Wrestling invites all to come out

Are you up for a challenge? Then you should go out for Wrestling. Wrestling come-outs are on November 9 at 6 P.M in the gym. “There are no try-outs. No cuts. All may stay on the team as long as you practice and stay eligible,” said coach seven-year coach Steve Schmalzel. “We will attend seven tournaments this year. Not counting HDN, sections, and State.”

For come-outs, you will need a pair of tennis shoes or wrestling shoes, if you have them, and athletic clothes. And also a signed athletic contract and a physical.

Tyler R., a junior at Fortuna High, wrestles and plays on the varsity football team.

Modes Takes on the Amazonian Task of Making Money (and fails so far)

Modes isn’t shy of a challenge, and they’re proving that yet again. Amy Conley, the Modes teacher, has assigned a task that she hasn't done before. The class will be writing reviews on books of their choice and publishing them with the Amazon link. When a book that they have written about gets purchased, the class gets 15% of the purchase price as an Amazon credit to buy more books. Everything's running smoothly so far, except the class hasn't made any money. Yet.

But don't give up on hope, there's still plenty of time for the class to produce eye-catching reviews, and that's exactly what Conley expects to see. Posting these with the link supplies the class with money so they can purchase new books for the classroom. The lack of response isn't hindering the class in the slightest as they produce more well-written reviews on books that are well-loved. So why don't you take a look, you might find something you like.  

If Modes does earn Amazon credit, they will vote for which books to buy for the school library.

Melina, a junior, does the hokey pokey, but has yet to turn herself around.

Gogh big or Gogh home

Art teachers Daniel Holmes and Kirsten Escalante are teaming up and forming the perfect art duo in the new class being offered, The World of Art. The combination of art, ceramics, and photo allows student to get an overall understanding what it means to be an artist. New projects and higher expectations are aimed towards the class members, but they’re handling it with ease.

Inspired by real artists, the students are exceeding in this new class. Holmes is thrilled about the progress the group has made, “So far, so good. The students are finding things they enjoy that they wouldn't have discovered otherwise.” Things are going well even though some of the class members are hesitant to try new things.

However, Holmes and Escalante aren't giving up hope. So far the students have gone above and beyond. The class is accepting the new curriculum, and they are looking forward to future projects.

Melina, a junior, likes the show Supernatural.

Paulsen's The River takes readers on a coming-of-age journey

Gary Paulsen, a 1986, ‘88, and ‘90 John Newbery Medal award winner, with notable books such as the Hatchet series and Dogsong, grew up with a single mom. With  his dad being stationed in the Philippines during WW II, Paulson did not see his dad till the age of seven.When he got back to the states, he spent most of his time at his grandma's in minnesota; she was a major influence in his life.

Paulsen has many award-winning novels such as the Hatchet series and Dogsong. Dogsong being the best known book that Paulsen has written. Dogsong is a coming-of-age story of two teenage Inuits in the wilderness of  Upper Canada. Most of Paulsen's books are coming-of-age stories mostly in the wilderness.

We begin the story with a young Brian Robertson, only two years after his miraculous survival in the wooded lakes of canada for 54 days with no food and only a small hatchet to use a weapon and a gathering tool.The Canadian government wants him to go back to the woods with a psychologist named Derrick. Derrick choose the perfect lake, brought all the supplies, but when tragedy strikes and the unforeseen happens only Brian can save his and someone else’s life in the lakes and woods of Canada.

I would recommend the book to any young reader older than ten years old, I would also recommend for any age. This is a very good book in the Hatchet series. I would also recommend Hatchet the first book in the Hatchet series of books, This book will take the reader on a journey of spirituality, an uplifting ride, and of a teen becoming a man.  

Homecoming wrap-up!

Huskies sweep the nation this year! Freshmen took us to New Orleans, taking third place in the lip sync show. Sophomores, this year's first place winner in lip sync and the spirit stick, took us to New York City with a fantastic performance. Juniors took us down south to Los Angeles with second place in lip sync and in cheer! Our Seniors took first in cheer this year but last in lip sync when they took us all the way to Nashville! Great job on the performance guys!

