December 2019

Student Spotlight Feature Page 2

Op-Ed On Finals Page 3

December 16th, 2019

News In Brief Final Schedule: Tuesday 12/17 Minimum day schedule, 2nd period final Wednesday 12/18 3rd and 4th period finals Thursday 12/19 5th and 6th period finals Friday 12/20 1st and 7th period finals Elective Fair on January 16!

Mucic Dep. Winter Concert Page 3

It’s A Beautiful Day... Review Page 4

Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org

Hillsdale Mall Expansion Maddie Dixon and Andi Taylor Staff Writers

which was first planned and announced in 2013 and has progressively taken shape since then, with many delays in the process.

Most Hillsdale students can remember the old food court, with fast-food services like Burger King and Hot Dog on a Stick. This food area was the first to go. A few months ago, residents in the area were delighted to

The Hillsdale Shopping Center, located nearly two blocks from Hillsdale High, is a popular spot for Hillsdale students to spend their time. Since 1954, the mall has undergone many renovations, transforming from a mostly outdoor mall to one entirely indoors, and now a mixture of both. The Hillsdale mall was first created by developer David Bohannon who was inspired by a shopping center in Daly City.

Some of the first-ever shops there were Sears, Macy’s, an Emporium, Nordstrom, and Mervyn’s. The shopping center continued to open more stores as it became more popular.

In 1982, Bohannon’s A view of the mall remodel Photo Credit: Maddie Dixon and Andi Taylor daughter initiated mall renovations, adding a second story and making the mall indoors. find a new food court in its place, with new This is the main building you see today dining options including Häagen-Dazs ice and some of the original 1950s sculptures cream and ShareTea drinks. In addition to

by Benny Bufano are still there. It then this, the new food court offers both indoor acquired the neighboring competitor and outdoor seating arrangements and a Fashion Island shopping center nearby more spacious layout. One cannot fail to as it went bankrupt and became what is mention the new, improved, and easy-to-use now the Bridgepointe part of the mall. garbage cans as well, with separate sections The shopping center’s latest expansion for recycling, compost, waste, and liquids.

Even more recently, Hillsdale opened a new outdoor courtyard situated where the old Sears building used to be located.

Past the water fountain equipped with colored lights, lies a seating area and open space. Storefronts such as Lululemon are open for the public to shop in. Across the way, Pinstripes, an indoor restaurant, is open for business, with a built-in bowling alley and a bocce ball court. Across the street sits West Elm, a high-end furniture and home store.

However, Jamie Sloves, freshman, seemed rather unimpressed about the new expansion. She stated, “I’ve been to the food court. it was just crowded.”

Thankfully, the expansion is still far from complete, and will soon be adding many more storefronts and room to roam.

As for entertainment, the mall has also opened a new movie theater, Cinépolis, a “luxury cinema.”

Although it is expensive, it is unlike any other movie theater in the area. Each seat is fully reclinable and covered with leather. Most notably, this theater allows for viewers to be served food while watching their show with a simple push of a button. McKenna WhyteShearer, freshman, enjoyed her experience at the theater. Continued on page 3...

Girls Water Polo Makes big wins

Happy Holidays everyone from the Scroll staff!

Thank you for reading!

Enjoy your winter break until 1/7!

Do you have comments, feedback, letters to the editors, or want to buy an ad?

Contact us at: thehillsdalescroll@gmail.com

Natasha Patel Staff Writers

about the team’s success this season. In an interview, she said, “Our JV team consisted of fourteen amazing student-athletes, who came together as a team at the start of

