The Hook Issue 1 12th Edition

uWHAT’S

INSIDE

Reeling in Merit the Raider Scholarship Nation Finalists Thursday, November 5th, 2015

12TH EDITION, ISSUE 1

AHS Enters New Technological Age they’re a group of technology advocates that try to achieve more digital rights for students. It’s basically used to use technology in a positive way in schools to help studies and organization,” Aditya Gunna, student advocate, said.

It recognizes the ongoing mentality of technology in schools that it’s a problem. When on the contrary, advocates believe it’s the solution.

“At one point, we got to talk to some students from another program, another iSchool thing, and they had managed to get Twitter unblocked at their school for educational purposes,” Noah McCord, student advocate, said.

The program aims to work technology to its fullest potential to benefit an educational environment. In order to achieve the best results, along with teachers, iSchool uses student advocates

Starting next spring, AHS will undergo the iSchool Initiative under Frank Fortunato’s supervision.

Trained student and teacher advocates will help faculty and peers learn to use technology effectively to further enhance education through synchronized learning.

Further advances in technology in today’s world has led educators to encourage its use in classrooms as a way to increase interaction between students and teachers. The goal is to change the majority opinion from technology being a distraction to being an effective tool. The program recognizes that technology in the future is inevitable, and that schools need to make use of devices.

“The iSchool initiative,

Maia Gibson Last year, Justin Albano aka “Jut the Spirit Nut” lead the Rowdy Raiders. Before graduating, he passed the torch on to a new group of spirited students at AHS. Justin has now handed over the powers of the Rowdy Raiders to four seniors: Mark Feehan, Perry Brandes, Jonathan Stigler, and Blake Annexstad. This year, their primary goal is to get as many people out to the games as possible.

“A goal we have is to get the people that normally don’t go to these outside sporting events to come,” Mark Feehan, senior, said.

The Rowdy Raiders host pre-game tailgates to draw more students to the games.

New

ACT vs

SAT uPage 8-9 Here Aditya shows Pranav how to operate the calculator on his phone. This sort of peer teaching is the driving force of the iSchool Initiative. The iSchool Initiative will allow teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum.

especially for the advantages of

and students apply their new-

peer-to-peer teaching to instruct

found knowledge in the class-

both staff and students on how

room. Students can give teachers

to best use their devices, lead-

ideas, develop new learning tech-

ing to a blended learning ex-

niques, and more using the com-

perience. Advocates will teach

mon denominator of technology.

peers how to use their device,

uContinued on pg. 3

Faces

of

School

Maia Gibson/ Staff

Alpharetta’s

Sami Thompson/ Staff

Sami Thompson

Blake Annexstad, Mark Feehan, and Jonathan Stigler all work everyday to cultivate school spirit and emphasize the importance of being a RICH Raider. The four students run the twitter account @The RowdyRaiders and their motto is #Make Alpharetta Rowdy Again.

“At the tailgates, I try to make sure if we tweet it or if we’re telling people about it, we just want to get everyone out there. It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in, try

NEWS 2 l FEATURES 5 l

uPage 3

to come out because it doesn’t matter. We just want everyone out there to have a good time and get ready for the game. That way we can also get attendance

ENTERTAINMENT 7

l

SPORTS 11

Spirit

up a little bit,” Feehan said.

The Rowdy Raiders are in charge of coming up with themes for the football games.

While many people think that the decisions of the Rowdy Raiders are final, the reality is that they want and need input and ideas from the students.

“I think a lot of people think that whatever we says goes and is set in stone, but that’s not true. If somebody comes up with a better idea, we can use that,” Feehan said.

With the help of the students, the Rowdy Raiders want to be recognized for their school spirit throughout the state.

“StatewideI want us to be known as one of the rowdiest student sections,” said Jonathan Stigler.

l EDITORIAL 13

Inside the Locker Room uPage 12

Bathroom

Regulations uPage 13

Homecoming Dance Review uBack Page

NEWS

2

AHS Hosted Georgia’s First High School Hackathon Oct. 10, Georgia’s first high school Hackathon was hosted at AHS, providing students with a new learning experience and an opportunity to add to college resumes.

A hackathon is an event when computer specialist get together and construct computer programs and software applications.

“It [was] an opportunity for students to come together outside of school to practice and learn coding.” Tom Hatcher, AP Computer Science teacher, said.

From 9 am to 9 pm, 12 hours of learning, building, and free food began. First, students received two minutes each to share their ideas, and then the winners pitched their ideas to the Fulton County Board.

“Students should go if they’re interested about coding. Almost everything we buy is so technical [in] nature, and coding and programing is what

As

AHS

Daniel Grotch

drives everything,” Hatcher said.

According to the AHS Hack team websitewere given the resources and guidance required to design and create their idea and be ready to ship it in no later than 12 hours. “[Atlanta teenagers] built an alarm clock where every time it went off and you snoozed it, it would donate x amount [of money] to some charity,” Anthony Liu, senior, said.

One concern some students have is that they don’t know how to code and have never programmed anything.

“The whole purpose of going to [a hackathon is] to learn something new. People who know how to code, learn more about coding.

People who know a lot about computer science, and want to want to go into hardware and want to learn about electric engineering types of things, [will] learn how to do that. People who don’t know how to code at all go to these to learn how to code,” Liu said.

They also have a lot of people and resources to help students.

“There was someone from Georgia Tech who was teaching us HTMO, which is often used to program and code. And then there were a lot of other seminars where they would teach you how to do website design,” Khushi Magiawala, 9th grader, said.

Another concern is that they are too long, but there are many breaks throughout the day.

“We had a wii tournament, a Smash Bros tournament. It wasn’t a part of the seminar, but it was to cool off,” Magiawala said.

A hackathon is also helpful for students trying to pursue a degree in Computer Science because of the skills taught. ‘’There is a real demand for Computer Science college graduates. If anyone is interested in that field, this would be a great place to come and learn,” Hatcher said.

According to the AHS Hackteam, for students who

Evolves,

TAG

don’t know what they want to pursue, hackathons are are a good place to decide what they want to do in college. It also looks good on college applications.

“If you’re applying to Stanford… If you’re applying to MIT… If you’re applying to Georgia Tech or any big tech

school, there is a big chance that the office of the building will be aware of what a hackathon is because these schools all have their own. They all understand the importance and they can value these events.

Simply stating that you went to one is valuable, “ Liu said.

www.hackahs.com

Brianna Rolle

Georgia’s first high school hackathon, a coding seminar, was hosted by AHS on Oct. 10. Lots of students went out for a day of fun learning and free food.

Remains

in

Place

ted because of their academic

IB classes will count. The kind

interpret it,” Erin Oliver, semi-

its new initiatives next semester,

With new student tab-

successes, but also their creativ-

of opportunities that we will

nar philosophy teacher, said.

TAG will still be around, work-

lets, IB classes and tweaks in

ity, insights, and communication

be able to offer, that are go-

AP curriculum, a transition

skills. The TAG admission pro-

period in AHS seems to be in full thrust. Yet, as the schools pharetta’s TAG program, Talented and Gifted, continues to provide benefits to about 740 students high school students.

“The [TAG program] is just about giving appropriate education to students. It’s about making sure their needs

seminar

ing to inspire its students after

ing to enrich, can be really

and club, open to the school,

the doldrums of a school day.

cess criteria uses teacher recom-

good, but it’s definitely going

also fields discussions on eth-

“[The students] can take

mendations as well as

testing.

to change things,” Tubiak said.

ics, metaphysics, and reality.

what they learn from a regu-

TAG

Similar to APs, an IB course

For many, the TAG program

can also come from elemen-

credit can transfer to American

provides educational opportuni-

expand on it. Hopefully it

tary or middle school selection.

and

universities.

ties not found elsewhere in the

will

Over the years, Talented and

In addition, the IB program has

school. As AHS makes way for

and relate to it,” Oliver said.

Gifted raises the bar for its stu-

a reputation of being difficult,

dents through individual proj-

but also rewarding. The Interna-

ects and expeditious studies.

tional Baccalaureate program will

“Sometimes the high achiev-

be in effect in 2018 for juniors.

