Ice cream and sprinkles falling from the sky.  Every kid on the block is as happy as a fisherman catching a 24 inch bass.  Even Steve the monkey is  throwing chocolate ice cream balls…oh. 

   This week I reviewed Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.  In this movie, we follow Flint Lockwood, an inventor with genius ideas that are a little unusual.  But with the “help”(banging on a piece of metal with a hammer) of his best friend Steve the monkey, he invents an invention(wow…  contradiction) that turns water in to food.  But when his invention actually works,  everything changes and  everyone loves him.  Then his invention goes sour and creates “the perfect food storm”.  Now between battling his less than proud dad, and obsessing over the weather girl, Sam Sparks, he must save the world from drowning in macaroni and cheese.

   I have nothing bad to say about this movie.  The 3-D imagery was amazing.  The picture looked like it was right in front of you.  Plus, this movie is for all ages.  Most animated movies are a riot for little kids but a snooze fest for adults.  I was laughing (and I got out of that whole animated movie phase a couple of years ago), my parents were laughing, everybody in the movie theater was laughing.  Finally, The most important reason why this movie was awesome is that  Mr. T’s voice is in it.  Mr. T’s character is awesome!  In the movie, his name is Earl Devereaux.  Earl is the ‘by the rules’ and ‘just wants the best for his family’ kind of guy. 

I give the movie 4 Stars!

P.S.  When you go see the movie, look for when Earl jumps through the giant chip.  There is a shape in the chips that is subtle, but appropriate for the scene.

-Sam H

   Between the years 1901 and 2008, the Nobel Peace Prize has been given to 107 people including former president Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr.  But on October 9th, Norway anounced the newest member of this list.  President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”  So basicly, he won the prize because he is working hard to try and end wars/fight between nations.  Along with the medal, he will accept 10 million Swedish kronor(or 1.4 million dollars) which he plans to donate to charity(all of it).  The President will leave for Oslo, Norway on December 10(the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death) to receive the prize. 

  What is the Nobel Peace prize?  The Nobel Peace Prize was created by Alfred Nobel, a famous chemist, enginer, and the inventor of dynamite.  So when Alfred chose peace in his will, it was a suprise(and a little ironic).  Yes, I said his will.  The nobel Peace Prize started five years after he died.  He left no reason for picking peace as a prize.

I think this prize winning is a good thing, something to be proud of.  If you go to some other country, you can walk around with with a huge shirt that says in bold letters “HEY!  MY PRESIDENT WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!  WHAT NOW?”  Im glad he said “I will accept this award as a call to action”, it was a nice touch.  So congratulations Barack Obama, and good luck.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Barack-Obama-s-Nobel-Peace-Prize-Acceptance-Speech

   Cost for a national search party? $17,524,384.  Finding the boy in the attic over the garage?  Priceless.

   On October 15, 2009,  Mayumi and Richard Heene launched a “flying Saucer” (creepy) from their backyard, allegedly thinking that their six year old son Falcon was in the “flying saucer”(I just think that’s hilarious).  Rescue teams followed the “flying saucer”(he he) for hours, eventually getting the “flying saucer”(O.K. i will stop, but you have to admit, that is pretty funny.)  to the ground.  But to their surprise, the boy was nowhere to be found.

   Search teams looked for hours trying to find the boy.  They went through video tapes they had of the “flying saucer” (O.K. now I’m done) trying to see where the boy went.  But they couldn’t find him. Emergency crews had no idea what to do.  The parents were freaking out,  “not knowing” were their son was.  Finally, they got a call from the Heene’s neighbor saying that they had seen a kid behind the garage door slightly poking his head out to see what was going on.  Everybody rushed over to the house to find the boy in the garage.  Apparently, Falcon was hiding in the garage attic after a dispute with his father.  A boy made national news because he was believed to be in a balloon/flying saucer but in reality, he was hiding in the attic.

   If you don’t know about the Heene family, I’ll tell you(this should be fun).  The parents, Mayumi and Richard, have a website talking about space and extraterrestrials (that explains the flying saucer but its still funny).  The kids have a rap video(WASTE OF TIME!!!!) and posted it on Youtube.  Plus, the family has been on “Wife Swap”, TWICE!  So needless to say, these sure aren’t the Cuningham’s (if you don’t know who they are, ask your parents.)

