Several exciting new comic book movies and crossover events will be occurring in 2015.
Unfortunately, no new DC movies will be released this year; fans will have to wait until 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice to see both the eponymous characters and other superheroes like Wonder Woman and Aquaman on the big screen. Marvel, however, will be releasing two new movies: Avengers: Age of Ultron in May and Ant-Man in July. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Speedster Quicksilver and probability manipulator Scarlet Witch will be joining the Avengers to confront the eponymous evil robot in the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster. Not much has been revealed about Ant-Man; however, it will involve both a con man named Scott Lang and a scientist called Henry Pym as they use a suit that gives people the power to change size to save the world. Henry Pym built Ultron in the comics, so there will probably be a lot of connections between the two movies.
Both Marvel and DC have a variety of crossover events planned for 2015. DC’s Future’s End and the critically acclaimed Multiversity will both end in early 2015. They will be followed by Convergence, which will bring back characters who were scrapped as part of DC’s New 52 reboot. Marvel will begin Secret Wars, a yearlong event that will probably involve the entire Marvel multiverse. Teaser images indicate that storylines from previous Marvel events like Civil War and Age of Apocalypse may be explored within the event. Of the two companies, DC has had a far better track record with crossover events in recent years.
Right now, the rights to portray Marvel comic book characters on film are split between three different companies. Fox has the X-Men, Sony has both Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, and Marvel has everyone else.
However, Marvel is trying to buy the rights to Spider-Man from Sony so they can use the character in their 2016 film Captain America 3: Civil War. If this happens, then actor Andrew Garfield (who portrayed the character in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel) will most likely not be able to play Spider-Man in the film.
It’s important to keep in mind that we don’t necessarily need another origin film to introduce Spider-Man to the Marvel universe. The upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will introduce several characters to the nascent DC Cinematic Universe without giving them fully-fledged origin films. It’s possible that Marvel could do something similar with Spider-Man and other characters in upcoming Marvel films.
Even though I loved Mr. Garfield’s Peter Parker, I think this is probably a good decision. The Spider-Man in Civil War is a fully-fledged adult who’s highly respected by his peers in the superhero community. The Peter Parker in the Amazing Spider-Man films is a very different character; he’s a teenager who’s still an unknown to the superhero community. It would make sense that a new actor would be brought in to the play the more mature version of Spider-Man that Civil War requires.
That being said, I’m starting to wonder if bringing Civil War to the big screen is a good idea. The Fantastic Four (who Sony also own) are as integral to the plot of Civil War as Spider-Man. However, it’s very unlikely that Marvel will be able to obtain the rights to the Fantastic Four because Sony is planning on releasing a Fantastic Four movie next year.
Marvel could potentially use other characters as stand-ins for the Fantastic Four. They’ll only have Ant Man to introduce any new characters on the big screen, however. While Marvel TV shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter could also be used to introduce characters, viewers who only watch the movies could become confused when they walk into Civil War. The story relies on the reputations of established characters to create its intended effect, so new characters probably shouldn’t be introduced during Civil War itself.
The lack of characters makes simplifying the story essential. It would probably be prudent to cut out any plot points that don’t pertain to characters that Marvel already owns. While Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four’s subplots are excellent and add a lot of depth to the story, you can still understand the themes without them. However, Marvel’s attempts to get Spider-Man imply that Marvel attempts to show Civil War in its entirety on screen. Clearly, this’ll be difficult to do unless Marvel is able to acquire some more characters.
It should be noted that much of this is just speculation—we’ll have to wait until more official Civil War details are announced to get a better idea of what the film will be like.
It’s January and that means a new year, fresh starts, another step forward, and an opportunity to do things differently. Last January ment was the same and in 2014 in sports. Lebron James got a fresh start, college football had its first season with a playoff, the US got out of the group of death and Tim Howard set a world cup record for saves, and the Seattle Seahawks won their first super bowl.
