Countryside High School Paw Print Newspaper Volume 31 Issue 5

2

News

Da Vinci comes to MOSI The Battle of the Belts drawings will be up for looks. In these cases the demonstrations will be life size, creating a safe, fun and educaWho am I? tional environment for children. * I am considered one of the greatest renaissance men of The IMAX theater is a huge trademark of MOSI and my time. they are using it to the best of their abilities; where they * Although I finished only couldn’t get all of Da Vinci’s a total of about thirty paintcreations to Tampa, in some ings my sketches, drawlcases they could get movies. ing, and pages of notes are 3D films of The Great Sforfound in all kinds of differza Horse Sculpture, The Last ent museums around the Supper, the creation of the world.

Mona Lisa, and an explana* I am a perfectionist and a tion of the famous Vitruvian procrastinator.

Man image will make a pre* I have wild hair. miere here. * I am a vegetarian.

Presentations, such as the And I am now at life and times of Leonardo MOSI. Da Vinci and his mysterious Secrets will be spoken, Da Vinci code and writing paintings will be ogled and technique, will be abuneverything will be exposed. dant as you walk around Da Vinci is here. From now the exhibit. Audio tours are until the 31st of May, the a huge hit while wondering Museum of Science and Inaimlessly from painting to dustry will hold an exhibit painting, and of course, there of Leonardo Da Vinci’s is a Leonardo Da Vinci merpaintings and inventions. chandise shop. What could a Vinci’s famous analitical man. Photo Credit: www.sucWith learning workshops and be more fun? WARNING: cess.co.i Leaf: timclifford.files.wordpress.com other Italian inventors invenside effects of the Da Vinci extions, this attraction is a must see of 2010. hibit consist of: Interactive machine inventions created by modern day Leaping with joy, extreme case of amazement, nausea from Italian artists will be displayed along with reproductions of excitement, and a hunger for more knowledge are just a few Da Vinci’s famous detailed anatomical drawings and his symptoms of venturing to MOSI for the Da Vinci exrenaissance artwork. Also, the Anghiari Battle Preparatory hibit. joseeHAWK

staff writer

D

krystalCASEY

editor-in-chief

Every year seat belts save over 10,000 lives. So why do only 65 percent of the teenage population wear their seat belt on a regular basis as either a driver or passenger, and the other 35 percent do not? According to State Farm Insurance, teens are shown to have the lowest seat belt use rate of any age group. Why? Did their parents not enforce it enough or do they simply just don’t care?

Though Florida is one of the many states who participate in the seat belt law, Click It or Ticket, here in Pinellas County, ten schools around the bay area are taking part in the Battle of the Belts sponsored by the SADD foundation. Out of those ten participating schools, Countryside is one of them. The goal of this battle is to increase seat belt use among teens.The school with the most increased use, after a pre- and post-supervised survey, wins $1,000.

According to Officer Cavaliere, a survey conducted in early February showed 63 percent of students wore their seat belts when exiting the school parking lot. After using posters, announcements on UPC, and giveaways to promote the awareness, the same survey was conveyed the last week of February showed an 8 percent increase.

So Click It or Ticket Countryside, it only takes two seconds to buckle up and save your life. As Officer Cavaliere would say, “It will save your life. Not only that but it will help reduce your injuries.”

The end of an era katWILLIAMS

staff writer

As the world moves further into the technological age, the old forms of communication and information are starting to fade away. As the young internet follows in the footsteps of the sovereign television, newspapers are slowly losing popularity. The paper age is over. The age of technology has come into it’s prime.

When we look back in history, there are inventions considered revolutionary in their time: Samuel Morse and Morse Code, Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone, Thomas Edison and the phonograph. Each of these inventions made an important mark in history and led to the creation of our modern novelties. It’s true that history repeats itself. When the use of the telephone became ordinary, writing letters was all but obsolete. This is also true for the newspaper. There was a time where newspapers were a staple. From the big time newspapers, to the small town periodicals, people loved getting their information, and reading current stories. The inventors continued to stay busy, and new technological devices came into play. New communication forms were necessary.The television made it’s debut with the internet hanging on its coattails.

