Student Edition - Spring 2015

What Does Your Future Look Like? By Mae Logue

Most middle-

school students

today have no

idea what they

want to be when

they grow up,

which could be a

problem in the

next few years.

One easy way to

find out your ideal

career is by taking

an online test de-

termining your

interests, and

what career

matches them. Now

is the perfect time because middle school comes at a

period of time where grades, colleges, and resumes

start to become a bigger deal.

Mynextstep.org has a free assessment based off

of 60 questions asking about your hobbies to select a

career. After you complete the survey, the site shows

you your results and which areas work best for you,

such as “artistic”, “social”, “enterprise”, “conventional”,

“realistic”, and “investigative” . You can see which areas

your interests matched and start to narrow your op-

tions.

Then, the website asks you what job zone is right

for you. The job zones are ranked from 1 to 5, with 5

meaning this job requires a lot of extra schooling and

work. 1 level

job’s normally

require a mini-

mal amount of

school and

work.

Next, the web-

site shows you

a list of possi-

ble jobs that

match your in-

terests and

preparation

level. The jobs

are ranked

from best fit to

almost-as-good

fit, and each job has icons next to it to indicate if

it has anything to do with helping people, if it’s “going

green”, or whether or not an apprenticeship is available.

By clicking on any job listed for you, you can see

what these people do, what you would be doing on the

job, and the requirements for your certain job.

As you can see, websites like mynextstep.org can

help anyone find out their interests and which jobs

would make them and the community happiest.

Caleb, Stephanie, Will and Cory are ready for the future.

PREDATOR STAFF SPRING ISSUE 2015

Editors: Mark Calvin, Jorge Sardinas, Ryan Peterson,

Quinn Casaceli, Max Milicevic, and Andrew Relihan

Designers: Amanda Brust and Stephanie Hernandez

2

Please turn to page 7 – Tennis

In 2014, the Landrum tennis teams were the best

teams in the St. Johns County North Division. Two of the

teams competed in the playoffs against teams from the South

division, and they won second place and third place in the

county, giving up first place to Murray Middle School. Tryouts

for the 2015 season were held in early February, and twenty-

four great tennis players were selected to play for Landrum.

The teams are stronger than ever. Will Landrum carry home

the first place trophy at the end of the season this year?

The SJMSAA breaks St Johns County into two divisions

for the regular season, the north and the south division.

Landrum competes in the North Divi-

sion, and plays Fruit Cove, Liberty

Pines, Swiss Point, and Patriot Oaks.

The other division contains Murray,

Gamble Rogers, Valley Ridge, Pacetti

Bay, and Sebastian. Unlike other sports

that only have one team per school,

some of the schools in the North divi-

sion support multiple different teams.

Landrum is represented by three teams

of eight: the Blue team, the Black

team, and the White team. Our three

teams will play matches every week

against the teams from other schools.

After the regular season, the first and

second places teams from each division

will compete in a playoff match. The

winner of the first place playoff will bring the trophy back to

their school.

The regular season begins on March 5, when the first

matches are played. To prepare for the season, the teams

practiced twice a week. “Right now we are setting lineups. So

there are a lot of challenge matches going on to establish the

singles and doubles order”, says Jeff Millaire, the head coach

at Plantation, and the coach of the Landrum teams. “After we

get a lineup set, we’ll start to work on offensive and defensive

strategies for singles and doubles through point play themes”.

The coaches have a great system for practicing that is great for

the improvement of each individual player. “Our programming

is centered around a circle of progression. Players practice,

the pro watches him/her play a match, then the pro designs a

workout to improve. We are process oriented and we

enjoy it.”

The players on the team are excited to be on the team

and are excited for the season to start. Everyone enjoys play-

ing tennis and loves getting to play competitive matches, but

they’re also excited about getting to play against different

people and continue practicing and playing with the friends

they’ve made on their team. Lindsay Wilson, an eighth grader

at Landrum, has played tennis for five years and has been

playing for Landrum since sixth grade. “I’m excited to play

some people who I haven’t played before, and to increase my

personal level”, she says. When asked about her experience so

far, Lindsay replied “It’s been awesome”.

Not only are the players getting good

competition and a chance to improve

their tennis game, but they also get a

chance to make friends. “I’ve had a great

experience meeting kind people with sim-

ilar tennis interests”, says Collette Dwyer,

a sixth grader who is playing on the team

for the first time.

The team is only as good as its coach, and

the coaches have been doing an excellent

job at getting everyone match ready.

