Silicon Valley MiddleMonthly News – Nocember(November+December) Issue

By Ren Cai, Ishaan Jain, and Matthew Fu

Happy Holidays!

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Introduction

Psst…Listen up! You are about to enter the world of SVM News…Nah, we’re messing with you. Hey everyone! Welcome back to the SVM News! If you haven’t read the first issue, we suggest you do. Anyways, without further ado, let’s get started already!

Recap

In case you are feeling stubborn, and didn’t want to read the first issue, please read this! If you have already read the first issue, then please just skip to the next section. Anyways, this is some “history” in case you were wondering how we came to be. Originally, it was a fifth-grade newspaper called Stratford EleMonthly, founded by Matthew Fu and Ren Cai. It was a big hit, especially since elementary newspapers had only been done once before, and that one shut down fast. The school ended, and it came time to say goodbye…at least, that’s what people thought. Ren, Matthew, and Tuana (a new recruit and a huge help) continued to make newspapers throughout the summer. SummerMonthly News ended, and a new school year began. However, Ren planned out a new company with Tuana and Ishaan (another recruit). That company is what you are reading from right now: the SVM News. From writing about things in a little scrappy notebook to interviewing across cities and countries (with a handy-dandy thing called Gmail), This newspaper has certainly evolved.

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Articles (written by our team, with information from various sites)

First, Ren has an article about cats in China being rescued from being slaughtered.

Police Rescue 1,000 Cats in China From being slaughtered

By Ren Cai

Acting on a tip from animal welfare activists, the police in China intercepted the truck that was carrying the felines/Cats into the eastern city of Zhangjiagang. The cats were rescued and sent to an animal shelter. The police uncovered that the cats were used for a trade for some other materials. Cat meat in China costs 4.5 yuan/0.62 American dollars per catty, a unit measure in China, roughly equivalent to 600 grams. One cat is about four to five catties. It was unclear if the cats were strays or pets of humans.

Yong, Nicholas. “China: Police rescue 1000 cats, bust illicit trade of feline meat.” BBC, 26 October 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-67225496. Accessed 6 November 2023.

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Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

By Matthew Fu

One year ago, in 2023, we thought that the Godzilla franchise was over. Now, we know that in 2024, there will be a new movie: Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Wikipedia.org says that this movie is expected to be released on April 12, 2024. Now, let’s go on to what it’s about. Although the plot is unconfirmed, trailers depict Godzilla, teaming up with Kong, to destroy…some kind of overgrown orangutan. Anyways, apparently, humans don’t know of all the creatures living in…the core of the Earth (Dun-dun-dun!) With the rise of an empire of overgrown orangutans comes the awakening of Kong and Godzilla, both of them teaming up to stop this empire.

Oh, and also, these two characters, Kong and Godzilla, have had new makeovers! As you can see, Godzilla has pink spikes (drip?) and Kong has a metal gauntlet on his right arm.

Works Cited

Kirksey, Ryan. “Kong’s New Weapon In Godzilla x Kong Is A Huge Step Forward For The Monsterverse.” Screen Rant, 6 December 2023, https://screenrant.com/godzilla-x-kong-gauntlet-armor-monsterverse/. Accessed 9 December 2023.Wallace, Edgar, et al. “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_vs._Kong. Accessed 9 December 2023.

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Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Everything We Know 

By Ren Cai

This year on May 30, 2023, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released. And a few years before that, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released. And next year, 2024, a movie named Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, a follow-up, will be released on March 29. Ok, now let’s get into the fun part.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is another Multiversal movie alongside the 2 other movies. It has been confirmed that the main villain in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will still be The Spot but there could still be some changes. In Spider-Verse 2 the young hero, Miles Morales, gets trapped in a work where the “Sinister Six have been able to flourish and take over the world”. Therefore, we can predict that at the beginning of Spider-Verse 3, Miles Morales will use his electrical powers to possibly escape Uncle Aaron and the Prowler(himself, in another universe). We can make this educated guess because we left off on a cliffhanger last year about Miles getting “kidnapped” by the Prowler and Uncle Aaron in another universe. It is said that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is going to be the movie that concludes the trilogy.

