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Presented by the RSMS Student Journalism Club
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By April Watson
After April Fools
By: Natalie Moehle
April Fools Day is always so much fun if you have a great prank! But what happens when people are expecting it? Everyone knows that April Fools is the holiday where you prank all of your friends and family. So surprise them with having pranks on all different days. Here are the top ten most hilarious and harmless pranks to try on family members and friends.
Tape Over
Put some tape over a mouse sensor, phone camera, or tv remote. It will temporarily block the signal of the transmitter to make sure it won’t do anything. Make sure to use the correct color of tape to make it super sneaky.
Franklin
First, find your target. Second, select a name. Third, find as many people as possible to call them. Call them asking, “Can I speak with ____”, now make sure that it is not their name or else this will turn out badly. Get as many people to call them by the end of the day but save one person for last. Finally, have the last person call them saying, “This is ____ do you have any calls for me?”
Sneeze
This works better if you have a spray bottle handy. Fill the bottle with mildly warm water, sit behind them or walk behind them. Inhale and fake sneeze while spraying them on the neck and head with the lukewarm water.
Flip Side
Find a door that obviously pulls to get it to open but stick a very official sign that says push don’t pull on the door. Stand there to see how many people will actually follow the sign.
Brownies
This one is a classic. We all love desserts but some of us love Brownies. Brownies can be the sugar food or it can be this April fool’s prank. Cut out 12 E shapes from brown cardboard, stick it in a Tupperware, and tada you have Brownies.
Looking for more pranks go here to find more, https://bestlifeonline.com/harmless-april-fools-pranks/
Spring Crafts and DIY
By: Raegan Vahey
Are you feeling crafty this time of year? We've found the perfect spring crafts for you! Just click on the links below for directions.
These flowers are super cute and fun to make if you are bored one day. All the materials you need are colored paper, a ruler, gluestick, and a paper straw. These are super simple and can brighten up whatever room you put them in. I highly recommend making these paper flowers.
Spring always has flowers blooming. Daffodils, Daisy’s, and Tulips! Make these yarn wrapped Tulips. All you’ll need for this craft is some cardboard, yarn, popsicle sticks (possibly the green colored ones) and a glue stick. These can easily make everyone happy. Visit the link here to learn how to make them!
This craft is super fun, colorful, and a bit of a challenge. They look amazing in any room! All you’ll need is 10 sheets of colorful “8.5 x 11” paper, scissors, a pen, low temp hot glue gun, paper trimmer, and cardboard. These are fun to make if you're bored and will shine in the sun!
These are super cool and easy to make if you are bored one day. They look amazing and colorful. All you’ll need is tissue paper, pipe cleaners (specifically gold), ribbons, and scissors. They are super fun and an amazing spring craft. Visit the link here if you want to learn more:
If you love birds and want to attract them more, then this is for you. This craft is super nice and perfect for spring. All you’ll need is, half a gallon milk jug, command hook or strong suction cup, string, any material to decorate (tape, paint), and bird seed. This is super pretty and you will always enjoy watching the birds eat your seed. See the link here to learn how to make it.
These are super adorable and very easy to make if you're bored. They’re pretty easy and are super cute as a gift to someone. All you’ll need is some yarn, felt, and scissors. They’re super fun and amazing for Easter. See the link here to learn more about it!
This craft is an easy but fun one to do if you're just bored on a rainy day. They are the perfect gift for anyone and will brighten up any room that you put them in. All you’ll need is, coffee filters, water colors, glass jars, eye droppers, and wax paper (This is key!). They are very pretty and very easy to make. Visit the link here to learn more about them.
If you're talking about Spring, you can’t forget the rainbows. This craft is a super cute and easy craft to do if you're bored on a rainy day. All you’ll need is a paper plate, some paint, scissors, and some yarn (all colors of the rainbow). These are the perfect gift to give to someone. See the link here for more information on how to make them.
This craft is super pretty and easy to make. It is the perfect spring craft to do. All you’ll need is a paper bag, tissue paper, and some glue. This is a very nice craft to do and will have an amazing finished product. To learn how to make this, visit the site here:
This Craft is super fun and is the perfect thing to make. It’s super easy and will only take a few steps. All you’ll need is a canvas, crayons in all different tints, strong glue, buttons (optional), cotton, and a hair dryer. This is a super pretty craft and fun to make if you are bored on a rainy day. Visit the link for more information.
