Each year students at Wilson Middle School earn the opportunity to attend a  Fresno Grizzlies baseball game along with many other schools in the Central Valley. This used to be for students who had perfect attendance during the school year, but it has since changed. Now, students who have had a 4.0 this year and last year get to attend the Grizzlies game. It is a really fun opportunity for all the students who were able to attend. 

This year at the Grizzlies game there were activities between the games for people to watch, there were a lot of food options, and a band performing the National Anthem. Some of the games were a sleeping bag race, mummy roll with toilet paper, face the cookie game, and a spelling bee. During the game, the mascot, Parker, was riding a quad and merch was being handed out. Two people were wearing sumo wrestler costumes and they were racing. During the game Mr. White caught the baseball. The students had a great time, their main complaint was that it was super hot and that the team lost by a lot. However, they were very excited and appreciative of their opportunity. Overall the Grizzly Game was fun and entertaining for everyone. 

By Fernanda Alejandre and Michelle Pizano

The chowchilla fair is an annual event that happens in may every year.  It has activities from bumper cars to tons of different stands to look around with either things to buy or information packets. They even have a different area with smaller rides for the younger kids, but if you can't have someone watch the younger kids, most of the rides are good for them to go on, like the Dragon Coaster or the Ferris Wheel. Both are rather calm rides, but they still have rides like the Ripcord that are for bigger kids. The Ripcord picks you into the air and drops you and the rides like the Viper are medium level rides. Younger kids may not like them, but they aren't scary for most bigger kids so they have a great variety for everyone at the fair.

If you stay long enough, and don't want to leave to eat, they have many stands around where they make tons of different foods and snacks. The spring festival also happens and includes a barbeque after you get into the fair. You can get the BBQ  that you also eat at the tables. If you can afford to get the bracelets, they allow you to get on as many rides as you want the whole day; but only for the day. If you don't want to do that you can get a limited amount of credits depending on how much you spend on them. So overall the fair a good thing to go to to pass the time and it has many options to do while your their

By Astrella Williams

Straight off the bat, what is exactly Autism? Autism is a disability affecting the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication. Someone with autism can have different symptoms and behavioral characteristics than another. But the main question is… what is exactly Autism Awareness Month? Autism Awareness Month is a month mainly focused on raising awareness, and supporting people with autism in all aspects of their lives.

First of all, around 1 percent of people are diagnosed with Autism, which is more than 75,000,000 people.  People with autism sometimes need extra help for people to understand them, and they learn different ways with communication. However, having autism does not stop anyone from being a kind, hardworking, and successful person. Some of their many strengths are incredible focus, attention to detail, great memory and very creative. For example, we have a student at Wilson who can complete incredibly difficult puzzles in short amounts of time. He typically completes 3 puzzles a week. These puzzles are usually 500+ pieces, and some are even 3-D. One of the most recent ones he completed was a 3-D model of the Hogwarts Castle, from Harry Potter. This takes incredible focus and creativity. 

This month brings connections for people with autism, and shares their difficulties. Bring awareness is so important because it improves to bring people together, decrease bullying and exclusion and greater help in the group. Go Spartans and happy Autism Awareness Month!

By Michelle Pizano

Did you know Red Pandas are currently going extinct? The estimated population of the Red Panda is 2,500- 10,00 left just in the wild. The exact number is unknown, but their population has decreased from 14,800 in 2001 to 10,00 and lower. How does this happen? Well, Red Pandas get caught in traps meant for wild pig or deer and end up dying. This is just one example of endangered species. 

Saola, often called the Asian unicorn is one of the rarest mammals on the planet, and because of this, it had made the list for world's most endangered animals in 2022. The IUCN ( international union of conservation of nature) estimates the Saola population is to be less than  750, and likely to be much less.

Lastly, the Sunda Island Tiger. The Sunda is the smallest tiger species, weighing around 140kgs. For reference, the tigers that live in the Amur region are the biggest of all big cats. Males can weigh up to twice as much as the Sunda Island Tiger. These animals are extremely rare as there are an estimated 600 in the wild that are found in Indonesia's islands of Sumatra. Since the 1980s, the human population of southeast Asia has nearly doubled from 357 million to 668 million in 2020. This rise in human population had a huge impact on the tigers, which have shrunk along with their habitats. As humans settled and expanded in the region, they encountered more Sundas, and this caused conflict. Now, the Sunda population is critically endangered, leaving only 400 estimated Sunda in the wild.