Last year started with Michigan State beating Stanford in a physical rose bowl game and Blake Bortles and UCF beating Baylor in a shootout fiesta bowl. Latter in January, Jameis Winston and Florida State won the national championship with a last minute touchdown against Auburn. The rest of the year went differently for all of the teams. Florida State went undefeated and extended their NCAA leading win streak. Baylor went 11-1 and finished the season ranked 5th barely missing the playoffs. Michigan State came in second to Ohio State in the Big Ten. Baylor and Michigan State met in the cotton bowl just 12 hours into 2015. Blake Bortles got drafted 3rd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars and started for most of the season.
Last year was the first season of the college football playoff. While the playoff itself was played in 2015 the 2014 season was one of a kind. Never before had so many teams been alive for so long in the playoff chase. In the end the four teams that made it were Alabama, a team one year removed from winning 3 titles in 4 years. The defending champion that had the longest winning streak in college football. Ohio State, the unabated best team in the big ten and a team with only 3 losses with Urban Meyer. The final team was Oregon, the almost constant Pac 12 champion and the team with the best offense in college football perennially. After an entire season of games the 4 teams that made the playoff were all powerhouses of the last few seasons and made the 2015 playoffs must watch.
In the NFL 2014 was the year of the Seahawks. They won the super bowl in dominant fashion in February. Although, they started off the 2014 regular season slow they ended up the #1 seed in the NFC and are poised for a run at a repeat in 2015. 2014 was also a great year for Aaron Rodgers. He had one of the best seasons of his career and is probably going to be named MVP.
One of the most memorable sports sagas of 2014 was Lebron’s move to Cleveland. At the beginning of the year the heat were looking to win their 3rd straight title. Their chances seemed pretty good when they reached the finals for the 4th straight year and were looking at a finals rematch with the Spurs. Than, the Spurs decimated the Heat and won the series 4-1. The Spurs aggregate margin of victory was the most in a finals series ever. The loss basically ended the Miami Heat era in the NBA. Lebron went back to Cleveland after his 4 years on south beach. Before the season the Cavs were the favorite to win the title. That was an honor had by the Heat during the previous four seasons.
The biggest sporting event of 2014 was the world cup. While the story around the world will definitely be about Germany winning the world cup and beating Brazil 7-1 in Brazil. But here in the US, its all about our national team. The US was coming off a historically great and almost perfect 2013, but they were randomly drawn into the world cup’s group of death. Very few in the world thought the US would make it out, but they did despite losing one of their best players Jozy Altidore about 20 minutes into the world cup. The US played Belgium in the knockout round and lost 2-1 in extra time. It was impressive for the team to take Belgium to extra time considering how much buzz Belgium was getting as a dark horse champion before the tournament. 2010 and 2014 are the first time in the modern era that the US made it out of the group stage in back to back world cups. The team looks poised to have an even deeper run in 2018.
2014 was a huge year in sports. The winter olympics and world cup both won’t be back for another 4 years. It will also be remembered as the year Lebron went back to Cleveland and Seattle won its first super bowl. 2014 was huge for Buffalo too. Tyler Ennis’s goal against Montreal was the play of the NHL season and the Bills had a winning record for the first time since 2004. 2015 looks to be a huge year too. Lebron’s first playoffs since returning to the Cavs, a womens world cup, a gold cup, Seattle’s run at a repeat, and the first college football playoffs.
On June 2nd, 2014, Cincinnati Bengals DT Devon Still received the worst news that any parent can receive, that his child had cancer. His 4 year old daughter, Leah, had been diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, a type of malignant nerve cancer that is highly rare and occurs mainly in young children. At the time, Devon says he was so unsure of the future, but luckily, fortune favored him. Upon hearing the diagnosis, the Bengals, allowed him to take time off from organized activities and mini-camp to take care of his daughter.
In September unfortunately, the Bengals were forced to release him to acquire an all-important 53-man roster spot. Later, however, the Bengals brought him back onto the practice squad to allow him to receive a paycheck and health insurance. Devon was a bubble player and had to fight for his spot on the team. The position of defensive tackle is one where it is difficult to find quality players, so Still provided the team with a solid back-up and an inspiration for the players and staff.