Ella Laury's Sweet Spring Treats
Spring Flower Pots
Garden Spring Cakes
Strawberries dipped in chocolate to look like carrots, on top of cupcakes in mason jars are the most adorable treat this spring!
Birds Nest Cookies
"A Spring Poem"
By Claire Lackey
The air is sweet, the sound of distant windchimes murmurs me into a trance,
being carried by intoxicating honeysuckle breezes.
The sound of the highway is almost fully smothered by birdsong and crickets.
Every so often a bug flies a little too close to my ear and it jolts me right awake,
swinging my hammock sharply right and left.
The jolt always slows though, coming to a soothing, slow rock.
It helps me to forget all the things that used to be, that could have been, that are.
A garbage truck thunderously slings itself down my street, it all seems a bit bleak,
the sky is so flat, so gray, always.
These days it’s too cold to be outside and really enjoy it.
The only times I feel wind on my face are days when I go to the grocery store every week
that’s all I get, a trip from the car, to the store, and back.
I’ll stick through it though, the sky, the tumble of garbage trucks,
the constant highway noise.
I’ll stick through it because I know that before I even realize,
I’ll be singing along with the crickets and the birds,
and every other wonderful person who loves spring just like I do.
COVID Changes
As you all might know, there are good and bad changes that the people at our school might have had to make due to COVID. I am going to tell you some of the bad changes due to COVID, but for some of you, these changes might be fun or good to you.
One bad change due to COVID was the dreaded Zoom. There are so many things that can go wrong with Zoom that is not anybody’s fault. One time I was talking to one of my friends on Zoom and they had to ask me to repeat myself because the Internet connection was so bad. On Zoom, your teacher can start talking and all of a sudden she/he will be frozen and all you can hear is their voice.
Another bad change due to COVID are these awful masks that you have to wear everywhere, except for at your own house. In P.E. when running, you can hardly breathe when it gets caught in your mouth because you are breathing too hard.
Last, but not least, no lockers, which can be bad because now you do not get the chance to decorate it and have your own little place to put your books and belongings. You can put a magnetic lock on your locker and a little container that sticks onto the inside of your locker to put markers and pens.
Those are some of the bad changes due to COVID but do not forget that there are also good changes too. I bet that you could come up with some yourself.
"Life as a Bee"
Life as a bee has its pros and cons. For example, we get to go out and fly around drinking sweet nectar! Unfortunately, humans aren’t very fond of us. Some people run away from us, but some swat at us. One day, I was being a bit reckless and got into a very dangerous situation.
It was the first day of spring, meaning we could finally leave the hive again! I woke up in my soft, yellow bed with white polka dotted sheets. I went to the honeycomb to get a light breakfast before leaving. There, I saw my friend, Brooklyn. I flew down to meet her and landed between two honey cells.
Brooklyn paused her eating to say, “Hi Bree,” then went right back to slurping up her honey.
“Hey, Brooke,” I replied, and got to eating my breakfast. Eating honey for every meal, every day sounds delicious, but it gets quite boring.
Brooklyn finished her cell of honey, then asked, “So, are you excited to get out of the hive today?”
I paused to answer, “So excited!”
After I finished, Brooklyn and I took off. We paused to land at the exit, then exchanged an excited look. We flew out of the hive together, and I was immediately hit by the bright sun. I felt the cool spring air, and the breeze blew over my back. The weather was perfect that day, and I could see all of the new plants that had begun to grow. As I was taking in my surroundings, Brooklyn was on the hunt for flowers.
“Found a patch of marigolds! Come on!” She yelled from a few feet below me.
I flew down to meet her and we descended onto flowers next to each other. I sucked as much of the sweet nectar out of the flower as I could, then hovered above it to show Brooklyn that I was done. She came up just a couple of seconds later. We moved on to a couple more flowers, then decided to go to a different patch.