Follow up on powderpuff: Juniors win this year with a last-minute touchdown made by Jenna Christensen! Congratulations to the juniors and the seniors on a nice game!

The Homecoming football game went fantastic as well. Huskie varsity team took the win with the score 34-14. The band put on a spectacular field show where they got in a giant F and played the song “Let it go” from the disney movie, Frozen. A little boy marched out with the marching band and even got to play with the marching band during the song with a current band student, me, Layla Dias.

Float follow up: Freshman-4th place. Seniors-3rd place. Juniors-2nd place. Sophomores-1st.

Homecoming king: Ryan Isaacs.

Homecoming Queen: Gillian Borges.

Congratulations to all the classes this year!  

Fortuna High Grad, Melissa Surber, Races to Success

Fortuna High Grad Races to Success

Melissa Surber is one of many Fortuna High graduates of 2013, after high school she went to College of the Redwoods, and attended some art classes as well as a French class. Melissa is on her way to becoming a professional motorcycle racer, she started at a young age, inspired by her dad, then as she got older she knew that was something she really wanted to do. At the beginning of this year Melissa started racing her dad’s Pro  Stock motorcycle to begin her training as a professional racer. One of Melissa’s best experiences was racing in Sonoma, July 28th-1st, she described it as “the most amazing experience." Melissa’s last two races for the season are in Las Vegas October 30 through November 1st and Pomona November 12th-15th.

Natalie N. enjoys her modes of writing class, hanging out with her friends, and going to the gym.

FHS Music hosts Haunted Halloween

Every two years the music students at Fortuna High go on a trip to LA to compete in The Heritage Music festival. While they are down there, they get to go to Disneyland, Medieval Times, etc. It is an amazing opportunity and trip for the music students. In order to pay for such an expensive trip, a lot of fundraising must be involved. One of the fundraisers is the annual Haunted House. If you are a music student, please get involved. If you are not a music student, come to the Haunted House for a scare!

Music Students in Haunted House: Time Change: Thurs Oct 29 - Dress Rehearsal at 6:00 pm, 140 Franklin Ave. Please come to this meeting with your costume (either with it on - or bring it with you) - if you plan to be in the Haunted House! Questions? See Ms. McClimon

The Haunted house will be Oct 30 and 31st (day of and day before Halloween), 140 Franklin Ave, 6:00-9:30 pm. Get ready to be frightened! $3.00 to get in.

Junior Layla enjoys chatting with senior Lupe during class.

Coraline provides a spooky look at courage

Children stories are loved by many, but Neil Gaiman can write a tale that's loved by all. Gaiman was born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England. He's written many stories throughout his life, such as the Sandman comics, Miraclemen, Good Omens, and many more. His first professional story was published in 1984 and his latest in 2013. However Coraline is the only book that was animated (2009). He's also contributed to the production of Princess Mononoke, Beowulf, and the series Neverwhere.

The list of books Gaiman has written is a long one, and Coraline isn't the only popular tale. The Graveyard series was published in 2008 and is yet another well-written tale by Gaiman. This eccentric tale stars Bod from when he was just a toddler to 15 years old. In between all of that we get 3D and dynamic characters, life lessons, and adventures of every sort.

Even though Coraline's intended audience is pre-teen, people of every age should read this book. It starts off with Coraline, a young girl, living a normal and boring life. However things don't stay this way for long. It starts off with a door, which is a normal enough object except it’s not normal in this case. Its locked and when opened there is nothing but a brick wall on the other side. Until one day and instead of a wall it’s another flat that appears to look exactly like her own. Same parents, same neighbors, same cat. Except the parents are everything she’s ever wanted them to be, the neighbors are magnificent, and the cat can talk. There is also something small that puts her off a bit, everyone in the different world has buttons for eyes. At first, Coraline couldn't be happier about her discovery, but as her excitement starts disappear so does the magic of the different world.

