SLAMedia’s Year In Review

At the end of this school year, the staff of SLAMedia took a moment to reflect on the people, places, and moments that made this year stand out.

Sanchez Returns

During Halloween at SLA this year, every student had the pleasure of meeting the Ghost of Sanchez. The black and white pictures posted of the former history teacher in obscure places around the school frightened some and humored others. I found it absloultely hilarious, especially with the placement of some of the pictures, like behind trashcans and on top of Halloween decorations already put up the night before. It was a pleasant and humrous surprise seeing them around the school. And what made it more funny were the freshman reactions to this mysertious man lining the walls of SLA. The timing of the photos were excellent, with Halloween and the theme of ghosts. It will definitely be something that a older SLAers will remember in the years to come. 

– Kennedy Coverdale

Where’s the Plane?

This year the mysterious plane that had disappeared from Malaysia. The funny thing about this was the perseverance of CNN about the idea of plane wreckage in the sea. The new channel spent the entire day waiting for the email from Malaysia that had “specifications” on the report of the plane wreck. The consant notation was “we need to know if it was plane wreckage” or “it could be plane wreckage” and “Any minute now we will receive the email telling us about more details for the possible plane wreckage.” These announcements were initially said at about 9 am and continued on to about 8 pm. Oh CNN. 

– Soledad  Alfaro-Allah

Our Crazy Winter

Philadelphia received some pretty harsh weather last January due to what is called a polar vortex, a large cyclone that releases cold air from the Northern Hemisphere. Although that it seemed like so long ago since we had our icy meltdown, it was actually only a couple of months when we were warned about the dangers of not wearing gloves in four degree weather. Most Philadelphians didn’t think too fondly of the cold weather. And after the fourth day of school being closed, neither did I. In fact it got to a point where there was nothing really to do but sit inside and curse the winter. Too cold to go out, too cold to do anything. Now that June is finally here, the people of Philadelphia can finally enjoy a warmer climate… and humidity!

– Will Amari

The Book Thief vs. The Movie

The Book Thief is my absolute favorite book of all time. In previous years I had read it, and this year in my 10th grade English class, we discussed and dissected it. Needless to say I was very excited for the movie release. The movie was awful. The movie and the book could have been called two separate names. While they had the same underlying themes, much was changed. The movie did not do the book justice whatsoever. A few of the characters’ personalities had changed quite a bit, and the narration of ‘Death’ was off and had awkward timing. I do think that Rudy was well represented. If you’ve read The Book Thief, and love it, DON’T watch the movie. And if you’ve watched the movie, most definitely read the book so you can experience the brilliance.

Stevie Wonder Sing-Off

I walked into the office to Mr Lehmann singing an old Stevie Wonder song and to be funny I made a joke about his singing. Then he preceded to call me out to sing a Stevie Wonder song too. I was dumbfounded because the only ones I had known of were Superstition, Ebony and Ivory, and Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday was the only one I actually knew the words to. Jeremy was the “MC” and when he pulled the song up, it was the studio version not the version we always hear. So I stood there until the beat arrived and had to sing in front of the whole office. I didn’t do a good job.