Eagle Eyes
April 2019
By Josh Mora Staff Editor The boys’ lacrosse team at Windham High School has started their 2019 season off very well. Many of the hard working players on the team were working on drills and playing in scrimmages even before preseason in team practices organized by the team’s leaders. With many returning players, the senior class is stronger than ever with players such as Ty Woolston, Thomas Lekousi, and Logan Douglas. Following their defeat to Portland in the playoffs last year, many returning players are ready to get back and play harder than ever. The 2018 Eagles lacrosse team had a very strong season, with a 10-2 record in the regular season and 1 win in the playoffs before falling short to Portland for the second time that season. The team was also crippled by the loss of many key players late in the season, but they still worked their hardest and persisted. According to coach Seth Fournier, “you can have a few individuals that will pollute the whole mindset of the team and that's hard to overcome.” Fournier, entering his 3rd year of coaching, has seen and helped many of the current seniors and juniors grow and prosper into the players and people they are now. “The best part is the personal growth that I see. Growth as a player comes second, and that makes it easier for me.” This year, the team also has more depth than ever, Fournier said. “One of the things I'm most excited about is having 5 goalies.” On Friday April 15, the Eagles have their first scrimmage against Lake Region. When asked about last lacrosse season and the upcoming season, Junior Midfielder Mattingly Babb said that “last year the team really gelled. This season is all about having people step up into roles that we lost last year.” Babb also states that “Friday (April 15th) can’t come soon enough.” The 2019 season opens on April 22nd, with a home game against Sanford, a first time opponent. The second game of the season is against Bonny Eagle on April 24th, who the Eagles lost their final regular season game to last season. The Eagles will play in 7 games that following month until they face Portland on May 24th. This is the game that Coach Fournier is looking forward to the most since Portland ended the Eagle’s 2018 Season. The Eagles have worked very hard in the past year, and it will be evident once the season begins.
Boys' Lacrosse Team Prepares For Spring Season
Photo Courtesy of Ezra Smith
By Josh Mora Staff Editor At Windham High School, the two Science Olympiad teams are preparing to compete in the annual state competition, which takes place on March 30th. In this competition, team members will compete in 23 various tests, labs and building events. Pairs of team members are assigned to or choose as many events as they would like to participate in. Members are required to work at least one hour each week on their events, but as the competition nears, members are beginning to work hastily. On March 30th, the two teams will board busses and travel to the University of Southern Maine to participate in an all day meet. Team captain and WHS Senior Haley Froisland oversees both teams and makes sure that everything goes smoothly. During weekly meeting, she checks in and aids the two advisors, Dr. Bizier and Mr. Wirtz. Froisland is participating in Experimental Design, Mousetrap Vehicle, Circuit Lab, Protein Modeling, and Designer Genes. According to Froisland, “I enjoy being a leader on the team.” When asked about the future of the team after her graduation, Froisland hopes “we can continue to have two teams and that people are excited for their events. That way we have a chance of winning the state meet.” With hard work and effort, this goal is even feasible this year, since there are two teams making a total of 29 team members. Windham High School senior Tyler Thornton has been a member of the Science Olympiad team for 3 years. This year, Thornton is participating in Protein Modeling, Experimental Design, Boomilever, and Dynamic Planet. According to him “It truly brings me joy to know that I contributed to a greater purpose and got to contribute towards the team.” After a few moments, Thornton also said that “It creates a positive team environment where I, along with other kids who truly care about our education can prosper and develop ourselves.” Being a part of this team is very beneficial, as many of the members get to focus on topics that they are very interested in, while being a part of a team and learning to work together. Members of the two teams get to dive deeper into topics and subjects that they are interested in. According to WHS senior and four year member of Science Olympiad Stephen Sepulveda, “it puts an emphasis on what you learn in a classroom and puts it in a fun competition.” Sepulveda is participating in Circuit Lab, Protein Modeling, Fermi, and Anatomy and Physiology. As the competition nears, many of these people are working tirelessly yet though determination are very enthusiastic and anticipating an overwhelmingly positive result.