This book targets a young audience, so the serious tone came to a surprise to me. Gaiman takes silly things, like a mouse circus, and gives them an evil twist.  But this novel isn't all horror. There is a very good reason why this book is directed towards such a young audience. Every book is built off of something, an idea, and this book was built off of bravery. Coraline conquers dangerous foes and saves the day. Which offers a good description of what courage looks like.

Any child who doesn't get scared easily would love this book. Although this story could be advertised to any age group, it is most adored by pre-teens. However the fact that it’s a children's story shouldn't stop you from cracking this book open and taking a peek inside.

Junior Melina enjoys being awkward.

Stephen King's Pet Sematery still a classic

Stephen King is a prominent figure in the horror and fantasy genres, and is a New York Times’ bestselling novelist. Some of his most popular works include The Shining, Carrie, and IT, and many of these works have been adapted into movies. King was born in Portland, Maine on September 21, 1947. He studied at the University of Maine, and later became a teacher while he began to establish himself as a writer. He has sold more than 350 million copies of his books worldwide, and has had them adapted into many successful movies.

King’s first novel, Carrie, was released in 1973 and became a huge success one year after being published. The novel tells the story of a teenaged girl who gets revenge on her peers. Another well known novel that King released was The Shining which was adapted into a movie in 1980 that stars Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. In the novel the protagonist, Jack Torrance, and his family are trapped in a hotel that brings Jack to insanity from the dark past and isolated location of the hotel.

Pet Sematary begins with a family who moves to a house that is next to a highway frequented by speeding trucks. Louis Creed, the father and doctor, becomes good friends with his neighbor Jud Crandall and his wife. Jud takes Louis’ family on a hike to the town’s pet cemetery one day, which triggers bad memories and heated arguments between Louis and his wife, Rachel. After Louis has a traumatic experience with a patient in the hospital he begins to have nightmares about the cemetery. When his daughter’s favorite cat, Church, gets hit by a truck on the highway, Jud takes Louis to an ancient Micmac burial ground to bury him. The burial ground begins to bring horrors into his lives when they use the burial ground’s powers for the wrong reasons.

King uses a very consistent writing style that is present in all of his works. He describes the natural world in disturbing ways with things like “Dead fields under a November sky, scattered rose petals brown and turning up at the edges, empty pools scummed with algae, rot, decomposition, dust...” He also uses many existential themes in his books to add to the horror of what is already happening in the story and asks things like “...the most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity.” In Pet Sematary one major theme is the acceptance of death, especially in Louis’ daughter Ellie, “Death was a vague idea; the Pet Sematary was real. In the texture of those rude markers were truths which even a child’s hands could feel.”

Anyone who is a fan of horror novels should consider reading this book. The book is dark and disturbing and full of the topic of death if you’re into that. Anyone who is a fan of other Stephen King novels should definitely consider reading this book as well, because it is similar to his other books.

Senior Codi likes his cat and reading.

Cheerleading: Now Being Considered a Sport

Clint Duey, principal at Fortuna High School, had a few thoughts about the new cheerleading rule decided by the State Legislature. His opinion on cheerleading being named as a sport is that he is very supportive of it and he thinks that is gives cheerleading the governance it needs.

The cheerleaders at Fortuna High do not travel to competitions and haven’t for a few years now, but he would be supportive of that idea if it ever came up. Duey believes that it will resolve issues and give cheerleading the legitimacy it deserves.

He said that, “Fortuna High has always tried their hardest to classify cheerleading as a sport.” He also doesn’t think this new rule will cause any conflict, but it is going to take steps for people to see that it is considered a sport now, and provide clarification of it.

Senior Kendall A. enjoys reporting and reading.

King's Wolves of the Calla mashes gunslinging and sci-fi time travel

Stephen Edwin King was raised by his mother in Portland, Maine. He studied to be a teacher and ended up being a very successful writer.