Admittance

into

ers are not challenged enough so

International

During

Anchor

Time,

it’s important that high achiev-

TAG students can participate

ing students are still asked to

in seminars and Directed Stud-

push themselves beyond their

ies. The seminar on philosophy

comfort zones,” Tubiak said.

this year has become the popu-

tual students with an advanced

As of now, TAG students are

lar choice each Tues. and Thurs.

limited in their choice of honor

“I wanted to ask [semi-

education above the normal

and AP classes for their primary

nar

Fulton County material. Since

education. However, the new IB

are going to make them think

TAG is part of the county’s re-

program will begin in AHS, al-

about the world, think about

quired services, TAG will stay

lowing for more class alternatives

life. It’s just about keeping a

in AHS in the foreseeable future.

to be made by the student body.

sense of wonder and creativity

TAG students were admit-

“We will have to see how

when you look at the world and

are being met,” Allison Tubiak,

TAG

Director,

said.

As the name implies, TAG grants highly gifted intellec-

students]

questions

philosophy

lar

classroom expand

setting their

and

interest

Daniel Grotch,/Staff

undergoes so much change, Al-

The

that

TAG teacher, Ms. Oliver, enjoys discussions in her AP Language class. Ms. Oliver also teaches the philosophy seminar for TAG students.

NEWS

3

“It’s really built around the idea that students aren’t the leaders of tomorrow.

They’re the leaders of today,” Fortunato, supervisor of iSchool Initiative at AHS, said.

The program is based on their belief that students better progress in learning, at certain times, by interacting with the teachers, instead of absorbing information from a teacher in a traditional classroom setting. They’re an acting voice as well to give students say regarding technological use in the school, working as a bridge between students and authority. “[Students] could talk to us and we could talk to school boards to get them interested.

And we could talk to teachers themselves to help make what they already have in place more effective,” McCord said.

After an application process, chosen advocates attended a 3-day training program to learn innovative skills, such as leadership skills, speaking skills, and how to apply imagination to technology to promote using school devices in an influential way. The training gave the advocates a pro-

Sami Thompson

Sami Thompson

iSchoolinitiative.com

AHS Takes Steps to Become Digitally Advanced

Frank Fortunado and some students talking about certain steps they will take to begin the iSchool Initiative. Students in this meeting are intrigued about the changes that are coming to the school.

fessional look on technological work, so they can apply their knowledge to the fundamental key of the program: being a peer.

“One of the main things that the iSchool initiative wants to do, they want to make the learning creative and interesting, and it can easily be done by peers, and that’s what they try to teach us. There are stud-

ies that show peer-to-peer teaching is more effective than teacher-to-student,” Gunna said.

The reaction thus far has been positive towards the new program. Advocates have already begun projects meant to benefit students in everyday school life, like the new interactive map of the school for Freshmen. They plan to do more projects, and

once those advocates graduate, newcomers to the program will carry on what’s been started. For now, as they plan more projects and techniques to benefit students, they believe this is only the beginning and they can achieve much more.

“People are very impressed by what we can do with very surface level stuff. So I’m

very excited to see what we can do given enough time in an environment where we can sit down and discuss all these ideas,” McCord said.

32 AHS Semifinalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships.

say make sure you have some money, read over your essays and spend some significant time with your essay.” Dugger said.

The seniors will take the SAT in Oct. The scores on the test will determine if they qualify to be a Finalist. Fi-

nalists will be named in the winter and the scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.

“I would definitely say to all juniors to take the PSAT seriously, because if you do, do it well it can help you pay for college in the future.” Evonsion said.

family.auburn.edu

On Sep. 21, 32 Alpharetta High School students were announced as semifinalists for the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. This is the first round of competition for students looking to be named a National Merit Scholar and receiving the scholarship dollars that change the direction of their college planning.

“I actually didn’t expect to win any type of award simply because I hadn’t done any SAT preparations yet, but I do take the PSAT seriously so I was excited to see that my hard work had paid off.”Megan Evonsion, senior and Merit Scholarship semifinalist, said.

The PSAT is taken by freshman, sophomores, and ju-

niors. It not only helps students prepare for the ACT or SAT, but it helps open the door to other rewards such as the National Merit Scholarship. The PSAT offers many things that benefit students in the long run. The students didn’t have material to study and were to use skills that they had already learned in previous years.

“Pay attention and probably do your best in your classes especially english and math because those are the two key skills that you need to do well to have a chance to qualify.” Benjamin Dugger, senior and Merit Scholarship semifinalist, said.

To advance to the finalist round, the students must be recommended and endorsed by their school principal, have a record of high performance in academics, and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying test performance.

“If you aren’t able to qualify based on your PSAT scores I’d

hallco.org

Suraihyah Sule

4

NEWS

Student Interships Pave the Way For Opportunities Lara Strydom

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Alpharetta High School’s work based internships allows students to expand their perspectives on future careers by offering an internship program where

students learn real-life skills.

The internship program offers a variety of jobs for students to select from, but it is recommended that students choose an internship that they

Tracy Eick is the TAG Imtermship coordinator at Alpharetta High School.

Eick encourages students to learn work-based skills.

are interested in so that they can gain experience to help them decide upon a future career.

AHS Senior, Adina Baig, has had three previous internships within the past year and has gained a significant learning experience from all three of them.

Baig’s first internship was at the Coca-Cola factory, which was primarily centered around business and marketing.

“I interned for the president of the Coca-Cola factory , and I would put in her data and she would let me shadow other people who worked there, so I could see what was happening in the business.”, said Adina Baig, former Coca-Cola factory intern, and AHS Senior.

While interning at the CocaCola factory, Adina got a better insight on what kind of work people do in the marketing field.

“I learned a lot from her because she was one of the only women working with mainly men. She would always voice her opinion regardless. It taught how to be more brave in the business world.”, said Baig.

Although Adina enjoyed the experience and learned valuable skills, her internship at the Coca-Cola factory showed

her that she does not want a career in the business field, and that she wanted a career that was less political.

“I interned at a free clinic.

I think this internship helped me the most because it showed me that I do want to go into the medical field.”, said Baig.

When the school year started Adina continued to try new kinds of internships by interning for a real-estate agent.

“I learned how to make things look good. I see how she interacts with people and now I think I want to go into public relations. It makes me really want to work on my interaction skills, because being a real-estate agent is actually really difficult because you need to convince people.”, said Baig.

Not only has the internship helped Adina decide what she wants to do in the future, but it also has given her a sense of maturity.

“I feel really independent. I feel really grown-up.

It’s just like I’m going to work, and I get to do something that I enjoy.”, said Baig.

The internships program is offered to students in the TAG program, but

students who are not in tag can also intern through the workbased program with Mr.King.

Tracy Eick is the coordinator for the TAG internship program, where she teaches students how to prepare for interviews and interact in a real-life work setting.

“They learn things like networking, appropriate dress for interviews, interview skills, and we have them write resumes.”, said Tracy Eick, tag internship coordinator.

Although the internship is beneficial, it is not recommended for justanyone.

“I don’t think the program is necessarily for everyone.

Time-management is a big, huge issue because it does take a lot of time. They have to be organized, maturity is important. I tell my interns that they are representing Alpharetta and themselves when they go to these work settings.”, said Eick.

Although the internship program isn’t easy, it does benefit students and helps them gain a better sense for a real-world work environment.

“I think they get a lot of confidence from the program.

They get a sense of accomplishment, pride, and maturity.” Eick.

New AP Art History Curriculum Leaves Teachers with Mixed Feelings College Board revamped the AP Art History curriculum in the 2015-16 school year and AHS Art History teachers have had to adjust the course schedule to follow the new learning objectives that College Board created.

“This is the first time since I’ve been teaching Art History that they’ve revamped the curriculum,” Kendra Magill, Art History teacher of nine years, said.

Every few years College Board -- the company in charge of Advanced Placement programs -- redesigns the curriculum for certain AP classes in order to make sure that students are receiving the highest quality education available to them. The periodic redesigns tend to focus on readjusting course standards; however, AP Art History teachers had no set standards to cov-

er before the change occurred.

“Prior to this change there were no standards, no learning objectives. I had to teach the whole book [Gardner’s Art Through the Ages]. Teachers just had to guess what to teach,” Magill said.

The newly introduced standards focus on two hundred and fifty images that students are required to know. Many teachers have had mixed reactions to the introduction of required works. Allison Tubiak, in her second year teaching AP Art History, has kept a positive mindset about the change.

“I believe that the focus now is more on quality rather than quantity of works studied,” Tubiak said.

However, other teachers such as Magill are unhappy with the required standard for various reasons.