People seemed to think photo credit redstick.files.wordpress.com that the internet would push television out of the elite club of technology, but something else happened. The two devices worked together instead, making a power part-

nership pushing newspapers under the rug. They slowly slipped under our radar. Newspapers were going down a slippery slope and had to hit the bottom at one point. In today’s society, newspapers are closing all over the United States. Newspapers such as the Tucson Citizen, the Kentucky Post, and the San Juan Star have closed since 2007 and more are following suit.

The problems that newspapers face range from economic problems, to the personality of today’s population.

Newspapers don’t receive a major amount of funding from businesses and their readers. Even our own PawPrint Newspaper struggles to print in these hard economic times. We also know that the majority of people have grown lazy. When you can have everything you need on one single machine, why bother getting up and going to get a newspaper or bothering to recycle it? Recycling also brings up the environmental issue of papers. Many people do not recycle and paper is constantly wasted. As much as we try to “go green”, we can’t influence everybody. Making the internet the main source is better for everyone right?

Student’s have varying opinions on the issue.

“In this day and age, the interdependence between the world is growing fast,” says Palm Harbor sophomore Christian Lemus. “Ideas will spread faster with the internet but, it’s also a bad thing. The newspaper is a sacred thing amongst avid journalists.”

In the end, it’s almost impossible for the swarm of technological advances to cease. Maybe because newspapers were such an important part of our history, and some are common household names (the New York Time, or the Wall Street Journal) the art will not be completely lost.

Maybe they will go away all together. Only time will tell, but for now, it looks like it will be the end of an era.

A

Countryside High School student displays the proper procedure for buckling a seatbelt before leaving the school parking lot. A study showed that more and more students are utlizing their seatbelts when leaving the parking lot. photo credit: Scott Beck

An amazing evening of student artistry!

Don’t miss Walker’s Rising Stars on May 27th at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater! Artists, dancers, singers, actors, and musicians will take the stage for a dramatic conclusion to this prestigious scholarship competition. Come out to support the 11th and 12th grade students from throughout Pinellas County who have made to the finals.

Tickets are now on sale at the Ruth Eckerd Hall Ticket Office. A special advance price of just $7 is available until April 27. So act now. For more details, see the Walker’s Rising Stars link on the Pinellas Education Foundation website at www.pinellaseducation.org. That’s www.pinellaseducation.org.

3

Sports

Hey, Batter Batter Swing

kaleyNEMETH

Baseball

opinion editor

The Cougar baseball team has swung into their 2010 season .They began with tournaments on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 with their Cougar Preseason Classic, and the other on Monday, February 15, 2010. “[The Preseason Classic] invites teams to sharpen skills before the season starts and kids who don’t normally play,” senior Kam Campbell said.

The tournament they attended at Seminole High, the First Pitch Classic, is basically when you come out and play to win. The Cougars faced Mark Monroe, a left handed pitcher who pitches a ball at about 93 miles per hour. They played a scrimmage game against each other for a little practice and the black team won with a score of 4-3.

There have been some changes for the cougar team this season. One being, a new hitting and catching coach onto the team, and his name is Dave Scott. Another change made was an exercising system called P90X. “It’s very hard, makes you very tired after doing it, and it’s a good work out,” junior Vinnie Pezzino said.

The players also have began practicing before conditioning, and this year have split up into three groups: cardio,

Softball

The girls stepped onto the field playing their first regular season game versus Osceola on Wednesday February 10, 2010. Hailee Keisling, a freshman player, took her place on the plate prepped to bat, took her swing and hit a triple. The end of the game ended with Osceola winning by one point the final score was 11-10.

The teams main goal is to win most of their games and districts.

“I want to hit a ball over the fence,” freshman Kelsie Sanchez said.

To play softball there are some qualities to have or just improve on. First, you must be conditioned. An exercise the team performs is called “short hops,” which is when you have two players standing in front of each other, one ball, and who ever wants to start off just tosses the ball have it bounce up then the opposite player must catch the

middle, and strength. Each group will do a different type of conditioning for everyday of the week. Monday is a 30 minute run then sprints on the track field. Tuesday and Thursday it is P90X time. Wednesday is the weight room and Friday they all come together. Depending on the behavior they may either play soccer, run a relay, or a six mile run.

