2013 Feb/Mar Creek HiLife

2305 East Main Street League City, TX 77573

February 2013 Volume 89, Issue 5

Board of Trustees approves new bond for CCISD

By Valerie Hellinghausen Editor-in-Chief

to be excited and engaged in what they’re doing. If we can carry that excitement all the way through graduation, I think we’ve done a good turn for these students,” Dr. Steven Ebell, Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, said.

In the latest bond, the committee

Some of the high-priority campuses addressed in the bond include: Clear Lake High School: After touring the campus and drawing up two rebuild options, the committee chose to go with a $98.6 million rebuild that will house grades 9-12 in a two-story high school.

updating portions of the athletic, swimming areas, as well as part of the Career and After nearly six months of touring Technical Education building, and adding campuses, deliberating on major issues, a fly loft to the auditorium for Creek’s Fine and communicating with students, Arts programs. A proposed third gym will parents and district faculty, the Citizens also be added along with updates to Creek’s Facility Advisory Committee earned the current gyms and field house. approval of the Clear Clear Brook Creek Independent High School: Clear School District Board Brook High School was of Trustees for a $387 originally built smaller million bond project on than the other high February 25, 2013. schools in CCISD, and “We brought the is currently the only committee members high school campus in and they made their without a secure assessments.

The front entrance. After committee has really touring the campus, the put forth extraordinary committee has found effort into this bond and that Clear Brook now into determining what serves 2,500 students the district’s immediate and suffers from needs are,” Deputy significant foundation Superintendent for failure at its main Business and Support entrance. In response Services Paul McLarty to their findings, the said. committee has proposed Established in the reconstruction of September 2012, Brook’s auditorium, the the Citizens Facility expansion of Brook’s Advisory Committee library, Career and was asked to recommend Technical Education a list of the district’s areas, computer labs, Committee members and CCISD officials talk to parents about the bond issue at Clear Creek High School on February 4, 2013. Photos by Jasmine Garza prioritized needs over the and special education next three to five years. In six months, the recommended several projects that will This option will ensure that all classrooms rooms, and exterior renovations to committee has evaluated the immediate address the district’s high-priority growth, are up to the Texas Education Agency’s courtyards on campus. To address current needs of the district that will be funded safety, and technology concerns over the codes and standards and meet $37 million safety concerns and foundation issues, by two sources: the Maintenance and next three to five years. Top-priority projects of priority repairs including the flooding Brook’s main entrance will also be rebuilt.

Operations Tax Rate, which deals with include campuses that require repairs for issue that has created structural problems Seabrook Intermediate: Built in school operations only, and the Interest safety reasons or are over 40 years old. Of on campus. Additionally, this rebuild 1966, Seabrook Intermediate requires & Sinking Tax Rate which can be used these priorities, the committee has divided allows for the conversion of Clear Lake several updates to accommodate its student for school construction, technology, the bond issuance to complete several High School’s 9th Grade Center to an population. The bond issue covers the transportation and other projects. rebuilds, updates, and additions to 39 of intermediate school and will include the addition of ten classrooms to eliminate According to McLarty, tax rates over the the district’s 44 campuses and 8 support majority of the 2004 updates that remain old portables, as well as the expansion of next few years are projected to increase by facilities that are in deteriorated conditions incomplete. The rebuild process will its cafeteria and library to match CCISD 13 cents if the bond is passed, but will not that cannot substantially accommodate utilize the same process as the Clear Creek standards. Also included in the bond is the exceed the statewide cap of $0.50 per $100 the growth of student populations and the High School rebuild and will not displace reconfiguration of Seabrook Intermediate’s valuation, or the 2005 tax rate of $1.77 per departments their students are involved in. any students with the help of extra portable bus and auto drop offs. $100 valuation. Also, the increase will not “We have a very united community. classrooms and restrooms and by using the Creekside Intermediate: Based affect those who are 65 years and older.

Everyone seems to have the students’ 9th Grade Center at full capacity. on the committee’s findings, Creekside “The Facility Advisory Committee has best interests at heart and rallies behind Clear Creek High School: While the Intermediate is currently the smallest spent so much time and invested so much initiatives that show great promise, and we majority of Clear Creek High School was i n t e r m e d i a t e thought and discussion and these are the have a lot of those in the bond package,” updated in the 2004 bond, the current bond school in immediate needs of the district. We want Chief Technology Officer Kevin Schwartz issue will finish out the updates remaining CCISD in one students to learn deeply and we want them said. to the 1956 building. The bond includes of the fastest

Continued on pg. 5

CCISD receives verdict for lawsuit against the state

By Lisa Nhan Reporter

After two years of unjust education funding, Clear Creek Independent School District along with 600 other districts in the state has recieved a favorable verdict on a funding lawsuit. The lawsuit began in 2011 when CCISD joined the other districts to sue the State of Texas for the $5.4 million cut in the education budget.

The funding conflict between the State and the districts dates back to 2006. School districts were forced to reduce their $1.50 property tax to only $1.00 per valuation.

The State put in place a freeze on per-student funding based on the 2006 property values, promising to give the difference back in the Business Franchise tax. There was a lack of results from this tax, but the

State cut the $5.4 million from the fund to do what is right for children,” Dr. Greg anyways.

Smith, Superintendent of CCISD, said.

This meant taking $17.5 million The choice to join this lawsuit was a from CCISD in 2011 and $25 milhard decision for the Board of Trustees, lion in 2012. In addition to funding whom voted unanimously in 2011. cuts, the State demanded more test“ We realize there are those out ing requirements and there that feel our stuaccountability standents financially deserve dards. less for their education… I The cuts hurt CCISD, rewould imagine those critics are not sulting in or eliminating 293 the parents of a child who is strugjobs, a 10% cut over all the budgling academically but the funds gets, increased class sizes, and for additional support no longer the cutting of bus routes. exist,” said Dee Scott, Board Photo courtesy of “We’re in a situation President in 2011, said.

CCISD where the State is requiring On February 4, 2013, more from students and schools Judge Diaz ruled that the edubut had failed to provide the adequate re- cation funding was not only inadequate but sources to meet those requirements. We all unbalanced. He called for the State to proshare in the moral and fiscal responsibility vide the necessary resources that would al-

low students to have a better opportunity to graduate high school with the skills ready for college or a career, have funding that will bring all Texas school districts to the necessary funding budget to meet the now higher State testing standards, and to give the local communities discretion to give better enrichment above the requirements.

However, CCISD doesn’t expect any big changes anytime soon. The case will probably appear before the Texas Supreme Court before any major changes can be made.

“We certainly hope our lawmakers who are currently in session use this as an opportunity to meet the needs of students and teachers in classrooms across Texas,” Dr. Smith said.

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Opinion What are you doing over Spring Break?

FRESHMEN “I’m going to Hawaii, where I’m looking forward to seeing my family.”

-Tyler Dewitt

go snow Colorado to “I’m going to pper urtney Kneu skiing.” -Co

LSU and finalize “I’m going to visit going there next some things before an fall.” -Amie Geistm

“I’m going to Galveston to ch friends on th e seawall.” -E ill with mily Cruz

“I’m taking my girlfriend to go see Jason Aldean at the Rodeo.”

