‘X-Men’ Premeire Shows Off Arizona’s Star Power!
A sea of people lined the barricades that evening. Some fans had waited outside of the theater since 3 a.m. just to catch a glimpse of Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and other cast members as they strolled down the red carpet. Before the celebrities arrived, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Harkins owner Dan Harkins welcomed fans. A group of ASU cheerleaders and the Mountain Point High School band performed a few numbers for the crowd. JohnJay and Rich from KRQ 94.7 played music and kept the audience entertained with random contests while everyone waited for the stars to arrive. 
The polar bears are a favorite because of the curiosity of the baby bears. The size of the elephants is surprising. They seem huge—even bigger than what I’ve normally seen in zoos!
On Saturday afternoons this summer, the Fox Theatre will be showing special movies for kids and families that originally aired as part of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1930s. I had a chance to see some of these classic films,
which are called “serials” and were originally shown on Saturday mornings. A serial
is a movie that is broken into
15-minute parts that were shown each week.
Although I didn’t have the guts to ride the Mega Drop, the giant Ferris wheel or anything else more than about 20 feet tall, I still had a load of fun! I even got to be part of the entertainment this year. My band, Deceptively Innocent, played its second concert ever at the fair on April 24. How could we not have some fun, too? 
This is one of the funniest films of the year thus far! It stars Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Arnett, Hugh Laurie and Rainn Wilson. Stephen Colbert and Amy Pohler have cameos!
Kredible’s first show was at the Brotherhood of Magicians in Norfolk, Va. He won the competition! The largest place he has performed had a crowd of 2,500 people. His favorite place to perform is Tucson’s Gaslight Theatre because his grandparents live here. They love his show and enjoy watching it.
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‘X-Men’ Premeire Shows Off Arizona’s Star Power!
by Reporter Nina PatelNew Vistas Academy
Move over Hollywood—make room for Tempe! The city hosted the world premiere of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The energy at the Tempe Marketplace on April 27, was electric.
The movie’s producer, Hugh Jackman, who also stars as Wolverine, expressed his enthusiasm about hosting this huge event in Tempe. Back in March, Jackman conducted an online voting contest to determine which U.S. city would earn the right to premiere the movie. Tempe beat out dozens of other cities!
A sea of people lined the barricades that evening. Some fans had waited outside of the theater since 3 a.m. just to catch a glimpse of Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and other cast members as they strolled down the red carpet. Before the celebrities arrived, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Harkins owner Dan Harkins welcomed fans. A group of ASU cheerleaders and the Mountain Point High School band performed a few numbers for the crowd. JohnJay and Rich from KRQ 94.7 played music and kept the audience entertained with random contests while everyone waited for the stars to arrive.
The public screamed and cheered when Jackman made a dramatic entrance on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. This was his first visit to the Valley, but he says it won’t be his last!
“I love this place! I’m moving here. It’s awesome!” he says. “These are the real fans. These are the ones we do the movie for.”
There would be no Wolverine without fans like this, he adds. “Some of these fans slept out for two nights to be here. I need to at least buy them a cup of coffee.”
Hallman proclaimed April 27 as “X-Men Day.” He also poked fun at the city’s parking problem and presented Jackman with a “Wolverine Parking Only” sign to be used anytime the cast needed to park.
Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Lynn Collins (Kayla), Will.i.am (Wraith) and Taylor Kitsch (Gambit) also walked the red carpet. Reynolds commends letting the public decide where the movie should be premiered. “I think this is how they should do it from now on,” he says. “L.A. has had their fair share of Hollywood premieres. And so has New York.”
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” opened nationwide on May 1. But Tempe
“X-ceeded X-pections” that evening when it turned on the lights, camera and action. Many hope the premiere’s success will have the entertainment industry taking a closer look at Arizona for showcasing new movies in the future. The theme of the evening was superpowers, but Tempe proved that when it comes to hosting a premiere it certainly has star power!
‘Earth’ Moves
By Reporter Chantal NavratilRancho Solano Private Schools Greenway Campus
“Earth, ”which opened on Earth Day, is beautifully shot and shares lots of interesting facts about nature and the world we live in. It includes a touching bit on how the Earth is changing without going into any detail.
The movie tells the story of a year in the life of three animal families—polar bears, elephants and whales.
Their stories are very well described and we learn a lot about the animals. Also there are some very funny scenes involving birds. There is one bird they describe as a “magician,” which is hilarious.
This movie does show the facts of life. Animals are killed by each other (though nothing graphic is shown) and animals die of natural causes. If you have a child who is particularly sensitive to that, you'll want to skip “Earth” for now.
‘Up’ Rises Above
by Reporter Ri'Ann Holmes,Homeschool
I'm sure by now you have seen the trailers for Disney Pixar’s newest film “Up,” which comes to theaters May 29. I met the director, Pete Docter, and its producer, Jonas Rivera. 
Rivera says his inspiration came from his love of watching Disney’s animated productions as a child. Docter recalls sketching in flipbooks at a very young age. When he realized
animation was made up of a series of drawings, he started making his own films.
Work on “Up,” the story of an old man who attaches thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to South America, began in 2004. The animation alone took 13 months to finish.
The late Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau were the inspirations for the lead character in the movie: Carl Federicksen. “They just seem like the iconic grandpa character,” Rivera says. Actor Edward Asner was cast as the voice of Carl Federicksen because, Docter says, Asner’s voice fit perfectly in the character’s personality.
