We Bought A Zoo tells the story of Benjamin Mae and his family who accept the challenge to reopen a zoo located on a property they just moved to.  In the process of reopening the zoo, they discover that the animals take more work than they thought and there is a lot of paperwork involved.  When the family starts running out of money, they find unexpected resources.

The fictional Rosemoor Wildlife Park is based on Dartmoor Zoological Park, located in Devon, England.

Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mae and works with a lot of other good actors, including an adorable seven-year old actress, Maggie Elizabeth Jones who stars as Rosie Mee.

I thought this movie was really good. Families, especially, would enjoy this movie.

I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 paw.

The winter of 1932 in the US was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid

Dirty snow melts faster than clean.

In ten minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world’s nuclear weapons combined!

Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.

9 out of 10 lightning strike victims survive

The speed of a typical raindrop is 17 miles per hour.

Snowiest city in the U.S. : Blue canyon, California

Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women!

Contrary to popular belief, lightning travels from the ground upwards not from the sky downwards.

In 2010, it rained live fish in the Australian village of Lajamanu. There’s something a bit fishy about that…

The heaviest hailstone recorded weighed one kilogram – that’s huge.

“There has been experts that have came up with ways that the world could possibly end but there is no real way of telling,” Spade, teacher said.

So what is all this crazy talk? We’ve all heard these doomsday predictions before but we’re still here, and the planet is still here. Why is 2012 so important?            Well, the Mayan calendar stops at the end of the year 2012, stirring up all sorts of religious, scientific, astrological and historic reasons why this calendar signals the end of life as we know it.

“I do not believe the world is going to end,” Megan Clark, 11, said. “Who says that the guy making the calendar just didn’t feel like continuing?”

But the Mayans are not the only ones who forecasted the end of the word.

Some believe the world will end on Dec 21,2012. I would not say it is true, but it is fascinating how nine other cultures including the Hopis, Egyptians, Kabbalists, Essenes, Qero elders of Peru, Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, Iroguois Confederacy, Dogon Tribe and Aborignes and one of the world’s greatest prophets, Mayan King Pacal Voltan, could all see this coming. Even though I am not sure if this is going to happen, I still believe everyone should be prepared to leave this world at any time because nobody is going to live forever.

“It gets me more into the game and something to look forward to since I’m not a huge fan of basketball. It makes each game a more memorable memory.” Taylor Rahe, 12 said.

Sheridan Wilt who is a participant encourages people to try it.

“To people who don’t participate, I know you’re probably thinking, oh, people would think that’s weird, but if everyone else is doing it, it’s more fun!  Just try it once or twice and you’ll like it!” Wilt 10, says.

You’re probably wondering how they come up with student section themes. Victoria Harsahw, 12, and Justine Powls 12, brainstorm ideas for the student section themes. “We try to think of what holiday or special event we can link it to. Like last Friday was Friday the13th so we decided to wear creepy masks” Harshaw said.

“A lot of players and other students have noticed our “lacking” student section.  The student sections boost the teams morality and energy.

“There are some games when the visiting team out numbers our student section which is kind of sad,” Kyrstie Miller, 10 said.

Even though few students participate, players still appreciate the support. “I appreciate the themes, and the dressing up. It would be a lot better if more people participated and more people showed up though,” Ethan Holaday, 10, said.

Once the seniors are gone, Powls thinks that the themes will end. But she hopes the underclassmen will continue to do them.

“Spirit Camp is a fundraiser for the Spirit Squad, and it helps buy many supplies for use,” Karen Beightel, Spirit Squad sponsor, said. The squad usually makes around $600 for the account.

Children from Colorado and Central Elementary School came to the high school Saturday morning for practice. There will also be another practice today after school.

“I like spending my whole day with the children when teaching them,” Jordan Barber, 11, said.

The cheerleaders will be performing “Stomp and Scream” for the grades K-2 and the grades 3-5 will be cheering “Boom Boom.”  For the dance portion the grades 3-5 are dancing to “Rockin’ Robin” and grades K-2 will be dancing to “Yellow Submarine.”

Their performance is at the game on Tuesday, Jan. 31.  Grades K-2 will be performing between the girls and boys varsity game and 3-5 will be performing during halftime of the boys varsity game.

“The energy that the little girls put in it, it’s not something that they do all the time,” said Shannon Maxwell, 12.

“I enjoy getting to watch the little kids look up to all of us and just have fun, and remembering how we felt”, Hanah Suarez, Junior said.

“I understand why content providers want to protect their digital products from being illegally distributed but the legislation proposed is flawed.” Tom Sextro, Technology Director, said.

The bill has raised a lot of controversy due to it’s ‘infringing on our 1^st amendment rights.’ Even though the bill has good intentions, it can cause major problems to popular websites everyday.

“It would force normal companies to act like policeman which is problematic.” Sextro said, “One of the reasons that the internet works as well as it does is that it is open.”

Sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter would be taken down. Even though the sites would be required to filter out all of the posts with copyrighted material associated with them, they would not be able to keep up and be shut down.

Many websites and companies are against this bill such as Amazon, Twitter, Yahoo, Facebook, Wikipedia, and the Obama Administration. Not to mention that many people in the U.S. Government are against it as well.

Some of the organizations that support it would include Sony, Viacom, the NFL, the MLB, Pfizer, and Disney.

If the bill were to pass, anyone who infringes any part of the law could spend a maximum of five years in prison.  Some could even face a fine for some infringements.

“If a bill along the lines of what is being proposed manages to become law, it will be the beginning of censorship of the internet.” Sextro said.

But there is good news about the bill for those opposed. The bill was put down by congress on the 16^th of January. The government introduced another bill in its place called PIPA.

