Debate team finishes up season p. 7 Transfer students transition to new lifestyle p. 8
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CORRALC Parkway Central High School 369 N. Woods Mill Road Chesterfield, MO 63017 314-415-7978 Volume 58, Issue 5, Apr. 4, 2014
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A look into the cost of sports p. 12
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CONTENTSC APR. 4, 2014
7 Parkway to usher in more
technology in coming year
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Once we work really hard on a song, it’s easy to get it stuck in your head and want to play it again. - Cole Edelstein (10)
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page 8
Drunk Driving Simulation 4
9 New buses follow trend of
sustainability
10 Getting to know essential
staff members
15 Teachers recount April Fool’s
pranks from years past
21 Review of The Cup
Corrections In a February article about competitive weightlifter Richard Beemer, the article misspelled Beemer’s name. In the February article about National Signing Day, a mistake was made; Brady Feigl never had Tommy John surgery. We apologize for the errors. HE
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Contents
Apr. 4, 2014
Tennis aims for State 23
Activities director promoted to district level
Matthew Bernstein Online Editor
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he district promoted Athletic Director Mr. Mike Roth to district director of athletics and activities. Effective July 1, Roth steps in for current district AD Mr. Mike Gohn, who announced his retirement. “Words cannot express the amount of gratitude that I owe to so many people in the Parkway Central community that have assisted me throughout the years,” Roth said in an email to staff members. “A special thanks to all of the coaches, sponsors, gate workers, scorekeepers, custodians, administrators and support staff for making the past five
Roth talks with Mr. Aaron Mueller before school on March 13 after announcing his promotion to the coach staff. Roth will take over as director of athletics and activities effective July 1. Photo by Meaghan Flynn.
years as the athletic director at Parkway Central so fulfilling and rewarding. ” In the email, Roth reflected on the past five years, giving credit to former principal, Mr. Tim Gannon, as well as current principal Mr. Tim McCarthy for their support. Roth said that the best part of the school is the great students, teachers and staff. ”That will be a big difference for me because I’ve been around Parkway schools for 23 years, and the students will absolutely be the part that I miss the most,” Roth said. “I’ll be in a different building, and it’ll be a big change for me. As crazy as it was out in the lunchroom, I love being around the kids and being at all of the games.” Football coach Mr. Mark Goldenberg remembers Roth as his right-hand man and offensive coordinator in his first year as head coach. “He’s smart, well-organized and a hard worker. He’ll know what the task is, and he’ll just put his head down and work until he gets it done,” Goldenberg said. “I was happy for him and his family and a little sad for us at Parkway Central because he does a great job. It’s a win for Parkway and a loss for Central.” In moving on to a higher position, Roth’s job will be focused on all four high school athletic programs and the middle school intramurals program. “The district athletic director primarily supports all four high schools, where now I only support one high school’s athletics,” Roth said. “The biggest difference is building four schedules and working with many more coaches.” Roth added that he wants to build off of the good relationships that Gohn established as district activities director. “He has been around the district for a long time, and I think that one of his greatest attributes simply is just working with people,” Roth said. “He has a great rapport with coaches, people on staff -- even the custodians and gate workers. I hope to continue that as well.” According to Deputy Superintendent Mr. Desi Kirch-
hofer, a member of the 14-member interview panel, Roth exhibits the qualities necessary to fill Gohn’s shoes. “We needed someone with a tremendous work ethic, great leadership skills and a person of strong charSchool athletic director Mr. Mike Roth acter,” Kirchleads signing day on Feb. 6. Photo by hofer said. “Mike Roth Jeffrey Eidelman. exhibits all of those qualities. He has an exceptional reputation and terrific experience as a teacher and a coach.” Kirchhofer said that he anticipates Roth’s success at the district level. “What I look forward to the most in working with Mike Roth is watching Parkway’s programs continue to grow and thrive under his leadership,” Kirchhofer said. “I believe he will be able to provide great development and training opportunities for Parkway coaches and sponsors as well as instill leadership qualities in our student athletes.” When Roth starts his new job he will be only the fourth district athletic director since 1954. “I think initially change is difficult, especially for me because I feel so comfortable here,” Roth said. “I’m comfortable with the people I’m working with, and I understand my job and the nuances of it. I’m very honored and privileged with my new position though.” Reporting by Nathan Kolker
Parkway Cash for Cancer raises record funds
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ontemplating the best way to increase student participation in raising money for Friends of Kids with Cancer, students throughout the district formulated plans for the inaugural Parkway Cash for Cancer week. “Our goal was to earn the most money for Friends of Kids of Cancer,” senior Project Help member and district representative Jeanha Choi said. “We really wanted to have fun with it and gain a lot of student interaction. This was our first time, so we are adjusting it to make sure there was a foundation set for next year.” With members of Project Help attending the district meeting at Parkway West, students decided that all donations during the week March 3 through 7 would be donated to Friends of Kids With Cancer. “We wanted everyone in Parkway to get involved in the program,” senior ProjectHelp member and district representative Susanna Lei said. “The money is all going to be donated to a really good cause, and we hoped that would encourage involvement for all of the students.” Along with Lei, Choi was also in charge of helping with the planning aspect. At the beginning, she took on the responsibility of creating greater student involvement in raising funds. “I thought it was a really good opportunity for all of the schools to participate in one event,” Choi said. “I thought it would get a lot of attention and was a great way to get a lot of people involved.” According to Ms. Laura Lukowski, English teacher and ProjectHelp sponsor, the leaders were looking for ways to raise donations from previous years. “When we started thinking about the idea, our goal was to make it clear that we wanted the main focus to be on Friends of Kids With Cancer,” Lukowski said. “We really just wanted to raise more money than before.” In order to meet this goal, the leaders created new ways for students to get excited about fundraising. According to Choi, one of the most memorable events was the raffle to “pie a teacher.”
“My favorite part was seeing how excited people were to participate,” Choi said. “It was pretty cool how excited they were to both give money to the cause and have the opportunity to ‘pie a teacher.’” Following years of events such as Hats On Day, a connection with Friends of Kids With Cancer has been long established. This year the school donated $745.80 to the organization. “Parkway Central is always so generous when it comes to giving,” Lukowski said. “We thought that this interaction with the other schools would only enhance the amount of donations.” Ultimately, the district will hand over a check for $2,491.20 to Friends of Kids with Cancer. According to Lei, the week was an eye-opening opportunity and an example of students making a difference in the world. “At first, I just did it because of Biology teacher Mr. Adam Bergeron recovers ProjectHelp, but then I really started from receiving a pie to the face during third to think about it more,” Lei said. “I lunch on Mar. 11. Photo by Lillie Wasserman. thought about those little kids that have cancer and can’t do anything about it. The idea that we can really make a difference in their life is really 3 heart-warming.”
News
Apr. 4, 2013
CORRALC HE
Jason Sobelman Editor in Chief
Drunk driving simulation aims to raise student awareness
Matt Stern Staff Writer
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n an effort to help spread awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, the Safe and Drug Free program hosted a simulated drunk driving accident on Friday, March 7. “We want students to understand that they are not invincible and things like this can happen to anybody,” senior and SADF board member Jennifer Rubin said. “Drinking by itself is very dangerous for teenagers, and when you mix that in with teenagers being new drivers, then the situation becomes deadly.” The crash scene featured actors from the drama department along with other volunteers. Sophomore Nely Peshlova, who played a passenger in the car hit by the drunk driver, said that the intensity of the scene overcame the role of acting. “I got really lost in my part,” Peshlova said. “I just remember after I got out of the car and spit out my blood, I just started crying -- actually crying.” After the initial crash scene, emergency crews came in to the simulation by realistically arriving at the scene. Firefighter Shawn Karl, one of the first responders arriving at the scene, wanted students who attended the simulation to take away a positive message. “Hopefully we made it realistic enough for them to realize the dangers of drinking and driving or just maintaining control of your vehicle at all times,” Karl said. “We hope the students take a minute and look at everything and say, ‘If it just changes one kid from not doing that, then it was worth it.” Many students took time out of their academic lab period to come watch the simulation, but Karl says the ones who didn’t come were impacted the most. “You don’t get an opportunity to see this happen all the time,” Karl said. “Seeing is believing. It’s a lot better to be here and be able to see everything. Anybody that was here is going to take away more than someone having their friends tell them about it.” SADF started planning for this event in December, and preparation led all the way up until the last public service member left at the end of the simulation. Senior and SADF board member Peyton Mogley said the community involvement helped convey the group’s message. “This is an obvious issue, and the service members taking time out of their day to come helped show everyone that bad stuff like this happens,” Mogley said. “It kind of restores my faith in humanity that people get together and want to help.” HE
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April 4, 2014
Sophomore Michael Rembold plays a dead accident victim as firefighters arrive at the crash scene during a drunk driving simulation on March 7. Photo by Meaghan Flynn. Students and faculty watch and film the drunk driving simulation on the parking lot. Photos by Matt Stern. Senior Tim Whyman and sophomore Nely Peshlova react to the devastation as they perform in the drunk driving simulation.
Check out PCHtv’s footage of the simulation at parkwaynews.net/corral!
