By Ryden Khong Phou

(Editor’s note: Minimal editing occurred prior to publication in order to preserve Ryden’s voice. Hopefully you will enjoy this style of writing.)

Gildedguy is a  animation series that has nine episodes. It has good music.

I'll go in chronological order in the story because episode 0 comes after six because of delays on episode 7. Now let's get to the stories. If I use GG I'm referring to GildedGuy because his name has two Gs.

Story 0

 Episode 0 starts with our main protag GildedGuy. Yes, that's his name looking at a painting we can assume it's the roles in the town we can assume this because it has a lot of symbols with roles behind them, there a agriculture,woodshop,mining, and etc etc, the next scene is GG playing with a fire poker like if it was a sword then his dad walks in and yes the green guy is GG’s dad even if GG is gray. Next scene is when the song plays its called “gold rush” and fits the story nicely and basically it follows GG paining a lot, and GG gets really bored and is burnt out from painting, then he gets “magic paint” when he mixes water some other paints with a another pain don't ask how that makes any sense, now the next scene is GG’s dad trying to give his son the leader of town job but GG doesnt want to be a leader, he wants to be a knight and painter i guess, the next scene is when we get to see the Star a special Star its shape is weird and its green and only GG can actually see it and when he sees the star GG goes to it and his dad being the best dad he can tries too stop his son but fails because he uses gold to stop him and this is when we get confirmation the yes the leader of the town is GG’s dad because in a vision GG had we see the leader’s face in a pictures that says RIP ill get to the theory side of things at the end, basiclly GG fights dad, GG wins leaves the moving town the end. For the start of GG’s story I think it's pretty good 7/10.

Story 1

GG fights a chef that cooked his bacon a little too good so that it burns the bacon and when the fight starts “Wonderful Night” by fatboy slim and GG just takes the chefs frying pan and wins. The worst one in my opinion because it has little plot and it is the first animation the creator made so it's kinda bad 4/10.

Story 2

GG goes to a fancy party held by nemesis a guild and GG takes alot of delicious treats but uh oh jade the leader of nemesis points at a sign saying “one per guest” and GG quickly loses 100 brain cells and takes another then jade knocks him out fight happens and GG wins buy trickery and being huge brain getting back his lost brains cells and he puts jade down, then gives her a treat he leaves and jade is cool about her L and she is so cool she sends her men to chase GG. Overall, my third favorite story is great song choice too, and shows that GG dont care who it be, his hands are E for Everyone, 9.5/10.

Story 3

This story in basic terms is GG fighting against a enemy we all hate… financial troubles

He goes to a dance club to gain that dough when he gets to the club the songs starts to play

The song is called “the basement” and it's when he meets a woman (side note i have no clue what her name is so im going to call her Jess until I get that info) he gets the bag of money and goes on his way. Song is fitting really well 6/10.

Story 4

GG is in a forest and meditates it's also when we see his swords special ability go to use, a couple minutes in we meet his foe Bog a slimy acidic entity and he hates GG for some reason, the song “a real life” is such a good pick because it's a good song and it tells you to get a life, GG realizes during the fight that Bog is weak to fire and uses his campfire to beat Bog up until Bog puts out the fire, them GG does a “dodge this” moment and uses his sword to hit Bog multiple time because GG’s sword can be used like a whip and it can be stretched to miles and it works because he puts Bog to the ground, before Bog just surrounds him, GG does a “alright try me”  moment by cutting his hands to let bog in and Bog hasn't read the mess around and find out scale because he does exactly that and “dies” physically he is still in GG body just not in control of GG’s mind and body. Great story, one of my favorites 8/10.

Story 5

GG fights himself literally now. I could go into detail on the animation but I don't think I'll do it justice. What I am going to do is talk about its meaning and symbolism first. The song used in this story  is called “Jesse James”. We can start by this Green eyes cowboy. I think it represents GG’s bad side, GG’s intentions turn into more of a perverted way. It shows GG’s jealous side, his greedy side, his prideful side. It's shown when he does alot of selfish things now at the end he is stopped. Plot of this story confuses me, but it's really good 6/10.