The other bill PIPA (Protect IP Act), does not affect websites that contain copyrighted content when posted in certain manners, such as posting short snippets of song lyrics. The bill instead affects sites such as Pirate Bay and other illegal downloading websites.

Even though this bill was more user friendly towards everybody, people are still opposed. With the amount of opposition to the newer bill, they put the bill on hiatus along with SOPA.

But it still does not end there, a new bill is being drafted called the OPEN Act (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act). The OPEN Act is even more lenient then SOPA or PIPA. OPEN will only affect websites that openly promote copyright infringement.

Even though the bill will take down some websites, it will leave the internet more open than it would with either SOPA or PIPA.

McDaniel said, “ I think that senior early release prepares you for college because I have to watch my time more closely and it’s beneficial because I have more time to do my college class homework.” She also enjoys the fact that she gets to sleep in. Many people use the time that they aren’t in school to work as well.

Courtney Parry said, “ When I get out of school at 11, I  go to work at Heartland Veterinary Clinic. “ She also uses her time off to complete scholarships for college.

This year we have a little less than half the senior students taking Senior Early release, however many are taking at least five classes. Holton High school has had Senior Early release for approxmintly eight years.

Kylie miller said,” I think that it is very beneficial to students because in my case there weren’t any other courses to take that would be beneficial to me when entering college. Either some college classes wouldn’t transfer or I had already taken what I could.”

Mrs. Rhule said, “ I believe there needs to be a goal in mind other than just being out of school.”

McDaniel said,” I would recommend that under classmen should consider taking Senior Early release because it does allow you the opportunity to sleep in, and that gives me more energy to pay attention and get my work done in other classes.”

“SAE grants try to provide financial assistance to young people that are trying to get a career in agriculture,” Darien Klahr, 10, said.

How do you go about getting an SAE grant? Well, there’s a whole world of opportunity. It could be from crops, animals, forestry, you name it! Klahr found out about the SAE grant around the middle of October. To be eligible for the competition, all of the paperwork had to be turned in before November 15^th.

“I put a row of crop on Frank Morris’ property. With permission of course,” Klahr said with a smile, “He said I could do whatever I wanted as long as he gets a third of the profit.”

Along with Darien, two others were a part of this experience. Dean Klahr, 9, and Emma Clark, 9, also participated.

Dean had a small cow/calf operation. He spent everyday after school doing chores and taking care of his cattle.

Why not kill two birds with one stone? That’s exactly what Emma Clark did for her SAE. She made money, while at the same time helping the environment. She started a recycling business. For a fee, twice a month, she picks up recyclables and sorts them, then takes them to the recycling center.

The three students worked hard for their grant. Spending many days, doing tons of paperwork, and using hard earned money. They soon found out that their hard work had paid off. They all got a little extra present on Christmas day, finding out they had all won. Their winnings were $1,000 each. But don’t think with all that money they’ll be going on a shopping spree. They each plan to do something more with their money.

“With my $1,000 I received I will use it to help pay for bean seed. It will pay around a fourth of the bean seed,” Darien said.

So there you have it. Now you know what an SAE is, and how it can be beneficial. If you’re dedicated, and stick to it, there can be a major outcome. Just ask the three students; again, they’ll be happy to explain.

The Invitational is named Gerald Sadwoski because the was one of the legendary coaches when Holton had the most success. “The help of my teammates is what encourages me to keep going,” said, Justin Twombly, 12. The wrestling team here at Holton High School is just like a family. They do activities together and they also care and help each other out when another is in need.

Andrew Rieschick, 10, tells how he feels about the tournament when he says, “Invitational is a great preparation for regionals.” People wonder why wrestlers put themselves through all the working out, getting in shape, and starving just to make weight on time, it’s because they’re determined to get their arm raised at the end of every match and having the crowd cheer for them.

The end of the big weekend full of wrestling had the results of Holton getting 4^th place overall. Jonah Lutz, 10 got first place in the 106-weight class, which was what got the team into 4^th place!

-       Kansas State fell to the Razorbacks of Arkansas… The night of the game, the Holton boys basketball team beat Perry- Lecompton and also beat the odds and didn’t find out the score of the game

-       It wasn’t till later that night that Trent messed up the DVR and we saw the final score before we even saw the game…. Thaaaaankkss Treeennntttt.

-       Kansas Jayhawks are playing well, Thomas Robinson is definitely an all American candidate in my book.

-       Kansas State Basketball is also rolling, Taking down Mizzou and almost knocking off the top ranked Baylor Bears. Hopefully Frank can get the guys rolling after another notorious bad start in conference play.

-       Shout out to Jon Holliday for being recognized as Regional Coach of the Year.

-       Shout out to my favorite math teacher, and Head football coach, Mr. Barta for getting inducted into the Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame.

-       Not going to lie, I think all of Holton High School was pulling for the Broncos in the playoffs. Broncos winning, equals less Middlemist which leads to easier PE classes.

-       Unfortunately Tebow Time was all spent on the Steelers.  Timmy Tebow is going to have to work on using it sparingly in the offseason in order to be successful next year.

-       The Rangers spent about as much money on Yu Darvish as JY spends driving to Topeka every weekend.

-       Shout out to Tyler Burdiek taking on the new Sabetha basketball floor. 7 stitches… I think the ground won that one.

-       Ravens over Pats

-       49ers over New York football Giants

-       Superbowl Sunday is going to have to change it’s title to Brodown Throwdown, Harbaugh V Harbaugh.

-       Boycott ESPN due to the fact that they supported the SOPA bill being proposed in congress.

-       Follow the fake Zach Porter on Twitter, it’s just Z bein Z