Thursday, December 20, 2018

CALCULATING CHRISTMAS


By JESSE BARRINGER

As the sky grows dim, and eyes shrink shut, the clouds tear away at the atmosphere and snow drifts across the moonlit sky. Billions of children and adults across the globe settle in for an anxious Christmas Eve rest. 

JESSE BARRINGER FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
As the cold air breathes, and the flaking snow piles upon the ground, millions of children around the world lay dreaming of the gifts and goodies that sit in Santa’s satchel. The night passes over as quickly as it grows in, and the morning sun rises up on the white horizon, glistening upon the twinkling snow. The sun crawls up and cracks through the windows of children’s bedrooms all over the world. Eyes blast open all across the globe, feet pound down the stairs in every country, and smiles gleam upon the faces of every boy and girl’s house on the planet. All of their gifts are delivered in tact, on time, and from yours truly...Santa Claus.

Only, how is this particular scenario a possible one? How is the perception of a certain festive individual delivering multiple gifts to every good girl and boy that celebrates Christmas, a plausible and factual one from so many individuals across the globe? That, is exactly what we’re going to figure out.

The most doubtful part of the Christmas Eve Journey is, in fact, the destination. The end result. Every girl and boy on earth getting a Christmas present from Santa. If you can prove the possibility of that happening, you can prove the possibility of the big red man himself. 

In order to corroborate the legend of the jolly old Saint Nick and his Christmas Eve duties, we’re going to have to make a few assumptions, and do a little math.  To do that, we need to answer a few statistical questions.

How many houses need to be delivered to on Christmas Eve?Many people believe that Santa, quite literally, needs to stop by every single household on our blue and green faced planet to deliver presents. In reality, not every household on our blue and green faced planet celebrates Christmas. According to research done by Buzzfeed Video, only about 132 million homes on Earth celebrate Christmas.  That’s still a lot, though, so let’s keep going.

How much time does Santa Claus actually have to do it?  As most people know, our planet runs on multiple time zones. Meaning, we don’t all get up at the same time in the morning, or go to bed the same time at night. You’d think this would put the big S at a disadvantage, when it actually gives him more time than we realize. A “physicist in the Geography department at the university of Exeter” calculated in an article written by EurekAlert.com, that “Santa and his reindeer would have to travel at about 10 million kilometers per hour to deliver presents to every child expected to celebrate Christmas in 31 hours (taking into account world time zones).” That gives Santa seven more hours than we are given on our 24 hour daily basis. This also means that the little Saint Nick would need to deliver to 1,178 houses a second according to Buzzfeed Video. That's less than “a fraction (1/1,000) of a millisecond to climb down the chimney, fill the stockings, eat the cookies, and climb back up.” You’d think doing this for millions of kids house after house would get deathly tiring to say the least. This leads me into my next question. 

How far, how many, and how so?  Kind of a vague question, but there’s a lot to answer. The geographical journey comes to a whopping “175 million zig zag miles." This means he’d have to travel at a speed of around 7,800 times the speed of sound. As stated earlier from information provided by Buzzfeed Video, there are 132 million homes to deliver to on Christmas Eve. There are just about “700 million” (EurekAlert.com), Christian children under the age of 14 who celebrate Christmas and expect presents from Santa every year. Keep in mind, a fraction of those kids are likely on the naughty list and, therefore, do not receive gifts from Santa, unless you count lumps of coal.  So, “assuming every good kid get’s a toy weighing two pounds, Santa’s sleigh would weigh over 660 million pounds” (Buzzfeed Video).  

This presents the question, how is it so that these millions of pounds are carried on the back of an old, out of shape man, across the entire planet?  A theory presented by Buzzfeed Video suggests this could be possible with “a nano toy maker." The way it works is “similar to DNA that grows organs cell by cell, Santa’s nano toy maker could transform chimney soot and other carbons, into gifts." After all of these questions, there’s really only one that matters.

