jackie Kojima, ’14
Song: Because You Love Me by
Why: “It sounds cool.”
Natalie Tsukada, ’16
Song: Fireflies by Owl City
Why: “It’s very cheerful.”
Reed Morgan, ’16
Song: All the Right Moves by
One Republic
Why: I like the special effects.
Adam Lowell, ’16
Celine Dion
Why: “...the lyrics are nice.”
Maxen Chung, ’14
Song: All the Above by Maino
Why: “I just like it.”
Sydney Parish, ’14
Song: Follow Me by Uncle
Kracker
Song: Soul Sister by Train
Why: “I got it on my phone...”
Tiffany Chang, ’15
Song: Energy by Keri Hilson
Why: “It’s very deep.”
Aina Katsikas, ’15
Song: e Pele e by her Kumu (not
the original, but she doesn’t know
who it’s by)
Why: “We practice it in my hula
halau, and Pele created our island.”
Jessica Gum, ’15
Song: Love Song by Sara Berilles
Why: “It’s just a good song...”
Ms. Leekley, 7th grade social
studies
Song: All Star by Smashmouth
Why: “Gordon sings it in advisory...”
By Kelly Correa & Kylie Ishii
F
Top (left to right): Jackie, Maxen,
Sydney, Natalie, Adam, Reed.
Bottom: Tiffany, Aina, Jessica, Ms.
Leekley
Photos by K. Correa
4 THE BAND
…continued from page 1
Page 2
we have the key to help them out,
The key, it’s with you and me.”
They were instantly recognized
by UNICEF, who offered to fly
them out to Haiti free of charge.
UNICEF wanted them to help
rebuild houses, provide aid, and
share their love for Haiti.
How did you start your
band?
Ally Mullen: We thought it
would be a great opportunity to
show fellow students our love for
each other and music.
Who plays what, and how
did you decide?
Alana Todd: Vocals
Ashlee Grover: Keyboard. I had
been playing piano for nine years.
Ally Mullen: Guitar. I only had
three lessons but was able to pick
it up by using my ear for music.
Kristin Nishimura: Backup
vocals. I wanted to dance, but it
wouldn’t have matched the song.
Ellen Ashford: Backup vocals. I
also wanted to dance.
Ellen Ashford on Kirsten Bishop
(who was not at interview): She
plays triangle because she is good
at everything. She is also our
amazing band manager. She is
great at hiking and taekwondo.
Roxy Kiesling: Drummer. Ashley’s mom taught me how to play
different beats and rhythms, and I
just picked it up after awhile.
La‘akea Marquez: Vocals
What made you want to play
for Haiti?
Kristin Nishimura: We really wanted to share our love for
music and help people around the
world.
La‘akea Marquez: We channelled our personal loss into world
wide loss. The destruction and
sadness really touched our hearts
and “hit home.” We are more
fortunate than the people of Haiti
and so many others, so it is our
duty to help out.
How did you come up with
those new lyrics?
Alana Todd: It was a major
group effort
Ashley Grover: We all put our
hearts and minds together.
Ellen Ashford: I tried my best
but lacked in my lyrical abilities.
Ellen Ashford on Kirsten Bishop (who was not at interview):
Kirsten was a major key in writing this song. She even wrote her
own triangle music.
What’s your advice for people wanting to be in a band?
Ally Mullen: Seriously commit
yourself, then practice a lot!
Kristin Nishimura: Be excited
and passionate in everything that
you do.
Ellen Ashford: Live by the
phrase “you can do it”. Don’t let
others tell you that you cant. Find
love in everything.
La‘akea Marquez: Have passion
and feeling no matter what you
do.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Punahou’s Laptop
Rules and Regulations
Student Laptops:
a Double-Edged
(and Sharp) Sword
By Hunter Mee-Lee
K
ids are saying they are infuriated by the recent YouTube
blockage. Is it really okay to play
online games on your computer?
What does “reputation” mean on
the blocked site page?
First off, YouTube was not
blocked because of student violations. YouTube was supposed to be
blocked since the beginning of the
year, but apparently it flew over
IT’s heads.
There’s nothing wrong
with YouTube, says Mr.
Landgraf, but since YouTube is such a bandwidth
hog, it must be blocked
because it clogs up Punahou’s network. Seventh
grade supervisor, Mrs.
Tyau, also said that some
YouTube videos would be considered “inappropriate.”
Another question kids are
wondering is about Wikipedia. For
many people, Wikipedia is the first
source for quick information. However, Wikipedia is often stereotyped as always being incorrect.
This is not always true, as many
articles are directly from encyclopedia. However, since there is no
filter for incorrect or inappropri-
By Michael Tome
A
virus can be described as a
“harmful or corrupting influence.” A virus can also be described as an “infection caused by
an agent that multiplies.”
n mid-January, 2010, a virus
hit Pai Public.
But this is not a microscopic virus, or even
a computer virus. This
virus happened to be
a game, a game called
“Plants vs. Zombies.”
This game was
posted by a still unidentified user who had
access to Punahou’s
Pai volumes. The game
was posted sometime
in mid-January, 2010,
and was accessible to
all students of Punahou
school for around three
days. Even though it
was removed from
the server, the game continued to
spread via mainly student flash
drives to other computers.
What made this game so contagious? Plants vs. Zombies is a
tower-defense game, reminiscent
of arcade games of the past. The
game play is of you strategically
placing plants that do a variety of
actions triggered by zombies being
in range.
This varies from plants that
fire projectiles to plants that take
down zombies by dragging them
underwater.
The game is mainly you and
the enemy both increasing in
strength, urging you to continue
I
As long as there are
computers, there will be
computer games, and
considering how accessible
they are in these times to
anyone with a computer,
there will always be
the issue of how to
balance entertainment
and school work.
Page 3
ate information, anyone can do
anything on almost any article,
from inserting a subtle (and misinformed) opinion to deleting a
whole page or vandalizing it.
Games are another thing that
students wonder about. After 2:45
p.m., students are allowed to play
flash games on various sites like
Addicting Games and MiniClip,
however they are banned before
school, at lunch, and — obviously
— during class. What kids aren’t
allowed to do is download game
apps onto their computers. Games
like Plants vs. Zombies (see below) and Marble Blast are popular
games that have violated the code.
Something else that kids are
always wondering about is the
“reputation” feature on the web
site blocked page.
“Reputation” has nothing to do
with a student’s grade or anything
like that. The reputation is a feature in the filter itself that shows
what category that the web site
falls into.
Teachers recognize that there
are methods to bypass Punahou’s
filter.
However, teachers and authority
figures around school trust their
students to do the right thing and
have integrity.
playing until the campaign and
mini-games are fully completed.
Despite the game’s entertainment value, it quickly lost its
momentum. Within approximately
two weeks, the number of students playing it during advisory
and after school dramatically
declined.
This is probably because of the
fact that the player’s scores in
levels and mini-games can quickly
reach a maximum.
However, this has not been the
first time, or the only time, that
students have had games on their
computers.
In fact, two-thirds of students
surveyed admitted to having some
type of game on their computers.
As long as there are computers,
there will be computer games,
and considering how accessible
they are in these times to anyone
with a computer, there will always
be the issue of how to balance
entertainment and school work.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Mr. Yorck: Only Male
Kindergarten Teacher
Mr. Jonathan Yorck
Photo by C. Lee & Z. Dang
Staycations for
Spring Break!
By Connor Lee & Zack Dang
H
ave you ever walked into a
class, only to find that you
are the only one of your gender?
Well, Punahou Kindergarten has
only one male teacher. Mr. Yorck
has been teaching Kindergarten
for 30 years being the only male
teacher.