in August, up until the final game this past week. Never did their prowess waiver as they learned the game, executed strategy, and This year, Hillsdale’s JV girls water polo bonded as a group of friends and teammates. team had an undefeated Their desire to learn the season, giving them the game led them to have a divisional #1 spot! They fun, positive, and winning claimed first place in season. Congratulations the PAL standings with ladies!” Button said. an impressive record of Assistant Coach Bratt 10 wins, 2 tied games, also talked about how well and 0 losses. The team, the team did, mentioning her coached by Jina Button, observations in practices and and Assistant Coach games. She said, “many of Katie Bratt, consisted the girls on this team began of 14 talented young their water polo careers women,Sienna Tilley, this year. They joined the Lexie Cherrington, program knowing nothing Sophia Christian, Jilian about water polo, but had Christian, Cassandra this incredible desire to Hernandez, Aditi Dhawan, learn, and it showed every Natasha Patel, Sophia single day. These girls Top Row (L-R): Sienna Tilley, Lexie Cherrington, Sophia Christian, Jilian Heath, Ona Manero, worked hard and gave Christian, Cassandra Hernandez, Aditi Dhawan, Natasha Patel, Sophia Heath, Kendall Gallatin, their 100% effort. They Ona Manero Kaitlyn Blundell, Alex are kind, smart, and the Bunton, Hope Loy Bottom Row (L-R): Coach Button, Kendall Gallatin, Kaitlyn Blundell, Alex embodiment of a cohesive and Carly Wilson. The Bunton team that all coaches coaches had a lot to say desire. I feel lucky to have about their impressive the school year. The girls competed with seen them grow this year. Congratulations JV p e r f o r m a n c e t h i s s e a s o n . a tenacious spirit in the pool, week after on your incredible season!” Bratt explained.

Coach Button has a lot to say week, from the first preseason game back

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December 16th, 2019

Op/Ed Op/Ed

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Addressing Mental Health in High Schoolers Anya Lance-Chacko Editor in Chief There is no question that mental health is a prevalent issue in teens today and something that needs to be addressed. It is often challenging to find the right tone to address these issues, and it’s important that educators continue to work on this. I believe there are a few simple but necessary elements that play a part in addressing these issues. In the age of technology, it seems as though the stresses and pressures are elevated even further, and it’s not purely Instagram and Snapchat, Canvas grade notifications can create just as much stress.

First, it’s important to acknowledge the issues first hand, and not invalidate students struggling with them. Around campus, I’ve seen signs like “smile!” or “be happy!”.

Although these messages are intended to make a difference, they can often feel invalidating, as if mental health issues aren’t valid and people struggling with them should simply “keep their chin up”. It’s like telling someone with the flu, “oh stop coughing, you’re fine, it’s all in your head.”

That’s not to say that I haven’t seen some posters that do hit the right tone, like one that says “I’m not okay. That’s okay.” That’s the kind of message we need to get across.

It’s also extremely important to get the right tone across, especially when it comes to educational media. I believe film and media are incredibly valuable tools we can use to educate people and reach out to make a change, but it requires a very careful balance. The recent “Angst” film that was showed was a prime example. Although there were good intentions, the film lacked some

Leil Cheng, Fiona Lu, and Maya Musselman Staff Writers

We all know finals. Right before we get out for Winter Break, students have a week of high-risk tests to demonstrate their knowledge from the semester. When finals are worth more than ten percent of your grade, some students find them very stressful. However, doing well on a final can mean bringing your grade up by perhaps an entire letter grade. While it’s true that students may resent finals, teachers continue to give them anyway. Why is this?

Who is right - are finals too high-risk, or do they accurately show mastery of a class?

First, some finals have a large impact on your grade, which can have a good or bad outcome. For example, a student could go from a failing grade to a passing grade if they ace the final exam. If a student has a 65% in a class, they could improve their grade to 70% by getting a 95 on a final exam. In this way, teachers could be doing their students a favor. However, an A student could be knocked down a letter grade if they get a bad grade on the test.

Some people would argue that this is a good thing, and helps to better support students.

Others claim that every student should have equal opportunity. Despite this, students with a high grade have less pressure to do well on their final. For instance, if a student has a 94% and wants to get at least 90%, they only have to get a 67% on the final.