Rodents detected in classrooms Joe Goldberg Staff Writer
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umans may not be the only mammals attracted to the lunch room during the winter months. Recently, teachers have found evidence of new attendees at school: rodents. Math teacher Mrs. Melissa Hoormann and her student teacher Ms. Katie Sauer recently had a rodent leave a mess in their room. “We keep a drawer full of snacks in our desk and one day we were teaching just as usual when I went to get a snack,” Sauer said. “I found my bag of almonds and another bag of trail mix chewed through and spilled everywhere. There was ripped open sugar packets spilled throughout the drawer as well.” The administration acted on the report and other math teachers had a few ideas to solve the problem. “I reported it and then the administration sent help to vacuum up the rodent poop for me,” Hoormann explained. “[Math teacher] Mr. John Theobald offered to set a mousetrap, but I declined because I did not want a dead rodent in my class. The thought of that grossed me out.” Hoormann and Sauer said they both try not to keep food in the desk. When they do leave food, they keep it in a metal tin. The educators thought the rodent created a class disruption as well. “It caused a bit of a disruption,” Sauer said. “We found the mess during class and obviously had a bit of a response. It didn’t stay as quiet as it probably should have. We definitely lost a few minutes when we had people freaking out that there was a rodent wandering through class.” Business teacher Mrs. Kim Carr has also experienced a rodent visit this school year. “A little rodent got caught in a sticky trap in my storage closet,” Carr said. “It didn’t smell yet, I just had happened to notice the flipped over trap.”
Carr elaborated that there have been rodent problems in the business classrooms in the past. “We’ve found rodents in our desk and really all over the place,” Carr explained. “It’s an ongoing problem. Really, it’s an unsolvable problem because people eat and therefore there are crumbs. We’ve even seen rodents run across the floor during class before.” Sophomore Connor Lovera was in Hoormann’s room when they noticed the mess. Lovera said he found the situation funny because the teachers reacted by screaming which created a comical distraction. However, he feels the situation should be taken care of. “I would want the rodent situation taken care of appropriately because that’s really nasty if we have them running around school,” Lovera said.
“Schaefer, Wilson, Meyer and I were going through a gym closet taking inventory [of volleyball equipment] and Schaefer said, ‘Hey Hoormann and Meyer, take this bin and go through it.’ He knew that there was a mouse in there and Meyer opened it up and screamed. There were a bunch of cute field mice, and we set them free.” - Mrs. Melissa Hoormann
Illustration by senior Emily Walters.
Kate McNeal Assistant Features Editor
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ecently completing a series of qualifying tournaments, the speech and debate team will finish their season with seven state and five national tournament qualifiers. “The last semester has been extremely solid,” Speech and Debate Coach Mr. Rob Proffitt said. “I knew we had the talent to be in the mix.” The team placed among the top three teams at the Marquette, Jefferson City, and the National Forensics League tournaments. They participated in four tournaments this semester. To be among the top three, the team must have more combined points overall than other teams. Being in the top three earns the team a sweepstakes trophy. “For MSHSAA districts, the state qualifiers, they don’t give any sweepstakes,” Proffitt said. “My guess is we would have been one or two there.” In speech and debate, one can choose an individual event or a partner style event, both of which can score points. Overall team success stems from individual success, and multiple members of the team have been able to contribute during the last few tournaments. “I do Public Forum which is a two person debate, and we get a new topic every month,” senior Kate Hogan said. “My partner (senior Rakshya Devkota) and I have won two tournaments at the champ division.” Hogan was one of the seven state qualifiers, along with senior Michael Wang, who will be competing at both the state and national tournaments. “The first tournament I went 3-1 and didn’t place, but the next three tournaments I placed so this year has gone pretty well,” Wang said. “I have high hopes for state, but nationals I’m not too sure.” To prepare for tournaments, Proffitt holds practice everyday after school, with one practice a week designated for practicing speech events. A different kind of debate is designated as the focus for every other practice. Members attend on the days that are dedicated to the kinds of speech and debate they are doing, and when there is an upcoming competition, the number of practices increases. Teammates also help each other prepare before competitions. “The week leading up to a tournament we’ll do practice rounds and just debate our own team to work out holes in cases and figure out what we still need to work on,” Hogan said. Along with the team coming together to prepare, some get ready individually as well. “I think about how I would respond to my own case and how I would respond to my attacks,” Wang said. Proffitt has also discovered a new technique this year to assist his coaching and to
benefit members during practice. “We use a camera a lot to record what we’re doing,” Proffitt said. “I could be in one spot but then have the video camera in a couple of spots and I could play it back and see how things were going.” According to Proffitt, coaching all three styles of debate and eight kinds of speech can be difficult, but a key strategy is going back to the basics. “I believe that if you do the fundamental things in debate better than everybody else then you always give yourself a chance to win,” Proffitt said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re debating.” The last two tournaments that participants didn’t have to qualify for were the MSHSAA districts and the National Forensics League, or NFL, districts. Participants had the chance to qualify for state during the MSHSAA districts and nationals during the NFL districts. Wang said that the atmosphere is different at qualifying tournaments compared to a tournament during the regular season. “People are a lot more serious and the pressure’s a lot higher,” Wang said. “When I went home (after a tournament), I didn’t know if I had lost my last round and I couldn’t fall asleep.” Although events are either individual or with just one other person, members of the team say that the support their teammates offer helps them to be successful individually, especially at qualifying tournaments. “We really identify ourselves as a team because it’s really stressful,” DeMunbrun said. “That’s also where the team aspect comes out and everyone’s there for each other.” Members of the team find that the “team aspect” is beneficial to their debating along with making the overall experience more enjoyable. “You have to have a reason to go to tournaments other than winning some shiny piece of plastic,” DeMunbrun said. Other debaters, along with their coach, mentioned the close-knit team chemistry. “The winning is nice but the relationships are certainly the best part (of coaching),” Proffitt said. Looking past this season’s state and national tournaments towards next year, Proffitt is confident despite the team losing seven seniors. “We always manage to be competitive,” Proffitt said. “Hopefully at the end of the day we’ll qualify for state and qualify for nationals. That’s always the ultimate goal.”
the great debate Speech and Forensics closes qualifying season
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News
Apr. 4, 2014
Parkway institutes new devices and Google program for 2014-15 Matt Frischer News Editor
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20 Million+ Web Requests Per Day
600+ Wireless Access Points
8,000+ Personal Devices
geted for new devices
1
SMART Board in every room
100+ Servers
13,000+
$250 Thousand bud-
Laptops/Desktops
nstituting new technology devices across the district, Parkway looks to become more technologically advanced with the beginning of the 2014-15 school year. The technology refresh includes device and software updates. The Technology and Innovation Department has a $250,000 budget from Parkway for new products for the entire district over the next two years. The change has been in the making for over two years. “Parkway is going to be instituting Google Apps for Education next year,” Librarian Mrs. Brigid Dolan said. “We’re also refreshing the student computers.” Google Apps for Education include many different applications. Some are used by students now, while others are geared to specific curriculums. “We promise every student and teacher will have a Parkway managed access to Google Drive, which includes Google Docs, Slides, Presentation, and Sheets (Google’s Spreadsheet program),” Parkway Director of Technology and Innovation Jason Rooks said. According to Dolan, the leap to Google encourages a wider range of classroom interaction. “There’s many cool educational apps out there on tablets, and I think this technology can make teaching more engaging for students,” Dolan said. “It helps teachers think outside the box.” In an effort to maximize the worth of Google Apps, teachers have begun to prepare for the new program’s arrival. “Currently, teachers are getting Google certified so they can lead training workshops (for other teachers) this summer,” Dolan said. Another change include the devices used in the school. Options for devices include HP desktops and laptops, Google Chromebooks, and Nexus 7 Tablets. “Some feedback we heard from students and teachers are they need fast startup times and long battery lives. We looked and decided to adopt the Nexus 7 tablet and the Chromebook,” Rooks said.
The four options force departments to make a decision on which device will work best in their curriculum. “It’s looking at needs and seeing if the piece of equipment fits,” Rooks said. “Some departments are natural fits; the English classes are a natural fit to Chromebooks. A department like science would probably stay with traditional laptops.” English teacher Mr. Sean Rochester echoed Rooks, noting the need for practicality over style. “Since so much of what we do in English involves printing, tablets don’t seem like a wise investment of money, because it seems like we won’t be able to use it the way we would like,” Rochester says. The Mathematics Department, which currently incorporates some Google Apps on teacher’s websites, faces challenges of their own. “We’ve looked at Google Apps to see what is available, but there is not a lot that can be used for a math classroom,” Lehmann said. “A smaller tablet would be nice for students, but we just don’t think they would hold up well.” Junior Kayla Abernathy is excited for the device change. “I think it will be beneficial for things like research papers, because library computers are super slow,” Abernathy said. “It’s always packed in the library, so it’ll be better having devices for individual use instead of group use.” While the modernization allows for simplicity, there are several holdups. “One of the issues with the new devices is the ability to print is very limited,” Rooks said. “We are investigating solutions for that, and working with Google and other vendors to make that happen.” Modernization is a central theme in the technology update, as students and teachers continue to incorporate their own devices in school. “We’ve seen an explosion of growth in our Campus Technology Access (CTA), with teachers and students bringing in their own devices,” Rooks said. “The way of the future is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), because it’s your device and you know how to use it. We need to be able to support all that these devices bring with them.” The incorporation of new software and devices is a major change for Parkway, and it could lead to one of Rook’s ultimate goals for technology in Parkway. “My hope is that technology stops being something that we do. Our goal is technology just becomes part of our everyday life. Technology is there, it’s accessible whenever the student needs it and wants to use it,” Rooks said.
