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First, we have the closest: Stripes. Stripes pizza is absolutely fantastic if you only have minutes to go out and you just need to run and grab a bite, it’s conveniently placed less than a block away from the school and the line is only long if you go right at the beginning of lunch (go during the last five minutes and eat during class if you had a club or meeting). However, it’s very doughy and I personally am not a fan of the squishiness in your mouth, combined with the slight excess of tomato sauce. Great for convenience, but not my favourite.
Next we have Bolero’s, located in the Kitchener Market. Bolero’s is great pizza, if you don’t mind waiting in a 45 minute line to get a slice. The service is quick and the pizza is perfectly crunchy with just the right cheese to sauce ratio. It’s just amazing! The problem is that it’s so good, sometimes you just don't have the time (or the patience) to wait in line for the pizza, even if it is worth the wait. Last, we have King’s Pizza, known to many people as Popeye’s Pizza since that’s what it used to be. This place is a little bit further down the street and on the opposite side of Kitchener Market; it’s perfect! The line is always short because most people don't know about it and the pizza is amazing and packed with flavour. The only downside is that it’s kind of a small place and it’s a slightly longer walk than the market. Additionally, there is not much seating. Overall, I think King’s is my favourite. Hopefully, you now know where to go for pizza at lunch! Fill in the poll below to let us know who’s pizza you like best! Authors: Katelyn Basso and Katelyn Pidgen
Authors: Alicia Cole & Emma Johnston December Book of the Month - Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
“Libraries were full of ideas–perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.” Within a quote from her impressive and noteworthy fantasy novel, Throne of Glass, author Sarah J. Maas proudly embeds a respect and passion for reading within her lead character Celaena Sardothien, making the reader empathize with her immediately. The first book in an ongoing series, we found Throne of Glass especially unique and creative to read, and a very easy world to fall into. For these reasons, and many more, we wish to recommend it to you for the month of December! The story of the Throne of Glass begins in a salt mine in the fictional town of Endovier, where 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has been for a year, serving out hard labour as a result of her crimes. When visited by Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard of Adarlan, the last thing Celaena expects is to be offered freedom, although it comes with a price: she must compete in a gruelling competition to find the new royal assassin, acting as Dorian’s “champion”. Celaena agrees, although she knows she will face other thieves, assassins and warriors in the battle to serve the King of Adarlan for four years, and then be granted eternal freedom. Shortly after she arrives at the castle, and only a few challenges have commenced, things become a little more interesting as one of her fellow contestants turns up dead, shortly followed by another. With help from Prince Dorian, and her trainer, the Captain of the Guard, Chaol Westfall, Celaena aims to discover the killer of her fellow contestants before she becomes a victim herself, and as the novel progresses, she begins to discover a greater knowledge of herself, and her future destiny. One thing we really respected about the novel, and believe others will as well, was the immense depth of the characters. Unlike most novels, the main characters especially, in Throne of Glass are given detailed backstories, and distinct personalities, so much so that you feel as though you already know the characters when you read about them. Even when Sarah J. Maas deliberately makes a character’s background mysterious, you are still able to grow and admire them, she designs them in a way that you are still able to connect and sympathize with them even when they have something to hide. It makes the book especially riveting to slowly uncover a character’s history! As well, we enjoyed the novel due to its passionate and relatable heroine, Celaena. Although it seems odd we would refer to an assassin as relatable, Celaena Sardothien shares an unconditional love of reading, and well, food, that is particularly endearing. Although like all characters, she has some traits that are frustrating, her unwavering strength, passion, and independence throughout the story make her quite an amazing heroine. Although it was hard to find things that we did not like about the novel, as with every book there were a few aspects we had problems with. First of all, the novel is set in an older era in a time in a world different from ours. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does make it harder to connect with the setting as well as get grasp on how the world works as readers must figure out not only the plot, but the setting too. As well, it is never specified whether this world takes place within our own but in a different time period, or if it takes place within another world entirely, which can be frustrating for the reader to try to determine. Like most other novels, there were also some parts where the plot moved a little slow, and we felt that the story could have progressed at a better pace. All in all however, in regards to this novel, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. In conclusion, we both really enjoyed reading Throne of Glass, not only for the plot but for the amazing and dynamic characters that Sarah J. Maas was able to create. The characters were so relatable, which we found very helpful, as at times it was difficult to relate to the world around them. We would suggest this book for readers who enjoy novels with strong female leads as well as those who love fantasy novels and the worlds created within them. We hope you enjoy this book as much as we did. Happy reading! Welcome to the first issue of Scotty Says! The first question came in almost immediately after our first post! The question is, “I always seem to have no time for breakfast in the morning even though I know I should eat. Any tips?”
