As the school year is approaching an end, it is a great time to get to know more about your co-primes for 2023-2024. During an interview with The Panther Post, future co-primes Claudia Seeley-Baechler and Brayden Howkstra were very talkative, cracking jokes and creating an all in all fun and enthusiastic atmosphere. Let’s get right into what Claudia and Brayden had to say…

What do you like to do in your free time? 

Brayden: I go to the gym about six times a week, that’s what takes up a lot of my time. And walking my dogs!

Claudia: I like to read, I like to paint, I play a lot of volleyball, I like going to the beach, I like spending time at my cottage, as well as spending time with my friends and family. 

What is one thing you want your fellow students to know about you? 

Claudia: I think I want them to know that I’m really approachable and pretty laid back. I don’t want them to think that because I’m going to be co-prime that I’m untouchable or something! I like making jokes, [I’m not] robotic or uptight! I just want them to be like, “there’s my bud Claudia.” So that’s what I want them to know about me, I like to make friends and I like to mingle, and [I want them] not to be scared of me or anything like that. 

Brayden: I’m friendly with basically everybody, you can say “hi Brayden” in the hallways whenever you want and I’ll start a conversation with you. I love to talk, even just between classes, so start a conversation about literally anything and I’ll find a way to keep it up. 

What made you want to run for co-prime?

Claudia: First of all, I had a lot of ideas and visions of what to do in the school. Also, I heard people [say things] like ‘I would so vote for you if you ran for co-prime’ so that got the gears turning in my mind, and [I thought] I love doing leadership things, I love taking the lead in a lot of projects, and I have a lot of ideas that I think I could execute really well. I thought co-prime would be a really good way to focus on what I want to do, get to know the people, and have a blast. 

Brayden: There are things I want to see happen differently in our school, there are things I want to change and improve. I’ve been thinking that since last year, but I was always too scared to put myself out there. I was debating it, and then like 3 hours before all the candidates came together I was like ‘it’s now or never’ so I just showed up. It really helped me break out of my comfort zone, I really enjoyed campaigning, and now we’re here!

What are some of your skills that you think will make you successful as co-primes next year?

Brayden: I think simply just energy! I have a very positive-spirited personality, and I think ever since the pandemic happened, a lot of that school spirit has been killed a little bit. I think if our leaders of the school display a lot of energy, then that would be reflected in the student population as well. 

Claudia: Knowing myself, I’m very committed to the task I commit myself to. I want to make sure that I’m successful and that we’re successful as a school altogether, so that’s one thing that I’m really interested in. I’m very driven, and I think I’m really organized in terms of projects. Being in SAC this year, I’ve got to see that I can stay on top of things and that I can manage myself while I have a lot on the go. So I’m really good at organizing what I need to do and prioritizing, [and] I think that would be a very valuable skill. I think my humour would be a skill as well! It makes things more fun and less uptight. 

What are your plans for next year? Are there any initiatives in particular that you are looking forward to implementing? 

Brayden: One thing I really pushed for my campaign is supporting the community around our school as well, and donating to local charities because I feel like there’s a lot we could be doing to not only help the school but everyone around us as well. And then, bringing the energy back! I feel like for pep rallies and stuff like that, we could be going above and beyond, and creating almost an American high school type of environment. That’s one thing I’m really excited about trying to create here. 

Claudia: Brayden and I have talked a little bit and it’s really exciting just to be heading a lot of the big events. I’m really excited to do new things like in-school volunteering opportunities, I think that’ll be really beneficial. People can volunteer more and then we get more school involvement overall. I’m [also] really excited to plan big events like prom or like dances, and have more student input and be able to implement it into the planning and organization of those events. So I’m just really excited to get to plan things and to oversee things, and make the final decision on a lot of our events and what’s going on. Also, [I’m excited to] make the school a little colder! Maybe that would coincide with Brayden’s goal of helping other communities around the school, so maybe while we’re fundraising, some of the money can go to helping to cool our school and some to other organizations and charities around our area. 

Any final words?

Brayden: Go Panthers!

Claudia: *professionally tap dances* 

Thanks to Brayden and Claudia for taking some time to chat with The Panther Post. We wish our wonderful future co-primes the best of luck for next year!

CLICK HERE TO SEE A PICTURE OF THEM

Multicultural week, starting on May 23 and ending on May 27, has just passed at Glenview, with tons of involvement and participation from Panthers! The week featured many different activities and events. On Tuesday, Panthers had the opportunity to paint the flags of the nations with which they identify, to be hung in the cafeteria. On Wednesday, Glenview’s Desi Student Association ran a photobooth event where many Panthers took pictures adorning cultural clothes and items. Thursday featured an event run by the Asian Student Association, which included giving samosas to students in the cafeteria and music. Friday showed us a huge culmination of the many cultures at Glenview as students were encouraged to wear cultural clothes, and a mini-festival was held outside in the Panther Pit, with the participation of many of Glenview’s student unions and associations. Overall, it was amazing to see all the many styles of clothing, genres of music, dishes, and snacks of the diverse cultures that exist at our school. It was a wonderful opportunity for some cultural self-expression and appreciation of others’ cultures. Panthers, you made it a great week with your diversity and excitement! I’m sure we are all looking forward to the multicultural events next year and all that they entail. And remember, multicultural week is for everyone!

On May 12th and 13th, over 800 people from the public came to Glenview to watch our amazing students perform: Annie the musical. A heartwarming story about an orphan girl who finds family through adversity. The cast worked tirelessly, overcoming their own surprising issues, to deliver a killer performance. In fact, the tech crew had some problems with the microphones with Nathan, a sound tech, even referring to it  as “a bit of a nightmare”, but in the end, the tech crew pulled through to help create a performance to be remembered. Furthermore, Nathan also comments more positively on the musical saying that “it was really nice to work with the actors and participate in the performance”.   

Overall the performances were amazing! It was for sure nerve wracking at first, performing in front of 500 kids, but their reactions made it so worth it. The cast had such a lively audience that was so willing to participate and enjoy the show. Words cannot describe the hard work that went into this show. Everyone that was involved worked so hard on Annie. And it had an incredible result!

In the words of Ty, who played Rooster in the musical, the Annie performance “was an incredible experience with a plethora of phenomenal people; Everything paid off and everyone did very well.”

More Quotes From The Cast and Crew of Annie

“ I wore a pretty dressed and cried” - Meadow (Lily) 

“ It was stressful but the outcome was something to be proud of” - Brie (July)

“ It was such a rewarding experience, all of the hard work that went into it payed off” - Danica (Kate) 

“ It was an incredible experience with a plethora of phenomenal people; Everything paid off and everyone did very well. “ - Ty (ROOSTERRRRRR)

“Microphones were a bit of a nightmare at times but it was really nice to work with the actors and participate in the performance”- Nathan (Sound tech) 

Hopefully, as an ongoing annual event, WRDSB will have the chance to run a full Student Wellness Conference every year where students from many different schools will be able to attend and learn many tools and tips catering to a variety of different topics, bettering their mental health and bringing back tools that can help their peers. This year the conference was held at The Family Centre Gymnasium in Kitchener, ON. The conference began at 8 AM and went on until 1:15 PM. There were many different workshops for students to choose from and explore. The conference taught me some valuable lessons that I will be able to apply and share with my family and friends. The topics ranged from “Wellness 101” to “Resilience” and “Mental Health 2SLGBTQIA”. Out of the 10 workshops, I chose to go to the “Procrastination” workshop held by the WRDSB Psychology Presentation Team (run by Susan Gross, David Klassen, Lisa Mulvihill, and Anna Polotskaia) and the “Gaming and Mental Health” workshop (run by Brian Douglas, a WRDSB social worker.)

The day started with students from many different schools across the Waterloo Regional District School Board gathering in the gymnasium to be introduced to the day's layout, listen to some personal stories, and get inspired to understand the background of the conference. The students listened to guest speakers, student trustees, and event coordinators, along with a speech from the director of education, Jeewan Chanicka. The keynote speakers, Alex Gordon and Victoria Young, gave brilliant and inspirational stories on how they formed their identities growing up with an indigenous background. Students were given introductions from the new student trustees, and then wrapped up things with the coordinators. After all of the introductions, students could snack from many different healthy options and had to participate in an icebreaker to get to know peers from across WRDSB better. 

As soon as introductions, explanations on the day's layout, and speeches wrapped up, everyone made their way to the designated room for each workshop. There was a broad variety of intriguing seminars, such as:

Workshop 1:

1) Wellness 101

2) The importance of healthy relationships in navigating mental health stressors

3) Cannabis, vaping, and well-being game (repeated for workshop 2 as well)

4) Hear YOUth out: fostering resiliency through a spiritual lens

5) 2SLGBTQIA+ students mental health: disparities and diversity

6) Procrastination: to do or not to do? That's the question

7) Celebrating our neurodiversity

8) Dealing with stress and anxiety

9) Indigenous approaches to mental health

10) Gaming and mental health

      Initially, the day was dedicated to letting the student body be heard - with the workshops being suggestions from students on topics they believed needed to be acknowledged. The day was fun, engaging, and interactive. One major suggestion the students had was to make the workshops more hands-on, though most were satisfied with the techniques they developed after the conference. Hopefully, This will become a more annual and normalized event to give the student body a voice that will bring change and improve their education.

On April 11th and 12th, over fourty students from GPSS journeyed to the University of Waterloo, along with many other schools in the region, to participate in this year’s Federal-Provincial conference. The Federal-Provincial conference is a simulation of a meeting of the provincial and territorial governments, as well as the assembly of First Nations, with the federal government to discuss Canadian politics and negotiate proposals surrounding funding and programs in a variety of topics. These proposals are created with regards to each of the ministries - Health, Environment, Finance, Justice, Indigenous Affairs, the First Ministry, as well as the newly added

Immigration. Students at Glenview Park worked hard and collaborated for many weeks in preparation of the conference, doing research on Saskatchewan’s political landscape so as to most accurately represent the province (even when it may not have matched our own beliefs) and succeed on the days of. Well, we most certainly succeeded! After hours of negotiations and discussions in each conference room, our ministers and delegates were able to create massive changes, whether making a deal for a 300 million dollar investment in recertification centers in the Ministry of Health, or planning for the investment of 2.5 billion dollars into improving quality of life for Indigenous peoples over the course of three years in the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. Our ministries of environment, finance, immigration, and justice also saw enormous success! Even when facing difficulties, our delegates persevered. Glenview students in the Ministry of Finance committed to their role when they staged a walkout in protest of being prevented by the federal government from discussing and negotiating certain issues in their ministry. Overall, our school worked hard and did a great job, those who had a speaking role as well as those doing important background work! Most importantly, I can confidently say that it was a fun learning experience for all of us! Remember, this is a yearly conference, so if you’re interested in participating, Glenview will be attending again next year. Be sure to join!

What is it?

Earth Week takes place between April 16 and April 23. This week is used to show appreciation towards the Earth and environment and brings communities together. It is also based on climate awareness, pollution, littering and more.

2023 Theme 

The theme for Earth Week this year is "Invest In Our Planet". This theme was chosen in order to get businesses, companies and citizens to become more knowledgeable about ongoing environmental issues and help improve our environment. This was also chosen to create interest and ensure that future generations ahead of us have the ability to grow up in a healthy environment.

Get Involved

Volunteer with organizations such as Silverheights Neighbourhood Association, Preston Heights Community Center and more to show your involvement. Silverheights Neighborhood Association’s Youth Council will be conducting a park clean up this year to show our support for Earth Week. They have been doing park cleans up since September 2022 and have been trying their best to make various parks in Cambridge such as Baldwin Park, Victoria Park, St. Gabriel's Catholic Elementary School clean and litter free. All materials such as garbage bags and gloves will be provided by SNA. This is a great way to get involved and also gain volunteer hours if you still need to. Check out @snassocation on instagram for more information. 

Date: Monday, April, 24th

Time: 4:00 to 5:00

Another way to get involved is to plant a tree. If everyone took the time to plant one tree it would make a major difference in the world. Since there are not many trees at the moment due to pollution and over consumption of products, planting a tree will provide homes for animals and create a healthier environment. 

Finally, learning to be responsible regarding acts that affect the Earth is a great way to show your initiative. By creating compost and throwing things away in their appropriate places such as trash or compost you can make a difference. Being aware of how much waste and pollution you create everyday and taking a step to decrease it is very important. Instead of driving alone everyday, you can carpool, take the bus, walk or bike! 

It is important for all of us to do our part and make our Earth a better place!

...........

Editors Note: While many of us suffer from the lack of motivation and even burn out that results from the second half of our last year of high school, it might be good to remember that we still have the opportunity to develop skills and relationships that will make these last few months not only valuable but MEMORABLE! Let’s try to take risks, show up and participate to the best of our ability.