Digital Data
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Apr. 4, 2014
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Tech Refresh
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Jazz Band blends talent, camaraderie
Katie Richards Opinions Editor
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iffering not only in composition of music but composition of students, Jazz Band is a unique class. Students end up spending much time together not only trying to master the difficult style but to jam with some of their friends. “It’s not too different from other band classes,” sophomore Adam Cohen said. “There’s less people and more independent parts.” Jazz Band is unlike your typical band class in that it enables students to develop a different style of music than they are used to in other formal training. Emphasized
areas include individual improvisation, ensemble performance, and jazz theory. Another difference, as Cohen noted, is that every instrument in the section is not always playing the same part. Often, he says, trombone one and trombone two will be playing different lines. “It’s difficult to learn jazz articulation,” senior and guitarist Jack Connolly said. “We have to learn to play almost the opposite style from previous experience.” Connolly says that stylistically jazz is much more smooth and legato than what they have learned from other formal music training such as Marching and Symphonic Band. While this may be difficult for newcomers to master, once they pick it up they are able to play many songs. “If you learn something from a song you’ll be able to apply it to a different one,” Connolly said. “I’ve learned how to learn something new all from listening to a song.” Members affirm that the intense training of this class has helped their music skills improve greatly. Comments and criticism from band teacher Mr. Doug Hoover have helped sophomore Cole Edelstein grow along with being a leader in a group of talented musicians. “I have learned greatly in terms of music,” junior Jacob Parmley said. “I can sight read and overall just play better at a much higher level.” The style does not stop at jazz, though. “The best part of Jazz Band is playing styles from rock to funk to big band jazz,” Edelstein said.
The members bring a lot of enthusiasm into their music. With their classics they play every year and their new rotations of songs, Connolly says that the total they learn each year is around eighty. The hard preparation pays off in the end, though. “Once we work really hard on a song it’s easy to get stuck in your head and want to play it again, though,” Edelstein said. The members are also noted for their companionship. Students like Parmley say that everyone is friends in the class, whether they began that way or not. “I joined mainly because my friends joined,” Parmley said. “Some people are new to me but most I was already friends with.” The musicians believe this is because of the intimacy of the group. Edelstein noted that his heavy involvement in band has strengthened friendships. It’s much smaller than the marching band, 15 students compared to about 80, so everyone has a chance to get to know one another. Connolly thinks having the same mindset about music helps, too. All the member’s heavy involvement in different music groups throughout the school has help strengthened their friendships. “Everyone has great musicianship,” Connolly said. “If someone starts playing something everyone else can jam with them Another way because we students prepare can listen, for the Big Band follow, and Dance is lunch adapt.”
Leslie Wolk. “Helping him learn to function in America is part of being an ESOL teacher,” Wolk said. “That’s what we learn here. I’m here for anything the students have a concern about or need help with.” Hana also notices the teachers’ willingness to help. “People and teachers treat me better here,” Hana said. Similar to all students eligible for ESOL, Karim took an entry test where he was placed on level two, the middle level. This means that he needs ESOL sheltered classes for history and other core classes. Just because a student can’t be in English-only core classes when they first arrive to America doesn’t mean that they can’t improve quickly, according to Wolk. “I think there always is [a learning curve] no matter who the student is, but I think he adapted very easily and quickly compared to other students,” Wolk said. Patterson, Karim’s history teacher, has already noticed some of the progression that he has managed to make. “He is at the top of the ESOL history class and probably should be in a regular history class this semester, but that didn’t work out for scheduling,” Patterson said. “He is quick to respond [and] he has good answers,” Patterson said. Along with violence and education issues, the Bassilys also had to deal with insecurities concerning his father’s job. Mr. Bassily was an English tour guide in Egypt. With the number of tourists falling due to the revolution, the Bassilys felt like it was the right time to move. They decided to come to St. Louis because Karim’s uncle lives here. “[My uncle] told us to start here because he thinks it is a good place to start,” Karim said. The Bassilys presume that they have found the right place to start, but there are still a lot of changes that come along with moving from one country to another. Karim’s
soccer coach Mr. Brian Adam noticed the obvious challenge for Karim. “He struggled with language to a degree, but sports are international,” Adam said. Although Karim had a fairly smooth transition into the game of soccer, there was still the challenge of dealing with the language barrier. On top of that, there are even more changes that came along with the move than some people might expect. “I used to live in a higher class in Egypt,” Karim said. “I used to live in a villa [and] we had a couple of cars. I had a better life in Egypt. Since I moved here I am in a lower class.” Karim is not only dealing with changes in his environment like his shift in economic status, but is facing emotional challenges as well. “One of the biggest challenges for him was to accept the help that everyone was willing to give,” Adam said. “I don’t think he wanted to be a burden or bother anyone.” Karim was reluctant to ask for rides to and from games. As he became more comfortable with the team, he was more willing to ask for the help.
performances. Check out their performance from March 12.
Students adjust to life in America Kirk Randolph Staff Writer
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ttempting to avoid the revolution in their home country, seniors Karim, Lara, and junior Hana Bassily moved from Egypt to America at the beginning of the 2013 school year. “In my country, Egypt, we have some troubles nowadays because of the revolution there,” Karim said. “I am Christian and things are hard to be there right now.” Karim is referring to the violence towards Christians in Egypt. Many Christians have been killed and more than a hundred churches, homes, and businesses have been attacked. However, this wasn’t the only reason why the Bassilys left. The Bassily siblings were not receiving the same education that is available here in America due to differences in the two education systems. For example, unlike America, where there are things such as projects that go into grades, almost everything is based on writing in Egypt. Even the teachers are different there. “Teachers here [in America] help us more,” Karim said. “In my country, if you don’t understand, you are on your own. Or, there is a private lesson where the teacher collects money from the students and gives [them] the help that [they] need. In class, the teachers do nothing, they just depend on the money from the lessons.” Like many students, Karim and his sisters need support from their teachers to be successful in the classroom. So, the Bassilys felt that the support American education could offer would help them learn better. They are receiving that support from their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers such as Ms. Sandy Patterson and Mrs. HE
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Features
Apr. 4, 2014
Junior Karim Bassily is from Egypt and transferred at the beginning of the school year. Photo by Molly Cagle.
Fresh Fleet $3.3035
Tracking Transportation
$1.05
per gallon for CNG
$100,000
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n an effort to keep up with current eco-friendly trends, Parkway purchased 30 new green buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). While traditionally used diesel gas is synthesized by refining crude oil, CNG can be created by compressing natural gas. CNG is considered safer than diesel, gasoline, and propane because it produces fewer dangerous gases in the atmosphere. Additionally, CNG is safer in the event of a gas spill because of its light density and ability to disperse quickly when released. “Parkway continues to demonstrate leadership with regards to environmental sustainability,” Mr. Erik Lueders, sustainability and purchasing manager, said. “While natural gas is indeed a fossil fuel, it is a cleaner burning and cheaper fuel. Therefore we’re able to both do our part for the environment while saving money off of fuel costs so that we can better spend that money achieving our mission.” Director of transportation Mr. Will Rosa began exploring options for using natural gas as a viable alternative fuel. After speaking with Laclede Gas, Rosa with the help of Ms. Denise Pupillo, director of grants and gifted students, discovered Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funding through the East West Gateway Council of Government. Rosa met with the council to discuss possible alternatives for a “yellow bus green bus” initiative. “Although [the plan] seemed like a long shot, [East West Gateway Council of Government] did not discourage us from applying,” Rosa said. “I think they liked the novelty of our idea and how it could positively impact students.” After the East West Gateway council approved the submitted plan, Parkway was awarded $1.5 million for the project. While the grant does not cover the total cost of the project, it will pay for 80% of the intended costs. The money will go towards the cost difference between a diesel bus and a CNG bus, as well as providing funding for fueling infrastructure. “CNG buses cost a bit more money up-front, but have
long term savings,” Lueders said. “Natural gas is currently a cheaper fuel so over time, the cost difference will save us more money in the end.” In addition to providing eco-friendly benefits, the CNG buses will also prove to be cost efficient in the upcoming years. While current prices for diesel gas average around $3.35 per gallon, the diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) for natural gas is much cheaper. Parkway currently pays $1.80 per gallon at the airport public station for gas. Rosa predicts that the DGE will be closer to $1.05 when the on-site fuel station is fully functional. “It is nice to know when we are paying $3.35 a gallon for diesel fuel that we can expect to pay maybe $1.25 per DGE,” Rosa said. “How does that help? It means more money can be directed toward student learning.” While the new buses will have a noticeable effect on the district’s eco-trends, students may not notice significant differences with the physical bus. Senior Shane Wille rides one of the CNG buses and said he has noticed the quieter engine and lack of a distinct smell. “These are both definite pluses [of the new buses],” Wille said. “It’s hard to take in the small differences, but the buses are definitely cleaner, bigger, and fancierlooking.” Missouri is the third state to initiate CNG buses in public school districts. Three years ago, Kansas purchased 49 CNG buses with room for 75 total in a 150 bus fleet. Many school districts in California have also switched their regular diesel buses for the CNG buses. In addition to Parkway, Lee’s Summit School District has purchased 106 CNG buses to cover almost all of their bus routes. “In the Midwest, school districts like Parkway and Lee’s Summit are leading the way toward a cleaner future,” Rosa said. Lueders said that many other schools in the St. Louis area have expressed interest in learning what Parkway has accomplished with the CNG buses. He expects some of these districts to attend Parkway’s CNG kickoff event, “Growing Up Green,” which was held April 3 at West High. “So far we have had a lot of positive feedback,” Lueders said. “The comments have been that of cost savings, environmental stewardship, and even bus safety. While some people may hear the words ‘compressed’ and ‘gas’ together, they may think a greater degree of safety concerns. The truth is, compressed natural gas is a safer fuel than gasoline or diesel.”
per gallon for diesel
estimated fuel cost savings to the district per year
$1.5 million
grant awarded from East West Gateway Council
Features
Apr. 4, 2014
CORRALC HE
Parkway switches to CNG buses
Meaghan Flynn Business Manager
new CNG buses
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Matt Frischer News Editor
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espite working in the midst of the packed cafeteria, Ms. Barb Carr is rarely seen by students. Carr is the Regional Manager of the Food Service for a region that oversees the school. “I started back in 2000 as a crew worker at Parkway in the entree Department, and I worked my way up to the Regional Manager Position,” Carr said. Her position entails many job descriptions, but her primary role involves supervising food dispersion. “I’m over this school, two middle schools and four elementary schools. We cook the food and satellite it to them everyday,” Carr said. Each kitchen’s composed of a lead and helpers, which includes up to six people.