Story 6

GG is traveling across the greatest plans when he meets Oxob a fighter that uses electric based powers to fight and they get in a argument about GG’s wounds and they fight over it, the song playing over the fight is called “Alien Victory” they fight GG uses his gauntlets  to fight on even terms on Oxob because it really good at conducting the electricity away from GG after a while GG wins and goes on his adventure. Really good and even better animation 9/10.

Story 7

GG goes to colosseum and meets Arzon a windy boy he is a fan of the fights and fan boys with GG for a while before they meet the Rock hard gladiator that has stolen GG’s magic pen and using it to destroy the colosseum Arzon and GG fight the RHG they get beat up hard first they winning then they were not, we get the reason why the RHG hats the colosseum because it cause a lot of people's deaths and fair enough reason, the RHG succeeded in destroying the colosseum, the RHG goes to the sky to destroy the base plate but is stopped by GG and Arzon

And GG gets his pen back. Great song choice and better animation  8/10.

Story 8

GG after a while finds Mar then he fights mar and this is GG first loss shen 4 months later GG came back for his get  back and won and then mar died from a third party. If this seems short it's because this one has the most substance and is built around the plot so I don't want to spoil this one with really good animation, and better songs 10/10.

Ending thoughts

Gildedguy’s story is really good, especially story 8. All of them (except story 1) are really good and I highly recommend overall the story is really good. The songs the creator picked is spot on. I give Gildedguy a 61/80.

By Josue Ramos Perez

Q: What was the reason you started playing soccer?

A: My family inspired me to play soccer.

Q: If you would make it onto any team what team would you play for and why?

A: The team that I would play on would be Mexico because I would like to represent where me and my family are from.

Q: If you didn’t play soccer, then what sport would you play and why?

A: I would play basketball because that's my second sport. I played this too, and I was becoming good before playing soccer.

Q: How long have you played soccer for and would you quit playing soccer in the future?

A: The only reason I would stop playing soccer is because I would be retired.

Q: If you could change one thing about the Waldo soccer team, what would it be and why? 

A: It would probably be going against more schools and adjusting the formation. We would have it be 4-4-2. This would include four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers.

By Magnum Mushaney

One 7th grade lunch, my friend Kyle and I were eating some cheeseburgers when Kyle had an idea. Keep in mind Kyle is a little skinny kid and usually pretty scared, so he pitched the plan to break into the abandoned hospital on the weekend. 

“Are you serious about the hospital?” I asked.

“ Yes, I am, you're not gonna chicken out are you?” he questioned teasingly,

 “Shut up!” I yelled. 

“Let's go then you wimp,” Kyle teased

 Later that day we went to his house and we stole a pair of bolt cutters. I don't know why, but the hospital was in the middle of the forest for some unknown reason. Either way, we were still going to the hospital if it meant we were going to travel by foot through a forest to get to a fence then we would have to cut through to make it onto the property

We got through the forest and were about to cut the fence when we heard a shriek coming from the hospital. 

“Did you hear that?” I said, 

“What was that?” Kyle exclaimed, 

“Are you sure about this?”

 “I'm not trying to die.”

 We moved on to the hospital, the hospital looked intact on the outside for its 50-year closure, but what would the inside look like? We opened the door and through the doors we went. I took my first step and hit something on the ground.

” What was that,” I said,

”Do you have the flashlight?” Kyle asked,

” Yes”

 “ Then use it, stupid.” I flicked on the flashlight,

”Oh---my---god” I cried,” OUT NOW” 

We ran so fast out of the hospital, you would've thought that we'd seen a dead body. Well actually we saw multiple, or what their bones looked like at least. As we crept closer to the door with the flashlight, the bodies appeared to have crushed skulls and rib cages. There was also a gooey substance on the tiles that appeared to look like blood, but that would be impossible because of the age of the hospital. This hospital was shut down around 30 years ago and usually blood would be eaten by insects so it couldn't be just blood. Anyways we slowly made our way off the goo and bones to make it to the main hallway and we started seeing blood splatter all over the walls we got closer then we heard a loud scratchy sound coming from another part of the hospital.

“Did you hear that?” said Kyle 

“Yes, but what did it?”

“Let's go find out!” Kyle said enthusiastically

“Do you have a freaking death wish!?”

