Halloween Crossword

by Noah Rantilla

Click here to download a Halloween crossword.

Bat Cupcakes

By April Haight

Follow these easy instructions and you will have delicious bat cupcakes!

§  ¼ cup softened cream cheese

§  3 tbsp. spoons sugar

§  1 tsp vanilla extract

§  2/3 cups flour

§  ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

§  1 tsp spoon baking powder

§  ½ cup sugar

§  ¼ cup vegetable oil

§  1 egg

§  ½ cup milk

§  Your choice of frosting

1)     In a small bowl mash the cream cheese and ½ of the vanilla extract together, set aside. (cream cheese mixture)

2)     In another bowl mix together the flour, coco, and baking powder. (flour mixture)

3)     Meanwhile whisk together the oil, sugar, egg and the remaining ½ tsp of vanilla extract. Stir in the milk. (oil mixture)

4)     Add the oil mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until the batter is smooth. (chocolate batter)

5)     Place 8 paper muffin liners (Halloween-design ones would be nice) into a muffin pan. Spoon 1 tbsp. of the chocolate batter into each muffin liner, then plunk 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture right into the middle of each one. Finally, add another tablespoon of the chocolate batter on top to completely cover the cream cheese mixture.

6)     Bake your haunted cupcakes at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the middle of one comes out relatively clean. Remove from the pan, and let cool completely.

7)     Decorate to your taste!

http://www.todaysparent.com/recipe/snacks/haunted-cupcakes/

Help Design Our Logo

With our new format, Warhawk Talk needs a new logo. All West students may enter. Competition guidelines are below. Submit entries by November 10. 

Logo Competition Guidelines

Your logo design should:

-be made on a digital program or drawn on paper and scanned and saved as a jpeg file 

-have something to with West and/or newspaper

-be an original idea (don't just take a picture of a Warhawk from Google.)

After creating your design, send it to westwarhawktalk@gmail.com to enter it in the contest. ​

Halloween Spider Cracker Snack!

Halloween Spider Cracker Snack!
Ingredients

• Round crackers such as Ritz
• Pretzel sticks
• Cream cheese, unsalted peanut or almond butter
• Small dried fruit such as raisins, blueberries or cranberries

Instructions

1.     Spread cream cheese, peanut or almond butter (make sure the butter isn't runny otherwise it won't hold) on one side of the cracker so that it's thick enough to secure the pretzels.

2.     Break pretzel sticks in half and use 8 halves for legs.

3.     On another cracker, spread a light layer of cream cheese, peanut or almond butter so that it can sandwich the other cracker and pretzel sticks together, without moving.

4.     Dip two raisins in cream cheese, peanut or almond butter and stick them to the top of one side for eyes.

5.     Serve immediately or within a few hours at the most.

Tip: Try to serve these fairly immediately. Ritz crackers hold up pretty well for a long period of time but they will get soggy if you serve them the following day.

Source: http://lajollamom.com/kids-recipes-halloween-spider-cracker-snacks/

Study Tips

by Cami Palmer and Lucia Nelson

Here are some super awesome ways and tips to study for a quiz!! It is scientifically proven that after you take notes in a class, if you look at them again in the next 24 hours, that it will help you remember them. Also, don’t listen to loud music while studying. It will distract you. It also helps to not have any distractions around during study time, as in food, pets, and/or siblings. I wouldn’t study at 8:30 at night on Monday, when your quiz is in 6th period on Tuesday. A way to study is to write down notes in your notebook so that you are able to fold over the page so that was it is similar to flash cards. If you have the time, you can even make flash cards! If you have an hour after school you should totally go to study club! So why not try these awesome ways to study!?

Divergent

A Book Review by Ella Kemp

• Author: Veronica Roth
• Series: the Divergent trilogy
• Genre: Science fiction, Dystopia, And young-adult fiction
• Sequels: Insurgent, Allegiant, Four (a companion book)

I would rate Divergent 4 1/2  out of 5 stars, and say that it is the best book in the series.

This story starts with a girl named Beatrice Prior who is a regular girl, living in a world of rules and factions. A faction is a large group of people who have the same traits. Each faction has their own set of rules for the people, a certain place to live, and a certain color of clothes. The factions are: Abnegation who are The Selfless, Amity who are The Peaceful, Candor who are The Truthful, Erudite who are The Intelligent, and Dauntless who are The Brave. Then finally there are the Factionless, the people who don’t have a faction. As you read on you discover that the factions are not who they say they are.

I can tell what you’re thinking… BORING and, “Why should I spend my time on a book like this?” Trust me you will take DEEP interest in the Divergent series. If you are squeamish about violence and not a fan of romance then I suggest you shouldn’t read this book, but otherwise this book is very gripping and interesting. In conclusion, I think you should definitely read this book.

Does the way people dress affect the way you view them?