Eagle Eyes: April, 2019
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Community Profile: Science Olympiad
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
By Dakota Thompson Staff Writer Battlefield V is the newest installment of the well-known Battlefield series that has been continuing on since 2002, beginning with Battlefield 1942. The game was created and is updated by DICE Studios, and published by EA Games. It was released to the world on November 20th, 2018. Battlefield V takes the series back to its old roots, allowing players to fight in expansive battlegrounds of the second world war, and learn about history along the way. However, just like any piece of media, sometimes historical accuracy must be thrown out to make a game with more customization and to make gameplay more fluid to a wider audience. Some examples of this are seen throughout Battlefield V. One of them being the inclusion of frontline female soldiers in a World War Two game. This decision was made during development to further stretch players’ ability to customize their character and add diversity to the game. Women did provide astronomically to the allied war effort, working jobs that typically were held by men while they were off fighting tyranny. The Soviet Union was the only combatant to have women in combat roles, where they were pilots (Night Witches), snipers (Ivan Sidorenko, Vasily Zaytsev, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, and Roza Shanina) and even tank commanders (Aleksandra Samusenko and Mariya Oktyabrskaya). But the Soviets are not playable at launch. Right now, it is only British and German. Some people had (and continue) to have an issue with this, but other than a historical inaccuracy, this feature does not in any way affect gameplay. On the topic of actual gameplay, for the most part, it feels very smooth and fun in most situations. As of now, all matches feature a team of British soldiers against the German Reich, but there are plans to later add U.S, Italian, and Soviet Soldiers. There are theories about French and Japanese but it is still unclear. There are French soldiers present in the single-player of the game. Playing as a footsoldier in one of the four main classes (Assault, Medic, Support, and Recon) can feel exhilarating. Each of the four play an important role to your team’s efforts, even more so when coordinating with your squad of three other players. Vehicle gameplay, when done with strategy and infantry support, can turn the tide of a game, such as tanks smashing through enemy lines or holding a defense. With fighters such as the Bf-109 and the famous British Spitfire and bombers such as the Mosquito and the frightening, screaming Stuka Dive Bomber. Taking each other out as well as peppering the ground troops below with munitions and bombs. The game features most of the well known game modes that were present in previous titles, the most popular of which being conquest. Conquest is a really fun mode and unquestionably the most popular. It contains two teams of 32, one being British, the other being German. The teams face off and fight over small areas on a large map and collect points. For each point, their team has every few seconds. The first team to be brought down to zero points (of 1,000) loses. Battlefield V had a rough launch and a few bugs at first, but overall, the game has loads of not only vehicles and weapons to play with for the time being, but loads of potential as well. I think everyone with a gaming PC, PS4, or Xbox One should pick up a copy and play Battlefield V. Playing with friends is always better though, so I would advise convincing them to do the same. The game is enjoyable to anyone who enjoys the history of World War Two, and those who just want to experience a not entirely accurate but historically set first person shooter with beautiful graphics, insane detail, and crazy, chaotic combat all over the map in every match you jump into.