Every time It seems like young African-Americans are no longer dealing with life-threatening terrors, another tragic disaster occurs bringing reality back to America’s long-running systematic racism. Missouri teen, Ralph Yarl, a 16 year old black male who had allegedly knocked on the wrong door when going to pick up his younger siblings had gotten shot twice by an elderly white man. The incident spread in the media causing a lot of people to start riots and protests in his name. The prosecute, Andrew Lester, had used a 0.32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver to shoot Ralph Yarl twice through a glass door once he thought of him as an unrecognized threat. Zachary Thompson, Clay County prosecuting attorney, stated that the case had a form of a “racial component” to it. An NBC News article states “Yarl has some permanent injuries from a cracked skull, loss of brain tissue and scarring, but is expected to make close to a full recovery”. Even with this tragedy affecting Ralph and his family, Andrew Lester was still able to be released from initial questioning and had not been charged with hate crime since it would be a lesser degree of felony but rather of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Lester was kept in the detention center and was in custody until he got released on Tuesday evening after he posted a bail, which had been set at $200,000. Yarl had not only got shot in the head and managed to  survive, but also in the arm in which when running away, he told the police that he heard a voice say “Don’t come around here”. Yarl has now been released from the hospital but the mental trauma he had to go through along with how it affected his family will never vanish.

“I just want justice to be served, so whatever is the right amount of justice for this situation should be granted out to him. Nothing more, nothing less, just the right amount, that’s it,”Cleo Nagbe, Yarl's mother, told NBC News outside the Clay County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon.

If you want to support Ralph and his family, donate to this fundraiser (Fundraiser by Faith Spoonmore : Ralph Yarl) or spread some awareness!

“Andrew Lester, 84-year-old Kansas City man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, is in custody.” NBC News, 18 April 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/andrew-lester-kansas-city-man-accused-shooting-ralph-yarl-custody-rcna80147. Accessed 20 April 2023.

Saturday, third weekend of March

My shift was finally over. It was nice to finally be walking home. I grabbed my things, wished my coworkers a good night, and left the pharmacy. The shift hadn’t been too bad, but it sure felt nice to finally be going home. I walked the fifteen minute walk back to my College residence. I must have been 2 minutes away when I noticed a poster on a streetlight. I walked closer to take a better look. “Looking for a dog sitter for one night. First weekend of April. 2000$. If interested, call this number.” The poster read. I thought it was some sort of prank. Who the hell is going to pay someone 2000$ just to watch a dog for one night? But the number looked real, and so did the poster. I took a picture of it on my phone, and continued walking home. I was getting ready to go to bed when I thought about that poster again. 

I’m working minimum wage at a pharmacy. I could use that money to pay off my student loans I thought to myself.

It certainly seemed sketchy, but I figured there couldn’t be much harm in giving it a try. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Some teenager got a laugh over someone believing the poster was real? I didn’t think the effects could be disastrous, so I thought about what to say and dialed the number. A woman picked up the phone.

“Hello?” She said

“Hi. I saw a poster to call this number to watch over a dog for a night in April and I was interested in doing that.” I told her

“Well alright, thank you for calling. But it’s getting late. Can you please call me back tomorrow around 1:30 pm?” The woman said to me

I looked at my alarm clock. It was 10:40 pm. What the hell was I thinking? I should have waited a day to make the call. I felt foolish, but I had to continue the phone call.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry for calling you this late.” I said.

“It’s fine. Just call me back tomorrow around 1:30.” The woman told me

“Sure thing. Have a good night.” I said before hanging up the phone.

I lied in bed to fall asleep and thought about the phone call. It was nice that it seemed real, but there had to be a catch. They were offering to pay someone 2000$ just to watch a dog. Maybe the dog had a lot of special needs, or it was just a really hard dog to watch over. Regardless, I love dogs and wanted to know more about this. I just went to sleep to make the phone call the next day.

The next day

When 1:30 came around, I took out my phone and dialed the number. The same woman from the previous night answered.

“Hello?” She greeted

“Hi. I called last night with regards to watching a dog during the first weekend of April.” I said

“Ah, yes. Thank you for calling back. What is your name, age, and address?” The woman asked

“Chrissie. I’m 22. I live at the local college campus.” I told her

“Hello Chrissie. My name is Grace. My husband and I are going to a computer science convention for that weekend and we’re offering 2000$ to the person who watches over our german shepherd during that time.” The woman told me.

“Alright. What are the details?” I asked.

“You must be free on that weekend. You’re expected to arrive around 5:45 pm. You will take care of our dog and watch over our house for the weekend. This will require you staying up very late as watching over our house is very difficult. Can you do that?” Grace asked.

“Certainly.” I said to her.

“Great. Do you have a free afternoon anytime soon?” Grace asked

I thought about my work schedule. I was free on Tuesday. 

“Does Tuesday work for you?” I asked.

“Yes it does. My husband will be at our house, and he will ask you some questions and go into further detail about taking care of the house. The address is 179 Pinkerton Rd. He will be very pleased that someone is willing to watch over our house.” Grace told me.

“Understood. What time should I arrive?” I asked as I wrote down the address.

“Around 3:30.” Grace said.

“3:30. Got it.” I said

“Great. Do you have any questions for me?” Grace asked

I thought about asking why the amount of money offered was so high, but I didn’t want to risk getting paid less, so I decided not to ask.

“No, everything sounds good.” I said

“Alright then. Thank you for calling Chrissie. Have a nice day.” Grace said

“Thanks so much. You as well.” I said before hanging up. I felt pretty good. I was hopefully going to make a good amount of money for just watching over a dog. That sounded awesome, but I had to wonder why it was so difficult.

Tuesday

I looked on the gps app on my phone to see how long it would take to get there. Once I saw that it was about twenty minutes away, I got prepared to leave when the time came. I left the campus and walked to the address. I noticed the neighbourhood was much nicer than my own. The houses were larger and more fancy. They weren’t the kind of houses you’d see a rapper or actor living in, but they were better than an average suburban house. I felt kind of stupid, because I was wearing a sweater and jeans. But it was far too late to turn back, so I figured it would just be best to go in as I was. I got to the house a minute before the scheduled time. I went up to ring the doorbell. A man of about forty-five answered wearing a fine business suit with a large smile on his face. I felt even more stupid about my outfit. I couldn’t believe I showed up to a fancy house wearing jeans and a sweater. What was this man going to think when a 22 year old showed up to his house like this? 

“You must be Chrissie.” The man said as he extended out his arm.

“Yes I am.” I said as I shook his hand.

“Great. My name is Henry Clark, and this is my house. Come in, leave your shoes on the mat.” The man said to me

I walked into the house and followed Henry.

“That’s a very nice suit.” I said

“Oh, thank you!” Henry said to me. He had a great attitude

“I feel a little underdressed.” I said with an awkward chuckle

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Henry said

I followed Henry to his home office, where he told me to have a seat in a chair across from where he was sitting.

“Alright. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My wife and I will be going to a computer science convention for that weekend, and you have called with the hope of watching over our dog. Is that correct?” Henry asked me

“Yes.” I told him

“Do you have any previous experience taking care of dogs?” Henry asked

“My family has always owned dogs for as long as I can remember. I also used to babysit from time to time when I was a teenager, and some of the families had dogs who I also watched for them.” I explained

“Oh wonderful!” Henry said “So I’m assuming I won’t have to go through the basics of watching a dog then?”

“Probably not.” I said

“Well, how about I show you around the place?” Henry offered

“Sure.” I said

We walked out of the office and Henry showed me the various rooms. 

“By the way Chrissie, if you have any questions about this, please ask me. I would rather you ask me a question then do something wrong when we’re away.” Henry told me.

“I understand.” I said

“We have plenty of food here in the kitchen. Various meats are in the freezer, and you are welcome to help yourself to anything in the fridge on that night. Caffeine will help you a lot. We have pop, energy drinks, milk, carbonated water, and so many other drinks in the fridge. However, I do ask that you keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum. If you want a glass of wine or two, that’s fine, but keep it at that. We also have plenty of chips, chocolate and other snacks in the bottom cabinets. You are welcome to eat them, but don’t let the dog get into them.” Henry explained

“Understood.” I said

“Great. The next thing I wanted to show you - Oh! There’s Betsy! Come here girl!” Henry called out as a german shepherd walked in to the room

“That’s a cute dog!” I said.

“You can pet her, she won’t bite.” Henry told me

I got down on one knee to pet the dog. She was very friendly. I was going to enjoy watching over her.

“If she runs to the back door and starts frantically jumping on it, it probably means she needs to use the washroom. She knows a few tricks and will usually respond when you call her name. The dog food is in the far, top left cabinet in the kitchen. The dog toys are in a basket under the counter, and there’s a fenced off area in the room over there to put her when you’re eating. If you don’t put her there, she will go at all odds to get your food.” Henry explained

“Alright, sounds good.” I told him as I followed him to another room

“Here is the living room. We have a few streaming services if you want to watch any movies or tv shows. You can play music through the speakers, but don’t play it too loud or else it will hurt Betsy’s ears.” Henry told me

“Alright. Very fancy room.” I said

“Thank you. My home office will be locked. Do not try to get in there.” Henry said.

“Understood.” I said.

“If you follow me upstairs, I will show you a little more.” Henry said

“Alright.” I said as I followed him upstairs

“The laundry room is this room right here. We also keep our cleaning supplies in here, so if you spill a drink or something, please clean it up. We have bleach, sponges, and anything you might need.” Henry explained

“Alright. I’ll be very careful.” I assured him

“Over here is the outside deck. Feel free to kick back out here on the deck chairs before the invaders show up.” Henry explained

“Alright” I told him

“Let’s head back downstairs now.” Henry said to me.

Henry told me to have a seat at the kitchen table. He got very serious about what he was about to say.

“Now Chrissie, this might be difficult to understand, but it’s the reason you’re being paid 2000$.” Henry said.

“Alright.” I responded.

“This is usually a turn off for people, or they think I’m joking when I say this. I am a tech designer. I work on computer programs. About a year ago, I was in a computer lab with my team. We were working on a very complex program. While I left to grab an item that I forgot in another room, there was a horrible accident. The computers blew up. The program which we were working on was still extremely bugged. When the explosion happened, somehow the coders got infected. They were given these weird, glitchy powers.” Henry explained

“Um… Alright?” I said, “I’m sorry that happened, but what’s the connection?”

“They blame me because I did most of the coding. Now they try to invade my house every night. The police have tried countless times to stop them, but nothing ever works. They also manage to find my house every time we move. Because of this, my wife and I have to fend off the invaders ourselves. If you’re willing to do that, we will hire you to watch our house for that night.” Henry explained

“Sure.” I said with a chuckle, thinking he was trying to have some fun.

Henry’s expression remained serious.

“Chrissie, I’m dead serious.” Henry said in a serious tone

“Alright then. I suppose I can do that.” I said, somewhat confused.

“Good. Then if you could follow me to the garage, I will show you the gadgets you will need to fend them off.” Henry said as he stood up and walked to the garage.

I followed him to the garage where he showed me a table with two gadgets. Henry picked up the first gadget, which looked a bit like a wireless radio.

“This is a signal disruptor. If you press this red button, it will cause much pain to the glitchy attackers within a five metre radius. This will cause them to run away. Just point the antenna at them, press the button, and you’ll be good for around five to twenty minutes.” Henry explained

“Sounds simple enough.” I responded

Henry then showed me the larger gadget, which was about a metre long. It had a red end on it. The red end looked like the barrel of a space gun you’d see in a typical science fiction film that’s set in outer space. There was a handle on each side and two buttons on it.

“I call this the antivirus ray. This first button is the power button. The second button shoots essentially a ray of antivirus at the invaders. It will mess up their brains and usually makes them retreat. Just plug it into the wall and you’re good to go. The ray won’t hurt you or Betsy. It only hurts the invaders. Just go outside the back door with either gadget to use them. Don’t let Betsy or yourself get too close to the invaders, because they will try to bite you which will infect you in the same way they are infected.” Henry explained

“That’s pretty crazy, but I can do that.” I assured Henry. It was crazy that this happened to these poor coders.