Think how he must feel
now that Kindergarten is
joining up with first grade —
and he is still the only male
teacher. He will be one man
among twenty-six women.
We went to interview this
“thorn among the roses” to
see what he thinks.
Q: How to you feel about
being the only male teacher
out of 26 other female
teachers?
A: It’s been hard, I’ve
been here for 30 years, and
it can be a challenging at
times.
Q: Are your teaching methods
different from female teachers?
A: I have a different view about
teaching kids. I don’t baby them
as much, and I try to raise them
as a father would.
Q: Does it feel a little weird at
times to be here?
By Bridgette Dodge & Kara Dung
S
pring Break is coming around
the corner, and we all know
that the economy is bad
and we need
to make some
budget cuts.
But everyone
still wants to
have a fun time
for cheap prices.
So we’re here
to tell you some
things that you
can do during
Spring Break, right here in Hawai‘i
for low prices.
There are many things that
you can do here in Hawai‘i without traveling off the islands, like a
staycation.
First, you can go to the movies. Here are some movies that
are coming out during our Spring
Break: Alice in Wonderland that
comes out on 3-5-10 and Clash of
the Titans comes out 3-26-10.
You can also go to a great new
“town” called Chinatown for good
food and little trinkets at cheap
prices.
Of course, you can go to the
beach, it’s free! After you go to
the beach you can grab a bite to
eat like at cheap lunch places like
Zippy’s, Costco snack bar, California Pizza Kitchen, Duke’s, Sam
Choy’s, and an island favorite that
is hard to find. It’s Mitsquen, a
great bento place; they’re famous
for their garlic chicken plate.
For other eateries, try Kua ‘Aina
located in Ward Center. They have
Page 4
A: Well, it does at times, but
when I came to teach at Punahou
30 years ago, some female teachers weren’t ready to accept me
because male teachers were new
back then.
Q: If you could change to any
grade or stay here, what grade
would you switch to?
A: If that would happen, I would
stay here. I’m happy here. It’s the
kids. I love how they love to learn,
and don’t want to talk back. I also
love watching them grow. Every
year, I have a reunion of the children I had in Kindergarten who are
graduating that year.
Over-all, Mr. Yorck seems to
love what he does. He loves his
job, and of course, the kids!
Right now, Mr. Yorck is working
on the book drive, trying to donate
and find donations for a school on
the Big Island, Na‘alehu Elementary and Intermediate School.
If you ask us, Mr. Yorck is going
to be here for a long time, since
he obviously has a lot of love and
passion for teaching children.
Thirty years is a very long time
for a teacher to be the only male
teacher out of many females.
Commitment is a good value to
keep.
burgers for around $6.90, salads
for $3.40, both of which taste
good and are very filling.
There is also Killer Tacos located
around the North
shore. For great
tacos, that are
for $2.29.
There is also
La Pizza Rina
located around
South King
street. They
have sub sandwiches for $6.95,
and a medium
pizza there costs
$13.00 (additional topping $.60.)
For dessert, you can go to Yogartland or Menchies—great yogurt
for low prices — and the new place
located in Kahala Mall, Red Mango.
You can also, of course, go to
Ala Moana Center for great shopping and even more tasty restaurants. After you’re done, you can
relax with a spa getaway at Solar
Nails located right the Center. For
a night out, your family might try
a local hotel stay for reasonable
prices, like the Ala Moana Hotel or
the Ilima.
Then, to get some exercise, you
can go hiking, like at Koko Head.
Cool down afterward with some
shave ice from Koko Nuts located
in Koko Marina Center.
If you still want to travel, you
can travel to an outer island, like
Maui, for around $50.
So, instead of going on a $700
trip for Spring Break, you can just
stay here and do many fun, tasty,
and cheap things to do here on our
own islands!
The CMS Courier
March 2010
A Shock For America;
Massachusetts
Makes History
Senator Scott Brown
Photo courtesy of buzzbrockway.com
Will There
Be Change?
By Kapri Lisehora
T
his past January 19, Massachusetts made history. Previous State Senator Scott Brown
(R) made an amazing victory over
Attorney General Martha Coakley
(D).
Brown won the special election
to take late Senator Ted Kennedy’s
(D) seat, which he had held for
more than 46 years.
The shock for Americans was
more than just Kennedy’s death; it
was Massachusetts voting Republican.
The state had always been
known to vote Democratic, even
though the majority of the population is classified as independent.
Losing Kennedy’s Senate seat
had a major effect on Democrats.
Brown became the 41st Republican seat, taking away the Democratic “super” majority and disallowing them the filibuster-proof
votes which had already pushed
President Obama’s Health Care Bill
through in late 2009.
A Democratic operative who
advises members of congress said,
“My message to my clients? Jump
ship now...Obama can’t help you.”
Republican leaders around the
country have taken this election in
stride, and are using it as a rallying point to prove to Democratic
leaders that their point of action is
not appreciated by the American
people.
“There’s a reason the nation
was focused on this race: The voters in Massachusetts, like Americans everywhere, have made it
abundantly clear where they stand
Viewpoint by Victoria Lee
P
resident Barack Obama officially became the 44th
President of the United States on
January 20, 2009.
Ever since then, he has been
helping the
United States
with its economic and
financial problems. But in
his first year of
office, he had
disappointed
people because
of the several
setbacks and
the failure to
explain his
plans to the
public over the
past year he has been president.
When we elected him as president, we expected him to take his
job as president and expect some
change.
In his first state of the union address, he was discussing his plans
so far as president.
In his address, he planned to
create more jobs for people who
don’t have them and are struggling to make a living.
Page 5
on health care,” commented Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Texas Senator John Cornyn,
chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also
declared: “Democrats nationwide
should be on notice: Americans
are ready to hold the party in power accountable for their irresponsible spending and out-of-touch
agenda, and they’re ready for real
change in Washington.”
Massachusetts wasn’t the only
rallying point Republicans have
been wielding. Recent Republican
wins in both Virginia and New Jersey have boosted the confidence of
the Republican Party and started
to assure them that the political
pendulum was starting to swing in
their direction.
The communications director of
the National Republican Congressional Committee, Ken Spain said:
“Democrats will try to play this
race off as an isolated incident,
but the recent spate of polling in
swing districts across the country
proves that Massachusetts isn’t
the exception of the 2010 election
cycle, it’s the rule. Any Democrat
who voted for the health care bill
now knows how big of an albatross
they will have hanging around
their necks.”
As the political war continues
to rage between the two main
political parties, American voters
will have to show their opinions
through their votes. Hopefully they
will turn the country around for
the best, and continue to uphold
the country known as the United
States of America.
But it isn’t going too well because it is estimated to be about
$210 billion on the whole project.
Not only that, but it will also be a
ten-year program.
President Obama hopefully
plans to bring this into action,
which will give a
total of 7 million
people jobs.
He also plans
to take some
initiatives for
health. His
wife, First Lady
Michelle Obama,
had first suggested these
plans.
In this plan, it
would be more
affordable to
all Americans.
It makes it more affordable by
providing huge tax cuts for middle
class people. This plan is also more
sustainable and will help everybody.
The health plan will also even help
reduce obesity for children.
Even though there wasn’t much
change yet, there will be more
change to come. President Barack
Obama and First Lady Michelle
Obama still plan to help and improve the United States.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Tap or Bottled?
Which Will
You Choose?
Fine
China
Viewpoint by Shirley Lin
I
f I offered you a cup of tap
water or a bottle of water, which
would you take out of my hand?
I know what you’re thinking. Of
course the bottled water is better
because it’s safer and it tastes way
better.