Review
Game Review: Battlefield V
By Karyn Dion Staff Writer “Pluto Tapes: Volume 1” was released on January 25th, 2019. Unlike Pluto, the artist, specializes in mixes of electronic, rock, and folk. This is shown greatly by this debut album and his countless singles. The first song on the album is called “Dollar For Your Sadness.” The chorus line is “a penny for your thoughts, a dollar for your sadness.” I think this is describing how a lot of people these days would rather know your baggage instead of your actual thoughts. A couple tracks later, there is a song called “Unless It Happens To You.” The second verse is very relevant to today’s society. The second verse ends with the lines, “Everyone acts like nothing’s wrong. Till there’s a fire on their lawn.” I believe this is representing social media and how even though we always have a way to know what is going on, it never seems real until it is right in front of us. A few more tracks down, you will find “Look At Me,” a song with a very clear message of wanting a following and fame. With a bridge that states, “Maybe if I break down. Maybe I try a crown. Baby I’m burning out. Better than slowing down.” It’s hard to dispose of my theory. Near the end of the song, the person in this song seems to lose his fame very quickly with lines like, “Better to go down in flames than gradually fade away.” The next notable track is called “No Innocence.” I interpreted this song as a sort of rebirth for the artist by getting rid of his fake friends and trying to better himself. The line, “It’s a wrap for my innocence,” really stuck with me. I took this as the artist growing as a person and realizing more about the world, in turn losing his child-like innocence. “Under The Lights” is another track about fame. Being the seventeenth track, the nineteen track album is coming to a close. It describes the artist’s will to die in the spotlight, but feels that he can’t because, “My dreams have turned to mold.” The last verse really puts into perspective how the artist is feeling about his situation, showing his depression and how he feels it may be too late for him to recover his fame. The second line in “Burn After Writing,” the last track of the album, is very insightful. “Don’t treat your youth like a jail cell.” I took this as, do not let the dumb things you did as a kid rule the rest of your life. The second verse shows us what actually happened in the artist’s late youth. Such as, “Throwing up behind a pizza place instead of studying biology.” During the time the artist was getting a degree in biology, his music career started to take off, so juggling it was very hard for him to do according to this line. Overall, I thought the album was amazing, and very different from other music I’ve listened to. You can’t put Pluto in a box, which I can really admire. I give this album a 10 out of 10 for originality and general result of his talent.
Album Review: Unlike Pluto- "Pluto Tapes Volume 1"
By Andy Serfes Staff Writer This is my first time hearing anything from the 13th Floor Elevators. I have heard only good things about them, and because the 50th year anniversary of this album is just around the corner, I figured I would give them a shot. They are not what I expected. I am not impressed nor am I disappointed. The only material I have heard from this band is the album Bull of the Woods. Imagine if the Small Faces and the Velvet Underground had a baby, and the Grateful Dead raised that baby. That is the 13th Floor Elevators based off of Bull of the Woods. They are very much like any good ol’ American 60s hippy/psych band. The band were Texas born and raised, so you can feel the hot southern midwest radiate out of your speakers when listening to this band and album. There were problems when recording this album, such as the drums were turned too far up and the vocals were turned too far down. But without knowing that background information it seems natural to the album and does not affect it drastically. I recommend one listen to this album at night in summer, outside, or on a dirt road while traveling at night in the summer. When listening to this album, I looked through the history of the band and the album and the songs, I analyzed the lyrics, and I took notes until I could not take any more. Stacy Sutherland pretty much gave birth to this album with the assistance of Tommy Hall, which had a good outcome because the lyrics are these songs are dream-like, vague, nonlinear, and fun. Maybe the intent of these songs only show when one is not sober. The album lacks an impressive start. It seems like the background music to any kind of dated movie. Not that that is bad, it is just not impressive. About half of the songs on this album are obscurely worded love songs. A quarter of Bull Of the Woods is just filler. It seems like some of these songs want to evolve into jams but the band is either not skilled or mature enough to give the song what it wants. “Never Another” is genuinely a pretty decent song, but the randomly thrown in horn section does not fit it at all. When recording Bull of the Woods, there were clearly some strange mistakes made. The album does get better as it progresses. It peaks at the middle and then literally fades in quality. Essentially the album has a weak setting, a satisfying climax, and a tasteful resolution. The only good enough songs on the album are; “Till Then,” “Barnyard Blues,” “Down by the RIver,” “Scarlet and Gold,” and “Dr. Doom.” What should have been done is that ⅓ of this album be scrapped and the rest be made into an EP. How many Goldblums does this album receive? three out of five.