-Daniel Martinez

y amazing g out with m in g an h ’m “I y youtube orking on m w d an s d n ie fr n Smith videos.” -Eri

SOPHOMORES hangout with “I’m going to ke a Twerkaerk li friends and tw ard .” -Cole How saurous-Rex

S ENIORS

ff my braces o “I’m getting n.” ai p le ib rr rs of te ea y e v fi r te af el -Kaley Kunk

see my to Indiana to “I’m driving nephew.”

-in-law, and er st si , er th ro b rop -Mark Wald

JUNIORS g the plan on seein d an , es el g n Los A and on “I’m going to It will be so exciting to st ord e.

M am rew cC Walk of F es names.” -D ti ri b le ce te my favori

my Florida with “I’m going to a White family.” -Tev

“I’m looking forward to going to see Luke Bryan at the Rodeo because he’s absolutely gorgeous.” -Miranda Sandlin ts g double shif “I’m workin dwalk.”

Kemah Boar everyday at monds -Bethanie Ed ith my the Rodeo w to g in o g ’m “I d to see me boyfrien super aweso Garza n.” -Clarissa Jason Aldea

2012-2013

HiLife Staff

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Proofreader:

Editor-in-Chief:

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Management Editor:

Features Editor:

News Editor:

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Around Creek Editor:

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Arlen Addison Justin Behrens Mallori Flanagan Hannah Gellman Audree Hall

Scott Bockart Wynette Jameson Jan O’Neil Valerie Hellinghausen Hannah Brinsko Madison Williams Leticia Suarez Madison Williams Kristina Koonce Greg Brotzman Dylan Hill Jenan Taha Jasmine Garza Gabrielle Renwall Monica Jackson

Sydney Matthews Breanna Jeffcoat Lisa Nhan Lilli Lara Jessica Sieling Shelby Lyles Natalie Steele Rachel Wolfe

Published at Mirror Publishers in Texas City Visit us at: http://clearcreekhighschool.ihigh.com For ad rates call: (281)284-1889 Fax: (281)316-0587

Editorial

3

Hannah’s Hullabaloo: the role of failure in contemporary education

By Hannah Brinsko Design Editor My first day of AP Biology this year was intimidating. I sat in the class next to my friends, glancing over my shoulder and realized that I was surrounded by future pre-meds and kids that generally I asked for homework help in Biology and Chemistry as an underclassman. The teacher, Ms. Brownson, was infamous for giving hard tests, which did not help the situation. I was starting to immediately question my decision to use one of my elective classes

on AP Biology, and I was wondering three weeks of lecture notes in class. If I what was going on in the French I or were to have received one hundreds on all keyboarding classes on their first days. my tests during my time at Creek, it would But then I noticed something written be obvious that I wasn’t learning anything across the great white dry-erase board something that caught my eye, “You build on failure. You “The Importance of Stupidity.” use it as a stepping stone...

I need to feel stupid sometimes, and I need to fail. Not fail as in just You don’t try to forget the not studying just because I would mistakes, but you don’t dwell prefer to watch Pretty Little Liars, on it. You don’t let it have but to try my hand at something and come up short. This mindset any of your energy, or any isn’t very popular today. People of your time, or any of your feel uncomfortable with the idea of accepting initial failure, because space.” -Johnny Cash it makes them feel bad. So instead society too often gives everyone a pat on the back, tells them they are doing just fine, and continually lower standards. or challenging myself enough. Generally However, I believe that occasional failure the more tests I failed in a class, the more is essential to the process of learning.

I learned during the course. Those teachers The point of testing isn’t to give every pushed me study more, do more readings, student an A plus and a gold star. No and pay more attention in class. On the other inventor comes up with the perfect design hand, classes where I’ve received high As after the first sketch, and no scientist comes have, for the most part, been courses where up with the solution after the first trial. I didn’t learn. Classes where the course Likewise, not every student should have material was too easy for me, and I became mastery of a particular unit after taking simply bored and unmotivated, or where

the teachers had almost just resigned to give everyone a good grade because they felt we all deserved one, even though we hadn’t learned the material.

There have been times in my life where I realized that I was not meeting the standard. At that point, there were generally two options: sink or swim. I could either vote the situation as being too difficult and simply stop trying all together, or I could step back and re-evaluate my decisions and processes and try even harder the next time around.

Next fall, many members of this year’s senior class will be heading off to various universities across the country. If there is one thing that I hope high school has taught my classmates and I have learned in high school, it’s for us to know how to fail. For us to be able to say, “I bombed that unit” or “I just completely did that paper wrong,” and instead of being discouraged and turning around and dropping the course (or out of school in general), but rather we would learn from our mistakes to achieve better results the next time. Because if we are able to take initial failures and convert them into success stories, we will be able to go much further than those that cannot.

Madison’s Musings: the controversial history and use of the death penalty

By Madison Williams Management Editor With the emergence of the global community and humanitarianism, the United States has faced criticism for its continued use of the death penalty.

People that appose the death penalty criticize Texas for the number of executions that are carried out each year in the lone star state as Texas consistently ranks among the top five states in number of executions. On average only 10 people are killed annually in Texas as a result of the death penalty.

This seems high compared to most states average of 1-2 people per year. What critics fail to realize is that states with a low execution rate have the same number of people on death role as Texas; they are just less efficient in carrying out executions.

If states are going to allow capital punishment then they also need to create a standard for time spent on death row. As far as efficiency, Texas has one of the most

streamlined processes from conviction to execution. Allowing inmates to live on death row for the remainder of their life rather than carrying out the execution is wasting tax dollars and ignoring the court order sentence.

If the death penalty is going to be allowed then a common method of execution needs to be accepted by all states that allow capital punishment.

The small factions of states that still carry out death by various inhumane ways should be outlawed. Many times these executions are carried out in unusual ways because the criminals request their method of execution. If the state has sentenced them to death, then the state should also sentence them to a specific method of execution and not allow frivolous requests.

The death penalty was first established as far back as the Fifth Century B.C.’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. The death penalty was also seen in the Seventh Century B.C.’s Draconian Code of Athens. This code made death the only punishment for all crimes. In the Eighteenth Century B.C. the death punishment was seen in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. The code condoned punishment by death for 25 different crimes.

Executions became the norm in Britain when during the reign of Henry VIII as many as 72,000 people was estimated to be executed. Common methods of executions during that time were boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading and drawing

and quartering.

Britain influences America’s use of the death penalty more than any other country.

The first European settlers brought the practice of capital punishment to America.

Laws regarding the death penalty varied from colony to colony. The abolitionist movement took hold and made many question the moral implications of capital punishment.

It wasn’t until 1907 to 1917 that six states completely outlawed the death penalty and three limited it to the rarely committed crimes of treason and first-degree murder of a law enforcement official.

However, the death penalty regained momentum as the United States entered World War I. In 1924, Nevada began the use of cyanide gas as a more humane way of execution. Presently, Arizona, California, Missouri, and Wyoming still offer the gas chamber as a viable form of execution.

Since 1976, 11 people have been executed in the gas chambers.

According to deathpenalty.org , in 1958, the Supreme Court decided in Trop v. Dulles that the Eighth Amendment contained an “evolving standards of decency that marked the progress of a maturing society.” Abolitionists applied the Court’s logic to executions and demanded that the death penalty no longer be tolerated.

In response to the varying opinions on the death penalty the Supreme Court has tried to appease critics by allowing states to rewrite their death penalty statutes. Advocates of capital punishment began proposing new statues that they believed would end arbitrariness in capital

sentencing. Florida was the first to rewrite theirs with 34 states following shortly after.