“The coaches are really nice and encour-

aging, and I have known these coaches

for a long time”, says Emily Purvis, an

eighth grader who’s been on the

Landrum team since sixth grade. “They were super supportive

and gave good feedback” says Emma Notari, who’s also

played on the team all three years. The coaches are doing a

great job at working to improve everyone’s tennis, give them

an equal and fair opportunity to play, and promote teamwork,

which is one of the most important aspects of sports.

Ultimately, the goal of each team is to place first in

their division and win the playoffs. “I think we have a really

good chance of winning a lot of games; this year the team is

really good”, says Lindsay. In past years, the team has been

successful, but this year, it’s especially strong, and the players

are especially excited about working hard and winning.

“Tennis is strong in Ponte Vedra so there’s a great chance that

one to two teams will make the finals this year”, says Coach

Jeff. “And my #1 goal is to have two Landrum teams in the

finals”.

By Claire Olson

Tennis Anyone?

Remi, Anna, Howard, and Eliass 6th grade

tennis members.

3

By Evvie Platt

Music is always changing, kind of like the seasons. Musicians

change their genres, musicians die and are replaced by other

artists, and some rise to be the greatest and most popular

artist in the music industry. But do you really know what mu-

sic was popular in 1950? Or even 2007? Well here’s a recount

through the history of music.

1940: Rhythm and blues music becomes more popular, Rock

and Roll begins to rise.

1945: Magazines were created for music, having Downbeat

for the Jazz fans, which gave them a wide selection of photos

for their favorite artists. Song Read, another music magazine,

gave readers the lyrics to their favorite songs.

1950: DooWop and Rock and Roll evolve from the blues mu-

sic of the forties, becoming the new popular topics of music.

Bing Crosby, a famous singer from that era, also releases his

lasts few songs.

1955: Bill Haley and the Comets make the very first Rock sin-

gle to come out on the top charts. 1955 spawned five titles to

hit the top charts, including Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino),

Earth Angel (The Penguins), Mannish Boy (Muddy Waters),

Maybellene (Chuck Berry), and Rock Around the Clock (Bill

Haley and the Comets).

1960: Chubby Checker’s song, “Twist”, came number one in

the top charts in 1960 and influenced quite a few "Twist"

songs over the next few years, including: Let's Twist Again,

Peppermint Twist, Twist and Shout, Twistin The Night Away,

Slow Twistin', Twistin'

Postman and Twistin'

Matilda, to name a

few. The Beatles also

had 12 songs in the

top charts for a

straight week.

1965: The Righteous Brothers get two songs in the top 5, in-

cluding Unchained Melody and You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'.

1970: The Dark Side of the Moon album by Pink Floyd is re-

leased in 1973. Jimi Hendrix died in 1972 along with Jim Mor-

rison and Janis Joplin

1975: In 1978, Soundtracks rocked the carts - Night Fever, If I

Can't Have You, and Stayin’ Alive from Saturday Night Fever

hit number on the Billboard Charts, as did Grease and You're

The One That I Want from Grease.

1980: Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing came out in 1981 and

reached Number #9 in the top charts. It became the #65 big-

gest pop song of the year. The 120 BPM song breaks several

'pop music rules.' The chorus is only said 3 times, and not un-

til only 45 seconds are left in the song.

1985: 1987's Dirty Dancing soundtrack brought us I've had

The Time Of My Life, which was brought back again in late

2011 by the Black Eyed Peas. It also featured Love Is Strange

by Mickey & Sylvia, sampled strongly in in 2012 with Pitbull's

Back in Time.

1990: This was also known as the Boy band era. Many boy-

bands such as NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and New Kids on the

Block came out and made

their way to stardom. But

that didn’t stop the girls

from trying. The Spice Girls

came out with many songs,

though most were catchy

and slightly annoying.

1995: Jerry Garcia, member

of the Rolling Stones died in

his sleep. Many of the same

musicians were able to stay pretty busy with writing new

songs to perform for many crowds.

2000: Alternative Rock music became more popular along

with Rap and Pop. Bands like Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Pep-

pers, and Pearl Jam became more

music like influences for many of

todays bands.

Todays music is heavily influenced

by singer/songwriters like Taylor

Swift, and dance music mixed

with rap and heavy electronic un-

dertones.