By Abigail Contreras

Dr. Pepper is the oldest soft drink in America. Older than Coca-Cola, in fact, by a full year. It was created in 1885 by a pharmacist, Charles Alderton, in Waco, Texas. Dr. Pepper’s not just for drinking, you know. You can find the 23 secret ingredients in all sorts of foods, from Jelly Belly beans, and actual baked beans, to cotton candy. You can also cook with it at home and create crowd-pleasing entrees such as Dr. Pepper pulled pork, or skip the eggnog this holiday season in favor of mulled Dr. Pepper.

Although Dr. Pepper is a great drink, it is not very healthy for you. Dr. Pepper is not a great choice for drinking daily.  Dr. Pepper is about 150 calories.  150 calories a day is 1050 calories a week only with Dr. Pepper. There is a lady named Elizabeth -Sullivan and she is currently 104 years old, and is still drinking Dr. Pepper every single day of her life. Even if it is not healthy for her, her body is used to it and her body has no reaction.  

Dr. Pepper is a loved drink with 23 flavors. Most of these contain amaretto, almond, blackberry, black licorice, carrot, clove, cherry, caramel, Cola, ginger, juniper, lemon, molasses, nutmeg, orange, prune, plum, pepper, root beer, rum, raspberry, tomato, and vanilla. Even though Dr. pepper is a popular drink it is mostly popular in Texas. Texas has the record of 100,560 drinks of Dr. Pepper a day.

By Jayde Castro

On March 15, for the 3rd quarter incentive day, the hard working students got to attend the movie theater at Madera, viewing Kung Fu Panda 4! In order to attend the movie, they must have no D’s or F’s in their grades, no demerits and above 2.5 GPA, and 95 percent perfect attendance for the quarter. 

Students had to bring their money in order to buy snacks for the movie. There were so many options for students to choose their own snacks. They were allowed to use their phones freely and hang out with their friends! 

 So many students had their own opinions on the movie. Overall, they liked that they didn’t have to worry about class for a couple hours, they got to be away from school and relaxing freely watching the movie with friends. So Fun! Adults and students, including Mrs. Henley had a fun time at the movie theaters. Students were so proud they got to attend something as a reward for working hard every single day. 

Go Spartans!

By Michelle Pizano

Cryptids, for some reason it is an  “obscure topic” based on the people I asked, but today you will learn about this topic. So, if you don't know what cryptids are, let me (and by me I mean google), break it down for you. A cryptid is “a creature that is found in stories and that some people believe exists or say they have seen, but that has never been proven to exist” according to the Cambridge dictionary and that is correct. Some examples are things such as Bigfoot, or John as I call him. We're just cool with each other like that. Another example is the loch ness monster. Pretty fire. I know pretty much any creature you have heard stories about, but can't prove exist, 

Bigfoot is the most popular cryptid and is as described in his name, big, but what is he how did he start, and what's my guy John up to today? Sightings of Bigfoot started with “North American settlers [who] started reporting sightings during the late 1800s and into the 1900s” according to the WashingtonStateMilitaryDepartment.gov. He is described as a giant ape creature thing. Sightings report him being from up to 7-9 feet tall, which is almost as big as my ego. He is also described as having long brown hair or short black hair depending on what you read and who you ask, because I searched for it and I'm more confused than when I started reading.

How did this cryptid get its legendary status it has today? *cue cartoon fade away jingle * It all started when a “journalist named Andrew Genzoli of the Humboldt Times highlighted a (what he thought) goofy and dumb letter from a reader about loggers in northern California who’d discovered mysteriously large footprints” (History.Com). He thought it would make a cool and funny addition to the paper, but to his surprise people actually found it interesting. There had been sightings of Bigfoot before this but people didn't really know about it until this little newspaper highlight. After that it took off and now Bigfoot is being “spotted” all over the world. 

By Noah Soliz

  Disney is making a grave mistake in their upcoming movies. I can't remember the last time I watched a Disney movie and genuinely liked it; unless it was one of the classics like Moana or The Lion King. They have been reusing the same formula, and if they are not, they are just making really bad decisions when it comes to new movies that no one asked for. 