King is an author of 54 outstanding novels, many of which are closely entwined with one another and more than a few have been adapted into movies and comic books(Carrie and Salem’s Lot). He has an extensive writing career with fiction and nonfiction. He has written several bestselling books Salem’s lot and Firestarter. The book we are going to talk about today, Wolves of the Calla, has a Bram Stoker Award and is the 5th book in the series.

I’m not sure if King knew what he was getting into when he started writing the first book in the Dark Tower series. Starting as a western and ending as a post-apocalyptic time traveling sci fi extravaganza, this entry of the series is brilliant. Midworld has seen its handful of bad days, but when the thiney started slowly creeping closer to the border towns, and the lobstrosities that inhabit it’s oceans start romping through the beaches, Mid World, and all words, need a savior of light. Roland and his Ka-Tet wake in an unknown world, to come across the town Calla Bryn Sturgis that has been raided by The Wolves every generation for half a pair of twins. The gunslingers boldly walk into the face of terror, with only what's on their back to their name. To save the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis is to save the dark tower, that will save humanity and the dimension that it lives in, time.

I loved the book. Granted it’s the least plot progressive book in the series. The entire story takes place in Calla Bryn Sturgis and the few doors to New York. Only two major characters are introduced, one being a man named Peer Callahan and another called Mia. I’m a little disappointed that half of the last two books have been storytelling(This one being the story of Peer Callahan, and the last one being the story of Roland and his Ka-Tet of young). They are good additions to the story nonetheless. It’s pretty easy to get lost at this point in the series; the last four books have been filled plenty with very interesting plot and amazing conspiracies.

I recommend this book to anybody looking for a good read. Mainly teens who love the intensity of a gunslinger and the fantasy of  time traveling. Start with the first book and you'll fall in love with it for a different reason you're in love with it when you start the 5th.

A senior, Caleb enjoys reading, and writing, and wondering about his future.

Pullman reads like Clockwork

Philip Pullman was born October 19, 1946 in Norwich, United Kingdom. He is a British writer. He is an author of several bestselling books. He is also a fiction type of writer. He was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. He is a very passionate believer in the democracy of reading. As an author, he does not think that the task of an author is to tell the readers what the books means. He says that, “the meaning of a story emerges in the meeting between the words on the page and the thoughts that are in the reader's mind as they progress through the book they are reading.”

Philip Pullman has written a ton of books since he became an author. Some examples of the books he has written are, The Ruby in the Smoke, The Tiger in the Well, The Firework-Maker's Daughter, and also The Broken Bridge. As you can see, he has written various types of books in his time. His genre of books that he seems to be most interested is fantasy. For the most part he is a fictional writer with his most notable book, His Dark Materials. The reading level that he suggested for his books is eight years old and up.

The book  Clockwork  compares the plot of the book to mechanical parks on clocks. This book is related to real life issues to parts on the clock, which actually makes a lot of sense when you read it. This is a very suspenseful book as you progress through it. Clockwork is about a master who puts a new part on the town clock every time someone learns and masters his skill. Then Fritz has written a novel and was presenting it, when all of a sudden, a figure pops out of nowhere and is weirdly similar to the character in his novel. The story just gets odder as the book goes on.

Philip Pullman's writing style is known as informal writing. In this book, he is very detailed about everything that has to do with the town clock and his novel. You would honestly learn quite a few things by reading this book. I think that readers like this book because for so little of pages there is a great storyline to it. Once you progress through this book, it pulls you in more and more, because it is suspenseful and you want to know what is going to happen next.

I think the kind of people this would attract would be teenagers. I think it would fit best with them because most teenagers don’t want to sit down and read a huge book. So since this book is so short and has a lot of detail along with a suspenseful story I think they would enjoy reading it.

Kendall, a senior, enjoys reading and writing.

