Clarion The
“A Clear Call Summons All”
InsideNow Online
October 29, 2013
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Connersville High School • 1100 Spartan Drive • Connersville, IN 47331 • www.chsclarion.com • Volume 100 • Issue 2
Cyrano looks for love Katie Bailey & Sierra Briner
C
Online Editor & Staff Writer
urtains will rise on Drama Club’s fall production, Cyrano, Nov. 8. Tickets are available in the bookstore and are $3 for students and $5 for adults. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. Cyrano will be performed Nov. 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 10 at 2:30 p.m. According to Director Suzi Brown, the classic play has a number of different themes. “It’s a love story, but it’s also about vanity,” she said. Cyrano is a man who falls in love with a girl
named Roxanne. Cyrano thinks that he could never win her heart because he has a very large nose. Approximately 25 students auditioned for the play and all received roles. The leads are junior Jordan McGraw as Cyrano, freshman Hunter Johns as Christian and sophomore Taylor Fudge as Roxanne. The lead roles were chosen by various characteristics. “Cyrano, for example, has to be a very confident person with a lot of charisma,” Brown said. Christian, on the other hand, needed to be young and naive. “He’s a fool in love, basically,” Brown said. Roxanne needed to be
College deadlines approach Seth Winstead
Managing Editor
Senior year can be stressful, mainly due to all the pressures of graduating and for some, preparing for college. With these tasks, one word can make or break plans: deadlines. For instance, one of the upcoming deadlines is the Nov. 1. If complete applications are sent to colleges by that date, the chances of getting an early applicant scholarship are higher, according to guidance counselor Jeremy Corn. When preparing for col-
lege, if a deadline is missed, it can result in consequences. “For testing, the fee [for the test] is higher and the waiver won’t work,” Corn said. Although this may seem intimidating, there are benefits to applying and preparing early. “Applying early will give you maximum benefits for scholarships and also will give students a greater chance of acceptance,” Corn said. In order to make all of this happen, one must know exactly how to apply and what is required. “When you apply, they ask for [your] personal information, [sometimes
your] major, your schedule and counselor form,” Corn said. They also require test scores, class rank, grade point average and a list of duel credit and AP classes students have taken. For some schools, essays and letters of recommendation are required. Most schools requiring essays are more exclusive or are private schools. In regards to recommendation letters, most schools don’t require them, but they are good to have and are usually needed for scholarships, Corn said. It’s good to get at least three different letters (from
teachers, coaches, bosses or supervisors) when needing them, according to Guidance Dept. chairperson Jaime Hamm. Although the amount of information needed may seem overwhelming, it can all be found from the guidance counselors. Also, another helpful tool is the common application, which is one application that can be sent to numerous schools. It saves time and is better than having to fill out the same information multiple times. For ACT/SAT information and scores, go to their websites.
innocent and sweet. The play has been a work in progress since mid-August. In addition to the cast, 10 crew members work on lighting, sound, make-up, costumes and sets. Teresa Seibert is both the technical director and assistant director. “She is doing all of the stage and costume design,” Brown said. “We work really well together because I’m focused on the story and blocking, and she is really focused on the technical aspect.” The cast practices five nights a week. On Wednesdays they practice from 4 to 6 p.m. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, they practice from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
On stage
after school, Cyrano cast members rehearse their lines. Junior Jordan McGraw plays Cyrano, while freshman Hunter Johns plays Christian. Sophomore Taylor Fudge was cast as Roxanne, and senior Suzanne Seibert appears as Duenna, her companion. Kathleen Marschand photo
CollegeChecklist The process: 1.) Go to a college website and create an account. 2.) Complete the online application. 3.) Check e-mail regularly for updates from the admissions office. 4.) If accepted by a college, contact their admission counselor and gather any other information needed. Information required: • Semester grades (transcript can be sent later) • Current schedule/classes • Social Security number • ACT/SAT scores (can also be sent later) Testing: • Go to the SAT/ACT website(s), create a user account, register for test(s). • When planning to test, plan to sign up for a test approximately a month in advance. • While applying for test, arrange for scores to be immediately sent to colleges. Test Dates: ACT Registration Deadline Test Date Nov. 8 Dec. 14 Jan. 10 Feb. 8 SAT
Registration Deadline Nov. 8 Dec. 27
Test Date Dec. 7 Jan. 25
Spartan Speakers rehearse for upcoming season Practices begin; students urged to join Speech Team
Katie Bailey
S
Online Editor
partan Speakers, the speech team, will open their season Nov. 2 at Fishers, com-
peting against about 25 schools, in 14 events. The team will compete in 11 meets this season and currently practice six hours a week. The team is still accepting members.
Practicing their duo, sophomores Rachel Jones and Jacob Crain work to memorize their piece for the Nov. 2 speech meet. Katie Bailey photo
“Everyone is welcome,” Head Coach CJ Scott said. The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday after school in Orange 112, from 3:40 to 6 p.m., but students don’t need to stay the whole time. “Just stop by and say hello. We’ll start the process of choosing an event that’s right for you,” Scott said. “14 different events are offered. Seven of the events are what I refer to as traditional public speaking, and seven of them are interpretation events, which are essentially acting,” Scott said. These events range from impromptu, where speakers are given a topic and have less than a minute to think and begin speaking, and extemporaneous,
where speakers write and perform a speech about a relevant political topic, to poetry, where speakers recite and perform poems, and duo, where two team members act out a scene. “I have been practicing impromptu speeches,” junior Justin Newhall said. “I like the impromptu events because I love thinking on my feet and being creative. I feel prepared because I have been working for several weeks and I have performed well in the past,” he added. There are differences between speech meets and sport competitions. “It’s hard to predict wins when it comes to speech tournaments,” Scott said. “Unlike most sports which
compete one-on-one, there are usually between 10 and 50 schools competing at a tournament.” Like any sport there are expectations for the season. “We hold our own very well considering our program’s size. We placed in the top 10 schools at every tournament we went to last season, including a seventh place finish out of 50 teams,“ Scott said. There are two ways of scoring at speech meet, individual points and team points. “At every speech meet there are between six and 10 ribbons given out for every event,” Scott said.
Speech continued on page 4