This ten year revision on executions ended on January 16,1977 with the execution of Gary Gilmore by firing squad in Utah.

That same year, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a means of execution. However, it was over five years later until Charles Brooks became the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas on December 7, 1982.

Of the methods of execution still utilized today, death by lethal injection is the primary method of execution in all states that allow the death penalty. Hanging is still used in New Hampshire, and Washington, and Electrocution is still used in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The first execution carried out in 2013 was death by electrocution in Virginia.

For those that continue to oppose the death penalty, a program needs to be established to rehabilitate former criminals and move people through the justice system. Currently prisons are overflowing and tax dollars are being gobbled up. The day that a solution is provided will be the day that capital punishment is outlawed.

The death penalty will continue to remain a controversial topic as the moral and ethical implications of playing God and taking a human life are examined. If the death penalty is going to be continued there needs to be precedent set as to how the execution is carried out and how long an inmate can remain on death row.

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News

Anniversary of Egypt’s uprising provokes new riots

By Jenan Taha Around Creek Editor

January 25, 2013, the two-year anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 uprising, which expelled the former president Hosni Mubarak from office, activists once again clashed in the streets of Cairo with city police and government officials in violent riots in Tahrir Square. Like 2011, the current riots in Egypt are built on top of broken promises in what was supposed to be a democracy, which leaves the protesters with no mercy this time.

Two years ago, the riots began on January 25 of 2011, and, despite their aim to be peaceful, became more and more violent as the protesters persisted. The demonstrators wanted to remove (former) President Mubarak from his nearly 30 year reign as a dictator of Egypt. Hundreds of people were injured or killed in these mass protests, which went on for a month, before Mubarak finally announced he was stepping down.

There were several reasons the revolution began. The elections were corrupt, along with their leaders. Few people had well-paying jobs and necessities had become pricey. The citizens of Egypt were also inspired by the recent Tunisian Revolution, in which Tunisians also overthrew their long-time president.

In the protests, there are “all ages, all classes, women even more enthusiastic than men,” a CNN reporter in Egypt, said.

Morsi, when elected in June 2012, won the presidency by popular vote and prom-

ised his citizens ‘freedom’ and ‘justice.’

But, as soon as he was sworn in, he granted himself power over all of Egypt, ignoring the legislative and judicial powers needed to keep any one person from having too much power. Morsi is now above all laws and is capable of doing anything to stay in power. Ironically, although Morsi says he is against violence and wants the revolution to end, he won’t hesitate to “bring [violent rioters] to justice.”

Since then, the economy has gotten worse, and many began to plan revolts in the winter of 2012. In December 2012, protesters attacked Morsi’s palace, and some damage was done, but Morsi escaped well before the attack. Now, in February, the protests continue, with at least 60 dead and several hundred injured in riots near Cairo.

Daily riots cause a state of chaos only to be put down by tear gas fired by police.

Even worse, Morsi is backed by a powerful faction, the Muslim Brotherhood, who share the same desire to rule the country under strict and unjust laws. The Muslim Brotherhood is one of many political parties in Egypt who have certain ideologies on how to rule the country. Some parties want to rule on their own, while others want to join together in what is called a ‘national unity government.’

One Islamic political party, Salafi al-Nour, is joining forces with the ‘opposition’—the Egyptian citizens—and is suggesting a national unity government in this time of crisis. This party is siding with the common people of Egypt,

Timeline of events unfolding in Egypt the past five days; on the day after the two-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, at least 32 people were killed, including police officers, during protests after a court handed out 21 death sentences in connection with 2012’s deadly soccer riot in Port Said. MCT 2013

which is unusual considering that most parties’ only goal is to gain power over the people, not listen to them. Making a na-

tional unity government may be a step forward in the journey to what could be an Egyptian democracy.

Malala Yousufazi promotes womens’ education

By Rachel Wolfe Reporter

Malala Yousufazi, a teenage activist in Pakistan, was happy to hear her long ordeal of surgeries was over. On Friday, February 1st, Malala was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham England when her medical team decided she was well enough to continue recovery in her temporary home in Birmingham. Malala has undergone multiple surgeries since October 2012, when she was shot in the head and neck by Taliban extremists for advocating education for girls in her home country Pakistan. By simply wanting an education, Malala unintentionally became a national symbol of defiance against militants, and empowered young women worldwide.

When Malala was shot in October 2012, her brain dangerously swelled. Doctors needed to remove a section of her skull about the size of a hand in order to alleviate the pressure in her cranium.

Since removing the piece, the shape of her skull has changed, meaning the pieces will no longer match up without the aide of some titanium pieces. Consequently, she chose to have a titanium plate placed over the hole.

Malala will also receive a cochlear inner ear plant to restore hearing in her left ear. The gunfire broke the delicate bones that translate sound into sensory impulses to the brain. The device will not completely restore her hearing, but it will allow her to hear in three dimensions, which is crucial for safety. For example, the implant will allow her to hear an approaching car.

Malala lives in the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan. Since 2003, when the Taliban began using it as a base for operations in Afghanistan, the country has transformed into a place full of violence and oppression, especially for girls.

The Taliban believe girls should not be educated, or even leave the house. They work tirelessly to make sure all obey their orders. However, these conditions were simply unacceptable for Malala.

Malala, encouraged by her father, who runs one of the ‘illegal schools’ decided to get an education, regardless of the intimidations. Even after January 2009, when the Taliban issued an edict that banned all girls from schools.

In addition to attending school, she wrote a blog for BBC, which documented her life as a young girl living in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule.

“The Taliban have repeatedly targeted schools in Swat,” she wrote.

In the blog she also praised her father for continuing to operate one of the few schools that would teach girls despite Taliban threats.

Unfortunately, Malala was not able to evade the Taliban forever.

On Tuesday, October 9, Taliban assassins shot Malala in the head and neck.

Malala, then 14, was on her way home from school in a van with other school children when the assassins stopped the vehicle. The gunmen boarded the bus, and demanded the children identify her. Horrified, the children did, and the men opened fire, wounding two other girls in the pro-

cess.

“We do not tolerate people like Malala speaking against us,” a Taliban spokesman later said in a report by CNN. The spokesman threatened the Taliban will target her again if she survives.

Meanwhile, Malala was in a Pakastani hospital breathing with the help of a ventilator.

The violent shooting left Malala in critical condition. After a surgery to remove the bullet from her neck, she remained unresponsive for three days. But in just four weeks, she went from showing no signs of consciousness in an intensive care unit in Pakistan to walking, writing, reading, and smiling again in a hospital in Birmingham, England.

Less than 3 weeks after the shooting, Malala was discharged from the hospital to continue recovery in her family’s temporary home in Birmingham. She remained there as she underwent multiple surgeries to repair her skull.

Malala has encouraged girls and their families to resist the Taliban since she was 11. Since issuing their edict against girls going to school in 2003, the Taliban raided houses for books. The extremists took great issue with her writings and have been threatening her for years.

“I was scared of being beheaded by the Taliban because of my passion for education,” Malala said in an interview with CNN. The shooting has sparked outrage inside Pakistan against the Taliban. From there, public support snowballed, and

thousands of people in Pakistan and elsewhere have rallied together, honoring her courage.

The Pakistani government attempted to name her local school, Khushal Public School, and a college after her, but Malala requested the schools not be named after her out of fear that the Taliban may target them.