A minute later, we found a few sunflowers in the distance. The flowers were just on the other side of a trail for humans to walk on. As we came up to the trail, a human girl came around the corner, and ran straight at us. Bree went straight past, but I didn’t have time to stop or go faster after I saw the girl. I tried to slow down and stay away from her, but I couldn’t.
She hit me, then jumped back and screamed, “BEE!”
I was knocked off of my coarse, and I got a horrible headache. The scream didn’t help with that, either. She swatted and hit me. I started to fall, and my heart pounded louder and louder every the farther I went down. Luckily, I caught myself just before I hit the ground. I saw that Brooklyn was on the other side of the girl, so I tried to fly over her shoulder, but she started running again, and I ran into her long, light brown ponytail. I got caught in the middle of it and didn’t know which way to go. The girl ran faster and shook her head when she felt me in her hair. I was thrown out, and turned over and over again in the air before straightening out, but I was to nauseous and my headache was to bad, so I fell again. I caught myself about a foot above the ground, and flew to Brooklyn in a wobbly line. The human girl was off running twice as fast as she was before.
“Are you okay?” Brooklyn asked, worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m okay, but I need a break before we go on,” I told her.
“No problem,” Brooklyn replied. We flew up a few feet to sit in a tree. That was the day that I learned to stay out of humans’ ways, and out of their hair.
Book Review: To Catch a Killer
To Catch a Killer is a thrilling book made just for you mystery book lovers. It has many plot twists and turns that would lead you to asking one question: Who really did it?
Erin Blake is a 14 year old girl. She lost her mother when she was 3 and had to survive by drinking toilet water and reading the bottom areas of the fridge. After the recent murder of her biology teacher, Erin wonders if those two murders are somehow related? With the help of her friends Liza and Spam and her crush, the popular Journey Micheals, Erin and her team will investigate further into this case. They must work together and find the killer, before the killer finds them.
I definitely recommend To Catch a Killer if you are a big mystery lover. It will have you on the edge of your seat all the way until the end.
To Catch a Killer has a second book which is To Right the Wrongs.
"A Mixed Up Easter"
It was 2021, and everyone was celebrating Easter! The kids had their Easter baskets ready at hand and were so excited to see what the Easter Bunny had hidden for them. They tramped through the back door and into the garden, to start their search. They looked in gutters and bushes, trees and underneath rocks, but there were no eggs to be found.
All of a sudden a bright light appeared. They heard a jangle, and a jingle, but who would appear. None other than the famous Santa Claus, who was taking his marvelous Easter flight. Presents dropped down to the ground, for all the children to see if they could be found.
“Where is the Easter Bunny?” the youngest said.
“The Easter Bunny is quarantined because of the tooth fairy,” Santa Claus replied with a smile, “So I’m taking over the holiday for awhile.” He laughed and his belly shook like a bowl of jelly. The children moaned and groaned when they heard.
“But we already got presents,” they said.
“Too bad, tough!” Santa Claus yelled, “I’m giving you presents so be thankful.”
“But that's for Thanksgiving,'' they said.
“Well then I’m pranking you with presents! Can you take them now?” Santa Claus asked.
“No, that's April fools!” the kids yelled.
“Fine, then I’m giving it to you out of love!”
“That Valentine’s Day, get your holiday right!” the kids yelled and walked away, leaving Santa Claus in dismay.
“Maybe we were too harsh,” they thought, “For maybe the spirit of the holidays comes from your heart.
Wishing everyone a happy Spring Holiday!
Teacher Feature: Mrs. Batt
As you may know, we have a few new teachers at South this year, and Mrs. Batt is the new eighth grade stretch teacher. Stretch is the class for students who are identified as gifted. She has taught for over twenty years, and worked in three different school districts. These include Wichita in Kansas, Branson in Missouri and now Rockwood. She has also taught many different grades, ranging from preschool to high school.
During those twenty years, Mrs. Batt took a break from teaching to take care of her kids when her second son was born. Both of her sons are now in their twenties, married, and living in St. Louis. They also each have a dog, and Mrs. Batt dog-sits for them often. One is a German Shepherd, one is a Pitbull, Lab, and Terrier mix, and they are both rescue dogs.
