Volume I, Issue I- Friday, December 20th, 2013rak12.ss3.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_932821... · KNIGHTWATCH Volume I, Issue I- Friday, December 20th, 2013 FALL FEST

KNIGHTWATCHVolume I, Issue I- Friday, December 20th, 2013

FALL FEST MAKES A SPLASHFall Fest 2013

Celia Adams

Though maybe not the largest turn out

the school has ever seen, this year’s fall

fest was a time for fun, friends, and of

course, food. Fall Fest is a great oppor-

tunity for teachers and students to re-

lax and have some fun, making it a

great experience for everyone. Anyone

who came got to enjoy a number of

games and competitions including pie

throwing, pie eating, and bobbing for

apples. Some very popular options

were the caramel covered apples or

glitter tattoos. Needless to say, every-

one had a good time.

To kick things off, Cameron Thomas,

Elondra Stubbs, Sarah Dekok, Shannon

McGurty, and Caroline Adams compet-

ed in the pie-eating contest. While the

contest was based around traditional

pie-eating, there were a few added

challenges. Not only did the competi-

tors have to eat without using their

hands, they had to find a single M&M

hidden within the pie. Excitement was

high as the pie was prepped, and all

the competitors started the competi-

tion confidently. Cameron Thomas

thought he got an early lead when he

immediately found the M&M, only to

learn he had to finish the pie as well.

Shannon took the lead, and was briefly

challenged by Caroline Adams before

Shannon McGurty finished her pie and

found the M&M. When asked about her

win, McGurty said, “I am officially the

queen of Renaissance Academy”. The

next contest was bobbing for apples.

Brianna [.........] just beat Catherine

Wenger in the first round. Anahita

[........] proved she was willing to go all

in when she was willing to dunk her

head completely underwater(even

though it was a frigid 44° on the patio)

to get the apples. Although she put in

her best effort, Lyra Stubbs beat Anahi-

ta [....] by a second. Scores were settled

and pies were thrown just a little later.

Mr. Ness, Mr. Klemp, and Mr. Zinno en-

dured oncoming fire from students and

fellow teachers alike. All took a few to

the face, and yet, Mr. Ness kept smiling

through it. Other events included a

scarecrow fashion show and karaoke

for willing participants, and through-

out the day, Cameron Allen was amp-

ing people up and getting people in-

volved in these exciting events. So

even though not as many students

showed up, this years Fall Fest can defi-

nitely be considered a success, and we

look forward to next year’s.

Academic Decathalon kicks off their season

Lianna Jante

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to

the 2013 Chester County Academic

Competition.”

You sit onstage and look out at the

crowd. It’s not a big group, less than

half of the seats are filled, but almost

all of them are strangers. You are at a

table with your three other teammates

from school; each of you holding a

buzzer, thumb hovering over the but-

ton in anticipation. A deep voice sings

through the microphone.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I think

we’re about ready to start the first Toss

Up round,” says the quizmaster. He is

an older gentleman, appearing charis-

matic and smartly dressed in his suit.

The questions begin and the scene

changes.

You are now in a different auditorium.

It is smaller, with the floor in a sharper

slope descending to the stage. Every

seat has an attached desk. You sit in

the back, while a group of some thirty

students scatter themselves among

the seats.

The coach of the host school, Mr. Cera-

mi, moves to the front of the room, mi-

crophone in hand. He welcomes every-

one and goes on to explain the compe-

tition, Academic Decathlon.

You will be taking a test, several actual-

ly, but you knew this. Sure, it’s a test,

but so what? It is not school, so the

pressure is off and the test becomes a

game. Who knows the most? Who un-

derstands the questions the best? But

most of all, whose the fastest? A"er all,

2 Knightwatch

Mike's Movie Reviews

Mike Heimbach

Delivery Man: PG-13

Vince Vaughn stars as David Wozniak in

this comedy about a man with more

than a couple of kids. Dave can’t seem

to get a break. He’s in debt to the mob,

his girlfriend just revealed that she’s

pregnant and when he gets home from

his job as a meat truck deliveryman he

has a lawyer in his living room with

some shocking news. He is being sued

by over 130 twenty-something year

olds, namely because he is their

father . Poor Dave was a bit strapped

for cash (even back then) and in order

to get enough to pay the bills donated

(frequently) at a sperm bank. Appar-

ently he was the only one, because for

a while he was the only donor used,

meaning that for three years over 500

of his samples as “star-buck” were

used and an anonymity clause in the

contract is the only thing keeping these

kids from knowing who he is. Dave is

more than shocked and against his

better judgment (and his lawyer best

friend’s advice) decides to look at the

file folder of over 130 of his children.

Upon doing so he becomes curious and

meets some of them anonymously, and

realizes that he can help them in their

struggles. He then decides to be a sort

of guardian angel to the group and pro-

gresses on meeting more of them. This

light-hearted comedy is a must-see for

those who think that their family is a

bit crazy, but be warned those with

young children there are mature

themes and images in the film, 12+ is

recommended.