“Not that I know of?” Kyle said

After that we went and found the circuit box and brought back the power, I don't know how but it still worked and we were on our way to the elevator walking through the dried blood stained walls we made it to the elevator. I pressed the button on the wall and we heard it coming. As it got to the 1st floor, there was a scent that was similar to the stench of all the dead bodies at the entrance coming from the elevator. As the doors opened we saw 3 bodies and at that moment we decided to take the stairs. When we got close to the stairs and there were  scratch marks on the walls of the stairwell, we could either go up or down cause it appeared to have a basement, we chose to go down because there had to be cool stuff so we made it to the bottom of the stairwell and there was this big steel door blocking the way, I had the genius idea to turn off the power so we ended up back at the breaker and we hit the switch, but right as we turned the corner we saw something out of the corner of our eyes, as far I can tell I resembled a wendigo but as we took another step it ran away, we got back to the door and it appeared unlocked but we had to push hard to get it open, as we opened the door we saw a blue glow of a containment cell, but something was off about the cell its glass appeared broken but before we could investigate we heard a loud thud sound above us

“Quick hide!” I whispered 

I and kyle hid behind a box with wheels and as soon as we made it behind the box we started hearing the clicks of claws hitting the tiles, as he crept by I could feel something watching me, like a dark presence looming over me, as it walked passed it stood up on its hind legs, almost hitting its head on the ceiling.

“Let's get out of here,” I whispered

“Great idea,” Kyle whispered back

As we slowly tip-toed our way up the stairs, Kyle tripped on the last step making a big bang sound, then we heard it shriek 

“RUN” I screamed   

We both started sprinting down the hall. I took a deep breath and glanced back at it. Its cold, dead eyes stared as it shrieked again. I felt a hole in my chest. Open darkness was everywhere but there was light at the end of the hallway. As soon as my body made it through the doorway the hole closed. I felt light on my skin. I was free from the horrors of that abandoned hospital but we kept running cause we didn't know why or what was in that lab.

Many years later an organization named PHANTOM sent a task force to investigate the creature's whereabouts and find out who or what made the thing and why there was a lab beneath the hospital. I was the only man who had a glimpse of what horrors lay at that hospital. That day was one of the scariest days of my life seeing the monster up close. The things we saw in that lab were a lot worse than in the main lobby.

By Vicente Alvarado Anda

Q: What do you do in your free time?

R: I spend time with my family, I play video games, and I exercise.

Q: How long have you been working at this school?

R: I worked here for two years as an assistant and ten years as a teacher.

Q: What are the subjects that you like to teach most?

R: Science, Mathematics, and Spanish Language Arts are my favorite.

Q: What do you do for hobbies?

R: Boxing, reading books, and playing video games.

Q: What are your greatest achievements?

R: Becoming a teacher and teaching children so that they have a good future.

Q: If you weren't a teacher, then what would you like to do?

R: I would be a nurse.

By Andy Hernandez

Q.Why did you want to work at Waldo?

A. Helping students with science is wonderful.

    Q. What are some pets you've had or would like to own?

A. I have two dogs and three cats.

   Q. How would you describe your style of teaching?

A. Relational.

   Q. How does it feel for you to take peoples phones?

      A. Really bad 🙁

   Q. What's important to your family?

      A. Sticking together and working hard.

by Natalia Duran Meraz and Estrella Silva Cardenas

Q: What do you like about being a choir teacher?

A: I love seeing the whole process and how everything goes with my students. I love seeing my students perform.

Q: Who or what inspired you to become a choir teacher?

A: My voice teacher in high school gave me some inspiration, and also my college professor.

Q: What is your least favorite thing about your job?

A: My least favorite thing about it is how much stress I get before performing, and getting students to their positions.

Q: How do you feel each time you watch your students perform?

A: I feel so proud watching my students perform and it reminds me how much I love doing my job.

Q: How did you feel on the first day working as a choir teacher?

A: I felt really nervous on the first day thinking about how everything would go and what would happen next. 

Q: Why did you choose to work in music? 

A: I grew up with music. Both of my parents play instruments. I taught lessons in high school.

Q: Why did you choose to work at Waldo?

A: When I graduated, it was the first spot open. It was in my area like I wanted.

Q: How long  have you worked at Waldo?

A: This is my third year.

Q: What is your favorite song to sing?

A: It is from Beyonce’s new album: Cowboy Carter. 

Q: How long have you been working with music?

Q: Since I was little, but I started teaching in high school and then I recognized my passion for teaching music. 

