The Chomp
The Online Student Newsletter of GRHS
October - Happy Fall!
Gateway's Fall Fun Fest! // By Laurel and Spencer Barrett
The seventh graders shined during the soccer shots game, dominating the eighth-grade team! Later, the juniors and seniors tied, leading to overtime, which the seniors ultimately won. The sophomores excelled in the frisbee throw and the freshmen had the overall greatest school spirit, also winning the first round of soccer shots against the sophomores.
In the end, the seniors and the faculty, the two highest scoring teams, finished the fest in a great game of tug-of-war! The staff pulled through with an awesome win, declaring them the winners of the 2022 Gateway fall fest! Great job, faculty!
Gateway's Halloween Candy Favorites // By Amelia Long
On September 20th, 2022, I sent out a poll to the students of Gateway to see the favorite Halloween candies of GRHS. I was curious to see what sugary sweet delights everyone looks forward to getting on Halloween. The poll ranged from rich chocolates to sour, jaw-clenching candy! Here are students’ top 5 candies to eat this Halloween!
In 5th place, we have a tie between Jolly Ranchers and Skittles!
Jolly Ranchers are a mix of hard, individually wrapped candies that are easy to snack on. I just wish that they wouldn’t melt so easily into the wrapper! Skittles are sweet, multi-colored candies that are certainly a timeless classic! If only they had an equal amount of flavors in each bag! These are both great treats if you're not a fan of chocolate!
In 4th place, we have M&M’s!
Ah, yes. The hard and crunchy flavorful shell of an M&M with delicious creamy chocolate all in a small button. These are one of the best Halloween candies!
In 3rd place, we have another tie with Kit-Kats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!
Almost everyone loves Kit-Kats! What is there not to like - a crunchy wafer covered by velvety creamy milk chocolate? There are also a variety of flavors offered if the original is too dull. While Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, my personal favorite, have a chocolatey sweet and smooth outside, the inside is salty and crumbly peanut butter. When combined, it's an exciting experience for your taste buds! These two are the go-to’s when it comes to a bar of creamy chocolate with an exquisite surprise on the inside!
In 2nd place, we have Sour Patch Kids!
Sour Patch Kids are a chewy, soft gummy with a sour sugar-like coating. You can’t go wrong with that! Biting the head off Sour Patch Kids is so fun! While I would love to see a wider variety of flavors, when people need a break from all the sweetness of other Halloween candies Sour Patch Kids are a way to go!
Now the moment we have been waiting for… the star of the show in first place is Twix! A caramel, shortbread chocolate bar made with a crunchy biscuit on the inside alongside a creamy hard caramel filling, all coated in creamy silky milk chocolate. The ratios between the three main components are simply perfect, striking a balance that makes the intense sugar rush completely worth it. Although I don’t see a difference between right and left Twix, they're still good either way!
I hope you all have a great spooky season and Halloween! Thank you for reading and for everyone that participated in the poll! See you next time!
Laufey Concert Review - A Musician on the Rise // By Jack Patrick
Last weekend, on Saturday, September 24th, I went to a concert by one of my favorite musicians for the past year and a half. This was Laufey Lin (pronounced lay-vay)! She is an Icelandic-Chinese jazz musician and has released 1 full album and an EP so far.
The concert was at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, as a part of her, “Everything I Know About Love,” tour. The show was sold out, which makes sense considering how small the venue was. That wasn’t a bad thing though, I actually greatly enjoyed how small it was, as Laufey had much more interaction with the audience than one would normally expect.
I arrived at around 7:15, with the show starting at 8:00. The opener was Matilda Mann, who performed a few released and unreleased songs, and it was very good! I wasn’t a fan of her before this, but I definitely am now. I especially liked the song, Strangers For Now.
Laufey came on stage at around 9:00, starting with her song, Fragile, and continuing with many songs from there. A lot of these were fan favorites from her EP and album, such as,Valentine, I Wish You Love, and Like The Movies, while others were some of the more overlooked songs, such as, Street by Street, Beautiful Stranger, and Let You Break My Heart Again. These were performed on electric and acoustic guitar, piano, and cello, with her drummer, Jackie, playing along with her on most songs.
She sang the song Falling Behind as her closer, a bossa-nova-inspired track that was teased on Laufey’s TikTok several months ago, before finally being released over the summer. After a few minutes, she came back out to sing Magnolia at the request of the crowd, which was her 3rd song ever released.
