The Hitching Post (school newsletter)

The 5 Best Ways to Stay Warm This Fall

Lauren J.

Fall is all about vibrant leaves, Halloween, and cold temperatures. It is great to spend time hiking and trick or treating but with the cold temperatures it is easy to get sick, so make sure you are staying warm this fall.

When staying warm this fall make sure you consider functionality and comfort. An easy and stylish way to stay warm is by wearing sweaters. Sweaters are comfy and are made from thick material to keep you warm. When buying sweaters good materials that will keep you warm are cotton, wool, cashmere, and linen. The prices vary depending on which materials are used when making the sweater. Another great way to stay warm is by drinking warm drinks. Hot chocolate, lattes, and coffees are all work. Most local grocery stores sell hot chocolate mix and coffee grounds, but if you are looking to buy coffee there a lots of selections in Mukwonago. Espresso Love offers lattes, coffees, and teas. In the month of October, they have specials drinks just for fall. These drinks include: a Pumpkin Pie latte, a Caramel Apple Chai, an Autumn Smores Mocha Latte, and Hot Apple Cider. Other than warm drinks, warm food is also a great way to stay warm. Hot oatmeal and a warm bagel with cream cheese is a great source of protein and a healthy breakfast. For lunch, soup or a warm sandwich is a smart choice.

When going outside this fall it is also important to wear layers of clothes to avoid the cold. There are many options and alternatives to stay heated. Wearing good boots and socks keep your feet dry and warm. Boots and socks made from wool are the best way to stay dry. Wool is a thick material that acts as a natural insulator and is guaranteed to keep you nice and warm. Another great choice for keeping warm is a down coat. Made from a duck or goose feathers, it also acts as a natural insulator and will keep you the perfect temperature. Clothing items made from down and wool materials tend to be more expensive than other choices. A good idea is to look for the end of season sales. Items are often 50% off or more. This fall make sure that you stay warm and enjoy the fall weather!

Halloween Myths and Traditions

Halloween has been a widely celebrated holiday for hundreds of years, but does anyone know the traditions and myths from before the costumes and candy? Halloween began almost 2,000 years ago, and it's time to bust some myths and learn some traditions about Halloween.
Everyone has heard of the "black cat superstition." This myth dates back to the Dark Ages, about the time of the witch hunts in Salem. During this time, lone women were accused of witchcraft, and these cats were associated with the Devil's presence on Earth. As you can imagine, the cats were thought to spread bad luck, which is why we have this superstition today.

By: Grace M.

Another question that has risen is,"How did Halloween start?"
Almost 2,000 years ago, Halloween was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and in other parts of Europe.

Nearing the end of summer, the Celts thought that the barrier from our world and the world of spirits and ghosts was very thin. They believed that this meant they could rise up to walk and live on Earth. Their solution to this was to have a giant party.

The Celts were imagining this would scare away the spirits and ghosts. Later on, with the Christian religion, this day, the night before November first, (All Saints' Day) became known as Hallows' Eve.

The History of Halloween

Alissa S.

Once a year, on October 31, people go around knocking door to door saying "Trick or Treat!" That's right. They are celebrating Halloween. Almost everyone does it. But most of those people don't even know what Halloween really is and how it started. No, it is not just for the candy! First off, Halloween goes back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. This celebration marked the end of the summer and the start to a cold winter (time associated with human death). The Celts believed on the night before the new year (November 1) the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. The Celts also thought that when the spirits were with them, it made it easier for priests to make predictions of the future.

The priests built huge bonfires where the people gathered to throw crops in as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During this celebration, the Celts wore costumes, mostly of animal skins and tried to tell each others fortunes. When it was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had put out earlier that evening, from the bonfire to help protect them during the winter to come. By 43 A.D. the Roman Empire had conquered the Celtic territory. Their Roman festivals were mixed with some of the Celtic celebrations.

Over the years, Halloween made it's way over to America. It was more common in Maryland at first and the southern colonies. Halloween soon expanded to more and more states and became what a holiday that is now celebrated every year on October 31.

Shop or Sew?

Stacie G.