By Camilo Mosqueda Casas

Q: (for Elizabeth Mendez) Do you enjoy Waldo? Why?

A: Yes, because before I used to work at a preschool and the students here at Waldo are more independent.

Q: Who is your favorite staff member or teacher? Why?

A: My favorite staff member is Ms. Kiracofe because I get to work closely with her and was once one of her students, too.

Q: Would you join any sports in Waldo and which sport?

A: Yes, I used to play volleyball in middle school here at Waldo.

Q: How's the makeup club you run? 

A: I am still doing the makeup club. I like to help them try new things and techniques to apply their makeup .

Q: What other schools would you work at and why?

A: I would rather own a preschool instead of working at another school. In high school, I did a teacher cadet course and learned about the stages of development. I like seeing the things that I learned in action, especially around ages two to four.

Q: Would you teach any classes in waldo? 

A: I would teach science because it was my favorite subject when I was in middle school. I also had really cool science teachers.

Q: What do you do at Waldo? 

A: I work as an instructional assistant, which means I help students in their classes when they need a little extra help completing their work.

By Dennise Sanchez Perez

Q: (for Abenamar “Benny” Ramirez) What do you like about Waldo?

A: I like coaching football. 

Q: Why do you like coaching football?

A: Because I used to play it back in middle and high school.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being a security guard at Waldo?

A: It is a great school to be at. 

Q: Why did you choose to work at Waldo?

A: To build my resume working with youth.

Q: Do you like to break up fights?

A: It is what it is.

By Iliana Medina and Amelia Rodriguez   

Q: (for Mr. Morris) What is your favorite food?

A: Anything from Taco Bell. 

Q: Why did you want to be a P.E. teacher?

A: Because my dad was a P.E. teacher.

Q: What is your favorite part about working at Waldo?

A: Having a fitness room and a P.E. room makes me happy because not a lot of schools have that. 

Q: What is your favorite sport and why?

A: Football is my favorite because I played football.  

Q: How long have you been working at Waldo ?

A: Nine years. I started working at Waldo in 2014. 

Q: What is your favorite sport to watch?

A: Golf because no one ever says that. I also like the Olympics.

Q: Would you ever be in another music video?

A: Yeah, I could probably still do it (hehehehe)!

Q: If you weren't a P.E. teacher, then what other job would you have and why?

A: A sports trainer because I could be around sports but not coach it.

Q: What is your least favorite part about this job?

A: Grades and paperwork. Real teacher stuff.

Q: At what age did you start balding?

A: It was probably when I was born because I had blonde hair and it goes away quickly. At least I’m not as bald as The Rock.

By Jasmin Najera

Have you heard of Garibaldi? Garibaldi is a Mexican restaurant owned by Gladis Bermudez, and it has been open since 2009 in Salem, Oregon. This restaurant is one of my favorites because they have a variety of good dishes to choose from. Options include breakfast meals, lunch platters, and  even good seafood dinners. 

One of my favorite dinner plates there is the chicken enchiladas. The dish comes with two delicious red enchiladas filled with shredded chicken and topped with melted cheese. It also comes with a side of rice, beans, and salad. It is a big filling plate, but there is always room for dessert. My favorite to choose from is their flan. It is full of sweet flavor topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup.

My family and I really enjoy going to eat at the Garibaldi because the food is delicious and the people there are really nice and welcoming. We are always greeted by a server who takes us in, seats us right away, and brings out our appetizer. This includes chips and salsa! The restaurant is filled with beautiful wall art and paintings. They are always playing fun Mexican music. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Mexican food and wants to experience a touch of Mexican culture.

By Jocelyn H. Boyer

The galaxy is huge, though it's big and there's a center! This center holds a black hole, and far away from this black hole is our solar system! Our sun orbits up and around this black hole and brings us with it! 

Most people think the sun pulls us all so the planets are too weak to go ahead and pull the sun, but this is not true. The sun pulls on us and even Pluto pulls on the Sun. In other words, everything pulls everything but bigger things like Jupiter and the Sun are better at it! 

Our star known as the Sun is a big ball of hot gas made of hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. It also has small amounts of many other elements such as neon, iron, silicon, magnesium and sulfur. All of these are famous chemicals, but let's ask ourselves, how do these get so hot? 