Still decided to begin fundraising by coordinating a fundraiser where donations would be made based on the number of sacks recorded by the Bengals. On September 8th, the Bengals kicked fundraising up a notch by announcing that all sales from Still’s number 75 jersey would be directly donated to support pediatric cancer research. Within 24 hours, more of Still’s jersey had been than that of any other Bengals players. Other NFL teams also got involved; New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton ordered 100 jerseys, and the New England Patriots cheerleaders all wore pink Devon Still jerseys when the Patriots played the Bengals. In total, over 10,000 still jerseys were ordered, and around $1.3 million dollars were raised for research.
Throughout the timeline of Leah’s chemo, Devon constantly kept his growing numbers of fans updated about his daughter’s situation. In one memorable video, Devon is seen in the front seat of his car, giving a pep talk to his daughter in the back seat. Although, life has been tough for her, Leah Still managed to stay strong, and she even got to come to one of her father’s games. Life for Leah, a four year old little girl, was incredibly tough, and in an especially emotional interview, Devon noted how proud he was of his little girl.
Finally, after months of waiting, Devon received news that was sweet to his ears, that his daughter was ready for surgery. As Leah went through six hours of surgery, Still was excused from practice to go wait at the hospital. As tough as the process was, Leah still was finally cleared as cancer-free. The tumor was gone, and Devon Still could return to his normal life. Or could he? Although horrible to go through, This event allowed Devon Still to put his name out there, raise more awareness and money for pediatric cancer research, and provide inspiration for all of those who are affected and devastated by cancer.
The Business Achievement Awards is made up of four levels: Future, Business, Leader, and America, with each successive level requiring more involved action and commitment. All four levels are based upon business, education, and leadership components surrounding FBLA’s objectives on becoming a Future Business Leader of America. Completing the Business Achievement Award at the Future level is quite simple, if you implement the following steps:
Go to fbla-pbl.org
Under the FBLA upper tab, go to “Business Achievement Awards.”
Click on “Preview Future Award Activities.”
Now you are at the FBLA BAA website, click on Student Login.
Enter your chapter number and password, which you should have obtained when making an account for the BAA. After entering your chapter number and password, go to the link “Show” beside the Service, Education, or Progress Activities.
Then click on “Select Service Activities.”
Choose three activities in the list of given activities.
Click on “Save Service /Education/Progress Selections.”
If you have not yet completed these activities, click on the “Activity 1 – Incomplete” link besides the red X.
Proceed to fill out the form needed or upload the photographs or documents needed.
Completion of the BAA at each level will earn members a pin and certificate at the State level as well as National recognition. Good luck to all members in completing the BAA!
One of the (less) big testing weeks of the school year is rapidly approaching. Midterm week takes place during the last week of January. Your teachers may have already confirmed or dismissed the possibility of having to come in. Some teachers may be doing a midterm in class. Others may call you in during the week to do a cumulative test right before the end of the first semester.
There are several academical benefits for midterms: first off, it lets you practice taking a test under timed conditions, just like you’ll have to do during your final in June. Secondly, it provides a good benchmark for how well you’re learning the material so far in the year. And third, it expands and elaborates on the testing environment that primary education has been thriving in.
Some teachers like to do midterms in class, or assign a packet of cumulative review over a period of time. These are also good benchmarks in determining your progress in a class. With the added time allotment, you have also been given the gift of another grade in the grade book. Hopefully it helps you out.
So, wow! Your teacher decided to give you an actual midterm? As in going to school over during the midterm week and taking a 3-ish hour midterm? What are you going to do? Don’t panic. It’s a test, not a determining factor for your entire life. Even after the fact and the grade, you have time to figure out what you’re struggling with and fix it for the final. If you’re feeling pretty spiffy and want to do well on the midterm, here’s a couple tips:
Relax. Just–don’t freak out. There is nO NEED TO FREAK OUT. Maybe when you get to AP week, or Finals week, you can freak out. Those are the tests that help decide the rest of your life. Sort of.
Study. If you want to do well, though, you’re probably already used to studying. Keep on going.
If you’re really gung-ho about this midterm stuff, you could even go into it like it’s the real thing! Eat a healthy breakfast, complete with all five major food groups. Bring two (or three, or ten) freshly sharpened #2 yellow pencils. Infuse the testing room with top-notch anxiety.