Have you ever wondered if people judge you by the way you dress?  If not, they may.  We asked forty-nine students the question, “Does the way people dress affect the way you view them?”  Most students don’t think so.  Twenty-seven people said, “We don’t care how other people dress because it’s their choice, not ours”.  The other twenty-two students said “Yes, their opinion of the person is affected by their clothes”.  

One particular student, Grace Ladner, said “No, because you shouldn’t judge people by the way they dress.  If they have dark clothing they may be optimistic and happy.  And if they have ragged or dirty clothing, it may not be to look cool, but because they have financial problems.”  Another student, Keiron Langston, said “Yes, if they dress like they are mean, then they dress like they act.”  Jack Packel said, “No, because you should get to know the person before you judge them.”  

In conclusion, don’t worry about what other people think about the way you dress, just be yourself!

If you have an idea for a future segment of In the Halls, forward your ideas to:  westwarhawktalk@gmail.com.

Survey and Article by Zoe Hamer-Lang, April Haight, and Madison Seelye.

A New Way to Read Warhawk Talk

Welcome to our online version of  our school newspaper, Warhawk Talk. This is our way of sharing more current information with you online. The last few years, the newspaper staff put out a few paper issues a year. With this site we will be able to share more articles, more often. We will be publishing some of the same types of articles as in years before, but we will also be branching out with new content. Our first post is a short story which you can read below. Check back weekly to see new stories and articles.

- Maddie Day, Editor

The Gummi Bears

 A Short Story by Zoe Hamer-Lang

Dear children and youth of America,

I assume you, like other children and youth, have a fondness for Haribo Gummi Bears.  Well it’s about time you knew about what you are really eating.  I suppose the best way to start is from the beginning.  Be prepared.  This will not be a pretty story.

            I was sitting quietly in my room trying to work on my math homework.  Nine to the second power, times four, to the twelfth power subtracted by 68 and the sum of 25 plus….blah blah blah...  Needless to say, I was open to a distraction.  In fact, I was half asleep when I heard the singing, a soprano chorus of small voices coming from the drawer in my bedroom dresser. I walked across my room to my dresser and cautiously opened the door. There was nothing in the door besides a package of Gummi bears. The singing grew louder as I picked up the Gummi bear package, could it be… the Gummi bears that were singing? My cat woke from her five-hour slumber and perked her ears. The package of Haribo Gummi bears shifted in my hand. I gasped and dropped them on the floor. From the floor a Gummi bear spoke from inside the bag.

“Do not be afraid,” it said in barely a whisper. “We just want your help.”

Breathlessly, I gulped and said, “What can I do for you?”

Then the Gummi bears told me their story.

           In 1922 the Gummi bear mother ship landed on Earth. Yes, that’s right, that tasty, chewy, artificially flavored, crude excuse for a bear are actually Gummies.  They are aliens from the planet GumYum.  They looked just like the Gummi Bears that you find packaged and sold globally, except in their natural form they are transparent, practically invisible.  But I digress….their mothership landed by the infamous food coloring factory owned by Mr. Hans Riegel.  Mr. Riegel heard them singing from their crashed ship.  Feeling sorry from the frightened Gummies, he brought them to his factory so that they would be safe.  One day, Mr. Reigel was walking by a vat of Red Dye 40 with a handful of his tiny new friends in his hands.  He was simply giving them a personal tour of his business.  He accidentally dropped one of the Gummies into the Red Dye 40.  His shock and fear soon transformed into elation and joy.  The transparent Gummi popped up from the Red Dye 40 vat and was now a vibrant red.  But in addition, it had reproduced several hundred Gummies that were varied colors such as yellow, green, and orange. 

Mr. Riegel realized that if you drop a Gummi into a vat of Red Dye 40 then they reproduce other Gummies.  However, that is just the beginning.  The Red Dye 40 also inhibited Gummi movement, even though they were clearly alive, it was as if they were in a coma, unable to move their limbs or communicate with their lyrical voices.  Soon after this discovery, a worker in Mr. Riegel’s plant happened by the immobilized Gummies.  Thinking that they were a new candy that Mr. Riegal was going to sell, popped one into his mouth. He was overwhelmed with subtle sweetness of the Gummies and tried each color.  Each color had its own unique flavor and he recognized the raspberry, orange, strawberry, pineapple, and lemon.  He pocketed a few and shared them with his children and later shared their excitement for more of the “candies” with Mr. Riegel.  Mr. Riegel saw dollars signs dancing around the room and a giant grin beamed across his face.

 You can figure out the rest.  What you probably don’t want to think about is that those Gummi Bears that you are eating…yes you, they are actually alive.  If you let them sit for a month unopened, the effect of the Red Dye will disappear.  What you probably also do not know is that that those very few “white” Gummies that are in your package are nearly back to their normal state.  They are the sweetest when they are in this state and you will have to fight your instinct and desire to consume them.  But stop yourself!  Leave them alone for a week and you will see.  You too will hear their lyrical calls for help.  Stop the madness.  Stop the evil.  Save the Gummies.

Sincerely, a friend of the Gummi