In her free time, Mrs. Batt likes to read, research, and listen to music. She also likes to travel in the summer. She has been to 45 different states, and hopes to eventually go to all 50 of them.
Now that you know a little bit about her, make sure you say hello to Mrs. Batt!
"Under the Bed"
One afternoon, a young boy went to his tutor’s house to study. Since he had a big test the next day, the boy stayed there awhile. They both worked on what needed to be done. The boy and the tutor were studying for so long it started to become dark. When they were done it was so late that the busses weren’t even running anymore. The boy hated the dark and was too scared to walk home so he asked the tutor if he could stay at her house for the night. She agreed and got a sleeping bag out and put it on the floor. The tutor slept in her bed and the boy slept next to her bed on the floor. They turned out the lights and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night the tutor woke up to see the boy standing a couple feet from her bed staring at her. She sat up from her bed, confused why the boy was up right now. When she asked him what was wrong he told her:
“I’m hungry. I want some chicken.”
The tutor was very bewildered and replied, “It’s way too late at night for chicken.”
She offered him something from the fridge but he refused.
“We are getting chicken now!” he commanded.
He walked over and grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside the apartment. When they got outside, the tutor turned to the boy with shock and confusion. She looked into his eyes, and they were filled with fear.
“I wasn’t actually hungry,” he admitted. “I just needed to get us out of there!”
“Why?” the tutor demanded. “It’s the middle of the night!”
“There was someone under your bed,” he replied.
Movie Review: Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude follows the story of two incredibly different people and their path to becoming the best of friends. Maude (Ruth Gordon) is an eccentric 79-year-old woman who has a zest for life and stolen cars. Harold (Bud Cort) is a depressed, death-obsessed 20-year-old who spends his free time attending stranger's funerals and coming up with witty ways of horrifying his mother. No character in the film remains plain or unassuming; they're all exaggerated, utterly unique, and vibrant yet somehow remain entirely believable. Even secondary characters are simply unforgetable. A fabulous example of this is the policeman that pulls over the two main characters because of the small tree swaying in the back of their pickup truck. As both characters were in the city a few scenes before the encounter with police, Maude spots a dying tree growing in a planter box on the sidewalk Maude : [gesturing to the tree] “Harold, we have got to do something about this life.” Harold : “What?” Maude : “We'll transplant it. To the forest.” Harold : ”You can't do that.” Maude : “Why not?” Harold : “This is public property.” Maude : “Well, exactly.” In the later scene while being pulled over, the conversation continues, it’s revealed that not only their car was stolen, but the tree as well. When the cop realizes that nothing in this operation is legal, he points to the bed of the truck and remarks, “Possession of a stolen shovel!”. Maude, being the law abiding citizen she is, apologies for the trouble and steals the officer’s motorcycle to get away. As time goes on, the two grow closer and closer. Harold no longer feels a dedication to avoid anything that might spark a little joy in him; and Maude learns and teaches about all of life’s wonder. Their relationship, already limited in time, is made even more fleeting as Maude shows him not only how to live well but to die well. This heart-wrenching, cult classic, ridiculous movie will leave you feeling almost every emotion under the sun. My only advice to viewers is, don’t try anything you see in this movie at home! Overall, from the exclusively Cat Stevens soundtrack to tree-stealing antics of the two main characters, this movie should be on everyone's watch list. You can watch it streaming on Pluto TV (free) and Amazon Prime (subscription). It’s also available for purchase or rent on Youtube Movies, Google Play, and Vudu (all priced starting at 2.99), and lastly iTunes for $3.99 or up.
Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society
I am here to tell you a little bit about The Mysterious Benedict Society. This is an amazing book and is also a movie that used to be on Hulu, but is now on Disney+. This is the first book of six. There are actually four, but there is a prequel and a puzzle book.
