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THE

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Proverbs 25:11

November 2014 Issue

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Electing Our Governor pg. 2 Ask the Rhodes: Q & A pg. 3 Prairie Lights pg. 3 Original Short Story and Shout-Outs pg. 4 Q & A with Kimberly Sweet pg. 5

This book is so uplifting! - Gwen Rowling

Thanksgiving Break – November 24-29

Christmas Break – December 22, 2014 - January 2, 2015

Last Day Of First Semester- December 11th

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review AAgeofExtinctionReviewofExtinctionReview Check out Hunter Harcourt’s review of the summer blockbuster over on Page 3!

Caption Contest

Enter your caption to win a place in our

next issue! See pg.2

Reading “How To Fly” - Anonymous

As the bright light that was his soul was sucked into the pages, Marcus thought that he should have listened to

Grandma June and left the novel to gather dust in the attic. - Madelaine Burman

Earth may have lost its gravity but I was on the last chapter.

- Anonymous

What happened to the magic carpet?

- Amilya Flyer

He read on and was enlightened!

-Anonymous

Road Runner

Mark Your Calendar

Preview Night – February 23, 2015

Pictured: Kimberly Sweet with her two sons:

Austin and Michael.

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Electing Our Governor By Jacob Howard

our Attorney General. Wendy Davis is also running for governor this year, but for the Democratic Party. She is a lawyer as well, but she served on Fort Worth city council and Texas senate, representing District 10. In the same poll, Davis came in a close second with 40% of respondents saying they will vote for her. But, of course, to know who would be best to vote for, we should know what each candidate is presenting for Texas. On border control, Greg Abbott promises to give $300 million to increase protection on the border. This money will be used to hire more workers,

increase current shifts,

and by more protective border security. Davis, surprisingly backs the border control position. Another issue to be debated is health care. Davis backs the view that all are allowed to have an abortion, while Abbott wants to help those in need, but not by means of abortion. Interestingly though, he does say we should try to save the mother if things should go wrong, but never direct abortion. He says that if abortion is a side effect, that is unfortunate, but not preventable. However, Abbott was involved in a money cover-up. According to the lonestarproject.net: “Greg Abbott was a full

and willing participant in

covering up nearly a quarter billion dollars in improper payments of Texas taxpayer funds. Abbott himself has received over $1.4 million in campaign contributions from those that received improper payments from the Texas Enterprise Fund.” This is was a major setback in Abbott’s campaign, and a big advantage to Wendy Davis'. Economic scandals are horrible, especially this late in the campaign. But, Wendy Davis isn’t completely in the clear. A little while ago, her campaign team ran an ad against Abbott, hinged solely on the fact that he is in a wheel chair. Both have

flaws, and both have their merits.

You Passed By Alyssa Leah

My teacher ate my homework which I thought was rather odd

She sniffed and grinned with an proving sort of nod

She took a mouthful It's unusual, but true Then a little nibble

with a thoughtful chew

She really must have liked it because she went to town

By the time I looked up it was all scarfed down

She licked the tips of her fingers

gave a long burp with “You passed” I guess that's how teachers grade you

when you're in their class.

It's 2014; do you know what that means? The gubernatorial election is coming up! For those who don’t know, that means we are going to be voting on a new governor. But with this coming up, we need to know who to vote for. Currently, there are two people running for governor. They are Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis. Greg Abbott is the current Republican Party candidate. According to a poll done by the Rasmussen Reports, Abbott is in the lead with 51% of respondents voting say they will vote for him. Greg is a lawyer, on the Texas Supreme Court, and is currently

Caption

Contest

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Get the word out there!

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What is Prairie Lights one might ask? Upon arriving at the entrance to Prairie Lights, which is hosted by Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie, you will be dazzled with 4 million lights set along 2 miles of path. Hundreds of new displays in shapes of all kinds line arch over the roads. Half way through the drive stretch out your legs and make a stop at the Holiday Village where you will find food, gifts, and the Holiday Magic Lighted Walk-Through Forest.

Prairie Lights By Alyssa Leah

This village is a massive tent transformed into a winter wonderland in which you can enjoy pictures with Santa, concessions, a gift shop and two lighted attractions. A few of the concessions which are sold include hot cocoa, apple cider, coffee, funnel cakes, kettle corn and more!

Once back in your

vehicle, the second half

of the drive ends with the

very animated ten foot

tall light tunnel. It's a

perfect finale to a night

you will never forget! The

city of Grand Prairie

really encourages people

to drive slowly and take

in all the sights. Relax

and enjoy the park.

Typically, it takes forty

five minutes to drive

straight through with light

traffic.

This spectacular

attraction is open

Thanksgiving night to

Sunday, January 4. Now

what's the price tag of

this event? Surprisingly

only 20$ a car on non-

weekend or non-holiday,

due to the high volume of

cars on weekends and

holidays, the price is

bumped up to $30.

Hours of operation are

Sunday – Thursday 6 –

9 p.m., Friday –

Saturday 6 – 10 p.m.

With the exception of

Thanksgiving,

Christmas Eve,

Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve which are open from

6-10 p.m.