“Another thing, be sure to periodically check outside. I’d say around every twenty minutes, starting around 7:30, and they rarely ever show up after 5:00 am. If you see anybody in the distance or hear glitchy technology sounds, be sure to check them out. Don’t get very close to them. If you smell something similar to burning computers, they’re near. There will be a very strong flashlight and binoculars near the door. Plenty of batteries will be right next to it if you need to change them. Unfortunately, these devices I’ve created to fend off the invaders take a lot of power, meaning I can’t use them as much as I want because I would probably go broke from the electricity bill. I’m working on better ways to conserve energy, but we have to make do with what we have.” Henry carefully explained

“I’ll make sure to only use them if it’s necessary.” I said

“Good. Another thing, there will be a pile of pebbles next to the backdoor. Throw the pebbles at the invaders if they come too close. If you knock them in the pool, that’s perfectly fine because they hate water due to the electric component to their bodies. There is also a pellet gun in the garage. Shoot the attackers. If you need training, I’m happy to teach you how to use it.” Henry told me

“I understand. I also used to shoot targets with my uncle so I think I can manage the pellet gun.” I told Henry. 

“Great. Do you have any questions? Please ask them now if you have any.” Cole told me

“Is this even legal?” I asked

“I can assure you, no laws are being broken.” Henry said

“All seems well.” I said

“One final note, if you lose cell reception or internet access, then the invaders are too close.” Henry explained

“I’ll keep an eye on that.” I said

“Do you want to pet the dog one more time?” Henry offered

“I would love to.” I responded with a smile.

We found Betsy in the living room. We both petted her and it was great.

“Well Chrissie, thank you for offering. Show up here around 5:45 pm next Saturday. We’ll be back around 8:00 am Sunday.” Henry told me

“Let me just set a reminder in my phone for that.” I said as I took out my phone to put in a reminder. 

“No problem. Oh Chrissie, I actually have one more thing for you before you go. Follow me.” Henry told me as he walked back to his home office. I followed him wondering what it was. He took out a small notebook and wrote something down.

“Earlier, you said you liked my suit. So here’s the number and address of my tailor if you want. His name is Thomas, he’s a great guy.” Henry said as he handed me the small slip of paper.

“Oh thank you.” I said as I took the paper slip and put it in my pocket. He stood up and we walked out of his office.

“Well Chrissie, thank you so much for doing this. Grace and I appreciate it very much. Have a good day. Show up around 5:45.” Henry said

“Thanks Mr. Clark. You as well.” I said to Henry

I was about to walk out the front when I remembered something. I didn’t know where I was going to be sleeping. 

“Oh Mr. Clark?” I said

“Yes?” He asked

“Where will I be sleeping?” I asked him

His expression changed slightly.

“Chrissie, you need to watch the house. You’re not going to sleep. You have to be up all night.” Henry explained

“Oh.” I said. That took me off guard. I didn’t think I was pulling an all-nighter. But I couldn’t resist 2000$.

“Are you still willing to do this?” Henry asked

“Absolutely.” I assured him.

I put my shoes on, said goodbye and left the house. 

“The day”

Today was the day. I was watching over a large house and an adorable dog. I was ready. I put on my outfit, grabbed all my things, and sent a text to my sister bragging about what I was doing because I knew she would get jealous. I walked to the house and rang the doorbell.

Henry answered wearing another fine tailored suit.

“Hello, Chrissie! Come in!” He said. He was in a very good mood once again. The convention must be very exciting for him.

“Hello Henry. I’m ready to pull an all-nighter!” I enthusiastically told him

“Wonderful. We should be leaving any minute now. My wife just has to finish doing her makeup.” Henry explained

“Alright.” I said.

We talked in the front lobby for a few minutes. It was so hard to contain my excitement. Then a woman in a fancy dress and makeup came down the stairs with what looked like a glass of champagne in her hand. I knew it was Grace.

“There you are honey.” Henry said “Let’s get going.” 

“Of course.” Grace said

Grace turned to me

“You must be Chrissie.” She said with an extension of her hand

“Yes I am.” I said as I shook her hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Grace. I’m the one who answered the phone” Grace explained

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” I said

“Well we must get going.” Grace said before finishing her drink “I’ll just put this in the dishwasher first.”

“I can do that.” I offered

“Really? Thank you Chrissie. Don’t worry about doing dishes. We’ll take care of that when we get back tomorrow.” Grace said

“Understood.” I said as I took the empty glass out of her hand.

Henry handed me a slip of paper.

“Here is the wifi password as well as numbers you can reach certain coders in the area who can help fend off against the invaders. But don’t call them unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Henry said

“I’ll make sure to keep everything under control.” I assured him

“Good. Thanks again for doing this. I’ll call you periodically to make sure everything is alright.” Henry said

“Goodbye Chrissie.” Grace said as they both walked out of the door.

With them being gone, I went to find Betsy. She was lying on her stomach in the kitchen. I put the empty glass in the dishwasher and pet Betsy on the head. She got up. She was very excited to see me. Betsy started jumping on me and licking my face. 

“Betsy!” I said, laughing.

When I got the dog off of me, I looked at my phone. It was 6:03. I had some time before the invaders showed up. I got a ball from the toys and took Betsy outside to toss a ball around the large backyard. We did this for several minutes. I missed playing with dogs. Ever since I moved out, I was so eager to own a dog. I still got to play with the dogs when I came down to visit, but I was going to be watching over Betsy for several hours which was different. She wasn’t even a difficult dog to watch. This all came to a halt when something happened. My stomach growled. I needed dinner. It took a bit of effort, but I managed to get Betsy inside. I locked the dog in a fenced off area to ensure she wouldn’t get into the kitchen to take food off the plate. I looked in the freezer. I stood there for a minute deciding on what to cook for myself. I was no fancy chef, but I knew how to cook a few things too. I decided on a porkchop and to have a side of sliced carrots and celery. When I finished cooking, I sat down to eat my dinner. I looked at my phone while I ate, reading news headlines and checking social media. Eventually, I finished my food and figured I might as well feed Betsy. I grabbed some dog food after putting my dishes away and filled her bowl in the fenced off area. I also grabbed her water bowl to fill it up. Things were going well. I watched random internet videos while Betsy ate and later played with her a bit. Then she started jumping at the back door. I knew what it meant. I let her out to do her thing on the grass. While I was waiting for her to finish, I heard a noise. It sounded like a voice but it was being interrupted. Like a video of someone on the internet talking when the internet was barely working. Then I looked at my phone. It was 7:31. The invaders must be here.

“Betsy, get inside.” I called out

She started running off in the opposite direction. I ran and grabbed her collar. The mysterious voice continued. I managed to wrestle Betsy into the house, all while hearing the voice. I couldn’t make out what it was saying. I figured I might as well try to get rid of the invaders. I grabbed a pebble after I shut the door.  I looked around the backyard but saw nobody. The glitching voice started to die down. I figured the invader had gone away for whatever reason. I started to walk back to the door to get in when I heard something behind me.

“HE-EEE-&$-EY–EE!” 

I turned around. I was horrified. Standing right across the pool staring right at me was a figure. It looked like a man in his thirties with scars covering his arms. His clothing was ripped. He was trying to say something but his voice and face kept getting disrupted. It was like looking at a face on a computer screen from how it was distorted. He charged around the pool to attack me. I screamed. I dashed to the door, opened it to let myself in and shut it just in time. The invader started frantically banging on the door, all while his whole body was getting distorted. It was terrifying, but I had to get rid of him. I realized I dropped the pebble when I ran inside. Now I had nothing. I was thinking about it when I remembered something: the deck. I could shoot the disruptor from the deck. I ran to the garage, grabbed the disruptor, and ran to the top deck. I aimed the disruptor at the invader, and pressed the button. It made a high pitched ringing sound.

“AAAUG-@%&-GGHH#HH!” The invader shouted out in pain. I almost felt bad about what I did, but he ran away. He was lagging while he ran, but he disappeared into the back forest. He was gone

“Thank God.” I thought to myself. 

Then I looked into the forest. I could’ve sworn I saw a few sets of eyes. One set of white eyes, another set of eyes that looked normal but were constantly blinking, and I couldn’t even describe what the other set looked like. This was serious, but it’s what I signed up for. I ran back downstairs and grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge. I was going to need energy to fight them off. I looked out the back window to see what was out there. I saw four invaders. They were hiding behind trees. I could see the computer glitches coming out of their bodies. It was creepy. I kept an eye on them for a few minutes but they ended up leaving. I thought that bought me some time, so I decided to relax. I grabbed a chocolate bar and sat down, ensuring that Betsy wouldn’t grab the bar. Twenty minutes went by with no issues. After that time, I went to check again and grab a root beer for the caffeine. I looked out the window and saw nothing. But I wasn’t completely sure if everything was clear. I slowly opened the back door to check for sounds. I thought I heard something, but I wasn’t sure if it was the sound of an invader or an animal. It almost sounded like rustling in the bushes, but not exactly. I then remembered there was a pair of binoculars and a flashlight I could use, so I grabbed them. The bushes were swaying in the wind, but there was one in particular that was moving more. It must have been an invader attempting to hide. I shined the flashlight on it, and saw what looked like something red. I didn’t eliminate the possibility of an animal, but I somewhat doubted it. I decided to shout at it.

“Hey, who’s there?” I shouted

I heard a voice for a split second that was cut off by a computer glitch sound. I knew for sure that it was an invader.

“Come on. Leave.” I shouted

I heard the same voice, this time for about three seconds. It sounded angry. I knew the invader wasn’t going to go away. I grabbed the pellet gun, and loaded it. 

“Hey, come on! I’m ready to fight you!” I shouted as I stepped a metre away from the door after shutting it. I saw a multicoloured glitch from the bush. I fired a shot. I wasn’t sure if I hit the invader or not, but then something else distracted me.

I heard a sudden charge from the left.

It was a woman who looked to be around 33. Her clothes were also torn and she had several scars on her body. Her glasses were split in half, with one side floating above her head, but she didn’t seem to care. She was charging right at me. She just barely missed me. 

“Get away!” I shouted

She showed her teeth. She was ready to bite. She jumped at me, almost like a tiger. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a lower deck chair and hit the invader. 

She fell back. Sparks fell out of her when it did.

She just laid there, groaning in pain. She didn’t look like she was going to get up. I knew I couldn’t just leave her there. But she was lying down, so I thought she wouldn’t be able to enter the house if I went inside quickly and shut the door. I did just that and it worked. But shortly after I did, she got up, lagging while doing so. She then started frantically banging her hands on the door and screaming. 

Projectiles weren’t going to work. I needed the disruptor. Betsy was visibly scared of the loud noises. I scratched her on the head in an attempt to calm her down. I ran to the garage, all while I heard the loud noises of the invader hitting the door and screaming. I grabbed the disruptor and ran back to the door. This was when I ran into a new problem. The invader was right at the door. I couldn’t open it, or she was going to likely get in. The only way I was going to be able to get rid of her was to get on the balcony and fire the disruptor. I quickly ran upstairs to the balcony. This is when I noticed a large problem. There were two more invaders coming towards the house. I pointed the disruptor at the invader banging on the door and fired it.

She yelled out in pain. She ran away, with lag. A puddle of blood laid in front of the door where she stood. While the invader who was just at the door ran away, the other two had started to get closer.

“I will fire this thing!” I threatened

“We-e-e-e will me*&# you up $to the poi@nt where you’re^ unrecogn#izable!” The invader on the left shouted

“I can barely understand you.” I shouted

“That’s because we’re corrupt#46%!” Shouted the other invader. I knew what he was trying to say. I didn’t realize just how glitchy their speech was.

The two invaders attempted to move closer. The right one then suddenly glitched back about two metres.

I laughed at his failed attempt to get closer.

“I W-w-will mess - mess, you up!” The left invader shouted.

“Back off!” I shouted.

The two invaders slowly stepped closer to the balcony. I fired the disruptor at them.

“Ouch!” Shouted the left invader as scars and smoke came out of skin.

The other invader screamed and covered his ears as if I had just blasted some really loud music.

“Leave the backyard!” I yelled at the two invaders.

Both invaders ran away, with extreme lag. They disappeared into the forest. I felt satisfied to see them go.

I walked back inside to grab the pellet gun. I slowly walked out the back door, ensuring Betsy wouldn’t get out. I was ready to shoot these invaders. I didn’t care where. I needed them gone.

Slowly, I walked to check around the side of the house. I checked the side, pellet gun loaded. Nothing. No invaders. They were gone. Just as I needed them. I slowly walked back around to the other side, remaining alert. I checked every tree in the distance from where I was. I saw no invaders. I approached the other end of the house. I took a quick step, with the gun pointed. Also nothing. The invaders were gone.

Perfect

I walked back inside, where Betsy was waiting at the door. I was really happy. The invaders were gone, and Betsy looked very excited. Feeling quite satisfied, I felt like I deserved a slight reward. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of white wine. I brought the bottle to the table, along with a wine glass. I sat down at the table, opened the bottle and poured myself a glass. I decided to listen to some nice music while I enjoyed my wine. I found a playlist on the internet, connected my phone to the speakers in the living room, and let the tunes play. I didn’t play it too loud. Betsy sat on the floor right next to the seat I was sitting on. She was a really good dog. 