During their Largo game on March 22, 2010 they won with a score of 8-1. Tyler Harriman hit a three run home run to left center. Dan Torres got a three for three which means all three times at bat he hit every ball pitched to him. When the end of the game came around, Shane Stevens got to close for his first time. The team has a goal to win districts and some individual goals are ones such as regardless of the performance on the field i just want to be a crowd pleaser.

Dan Torres will continue on with his baseball, since he has been accepted into Division II St. Leo University. He is a great academic student and team player here at Countryside High playing as a defensive catcher.

The baseball team might be going through a rough season but they have played their hardest, stay by each others side, and just keep playing ball to the best of their ability.

ball in their glove Once the teams have been through a smooth warm up, they come together and work on hitting. Some will go to the tees for soft toss or the cage with a partner.

Before they go to a game the team gets together tears through a mellow warm up, the basic hitting and catching also a team player can whip up a pre-game at their house.

The team had a game against Tarpon on March 4, 2010 the day before they took off to their Sebastian Rive tournament. The girls scored many runs and won, the score was 9-6.

The following Friday was the start of the tournament which was rained out due to the bad weather. They played four games on Saturday winning two out of the four and also taking the win for their bracket of the tournament.

ATHLETES WALK THE ACADEMIC TIGHTROPE ajCABERTO

staff writer

Ugh! I have conditioning and lots of homework! This is the number one complaint you hear from many student athletes here at Countryside High School. Conflicts arise when the athletes are piled with loads of work and have to commit a vast amount of time to their sport. Is too much expected of them? If so, how do they balance both?

Pressure is always on for many student athletes. One major requirement is having at least a 2.0 GPA. Unfortunately for some of them, getting their schoolwork done is a real challenge.

“Yes, I have to stay up until 12:00 am to get my homework done” said senior Loren Foushee. According to our athletes, team practices and meets take up a lot of time in their day, which sometimes does not allow them to get their schoolwork done. Most of them even stay up late at night just to finish it. The lack of sleep then affects both school and sports.

“The worst thing is not understanding something; that’s when not all the work gets done” said sophomore Natalie Boruk. Boruk is an honor student and a tennis player. Her first priority is education, and she is willing to give up going to the courts just to study. A regular student who doesn’t understand a lesson can just go after school. It’s impossible for a student athlete to do that. Sometimes they have practices right after school.

Many athletes have different styles of balancing school and sports. Some of them finish their work in class, and others set aside a certain time for each one.

“I try to finish all my work in class”, sophomore Gary Lush said. Lush and the other students do this because they’re dedicated and they were the ones that picked this lifestyle With all this pressure, our student athletes find different ways to relax. After a poll of 50 random student athletes here at Countryside, it is apparent that many of them useselectronics to relax. 36% of those 50 athletes use electronics such as “iPods, TVs and game consoles”, 28% hang out with their friends, 22% try to have a quiet/alone time and 14% continue playing sports.

A famous saying by Maria Edgeworth agrees with this article. “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy”. This quote explains how fun and discipline are useless without each other.

C

ountryside students Kam Campbell(Senior), Dominic Monda( Junior), Hollie Ostrander(Senior) and Kelsie Sanchez(Freshmen) are displaying hard work for their baseball and softball seasons. photo credit: Scott Beck

4

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What you hear is not always true susanCOVA

staff writer

How you choose to express yourself comes naturally.

The moment someone does not like the way you act, rumors are started and feelings are hurt.

“I come to school everyday and people talk about me and some people like me can only take so much it hurts my feelings so much,” said a student that wishes to stay anonymous.

Every day, students deal with false slander being spread about them; whether it be about what they have done or said. They are hurt by the things said in return. Such things usually start off with the “he said, she said, you said” confrontation.

Cyber bullying these days plays a big role in the rumors being spread. Rumors have been known to start on Facebook, Myspace, and even text messaging. The spreading of rumors is just like the game “Telephone”; words are switched, people hear the wrong things, and then in the end everything you hear is just a big bundle of lies.

“Hands are for helping, not for fighting and I ignore everything everyone says,” said Freshman Erica Blackmore.