Either, way, the midterm week is only a brief respite from the hectic and insane life of a East student. If you don’t have exams, then enjoy the four-day break from school. If you do, best of luck from the East Side! We have confidence in you!
My sleep schedule is a mess, what can I do to fix that?
I always find it hard to clear my mind before I go to bed, but what helps for me is talking to people before I go to bed. Talk about your day, talk about what’s bothering you, talk about anything that is on your mind. There are also more obvious options such as going to bed early and at the same time every night. It’s a challenge, but it might help you wake up at the same time every morning.
Any ideas on cheap and simple vacations for February break?
A road trip might be the answer you are looking for. Yes, gas is expensive, but road trips can be fairly simple, and most likely won’t be as expensive as plane tickets for your whole family.
Here at East, there are many different programs that include embracing your individuality and discuss getting involved. There is one particular program known as Sources of Strength in which the advisors, Ms. Taberski and Mrs. Kaspizak inform students on how they can be more observant and how that alone is a way to help someone in need. Their main topics of discussion are depression and suicide. Students are nominated for this program; however, it is their choice whether or not they join. “We were asked as advisors to go through training and we were trained along with North. We started out with fifteen peer leaders that were trained,” says Ms. Taberski. Each student that was nominated was required to go through training. There was some discussion in the beginning; afterwards, they read through a packet that included ways to spread hope, help, and strength. “In addition to the ice breakers that we did, we learned a lot about th different sources of strength,” Mrs. Kaspizak. The students and advisors of this organization believe that being observant is a way of helping people. “We talked a lot about how appearance shows who a person is,” Jason Librock. If someone is depressed, it may be shown through their appearance.
One of the many goals of this group is to make people feel comfortable with talking about conflicts in their lives. “We want to educate students and teachers by saying that there are different resources you can go to. If you are going through a tough situation, you don’t ever want to be by yourself,” says Joli Lederman. Both the students and the advisors have set goals that they want Sources of Strength to accomplish. “Our goals as advisors is to have students take over, it is more authentic that way to have the students determine what direction we are going to go in,” states Mrs. Kaspizak. They nominated these students in particular because they believe that they have the capability of being in charge of this program. The students also have goals of their own that they would like to achieve whether they are in charge or not. “We were planning an SOS(Sources of Strength) week to educate people on what the program is about by having activities and presentations,” remark Joli Lederman. Perhaps preparing presentations and activities is just the beginning.
The advisors and the students both enjoy this organization and are satisfied with what they have accomplished so far. “It is a different approach than other programs that are offered at this school,” states Allie Scumaci. The members of this organization encourage you to be more observant and be there to help others that may have thoughts of suicide.
By: Kiran Garg, Jenna Marcus, Rielly Hennessy, Saman Hussein
Students at Williamsville East are well-known for responding to “How are you?” with “I’m tired.” Sleep-deprivation has become an issue for teenagers all around the country, and students at Williamsville East have fallen victim to this epidemic.
According to a poll of 184 students at Williamsville East, only 5 percent of students are getting the recommended number of uninterrupted hours of sleep per school night. Health professionals and sleep specialists have continually changed their recommendations for teenage sleep, and they currently agree that 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep is ideal. This is not only concerning in short-term performance, but this could also have several ramifications on student health in the long term. With only five percent of Williamsville East getting the proper amount of sleep, we are further investigating this issue in the search for a solution.
Students are under enormous pressures to take difficult classes, and also be well rounded. This means practicing sports, instruments, and participating in clubs. “For some of us, it’s hard to finish our homework early with everything going on in our lives. School alone is hard enough, and between musical rehearsal, clubs, and lots of homework and studying, I usually find myself in bed late and tired throughout the day,” said sophomore Gillian Marcus.
However, many students argue that it is not a matter of time management skills, and instead it is a problem with workload and testing. “I don’t think school getting pushed back would make a big difference for a lot of kids. Either way, we’ll have the same amount of homework and studying and after school activities. For many high school students, the issue isn’t our bodies or being irresponsible,” said an anonymous student. Many other students feel that they are overwhelmed by their classes and schedules, including another sophomore, Rachel Xue, who said, “I already get home late as it is. It would be hard to push the time back even further because than I would just be up doing homework later.”