“I’m not happy about the course being reduced to two hundred and fifty images since a lot of my favorite artworks are not included and completely random ones are. It’s tough to deal with that change, but I’m still finding a way to sneak in all my favorites,” Magill said.

Unlike teachers, a majority of students favor the new course standards because they believe that it helps make the class easier to study for.

“I think the required 250 images help organize everything into a cohesive manner,” Andria Modica, current Art History student, said.

Art History teachers across the country have been testing the waters this year as they try to discover the most successful way to teach using the new standards.

“I think that this is the year of growing pains. This

collegeboard.com

Melissa Dunn

An aspect of the new curriculum is the introduction of a required set of 250 artworks that students must know. Pictured is the Colosseum from the Imperial Roman Empire which is one of the 250 specified images.

is a big transitional year, and we’re just doing the best that we [teachers] can,” said Magill.

Art History has become one of the largest AP courses that AHS students enroll in, and despite the new curriculum, the

department believes that

stu-

dents will thrive on the end of course exam. Teachers still have concerns that the changes will decrease what students can comprehend in AP Art History.

F EAT U R E S

5

Suraihyah Sule Earlier this year Shubhom Bhattacharya, Senior, recently became a regional finalist for the Google Science Fair. The Google Science Fair is an online science competition that’s sponsored by many major companies.

The grand prize for winning the Google Science Fair includes a National Geographic trip to the Galapagos Islands, a $50,000 scholarship, and an “experience” at organizations such as Lego, National Geographic, Virgin Galactic, Scientific American, and Google.

Finalists will receive a $25,000 scholarship and assorted packages from sponsoring organizations, but to Bhattacharaya, it’s not just about the money or the packages. It’s about opportunities and the experience.

“I wanted to join the science fair because it presented an opportunity to present the work that I’d done,” Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya has been doing the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) for several years.The

Shubom Bhattacharya

AHS Student Finalist for the Google Science Fair

In the picture the solar cell substrates are seen immediately following a process where a polymer solution was added to them by a process called “spin-coating”

Google Science Fair specifically featured an online platform that differed from traditional science fairs that he found an interesting way to share his work. “[The Google Science Fair] differed from traditional science fairs because it was entirely online. Most science fairs have you make a poster and present to judges who walk by and ask questions. The Google

AHS Junior

Science Fair has you make a Google site where you present your findings and they have judges go to your site and assess your work.” Bhattacharaya said.

Unlike other science fairs, that are only limited to a regional scope, The Google Science Fair had an international reach with many projects from foreign countries. Bhattacharaya found

an interest in renewable energy.

“I really wanted to work with renewable energy because I think that’s one of the things that’s especially important to address for the future.” Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya found, through research, that solar energy was by far the largest and most interesting source of renewable energy and wanted to know why solar power wasn’t used more. While solar cells are found in many places, they still only make up a fraction of our energy sources.

“It turns out that the solar cells you see normally are costly to process and take up a lot of room. Doing some more research, I found that research into organic alternatives had shown that solar cells can be more versatile and more costeffective when made using polymer alternatives as semiconductors.” Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya worked between Sept. and March to have the project ready to be submitted by May. Becoming a finalist was a surprise to him.

“I’d like to thank our school’s science fair sponsor Mrs.

Writes and Publishes Book

Nicole Vicekrs This December, AHS junior Deeb Haidar’s book Round Table will be published. Round Table is to be a look at the human condition through the point of views of computers.

Haidar, who has been working on the book since the beginning of last summer, says that his book is a sci-fi critique of human nature.

Inspired by the TV show, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage a 1980’s documentary about space, Round Table is about what happens in a future when Earth loses orbit from the sun, and catches orbit with another star. Due to this, a group of three computers take charge of the next evolution of humanity. It is written in the form of a screenplay.

“The three computers each represent one characteristic of human nature. The book is actually not written from an omniscient point of view, but from the point of view of all three computers,” Haidar said.

The first computer, Idealism, sees things black and white, because in an ideal world , there’s right and there’s wrong, and no in between, no hard dilemmas. Idealism follows a strict moral code

Duran and some of the people at the Kippelen Lab at Georgia Tech who helped me in understanding the research process. In general, I think science fairs are great ways to motivate students to think based upon some of the core principles underlying scientific research” Bhattacharya said.

Jaime Duran, a TAG/ Science teacher, helped Bhattacharya by getting approval for his project by the county so he could compete.

“I have a feeling Shubhom didn’t need much help from anyone for that matter. He is a really talented scientist. I am so proud for Shubhom to represent AHS and our community.

Our school is better for having Shubhom attend here because he is such a hard-working, intelligent, and inventive young man. It is so amazing the Shubhom has been able to achieve so much in the scientific community before even graduating high school. He is a role model for other students.” Duran said.

The front and the back cover of Haidar’s book.

and tries to make everyone do what he wants because it’s the right thing to do. But the problem occurs when the other computer gets involved.

Sadist, the second computer,

takes this opportunity to make himself a god, the supreme ruler of Earth. It kind of goes with the old idea of three wishes, and how everyone knows that one of the wishes

should be for infinite wishes, because everyone wants everything they want. Well, when you’re the supreme ruler of everything, you get pretty much anything you want.

Finally, there’s the final computer, the Observer. His job is to observe the toils and follies of the other two computers, but never get involved. He watches and reflects on the paths of the other two computers, and his sections of the book might be the most insightful of all, especially in relation to human nature.

Haidar has always wanted to write a book, but he says that this is his first successful attempt.

“The hardest thing about writing a book is beginning, and then getting through writer’s block. I like to summarize the book in one sentence, and then expand it from there, and use that as an outline to guide me through writing the book.

For this book, I ended up changing the plot entirely, so this outline is just a starting point,” Haidar said.

“As for the publishing process, I used a service called Blurb, which is assisted self publishing. I was going to approach other publishers like Penguin, etc., but I like the idea of publishing it myself better. Maybe in the future I’ll work with a publishing company,” Haidar said.

Haidar’s book comes out December 25, 2015 on Amazon and iBooks store.

6 F EAT U R E S Meet AHS’s New Faculty Members Nadir Lewis/Staff

Maia Gibson/Staff

Maia Gibson/Staff

Maria Banaszak, AHS Latin teacher

David Boyd, AHS Social Studies teacher

and raised in At-

Womack grew up in Nevada,

kind and helpful,” Womack the

lanta, after receiving her de-

Missouri and went to college at

10th grade ELA teacher, said.

grees at University of Georgia,

the University of Missouri. He

Womack got his inspi-

and degree at the University

later transferred to Metropolitan

ration to be a teacher from

of Alabama, Sibold started

State in Minnesota and later got

his high school debate class.

her

teach-

his Masters degree from Holy

“I was originally a com-

ing Literature to 9th grad-

Family University. This is his

munications major and after my

come back, I was looking for a

ers at Alpharetta high school.

11th year as a Language Arts

second year of college I was at

school that would provide me the

Sibold prefers to teach here

teacher. He moved from New

resources to do what I want to

Jersey to Georgia to continue

lunch break outside of Taco Bell

for many reasons. The envionment of Alpharetta attracted her.

his teaching career at Alpharetta.

“I loved the environment

Womack believes he is ad-

of the school and I loved the

justing to Alpharetta pretty well.

support that I found from the

“So far so good. The class

English department. I love

sizes are pretty big and there’s a lot of students in a class and that’s

This year, many new teach-

David Boyd is a new so-

ers joined AHS’s staff including

cial studies teacher at Alpharet-

David Boyd and Maria Ban-

ta this year. He teaches World

aszak.

History and AP Government.

Maria Banaszak is a new

Latin, from Latin I to AP. “I knew Alpharetta was a great school. I had heard wonderful things about the community here, so when a job opened

Marybeth Sibold

“I’d been out of teaching for eleven years. When I decided to

do. I think Alpharetta does that.

It’s got the types of students I

up, it seemed like destiny,” Ban-

like to work with and it’s got the

aszak said.

commitment to the way I want to

Born

teaching

career

Banaszak has always had

teach. Teachers can only be re-

that this school not only chal-

a passion for teaching. She re-

ally happy if they’re in a place

lenges students but it chal-

ceived her undergraduate degree

where their style matches what

lenges teachers to be the best

from John Carroll University

the expectations are,” Boyd said.

they can be.” Sibold, The

and her master’s degree from

Boyd has always been inter-

UGA. She began her teaching

ested in teaching. After receiving

career at Holy Spirit Preparatory in Sandy Springs, where she taught Latin 3 for grade seven.

