Teaching Students The Importance of Life

By Amber and Kayla

Photo by Amber

Laura Holmes, one of Westside’s second grade teachers is introducing students to the the concept of having a life in your hands.Laura has set up the opportunity for her students to raise and care for the two hundred Coho salmon eggs,  recently delivered to our school campus from Soos Hatchery in Kent.

The second grade class received the salmon while they are still eggs, and raise them through their egg, alvin, fry, parr and smolt stages.  The 2nd grade class will then take a field trip to Fauntleroy Creek where they release the salmon smolts. From this stage the salmon will grow to be about 1-2 feet and venture out into the ocean.  If they survive they will return to the same creek in four or so years, where they will spawn and die.  And the life cycle of the Coho will start over once again.  

Laura is keeping the kids involved through taking turns changing the water in the tank by sucking up the water through a tube.  Students also take turns testing the chemical levels in the tank. Students name the fish and enjoy taking care of them too. It's a great experience for them to have the opportunity to be a part of such an adventure!

World Cup 2014

source: http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/10/17/espn-faces-its-toughest-decision-of-its-world-cup-2014-coverage/

By: Owen Tabbutt and Andres Lopez

With everyone getting excited for the World Cup this June and the top countries fighting for the trophy, we decided it was a good idea to go around the school asking people for predictions on who will finish in the top four and how the U.S.A will finish. The World Cup is not only a cup for soccer, it also unites countries from all over the world and bringing joy to everyone.

There are many teams that are favorites for winning the 2014 World Cup, like Germany. Germany has won the cup three times and has finished in the top four many times. They are one of the favorites because their lineup is the strongest in the world. Their midfield is also probably the strongest, with Mesut Özil, Tomas Müller, Mario Götze, Marco Reus,  Bastian Shwiensteiger, and Samir Khediria.

Another possibility is Brazil. A big reason why is because they are the home country and home field is always a big advantage. They have won the cup the most out of any country in the world and always have a great squad. This upcoming World Cup, they have a very young team with their best player, Neymar, who is only at the age of 20. The most recent cup they were in was the Confederations Cup. They beat Spain in the final 3-0. Although they do not have a lot of players on their team who have a lot of experience, the young talented players might just push their team to their 6th World Cup title.

Spain is also a favorite to win. With Spain being the reigning champions of the 2010 World Cup, they will come into the tournament with loads of confidence. They have a great midfield but their weakness is a point striker. Their best option is either Fernando Torres, Alvaro Negredo, or Robert Soldado. None of them are a clear choice, but hopefully for the Spanish fans, their midfield can win them a second straight Cup.

The U.S also has a great qualification for the tournament, finishing first in the CONCACAF region. They had a great year going on their longest ever winning streak, of 12 games in a row, beating Germany. The U.S also has a great coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, who became the manager in 2011. The Americans are headed in the right direction and hopefully will surprise a lot of people this summer in Brazil.

Below are the prediction from some people at Westside of who will finish in the top four and how the U.S will finish.

Glyn:

1: Brazil

2: Spain

3: Germany

4: England

U.S.: Reach the round of sixteen

Chris:

1: Spain

2: Germany

3: Brazil

4: Argentina

U.S: Will get knocked out of group stage

Kenji:

1: Portugal

2: Spain

3: Brazil

4: Germany

U.S: Not get out of group stage

Blake:

1: Spain

2: Brazil

3: USA

4: Portugal

U.S: 3rd place

Emilio:

1: Spain

2: Germany

3: Brazil

4: Argentina

U.S: Reach the round of sixteen

Andres:

1: Germany

2: Spain

3: Brazil

4: Argentina

U.S: Will not get out of group stage

Owen:

1: Brazil

2: Germany

3: Spain

4: Argentina

U.S: Reach round of sixteen

Midde School Students Help Contribue to Westside School Auction and Local Community

By: Kate and Isabele

This year, Westside School is hosting the 25th annual auction on Saturday, March 22 at the Seattle Design Center. This year’s theme is Westside Musical, and its focus is to help raise money for the arts program in order to help buy more musical instruments! The middle school classes are participating through a community service donation, as opposed to the usual art project. Students decided that they wanted to not only give to the school, but the community around us as well. The 5th graders will be working with Mary's Place, the 6th graders are helping with Westside Baby, the 7th graders are also collaborating with Mary's Place and the 8th graders are volunteering at the food bank. At the auction parents will be asked to donate money corresponding to the hours of work students put in.  The MS students hope this year’s community service effort will be a huge success and will shows all of the time and energy they have put in to it.

