Winter is a season dedicated to heavy coats, strengthening personal relationships, and cold weather. However, now that it is getting cold out, here are some tips to stay warm.

Stay nourished and keep your body temperature rising with these delectable foods. Soups and chowders make for steaming and delicious meals. For an extra hardy meal, chili is an excellent choice because it is more filling, and consists of a delicious soup-like nature. Avoid foods like sodium-filled chips and carbonated sodas. White bread and cucumbers are also chilling and won’t help in maintaining a warm body.

Incorporate cinnamon into your hot drinks, such as coffee and hot cocoa. For a break from boring, pre-packaged hot chocolate mixes, try looking up a recipe for exquisite homemade hot cocoa, such as this one. Tea is a good alternative for those who do not like hot chocolate or strong coffee, providing fellow drinkers with a rejuvenating substitute. Also, try adding honey instead of sugar for a rich texture, but the same sweetness.

Another way to stay warm is to layer clothing. Scarves are a foolproof way to add warmth to an outfit, and they are easy to find. You can purchase scarves for low prices at local stores like Target. Sweaters and coats are also a staple for winter clothing, as sweaters and cardigans are easy to layer under thick winter coats. This is a great way to stay warm because if you don’t feel like wearing a coat all day, sweaters and cardigans that have been layered underneath carry the potential for warmth while still being fashionable. A really simple way to stay warm is to wear warm socks. You can easily find fun, festive holiday socks this time of year, and you won’t have to sacrifice warmth for style, because chances are- these socks can easily be concealed under pants and a pair of boots.

More vital tips to stay warm include getting a full night’s rest of at least eight hours of sleep and surrounding yourself with contained fire. Sleep will give you the energy to endure the brisk winter weather and fire will keep you warm enough to be able to enjoy the other pleasures of life- good food, hot chocolate, and fuzzy socks.

The number one gift to not give someone would be a gift card. Gift cards say, ‘I know you enough to get you a gift, but I don’t care enough to find out what you would actually like,’ so giving someone you’re close to a gift card seems kind of insensitive. Although gift cards are a good scapegoat when you are shopping for that person that is impossible to shop for, you should try your hardest to find them a gift that would mean something to them; and if you are planning to give them a gift card, do not give them one to a restaraunt. Gifts are supposed to be meaningful, and giving someone something that will go in and out of their bodies within a day will be forgotten as soon as the food is digested. Give them a gift card to a special shop they love or a cash card that they can spend anywhere, that way they can definitely find something they love.

Another questionable gift to give is clothes. There’s an abundance of clothing stores out there, but finding someone that perfect shirt or those perfect jeans is really hard and it would be really embarrassing if you got them a size too big or a size too small. Also, it’s hard to find something that will fit perfectly with that person’s specific style. Nothing is worse than getting an ugly shirt or plain socks on Christmas; and even though they will have it longer than the gift card, every time they see the gift, it will be a reminder of that time you failed at gift giving or that time you got them a shirt that was too big and made them feel fat. If clothes is the way you want to go, though, try to get them a funny shirt or some cool socks, that way they can wear it ironically or you can both laugh at the joke for years to come.

If you want to do a sweet gesture for a member of your family or your significant other, make sure not to get them flowers. They may be pretty and they may be good for various other occasions, but the holidays are hectic and people are always busy. The receiver may not have time to tend to the flowers every day or may not even be home to receive them, so your flowers will just end up dead and droopy. A sweet alternative would be a mix tape filled with songs they love. They can listen to it on the go and nothing is better than finding good new music.

Although it will be easy to find bad gifts season, there are plenty of awesome ones out there, too. One of the hottest gifts this season is definitely the iPhone 4S. Despite the fact that it looks exactly like the iPhone 4, it comes with a higher quality camera, various internal improvements, and Siri, the most popular new feature added. Siri is a voice-activated assistant with incredible capabilities. The iPhone 4S may not be very different from the regular iPhone 4, but that didn’t stop Apple from making it more expensive. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, it might be better to just go with the iPhone 4, which is $50 cheaper and basically the same.

For the video-gamer in your family, a good investment might be one of the various videogames that have come out in the past couple of months, the biggest one being Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Everyone and their mother plays it (including my mother); and the receiver will be sure to love it on any console. Uncharted 3, the third video game in the critically acclaimed Uncharted series for Playstation 3, came out in early November and is the perfect game for any adventure-lover that wants to stay in for the holidays.

