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Bands Of The Decade

Black veil brides

Started out Goth, black veil brides was the angst we needed for this decade. Started out with ‘We Stitch These Wounds’ in 2010 BVB realised 5 albums and an ep over the decade. Highlights of these albums are ‘Knives and Pens’, a classic, ‘Wake Up’, and ‘The Outsider’. This is without mentioning Andy Black blessed us with his solo career which gets an honoury mention on this list.

Imagine dragons

Pop rock band Imagine dragons gave us 4 studio albums, 6 singles and 4 live albums. ‘Evolve’ was easily the best album out of the lot. Not to be a ‘fake fan’ but theres a reasons ‘Radiotactive’ and ‘Believer’ are so popular. Sucker for pain made me a sucker for this band and lets not even mention Dan’s collab with Yungblud for the song Original Me.

5 Seconds of Summer

Although they didn’t join us till 2014 5sos came out strong with their first album also named 5 Seconds of Summer. Sounds good feels good joined us in 2015 much to our relief but the boys forced us to wait till 2018 to get Youngblood, their new album with their modern sound. Highlights include their tour with one direction, ‘If walls could talk’, ‘Amnesia’, and, of course ‘English Love Affair’.

Fall out boy

We already knew Fall out boy was here to stay after their first 2 albums in the 2000’s but they hit bacl hard with Save Rock and Roll. American Beauty/American Psycho was realsesd in 2015 and Mania in 2018. No matter their age or the trends FOB is here to remind you that your emo at heart. ‘Centuries’, ‘Uma Thurman’, and ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark’ were just three of the bangers that made us think back to the good days of Infinity on High, truly the best album of FOB.

One Direction

Despite the alternative influence of this list one direction was the band of the decade. Point. Blank. Period. To say One Direction helped shape the generations growing up in the 2010’s is an understatement. 5 Albums in 6 years. They broke 6 Guinness world records and kept breaking the charts. 28 Teen Choice Awards, 7 Brits, 7 AMAs, 6 Billboard Music Awards, 5 Billboard Touring Awards, and 4 MTV Music Video Awards among others.

Is this a surprise? Even non-1d fans were surrounded by their music and accepted it. Sure there were crazy fans and the reaction to Zayn leaving was ridiculous but 1d was the best band of the 2010’s.

To finish this list here are some 1d hits; ‘Happily’ (acoustic version), ‘Perfect’, ‘Best Song Ever’, ‘One Way or Another’, and ‘Rock Me’.

Michael Byrne #LETsTALK

“It’s okay to have a bad day. The trick is to not let a bad day turn into a bad week.”

On the 26th of November St. Aidan’s was visited by Michael Byrne a speaker on trauma and mental health. Megamind invited Michael to talk to raise awareness about mindfulness for the launch of their colouring and activity book unplugged. Michael started the #LETsTALK after founding Lived Experience Trauma Support (LETs) to help others who went through trauma like him.
He spoke to the 5th and 6th year pupils about his own story and the importance of talking. He said “It’s okay to have a bad day. The trick is to not let a bad day turn into a bad week.” He encouraged us to talk about our mental health especially now as the senior pupils are the ones who can change the stigma.
Pupils were interested in the talk and glad to see mental health being talked about. Sarah Mecredy, a S6 student said “The talk with Michael really opened my eyes and made me see a bigger picture. I thought it benefited the fifth and sixth years as this is a tough time for us and to see someone who has struggled immensely but eventually found happiness and peace was very inspiring”

Megamind Bakesale

Young enterprise gave students the opportunity to run their own business for 6 months in school. 6 senior pupils from St Aidan’s took on the challenge and are now starting their own company called Megamind. They’re developing a colouring and activity book called ‘Unplugged’ to promote mindfulness.

Before they could start, they had to pay their registration fee. On November 20th they ran a bake sale to raise the money to develop unplugged. The bake sale raised over £100. Megamind has now started to develop unplugged and is on the way to be in print before December.