Scif romance readers have found their Matched

Ally Condie is the author of the Matched Trilogy, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. She received a degree in English teaching from Brigham University and spent a number of years teaching high school English in Utah and in upstate New York.  Condie’s inspiration for writing this fiction dystopian romance novel came from traveling to many different places and experiencing new cultures and areas.

There are two other books in the trilogy, Crossed and Reached. Her most recent book is called Atlantia, published October 28, 2014. This book is about an underwater city which is served by citizens who are essentially sacrificed to work on land to support the city. All of Condie’s books look very interesting and all of the illustrations on the covers  really catch they eye.

Matched begins on Cassia Reyes’s seventeenth birthday as she rides a train to her Match Banquet. In the futuristic world she lives in, the government decides who you marry, who you love, where you work, and when you die. Leaders called officials are responsible for matching boys and girls to their perfect partners to ensure a happy marriage and a genetically well-based offspring. At the banquet each match receives a micro card containing information about his or her spouse.

Cassia has always trusted the society’s choices, now she is faced with the impossible decision between Xander and Ky. Cassia has to choose between the only life she has known and a  path no one dares to follow...between perfect and passion. “ I know which life is my real one now, no matter what happens. It’s the one with you”. Condie’s writing style is very suspenseful and romantic; it makes you never want to stop reading.

I would recommend this book for a teenage girl, this book tends to catch the eye of  mature teen girls. Matched provides an intense romantic journey that leaves you wondering and want to know more. The amount of suspense and romance really ties this book all together.

Junior Natalie enjoys bodybuilding and reading.

Strayed's Wild read captures readers

Cheryl Strayed, the author of the nonfiction book Wild, writes about everything she had been through and becoming a new person by walking the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed went to Syracuse University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English with a focus on fiction writing. Yet in 1991 a devastating event happened when her mom died of cancer at only 45. After her mother's death, Strayed went into immense depression. To cope, she slept around with men and shot heroin. After divorcing her husband, she decided to change her life so she walked the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Washington.

Along with Wild, Strayed has also wrote a collection of essays and two other books. Torch, a fiction novel about a family who is crushed by the unexpected loss of the mother, was her first novel published. Strayed also wrote Tiny Beautiful things, which is a compilation of her advice column she had years before.

Wild is an adventurous book that starts out with a lost lady seeking to find hope. As she walks the one thousand plus miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, she leaves the death of her mother, her divorce and her whole past behind in California. Strayed walks out a new person when she reaches the end of the trail in Washington.

Strayed’s exciting thrill of a journey leaves the reader excited, yet intrigued by her life. As she crosses rivers and streams, encounters animals big and small on this wild trip on foot, she builds new relationships and comes to peace with herself. Strayed is introduced to the struggles of backpacking and what not to pack. She escapes herself while finding a new self.

This book would be great for someone who likes self counselling. For someone who wants to change the way they live by themselves. Someone who doesn’t need the help of others to feel better. Honestly, anyone would like to read this book because it’s a really interesting and grabbing novel. It teaches you that you can overcome, that you don’t need anyone to help you besides yourself.

Molly enjoys FFA, reading, and her family.

Sachar has no plot Holes

Louis Sachar was born in New York on March 20, 1954. His dad worked in the Empire State building. After high school, he attended the University of California, where he graduated with a degree in Economics. Before he graduated, he took a class at the University that made him a teacher’s aid. This class alone inspired him to write books that were intended for children. After graduating college, he went on to go to law school. He then became a part time lawyer and wrote at the end of his nights on the side. He is now retired, living in Texas working on his writing full time.

Other than Holes, which is intended for 5th- 8th graders, Sachar has written mostly children’s books. These books are mostly for grades 3-5 and are comedic and humorous but also realistic fiction. These children books include: The Wayside Stories, Funny Mud, A Flying Birthday Cake, and also a Magic Crystal. Other than his children’s books, he has written a sequel to Holes and the Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake. All these books came throughout his long illustrious book writing career.