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Food service manager finds recipe for success
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Carr works running several Parkway kitchens, yet the kitchen is organized outside of the district. “We’re independent of the school and responsible for our own finances,” Carr said. “We just started getting money for equipment from Parkway a few years ago, but otherwise we have to maintain our own budget.” While Carr’s job consists of mainly supervision, she must ensure that many smaller things are accounted for each day. “We have two different runs that we do in the mornings,” Carr said. “We cook the food and run it out to half of the schools by 8:30. By 9:30, we run out the food to the other half of the schools. After, we start cooking for the Central kids.” Ordering food for as many as 300 plus students in one high school, in addition to the other schools Carr oversees, is no small feat. For instance, on days in which pizza is served, the Food Service Department orders 30 boxes of pizza for Central students. “We have to order all the food for every single school we overlook, such as all the a la carte items. We order pizza, bread, and all that we need for the salads and baking that we’re going to do that day,” Carr said. Carr’s role mainly involves work away from direct contact with students, but tries to spend the time she has
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around them. “I like being around people, which is why I’ve worked in the food industry,” Carr said. “That’s the part I miss the most of working the lunch line is interacting with students. I do get to serve breakfast so I get to see the students every morning; I go out there whenever I can.” Carr does believe, though, despite the Food Service’s limited contact with students, they are able to form a type of relationship unlike others in the school. “We don’t have to give the kids grades, we just feed them, and they like being fed,” Carr joked. “We’re probably not as close to them as some of the teachers are, but we enjoy the time we spend with them.” She also notes that, as a result of the Food Service’s fixed role in the lunch room, they are able to watch a truly interesting process, according to Carr. “They come in so rowdy and by the time they are in 11th and 12th grade, they’ve calmed down so much and are so polite. It’s really interesting to see them progress,” Carr said. Though students do not see Carr everyday, she urges them to say something at any time they need. “Don’t be afraid to ask anything, because all of us are always here to help. If they need anything, our office door is always open,” Carr said.
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Secretary juggles jobs Clare Conlisk Managing Editor
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Jeffrey Eidelman Staff Writer
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uilding manager Mr. Jim Bundren works behind the scenes in almost every part of the school. Starting as the head nighttime custodian in 2002, Bundren earned the title of building manager after nine years of custodial work. Central was one of the only Parkway high schools without someone in that position. “It was getting so busy around here,” Bundren said. “And as the head custodian, I was already doing most of the building manager jobs anyway.” There are many jobs that Bundren has to complete on a weekly basis, such as filling in for custodians, or fixing an air conditioning vent when called upon. Bundren must be ready to do at any moment. “The teachers will call me for anything,” Bundren said. “You name it, and they will call me.” Bundren considers that someone in his position should be able to do almost anything. “The jack of all trades and the
ne step into the student activities office releases a cacophony of sounds, from a phone ringing loudly and the copier shooting out papers to students chattering and principals asking questions. At the center of it all is student activities secretary Mrs. Cindy Burch, who assists assistant principal Mr. Travis Fast and athletic director Mr. Mike Roth. “In a typical day I do a lot of attendance calls, and if there are any discipline issues, I could get involved with that by getting Mr. Fast to speak to a student or, if somebody gets suspended, sending out letters,” Burch said. Beyond discipline and other grade level activities, Burch also organizes many of the details of sports.
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“A lot with the athletic side, I confirm games for the week,” Burch said. “This time of year we’re taking athletes’ physicals, checking rosters, setting up transportation if a student needs transportation.” Burch manages a wide variety of activity in and out of the office. In addition to her work with Fast and Roth, Burch helps building manager Mr. Jim Bundren with paperwork and answering questions about the building. “It would be hard to enumerate the number of ways that she contributes,” Fast said. “In terms of her personality, she’s always very considerate and very positive about things that need to get done. I think she’s very patient about all the questions people are asking her at the same time. She’ll have me asking her for help with something, and a student might need something, and then the phone might ring.” According to Fast, everything that Burch does keeps the activities of the office on the right track. “The most challenging part of this job is probably just balancing what needs to be done for the athletic side and what needs to be done for the grade level,” Burch said. Burch began working in the office a year ago, after
seeing a posting for the job opening. Burch worked with Roth through football boosters at Parkway West, where he was also her children’s teacher. Burch is glad she found the job. “My favorite part is talking to the kids, interacting with students,” Burch said. “We have office aides every hour, so I like to talk to them. I get to talk to athletes or any tenth graders that might come in, just checking in and out for the day, or even if they’ve had a little problem, I get to talk to them for that, too.” Senior Pooja Sheevam is one of Burch’s office aides with fellow senior Zack Lazenby. “Mrs. Burch is literally the glue to the office,” Sheevam said. “Zack and I love talking to her, especially because her son used to play racquetball so we have mutual interests. I feel like without her the office would be chaotic. She knows the ins and outs of the school and everything is super organized with her around. She does way more than just answering phones.” Fast agrees that Burch does well in connecting with the students she interacts with. “She’s always very welcoming and positive,” Fast said.
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master of none,” Bundren said. “You have to know a little bit about everything.” Bundren credits his success as a swift and efficient worker to being considerate while working with others. “Understanding people’s needs and being polite to people makes things easier,” Bundren said. “You get a lot done when you are nice to people. I like to think that I’m a good people person.” Bundren receives satisfaction from his job due to the fact he gets it done quickly, and the teachers are pleasantly surprised to see that he finished. “I know everybody around here, everybody,” Bundren said. “I don’t do paperwork and all that stuff, I get straight to it.” Before Parkway Central, Bundren spent some years in a contract cleaning business. Bundren was also at one point the building manager at Washington University, and had many of the same responsibilities. “This was not that hard of a job, compared to Wash U, because this is a single building,” Bundren said. Hunting and fishing are some of Bundren’s favorite hobbies. He lives on a lake 32 miles away and usually has time to fish. Every year, he takes a week and a half out of the school year to go hunting while in season. Occurring in first semester, the school feels the effects of his absence. “Being the building manager is tough, managing who is using the rooms, after school, on weekends,” assistant principal Mr. Chris Dallas said. “It’s definitely a full-time job and can be daunting at times.”
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cost
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champion Athletes face funding challenges
Dean Trail Sports Editor
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Jason Sobelman Editor in Chief
hile most coaches and athletes focus on physicality and team success, the cost to participate is often overlooked. But following a recession that struck the U.S. economy in 2008, prices for equipment began to skyrocket and put a strain on many students looking to play sports. “I think a lot of people are still recovering from their households losing their jobs, going from a doubleincome household to a one-income household,” Jordan Spurlock, manager of Ballwin’s Johnny Mac’s Sporting Goods, said. “I think that people are cutting out the residual stuff in life that just isn’t necessary. Sports obviously falls into that category.” Spurlock noted the attitude change regarding finances makes recreational sports a luxury. “I think sports is one of those things that maybe a kid wants to play, but the parents cannot afford to pay,” Spurlock said. According to Spurlock, the store has noticed a decline in sales over the past six years. Furthermore, there has been a noticeable increase in the price of products for the daily sports fanatic. “It is amazing to see the increase in prices from the manufacturers,” Spurlock said. “When the costs go up for the business, it obviously goes back on the customer. That’s how this business works.” With the increased cost from manufacturers, student athletes are forced to spend more on equipment that is required to participate in school sports. Junior baseball player Ben South agrees that playing a game comes at a substantial price. “It is pretty pricey. If you only play high school sports, and not a summer league, it’s probably going to be a bit more than you would want to pay,” South said. “You might buy cleats, or a bat or a glove, and you also use them in the summer. If you play for three months out of the year, it’s almost a little too much sometimes to play for the school.” Many coaches emphasize that an athlete’s income or background should not dictate participation. “Not being able to afford to play may stop participation, but I know that the coaches are also really helpful
with those kind of things,” sophomore soccer player Caitlin Magruder said.
Cost of Athletics
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n recent years, the amount of money that parents spend on high school athletes has increased dramatically. “It is not like what it use to be,” Spurlock said. “It is always add-ons with the water bottles, headbands, socks -- anything to make the athlete more comfortable. There is a lot of competition among the parents, in my opinion.” For some student athletes, there is an understanding of the economical situations that other athletes might encounter. Magruder said she understands the financial situations impacting the ability to participate. “The cost of high school sports hasn’t affected me personally, but I can see how it could make people not be able to play,” Magruder said. According to senior volleyball player Matt Buffum, coaches don’t evaluate athletes based on their equipment. In contrast, the decision is made based on performance throughout practices. “Coach Schaefer is used to seeing a lot of different people try out for volleyball,” Buffum said. “Usually it’s the freshman that haven’t played before and don’t know what’s going on.” While trying to find new equipment, many student athletes spend more time looking for the proper deal. “I think there are a lot of good deals out there,” senior golfer Alex Yao said. “It just depends how much you are planning to invest your time into a sport.” Many athletes look at the investment as one that could improve their game. “You are buying for longevity, and you’re going to make a big purchase up front,” Spurlock said. “But when someone goes on to play college baseball or the pros or who knows, that $230 ball glove might pay off with a full scholarship to college for your education.”
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any student athletes have fundraisers that help support maintaining the facilities, uniforms and other school team requirements. “As a whole, I think the fundraising program is a good thing because you take half the money that is
earned and put it back into the baseball program,” South said. “Overall it is a really good thing for the team.” Team fundraising ranges from the traditional selling of cookie dough to more modern ideas such as selling school socks. “We are fundraising by selling cookies, cakes, sausages and other stuff,” junior track and field runner Carsen Swallow said. Swallow acknowledges, however, that this idea is overdone. “I think it’s stupid because every other sport is selling cookies, and no one will want to buy cookies from track. I think a better way to fundraise would be like t-shirts or something else to support the team.” This year the baseball team adopted a different fundraising program by selling beef jerky. “I think the beef jerky is fine because, what else are you going to sell?” South said. “I think this provided us with the best opportunity to raise money.”