Every class that a student takes ends each semester with the cumulative final. Students are required to study for every individual subject over a short span of time, given that all finals are given over the course of one week. The cumulative nature of finals also means that students are

sincerity and the right tone for teenagers, and in the end, I’m not sure it wasn’t taken seriously. Senior Lea Twicken explained, “ I thought it was a well-intentioned and wellexecuted film that was ruined by a terrible

have been a huge step in the right direction to destigmatize mental illness but a lot of students wrote it off and weren’t willing to listen because it was called ‘angst’” Not to mention the fact that most classes

A poster with a powerful message outside of the Kyoto Hall Photo Credit: Anya Lance-Chacko title. Though it was somewhat formulaic in its execution (same interview documentary style of every other mental health-related film we’ve been shown) I thought that not only was it an honest depiction of mental illness but it also normalized anxiety and gave students actionable ways to help themselves and support their friends.

Additionally, we didn’t get a chance to talk about it at all and I just felt like they missed a huge opportunity there. It could

didn’t hold a discussion afterward. If educators want to ensure that people listen and that issues are properly addressed, the discussion is key. Otherwise, it ends up feeling half-hearted and as if the school were required to show the film but doesn’t actually care about students or what they think-- I’m sure this isn’t true. I’ve also had educational experiences that reached another extreme, like the film on domestic abuse where the girlfriend ended up being beaten to death with a blender. Fear isn’t an emotion

anyone should be using to address either of these issues; they need to be approached tenderly, but not with detachment.

If I were to recommend a film that I believe would match the tone and ensure student’s attention, it would be “Laughing Matters”, a documentary produced by Soul Pancake in partnership with Funny or Die. The film includes thirty minutes of comedians and YouTubers such as Anna Akana and Rainn Willson (Dwight, from the Office) openly discussing mental health issues. Although it might require a parent permission slip due to the occasional foul language, the tone is perfect. The comedians acknowledge the severity of mental health issues in a serious manner that is also incredibly genuine compelling to viewers.

It’s important that, in these discussions, students are treated like adults. Mature subjects require mature discussions and having middle schoolers and teenagers on film talk about issues can sometimes miss the mark. Documentaries like Laughing Matters are powerful because they feature comedians who students know and admire and who talk openly but also use comedy to connect and work through the awkwardness.

Comedy, when done right, is a way of moving forward; it acknowledges issues but forms connections through shared laughter and listening As producer Paul Abbott put it, “If you’re ever gonna tell the truth you’ve got to make them laugh.”

In the end, serious issues that affect teens require serious thought, as we can be challenging to reach. the best people to ask about how to do this are the students themselves.

Are Finals Worth it?

required to understand a variety of different topics within each class subject. The purpose of finals is theoretically to guarantee the understanding of the fundamental concepts covered throughout the semester.

However, due to time constraints, many students do not study for finals by reviewing and building upon these concepts, but simply by memorizing the material provided as quickly as possible, a process known as cramming. Due to the short-term nature of this studying habit, the information that is processed is mainly stored in short-term memory, making the information inaccessible for future classes.

According to Qpractice, “Your brain gets overloaded with thousands of pieces of data. After a while, anything not shifted to long-term memory is ‘dumped.’” So, all your studying would go out the window.

Third, many students may prefer to cram right before finals instead of a more effective long-term studying habit because of a lack of time. High school and college students in particular may not have enough time as a result of their extracurricular activities. This lack of time is known for inducing the high levels of stress many students exhibit near finals week.

Generally, finals are worth a high percentage of a student’s overall grade in a particular subject, as mentioned previously, and thus a large percentage of students will accordingly be anxious to do as well as possible on these exams. Stress has been known to have many psychological and physiological effects on the human body. In fact, according to a study by the American College Health Association in 2016, over 34% of the students surveyed reported that the stress they had experienced negatively affected their academic performance. The stress and anxiety that finals week generates

may serve to make finals week even more risky for students who aim for the top, and more damaging for those who need a good exam grade to pass a particular subject.

Additionally, majority of the information in schools is incremental.

