RIVERCREST PREPARATORY ONLINE SCHOOL

B I G G E S T P U M P K I N The River Current O F 2 0 1 4 : VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 30, 2014 2 0 5 8 POUNDS! Do you know why we celebrate ?  Grown in California’s Napa Valley Halloween is one of the oldest of the dead into the world of the our customs—the Jack-O- all American holidays and is even living on October 31st because Lantern? Did you know that  Won a more popular now than ever! that was the night when the walls originally a turnip was used? A $13,000 prize Adults and kids both love to get between the two worlds were pumpkin wasn’t used until the dressed up. Some people deco- the thinnest. To honor , Irish came to America. Here’s rate their houses for the whole as well as the end of the harvest, the story: month of October just to get The folktale, known as “Stingy into the spooky spirit of things. Jack,” tells the story of an Irish But what you may not know is villager named Jack who was that Halloween actually comes known not just for his stinginess from an even older tradition: the but for his overall bad behavior. Celtic festival of Samhain Twice the Devil came to take (pronounced Sa-whin). Jack’s soul in punishment for his The were an ancient pagan earthly behavior, and twice Jack

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: people. They mainly lived in what tricked the Devil into promising we now know as and the the Celts held enormous celebra- he would not return for his soul Sports Up- 2 United Kingdom. tions. They built large ever again. When Jack died, he date On the Celtic calendar, Novem- and dressed up in dur- was refused entrance into heav- Art 2 ber 1st marked the end of the ing these celebrations, which en. But when Jack reached the they believed protected them Health 3 harvest season and the beginning gates of hell, the Devil reminded of a new year. But it also marked from the roaming spirits of the Jack of his promise and sent him Local Events 3 something darker. The Celts dead because they couldn’t be away with a single piece of burn- recognized! Fashion 4 believed that Samhain, the god of ing coal as a lamp. (cont. on p. 7) the dead, released the spirits of And how about that favorite of Nicky’s 4 World

Selfies 5 Fun Stuff 6 Halloween Contest! Principal’s Msg 7

This Friday is Halloween and to celebrate here at Rivercrest we are having a costume contest. Remember: Breaking News!!! There will be a prize for the best All costumes must Rivercrest will have a Anime character costume and a conform to the JUSD prize for the best overall cos- yearbook this year! tume. dress code. No full More info next week in face masks or your classes. “revealing” costumes. P A G E 2 NFL Player of the Week

Ben Roethlisberger became by any quarterback in fran- with two such games — the first player in NFL history chise history. His 81.6 com- who have won two straight to throw for at least 500 pletion percentage is the games for the first time. yards in multiple games, lead- second-highest ever on The Steelers are now tied ing the Pittsburgh Steelers to more than 45 attempts. with the Ravens for second a 51-34 victory over His yardage total that ignit- place in the AFC North, the Indianapolis Colts on Sun- ed Sunday's 51-34 victory just a half-game behind day, Oct. 26th. against the Indianapolis the Bengals. With talented Coltswas tied for the rookie linebacker Ryan Ben Roethlisberger Roethlisberger's 522 yards fourth-highest in league Shazier back in the lineup Steelers are tied with Boomer history. It was the second and Bryant lending the of- Esiason for the fourth-most time Roethlisberger fense an added dimension, in NFL history. His six eclipsed 500 passing yards Pittsburgh has the talent to touchdown passes and 40 for the 5-3 Steelers — the make a playoff run. completions are the most first player in NFL history NFL Spotlight—Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens meet the Steel- strong and did their job. I four defenders, “but it proba- ers this coming Sunday, put them in some bad posi- bly wasn’t as much as I November 2nd, at Heinz tions.” Flacco threw two thought,” Flacco said. Field. How will they do interceptions which led to The good news for Ravens against Big Ben and the 10 points for the Bengals. Baltimore Ravens fans is that Flacco has a track revitalized Steelers? Both of the interceptions record of bouncing back the happened on throws meant 5-3 The Ravens lost 27-24 next week after a loss. About against the Bengals in Week for wide receiver Torrey the upcoming game against the Smith. Flacco thought he 2nd in AFC North 8. Quarterback Joe Flacco Steelers, Flacco said, “If we took the blame saying, “I had a hole, even though don’t turn the ball over, then think our defense stood Smith was surrounded by we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

Art Student Portrait of Mr. Diaz By Nick Espinoza

THE RIVER CURRENT

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 P A G E 3

World Peace Health and Fitness Bridge on Mt. Rubidoux Who needs to spend money on a gym membership when you can go hiking in the great outdoors for free! You, and your dog, can enjoy a leisurely 3 mile hike up and down Mt. Rubidoux. It’s a 500’ elevation gain so you get a workout but it’s easily doable even if you haven’t gotten away from the computer lately. The trails are open from dawn to dusk every day of the year.

Pecan Festival

The Pecan Festival at the Louis Rubidoux Nature Center is a fun annual event for families. For the price of $3.00 admission (cash only) you get a bag to fill with all the pecans you can find. Whatever nuts are left on the ground after the festival will be eaten by squirrels, coyotes, bobcats, and rac- coons. The pecan groves at the Center have been there for decades and many are over 100 feet high. The Santa Ana winds blow the ripe nuts off the trees so that humans and animals can enjoy their tasty goodness! After you have gathered your pecans, you can enjoy a nature walk in the riparian forest of the Sunny Slope area. Or listen to music. Or get your face painted. Food will also be available for pur- chase.