Students at East are known for challenging themselves, which often means taking the most rigorous courses available to them. This desire to excel academically sometimes infringes on their sleep.
On the other hand, many believe that students have the capabilities to handle a busy course load and a demanding sleep schedule. Mr. Nogoski said, “If students don’t procrastinate and work a little each night, they won’t have to stay up studying for exams.” He stressed the importance of time management skills and ensuring that procrastination won’t be necessary. Senior Grace Schaefer said, “Throughout high school, I’ve found that I can get enough sleep if I manage my time properly. This usually includes doing homework and studying on weekends and every weeknight. It’s hard work, but in the end it’s totally worth it. Being exhausted and sleepy is no way to go through the school day.” Guidance counselor Mr. Weber said, “I think students need to develop a schedule to give them the right amount of sleep. This requires minimizing screen time and other distractions before bed.” However, some students feel that in order in order to get all their work done while still getting enough sleep, it would take most of their free time. Having time to relax and do the things one enjoys are part of being healthy and growing. “Spending time on my phone helps me keep in touch with friends who have moved, develop relationships, learn about new things, and help others. I’ve learned so much about the world from sites like Tumblr and YouTube. In order to finish all my work and be able to do these things, I need to sacrifice some sleep,” said a sophomore at East.
New studies have suggested that screen time before bed has decreased the average amount of sleep in teenagers by almost 20 minutes a night. The light from the screen, which is often an iPhone or laptop, meddles with our circadian rhythms, and therefore deprives us of almost an half hour of sleep. Junior Prerna Singh said, “I usually sit in my bed scrolling through my phone for about 30 minutes before sleeping. My phone is a huge distraction that keeps me from going to sleep, but I had no idea it was causing my circadian rhythms to become messed up!”
Many other students have tampered with their biological clocks via napping. Senior Felix Chin said, “When I come home from school, I eat a snack, do a little homework, and go to sleep. After about 5 hours, I wake up at 11. I eat dinner and do my homework until 2 or 3, and then I sleep until 6. I get my 8 or 9 hours, though.” Though his sleep schedule may seem shocking, it is not uncommon at Williamsville East. According to a Harvard University study, napping could only be counted as sleep if both REM and NREM sleep was entered during the nap. In addition, the study stated that naps should be in increments of 90 minutes, otherwise the napper would not feel well-rested. Experts still maintain that uninterrupted sleep is the best form of sleep for teenagers.
No matter the cause of the lack of sleep at Williamsville East, there are negative effects in the short and long term. Lack of sleep can lead to troubles learning, listening, concentrating, and solving problems, make children more prone to pimples, lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior, cause teenagers to eat unhealthily, contribute to illness, and heighten the effect of drugs. As a result of these deficiencies, teenagers are prone to further dangers, such as car crashes due to behind the wheel drowsiness. Senior Disha Yellayi said, “I definitely notice how lack of sleep affects me. I find it hard to concentrate for tests or to pay attention to my classes. I have to make sure I won’t doze off.”
Over a long period of time, lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, psychiatric problems, attention deficit disorder, mental impairment, childhood growth retardation, and poor quality of life. “Sleep is important as a major component of good health. A lack of sleep, or a poor quality of sleep, can sabotage a person’s health goals and impair their safety. Many patients would have had to spend less time in a hospital or ER if they discovered the importance of a good night’s sleep. We tend to treat sleep as a health non-entity instead of a vital component to a healthy lifestyle,” said Brendan Duffy from the St. Charles Sleep Disorder Center.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens’ natural sleep cycle puts them in conflict with school start times. Most high school students find it very hard to pay attention early in the day, and have difficulty getting up in the morning. “Even if I get a good amount of sleep the night before, I still find it extremely hard to get out of bed in the morning. If I don’t set two alarms, there’s no way I could wake up on time,” said sophomore Suhina Kanapathipillai.