Album Review: 13th Floor Elevators- "Bull of the Woods"
By Jacob Barnicle Staff Writer Juice Wrld’s new album, named “Death Race For Love,” came out March 8th of 2019. Currently, his album has a 72 overall rating on Metacritic. I don't really agree with this score; I think the album deserves better. Juice Wrld writes breakup songs and sad songs that involve drugs. In a way, Juice Wrld is like a Lil Peep or a Xxxtentesion; what this means is they make these songs from their experiences, or to help someone out. The songs on this album are quite similar, because Juice Wrld talks about drugs and break ups, but also talks about the gang life and money. Personally, I like his songs. The listener can relate to the song “Empty” in a lot of ways; he talks about depression and how he deals with it using drugs. He says: “Oh me how they kill me slowly, Lonely, I’ve been getting no peace, OD, feel like overdosing. Low key looking for the signs but all I can find is the sign of the times.” In these lines, it gives you the basics of the whole song. If you listen to some of these songs when you’re sad, it helps. These seem like sad songs, but they let you think about life in a different way. If you have gone through some sad stuff and you listen to the lyrics closely, you find a new way to look at things. Anyone that is going through a struggle of any sort should put on this album. It symbolises that there are sad parts of life, but there are also parts that show light that give hope for the future. His song “Ring Ring” features the clever line “I don't feel like coming to the phone today, but I don't feel like being alone, I can't deal with the chills on my own, freezing all night long. I can't tell what’s real or where I belong.” This shows that we can get lost sometimes, in music and in ourselves. I can say from personal experience that these songs help when you are feeling low. The metacritic review score should be higher.
Album Review: Juice Wrld- "Death Race For Love"
By Hayleigh Davis Staff Writer Cage the Elephant has released many songs over the years, but in March they released a new one. The last time the released a studio album was in 2015, but they followed it up with a live album in 2017. They just released another song from their upcoming album called Social Cues, called “House of Glass.” Right away listening to the song, you’ll notice it has a really good beat and tune. The first line is “climb into my corner, my self inflicted coma,” and it is giving off the vibes that this song is going to be about being isolated and separated from the rest. The song is mainly focusing on bad vibes and how things just seem to be falling apart for them. In just the first verse, there is a strong theme of corruption and distortion, and that seems to continue throughout the whole song. The lyrics makes the song seem like a cycle. Right in the song he says, “repeat in the same order,” and every verse seems to be its own set of directions. I really like the bridge into the chorus, just how it sounds all together in the order just really gets me. I like the band and the style of music; rock music is not for everyone but I happen to enjoy it. “House of Glass” has an uptune beat and mixed with the lead singer, Matt Shultz’s voice, it really works. At times in the song, Matt’s voice sounds a little raspy and they balance that out with the different instruments. I listened to one of the other songs that dropped for their new album and it has the same raw emotion. That song is called “Ready to Let Go” and they released that one back in January. On Spotify it is their second most listened to song by artist, and after just two weeks of being out, “House of Glass” has reached their seventh most popular song on Spotify. Overall, the song “House of Glass” is really good in my opinion. It does dabble into some more dark and depressing themes if you actually listen to it, but its beat is sugarcoating that essentially. I have been a fan of Cage the Elephant for a few years now and hearing that they are releasing more songs is amazing news, especially when the first two they released early are so good.
Song Review: Cage The Elephant- "House of Glass"
By Rebecca Hamel Staff Writer The Jonas Brothers are back with a #1 hit song, “Sucker!” This comeback was a great surprise to Jonas Brothers fans, since their breakup in 2013 devastated many. The brothers rose to fame in August of 2006 when they released their first ever album “It's About Time.” The song that skyrocketed their career was “The Year 3000” which was released on the their first album. Not long after their career took off, they started working with Disney channel on movies such as “Camp Rock.” "Sucker" is definitely different from what we are used to hearing from the Jonas Brothers. It is also their first song to reach number one on the billboard hot 100 and for good reason. The fast beat and high pitch would make anyone want to get up and sing along. This is an upbeat song that is sung by all of the brothers, but Nick and Joe have solos while Kevin plays the guitar and sings the chorus. Sucker is a mix between pop and rock, and this makes it unique to the other songs on the radio. This is also noticeably unique from their previous songs that were written while on Disney channel for that reason. The music video to “Sucker” stars all of the brothers’ wives/ fiances; this is also distinctive to other music videos because most stars do not do this. The music video is just as upbeat as the song. The brothers are dancing and singing in a large house with their partners. They have quirky outfits and swift dance moves. The video is a good length at 3:20 and definitely worth a watch.