Whatever your taste, know that

music is ever changing and what

is popular today might be a stale

by this time next year. That is why

current artists are always changing their sound to stay rele-

vant and so they can continue to survive in today’s very com-

petitive music industry. Images Courtesy of Bing Images

4

Top Three

Releases of

Early Spring ‘15 Review By Kyle Rozman

The KD7 Aunt Pearl was released in Feb-

ruary, 2015. Kevin Durant is keeping the memory of his

Aunt, who died to can-

cer in 2001. On every

Aunt Pearl release

there is a quote some-

where on the shoes

that states “In memory

of Aunt Pearl who in-

spired us all to continue

the fight for a cure.”

The KD7’s retail for

$170. They are difficult to find. Similarly, previous Aunt

Pearl releases have been very popular. This edition is

releasing with a metallic white base a gold swoosh with

hot pink accents. Every KD7 released has the strap, but

this is the first release to have

a unique wing shaped strap

that is believed to resemble

his Aunt’s angle wings.

The Jordan 29 released in

February and will feature a

picture of the man himself

Michael Jordan. Now you can

have Jordan on your Jordans! The shoe also features

Michael’s number on the tongue. The shoe sports black

laces and a M.J. leaping into the sunset.

Next, the Air Max 90 Velvet came out on April 24th. It is

the first ever Air Max 90

made out of velvet in-

stead of suede or leath-

er. The Air Max 90 Cork

also releases April 24th.

The basis behind this

design is the rare

Lebron 10 Cork.

Apple Vs Samsung?

Review By Jacob Harden

In a world of ever-changing tech, how do you keep up

with the biggest and the best, especially when it comes to

phones. The top two competing phones are Samsung and Apple.

Their latest phones will battle it our in this competition to see

which Is right for you.

Both phones have large screens. The iPhone 6 sports a

4.7 inch LCD Retina screen with a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels.

The 6 plus has a 5.5 inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080

pixels. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.5 inch Super AMOLED with a full

HD and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels to rival the iPhone 6

plus.

The design of the Samsung Galaxy S5 has not changed

much from its predecessor, as its screen has only gone up by an

inch. Its sides have gotten slightly more square, but it still has

the traditional round corners. The S5 has also has a cover on the

USB port, a telltale sign of dust and water proof. The iPhone 6

has no water protection. However, it has managed to maintain

the Apple aesthetic while making the iPhone 6 look unique.

Overall, both phones are very nice, and they are similar

in many aspects. If you want a phone that is practical, func-

tional yet fun, and will continue through daily use and mistakes,

then the Galaxy S5 is for you. If you want a sleek, fast, well-

designed, and even striking phone, then you should get an

iPhone 6. For those of you looking to upgrade to the Galaxy S6,

don’t bother, the Galaxy S6 seems to be everything Galaxy S5

(and Galaxy S3 and S4) owners hate. A phone which prioritizes

style over substance, does away with practical features they

loved and worst of all – goes out of its way to copy key iPhone

design elements. If you choose to stay loyal to the Galaxy line

hope weak sales make Samsung return to old ways in 2016 with

the Galaxy S7?

Images Courtesy of Bing Images

5

By Amanda Brust and Isabel Hiday

“A friendly desert community where the sun is hot,

the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead

while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale.”

Welcome to Night Vale is a widely acclaimed, twice monthly

podcast that airs the first and fifteenth of every month. It

features radio host, Cecil Gershwin

Palmer, who is voiced by Cecil Bald-

win. It is a creation of Joseph Fink

and Jeffrey Cranor. Each episode of

Welcome to Night Vale can last from

20-30 minutes long.

The format of the podcast is a fake

radio show in which our host reports

on “news” in the town of Night Vale.

Most of these events are often super-

natural or otherwise just strange in

one way or another. For example, the

giant glowing cloud that passed over

the town, dropped small dead ani-

mals and then became an active member of the PTA. Also the

whispering forest on the edge of town which whispered com-

pliments to people after appearing overnight. The town is

looked over by the Sherriff’s Secret Police and the City Council.

As soon as the climax of the podcast begins, they go to “The

Weather” which is just an indie song they play as a form of

intermission. When “The Weather” is over, Cecil will go on to

explain how the problem was “solved.”

Claire Olson, a fan of Welcome to Night Vale, says that her fa-

vorite part of the podcast is either the “Children’s Fun Fact

Science Corner” bit, or when Cecil gives

his “Community Health Tips.” Both

sound like boring, normal things you

would hear on a regular radio show,

but it involves a supernatural aspect

that you would never expect, or it’s just

plain weird. The podcast isn’t only

news, but Cecil also likes to talk about

his personal life in Night Vale. Such as

his boyfriend, Carlos the Scientist, who

came to Night Vale to study the strange

happenings in Night Vale. He also in-

forms us on his floating cat in the men’s

bathroom, Khoshekh. He may seem like

a normal radio host, but if it’s in Night Vale, you can count on

it being out of the ordinary.