Westside Basketball

by Christopher and Kenji

This has easily been the most successful season for Westside basketball EVER. Westside has  5 teams and they have all improved greatly. The 5th grade girls have very little basketball experience but have greatly improved their skills, effort and understanding of the game. The 5th grade boys, though they have struggled with injuries, rally each and every game. The 6th grade boys are 5-2, and have played well as a team. The 7/8 girls narrowly lost a game at St. Catherine's, have won the rest of their games and have a record of 6-1. They rely on a high-pressure, aggressive defense, and a full court, attacking offense. They have a lot of speed and do very well on the fast break. The 7/8 boys have been shorter than every team they played, but have battled defensively and beat teams on the fast break. The 2-3 zone they play has become better and better and rebounding has improved. They also pass the ball well on offense and can knock down jump shots. Overall this has been a very good season for Westside basketball and every team has shown great improvement!

Seahawks Super Bowl XLVIII

Photo source: http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/super-bowl/richard-sherman-s-big-tip-gets-his-motor-running-1.6832717

By Luke and Henry

After playing the 49ers in a tight game, the Seahawks pulled out on top last Sunday!  Tension rose to an unbearable level in 4th quarter.  The 49ers kept driving closer and closer to the Seahawks end zone, but with twenty seconds left in the game, and the score 23-17 the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick lofted the ball into the 49ers endzone.  As the ball soared in the air towards Michael Crabtree, Richard Sherman, a Seahawks cornerback, jumped up and swatted it away.  Instantly Malcolm Smith intercepted and threw himself to the ground to insure he didn't lose the ball. The Seahawks are headed to the Superbowl  in two weeks to play the Denver Broncos.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by Grant

Picture Source: http://www.tomboy-tarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Life-of-Walter-Mitty-Teaser-Poster-Cinemas.jpg

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is the second film adaptation of the 1939 short story with the same name. The first film was directed by Norman Z. McLeod and apparently ranks  479th out of 5000 of the best movies of all time, according to a 2008 issue of Empire Magazine. The 2014 remake is directed by Ben Stiller who also stars in it. Stiller is no newcomer to directing, he has directed several films including The Cable Guy, Tropic Thunder, and Zoolander. None of which I have seen, although Zoolander is on my list.

The target audience of the movie is middle aged adults who may or may not drag their kids along with them. I say this is due to the fact that the plot is essentially a glorified mid-life crisis. The reason they might bring their kids along is to teach them the importance of "living in the moment" and/or "don't let life pass you by" these themes are present throughout the film.

The actual plot centers around a negative assets manager for Time Magazine with a co worker as his love interest. This guy is the biggest day dreamer ever. In the movie he will be drinking coffee then he imagines he is having a superhuman fight with a co worker over a stretch Armstrong doll. The daydreaming is because his regular life is so boring. The film helps reinforce this with well done shots of his daily life. However, this is also where some flaws show; the most glaring of which is that some characters are just not believable. Another problem is some of the computer generated imaging (CGI) during his day dreams could of been better.

Back to the plot. Time Magazine is publishing it's last issue before it transitions into an online platform. Walter is sent a packet of negatives from Sean Penn, the main photographer. Sean leaves specific instructions saying to use negative 25 for the cover, which is the one negative that is missing. With the threat of losing his job, he sets off on this adventure to find the illusive Sean Penn. This is where the film shines, at least for me. The locations he goes to, such as Iceland, Greenland and Tibet, are really interesting. During his adventure there are some pretty funny parts, nothing that will get you rofling but enjoyable nonetheless. Another problem with the film is it is riddled with cliches that you see coming early on.

All and all despite its flaws, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a decent film. If you can get over cliches, the occasional bad CGI, and a few unrealistic characters. However when there are so many better movies that are much more deserving of your time, this one doesn't stand out.  

Chris Morphew Visits Westside School

By Daisy

Ever wanted to meet a Aussie writer? Well you had your chance last Tuesday when Chris Morphew visited Westside on his American tour. Chris is a young author who teaches at an all-girls school in Australia and in his free time writes books! He's written 18 books and more are to come.  Chris started writing as a young kid about dinosaurs and spaceships, and most of his books today are about all of the things he thought about when he was a kid. When he visited our school he was a great speaker and really got you to laugh, especially when he talked about the differences from Seattle and Australia.