Song Review: Jonas Brothers- "Sucker"
Image from the music video courtesy of USA Today.
By Dakota Cook Staff Writer "Aquaman" has recently just arrived on DVD and I decided that I would give it a review, as I was interested in watching the movie while it was in theaters but never had the chance. It is about a man that is part human and part Atlantean who grows up in Maine. He can control sea life and can breathe underwater. His mom is from Atlantis, but was forced to come back to marry the king of Atlantis and have kids with him too. When Aquaman is grown up, he gets called to Atlantis due to his brother not being a good fit of being the new king. He has to fight for crown before his brother destroys all of the human race. In my opinion, I enjoyed the movie and it definitely lived up to its expectations. I enjoyed seeing the scenes underwater, because they made the color of the fish and Atlantis really pop out. Reviews on metacritic show that people had mixed opinions on the film. One review said “This movie is truly a masterpiece in the superhero genre, the cinematography and visuals are breathtaking, simply beautiful to look at.” While another review said, “There are what feels like 3 or 4 hours to endure of the protagonists going from one place to another, talking a bit and then having a fight. These scenes are separated by unnecessary dialogue too complex and tedious to pay attention to.” I can agree with both reviews. It was a visually amazing movie, but there were also a lot of scenes where there was a lot of talking and then fighting. It kind of felt like the movie was repeating itself in a way. In conclusion, if you are a superhero fan that likes a lot of action and some cool visuals, and you have not seen Aquaman yet you should go ahead and buy the movie.
Movie Review: Aquaman
By Vitor Bizarro Staff Writer “Captain Marvel,” The first Marvel movie starring a female lead has just been released and it has divided the opinions of Marvel fans from all over the world. The “Captain Marvel” cast is undoubtedly remarkable. The cast stars Brie Larson, 2015 academy award winner for Room, and also with the great Jude Law, (Fantastic Beasts) and Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction). The trailers and sneak peeks made a question pops into fan’s heads: is a good cast enough to make a standard Marvel Cinematic Universe movie? The production introduces the audience to the story of a complex heroine: Vers, a kree alien that comes to Earth and forgets her own past and origin. The movie starts a little slow and the main character, played by Larson, made me feel that sometimes, she was bored and didn’t want to be there. Maybe it will take a while until she gets really used to the character. All the performances portrayed by the other actors are clean and neat. Samuel L. Jackson brings us a different version of his young Nick Fury character, as he walks the boundary between funny and silly. The story is entertaining when Larson’s character searches for her identity. In fact, she finds in her human identity, Carol Danvers, a way to understand her powers. That is one of the highlights of the movie. The directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck share a unique vision that sometimes the origin of who we are is closer than what we think we are. Even though the major part of the audience was expecting answers to the questions brought in Avengers: Infinity War (since Captain Marvel was announced during its post-credit scene and its sequel is about to come), the main focus of this movie was not that. The attempt was to introduce the comics fans to a new world inside Marvel Universe, as it was done with “Black Panther” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” And therefore, those who like actual fights, fists, and powers may have left disappointed. Not because the fight scenes weren’t good, but because there weren’t as many as we usually see in a MCU movie. But that was not necessarily a problem. The movie is not about fighting, aliens, and superpowers. It includes, indeed, all that. However, the directors found in Captain Marvel an opportunity to bring a more mature narrative to the universe that includes more psychology issues and human emotions. Packed with an experienced cast, this time the MCU attempts to bring a new mature perspective to its movies. However, it fails as it doesn’t detach from Marvel’s comedy form. Due to its “decrease” of action scenes, this might not be a movie for the Marvel maniacs, but it could be a surprising hit for those who didn’t expect to like a superhero production. Captain Marvel is now on in theaters all over the United States.
Movie Review: Captain Marvel