Banaszak chose to become a teacher because of her interest in Latin and her passion for sharing her knowledge with others.

“I loved Latin. I loved learn-

Michael Womack teaching sentence structure to his 10th grade Lit students

The english department has been

David Boyd

year. She teaches all levels of

Marybeth Sibold helping her student during her lunch period

Michael Womack

Maria Banaszak

latin teacher at Alpharetta this

Nadir Lewis/Staff

Maia Gibson & Nadir Lewis

his degree at Duke University, he began his career as a teacher in

Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania,

9th grade ELA teacher, said.

Being her first year teaching, it would carry many difficulties and new beginnings. She has taken many approches

to

adjustin

to

where he taught Economics and

her new life at Alpharetta.

World History. Teaching is truly

“I think I’m adjusting well

the right fit for him, because of

,just like my freshmen, transi-

his passion for educating others.

tioning to teaching high school.

It takes a few days to get use to

ing about it and about all the

“In every job I’ve ever

culture and the history involved

had, the part I like most is train-

with it, butbut I realized that

ing,

what I liked the most was shar-

people understand things bet-

in high

ing it. That inspired me to get

ter. So, teaching just became

learn that mistakes are part of

into teaching,” Banaszak said.

a natural outcrop.” Boyd said.

the process and that is okay.

educating,

and

making

but it’s going well.” Sibold said.

Ms. Sibold believes that for her freshamn to succeed school they must

having having a mini midlife crisis. I said ‘I don’t want to be a communications major. What do I want to do?’ I thought about what would have made me the happiest and I was in high school

been kind of a challenge, but the

and I remembered my speech

students here are incredibly po-

and debate teacher and wanted to

lite and have been very engaged.

be just like him.” Womack said.

Sami Thompson

jor roles for people of color and different ethnic groups. In her speech, Davis spoke about how the hard work of women such as Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, and Taraji P. Henson has started to break the racial barrier and bring about the idea of black women as leading stars.

Outside the world of TV, lack of opportunity imposes a strain on the lives of black women in society as a whole. Ethnicity still has an effect on today’s social customs. “[Prejudices] are more common in everyday lives, but in everyday lives, they are not brought to the forefront. We don’t have the stage that Tarji has, or Kerry Washington has,” Rita Flowers, AHS teacher, said.

Subtle separation between races has long been thought to have been a problem that no longer burdens society. But the slight distinctions affected equal opportunities for all, as

On September 20, actress Viola Davis made history as the first African American to win Best Actress in a Drama at the 67th Emmy Primetime Awards, highlighting African American women’s achievement within television today.

She used her historical win as a stage to emphasize the success of other black actresses and she brought their revolutionary take on Hollywood to light. Upon accepting her award, Davis began her speech with a quote by Harriet Tubman, mentioning how opportunities for black women have been lacking within the world of TV. “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” Davis said.

The underrepresentation of minorities in television roles is a common problem in the world of media today. TV show writers haven’t produced ma-

Vogue.com

E N T E R TAI N M E N T 7 Viola Davis Historic Emmy Win

Viola Davis makes her speech upon accepting her award at the 2015 Emmy Awards.

She praises black actresses breaking the racial barrier in television.

seen in the statistics in Hollywood. But society’s willing ignorance towards de facto segregation is what keeps it intact.

“I don’t think [prejudices] have really been talked about.

We can say ‘let’s get over it, let’s

move on,’ but until it’s talked about and dealt with, they’re going to exist,” Flowers said.

However, successes such as Davis’s at the Emmy’s is evidence of progress and changing ideals.

Television is now going through

what writers are calling a “black renaissance”, with writers like Shonda Rhimes making room for people of color in the spotlight.

“I think we’re making progress in that way. I think that some of the things that Shonda Rhimes as her writing and who she’s having as leading ladies is also progress that way.

We’ve never had a writer like Shonda Rhimes to give them the opportunity,” Flowers said.

Davis’s win at the Emmy’s solidifies how black actresses have been using their talents to speak up and be recognized. They’re working to achieve real change.

“So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people that are Ben Sherwood, Paul Lee, Peter Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black,” Davis said.

Great Start for a New Year in Drama

Nolan Edmonds

year. The actors in the backstage

There were two act that took

were very excited as they were

place, the first one was called

counting down the time before

“The Audition” and act two was

the previous year. Mrs.Stoffle is

the performance. Mustafo had a

called “ Audience had only posi-

the new drama and technology

last minute check on the lights

tive things to say about the play,

theatre teacher for Alpharetta

and backstage. Before they knew

and they were surprised how

it the curtains opened and the

good the play was with only a

lights shined on stage and music

little time to practice.

The Alpharetta theatre program has recently added a member to their program after losing one in

high school in 2015 - 216 school year. Stoffle previously taught drama and tech theatre at Roswell High school as she was well known for her performances of “Hair Spray” and “Sherek”.

Stoffle has been in the theatre program for a long time and it’s been something that she really enjoys and fills a big part in her life. She been the producer and director of many plays and her plays continuously been nominated for the best plays out.

Drama sucessfully completed their first play to start off the year. They are looking forward to many sucess in the future.

actors. They are really talented

“My drama and tech class is

and coachable, which makes a

probably by far the best group

lot of things easier for me.” Mrs.

I’ve had in all my years of teach-

Stoffle dram and tech teacher.

ing. They are always ready to

Stoffle tech and drama class has

learn something new things and

been working extremely hard to

they are able to pick up things

for their upcoming show on Oc-

easily and very productive. My

tober 8. This is also the first show

drama class has a lot of talent at

Nolan Edmonds

started playing, it was showtime.

Raiders Revealed

about to see the first play of the

for Stoffle at a new school, and

young ages, most of the actors are

“This is my first year teaching

it is very important to her that

freshman and this would be their

at Alpharetta high school but be-

she makes a good impression.

first time acting in high school.”

fore i had a lot experience at my

Musafo has been extremely hard

Ms. Stoffle teacher said.

old school named Roswell High

before and after school everyday

The night of the opening act

School. I’m planning to have a

since the first week of school.

show there were a lot of people

lot of success this year, knowing

Stoffle explained she had a lot of

who showed up with a lot of flow-

Mrs. Stoffle director and producer of The Audition and Into the River Through the

I’m going to have a lot of young

confidence in her drama class.

ers and excitement as they were

Woods. Behind her you will see multiple awards she has won in the previous years.

8

SAT v. ACT

9

10

E N T E R TAI N M E N T

The Scarecrow Harvest Festival (Oct. 3) This family-friendly festival was held October 3rd on Milton Avenue in Alpharetta.

As you walk around the center of downtown Alpharetta, you may have noticed scarecrows that line the street, they are for this festival. These scarecrows are created by elementary school classes to represent various causes such as a childhood cancer organization and different local sports teams which are entered into the festival to be judged on the day of the festival.

The Scarecrow Harvest Festival includes live music as well as vendors, and even a petting zoo.

ber 16-17. Local singer-songwrit-

hotairballoon.com

Eric Bias

ers, as well as other musicians will be in action in our hometown of Alpharetta, GA. The lineup

altproject.com

With October Upon Us, Fall is Now In Style for this year’s event includes: Edwin McCain, Tinsley Ellis, Randall Bramblett, Parker Millsap, Jim Lauderdale, Angaleena Presley, Chris Stills, Tommy TalOwl-O-Ween kicks of Halloween festivities with a theemed hot air balloon display.

Around 1,00 people attended the event this October.

food trucks, crafts, hayrides, and

festivities that it has to offer. By

live music on the center stage.

going toward a later time frame,

ton, Elizabeth Cook, Kristy Lee, Kelsey Waldon, Peter Karp and Sue Foley, Joe Crookston, Daphne Willis, Davin McCoy, Hannah Thomas, Todd Snider, Eliot Bronson, Kim Richey, Friends of Lola, Wesley Cook, The Swear, Smokin’ Novas, plus more!

Owl-O-Ween

on either of the days, you will be

(Oct. 23-24)

able to witness tremendous hot air

This year’s Owl-O-Ween

balloons in full display, equipped

will be held at Kennesaw State

with lights and in full flame to

House on Horror Hill

University on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.

heat the cool mid-October night.

