I saw the show on the second night, Oct. 27, and it was amazing and very funny. The show was directed by the Blue Curtain director Patrick Holcomb. 

The production takes you on a journey and shows you what the Hufflepuffs’ life was like throughout the seven years of magic school. Each year, something new happens to the Hufflepuffs, but they all work together to get through the battles. 

The show was really enjoyable because it was like a parody of “Harry Potter” and also because I’m a fellow Hufflepuff myself. One thing that was clever about the play was it had a trio [Wayne, Oliver and Megan] similar to the one in the Harry Potter films [Harry, Hermoine and Ron]. My favorite part of the play was when I found out at the end that the narrator of the production [played by Da’Ziah Knox] was actually the daughter of Oliver and Megan [played by Isaiah Robinson and Amanda Nikel]. 

The set of the play was nice and the acting was amazing. The amount of effort Blue Curtain put into this production was incredible. 

I would honestly love to watch the show again. Now I understand why the director said “if you love Harry Potter you’ll love it, and if you hate Harry Potter you’ll still love it.” This production is one of my favorite plays I’ve seen so far in my life. 

The team is about studying current events that are happening in the state of Texas, nationally or even the world. They have a few meetings in room 279 or sometimes in the library. 

“It’s good for students to get in the habit of paying attention to what’s going on in the world around them,” government and economics teacher Robert Wolff said. 

UIL means University Interscholastic League and they hold academic competitions for multiple subjects. In the current event competition, students are required to answer questions about current events locally or globally. 

“The questions are written by a professor from the University of Texas,” Wolff said.  

There are multiple competitions in these events. For example, there’s a practice meet and then a district meet. After that, there’s a regional competition and if there’s any luck a member could make it to the state competition. 

“I’m excited to get the team back going,” Wolff said. 

If a student competes in UIL it looks good on resumes and scholarship applications. One way to practice for the competition is to always keep up with the events that are happening currently. 

“I can’t wait to compete… it’s a passion,” Wolff said.

The production will be held in the Auditorium. It will also be performed on Oct. 27 and 29. Tickets will goon sale this week. 

“I’m excited for the show, it’s going to be so much fun,” Blue Curtain Director Patrick Holcomb said. 

This production will be a parody of Harry Potter, but it will mainly focus on the “Hufflepuffs” instead of the “Gryffindors.” It will show the audience the life of the Hufflepuffs throughout the seven years of Hogwarts. 

“If you love ‘Harry Potter’ you’ll love it and if you hate ‘Harry Potter’ you will also love it, because it makes fun of it,” Holcomb said.

Blue Curtain held auditions for members in the first week of August and Rehearsals started the first week of school. They had a camp that took place on campus. 

“I was excited to audition for the show,” junior Laila Blackmon said. 

There will be a few characters that are well known in the Harry Potter films that will appear  in the show. For example, one character that will popup in the production is Harry Potter himself. 

“I portray two characters, Susie Bones and Harry Potter,” Senior Hannah Head said. “I like them both because they are both weird and wacky in many funny ways.” 

On Sept. 9, Lamar’s windows were shattered by a Bebe gun around 10 p.m. This incident caused damage to 13 windows that are in need of replacement. 

This situation was unnecessary. There is no reason why someone should shoot the windows of a high school. 

The cost of repairing the windows is going to be very expensive. It’s so stupid because the school has to pay for something they’re not accountable for. 

Many students have mixed feelings about the window situation. Some students feel okay and not endangered while others feel awful. 

What makes this incident upsetting is that it makes the school seem unsafe. A school isn’t supposed to be vandalized, it’s supposed to be a safe environment for students to learn. 

Another reason why it’s appalling is because it’s a bad representation of the school. For example, what if someone important from the district decides to do an evaluation of the school? If they see broken windows, it doesn’t leave a positive impression of Lamar. The bright red letters taped onto the windows for safety can be seen from the street. Anyone driving by can see the front of the school has been vandalized and that is also not a good impression seen by the community.

We feel upset about the windows, but we are glad no one got injured. We hope whoever did this or even associated with this vandalism will be held accountable for their actions. 

Meanwhile, the school is trying to figure out who is responsible for the damage. Perhaps the Viking community can rally  to start a fundraiser or even a donation page to help the school raise money to fix all the shattered windows. 

Homecoming is always at the beginning of the school year and its purpose is to welcome students back to school. Tickets to the dance were sold Sept. 2-7 2nd-7th during the lunches. 

“The homecoming dance was a time for kids to come together and celebrate homecoming,” Student Council sponsor Sarah Larrabee said. 

Around 300 students attended the homecoming dance and many of them claimed they had a fun time. There was a DJ, snacks and a photo section where students could take photos. 

“I thought the dance was very fun and entertaining,” junior Sharmaine Udoubak said. 

Student Council started planning the dance at the beginning of the school year. It took a few weeks of planning to get everything settled. 

“It was a lot of work, but I knew it was something kids really wanted, so it was worth it,” Larrabee said. 

Homecoming plays a big part in students’ high school experience, so when students found out about the dance, it was all they talked about. Most of the students’ feedback about homecoming was positive. 

“The best part about the dance was hanging out with my friends and making the high school experience,” Udoubak said. 

Ignite is an organization that encourages young women to get involved in the political process. Members also focus on the political power of young women and provide a space that centers on their experiences. 

“I’m excited to see the energy that the students will bring,” U.S History Teacher Zobaria Shah said. 

It is an all girls organization and also open to non-binary people and transwomen. The idea of this organization was created by a student. They had their first meeting last Thursday and students were very excited about it. 

“I was so excited about the first meeting I even took a video,”  creator of the Ignite Organization Aubre Powell said. 

People were thrilled to hear about the new organization. It gave students a platform to explore political topics that center around women’s issues. 

“ As we grow up, we have more problems we have to face,” Powell said.

Viking Fest is an opportunity for clubs, booster clubs and organizations to promote themselves and recruit new people. It’s always held at the beginning of the year to help inform people about what kind of clubs and organizations are available. 

“Viking Fest this year was a lot of fun, I feel like it was a really good turn out,” Assistant Principal Stacey Williams said. 

There were different types of clubs that participated in this event. It was mostly local campus clubs, but there were a few community organizations like Archery for the City of Arlington. 

“We had 30 clubs participate this year,” Williams said.

Many students joined clubs and signed up for organizations. It also benefits fundraising for school activities. 

“I joined Student Council and Key Club,” junior Sharmaine Udoubak said. 

Viking Fest only happens once every school year. People who attended the event said they had a great time and can’t wait to go next school year. 

“My favorite part was talking to people and figuring out what clubs I would fit in best,” Udoubak said.