  Publicity stunt?  A family, who is no stranger to the camera, calls the police saying that their six year old son was trapped in a flying saucer which the son was never in.  I think the parents need to take a long vacation to the wacky shack (happy house, funny farm you can call it what you want).  They are basically addicted to the camera.  They’ve been on TLC, Youtube, and they have their own website.  The Heene’s had lost their fame and they thought that this “Balloon Boy” stunt would get some attention. So again I ask, publicity stunt?

As most of you know, Thursday October 8th was the AVID demonstration day. Tons of educators and other observers from around Florida came to Howard to see how AVID works at our school. On October 27th, there will be about 6 people from California and anywhere from 2 to 6 people from Florida to see if Howard will officially become an AVID demonstration school. There are only three other middle schools in Florida that have the privilege – Stonewall Jackson Middle, John F. Kennedy Middle, and Marshall Middle School.

For those who don’t know what AVID is, it is a program that helps students get ready for college. Each week, students receive about two hours of class work, two hours of tutorials or questions about one of their other classes, and one hour in other activities like, team building skills. The AVID teachers are Ms. Duran and Mr. Seger.  They are both really fun teachers and if you want to switch one of your electives to AVID, you are always welcome to.  For the first time though, there is a waiting list!

If our school is selected, HMS will be a demonstration school for all the others that would like to have the AVID program. On October 27th they will be looking for good team work, how good the class is with tutorials, and students getting ready for college.  They will also be looking through some of our AVID binders, so make sure yours is always organized - you never know if they will pick you.  When they come, make sure you are in dress code and act polite.  You probably also know that the AVID building is located across the street from Panera Bread , one block away from our school (which is probably a good thing)!

So this is why all of the visitors were at our school Thursday October 8th.  Dont forget that on the 27th our special guests will be looking for fantastic students.  So please remember your AVID binders and tutorial papers and you should be just fine. Good luck to you and our entire school.

~Cami B.

The school bus ride is long; our classes short-

 Slow walkers and runners fill the halls…so I guess you’re in school.

Food fights and detentions happen in the lunch room…so I guess you’re in

 school.

 Sports and accidents happen in the gym. Singin’ in headaches happen

in Chorus. Beating in rehearsing happens in Band…so I guess you’re in school.

Painting and drawing happens in the Art Room… so I guess you’re in

school.

Snapping pics and editing happens in Yearbook…so I guess you’re in

school.

So I guess you’re in school!

All these things happen in school!

 I guess you’re in school……….. HAHA

Written by Shi-Dasusha L.

Typed by Fitzroya N.

          That’s right, the fall concert is on it’s way!  The Ranger Band and Ranger Chorus students are having their first official concert of the year!  The fall concert is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.  Also, the concert is free!

          Ranger Band members will wear their traditional uniform:  a white button- up shirt with black pants and shoes. They will be playing “Bridge Street March” and our country’s national anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner!” Mrs.Sandusky, the band teacher and director, is very excited about the concert.

          As for the Ranger Chorus students, they will be wearing their uniforms:  a red polo with black pants. They will sing “Tuimbe” and “Astonishing.” ”Tuimbe” is a Swahili song from Africa. Swahili songs include things like the “Lion King” theme.  ”Astonishing” is from a famous Broadway play and is an all girls song.  ”The chorus always puts up a good show” says Mr.Penfield, the chorus teacher.  It’s going to be a great one!

          With all this fun happening in one night, why wouldn’t you come?  You can come and hear some great music for absolutely no cost to you!  So come out and show your support to your fellow Rangers. It’s going to be a great concert.

                                                                                         – Billy F

                                                          Dear Angelica, 

I’m against teenage love in middle school, because you should stay focused on your school work, so you can gain knowledge and have a better future. Also, peopele can be exposed to emotionally challenging  and vulnerable predicaments in a relationship. Relationships are too dificult! You should get to know yourself before involving someone else in your life. My best advice is to be friends at first, so you can get to know each other on another level. I also think that being friends first and trusting yourself, would help to decrease pregnant teens these days. Being in a relationship could be very intense and could pressure you into doing things.

