ARTICLES
FIrst Trimester
"Thanksgiving Travels"
Each year, the students and staff at MBMS travel all around the nation for Thanksgiving break. From coast to coast, there are many Thanksgiving celebrations that the people of Manhattan Beach enjoy.
In a short survey of the yearbook and film classes, most people either stay home, in the area, or go to the east coast with their family, mostly to New York. While people catch up with relatives in or out of the state, they also enjoy eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Get ready to be stuffed with all the delicious food coming your way!
When writing this article, I learned about the importance of getting information. At first, I only surveyed the yearbook class, but then realized I didn't have a broad source of information, I had one class. I then went to the film class where I got more perspective. I was able to get information from boys, girls, and teachers with different views.
"Faces in the Quad: Memphis Glasgow"
Seventh grader Memphis Glasgow, is a star volleyball player for Surfside Volleyball Club.
Memphis has been playing volleyball for 6 years, and has competed in qualifiers and nationals, with her team.
Glasgow practices Monday through Saturday, at least two hours per day. Her team competes in all-day tournaments every Sunday, with Glasgow playing the middle-blocker position. Her and her team’s dedication takes her all throughout the south bay area.
When the season permits, Glasgow is also a great soccer player, but volleyball is her true passion. This seventh grader is a hardworking, dedicated athlete.
While writing this article, I learned the importance of being informative and getting the most important facts at the beginning. When I first wrote this article I had pieces of information all throughout the article without a lot of formatting. When I saw the space my article had on the page (which was not a lot) I realized I needed to cut the information that was not necessary and but the information I needed in order of importance.
Second Trimester
"12 Years a Slave"
“12 Years a Slave” is a recent eye-opening movie about slavery and discrimination that people are moved by, but the man behind the story, Solomon Northup was the real person who had to endure those 12 awful years as a slave.
Solomon Northup was born a free African-American man in 1808 in New York. Northup owned property in upstate New York and was a farmer and violinist. In 1841, he was drugged and kidnapped by slave-traders and taken to Louisiana as a slave. He spent 12 years a slave, and after many escape attempts, was able to contact family and friends and escape slavery. Northup sued the slave-traders but District of Columbia law prohibited a black person from testifying against a white person. He regained freedom in 1853 and went on to write a memoir about his time in slavery titled “12 Years A Slave”. He disappeared again in 1857, and his death was never documented, leading some to believe he was kidnapped once again.
His memoir was recently adapted into a movie, which received nine Academy Award nominations, including winning the award for Best Picture. Chiwetel Ejiofor played the role of Solomon Northup and Lupita Nyong’o portrayed Patsey. Both were nominated for Academy Awards, Ejiofor for Best Actor and Nyong’o for Best Supporting Actress. The film proved to be a box office success, earning over $171 million on a production budget of $20 million.
Solomon Northup and his story was eye opening for many, as well as being historically educational.
I learned a lot historically writing this article. I had to look at multiple sources for information on Solomon Northup. I enjoyed writing about the actual memoir and the movie adaptation. I had to look at many different sites to be able to write a historically accurate article, while keeping it interesting. That was a bit of a challenge for this article; having to be interesting and educational.
"Big Bowls"
Every year there are 35 Bowls that make up one of the most exciting time in sports each year, leading up to one event, where the two most elite college teams play each other in the BCS Championship.
The Vizio National Championship Bowl, or BCS rotates between Miami, Pasadena, New Orleans, and Glendale. This year the championship game takes place in Pasadena, site of the Rose Bowl, between Florida State and Auburn. The Editor's pick for this game is Auburn.
The top teams in the Big 10 and Pac 12 play at the Rose Bowl on January first. The Rose Bowl has been played for 100 years. This year Stanford and Michigan State are competing for bragging rights against the opposite conference. USC has played in the Rose Bowl game, UCLA’s home stadium, a record 33 times, followed by Michigan with 20 times. The Editor's pick for this game is Stanford.
The Fiesta Bowl, one of the five BCS Bowls, is played in Glendale, Arizona. This year the University of Central Florida is playing Baylor. The Editor’s pick for this game is Baylor.