You may have heard about 8th
grader Sean Ching who wrote an
article last year about the pros of
bottled water. Now I will be informing you from a whole different perspective of this age old debate.
Tap water is much better than
bottled water because it takes less
energy to produce, it is safer to
drink, it is cheaper, and it is better
for the environment.
Did you know that it takes about
1,100 to 2,000 time more energy to
package, produce, and deliver one
liter of bottled water than it takes
to treat the same amount of water?
So basically, the energy it takes
for you to get your liter of bottled
water, you could have gotten 1,100
to 2,000 liters of tap water.
When people think about bottled
water, they think about a crisp
mountain scenery with refreshing
cool air. Right below is a clear river
with bright green bushes and grass
hills. What they don’t think about
is a dirty factory located in the
middle of a smoggy and filthy city.
That’s where much of your bottled
water comes from. The water does
not come from a clear refreshing
By CMS Staff & 6th Grade Reporters
A
nimals, folk art, food and
games from China are just
part of the exhibit now showing
over at the Wo Center, upstairs.
According to Mrs. Terrina Wong
of the Center, the exhibit was designed to support our first graders
Page 6
river, but a contaminated well in
the middle of a city. As much as
34 out of 103 bottles of water had
chemicals such as arsenic in them.
I don’t think that’s very good for
your body.
When the water is bottled, it isn’t
shipped out until months later. The
bottles sit in a hot and stuffy storage room for months, letting the
chemicals in the plastic soak into
the water you are drinking.
Tap water in California is sold for
$1.60 for 1,000 gallons, about 1/10
of a cent per gallon. Bottled water
is sold for an average of 90 cents
per gallon. If you buy water from
the vending machines, the water
that cost you $1.50 for a single bottle actually costs over 10,000 times
the price for the same amount of
tap water.
Even if you disregard the cost
of bottled water, you may consider
that over 80% of the bottles we
buy end up, when empty, in our
nearest landfill.
That’s 38 billion bottles or 1.5
million tons of plastic.
Plastic takes thousands of years
to decompose naturally. So while
those plastic bottles sit in that
landfill, lying under the hot sun,
the chemicals in their plastic leach
away into our water supplies. Not
only is bottled water directly bad for
your health, it also contaminates
the water supply. So do the right
thing, take the cup of tap water
instead of the bottled water.
in their study of China and the
Chinese language.
The exhibit has interactive activities, items
from the daily life of
students in China, and
there are even some
(miniature) terra
cotta warriors.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Defense Against
the Dark Arts
Comes to Punahou
Lisa Lewis.
Photo courtesy of Lisa
uBoost Makes
Points with Students
By Michele Miao
D
efense Against the Dark Arts:
most of us know it as what
Harry Potter excels at. But starting
this year, sixth graders have had
a chance to experience it in a new
exploratory.
Punahou’s Defense Against the
Dark Arts, or DADA, is basically
visualization, observation, memorization, 3D image manipulation,
whole brain integration, mental
math, and creativity all rolled up
into one exploratory.
The instructor, Mr. Wagenseller,
has taught the students some
simple tips to stay focused during
class, and some hints to memorize
lists in a snap.
Lisa Lewis, one of the students
in the course for fall semester, was
able to answer some of the CMS
Courier’s questions:
What were some of the
things you learned in Defense
Against the Dark Arts?
We learned how to do mental
math with two digits and three
digits and he told us some tricks
to make mental math easier. He
For those seventh graders
who can’t take the course, or
the sixth graders who didn’t
get in, here’s one of the things
DADA students learned in this
class.
The Linking Technique:
When you need to remember a
grocery list, your things-to-do,
or any list of words, the linking
technique can help you.
For example, we’ll use this
list of words: milk, paper towels,
French baguette, ketchup, and
dishwashing soap.
Imagine a glass of cool milk
on the kitchen counter. Make
it vivid; add in as many details
as possible. The glass is threequarters full with milk.
Next, make a connection
By Ellia Bower
S
oldiers get medals, kings get
crowns, but what do students
get?
You may have received a sticker
for your efforts or a 4; that is,
until now.
uBoost is a student recognition
program that
gives points
to teachers to
award to their
students in
any way they
please.
You could
get points
by earning a
100% on a
Wordly Wise
test, helping
out during study hall, or even for
perfect attendance.
Teachers can check out the site
Page 7
showed different methods to learn
a list of things and we learned to
remember memories from our
childhood that we already forgot.
It was cool.
What was your favorite thing
you learned, and what were
you best at?
My fav thing I learned was the
making up a story to remember a
list of things technique. I was also
best at that.
Did you struggle with some
of the things that you were
taught?
I didn’t struggle with anything.
Is there anything else you
would want to learn?
Oooh, I want to learn to read
people’s minds in some way IF
that’s possible, but in reality I
think I learned A LOT and I don’t
think I have anything else to learn.
If you could, would you do
this class again?
YES!!!
It may not require a wand and
teach how to repel dementors, but
Defense Against the Dark Arts, the
Punahou version, seems pretty
magical.
between milk and paper towels.
Imagine you spilling the milk,
and using paper towels to wipe
it up.
Do the same things for the
rest of the words. You might
wrap the French baguette in
a three paper towels, and use
the baguette to make a giant
sandwich with ketchup in it, and
clean the ketchup off the plate
with dishwashing soap.
The key to make your links
memorable are using motion,
large sizes, and numbers. The
milk spilled (motion), we were
making a giant sandwich (large
size), and we wrapped the baguette with three paper towels
(number).
at www.uboost.com and watch
tutorial videos.
Once earning enough points,
you can spend them on virtual
room items to enter the room contest. Purchase furniture and pets
to decorate your room.
You can even make your room
a skate park or Concert stage and
rate your buddy’s room in the
room contest.
Why spend $299 on an iPod
touch when you can put your
name in the sweepstakes for just
15 points?
It is Valentine’s Day! Gift some
virtual flowers to your friends.
If your mom won’t let you get a
dog, donate to one in need.
Give a dog a bone for just 15
points.
How lucky are we to be going to
Punahou School?
Reflect upon your blessings and
give to a child in Haiti.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Obscure Holidays:
Just How Many
Are There?
Google
Doodle
According to graphic
designer, Ruth
Kedar—the person
who created the
now famous logo—
the green L shows
that “Google doesn’t
follow the rules.”
By Amanda Nakanishi
W
e all know about regular
holidays, like Valentine’s
Day, St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s
Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving,
April Fool’s Day, and Hallowe’en.
But what
about the
holidays that
don’t get as
much credit?
Holidays like
National Chocolate Covered
Cherry Day (Jan.
3) or National
Pie day? (Mar.
14, because the
number pi starts
with 3.14)
What other
days do we not
know about?
There are some days that we
can shamelessly take advantages
of, like No Homework Day (May 6)
or National Goof Off Day. (Mar. 22)
There’s also Blame Someone
Else day, which is always the first
Friday the thirteenth of each year.
This year it’s in August but
when it comes around, think about
all the possibilities that the day
gives.
By Ale Hedlund
G
oogle: the most popular
search program in the world.
Everyone knows the familiar
blue, yellow, red and green logo of
Google, but there are many other
logos Google has had in the past.
The original Google Logo was
created by Sergey Brin using the
free graphics program, GIMP, in
1998. In the beginning, the Google
logo had an exclamation mark,
much like Yahoo’s logo.
In 1999, the official, and present Google logo was created.
It shows the six letters, each a
primary color, with the exception
of the L, which is the secondary
color green. According to graphic
designer, Ruth Kedar—the person who created the now famous
logo—the green L shows that
“Google doesn’t follow the rules.”