Holes is a fictional account of Stanley Yeltnats’ life. Sachar uses informal writing to draw attention from young adults. He does this by shortening his paragraph size and also using slang that us teenagers can relate with. “If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.” He uses these literary devices to explain Stanley’s situation and how he got to, and made it through, Camp Green Lake. It shows his friendships created, the harsh living conditions, and how he finally makes it out of that hell hole.

This book goes through a brief period in a young boy’s life. He is found guilty of a crime of wrong place, wrong time. He is then sent to Camp Green Lake as a punishment to where he faces cruel and harsh conditions and also very rough camp instructors. He befriends one of the other campmates, who is generally teased and disliked by the others. This relationship turns out to be very beneficial for the both of them as Stanley teaches Zero to read and write. Zero has an itch to get out of Camp Green Lake and Stanley is having a hard time in these harsh circumstances.

This book would appeal to anyone who has an interest in fictional stories. I would recommend it to any teachers because it is easier for us to relate to it as Stanley is also a teenager. This book takes you on an adventure with lots of mishaps and wrong turns. I’m sure that anyone that reads this will be very interested and wouldn’t want to put it down because they would have to know what comes next. A surprise around every corner!

Tristan, a senior, enjoys basketball and time with friends.

Riordan's Lightning Thief steals your hours

Rick Riordan is the author who wrote the adventurous, action-packed series of “Percy Jackson & the Olympians.” His books have been New York Times #1 best-selling series, and he was a middle school history/English teacher for 15 years. Riordan taught at both private and public schools in Texas and the San Francisco Bay Area. He lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Becky Riordan, and their two sons, Patrick and Haley Riordan.

“Percy Jackson & the Olympians” isn’t the only mythologic, modern-day fantasy series Riordan has written, and it will certainly not be the last, but he hasn’t always written fiction. Before, he wrote the adult mystery series “Tres Navarre,” containing seven books about a fast-paced crime story with a talented and flawed hero, Jackson "Tres" Navarre, a 3rd generation Texan. He’s also written “The Kane Chronicles,” a Egyptian-mythology-based series about sibling magicians, Carter and Sadie Kane saving the world. Riordan also just began a series connected to the Percy Jackson series, focusing on Annabeth Chase’s, (a Greek demigoddess and close friend to Percy,) cousin and Norse demigod Magnus Chase. He named this series “Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard,” which has many similarities to Percy Jackson’s story.

Riordan mixes the present with the past in the very first installment of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, The Lightning Thief. Our protagonist, Percy Jackson, is a “troubled” kid who has been to six schools in the past six years. He lives in upstate New York, where his story begins. After troubling events and the lost mother, he finds that a certain god has had something stolen from him and the prime suspect is none other than Percy. So, Percy’s mentor sends him on a quest with dangers around every corner, and Percy, along with his friends Annabeth and Grover, set out to find the real thief and clear Percy’s name. They’ll meet new people, anger some gods, make some new enemies, and save the day. But, a greater evil is rising and the thief isn’t their biggest problem.

Riordan’s writing style is simple and easy to understand, since his books are intended for a younger audience. He adds humor with sarcasm, which is expected since he is writing from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy. But, his books do have a darker tone to them, especially as he continues writing Percy’s story down. An example of Riordan’s writing style would be when they were at the entrance to the Underworld, “‘How did you die?’ ‘We er….drowned in a bathtub.’ ‘All three of you?’ ‘It was a big bathtub.’”.

The intended audience, as stated previously, would certainly be a younger age group. But, it is a series you can grow up reading as you get older. Though, it does have some violence, like when a hellhound clawed up Percy, if you enjoy fiction, adventure, action, and/or mythology, then you will most likely enjoy Percy’s journey in Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief.

Catrina enjoys reading, writing  about television, and being awesome.

Take advantage of college visits to FHS

Are you interested in college? Do you have questions about college? Look no further because Fortuna High has several great colleges visiting to speak and answer all your questions throughout the year. Colleges include OIT, UC Davis, Humboldt State, and Sonoma State.