(Oct. 22-24)

The yearly tradition, House on Horror Hill, spooks Alpharetta patrons. The genuine haunted house uses people, not machines, to give a good scare.

St. The house is open starting on Oct. 1 and is open until the

Since 2013, this family-friendly

Wire & Wood

This year’s festival had a lower

festival has contained activities.

Music Festival (Oct. 15-17)

on Horror Hill, the longest run-

attendance due to rain. Despite

This festival is held over a two-

This event will be held at the

ning haunted house in Georgia.

house tradition has no anima-

the rain, a majority of the activi-

day time frame to allow more

Avalon on Oct.15 and moves to

The House on Horror Hill

tronics and is run and oper-

ties ensued with success, such as

families to come and enjoy the

downtown Alpharetta, GA Octo-

is located at 1650 Alpharetta

ated completely by volunteers.

The tradition of The House

30th of October. This haunted

Mary Maycock October means fall, and fall means the return of the excitement for shows to look forward to. Beloved shows return, talk shows get new hosts, and Halloween movies are everywhere on TV. Let’s take a look at some of the shows people have been waiting for so earnestly.

Quantico ABC Family’s all new show Quantico (Sundays 10/9c) follows the life of a soon-to-be agent named Alex Parrish, played by Priyanka Chopra , who trains to be a member of

the FBI in Quantico, Virginia.

While she attends the academy and trains, it is revealed that someone in their school (which is also coincidentally an actual base) is an undercover terrorist. Everyone suspects Alex; she must fight to prove her innocence.

Agents of Shield Season 3 of the ABC Family’s action-packed Marvel spinoff series has fans hooked for more.

Chloe Bennet, who plays Skye, returns to the turmoil-filled life of a SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement & Logistics Division) agent,

ew.com

Fall Television Shows Spring Back into Action

abc.go.com

The show lineup for ABC this fall includes the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the new series Quantico.

South African comedian Trevor Noah suceeds Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Comedy Central airs the show weekdays at 6:45 PM.

which includes locating kidnapped friends, dealing with her newfound mutant powers, and defending the world from an evil organization, set to destroy the world through strategy and lies, known as HYDRA. Catch this show on Tuesdays at 9/8c.

Empire Empire follows the lives of the Lyon family, one of the wealthiest families in the US due to their wildly successful music label company. Backstabbing and treachery are prevalent as all members of the family fight for control of their empire. Season 2 is centered around family splits

as conflicts arise between family members. Catch this drama on FOX, Wednesdays at 9/8c.

Survivor Survivor is a reality show that started in 15 years ago in 2000, on CBS. Within the show, contestants are left stranded in remote locations and given nothing more than the clothes they are wearing. They must survive whatever problems may arise: terrain, climate, predators, and even lack of food. At the end of the season, participants are narrowed down to one lone Survivor, who walks away with one million dollars. This show is on

CBS at 8 pm on Wednesday.

The Daily Show People have already begun to acclaim The Daily Show’s brand new host--Trevor Noah has succeeded Jon Stewart, hoping to fill his impressive shoes. Noah has proved that he’s worth his salt with witty jokes and satire about a myriad of issues going on in the world. Tune in Mondays at 11 pm on Comedy Central to catch Noah’s new skits.

The autumn is definitely going to be exciting for us this year, and hopefully a distraction from the cold weather to come!

S PO R T S

11

Volleyball Team Working Well with New Coaches The Varsity volleyball team’s head coaching staff is new this season after the previous head coach Faculty member Megan Powanda and community coach Grace Fossier took over the head coaching reigns of Alpharetta’s volleyball team at the beginning of the season. Powanda became involved with the volleyball program last season when the team needed more AHS faculty members to help out with the program.

“At the end of last year Athletic Director Michael Scheifflee told me that I would be the head volleyball coach this year along with our community coach,” Megan Powanda, math teacher, said.

When not coaching, Powanda is a member of Alpharet-

room has seemed to help the Lady Raiders on the court as well.

“This is one of the best teams we’ve had in the last couple of years,” said Powanda.

AHS Volleyball website

Melissa Dunn

The Varsity team is currently ranked in the middle of the pack, and the team performed

well

against

Johns

Creek and South Forsyth who

Pictured is the silver champion AHS Varsity Volleyball squad at the Sequoyah Classic. The team went to the 2015 GSHA playoffs.

ta’s math department where she teaches Algebra 2 and Precalculus. This year, Powanda has taken on the challenge of teaching two subjects and being the head coach of a Varsity sports team.

“It’s been stressful at times, but everything that I do is for the

kids so it really motivates me to do better when I see that they [the players] are benefiting from my hard work,” said Powanda.

While juggling an increased workload has been difficult at times, Powanda focuses on the importance of having balance.

“I always remind my girls that they are students before they are athletes,” said Powanda.

Powanda sees the volleyball team as a great way for players to better their athletic ability while still doing well academically. The focus on doing well in the class-

are the two strongest teams in the region. Powanda has high hopes for the volleyball program in future years as well.

“I definitely plan on keeping with this program because we have a lot of young talent coming up and the rewarding aspect of seeing how they grow from their freshman to senior year is just outstanding and I wouldn’t think of doing anything else,” said Powanda.

Alyssa Albrecht Many men and women at AHS wear the color pink with a sense of pride and victory. These people have battled breast cancer themselves or know someone who has been effected. The women in our community who fought are an inspiration as well as an example of how AHS and the Pink Out foundation mean more that just wearing pink.

The awareness for breast cancer started as early as the 1980’s and has grown dramatically as more and more women have become affected by it every year. Due to this increase in awareness, AHS features a football game every October

18 year breast cancer survivor, English teacher, and Raiders for the Cure sponsor, Ms. Scott.

Breast cancer is a type of cancer a male or female can retrieve, but it is commonly found more in women. This cancer affects and kills many people every year, and the charities that give out the pink ribbons donate their profits to local hospitals so they can buy and develop better technology for a hopeful cure.

“Breast cancer is still one of the top diseases that women suffer from, so even if you haven’t been impacted by it yet, the probability is that you are going to encounter some female in your life who has,” said Scott.

The pink ribbons and the

geared toward breast cancer

Pink Out movement mean the world to Ms. Holland. Our very own English teacher here in AHS recently battled breast cancer about a year ago. The news hit her hard and she couldn’t help but wonder why it had to happen.

She was diagnosed in the April of 2014 and started treatments in May as soon as school ended.

“They found the cancer in my lymph nodes, and that was another shocker since no one thought that was going to happen,” said One year breast cancer survivor and math teacher, Ms. Holland.

Through her fight, she learned she had to receive treatments of chemo therapy not too far into the process. The tumor was bigger than the doctors thought, and

Alyssa Albrecht

The Inside Look on Breast Cancer Awareness at AHS

Pink out banner painted by student council displayed outside of the media center.

This sign informed students of the games theme.

she was soon scheduled for six

“My

rounds of chemo. By the last two

unbelieveable

treatments, it started to become

thing

difficult for Ms. Holland to go

did for me,” said Holland.

through with them. She even-

Pink Out is all about re-

tually completed them all and

minding everyone to be brave

has been cancer free ever since.

and to know you are never

“Chemo scared me more

alone in anything you go

that anything,” said Holland

I

through.

students

were

and

any-

needed

Teachers,

the

kids

parents,

and students are given this re-

the students in our community

minder once a year to spread

has changed how people treat

love to those suffering this can-

one another. Although terrifying and deadly, this cancer has brought our community closer together as one. Students are

cer and any cancer or disease.

constantly helping teachers, par-

“Coming here took my

families everyday and not just

ents are sending food from other

mind off of it because every-

in October. There needs to al-

counties to those in need, and the

one was so good to me, and

random hugs are what make

that’s what got me through

game. These games are an opportunity

for

breast

cancer

Dorian Glover

The effect this cancer has on

awareness called a Pink Out

survivors to show the community that it can be overcome.

Because breast cancer is still so prevalent, it is important for us to remember it’s effect on

ways be a focus on this cancer and those who battle it,” said

The cheerleaders hold up the Pink Out banner as the football players run onto the field ready to start the game.

the fight worth it for many.

Breast cancer has nothing on those who believe and those who are determined to win.

the

cancer,”

said

Holland.

S PO R T S

12

How Select Sophmores Made It to Varsity Football A select few were chosen this season to make starting lineup for the Varsity football team.