During their high school years, teenagers are naturally programmed to fall asleep around 11pm. Starting school at around 7:30am is in conflict with their natural wake-up time, and will make them sleepy all day. Many students support schools starting later in the morning. Sophomore Rachel Parks said, ”If school started any hour later, that would extend my sleep time so I wouldn’t be so tired at school and be able to focus more in class.”
Schools around the country that have set later bell times find that students do not go to bed later, but instead get an average of five more hours of sleep per week. When schools start around 9am, enrollment and attendance improves. Parents and teachers in these districts have stated that their teens are more alert and in better moods. Later school start times have been shown to decrease depression and visits to the nurse’s office.
However, many students and faculty of Williamsville East feel that earlier school start times will not fix the sleep problem, and could even make it worse. Mrs. Taberski, the school social worker said, “ I think the school starting time is perfect. If school started later, than the students who have sports or curricular activities after school will have to be up late and thats not healthy.” Guidance Counselor Mr. Weber agreed and stated, “If the time got changed to start school earlier, all it would do is just change kids patterns of when they proceed to go to bed.”
According to studies around the country, high schools should ideally start classes around 9am and students should get about 8.5 hours of sleep per night. Students would go to sleep around 11pm in accordance with their biological clocks, and would wake up well-rested and energetic to start their day.
Clearly, students at East aren’t getting eight or more hours of sleep. In fact, 94% of students get less than eight hours, while 65% of students get less than six. This problem is more complicated than changing just one part of the school day and requires an investment by all parties to develop a more effective schedule so that students are less stressed, still able to participate in school events, and get good, solid sleep.
Last month, the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks had one of the biggest trades so far this NBA season. The Boston Celtics traded 4 time all star Rajon Rondo and forward Dwight Powell to the Dallas Mavericks for Brandon Wright, Jae Crowder and Jameer Nelson along with a future 1st and 2nd round pick.
The rebuilding Celtics, who currently sit near the middle of the pack, were looking to trade point guard Rajon Rondo who is on the last year of his five year/55 million dollar contract. Rondo was the last player left on the roster from the Championship 2008 Celtic team. Since the Celtics in traded away future hall of famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets in the 2012 offseason, there has been constant speculation of when the Celtics would trade Rondo away. During the last year of his contract Celtics GM Danny Ainge was looking to get value out of Rondo before his free agency next summer. For the past few seasons, we have heard rumors of a rift between Rondo and the front office and little chance for him to return to a resulting Boston team in free agency.
After Rondo was put on the trading block late December, this was the perfect opportunity for the Dallas Mavs. The Mavs, in a stacked western conference, had made major moves in the off season. Signing Tyson Chandler from the Knicks, trading for Houston’s Chandler Parsons and signing long time Mav and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki to a big pay cut, the team looked poised to try to fight not only for a playoff spot but a championship.
Before the season, during contract negotiations, Mavs owner Mark Cuban, promised 12 time all star Dirk Nowitzki, that he would do everything in his power to give the team the best chances to win a championship. When Rondo was placed on the trade block, it was a dream situation for the Maverick front office. This Mavericks teams before the trade had a strong starting five, but they were missing a good point guard. In a highly competitive Western Conference with some of the best guards in the league such as: Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard the Mavs need a good point guard that would allow them to defend these elite guards.
Rondo was the perfect fit for this team. The Mavs didn’t need a scoring guard, they were the league highest scoring team before the trade, but what they did need was one who could distribute the ball, and play solid defense. Rondo fits both of these needs. He is a pass first point-guard, a two time season assist leader, and he is an elite defender, a two-time NBA All-Defensive first team. Rondo is the current assist leader in the NBA and leads all point guards in rebounding so far this season.
In his first few games with the Mavs, he has proved to be a major asset, dishing out assists, and drawing defenders forced to guard him and not his teammates. This has opened the floor for his teammates allowing for better spacing and play in general. In Rondo’s first six games in a Mavs uniform, the team has gone 4-2. Chemistry is definitely already building between him and his teammates and this team will be one that will continue to improve as the season progresses. This had definitely made the West much more competitive and interesting come playoff time.