Eighteen minutes passed. There was nothing. No interruptions. Just me and a german shepherd. I pet Betsy while she patiently sat there, staring at me. This was turning into a really good night.

Then the music abruptly stopped. Not for an advertisement or anything. It just stopped.

I took my phone off of the table to see what the issue was. No internet. The internet had stopped. 

My blood ran cold. Invaders were near. They needed to go. I didn’t know how many there were, but every single one of them had to be gone. 

I walked to the back door and looked out. Nothing. I saw no invaders. That made no sense. Why else would the internet suddenly cut out? But there were other windows. I looked through the window in the living room. I still saw no invaders. This was weird. Then I thought of a way I might be able to see them. The balcony.

I ran to the balcony, and Betsy followed me upstairs.

“Sit.” I ordered.

Betsy didn’t listen.

“Sit!” I ordered again.

This time, the dog listened.

I ran to the deck door when I realized I should have brought a weapon with me. I instantly ran back downstairs and grabbed the pellet gun, along with the flashlight and binoculars. I dashed back up the stairs in seconds. I ensured that Betsy wouldn’t get out, and stepped outside. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to do it. I stood on the balcony. The sky was dark. There was a slight breeze. I looked all around the backyard. I saw no invaders. I took another look at my phone. Still no internet. And no cell reception. This was weird. I then heard a sound. Static. It was faint, but I still heard it. I could also smell burning. I had the pellet gun ready. I was ready to shoot an invader.

I kept looking around the yard. It was about 11:50 at this point. Then the static turned into a young man’s voice cutting out. The invader must be getting closer. But I still saw nothing. I thought the invader might be under the balcony. I looked over the balcony. I knew it wasn’t the best view, but I still saw nothing. 

That was when I realized where the sound was coming from. Above me. I swiftly looked at the roof, and there he was. An invader. He looked about 23, and was covered in scars. His plaid green shirt was torn and faded. His jeans were loosely ripped off from the knees down. He trembled. Every inch of him was shaking.

He dove in an instant. Head first. I screamed. I just managed to dodge him by a few millimetres. Upon his body slamming into the balcony, green computer code oozed from his scars and disappeared.

“Back off!” I shouted at the invader as I pointed the pellet gun to his head. 

The invader tried to talk, but his voice kept cutting out to the point where I couldn’t make out what he was saying. He was about ten centimetres away from me.

I instantly grabbed a deck chair and pushed him back. This worked. More code came out of his scars, along with some sparks.

“Leave this property this instant!” I yelled.

He gave me an angry stare, his left eye twitching. Then he pounced at me. 

All of a sudden he was gone. But then I heard the sound of something hitting the grass accompanied by a static-filled scream of pain.

I turned to see the invader, lying on the ground a metre behind the deck. He had just tried to attack me and glitched farther away.

I’d had enough of this.

“GO AWAY!” I shouted at the invader.

He slowly got up, his body glitching all over. He was shaking much more vigorously now, but he ran away. It was slow, but he ran away. I watched from the balcony as he left the yard. I said nothing. I just watched.

I looked at my phone. It was 12:15. But I also had one bar of cell phone reception. Things were starting to get better.

I walked back inside, where Betsy was sitting. I gave her a head scratch. I walked downstairs, where Betsy followed. I sat in the kitchen to relax, Betsy sitting next to me. I continued to sit for a few minutes when my phone rang. It was Henry. I answered the phone to see what he needed.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hey Chrissie. I just wanted to see how everything is going.” Henry said.

“It’s going alright. I just fought off a few invaders, they’re gone now. Betsy is perfectly safe.” I explained.

“Good. Wonderful. And this isn’t too much for you?” Henry asked.

“It’s crazy, but I can do it. It’s worked out so far.” I told him.

“It’s great to hear. Grace and I will be heading to bed now. Only call if it’s an emergency.” Henry said.

“Understood.” I responded.

“Alright. Have a nice night.” Henry said before hanging up.

I put my phone back in my pocket and stood up to grab a snack. I decided to pour a bowl of chips for myself. At this point it was 12:28. 

I almost sat down before Betsy started jumping at the back door again. She was very well trained. I looked very closely for invaders, grabbed the pellet gun, and let the dog out when the coast was clear. She did her thing, while I watched closely. Nothing. No glitchy sounds. No burning smell. Nothing. I let Betsy inside and walked to the living room. 

At this point, Betsy was tired. She laid down in the living room to get some rest. 

Now I had to be more careful. I didn’t want to wake up the dog. Things went well for me before, but that was before noise was less of a concern. I knew I had to let the dog sleep. I sat on the couch to relax for about five minutes. I thought five minutes would be fine. And it was. No sign of invaders. Just pure silence. I was happy I remembered to bring a pair of earbuds with me. I plugged them into my phone, put on a playlist, and kicked back on the fancy living room couch. I was seriously considering another glass of wine, but I still had a few hours to go so I decided to play it safe and hold off. 

Minutes passed. Nothing. I just layed down on the couch, listening to song after song. I didn’t necessarily feel super tired since I had some caffeine to help me do this. Taking a long breather felt nice, especially when your favourite songs were playing. 

Twenty-five minutes passed. That was when I knew I had to check again. I stood up and tip-toed to the back door. I looked out the window in all directions the window allowed me to see in. No invaders. I was skeptical. But I still saw nothing. When I was completely sure I didn’t see anything, I opened the back door just a crack. The air smelt fine. I certainly didn’t smell the burning of the invaders. But I wasn’t convinced. I decided to go to the top deck. I grabbed the pellet gun and binoculars and walked up the stairs, all while making minimal noise to let Betsy get her sleep.

Nothing. I saw nothing and heard nothing. Nothing but the slow blowing wind and crickets in the distance. I cautiously stepped outside on the deck. I looked around. The backyard seemed void of any life. No animals. No invaders. Nothing. I was suspicious, but there was no sign of any invaders. My suspiciousness lowered. I had the pellet gun ready, and I was ready to fire. 

Twenty seconds passed.

Nothing.

Then I heard a scream, to the right. It sounded so human. I had the gun pointed at the bushes. I didn’t see any invaders. I considered the possibility of an animal. Maybe it was someone trespassing, which would be an equally big issue. 

“Who’s out there?” I shouted, not letting my guard down.

No response. Just the wind and some crickets in the distance. 

I turned to the right. No sign of anything either. I stepped closer to the right, not getting too far away from the house. I saw nothing. Then the crickets of the night stopped. It was abrupt. I jerked my head 90 degrees to the right, looking right out in the distance. I still saw nothing. 

That was when I heard something that sounded more fitting for the situation. The hum of a computer. I looked all around. There was nothing as far as the eye could see. I kept spinning, trying to find the source of the sound, but I couldn’t find it. I looked all around the backyard. No sign of the source.  It almost felt as if I were surrounded by the sound. I looked around for a solid three minutes, the sound only getting louder. 

Then I heard a shout. The shout that sounded like a zombie from a video game. I turned around instantly. Then I saw the source of the sounds. Another invader. A man who looked to be around thirty years old. His navy blue golf shirt was ripped and burned, blood staining parts of it. His khaki shorts were torn at the bottom of the legs. Scars covered his body. Then there was his eyes. His tired, shaking eyes. We made eye contact, only for a second. You could see the rage in his eyes. 

Suddenly the invader pounced at me, then froze right where he was less than a second after pouncing. The computer hum stopped. I was ready to attack, but he just stood there, looking like he was frozen. Then I looked up. There was a spinning pattern of translucent dots right in front of his face. He was lagging. 

Is this actually happening? I thought.

I began to laugh. Nothing was more funny at that moment in the world. This invader was trying to attack me, and he was just stuck there.

What happened next was what taught me to never let my guard down ever again. 

He became unfrozen. Then he glitched right in front of me. I was in shock. He went from standing two metres in front of me to twenty centimetres in front of me in less than a second. My moment of joy came to a screeching halt. 

“Back off!” I shouted as I hit him with the back of the pellet gun. 

The hit proved to be ineffective. 

“I’ll kill-!” The invader yelled before being cut off by a glitch inside his body.

He tackled me. I fell hard on my back in front of the pool. It was a miracle I didn’t get a concussion. 

I found all the strength in me to push him off and into the pool. I grunted and breathed hard. I wasn’t exactly the strongest girl in town. The splash was loud. The invader shouted and flailed about in the pool. I was panting from pushing him off of me. The invader kept shouting and flaining. I didn’t pay much attention as I was tired from pushing him off of me. I really needed to start working out. 

The invader managed to pull himself out of the backside of the pool. But he didn’t stand up. He just knelt with his upper body hunched over, his right hand on his chest. Tiny electric bolts shot out from his scars. 

“Water!” He shouted in pain. “This electric curse of m-”

His speech was interrupted again by his body glitching. Just for a second, the skin on his head disappeared, showing his skull. I was horrified. I had no idea what the extent of these glitches was. 

The invader started to stand up.

“You will-” His body glitched again. He shook for a second. Sparks and blood drops shot out of his scars, accompanied by a computer glitch sound.

“Back off!” I yelled.

I looked down. The pellet gun laid right in front of me. I picked it up and pointed it right at the invader. 

“Say goodbye!” I shouted as I fired a pellet at the invader.

He yelled in pain as it hit him right in the chest. He limped away. Shaking and glitching as he left the backyard.

My heart was racing. I was breathing heavily. I felt good about fighting off another invader, but goddamn I was exhausted. 

It felt good to have a rest break. Or so I thought.

Right when I thought I could rest, I heard a shock sound right behind me.

I turned around instantly. Another invader stood mere centimetres away from me, covered in scars and wearing torn clothes like the rest. She instantly clawed at me, knocking the pellet gun out of my hand. 

I instantly dashed to the left. The invader jumped at me and managed to push me to the ground. Then I felt a pain in my right elbow. I was hurt and couldn’t defend myself. I needed to get inside. 

The invader attempted to bite me. She quickly lowered her body on top of me, her mouth getting so close. At that moment I just did what I had to do. I punched her right in the head, my elbow still hurting. I just barely managed to escape her. I had not a second to spare. I quickly ran to the back door of the patio, my elbow still hurting. I could hear the invaders footsteps behind me. I dashed into the house and tried to shut the door. Then I ran into another problem. The invader managed to get her hand stuck in the door and was reaching at me.

Great

I thought of what to do. Then I remembered one thing: invaders hate water. That would get rid of her. The kitchen wasn’t far. All I had to do was run to the sink and fill a glass with water. 

BANG!

I didn’t have time to spare. The invader was hitting the window with her fists. I dashed over to the kitchen sink and reached to turn the tap on. When I did, something sudden happened to me. A pain in my elbow. I was so distracted by the invader trying to get in that I completely ignored the pain in my arm. I looked down at it. My elbow was bleeding. It stung like crazy. Now I was really processing my injury. 

BANG!

It didn’t matter now. She kept hitting the window with her hand. I reached for the cabinet with the glasses, grabbed one, filled it with water and ran to the back door.

The invader still stood there. I ran right back over. Her expression went from angry to horrified when she saw the glass of water. I splashed her forearm without hesitation.

She yelled in pain as she held her arm. I wasted no time shutting the door. That was when the pain really sunk in. I had to clean off this wound before it got infected. I quickly dashed to the upstairs washroom.

When I was in the washroom, I turned on the tap and put my elbow in. It stung like crazy. I was seriously worried it would leave a scar. But I still had a house and a dog to protect. The wound was clean. It hurt, but it was clean. I looked under the sink and sure enough I found a bandage big enough to cover it. I needed a break. This was tiring.

I walked out of the washroom and back downstairs. Then I took out my phone. It was 3:22 in the morning.

Almost over.

I walked to the patio door and looked out through the glass. No sign of any recent invaders. That was good. No burning odour or computer sounds. Just the sounds of the night. I was hoping to be able to rest. That was when I saw the Pellet gun, lying there on the deck. I knew I had to grab it. I did one final look around and made sure that there were no invaders nearby. 

I dashed over, grabbed the gun, and ran right back inside. It was so nice to have some time to rest. Then I remembered something. Betsy. I walked to the living room where Betsy was sleeping. There she laid, dreaming away in the early hours of the morning. I couldn’t believe it. She had just slept through all of what had just happened, meanwhile I was working hard as hell to protect this house, and I felt proud that I had been successful. 

It was almost time. The night was going to be over soon. I was happy the end was near, but my heart was still racing. 