Karla Austin, counselor at FUHS, explained the difficulties of being a small school and the importance of these schools coming to talk with the students.

“I wish more reps would come to our school, we’re a small school in the middle of nowhere...We don’t get the luxury of the large So-Cal schools,” Austin explained.

The difficulty is multiplied when the large and popular colleges, don’t even need representatives. Austin explained to me that schools like Cal Poly and University of Washington don’t send reps because the turnout isn’t worth it. In all reality, Austin explained as well, kids need to be exposed. Interacting with a rep and being exposed can drastically make a difference in a kids choices as to where they want to get their formal education.

Austin wishes more unique schools would come up to the coast and talk to kids about a future with their school. She emphasized Cal Maritime, a school where you live and learn on the sea. A lot of you living in the north coast region probably know someone who would be interested.

I encourage anyone at FUHS who wants to talk to one of these reps. Talk to your counselor about it. It could change your life!

Caleb loves fiction and fun. Modes of Writing is a very enjoyable class.

New Theater Class at Fortuna High is full of drama

One of the newest courses being offered at Fortuna High this year is the theater class. Jared Ourique, the teacher of the new course, reported that there are thirty-four students enrolled in the class this year, which is a fairly large number of students. When asked how he managed to get the class to happen, Ourique said that he just asked students if they would be interested in taking the course and enough of them were interested.

Ourique explained that his love for theater came from his old classes in theater when he was in high school. He said that “Theater made me what I am,” and that it gave him the confidence to speak in front of others along with the friends he found there.

The class started off with improv in the beginning of the year, and they are currently researching different styles of theater. Ourique hopes to eventually have the class writing their own scripts, doing improv skits, and having performances open to the public. The place where class takes location is very fluid as well, as the class moves from C 4-5, the theater, and Ourique's normal classroom depending on what the class needs for that day.

Codi Oswald is a senior at Fortuna High in the Modes of Writing class. He is part of the Fortuna High Marching Band.

Modes of Writing students write Internet content

In Amy Conley’s room in CA-8, 2nd period is the Modes of Writing class that teaches kids how to write correct internet content. When she first wrote up the class, she was excited, but as she got to teach the class, she came to love allowing her students to choose what they read and write about. “Any topic can be academic,” Conley had said in an interview,”if you go deeper into it.”

Conley believes that the Modes class students do well and that they also end up reading and writing every day. Layla D., a student in the Modes class, talks about how it’s not like other English classes because it focuses more on reading and writing which are her passions.  She likes the teacher because she says she is a bit awkward, is really nerdy, and nurturing towards her students.

Some difficulties some students face in the Modes of Writing class are the assignments. They write articles, they have blog assignments, and learn about the different writing styles and genres of literature. Melina C. had said “a lot is always going on so it feels like a bunch of classes mixed together.”

After taking a poll in class, 16 students out of 21 said that they would not switch out of the Modes class. Some because they need the English credit, some because they enjoy Conley’s Modes of Writing class.

Catrina R. enjoys Modes of Writing.

Wanna Slytherin to Dumbledore’s Army?

The geeks of Fortuna High can rejoice, Dumbledore’s Army is back! They had the first meeting, where people were sorted, on September 22. You have two options for being sorted into your house or the online quiz or the sorting hat, which is random. New Slytherin members like Catrina R. and Anna S. are looking forward to many things this year, like the Halloween feast, the house meetings, and Quidditch. They joined because of their love of Harry Potter, like most of the members.  

Reva H. joined last year for the same reason and is now the Head of Slytherin house. Like Anna and Catrina, Reva is excited for Quidditch and the Halloween feast. As well as the movie night on November 12, which is one of the ways the club is funded. Reva sums up the club in four simple words, “Harry Potter is life.”

Melina C. enjoys Modes of Writing and also joined Dumbledore’s Army.