Finding the right fit
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ccording to Yao, being financially stable can help with productivity on the field because athletes can afford to pay for additional instruction. “Normally when you have an advantage in finances, you’ll have a big advantage over the field because you can afford lessons and belong to a facility,” Yao said. “But, I think it’s still possible for players to do well if you cannot afford everything though.” The quality of the equipment also affects a student athlete’s choice when making a purchase. When purchasing, South said that the warranty of a product should always be taken into account. “Some really good bats are $300, but those usually last a significant amount of time,” South said. “You can spend your money wisely and still get a good product.” The feel of the equipment plays an important role on productivity during games; however, brand name products don’t guarantee success. According to Yao, students should test out the equipment prior to making a purchase. “I don’t know how much a name of the brand will affect your game, but the quality definitely will,” Yao said. “With golf clubs, a high quality set can last you a long time and will do better things to the golf ball -name not as much, but quality definitely.”
Rawlings Velo - $300
Customized Wilson A2000 - $330 Scotty Cameron Newport 2.0 - $300 Nike TW ‘14 - $180
Jack Karagiannis (11)
Carly Beck (11)
Wrestling $50
Water polo $65
Boys track and field $90
Girls cross country $90
Kara Stark (10) Noah Schwartz (11)
Girls basketball $100
Girls track and field $175
Carsen Swallow (11) Taylor Kennedy (12)
Boys cross country $200
Alex Rehr (10)
Boys basketball $212
Girls lacrosse $225
Bobbi Throckmorton (10) Jacob Brand (9)
Boys soccer $230
Zach Goldberg (9)
Girls volleyball $250
Tennis $260
Girls soccer $250
Athlete Caitlin Magruder (10)
Ashley Glickert (12)
Jordan Bernstein (11)
Football $272
Tommy Payne (11)
Boys volleyball $325 Girls swim $300
0 Courtney Nall (12)
Matt Buffum (12)
125 Boys Swim $390
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Riley Brown (12)
Softball $540
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Lauren Greenstein (10)
500 Girls Tennis $730
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Rebecca Davis (9)
Baseball $1110
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Ben South (11)
875 Girls Golf $1600
Boys Golf $2000
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Elizabeth Leath (11)
Alex Yao (12)
Cost (in $) 2000
Economics of Equipment
Husband, wife work together to reach students Jill Kealing Staff Writer
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Cindy and Randy Krone enjoyed a relaxing vacation in the summer of 2008. Photo courtesy of Cindy Krone.
Krazy Konnections Mrs. Krone is certified to teach up to high school level English and eighth grade history. Mr. Krone is certified to teach up to high school level history and eighth grade English. The two used to both teach unified studies at the middle school, a class that combined English and history.
he story of history teacher Mr. Randy Krone and English teacher Mrs. Cindy Krone is one akin to a fairy tale. The couple both taught the same course at Parkway Central Middle from 1989 until Mrs. Krone relocated to teach high school English. Today approximately 528 feet 42 minutes difference in start time separates the two, but they still manage to share experiences when it comes to teaching. “On the first day I always ask, ‘How many Mr. Krone fans do I have in this class?’” Mrs. Krone said. “It’s a really nice ice breaker for kids.” In the beginning of the year is when Mrs. Krone finds her husband’s possible connection with a student of her’s most helpful. This is because some of the information he gives can expedite the process of learning what helps each student learn. “If I’ve had the kid, I know their particular strengths and weaknesses,” Mr. Krone said. “I can alert her to possible problems before she would’ve been able to figure them out herself.” Even though they might seek each other’s help and advice, particularly with students they have shared, their teaching styles and attitudes toward teaching are actually quite different. “She’s the sweet motherly one, and he’s not afraid to be tough with you,” junior Kelsey Bonini said. This is, in part, because of the age difference of students they teach. Mr. Krone teaches eighth graders who, he said, love to test the boundaries and have to be
prepared for the realities of high school. In contrast, Mrs. Krone said she has to lead her freshmen through certain texts that can be difficult for students because they involve a great deal of emotion. However, there is much more to these two than simply their seriousness toward teaching. They each have humorous sides, and to some, that is the part of the class that endures in their memories, long after the lessons have faded. Senior Ben Levine had Mr. Krone four years ago. “I once saw him pull a thing of mustard out in the middle of class and chug it,” Levine said. “Now I just remember him as the ‘Little Mustard Man.’” For other students, though, the effect has been greater than the humor the Krones brought to teaching, or even the specific lessons they told students about. For some, the Krones represented someone they admired and aspired to become. The two teachers relish this. “I have students who have become lawyers because I somehow got them excited about history,” Mr. Krone said. “That’s the best part: feeling like you’ve made a difference in a kid’s life.” Although the Krones have fond memories of their time together at Central Middle, this situation could not be repeated. Recent changes to Parkway policy do not allow close relatives, such as a husband and wife, to hold the same position in the same building. The policy was created to prevent alliances from forming between staff members that take them away from their duties to their students. The Krones find little validity in this policy. “I don’t think it’s fair to deny a husband and wife the opportunity to collaborate in a way that can benefit a kid,” Mr. Krone said.
Stuco works to make prom memorable Hanna Whitehouse Staff Writer
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s students prepare for prom by renting tuxes and buying dresses, the members of Student Council work hard to make sure that everyone attending enjoys their night. “It’s really hard to make decisions because we want to make sure everyone has a great time,” junior Stuco member, Lexie Winter said. This year prom will be at the Sheraton Hotel, which has recently been renovated, after last year’s site at Busch Stadium. “Busch Stadium is hard to live up to, but I think the Sheraton has a really pretty atmosphere,” Stuco sponsor Mrs. Jamie Dresser said. “It is definitely a great place to have it.” Dresser, as the sponsor of the junior class, has experience with planning prom. “Because I have helped plan prom in the past, I am able to give them advice on what has worked in the past and what has not,” Dresser said. Both class sponsors, Dresser and Mrs. Jaclyn Gammon, give the students advice on where to buy items for prom, such as the crown, invitations, food and decorations. In addition, they suggest ways to fund the money needed for prom. Although Dresser offers the students a lot of advice while preparing for prom, the planning comes down to the members of Stuco. HE
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“In the end the students have the final decisions,” Dresser said. “It is they who are doing the decision-making and planning.” With many decisions to be made and many different opinions, it is often difficult for the members to agree. “It’s really hard to accommodate everyone’s taste and different opinions,” junior Stuco member Minki Kim said. The meetings for planning prom start in the second semester and take place once every Wednesday morning. At these meetings, the members vote on table decorations, food, invitations, people for the fashion show, prom favors and the fundraisers. “The juniors have done a really great job completing all of the various tasks,” Gammon said. To conquer each aspect of prom, Stuco members divide up into different committees consisting of decorations, prom favors, prom court and the fashion show. “It’s really fun to see everything start to come together,” Gammon said. To help the members manage their time, the sponsors created a packet of planning information for prom that included a timeline. “The packet has everything that has to be done and when it should be done so we aren’t stressed,” Winter said. The cost of prom this year totaled about $30,000. Stuco gets this money from doing fundraisers throughout the year. The theme selected was “Bollywood.” “We have to remember that prom is for everyone,” Winter said. “It is not just for the people on Student Council.”
STUCO Committ ees Prom Favor
Fashi on Show
Decorati ons
Invitati ons and Tables
Prom Court
Menus and Food
staff shenanigans
Catherine Melvin Social Media editor
For the whole year, it is teens’ job to be obedient and cooperative in the face of their teachers and coaches. However, there is one day where it is justifiable to be slightly disobedient. April 1 marks a day free from the punishment and consequences that pranks would often entail.
Raging revenge
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Seeking payback on Rochester
ack in the English hallway raged an Rochester said. “I had been giving a ongoing April Fool’s Day war. It all warning that something was coming; I just started with the scheme of English teacher didn’t know what.” Mr. Sean Rochester. The Post-it notes covered every pos“I decided to take an Elmer’s glue sible surface and many were extremely stick and smear it all over previous senior, high up, causing Rochester to use chairs Emily Schnaare’s, and ladders to desk,” Rochester said. get them down. I had been given a “You can imagine “Because this her face when she was severely warning that something was sat down to a sticky annoying, I coming, I just didn’t know desk.” sought revenge,” what. Schnaare knew Rochester said. - Mr. Sean Rochester that she needed to “Schnaare was get back at Rochesgoing to Truman ter. She voiced a threat so that he knew for college, so I found the Truman logo something was coming. and wrote a fake letter.” “I walked into my classroom on April Schnaare was called to the counseling 1, and I saw that I was the victim of a office where a letter was waiting to be Post-it note bombing,” Rochester said. read. The letter explained that due to her At the crack of dawn, previous seniors declining grades, she was at risk of losing Deanna Patelis, Eli Wasserman and Emily her admission. Schnaare had gone in and covered every “She claims that she knew it was a possible surface with multicolored Post-it fraud by the time she was done reading notes. it, but this was by far one of my favorite “Initially I was shocked, but I soon pranks,” Rochester said. smiled as I realized what had happened,”
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Coach Theobald will be prepared
lthough the celebration of April Fool’s Day is a tradition for the varsity soccer program, soccer coach Mr. John Theobald had no idea a prank was on its way. For senior Jessica Brady, looking back at April 1 during the freshman year brings back fond memories. “I have been on varsity for four years now so I have gotten to be part of many, but, my freshman year was by far the best,” Brady said. On the day after a great win, it was expected that the team would be in cheerful spirits. Instead, everyone came to practice really upset. “Passes were terrible, everyone showed little effort, no one was working, and there was obvious tension between all players,” Brady said. It didn’t take long before Theobald noticed something was wrong. “When I walked onto the field, there was the perception that previous player, senior Kori Richardson was starting a lot of trouble. Much of this was directed especially toward the freshman,” Theobald
said. Theobald decided to consult assistant coach Mrs. Megan Meyer. Meyer promptly pulled aside Kori Richardson, whereby she was let her in on the secret: the girls were staging a fake fight. “Kori was by far the key actress,” said Brady. “While she was talking to Megan, she yelled, ‘I just hate them all I can’t believe they would do this to me!’ By this point Theo is getting pretty upset.” Theobald said he was indeed caught off guard. “I was totally stunned,” Theobald said. “I thought everything was well inside the team chemistry. It didn’t even dawn on me that it was April 1.” After about 15 minutes, previous senior player Molly Berrier spoke up and all of the girls yelled, “April Fool’s!” “I was mostly mad at myself for falling for it, but to their credit, it was the best acting,” Theobald said. “They will most likely try to fool me again this year, but my radar is going to be up.”