Malala has sparked interest across the globe. Many campaigns, such as the “I am Malala” compaign, are touring around the world to gain followers for girl’s rights to education. Malala has also been able to help in starting a charitable fund, the Malala Fund.

“I want every girl, every child to be educated. And for that reason, we have organized the Malala fund,” Malala said.

Vital Voices, a global non-governmental organization, established the fund on behalf of Malala and her family. This organization, joined with more supporters of the case, such as the United Nations Foundation, Girl Up, and several more, created the fund which is intended to provide grants to organizations and individuals focused on education.

Malala is currently recovering in her temporary home in Birmingham, England.

Her father is now employed at the Pakistani Consulate in Great Britain, and her family is safe from Taliban threats. The shooting has not altered Malala’s determination of attending school. From her hospital bed in England, she soon asked for her schoolbooks, so she could study for the tests she plans to take when returning to Pakistan.

News

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NASA discovers new rogue planet CFBDSIR2149

By Arlen Addison Reporter

Astronomers have announced the discovery of what appears to be a ‘rogue’ planet, that is a planet drifting alone in interstellar space, no fixed orbit and no host star. This object, suspected to be a planet, has been classified CFBDSIR2149.

CFBDSIR2149 was first seen through the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope located on Mt. Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The unknown object emitted only a faint light, causing it to be out shined by cosmic light pollution. The suspected “rogue” planet was only detected by its infrared signature.

The object is suspected to be a gas giant, likely four to seven times more massive than that Jupiter in our own Solar System.

CFBDSIR2149 has enough mass to be a brown dwarf, a failed star, a solar object, larger than a planet, but without enough matter and internal pressure to initiate a fusion reaction to become a star.

CFBDSIR2149 is only 100,000 lightyears away from Earth, floating among a group of young, wondering stars called the AB Doradus moving group.

The AB Doradus stars are between 50 million and 120 million years old, relatively young in astronomical terms and compared to our 5 billion year old Sun and the 4.5 billion year old Earth. If CFBDSIR2149 is confirmed to be among the AB Doradus moving group, then it is likely it too is very young.

Board approves bond Continued from pg. 1 growing areas of the district. The bond issue proposes the expansion of the campus and the elimination of several portable classrooms, which will in turn be replaced with permanent, and more-secure structures. Also, the school’s fine arts areas will be expanded to be consistent with other CCISD schools and to accommodate the growing student population. McWhirter Elementary: McWhirter Elementary is composed of two old facilities from 1956 and 1971, resulting in a .25 walk from one part of the building to the nurse’s office and 72 exterior doors which pose safety concerns for students and staff. The bond proposes to rebuild the school in two phases in order to establish a newer, safer, and more energy-efficient building. Greene Elementary: With 250 students currently being taught in portable classrooms, the committee has included Greene Elementary in the bond’s toppriority campuses after finding that projected student enrollment numbers are greater than the current building can safely house. The bond proposes the replacement of the current portable structures with permanent additions in order to eliminate safety concerns and address student needs.

Other core areas and the cafeteria will also be expanded to meet future enrollment numbers.

In order to also meet the growth of CCISD’s extracurricular activities, the new bond includes $7.2 million in transportation repairs and bus replacements as well as a propane fueling station at the main transportation center and building third

Actual image of newly found rogue planet CFBDSIR2149.

Image Credit: CFHT/P. Delorme

“We need new observations to confirm that this object belongs to the AB Doradus moving group.” Delorme said. “With a good measurement and a more accurate proper motion, we will be able to increase [or decrease] the probability that it is indeed a planet.”

After initially being detected in Hawaii the object was further examined in Chile using a European Southern Observatory. Philippe Delorme headed the research

team, which initially suggested that the lonely object might be a planet.

“If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space,” Delorme said in a statement released.

Until a few years ago ‘orphaned planets’ were unknown phenomena, all planets were thought to have a host star(s).

However in the past year numerous such

gyms at Clear Creek and Clear Springs High Schools. When the 2004 bond was addressed, only three 5A high school were in the district, but now with five 5A high schools, the committee has also recommended adding a second stadium so that CCISD students will not have to participate in various extracurricular activities on academic nights and then go to class at 7:20 a.m. the next day. The second stadium will also help relieve scheduling and traffic issues between Clear Creek High School and Clear Creek Intermediate where Veterans Memorial District Stadium is currently located.

The recommended $39 million, steelconstruction stadium will utilize the land already purchased with funds from the 2004 bond. The second stadium will feature a newly built press box, field house, and an eight-lane track. In comparison to other stadiums within the area, the newly constructed steel stadium will seat 10,000 as opposed to Veterans Memorial Stadium’s 8,200 seats. The new facility will also serve as multi-purpose space for district-wide events such as graduation, art exhibits, science fairs, and robotics competitions. The stadium will also allow CCISD to host regional and state events for fine arts, track, football, and soccer, bringing in more revenue for the district.

In its final recommendation, the committee includes turf replacement and safety repairs to Veterans Memorial Stadium. For the district’s agriculture programs, approximately $6 million of the bond’s funds will be used to expand the Westside Agriculture Center to accommodate the program’s growth and the building of a new Eastside Agriculture Center facility. Replacement to musical instruments has also been included in the

bond for the district’s Fine Arts programs.

As for technology, the committee has allocated $50 million of the bond’s projected funds to provide CCISD students and staff with updated technology that can be integrated both at home and in the classroom. Specifically, the board has proposed to provide staff and students with tablets that will be preloaded with applications and digital copies of their textbooks. In response to a pilot program at Victory Lakes Intermediate where each eighth grader was issued a tablet computer, the committee’s proposal works to extend students’ access to learning outside of the classroom and limited hours of a school day. Over the next three to five years, the committee aims to issue a tablet to staff and have class sets available on campus, eventually establishing a 1:1 ratio for students in grades four through ten, and then allowing secondary students to bring home these devices and later include a “Bring Your Own Device” option for high school students.

“Some of this is inevitable. Textbooks are shifting to electronic versions and the paper versions are going away, so part of this is something we must do, and also should do in terms of value. The inevitability portion is partly from the textbook, but also from these students that we do our best to educate towards what’s next,” Schwartz said.

Additionally, the bond will also include replacements to aging computers, projectors and interactive whiteboards that were originally included in the 2004 bond.

The bond also calls for the expansion of Career & Technology Education labs so that students will have access to technology on a 1:1 ratio as opposed to the current 1:3 ratio estimated on the committee’s campus

planet have been discovered, according to one study in 2011 is was shown that planets with out stars outnumber those with stars in out galaxy by at least 50 percent; making rogue planets the new “normal” planet, rather than those with host stars. If CFBDSIR2149 is shown to be a planet it only adds to the idea that planets orbiting a star are no longer the normal planets. What makes CFBDSIR2149 rare is that among planets without stars, gas giants are among the rarest seen.

“We now know that such massive planets are rare and that Neptunes or Earthmass planets are much more common [among rogue planets],” said Delorme.

“We also know that massive objects are more difficult to eject [from solar systems] than light ones. If you follow the rationale, you deduce that ejected exo-Neptunes and exo-Earths should be more common than objects like CFBDSIR2149.”

CFBDSIR2149 offers a rare opportunity to study alien planets, especially rare gas giants as CFBDSIR2149 is suspected to be. Without the glare of a host star(s) more detailed observations can be made of the suspected planet.