The list goes on, from brand new movies on DVD (the final Harry Potter installment, The Hangover Part 2), new technological gadgets (the Kindle Fire, the aforementioned iPhone), and even other random, but meaningful gifts that you can find this season. Do not be lazy and resort to lame gifts that give only a hint of satisfaction. All it takes is a little hunting and you can always find the perfect gift for someone that they will undoubtedly love.

“A couple years ago, I noticed that my mom stayed up wrapping presents, and she was really tired the next morning. That’s when I knew Santa wasn’t real, it was kinda a harsh realization for me,” Sophomore, Jackie Fisher said.

No matter how a child finds out, weather it be by a friend, seeing his parents with the presents or having his parents tell him, the truth comes out eventually.

“In 7th grade, my dad sat me down and told me Santa wasn’t real. I already had an idea that it could be them putting the presents under the tree, but I wasn’t for sure until my dad told me,” Sophomore, Garrett Johnson said.

When people are younger, they do not take things as well as they do once they are older. As a kid, finding out something this big may sting a little, but for Sophomore, Allyson Frizzel it only lasted for a while.

“I was ten, and I bugged my mom about it until she finally just told me he wasn’t real. I kind of already knew he wasn’t, but it still hurt finding out. I got over it pretty quickly though,” Frizzel said.

As kids get older, they may not believe in the things they did as kids, but even though they may not still believe in Santa like they used to, it doesn’t hurt to pretend.

“Even though I’m 15, and I know Santa isn’t real, I like to think that it’s him putting the gifts in my stocking. It reminds me of being a little kid again,” Sophomore, Sami Arevalo said.

Hanukahh also know as the Festival of Lights, an eight day Jewish holiday commemorating the redediction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century B.C.E. Hanukahh is observed for eight days and eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev.

“I’m not fully Jewish, so I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukahh,” Sophomore, Tyler Kirkland said.

Some people have noticed how chain grocery stores primarily showcase Christmas decorations over others, such as Kwanzaa or Hanukahh, which some find offensive.

“I don’t find it offensive at all, it’s not like the stores are pushing Christmas on anyone. I believe their decorations are for all of the holidays in general not just one,” Kirkland said.

Christmas, or Christmas Day, is an annual holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ celebrated on December 25. It is a feast central to the Christian liturgical year, which closes the Advent season, and initiates the Christmastide, which last for 12 days (which is what the Christmas Carol “the twelve days of Christmas” is about). The holiday in many nations is a civil holiday, and is an integral part of the holiday season.

“I celebrate Christmas, and I think it’s good that stores say ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ since some people don’t celebrate the holiday.  I also believe that having different decorations for different religions is good as well,” Sophomore, Blake Benton said.

There is only one World, with many different cultures and Religions, and however you celebrate, Happy Holidays.

If this change is put into action, then students will not get out of school until 4:15 pm. This would put working students at a disadvantage. Students with jobs would lose more than an hour of valuable time that they could use to work. This means that they would spend more time at their jobs and less time on their homework. Consequently, students with jobs could have higher stress levels, and they could potentially sleep more during class. Not only will working students face difficulties, but students in extracurricular activities will as well. With this time change, after school practices will start later, which will leave a burden on parents who have to pick their children up afterwards. This is a difficult situation for parents because most do not get off of work until 6:30. Also, students will not have enough time to do their homework after practice. For instance, band currently practices from 3:30 to 6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If school ends at 4:15, then those students will potentially practice until 7:30 or later. Furthermore, the district is debating changing the A-B schedule, making students take all eight classes, for 45 minutes each, everyday. This proposal would put a strain on students because they would have to do all of their homework for every class in one night. In the end, having extra time to sleep in the morning will not help students because they will stay up later to finish all of their homework.

Granted, not all students work or participate in extracurricular activities, and some would prefer extra time to sleep in the morning. According to the American Psychological Association, adolescents need about 9.2 hours of sleep each night, compared with the 7.5 to 8 hours that adults need. By changing school’s starting time, students may focus and learn better with more sleep. On top of this, Assistant Principal, Reginia Crane said that the school district would save about $7 million per year by changing school’s start time. Ultimately, the change is good for the district’s budget, but not for it’s students.

Honestly, time is the most important aspect that students possess, which is why the district needs to keep the current bell schedule. The school board needs to consider how this proposal would affect the student population, and not worry solely on saving money.

“I love going to haunted houses and getting scared with my friends, but I never thought of the work that goes into it” junior, Khoa Le said.

Many of the volunteers at these haunted attractions are young high school students.

“ I work at Chaos and most of the volunteers are teenagers. I would say, and this is just estimation, that around 80 percent of the volunteers are ages 12- 19,” senior, Alex Burk said.