innocent intentions An uprising against the King
or history teacher Dr. Susan King, one specific April Fool’s Day is the tale of playful and harmless intentions being misinterpreted and revenged. King was planning a lesson on the Protestant Reformation and had come up with a great idea to convey her message to the students. To demonstrate the current corruption of the Catholic church through their selling of indulgences to - Dr. get to heaven, King used the illustration that students could buy their grades from her. “The students actually believed me. They started calculating their grades to figure out much money they would have to pay. So I kept the joke going,” King said. When King finally revealed that she was joking, the students were devastated. “The entire class was so disappointed
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with me. I guess this is why they wanted to get back,” King said. April Fool’s Day was approaching and it provided the perfect opportunity for this history class to get even. On April 1, a student resource officer came in and interrupted class. The officer expressed that he needed to speak with her immediately. “In this moment, I was so terrified that I have tried blocking the entire memory Susan King from my mind,” King said. King was promptly told that she had committed a serious traffic violation and would need to step outside with the school officer. “I was extremely frightened and flustered, but I was trying to gather myself together,” King said. “Upon seeing my anxiety, my students burst out laughing and yelled ‘April Fool’s.’”
I was so terrified that I have tried blocking the entire memory from my mind.
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This year, the girls varsity soccer team carried on the tradition by exposing a funny picture of Coach John Theobald. The team printed off nearly one hundred copies of a missing poster and posted it throughout the school. Theobald’s descriptions included “piercing blue eyes” and “in mediocre shape.” Photos by Clare Conlisk.
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Here’s a hint
Catherine Melvin Social Media Editor
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here are often times in the high school career when the tiniest problem becomes a catalyst for overwhelming frustration. They are normally simple pains and annoyances that although seem trivial, have the potential to ruin a day. From the view of upperclassmen, here are specific tips to make a day a little bit smoother.
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on’t leave your house at 7:30 expecting to arrive at school at 7:35. You can find me running to my first class pretty much any day of the week.” (Julia Wasserman 12)
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ake as many classes for college credit, either UMSL or AP’s. Your college schedule will be freed up and you can start on your major early. I’m going in with 33 hours.” (Michael Gu 12)
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n Rochester’s class, never call anything a packet. These series of many pages are ‘knowledge’, and if it’s gold, it is ‘golden knowledge.’” (Libby Kaiser 11)
Entertainment
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f you are small and are having trouble getting through hell hallway, hold onto someone big to hide behind and let them move everyone out of the way for you.” (Jason Piles 12)
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e prepared for the bipolar temperatures inside school. Always have apparel that works for both freezing rooms and rooms that feel like saunas.” (Hannah Dalton 12)
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hen you sign up for walking fitness be prepared. It’s not just walking, it’s actually speed walking uphill for long periods of time.” (Marissa Turkin 11)
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o all of your homework during your core classes so you can have fun during the easy classes and outside of school.” (Austin Mischel 11)
ll you got to do is relax and chill.” (Zack Jin 11)
f you absolutely can’t finish an essay on time or are freaking out about a project, just go to your teacher in the morning and start bawling your eyes out. Cry until they give you more time for your assignment.” (Matthew Schmittdiel 11)
Apr. 4, 2014
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ind what keeps you happy while maintaining the best academic profile you possibly can. Also, the gym water fountains have the coldest water in the building.” (La’Chelle Pearson 12)
lways take cash up to the lunch line because they will unexpectedly tell you there is no money left in your account, and then you’re left starving for the rest of the day.” (Melanie Wasserman 11)
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f you have a MAC computer the ‘self control’ app will allow you to set a certain amount of time that your browser will behave as if it is offline. For PC’s try the app called ‘Freedom.’” (Jayla Harsley 12)
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or the first half of the semester, do no work in class and get horrible grades. This gives the teacher an attitude that you’re a bad student who has trouble in class. However, this is when you start really working and the teacher will be so impressed that they will be inclined to give you better grades than your work deserves. Guaranteed A.” (Natsu Gavin 12)
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ever use the hell hallway bathrooms. Just don’t.” (Abbey Dunbar 12)
Corral Staff Editorial
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ore subjects like science and English, paired with courses in language, music and business can be a lot for students to learn. There is high concern on how to spend class time to make sure every moment is as productive and informative as possible. No matter how class time is being used, it seems that there’s a lack of emphasis when it comes to developing in ways other than intellectually. There are many other things that should be deemed of the utmost importance.
Student ethics
breakdown
The Josephson Institute CHARACTER COUNTS! aims to improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior. The results from its biennial report, Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, show improvement in high school students from 2010 to 2012.
8% 78% 6%
Percent fewer students that admitted they had cheated on an exam in the past year
Believe that people Drop in students who are willing to who said they lie, cheat, or break lied to a teacher the rules are less in the past year likely to succeed about something than people who significant are not.
While last month’s “Every Fifteen Minutes” demonstration in front of the school was widely attended, it wasn’t supported by the school as widely as it could have been. Some high schools require a mandatory viewing and publicize the event heavily. Concerns for using academic lab time strictly for academic purposes was such a high concern that many students who could have benefitted from attending missed out on that learning opportunity (see story, page 4). A demonstration like this can be just as informational as any class instruction and offers an important lesson that every teenager should be taught. Instead of lectures focused on the goal of graduation and next year’s courses, spending time learning about how to be a better person could serve a more beneficial role. Character education, as it is called at the Project Parkway meetings, is a growing concern for this district. High school isn’t just a place to grow intellectually but as a human as well. On its website, Project Parkway claims that its character education goal is to “assess where each school is on their character education journey and support them in moving forward to achieve their goals in this area,” attempting to make this standard for every school. This mindset is one that will improve students’ well-being more than any course ever could. Success takes more than just analytical smarts; it also takes interpersonal skills and decision-making based on core values. The Josephson Institute boasts the biggest character education program in the nation, believing that because good character does not happen automatically; it is essential that it is purposefully taught. Its programs focus on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship -- all things that they think will affect a student’s effectiveness and well-being. Overall, school should emphasize more than just striving for academic success. Preparing to be an adult means learning more than just vocabulary words and formulas, and the direction in which Parkway is starting to go is a great first step to make our students the best they can possibly be. The next step is to get the high school community on board.
A Lil Crazy Detrimental deprivation Lillie Wasserman Production Manager
O
nce the snow begins to melt, the overwhelming desire on part of society to melt fat kicks in fast. Of course in today’s culture, body image is always on the mind. But with spring break, prom and the start to summer all within a few months span, the desire for a “bikini body” can get crazy. While people were trying to get in shape for warm locations over spring break, I recognized my relationship with food was going nowhere. So, since I went to Chicago, I was fine with wearing my fluffy coat over my fluffy rolls. The diets during this time can be ridiculous. We’ve heard of the classic ones of deprivation, but also more irrational concepts like juice cleanses. I agree that getting your servings of fruits and vegetables is really important. But I’m sorry, going without solid food just seems insane. I’ve had my fair share of times trying to diet or fit a certain body type that’s idealized. But everyone should just take it easy. Simply try to be as healthy as you can right now, and don’t worry about
what you look like. If you’re healthy, you’re fine. And diets are definitely not always healthy. For example, the McDonald’s diet. There is no way that eating Big Macs and nothing else is good for your health. It may be delicious, but it can not be nutritious. For the ladies, you don’t have to look like Kate Upton or Miranda Kerr. Simply look like (insert your name here). Because, whether naturally thin, thick, or somewhere in between, you’re gorgeous. I promise. That got a little too sentimental, so let’s just talk about food. As far as changing what you eat goes, I have no idea how to implement and stick to a plan that totally cuts out “unhealthy foods.” Pizza is delicious, and hello, cheese has calcium. Duh. Muffins are delicious, so why wouldn’t you want a muffin top? All jokes aside, if you are living a semi-healthy lifestyle with non-excessive exercise, your body will be just fine. So everyone just CHILL. And in the wise words of Lady Gaga, do what you want with [your] body.
Decisions between healthy and unhealthy foods can be difficult at this time of year, with diets on the rise. Photo by Kate McNeal.