The Mysterious Benedict Society is a book about gifted children. It is full of mysteries that the children have to solve. One day, in the newspaper, a peculiar ad appears. This ad says, “ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?” A boy named Reynie who lives in an orphanage in a little town called Stowntown sees this ad while drinking tea with his tutor Ms. Pumeral. The orphanage has a school for children, but Reynie is too smart for the school so he is paired with Mrs. Perumal who herself has nothing to do with him. She is more like a friend to him than a tutor and so each morning they sit down and read the newspaper together. The question is will he take this opportunity that might only be there this one time in his whole life? Or will he turn it down to sit with Mrs. Perumal (his only real friend) to drink tea and read the newspaper each morning for his entire life?
Read this book to find out! You won’t be able to stop. After this one you will be begging to read the next one, which is just as good as the first one. Soon you will be done with the series wishing that you were not. Be ready to enter the world of the Mysterious Benedict Society! Please, enjoy!
"The Tumble"
It was afternoon, as Lisa thought, Uh this is torture! Why couldn't they just come up with an idea? Then suddenly she had it! It was obvious! It was right in front of their face.
¨I have an idea!¨ she said, jumping up from the cul de sac.
They were all coming up with ideas for what to do. It was harder than you think.
¨What?¨ asked Griffin and Grey, jumping up with Lisa. Their brown hair waving around their faces as Griffin came close to falling into Lisa. She almost fell but somehow she stayed upright even though she had rollerblades on.
¨We can go down the hill!¨ said Lisa said throwing her arms up dramatically, her own curly dirty blond hair bouncing around on her shoulders, ¨Duh!¨
¨You have rollerblades on! You'll fall!¨ Griffin shouted, her eyes wide. She pointed to Lisa’s feet, Griffin’s deep brown eyes staring down at Lisa’s rollerblades.
¨You don't have to be so sure of it.¨ Lisa said walking to the top of the hill. ¨It's not even that high!¨
But it was high, very high, and as she looked down she thought to herself. I will fall! She just didn´t know if it would be a bad fall or not so she decided to take the risk.
¨No. That is high.¨ Grey said looking down with her piercing brown eyes.
¨Are you okay?¨ Lisa was not very good at hiding what she was feeling. She found this out because after Griffin said that, she said, ¨You look weird. I knew this was a bad idea. Come on. There have got to be other things to do.¨
¨No.¨ Lisa rolled her bluish eyes and pulled Griffin back, ¨We´re doing this.¨
¨Well if we really are going to do this I have to ask my dad.¨ Griffin turned her back on the girls and walked away.
¨He's going to say no.¨ Lisa shouted after Griffin, but she still had hope.
¨Maybe,¨ Grey said -even though Lisa wasn't talking to her- walking away, then she turned around and said, ¨She's right. This is a bad idea.¨ Then she went on chasing after Griffin.
Lisa looked down the 1st hill. She got a feeling that maybe it was a bad idea. All of a sudden she got a little nervous and her rollerblades moved a little underneath her feet.
¨He said yes,¨ Griffin did not look happy as she came back.
She started down the hill and suddenly Lisa remembered. She was supposed to go with her! She went down the hill but she didn't have to move very much. Her rollerblades gave her the speed she needed, all she had to do was start going down a hill, and she did.
¨Race you!¨ Lisa said, flying past Griffin and her scooter. She had pushed the worried part of her out and zoomed down the hill, her face breaking out into a grin.
¨NO!¨ Griffin yelled over the wind.
¨Fine!¨ Lisa shouted back. The wind slapped her hair back and she could feel her hair rippling behind her. Lisa was having a lot of fun until her rollerblades started shaking. She was about to fall and she thought she would but it was the end of the hill. And this hill was the least of her worries. Lisa looked up the other hill and could feel her face spread into worry.
¨Um, maybe we shouldn't go,¨ Lisa said going up the 2nd hill anyway.
¨You said you wanted to go!¨ Griffin shouted at Lisa as they reached the top of the second one, ¨I tried and tried to get you to stop and you wouldn't!¨
It was GIGANTIC! GINORMOUS! And any other word that means big.
¨Okay! Fine let's go!¨ Lisa said, yelling at her.
Now she wants me to go! Thought Lisa.
¨Now you want to GO?!¨ Griffin yelled back. Lisa was starting to get confused, she thought that Griffin wanted her to go!
¨GUYS!¨ Grey screamed over us.
¨WHAT!¨ The girls screamed back, pausing the fight.