“This object is a really easy-to-study prototype of the ‘normal’ giant planets we hope to discover and study with upcoming generation od direct-imaging instruments,” said Delorme “It will help to improve our forecast of these objects’ luminosity and hence help us discover them – and, once discovered, it will help us understand the physics of their atmospheres.”

tours. Computers currently in use that will not be replaced will be updated with newer operating systems. Internally, the committee hopes to improve the wireless network, telephone, and sever infrastructure of the district to accommodate these updates.

“One of the things that we’ve been working on for several years is really focusing on student engagement and making the course work that students are involved in relevant to their experiences. I think the infusion of technology is a vehicle to enhance learning,” Ebell said.

In preparation for these updates, CCISD already began expanding its wireless infrastructure in order to establish more dense coverage on the district’s 44 campuses. In addition, the district has set up student and staff Google Accounts that allow students to access Google Calendar, and Google Drive, an extension of Google Documents that allows users to view, edit, and share documents over an online server space. On February 21, the committee also hosted a Technology Symposium at Brookside Intermediate to talk to community members about how the new technology included in the bond can be used educate students on a deeper, personalized level.

“Everyone has a preconceived notion of what a classroom should be. This is not the classroom you remember and this is why.

It’s mobile. It’s real-time, personalized learning. It’s technology-rich content, but it’s still learning,” Schwartz added.

Now that the recommendation has passed, the bond will be voted on in the 2013 election in early May. For more details regarding the committee, the bond issue, and videos of the committee’s meetings with the public go to www.ccisd.net/ recommendations for more information.

6

Around Creek

Around Creek 7

Houston hosts 5K marathon for runners of all ages

By Lisa Nhan Reporter

The Color Vibe 5K, a marathon described on the website as the “most exciting color filled day,” came to Houston on February 16, 2013. Taking place at Jack Brooks Park, runners were covered with every vibrant color at different color stations along the track. With all ages allowed and no timing chips, the focus of the race was to simply have a good time while getting covered in as many colors as possible and to help raise awareness of the local Houston based charity, the Brazoria County Dream Center.

Along the way, runners were blasted with colors based on the color station they were passing, creating a rainbow effect all over their clothing and bodies. Volunteers spent the day throwing the bright powders at passing participants. The powder itself is made from cornstarch grown in the U.S. and safe enough to eat. It was custom designed for the Color Vibe Company and it is non-toxic, safe, stain-free, and biode-

gradable.

Runners were encouraged to wear something white to enhance the pigments of the color.

Every runner received a special Color Vibe shirt and bag full of special supplies, including their Photo courtesy of Elizabeth McCarty to have the Color own packet Vibe affair. Students of colored powder. and teachers from Creek attended for the This event has become so popular, takunique twist on this race. ing place all over the globe in places such As a first marathon experience, Ms. as Australia and the United Kingdom. In Elizabeth McCarty believed that it set a the U.S. alone, this Color Vibe’s marathon high standard for the next one. For her, and is taking place in 29 cities from the west to many others, it was an opportunity to have east coast along with Alaska and Hawaii. a good time without worrying about the Houston was the sixth city this season

finish line.

“It was just a bunch of friends having a good time,” said Ms. McCarty.

Students who attended brought along friends and family. Kristen Martin, 10th, went with her brother Brian Martin, 9th, and her cousin to the race. The colors provided her with an incentive and “adrenaline rush” to make it to the finish line.

“It was the best 5K ever. I had a great sense of accomplishment for finishing it,” Kristen Martin said.

Though Color Run’s partnership with the Brazoria County Dream Center is a non-profit organization, participants helped those struggling in Brazoria County. The non-profit center dedicates itself to those in the community, no matter the situation and age. Their goal is to rebuild hope, renew lives, and to restore dreams by using all sorts of mediums such as putting people through education classes and providing the basic essentials. As an organization that relies on private donations, Color Vibe was able to help by donating a portion of the funds raised at the event.

Students to embark for Spain on Euro Trip 2014

By Lisa Nhan Reporter

Next spring Clear Creek High School is offering a learning experience that goes beyond the classroom. Mr. Fontenot and Ms. Varsos are hosting the annual Euro Trip, for the year of 2014, to Spain and Morocco. In a span of nine days, the group visits two continents and six cities.

The reason behind this trip is the approach to learning history and culture of Spain and Morocco. The company hosting the trip, NETC Educational Travel, claims that traveling gives students a better chance to learn by experiencing the history for themselves. Able to emerge themselves in a different culture and language, students will be exposed to things they’ve never seen before.

“It changes their perspective…and helps them become more acustomed to our global society,” Fontenot said.

Trip goers will be able to explore these cultures in a safe environment. According to Fontenot, the biggest danger is simply pickpocketers. NETC Educational Travel staff and CEO are so certain about the safety guranteeed on the trip, they’ve sent their own children along.

Both teachers are encouraging their students to attend. The first two days are dedicated to flying the 13-hour flight to the Spanish capital of Madrid, where the group will explore the many sites historic to Spanish history. The next day while still in Madrid, students will take a tour through Plaza Mayor, Plaza Colon and the Royal Palace.

Students will take a tour of two of the most impressive museums in the world. At the

Prado Museum, students will see one of the largest art collections in the world with over 9,000 paintings, not to mention the thousands of drawings, decorative objects, coins and medals. The second museum, the Reina Sofia, is home to paintings from famous artists like Dali and Picasso.

Students will explore a city full of Jewish artifacts. On day four, Cordoba is home to Jewish philosopher Maimonides and the Jewish Quarter. Student will tour the 1200 year old Mezquita, which contains 800 marble columns.

In Seville, a local guide will take the students to the Plaza de Espana. This is the largest gothic cathedral in the world.

At night, the group will learn to Flamenco dance as they embrace a new culture.

On day six, students explore the two cities of Ronda and Costa del Sol. Ronda

is home to bull fighting. Costa del Sol is a great place to relax along the coast of the Mediterranean.

On day 7 the students travel to a new continent. Only spending the day in Morocco, a local guide will lead the group into the city of Tangier. The Muslim culture here will be showcased in Grand Socco and the old city walls.

Before heading home, the group will spend time in Spain in the once Moorish city of Granada. Islamic architecture of the Alhambra fortress and the Generalide Gardens will be highlighted.

For more information about the trip, see Fontenot in D107 and Ms. Varso E112 and go online to www.EducationalTravel. com/Login with the username “spain” and password “fontenot.”

Show Boat Drive-In Bluebonnet Fields

Various Locations Take in the sight of one Texas' most famous wildflower. Just don't pick any, it's illegal!

Distance: 65 miles Roadtrip with friends to experience an old fashion drive through.

Bring sure to bring a radio!

Museum

Distance Check out nineteen of the H Museum

Bluebell Factory

Distance: 99 miles Go tour the Bluebell Ice Cream factory in Brenham ,TX. The tour only costs six dollars and comes with free ice cream.

Schlitterbahn

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

Distance: 39 miles Hike around the wildlife refuge to try to spot the alligators.

Distance: 29 miles Cool off at the waterpark! Also, if its an unseasonably chilly day, there are covered rides available.

Pleasu

Distance Enjoy th games an catch a b all while o the

m District

e: 28 miles one of the members Houston m District.

ure Pier

e: 30 miles he carnival nd rides and bite to eat, overlooking e Gulf.

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Distance: 58 miles Catch an outdoor concert in this beautiful venue north of Houston.

Lake Houston State Park

Distance: 50 miles Spend some time in the great outdoors by hiking around the park.