You could argue that at least people still watch and enjoy the old movies. Yes, well they saw that new movies aren't working and are now piggy backing off of their old movies and creating a ton of prequels. That could end in making both movies look better because they could make good sequels, but most likely they will make a bad movie, which will in turn make the first movie look bad as well.

Take Moana 2 for an example. If it's bad, everyone will look down on Moana too and be less likely to watch it, effectively ruining sales for that movie. It doesn't even have to be a sequel to ruin the original. For example, the live action remake of Snow White that blew up for having no dwarfs casted which caused most everyone to decide to  boycott the movie and pretend it doesn't exist  while shunning Disney, and the actors who are playing in the movie. Guess what, the movie isn't even out yet and it already ruined snow white for everyone. 

If you look up Disney movies 2024, what comes up? You'll find only remakes of movies that have already been made, you get sequels, prequels, and live action remakes. It's all because Disney forgot how to make good movies, so they are effectively ruining all their others in an attempt to salvage their brand. 

By Astrella Williams

  Cyberbullying has affected thousands of teens' lives and sometimes is the cause of people's deaths. Social media can be addictive when used incorrectly. Using too much social media can cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Many people think using social media to an excess can cause you to get wrapped up in other people's lives and then feel left out. A professor from Harvard states, “we’ve known for years that social media platforms—especially image-based platforms like Instagram—have very harmful effects on teen mental health, especially for teens struggling with body image, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.”-Harvard T.H. Chan. When you use social media too much you start comparing your life to other people's lives and you can start feeling depressed. In addition to all of this social media is full of dangerous content that can affect your mindset or even get you in trouble. Social media can be a very negative environment when used incorrectly.

Even though social media can be bad it can also be very beneficial. For example, social media has helped solve many cases. One incident is “ In the infamous Stockton, California murder case, social media, particularly Facebook, assisted in the eventual arrest of the crime’s suspect. Back in April 2021, Stockton authorities announced that they had linked six killings and one non-fatal shooting in the area. The Stockton community decided to join together to help the police determine who could be behind all of this.”-NHS Chief Advocate. This community communicated through Facebook and helped arrest the person responsible for this. This shows just how beneficial social media can be. This is not the only reason why social media can be good. There are many more, one being that social media can help you communicate with your long distance best friends. For example if your best friend ever moves away you can stay in touch with them. Social media can help us more than we might realize it. Who knows maybe we wouldn’t have all this modern technologie if it weren’t for social media. 

By Fernanada Alejandre-Perez

Valentine's day is coming up, so I decided to fill you in on where it came from. Valentine's day started around the 14th century. It started with a Priest, named St. Valentine, served in the third century. He started performing illegal marriages for people in secret. Then, Emperor Claudius found out and beheaded him. They started to celebrating his death on the day he died. Its meaning is to remember a martyr, named St. Valentine. Pope Geulis officially named valentines on February 14. 

Much later it became about love and to celebrate people you care about. Now people celebrate it by doing something romantic with their partners. They give each other gifts, flowers, chocolate, and so on. 

Some people don't like what Valentine's Day has turned into because they do not think people need one day to "show their love." They feel that you should show the people you love that you do every day. 

By Alayna Castillo

Tom Brady is an American football quarterback with multiple super bowl wins. He holds the record for the most super bowls wins (02,04,05,15,17,19, and 21) and for the most super bowl appearances. Tom Brady was born on august 3rd 1977, in San Mateo, CA. Tom Brady as a kid used to watch the San Francisco 49ers because he idolized Joe Montana. 

Tom Brady attended the University of Michigan where he did not start till his junior year where that year he led Michigan to the win in the orange bowl . In the year 2000, Tom Brady was chosen in the 6th round by the New England Patriots. In the second game of the 2001 season the patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured. Tom Brady was up next in line. Tom Brady then took them 11-3 in the regular season, and upset the Rams in the super bowl. The patriots ended up being NFL's elite teams just by the change of quarterback. 

Tom Brady is the best quarterback the NFL has seen. His last season was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; his 2021 season with them. It was his last super bowl where he upset the Kansas City Chiefs. Tom Brady changed the game of football in many different ways. For example, when Tom Brady was drafted, he was drafted in the 6th round of the NFL draft. When he came into the NFL, he wasn’t starting, he was supposed to just be a backup. 