Pressure! The longer version is nuclear fusion. Now let's begin from the start. A big bang happened, making a tiny fireball that exploded. This explosion made the sun and the dust also made the planets, but some are small some are big. Why is that? 

The sun is made of rings instead of bigger planets. More things happen in this big gravity missing space of stars and planets like a star's lifetime. This cycle is a Stellar Nebula and that can turn to a average star or a massive star and this massive star turns to a red supergiant. 

There is one last thing that I`d love to comment about though, which is white holes. It's like a black hole but the opposite. They push things away. When I first found out about white holes a thought came to me: What happens if a white hole, a thing that pushes all light and matter away and flings it into space, and a black hole, a thing that sucks in all light and mass, collide? The answer is boring; they can't collide. This is because the black hole pulls in the white hole, but the white hole pushes him away. It is like a clingy friend; they want to stay with you and pull you closer even when you push them away and run.

By Jesse Uriostegui Herrera

Q: (for Angel Valle) Out of all the sports you have played, which was the hardest, easiest, and why?

A: The hardest one was probably wrestling because it's the most physical sport I've done. For the easiest, I don't really know. They are all hard in their own way.

Q: At what age did you start playing sports, and what was your first sport you have played?

A: I started playing in first grade at 7 years old. The first sport I ever played was soccer.

Q: How do you overall think about Waldo? If it was your school, then what would you change?

A: It’s an okay school, and if I owned the school I would work on the field cause it is really bumpy and hard to play in.

Q: Have you lived in Salem your whole life, and when you grow up do you plan on moving?

A: Yes, I have lived in Salem my whole life. When I am older, I plan on moving to Corvallis.

Q: What do you want to do when you grow up and why?

A: Engineering or starting my own business are two options because I want to be my own boss.

By Abby Valdez Ramirez

Ivan Cornejo, is an Mexican-American singer-songwriter who is an artist of the Regional Mexican genre. Born June 5, 2004 in Riverside, California, Cornejo endured a breakup in middle school that provided inspiration for songwriting. He taught himself how to play the guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube.

Ivan Cornejo's most popular song is “Esta Dañado” with a total of 237.7k page views. The most popular album by Ivan Cornejo is Danado with a total of 472.9k page views. He has generated 1.6 billion on-demand official streams in the United States.

Cornejo’s music talks about his heartbreaks and how he felt growing up. Everything he says in his songs, and the way he feels, is exactly how many people feel. That’s why people listen to his music. It’s easier for them to explain and express their feelings.

Reasons why I like Ivan Cornejo: You can relate to his songs if you feel sad or something. Listen to him and you'll feel better. If you're going through a breakup, then he is the right person to listen to. 

My favorite part of “Baby Please” is when he says “Piénsalo, tú y yo empezamos desde cero como antes No olvidamos del ayer, enamorarnos otra vez. Piénsalo, tú y yo sin celos como la primera vez. No enseñamos a querer, pero esta vez hay que hacerlo bien. Y hay que hacerlo bien, hay que hacerlo mal. Hay que hacerlo mal. Eso no me importa, yo solo quiero que seas mía sin pagar la renta vives en mí.” 

I like that part of the song because it’s basically says  “Think about it, you and me without jealousy like the first time. We don't teach to love, but this time we have to do it right. And you have to do it right, you have to do it wrong. I don't care about that, I just want you to be mine. Without paying the rent you live in me.” 

One of my favorite songs from Ivan Cornejo is:Ivan Cornejo - Baby Please (Official Video)

Ivan’s YouTube:www.youtube.com/@ivancornejoofficial

Catch Ivan Cornejo at an upcoming show! The next show will be on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. You can find Ivan Cornejo tickets for as low as $103, with an average price of $170.

By Princess Miranda Pelayo

Q: (for Ms. Kaili) Could you please tell me about yourself?
A: I like to paint, and I have a cat. I also have way too many teenagers in my household.

Q:  What made you want to work for Waldo?

A:  I was friends with Ms. Chavez and she told me to come work here so I did.

Q: How do you like to spend your free time?
A: I like to go on hikes with my family. 

Q: What’s your go-to karaoke song?
A: “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child.  

Q: What was your dream job as a child and why?

A:  I wanted to teach at an elementary school as a fourth-grade teacher because I just like being around students.