Daria Orlicka, managing and sales director of Megamind, said “As part of a team we chose to raise money by doing a bake sale at school. We raised enough money to proceed with our plans, which is the making of our book unplugged. We are all excited since this is just the beginning”

Tin Tuesday

“We want to make everyone feel included at Christmas, we send them a Christmas card to wish them a merry Christmas”

The RE department in St. Aidan’s have started it create Christmas parcels for local parishes filled with tins, sweets, and essentials. Pupils have also been donating money. With the help of all the WPS classes, Caritas pupils, and the school as a whole they aim to send 100 parcels to local community.
Mrs Hynes said “We need to remind ourselves Christmas is about receiving presents but also about giving. The parcel give everyone the opportunity to give something. We’ve had some people bring in bags of shopping.”
Caritas student Hollie Conlin said “We want to make everyone feel included at Christmas, we send them a Christmas card to wish them a merry Christmas” This thought is shared throughout the school and the students are getting ready to deliver the parcel.

Book Series Review- The Raven Cycle- Maggie Stiefvater

When I first bought this book it was really just to tick boxes for a deal considering the synopsis doesn’t exactly sell it to me ( I’ll let you check that out in your own time its too long to paste in here).

I read it on a camping trip and was hooked from day one, I’ll tell you why.

Maggie Stiefvater has a wonderful way of using character development, so much so that you can easily fall in love with every character and relationship. These books in particular make you want to find a really close mismatched group of friends and go a walk in a ~magical~ forest to discover dead welsh kings , go a drive late at night in a bright orange 63′ Camaro, street racing, visit large stately homes or go travelling for a year.

Basically the way this friendship group -Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah- evolves over the next four books is what kept me obsessed with this series.

One character in particular is my favourite to read about. Ronan Lynch, the rebellious teen who inherited a lot of money off his dad when he was brutally murdered for essentially selling magical objects on the black market. Ronan hates school and only turns up to see his friends once in a while, other than that he spends most of his time harnessing his dreamer powers at his family estate or mulling over the fact that he is in love with his best friend- Adam Parrish. He shows these emotions by rescuing Adam from his abusive dad, paying his rent etc.

The second book in the series- Dream Thieves- focuses quite heavily on these aspects of Ronan and how he copes with his traumatic childhood and poor relationship with his brother. We shortly meet Ronans enemy- Kavinsky- in this book, as in the end- after an explosive ‘battle’- he dies. We see a weird relationship form as the boys bond over their love for street racing and their shared ability to create objects in their dreams. Kavinsky is an angsty, confused teen who has had a similarly bad childhood and also faces some feelings towards Ronan which he squashes in a cruel way in order to not lose his ‘status’.

The third book- Blue Lily’ Lily Blue- is my least favourite. It’s relatively slow and the characters spend most of the time in caves looking for the dead welsh king and Blue’s lost mother. What I do like about this book is that we find out more about Gansey’s anxiety and how it affects him. He takes a panic attack at school and ends up finding comfort in his new friend Henry Cheng who teaches him how to deal with his anxiety and face his fears. The team also make a massive discovery about Gansey towards the end of the book but I wont spoil it too much. This book also develops one of the main relationship in the series (Gansey and Blue).

The final book-Raven king- is a satisfying end to the series however only in the last few chapters does it get exciting. The book follows the ‘unmaker’ the villain of the series which only appears in physical form in this book. The villain poses a threat to Ronan’s dreaming abilities and also the magical forest. It plans to completely wipe out all of society and start afresh, itself as the overlord. I’d be completely spoiling the whole plot and sub-plot if I told you what happened in these last few chapters, so i’m just going to hope I managed to sell this series to you and you decide to give it a chance and not judge a book by its blurb.

P.S- if you like Ronan’s story the most then Maggie has just recently released the first of the three books in the Dreamer trilogy- a series centred purely around Ronan. The book is called ‘ Call down The Hawk’

Another Month, More Music

It’s November, therefore no Christmas songs from me yet- well except the tunes forced into my brain through band-. This past month I’ve become addicted to ABBA, Queens Of The Stone Age and early 2000’s hits. Quite varied I’d say.

