By: Sofia Marquez

The orange isn’t a new fruit; in fact, it dates back to 314 bc! Gaining lots of popularity, the familiar sweet orange is the most popular tree fruit in the world.

From there, the fruit was picked up by the Moors, who used it for their westward expansion through Europe. It didn’t take long for the whole country to catch “orange fever”. The orange went crazy in Spain, because of its tropical-like climate and perfect weather for orange growth.

Christopher Columbus was apparently the person who brought oranges to the Americas. The Spanish expeditions shipped crates and crates of oranges to Central America, Mexico, and the U.S West Coast.

My big question, which came first, the orange fruit, or color? Turns out, the fruit. The name “orange” came from old french, which was made from the Arabic word, naranj. 

The French people were all about oranges. King Louis XIV was a huge fan of oranges. But the scarcity of oranges was so bad at the time, it became a cravable delicacy. In the palace of Versailles, the garden had an orange tree orchard. That orchard was the finest orangerie in France.

Because the orange was perceived as a delicacy, it was primarily eaten at night as a dessert. It would then take centuries for the orange to be smashed into juice, and even longer till orange juice came, and became, popular in America.

By: Gracie Hanlon

There’s a big debate about pineapple on pizza. People either love it or think it’s disgusting. Some people have said it’s too sweet and that fruit doesn’t belong on a pizza. Other people who love pineapple on their pizza like the sweetness and think that it’s healthy to add fruit to your pizza. I’m curious to know what you think about pineapple on pizza!

By: Cindy Choi and Will Shim

Animal Crossing has released its newest, and maybe biggest update: The 2.0 update. Today, we will go into the details and newest features of the update. It was scheduled to be released on November 5th, however, it was released early in the evening of November 3rd. 

Some of the biggest changes are listed below:

The roost and its owner, Brewster, are now available! The roost bar is a big part of the 2.0 update. It is a cafe that serves hot coffee for 200 bells. Some villagers might visit too. Or if you have any Amiibo characters, you can invite them too. But first, you have to chat with blathers, and visit an island to invite him to move to your museum! Then, you will have to wait a day, and he will move in. 

Gyroids! There are now cute gyroids, like mini versions of lloid! They will bop their heads and dance along to music played through an in-game radio. To obtain these gyroids, you must go through a step of processes: first, go to Kapp’n, and he will take you to a mystery island. That mystery island may have spots in the ground; under them lies a gyroid fragment! 

You can then take that gyroid, bring it back to your own island, and plant it, and eventually, it will grow into a gyroid! These gyroids can come in many forms and types, such as: Aluminoid, Arfoid, Babbloid, Bendoid, Bloopoid, Boioingoid, Boomoid, Brewstoid, Bubbloid, Bwongoid, Clatteroid, Crumploid, Dootoid, Drummoid, Flutteroid, Jingloid, Laseroid, Oinkoid, Petaloid, Rattloid, Ringoid, Rumbloid, Scatteroid, Spikenoid, Sproingoid, Squeakoid, Squeezoid, Stelloid, Thwopoid, Tockoid, Tremoloid, Twangoid, Wallopoid, Whirroid, Whistloid, and Xylophoid.

You can finally cook! You can now cook foods and drinks that can be placed for decoration and to be eaten for energy. You can now go up to any ingredient and craft an appetizing food or drink. Some recipes can be unlocked just like normal DIY recipes. So look out for shore bottles and balloons. But to get started, you’ll need to download the new DIY Recipes+ app update at the nook stop terminal.

Kapp’n is back! The pier is where you can find Kapp’n. For 1,000 nook miles, he will agree to take you to any island! There, you can find Brewster. Brewster will appear on the first island you land on. While you are moving between the islands, you might hear Kapp’n sing a pleasant tune. You can clap the beat by pressing the A button. However,  this opulent ride can only be ridden once a day. Even though this sounds awfully familiar with the dodo airlines, Kapp’n can take you to islands where bells grow on trees, where star fragments are hidden in rocks, where you can collect seasonal items all throughout the year.

