On March 14, 2024, some of our 8th-grade students began their trip to the East Coast for the annual DC Trip. Throughout the trip, we went to multiple museums and landmarks including the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, George Washington’s home, and much more. Our first stop was at Williamsburg, Virginia, and then we stopped by Jamestown the very next day. Both students and parents were met with...

On Oct. 7, 1992, Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Markus Lynn “Mookie” Betts, child of Willie Betts and Diana Benedict, was born. Throughout his childhood, he loved sports and played three: baseball, basketball, and bowling. He first started bowling at the age of three then two years later, he signed up for little league baseball where his mom became his first-ever baseball coach. His mom signed...

Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, famously known as Laufey, is an Icelandic-Chinese singer who influenced a whole generation to love jazz. Laufey was born on April 23, 1999, in Reykjavíc, Iceland, alongside her twin sister Junia. Growing up, she was exposed to classical and jazz music which led her to learn both the piano and the cello. In 2018, she graduated from Reykjavíc College of Music and then...

On April 7, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio, the March Madness Women's championship game took place with Iowa and South Carolina facing off. There was a lot of hype about Iowa’s guard, Caitlin Clark, leading up to the start of the game. Her team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, went against South Carolina’s Gamecocks, but ended up losing. When the game began, Iowa was ready and Clark came out strong, scoring 18 points...

On March 1, 2024, “Dune: Part Two”, the continuation of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part One” was released in theaters. Averaging an 8.8/10 on IMDb and a 4.5/5 on Letterboxd, many are already positive it is to win an Academy Award. Serving as a follow-up to the first movie, “Dune: Part Two” essentially marks the end of Frank Herbert’s first book, which the films are based on. Being...

On Jan. 12, 2024, the “Mean Girls” remake was released. The movie stars actors Reneé Rapp, Avantika Vandanapu, Angourie Rice, Christopher Briney, and Bebe Wood. The most major change that the remake introduced was the fact that it is a musical, inspired by the Broadway play.  The movie is about a homeschooled student named Cady Heron who moves back to the US after living in Kenya for most...

The renowned American singer and songwriter, Taylor Swift, was born on Dec. 13, 1989. Named after James Taylor, Swift was born in Montgomery County, PA, and was raised in a Christmas tree farm located in Reading. Inspired by Shania Twain and Faith Hill, Swift moved to Tennessee when she was 14, the age she began professional songwriting, to pursue her career as a country singer. In Tennessee, Swift...

  Freddie Mercury is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, with an impressive four-octave range and a keen ability to play the piano whilst singing.           Mercury was born in western India on September 5, 1946, to parents Bomi Bulsara and Jer Bulsara; his birth name was Farrokh Bulsara. He spent the younger years of his life living in India alongside his parents...

One of the most known artists today is Billie Eilish. She was born on Dec. 18, 2001, and grew up in Los Angeles. One of her first glimpses into the music industry was when she started playing ukulele at the age of six and when she joined the Los Angeles Children Chorus a couple of years later. She then started making music with her brother, Finneas, where she would sing and he would write the lyrics;...

 He was known as the “Secretary of Defense” or “Mr. 11 Rings” and he sure was both of those things. He was possibly one of the greatest champions of all time and one of the greatest NBA centers the world has ever seen. His name is Bill Russell. William Felton Russell, more commonly known as Bill Russell, was born on Feb. 12, 1934, to Charles Russell and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana....

Tom Holland is a very famous actor known for his roles in “The Impossible” and the Spider-Man series. He was born June 1, 1996, in Kingston upon Thames, UK. From a young age, he has starred in many films and over the last several years, has catapulted into Hollywood stardom. There are many reasons why Holland is famous, such as his personality, his relationships, his acting skills, and much more. In...

Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr, otherwise known as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and producer. He is best known for being signed with the record label Opium, and has been professionally producing music since 2018. Carson was born on April 11, 2000, in Atlanta, GA. In his early teen years, Carson started developing a liking for music. He took up the Jew’s Harp and Harmonica and his biggest inspirations...