Prairie Lights is a must do at Christmas time in DFW. Once you enter you are instantly transported into a magical winter wonderland of lights. Every year the theme and lights are different so you never cease to be amazed. Definitely a must do every holiday season!

Dear Matt, I’ve been working hard on my homework and can’t seem to finish it. I work all day, and I still can’t get work done. I've even been staying up late trying to do my work, but that hasn’t helped either. Do you have any suggestions on how to do this better?

- 2 Busy 2 Work Dear 2 Busy 2 Work, I know how you feel. I have had this problem in the past. But yes, there is a solution to this. I suggest a revolutionary idea. Work on the weekends. Now, when I say this, I don’t mean don’t have fun. But instead, work till about three o’clock on Friday, and about two to three hours every Saturday. I know, it is a bummer, but it will help.

Dear Matilda My neighbor’s dog is awesome. It's a big golden retriever, and it looks really fluffy. It's nice to almost everyone, except me. Every time I try to pet it, he growls and backs away. I try being quiet and gentle but it doesn't work. How do I make him like me?

- Dog Lover

Ask the Rhodes! Got a question? Ask Matt or Matilda Rhode

anonymously! Just drop it in the Newsletter

box in the lunch room.

Dear Dog Lover, Try asking the owner if you can give it a dog treat. Other than that just keep being quiet and respect his space. Good Luck!

Dear Matt, I can’t seem to sleep. Every night, I just lay awake, waiting for sleep, but it just doesn’t seem to come to me. I don’t really go to bed late, but I still can’t sleep. Can you help me?

- Insomniac Dear Insomniac, Sleep can always be a tricky thing. Unfortunately, it can’t always be easily solved. But I do have some suggestions. First, make sure your bed isn’t flat, or too uncomfortable to sleep on. Second, do the same with your pillow. Finally, if you’re in middle-school or high-school, try to go to bed around ten or eleven at night, if not sooner.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

A Review by Hunter Harcourt

(Cont’d pg. 5)

A new summer brought a plentiful amount of highly anticipated blockbusters. Some of them turned out to be really good, but several just didn’t measure up to their hype. This is the case of Michael Bay’s fourth installment of Hasbro’s action packed Transformers series which is distributed by Paramount Pictures. Released June 27, 2014, Age of Extinction sees previous lead actor Shia LeBeouf replaced by Mark Wahlberg, and takes place five years after the events of the previous movie. Cade Yeager (played by Wahlberg) is a single father as well as a struggling inventor, who lives on his Texas farm with his daughter Tessa. Between providing for Tessa, and making a prophet from his inventions, the eviction notice posted on his house is less than reassuring. Looking to strike it big, Cade and his partner purchase a battered truck in hopes of restoring it. While working on it they come to the realization that it is no normal diesel truck. It is the wounded leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. It turns out that he was ambushed by a secretive government agency that was seeking to destroy all alien robots. When things go sour, Cade agrees to

help Optimus locate his fellow Autobots, and find out who is behind the extinction of the transformers.

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Tick… tock... goes the clock.

I wish it would hurry up.

The teacher’s taking her time.

Time ticks to slow.

Time seems to have… stopped.

Tick… Tock… three… two… one…

Time!

School is over!

Time Tediously Ticks…

By Amilya Flyer

Tick…tock...goes the clock.

I wish it would hurry up.

The teacher’s taking her time.

Time ticks to slow.

Time seems to have…stopped.

Tick…Tock…three…two…one…

Time!

School is over!

The wind

brushed across the

wheat field, collecting

the whispered secrets

each stalk offered up

and then dispensing

them throughout the

trees that skulked the

edges of the plot. Most

days, these

whisperings were the

mundane things one

would expect from the

wheat, information

about the whereabouts

of the rainclouds,

warnings of infestation

from the rats. But one

day while it was taking

its desultory path

through the wheat, a

single stalk furtively

muttered a secret so

shocking the wind

simply stopped. This

settled the day with a

palpable heat even the

worms, crawling in the

earth, could feel. She's

coming, she's coming.

Fire and blood and

wind and rain. She's

coming.

Coming Home (cont’d pg. 5) Madelaine Burman

The wind was

shocked. It was by no

means an ephemeral

wind, it had born

witness to the

beginning of this world

and the near end of it,

but never before had it

seen something like

what the wheat was

describing. Allowing

the field to swelter in

the stifling heat, the

wind digested this new

secret before

sweeping off to inform

the trees. The

coolness it left behind

was rival to the softest

of silks and absolutely

perfect for the being

about to arrive.

In the midst of the

field, a ripple flowed

through the air, as

though testing it for

something.

It was followed

by a larger ripple, and

that was followed by

one larger still, until

the very atmosphere

pulsated as though it

were a living creature.

Coming. Coming.

Here. She's HERE.

All at once, a

blanket of fire

descended onto the

field, covering it

completely before

concentrating in a

solitary spot. At the

base of the flames, a

pair of bare feet

appeared followed by

the diaphanous hem

of a white gown. Up

and up, the fire roiled

merrily until the elfin

form of a beautiful

woman, named Eden,

was revealed. A toss

of her smoldering hair

sent a smattering of

flames through the air

and a slow smile crept

across her face as

she surveyed the field.