So, how is all of this possible?  You could sit here all day with fact after fact and question after question laid out and answered for you.  A carefully crafted calculated answer might satisfy that particular mystery, but it will only raise more red flags, followed by more curious questions. To answer how anything is possible is, yet, just another explanation to justify something’s own existence.  At a certain point, you have to take a stand.  You have to make a decision. 

So I ask you, after all the facts and numbers have been presented, can one man achieve the seemingly impossible task of getting gifts to millions in one night? The choice is yours.

BOWS BEYOND THE NATION


By GIANNA DUGAN

Kaitlyn (right) is all smiles before competition.
Kaitlyn Heins, a sophomore at Washingtonville High School, takes her cheerleading skills to an entirely different level at Star Athletics Cheer and Tumbling in Boonton, New Jersey. For the 2019 season of all-star competitive cheerleading, Kaitlyn will be traveling around the country competing to win titles with her team. 


Most known for achieving a spot on the WHS varsity cheerleading team in her freshman year of high school,  which is not an easy accomplishment, Kaitlyn has had a passion for the sport since the second grade. Upon joining the Washingtonville Youth Football and Cheerleading Organization, Kaitlyn quickly moved on to competitive cheer in 2011, and ended up at Start Athletics in May of 2015, the organization she actively competes with now. 

This 2019 competition season will be her first on Star Athletics’ Senior Gold Team, the gym's medium senior level 3 team. Each team is decided in a tryout process in which the coaches act as judges and place each cheerleader on the team that best matches their skill level. The cheerleaders are judged on jumps, stunts, tumbling, and dance.

Heins loves almost everything about the sport. Heins explained, “[Her] favorite part of all star cheerleading is traveling all over the country. During high school cheerleading [there is not] as much of an opportunity to travel places outside New York, or even Orange County.” Competing has taken her to places as far as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Orlando, Florida, and Anaheim, California.

Students practice tirelessly in order to pull off stunts like the one seen above.//PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCINE GALYAS
Practicing 2-3 days a week for three hours each practice, Kaitlyn and her team have been working energetically, anticipating their first competition of the season.  This will take place on January 12th-13th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Knowing Kaitlyn for approximately four years now, Star Athletics’ Coach Lauren Okaly lovingly expressed, “Kaitlyn has developed into a mature and determined athlete. She is an amazing leader and can often be found inspiring or helping her teammates.”

Star Athletics’ “Senior Gold” team is walking onto the mat this season with hopes of winning a bid to Summit, a national championship held in Orlando, Florida each year. Having achieved the title of Summit Champions last season, Kaitlyn and her teammates believe they have a good chance at winning once again this year. The team refuses to stop striving for greatness and will continue to work for this honorary award. 

A GREAT START TO A GREAT SEASON


By AMANDA FOWLER

Anyone who appreciates Section 9 sports, or sports in general, most likely knows of the Washingtonville boys' basketball team. This is probably due to the fact that in their first five games of the season, the team has secured an overall record of 5-0, a league record of 2-0, and a state rank of 22.  They are truly off to an admirable start and Wizard Nation can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store.

The boys are off to a great start this season.//AMANDA FOWLER FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
In the 2017-18 season, the boys were 12-9 overall and 6-2 in their league. According to Dillon Sullivan, a senior on the team, what makes this season different than previous ones is that, “everyone sees the potential we have and doesn’t want it to just remain potential."  Sullivan went on to explain that,  "everyone wants to win more than anything and we all hold each other accountable to make sure that happens. Everyone buys into the common goal of winning and the game just sorts itself out from there.”

Thus far, the team has played New Paltz, Red Hook, Monroe Woodbury, and Valley Central this season. One of the most crucial wins so far was against New Paltz, giving them a boost of confidence.  The reason this was such an impressive win  is the fact that New Paltz is the defending Class A Champion from the 2017-18 season.  

The boys played well the entire game. The final score of the game was 60-55. The top scorers for the Wizards were Kareem Lubin, a senior who had 14 points 8 rebounds, Ryan Graham, a junior with 14 points 4 assists 4 rebounds, and Romeo Aquino, a junior who put up 10 points and had 13 rebounds.  When asked of his mindset going into his first varsity season, Romeo Aquino stated “... my mindset is to do everything I can to help my team win a section 9 chip.”