Each new concept builds upon a previously learned concept. This ensures that students have properly learned and understood information. Final exams are given to test a student’s mastery of a subject. Not doing well on a final, therefore, should signal educators that a student requires additional instruction in the subject matter while acing a final should mean complete mastery of the subject. But are finals really equipped to provide this type of information accurately?

Final exams become more of a test of how well students can cram for a high-risk assessments rather than a test of knowledge and the ability to apply concepts to pertinent scenarios. While the ability to ace a test is certainly a valuable skill to have for school, it neither applies to life beyond school nor fulfills the purpose of final exams.

However, many also believe that final exams are a benefit to the learning community. Final exams, given enough time and dedication, can be utilized to raise a grade enough to pass certain difficult classes. Theoretically, as long as students are willing to invest time in reviewing the information that they have learned, finals should be easily conquered. Students that may be facing problems outside of school that interfere with their ability to complete their homework can still earn a passable grade provided they study hard for finals. Some students may believe that studying for finals becomes easier due to the fact that all the finals are planned for specific dates that are provided as long as

a month prior, allowing for more organized studying than with tests in general. In addition, for students with already stellar grades, final exams do not have a large consequence on their final grade due to the lower weight percentage of finals in comparison to all other areas of grading.

Additionally, some finals do accurately reflect mastery of a subject. For example, a subject like math requires little memorization and more skill application. So if you had understood the lessons throughout the year, you would be able to do well on the final.

This can also be true for English, History, and other subjects. Finals can be a good way to ensure that students aren’t just forgetting important skills after they take a unit test. In theory, passing a final should be easy if you have learned the content.

Having many finals in the same week could be a good thing. Instead of prolonging studying and wasting class time, having all finals in one week

The mix of pros and cons that are finals are reflected in student and teacher opinions as well. “Finals are generally stressful,” says Kristen Wong, senior. “The teachers take the opportunity to dump loads of review work within one week. At the same time, there’s not supposed to be anything new that you haven’t learned yet on the finals.”

“I feel that finals cause a lot of stress,” says Pooja Agarwal, a freshman at Hillsdale, “I feel that some finals don’t help me absorb more information that we would if we spent the two weeks doing a project and learning more material.” However, finals may be useful in other ways, as it could prepare students in other ways, such as for AP tests. Additionally, some finals may be neccessary for students to pass a class or to bring their score up a letter grade.

December 16th, 2019

Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org

Student Spotlight: Jennifer Kao (11) Natasha Patel Staff Writer

What classes are you taking this year?

I’m taking AP Chem, AP Physics 1, AP Calculus BC, AP US History, English Honors, and Chamber Orchestra.

What motivates you to take these classes?

I wanted to take all the learning opportunities that the school offers, also GPA (pretty self-explanatory)

What are your plans for the future?

I want to go to a four- year university to study Chemical Engineering, which is something I’m interested in right now. Also, I hope to have a double major in business.

Do you do any extracurricular activities, such as sports or clubs?

I play water polo and I swim.

How do you manage your time?

I always finish my homework first or if I really can’t do it, I’ll give myself some downtime, then do it.

Who is your role model?

My role model is the future me. This might be an odd answer, but I like to think that whatever’s going on will pass.

If I (future me) survived whatever’s going on then I (present me) can too.

What advice would you give someone who is interested in being successful in school?

Always understand that it’s ok to have a little relax time with your friends. Don’t get too stressed out. If you are burnt out on something, try to take a break and come back to it later.

Music Department’s Winter Concert

the group on a pair of congas.

As an audition As this first semester of only group, school comes to a close, it’s time for the Chamber everyone to begin showing off what S i n g e r s they’ve done over the course of these demonstrated past few months. Beyond the realm of their technique essays and Socratics, the performing arts by maintaining department has put on a number of shows, c o m p l e x including the Winter Concert for the Music r o u n d s a n d Department. Over two days, the various d i f f i c u l t choirs and bands at Hillsdale performed h a r m o n i e s , a selection of pieces that demonstrated w h i c h each and every member ’s abilities. stretched the

The Thursday night concert abilities of all featured the Women’s Choir, Chamber of the singers.