Amber eyes, gleaming

with the memory of

embers, lit upon each

tree, each animal,

each wheat stalk with

unrestrained glee.

Oh yes. This realm would do quite nicely. So much life, so much fire deep within. Never before had she felt her spitfire soul so calm. It was the core of the world, so full of untamed fire, that settled her with this sense of tranquility, she decided. Eden began to

stalk through the

wheat, burning

archaic markings

into the ground.

She would turn this

field into a beacon

for her travelling

people. No longer

would they suffer

from the accursed

desire for a place

they did not know.

Once they heeded

her call, they would

populate this

empty realm and

they would

prosper.

Turning her

head to the

heavens, Eden

cried, "My

people! I have

found our home!

Follow the

beacons, join

me!"

By now the wind had returned from its journey to inform the trees of the strange new arrival. It hovered low at the edge of the field, barely brushing the base of the wheat. Never before had the wind simply sat and watched, but that was exactly what it did as the sigils Eden had burned into the ground began to glow with the dull light of embers. Bursts of flame, similar to the ones that had heralded

SHOUT OUTS

Submit your Shout Outs to ANYBODY in

the marked box at lunch!

100% of MRA students vote Study Hall as their

favorite subject! Join today!

Thanks all MRA staff for your hard work! - Percella Scarpinato

To: Jonathan Fischer

Butler. Something has happened.

Shout out to those at recess for being experts in the art of playing! To: You

Hey. Nice shirt.

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Kimberly Sweet is a pastor’s wife and a mother of two boys. Even with much responsibility she has felt Gods calling to serve and followed. Q: Where all have you served? A: India (multiple times), Mexico, the Middle East (multiple times), North Africa (multiple times), and Haiti. Q: Have you ever been stuck in a country? A: No. In point of fact, I even made it out early once so I could arrive home a day earlier. Q: How did you serve? A: Short-term medical mission team providing medical care to orphans,

Around The World In Eighty-Days!

By Gwen Rowling

Q: Did you ever go with anyone else? If so, who? A: Yes, most of my service has been as part of a medical team, although many of the teams I did not meet until we were in country, as in the country in which we were serving. Although in India, I served alone. Q: What is your favorite story you brought back? A: There are too many to tell in one sitting. You can read about one of my favorites while serving in North Africa on my Facebook page as a

blog I posted as tentpocketdweller: "Why I Love the People of the Nuba Mountains and Why You Should Too."

"I've missed you so much,

Mother," Eden whispered before

pulling away and wiping her

cheeks.

"And I have missed you too,"

Idina said. "But we are together as

a family now, and that it all that

matters."

The wind anxiously waited for

Eden's reply. Why wasn't she

answering? Did she know she was

supposed to answer? The wind had

things to do, trees to tell! It couldn't

just wait around all day long. She

needed to answer now!

"Yes, Mother. Family is

important. May we never be parted

again."

Finally! The wind leaped off in an

exuberant gust. This was bigger

than just telling the trees, it

decided. Everything needed to

know. The rivers and hills and

plains. Everything needed to know

that this world had something it

never had before.

A family.

Coming Home (cont’d)

Madelaine Burman

churches, and communities through the auspices of the local church or organization, depending upon the locale.

Q: What was your reason for going? A: To provide medical care as a means of sharing the love and good news of Jesus Christ. Q: What was your favorite place to serve? A: North Africa Q: Where was the scariest place? A: It's a toss up between the Middle East and North Africa. By the help of the Lord's Spirit, I did not have fear, but there were situations in these locales designed to provoke fear.

Eden's arrival, filled the air as

her people responded to her

call. Soon, they began tumbling

out of the flames, their arrival

far hastier than Eden's.

Joyful cries of, "You did it!"

and "We have a home now!"

from the elders and "Look at

that BUG!" from the children

echoed over the field.

Once the commotion had

died down, an older woman

with sooty streaks in her russet

hair darted forward and pulled

Eden into an embrace.

"Oh, Eden, my daughter, you

have done it! I knew you

could," Eden's mother, Idina,

cried.

Eden returned her mother's

hug, tiny droplets of fire leaking

from her eyes and down her

cheeks.

minutes (nearly three hours).And let me tell you, it doesn’t go five minutes without a fight sequence, or something blowing up. So if you were hoping for an engaging story, or well fleshed out characters, the Transformers series isn’t for you. The worst part is that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table (not that I expected it to). Plus the fighting sequences are so common, that they become terribly repetitive to someone who has seen the other movies. The ending of the previous movie made it seem that it would be the last installment, but most people (including myself) knew that was not the case. No matter how much the movie is a blatant cash grab, people will still go see it, and Michael Bay will continue making them. I was disappointed by Transformers: Age of Extinction, and the only thing good it was at is being a “popcorn movie”.

Transformers: Age of

Extinction Review (cont’d)

Just under three hours, Age of Extinction has a run time of a whopping 165