Lake Charles

Distance: 141 miles Spend the day at the state next door to experience cajun culture.

Space Center Houston

Distance: 4 miles Tour Mission Control and get a closer look at the work of astronauts.

The Strand

Distance: 31 miles Take a trip down to Galveston to explore this historic shopping district.

10 Teen Interest

55th annual Grammy awards: The Year of the Men

By Kristina Koonce Teen Interest Editor

The 55th Annual Grammys were held on February 10, 2013. “Music’s biggest night” was hosted by rapper LL Cool J for the second time. There were performances from artist such as Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean.

Taylor Swift started the night off with an Alice Wonderland vibe performance of her single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The country singer performed her song as clowns on tricycles roamed around stage as her back up dancers danced around in clown suits. Elton John and Ed Sheeran kept the performances going by performing a rendition of Ed Sheeran’s song, The A Team.

Taking a small break from all of the performances, Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull gave out the first award of the night to 7time Grammy winner, Adele for Best Pop Solo Performance for her live version of her hit song, Set Fire To The Rain.

Mumford and Sons showed why they deserved the award for Album Of The Year by performing the song I Will Wait.

Justin Timberlake took the stage for his first big performance since announcing his come back to music. Joined by Rapper Jay Z, they performed Suit and Tie. Timberlake turned the TV screens at home to black and white while rocking the stage with a slicked

back hair style.

Before he left the stage, he performed his second single off of his new album, Pusher Love Girl.

Not only did Jay Z perform at the Grammys but he took home the award for “Best Rap Performance,” Mumford and Sons backstage at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, February 10, 2013. (Allen J. Schaben/Los along with KayAngeles Times/MCT) ne West for their song Niggas In received the lifetime achievement award Paris. He also took home “Best Rap/Sung for the contribution to the music industry.

Collaboration for No Church In The Wild “I know that The Recording Academy which featured Frank Ocean who also did does not give a Lifetime Achievement not leave the Grammys empty handed.

Award lightly and it is very, very meaningBeating artist such as Hunter Hayes ful to me,” King said. “I don’t really go and The Lumineers, Fun took home the through life thinking I’m going to do this award for “Best New Artist” and “Song of so I [can] get an award. I just sort of try The Year” for their song We Are Young. to be a good person; I try to write music Honoring some of the greats, the Gram- that lifts people and makes me feel good mys paid a tribute to The Temptations, to sing.”

Ravi Shankar, and Carole King. They all The night continued with more back to

back performances. There was a theme of many of the performances with legendary artist performing with new artist.

Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Sting, and Bob Marley’s two sons, Ziggy and Damian came together to perform a tribute to legendary reggae artist Bob Marley.

They performed Bruno Mars’ Locked Out of Heaven, Sting’s Walking On The Moon and ending with Marley’s Could You Be Loved.

Before the night was over Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley took home the award for “Best Country Album”.

Carrie Underwood’s performance for Blown Away won the award for “Best Country Performance.”

“Country music has always been so good to me, and I thank the good Lord that I’m part of such a wonderful, talented, amazing family,” Carrie said.

The 55th Grammys was not like the past few Grammys where one artist sweeps up the competition and takes home the most awards. This year’s Grammys showed a new side to the music industry, suggesting that it may take a turn with men taking over the industry. With all of the male domination in the categories, the night that is typically called “The Year of the Women,” earned the title of “The Year of the Men.”

2013 Oscar awards: a night of cinematic history

By Hannah Gellman Reporter

In January and February of every year, the best movies, music, and television shows are honored through numerous awards shows, including the Golden Globes, People’s Choice, Screen Actor’s Guild, and Grammys. Rounding off the awards season this year, however, was perhaps the most anticipated show of all- the Academy Awards, or Oscars. On February 24, the best actors, directors, and films of 2012 were honored in a stellar show.

2012 was a good year for movies, with hits, such as Marvel’s The Avengers and The Hunger Games cleaning up at the box office, and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln being one of the most critically acclaimed movies ever.

Oscar nominations came out in midJanuary, giving the Academy members a little over a month to see all the nominated films and cast their vote. Lincoln garnered 12 nominations, the most of any movie, including Best Director for Steven Spielberg, Best Picture of the Year, but only came away winning two Oscars: Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Production Design. Other top contenders included Silver Linings Playbook whose nominations included Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and whose wins included Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence, Beasts of the Southern Wild which was up for Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture, Les Misérables which was nominated for, Best Actor, and Best Picture, and won Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway, and Argo

which was nominated for Best Actor and took home Best Picture of the Year, the biggest award of the night.

Although Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln had the most nominations going into the Academy Awards, the movie that won the most Oscars was Ang Lee’s Life of Pi coming home with Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Director for Lee. This year’s Oscars had already sparked some controversy before the big night, as many believe that Argo director Ben Affleck and Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow were snubbed for a nomination. The release of the 2013 Oscar nominations was also moved up a week, sparking some debate over its interference with the Golden Globes awards.

The 2013 Academy Awards also had some anomalies associated with them. This year, the Best Actress category included both the youngest and oldest nominees ever. Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhane Wallis, was the youngest

nominee is history, at nine years old. The leading actress of the French film Amour Emmanuelle Riva, was the oldest at eightyfive years old.

Also, by taking home the Best Actor award for Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis became the first actor ever to win three Oscars in the Best Actor category.

For the first time in thirty-one years, Silver Linings Playbook received nominations in all four acting categories.

Bradley Cooper earned a Best Actor nomination, Jennifer Lawrence a Best Actress one, Robert de Niro garnered a Best Supporting Actor nod, and Jacki Weaver earned a spot in the Best Supporting Actress lineup.

This is also only the fourth time in history when the director of the film that won the Best Picture award was not even nominated for the Best Director award.

Argo took home the biggest award, but its director, Ben Affleck, was overlooked for a nomination. Such an anomaly has not occurred since 1990.

Garnering a nomination was already a huge honor, singling out the best movies of the year, but big winners are now, irrefutably, the best performances and films of they year. They are now engraved into cinematic history.

Teen Interest 11

12

Features

Warm Bodies: the ultimate struggle to save humanity

By Madison Williams

Management Editor

February 1, 2013 Warm Bodies premiered and instantly became a sensational hit. The movie flawlessly weaves together the horror, comedy, and romance genres to make a movie that will thrill any genre lover.

The movie begins with the innermonologue of a teenage guy who is insecure about his looks and uncertain about his future as he deals with gruesome truth that he is a zombie. His inner thoughts do not match his appearance or actions, as he is only able to communicate through grunts and the occasional word like “hungry.”

The main character of the movie adopts the name “R” after being unable to remember his formal name except for the letter it began with. As a zombie he struggles with the desire to be human and the small amount of guilt he feels for eating brains. He is unable to sleep or dream, and the only solace he finds is in reliving the memories stored in the brains of his victims.

He obtains their memories by consuming their brains and entering a dream-like state.

By reliving their memories he is able to keep the hope alive that he will once again be human.