For more information:

(951) 683-4880

One thing we can all agree on, what could even be considered the High School Fashion key to every outfit, is no not acces-

By Kaitlynn Chavez sories, but shoes! Whether your knowledge about shoes and their ranges from material to pattern to sole type is extensive or not, the

reason why you pick a specific SHOES!!! shoe is because you consider those

factors. This month’s focus: focus: month’s This

You might not be aware of that though, Sneaker, flat, or boot: Here you might say, “I don’t care about shoes, are some of the styles seen I bought that red sneaker because I like around Rivercrest this red.” Well you’re not wrong. Yeah the month. shoe is red, but you also bought that specific shoe though because it came in

canvas and not suede or with studs and not sequins. A shoe can represent you, your style, and pull together your look.

Nikky’s Corner: The World According to Nikky Espinoza Facing the Consequences of Your tried to face the consequences by Let me tell you a story: I had a Actions talking to her and telling her the friend who liked the same girl as I truth, but she reacted angrily and When you do something there is always a did. He gave me a CD and a note to doesn’t ever want to reaction, either good or bad. If you do your give her but I hid them instead of talk to me. chores around your house, then your parents giving them to her. That same day he will give you money. If you have unprotected died in an accident. Ever since then I The consequences of sex, you might get an STD, get pregnant, or have felt so guilty, but I still like this my actions are hurtful both. If you do something wrong, it’s better girl. I am in pain every time I see her because I can’t shake to face the consequences than to hide. because I feel so lovesick over her the disease of lovesick- and guilty at the same time for not Remember, for every action there is a reac- ness. giving her the note and CD. Finally, I tion. October Selfies by Delaney Luna

. Discuss theseDiscuss questionswith your family,friends, and teachers. aWrite paragraph to possibly be included in next month’s issue of The River Current Is Halloween a secular holi- Issecular a Halloween be Orbanned day? it should aboutWhat schools? in public decorations?

Halloween decorations and activities? The wholeThe controversy over Halloween fromstems the 1st Amendment. Most people do not consider Halloween a holidayreligious even though it comes originally the Paganfrom celebration Samhainof (see story p.1). think? do you What separationIs churchof and state val- a id argument for public schools to avoid

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y a d i l Should Students be Allowed to Celebrate Halloween at School? Celebrate to Halloween beShouldStudents Allowed o h

r a l What do you think? do you What forces. forces. Because Halloween is such a pop- u caught in the middle. fun, others believe while that the holiday fromderives and celebrates pagan super- stition glorifying while occult and satanic issue in public schools. Many see the costumes and spooky pranks harmless as Halloween has become a religious liberty Mystery Student of the Month The Ironic Comic

Who is this Rivercrest student?

The first person to correctly identify the student in the photo wins a prize! Go to E2 with your guess. by Josh Ni ñ o

bow tie from the prize bag! prize the tiebow from Maga Adam Alanna Murdock. was Student Mystery month’s Last T N E R R U C R E V I R E H T

Canned Food Drive ñ a guessed and won a a won guessed and next month

Page 7 Why We Celebrate Halloween (cont. from P. 1) How ever Trick or Treating got started, Jack made a makeshift lantern out of the coal by I’m sure most of us are just glad it did. putting it into a hollowed-out turnip, and was We get FREE CANDY! How great is doomed to eternity wandering the Earth with that! this dismal light, earning the nickname “Jack of So as you go wandering the neighbor- the Lantern.” hood yourself this All Hallow’s evening, You may be wondering how the tradition of look over your shoulder every once in Trick or Treating got started. There are many a while. There may be a spirit or two theories, but probably this tradition also comes sneaking up behind you... from the ancient Celts who left food and wine outside their doors on this mystical night so the wandering spirits would not invade their Jack O’ the Lantern homes.

From the Principal

Prepare Yourself for the 21st Century World

Ok, so all of you reading this have anywhere from 1-4 years longer to be a “kid”. Within these few short years, you will be asked to learn a lot about yourself and to prepare yourself for work in the “real world.” Throughout your previous learning experiences, often times you have been asked to deal with simple problems or minimal tasks, never digging deeper than the surface to explore a problem. However, at Rivercrest we understand that we must do more to prepare you with the 21st cen- tury skills that will help you to be successful when you graduate. Experts have identified 4 skills as necessary for students to learn in the 21st century. They are: Problem-solving, working collaboratively, communicating clearly, and creativity.

All of the academic content that you are learning, as well as the skills that you are practicing, will truly give you the well- rounded education that you will need in the future. With every class you take, you are working on these skills and practicing them, even when you don’t know it. Experts all agree that this collection of 21st century skills is used in every subject and in every occupation. If you can master these skills, no matter the field of study or work that you enter, you will be a success. “Almost every employer, in every occupation, prefers workers who know how to problem-solve, be creative, work collabora- tively, and communicate well,” says Steven Paine, Ed.D., president of the educational advocacy group Partnership for 21st Century Skills. With every class you take, with every time you feel challenged with a problem that you think you can’t solve, with every time you have to make a choice about your work, you are training yourself and working toward becoming profi- cient in these four skills. As you become proficient, you will find these skills will help in your classes now as well as prepare you to move FORWARD for tomorrow.

Moving FORWARD to Learn and Lead in the 21st Century

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