Each year, millions of people dress up for Halloween: young and old, pets and humans. The fun is in dressing up as a favorite character or idol, but the question is: do more people buy or sew their costumes? This year, in 2018, the average amount of money spent in America on buying Halloween costumes, decor, and candy was $9 billion dollars, roughly $87 dollars a person, setting a new record for the money spent in America for Halloween necessities.

Some people prefer to save as much money as possible, sewing their own costumes from scratch, but that takes a lot of time and effort. Those D.I.Y. crafters definitely have a creative touch, but the cash people spend each year outnumbers those crafty money savers my the millions. I think that by 2020, Americans will spend an average of $11.5 billion dollars that year, creating an outstanding record that might even make it into the 2019 record book.

https://www.thebalance.com/halloween-spending-statistics-facts-and-trends-3305716

Popular Halloween
Costumes

Eva P.

This year is a big year for trick or treaters. Most kids look for new costumes to impress our friends and neighbors! Here are the top six costumes in 2018:

6: The Black Panther
Ever since the movie came out, this has been all the talk. Be the coolest kid in your neighborhood with this costume! Wakanda Forever.

3: Unicorn
Throw glitter! Be happy! Make others happy with this costume!

2: Spider-Man
Dress up as this famous superhero! This is a super easy and fun costume!

5: Witch
Ouhhh scary! Frighten your friends, or make them laugh, with this costume!

4: Dinosaur
These have been the latest craze. Inflatable dinosaurs. Ride around on a hoverboard, ride a scooter, or run! This will for sure bring people joy! RAWR!

1: Fortnite
Last but certainly not least, we have Fortnite. The number one game of the year. If you haven't played, you've certainly heard of it. From the "Where we dropping boys?" to "Lets get some dubs" This is the latest craze. Dress up as Fortnite characters and do the dance moves as you walk along!

resources: https://www.glamour.com/story/most-searched-halloween-costumes-2018

Popular Halloween Costumes

Ellie K.

Halloween is just around the corner, and people are busily trying to find the best costume. Most people find their costumes by seeing what's the most popular, or just by liking the costume they pick out. But this year if you can't decide or come up with an idea for a costume, here are the top five predicted most popular Halloween costumes of 2018.

The 5th most popular costume are the characters from Incredibles 2. The movie came out this summer and had most people wanted to dress up as these characters for Halloween. The 4th costume is a flamingo. This seems random, but onesies of any kind have become really popular to wear on Halloween, or any other occasion. The 3rd most popular costume is any 90's icons. Millennials have increased 110% of 90's makeup and costume ideas. Some examples of 90's icons are the Backstreet Boys and some of the Spice Girls. The 2nd costume is a character from the show Riverdale. A TV show that released in January of 2017, it has become very popular since then. The 1st most popular of costume of 2018 will be Tonya Harding. Tonya Harding was a famous figure skater, and there was also a movie that came out in 2017 called, I, Tonya.

Top 5 Jack-O-Lantern Designs
of the Season

Olivia E.

Now that the spooky season is back around, add some creative designs into your personal pumpkin! As a child, carving silly or scary faces into pumpkins may come up as familiar around October. Well this year we have some tips and hacks to help you with your unique pumpkin carvings so they stand out and brightly glow in the late moonlight.

Create funky shapes or use different items such as toothpicks, yarn or string, maybe some fun Halloween stickers to put together your scary, seasonal jack-o-lantern. You might even want to incorporate more than one pumpkin into the picture!

Want to be extra artistic with your imagination? Add some color to it! Use different colored markers or paints to customize your jack-o-lantern and give details or instructions to what your drawing. to the viewers.

Lastly, when it comes to carving time, many may get stumped on what shapes or faces to create. A simple solution is to use character traits that will pop out from average jack-o-lanterns to attract your audiences' eye.

Trick or Treat Age Limit?

By Alex L.

Do you remember the joy of running up to your neighbor's house with a costume on just to collect candy when you were young? Well, about 41 million kids in the United States probably remember that same thing. That is the estimated amount of kids ages 5-14 years old who trick or treat each year in the US. But why do they stop that estimate at age 14?