What a great question! Not only is breakfast a crucial aspect to maintaining a healthy body, but it can also be a great motivator at the same time! Think of having breakfast as a reward for getting up in the morning! Even if you are short on time, something as simple as grabbing a piece of fruit or having a glass of water will get the apple rolling on the whole breakfast situation. You wouldn’t skip first period, so why would you skip breakfast! Breakfast is 10x more interesting than homeroom, and I guarantee it leaves a better taste in your mouth! So give it a try, even if you miss a few days! Try and build up the courage to eat in the morning, and I guarantee you will feel more motivated to get work done and to pay attention in those boring morning classes! The next question is, “Any advice on how to improve test writing skills? In need of help because I’m in full IB!” Thank you for sending in your question! This is a tough one only because everyone’s writing skills are different. Though, the first step to improving your writing skills during a test is making sure you understand the question asked. This is crucial because in order for you to answer the question properly, you need to know what it is saying. Once you understand the question, ask yourself what you know about the topic of which was asked. Let’s say you’re in Marketing class and one of the test questions was “What are the 4 P’s? Give an example.” You will have to remember the topic (Marketing Mix) of the question and then answer. (Sorry, I’m taking marketing right now and it’s the only example I could think of.) It is understandable that sometimes things that are asked on the test are worded funny which makes you interpret the information in a different way, but that’s okay because you need to continue to try, don’t give up! Also, make sure you are looking at how much each question is worth. If one of the question is worth five marks, you should know that having a one sentence answer will not get you those full marks. Even if you think it only needs one sentence, continue writing. Make sure you are including keywords and the terms you learned in class. Trust me, one time I got full marks on a question because I included the terms but had no idea what the question is asking me. The second last thing to help improve your test writing skill is not to panic. Before you head into your test, you should not feel unprepared because it really does affect your mentality. If you go in trying to answer a question but you are not giving yourself that positivity, your mind will be more focused on that than answering the question that you know. This is easier said than done, but you need to tell yourself that you will try your best no matter what and you understood as much as you can! Finally, studying! I think that what helps improve test writing skills is making sure you know your material because understanding what you learned makes it so much easier to write your test. You don’t have to worry about making sure you need to hit a certain amount of sentence because the next thing you’ll notice is that you already filled the page up. Being in IB is tough, the work is overwhelming and you know that every mark affects you, but everything has a positive end to it so don’t feel like you’re not doing something right just because you have been pushed down. Life is testing you! And now I will end this with a quote my friend has said to me, “Life is rough, so you gotta be tough!” Thanks for sending in your questions and we hope we gave you some good advice! Be sure to send in more questions for the next issue of “Scotty Says” !! Authors: Alicia Cole & Emma Johnston November Book of the Month - Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A unique twist on the classic fairytale, Cinder, written by Marissa Meyer, is a noteworthy novel loosely based on the tale of Cinderella. Although it does compare to the original story in some aspects, Cinder stands alone, in that the author designs a more exciting and science-fiction based spin on the tale, setting it in our planet’s high tech future, more specifically in the post-war formed country of New Beijing. In the author’s created world, humans, androids, and cyborgs live alongside each other on Earth, while rivaling other beings with special powers that live on the moon, referred to as “Lunars”. The Lunars constant threat of war often causes tension between Earth and Luna, as influenced by Luna’s extreme dictator, Queen Levana who indicates nothing but hatred towards Earthen life. An independent and strong namesake for the novel, Cinder, a teenage cyborg and self-taught mechanic, eventually finds herself tangled up in the political affairs of Earth and Luna after meeting the Prince of New Beijing, Kaito. Though she struggles, dealing with prejudice from her stepmother and sisters while also being considered a second-class citizen due to her cyborg status, Cinder is bravely able to defend herself and stand up for her country as conflicts progress and the safety of the planet is questioned time and time again. One of our favourite things about Cinder was the fact that it was so creative! There have been countless adaptations of Cinderella, but this one is particularly unique, as it includes political, science-fiction, and technological elements, all within an extremely capturing story. Marissa Meyer was incredibly still