Often rumors get back around to the victims and it affects them greatly. What needs to be remembered is that you may fall down into a depression or may not feel as though you can take anymore pain, but do not give up.

There is always someone else who fits into your shoes. You just have to ignore the immature people and be yourself.

staff writer

In teenage vernacular bullying it is to be rude, mean, immature. As hard as people try, bullying still exists in schools today. According to www.how-to-stop-bullying.com, 77% of students are bullied mentally, physically, or verbally.

Bullying is one of the most crucial issues dealt with in recent years, especially when it is concerning school. It all starts with the bully. A bully is usually seen as a person who enjoys overpowering another. The hate that seems to stem from a bully is not something that has always been in their nature. An article on www.helium.com, says that Bullying stems from fear. This fear can come from the household, living environment, or even prior bullying experiences.

Though some seem to think bullies need severe punishment, Psychological studies show that a bully needs as much help as their victim: to understand right and wrong, to find their reason for bullying. In some cases, the harsher punishment, makes a bully even worse.

Bullying can be sorted into many categories, but there are six main types: Physical, Verbal, Indirect, Social Alienation, Intimidation, and Cyber Bullying. Physical bullying constitutes pushing, shoving, kicking, punching; Anything that causes physical harm or duress. Breaking a personal object of the victim can also be physical bullying. Verbal bullying is when hateful and/or offensive remarks are said to the victim. These remarks can be racial slurs, teasing, or even violent threats. Indirect bullying is seen often in school settings and most students have experienced it.

Spreading rumors, talking behind someones back, and

Every 30 days, 2 in the U.S a

Bully’s tend to pick on those they find to be weak. If you can act as if you are not afraid of the bully, they will be less likely to pick on you.

Act Brave

For bullying help, use the

Bully’s love approval and power.

If they see that their actions are looked down upon, they may change their ways.

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making false accusations about the victim can all be considered indirect bullying due to the fact it’s not said to their face. Even spreading a story just because one thinks of it as funny, is still considered indirect bullying. Social Alienation is when the Bully exculdes the victim from a group.

Whether it’s friends or a team, social alienation usually happens due to rumors spread by the bully. Intimidation is when the bully makes threats and uses fear to increase their power over the victim. Usually this happens so the victim does whatever the bully wants or asks for. Cyber Bullying is a more recent form of bullying steaming from today’s technological advances. When rumors or false stories are posted online, or verbal slurs and/or threats are said in chat rooms, it is considered Cyber Bullying. Even the use of cellphone text messages or posting pictures can be Cyber bulling. This type of Bullying has become one of the most common and dangerous in our society.

Sometimes, different types of bullying are used together.

One recent case, as told by CNN.com, Phoebe Prince, a 15-year old girl, was verbally assulted and recieved “threats of physical harm.” As a result, Prince commited suicide.

The three girls who harrased her are being brought up on “civil rights violations resulting in bodily injury, criminal harrassment and disturbing a school assymbly, but none appeared in court.

In the end, the victims of any type of bullying are left with emotional and on some occasions, physical scars, but there are ways to prevent and even help a victim. The tips from www.childrenshospital.org suggest that students can: (see tips below)

282,000 students are bullied.

As scary as that can be, you can’t always handle a bully on your own.

Telling an adult can give the victim protection and can help them plan a course of action.

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Tell an Adult

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Bullies only read the front cover parkerANDERSEN

staff writer

While most students may believe that bullying is not a very large problem, many of them may be affected.

Whether or not they know it, students can be involved in bullying in the smallest ways. They could insult someone in a joking manner and spread it by simply telling a friend, or the student could text another student mean or insulting things. Many students may pick on others just because other students do. The insults going around many schools are mostly about appearance. Whether a student is overweight, is a minority, short, tall, or simply dresses differently. 10th grader Namair Hassan said that the bullying issue is “not as much as it used to be, but it still is.”

He later added that he had been bullied due to his “ ethnic background”.

Although many students may think that nicknames based on a students appearance is not bullying, many victims of insulting nicknames can take the slander to heart.