Most athletes know that the off season is a time to rest, develop, improve and focus on skills that will help in the regular season. For the Wizards, this meant working harder than the competition. “In the off season, we played in the Orange County summer league and fall league, winning the fall league championship,” Dillon Sullivan informed.

Playing together before the regular season not only improved their skill but it also improved their chemistry as well. “The team chemistry is great and getting better everyday; it helps us on the court because we know what everyone will most likely do," Romeo Aquino informed.

What keeps them at their best, as for almost all athletes, is practice. Practicing everyday of the school week is what keeps them in shape both mentally and physically. However, their practices do not only consist of basketball; the team also does yoga at least once a week. When asked about the benefits of yoga Dillon Sullivan responded, “... trying new stretches teaches us to push through adversity. Like Mrs. Cooney says: ‘mind over matter.’”

The 2018-19 boys basketball team is the first team in Washingtonville boys' basketball history to have a start of 5-0. The team shows great promise and hopefully they will continue their success throughout the rest of the season.  For more information on Washingtonville sports, follow @wizardnationwhs on Twitter. 

TRADITIONS THROUGHOUT THE TOWN


By ALEX THEOFANIDES 

The 'Elf on a Shelf '//ALEX THEOFANIDES FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
With the holidays coming and going, people have traditions that they practice throughout the month of December. Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holidays, have been fostering different traditions for centuries. Some may not even know that their family’s traditions stem back hundreds of years ago. Family and friends come together to share special moments with each other and those moments are passed down from generation to generation. Some have continued to this day while others, unfortunately, have slowly died out. Whether a tradition is celebrated in thousands of homes or just in one, that tradition had to begin somewhere.

Traditions could have been originated from one's heritage or they may have been created to entertain children. An example of something produced for the purpose of fascinating children is the 'Elf On a Shelf.' This mischievous elf was officially created back in 2005 when Carol Aebersold wrote the Elf On a Shelf for her daughter, eventually catching the eye of many parents. According to the story, the little elf is sent from the North Pole to see whether kids are being naughty or nice. The elf then reports back to Santa every night. Each morning, children wake to find their little friend in a different location.

Abersold's idea was genius and the tradition skyrocketed across the nation making The Elf on a Shelf one of the most sought after traditions in a long time. Toy stores across North America were stocking their shelves with different versions of Elf On a Shelf. “My kids love Elf On a Shelf. He’s always in a different spot every day and even sometimes my husband will hide it, so I can go looking for him with them. I think anyone can really enjoy it,” Kerin Leival, a Washingtonville resident expressed with a smile on her face.

Religious traditions are equally important to many families. Joe Isseks, a senior at Washingtonville High, shares one tradition he and his family have done every year duringHanukkah. “Every year, for Hanukkah, my family and I get to together with some friends that belong to my temple and we open gifts, light the candles, play games and have dinner together. It’s a fun tradition that I look forward to every year around this time.” Many can relate to having a tradition for their individual family.

Overall, people can certainly appreciate the traditions they share with their families. Whether that means moving an elf around the house or having a big family dinner on a night of Hanukkah, they are something families look forward to each year. When families share these special moments this holiday season, they should also think of how their traditions came to be and how they will live on for many years to come.

MINIATURE OLYMPICS


By JEWEL CALABRO

Gym class.  One might either be groaning or cheering at these words in a heartbeat.  No matter the response, everyone has to take the Physical Fitness Challenge at the end of each semester at Washingtonville High School.  This challenge tests the physical abilities of our Wizards with an overall average score combined from different strenuous events.

Thomas Garrison running in the pacer test.//JEWEL CALABRO FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
There are several different events that factor into a student's score.  Each of these events test a different skill: strength, agility, endurance, and flexibility.  First up is the pacer test.  Students line up on one side of the gym waiting for the bell.  Once it rings, the students jog across 20 meters to the other line and wait for another bell.  This can go on for quite awhile.  The time between each bell ring decreases each level (one level is about 5 to 10 bells).  This would give less and less time to run across the gym.   The challenge is that you must keep up with the bells.  If a students is unable to make it to the other side at/or before the bell rings two times in a row, they are eliminated.  