I sat on the couch for about twelve minutes. I was starting to calm down. I figured that after twelve minutes, I should do a check for invaders. I grabbed the pellet gun and walked to the upstairs deck. I arrived at the door, quiet as a mouse. I slowly opened the door, prepared for anything. It didn’t look like there were any invaders, but I was prepared nonetheless. I slowly stepped out onto the deck and had the gun ready. I looked out at the wide backyard. Nothing. No invaders as far as the eye could see. Then I took a deep breath to relax. But when I did, I did it through my nose. Then I smelt it. Burning. I looked up in an instant and turned around. There was an invader, standing right on the roof, looking at me. He had just as many scars as the rest. I lifted the gun up and gave him a shot right to the stomach. Smoke and sparks poured right out of his scars and he jerked to the left, sounding like an overrun computer. He fell off the roof and left the property. I was calmer than I was before, but still alert. I looked back out in the backyard. Another invader emerged from the woods. I lifted the gun up, aimed it, and pulled the trigger. Then I ran into an issue I didn’t think of: The pellet gun was empty. 

I need to load this thing now.

The invader still ran. I didn’t have time to lose. I dashed inside, not even bothering to shut the door, and ran to the garage. I found the ammunition, loaded the magazine, and ran right back out, nearly tripping as I left the garage. I sprinted to the back door, where the running, glitching invader stood just 15 metres away, getting closer by the second. I fired a shot, made him stop, and sparks flew out of his body scars.

“Back off!” I yelled.

He stood up slowly, glitching and shaking. 

“I will shoot you again!”

He still continued to rise. He looked ready to charge at me. 

“I warned you!” I said as I fired a pellet at him.

The pellet hit him right in the chest. Sparks splattered about. 

“Iiii*)%6!” The invader said. I had no idea what he was trying to say, but it didn’t matter. The invader slowly glitched away, leaving behind a trail of smoke as he left the backyard. I didn’t have time to celebrate though, for as soon as the one invader left, three others appeared.

They were running at me from the left. I almost felt like I was in a first-person shooter zombie game. I quickly aimed and fired a shot. I hit the middle invader right in the leg. He fell down, sparks and blood shooting out of his body. He began to crawl, but my focus was on the other two invaders. They still ran, shaking and angry. I stepped back and nearly fell into the pool. I didn’t realize how close I was to getting wet. The invaders ran close and almost fell into the pool themselves, standing nearly right in front of me. That was when their computer glitches worked out in my favour. One invader glitched right into the pool. He became drenched in an instant. You could hear his screaming from a mile away. The 3rd invader was angry. She looked like she was my age, smoke-leaking scars and blood covered her from head to toe. I turned the gun around and hit her with the back of it, right in the head. I was lucky to have caught her off guard with that, causing her to get disoriented and be pushed back as sparks left her scars. I was pretty used to how their bodies worked at this point.

Almost over. I thought to myself. I’m going to get $2000 soon.

The invader regained her focus and tried to charge at me. I didn’t hesitate to run. I was being chased all around the backyard. Then the crawling invader managed to stand up during the chase.

How could you forget this guy?

My thoughts didn’t matter though. What mattered was me not being bitten by the invaders. The burning odour filled the air. I couldn’t tell you how long I ran. It felt like forever. 

I kept running. I could hear the invaders getting closer to me. If I didn’t get inside soon, I was going to fail at protecting the house. I needed to get inside. My life depended on it. I eventually had the common sense to run to the back patio door, but I closed it. So I ran straight into the glass like a bird. I did not feel smart. But the invaders did the same thing. 

We were all disoriented. But I instantly stood up and went inside, just barely managing to shut the door and lock it. The invaders kept hitting the glass with their fists. It was amazing that they didn’t break it. I looked to the left into the living room. Betsy was woken up and frightened by the noise. I knew I had to calm her down, so I walked over to her.

“Hey Betsy. It’s okay girl. You’re safe with me. Don’t worry.” I said as I patted her head to comfort her. But the invaders kept banging on the window. My comfort wasn’t enough. She needed to be far away from the invaders. 

I managed to get the tired dog to stand up and follow me upstairs, all while the invaders kept hitting the glass door. I brought Betsy as far away on the second floor as I could. She laid down and continued her unrightfully interrupted sleep. I felt relieved. But the banging continued downstairs.

I instantly ran to the back door. The invaders were still angry and continued to hit the glass. But then I was horrified at what I noticed next. 

Invaders. A few dozen of them. They were running from all around the backyard to the house. Their screaming filled the night, even with the door closed. 

I knew in an instant what I had to do. The antivirus ray. I ran faster than an athlete to the garage, and grabbed the antivirus ray. It was heavy. But it’s what I signed up for. I carried the heavy device to the back door. But then I had another problem. I couldn’t open the back door because of the group of invaders that had grown from 2 to 8. I stood there trying to think, but it was so hard because of what was happening. I stood there for five minutes, trying to figure out what to do and panicking. There was only one way out of this: The upper deck. I hauled the big device up the stairs, hoping that this would work. I opened the door and stepped out.

It was chaos. The invaders shouted. The smell of electric smoke filled the air. They were running all around the backyard, each invader covered in nasty scars. They glitched and glitched. I mounted the heavy device on the deck table, plugged it into an outlet inside and got ready. I pressed the power button. A noise played. Then I pressed the other button. The noise got louder. The orange end lit up and a laser sound played. The end got brighter and brighter. Then things went crazy. All the invaders glitched at once. Red code coming out of their scars. Sparks, blood, and smoke oozed out of their bodies. They screamed in pain. They shook and didn’t stop shaking. It was insane. They all began to retreat, leaving the backyard. Every invader glitched and lagged to no end. After seven minutes of me holding down the ray button, they were gone. All of them. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. When I made sure they were all gone, I let go of the button. I heard nothing. No invaders. It was quiet. I turned the antivirus ray off and walked inside to unplug it. Then I looked at my phone. It was 4:45 am. The invaders rarely showed up after 5. I was almost done. I slowly brought the antivirus ray back into the garage. I was still on alert though. I kept watch of the backyard from downstairs, but didn’t see another invader again. Eventually 5:00 am rolled around. I’d done it. They were gone. I’d protected the house and the dog. At that moment I crashed on the living room couch. I was tired. I’d just pulled an allnighter.

Three hours later

I woke to the sound of the front door opening. I instantly sat up and acted like I’d stayed awake.

“Good morning Chrissie!” Henry said as he and Grace walked in “How did it go?”

“It was crazy.” I responded.

“Yeah well, that’s how it goes. Any issues?” 

“I managed to fend them off and nothing got damaged.”

“Awesome. Was Betsy good?” 

“Yes she was. You’ve got one great dog.”

“Love to hear it. Where is she anyway?”

“She fell asleep upstairs.”

When I said that, Grace walked upstairs to find Betsy. She returned about twenty seconds later with Betsy following her. Betsy started jumping up on Henry, then on me. She was excited and happy again.

“Betsy likes you Chrissie. I can tell you did a great job.”

“Thank you Cole.”

“So for the payment, would you like cash, check, or e-transfer?”

I thought for a second.

“Cash works.”

“All right. Let me walk upstairs and get it.” Henry said as he walked to the stairwell.

Just then, Grace sat down beside me. 

“So Chrissie, did you enjoy watching Betsy?” She asked me.

“Yes I did.”

“Were the invaders hard to fight off?”

“It was a wild ride, that’s for sure.”

“Yes, well, that’s how things go for us. We’re working on more effective ways to fight them.”

“You definitely need that.” I said with a chuckle, which Grace also chuckled at.

Just then Henry walked back downstairs.

“All right Chrissie, here you go.” Henry said as he walked closer with the cash.

I stood up and grabbed the bills. Twenty Robert Bordens. I’d just become 2000 dollars richer. 

“Thank you so much.” I said

“Hey thank you Chrissie, I know how hard it is to fight off those invaders.” Henry responded.

I put the cash in my pocket.

“Well, I better be going now.” I said.

“Without breakfast?” Grace asked.

“I guess I could eat if it’s no trouble for you two.” I responded.

“Of course not Chrissie. You just fended off our house from corrupted invaders trying to kill you.” Grace responded.

“All right then. Does bacon and eggs work?” I asked.

“Certainly.” Henry said “I’ll get to it right away.”

Henry made a very good breakfast with nice, hot coffee for all of us, and we sat and ate. I told them all about fending off the invaders, and taking care of Betsy. The morning was nice. When I finished my food, I stood up to leave.

“Well, thanks for letting me do this.” I said.

“And thank you for protecting our house and dog.” Henry said as he extended his hand. I shook it, then I shook Grace’s hand, and left the house. I was feeling pretty good about what I’d just done. I was tired, but I felt good. And I made some good money. The rest of the day I laid in bed because of my tiredness from staying up all night.

The End.

After a long three weeks of postponing due to snow days, Save Glen Day finally happened on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023! This event was a fundraiser to help raise money for Glenview’s new mascot costume. The mascot being used now has been the mascot for Glenview since the school opened in 1957 and it has seen better days. The shoes are duct-taped, the tail is falling off and due to 66 years of student spirit, Glen is worn and tired.

Glenview’s SAC (Student Activities Council) took Glen into consideration and has been putting most of the fundraised profit from different school events together to be able to afford the new mascot, of $5 000. These events include Friday pizza, spirit wear, semi-formal and of course Save Glen Day. 

Save Glen Day was a huge success and a great way to promote the need for a new mascot. At this event, there was a bake sale, photo booth, raffle items, jukebox and a teacher Minute To Win It challenge. All of these stations were only 25¢-$1, yet the profits added together made just over $180!! Every single bake sale item was sold, there were 5 raffle winners, many jukebox songs played, photos taken, and many teachers were able to defeat students in Minute To Win It (huge shoutout to Ms. Pauze who was undefeated!). 

SAC is very excited to announce, that because of the fundraising done, Glen is officially going to get his makeover! The mascot will be ordered the week after March break and the new mascot will not only be an even better way to promote school spirit but also has some unique features like a fan inside and possibly its own jersey. 

Thank you to everyone for participating and a special shoutout to all the patient volunteers who helped run this event, including SAC members, teachers and Abby Green. Everyone's contributions to not only this event, but all the events of the school year so far have been essential to the saving of Glen!

For pictures visit Gallery

It’s officially been a year since Russia hailed the first official attack on Ukraine. A year and one month, to be exact. Russia first began implementing physical attacks on February 22nd, 2022, but the “war” has technically been going on for much longer. In 2014, they began the war without any death-related aspects, but let's look back at the war that took over in 2022. A war that got much attention yet was forgotten so quickly. 

To begin, let's see what exactly started the war. Long story short, Russia wants Ukraine back as a territory. Putin, the president of Russia, seems to want to avoid a rise against Russia and reign in the chances of territories turning against him. Putin also wants Ukraine to leave NATO to avoid altercations with the organization's members. Out of all the former territories, Ukraine has the most influence with the outside world, so Putin wants to reel it all in and avoid more complications.

On February 24th, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Putin described this event as a “special military operation,” as he pushed many Russian troops into the country. Putin stated on television that it was an attack meant to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. This shocked many who, according to Kyivs Western allies, seemed to expect it. It was still shocking as this meant war, meaning people would have to leave and start over somewhere else. Moments after his televised appearance, explosions were heard across the country, marking the official declaration of war. 

Although Ukraine is significantly smaller than Russia, much, much smaller, they were still stubborn and chose to fight back. Alas, Russia made their first big victory when they took down a major cargo airport in Kyiv, though it was a bit futile as they caused so much damage that the materials in the airport were made out to be useless from all the destruction. During all of this, many suspected that the Ukrainian president had fled the country. To retaliate against accusations, a day later, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made a video of himself and his team stating, “we’re all here defending our independence, our state, and it will remain so. Glory to our defenders! Glory to our women defenders! Glory to Ukraine!” It was later stated that he refused an offer from the US to evacuate. 

Fast forward to March, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine increased as the war waged on. As stated by The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, within the first 24 hours of the attack, around 100,000 people fled Ukraine to seek refuge elsewhere. Many people lined up for hours and days at borders to escape the chaos their country had become, some waiting by trains as well. Most of these people were women, children, and the elderly, as men were mostly made to fight in the war. Amid the chaos, Ukrainian forces destroyed a key bridge in evacuation, the Irpin bridge, due to Russian advances. This led to increased difficulty in escaping as now people had one less escape route from war. Many civilians lost their lives attempting to flee from the bridge. Another unfortunate event that occurred was the attack on a maternity hospital. Although Putin allowed 12-hour pauses for people to seek refuge periodically, he still ended up sending a missile toward the hospital. An image of a pregnant mother lying on a stretcher (Graphic warning: https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SEI_93387681.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=644%2C429 ) became a symbol of hate against Russia and their brutality, proving that Russia did not care about innocent people. The woman and her baby died, further causing hate against Russia to escalate. Another unfortunate event in March was the one against the Mariupol theatre. An estimated 1300 people were seeking shelter in the large area, and approximately 300 (suggested to be higher) died when the Russians attacked the theatre. The people seeking refuge there had even written " Children " on the pavement in hopes of no attack occurring. Yet, one still occurred (https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/A585/production/_123737324_mariupol_theatre_640x2-nc.png).