On August 30, 1998, Google
created it’s first Google Doodle.
Every Google Doodle has to do
with an event or celebration. Usually the Doodles come out
as the logo for a day on
Google.
The Burning Man Festival was the event that
Google used for their first
Google Doodle. It features
the original Google! Logo,
with a man-like figure
behind the O. This festival
started because of a bon-
Page 8
There’s another day like that.
False Confession Day which is on
Nov. 21.
But while you can run around
yelling fake false confessions, you
shouldn’t run around yelling that
you killed someone, or that someone is hurt, or
lost etc.
Not to mention Stay Home
Because You Are
Well Day. It’s
basically a day
created by the
people at wellcat.com.
The main objective is to call
into work and
say you can’t
make it to work
or somewhere
because you are
feeling well.
It might get you in trouble
though so you should think before
you participate in this holiday. It
takes place on Nov. 30.
These days are all really fun
and interesting to look for but be
careful incase you get in trouble
for doing something the day tells
you to do.
So tread carefully but have fun.
fire in which James Harvey burned
a large man and a small dog made
out of wood. Now, it is celebrated
by many people in Nevada.
The cool thing about Google
Doodles is that they don’t show
only popular holidays and events,
such as the Winter Olympics happening now (shown below), but
they also show more minor things.
Sesame Street characters were
celebrated in November, last year.
Also, not only American holidays
are celebrated. Google celebrates
peoples birthdays and holidays
from all over the world!
The latest Google Doodles have
to do with the Winter Olympics
that are currently happening in
Vancouver. They show different
types of Olympic events such as
curling, skiing and figure skating.
Google Doodles are not just interesting to look at. By clicking on
them, they direct you to different
information about the holidays.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
An Icy Way
to Cool Up
Your Day
Fashion 2010:
What’s In and
What’s Out!
By Julia Barruga
O
n January 5th, the annual
Harbin Festival in Harbin,
China kicked off its 26th year. The
Harbin Festival is one of the four
largest ice festivals in the world.
Ice buildings and sculptures line
up all along the Songhua River.
The Harbin Festival
first began in 1963,
but there were many
interruptions in the
next few years due to
the Cultural Revolution
in China.
It resumed in 1985.
Before the Harbin
Festival began, many
ice sculptors worked
hard on making them.
The sculptors used deionized water to make
transparent blocks of
ice. They also used
ice picks, chisels, and
swing saws to create
their sculptures.
The Harbin Festival
started off with a fireworks celebration and
the illumination of ice
sculptures.
The festival had
many winter activities.
Winter activities such
as skiing, sledding,
and winter swimming
were some of the many activities
at the festival.
Temperatures at the festival
have reached below zero degrees
both in Fahrenheit and Celsius.
Temperatures dropped to -30º
Celsius (-22º F).
Fairy tale palaces, pagodas, and
the Egyptian Sphinx were some of
the ice sculptures at the festival.
At night the sculptors lit up their
sculptures. The festival featured
varies of architecture that goes
back to its historical links.
The Harbin Festival attracts
many tourists to China. They enjoy
the varied types of architecture
By Victoria Mak
W
hat is in and what is out for
Spring 2010 fashion? Can
you believe that solid colors, big
hair, heavy foundations, French
manicures and super-spiked haircuts are out of fashion?
According to one of the most
famous designers
that ever lived, Coco
Chanel, “Fashion is
not something that
exists in dresses only.
Fashion is in the sky,
in the street, fashion
has to do with ideas,
the way we live, what
is happening.”
But on the other
hand, hot pants and
boy shorts, knee high
and over the knee
socks, bow hand
bands and warrior
Page 9
and winter sports.
The Harbin Festival was a “cool”
tourist attraction, but ice hotels
are another attraction. There are
a total of seven ice hotels around
the world. There are ice hotels in
Finland, Canada, Norway, Romania, and Sweden.
The architecture of each ice
hotel is very different. Most ice
hotels are built to look like igloos
because of its stable structure. The
structure is built out of ice and has
steel framing. The walls, fixtures,
and fittings are made entirely of
ice. They are held together with
“snice” (snow and ice) which acts
like mortar, which is used to build
a regular brick hotel.
The ice hotels are reconstructed
every year depending on the temperatures.
One of the most popular ice
hotels in the world, Icehotel, lies in
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. Icehotel was
the world’s first ice hotel.
Another famous ice hotel is
the Hotel de Glace, which lies in
Quebec, Canada. This was the first
hotel in North America.
This hotel is a tourist “hotspot”
according to Quebec’s Tourism
Department.
These ice hotels are only two of
the others.
One of these ice hotels are so
famous that they were featured in
the movie ‘Die Another Day’.
Ice hotels and ice sculptures
are icy ways to cool up your day
because they are enjoyable and
just plain cool.
type clothes are in fashion for
2010.
Elements of the future warrior
trend include metal plating, tunics
(especially in leather), chain mail
inspired detailing and tribal inspired motifs.
Also, leggings are still in for
2010. If you can’t figure out what
to wear, then put on a pair of leggings, an oversized top, and some
winter boots and you are good to
go!
Long sleeve plaid lightweight
country tops are still in and you
can wear them with or without a
tee shirt belt. But beware, store
all of your Ed Hardy wear away
until the Jon and Kate Gosselin
mess is over.
Super-hyped hair and tanning
until you turn orange is definitely
out of fashion. So good luck and
make sure not to wear things that
are out of fashion.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Ko Olina,
the ‘Place of Joy’
Wins Aulani
Aulani, In-Depth
Ms. Diane Hancock, Disney
Public Affairs Manager, answered
some of our questions about the
Aulani Resort.
Will there be some characters
like at the other Disney Parks? If
so what might they be?
“This is our first destination
resort outside of the theme
parks. The focus of the resort
will be on telling the stories of
Hawai‘i. The Disney characters
will make appearances, but we
haven’t booked their travel just
yet.”
What age group is the park
aimed at? All families? Young
Families? Just married couples?
“This resort will be influenced by the stories of Hawai‘i
The Last
of Lost
By Karrie Honnaka
T
he Walt Disney Resort is to
open in O‘ahu, Hawai‘i in
2011. They officially announced
that they were going to open a
Disney Resort in Hawai‘i on Oct.
3, 2007. The great resort is to be
located at Ko Olina Resort on the
(western side of O‘ahu).
It is a 21 acre ocean front
property with a great view.
Disney paid about $144 million
dollars for this great resort.
Families will be able to discover the wonders of Hawai‘i. It
was designed to honor the local
culture of the Hawaiian islands.
The resulting design is to be
a village celebrating Hawaiian
customs and the traditions that
we have here.
This resort is to include 350
rooms. It is going to have a
and purpose-built for families.
Every activity and every aspect
of design even the rooms will
be family-friendly in ways that
only Disney can do. We will also
deliver excellent guest service,
fun the whole family can enjoy
an immersive Hawaiian experiences.”
What are some of your
thoughts about this Aulani?
“We are excited to become
a neighbor in Hawai‘i, and we
traditionally work hard to be a
good steward of the environment and to stay involved in the
community.”
How long have you worked
for Disney? What is the nature
of your job? How does your job
relate to this park? Will you be
moving to O‘ahu?
By Flora Zhu
T
he first episode of Season Six
of Lost came out on Tuesday,
February second, 2010. Season
Six is the last season of Lost.
Lost is a TV show about survivors of a plane crash who don’t
know where they are.
Among the survivors, Jack Shepherd,
a doctor, runs to
everyone trying to do
what he can to save
the dying or accommodate their needs.