On December 17th during his third period Physical Education class, Thomas Garrison beat the school’s record for the pacer test.  The original record was 165.  He bumped this up to 171, raising the bar even higher for future Wizards.

The second event is the broad jump.  This is measured in inches, all the way up to 125 inches (about 10ft).  Students  must stand with their toes on the line and with their feet together.  Then they can use their arms for extra momentum as they jump across, keeping their feet glued together.  This is rather difficult since they must keep their feet together throughout the entire jump.  

One Washingtonville student made the broad jump look as easy as brushing one's  teeth.  Brendyn Marrero held the school record at 123 inches as of last year.  This year, he bumped up his own record to 125 inches, jumping the entire way of longest measurement mat the school has.

There are still plenty of events going on throughout the week where alumni, or current students, still hold the current record.  Deadlifts, sit and reach, shuttle run, sit ups, and push-ups, are just some of the arduous events students will be competing in.  By the end of the marking period, the high school will discover all the girls and boys for each grade that have won the Physical Fitness Challenge.  Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

WIZARDS IN THE FOOD PANTRY


By GEORGE LANZOT III

In the town of Washingtonville, many volunteers go to the local food pantry to donate time to the less fortunate. 

Volunteers  have a job to do as they travel across a series of tables.  In the hands of the participants will be bags and carts constantly moving around in the building collecting food to be delivered. At the end of the day, all the work  is loaded into cars along with a positive vibe and customers' satisfaction. 

St. Mary's Church//George Lanzot For The WIZARD WEEKLY

Helping the unfortunate requires no trophy or praise, but it gives a people the feeling that they are doing the right thing. The volunteer may not experience life the same as the empty handed, however, they can still find some way to help. Volunteers learn traits or ways of life from a different angle as they see the appreciation on the faces of those they are helping.  People who are distressed only require simple needs in order to have their hearts touched.  It helps make them think of the spirit of life.  Despite their challenges, the people usually always express their love for one another and seem to persevere on faith to continue the the rocky road of life. 

The Food Pantry is open every first Friday and third Wednesday of every month located at the Little Lambs building.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP


By ALEX THEOFANIDES 

ALEX THEOFANIDES FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
Over time, music has changed drastically. From the days of Queen and Led Zeppelin, to Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran, music has definitely changed in style, but it’s effect on people certainly has not.  One can learn a great deal about people by asking them what their favorite type of music is. From classical opera, to rock and roll and even pop, music definitely has a drastic influence on people today as well as in the past. A small town like Washingtonville could have millions of artists and bands playing in the ears of its residents. 

While it is true that music has changed noticeably, it has not necessarily gotten better or worse, and with 2018 slowly coming to a close, there is a serious need to take a look into the minds of listeners.  To do so, a well known app called Spotify  researched what people were listening to this year and analyzed how it compered to what older generation listened to in the past.

This year, Spotify, who boasts a whopping 191 million listeners, brought back its annual review known as Spotify Wrapped which shows the various songs, genres and artists most listened to by, not only specific listeners, but the whole Spotify population. According to this well known app, along with Vox Magazine, this year's most listened to artists were Drake, Post Malone, XXXtentacion, Ed Sheeran and J. Balvin.  While many people may have heard of these artists, Washingtonville student Nicole Younger begs to differ. “I have listened to some of them before but they are definitely not my most listened to artists and I don’t even know who J. Balvin is, so I’m confused as to why he’s a top artist.” 

Spotify is an excellent app for music lovers.
The shift from Jazz, and Rock 'n Roll to the age of pop, R&B, and rap is intimidating. Many would even argue that as music has aged, it has gotten worse. “I think music is much more repetitive and you just hear the same things over and over again. There are a few artist now a days that are really trying to be original,”  said Elizabeth Stremochow.  Opinions are usually strong when it comes to music so it is difficult for people to get on board with some of today’s top hits, especially for people who are set in their ways. 

