By Editor In Chief, Noah Cruz

October brings a flurry of exciting events, but one stands out: Fright Night! This festive after school activity took place on October 25, 2024, inviting our community to celebrate Halloween a little early. Attendees were encouraged to don their favorite costumes while enjoying a variety of attractions, delicious food, engaging raffles, and our beloved Trunk or Treat.

At Fright Night, visitors can savor tasty treats from our fantastic food trucks, including Brr Shaved Ice, Taco Land, M&M Ice Cream, and e•'lo•te. These culinary options were sure to satisfy every palate. For entertainment, we offered an array of attractions, such as our classic Haunted House, a costume contest, photo opportunities, music, carnival games, and a trunk contest.

This event wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of Stuart Mesa’s amazing staff and PTO. We extend our heartfelt thanks to them for making Fright Night a reality!

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By Olivia Santy

Audrey Ems is a 6th-grade student who practices gymnastics on competitive USAG teams XL silver. In gymnastics, Audrey has 4 different categories of routines: bars, vaults, beam, and floor. She started gymnastics at age 1 because when she was younger she did lots of flips, leading her parents to put her in a sport. Audrey plans on pursuing gymnastics as a Career with the hopes of competing in the Olympics.

By Charlize Naczas

From the full article: "Page 23, Suzuki’s Character Arc. The piece below shows Suzuki calling and befriending someone he once thought obnoxious and annoying, as well as being proud of his work. He had been a perfectionist before and extremely disappointed in his lack of talent but has learned to take pride in his work and be happy with it."

By Jerry Correa

Sports have many benefits such as improving mental and physical health, teambuilding skills, academic performance, etc. Some people who play the sport of football are Tyler Salcido and Patrick Shaughnessy. When asked why they enjoy playing football they replied, “It is a love and comfort to play football.” and “It is a fun sport, and I like to tackle.”Some of their favorite players are Philadelphia Eagles Wide Receiver, Julio Jones and Buffalo Bills Linebacker, Von Miller. Patrick Shaughnessy plays Wide Receiver, while Tyler’s is Slot Receiver. Some of their goals for this season are to win the championship in Florida and practice catching the ball. When not playing football Patrick likes to play the football video game Madden and play with his dogs, while Tyler likes to play the video game Siege. You should try out a sport too!

By: Camdyn Clift

How do games help you? Games have evolved over the years but the better players in them normally have a faster reaction speed due to gaming helping you get a quicker reaction time. Fast reaction speed is mostly because of the backbone of gaming fast-paced shooter games like Apex Legends or Superhot. The games you play could also show your interest if you like to play a basketball game then they might like to play basketball.

I like gaming because it’s not just one person, there are thousands of people all playing their favorite games in their respective communities.

I interviewed some of the gamers on campus to see what they thought. The People I interviewed on campus had their own opinions on gaming. One of them said that they liked to play NBA 2K 24 because it has his favorite basketball players. This could be an element of how your interests show depending on what your favorite video game is. Read the Full Article Here

By: Marielys Sidelko

 On Friday, October 11th, 2024, Stuart Mesa School’s band program attended Oceanside High School Band Night. Oceanside High School Band Night is an event where students from middle schools across Camp Pendleton and other middle schools meet up at Oceanside High School, for a night of having the high school band experience. The students get the chance to experience what a band is like at Oceanside High, meet the drum major and conductor, and perform in the stands. Each year, the participating students perform at Oceanside High School during a football game, playing pieces such as, “Go, go, go!”, “We Will Rock You”, “Go Big Green!”, and “Oceanside High Fight Song.” The students practiced these pieces about a month before the event, spending hours to meet the standards of the high school band. Read the Full Article Here

By: Hayven Cato

We, as students need to appreciate our custodians more Mr.Johnny is one you see a lot around campus custodians play a crucial role in maintaining a safe environment for students and staff they handle maintenance tasks, like minor repairs and setting up for events. One of Mr. Johnny's favorite aspects of being a custodian is the opportunity to positively impact the school community. He enjoys knowing that his work contributes to a clean and can thrive, appreciates the changes, counteract with students and staff, and is a visible part of the school community. Students can help by being mindful of their surroundings, picking up after themselves, recycling properly, and reporting any issues or messes. We can also encourage our peers to take care of their space and foster a sense of community: respect for our shared school environment. 

By Angelyna Mendoza and Charlize Naczas

Arts:

In October, a lot happened in Art: both movies and songs were released as well as festivals being held. Some movies that were released in October were Joker: Folie a Deux, Smile 2, and Venom: The Last Dance. The songs that made it to the top charts were Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, Die with a Smile by Lady GaGa and Bruno Mars, and Good Luck Babe by Chappell Roan. Some of the Art Festivals in California were the  Beverly Hills Art Show and the San Carlos Art and Wine Festival. 

Culture:

October is known for the holiday Halloween, celebrated on the 31st. On this day, children dress in costumes and go trick-or-treating, collecting candy by visiting houses in their neighborhoods. People also engage in activities such as carving pumpkins, visiting pumpkin patches, and enjoying a variety of festive autumnal traditions.

Halloween has a history spanning over 2,000 years, originating from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. According to History.com, the Celts celebrated their new year on November 1st. It was believed that on the night before the new year—October 31—the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred, allowing the spirits of the deceased to return to Earth.

This belief led to different traditions that evolved over the centuries. As the festival of Samhain blended with other cultural practices, it transformed into what we now celebrate as Halloween. Modern Halloween retains elements of this ancient festival, such as honoring the deceased and embracing the mysterious and supernatural. 

Politics:

According to "The History of the October Surprise", the term October Surprise refers to any late-breaking major news that can significantly impact a presidential election. Many news sources believe that this year's October Surprise occurred earlier in the year, when there was an attempted assassination of a candidate, along with a switch in Democratic nominees. Both candidates have been visiting swing states this month, and Americans are eagerly anticipating the results of Election Day, which is coming up in early November.