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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