Although I may be a bit biased since I am a long-time fan of Laufey, I feel that the concert was incredible, with her singing and musical ability standing out in modern times. I also think it should be mentioned that Laufey is helping to bring a whole new generation to the genre of jazz, and telling modern stories through and with it.
At the concert, signed vinyls of her EP “Typical of Me” and the album “Everything I Know About Love” were sold, as well as other merchandise. I wasn’t able to get pictures or purchase any of the clothing, however here is the vinyl that I was able to get.
If you have the time, I would highly recommend you listen to some of Laufey’s music, especially if you enjoy jazz. She brings a modern twist to it lyrically and sonically, and her storytelling abilities are fantastic.
Fall Short Story // By Andrea Mistichelli
The autumn breeze flows through my hair, billowing in my face as I struggle to fix it. I watch as the brown leaves that had once been a vibrant green, fall to the ground in front of me. I take a sip of the pumpkin spice latte I just bought from a Starbucks down the road. The heat from the drink seeps through my gloves to warm up my cold fingers.
I stroll to the park and find my bench, always empty for me. I brush the leaves off and take a seat. Setting down my coffee, I rummage through my bag until I find my book. Grabbing my glasses, I take out the bookmark and start reading.
Occasionally, a dog will come by and I will pause my reading to say hello. Most of the dogs that come by here are familiar to me and their owners know me. I’ll make some small talk and pet their dog before they have to leave. Then, I go back to reading my book, push my reading glasses back in place, and fix my wool scarf.
Soon enough, my alarm goes off on my phone, signaling it was time to head home to get changed for work. I turn off the alarm, stretch, and slowly start putting my things away. I toss my coffee in the trash can next to the bench, and I put my glasses and book back in my bag. I quickly brushed off any leaves that may have fallen into my hair.
I start my walk back, giving everyone I pass a smile. There is this one person I pass everyday on my walk back. He is an older man, his hair gray and his skin thin. However, no matter how hard it becomes for him to move around, he is always sitting on this bench at this one corner saying hello to everyone that passes by. Today, he has a basket of apples next to him.
“Do you want an apple?” He asked me.
To which I replied, “Sure, thank you so much!” He gave me a nod and I made my way past, taking a bite out of the apple. I can’t help but think how I might be that old man one day. Sitting on my bench in the park, no matter how old and tired I become. Just enjoying nature.
Halloween Treats // By Jack Patrick
With the official start of Autumn just over a week ago, we are now in spooky season! What’s spooky season without some food to go along? Of course, we’ve probably all been bombarded with pumpkin spice recipes since the second Buzzfeed caught wind of colder weather, so these recipes will be strictly Halloween recipes, with all 3 being related to classic Halloween creatures! So, go grab a white sheet and a cauldron, and let’s go!
My personal favorite on this list, this is a great cookie to bring to any Halloween party! It is incredibly tasty with a combination of chocolate and sugar icing.
Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup baking cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons milk
(Amounts of ingredients can vary depending on the thickness of icing desired)
Recipe:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.
Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle (refrigerating overnight works well).
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ⅛ inch thickness.
Cut with a 3-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place on baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until set.
Cool for a few minutes before removing from pans and to wire racks to cool completely.
For the icing, in a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth (you want the consistency to be thick enough where it won’t run off the cookies, but not so thick that it’s difficult to pipe. Be careful, adding more milk is much stronger than adding more sugar, so add tiny amounts at a time to thin it.)
Cut a small hole in the corner of a resealable plastic bag, and fill it with icing. Pipe skeleton bones on cookies.
Yield: 3 dozen
Ingredients:
Fudge stripe cookies
Chocolate kisses
Icing (orange and purple work well)
Recipe: To start, flip the cookie over to the chocolate side. Fill a piping bag or a resealable plastic bag with icing. You can buy the icing, or make some at home if you have a specific kind you enjoy. Pipe an icing circle around the center of the cookie Press an unwrapped chocolate kiss candy into the middle of the orange icing Wait for the icing to dry if necessary Yield: As many as desired
Ingredients:
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1-2 tablespoons shortening
1 bag of pretzel rods
Mini chocolate chips
Wax paper
Recipe:
Line the work area with wax paper.