“R” begins to change after ambushing humans looking for medical supplies outside of the compound that houses the un-infected humans. While eating the brain of Perry, he feels a connection to Perry’s girlfriend Julie. “R” spots Julie among the humans and saves her from being eaten. He then proceeds to bring her back to his zombie-infested home, the airport. Here he shows Julie his array of knick-knacks, that make him feel more

Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer star in “Warm Bodies.” (Courtesy of Jan Thijs/Summit Entertainment/MCT)

human including his record player as he nonchalantly dances along to his favorite song. Some of the funniest parts of the

movie occur in their time spent in “R’s” 747 jet home as “R” chastises himself for staring at Julie as she eats, or attempts to

say “something human.” The more time he spends with Julie the more “R’s” humanity is brought out bringing him that much closer to becoming human. It is a very interesting point of view as zombies are portrayed as humans struck by a disease rather than beings of the undead.

The horror part of the movie is included in the zombies known as “skeletons.”

These zombies were humans who gave up their humanity and completely surrendered their morals to become this new creature.

Skeletons have no skin and eat anything with a heartbeat. The zombies are terrified of them allowing the skeletons to use their fear to intimidate the zombies. The special effects of the skeletons are incredible as they look realistic and not like something out of a 70’s horror flick. The music that accompanies the skeletons imposes an unshakeable feeling of doom as they scour the country for heartbeats. The skeletons are a nasty sight to behold and although not scary in the traditional sense, it will keep you from feeling like you are watching a Nicholas Sparks romance movie.

The romance is of course seen in the hope that Julie and “R” inspire in the other zombies as their friendship and eventually love blossoms through the course of the movie.

The trailers did not do Warm Bodies justice. It was incredible. I know both boys and girls who enjoyed the movie so it is not gender specific. The storyline was so unique and something Hollywood has never seen as zombies are portrayed as victims of chance who can redeem themselves. This movie provides hope to anyone who sees it, that even if an apocalypse does occur, humanity can save itself once again.

Features

13

Review: Sean Forbes’ album surpasses expectations

By Jenan Taha Around Creek Editor

Artist and producer Sean Forbes, who recently released his album Perfect Imperfection, has more to do with his paradoxical album name than you may think.

Forbes, who was born in Detroit, grew up around enthusiastic musicians—his parents. Forbes had been deaf since he was an infant, but that didn’t hinder his love for music. His parents encouraged him to express himself through sound. Forbes was inspired by The Beatles, The Beastie Boys, and Bob Dylan, or what he calls ‘the 3 B’s.’

Forbes began making amateur music videos in his basement that would appeal to the deaf community. He added creative captions and thought of artistic ways to use sign language in the videos. He preferred rap to other musical genres and began to write and perform. His musical career took off when he co-founded the Deaf Professional Arts Network, or D-PAN. His organization focuses on using American Sign Language to translate popular music videos for the deaf community. His drive for new ways to hear sound has changed the way the deaf are able to enjoy even simple things we

take for granted, like music. Now Forbes his acceptance of life, and he even adds a little humor when he performs for stars like raps about people who Eva Longoria and Kim think his accent is Kardashian. weird. The music I was very video is ingenious surprised when I because he raps the listened to Perfect song while signing Imperfection–I it in sign language. was expecting a

I did mediocre set of not like the songs songs that was not on the album that unlike any other featured a different aspirant trying singer for the to make it in the chorus, like Don’t music world. For Let Anything Hold the most part, I You Back, The was wrong. Yes, Maze and Crazy not every single song on the album About You. It’s Photo courtesy of MOXIE is utterly astounding, but the not his part that I didn’t majority of the songs all have one thing in enjoy—his rapping was great. I just didn’t common—originality. I praise him for that, think all of those featured singers add any since most rap songs these days all muddle interest to the song. His rap in Don’t Let into one clichéd monotonous sound.

Anything Hold You Back was very original Most of the songs are rap, with a little and catchy, but the featured singer for the influence of 90’s style and even some chorus sounded like a raspy version of reggae. When I listened to his first song, Ludacris, which was unappealing. The one I’m Deaf, the first thing I thought was this song that featured someone and was also guy has an odd half-British half-something cute and interesting was Let’s Mambo. It accent. It was a different sound, which was was a up-beat memorable song that sounds nice. The song really represents him and like it would be put with the other all-time

dance party classics.

There were some little bursts of excitement in the crevices of the album, like Welcome Interlude and Chill Out Man Interlude, which had no words but had very interesting sound. Welcome had prominent electronica sound, and Chill Out Man had a cool beat that seemed reggae inspired and sounded like something Slightly Stoopid would have written.

He also had some humorous songs on the album, like We Interrupt This Program and Bob Dylan. At the end of Bob Dylan he even says, “this is just a whacked out song.” We Interrupt This Program had a funny music video, with Forbes dressed up as a news reporter. The song had an extended metaphor about an ‘interrupted’ relationship, which was very creative.

Hammer and Mood Swings I didn’t particularly like, but I can imagine others enjoying them. Hammer is very catchy and a song that would be very popular with high-schoolers. Mood Swings is a more laid back song with free-style rhymes, which reminded me of Asher Roth.

I never would have suspected this album to be worthwhile, but it promises continuation. It turned out to be more original and exciting than the expectations.

The Walking Dead returns to TV with a new season

By Dylan Hill Sports Editor It started two and a half years ago and AMC wasn’t too sure how it would turn out. But half way through its second season, the Walking Dead was a major success. It will now start the second half to its season three.

The first season of the Walking Dead lasted through the Halloween season just to see how successful it would be. They came back with a two part second season which has now lead to their third season.

It is a very high pace action story based on the Walking Dead comic. The story begins with Rick, the main character, who wakes up from a coma to the world being over run by zombies. He’s in the city of Atlanta and is racing to find his family. He eventually finds his family and others that have been surviving, and they begin to look for a permanent, safe place to live.

The Walking Dead is a fast pace zombie thriller and every episode leaves the reviewer wanting more and guessing what could be on the next episode. AMC has defiantly found a winner with this series. They needed another hit series

Extras made up as zombies wait their turn on the set of “The Walking Dead,” the zombie series on AMC in June 2012. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Time/MCT)

since Breaking Bad, one of their more popular shows is on its last season. The

Walking Dead is going to take over as AMC’s pilot series and is projected to go

to seven seasons.

On this season half way mark of the Walking Dead Hines Ward, a retired Pittsburg Steelers and 2006 Super Bowl MVP, had a guest appearance as a zombie on the show. It isn’t Hines first time to get an appearance on a major show or film. He got a spot on the Dark Knight Rises as the football player who runs a kick off back for a touch down while the whole stadium is collapsing behind him.

The Walking Dead has definitely come a long way sinse its first season. From interactive advertising in Grand Central Station where they were counting down the start of the mid season by placing a giant hand and every day a finger would fall of, to the amount of publicity and people watching. It set a Walking Dead record and a TV drama record for most views of a basic cable drama with over 9 million views.

The show has become so popular now that it has its own talk show called The Talking Dead where guests talk about the show. Sometimes, the cast members will appear on The Talking Dead and talk about what may happer in the future.

14

Sports

2013 World Baseball Classic teams are announced

By Greg Brotzman Sports Editor

In an experience that brings together baseball players from all around the globe every four years, The World Baseball Classic was created with the idea of deciding which country could truly produce the best players. With its continued growing fame, it has become one of the biggest sporting events around the globe.

The first World Baseball Classic was created in 2005 as a response to the Olympic committee’s decision to remove baseball from the Olympics. The World Baseball Classic was viewed as an opportunity to have professionals from all around the world compete for their country to try win the championship. The first two World Baseball Classic’s were a success. The semi-finals and finals of both tournaments were some of the most viewed sporting events in history, especially in countries like Japan (who won the first two tournaments in 2006 and 2009).