Moving onto April, the Russians left the city of Brucha, leaving a pathway of pure hell behind them. Proof of civilian torture, death, brutality, etc., was left on the streets of Brucha, prompting Ukraine to attempt to get Russia investigated for war crimes. Russia attempted to deny this fact and claimed that the photos were fake and not real. During all this, Russia was embarrassed when its biggest naval ship sank for “unknown reasons.”

May came along after April, and the atrocities kept occurring. Though, Ukrainians got more defensive over their country as the war continued. A steel plant in Mariupol was defended heavily by Ukrainians, who only surrendered late on in May. They were praised for their actions as they had supposedly stalled Russian advancement and their plan to capture Zaporizhzhia. 

The months after May were mostly the same in terms of events, with many horrible discoveries and fierce defences on Ukraine's behalf. This stayed the same until September. In September, Ukraine counterattacked Russia, which led to them being able to recover captured areas and forced Russia to retreat from the Kharkiv region. Moscow attempted to cover up their blunder by stating it was a “regrouping tactic,” yet they were still slandered for their mistake. Amidst his constant embarrassment, Putin announced the partial mobilization of citizens, meaning that those with previous military experience or prior combat skills would be made to join the military to help out and increase troops. This enraged many people as they did not want to join during a war, and although the fighters joining were poorly trained for war, the troop sizes did indeed increase as they had hoped. 

October is when some attention from social media was shone on the war once more. The explosion occurring on the Crimea bridge was a huge blow to Moscow as it was the only bridge connecting them to the Crimean Peninsula. It gained loads of social media attention at the time as it was a loss to Moscow. A severe loss. Another large event took place when Kyiv dealt with a large blackout. This was caused by Russia sending attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. They targeted places of power to cause many areas of Ukraine to deal with power shortages.

In November, eight months after being taken, the southern city of Kherson was finally liberated from a Russian attack. This was another embarrassing blow to Russia as Kherson was one of the only capital areas Moscow had captured and had been declared as a Russian territory just a few short weeks before they retreated. 

Now it’s December. In two months' time, it will be a year. Many spent Christmas without power, food, or shelter during this time. Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, travelled to America to visit the White House to meet with the president, Joe Biden, and address the US congress. The visit was seen as historical, with it being the first trip Zelensky had made since the beginning of the war. Before the visit, Biden stated that the US would send nearly $2 billion in additional assistance for Ukraine. 

January comes in fast, the new year being bleak for those still suffering in a war-torn country. This is when Germany stepped in and sent tanks to Ukraine to help out and request European areas to open their borders to transport the tanks. This is the same time the US comes in again and decides to also send tanks to Ukraine to help.

Then comes February. An official year later, Biden chose to visit Kyiv. His decision to go a year later surprised many people as it was the first visit since the beginning of the attacks. He stated that the Americans stand with Ukraine and that the world stands with Ukraine. Zelensky stated that “the visit brought Ukraine closer to victory.” Amidst their walk through Kyiv, air raid alarms and war raged around the two men. 

Now, it’s March. War still goes on. People fear more attacks, and an attack is indeed predicted by many by the springtime. The attacks keep on coming for Ukraine, with many soldiers moving on autopilot when it comes to taking down the Russian troops. As Russia keeps on increasing their attacks, more people in Ukraine fear that their time has come to an end. Just like many other war-torn countries, Ukrainian civilians are experiencing the real-life hell of war. Currently, as of March 2023, nothing has changed all that much for Ukraine, and they are still dealing with the short end of the stick.

According to BBC news, Russia has fired 81 missiles directed toward infrastructures in Kyiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv, causing many blackouts all over the country. This attack led to an estimated nine deaths. Furthermore, Russia is beginning to reign pressure against the city of Bakhmut as they continue to push troops into the city to take it back. Some hope can be found in the maps on the website showing how, when comparing February 2022 to March 2023, some of the areas Russia had taken over in Ukraine have been recaptured and taken back by Ukrainian troops. The US is also currently at one of its lowest points in terms of relationships with Russia due to the recent accusation claiming Moscow shot down one of the US’s drones. The US stated that they purposely shot down their drone with a fighter jet into the black sea, making it the first altercation between Russia and the US since the beginning of the war. 

Unfortunately, things are looking very bland for both sides. It’s unclear what's going to happen next, as Ukraine had global support, but Russia has strong military support. One can’t say with full conviction that Ukraine will prevail when Russia's strength continues to increase, with Syria's president recently showing support for Putin too. What's to happen next remains unknown, and we can only support Ukraine during this tough time.

In June of 2020, the Indian government announced that it would be allowing the country’s farmers the “freedom” of selling their produce directly to private buyers instead of operating through government regulated markets. This was to be achieved through the introduction and reform of three agricultural laws; the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce Act, the Essential Commodities Act, and the Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act. Although promoted as a benefit to the farmers, these new laws would result in the further exploitation of the already underpaid workers. Despite the strong opposition by many citizens, the parliament passed these three bills in September. Subsequently, in November of the same year, the farmers took to the streets of India to peacefully protest the repeal of these laws. 

These laws were being disputed as they would essentially eliminate government regulated markets, which were one of the few structures in place to help farmers earn a livable wage. The new laws would allow for some major changes to occur, one of them being the removal of MSP (Minimum Support Price). With the removal of MSP, farmers would not be guaranteed a minimum value for their crops, and major corporations could dictate market prices. Also, the new laws would introduce contract farming, through which farmers could be paid to grow certain crops to fit the needs of private buyers -- however, a major concern was that farmers would be at a disadvantage when negotiating with these corporations, thus would likely not be paid fairly for their work. Generally, these laws favoured major corporations, and allowed for the privatization of the agricultural sector. With most farmers already earning a low income, they would now be forced to sell their crops for ridiculously low prices. 

To fight against their further exploitation, farmers began to protest these laws. The peaceful protesters were coming to the capital of New Delhi from different states in the country to have their voices heard. They slept out on the roads or in their tractors at protest sites through the cold winter weather, and through unbearably hot summer weather. These protests involved over 250 million people and lasted for over a year, making them the largest ones in history. Despite the protests being held peacefully, police forces were sent to separate crowds while the protesters were met with tear gas, water cannons, and police brutality. Many protesters were beaten with police batons, unrightfully arrested, and over 700 were killed at protest sites.  

The farmer's protest lasted for approximately 378 days, after which the government finally came to an agreement with the leaders of the Farmers' Unions. In late November of 2021, the Indian government stated that it would repeal all three farm laws, but the protests continued until December 11th. The farmers only began to move out of New Delhi and back to their homes after being ensured that the government would agree to their other demands. 

In August of 2022, around eight months after the protests were called off, farmers gathered to protest once again as the government had not followed through with the commitments they made the previous year. Farmers were still asking that MSP be guaranteed, the kin to the farmers who passed away during the protest be compensated, and that the unrightfully arrested protesters be released. Ultimately, the farmers’ fight is far from over, as the issues they have been facing remain unacknowledged and unresolved.

International women's day which is celebrated on March the 8th is a day that honors and celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments of women and girls. It's also a time to increase awareness of the efforts still needed to achieve gender equality as well as the progress made in that direction. This day has come into place because back in the day, women didn't have many rights and their voices were never heard. They were more known to do housework and raise children. Over the years that has evolved and women have the opportunity to do whatever they want and their onions and thoughts are heard. This is a very positive thing that has happened over time because if women didn't get to voice their opinions there would be many problems in this society. That being said there are still some places in the world where this is still a problem but it has gotten much better in many places around the world. If you want to raise awareness for international women's day and show your support to women, you can repost and share social media posts about this topic so more people can be educated about this important day. You can also check the WYNTK Wednesday post about International women's day on the SAC instagram account (@sac_gpss)

On February 6 this year, a tragic earthquake struck areas in central and southern Turkey as well as northern and western Syria. As of present, over 50,000 people have died and approximately 2.4 million have been displaced. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, experienced an aftershock of 7.5 later the same day. These events have impacted many Turkish and Syrian people, and only accentuate the difficulties of many Syrians living in areas of ongoing conflict that have already left them displaced and seeking shelter. In response to the devastating event, GPSS’ Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Glenview CARES collaborated on a school-wide fundraiser to raise money for those impacted in Turkey and Syria. Jars were sent out to each classroom for over a week, and students and teachers donated to the cause. All proceeds will be donated to Jamia Masjid Bilal. Seeing this support for those experiencing hardship and difficulties across the world is wonderful and a testament to what we can accomplish as a school! However, it's also a reminder to us of how fortunate we are to not be experiencing such widespread grief and tragedy, and our obligation to help others who are struggling - even those across long distances - in whatever way we can. Remember to educate yourself as we gain more information on the earthquakes and continue to practice empathy with those suffering from the effects of this event. 

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-budget-deficit-widened-further-after-e

arthquakes-2023-03-15/?UTM_CAMPAIGN=Big_Moments&UTM_SOURCE=Google&U

TM_MEDIUM=Sponsored

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1158432074/after-another-earthquake-in-turkey-what-sc

ientists-know-about-aftershocks

https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2023-turkey-and-syria-earthqua

ke-faqs

As the weather warms up, the winter sports season is coming to an end. Within the next few weeks, we’re saying goodbye to boys basketball, girls volleyball, and swimming until next school year. However, each team played incredibly. Dedicated, skilled players paired with helpful, supportive coaches made for an amazing sports season at Glenview Park. 

Starting off strong with the boys basketball team, we saw incredible plays, countless wins, and lots of practice. Unfortunately, our boys lost the game against GCI for the CWOSSA qualification. There were mixed responses from our players. One senior player believes that the team “played pretty good, [but] definitely could’ve played better”, and this seems to be the general consensus amongst the team. Although, on the contrary, we've seen some support from players. Another player believes that “everybody improved a lot, they’ve worked really hard”. It’s incredible to see such a supportive and dedicated team. When speaking on the CWOSSA qualifier game against GCI, players were confident and vicious, describing the GCI team as their “enemies”, and claiming to be the “ghostbusters”. Unfortunately, this game ended in a loss, however, we saw incredible efforts from all players. Congratulations to the boys basketball team, we are Panther Proud of all of you!

Secondly, the girls volleyball team. Hard work and dedication paid off this season for the volleyball team. Players felt confident in this season, however, similarly to the basketball team, one player felt as if “[they hadn’t] reached [their] whole potential. [...]. [They] have a lot of talent and skills [and] think with more training [they] could’ve reached a higher level”. Despite this, players were proud of each other and highlighted their hard work and dedication. Coaches mention that “the season had a lot of ups and downs”, but acknowledge the success of the team, and have high hopes for the final stretch of the season and next year. Coaches mentioned some “small obstacles” from the season, such as injuries, when one of the players on the team, Claudia Seeley-Baechler, had a concussion. This caused some struggles for the team, but it was nothing they couldn’t overcome. We wish a speedy recovery to Claudia, and we hope to see you back on the courts soon! Despite coaches and players alike agreeing that “[they] had a lot of potential that wasn’t quite reached this season”, we received positive feedback about the team. We wish you all an incredible season, and an even better season next year. We are so Panther Proud of you!

Last, but certainly not least, our Glenview swim team. The team swam their way all the way to OFSAA, sending 8 out of 10 of their swimmers to compete! At OFSAA, we saw incredible wins. A special congratulations to Jack Croswell, for winning gold in 200m freestyle and silver in 100m backstroke. An additional congratulations for setting a new record at CWOSSA! We are so Panther Proud of you! Our senior girls 200m IM relay, consisting of Dariya Burnett, Alivia Parker-Chen, Taliah Parker-Chen, and Paige Fitzpatrick placed 32nd at CWOSSA! And our junior girls 200m Freestyle relay, consisting of Kaz Kittmer, Emilia Moody, Laura Kilpatrick, and Paige Fitzpatrick, consistently improved at every meet. Congratulations to both relay teams! Additionally, Taliah Parker-Chen swam 50m free, placing 38th, and hitting a new personal best! She also swam 50m fly. On top of 2 relays, Paige Fitzpatrick also swam 50m fly! Coaches Bukala and Gfroerer highlight the incredible wins from the season, claiming to be “incredibly proud of all of the swimmers”, and feeling “lucky to coach such dedicated swimmers”. New personal bests were set, records were broken, and medals were won. We are so incredibly Panther Proud of all of our swimmers this year, and we hope to see you all back (and more) next year. 