He came in as a underdog, but when Tom Brady got his chance he did not disappoint. He was unstoppable in his career run. He wasn't the most athletic person, but he was very smart with his plays and knew what to do all the time. For example, February 5th 2017, it was the Patriots vs the Falcons. The Falcons were up 21- 3 at halftime, and the game ended 34-28 in the favor of the Patriots. Tom Brady was the super bowl MVP. He put this team on his back the whole second half and in over time. This game was the best comeback in super bowl history.

By: Angel Chavez 

Did you know that more than one million people have died since 1999 from drug overdose? Too many people of younger and younger ages have began to experiment with a variety of drugs. This article will address some of the more common drugs and their side effects. Of these different types of drugs, all of them have extremely negative side effects that can completely alter a persons body and mind.

Different kinds of drugs have different affects, for an example: Cocaine is highly addictive and is involved in nearly one in five overdose deaths. The way it can affect you is asthma, bowel decay, and increase risk of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Another kind of popular drug is Methamphetamine (A.K.A Meth). Meth causes the body’s system to speed up to dangerous levels. Long time users experience anxiety, confusion, insomnia, paranoia, aggression, and more. 

As we all know Marijuana is another form of drug. It is often referred to as a gateway drug because using it can sometimes cause the user to want to explore in more dangerous and harmful drugs, like those mentioned before. Using Marijuana can cause long-term effects. Marijuana can effect brain health by causing permanent IQ loss up to 8 points. When people start using it at a young age, and even after quitting, the IQ points don’t come back. Marijuana also effects mental health. Studies have linked Marijuana use to depression, anxiety, suicide planning, and psychotic episodes. Many research has shown that Marijuana effects timing, movements, and coordination which can effect athletic performance and overall daily life.

Fentanyl is a highly know substance that can cause death in seconds. Fentanyl is consumed by being snorted/sniffed, smoked, put into pill or by tablet. Fentanyl has variety of side effects such as relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. Effects of overdose can be stupor, clammy skin, cyanosis, coma, and respiratory failure leading to death.

Drugs overall are very bad for you and can cause severe mental issues, and health problems prohibiting your brain and body to function. They can effect how you see and interact with everybody around you, and can effect your daily life. Be smart and stay away from drugs and those who try to convince you to try them. 

By Sandra Castaneda

This weekend in the NFL there were a lot of upsets with games completely unexpected. 

The first game of NFL playoffs was Texans vs. the Browns which ended up in favor of the Texans 14-45. The Texans have really turned around this season with the new record breaking rookie Cj Stroud.

The 2nd game was the Dolphins vs the chiefs which was very cold it was minus four degrees. The game was a huge blow out with the chiefs winning 26-7; being lead 2x Super Bowl champion, Patrick Mahomes.

The 3rd game was the Packers vs Cowboys. It was a blowout by the half, but the Cowboys almost came back. However, the Packers took the win 48- 32; being lead by the young quarterback, Jordan Love.

The 4th game was the Rams vs the Lions where Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff (that had switched teams a couples years back). This game was a close one where the Lions won by one point 24-23!

The 5th was the Bills vs the Steelers, where it was snowing bad, and it was very cold. It was a huge blow out with the Bills winning 31-17, being lead out by Josh Allen.

The 6th game was the worst game of the first round of the playoffs with it being the Eagles vs the Buccaneers. The score was 9-32. The Bucs are now being lead by Baker Mayfield.

By Angel Chavez

Ghosts, they are a thing, or are they? Bum bum b- (this is for suspense) bum. 

Now real ghosts, a controversial topic- I think. I'm not sure, but no matter who you are or what your background consists of, if you are a freak or a madman who thinks Taylor Swift is better than Kanye West or if you spend hours a day arguing with internet strangers about how you just think "pineapple on pizza is gross,” No matter what, you have an opinion on this topic. If you don't I'm going to not make you because that's too much work. 

Today, we will be looking a personal favorite ghost story of mine. Get ready!