Music is always changing and evolving, even if  the effects do not.  Though everyone has clear feelings towards certain music genres, listeners should, on some level, try to appreciate new and old music and accept that we are in a  society that is constantly changing. 

HARD HATS OR GRADUATION CAPS?


By JESSE BARRINGER

Eight hundred and forty days. One hundred and twenty weeks. Eight semesters spread out across four years. 138,960 dollars. That is how much the average student spends, in both time and money, earning a degree at a four year university.

Since its debut with the first American college in 1636, universities and colleges have acquired the reputation of being considered ‘the thing to do’ upon graduating high school. At the beginning of 2018 the National Center for Education Statistics claimed that, “the number of students projected to attend American colleges and universities in the fall of 2018 is 19.9 million” students. In addition, a 2016 statistic from The United States Department of Labor shows that “69.7 percent of 2016's high school graduates enrolled in college.”  69.7 percent of college attendees will go on to make an average of $65,000 a year, according to an article from United States Education News.

JESSE BARRINGER FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

What about the other 30.3 percent of high school post graduates? What happens to them? Are they homeless? Unemployed? Still alive? You might be surprised to know that the 30.3 percent who decided not to go to college are, in some cases, doing even better than the 69.7 percent that did. How is that possible, though? Well, for starters, those 30.3 percent don’t owe $37,172 in student loans after college. They also have about 13 million good paying jobs waiting out there for them that don’t require a four year college diploma. Once again, in an article from the United States Education News, it is stated by researches that the definition of these ‘good paying’ jobs translates to about $35,000 to $56,000 a year. This is a pretty high indicator that these anti-college graduates are not, in fact, living in the dumpsters.

What the article, entitled 3 Million Good Jobs Available for Those With High School Diplomas, does not say about these high school graduates is that there is actually a really high demand for jobs in the trade business that sometimes pay more than what college graduates are obtaining. Most of these employment opportunities do not even require trade school experience. For example, an owner or executive of an average American landscaping business acquires about $89,180 per year in total salary. The pay can be even higher for those who do decide to attend a trade school for two years.

There are many people who feel as though students do not need to attend college to become successful contributing members of society. In fact, one of Washingtonville High School's teachers, Mrs. Hartford, who teaches Marketing/ Career and Finance, shared a little bit of her own perspective on the matter.  She expressed that she believes, "parents push a lot of kids into areas they want to see them in.  For example, a doctor or a lawyer; they think that’s the only way they can make some money.” This notion is actually not true. Professions other than these are quite lucrative as well.  Mrs. Hartford went on to say that “plumbers charge $200 - $300 an hour sometimes because, again, they're the only people out there to do those jobs."  This couldn't be more accurate.  

With so many jobs available out there for students with no more education than a high school diploma, it begs the question, does everyone need to attend college to be considered successful in the workforce?  You be the judge.

A GIFT FOR EVERY TREE


By GIANNA DUGAN

Santa Claus has found himself with a heavy load this year, making sure everyone wakes up Christmas morning with a smile on their face. As the sounds of reindeer bells grow nearer and Old Saint Nick rushes to meet his deadline, the students and teachers at Washingtonville High School are joining efforts to make sure Santa gets to every family this Christmas. 

Adopt-A-Family Gift//GIANNA DUGAN FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
On Thursday, December 6th, a handful of students from Washingtonville High School gathered at the entrance of Target waiting to be instructed by Ms. Angelillo and Ms. Polo about how to light up someone’s holiday season. After separating the students into groups, the two Student Coalition advisors then randomly assigned the five families that were adopted by the school club to each group. To aid in the search for the perfect Christmas gifts, a wishlist from each family member was provided, including their wants, needs, age, gender, and size in clothing. 

The team of Santa’s helpers roamed around Target, striving to meet each family member’s needs and wants, while still remaining within each recipient’s $130 limit. Once everyone successfully filled up their carts, they returned to the school to wrap the gifts and eat pizza. The Student Coalition Club provided a generous $1500 budget for gifts this year. This money came from their school store profit, concession stand earnings, and all other fundraising money that was earned throughout the year. The power of fundraising is truly remarkable at times. Ms. Angelillo, being a part of the program for six years now,  proudly stated, “One year, [Student Coalition] was able to buy a child a bicycle!” 