As eleven take the field at a

to step up and fill a role when

Suraihyah Sule/Staff

Alyssa Albrecht

needed, whether that meant for one play, for one quarter, or for an entire football game. They have been ready, and they have

time, more than half of them are

prepared themselves mentally

sophomore underclassmen who

and physically to do that”, Nich-

worked this summer and years

ols, Varsity Head Coach, said.

before to earn their positions.

These sophomores have al-

sophomore

ready done so much for the AHS

boys are all really close friends

Varsity football team, and they

and not just a variety of random

are only halfway through high

players just trying to earn a vic-

school. Making this difference

The

starting

tory. What’s unique is that they show how football for the class

just starts to make a change to the

Alpharetta’s defense sets up for a play against rival Milton. They are assisted by sophomores to win in the last half.

football program here at AHS. Fans are excited about their

of 2018 is about a lasting bond.

dedication of how much they

starting positions, their want to

made success in many games in-

“In the snap of our fingers

want to play for the Varsity team.

play had to be strong. Some of the

cluding those against West For-

it’s gonna go away and I think it’s

“This summer, I really tried

players also ran into a lot of doubt

syth and Milton. Some success

high expectations from many

one of our biggest accomplish-

not to slack off during workouts

and criticism along their journey.

the sophomores have had so far

for the next two years to come,

ments being able to play with

despite how hard it got, and I

“All the expectations i’ve

consist of many interceptions and

and the fact that they are all so

each other for so long,” Matthew

tried to lift up some of the peo-

gone about since I was young,

touchdowns. Coach Nichols and

close will always be adored.

Downing,

said.

ple older than me and younger

and all the doubters really keep

the Varsity coaching staff look

“Growing closer to the

The boys practiced this

than me to do better things with

me motivated. They’ve told me

into playing the players who will

sophomores who haven’t got-

past spring and summer know-

the time that they had to work,”

i’m not good enough to play,

help the team win. The coaches

ten recognized yet gives us a

ing there was going to be start-

Reid Schulz, linebacker, said.

that i’m too young, too small

don’t make their decision on who

chance to teach them and tell

ing positions open because of

Many of these players knew

and not smart enough. This

plays based off of seniority. Many

them about how friday nights

the huge graduating senior class

they could be replaced and would

motivates me to keep grindin’

games have shown these coaches

are gonna be, what the pres-

from the year before. The work-

always play and practice like it

everyday and to win games

decisions when a sophomore is

sure situations are like, and

outs were not easy, but they

was their last chance. Since they

for this team,” Downing Said.

seen playing in a starting position.

the do’s and don’ts of play-

pushed through to show their

were the youngest competing for

So far, the sophomores have

“They’ve all been ready

ing on varsity,” Downing said.

quarterback,

potential and have been given

Inside the Locker Room: A Look into the Game With Nolan Edmonds Nolan Edmonds

the game. We had hip hop and rap

that we had to play better the sec-

the trainer rapping up his cuts

flowing through my body as we

music blasting playing our favor-

ond half in order for us to win the

and blood. I had to pop some

were riding through the campus

ite playlist as we were putting on

game. The coaches started pulling

of Nolan’s bones back into

to go to the locker room. Milton

our equipment to go to the field.

out white boards to draw up new

place so he can continue to

students started making nega-

“The locker room is probably

schemes for the second half. All

play in the game,” Nassar said.

tive chants around our busses.

the best part of the game because

the players were compacted in a

could be filled with joy, excite-

We sat on the bus in silence try-

we always blast the music and

small humid area, as we struggle

ment, and sweet tones of music,

ing to focus on the game as we

the bass shakes the whole locker

to pay attention to the coach. Be-

or it could be filled with disap-

were trying to depart to the locker

room. It’s a great and hype en-

fore the half was over something

pointment, blood, and silence.

rooms. I continued to stare at the

vironment to be around before a

clicked in everybody’s mind and

Alpharetta has recently played

students as it motivated me more.

game. Especially before the Mil-

heart.We started to realize the

against their biggest rival Mil-

The locker room we stayed in

ton game, a lot of players gave mo-

position we were in and the hard

ton High School for football

had very limited in space, and

tivational speeches to the team,”

work that got us there. We knew

as their first game. This was a

made some of the players have

Nassar, Defensive End, said.

that we couldn’t let this game or

big game for the raiders to kick

to sit on the bathroom floor. Be-

During the halftime we went

opportunity slip. Knowing that

off their year to a new season,

fore we went out for warm-ups

back to the locker room, and

we may not get this opportunity

and to also redeem themselves

Coach Nichols gave the team a

the room was filled with silence

again. At that moment we came

as they lost in the previous

great motivational speech on how

as kids were getting taped and

together as one, and we became

years. Knowing this is my first

we have been waiting on this mo-

wrapped up from the previous 1st

the true definition of a team.

year with the raiders, I knew

ment to come. It was going to be

half. I had cuts and bruises over

“Half time at Milton was

this game meant a lot to many

the last moment for some of the

my body, and I wasn’t able to

very quiet in the beginning but to-

people on and off the field.

seniors this year, but since the

pick up my right leg because of

wards the end the seniors started

It was 2 hours before the

first day of spring practice, we’ve

the amount hits it had taken so far.

picking up everyone. I saw Nolan

game, and we finally arrived at

been counting down the days to

We were up on score but we knew

on the ground getting tapped and

The locker room is a very secure place where a lot of people on the outside don’t know what happens in the inside.

Sometimes the locker room

Nolan Edmonds

Milton High School.Chills were

Running back Nolan Edmonds football locker, two hours before the big region game against Milton high school.

Bathroom Against

Nadir Lewis Here at AHS, many teachers have incorporated a new bathroom policy to prevent students from wasting class time by misusing the privilege. Teachers give four passes per semester and every pass you don’t use contributes one point towards your final exam grade. Few students feel that the extra points are a good boost to their grade but most, including myself, feel that using the bathroom is not a freedom that should be limited.

According to, The Bladder and Bowel Foundation, The average teenFor

Passes:

ager urinates about 6 times a day.The average teenager gets 6 hours of sleep. That leaves 18 hours to urinate 6 times which means you urinate once every three hours.

High school is a place where students take responsibility for their actions and should be able to manage themselves. If a student wants to use the bathroom during class knowing that they will miss around 3-5 minutes of class time then they should be allowed to.

There is no reason that the teacher should be able to say that in a 90 day semester a student can only use the bathroom four times in that class. Using the bathroom is a basic human need of the body and cannot have a fixed amount of times you

E D I T O R IALS

Are

can perform said action.

Some would say that students could waste precious class time using the bathroom as much times as they need. While that is somewhat true, these are high school students. If the student wants to use the bathroom and miss class time then so be it, but they will be responsible for the material they missed. High school is supposed to train young minds for bigger and better things in college and the real world. If we can’t let students have the fundamental power to use the bathroom when they need to, are we really preparing them for the real world?

Why do we exterminate such a simple liberty of our everyday lives? Because

Andres Bonno

Last year Alpharetta High School introduced a new uniform bathroom and hall pass for all rooms of the school. Although these new ‘pristine’ white laminated passes did little to radically alter the school, these passes caused many teachers to begin implementing bathroom usage restrictions. While many students disagree with the restrictions put in place by teachers, the regulations serve a useful purpose and have had a positive impact within the school.

Although the administration does not require teachers to enforce any restrictions on bathroom usage, several teachers have continued to use certain systems to measure and sometimes reward students based on how frequently they use the restroom by incentivizing the students with homework passes and in some cases extra

credit. Other teachers simply use a sign out sheet to measure how many times a given student uses the restroom in a given period of time while others only distribute/allot their students a finite number of restroom passes. Regardless of the method, many students disagree with the regulations because they fail to see the underlying logic. The restroom restrictions are not im-

posed on students to punish them, but rather to allow the teachers to show that they value the student’s time and want to limit the amount of disruptions during class.

For most AHS students the average school day is 7 hours and 10 minutes, from 8:20 am until 3:30 pm, and each non-anchor-time class period lasts fifty-eight minutes (an anchor-time class period lasts fifty minutes).

They

we don’t want students to learn how to manage their time and responsibilities? We’re limiting the amount of times a student can go to the bathroom but then asking them to live on their own and manage themselves in college.