As the night wears
on, the survivors
hear a mysterious
booming and crashing, knocking trees
down.
The main characters of this show are
Jack Shepherd, Kate
(Katherine), Sawyer
(James Ford), and
Locke (John Locke).
In Season 1, the
survivors try to figure out how to
Page 10
18,000 sq. ft. spa and 8,000 sq. ft.
conference room.
This place is going to have a
restaurant that will feature foods
unique to the Hawaiian Culture.
Also when eating at the restaurant
for dinner you will have a alluring
view of the sunset.
Some of Disney’s Hawaiian
Heritage is that in 1937 the Mickey
Mouse animated video Hawaiian
Holiday.
Walt Disney Pictures continued
the Hawaiian theme in 2002 with
the big hit Lilo & Stitch.
This is about a Hawaiian girl
that is trying to tame a unnameable alien by trying to teach the
meaning of “ohana.”
The resort will be called Aulani,
a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina,
Hawai‘i. It looks like this resort
has big plans and will be a big hit
next year.
“I have worked at Disney
since high school and will celebrate 30 years with the company this year. I am the manager
of Public Affairs and responsible
for media relations, community
relations, internal and executive
communications. I’ve worked
on the announcements coming
from the resort and the ground
blessing of the property, which
was one of the most rewarding
events; I’ve done in my career
at Disney. We’ve been so warmly
welcomed on O‘ahu and have
truly experienced the Aloha
Spirit. Regrettably, I won’t be
moving but hope to visit often. Our Vice President, Djuan
Rivers, lived on O‘ahu during
college and returned to oversee
this new resort.”
get off the island, trying to send
of a signal from a radio transmitter.
A mysterious booming, knocking trees down, continues to scare
the survivors.
When they get a radio signal
from somewhere on the island,
they realize they’re not alone and
someone has been on the island
for 16 years.
In the beginning of Lost, everything flashes back, and pasts
are revealed. In the middle of the
run of Lost, everything flashed
forward, and the future was revealed. Now, in Season Six, the
story “flashes sideways,” meaning
there are two different dimensions and the story goes as what
would’ve happened if Oceanic
Flight 815 landed in LA like it was
supposed to.
Lost has been a huge TV series
on ABC. It’s a show full of twists
and the unexpected - the outcome
surprising everyone.
Sadly, now Lost is ending. What
will be the end? Certainly not how
everyone will think it will end!
The CMS Courier
March 2010
New Technology:
Apple iPad
Older Technology:
Apple iPod?
By Kaylee Wedderburn-Pugh
& Hayley Morgan
J
ust a few weeks ago, Apple
announced a
new technology,
the iPad. It will be
officially released
sometime in late
March of this year
for the Wi-Fi only
version.
The iPad is
essentially a giant iPhone. It
has a headphone
jack, built-in
microphone, and
connection dock
where you can
plug in the camera connection
Kit or the keyboard dock. It can
even run on the
3G network, the
same as the iPhone.
This version will be released in
late April of this year.
Its screen is 9.7 inches long. It
is also half an inch thin and weighs
only one and a half pounds.
Apple is also planning on making apps specifically designed for
the iPad. It is also designed to run
the 140,000 apps currently made.
It can also stretch the normal apps
from the iTouch and iPhone to fill
the screen.
However there are a few environmental requirements for this
new device:
It operates best in between 32˚F
to 90˚F (0˚C to 35˚C), and it can’t
operate in -4˚F to 113˚F (-20˚C to
45˚C).
Its maximum operating altitude
is 10,000 feet or 3,000 meters.
This incredible new tech even
has up to ten hours of battery. That
By Brandon Yahiro
T
he iPod has changed our music industry. The iPod allows
an easier way to download music
from iTunes. iTunes allows you to
buy music from its online store.
It provides the latest updates in
entertainment.
With the creation of the iPod
Touch, it allows you to play
games on your iPod.
The MP3 player does not allow
you to play these types of these
games on the iPod.
Also, the iPod now has internet
access which allows you to search
the web on the go.
The first iPod did not
have this feature.
In the beginning of time
the first music player was
called the phonograph.
It was made by Thomas
Edison in 1877. The next
after the phonograph was
the tape recorder. After that
a CD player was invented.
Then the last one is the
MP3 player.
Page 11
is more than most laptops have.
You can also listen to music for 140
hours with the screen on sleep before it has to be charged again.
The actual
processor of this
device is the new
A4 chip. If put
into the iPhone,
it would be the
fastest phone
out there.
And just how
much does this
iPad cost after
having the A4
chip?
It depends on
if you are getting
it with 16, 32
or 64 gigabyte
flash memory. It
also depends if
you want a Wi-Fi
only or a Wi-Fi
plus 3G network
model.
The Wi-Fi only models start at
$499 (16GB) and move up to $699
(64GB), whereas the Wi-Fi plus 3G
models start at $629 (16GB) and
go up to $829 (64GB).
There are also a few accessories
such as the iPad keyboard dock
which connects to the iPad and
provides an actual keyboard similar
to those of the PCs.
There is also the protective case
that protects it from scratches but
also doubles as a stand for the
iPad.
In the future, there will be more
accessories, guaranteed.
The iPad is a pioneer in the world
of technology and electronics.
Hopefully in the very near future
improvements will be added to the
iPad to insure that it becomes one
of the greatest computer inventions
of our time.
Over the past years, the Apple
company has kept improving the
music player, from the mini iPod
shuffle to the big iPad (see story
above).
The music player just keeps on
improving.
Right now, the iPad is the big
talk around the world.
It is an iPod as well as a computer.
It starts around 500 dollars.
The creation of the iPod will
continue to improve in the future
creating new versions of amazing
electronic systems such as a television, computer, iPod, phone.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Where Your Dog
Might Have
Come From
Faces of misery: the production of
puppies for profit.
Photos from saawinternational.org,
littleabbysadventures.com, dogloversmonthly.com
La Bohème,
a Night
to Remember
By Michelle Nagata
I
magine being a poor, frightened dog locked up in a
cramped cage. You
have little food, water,
and socialization with
other dogs. This is what
puppy mill dogs experience every day.
A puppy mill is a dog
breeding facility that
cares more about profit
than the dogs’ well being. Conditions in puppy
mills are unsanitary,
and are barely even
cleaned, depending on
the mill.
Dogs are stacked
on top of one another.
These cages often have wired
flooring, which may injure paws
and legs.
They are fed dog food sent in by
the load, sometimes with sweepings off the floor.
They never experience being
able to play with toys, receive
praise and treats, exercise, take
walks, or have basic grooming.
Puppy mill operators do not
remove sick puppies from their
breeding pools, resulting in diseases and health conditions such
as heart disease, kidney disease,
blood disorders, deafness, upper
respiratory infections, pneumonia,
and heartworm.
These puppies can be marketed
as young as eight months old. Brokers may claim that the dogs are
in good condition, when many are
later found to be ill. Breeder dogs
suffer with the puppies. They are
Review by Jackie Emley
T
his year for the 8th grade
opera, the students saw La
Bohème.
La Bohème is an original Italian opera written by Giacomo
Puccini and was first performed
in 1896. La Bohème has been the
inspiration for several modern
day movies, such as Rent and
Moulin Rouge.
Before heading to Blaisdell,
most of students gathered in
Twigg-Smith pavilion to eat dinner and discuss the opera.
Many parents and several students helped out, and 8th grade
choir teacher, Mrs. Scanlan, of
course.
La Bohème is broken into 4
parts, in the first part you meet
the two lovers.
Before you meet them, you see
a group of two friends huddled
around a dying fire.
