Thursday, March 18, 2010

MMSA Gamer Guide- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the hottest game right now. This game is an intense first-person gunplay game. The basic plot of this game is to fight the shadowy world of terrorists, arms dealers, and nationless armies. The cost of this game is $50 and can be bought at any local Gamestop or Best Buy. The game is available for PS3, X-Box 360 and PSP. I feel that if you like shooting games then you can’t miss with this one.


Take the role of Sergeant Gary "Roach" Anderson, an elite member of the multinational Task Force 141 and you won’t be getting off your couch for hours. The graphics are incredible and the story is what you look for when you play army games: different settings, weapons and twists in the storyline that you won’t see coming.


The multiplayer online is another big feature in this game because players can challenge others from around the world to test their skills. This particular part of the game you just run around and kill others. It’s a great way to test yourself and others.


This is a great game to buy, and all real gamers should have this game in their collection. Final Ranking for Modern Warfare: 5 out of 5 Stars.

Marines at the Movies- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen


By Derico Williams '12 and Neiah Williams '12


Looking for a movie next time your on Netflix or Blockbuster? If you come across Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen be careful. Despite its high box office totals and word of mouth, this movie isn't for everyone.


Transformers was directed by Michael Bay and its runtime was one hundred and fifty minutes. The movie was released on June 24, 2009. The movie is categorized as an action/ adventure movie, its box office was $402,076,689. The movie starred Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson.

Most scenes made no sense at all, for example, most science fiction movies have already made it clear aliens are impervious to human technology. However, you constantly see the robots being killed by the military’s simplistic weapons. The movie downplayed the intelligence of humans and greatly increased that of the robots. The first 30 minutes in, wasn’t all bad, after that however it became very droll. The storyline became stupid and hard to follow.


My kid sister could have acted an improv better than the actors/actresses in the movie. The movie turned out to have a silver lining however: Megan Fox. This beautiful young actress was able to bring the puppet-like acting of the human cast back to life. Ironic, outside of Ms. Fox, the robots had more acting skills than the actors/actresses. The movie wasn’t all terrible dialogue and life-less acting. The auto-bots and the parents of Shia LaBeouf were effectively used for comedy relief. One particular scene, was when Shia Lebouf”s mother, became high after eating a pot brownie, divulging an intimate moment between Fox and LaBeouf. Another positive about the movie is the dialogue of the auto-bots. They speak a variety of accents, from British to Hip-Hop.

I will give Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen a 7.5/10 star rating. You’ll like this movie if you’re a person that likes watching movies about robots. The Main robots in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are auto bots, Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Megatron, and Skid & Mudflap. The auto bots are the main robots in the movie they bring the life and excitement out of the movie. Optimus prime is the leader of the auto bots; he can transform himself into Peterbilt truck. Bumble bee is the cool auto bots; he can transform himself into a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Megatron and Optimus prime are brothers, Megatron is an evil Decepticon. He and Optimus prime cant stand one another because Megatron wants to be the ruler of everything. Skid & Mudflap are twin teenage auto bots, who transforms themselves into a Chevrolet beat and Trax Concept. Skid & Mudflap brings the comic out of the movie because they’re always getting beat up, and cracking jokes about people. You’ll dislike this movie if you’re not a fan of robots, hate comedy, or a person that doesn’t like action or adventure movies.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

MMSA Juniors Dominate in Dodgeball


By Tracey Kimble '11


The MMSA Juniors wanted to make sure that the school knew who was the strongest class. And so on February 19th, the Junior class came together and wrote a note to the Freshmen challenging them to a game of dodgeball.

During each ROTC period the juniors battled the freshmen in dodgeball. “It’s a great experience!” Stated Abraham Morales 11’, “This kind of event should occur more often because it brings everyone together.” The Juniors were proud to see that the Freshmen were learning and thought they were good competition.

Before the dodgeball matches began, the freshmen thought they stood a chance. “We are the best,” Stated Sharon Burton 13’. “The juniors will lose because this is their first time competing against us.” she concluded. Even once they started losing, they were still determined that they were going to win. One of the Juniors stated that he was proud of the Freshmen and thought they were fast learners.

The Sophomores couldn’t resist but to join the action and went on the junior’s side during the beginning. But as the day went on, the Juniors in Gyt Sgt Bibbs’ 4th period challenged the sophomores as well. They beat the Sophomores and Freshmen countless number of times.

Once again, another friendly school competition helped bring up school spirit by bringing students together. The Juniors can’t wait to defend their title as “Dodgeball Kings” next year.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

One BILLION Dollar Deficit is now a Factor for CPS and MMSA


By Tomas Tapia '11

Marine Math & Science Academy (MMSA), Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and the community could soon be affected by solutions made by the CPS chief attempting to shear off next year’s whopping one-billion-dollar deficit. Facing a one-billion-dollar deficit for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year and the only way to reduce it is by a combination of pension reform, union concessions and job cuts, said schools chief Ron Huberman.

Teacher layoffs, increased class sizes and cuts to important programs are distinct possibilities. Huberman already has a tough budget to handle this year that started with a half-billion-dollar deficit and trimmed millions in programs, laid off 536 employees and mandated six furlough days for nonunion staff in order to decrease this year’s deficit, but he’s now facing a new challenge for next year’s budget.
Huberman offered examples of possible solutions to attempt to trim down a one-billion-dollar deficit on his PowerPoint presentation. Huberman announced Thursday Feb. 25; another three weeks of furlough days and 500 more layoffs for nonunion staff for next year’s deficit but that isn’t enough to satisfy the community and the school chief. Huberman is looking at other ways to tackle this outranges deficit. Plans to decrease or negotiate teachers pay, cut services made the teachers and the community angry.

"We will not tolerate the implied threats being made by Mr. Huberman that he may have to cut programs and services for our students or lay off teachers," Chicago Teacher's Union President Marilyn Stewart said in a statement.

Other solutions include cancelling the sophomore level sports for all CPS schools. On Tuesday district sports director Calvin Davis sent a memo to the school athletic directors explaining that the sophomore level sports would be on hold and only varsity and freshman level teams will be allowed to practice for now. The memo was very confusing to many coaches, and the news comes at the last possible moment for sophomore coaches and players.