The Sugar Bowl is played in New Orleans in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. Alabama and Oklahoma are playing this year. Alabama is playing for redemption after their humiliating loss to Auburn. The Editor’s pick for this game is Alabama.
The Orange Bowl is hosting Ohio State and Clemson in Miami. The Orange Bowl, originally played in 1902, is one of the oldest bowls in the country besides the Rose Bowl and has been played annually since 1916. This year Ohio State is expected to secure another win in the BCS. The Orange Bowl was originally called the FedEx Orange Bowl until Discover got the naming rights in 2010. The Editor’s pick for this game is Ohio State.
Every year an average of 26 million fans watch the Championship game. Clearly, the Bowls play a huge part in the entertainment of Americans because of the fun of college football.
Writing this article was really fun for me, since I got to write about something I am passionate about. I have always loved watching college football even as a little girl, so it was fun to write about some of the biggest games in college football. I learned to explain everything to your reader. At the beginning of writing this article I was using abbreviations and writing like I assumed the readers would understand everything, without an explanation.When the article was edited by Ms. Thomas, I began to understand that I needed to give explanations.
Third Trimester
"America's Hero Comes Back to Theaters"
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” opened March 13 in Hollywood, California as one of the most successful Marvel films, gaining recognition from film critics and the general public alike.
For Steve Rogers, life is very complicated after awakening from a decades long suspension in ice. When SHIELD director Nick Fury is killed by the Winter Soldier, a mysterious assassin, Rogers takes his advice to not trust anyone, thus causing him to be labeled a traitor by SHIELD. With the help of Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Sam Wilson (The Falcon), fugitive Rogers becomes determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of Fury’s death. However, the battle between him and the Winter Soldier will prove a challenge for Captain America when he finds a familiar face within the enemy, when an old friend from World War Two is revealed.
The movie made $95 million opening weekend, putting the movie on top of the charts. Seventh grader Kaylee Lo gave the film a 4.5 out of 5 stars. With a worldwide total of $696 million in tickets, “The Winter Soldier” has greatly exceeded the first Captain America movie, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” which had total worldwide sales of $371 million. “Entertainment Weekly” said, “‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ has the zing and purpose that last summer's ‘Man of Steel’ lacked, with a sky-high climax that's a real dazzler.” The magazine proceeded to give “The Winter Soldier” a B+ rating.
While writing this article I learned that a two sentence summary of the movie the article is all about, is not enough. The first draft of this article there were two sentences giving a summary of the movie. The summary was also not informative and very confusing. So, I went into edit it and it turned out to be very successful. Writing this article was a good experience so that if I ever write for a newspaper and do movie reviews, I will have some idea of the formatting.
"Surviving Survivor"
To win the game of “Survivor” it takes wits, mental and physical strength, and social game.
“Survivor” is a reality game show, where contestants are isolated the wilderness for 39 days and have to fend for themselves while winning challenges with their tribes. The show’s motto, “Out Wit, Out Last, Out Play”, signifies the basics of the game. The contestants are split into tribes, with whom they live and compete in challenges. The winner of “Survivor” wins $1,000,000 and the title of “Sole Survivor”. The losing tribe at the challenges are sent to tribal council where tribemates proceed to vote each other out. Until there are three players left, the outcast players vote on who they think deserves the $1,000,000 prize.
The show was only scheduled for 20 seasons but due to the overwhelming support, “Survivor” is on its 28th season. TV personality and host Jeff Probst has hosted the show for all 28 seasons and is also an executive producer. “Survivor” has been nominated and won several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Host for Reality Competition Show four consecutive times in a row. The show has been shot on four different continents, including North and South America, Asia, and Africa. “Survivor” has had a total of 424 contestants, including players who have competed multiple seasons.
“Survivor” is an entertaining, successful TV show for all ages.
This article was one of my favorite articles to write because "Survivor" is my favorite television show. I think that in this article I kept it interesting but also informative. I believe that I included information in this article that people did not know, which is an important part of being a journalist. You shouldn't tell people something they already know, which was something Ms. Thomas stressed to us all this year, and something I thought I did well in this article.