I Can Talk- Two Door Cinema Club. An oldie but a goodie, after seeing them in concert at the beginning of October (which was excellent might I add). TDCC is just one of those bands where you can easily dance to any of their songs and this one certainly fits that criteria. I Can Talk
American Boy- Estelle and Kanye West. I’m pretty sure every Gen Z and Millennial can agree with me. This.Is.A.Bop. I think I know all the words and that’s perhaps one of my proudest achievements. American Boy
Falling For U-Peachy! and mxmtoon. Tik Tok is addictive and also sometimes a good way to find new songs. Such as this one. A bit of a change up this is a slow chilled out song. Falling For U
Does your Mother Know- ABBA. Dancing Queen is the theme of St. Aidan’s Sixth year but this one is probably my favourite ABBA song of all time. Does Your Mother Know
No One Knows- Queens of the Stone Age. I first discovered this song playing Band Hero on my DS Lite about 8 years ago and have only now grown to appreciate it in my teenage years. Give it a listen if you haven’t heard it before and prefer a bit more rock. No One Knows

BONUS SONG!!!

It Gets Better-Rex Orange County. Out of all the songs on his new album-Pony- this one (or Pluto Projector) has got to be my fave. Probably one of the more upbeat tunes on the album but I highly recommend any of his songs. I’m soo excited to go see him in concert next week! It Gets Better

Halloween Disco

On Wednesday, our fifth and sixth year pupils attended a Halloween Disco to raise money for our Victoria Park Christmas party . The pupils got to dress up, come along and have fun with their friends. The event was organised by our own sixth year Victoria Park Committee.

Connie McMahon, chairperson of the Victoria Park committee commented “I think the night was very successful! Myself along with the other chair people- Niamh Jamieson and Matthew Mooney- and all of the committee have been preparing for this event for around a month now. It was so nice to see both fifth and sixth year contribute to a night for a really good cause. Also, a big thank you to Domino’s for generously donating pizza on the night.”

At the end, prizes were given out to the best costumes of the night. Christopher Corr won the prize for best costume, while Rebecca Mackie and Samantha Reynolds won the best group prize for dressing up as Bob Ross and one of his paintings.

Sixth year pupil support teacher, Miss O’Neill, commented, “The committee who organised this event were exceptional and are a credit to themselves and the school. We raise well over £430 and I know that this will be used for organising gifts for the young people at Victoria Park. I’d also like to thank the JMAC team for organising a photo booth.”

Credit to -,Jack McClung and Eilidh Kinsman

Edited by- Daphne Miller

Photos credited to-Daphne Miller and Sophie Farrell

Top 5 Best Things About Halloween

October is here and spooky month is upon us!! And that means Halloween, truly one of the best holidays. And here only the top 5 best things about Halloween though there are many.

Decorations

Let’s be real, when a house puts out a single bowl of sweets with a sign saying ‘take one’ disappointment doesn’t begin to describe that house. Pumpkins litter people’s doorsteps with carvings from the classic pumpkin face, to witches hats, to intricate designs, to pumpkins throwing up their guts. Get creative.

And then there’s the inside. Houses begin to put up fake cobwebs, hanging ghosts, and skeletons. A parties cool and all but a Halloween party with skeletons, frozen hands as ice, hanging ghosts, and fake dead body outlines are the best.

Trick or treating

Okay maybe it’s a ‘kid thing’ but it’s also amazing. Dressing up, going up to strangers houses, asking for sweets and getting them! For free! As someone who grew up with 2 brother’s close in age we were set for weeks. Imagine a pile of sweets, nuts, fake tattoos, and even sometimes a juice spread across your living room. For free! Some people even home baked treats for the trick or treaters.

And there’s the jokes. Oh the jokes. Although I’m ‘too old’ to trick or treat answering the door and hearing the jokes is spooktacular. Who doesn’t love a dumb Halloween pun? And sometimes they get creative with their jokes

If this spooky season you’re too old to go trick or treating find a brother or sister or even a cousin to take round! It’s worth it. It’s one of the perks of having a two year old brother.

Pets in costumes

This had to be its own category. Pets can be cute. Cats, dogs, even snakes can all have there moments. But on Halloween?

What better thing is there than when you answer the door on Halloween and it isn’t a bratty kid but a bratty kid and a dog? And that dog is a pumpkin! I don’t even need to say anything else.

The aesthetic

Halloween is an aesthetic. Fall colours, Halloween parties, spooky movies. Plus since its autumn you have the bonus of fall. You can watch scary movies with a blanket and hot chocolate since its October and who cares?

Recently October has become its own aesthetic. Orange, pumpkin spice, Halloween makeup. Instagram floods with ‘scary’ makeup. Carving pumpkins is becoming a trend. Every country has its own little extra like Americas candy corns just to make it even better. The Halloween aesthetic is own of the best.