Ren Fest—Not ‘Joust’ for Royalty!
by Reporter Caitlin Chavez,North Ranch Elementary
Have you ever imagined going back in time to the 1500s? Well, the Renaissance Festival near Surprise, Ariz., makes you feel like you did! It’s an amazing fair that takes you to the time of knights, dragons, queens and kings. 
I went on March 2. When we first got there, we went into the Costume Shoppe. We picked out some awesome costumes! Then we met up with the ‘Duchess of Diddle.’ She met with us at the royal pavilion and led us through the festival to the joust arena!
I got a joust in my honor, and the queen announced my name over the intercom to more than 500 people! At a joust, two knights on horseback try to knock each other to the ground while riding towards each other at full speed! There were many obstacles and acts!
After the joust, we browsed through the “shoppes.” I got a handcrafted dragon named Aqua! We got some turkey legs and listened to some wonderful music! I also got a peacock feather! I use it as a decoration in my room to commemorate that great day!
There were also shows every hour that had breathtaking stunts, like jesters juggling sticks of fire, magic tricks and a lot of mud shows! In one part of the fair, I saw a joker standing and balancing on a ball! There were also some fun activities and games, like Tomato Justice where you try to throw tomatoes at a person who insulted you. And there’s a game where you throw darts at balloons to try to make them pop. Those two were my favorite!
Going to the Renaissance Festival is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life! I hope to go next year and the next and the next!
Final “Battle” Tests Book Smarts
by Brandon Finley,Monte Vista School
Battle of the Books is a competition in which students from different schools compete against each other, answering questions from books. All the schools in the Creighton School District competed. The junior battle had mostly third- and fourth-graders—but some schools included fifth-graders.
The mid-year battle was held at Creighton School in January. Each school had two teams of six students. At the end of the year battle in May, one six-person team will represent each school.
For the mid-year battle, each contestant had to read six books. For the end of the year battle, students have to read six more books.
Super Ways to Have Summer Fun
by Reporter Danielle Carloni,Edu-Prize School
Don’t want to have a lazy summer? Have some fun doing summer activities.
There are plenty of pools that offer cheap fun. Try the Mesquite Jr. High pool, the Gilbert Jr. High pool and many others. Bike rides—long or short—are fun and get you outdoors. And sports are very fun, whether you play down at the park or for a recreational team. Hikes are a nice summer activity. You can hike down the Grand Canyon or up a small mountain. Just be sure to carry lots of water and to choose a day that is not extremely hot.
There are also many things for you to do inside. You can do puzzles or try board games. There are many different varieties, like mystery, comedy, trivia and human interests. You could color and enter your artwork in a contest, or maybe send a pretty picture to your grandma that she will be sure to love.
Local libraries have fun activities for kids of all ages. And you learn a lot. You can also go down to the local bookstore and pick some books that interest you. Be sure to pick a book that you would like. If you think writing is fun, why not keep a journal as a summer activity?
Tempe Preparatory Academy
Earth to people: school’s out, scream and shout! But what do we kids do while parents are working? We certainly cannot sit around all day.
You could hang out with your friends and family, go on family trips, and hit some cool summer spots like summer camps or, best of all, the pool. No matter what you choose, do it with a friend.
Most people believe a gym means working, which it does, but in a creative way. You can rock climb, swim, drink smoothies, actually work out, meet people or even get a spa treatment. My favorite part is going to the pool. Water slides are the BEST!
Maybe you just want to hang with your friends and family. You could go to some cool water parks. Or you might want to hit some camps for a couple of weeks. This would be your chance to get away—with no family. It is your chance to have some alone time. You can do a lot of thinking!
So get going and do something this summer. Make this summer the best you can, because once you get older, let’s just say people in the working world do not remember what fun summer is.
Teacher Made Kindergarten Special
by Reporter Marcos Jauregui,Glenn F. Burton Elementary
Joseph Bedard has been a teacher at Glenn F. Burton for 28 years. He has worked for two schools. He’s a kindergarten teacher, and I will tell you his story from my point of view.
It has been six years since I met Bedard. He has two kids. He is a fantastic dad, but more fantastic is that he was my teacher. He showed me how to do my ABCs and how to count to 100. That’s like all the teachers in kindergarten, but his secret is he makes his work so fun that you will never forget what he teachers you!
I remember learning the letter “a” using a very exciting picture of an apple—and getting a nice smile from my teacher. We would get numbers that had eyes drawn on them if we got them right, and we looked at a grand calendar on which Monday had a great sun so that we started our week happy.
Bedard always wore wigs. He did this to make it fun for us so we would not miss school. He is always there. He is always available to help us. I remember when he helped me tie my shoes. And when I did not have a pencil in my hand, he let me borrow one of his. Also, he was my superhero when he protected me from other kids. Now I am almost his size. Someday, I will be taller than him, but he will always be the hero who protected me.
Above all this, Bedard is a foster parent. The doors to his house and classroom are always open so you can meet him.
Artist Teaches Kids to Care for Earth
by Reporter Petra Jauregui,Glenn F.Burton
Lisa Michelle Jacobs is the art teacher at Glenn F. Burton. She has been teaching for seven years, showing kids how to make art and help the planet!
Jacobs, who studied at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, is unlike some art teachers because she reuses things others don’t want to make wonderful art! She recycles paper, cardboard and just about anything else. She says that if we help the Earth, the planet will last longer. She says that as kids, it is our responsibility to teach our parents to recycle.
Jacobs sets a good example. We should take care of the Earth, for it’s the only planet we have.