CORRALC 2013-2014 Staff
Editor in Chief Jason Sobelman
Managing Editor Clare Conlisk Production Manager Lillie Wasserman Business Manager Meaghan Flynn Digital Integration Editor in Chief Nathan Kolker Online Content Editor Matthew Bernstein Online Sports Editor Sam Winter Multimedia Manager Emily Schenberg Social Media Editor Catherine Melvin News Editor Matt Frischer Features Editors Jack Blethroad Kate McNeal Opinions Editor Katie Richards Sports Editor Dean Trail Entertainment Editor Matthew Walter Staff Writers Jeffrey Eidelman Joe Goldberg Kirk Randolph Matt Stern Hanna Whitehouse Adviser Ms. Tara Stepanek
The Corral is a student-written, edited and produced publication of Parkway Central High School, 369 N. Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017; 314-415-7978. The Corral is given away free of charge to students and faculty. Subscriptions and patronships for one year may be purchased, starting at $20. The goal of this publication is to provide accurate, informative and entertaining information in the true spirit of responsible journalism and to operate as an open forum for students, faculty, administrators and parents. The Corral is created on Hewlett-Packard computers using Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 and is published by PressJournal Printing. Unsigned editorials reflect the views of the majority of the staff. Signed columns and artwork reflect the views of that individual. The staff appreciates comments and suggestions. Letters to the editor, guest editorials and other correspondence are encouraged but must be signed. The Corral reserves the right to publish or refrain from publishing, as well as edit, all submitted material.
Opinions
Apr. 4, 2014
CORRALC HE
Character education vital to studies
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Animation Inclination
What is your favorite animated movie of all time? en Froz ) % (10
To yS (9 tory %) Lion King (8%) ing Find %) o(6 Nem
Childhood movies still teach lessons
Matthew Walter Entertainment Editor
M
ovies are timeless for children and high schoolers alike. Although often scrutinized for edgy race portrayals and imagery, animated movies ultimately leave their mark by teaching positive morals and values. In a survey of Central students, 85% percent concluded that they still enjoy to watch animated movies. 2013-2014 Staff Even with the target range of animated movies aimed towards younger kids, the lessons taught in animated movies can be applied to high school, college, and even further on in life. In the same survey, the movies Frozen, Toy Story, Lion King, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and Cars stood out as leading vote getters, taking in just over 46% of the votes. The top 3 movies provide great lessons that deserve to be shown in homes throughout America for generations to come.
Other (67%)
No (15%)
1. No matter the circumstances, be there for your friends. Whether it was with Sid, or at the airport, the toys made sure that no one was left behind. 2. Always plan out your life. The Toy Story gang used the Etch A Sketch to devise their plans.
Frozen (2013) 1. Love your family. Sisters Anna and Elsa make great sacrifices for each other. 2. Accept and embrace others’ differences. Although Elsa the snow princess has unique ice and snow making abilities, she still deserved love.
Yes (85%)
*Survey of 130 students
Featuring segments on Sydney Smotherson, Dodgeball & the SADF drunk driving simulation
1. Hakuna Matata can’t last forever. Although living the carefree lifestyle is fun, there are always important things in life that we have to deal with. 2. The past may be tough, but you can learn from it and become a strong person.
Toy Story (1995)
Do you still enjoy watching animated kids movies?
Check out our next episode of PCHtv
Lion King (1994)
Dean’s movie of the month
Rating:
3/5
‘Lego Movie’ builds up hype Dean Trail Sports Editor
T
he Lego Movie was directed towards a younger audience, but it was still a fun packed adventure for high school students. The plot follows an Average Joe named Emmet Brickowski that always follows the instructions. When he breaks the rules for the first time, it launches him into a great adventure to try and stop the evil Lord Business from permanently gluing all the Legos in place. Emmet goes on his quest with the aid of Wildstyle, a rebellious master builder, that can create anything they want without instructions and Vitruvius, an all-knowing wise Lego that was blinded by Lord Business in their original altercation. The voices of the characters were all well known actors including Will Ferrell as Lord Business, Chris Pratt as Emmet, Elizabeth Banks as Wildstyle and Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius. All in all the cast was stacked with great comedic actors and actresses.
The whole premise of the movie was for the entire universe to be made of Legos. This aspect made the graphics interesting to watch and see how they played out certain elements. Obviously all of the characters were Legos but so were the buildings, grounds, trees, clouds etc. It really led to a more compelling background to pay attention to. My biggest complaints about the movie was that some of the humor was too childish for even my standards. I enjoyed the story, and characterization but the jokes just didn’t make me laugh. Overall I would recommend that you give the Lego Movie a try. If it means taking your younger siblings or cousins so that you aren’t embarrassed to go so be it but the Lego Movie was worth the $7.50 I paid
Student and teacher moods fluctuate throughout year B
etween the long school days, homework, sports, and other evening activities, the school year can be stressful and grueling at times. According to students and teachers, some parts of the year tend to be more taxing and stressful than others. According to a study done by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, higher levels of stress in students negatively impacts their productivity, ability to focus, and mood. Although the causes of stress vary from person to person, the variation in both the work load and the weather conditions seem to factor heavily in students’ moods and motivation levels. To determine which times of the year are the most stressful and which times seem the easiest, students and teachers were asked how they felt in different months. “Generally I notice grades are lowest at the beginning of second semester,” math teacher Ms. Sarah Reeves said. “For math, a lot of the curriculum is more difficult second semester. Also, I think the cold months generally result in lazier behavior - it even happens to me. When there’s a foot of snow and a negative wind chill outside, anything beyond watching TV sounds miserable.” Senior Rachel Fike agrees with Reeves, saying September was the easiest month and February was the hardest. “February is definitely the slowest month in my opinion,” Fike said. “It’s also hard because we always end up having a lot of work.” For Fike, the combination of the cooler weather and increase in school work make the winter months long and dreary. For senior Natsu Gavin, the winter feels just the opposite. “January is probably the month that goes by the fastest,” Gavin said. “It’s a new start after winter break and with new classes to make it interesting it’s not that bad.” Curious to see if the opinions of freshmen would match those of the seniors, history teacher Mrs. Ali Taylor spoke to her freshmen in Academic Lab and asked how they felt at different times of the year. “Grades tend to ebb and flow after the start of a new semester or marking period,” Taylor said. “But most kids agreed, and I can attest that they slump somewhat in the dreariest winter months. Participation in sports can also affect grades.” However, this trend does not apply only to the students. Teachers are also under the pressure of schedules and deadlines throughout the school year. Taylor and Reeves echoed many of the same feelings the students had about their moods and motivation levels during the different seasons. “I’m always super excited at the start of a new school year,” Taylor said. “Less so at the start of second semester, although I always look forward to meeting my new classes after coming back from break in January.” Reeves noted that she can typically relate to how her students feel, because her mood and motivation usually corresponds to theirs. “I’ve noticed that [my mood] follows the students’ patterns very closely,” Reeves said. “I’ve always said that September and February are my worst months. In September, I’m coming off the excitement of school starting and feeling the stress of grading and outside activities again.”
Business teacher Mrs. Karen Diekroeger also commented that her mood tends to follow that of her students. “I try to keep my mood constant,” Diekroeger said. However, sometimes it is hard not to absorb the energy of the students in my classroom, so in general it follows the same patterns of my students.” Diekroeger went on to say that student moods correlate to their motivation levels, which she said were highest at the start of a new semester. “I think the students’ grades start off higher because students return to school more motivated to do well and they start off on the right foot with a fresh start,” Diekroeger said. “I notice the grades being the lowest at the twelve week grading periods because the students are fatigued. By this point, they have lost focus. With finals at the end of semester grades still far away, they are not motivated enough to refocus their attention and spur themselves into action yet,” Diekroeger said. Another factor this year in motivation levels has been the unusually high number of snow days, which according to many don’t lend themselves to productivity. “The snow days have really messed with my schedule since all the make-ups are finally catching up with me,” senior Pooja Sheevam said. “As a senior, the year gets harder as my senioritis gets increasingly worse.” Diekroeger also pointed out the toll the snow days have taken on teachers and students. On top of the teachers’ already full schedules and lesson plans, the snow days have forced upon them the additional responsibility of cramming more material in a short amount of time. Even though students complain of having more work assigned, teachers also give themselves more work by having more to grade. “With all the additional work and make-up work the days off have caused, I actually think the prolific number of snow days we have had this year have had a negative impact on students and teachers’ moods, both short and long term,” Diekroeger said. Other students find that spring brings a renewed sense of motivation to their school work. “I think that May is probably the month that goes by the fastest for me,” sophomore Kaliyah Meriwether said. “At the end of the year, I always make one last push to raise my GPA.” The motivation of some students, like sophomore Hailey Thomas, depends more on the classes they are taking rather than the time of the year. “I’m probably the most motivated when I am in art class,” Thomas said. “I’m good at it and it comes naturally to me.” Thomas did admit, however, that her energy for school depletes over the course of the year. “I usually feel the most motivated at the beginning of the year. By the end, I feel myself starting to fade as I get tired of school,” Thomas said. Despite the variation in the responses, it seems that very few students or teachers survive the entire school year without experiencing at least one “low” point. Whether it is stress, cold weather, or as decline in motivation that causes these tough spots, the nearing end of the school year is something everyone can work towards.
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER BY THE NUMBERS Feel blue during the winter or summer? It could be Seasonal Affective Disorder, a mood condition that causes depression and a lack of motivation at certain times of the year.
60-90%
Of people diagnosed with SAD are women.
Over 1/2
Of these people are in their late teens or early 20s.
6-8
Average range of months people are affected. Source: American Osteopathic Association Features
Apr. 4, 2014
CORRALC HE
Jack Blethroad Features Editor
19
C omfortably C ute Students make fashion effortless
Jill Kealing Staff Writer
W
hile it may not be stated, Central has an unofficial dress code. Heels and extremely tight skirts are saved for special events, while sweatpants -- or even pajama pants -- are really only accepted when worn occasionally. Thus, girls are challenged with doing the near impossible: dressing in a way that is comfortable for seven hours of learning but making it cute. Many ladies have devised quick and simple ways to accomplish this goal.
Leggings The apparent favorite clothing piece of women everywhere is leggings. Leggings are made mostly of spandex and cotton, so there is little restriction of movement. Furthermore, they fall in between pants and tights, making them extremely versatile and fashionable. “They are really comfy and they look good,” senior Nimisha Varma said. “You can dress them down, you can dress them up, you can wear them to bed, you can wear them on a date.” The only drawback, though, is that leggings are not the same as pants, so they typically have to be worn with longer tunics. However, the world has devised a solution for those who wish to be comfortable while wearing shorter shirts: jeggings. These pants are made of a denim spandex blend that provides much of the same comfort as leggings but with more coverage.