Works Cited

Felt, Klein. “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse: Release Date, Cast, and Everything We Know.” The Direct, The Direct, 1 Nov. 2023, thedirect.com/article/spider-man-beyond-the-spider-verse-release-date-cast

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Interviews

Camp Campbell Interview (With Adhwaith Somavarapu)

Context

Stratford PA MS students recently went on a trip to a place called Camp Campbell (I’ll have to search this place up on Google Maps). Adhwaith (AKA Adhi) will share his experience with us in this interview.

Q: Alright, first things first, what was your overall impression of Camp Campbell?

A: Hmm…Wait. It was a great trip.

Q: Really? That took some hesitation…

A: It had some bad sides.

Q: Okay, name some of them

A: There was classwork, and we had to fill up a notebook. Also, we didn’t get to swim

Q: Dang…were there any highlights?

A: Redwood burnt, fire forest helps, etc.

Q: Soo…knowledge? Education?

A: Yeah.

Q: Please put it in a complete sentence.

A: It was a science camp, had bad sides, it had class work in notebooks, and fun activities. There you go. Sentence.

Q: Thanks…but geez didn’t have to be grumpy about it.

A:👦🥊

Q: Ok…Jeez…bye

A: Bye…🥖🍗.

Well…that was mature.

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Interview with Mr. Hanson, the new chess club coach at Stratford Preparatory Blackford.

Context

Say goodbye to Mr. Clarence! Mr Hanson has come, and we are going to interview him!

Q: Hello Mr. Hanson, here are a few questions about the chess club. How do you feel about being the new chess club coach in replacement of Mr. Clarence?

A:  I am very excited about being the chess club coach because I play chess every day with my students, so I definitely need the practice.  

Q: What would some tips you would give to students who are willing to learn more about chess be in terms of logic and how to be a good player?

A:  I would say ignoring any advice Ren Cai gave them would be a good start, and then I would tell them to pick one opening, go to YouTube, and watch some instructive games that use that opening.  

Q: What opening would you recommend to a beginner chess player

A:  I personally play the Jobava London as white, and the Caro-Kann as black. I would recommend the Jobava London, but all my E4 students would cause an outrage so I will recommend beginners start with the Ruy Lopez.  

Q: Does it feel like you have much pressure being a chess club coach?

A:  Because some of our students are really really good at chess, most of the time I make those students do the coaching with me.  This alleviates any potential pressures, and students usually love being able to share their knowledge with others and collaborate.  

Q: How do you feel about the first few sessions of chess club

A:  Chess club is going great and we look forward to hosting a chess tournament at Stratford Prep. 

Q: Thank you for your time, Mr. Hanson

A:  Thank you for your questions, Ren.

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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

We are no longer going to be making issues! Ok, ok, chill, it’s not what you think it means. We will stop making issues but we will still be writing articles and conducting interviews. 

After so much consideration, we have made a way so every one of you can see our stories sooner. In the past, y’all had to wait 2 months to see these amazing stories and honestly, we can admit that our patience levels have a limit. Therefore, we are making a new way of sending stories to y’all. We will have an “Interview” and “Article” section on our website and when you click on it you will find every article and interview (depending on which tab/section you click on) ever made, starting from 2024. We will post our articles as soon as will finish writing them and we will do the same for interviews. 

Like this, you don’t have to wait 2 months to see these fabulous stories and lose your patience. You will see these stories as soon as we finish our last touches. All you have to do is just go to those 2 tabs at the top of the home page. 

Sorry if I scared you in the first sentence.

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Credits

We would like to give a big thanks to…

• Ren Cai for writing 2 articles, writing the announcement, conducting 1 interview, holding the company in place, and developing the website.
• Matthew Fu for writing 1 article, the introduction, conducting 1 interview, and giving out amazing ideas.
• Ishaan Jain for giving us ideas on how to improve the company and the paper.
• Tuana Bingol for supporting us the whole way, although she left due to personal reasons.
• Jie Cai (Ren’s dad) for creating the website and contributing helpful ideas.