"Thanksgiving Travels"
Each year, the students and staff at MBMS travel all around the nation for Thanksgiving break. From coast to coast, there are many Thanksgiving celebrations that the people of Manhattan Beach enjoy.
In a short survey of the yearbook and film classes, most people either stay home, in the area, or go to the east coast with their family, mostly to New York. While people catch up with relatives in or out of the state, they also enjoy eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Get ready to be stuffed with all the delicious food coming your way!
When writing this article, I learned about the importance of getting information. At first, I only surveyed the yearbook class, but then realized I didn't have a broad source of information, I had one class. I then went to the film class where I got more perspective. I was able to get information from boys, girls, and teachers with different views.
"Faces in the Quad: Memphis Glasgow"
Seventh grader Memphis Glasgow, is a star volleyball player for Surfside Volleyball Club.
Memphis has been playing volleyball for 6 years, and has competed in qualifiers and nationals, with her team.
Glasgow practices Monday through Saturday, at least two hours per day. Her team competes in all-day tournaments every Sunday, with Glasgow playing the middle-blocker position. Her and her team’s dedication takes her all throughout the south bay area.
When the season permits, Glasgow is also a great soccer player, but volleyball is her true passion. This seventh grader is a hardworking, dedicated athlete.
While writing this article, I learned the importance of being informative and getting the most important facts at the beginning. When I first wrote this article I had pieces of information all throughout the article without a lot of formatting. When I saw the space my article had on the page (which was not a lot) I realized I needed to cut the information that was not necessary and but the information I needed in order of importance.
Second Trimester
"12 Years a Slave"
“12 Years a Slave” is a recent eye-opening movie about slavery and discrimination that people are moved by, but the man behind the story, Solomon Northup was the real person who had to endure those 12 awful years as a slave.
Solomon Northup was born a free African-American man in 1808 in New York. Northup owned property in upstate New York and was a farmer and violinist. In 1841, he was drugged and kidnapped by slave-traders and taken to Louisiana as a slave. He spent 12 years a slave, and after many escape attempts, was able to contact family and friends and escape slavery. Northup sued the slave-traders but District of Columbia law prohibited a black person from testifying against a white person. He regained freedom in 1853 and went on to write a memoir about his time in slavery titled “12 Years A Slave”. He disappeared again in 1857, and his death was never documented, leading some to believe he was kidnapped once again.
His memoir was recently adapted into a movie, which received nine Academy Award nominations, including winning the award for Best Picture. Chiwetel Ejiofor played the role of Solomon Northup and Lupita Nyong’o portrayed Patsey. Both were nominated for Academy Awards, Ejiofor for Best Actor and Nyong’o for Best Supporting Actress. The film proved to be a box office success, earning over $171 million on a production budget of $20 million.
Solomon Northup and his story was eye opening for many, as well as being historically educational.
I learned a lot historically writing this article. I had to look at multiple sources for information on Solomon Northup. I enjoyed writing about the actual memoir and the movie adaptation. I had to look at many different sites to be able to write a historically accurate article, while keeping it interesting. That was a bit of a challenge for this article; having to be interesting and educational.
"Big Bowls"
Every year there are 35 Bowls that make up one of the most exciting time in sports each year, leading up to one event, where the two most elite college teams play each other in the BCS Championship.
The Vizio National Championship Bowl, or BCS rotates between Miami, Pasadena, New Orleans, and Glendale. This year the championship game takes place in Pasadena, site of the Rose Bowl, between Florida State and Auburn. The Editor's pick for this game is Auburn.
The top teams in the Big 10 and Pac 12 play at the Rose Bowl on January first. The Rose Bowl has been played for 100 years. This year Stanford and Michigan State are competing for bragging rights against the opposite conference. USC has played in the Rose Bowl game, UCLA’s home stadium, a record 33 times, followed by Michigan with 20 times. The Editor's pick for this game is Stanford.
The Fiesta Bowl, one of the five BCS Bowls, is played in Glendale, Arizona. This year the University of Central Florida is playing Baylor. The Editor’s pick for this game is Baylor.