Place white chocolate chips in a medium-sized, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 45 seconds.
Stir and add one tablespoon of shortening. Return to microwave for an additional 15 seconds. Stir. Repeat until the chips are melted and smooth.
Dip one end of each pretzel in the melted chocolate. Cool for 30 seconds to 1 minute and add mini chocolate chips for eyes and mouth, then place on wax paper.
For mummies, after dipping and eyes added, drizzle melted chocolate across the pretzels using a spoon.
Allow cooling completely.
Yield: Variable
The Major League Baseball Playoffs Are Here // By Desmond McCue
Right now we are on the doorstep of the MLB playoffs. The World Series is only a few weeks away, and this year the playoffs are different. There is now one extra team in each league, a third wildcard.
The first World Series was played in 1903 between the then Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Back then, there were no other playoff games, just the teams with the most wins in the American League and National League. A little over 60 years after the first World Series was played, they switched to playoffs. In 1969, they separated each league into two divisions. There was a league championship series, a then best-out five-game series between the winners of each division in their league.
Then, in 1995, they added two more playoff teams. First, they split each league into three divisions. To counteract the odd number, they added a 4th team, the wild card. The wild card was for the team with the highest number of wins who didn’t win their division. So, they had the best of 5 Division Series, then the Championship Series, and then the World Series. In 2012, they added the second wildcard. The team with the best record would get a bye. The two wildcard teams then battled it out in a one-game playoff. The wild card winner played the top-ranked team.
The new change this year is that there are three wildcard teams. So, the sixth and third seeds will play in a three-game wildcard, along with the fourth and fifth seeds. The top two seeds will get a bye. Then, the winner of the sixth and third seeds will play the second seed in the Division Series. Same thing with the winner of the fourth and fifth seeds. The winner of the Division Series plays the other winner of the Division Series. Finally, the winner goes to the World Series.
For you Phillies fans out there, the Phillies are the third wildcard, the sixth seed, as of September 29th. If they manage to hold on, they face the St. Louis Cardinals, the third seed. If they win that series, they will face the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first seed. Play ball!
Don't Worry Darling Review // By Leah Storino
Are you looking for a new movie to watch? Something scary for Halloween? Well, put, Don't Worry Darling, on your list! I have recently seen this psychological thriller and I give it 5 stars! Alice and Jack are a happy, young married couple living in the 1950’s. They live in a small community and the men go to work every day to work on “The Victory Project '' to make new materials that will change the world. Although the women don't know exactly what their husbands are doing, they accept it and do traditional housewife chores such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their children.
In their free time, they do ballet, gossip, and shop, but they aren't allowed to go very far. Margaret has nightmares and warns the others that something wrong is going on. But, the women are told to ignore it and not question it. One day, Alice sees a plane crash in the desert and runs to see if they need help. She finds something that makes her question what's really going on while she’s there.
The others accuse her of going crazy while she slowly realizes what the men are doing to control society. Don’t Worry Darling is very well written and has secret hints and details that you realize once you watch it a second time. This movie sadly has pretty poor reviews for what apparently lies behind the scenes, but without that judgment, Don't Worry Darling is a fun movie to watch that will keep you on your toes. Also, the cast is so talented and truly were made for this movie.
Favorite Celebrity Crush - September Edition // By Lily Hoppe
This month's celebrity crush is Maya Hawke! She is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. Her first role as an actress was Jo March in the 2017 TV show, Little Women. Some of her other well-known roles are Robin Buckely in the hit-show, Stranger Things, and Eleanor in Netflix’s new movie, Do Revenge. She has also starred in Mainstream. She makes her own music and has recently put out an album, Moss. It’s amazing and you should listen to it!
Hocus Pocus 2 Review // By Lily Hoppe
Hocus Pocus 2 was a great continuation of the first Hocus Pocus. There were so many references to the first movie and new musical numbers! Of course, the iconic Sanderson sisters made their return, and Billy Butcherson appeared as well. There were new characters to carry on the legacy of lighting the black flame candle to bring back the sisters as well. Overall, it was a wonderful movie to ring in the spooky, fall season!
Thanks for Reading!
Follow The Chomp!
Facebook: @thechomp_gateway
Instagram: @the_chomp_gateway
Twitter: @GatorNewspaper