“Sales of … Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 [has] exceeded $1 billion worldwide since it launched on November 10^th,” said Activision Blizzard Inc. 

The new game Call of Duty: Black Ops which released on November 9^th 2010 is the new talk and many people love the game. From the way you can customize your guns to the very exciting and much unexpected story mode; people are addicted to the game. The number of sales that the game has produced in one week according to GamesRadar.com was $650 million. 

The game’s campaign takes place in Vietnam and the main character Alex Mason has been captured during a mission to retrieve Intel in Cuba and to assassinate Fidel Castro. As the story progresses the player learns that the person they killed was a double. Mason befriended Victor Reznov was at the camp that they both were contained in. The story also is based off of things that were left out of the Vietnam records and shows the secrets that people do not know. One of the secrets was the bio-weapon “Nova-6” which acted as a nerve agent.

“Treyarch did there homework guys,while its not as ground breaking as modern warfare 2 its still a very compelling sequel…” said Chris Roberson a college student in Indiana.   

As one gamer differs from another people have different views upon the game. Johnathan Fields a senior from Kenwood academy displayed his compassion for the multiplayer feature in the game. Although he feels it is a good game; he still thinks there is a bunch of cons that make the game a bit weak. 

“Some guns can do too much,” said Fields. “For example, AK74U has too much range it has more range than most guns on the game.” 

Most people only really get the game for the multiplayer and the gamers know that everyone will play it. That’s why the hone their skills and really play for long periods of time to get better. Although most people are harsh on the game people such as Greg Roberson, a freshman at Illinois Institute of Technology gives it some slack and understands the game has recently been out and of course will have some loose ends. 

 “Okay so since this game has only been out for a month Im going to cut it some slack when it comes to the problems it has,” Said Roberson. “But for the first month there [has] been [a] serious issue with the lobby and in game connections.”

All in all the game is o.k. People have spoken and they enjoy the game but just hope in the next couple of months the designers will try to fix the current problems with the game so that all the faithful fans of the Call of Duty franchise can continue to play the game until there is another release of a game by Treyarch.      

The girls basketball team at Kenwood Academy High School has a good tradition and are known for their great sportsmanship. The team this year is starting off slow but it is only the beginning of the season and there are a lot of new faces on the team. Last year the team was dominated by seniors on the varsity level but now there are new comers who played on the sophomore team last year or seniors who are a first year player. One of those new players is Queen Mitchell. The captains on the girl’s team are Jusilya Scott, Kristina Williams, and Angelic Smith.

              The team this year is different from the team last year because it is not senior dominated and there are not depending on two players to score all the points. Cierra Deleon says, “We do not have to depend on one person to score and they had more scorers.” Lesser points are scored this year then last year because players on the team this year are timid to shoot the ball and do a lot of passing that is unnecessary, said Ms. Sullivan.  Queen Stated, “The best players on our team are Jusilya Scott, Kristina…. And me” with a smile on her face. That shows that Queen is confident and that is what the team need to be successful.

             Their record at this point is 1-3 but the season is early and they are trying to find that certain chemistry.“ our goals for the season is to play more aggressive, communicate more, win a city championship and build a good chemistry” said Cierra Deleon. Her statement shows that her mind set for the team success is in the right direction. Queen also stated “our goals are to beat everyone that beat us, keep the tradition going, to go to the playoffs.” Queen statement shows that her mind set is on winning and that is what the team needs to have a successful year and keep the girls basketball tradition going. I wonder how the season will end for the Girls Basketball team and it will be interesting to see the outcome.

            For Colored Girls has an excellent choice of actresses that perfectly fit their roles. The film consists of action, drama, truth, tragedy, and poetry.

           “I absolutely loved it,” said senior Vivian Williams. “It was interesting to see how all the characters were related.

            The movie looks into the lives of nine women as they struggle to get past everyday issues. The movie focuses on a wide range of realistic incidences, such as rape, abortions, relationships (family and dating), and self-esteem. The scenes are graphic, but necessary to capture the emotional reactions of the audience.

             While the movie was excellent, other critic’s opinions differ. They believe the men are portrayed as disgusting, worthless, possessive, and abusive. The movie badgers men and is not inclusive of other races like Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, or Native Americans. While some of these things may be true, anyone who describes the movie as such has missed the point of film.

             “The black men help and support the women’s stories,” said senior Matthew Robinson. “A movie can’t represent an entire people or culture.”

            The purpose of having male actors was to make the movie powerful. These stories can happen to anyone, man or women, but it is more common to occur in a women’s life.

             “You have to have background information to understand the movie,” said Ms. Holmes, a resident Principal at Kenwood Academy and a sponsor of Ladies Lounge.

            The film was once a stage play with an all women’s cast. In the movie there are 20 poems recited, all of which pertain to the specific incidences of the women. The poetry adds to the messages from the women. Even teenage girls can relate to the struggles Nyla (Tessa Thompson) faced, like Nyla feeling like she does not have any support from her family. Men can gain insight on a women’s feeling and thoughts when she struggles through life

             For Colored Girls is a powerful, profound, five star movie. It gives insight on all womanly problems. Ultimately, the film embraces the message of unity amongst women. We, people, are all interrelated and face similar problems.