Turn on your radio and hide. Goodnight Night Vale, goodnight.

By Anna Chattaway

When you think about February you think about hearts, candy, and people you care and want to let them know. The Journalism classes needed an idea to fund the Landrum newspaper, The Predator, so they brainstormed ideas and came up with “Candy Grams” for students to purchase.

Sales took place during the all of the lunch periods to give the opportunity to eve-ryone to purchase a candy gram for $1.00 each. The timeframe for promoting the mer-chandising and collecting orders was January 28th through February 11th.

The first two days were plentiful with sales of about 150 candy grams purchased. This was far more than the expectations of the classes. As days progressed, sales increased to approximately 650 as of February 6th.

When all of the orders were filled students within the Journalism classes created candy grams by using ribbon to tie a lollypop onto the card. Finishing a day before deliveries the team worked endlessly to create a memorable gift. By the final date of selling, we had raised over $800.00 dollars for the school newspaper. During homeroom classes on February 12th volunteers from Journalism class gathered and distributed candy grams to admired receivers. This brought about many happy, smiling, and delighted students throughout Landrum Middle School.

Brynn receives Valentines.

Welcome to Night Vale

Students Top Their Day Off with a Lollipop

6

A Review By Daisy Dowdrick

AMC is well known for creating heart wrenching critical-

ly acclaimed shows, but none are like The Walking Dead

on their channel. The Walking Dead in case you were

unaware is a post-apocalyptic show with… Well as the

name implies, Zombies. Currently we’re midway

through season five, with that being stated this show

has been running since Halloween 2010. To this day Rick

and his gory crew are still topping television records

with over 17.4 million viewers back when season five

was first released. So, what makes this show incredibly

popular? Well, keep on reading because we are about

to find out!

What is our fascination with these Zombies, who are

obviously malicious and drenched in gore? If, you really

think about this show there are many underlying

themes here. TWD poses questions about the human

race its self. Such as the idea that humans all have an

evil embedded in their DNA, a survival setting to be

more specific. That when drastic times call for drastic

measures, we as human beings will do anything and

everything to stay alive. Of course, who thinks that

deeply or that far behind the scenes? I mean, we just

want to be entertained, right? And scared a little. And

what difference does it actually make, anyway? Zombies

only really matter if they're real. Right, Rick? Right Dar-

ryl? Right Maggie? Herschel, you in on this? After all it is

a silly television show, unless there’s some truth to it

that we have been avoiding… Such as the idea I previ-

ously stated. We enjoy thinking outside of the box into a

whole different world, The Walking Dead simply allows

us to do that in perhaps a safer environment.

Additionally, to the sub-themes of this show the overall

casting is superb! Now, as that may be slightly opinion-

ated, I can see certain times where some of the charac-

ters have not been so totally fantastic. Yet, if we look at

the big picture even most of America can agree the

show is a cinematic sensation that is sweeping the na-

tion! Even the zombies and whole makeup aspect of this

show is absolutely exciting. Yes, I said exciting! They are

taking normal people (i.e. extras) and making them into

the very flesh eating culprits that we fear to this day.

Shockingly enough there may be people who just tune

in for the special effects aspects of the show. I can say

from personal preference that my family and I enjoy this

show due to the casting specifics of it and for the special

effects.

My final reason as to why we Americans are so fascinat-

ed with the idea of Zombies, is since we are living in a

pre-apocalyptic world by nature as humans, our minds

are going to wander to every possible idea that may

take place. Even if it leads to a disease that is going to

create flesh eating monsters from the recesses of our

mind. You don’t know what is located in the unknown.

That’s why it’s unknown. AMC’s The Walking Dead does

an amazing job of letting our minds wander slightly into

what may be the future, but the beautiful thing is that

we may never know what’s coming next, that’s what

makes it all the more horrifying.

AMC’s: The Walking Dead

Images Courtesy of bing.com

Resident

zombie from

AMC’s The

Walking Dead

7

As of April 28, 2015, the three Landrum teams are dominating the North Division. The Landrum White team is in the

lead, followed closely by Landrum Black, and then by Landrum Blue. If they can continue their success, Landrum will be

represented in both playoff matches!