In one study of adults, seventy five percent of them said kids should stop trick or treating between ages 12 and 17. Why should teens be influenced to stop trick or treating?

Some argue that teens are taking the candy from little kids, while others believe that as long as they dress up and only take what they should, nothing is wrong with it. Also, a teenager might be trick or treating just to help out a younger sibling and that should not be a problem.

In fact, unless you know the child or teen personally, you really don't know their age. Just because a someone is tall, doesn't mean they're a teen yet. Furthermore, some adults say that they would rather have an innocent teen trick or treat at their house than teens partying and causing trouble.

In conclusion, I believe that teens should be able to trick or treat. Halloween is a holiday for everyone.

Three Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Courtney R.

Fake Nail Teeth

Carve a pumpkin as you normally would. You could make it screaming or with an evil smile to show off the teeth. To make the teeth carve a tiny ridge into the mouth and stick white fake nails in. This gives your pumpkin a more human look, or an sinister look. To make a vampire pumpkin only use to fake nails coming down from the top.

Peeking Pumpkin

Cut the top third of a larger pumpkin. Prop the top third of the pumpkin up with toothpicks. Carve a scared face into a smaller pumpkin of a different color than the larger pumpkin to create contrast. Put the tinier pumpkin inside the large pumpkin to give it the appearance that it is looking out from it's hiding stop.

Porcupine Pumpkin

Pick a tall pumpkin and a small pumpkin (color doesn't matter). Carve a small animal face on the end of the stem side, using the stem has a nose. Cut the small pumpkin into forth's and attach them to the side you will be using as the bottom (since it will be on its side) with toothpicks has the porcupines feet. To add the quills stick toothpicks into the top side of the pumpkin and its side.

Top Five Scary Movies This Year

Valerie S.

This Halloween season, lots of spooky movies will be watched. There are so many favorite Halloween movies from The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, to Scream. But let's talk about new releases.

The top movie is The Nun that came out early September and has already topped $200 million. The next top movie is IT although it came out last September, it is still on this year's top movie list, probably because they made $700 million on this release. Next on the list is A Quiet Place, which came out last April. The fourth spooky movie on the list, is Annabelle: Creation, released last August, it still makes the list for top movies watched this year! Lastly according to Fansided, the final movie on the list is, The Strangers: Prey at Night.

Whether you are in the mood for an old favorite or a new release, watching Halloween movies with friends is great fun.

Surviving Middle School

Isabella T.

Middle school, the years after everyone has finally graduated elementary school and is preparing for the awaited years of becoming an adult. Middle school is always explained as some of the toughest years of people's lives, but is it really? Sure, you get a lot more homework than you did when you were younger, and you have to adjust to getting up earlier. That doesn't mean it's the worst years of your life.

First off, in middle school you learn more, not just what "x" really equals and what the inside of a frog looks like. But you're learning more about yourself. Middle school brings on challenges, like late nights, taking responsibility for yourself, and being a little more independent. Obviously, in middle school your parents aren't going to be there to walk you through getting to class on time and knowing what your homework is. You are expected to be listening while you are in class, paying attention so you know what the homework is and also how to do your homework. Teachers and the school still help you with this to an extent. There is a grading system where teachers will put your scores, so you will be able to check to make sure that you are getting your assignments done and your grades are still looking good.

Another thing about middle school is how most people are determining their friend groups considering all the elementary schools combine at Park View and you are now with all the kids in your grade that you will graduate with. You will be able to meet new people and become better friends with others, but now with more friends comes more drama. Drama is basically another word for being in a fight with someone, however not a physical fight, just a "Well he said, she said." Even if you are having drama with your friend you are still expected to get all your work done. Now, there is an easy way to stay out of drama, it is simply be kind to everyone. Don't make fun of someone because of something they do. Always be friendly, if you see someone drop their books don't just stand there and watch everyone else help them. Be kind, help people and maybe you have gained yourself a new friend.

As you can see, middle school isn't that hard, as long as you pay attention, make sure you're getting your work done, working at the best of your ability, and be friendly to everyone. If you do this, I promise you will survive middle school.