JEWEL CALABRO FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
Each year, Student Coalition works with the Orange County Youth Bureau’s “Adopt a Family for the Holidays” program which is a county-wide effort to bring happiness during the holidays to families that cannot afford gifts. School social workers and social service agencies find and contact families that could use the program’s help, assigning families randomly and confidentially to anyone willing to help. Mr. Saladino and Ms. O’Sullivan, the high school’s social workers, have played a big role in getting the word out about this program. Countless clubs and individuals have been able to adopt families over the years because of Mr. Saladino and Ms. O’Sullivan’s hard work running the program to be successful and coordinating each aspect of the process. 

After all the hard work and selfless efforts from the community, in the end, Ms. O’Sullivan feels the best part “... is [the] real sense of relief when they find out that their kids will be able to have a nice Christmas… [and the] feeling when the gifts have all been delivered.  There is a huge sense of accomplishment.” 

No one wants to wake up on Christmas morning to nothing but dust bunnies under their Christmas tree, and no one should have to! Santa could always use the help and what’s not to love about making others happy during the holidays?

NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNING


By AMANDA FOWLER

With a mixture of creative writing and captivating artwork, the Literary Magazine represents Washingtonville High School in the most unique way. The magazine takes poems, short stories, essays, book reviews, along with various art pieces from around the high school, and compiles them into one exclusive literary piece. The club is run by Ms. Bac and Ms. Diamond, two driven English teachers at Washingtonville High School. 

Members of the Literary Magazine Club//AMANDA FOWLER FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
Ms. Bac and Ms. Diamond both began advising the club this year due to the retirement of the previous advisor, Mrs. Martinson, who ran the club for over a decade.  Ms. Bac teaches Creative Writing which is one of the many reasons she decided to become an advisor. “Literary magazine is a nice extension to the creative writing class; a lot of those kids would like to be published one day. Hopefully, in the future, students can submit their writings to different, bigger publications. The best part of writing is to eventually be published.” 

The Literary Magazine is definitely one of the more under appreciated clubs at WHS.  What many people might not know is that the magazine is actually an award winning publication. The extraordinary thing about this is the fact that the club is mostly controlled entirely by the students. The members of the club read and choose which pieces are put into the magazine.  They also determine who will be in charge by voting for their officers. 

This year, the club’s goal is to publish the magazine by spring of 2019. The theme is New Beginnings, which is why they made the decision to release it in 2019.  Will Besterman, president of The Literary Magazine Club, expressed that the theme for this year represents how they felt at the first meeting.  “...We came in and it was very new; a lot of us didn’t know that we were going to be coming back.  We had new advisors, and we also had new members. So, it was like we had a fresh start, a new beginning.”

The artwork that is included in the magazine could potentially change a budding photographer’s  life. Our generation, as a whole, has trouble putting our emotions into words. For this reason, many people use art as a way to communicate. Expressing oneself, no matter what the platform, is extremely paramount. Even if writing and drawing isn’t in a student’s repertoire, reading and analyzing it might be. Literary pieces, in general, are a great way to enhance a student’s reading, writing, and comprehension skills. 

Be sure to look for the Literary Magazine’s release during the Spring of 2019.  They will be sold in lunches and at the school store. If interested in joining the club, members meet every Tuesdays in room 132.  See Ms. Bac or Ms. Diamond for any further information.  


WHAT SMASH BROS MEANS TO WHS


By GEORGE LANZOT

There is a game that connects to many people in the esports community. A popular game that everyone should recognize is Super Smash Bros. Yes, call it a party game or a 2D platform fighter, as if that’s not a controversial argument itself.  Either way, the game has been nostalgic and enjoyable ever since gamers first touched Melee. 