-Jacqueline B

Dear Jackie,

 I think  teenage love in middle school can be okay because you get to see each other everyday . If you’re in love with that guy/girl, no matter what grade you or the other person is in,you can still be together . If she/he has been there for you since day one then they must be the one that you like . If your parents like him/her, that means your parents are giving you permission to date that person .

Let me tell you something about me…sometimes I would ask myself:

  “How do I know if I’m in LOVE ?” 

 “What does he do for me?” 

 ”Why did my parents give me permission?” 

 ”What do they see in him?”

For all these questions, I don’t have an answer! For question number one, I dont have an answer for it because I really dont know what LOVE is . I see something in him that I didnt before in a boy . For question two, I know when he is there for me. In situations like when I don’t go to school because I’m sick, he would bring me the work that I missed .

 .

-Angelica M.

Q. My best friends absolutly hate each other and I’m right there in between them. What should I do?

Harrison says: Well, I’d think to resolve the issue between the two of them, how far can middle school drama go?  Besides that, at your age, how deep can you be?  If it’s not an issue involving you, then, in that case it doesn’t involve you.

Ask Alexis:  Well, as long as your not talking about one friend with the other and visa versa, then you don’t really have a problem… until somebody tells you to choose.  But you never actually choose. You try to make something work out, like trying to divide your time between the two. But you know, if that doesn’t work, kick both the little haters to the side and tell them to get over it! 

Q. What do you do when you have bad grades and you want to raise them?

Harrison says: Well… er… uhhhhh… I’d think to just study harder and what not. If you have bad grades and aren’t particularly bad at said subject, a little determination could go a long way.

Ask Alexis: Well it’s something called tutoring! That’s all I really have to say! 

Q. Why do males use females and think it’s harmless?

Harrison says: …Say what?

Ask Alexis: I guess dudes think that’s cool… but it’s not really all the time. But for females that have been used, I’m sorry for you. Just  keep your head up.  Never think that all dudes are dogs, because you will be very lonely and have a boring life without guys! I don’t think males realize that they’re using females. When they do, I think they just call it “dating.”

We all know about the rivalry between Gucci and Jeezy. People say that Gucci is a swagg-jacker* of Jeezy. OK, being a huge fan of both of these artists, I have done a lot of  research on  what actually happened between these two. Apparently, after Jeezy made an appearance on Gucci’s “Icey,”  Jeezy was never paid as promised for his services.  So Gucci  started talking trash about Jeezy.  Jeezy immediately released a diss track on the instrumental of  T.I.’s song entitled, “Stay Strapped.”

 Some people say that Jeezy got mad because Gucci was a better rapper, but I think it’s the other away around.  Most of my friends think that Jeezy raps about real things ang Gucci makes just cool songs.

To Make matters worse, Jeezy has Crip ties while Gucci is a confirmed Blood. To date, they still have not squashed the beef. I hope they will settle this feud and make a song together, because they are two great artists.

*Swagg-jacker (noun) – Someone who immates someone else’s style.

~ Reggie S.

 Click here to vote for your favorite rapper.

                       THIS ARTICAL WAS DEDICATED TO CJ AND MAYO

Some of the girls getting ready before a game

Every nine weeks, Howard features a different sport. The school year always begins with soccer, a game played with your feet, where you try to maneuver the ball to the opposing team’s goal without touching the ball with your hands, arms, or elbows. Each team has a goalie, the only person on the team that is able to touch the ball with their hands. The goalie’s job is not to  let any balls into the goal. 
Howard has a girl’s team of all grades coached by Miss Katner, and a boy’s team of all grades coached by Miss Duran. The first game took place at Howard and was vs. Glenridge. The boys and girls team fought hard and did not proceed to be victorious. Our second game was at Maitland, we had a tough battle and lost. When asked what they think about the overall performance of the team, Miss Katner replied “With each practice and game we are improving our skills and our team work.”  Miss Duran said “A lot of good efforts and I am proud to call myself coach.” Perhaps all the Rangers need is your support!  

The boys team is ready to go!

Help support your fellow Howard rangers by coming to the next soccer game.

 ~Alexyz H.