The student may not show the daily pain they go through to their peers, but in some of the worse cases, victims of bullying may become depressed. Possibly the worst trait of modern day bullying is that once a person gets insulted, it can spread. Others who may not even know that person will bully them. They do this because they think that it is the “cool” thing to do, like a trend.

With modern day technology, people’s insults and hurtful comments can spread like a wildfire. Even the nicest person can fall victim to some type of an appearance related criticism or verbal attack.

If you know someone that is being bullied, make an effort to listen to them and give them a shoulder to cry on. If you are the victim, surround yourself by your friends.

Be a Friend

bullystoppers.com , or bullies2buddies.org

6

Entertainment

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief a.j.QUENELL & parkerANDERSEN

entertainment editor & staff writer

Director Chris Columbus brings Rick Riordan’s top selling book to the big screen.

The movie starts out as Poseidon walking out of the water and going into the city to meet Zues to discuss Zues’ weapon (Lightning Bolt) being stolen. A series of events leads to Percy Jackson, Poseidon’s son, having to find the Lightning Bolt, or face the consequences.

The special effects for the majority of the movie had me wondering how they had done it. The visual effects make up for some of the stale acting and making the movie itself just that much better. The water effects played a large part due to the fact that Percy Jackson is Poseidon’s son. Everything flowed great and blended well with the set and actors. A few examples of this are Grover’s legs and the lower half of Chiron’s body making it seem as if they were simply parts of the actors themselves.

It followed the same basic storyline as the book, but it strayed from some of the main points that are needed for a sequel, meaning that this movie will not lead up to a series of movies based on every book. It seems as if the writers only read the first book and/or didn’t care about the rest of the series. Left out were some of the major characters and a few minor characters that may have been a mistake by the producers, as this may have upset some of the viewers.

The book series is fantastic. You will love it if you’re into the old mythology stories especially with all the new twists Riordan brings to the plate. If you are a fan of Harry Potter there’s no doubt you’ll dive into this story and stick

The A.J. Awards

a.jQUENELL

entertainment editor

through to the end, “Look no further for the next Harry Potter; meet Percy Jackson, as legions of fans already have” as stated by Kirkus Reviews.

Definitely pick up this book whether you are looking for something to read or you hate reading, your interest will be captured.

1. The Lightning Thief Storlyine: When Zues’s lightning bolt is stolen by someone, New Yorker Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, must go on a quest to find it. Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover are given only 10 days to complete his mission before a war between the gods overtakes the earth. But in time Percy discovers that the puppet master behind these events is closer to home than they believe.

2. Sea of Monsters Storyline: A year after the events of the first book, Percy has been attending a normal school without any problems, that is until a group of cannibal giants attack him and new friend Tyson, whom he later learns is really a cyclops and his half-brother. As they return to camp half-blood Percy discovers that the tree that helps keep the camp

Steel Magnolias coming to the stage a.j.QUENELL

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TIGER WOODS

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fter a fight with his wife it was revealed that Woods was having a n affair. Over a dozen women have come forward claiming he has been with them too. A least 11 have been confirmed.

Since then Woods was forced out of sponsorships that he has now earned back.

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t was revealed that Sandra Bullock's husband had an 11 month affair with tattoo model and stripper Michelle “Bombshell” Mcgee while Bullock was off filming ‘The Blind Side’.

James has confirmed and acknowledge that it was poor judgement on his behalf.

entertainment editor

In a little southern Louisiana beauty parlour six women regularly meet to gossip about their lives and the people in it. Countryside Drama Club and Troupe 900 bring you Steel Magnolias. The show will be performed from April 29th to May 1st in the school’s auditorium. The story follows the motley crew of women over a course of 3 years from Truvy, the owner of the beauty parlor, to Annelle, the town’s newcomer coming out of her shell, to Shelby, who the main story follows, as she deals with getting married, and many health problems. As the story progresses, each character begins to become more and more realistic, and as for the end of the play? Find out opening night and come on out to support your fellow cougars.

Cast: Chelsea Krushwitz as Truvy Lauren Ince as M’lynn Jordan Vaal as Shelby

Allison Lachnicht as Annelle Emily Pearse as Clairee Erika Queen as Ouiser

Both these men couldn't stay faithful. Whose mistake was worse? Vote at www.Cnmcountryside.com

saraMINEO

Florida is not special.