Honestly, this issue is way bigger than just bathroom passes. It’s about the limitations the school keeps on us during our high school career then leaves us out

With this in mind, a given student at AHS spends 5 hours and 48 minutes within the classroom out of the 7 hour and 10 minute school day which leaves 1 hour and 15 minutes outside of the classroom walking the halls, in the cafeteria, etc.

These times were carefully chosen by Fulton County and Alpharetta High School to provide students with the most education within the shortest amount of time and yet they still provide students with 1 hour and 15 minutes EACH DAY to eat, use the restroom, talk to friends, talk to teachers, etc. This time accounts for approx. 1/7th of the school day, and when students use the restroom too frequently during a class it takes away from the 58 minutes teachers are provided to educate us. By using the restroom for five minutes just 12 times during a semester, a student will have missed more than one whole class period worth of education.

The main point is that bathroom usages add up over time and inhibit teachers from doing their job:

13

Fair?

to dry when we have to advance to the real world.

High school teachers should not be aloud to monitor bathroom uses with bathroom passes. It is a limitation of the rights and freedoms of our students. Students should be able to use the bathroom when they need to, and if they misuse the privilege then teachers can limit privileges from certain students not the whole class.

teaching you. While many students may view teachers who implement restroom regulations as cruel people who don’t care about the students needs, it is in fact the exact opposite. Teacher impose regulations because they care so much about their students, the teachers who impose restrictions realize that a student’s time is precious and the regulations show that they value the students time.

If students would rather add 5 minutes between class periods each day allocated specifically to restroom usage, the school day would increase by 35 minutes. This would place dismissal at 4:05pm, I believe that students need to reevaluate how they use the 1 hour and 15 minutes they are given each day. Maybe rather than talking to your friends for 5 minutes between 3rd and 4th period, you should use the restroom.

But then again you may be someone who would advocate for a longer school day.

14

E D ITO R IALS Lara Strydom Staff Writer

In American society, the average college tuition has increased 1120% over the past thirty years, according to the Huffington Post.This increase is merely due to the fact that the demand for a college diploma is so high that colleges are free to charge at whatever rate they choose.

In today’s world, college is looked upon as an opportunity to further one’s education in such a way that they can better themselves for the future.

But what is the cost for that?

And is that money being used for the right purposes? Students are simply trying to better themselves by going to college, but with the hefty price of higher education and student loan debts, college is doing the exact opposite of helping.

As of Sept. 14, 2015, the student loan debt was $1,351,872,996,028.96, and it continues to increases exponentially every day, accord-

ing to collegedebt.com. Colleges justify this by claiming that the high tuition rates are apart of the investment for a better future.

But even though it is true that higher education provides one with a degree, it does not necessarily guarantee one a paying job that will relieve the student of their piling student loan debt.

According to Daily News, more than forty percent of college graduates are unemployed.

This leaves students in a difficult situation in which they feel that they have to go back to school, and spend even more money on a higher degree, adding on to the crippling student loan debt.

But the reality is that it seems that college is not worth the investment anymore. Yes, it is important to receive a higher education, but how much of college tuition is actually going towards students’ actual studies? The Huffington Post reports that the president of the University of Chicago, Robert J. Zimmer, made $3,358,723 in the year of 2011. This raises questions as to whether students tuition payments are high for the right purposes or selfish reasons.

Many argue that tuition is high because higher education

Lisa Benson

On to a Better Future is on to a Larger Debt

is a privilege, and those who are willing to pay the most for it, want it the most. This is arguable to some extent; but overall, it is evident that many students have the same work ethic and same desire to pursue a higher education as others but simply do not have the financial resources to do so.

According to Business Insider, Ronald Nelson of Houston High School worked very hard in high school to get accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, but turned them down for a full-ride offered by Alabama University.

The Ivy League schools did offer Nelson some extent of financial aid, but it was not quite enough to secure himself and his family.

This is a perfect example of how one student can work just as hard as another, but because of financial restraints that are out of their control, they will not receive

the same opportunities as others.

In a broader view, this creates a never ending cycle of the same people obtaining the best opportunities to higher education in that the same people with wealthy families are the ones who are able to afford the best schools, thus they are more likely to obtain the best jobs, allowing them to pay for their children to go to the best school, and then the cycle is repeated again.

America needs to take steps to opening up the opportunity of higher education to not only those with the resources to pay for it, but everyone who is willing to work hard in order to succeed. This can be done by more universities providing full financial aid, in which students who truly cannot afford the hefty prices of college receive free tuition. Currently, only 1.3% of colleges in the United States

offer this, according to US News.

Some of which include Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford.

Currently, President Obama is working toward a Free Community College plan, so everyone can have vthe access to some measure of higher education.

In the meantime, students need to find ways to cope with hefty tuition. Most high schools provide opportunities for students to get ahead on their college core classes through AP courses, and college courses.

This is a great way to save not only money, but time. There arve also millions of scholarships available across the country for all kinds of people. Spending the first two years in community college or an in-state college and then transferring to a more prestige university is also a great strategy for those who want the best of both worlds.

There are also numerous in-state general scholarship programs such as the Zell Miller scholarship and the Hope scholarship.

Overall high education is a great experience, but it should be reasonably accessible for all of those willing to work hard and who strive to succeed.

Letter from the Editor: Climate Change Paradigm Co-Editor in Chief Pope Francis has made quite the reputation for himself in past years. With the Pontifex, 78, as the leader of Catholic Church, an almost 1,700 year old organization, it seems incongruous that the doctrine of this Pope can be so vastly different than his predecessors. Yet, Pope Francis visited America this September and, in true nature, was ahead of all of us when it comes down to one issue of seismic importance: climate change.

In Pope Francis’ encyclical, the annual papal doctrine, topics of poverty, income inequality, capitalism, and climate were all recognized by Francis as global dilemmas.

This unprecedented break from the traditional Church platform encapsulates the importance to those living on Earth that combatting climate change needs to be a primary goal.

The debate whether or not human-induced planetary climate change exists is over.

NASA, EPA and 97% of published climate scientists agree

that human activities in the past 150 years have caused the increases in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide to the tune of 400 parts per million, according to empirical studies by the EPA. In perspective, atmospheric carbon dioxide has never been above 300 parts per million in 650,000 years.

Although many Americans understand the gravity of these

social media platforms, signaling the painful reality of climate change. The hunched over polar bear, drenched from swimming endlessly in search for food in the Arctic waters will not be the only victim of this global phenomena.

The profound image was a success in drawing much needed attention to the subject.

Americans, including AHS

Mike Luckovich-AJC

Daniel Grotch

numbers, we, as a people, are not doing enough to combat the problem and not demanding enough of our elected officials either. The conflagration of California forests, floods and droughts across the nation might be anomalies today, but are projected to become common day disasters in the near future considering the direct impact pollution has.

A striking image of a malnourished, underweight polar bear floating on top of a thin sheet of ice has become viral across all

students, were appalled to see such an innocent creature in horrendous conditions. The response was commendable, to say the least, as a large number of younger people stepped forward for better conservation of the environment. That being said, a growing number of students at AHS also feel the responsibility to curb climate change. However, the same people are doing just the opposite by driving inefficient, high polluting cars to school.

Burning fossil fuels, such

as those in our cars, homes, and airplanes, are mainly responsible for the global warming happening right now. The greenhouse gases emitted from industrial factories and farms also share responsibility for sea level rise, global temperature rise, warming oceans, melting glaciers, ocean acidification, and declining sea ice. The continuation of burning scarce fossil fuels will end eventually, but serious reduction must take place now rather than the future.

SUVs, trucks, and muscle cars have seen a burgeoning popularity in the AHS parking lot as more students obtain driver’s licenses. The EPA recognizes vehicles with high power engines, heavy in weight, with large drag coefficients as the worst polluters since they require more fuel to burn and therefore emit more tailpipe fumes. As the generation that will fight climate change, we must turn away from these environmentally unfriendly vehicles and move towards fuel efficient, greener cars. The AHS student body has remarkably intelligent individuals who need not rely on the gas guzzling cars of the past, but can actively change our carbon footprints to benefit our friends and neighbors.

Understandably, cars are as

much of American culture as hot dogs and Kanye West. Having a pickup truck combines cultural identity and usefulness into one vehicle. However, if we want to be serious about solving the planetary issue, we must tweak our culture to adapt. These vehicles harm the air we breathe on the only planet we have. A greener student culture would encourage, not frown upon, electric cars and smaller vehicles. This is the direction we must head if we really want to solve the problem.