Costumes

Best for last, am I right? Pet costumes aside it’s the human costumes that are the best. You can do your own thing, a family costume, a couple costume, a group costume, or even where a shirt saying ‘this is my costume’, though that is a let-down let’s be honest.

And costumes cater for all types. Minimal effort people draw six lines on their face and call themselves a cat and spooktacular people bust out the latex and fake blood and look like they got lost on their way to the hospital. Costumes aren’t even just scary any more. Punny costumes, political costumes, cute costumes, and much more. Some people are using body paint to morph themselves into something not even human.

Who doesn’t want to be someone else for a day? Okay maybe not completely but still. Halloween gives you that (kind of). You can at least dress like whoever you want and act like them with little to no judgement.

So get your costume, get your trick or treat bags ready. It’s Halloween this Thursday and the Victoria Park Halloween party is tonight, it’s not a drill. Its spooky time

2019 Auschwitz Visit

On the 3rd of October, two S6 students went on a reflective visit to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in the South of Poland. Joined by approximately 200 other visitors from Scotland, S6 R.E Vice Captains Carla Foley and Kate Hughes, had an emotional experience as they visited one of the most important sites of European history.

“I feel like dissociated would be the best way to describe how i felt, I just couldn’t comprehend this was where I was” explained Kate. She said she didn’t realise herself that this was where everything happened until she saw a ‘work makes you free’ sign while walking around. Kate also mentioned the tragic side of how the holocaust had a big impact on religion for Polish Jews as many synagogues were destroyed but never rebuilt. Oświęcim, the town near where Auschwitz is located, had a 50% Jewish population.

Kate and the community near Auschwitz urges people to talk about the severity of the genocide that occurred and to find some stories from individual survivors as it is “easier to connect to one person than 6 million.”

World Mental Health Awareness Day

The 10th of October is world mental health awareness day. Although mental health is a daily issue world mental health awareness day was designed to empower people to talk about it. This year’s theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is suicide prevention.

In 2018 there were 6,859 across the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the deaths by suicide rose 11.8% in 2018. It’s not a ‘female’ issue. Men are 3 times as likely to die by suicide in the UK and 4 times as likely in the republic of Ireland. In Scotland, the suicide rate of young people between 15-24 has increased by 52.7%, the highest since 2007.

Don’t become another statistic.

It’s not a foreign issue; it isn’t just some old guy in a newspaper, it isn’t just a friend’s cousin’s girlfriend or just a celebrity with the world at their fingertips. It’s us. It might be you, your neighbour, friend, teacher, family. But why do we still treat it like it is? Why don’t we talk about it?

It’s a question I can’t answer for you. We need to change the question, not the answer, to why don’t we talk about it? When a disease sweeps across the nation, killing thousands, we look for a cure. There isn’t a pill you can take or some exercise you can do but what you can do is support people.

We can’t cure people by telling them to just smile or fake it till you make it but we can listen. Talking about it is step one. Another step maybe some form of therapy or maybe even medication and that’s good too. But talking is the most important.

Telling people how you feel, listening when they tell you, is essential. Whether it’s a friend, family member, teacher, or a professional someone out there wants to help you. Even if you think “I’m not that bad” or “there’s worse” talk! There’s no shame in what you may feel.

1 in 10 aged 5 to 16 are affected by a mental health problem but 70% of young people with mental health problems don’t receive the appropriate support. Unfortunately, this means if you or a friend need help you may need to fight for it.

I won’t lie and say it’s a walk through a flower field for recovery. There are weeds and litter and you might get stuck in the mud along the way but you keep walking. Talk to a parent or a teacher (or if you’re old enough go to your GP on your own) and you can ask for help. They’ll be able to refer you to someone who can help.

Or call one of the numbers listed below:

Anxiety UK Phone: 08444 775 774 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm) Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk

No Panic Phone: 0844 967 4848 (daily, 10am-10pm) Website: www.nopanic.org.uk

OCD UK Phone: 0845 120 3778 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) Website: www.ocduk.org

Samaritans Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline) Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

Young Minds Phone: Parents’ helpline 0808 802 5544 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm) Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

You may see teachers wearing yellow for world mental health awareness day on the 10th. This is to help reduce the stigma.

Never give in. you never know what will happen tomorrow. It might take a while to get better but that doesn’t mean it won’t.