Hair For those with longer hair, the style possibilities are endless. A quick search on Pinterest will give thousands of hair possibilities, with sock buns and French braids being the most popular styles that take little time. Freshman Kylee Bruchhof prefers a Dutch braid, also known as the reverse French braid, over straightening her hair each morning. “It’s easy, but people think it’s more effort than it is,” Bruchhof said. For those that either have short hair or difficulty styling hair, there is still a solution. According to senior Rumbi Majee, a hat is not only a hat but also a tool of disguise. “Whatever issue you have underneath is hidden by a cute hat,” Majee said.
Accessories For some girls, nothing seems like more of an unnecessarily laborious task than picking out accessories for an outfit. However, according to junior Katie Grossman, their beauty lies in the fact that they allow one to get away with more when it comes to the structuring of an outfit. “You can have a really plain outfit that’s really comfy and make it really cute with the right accessories,” Grossman said. Her biggest suggestion to properly accessorize an outfit is with a scarf because it doesn’t take much effort to maintain. “A scarf makes everything better, and there are so many of them out there,” Grossman said.
Senior Nicole Bullotta embodies the principles of looking and feeling good. Photo by Jill Kealing.
IT’S YOUR LAST CHANCE to Order a 2014 yearbook!
$65 deadline April 15 www.yearbookordercenter.com Enter order number 17225
CUP
Bacon
Italian Cream
above the rest New bakery satisfies craving Emily Schenberg Mulitmedia Manager
W
Kate McNeal Assistant Features Editor
alking into The Cup, a cupcakery located on Clarkson Boulevard in Chesterfield that opened in December 2013, we were immediately greeted with a display case showing a wide variety of cupcakes. We ordered the Italian Cream, Red Velvet and Maple Bacon, all which were served on individual plates. While two of the cupcakes were classics, the Maple Bacon, a recent phenomenon in cupcakeries, had a more surprising flavor. A maple-flavored cake with bacon baked in and topped with maple frosting with pecans and a piece of bacon, the texture was somewhat surprising biting in, but the saltiness of the bacon and sweetness of the maple contrasted well. Overall, we would have to disagree with the popularity of the cupcake because the bacon packed in too much of a surprise. The Italian Cream consisted of a vanilla cake filled with
cream cheese frosting and frosted with coconut cream cheese frosting with toasted coconut and walnuts on top. While the cake was fresh and the frosting was a well-done spinoff of regular cream cheese frosting, we barely noticed the filling, which blended into the frosting. The Red Velvet combined time-honored red cake with a rich cream cheese frosting. Despite its simplicity, the freshness of the flavors contributed to a scrumptious flavor explosion. The cupcakes were reasonably priced at $2.95, considering the size and the quality of the ingredients in them. The Maple Bacon, a limited edition cupcake, was $3.45, which made sense because of the bacon baked into it. Overall, The Cup offered a wide selection of flavors that were satisfactory. If you’re looking for a decent cupcake in a nice environment, The Cup is the place for you.
Red Velvet
Tennis team looks to continue success Matt Stern Staff Writer
is replacing Mr. Dave Fuhrig as varsity head coach. Hayes, who has coached at both the high school and college level, said that he is excited about getting to potentially add on to this team’s success. “They’ve done really well, they have a good track or the eighth straight season, the boys varsity tennis record, and I hope to continue that,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t team is looking to return to the State championships. seem like there’s been a drop in talent. I can tell there are The level of experience the team brings to this seasome really good kids that are out to play this year.” son has seen them place fourth at State the last three years. With this talent, Hayes said he expects the team to make Senior Jack Bridge says the main focus for the team is just it back to the State championships and even make a run to getting back to the championship. the semifinals. “We just need to go out every practice, work hard The players agree that it’s never easy to have a coachand not take anything for granted,” Bridge said. “I expect ing change, but they feel the experience of Hayes will help another solid performance, and I think we can get back to the team get back to the State State for my fourth straight year.” tournament. Bridge, who was a top ranked player on the Right now my main “He’s got a lot of good expeteam, had to forfeit his state match last season due to an illness. focus is getting my team rience working with other high schools and their varsity teams,” “It’s a shame; I was expecting a good reready for the season -- and Bridge said. “I think he’s going sult,” Bridge said. “Hopefully nothing like that to come in here and bring a lot happens this year.” hopefully postseason. of experience to the team.” Senior Jacob Kanter is also a top member Jacob Kanter (12) Both Kanter and Bridge are of the team. Kanter, who finished fifth at State uncertain of their plans for playindividually last season, is looking for a higher ing tennis after high school, but finish this spring. both seniors are not looking forward to this season being “Right now my main focus is getting my team ready for the season -- and hopefully postseason -- as well as prepping their last in high school. “I’m really sad that this is my last year,” Kanter said. “I myself for a run at the state title,” Kanter said. “I am really love being a part of Central’s team. I love the guys on the hoping to place higher this year.” A change for the team this season is Mr. Lee Hayes, who team, and I’m really going to miss all of it.”
F
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Senior Jacob Kanter serves the ball in a match last season. Kanter and his senior teammates are working to return to State for a fourth year. Corral Archives.
Winter sports athletes receive All-Conference nods Kirk Randolph Staff Writer
Kraus said. “All season it was more about what we could do as a team.” The boys obtained the best record the school has seen since 2003 and made it to ollowing an 18-10 season, four memthe District Finals, where they lost to CBC. bers of the boys varsity basketball “Any time kids get individual awards, team were honored with Suburban my thought is hoping that it is going to South Conference awards. Senior Nathan make my team better,” head coach Mr. Biggs won Player of the Year and First Rick Kirby said. “The great thing about Team All-Conference honors along with those guys is that I can guarantee that they junior Jarrett Cox-Bradley. would have sacrificed those honors to have “It’s pretty cool,” Biggs said. “We have won a District championa pretty tough conference, ship. They are very teamso it was a big honor to get All season it was oriented players.” something like that.” more about what we No matter what goals This is Biggs’s second were set at the beginning time as a member of the could do as a team. of the season, Kirby said conference First Team. Connor Kraus (12) he was able to get the boys Cox-Bradley was an honorto buy in to the fact that able mention in the previsuccess is almost never ous season. guaranteed and that he needed them to “I wouldn’t say I was expecting it, but work hard. it was a goal,” Cox-Bradley said. “Coming “We work hard all summer, all fall and into the season I wanted to make at least certainly the first day of practice through an all-tournament team and First Team All-Conference. I didn’t get all tournament, the last day of practice,” Kirby said. “It’s nice to see kids who work hard get recogalthough I still played pretty good, but to nized for what they do.” get First Team All-Conference is definitely Although Kirby had influence on the important to me, so I was pretty happy success that his players were able to enjoy, about it.” he still gives the credit to the players. While Cox-Bradley had the award in “Great players make great coaches,” sight at the beginning of the season, seniors Connor Kraus and Nick Helmbacher, who Kirby said. “It’s funny how one year from received honorable mentions, did not have now, when I’m missing a bunch of good players, I can become not quite as good of it on their mind. a coach.” “I hadn’t really thought about it a lot,”
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All-Conference Teams
Biggs
Honorable Mention
Basketball:
Basketball:
- Nathan Biggs (Player of the Year)
- Connor Kraus
- Jarrett Cox-Bradley
- Nick Helmbacher
Kraus
- Taylor Kennedy
- Christie Bergesch
- Zoe Wallis (Defensive Player of the Year)
Swimming: Bergesch
- Madison Brown
Helmbacher
Swimming:
- Annika Hofer
- Hanna Whitehouse
- Kelilah Liu Brown
- Courtney Nall
- Olivia Gottlieb Wallis
- Hannah Swyers
- Allison Bain
- Jamie Goldberg Nall
- Rachel Morris - Elaine Reichert
- Nicole Davis
- Tess Coulson Bain
-Taylor Burlis
Sports
Apr. 4, 2014
CORRALC HE
Four boys get basketball honors
23
Junior Taylor Thompson enters this season after being unable to participate a majority of last year due to injury. She hopes to drop a second in the open 200-meter run, which would likely qualify her for State. “I’m running with a different group of girls that have different strengths than I do at practice to get myself in better shape,” Thompson said.
Senior Stephen Wilson hopes to drop two seconds in the 400-meter run in an effort to make State. “My training is to be first in all the conditioning drills,” Wilson said. Wilson reached Sectionals last year in this event.
Bigger, Faster, Stronger
Senior Rumbi Majee is expected to have a breakout year this season in the discus. “She is one of the most surprising athletes I’ve had in my coaching career,” girls track and field Coach Ryan Banta said. Banta stated that he expects her to make the State championship and break the school record.
Track
and field athletes pursue chance at State Sam Winter Online Sports Editor
Senior Khalen Saunders has set the bar high for himself this year after a record-breaking season. Saunders set his goal at 63’0”, which would put him in the top 20 all-time in the shot put in the State. Western Illinois sent Saunders a workout plan to prepare him for football next year, which he’s hoping will also benefit him for track.
HE
CORRALC 24
Sports
Apr. 4, 2014
Senior Tasha Frazier has been All-State for all three years. “Basketball has put her in much better shape going into this season,” Banta said. Frazier could become the second girl in school history to make All-State four years in a row. Junior Grant Crutcher didn’t wait until school started to begin preparing for next year’s track season. “Over the summer I was able to go to several camps led by Jeff Hartwig, a former Olympic vaulter,” Crutcher said. Crutcher said that he hopes to clear 12 feet, which would be a two and a half foot increase from last year.