Mr. Wicker By Ashton Erickson, Eva Ullmann, Avianna Gordon, Jadie Fleischer, and Emma Notari

When a person thinks of a technology support

specialist, they probably don’t think of a person like

Colin Wicker- a surfer who plays bass, loves to help oth-

ers, and solves puzzles. When students see him in the

hallways and classrooms, they will just think he is

just another staff member, but Colin Wicker is anything

but.

Born in Georgia, Mr. Wicker moved to St. Au-

gustine at a young age and grew up there. As a kid, he

was always very tech savvy. His ability to solve prob-

lems, continually take in new information, and work

well with others made him very talented with comput-

ers and helping others with technology. After gradu-

ating from UF, what he considered to be one of his

greatest accomplishments, he worked at the Evelyn

Hamblen Center of the Gaines Alternative and Transi-

tion Schools as a teacher helper. The school was for

kids who had violated the Student Code of Conduct.

Two years later, though, he became the tech-

nology support specialist at Landrum. What does a sup-

port specialist do? His job is to help repair computers,

iPads, printers, and projectors. Getting to help others,

he said, makes him very happy, and loves everything

about Landrum. A technology support specialist gets to

take apart all the technology and then reassemble it,

which requires a good sense of problem solving.

His view on the controversial technology for

teens discussion? “If I had a kid, I would give them a

smart phone, but wouldn’t give them a data package

until they are sixteen.” Personally, he believes kids

should exercise caution when using technology like

smart phones and social media and only post some-

thing you know you are comfortable with everybody

seeing. Teenagers need to be a little more independent

from their tech and not rely on social networking so

much. His advice to the students of Landrum is to re-

spect the technology, do their best in school, and enjoy

learning as much as they can. “Learning is a lifelong ex-

perience,” says Wicker, ”I have never stopped learning.

Get into the habit of being a lifelong learner, in all seri-

ousness. It will help you in the long run.”

Next time a person see a staff member in the

hall, they shouldn’t just pass by. Instead, talk to them-

there could be more than meets the eye.

Mr. Wicker, Technology Support Specialist

Continued from page 2 - Tennis

The Roberts Family

8

Orlando is known as the “Theme

Park Capital of the World.” There are theme

parks, water parks, fun parks and if the type

of park you are looking for isn’t in Orlando,

then it must be close. The dream makers

behind these parks have to create new

dreams and themes to keep vacationers to keep coming

back. They have to change shows, rides, and attractions

within the parks to keep visitors from saying, “I have

already been there, done that, and there is nothing new

to go back for.”

It has been rumored that Universal will be adding a

“Gotham Island” to its parks. Because Disney purchased

Marvel, they can’t use anything that Marvel copyrights.

The fallback to Marvel, of course, is Batman. The idea of

the island formed I 1992, as an extension to the park.

However, the idea of the Wizarding World of Harry

Potter and Diagon Ally won out in

the end. This island may include “Bat

Carnival games” “Bat Gift Shops” and

a “Bat Night Club” . These will all be

Batman themed, even with some of

DC’s favorite villains. More ideas are

being tossed around about the interior of “Gotham Is-

land.”

Many theme parks in Orlando have been changing as

well this year. For example, “Avatar Land” will be a new

addition t Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld. They will

add many Avatar themed rides, and enjoyable attrac-

tions for tourists.

The redirection of Hollywood Studios theme is again

marketing idea to bring visitors and their money to the

park.

Girls choosing to wear “Nike”-style running shorts should plan to change after

their lunch on Friday, May, 15.

Bring string bags or purses for your personal belongings. No back packs. We can’t

leave anything on the bus.

Every student gets a dinner ticket, but you might want additional money for

souvenirs and extra food or drinks.

Students come to school at the regular time, and we plan to leave at

1:00pm, after 3rd lunch.

We will not be returning to Landrum after the field trip, so students should leave

their backpacks in their homeroom class.

Parents will be picking you up at the Sawgrass Publix parking lot, around 2:30 –

3:00am, Saturday, May 16.

If you bring your backpack to school on Friday, we would suggest you leave them

in homeroom, and pick it up on Monday morning.

Universal 8th Grade Field Trip By Allyson Padgett and Leah Luna

The 8th grade field trip is something many 8th graders are looking forward to, here is some information that

will make sure your trip is an uneventful one.

Florida’s Parks are Changing

By Anthony Regan

Photo Courtesy of Fanpop.com

Photo Courtesy glogster.com