Singers, and Jazz Ensemble. Conducted As the Mr.G conducts the Jazz Ensemble and vocalists

by Mr. Yowell, the Women’s Choir got to first concert came Photo Credit: Em Miller open the night, beginning everything with a to a close, the six-song setlist, and capturing the attention stage was rearranged for the Jazz Ensemble, full of amazing musicians giving it their all.

The following night was an of everyone there with their angelic voices who really brought their all. With two of and enchanting harmonies. Seeing as we’re their songs being accompanied by vocalists eventful one, with enthralling performances Patrick Lucey by both orchestral and band groups. The very and Catherine first to perform was the String Orchestra, L a n g e , t h e who performed a number of memorable b a n d w a s pieces from the exhilirating Conquistador! able to find to the classic Silent Night. The Chamber t h e b a l a n c e Orchestra soon followed with various between being pieces including Norwegian Dance, Three p o w e r f u l Dances from the Nutcracker, and Happy w i t h t h e i r Holidays/ White Christmas, all holiday performance classics.The tunes were accompanied by and working some historical context. Irving Berlin, w i t h t h e the composer of Happy Holidays and singers. Each White Christmas was in reality, a Jewish o f t h e i r s i x immigrant who expected very little to pieces brought come of the tunes, but they eventually s o m e t h i n g made it into the movie Holiday Inn and n e w t o t h e have since been popularized. Then next The Symphonic Orchestra takes a bow performance, came Concert Band who had various tunes Photo Credit: Alleria Li and the stage including Fanfare for a New Age, Above could barely the World, Andromeda Overture, Pit and approaching the holiday season, it was fitting contain the amount of energy they had. With the Pendulum and Granite Bay Overture. that many of their pieces were Christmas their final song, Mr. Galea took a moment to Following them was Wind Ensemble who songs, or Christmas related. The performers say a few words. He thanked Mr. Yowell and had a number of magical pieces including themselves also felt that their performance all of the groups for their hard work, invited Twas the Night Before Christmas which was a success, as freshman Kaitlyn Snailer the audience to return Friday night, and included a powerful narration by the one stated, “I think we did well. We know each introduced the leads of each of the sections and only Mr. Kirk. On their final piece other as a group and know the way our of the band. During their final piece, “Puente in all of the passion building, there was a voices balance each other.” Following the Arriba!,” arranged by Paul Baker, many powerful climactic moment in which Mr. Women’s Choir were the Chamber Singers, of the students got to take the opportunity Galea’s baton flew. The night closed with which added the tenor and bass of the boys’ to perform a solo part, including those an exciting new group, a full Symphonic voices into their harmonies. A couple of on trumpet, trombone, drums, and guitar. Orchestra, composed of the Wind Ensemble their arrangements featured soloists, and Overall, the Jazz Ensemble performance and Chamber Orchestra together who one even had senior Jared Lipka accompany was a perfect way to end the first evening played the song Sleigh Ride bringing

Em Miller and Anya Lance-Chacko Senior Editors

Hillsdale Mall Expansion

She notes it was “pretty cool … the tickets aren’t too overpriced and the food is expensive for reasonable reasons (the quality is [very good]).” However, she claimed that the “food court restaurants could be better” if they provided more diverse choices.

This December, the Hillsdale Shopping Center has already been decked with Christmas decorations. From ornaments to ribbons, the mall is covered with red, green, and

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School News School News

gold. For the grand opening and to start the holiday season, of the new outdoor area there was a tree lighting event that included a light show, a speech from the mayor, live music, and dance performances. Near the Macy’s storefront, Santa and his workers work together to bring joy to (mainly) little children, providing them with photos and warm smiles. In the new outdoor courtyard, a giant pine tree sits, covered from top

Advice from Papaya & Cherry

Dear Cherry and Papaya, My first finals are coming up and I’m very worried. How do I get rid of this feeling of dread?