            Kenwood Academy is known for a lot of activities and clubs but Kenwood is recognized for their track and cross country teams. They went to stae last year and plans on going this year and winning.

             Kenwood’s track and cross country team coach Phillip Wallace and he has been the coach since 2007 and plans on staying the coach for many more years.

            “I been the coach for many years and I feel that the team gets better every season and we plan on going all the way this year”, said Wallace.

            Kenwood’s track team has several star players who are dedicated and determined to win the gold.

            Joseph Laseter, a senior and kenwood Academy, is one of their star players who joined track and cross country his freshman year. He has had many influences throughout his years of track and croos country.

            “My coach Mr. Wallace influenced me to continue to run track and cross country to improve my speed and skills”, said Laseter.

            Laseter and five other Kenwood students went to state competition last year. Even though they didn’t win, they were honored to be there.

            The track and cross country wasn’t the only people honored to go to stae. Several Kenwood students were also proud of them.

            “I felt that the track and cross country team did great last eyar going to state and I hope they make it this year’, said Senior Justin Bouyer.

            The track and cross country teams are practicing and preparing themselves for their first meet on December 01, 2010 to see where the players are; skill wise.

            Kenwood’s track and cross country team will still improve themselves by practicing and keeping themselves motativated to in.

Mr Roberts vs. Mr. Scheilder

It’s been word going about Kenwood hallways that Mr. Roberts a physics teacher and Mr. Scheidler a history teacher are considered the two most difficult teachers at Kenwood Academy. When students were interviewed most voted on Mr. Scheidler being the most difficult. Students commented stating that Scheilder teaches at a fast past making it harder for students to fully understand the topic at hand.

 Raven Jones stated  “Mr. Scheidler gave us pop quizzes almost every day. Usually teachers pull that  because of behavior problems within the class, but not in Mr. Scheidler class.” said Syid Young, a senior that had Mr. Scheidler his sophomore year for history. 

“The hardest part of his class is taking notes, and staying on task with the lesson because he really teaches at a college level” Tia Periata a junior that currently is taking his history course. Most students  voted Mr. Roberts most never had the opportunity to have Mr. Schiedler as a teacher. But those students did give explanations of why they chose Mr. Roberts. “He has high expectations for all of his students, and he does a tardy pick every quarter which sucks hard” said Deanna Colemen “He teaches honors but its like a AP class.” Even though both teachers are described difficult, Mr. Schielder takes the award for Kenwood Academy’s toughest teachers. Congratulations!  

Last year’s nachos v. this year’s breaded pizza

At Kenwood Academy 55% of students preferred the nachos from last year, 42% of the students preferred the breaded pizza that we have now: while Ashton Nash preferred neither. She stated, “I haven’t had school lunch because I’ve been out since sophomore year.” Not only Ashton goes out for lunch, but most students do go out because they hate the school’s lunch. A lot of people aren’t fortunate to go outside either because they don’t have the money, don’t want to go, or just cant go. Most students prefer the nachos because it simply taste better, but a lot of students prefer breaded pizza because it’s more healthier. Mr. A stated that he likes last year’s nachos because the breaded pizza hardly has any cheese on it.

Aeropostale v. Hollister
Another thing that students debate about are clothes. Kenwood is a huge fashion school. They mostly wear Hollister now because last year was when everyone wore Aeropostale. Which is better to you? 55% of students chose Hollister, 33% of students chose Aeropostale, while students such as Kendrah Mosley, Joseph Laseter, and Brianna Hyde had different opinions. Kendrah stated, “I would prefer Abercombie or American Eagle because no one wears it.” On the other hand, Joseph and Brianna said, ” We would prefer anything else because everyone wears it. We want to be different.” A lot of students like to wear what everyone else is wearing because they want to be in style instead of left out. Other students prefer to  be different. Ms. Hill said, ” Well I like both, but I really don’t wear either. But they do look cute though.”

Hip- Hop v. R&B
One of the most command things debated in the halls of Kenwood is music. 75% of students prefer R&B over Hip-Hop; while 25% of students Hip-Hop over R&B. Well Justin Bouyer stated, “I love both because I love singing.” Most people would prefer both, but they  love music in general. Hip-Hop is more rowdy and R&B  is more relaxing. Music has a lot of genre’s, but R&B and Hip-Hop are mostly listened to. Mrs.Bedford stated, ” I love music, but I have to say that R&B is my favorite.”

As said before, students at Kenwood Academy love debating. We’re a huge debate team. We debate about the littlest things. We just like to place our own opinions’ on things; that’s all. Everyone has to be heard!

Senior Charles Martin of Kenwood Academy said, “The album is one of Kanye’s best works and it’s very different from the previous albums.”