Rodolfo, the writer and Colline,
a philosopher.
Then Shaunard, a musician,
comes with good news—he has
a job for a rich English man and
has enough money for rent, firewood, and food.
The friends decide to go out,
but Rodolfo stays back insisting
Page 12
bred at every heat cycle, at about
twice per year.
Eventually, they become unable
to reproduce and are often killed
or abandoned by the operators.
From puppy mills, dogs are sent
to pet stores such as Petland. If a
dog is ever bought from Petland,
chances are that it has health
problems.
On average, vet bills range from
$40 to $400 per year, sometimes
even more. Owning a dog with
diseases and conditions will only
add to that bill. It takes even more
checkups and medicine to care for
puppy mill dogs.
All this could have been prevented in the first place, if only puppy
mill operators were responsible
enough to care for them and produce dogs of higher quality. They
care more about profit. Should
dogs have to suffer this way?
If you would like to help bring
puppy mills to an end, you can
boycott dogs from puppy mills and
help to spread this information.
on working on his drama, which
he had burned to keep the fire
alive.
While he is working, he hears a
knock on the door and a woman,
Mimi, asking him to light her
candle.
When he lets her in, he notices
her beauty, but also that she
seems a little sick.
Soon after both of their candles go out and they are plunged
into darkness, then Mimi loses
her key.
Rodolfo finds it, but keeps it so
she will not leave and so they fall
in love.
After the opera curtain falls
and everyone applauds, the first
intermission begins.
During the twenty-minute
break, students can purchase
drinks and snacks, but not take
them into the theatre.
This is also a great opportunity
to show off everyone’s dresses
and great outfits. Then they all
head back in, find their seats and
watch the next three acts.
If you are interested in seeing
La Bohème, it will be at Blaisdell
center until March 6th.
Or if you can’t make it, you
should check out Rent, which is a
modern version of La Bohème.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Percy Jackson,
in the Movie
Percy Jackson,
in the Book
Review by Leah Arakaki
I
n the new movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The
Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson, a
demigod sets out on a quest to not
only find his mother, but to return
Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt.
Zeus’s master lightning bolt has
been stolen – and Zeus is accusing Poseidon! Even though gods
are forbidden to steal a god’s main
source of power, Zeus thinks that
Poseidon’s son stole it.
He demands the bolt back by the
summer solstice, or there will be
war.
Percy Jackson was a troubled kid
– he has dyslexia, words scramble
when he looks at them, ADHD,
and, sometimes, things he couldn’t
explain happened. For instance, he
could hold his breath underwater
for 7 minutes, and he would come
up alive.
At a class trip to the museum,
Percy thinks he hears a voice talking to him. He looks across the
street and sees a man in a leather
jacket looking at him. But, a bus
rolls by, and when it turns the corner, the man is gone.
Mr. Brunner, the tour guide,
leads the group through the museum. For Percy, the ancient Greek
Review by Sarini Saksena
P
ercy Jackson and the Olympians series written by Rick
Riodan is one of New York Times
Best Seller and has been on the
charts for over a year.
This widely popular series is
based upon Greek mythology. Now
a movie is being released about
the first book in the series, The
Lightning Thief, directed by Chris
Columbus.
Columbus wanted to direct the
Percy Jackson movie because it
gave him the “opportunity to do a
movie that we haven’t really seen
before for this generation.”
When I was a kid,” Columbus
says, “there were movies that
dealt with Greek mythology, which
in terms of visual effects were
really primitive. So I thought this
was an opportunity to deal with
Greek mythology which children
and adults all over the world are
fascinated by and it was not a new
genre but a new avenue, dealing
with mythological creatures in a
contemporary setting”
Percy Jackson, the main character, is a twelve-year-old boy diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. He
tries to live a normal life but, after
getting kicked out of every school
he ever attended, he is fed up. After going on a field trip and being
attacked by his math teacher, he
finds out that he is a half–blood,
half Greek god and half human.
He is sent to Camp Half-Blood, a
camp for children like him. After
he arrives, Poseidon, the sea god,
claims Percy as his son. A prophecy states that a child of the big
Page 13
letters, which seem unreadable
to most, form words to help him
answer one of Mr. Brunner’s questions.
While Mr. Brunner leads the rest
of the class around, Ms. Dodds,
Percy’s evil substitute teacher,
takes him aside to “talk” to him.
What really happens is that Ms.
Dodds transforms into one of Hades’s Furies. She lifts Percy into the
air, demanding the Lightning Bolt.
But, Mr. Brunner and Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friend, come
into the room.
Mr. Brunner demands that the
Fury put him down, or he would
severely hurt her. The Fury drops
Percy, smashing through the window, and flies away.
Mr. Brunner and Grover seem
to be hiding something, but Percy
isn’t getting anything. Mr. Brunner
entrusts Percy with his “powerful
weapon”, Riptide, which just happens to be a pen.
Grover and Percy rush to his
apartment. Grover tells Sally,
Percy’s mother, what’s happening.
They try to rush out of the house
but Gabe, Percy’s stepfather, stops
them. But Grover beats him up
with his walkers.
On the drive out to nowhere,
…continued on page 15
three, will at the age of 16 decide
the future of the world—whether
there will be a war or peace.
Percy is accused of stealing
Zeus’ thunderbolt. He is given ten
days to return the thunderbolt of
Zeus, the king of Greek gods, to
Mount Olympus in order to stop
a war between the gods. He has
many adventures along the way
such as dealing with angry gods,
an evil betrayer and a rise of an all
mighty Titan Kronos.
His friends Annabeth Chase,
Daughter of Athena (The Greek
Goddess of Wisdom), and Grover
Underwood he will go on an adventure that will save the world.
You will see that in the movie,
The Lighting Thief, Percy Jackson,
is being accused of stealing Zeus’s
Master Bolt as well. And he is
given until the Summer Solstice to
return it and, similar to the book,
war will follow upon the gods if
not done so. Along with his friends
Annabeth and Grover, he will go
on an adventure that will save the
world.
The plot line is very similar to
the book but there are many more
flaws in the movie. Here are some
examples. (To read more about
the movie, please view the review
of this movie by Leah Arakaki.)
•One of the biggest flaws in
the movie was that Percy, Grover,
and Annabeth were portrayed as
at least 16 years old where in the
book he was only 12.
•When he reached camp, there
were many missing scenes and
missing characters such as Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. She
…continued on page 14
The CMS Courier
March 2010
4 Percy Jackson Book
…continued from page 13
Valentine’s Day:
‘A Love Story.
More or Less.’
Page 14
was an interesting character and
she despised Percy. There were
hilarious chapters about their skirmishes and fights.
•One of the main features of
Camp Half Blood was Thalia’s pine
tree and magical boundary. Thalia
was a daughter of Zeus and was
turned into a pine tree by her
father to prevent her from dying.
Now this pine tree protects the
boundary of Camp Half Blood.
•Chiron, the camp trainer, in the
movie knew the parent of Percy,
whereas in the book he was determined or claimed by Poseidon.
•In the book, when he reached
Camp, Percy was given a quest by
the Oracle, or prophet, to find the
lightning bolt. But in the movie
this never happened. Instead he,
Grover and Annabeth ran away to
find three pearls to save Percy’s
mom from the underworld and find
the lightning bolt as well.
•In the book, Hades didn’t
want the Master Bolt. He wanted
his Helm of Darkness. But in the
movie he did want the Master Bolt.
In the book and the movie, Luke
stole the bolt. But in the book, it
was a plot to start a war between
the Gods so the Titan Kronos could
reclaim the world again.