Thank you to the amazing athletes and coaches who were willing to provide insight into their teams this year. Congratulations to Albin Gashi for joining the Men’s Basketball Program and Lambton College. We wish a fast recovery to Claudia Seeley-Baechler, and hope to see her back on the court in no time. Congratulations to all of our swimmers who went to OFSAA, and a special congratulations to Jack Croswell for setting a new record, winning all of your events at CWOSSA, and winning gold and silver at OFSAA. Congratulations to coaches Bukala and Gfroerer for your first years coaching swimming at Glenview! Coach Colbeck wishes a special shout-out to the graduating volleyball players who all made important contributions this season: Macie Taggart, Ada Mihalcea, Lauren Graham. We are so Panther Proud of all of you!

Athletes spoken to: 

Basketball: Salar Ifran, Daiwik Patel, Albin Gashi 

Swimming: Paige Fitzpatrick, Coach Bukala and Coach Gfroerer

Volleyball: Claudia Seeley-Baechler, Sena Suzuki, Coach McCarville, and Coach Colbeck

Now that the fall and winter sports such as basketball, volleyball and football are over, it’s time for spring sports. The girls soccer team, boys soccer team, track and field, and the badminton team are all starting up soon. Joining a school sports team is  a great way to get involved at school and also join the school community. Lucky for you, Glenview gives every student a chance to join whatever sport they want!

Last year, the badminton team consisted of many talented students who played girls / boys singles, girls / boys doubles and mixed doubles and was coached by Mr. Nixon. They competed at a badminton tournament at University of Waterloo where two graduated panthers; Joshwyn Parekh and Kevin Patel qualified for WCSSAA Badminton Final Four and CWOSSA. 

The girls soccer team consisted of more than 20 students who were a great team throughout the soccer season. This team was coached by Miss Fisher, Miss Krysko, and Miss Brunton. The team made the best out of every win and loss and worked harder for every single game. After their last game, the girls qualified for WCSSAA finals and did an amazing job.

The boys soccer team also had a great season last year. They worked tremendously hard while practicing everyday and working as a team. They were coached by Miss Pauze who worked so hard to keep the boys motivated, help train them and more. 

Lastly, the track and field team gives students the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities such as 100 metre races, 200 metre races, 800 metre races, standing long jump, running long jump, shotput and more. Students trained very hard everyday after school to bring Glenview many victories.

If you are interested in joining any of these teams make sure to pay attention to announcements and attend tryouts. Good luck Panthers!

Earlier this month a special guest speaker came to Glenview Park S.S to talk about inclusivity, finding your group of people at school, and who you truly are. Antonio Michael Downing wrote a book called “Saga Boy” which talks about his life and his high school experience as one of the only black people at Glenview Park. He talked about how he had a hard time finding people to talk to that understood him even though he played many sports like basketball and participated in activities at school. He wanted to become a musician earlier and ended up going through a lot in high school. He was actually kicked out of his home and people didn't believe in him but his own coach did and accepted him into his home. He talked about how hard it was for him to be a black person and how he wanted to be like the other kids to fit in. He came to the conclusion that it took some time for him to figure out who he was as a person and to learn that he didn't have to change himself to fit in, he just had to find the right group of people that understood him. With all that being said, he asked everyone a question, “who are you?”. That question is something that is going to take time to answer as there are many ways to describe who you are and it takes time to figure out who you are because even as an adult Antonio Michael Downing said that he is still trying to figure out who he is. He left his contact information if anyone wants to contact him. Instagram: @johnorpheus

-  Virtural Volunteer Opportunities:  

ESL Tutors (Free Virtual Tutoring Program) 

Age to participate: 14+ 

What to expect: Volunteers will assist an hour of their time each week for eight weeks to meet with the student and guide them through their subject of choice. 

How to join: Fill out the google form - 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecAWrA9XmRFuKeeElm8SS5E09MsU5nLyrujhs0 FRg2w1Glnw/viewform Upon registration, a short interview and overview of the position will be held before taking on a student. 

Link to website: https://homeworkhubtutoring.org/ 

School Food Gardens 

Age to participate: 13+ 

What to expect: You will be assisting their social media pages by designing graphics, writing captions, sharing ideas, and conducting research. Additionally, they have an opportunity for you to write about food- and sustainability-related topics for their Youth Food Blog. How to join: On their website, go to ‘Youth in Food Systems’, scroll down to find the button that says ‘Volunteer with Us.’ From there you will be provided with information and a place to sign up. 

Link to website: https://seeds.ca/schoolfoodgardens/ 

-United Way (Waterloo Region Communities) 

Age to participate: 13+ 

What to expect: This activity allows you to show some local love for the community from the comfort of your own home. This includes buying the kit items, and then packing them into kits. Visit their up to date lists at the link provided to find current supplies needed and choose the kit(s) you would like to pack and donate. 

How to join: For further information and instructions on how to complete the kits, go to the will instructions page on their website. There is no need to sign up beforehand. Link to website: 

https://www.notion.so/Step-5-Ask-For-Support-3a33bde9c128471ab04db52d19f44f6d

 In Person Volunteer Opportunities: 

Exchange Library 

Locations: (All located in Cambridge) 

Age to participate: 13+ 

Queens square, Preston, Old post office, Hespeler, and Clemens Mill 

What to expect: In this opportunity, you will help prepare for events held at any of the locations. Preparation such as helping set up the event, running errands, clean up, and muh more. How to join: Fill out the application form provided on their website. Then, tell them about the interests and abilities you’d like to share. When their next appropriate volunteer intake opens

up, you will be contacted for an interview and orientation by the Idea Exchange volunteer coordinator. 

Link to website: https://ideaexchange.org/ 

Cambridge Food Bank 

Age to participate: 15+ 

What to expect: As a volunteer you may be involved in helping with any events such as serving participants, picking up food donations, food sorting, and serving on the board of directors or other committees. 

How to join: To volunteer, sign up on the form provided on their website. Link to website: https://cambridgefoodbank.org/ 

YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) 

Age to participate: Depends on activity 

What to expect: Volunteer opportunities you can be involved in include bingo nights, youth program facilitators, and much more. 

How to join: On their website, you can sign up for the event you are interested in by getting in touch with the managers for each event. 

LInk to website: https://www.ywcacambridge.ca/ 

For more volunteer opportunities, go to Volunteer Waterloo Region: 

https://volunteerwr.ca/index.php

Remembrance day has a significant meaning in Canada. It can mean a lot more to some than others but no matter your knowledge or your opinion, it is still super important to be respectful of all the people who lost their lives during the wars. 

We now are going to learn more about remembrance day and what it means to Canadians, and how Indigenous people were involved as well.

In fact, many Indigenous people were involved in both World Wars. Still, it clearly hasn’t been recognized that much when in fact the number is unrecognized but it is estimated that around 4,000 Indigenous people enlisted in the Canadian military.  It is essential that we recognize 

those Indigenous people who fought for Canada,a place that belonged to them. 

Indigenous people did quite a lot in the war, they served in every major division, just like all Canadians. Indigenous women were also on the homefront. They did what all women did well the men were off to war, and they fundraised. After they returned from war Indigenous people were treated the same as before they left, unfairly. Many Indigenous people enlisted without knowledge of french or English in the First world war but enlisted anyways. 

As you go to remember those who fought in the war on November 11th you should also take a moment as well to remember those Indigenous people who fought in a battle for a country that has treated them not the greatest but they fought to keep us free and that is why remembrance day is so important to remember on this day. 

It's back again, Glenview's annual Out with October week is one of the biggest spirit weeks of the semester, filled with caf events, dress-up days, and much more! 

Last year, Out with October had a variety of events hosted in the panther pit at the front of the school including pumpkin painting, root beer chug, apple bobbing and door decorating. In pre-covid years we’ve also had Halloween makeup contests and candy grams. 

This year's Out with October will be an excellent post covid spirit week, combining events from both covid and pre covid years. Throughout the week will be the annual We Scare Hunger food drive and door decorating. 

Monday, October 24th is a PD day, but to make up for this lost day, the Halloween makeup contest will take place on Friday, October 21st. Students will surely be thinking about the upcoming events over their long weekend with all the fun and laughter they’ll be having on Friday. 

Tuesday, October 25th will be a strong start to the week with another karaoke day! Our last karaoke was a huge success with singing, dancing, and cheering; our own little concert. We can't wait to hear more singing and hopefully, some Halloween-themed songs. Tuesday is also comfy clothes day, a great spirit choice for the first day of the week, so there’s no need to even get dressed in the morning. 

Wednesday's spirit day will be sports day. Come dressed up as an athlete or just wear a jersey supporting your favourite team. The caf activity will be a fall-themed Kahoot so be ready to beat your friends and be the ultimate Kahoot winner at Glenview. 

Thursday is character day, so come to school as the Scooby Doo gang with your friends or even Harry Potter. Whatever your character choice is, come dressed up and see if your classmates can guess who you are. Stay dressed in your costume or get another one ready because at 6:00 pm will be our Halloween dance at school. Students must have a student card and bring $5 to enter. Students may also bring in items for the food drive instead of paying an entry fee.

Our final day of the week will be an exciting day to follow the dance. It will be career day, so come as whatever you’d like to be when you grow up. Maybe we’ll see some doctors, or firefighters or mechanics. Friday will also be our first spirit assembly of the year! Most students have never experienced a spirit assembly before so we’ll make sure to make it the best! Each team and sports team of the season will compete in a range of fun activities for our crowd to judge which team has the most spirit. 

Out with October is all the best fall activities smushed into one week so it’s not something you’d want to miss! Be there and be ready for a fun week. 

*Please note that some things are subject to change* 

Today, there are roughly 1.9 billion Muslims in the world, which makes up about 24.7% of the world's population. Many of them have made astounding contributions to society and some of their inventions still benefit us to this day. In honour of Islamic Heritage month, I have compiled a list of 8 inspiring Muslim figures. 

Halima Aden

Halima first made headlines in 2016, when she became the first woman wearing a hijab to participate in the Miss Minnesota beauty pageant. After partaking in this event, the Somali-American attracted the attention of major fashion brands. Since then, she has graced the covers of American Vogue, Vogue Arabia, Elle, and Allure. Aden is hailed a trailblazer for being the first headscarf-wearing model. Not only that, but she has also revolutionized many's perceptions of Muslim women. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib, a former professional mixed martial artist, is considered one of the most dominant fighters in history. His father instilled a love of sports in him from a young age and took him to numerous sports events. One of his most famous sparring sessions was fighting against a bear cub, later viewed by millions on the internet. All this practice laid a powerful foundation for him in the sport, making him one of the most successful mixed martial artists in the world. 

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah, one of the most prolific forwards in European football, is a Champions League and Premier League winner with Liverpool. Salah also captains the Egyptian national team. His magical performances in the football world and throughout the seasons resulted in many awards. In 2017/18, the sensational soccer player scored 44 goals, the second-highest total of any player in Liverpool’s history. He is an outstanding soccer player and has inspired thousands of Muslims– and non-Muslims– around the world to pursue their soccer careers.

Ibtihaj Muhammad

Ibtihaj Muhammad is an American fencer and a member of the United States fencing team. She has experience in many fields and is an entrepreneur, activist and speaker. In 2016, she won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games and was also the five-time world senior medal winner and champion. Ibtihaj became the first American woman to compete in Olympics in Hijab, which inspired many young Muslim women. She unofficially ended her career since she was 'content' with the sport and her cultural impact.

Ginella Massa

Ginella Massa is a Canadian Screen Award winner and best known as Canada's first Hijab-wearing television news reporter, local anchor, and national host. Massa made history in 2015, when she was hired as a video reporter by CTV News in Kitchener, Ontario, and became the first news reporter to appear on TV wearing a headscarf. In 2016, she once again made international headlines after hosting an evening news show at CityNews Toronto.

Dawud Wharnsby

Canadian-born artisan, writer and community musician; Dawud Wharnby began sharing his work as a street performer in his late teenage years. His efforts have produced five anthologies of poems, countless soundtracks and hundreds of original songs more than thirty years later. Best known for his melodious nasheeds of Islam, he has inspired a generation of educators, musicians, poets, artists, children and professionals.

Fatima Al-Fihri

Fatima Al- Fihri, a young princess, began the world's first degree-granting university in 857–859 AD in Fez, Morocco. Her sister Miriam also built a mosque nearby, so together they became the al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university. It is still up and running 1,200 years later. 