The Sugar Bowl is played in New Orleans in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. Alabama and Oklahoma are playing this year. Alabama is playing for redemption after their humiliating loss to Auburn. The Editor’s pick for this game is Alabama.
The Orange Bowl is hosting Ohio State and Clemson in Miami. The Orange Bowl, originally played in 1902, is one of the oldest bowls in the country besides the Rose Bowl and has been played annually since 1916. This year Ohio State is expected to secure another win in the BCS. The Orange Bowl was originally called the FedEx Orange Bowl until Discover got the naming rights in 2010. The Editor’s pick for this game is Ohio State.
Every year an average of 26 million fans watch the Championship game. Clearly, the Bowls play a huge part in the entertainment of Americans because of the fun of college football.
Writing this article was really fun for me, since I got to write about something I am passionate about. I have always loved watching college football even as a little girl, so it was fun to write about some of the biggest games in college football. I learned to explain everything to your reader. At the beginning of writing this article I was using abbreviations and writing like I assumed the readers would understand everything, without an explanation.When the article was edited by Ms. Thomas, I began to understand that I needed to give explanations.
Third Trimester
"America's Hero Comes Back to Theaters"
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” opened March 13 in Hollywood, California as one of the most successful Marvel films, gaining recognition from film critics and the general public alike.
For Steve Rogers, life is very complicated after awakening from a decades long suspension in ice. When SHIELD director Nick Fury is killed by the Winter Soldier, a mysterious assassin, Rogers takes his advice to not trust anyone, thus causing him to be labeled a traitor by SHIELD. With the help of Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Sam Wilson (The Falcon), fugitive Rogers becomes determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of Fury’s death. However, the battle between him and the Winter Soldier will prove a challenge for Captain America when he finds a familiar face within the enemy, when an old friend from World War Two is revealed.
The movie made $95 million opening weekend, putting the movie on top of the charts. Seventh grader Kaylee Lo gave the film a 4.5 out of 5 stars. With a worldwide total of $696 million in tickets, “The Winter Soldier” has greatly exceeded the first Captain America movie, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” which had total worldwide sales of $371 million. “Entertainment Weekly” said, “‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ has the zing and purpose that last summer's ‘Man of Steel’ lacked, with a sky-high climax that's a real dazzler.” The magazine proceeded to give “The Winter Soldier” a B+ rating.
While writing this article I learned that a two sentence summary of the movie the article is all about, is not enough. The first draft of this article there were two sentences giving a summary of the movie. The summary was also not informative and very confusing. So, I went into edit it and it turned out to be very successful. Writing this article was a good experience so that if I ever write for a newspaper and do movie reviews, I will have some idea of the formatting.
"Surviving Survivor"
To win the game of “Survivor” it takes wits, mental and physical strength, and social game.
“Survivor” is a reality game show, where contestants are isolated the wilderness for 39 days and have to fend for themselves while winning challenges with their tribes. The show’s motto, “Out Wit, Out Last, Out Play”, signifies the basics of the game. The contestants are split into tribes, with whom they live and compete in challenges. The winner of “Survivor” wins $1,000,000 and the title of “Sole Survivor”. The losing tribe at the challenges are sent to tribal council where tribemates proceed to vote each other out. Until there are three players left, the outcast players vote on who they think deserves the $1,000,000 prize.
The show was only scheduled for 20 seasons but due to the overwhelming support, “Survivor” is on its 28th season. TV personality and host Jeff Probst has hosted the show for all 28 seasons and is also an executive producer. “Survivor” has been nominated and won several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Host for Reality Competition Show four consecutive times in a row. The show has been shot on four different continents, including North and South America, Asia, and Africa. “Survivor” has had a total of 424 contestants, including players who have competed multiple seasons.
“Survivor” is an entertaining, successful TV show for all ages.
This article was one of my favorite articles to write because "Survivor" is my favorite television show. I think that in this article I kept it interesting but also informative. I believe that I included information in this article that people did not know, which is an important part of being a journalist. You shouldn't tell people something they already know, which was something Ms. Thomas stressed to us all this year, and something I thought I did well in this article.