¨Are we going down the hill or not?¨ Grey said, going back to her quiet voice.
¨Let's just go,¨ Lisa said not caring anymore. She just wanted to beat both of them down the hill.
¨On your mark get set GO!¨ she screamed.
They all took off. Grey sprinting down the hill, Lisa rollerblading, and Griffin on her scooter. Lisa wouldn't call it racing but she was definitely in the lead. Her blond hair whipping the sides of her face. She was halfway down the hill when her rollerblades started shaking and even though just a millisecond ago she was smiling - even laughing, now she was scared. She was going too fast for her rollerblades and this time she wasn't close enough to the bottom to be able to stop there.
BOOM! Lisa fell to the ground and skidded. As she slid/bumped her way to a stop she felt the whoosh of wind as Griffin passed by Lisa to get her mom. ¨Ow!¨ she screamed. There was blood gushing out of her hand and a big scrape on her elbow. She was in the middle of the road when saw a car. It pulled over to the side of the road.
¨Are you okay?¨ a girl asked, getting out of the car and walking over to Lisa.
Lisa thought that she was crazy, could she not see the blood? But she was crying too hard to say anything. The most she could get out was an OW!
¨I´m coming!¨Lisa looked up to see her mom, Griffin, and Grey running down the hill as the girl helped Lisa to the sidewalk. When Lisa’s mom reached her the girl got back in her car and drove off. Lisa’s mom helped her back up the 1st, smaller hill and Lisa knew that she was not going down that hill again until she was ready. She was okay waiting. Soon she got better and started rollerblading around the cul de sac again.
"A Series of Unfortunate Events" Review
By Hadley Keirsey
Have you ever heard of a Series of Unfortunate Events? Well, you might know that it is a book series, but it is also a tv show on Netflix. The books are very good, and the tv show is too, so try it out!
A Series of Unfortunate Events is about a tragic tale. It is about the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Count Olaf follows them throughout all of the books. All seems lost when he finds them anywhere that they try to hide. In some parts, he tries to trick them to come to him, but in others, he just comes to them. He only wants the children because of all of the money that their parents left them after their tragic death. He uses many disguises to make him seem like someone else so that they let him in only to discover that it is him. They make a lot of narrow escapes, but it is a lot with all of the sacrifices that they have to make. Along the way the kids find things out about their parents’ mysterious death, they begin to unlock long-held family secrets. They have already lost a lot of their loved ones, can they deal with losing more? Watch a Series of Unfortunate Events to find out.
This is a well-loved tv show and I think that you will enjoy this too. So watch it! It is a tv show full of mysteries that you can try to figure out before even the siblings do! You can find this on Netflix. A Series of Unfortunate Events is also a series of books. There are 14 of them in all. I know, a lot, but they are not that thick, and if you enjoy them like I do you will be done in a very short amount of time!
Super Summer Activities
By: Hadley Keirsey
Summer’s coming up! It’s almost time to splash in the pool, have fun in the sun, and (I know that this is your favorite part) no school! I love school, but most of you probably just need a break. As much as we love breaks sometimes we get bored and need something to do, this is where I come in. There are a lot of things to do, you just might need some ideas and I have 3 of them right here for you!
The first idea that I have for you is taking bike rides. You can take them with your family or you could just go around your neighborhood by yourself, if your parents are okay with that. This is a fun thing to do when you're bored and not only that, but it is also a great way to get a good workout in.
The second thing that I have for you is to go camping in your backyard! I did it once with my sister and dad a few years ago and we had a lot of fun! We played games before going to bed late that night. Even though I woke up in the middle of the night and went back to my own bed (I am not much of a camper, I do not like the sleeping part) I will always remember that night because of how fun we had!
The third thing that I have for you is going swimming! If it is hot outside it will feel nice to jump into a cool swimming pool. My neighbors have a swimming pool in their backyard and in the summer we all go swimming almost every day unless it is raining or too cold. One of my neighbor’s birthday parties was a pool party. It was just her family and mine, but we all had a lot of fun!
I know that I only gave you three, but maybe now you have a bunch of ideas flooding in! I just wanted to get you started and I hope that it worked. Have a great summer!