•There were additional scenes
added to the movie as well such as
the Hydra scene and The Persephone and Hades battle scene. In
the book Percy never battled the
Hydra in the temple. This scene
didn’t even occur in the series.
Persephone was not introduced in
the book nor did she ever stop Hades from stealing the bolt. In fact,
Hades didn’t steal the bolt at all.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning
Thief was a great movie, if you
haven’t read the books yet.
If you are a huge fan of the series, then this movie, sorry to say,
will be disappointment.
But the books were great. If you
are interested in reading them,
please check out the following
books.
•Lightning Thief
•Sea of Monsters
•Titan’s Curse
•Battle of the Labyrinth
•Last Olympian
By Michele Miao & Melissa Miura
Harrison gave her, and leaves.
One of Julia’s students, Edison
(Bryce Robinson), orders a flower
from Reed to be sent to his Valentine. He gives them to Julia, and
Julia tells him to give it to a girl in
his class.
Edison’s baby sitter, Grace
(Emma Roberts), plans to sleep for
her first time with her boyfriend,
Alex (Carter Jenkins). However,
Grace’s mom and Edison’s grandparents find out about this plan,
causing Edison’s grandmother
(Shirley MacLaine) to reveal a
secret affair to his grandfather
(Hector Elizondo). In the end,
Grace and Alex decides to wait,
and Edison’s grandparents plan to
say their marriage vows again.
Grace’s friends, Willy (Taylor
Lautner) and Felicia (Taylor Swift),
experience new love, and talk
about their love and support for
each other on the news.
Edison’s mother, Kate (Julia
Roberts), meets a recently-single
man named Holden (Bradley
Cooper) on an airplane back home
to see her son. At the end, it is
shown that Holden broke up with
Sean (Eric Dane), but he goes
back to him. Sean, a professional
football player, contemplates ending his career with his publicist,
Kara (Jessica Biel), and his publicist, Paula (Queen Latifah).
Kara plans her annual “I Hate
Valentine’s Day” party, but becomes interested in sports reporter Kelvin (Jamie Foxx), who
also dislikes Valentine’s Day. Paula
hires a new receptionist, Liz (Anne
Hathaway), who starts dating Jason (Topher Grace), the mail room
clerk. Jason is shocked when he
finds out Liz is a phone entertainer,
but accepts it later.
The review—story: one star;
acting: one; direction: a half star.
T
he poster for the movie Valentine’s Day reads, “a day in the
life of love.” What it should read,
however, is, “Warning: this movie
is only for those who enjoy boredom.”
In other words, it was a Valentine’s Day disaster. Valentine’s Day
is neither heartbreaking nor earthshattering, a movie that is not
moving at all, unless you count the
fast and confusing transitions from
story to story every five seconds. A
disappointment, especially considering there were so many A-list
stars with roles in the movie. Then
again, maybe it was just too much
to take in all at once; too many
great actors and actresses shoved
into a poorly plotted movie trying
to pull off what other classic romance movies have already done.
The movie starts off with a
florist, Reed (Ashton Kutcher),
proposing to his girlfriend Morley
(Jessica Alba). She accepts, and
he tells Alfonso (George Lopez),
Reed’s friend and co-worker, and
Julia (Jennifer Garner), a elementary school teacher, this news
happily. Later on, Morley changes
her mind, and Reed discovers that
Alfonso and Julia always thought
that it wouldn’t work out.
Julia falls in love with Harrison
(Patrick Dempsey), a doctor, not
knowing that he is married. Reed
finds out that Harrison ordered
flowers for both Julia and his
wife, and tries to warn Julia. Julia
brushes this off, and goes on the
plane to meet Harrison. When she
is at the hospital where Harrison
works, she learns from a nurse
that Harrison is indeed married,
and makes a scene at a restaurant
where Harrison is eating with his
wife. Julia gives back the toy that
The CMS Courier
March 2010
4 Percy Jackson Movie
…continued from page 13
What’s wrong with this picture? That depends on whether
you know the book or only the
movie!
Sally tries to explain about Percy’s
father, but the explanation is cut
short when the Minotaur attacks
them. Grover reveals he is a satyr,
and they race toward the Camp
Half-Blood border. But because
Sally is mortal, she cannot enter
the safety of the camp. She is
caught by the Minotaur, and turns
into dust.
Using Riptide, Percy defeats the
Minotaur by stabbing it with its own
horn, but passes out after the feat.
After being unconscious for three
days, he wakes up in the Camp
Half-Blood infirmary, where he
slowly learns he is a demigod. He
sees Annabeth Chase, daughter of
Athena, dueling about four warriors
at once. He also learns that Mr.
Brunner’s actual name is Chiron,
and that he is a centaur.
But the biggest surprise is that
his unknown father is actually one
of the biggest gods up on Mount
Olympus – Poseidon.
And his stepfather, “Smelly
Gabe”? Well, the only reason Sally
Jackson stayed with him was to
cover up Percy’s demigod scent.
Being one of the Big Three, his
scent would attract more monsters.
But, because of Gabe’s stench, he
was able to stay safe all that time.
But, there is the stolen lightning
bolt, and he learns that he is the
prime suspect. He knows that he is
not the culprit, and Chiron believes
him. But, if they do not find it, war
will fall upon the gods.
But, for now, Capture the Flag is
coming up. Percy is put on Luke’s
team. (Luke is a son of Hermes.)
After running away from some
Ares warriors, he ends up by the
stream where, surprisingly, the flag
is. He reaches out to grab it when…
Annabeth leaps out of the tree.
She beats him up pretty badly, but
Percy uses the water to heal, and
beats everyone who stands in his
way, securing the Blue Team victory.
At the campfire, Annabeth
confesses she has feelings for him,
positive or negative. But, at that
moment, Hades explodes out of the
campfire.
Page 15
He demands the bolt in exchange for Percy’s mother.
When he disappears, Chiron tells
Percy to bargain with Zeus.
So, that night, Percy leaves to
find Hades. But, Grover and Annabeth insist on coming along. Percy
reluctantly agrees, and they set off.
So, with the help of Luke, his
flying converse shoes, Percy’s new
shield, and his enchanted map
telling where the pearls that will
safely get them out of the Underworld, they find the pearls in three
different locations – Aunty Em’s
Garden Emporium, the Nashville
Parthenon, and the Lotus Casino
and Hotel.
But of course, they meet some
problems on the way. Aunty Em
turns out to be Medusa, and she
turns a lady to stone right in front
of Annabeth.
But, Percy slices off her head,
and on her wrist is the first pearl.
At the Nashville Parthenon, the
second pearl is on top of a replica
of Annabeth’s mother, Athena. But,
it is nearly 30 feet up, and there
are mobs of people around. So,
they come back at closing, where
Percy uses the Converse shoes to
grab the pearl. But five custodians
turn out to be a fire-breathing Hydra, and they are nearly burned a
few times. But, Percy draws water
from a water fountain, and they
make it out safely.
At the final location, the Lotus
Casino and Hotel, they try to locate
a pearl in this huge casino. But,
they are blinded by the powers of
the lotus flower, and end up forgetting about the pearl. But, in the
end, they find the pearl, steal a
Lamborghini, and make it out… five
days after they went in!
That means the summer solstice
would arrive the following day!
Will they find the bolt? Will there
be war? And how does Luke tie into
this?
Some things about this movie
don’t really match the original
book, The Lightning Thief, by Rick
Riordan.
First of all, Annabeth Chase has
brown hair in the movie. But, the
book clearly says that Annabeth is
blonde. And, if you look at every
drawing of Annabeth Chase on
Google, the artists will give her
blonde hair.