The enjoyment of using popular Nintendo characters to beat the crap out of one’s friends somehow became extremely entertaining for people.  Although Smash 64 was the early start of the successful series, everyone has a Smash Bros game that is special to them, including Brawl which is considered the worst one to fans who play competitively.  Since the release of the New Smash Bros game, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, the game has been impacting students of Washingtonville High School.

As previously stated, many people enjoy picking up a character and smashing their opponents off the stage.  Of course, the classic Mario Bros characters are in three different Link’s from their popular franchise including redesigns for Zelda herself and Ganondorf. For the 100th time, the green caped hero is NOT Zelda. It’s Link. and many other characters not from Nintendo! Cloud representing an extremely popular game called Final Fantasy VII and representing the Final Fantasy franchise itself, Ryu and Megaman owned by Capcom and respectively from Street fighter and the Megaman franchise, Snake from Metal Gear and many more third party characters.  

People often pick up this game due to characters they recognize, often being their main (Main=most preferred character to use). This often brings people to play against each other, proving that their character is better than others despite the tier list. Players can do 1v1’s, free for all, team battles, and many other activities in the game itself. 

Of course, the competitive scene is huge in the Smash Bros community. Melee is the most popular smash game and is still going strong. Usually, the competitive scene shows the abilities of each character without the help of items or smash meter, just one against the other with no stage hazards or normal stages with a moving platform here or there. True skill comes into play which help players to be the best and have fun competing. Not only that, but this creates friendships with other players and friendly rivalries, too! New combos, techniques, and strategies are created and learned by others because people train hard and work with others to succeed similar to classes, sports, and other activities humanity does. 

The Esports club does have a Smash team and one of the athlete's on the team was the best on the East Coast! Since Ultimate is the new chapter of the Smash Bros series and community, the game will definitely help add new members to the team.  Hopefully, it will help the Esports club grow, and, of course, allow members to meet new people.  Join the excited, heart pumping, and friendly community of Smash Bros and welcome Washingtonville in warm arms.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

YOU’RE A MEAN ONE, MR. GRINCH


By BROOKE HARTLEY

A rare sighting of the one and only most infamous of holiday characters who has stolen Christmas has been spotted in the serene little town of Washingtonville: The Grinch.  This holiday grouch  has been the most recent buzzfeed as of late because of the mischief he has caused in our town. 

BROOKE HARTLEY FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a film about a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss in 1955.  Although it is about a mean old grinch, it is still a heartwarming film that changes people’s outlook on Christmas forever.  This hairy, pot-bellied, pear-shaped, snub-nosed creature with a cat-like face and cynical personality is known for hating Christmas and trying his best to steal Christmas joy  away from the citizens of Whoville.

The Grinch has been seen all over the town of Washingtovville wreaking havoc wherever he goes.  According to the Hudson Valley Country Website, “The Washingtonville Community Events page has been following the story for the last few days and have posted a video of the Christmas gift stealing Grinch creating havoc on town streets…”

Folks in Washingtonville, such as the police, have asked everyone in the community to report any suspicious activities and sightings of said Grinch if they come into contact with him.  The Washingtonville Police Department has even gone so far as to send out requests to citizens warning them “that if you come across this ‘green thing’, do not attempt to apprehend on your own as it is rumored that he could be dangerous.”

Come one Who, come all Who’s. On December 1st, Betty’s Country Kitchen hosted a “Breakfast With The Grinch” to kick off the holiday season. This $18 all you can eat buffet included a photo with the hag himself, Mr. Grinch.  Although he was taking pictures with children and appeared to be good natured and full of holiday cheer, the Grinch was surely plotting ways to make everyone miserable come Christmas day.

The Grinch also made an appearance at parent teacher conferences to “welcome” all of the parents. The Grinch was spotted by Mrs. Connolly, an English teacher at WHS.  “He walked into my room, threw markers all over and ran out.  I was not amused,” she reported rolling her eyes.

While the Grinch is notoriously evil, he is actually not here to cause harm or foul. His true intentions are to spread the Christmas cheer. He is making children all over Washingtonville outrageously excited to spend a day with the man himself.