Novelist and American activist Alice Walker is currently 80 years old and continues to be well-known in the writing industry. Walker has had plenty of awards for her written works and has been lauded for her activism regarding African American rights. Alice Walker was born on Feb. 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia. Walker’s mother, Minnie Tullulah Grant, was a maid while her father, Willie Lee Walker,...

On Dec. 9, 2023, Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best baseball player today, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 700 million.  There has been a lot of excitement about him joining the Dodgers; however, his transition has had some obstacles. During the 2023 season, Shohei Ohtani underwent  Tommy John surgery and another major elbow procedure. Due to this, Ohtani may not pitch again until 2025 according...

Trigger Warning: Suicide Every year in the United States, people between the ages of 15 to 24 die by suicide at an alarming rate, with suicide being the third main reason people of this age group die. According to sccenter.org, approximately 5,000 deaths occur every year due to this reason. This is impacting teens all over the world since high levels of stress are usually caused by school and this...

On April 8, in Mexico, most of North and Central America, and Canada, many were able to witness a spectacular event: the solar eclipse. (A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting the moon's shadow onto the planet.) Not only was the solar eclipse an already rare and special occasion, but this particular eclipse was able to reach the point of totality in certain...

On Nov. 30, 2023, Tesla delivered their first Cybertruck, a concept that had been in development for four years. Elon Musk, the head of the company and creator of the Cybertruck, stated that he developed the vehicle to be a durable car that can withstand bullets, travel through rough environments, and tow up to 11,000 pounds. Furthermore, Tesla’s Cybertruck has a combined horsepower of 834 and an...

On April 8, 2024, the UConn Huskies became back-to-back national champions after beating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60. The matchup was highly anticipated as UConn came into the game with a record of (37-3) and Purdue (34-5). Furthermore, UConn’s legendary coach Dan Hurley and star guard Tristen Newton went up against Purdue’s very own 7’ 4” center, Zach Edey, who was named Naismith College's...

On March 10, 2024, the 96th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars ceremony yet again and helped recognize the year’s best films. For the “Big Five” awards, Best Picture went to “Oppenheimer," Best Director went to Christopher Nolan, Best Actor went to Cillian Murphy, Best Actress went to Emma Stone, and Best Screenplay went to “American...

On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at Dodgers Stadium, the 3x AL MVP player Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run as an LA Dodgers. During the first inning, the San Francisco Giants scored two runs while the Dodgers also scored two. For the next several innings, each team was able to score a couple of runs but remained in a tie until the sixth inning. By the sixth, the Dodgers took the lead with a score of...

On Sunday, April 7, 2024, at the Crypto Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves faced off. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Lebron James was out due to flu-like symptoms, so Spencer Dinwiddie replaced James in the starting lineups.  The game started pretty evenly with the Lakers winning the jump ball. Right from the start, D’Angelo Russell made the first shot with an assist...

On Feb. 24, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland, House of Illuminati held a very misleading event based on the movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Originally, it had been marketed as a fun, immersive experience that attracted many customers. However, all of the advertised images turned out to be unrealistic and AI-generated with clear inaccuracies. The actual event took place in a dingy warehouse...

Recently, the U.S. has seen many problems relating to education, a few examples being learning loss, enrollment, and discipline/student behavior. And ever since the pandemic in 2020, absenteeism, also known as chronic absences, has increased in the classroom. According to a New York Times podcast, absenteeism is when a student misses at least 10% of the entire school year. The reasons for these missed...

Spoilers Ahead On March 1, 2024, the highly anticipated film “Dune: Part Two” was released in theaters across the United States. “Dune Part Two” is the second installment of the Dune saga which is inspired by the “Dune” book series by Frank Herbert. Going back to the first film of the franchise, “Dune: Part One” follows Paul Atreides from House Atreides and the Harkonnens; the story...

On Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 pm, Taiwan experienced a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, one of the worst in the area in 25 years. Due to this tragedy, many residents lost their loved ones and their homes.  After the natural disaster, news outlets reported that about nine people died and 50 others went missing. Furthermore, approximately 1,000 people got injured and 100 were stuck inside the destroyed...