This year’s tournament looks to be the most competitive of all as more and more of the big name players are deciding to participate and play for their countries, which in turn is leading to many countries having rosters that are closest to “dream teams” that baseball has ever seen. As the rosters were announced, many countries

Photo By Joe Vavra, a member of the Minnesota Twins coaching staff, gathers baseballs for a drill during spring training practice at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, Sunday, February 17, 2013. (Jerry Holt/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT)

emerged as the favorites to win the WBC. One of these teams is the Dominican Republic. The Dominican team is filled with many perennial all stars, and are lead by two players who many consider to be the best at their position, Adrian Beltre and Robinson Cano. The Domincan team

rounds out a line up with solid players like Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz, and Melkey Cabrera. Although the Domincan has become a favorite because of their strong group of hitters, many people feel that their lack of pitching depth will lead to their elimination the deeper into the tournament

they get.

Another team from Central America has a good shot of winning the WBC. The Venezuelan team is stacked with both hitting and pitching superstars such as third baseman Miguel Cabrera, fresh off becoming the first hitter to win the triple crown in over 40 years, and starting pitcher Felix Hernandez, one of, if not the, best starting pitchers in baseball. The Domincan team would most likely be the favorite if not for team USA. Team USA is considered by many to have the most depth of any team in the WBC and has become the favorite early on to win. Team USA has many top tier players incluiding the reigning Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey and the 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun. Team USA’s depth is shown best because many players who are the best players on their regular MLB teams will be forced into back up roles on Team USA. With all of these factors poining towards Team USA having sucess in this tournament, it almost seems to have a “championship of bust” feel to it this year for the American team.

The World Baseball Classic’s fame looks to continue through 2013. With every pitch the world will come closer and closer to figuring out which country truly produces the worlds best baseball players.

Sports

15

Houston hosts 2013 NBA All-Star game weekend

By Justin Behrens Reporter

For the first time since 2006, Houston headlined the All Star Weekend and the NBA All Star game. This was the biggest weekend of the entire NBA season. There are so many events and celebrities that came out to watch, February 15 – 17 was an exciting weekend in Houston.

One of the most talked about events this weekend was the NBA Dunk Contest.

There were six participants in the 2013 Sprite Dunk Contest, they were Jeremy Evans, Eric Bledsoe, Kenneth Faried, Gerald Green, Terrence Ross, and James White. There were three participants from the East, and three from the West. The winners from the East and West went head to head in the Championship round. After the two participants scored the highest scoring dunks all night, the fans voted for whoever they thought deserved it, and the player with the highest percentage of votes

was Terrence Ross.

Another very anticipated event and most watched event during All Star Weekend was the All Star Game. If your not familiar with it, this is where the top NBA players from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference play a high scoring game that is the most entertaining event of the entire weekend. The player who got the most votes to get in the All Star Game was 15th timer Kobe Bryant.

And the player with the second highest amount of votes was LeBron James. Those two players are arguably the best basketball players in the game today.

In last year’s All Star Game, the West beat the East by a score of 152 – 149. The MVP of that game was Kevin Durant. And this year, the West beat the East again and the MVP was Chris Paul. The winner of 2011’s dunk contest was Blake Griffin. To win that, in his last round he jumped over a car to dunk the ball. In this years dunk contest, Terrence Ross did a tribute dunk to

Vince Carter and won the dunk contest. The last All Star Game to be played in Houston, the East beat the West and LeBron James was named the MVP. The player who won the dunk contest was Nate Robinson. The weekend of February 15-17, players made history yet again in the city of Houston.

If those things weren’t entertaining enough to watch, there was also the All Star celebrity game. This was where random celebrities were put on two teams, and battled it out for the win. Some celebrities who participated in the game this year were the 2012 MVP last year Kevin Hart, Common, Ne-Yo (who is performing), Nick Cannon, Josh Hutcherson, Trey Songz, and a former NBA player Dikembe Mutombo.

This game had some big names, and was very entertaining.

To top it all off, there was also a 3 point shootout competition to see who can make the most three pointers. From the Eastern Conference, the players were Paul George, Kyrie Irving, and Steve Novak.

From the Western Conference, they had Ryan Anderson, Matt Bonner, and Stephen Curry. And after making 23 shots, Kyrie Irving won it for the East. The player who won the Foot Locker Three point contest last year was Kevin Love. This was the third event of the All Star Weekend.

Another interesting thing about this year’s All Star Weekend was that the media day was live streamed online. Also, the Sprint Pregame Concert was headlined by singer Ke$ha. And for the halftime show, 14 time Grammy Award winning artist Alicia Keys performed. Also, NBA TV, NBA.com, and NBA Mobile all delivered exclusive coverage for the weekend of the 2013 All Star Game.

There are so many exciting things that took place at the All Star Game in Houston during the weekend of February 15 - 17.

Whether you like it or not, the All Star weekend of 2013 was filled with basketball and celebrities. All Star Weekend 2013 was a must watch for any basketball fan.

it to state. She also managed to break her 24 seconds record in the 50 free with a personal best of 23 seconds. She broke her record in the 100 fly, and broke the school record in the 100 free with 53 seconds.

The girls 200 free relay team won 3rd place overall at regionals, and the girls 400 free

increased the times for their relay teams.

“The biggest difference was that the team was willing to work hard for swimming and for everything else. They were more dedicated to work hard,” Coach Woolweaver said.”

About seven seniors will be leaving at the end of this school year, three girls and

four buys.

“At the end, all the long, cold practices were worth my time, because my friends, family, and coaches made it worthwhile.” senior Megan Todd said.

Creek swimming dominates at TISCA swim meet

By Lety Suarez Features Editor

The Clear Creek High School swimming team is known for its numerous victories in the district, regionals, and even the state. Ever since the year started, they have been working hard with the purpose of

Photo by Justin Kitchens

carrying on the school legacy.

One of the most important highlights of the year was TISCA (Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association) at Corpus Christi last year in November. Seventeen members of the Clear Creek High School swim team qualified for the meet. Those who attended were girls Emma Womersly, Nicole Herrick, Haley Walker, Olivia Todd, Megan Todd, Micaela Roemer, boys Scott Lyle, Christopher Sickler, Gabriel Garcia, Blaze Boyer, Jared Castollo, Ashton Duke, Avery Trahan, and Carter Harvey.

“I am very proud that our swimmers have worked hard and earned the right to compete at the TISCA meet,” Clear Creek head swim coach Anne Woolweaver said.

“These students have been diligent in practice and their efforts paid off.”

Sophomore Micaela Roemer was one of the many who had qualifying times for TISCA. She recently won 1st place in the 100 butterfly at regionals and is currently the only member of the Wildcats to make

relay team won second. The 400 free relay team, with Megan Todd, Olivia Todd, Emma Womersley, and Micaela Roemer, also broke a pool record at Friendswood.

Despite some of the difficulties that come with swimming, Micaela practices five days a week inside and outside of school. The coaches believe that she could be the first Wildcat swimmer who leaves Creek with a sports scholarship.

Most on the team go on to college with academic scholarships and join their school’s club, but Micaela has what it takes to make a difference. According to Coach Woolweaver, she’s their fastest swimmer and she’s not surprised Micalea made it this far.

The team has a new coach, Mr. Russ, who moved from California and is anxiously waiting for Water polo season with the boys. This year also differs in that they have more club swimmers, which has

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