Research shows that people enjoy being scared while in a safe environment such as attending a movie, riding a thrill ride or attending a haunted house; and they are willing to pay for the experience. So, the typical haunted attraction averages around 8,000 guests.

“We see lots of people there. Both as patrons, ready to be scared, and as the volunteers, ready to do the scaring. It can get really crowded. Especially on a busy night, which is usually around Halloween,” Burk said.

Actors go through a lot when setting up and working in haunted houses. They take the time to get their make-up done, and they work late hours. Most don’t even get paid; they are all volunteers strictly there for their love of acting and scaring people to death.

“The hardest thing [about the job] is dealing with patrons that stroll around the place like they own it. It is okay though because I get to scare them off their self made perch, but I tend to lose my voice that way,” Burk said.

Make-up artists also contribute a great deal to the attractions, they are responsible for each actor and making sure they look their scariest.

“I’m a make-up artist at Chaos, which I love. I’m always mixing my make-up on my arm trying to figure out what mixes best so everyone will look great,” sophomore, Bri Davis said.

All of the people contributing to the haunted houses do so for the sole purpose of entertainment and the spirit of Halloween. To them, it doesn’t matter if they get paid or not and the result is always a unique success.

“I do feel that it’s completely worth working in the haunt,” Burk said. “I could care less if I got paid; scaring people gives not only the patrons a thrill, but the volunteers as well.”

In Africa, lions are dying off rapidly. 2,000 years ago, more than a million lions roamed the Earth. Since the 1940s, when lions numbered an estimated 400,000, lion populations have disappeared across the continent. Now they may total as few as 20,000 animals. Scientists connect the drastic decreases in many cases to growing human populations. The Big Cats Initiative program aims to halt decreases in the lion population by the year 2015, and to restore population to sustainable levels.

Also, according to the international union for conservation of nature, the Amur leopard, one of the most endangered of the big cats is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild due to habitat loss. Yet, these are not the only big cats in danger. Even now, there are more tigers in captivity then there are in the wild.

National geographic has come up with some creative ways to bring in donations. To support the cause, parents can dress their children up as a big cat for Halloween, collecting change while they trick-or-treat. Also, if participants make a donation of $5, National Geographic will post a picture of their kitten on their website.

Whether participants are dressing up, posting a picture, donating or just sharing the issue with others, every little bit helps in the effort to save these endangered animals.

Evening had arrived, and the lights beamed down upon the Homecoming court as they glided across the field. Everyone in the crowd held their breath in anticipation of the announcement of king and queen. The nominees were ready for the shock, but two individuals in particular were unprepared for the events about to take place. Suddenly, a voice bellowed out the names of the winners, seniors, Luqman Adeniyi and Mackenna Lytten.

“I’m very excited, but when they first announced my name I was so nervous; I was shaking and moving around a lot,” Lytten said. “I have this habit of twirling my hair when I get nervous, but obviously I couldn’t do that on the field, so it was difficult not to.”

Adeniyi was calm during the ceremony, as a football player, he was more focused on the game.

“The game is my favorite part about Homecoming,” Adeniyi said. ” I enjoy working with my team, we put a lot of hard work into what we do. It’s disappointing that we lost, but we won’t lose again because we are going to fight our way through the next few games.”

Despite the team’s loss, the two of them walked away from the game with a win.

“It’s nice to know that everyone wanted me to win,” Adeniyi said. “I like knowing that my peers think that I’m a good, fun-loving person; even though I’m friends with alot of people, I don’t think that I’m better than everyone else.”

Adeniyi and Lytten value their friends, family and team mates above all.

“I enjoy working with my fellow StuCo members, and I enjoy playing on the Varsity Volleyball team,” Lytten said. “My volleyball group is my main group that’s always there for me, and they can always make me laugh. My Student Council people are just the sweetest people on earth; they always have something uplifting to say when you’re in a hard situation.”

Mackenna and Luqman are both active, high-ranking members of the Student Council.

“I love working with everyone on StuCo, including Ms. Brenner and Ms. Golden,” Adeniyi said. “I just like being around people and helping others out.”

Adeniyi’s desire to help others has led him to the conclusion that he would want to pursue a career in Broadcast Journalism.

“I don’t want to pursue a career in football; I want to be a reporter,” Adeniyi said. “I want to gather information correctly so that I can let people know what is going on around them. I don’t like lies, I want to be the voice of truth.”

Like Adeniyi, Lytten loves to help others; she has plans to attend Texas A&M University, and major in Allied Health.

