Seasonal Topic
Chills and Thrills
by Avira Karthik
Welcome to the 3rd edition of the seasonal topic this year! At this time of year, it gets colder, and closer to the holidays, and as we get closer to winter break, here are some things you could do to keep you occupied. For people who love the snow and ice, some things I love to do this season could be skiing, sledding, or going ice skating. If you’re not that much of an outdoor person in the winter, that’s totally fine! Activities you could do include baking holiday treats, watching traditional holiday movies or shows, and making hot cocoa.
This time of year is a time to enjoy yourself, and have fun. It is also a time of year for gift-giving and receiving. There are many holiday gift-giving games that people can play with family or friends, adding to the cheer of December, and making it a little more exciting. One gift-giving classic is the game Secret Santa. The rules of this game are pretty simple, and generally consists of randomly drawing names, and shopping for the person you draw. You will not know who will be giving you a gift, and the person you draw will not know about you either. Another classic gift giving game is called White Elephant. For this game, players will have to bring a wrapped gift. Then they will sit in a circle where you can see everybody. When it is a player's turn, they can choose either a wrapped gift to unwrap for a surprise, or to steal a gift someone has already unwrapped. This game is most commonly known as white elephant, but also goes by a plethora of names, some popular ones including yankee swap or dirty santa. There are many more gift-giving games, but these are the most popular.
I hope you will try one of the activities I mentioned, or maybe one of the gift-giving games. Thank you for reading this edition, and happy holidays!
Sources:
Official White Elephant Gift Exchange Rules
How to Play Secret Santa: Full Rules, Setup, and Gift Exchange Ideas
Around Our School
by Yukthika Manepalli
Welcome to the second publishing of seasonal topic for our school newspaper, the Griffin Post. In this week's publishing we will talk about upcoming movies, the 8th graders D.C. trip, and a few reminders and some important events.
If you want to watch a movie this November, here are some new classics that will be released soon. An iconic movie sequel Wicked: for good will be in theaters this month on the 21st, just after a year from the release of the first movie. Another iconic movie sequel that will be in theaters on the 26th of November is Zootopia 2. Not just movies but the fifth season, first volume of Stranger things will also be out on the 26th.
The 8th graders of GATE will be going to Washington. Have Fun 8th graders! They will start their trip on the 5th of November to the 7th. We really appreciate the volunteers and teachers accompanying the students this year. Thank you to Mr. Kacz for hosting this trip for the 8th graders, and have a safe trip to everyone.
Some important events coming up this November includes election day on the 4th. This means that there is no school that day. Veterans day will also be on the 11th. There also will be Thanksgiving on the 27th, and black friday will fall two days after that on the 29th. Halloween marked the end of quarter one so be sure that you turned in ALL your assignments. Also remember to check Powerschool for the newly put in grades and talk to your teachers if you find any issues with the grading, or if you are dissatisfied. NJHS members, we have meetings and popcorn sales coming up, so watch out for those! If you are looking for more service hours, sign up for library shelving, popcorn sales, help out your teachers and help around the house. Another important note is that you have to log your service hours for them to count and for you to reach your goals.
This month is filled with exciting events and new movie releases so be sure to look out for this fun-filled November. Have fun and thank you!
Halloween and Trending Music
by Avira Karthik
Hi, welcome to the first edition of seasonal topic for this year- I'm Avira, and am so excited for another year of Griffin Post! This edition, we will be talking about things to do this Halloween, Halloween costumes, and trending music.
If you’re still looking for an amazing costume, here are some costumes that will be everywhere this year. Costumes from popular movies include Elphaba/Glinda from Wicked, Huntrix from Kpop Demon Hunters, and Steve from Minecraft. Other popular costumes include Labubu, Kendrick Lamar from his Superbowl halftime show, and pop princesses like Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Rodrigo.
Looking for things to do this Halloween other than trick-or-treating? Some fun activities include carving pumpkins, having a scary movie night, or decorating spooky cookies/cupcakes. Some pre-organized events near us include fall festivals, costume contests, and halloween trivia nights.
The start of Fall 2025 marks an explosion in the pop music world. Since K-Pop Demon Hunters was released in August, it has been the most viewed song, recently going platinum on the 8th of October. Last week, it was pushed down from number one song to number thirteenth, taken down by Taylor Swift's whole new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Tate Mcrae’s new single, Tit for Tat, was released on September 26, remaining at the number 3 spot, until the release of Swift’s new album. Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter recently also released her new album, Man’s Best Friend, including some chart topping hits.
The 2025 MTV music awards were held on September 7th, with the most notable winners being: Sabrina Carpenter, for Best Pop Artist award and Best album award , APT. by Rose and Bruno Mars winning Song of the Year award, and Tate Mcrae, winning song of the summer for her song, Just Keep Watching.
Thank you, and see you next time!
Sources: 2025 VMAs Winners List
These 10 Halloween Costumes Will Be Everywhere in 2025
14 Costumes Everyone Will Be Wearing This Halloween, According to Trend Experts