There are now group stretches with your Animal Crossing villagers! These stretches are now in the game and are interactive with your own joy-cons in real life. 

Other small details
* New hairstyles have been added
* New reactions have been added
* New message card options have been added
* Home storage can be expanded to 5,000 slots

By: Alexa Lake and Sloane Lindsay

Recently, Jefferson Middle School has been using a new type of string cheese in their lunch menus served along with pizza. According to 6th grader Gracie Hanlon, this new cheese is “rubbery.” Some may even say it is “crunchy.” In a poll of 17 sixth graders, 67% have negative opinions toward the new cheese. What has led to this change? Is this what true string cheese is?

First, let’s note that people eat string cheese in different ways. Some may peel it, while others simply bite into it. Does it taste different? No, although it may be harder or easier to notice if it’s rubbery or not because it’s unknown if everyone has noticed the change.

String cheese is made of mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella needs to be stretched and heated in order to turn out properly. It can end up being overstretched in the manufacturing process, meaning the moisture is squeezed out which results in dry cheese. This makes sense because some other students have reported that the school string cheese is also dry. 

Studies show that the cheese also has chances of turning into this if it is left out for a little longer than necessary unrefrigerated. It’s no secret that the school lunches aren’t really fresh, so could they be leaving the cheese in storage like this?

In conclusion, we’re not quite sure what has caused this. Will we ever know? Do you like the new cheese?

By: Izzy Rosa

As we enter the last ten days of 2021, there are plenty of holidays other than Christmas and New Years’ to celebrate. Here are just a few!

December 21
Winter Solstice – yesss!
Crossword Puzzle Day – oh no.
Short Girl Appreciation Day – FINALLY SOME APPRECIATION. MY GOODNESS.
World Peace Day – …….. it works?
Make Music in Winter – I won’t make any but I will listen to it.
Flashlight Day – I always loved those

December 22
Be a Lover of Silence Day-  Woo hoo! That’s already done :] 

December 23
Family Roots Day – wWhat are we supposed to do, stare at a family tree?
Metric Conversion Day

December 24
Christmas Eve – Yo, you better find that pickle.
Eggnog Day – YUMMY 🤤

December 25
Christmas Day – But hear me out… the sound of wrapping paper… and breaking tailbones.
Christmas Pudding Day

December 26
Boxing Day
Candy Cane Day- minty………Yum.
Thank-You Note Day- ……Fun.
Whiners’ Day

December 27
Howdy Doody Day – Howdy doody ;]
Visit the Zoo Day – Moo. 

December 28
Chocolate Day – Yum, I want some. 

December 29
Tick Tock Day – Tiktok or Tick Tock clock?
YMCA Day

December 30
Bacon Day – If I don’t get bacon I’ll . . .
Falling Needles Day – falling?

December 31
New Years Eve
No Interruptions Day – Finally. I can’t STANNNDDDDD being interrupted.
Global Champagne Day- Yooooooooooooooo.
Banished Words Day – HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!
Make Up Your Mind Day – Wow, i won’t like that.
Look on the Bright Side Day – Oof, that’ll be hard for pessimists.
Universal Hour of Peace Day – WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
World Peace Meditation Day  – Ew.

By: Paige Smalley

Why do we put up Christmas trees in December? For many people, they put up a tree in our house and decorate it to then take it right back down at the end of the month. You typically add a star and ornaments, or maybe even special family ornaments if you have any. When I was putting up my tree I was wondering this and decided to do some research.

How did the tradition of Christmas trees start? After looking for a while, I found that putting up your Christmas tree originally started in Germany and slowly moved around the world. Martin Luther, the 16th -century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to the tree. Some people don’t put up a tree for religious reasons, but some do just for the holiday and to be with their family  

There are mostly FAKE trees that we use but some people go out and get a real tree for a hefty amount of money. Some people don’t even get a tree but still do Christmas tree so it really only depends on if you have family who do it or your beliefs.