Case one of one: the Flanna Isles lighthouse. Now this isn't technically a “ghost story,” but people acquainted this story with ghosts. I'm right and you're wrong. So, as the documented parts of the story go, three men were scheduled to work a lighthouse shift for two weeks, replacing the previous workers who are going on break; this means the people working the lighthouse should not come in contact with any one for two weeks. They entered the lighthouse on December 7th, but on the night of December 15th, a boat passing by the lighthouse notes that the lighthouse light was not on, which as you know is not good. Now you might be thinking, “Oh. Maybe they just didn't turn it on yet.”  However, you would be wrong.

On December 20th on their scheduled switch of crew when they went out to the Isles it was covered by a thick fog which again, was strange. Now because of the fog they couldn't get to the Islands until the 26th (this is in 1900 so they didn't have GPS to find the island and there was no light being shown; but on the 26th when the boat that was came to pick them up landed on the island, there were still supplies that the crew was supposed to bring up to the lighthouse on the dock. Even stranger than that though is when the new crew entered the lighthouse everything was in place and a meal was ready to eat, but nobody was there. All three men...GONE. 

Now that's where the “official” story ends, but I want you all to place your bets as to what happened: A) they were abducted by aliens, B) they were possessed and they jumped into the ocean or C) they were hit by a natural phenomenon called a “rogue wave.” Which are waves that can reach up to recorded numbers of 312 feet high. 

I'm going with D, my own answer: GHOSTS 

In all seriousness this is a strange, and one of many weird occurrences, that seem impossible to know what happened and people will always come up with their own theories. That's for every story so it's more so what you want to believe is right because we will almost certainly never know the answer. 

By: Noah Soliz

What is veterans day? Veterans day is a day that we pay our respects to people who have fought for their country. Veterans day started as Armistice Day celebrating the people who served and died; it was celebrated on November 11th. Now, we celebrate all who have served, not just those who are no longer with us. 

A couple different ways we could celebrate Veterans Day is by taking a moment of silence, wearing red, white, or blue, and thanking every Veteran you see. Many restaurants and stores will give veterans discounts on food and services.

A couple fun facts about Veterans Day are: Veterans day and Memorial Day is not the same thing, and in 1954 Armistice Day was updated by congress to be known as Veterans Day. Memorial Day is to celebrate those who died in the line of service. 

By: Angel Navarro

One morning on September 11, 2001 a disaster struck. Flight 11 crashed into the North tower at 8:46 a.m striking floors 93-99, 16 minutes later at exactly 9:03 am South tower was hit by flight 175 also smashing into floors 77-85. Then the pentagon from Washington D.C was hit by flight 77 at 9:37. These 3 crashes caused dust from the pulverized buildings to fill the air with pollution for 5 months, fires lasted 99 days. The sad deaths this day brought was up to 2,996. As a large team was on the scout for more dead bodies underneath the 2 famous twin towers, 22 feet below the surface they had discovered a 30 foot long ship further identified as a Hudson River Sloop. 

A terrorist group based in Afghanistan named al Qaeda is claimed to be responsible for the 9/11 attack. Osama Bin Laden, who was a leader in the group, was also found guilty for the cause of 9/11. He was charged with murder of U.S Nationals outside the United States. On May 2, 2011 President Obama had a special operation to terminate Bin Laden. However, when Bin Laden found out they were after him, he hid in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Afterwards, he was discovered and terminated by O´neil, a member of the US Navy Seals. Ońeil had stated in an interview or report, ¨ A few feet in front of me, on two feet, was Osama Bin Laden...and I killed him.¨ After, they threw him in the Northern Arabian sea. It was only because the U.S didn't want Bin Laden's grave to be important to his followers. 

The reason why 9/11 happened was to try and eliminate  American support for numerous governments. Do you know why al Qaeda selected the date 9/11/2001 to hijack? Because it was similar to the emergency call number 9-1-1.

9/11 is a devastating event and it is very important to remember 9/11 because it was the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S  History!

Did You Know?

• The cost of rebuilding or replacing the damages was $16.4 Billion!

• Over 1,000 people are still MISSING.

• ONLY 20 people SURVIVED/ESCAPED the debris.

• It took 8 MONTHS to clean up debris at Ground Zero.

• The cost to rebuild the pentagon was $500 Million!

By Madalinn Gonzalez Vazquez