The album took over a year to put together. He reported spending over six million in Def’ Jam’s money to complete the album. It was said that he wanted to give his audience quality work, and didn’t care how much it cost.

“The best album of the year and worth your money,” said Mfon Ekot senior of Kenwood.

The new album gives Kanye a new sound and a better look as an artist after the whole MTV awards mishap. The lyrics are sharper and go harder than ever. Tracks like Power, Runaway, and Lost in The World give listener something to talk about and to recite.

“ Theres not a track on the album you won’t listen to,” said Stevie Powell senior at Kenwood.

Kanye continues to sample, but this does it in a more artistic way this time around. This album is more of a personal journey than the previous albums. This one let you go into his head to let you see what he is thinking and he’s feeling.  See his fantasies and his nightmares. Tracks like Blame Game, Devil in a New Dress, and Dark Fantasylet into Kanye West’s world. The album features some of the best recording artist fro Nicki Minaj, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and many more on this epic journey.

“This is a classic and need to be on everybody’s play list,” said Charles.

Calloway manages the teachers, counselors, staff and students on a daily basis, making sure things get done and the students prosper.  She has been working at Kenwood for _ years. Starting off as a counselor where she helped many students, such as Kenwood’s current dean Mr. Kendall Strator. She helped guide him throughout his academic and professional career.  After counseling students for _ years she became the dean, still mentoring and directing students in a positive direction.

“Calloway has helped me grow into the young lady I am today, by placing me in a group [Ladies Lounge] where I could learn what it takes to be successful young woman. She is always there when I need her, encouraging me to do the things I think I am incapable of,” Ahkibah Lott, a senior at Kenwood Academy stated.

Ms. Calloway is not only a very educated woman, with a master’s in education and leadership and psychology; but she also has the skill to relate to her students because she is a parent. She wants her students to excel academically, especially the young men.

“She’s always pushing for the guys to stay out of trouble, to stay focus on our education, because that’s an important key to life,” said Adonis Elmore.

It takes a village to raise a child but it must start with the parents. She feels that parents should be more involved with their teenagers especially during their critical years of high school.

“Good parenting is understanding structure, being patient, encouraging, and spending a lot of time with your teen” she stated.

She is a parent not only to her own children but one to the students of Kenwood. Although a wonderful thing it can also be stressful, “trying to do too many things at once”.

On her days off she enjoys reading book like Greek Mythology by Edith Hamilton, collecting music, bowling, and skiing.

Ms. Calloway is not only a great parent to the students, but a great co-worker.

There are high hopes for this upcoming boy’s basketball season at Kenwood Academy. The coaches, players, staff, and student body are excited for this season.

Senior Darius Gordon said, “I hope that we do something this year because the past years nothing major has happened.”

The team this year has a different look to go along with a new division. The team also has new guards to help with their score. 

Junior Antoine Williams who plays on the varsity team said, “There is no way that we can lose this season because have gotten way better.” 

The Kenwood Broncos basketball team competed in the Thanks giving tournament at St. Rita and did very well. The team showed great defense and offense that we hope to see in the upcoming season. They plan on working very hard this year. 

Senior guard Syid Young said, “Basketball is my heart and soul, I will do my best this year, which is my senior year to win and make it to the play-offs.”

One of the key players for this season is junior Mario Sawyer. He displayed excellent potential for being one of the key players this season in the Thanks giving tournament.

Sawyer said, “That I go out and give one hundred ten percent every game and all I can see for the team right now is success.” 

with a girl named Cristal who was trying to reduce animosity amongst young girls and create a

sisterhood.  A part of S2S does event planning, host meetings, and goes to different events. They

began stepping in 2008, Kayla Foxx the current step master had a passion for stepping and

suggested that they try it and the other girls were interested in competing and stepping. Practices

are held Mondays and Fridays 3-5:45p.m. They practice every day a month before the step show.

“I wanted to try something different, it seemed interesting so I joined”, said Sophomore Andrea Moss.

When they had first began stepping it was difficult to get a place to practice so they

practiced in the auditorium in November and the teachers’ lounge which their sponsor Ms.

Brown had to book (the place and time) through Mr. Narain. The step show Sister 2 Sister’s hard

work and practice shined through as they demanded the audience’s attention with their stage

presence, complicated steps, creativity and confidence. S2S came to battle this year, practicing

for months at a time for this one event, nothing but blood, sweat and tears to reach this point.

S2S came into the show giving it their all, stepping to the stage fearlessly, taking other step

teams head on.

They practiced tirelessly keeping their eye on the prize. Focusing on one thing and one

thing only, winning. Thinking nothing but positive thoughts to keep themselves in good spirits

because luck was the last thing they needed.

Defeat and losing was not an option, competition is what they searched for, and greatness

is what they strived for. Although they won 2^nd place in the step show and a step group called

BDT won 1^st place, there was no comparison between the two teams because S2S were better

hands down. As Kayla stated after the winners were announced.

“We know who the best is and we don’t need a competition to tell us that,” said Junior

Kayla Foxx.