Sincerely, Worried Wart Dear Worried Wart,

Worrying won’t get you anywhere, take deep breaths and just study the materials you missed on past tests. Being prepared with a clear mind is the best remedy!

Sincerely,

Papaya Dear Worried Wart,

Deal with it until finals roll you over and liberate your pain. Or bury it for now with non-stop studying!

Sincerely,

Cherry

Dear Cherry and Papaya,

WHY DO THE FIRE ALARMS GO OFF SO OFTEN?????????

Sincerely, Alarmed Ali Dear Alarmed Ali,

Some students are just making bad choices. An email should’ve been sent to your parents about the matter to have a conversation with them to ensure you don’t make bad choices as well.

Sincerely,

Papaya Dear Alarmed Ali,

Good question! The reason is actually more simple than you probably think. The insects are using their powers to tamper with the alarms to herd us, humans, around like cattle. Prepare yourself for an apocalypse. I hope it happens again during finals!!

Cherry

Dear Cherry and Papaya,

Is it a good idea to host a gingerbread house contest with my friends?

Will it ruin my friendships?

Sincerely, Ginger Dear Ginger,

If your friends are into friendly competition then yes! Competing in groups or against one another is a great holiday idea that can strengthen your bond and create new memories! Make sure you have good judges!

Sincerely,

(continued from page 1)

to bottom with decorations. With the holidays approaching, the shopping center is becoming increasingly more crowded, with each shopper seeking special holiday deals.

It seems as though the mall is taking a step in a more modern upscale direction, with friendlier garbage cans, luxurious movie theaters, and improved food services. Only time will tell what will become of the historic and popular Hillsdale shopping center.

Papaya Dear Ginger,

Yes. Instead, host an apple gift exchange! Everyone can gift a different type of apple to everyone. Whether they are Apple products or the fruit apple is up to you. You’re hosting, you make the rules.

Sincerely,

Cherry

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December 16th, 2019

Entertainment Entertainment

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Nick Morro Staff Writer

From its promotion, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood seemed to be a movie about the late children’s TV show host Fred Rogers (played by Tom Hanks), while in fact, the movie follows Esquire journalist Lloyd Vogel (played by Matthew Rhys). This was a brilliant move story-wise as it allows us to explore Mr. Rogers through the eyes of Lloyd who is skeptical of Mr. Rogers. The movie also wisely focuses less on Mr. Rogers himself but instead more on his ideas and applying them to Lloyd’s own struggle with his family. Great care was obviously taken to portray Mr. Rogers in an accurate and humble way, paying respect to the iconic public figure without deifying him. The overall presentation of the movie was exceptional, giving the film a unique style with stop motion transition shots and a light score reminiscent of the music played on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I would note, however, that there was one use of a song with lyrics in the latter half of the film that I found too prominent and distracting.

Otherwise, I found myself deeply immersed in the performances of the entire cast, Tom

Hanks keeps Mr. Rogers very intimate with the audience while Matthew Rhys and Chris Cooper always kept their characters’ problems and emotions complicated and not black and white, making Lloyd and his father, Jerry Vogel feel deeply human.

One measure I use to determine whether a film is good or not is if I experience a strong emotional connection to it and from surreal and uncomfortable scenes dragging viewers into Lloyd’s feelings of being empty and lost to heartwarming scenes where Mr. Rogers seemed to tell each member of the audience that they are important and accepted individually, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood excels at reaching the audience. I consider myself fairly nitpicky with movies, and while I can find tiny problems with this movie, I was convinced that this movie is not just a good film but a great film in one specific scene where Mr. Rogers and Lloyd eat a meal together.

Not wishing to spoil the moment all I will say is that this scene is nearly perfect with and even while including an entire minute of complete silence, every second seemed purposeful and deeply personal. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was not what I expected but instead much much more.