able to incorporate the magical, awestrucking nature of the original fairytale while being able to branch off a bit more in a way that was coherent and made sense to the reader. We also appreciated that the plotline was consistently well-paced and interesting as there were little to no slow parts. Another element of the story we both found quite special is Cinder’s character in itself. As opposed to the original fairytale, Cinder is a mechanic, not a princess, making her independent, strong, and willing to fight for what she believes in. We were glad that, although there are romantic storylines, it is not all-consuming within the novel. We have found that there is a nice balance of all elements. Despite the many impressive parts of the novel, as per usual, there are a few downsides. For instance, Marissa Meyer very often goes into detail about Cinder’s cyborg abilities, but makes the assumption that the reader is able to decode all of the technical speak, which for us, wasn’t the case. As well, when reading, we wondered why cyborgs were considered second class citizens when they are clearly more advanced than humans. This issue was never given any background, or thoroughly explained in the novel. In addition to that, we believed that the reader would have also benefitted from more explanations and examples of the New Beijing culture and how exactly it came to be. This was not explored as much as we would have liked it to be. Lastly, although the characters are relatable and lovable, we found them to be lacking a little bit in depth as many of them felt slightly flat. We would have appreciated further exploration of their stories and personalities overall as well as giving them a greater variety of character traits. All in all, we both thoroughly enjoyed Cinder, which is the first installment in the Lunar Chronicles series. We would recommend it to a wide variety of people, from Disney fans to sci-fi fans alike! If you enjoy this book we definitely recommend reading the rest of the series as well, which explores other fairytales with a similar twist, including Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Happy Reading! Author: Nadica Terzieva Seeing as Halloween is coming up and countless amounts of people will be dressing up as the Joker or Harley Quinn, I feel it is needed for me to write an amateur review on suicide squad. So for those of you who have not seen the movie, you'll be able to have some sort of conversation about it with meaning rather than “lol I haven't seen it.”
Think of me as the Target version of cliff notes, meaning you came here to do one thing, read your horoscope, and suddenly things are piling up in your cart and you're now here reading my first public review, but it's also not cliff notes. First up, the cast. I really feel as if they did not give enough backstory to the characters. I mean sure there were Harley Quinn’s memories of her and the Joker, but that really wasn't enough. With or without the backstories, the millionaires at DC comics should have figured out a way for more dialogue too. I mean the whole movie was basically a battle with guns which I guess if that's your ideal film then for heaven's sake go see it, but I just wish there was more character development. Margot Robbie’s Harley was the best of them all with Will Smith’s Deadshot close in second, but DC, it just wasn't enough. Also, let's move on to Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress’ brother, Incubus. I didn't think he was really necessary to the plot. The way the movie was created, made him more of an irrelevant secondary character. If DC really wanted to raise his importance they should've switched up the plot a bit. In the movie the main evil villain is Enchantress, but she is evil on her own and I didn't see why her brother was so important to the plot. There is one scene where he steals something back for her (if I remember correctly) but the writers at DC could've found a way around that. Cara was great at her role but the way the movie went, she didn't need her brother to play such a big part. A lot of characters in suicide squad were actually just extras which was also disappointing to discover. Lastly, the Joker. In the trailers The Joker is the main part of the movie! Every other scene had him and the line he said “I’m not gonna kill you, I'm just gonna hurt you really, really bad,” made me excited to see the movie. Who is he hurting? What scene does this take place in? How creepy does this movie seem? The joker was in the actual movie maybe 10 minutes? DC what the heck? I expected more of that twisted villain. And more backstory dammit. I went in that theatre excited that I could finally watch it after seeing the trailer over a year ago, and was disappointed when I left. Overall, I give suicide squad 6/10. It just ain’t Marvel. Author: Sam Hiemstra I think it was her campaign that said it best, because Abi really does put the gael in AbiGAEL. Elected no more than 6 months ago, Abi has already set the bar higher than ever before for up and coming leaders in our school to make themselves heard and to get involved. Not only has she gotten the ball rolling with school events so far, but she exclaimed with such enthusiasm that, “we have some major plans for the upcoming year!” So the question on all of our minds is on the character behind the mask: do we really know our new co-chief?