It would make it easier for all of us if climate change was not real. The perils of droughts, famines, and starving polar bears would not have to cross our minds. We would be able to drive the cars we want, use all the energy we want and cut down all the trees we want.

However, this is not the case.

Climate change is real and will affect all of us for the remainder of our lives. We have the opportunity to be forward thinkers like Pope Francis and make a change in our community. Yet, it is imperative we start now by driving cleaner cars and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. From the Pope or from a scientist, the message is clear: we must save our planet from ourselves.

E D I T O R I A L S 15

Warning: The Books Mentioned Below are BANNED

solutely True Diary of a PartTime Indian and The Color Purple have been banned for “racial themes”. Ironically, when a book is banned for racial themes, it is

Eric Bias The Hook Staff

Common Core: Is it “Common” Enough for All to Use? Everyone has heard about the infamous Common Core, and with all of the unfavorable policies and standards that are forced upon us by the government, students’ interests in school are exponentially declining, and we need to stop it.

Many parents, students, and even teachers hate the thought of a standardized education system. imagine a world in which all high school students are loving to go to school and hating the thought of leaving.

With this image in mind, we should try to change our education system to make a more effective system that will also result in a more academically competitive country again.

Aren’t students more motivated to do well in classes that they care about? By changing up the common core system, even just slightly, we are giving the students that opportunity to

care about school again. If students care about school, wouldn’t students do better in school?

A saddening statistic has surfaced about America’s Educational System, according to pewresearch.org, the U.S. ranked 27th in math and 20th in science.

The Common Core has created a big hole for the students by not allowing each student to get a head start in the career area of their choice. We must manipulate the educational system in the United States to allow students to get a head start in the career area that they are interested in.

By doing this, we will, in turn, create harder and more motivated students, which will inevitably strengthen our economy.

According to www.gatesfoundation.org, “When learning is personalized, teachers help students find what they like and want to learn about and what their strengths and needs are...

This growing movement is focused on changing the learning environment so students can take more ownership of their learning and teachers can work with them to discover their passions and interests.”

For example, if you have a typical high school student that is fascinated by computer programming, why shouldn’t he/she be able to take classes that are more centered around his/her interest?

Instead, that student is forced by the current Common Core system to take a class, such as a foreign language, that high school students stop continue to take, almost all of the time once they get the needed credits of it that is needed to graduate high school. Why do we have a system that makes all of its students the same? By forcing our students to be the same, we aren’t helping them any. We should embrace the differences each student has and with that, allow them to take classes they are actually interested in. By forcing them to take boring classes, they are unable to take classes that interest them. By reforming the system, we would enable a revolution of passionate students who produce great results.

Someone who is in favor of the current educational system would argue that,“The CCSS requires students to take part in their learning and to think more criti-

My Record Journal. “The entire

book is a blueprint for survival.

It’s for people who have been through terrible things and need hope and support,” Chbosky explained. “The idea of taking two pages out of context and creating an atmosphere as perverse is offensive to me — deeply offensive.” I didn’t know all this when I found The Perks Of Being a Wallflower in sixth grade.

All I knew was that when I read it, I felt like someone understood how I was feeling. The story made me feel for the characters, especially Charlie, the main character, in a real way, more deeply than any book characters before. His little observations about life made me think about what it actually means to be present and alive. The sex, drugs, abuse, etc. made the story authentic, because those are all real issues, and we all have real life problems. Censoring books that feature them won’t solve them.

As time moves forward, standards for what is appropriate for kids to read change. Of Mice

and Men, 1984, The Catcher in the Rye, A Brave New World and The Outsiders have been some of the most banned books in history, yet all are taught in Fulton County schools today. People’s thinking is evolving, which is great, but forward thinking people who read these books in the past were punished, and people in the past

that didn’t get to read those books got cheated out of an experience that many people, our school system included, now think to be valuable. Censorship is unfair to the next generation, as it permits us to grow up with closed minds to the many possibilities of the world. The responsibility of the school system is to teach us HOW to think, not WHAT to think. If they don’t give us the freedom to chose what to read, they aren’t fulfilling that.

I’m going to take advantage of my freedom to read what I want by rereading The

Perks of Being A Wallflower

for the trillionth time. To see what books are currently being challenged in the U.S., check out http://www.ala.org/bbooks/ frequentlychallengedbooks Photo courtesy of Sarah Medina

The last week of September was Banned Books week, when the literary community reflected on the idea of censorship and celebrated the virtue of books that have been banned in the past. Banned books are books that have made unavailable to students because of their content by school administration or concerned parents. Of course, some books have intense adult themes and profanity, and that’s legitimately a reason for some parents not to want their kids to read a book, but when they get the school districts involved and it becomes a banned book, it becomes everybody’s problem.

Many people, Potterheads especially, would find it absurd that the Harry Potter novels are often challenged for witchcraft, and find the idea of growing up without them hard/terrifying, but in this is the reality in Santa Fe, Texas.

Several books like The Ab-

no one with a clear interpretation would ever want to join a gang or take drugs, as in both cases, things end horribly for the main characters. If anything, those books show kids what it’s like for other people and to be lucky for what they have. But if we’re only allowed to read books about kids just like us whose main problem in life is who they’re going to homecoming with, what should inspire us to think broader?

In Alabama, The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank was banned for being too depressing.

Of course it’s depressing; a girl hid from Nazis for two years then, SPOILER ALERT, was found and killed. Even through all that, Anne managed to write, “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy,” in her diary.

Terrible, depressing things have happened throughout history, and if high school students don’t learn about them, they won’t do anything to stop the injustices and genocides that are still happening all over the world today.

My personal favorite book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is one of the most challenged books of all time. It is frequently criticized for displays of drugs, smoking, sex, drugs, abuse, alcohol and homosexuality. The author of the book, Stephen Chbosky, never expected his book to be received this way, and he talks about it in an interview for

charlemagne.4j.lane.edu

Nicole Vickers The Hook Staff

often deemed offensive by people who aren’t even members of the race being discriminated against.

To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned time and time again for racism, even though anyone who reads the book will tell you that the central message of the story was that racism is immoral. That brings us to another problem with book banning: censorship advocates seem to overlook the idea that part of developing strong morals is understanding both sides of the story. One of the best ways to learn about these racial issues is through reading about them.

Growing up now, kids might not even understand that the N-word, used often in society today, is a hate word. But everyone who’s read To Kill a Mockingbird does.

Censoring books for racial issues will not make them go away.

If things like that aren’t talked about, then they become the norm.

Other books are banned for “deviant” lifestyles, such as those of the LGBT+ community, drug users, and gang members. The issue with that is, what’s considered deviant in some areas may not be so in others. By banning books for displaying these lifestyles, censors close the minds of students. The Outsiders and Go Ask Alice are frequently restricted because the main characters participate in gang activity and drug use, respectively. However, the way these books are written,

cally about content, as opposed to simply regurgitating back what their teachers feed them…” according to http://neatoday.org/.

This argument, while good, is invalid due to underlying goal that this system is trying to achieve.

According to freedomworks. org, “The ultimate goal of Common Core is to have every school district follow the same national standards. This is a failed educational approach that will undermine educational quality and choice. States and local communities better know how to design standards based on their

students and parents’ needs than Washington bureaucrats.”

Doesn’t it just make sense to have state-wide as opposed to nationwide educational systems?

Are we going to just stand around while students all over the country are sitting in their classes, unamused and unmotivated? Of course not! We need to take action to improve our current educational state.

By taking action, we are giving students a reason to care about school again. There is no “downside” to this proposed plan. What are we waiting for?

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Remembering Homecoming: 2015: Hawaiian Luau Photos courtesey of Brianna Rolle and Nicole Vickers

Alpharetta High School 3595 Webb Bridge Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30005 (770) 521 - 7640

Staff

ahsthehook@gmail.com

Advisor: Mr. Wright Editors-in-Chief: Andres Bonno and Daniel Grotch Staff:

Alyssa Albrecht, Eric Bias, Andres Bonno, Melissa Dunn, Nolan Edmonds, Maia Gibson, Daniel Grotch, Nadir Lewis, Mary Maycock, Brianna Rolle, Suraihyah Sule, Lara Strydom, Sami Thompson, Irene Velez, and Nicole Vickers

The Hook online:

www.ahsthehook.wix.com/ahsraiders

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