The sun, the beaches and many tourists does not make Florida an original or an exciting place to live. But coming June 18, Florida will break out of its stereotypical ‘sunshine’ facade and into the welcoming arms of Harry Potter enthusiasts.

The books and movies were transformed into reality over a 3 year span, the project being announced May 30th 2007, to create ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’.

The park will be featured in Orlando’s very own Universal Studios.

The theme park will be featuring restaurants, shops,

The Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts castle itself. There will be three rides in the park; Flight of the Hippogriff, The Weasley’s Ford Angila simulator, and Dueling Dragons will be remade into the ‘Dragon Challenge’, which is based off the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in the fourth book of the series, ‘The Goblet of Fire’.

Inside Hogsmeade, there will be shops such as Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, Zonko’s Joke shop, and Honeydukes Candy. All these shops are either featured, or mentioned in the series.

Overall, the Wizarding World Many Harry Potter fans are excited for the open- of Harry Potter is a long-awaited ing of the new theme park. With many rides and addition to Island of Adventure shows, the park will be fun for all. photo credit: www. where thousands of Potter fanatics mugglespace.com will be flocking to. Hopefully, these devotees will not be disappointed. grub editor

safe is dying from poison. The only way they can save the camp is to travel to the Sea of Monsters, known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle, to retrieve the golden fleece and save grover’s life.

3. The Titan’s Curse Storyline: Grover on a search for more half-bloods goes undercover and discovers Nico and Biance Di Angelo the son and daughter of Hades. Later on while the whole group is on a mission they are attacked by a manticore, in the process annabeth falls off of a cliff and although she survives. Percy and Grover are accompanied by Bianca, Thalia (daughter of Zues) and newcomer Zoe Nightshade as they are on the quest to save both Annabeth and Artemis goddess of the moon.

4. The Battle of the Labyrinth Storyline: Another school year, another attack. This time monster cheerleaders attack Percy prompting him to return to Camp Half-Blood. Percy learns the story of “The Labyrinth” which he and Annabeth later discover as they are having a game/battle with some giant scorpions. The duo discovers that there is an army of monsters coming straight for the camp through it. So they set off to find Daedalus the creator of the Labrynth, to help close the Labrynth and prevent the attack.

5. The Last Olympian Storyline: In this final tale of the series Percy and his friends must fight against the Titan Kronos and his army of monsters in a war the resembles the original battle between the gods and the titans.

7

Opinion

School fights, over the top? katWILLIAMS

staff writer

School is often thought of as a safe haven for students.

With teachers and S.R.O officers supervising school, parents feel that their kids are safer under the school’s roof than on the streets. That should be true and I wish it was true, but school has turned into a nesting center for violence.

It is troubling when things that should not be normal in a school setting become commonplace. It is upsetting when talk of a school fight is just as nonchalant as discussing the shoes you’re wearing or weekend plans. We hear about fights and brush them off.

We encourage the fights to continue as we swarm around the commotion. For some reason, we think of fights as a form of entertainment or an interesting topic of gossip. Is it really entertaining that our school’s reputation takes a blow because of the amount of arrests? Is it good to gossip about a student ruining his or her life?

Trouble seen brewing katWILLIAMS

staff writer

School is easily compared to government. They are both run by leaders and they both have laws or rules, and these rules are often broken. For that reason, punishment policies are put into place to enforce the rules. Government policies often start off with good intentions, but quickly go wrong. School is no different. The I.C. policy has been in effect for a while now, and was and still is a good idea. Is it enforced in the correct way? No. Do we need a change?

Definitely.

For those who do not know, I.C. really is in-school suspension. Because it looks bad on a schools record to have too many out of school suspensions, in-school suspension is a healthy median: easy on the school and just as hard on the students. Good idea right? Not when I.C. turned into an easy way to skip class. The new tardy policy of this year stated that if you a ten minutes late, you just go to I.C. Many students made sure they were that late so they didn’t have to go to class.

It would be easy to say that it is the student’s fault. If they want to ruin their grades then let them. The problem is, there is nothing easy about it. The teachers are affected just as much as the students. A student’s grades and FCAT scores reflect on the teacher as well as the school. We are not a D school because of the students that go to class and participate everyday, are we?