Well it comes as no surprise she lists one of her favourite hobbies as binge watching Netflix, but beside the normalities of the teenage life she enjoys taking photos and reading books. Musically inclined with piano and singing, Abi describes her hobbies as allowing her to, “take a step back from the crazy stressfulness of life and enjoy someone else’s story.” It is always apparent to her that it is essential for you to have outlets away from school, and that the IB cyclone we often find ourselves in may be the signal we need to take a step back and breathe. Managing school and extensive hobbies would prove difficult to most, but for Abi it is only allowing her to step higher and higher towards her goals and aspirations in life. Academic life is never a dull moment at Cameron Heights, and Abi’s school career is no exception. While she describes her Grade 11 year as a time for her to try, “discovering [her] interests and what really inspires [her] to get out of bed and get down to it.” she finds herself calm and collected in her final year as a golden gael. From exploring the social sciences in Challenge and Change to taking on interesting new roles in Leadership, these are just two of the opportunities she is loving in the semester so far. Look forward to these new skills appearing around the school, as she plans on expanding her campaign goals to include de-stressing events around exams and lots of events to keep us warm and cozy after the Winter break! Taking advice from Abi is as good as it can get. As a student leader with a busy schedule, managing not only to keep up grades and morals but encourage those around her to do the same, Advice with Abi would be a number one show on any television network. But in case you are as busy as her, I have decided to close with some advice from the gael herself,
Author: Nadica Terzieva Freshmen, 9th graders, 14 year olds, whatever you wanna call yourselves, you really are a group of kids put together in a new school most likely bigger than your last. But it's borderline November, so hopefully all of your jitters are gone by now and Cameron Heights feels more like a second home.
First up: Lockers Don't carry around all your textbooks for all 4 of your classes in your bag all the time! That is very bad for your back and it will figuratively kill you. Use your bag for 2 classes at a time. Relax, use your locker, put your coat in there too. You’ll thank yourself later. Number 2: Extracurriculars Joining a club or sport team is a great way to meet new people, and form new friendships. Not only that, but it could definitely help you for future resumes or volunteer experience. For you to mention that you were on your high school basketball team or joined your school newspaper will most definitely up your chances of getting the gig. Also, it gives you something to do and provides you with memories you’ll enjoy for a long time. And then there were 3: Studying I know that you've heard this countless times but I will tell you again: Do NOT leave your studying for the last minute! Leave yourself at least a couple days to learn up the material. Making jokes with your friends that you haven't studied and will fail the test together is funny at the moment but it's a harsh reality when it comes true. Study for your test, make yourself proud, make up your own academic goals. Number 4: Friends -stick with them Honestly, the best advice I can tell you about your friends and friend groups is don't turn your back on them. Just because you befriend new people should no way mean you saying bye to your old ones. Friends are an absolute treasure and I promise it hurts them when you start leaving them. Stick with them and be nice. Number 5, the simplest of them all: Do you Be yourself. Even if people think you're weird. Own it. Authors: Alicia Cole & Emma Johnston October Book of the Month - Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Written by Ransom Riggs, the adventurous and eerie tale of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the perfect fall read. The novel centers around sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman, who, although seemingly bound to an ordinary life, finds extravagance and purpose through the tales of his grandfather’s past. The stories, remarkably recounted, centre around Mr. Portman’s escape from the holocaust to an orphanage located off the coast of Wales. However, what makes his stories especially interesting are the peculiar photos of children with odd powers that accompany them. Whilst hearing tales of a flying girl, and a boy with bees living inside him, amongst many, Jacob is extremely intrigued and years later, following a horrific family tragedy, finds himself on the same Welsh island from his grandfather’s stories. Although his belief in their accuracy long passed, Jacob’s personal experiences on the island, as well as the clues he follows from the old photographs lead him to believe that perhaps the tales weren’t as far fetched as he had once thought.
After reading this thrilling novel, we were able to determine which elements of the story we found both appealing and disappointing. For example, Miss Peregrine’s Home very creatively incorporates real vintage photographs, one element of the story we absolutely loved. Riggs does a fantastic job of writing, so much so that it seems as if the pictures were actually made for the book. As well, the photos add a level of excitement, allowing the readers to not only read about the peculiarities of each individual but visually experience them. In addition, we found the plot of the book to be refreshing, as the concept of it is so unique and original; we felt as though the story was something we’d never heard before. Our main issues with the book lie within the pacing of the story, as at times we found the plot to be interesting and exciting, but at other times we felt as if the characters were just waiting around for the next big thing to happen. Another thing that disappointed us was that, although the pictures fit into the story very well, the tone of the writing did not match the mood given off by the photo. Looking at these creepy pictures, one expects the writing to also give off an eerie feeling. However, the author is never able to transfer these feelings to his writing, using a slightly more effervescent and mysterious tone instead. To conclude, we found the overall experience of reading Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children to be both enchanting and one-of-a-kind. The story was made especially interesting by the unique, and sometimes creepy, photos included. Although the chilling photographs were occasionally ill-suited to the tone of the story and the progression of the character’s actions were a bit lagging, ultimately, we found the tale quite wonderful, and have both added it to our shelves. This book would be perfect for anyone aged 13 or older who enjoys mystery and is looking for an escape to an extraordinary world, even just for a short time. We loved this book and hope you do as well! Happy reading! |
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