Al-Zahrawi

Al Zahrawi is known for his skills in the medical field. In about the year 1,000, Dr. Al Zahrawi published a 1,500-page surgical encyclopedia. For the next 500 years, it was used as a medical reference throughout Europe. Most importantly, he discovered the use of dissolved cat intestines to suture wounds, created the first pair of forceps and performed the first cesarean section.

For more information
"Muslim inventions that shaped the modern world." CNN. (Accessed October 7, 2022) http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/29/muslim.inventions/index.html

"Muslim inventions that shaped the modern world." CNN. (Accessed October 7, 2022)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/29/muslim.inventions/index.html

"Supermodel Halima Aden: ‘Why I quit.’" BBC News. (Accessed October 7, 2022)

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-55653029

"Khabib Nurmagomedov." Khabib Official Website. (Accessed October 8, 2022)

http://www.khabib.com/en/about/

" Mohamed Salah." Liverpool Football Club. (Accessed October 8, 2022)

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/team/first-team/player/mohamed-salah

"Biography-Ibtihaj Muhammad." Ibtihaj Muhammad. (Accessed October 9, 2022)

https://www.ibtihajmuhammad.com/bio

"Ginella Massa- CBC Media Centre." CBC. (Accessed October 10, 2022)

https://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/bio/ginella-massa

"About Dawud" Wharnsby. (Accessed October 10, 2022)

https://wharnsby.com/about/

Hey, panthers and new panthers!

Welcome back to the new school year; this year is finally feeling back to normal. Normal means that a lot of new things will be happening for us. Dances, clubs, and even food in the cafeteria! This year is the first normal high school experience for the classes of 2024 and 2025. We should be excited about all of the things we are going to experience this year. 

One thing I am officially here to announce is a new idea Glenview Students put together for this year. The idea is video announcements -  this was created by two grade 11 students with the support of their Grade 11 Communications Technology teacher. The students' names are Morgan Walker (myself) and another Grade 11 Student, Danica Hunter. We are putting these fun announcements together for our school. We are hoping you will be seeing these very, soon. These video announcements will have many students involved from sports teams, to different clubs. We are very excited to see the involvement and interests of other panthers in this process.

Danica and I have been working on this for about 2 weeks now, with our goal being to make announcements fun and different through the use of technology. We are hosting and editing all of the footage you will be seeing. This idea came about with our shared interest in the film industry which we are both looking into in the future. We are excited to have the freedom to get to share this with Glenview and we also hope you will all enjoy it. Not to mention, we also have the idea of a monthly blooper reel that we hope is going to be funny and give you a look into our production. 

Danica and I both hope that you will all be excited about this new way of announcements at Glenview Park. We are excited to announce that the first trailer for these announcements will be coming out Friday, October 14th!

We are excited to see your responses!

October already! The first month of this exciting school year is finally coming to a close, making it a great time to discuss everything you may have missed. This year marks the year that will feel most like pre-pandemic days, and there are already so many ways we’ve done that.

Coprimes + Coprezes

Over the summer, all the co-primes and co-presidents in the Waterloo Region District school board came together and got to know one another over social media and in-person activities. The combined excitement of being an ambitious student leader and the reduction of Covid restrictions has created a bond that will be sure to give students of the board the best possible year. Our topics of conversation varied from talks of conjoined competitions and games, to matchmaking, to which mascot is really the best (Glen the Panther), and so much more! These leaders are students that you can truly count on to give it their all and bring nothing short of laughter, kindness and excitement to every event. We saw some of this fun during the light-hearted spirit competition we had this past month with GCI. (A competition in which we won because we’re #Ghostbusters).

Grade 9 

This year is also the first time since pre-pandemic days that we’ve been able to host an in-person grade 9 dance and orientation. During our orientation, students got the opportunity to learn more about what Glenview has to offer and to compete in activities like musical mats and a photo scavenger hunt.

Students really got to partying when it came to our graffiti dance. We had some incredible dancing, singing, and even tiktoks from the night. Students got the great opportunity to meet new people, get some signatures, and have lots of fun.

Events and Social Media 

This month's events started off super strong with fun activities like the student-vs-teacher ultimate frisbee game, our club fair - which allowed so many students to join extracurriculars, and our panther photo booth which was a great success. Other great things that have been brought back this month is the tuck shop, where students can purchase a student card and other student items in addition to student spectators at indoor sports games.

Our social media pages have been very active this month with a revival of our Glenview Athletics Instagram page (@glenview.athletics). It's definitely an account to stay up to date with to see things like upcoming games, scores, photos, and lots of athletes' highlights and recognition. Our TikTok page (@sac_gpss) is also a super entertaining page to watch for content like student interviews, Glen the Panther, and all the ways Glenview students can have fun at school.

September is just the start of all the fun. October is a busy month with lots of big events like the Out with October spirit week which includes the Halloween dance: Monster Mash and a week's worth of spirit days and fun activities. We also have fundraisers like the Go Gold Cancer fundraiser that will be happening next month and so much more so be ready to have fun!

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all the student leaders who have been running events, contributing ideas, running social media pages, and doing all the wonderful things that make Glenview such a great school. Let's have a great second month Panthers!

There are some common months we know about, such as February being Black History month, June being pride month, etc, but it is good to know the more uncommon months that are up and coming. Judging by the leaves on the ground, the nearly freezing temperatures, and the smell of pumpkin spice, it’s apparent October is coming. To help us be more mindful people, here are a few national/international months coming up with the changing season. 

ADHD Awareness Month

People with ADHD are constantly battling the world being designed against them. The 40-hour workweek, overstimulation and understimulation, the side effects and lack of medication, and everything else that they face daily. This month challenges us to change our views on people with ADHD. With a rate of more than one in ten kids in the USA being diagnosed with ADHD, instead of thinking of hyperactive young children, it’s time we break these stereotypes and replace them with respect. 

People with ADHD are lazy - 

Laziness is defined as the capability to do something but choose not to do it. Effects of ADHD include being easily distracted, which makes it hard to complete tasks, trouble focusing, and low motivation. This does not mean they actively are choosing not to partake in said activities, but rather, they have a near inability to do so. Tasks that a neurodivergent person could do can take more energy for a person with ADHD.

Only boys can have ADHD - 

While it is more common for boys to be diagnosed with ADHD, this does not mean girls cannot be diagnosed. Symptoms in boys tend to be more prominent. Girls tend to show inattentive symptoms, while boys tend to show impulsive and hyperactive symptoms, which is what many people have stereotyped ADHD as. Since girls show more inattentive symptoms, which are more likely to occur in a structured educational environment, such as in high school or post-secondary, girls aren’t often diagnosed until they are teenagers to adults. Finally, girls tend to be better at adapting their behaviour to the “social norm” and masking symptoms, presenting more internally, while boys present more externally. 

Inability to focus and hyperactivity is the only symptom of ADHD - 

The inability to focus and hyperactivity are completely normal human functions, possibly led by caffeine, sugar, sleep deprivation, etc. For people with ADHD, there is no cause. It is just the way their minds are, and that is okay. But people with ADHD struggle with many more symptoms than that. 

Inability to sit still; excessive physical movement/fidgeting 

Short attention span

Prone to losing things

Difficulty with organizing/prioritizing tasks 

Trouble waiting their turn 

Interrupting conversations

Struggle to read social cues

Little to no sense of danger 

Lack of knowledge of how harmful these stereotypes are is what leads to prejudice against people with ADHD. Educate your friends and family, and call out ableist behaviours if you’re in a safe position to do so. 

Adopt a Shelter dog month 

Approximately 3.1 million shelter dogs enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. There is lots of prejudice against these shelter dogs, however, there are many benefits to adopting shelter dogs. 

Benefits 

Many shelter dogs are well trained - 

While it is nice to get a dog while they’re only a puppy, that requires much more training and attention. When working full or even part-time, you are trusting a puppy alone at home, who has the potential to destroy your things and will likely get hyper being inside that long. Shelter dogs have adapted to their particular lifestyle with lesser amounts of attention, and are beyond excited to have you around even for short periods of time. 

Costs - 

Some puppies can cost up to several thousand dollars to buy. While most are in the $300-600 range, shelter dogs are often free, or low cost. Yes, other things add up, such as dog food, toys, collars, etc, but purchased dogs and shelter dogs both require these things. Paying less for the dog leaves you with more money to buy them accessories and spoil your dog. 

Efficiency - 

The adoption process is much quicker than purchasing a dog. Often when adopting a dog, you get to take them home the same day you met them. When purchasing a dog, you first need to find a breeder,  often pass a test to ensure you’re a safe home, then you must wait until they're old enough to separate from their mothers, once they’ve received all of their shots, and then you get your dog. It is a long process, which could be made shorter easily. 

Overall, adopting a shelter dog is very beneficial as they are often pre-trained, cost less, and getting one is a more efficient process. 

Here is my shelter dog that, in honour of Adopt a Shelter dog month, I adopted three weeks ago. Meet Ted: 

Sources:

https://www.adoptadogsavealife.com/myths-about-adoption

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/october-monthly-observations/

https://chadd.org/awareness-month/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adult-adhd/symptoms-causes/syc-20350878#:~:text=Adults%20with%20ADHD%20may%20find,Impulsiveness 

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2017/03/busting-the-myths-about-adhd/ 

https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-adhd-symptoms-differ-in-boys-and-girls-5207995#:~:text=ADHD%20in%20Boys%20vs.,being%20more%20prevalent%20in%20boys.

https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics 

https://www.pawsenroute.com/post/5-benefits-of-adopting-a-pet 

If you think turning a globe into a map is easy, you are wrong. Getting a sphere to look anything like a map is nearly impossible without either stretching or cutting it, and that is the problem map-makers have been facing for centuries. A sphere simply cannot become a rectangle on a flat plane without any distortion. 

Over the years, mathematicians have invented many algorithms for projecting the globe onto a flat plane. To do this, they use a method called projection . One famous projection is the Mercator projection. However, this projection was created about 500 years ago. Nonetheless, schools, T.V. weather maps, and even Google and Apple maps have adapted the Mercator projection and continue to use it today. 

This Mercator map is famous for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it preserves the shape of countries. For example, Brazil appears about the same shape on the map as it does on the globe. The main purpose of this map was to make navigation easier, so when you draw a straight line from one place to another on the map, it will be the same on the actual globe. The Mercator projection was a groundbreaking discovery as it was perfect for sailing.

Nevertheless, this map came with its problems. When you look at the map as a whole, the North and South Poles look much larger. It preserves the countries’ shape, but not size. For example, Greenland is as big as Africa on the map. In reality, though, Africa is 14 times bigger than Greenland. This problem had to be solved because when third-world countries are misrepresented, they are likely to be valued less. Hence, in the 1970’s, a German man named Arno Peters made a map called the Gall-Peters projection that solved this issue. The projection he created sacrifices the accuracy of shape for the accuracy of the scale. The polar regions are squished, while the places of the equator are stretched, making the scale more accurate.

 In the end, there's no "right" map projection. Different projections are used for different purposes. Although, if you are interested in seeing an accurate depiction of the planet, it is best to stick with a globe.

On September 16th, 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahasa Amini died “allegedly” due to police brutality. Iran's morality police arrested her for not wearing her hijab to the Iranian government's standards. Police claim that these allegations are false. They say that she had a heart attack in the station, which ultimately led to her death. Eyewitnesses who were detained with her say she was beaten. Amini's father says that she was in perfect health and believes the police are lying. 

Amini's death has sparked many large-scale protests. Many world leaders and organizations have stood with the protesters. These protests are going against the Iranian government's hijab laws, which make covered hair and loose-fitting clothing mandatory for any woman who has passed puberty. In an effort to quell the protests, the Iranian government has restricted internet access for Iranian citizens. They have also shot protesters with metal pellets and used tear gas and water canons to target them directly. Iranian women are burning hijabs and cutting their hair for these protests. Many people in other countries are starting to spread awareness online. Many social media platforms are being used to speak about the situation. 

The hijab law was formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution. March 7th, 1979 was the day that it became mandatory for women in the workplace to wear a “proper” hijab. The next day (International women's day) over 100,000 people protested in the streets of Tehran. These laws became stricter by 1981. Women were now legally required to dress modestly in “Islamic” clothing. In 1983 women who did not follow these rules were punished with 74 lashings. This did not deter women from pushing back and continuing to protest. Women are still protesting for the right to choose to this day.

Sources: 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-exiled-dissident-fuelling-the-hijab-protests-in-iran 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/22/world/middleeast/iran-protests.html  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62984076  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mahsa_Amini