December Crossword

By Brie Sloves Answers can be found here: https://bit.ly/2OVxss9

Editor-In-Chief: Anya LanceChacko

Copy Editors EM Miller Christine Lee Brie Sloves

Advisor:

Ms. Mylan

Comic Artist: Alleria Lee

Cruciverbalist: Brie Sloves

Senior Staff Writers:

Nicole Kaye Valenzuela Catherine Lange Zoe Greenspan Gal Balaban Ereni Delis Sophia Makarewycz Lizzie Manis

Staff Writers:

Maya Musselman Jessie King Joyce Jin Madeline Dixon

Andi Taylor Shristi Keni Brooke Vaysberg Fiona Lu Leil Cheng Kayla Leong Perrine Lee Lucas Chan Kristen Rank Stefanie Elgaard Natasha Patel Brooke Vaysberg Naama Akiva Emily Duncan

Monthly Horoscope Catherine Lange Senior Staff Writer

Ever wondered if you could look into the future? Well, wonder no more with the Hillsdale Scroll’s expertly and credible interpretation of what the stars are trying to tell us every night.

(Photo Credit: www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com) Aries (3/21-4/19)

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Getting your house fumigated for termites is the perfect way to start your holiday season!

Taurus (4/20-5/20)

Your easy-going nature may get you into trouble this week when you don’t show up to dinner and your defense is, “You know, ‘snow problem.”

Gemini (5/21-6/20)

The semester is coming to a close, but that’s no cause for sporadic, blaring alarm. Hillsdale will provide that for you.

Cancer (6/21-7/22) Leo (7/23-8/22) Virgo (8/23-9/22)

Stop injecting cosmic rocks to enhance your sports performance. You’ll develop aste-roid rage.

Watch your lions this week or sacrifice your pride to the zoo again.

He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. Santa Claus is coming to town this month and you should be concerned.

Libra (9/23-10/22)

The best Christmas seasoning is thyme.

Scorpio (10/23-11/21)

Your mercury levels are rising this week. Re-evaluate your habit of eating old fashioned thermometers.

Sagittarius (11/22-12/21)

Don’t judge the neutron too harshly. I know you don’t think it’s positive enough, but we all have our quarks.

Capricorn (12/22-1/19)

A cryptic message written on the sidewalk in glitter pen will reveal all.

Aquarius (1/20-2/18)

The end of the year is a time for some good old fashioned R&R: Rest and Reanimating the dead.

Pisces (2/19-3/20)

Take this holiday season to re-evaluate your priorities.

This time of year can be tough, so remember to appreciate your family, spend time with friends, and clutch your material possessions for dear life.

ACROSS 1. Repub. political party 4. Mamma Mia musical group 8. Took to jail 10. Reindeer with a nose,that you might even say glows 11. Friend, opp.

12. Letters that come fourth 14. Alternative to an elevator 17. Large institution in the Sooner State, for short 18. Appropriate time to have holiday spirit 20. The, in Quebec 21. A determined attempt 22. __ al.

23. ____ Mizouni, Tunisian Human Rights Activist 24. Frosty and Olaf to name a few 27. Fried squid dish 29. Sheds tears 30. Montreal airport code DOWN 1. Glove constructed from metal plates

2. A severe test, trial, or experience 3. Swear, synonym 4. Egyptian snake 5. Undergraduate deg. in religious disciplines 6. Estar, in England 7. Commercial, abbr.

9. La’s counterpart, in Guatemala 10. Putting a previously bought item up for purchase 12. Dumb as a ________ 13. UV effect, uncommon at this time of year 15. An umpire, for short 16. Grocery store headquartered in Pleasanton 19. Swine Odor and Manure Management Research Unit, acronym 24. Foxy adjective?

25. Naval Investigative Service, acronym 26 Hindu spiritual sound 27 Category for additional email recipients 28 Chem. element 18

The Hillsdale Scroll is published by Hillsdale High School’s journalism club.

All views, opinions, and editorials are r e p r e s e n ta t i v e o f the Scroll staff and are not necessarily those of Hillsdale High School’s administration, staff, or student body.

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