The rules have changed so that a referral accompanies the trip to I.C. That makes less appealing to the student, but still is hard on the teacher. When one teacher sends a student to I.C, they are there all day, missing the rest of their classes. It is understandable that the student needs to be punished for their actions, but to ruin their grades in the process?

It is possibly the difference between them ping or failing. It is also the difference between a teacher looking good or having a poor tudents sit in I.C. to “relax” as an alrecord. Teachternative to going to class during first er’s have to pe- period. photo credit: Scott Beck riodically pull their students out of I.C. to teach FCAT lessons, or any other important lesson for that matter.

It is time for a change. Policies need to be perfected and they have to work for not only the students and administratiors, but the teachers too. It needs to be collaborative effort. Sometimes what seems like a simple problem has a complicated solution and when things get complicated, even a small improvement can greatly affect our school.

S

School fights are not confined to high school. John Hopkins Middle School has the most arrests in St. Petersburg. There have been 60 arrests from September 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010 according to tampabay.com.

After one fight at

the school, it took 10-15 minutes to restore order. Azalea Middle school has the second highest amount of arrests at 24 this school year. Really, Middle School?

It is becoming insane. What is next?

Will we see Elementary School brawls? Something needs to happen and the mindset of students needs to change.

Our own high school has had too many fights this year and none of them have had happy endings. Either the police have to step in or the EMT’s have a student to take away. Once we had three fights in the morning, all before first period began. The question we need to continuously ask ourselves is, “What are we fighting about?” What is so important that you would risk the ruin of your high school career and possibly your life afterwards (I think it’s ‘afterwards’ but I could be wrong)? If you really care so little about your future in school, take your problems out to the real world.

The school does not need to deal with it and the real world is exactly where you will end up if fights continue to ensue.

I can promise you: out there is not as friendly as it is in here. School is a place of learning, not a modified boxing ring. Get your act to together students. Is this really how you want to set up your future?

This STORY Stinks susanCOVA

staff writer

Have you ever walked into the school restrooms and thought to yourself “Can I trust sitting on these toilets?”

It seems like everyone just doesn’t care if they leave the restroom without washing their hands, flushing the toilet, or picking up what they have dropped on the floor. It’s a habit for students to destroy the school lavatories with toilet paper on the floors, urine on the toilet seats, and vulgar writing on the walls. It is like high school students have not matured since the elementary school days .

“I think they should clean up their act and clean up after themselves,” says sophomore Omar Wilburn.

Cleaning up their act could help a lot. Immaturity is one of the main reasons the restrooms become destroyed.

People shouldn’t have the fear of walking into the bathroom because they are not at the cleanliness level they prefer. This could change if the students would take that extra minute out of their life to help out and clean up.

Germs are the leading cause to sickness. Sitting in the bathroom in a five minute period only four out of five people washed their hands. Therefore students are getting sick.

We can easily cure this if students would take that extra thirty seconds to wash their hands. If you think about it, all students who walk out of the bathroom with unwashed hands go right back to class and touch desks, books, chairs, etc. By the end of the day, every other student who has had class and used these materials will then pick up those

extra germs.

When you get done using the restroom, the people who do wash their hands head to the sink. After washing their hands they head to the hand dryer to dry their hands. Since their are no paper towels and we have to hand dry our hands, how many germs are really being killed?

Not 100% of germs can be killed and not everyone will clean up after themselves, but you can be that difference that this school needs. Take the time to lend a hand and pick up after yourself, trashed toliet in the boys and on your way out, restroom, located next to B take a minute or so to wash your hands. It is as wing. photo credit: Scott Beck simple as that. If hands are washed germs would be reduced, there would be less sickness, which makes a much happier student body.

A

Students scramble to Pssghetti’s meganMASON

news editor I wish I was not biased. I wish I loved food all the same; but I do not. Italian stands and shines above the rest: in all its creamy, pasta-y glory.

Walking into Pssghetti’s Italian Restaurant and Market on the corner of Enterprise and U.S. 19, made me realize that I was born to lead the I Love Italian Club. And so, my first impression fell just short of ‘This is absolutely incredible.’