“I would like to be a pediatric nurse,” Lytten said. “I really love working with kids; I have an eleven year old sister. I look up to her in the literal sense because she’s taller than me, but she does look up to me as an older sister; she’s very sweet.”

Although some might argue that winning Homecoming Queen is everything, Lytten has a different perspective.

“To be honest, ten years from now, being Homecoming Queen is not going to matter; what matters is the friends that you’ve made along the way.”

Many students were ready for the football team to play against one of the best teams in the district. Mansfield came on to the field with a 7-0 record and Cedar Hill with a 5-2. Both teams were undefeated in district, and were ready to fight to keep their undefeated record.

The Tiger Band performed their show during the pregame performance which started off the game on a good note. Cedar Hill won the coin toss, but decided to decline, and gave the kick off over to Mansfield. A Cedar Hill player caught the ball at kick off and ran all the way to the goal line and scored a touchdown. After a few more minutes Cedar Hill made another touchdown. the score was 0-14 until the last few minutes of the 1st quarter when Mansfield scored a touchdown.

 ” I think were gonna come out, get after them be real agressive and play fast and hopefully that will get us the win,”  Head Coach, Jeff Hulme.

Coach Hulme had a lot of confidence in our team just like many of the fans.

 In the 2nd quarter Cedar Hill scored a touchdown and so did Mansfield 20-21. By the end of the second quarter the game was getting intense.

At half time, the gold dusters strutted on to the field, their uniforms sparkling in the lights; the band followed right behind them and played while the drill team danced.

After the performance, the 2011 homecoming court came on to the field. Under classmen royalty walked out first, then the senior nominee’s came out. Lugman Adeniyi and Mackenna Lytten were named Homecoming king and queen. After the king and queen were annouced the game started again. The band kept playing while the Gold Dusters did routines to the songs, and the cheerleaders kept the crowd going by cheering on our team.

 ”I think Cedar HIll will probably lose, because both freshman teams won, and only 1 JV team lost so the odds are pretty good for us winning.” Korey Caviness, Freshman Football player, said.

The score was 32-42 until the 4th quarter,  and within the last few minutes the game ended at 36-42. Mansfield lost the homecoming game, but the Tigers worked hard and will still be going to the playoffs, so far with a 7-1 record.

“Well it was a good game. Cedar Hill played kind of harsh, but other than one of our players getting hurt and us losing it was a really good game and over all a good homecoming,” Sami Entwisle, Gold Duster, said.

 Homecoming this year had a twist, but the team played well and fought hard to the end. Win or lose the tigers are still the best in Mansfield.

The weather was cold against the students skin as they stood outside before morning classes. However, the frigid wind did not put a damper on their spirits because they were excited about appearing on television. Fox 4 News showed up this morning to do a live report on the MHS football team and their success so far this season.

The last time that the MHS football team has ever had an undefeated streak was in 1971, when they won the first six games of the season. The team is currently undefeated with an overall score of 7-0 for the season, but tonight the football team will face their toughest opponent yet, Cedar Hill.

“I’m very excited about the game,” Senior football player, Hunter Graham said. “This week has been the best week of practice we’ve had all season. If we play the way we’ve been playing, then I have no doubt that we’ll win.”

The Fox 4 team saw this match-up as an opportunity to report on the football team.

“Fox 4 contacted the district’s communications office to ask for permission to do the story, and then they had to set the event up with Mrs. McCallum,” McCallum’s secretary, Caroline Goddard said.

A small pep rally was held for Fox 4 that included the cheerleaders, drill team, bell guard, band and the football team. Fox 4 reporter, Krystle Gutierrez interviewed several students, including a yearbook student.

“The reporter found out that I was a journalism student,” Homecoming Queen nominee, Cassie Bevens said. “She told me what schools I should go to, gave me her e-mail and offered me a tour of the Fox 4 building.”

Many teachers turned on their TV’s during first block and allowed students to watch the report.

“Mrs. Vreeland didn’t make us do a timed writing, I was so happy because we got to watch the news report instead,” Senior, Daria Dupont said.

Principal, Cynthia McCallum wanted to include various teams, such as band, volleyball, tennis, and football, in the broadcast as a way of recognizing them for their achievements.

“I am very excited that the football team is getting recognized,” Principal, Cynthia McCallum said. “Overall, our students are doing very well, but I’m really proud of all of our kids and our teams.”

Mrs. Golden offered Gutierrez the chance to attend the game, and even gave her the opportunity to crown the Homecoming King and Queen.

“[Gutierrez] responded very postively to the opportunity; she was very excited about it, and she will let us know if she can attend,” McCallum said.