Frozen: PG

A delightful comedy of winter wonder-

land spirits, this CGI adventure follows

the life of two sisters, Anna and Elsa. As

a young girl Elsa is able to control ice

and snow, easily manipulating the cli-

mate around her and creating all sorts

of fun for herself. But one evening she

accidentally freezes her sister, though

thankfully she is safe a"er a bit of troll

magic. The event does lead to Elsa be-

ginning to distance herself from others

to try to protect them, especially her

sister, leading to a ri" forming between

them. Upon the death of their parents

years later Elsa is to be coronated in a

spectacular summer event. But a"er a

fight between the sisters ruins Elsa’s

chance at love and reveals her power

she flees to a mountaintop where she

unleashes an eternal winter onto her

kingdom below. This leads to Anna de-

ciding to try to make up to her sister

and along the way she meets Kristoff

and his reindeer Sven, and the group

set out for Elsa’s castle. This movie is a

great film for children of any age and is

easily one of the best winter movies so

far. I highly recommend seeing this en-

dearing and comical film.

only so much can be done when you

are only given thirty minutes.

In both competitions, it all comes

down to scores, performance.

The Chester County Academic Compe-

tition features three teams battling

against one another, with each ques-

tion worth five points. In Academic De-

cathlon there are the individual test

scores, with the top three ranked gold,

silver, and bronze respectively –medals

included. There are also team scores,

taken from an average of all of the par-

ticipants for each school.

The Academic Decathlon team is a rela-

tively new part of Renaissance Acade-

my. Mr. Cerami, who now resides at

Souderton High School, started it only

four years ago. For the last two years,

Mr. Ness has coached the team. Mr.

Tucci takes on the role of assistant

coach.

At the Academic Decathlon Scrimmage

October 26th, Renaissance placed

fourth as a team with Jess Kaplan win-

ning silver in Literature for the varsity

division. With a new group of students

this year on the team, Mr. Ness hopes

to make third place. At the meet Satur-

day, November 16, no individual

medals were won, but the team held

steady in fourth place.

As for the Chester County competition,

this is Renaissance’s first year compet-

ing. Renaissance’s scores during the

first meet on October 15th cannot com-

pete with those of the more seasoned

schools; whose numbers neared two

hundred. But it was definitely a great

start. At the following meet Friday

November 22, both Varsity and Junior

Varsity’s performance improved

greatly, both losing second place to

Collegium Charter school by a close

margin of ten points. Conestoga took

the lead, with their Varsity scoring 105

and their Junior Varsity getting 115.

3Knightwatch

The Knightwatch logo created by senior Lily Izaola

Letter from the EditorFirst Issue of Knightwatch!

Hello everyone and welcome to the

first issue of Knightwatch, the brand

new school newspaper for the Renais-

sance Academy! I am so excited to be

able to share with you my senior

project, something that I have put a

great deal of work into. When you start

a senior project at Renaissance Acade-

my, they tell you to look for a problem

in your community and search for a

way that you can feasibly try to solve it.

Well, when I looked around, I saw

many extra-curricular activities for

dance, music, and athletics, but none

for literature or writing. I remember

thinking, "Well, there's a problem! Now

how do I fix it?" I had no idea where to

start, but lucky for me, I am surround-

ed by many intelligent people to help

guide me along the right path. I want

to take this opportunity to thank a few

of them for making this possible; First,

Mrs. Powers for being an amazing se-

nior project coordinator and putting up

with my stubborness and helping me

realistically imagine this. I really could

not have done this without you. Next,

Mrs. McCain for being an awesome ad-

visor for me to bounce ideas off of and

keeping me on track throughout this

process. If it wasn't for her, this paper

would probably be coming out next

month, or the month a"er... Finally, I

want to thank the entire Knightwatch

staff for helping me make my dream

into a reality. From the very beginning,

they were all very engaged and excited

to be a part of this, and for that I am so

thankful. You have no idea what it

means to post information for a meet-

ing that you think might draw two or

three people and arrive to see a room

packed with smiling, excited faces.

They really keep me going.

Thank you and enjoy the inaugural is-

sue of Knightwatch!

Sam Sheronas

Editor-in-Chief

4 Knightwatch

Jess's Fun FactsBy: Jess Kaplan

1. Butterflies taste with their feet

2. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit

3. The shortest sentence in the English language is “I am”

4. Pearls melt in vinegar

5. Some frogs can be frozen solid, then thawed, and still survived

6. Donkeys on average kill more people annually then air crashes.

7. Like every person has a unique finger prints every person has a unique tongue print.

8. Months that begin on Sunday will always have a “Friday the thirteenth”

9. Every day more money is printed by monopoly then by the

U.S. Treasury

10. The average person falls asleep in 7 minutes

11. Many Hamsters blink one eye at a time

12. Honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil

13. 1 out of 2 billion people will live to be at least 116 years

14. If NASA sent birds into space they would die because they need gravity to swallow

15. A rat can last longer without water then a camel

Sources: "Fun Facts." Fun Facts. Begant Family Home Pages, 25 May 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.begent.org/funfact.htm>.