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.

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.

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.