Some of his books include 12 books from the Zac Power series, and The Phoenix Files series.  If you want to check out more about Chris and his book, his website is  http://chrismorphew.com

The Oscars

The Oscars

By Blake

The Oscars are heating up and it is a battle between a scientist, a scientist, and a former slave. The nominations for the 86th Academy Awards, announced last Thursday morning in Beverly Hills,  were led by the 3-D space odyssey "Gravity" and the con-artist caper "American Hustle."  Both films had 10 nominations including best film award, best actor, best actress, best picture, and best director. The harrowing historical epic "12 Years a Slave" was a close second with nine nominations.  

Other nominations included "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Her," "Nebraska," "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Philomena." 

The 86th Academy Awards will be aired LIVE Sunday Mar 2 at 4pm on ABC.
The movie that is expected to win is "Gravity" because many critics love the idea and the picture.  But you never know who could win and it is anybody's game.


Photo source: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&near=Seattle,+WA&q=american%20hustle&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=Vi&authuser=0#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=5P

Who is Superbowl bound?

After this weekend we will officially know the Super Bowl teams. The Seattle Seahawks play the San Francisco 49ers in Seattle on Sundayand the Denver Broncos play the New England Patriots in Denver on Sunday. There are a lot of debates on who will win but my bet is on the Seahawks and the Patriots.

In the Wild Card round The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New Orleans Saints in Philadelphia 26-24 with a game winning field goal. The Green Bay Packers fell to the San Francisco 49ers in Green Bay 23-20 with a game winning field goal. The Indianapolis Colts came back from a twenty eight point deficit making the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history to the Kansas City Chiefs with a final score of 45-44. The San Diego Chargers beat the Cincinnati Bengals pretty easily with some help from a few mistakes from the Bengals 27-10. 

In the Divisional Round The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers with some clutch plays by Peyton Manning in the last 3 minutes of the game winning 24-17. The New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts easily with a score of 43-22 with an outstanding game by LaGarrette Blount with a 73 yard run which is the second longest run in playoff history. The Seattle Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints 23-15 while holding Jimmy Graham to one catch the whole game. The San Francisco 49ers knocked off the number two seed, the Carolina Panthers, pretty easily with a final score of 23-10. 

I pick the Seattle Seahawks to go to the Super Bowl because they are an amazing home team with a home record of 16-1 in the past 17 games at home. The Seahawks have an elite defense and will shut down Frank Gore and Colin Kaepernick while their offense will dominate in either the passing or running game. The San Francisco 49ers will attempt to shut down either the Seattle Seahawks passing or running game, but they can't shut down both against the Seahawks offense.

I chose the New England Patriots to go to the Super Bowl because Peyton Manning does not have a very good playoff history. Not only that but the New England Patriots are the underdog and that gives Tom Brady another reason to perform well and silence the critics. The Denver Broncos don't have the best defense and the New England Patriots don't have a bad defense even though they don't have Jerod Mayo and Vince Wilfork. 

After the Final Four I predict that the New England Patriots will beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl mostly because it is in New York and it will be extremely cold. The New England Patriots are used to the cold in New England as the Seattle Seahawks are not accustomed to that kind of cold weather in Seattle. Tom Brady has been on the big stage before, where Russel Wilson is a young quarterback but will surely have at least one ring when he retires. Even though the Seattle Seahawks have one of the top three defenses in the NFL (probably the best) they are not used to playing against quarterbacks like Tom Brady. Once again the cold, in my opinion, is the biggest factor. In all the New England Patriots will reign Super Bowl Champions.

By: Emilio Suarez

Seahawks Chance For Glory

One more win.  If the Seahawks win the upcoming game this Sunday against their rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, they will get a chance to win the biggest game of their lives, the SUPER BOWL!  

By Henry and Luke

This past year the Seahawks have battled the 49ers several times, ending in wins for both teams.  Lately the 49ers have been performing phenomenally well, but on the road the 49ers have been out scored 71 - 16 in their previous two games.  However, Percy Harvin, a star wide taken out of the game after getting hit hard by a Saints safety, is questionable for the next game with a concussion, which could make it harder for the Seahawks. The game is on Sunday at 3:30 in Seattle, make sure to watch it!

Photo Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/24/16116492-seahawks-route-49ers-42-13-make-playoffs?lite