In the book, their quest is
mostly to find the entrance to the
Underworld to win back the soul of
Percy’s mother. But, in the movie,
they mostly focus on looking for
the three pearls that would get
them out of Hades’ palace.
For more book/movie changes,
read Sarini Saksena’s article on pg.
14.
Out of 5 stars, I’d give it the
movie a 1.5. I give it this rating
because of the way they changed
the story. The kids are portrayed
as 16 when should be 12, the story
line is pretty messed up, and there
are a bunch of things that didn’t fit
the story.
If you’re planning to see this
movie, I hope you didn’t read the
book because, for me, it really
messed up the movie.
The CMS Courier
March 2010
Fire Up the Oven
and Try This Recipe
By Melanie Lee
I
f you’re one of those people
trying to banish junk food from
your diet, don’t give up just yet.
Fire up your oven, dust up
your dustpan, and shop for these
ingredients because we’re making
cookies.
Eatingwell.com has a variety of
healthy cookie recipes to choose
from and the recipe that I chose
was “Bev’s Chocolate Chip Cookies”.
These healthy cookies have no
hydrogenated fat, contain allnatural ingredients, and as much
whole-grain flour as possible.
When I baked them at home,
I tried the recipe with a few
changes. Instead of canola oil, I
used olive oil and 2/3 cup Splenda
brown sugar blend to make them
more healthy.
They turned out great.
The recipe makes about two and
a half dozen cookies, and the total
time taken to make them is 35
minutes.
You’ll need:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
The Hot Book:
Catching Fire
By Yeseul Do
I
n 2009, the acclaimed book
writer Suzanne Collins started
a new book series
called The Hunger
Games Trilogy.
The first book
was titled The
Hunger Games.
It is set in an unknown future, and
the main characters are named
Katniss Everdeen
and Peeta Mellark.
Every year,
there is a competition called the
“Hunger Games”
where two teenagers from an
area of Panem
(the supposedly
future name of
the demolished
North America”)
fight to the death, and the winner
gets a year’s supply of food and a
substantial amount of money.
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta
Mellark were the contenders of the
73rd Hunger Games and the first
pair to win.
As part of their plot to both survive, they acted as “star-crossed
lovers.” This was unusual in that
only one person normally wins
the games. To show their stubbornness, they both threatened
to commit suicide. With no other
choice, the Capitol (the government of Panem) allowed both of
them to win.
Page 16
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil (or olive oil)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat
two baking sheets with cooking
spray.
2. Grind oats in a blender or
food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in flour, baking
soda and salt. Beat butter in a
large bowl with an electric mixer
until fluffy.
Add oil, granulated sugar, brown
sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until
smooth and creamy. With the
mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until
just combined. Stir in chocolate
chips.
3. Drop the dough by heaping
teaspoonfuls, at least 1 inch apart,
onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time,
until firm around the edges and
golden on top, about 15 minutes.
Cool the cookies for two minutes on the baking sheets, then
transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
This made the Capitol feel
extremely degraded, and Katniss
created a rebellion against the
Capitol. The President threatened
to Katniss’s best
friend, Gale,
because of the offensive rebellion.
The President
knew about the
secret plan of
pretending to be
lovers. He wanted
Katniss to persuade Peeta that
they really did
love each other,
and the reward
would be: he
wouldn’t kill Katniss’s loved ones.
In Catching
Fire, Katniss and
Peeta are forced
to be part of
the next Hunger
Games, and go
through many
troubles. Other than trying to stay
alive during the game, Katniss is
also stuck with love problems.
She has mixed feelings for her
childhood friend Gale and Peeta’s
in love with her.
Catching Fire was excellent, as
it is full of adventure, suspense,
and romance. I would recommend this to everyone, especially
if you’ve read the popular series
Gregor the Overlander, which was
also by the same author, Suzanne Collins. Also, if you haven’t
read the first book of the Hunger
Games trilogy, I highly recommend
it before reading this one!
The CMS Courier
March 2010
2010, 52nd Annual
Grammy Awards
And the Oscar
Goes to.....
By Amanda Chau
O
n January 31, 2010, the 52nd
Annual Grammy Awards took
place at the Staple Center in Los
Angeles, California.
If you didn’t know what the
Grammy Awards were, they are
awards for critical success in music. They were established in 1958. How the
awards got its name was
because “grammy” is
short for gramophone,
an old-fashioned record
player. The awards are
presented annually by
the National Academy
of Recording Arts and
Sciences of the United
States for outstanding
achievements in the music industry.
The gramophone trophy, manufactured by Billings Artwork, is a
small, gilded gramophone statuette. It is awarded each year for
outstanding achievements in the
musical industry.
The awards ceremony features performances by hit artists,
and some of the awards of more
popular interest are presented in a
world-wide televised observance.
Basically, during the award cer-
By Libby Hoffenberg
E
very year, the Academy
Awards recognizes the outstanding films of the past year in
several categories, and awards the
hardworking actors and directors
with a shiny gold statuette.
This year, on March 7th, Alec
Baldwin and Steve Martin will
be co-hosting the 82nd annual
Academy Awards ceremony.
How did the Academy Awards
start?
In early 1927, M-G-M studio chief Louis B. Mayer had
dinner with actor Conrad
Nagel, director Fred Niblo,
and producer Fred Beetson.
They began talking about
creating an organization to
benefit the entire film industry.
The next week, they had another dinner with 36 people to
hear a proposal to found the International Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
The group liked the idea and
by mid-March of that year, the
first officers were elected and
Douglas Fairbanks was elected
president of the academy.
The first Academy Awards
were officially presented at a dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16,
1929, where 15 Oscars
were given, honoring the
achievements between
August 1, 1927 and July
31, 1928.
Tickets were five
dollars.
The first movie
recognized as the
Page 17
emony, there is a “General Field”
of awards. It consists of four main
awards: Album of the Year, Record
of the Year, Record of the Year,
Song of the Year, and Best New
Artist.
This year, a lot of popular artists
were awarded during this celebration. Taylor Swift’s album, Fearless, received Album of the
Year.
Beyonce, famously
known, won six awards,
breaking the record for
most wins by a female artist in one night. Her song,
“Single Ladies,” won the
award Song of the Year.
The song, “Use Somebody” by the rock band
Kings of Leon won Record
of the Year.
The Grammy awards are focused on giving awards to the
hot new artists, and broadcasting
celebrities across the world on
national television.
The evening of the awards is
about relaxing on your couch and
enjoying performances from some
of your favorite bands, artists, and
singers.
Some of them are just “one hit
wonders,” and some will go down
in music history.
best picture was “Wings.”
The Oscar statuette, officially
called the Academy Award of
Merit, shows a knight holding a
crusader’s sword, standing on a
reel of film. The film reel has five
spokes, which signifies the five
original branches of the Academy
(actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers).
It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer and has a height
of 13.5 inches and weighs 8.5
pounds.
The statuette is manufactured
by R.S. Owens & Company in
Chicago, and it takes about three
or four weeks to manufacture 50
of them, which is about how many
the academy gives out each year.
Over the 81 years that the
Oscar ceremony has been held,
2,701 statuettes have been given
out.
Because the Academy Awards
have gone down in ratings over
the years, the Academy has been
looking for something that they
could do differently this year.
Instead of having only five nominees for the best picture category,
there will be ten nominees.
Those nominees are: Avatar,
The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on
the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, A
Serious Man, Up, and Up in the
Air.
The 82nd annual Academy
Awards ceremony will be held
on March 7th at 5 p.m. Hawaiian
standard time. Go to oscar.go.com
for a printable ballot and enjoy!