A ginormous deli on the right -- packed full of real Italian food, with real European prices (pretty good prices for pretty good products) -- and a little cafe area to the left met us at the front. A little further behind, smiling faces of hosts and hostesses. Within a few seconds, we had been addressed and seated at a table.

The tables, although a little uncomfortable and quite small -- once things were so crowded I had to resort to putting my finished plate on an adjacent table -- were spotless.

To make it better, our waiter rushed valiantly to our table within 15 seconds. He was surprisingly, extremely pleasant.

These days, good service with a smile seems scarce. And throughout the night, he checked on us frequently. We ordered our food, got bread and our appetizer, the fantastic Calamari, in a few minutes, and our entrees a mere 10 minutes later. My water glass was not once half empty (the waiter was very attentive) and I never so much as batted an eye to check the time.

With a party of three, two of the four dishes were

absolutely fantastic. First, the Calamari was hands-down delicious. It was probably the best fried squid I’ve ever had (and there was a point in time where that was all I ordered when I went to a nice restaurant). Second, the Italian Wedding Soup was excellent. I’m not a big fan of soup but this was an astounding dish. Unfortunately the third dish was not half as good as either one of the first two, and more expensive to top it off. A little dry and ridiculously bland, the Fettuccine Alfredo fooled me into thinking I’d ordered something off of the dollar menu at McDonald’s.

The fourth dish was neither as bad as the Alfredo, nor nearly as delicious as the Calamari. It was mediocre for the price, and so the Mac and Cheese slid by contending fast food joints.

Looking beyond the food and service, and actually looking around was probably one of the most enjoyable factors of the restaurant. The amount of money spent on the building (a very large sum I assume) and the effort that went into it was tangible; whoever designed the place deserves a standing ovation.

Aside from two less than dreamy dishes, and cramped, awkward tables, Pssghetti’s was a wonderful restaurant that should be a hit for business parties and casual outings. With outstanding service and a beautiful interior, I doubt that the Italian joint will have a problem keeping busy. Although I would not consider it an absolute favorite of mine, I can assure you my first time at Pssghetti’s was not to be my last. Overall, 3.5 stars.

So You Think You Can...

8

be fit for prom?

Flab to Fab

1.

First you must STRETCH! Otherwise you are going to be in pain the next morning, especially if you have not worked out in a while.

• Stand up with one leg off the ground. You can use a stool or something else for balance. Then swing your leg back, keeping it off the ground. Move it up and down fast for about twenty counts; do three sets. Then switch legs.

• Lay flat on the ground in the crunch position. Then bring your shoulder blades off the ground. Move them from left to right touching your heels. Left hand, left heel. Right hand, right heel. Do two sets of twenty five.

photo credit Nicole Bolton Some of these ideas came from; Prom-dresses.com and ezinarticles.com

nicoleHARRIS staff writer Prom is the night every teenage girl looks forward to: the beautiful dress, the heels, the jewelery, and the amazing date who pays for everything. No one wants to see the chub or flub bulging out on the night they have always dreamed about. So to get in shape, here are the most common workouts broken down to three parts; lower back, arms and abdominal.

2.

Flap away those chicken arms: This is to get those arms toned, but not too toned. No one wants flabby arms.

To start: you need weights for this workout, but if you do not have weights laying around, don’t bother going and wasting the money on some. Just use soup cans.• Stand up with two soup cans in your hands, then slowly lift your arms up and down. This a very standard way of working your arms.

3.

The dreaded abs: These workouts are to tuck that tummy, and get it in shape.

• Lay down on the ground, bring your shoulders and legs off the ground, then turn your legs left and your arms right and vice-versa.

• Lay down on the ground and bring your legs up and bend them. Then take your left leg, bring it to your head and touch your right elbow to your knee. Then extend your left leg out and bring your right leg up to your head and touch your left elbow to your knee.

• To start, get down on the floor as though you are going to do a push up. Instead of your hands, rest your forearms on the ground. Keeping your body completely straight with your head relaxed and looking at the floor. Don’t let anything sag or hang, hold it tight for as long as you can.