Hillmen Messenger Issue 7 2009-10

Page 1

What suprises are underclassmen in for come senior year? See FEATURES, page 3

Did the media make too big of a deal over Adam Lamberts AMA performance? See OPINIONS, page 4

What exactly is the egg nog mile? See SPORTS, page 10

HILLMEN M ESSENGER Placer High School

Volume XXXVII, Issue 7

hillmenmessenger.com

December 14, 2009

Snowfall shuts down school for two days By Laura Molnar Messenger Staff Writer

Placer High and other Auburn-area students received an early Christmas present when school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday with a later starttime on Wednesday. A snowstorm that began Sunday night and a cold-front which froze the snow caused schools in Auburn to be temporarily closed for safety reasons. School was closed Monday because of the nearly six inches of snowfall; Tuesday was cancelled and Wednesday shortened due to the ice that coated many roads, as well as sidewalks and parking lots at Placer High and other schools. “Transportation was a major issue during all of the school days. There was too much snow for anyone to drive on Monday, and busses weren’t operating on Tuesday or Wednesday because of the ice covering the roads,” explained Peter Efstathiu, principal at Placer High School. Ice was definitely a cause for concern in the early part of the week in Auburn. The snowstorm and major cold-front were extremely uncommon for Auburn weather. With temperatures dropping to the low 20s, roads, streets, and walkways became unsafe at Placer and the rest of the town. “The main reason school was cancelled completely Tuesday was due to

the ice. Students would not have been able to walk around safely on campus because the majority of walkways was covered in ice. In addition to an icy campus, busses deemed it unsafe to drive so too many students had no

transportation to school,” commented Efstathiu. Students definitely appreciated the day off. It gave some a chance to catch up on schoolwork, and others liked having a break from academics com-

pletely. “I absolutely loved the snow days because not only was it beautiful, but we got to miss school and play in the snow!” explained senior Kelsey Lardner.

Auburn-area students are not used to having two full days and a half-day off of school due to weather occurrences, but these rare missed days may need to be made up in during the spring term. “It is up to the district on whether or not the missed days need to be made up. I doubt it will be decided until sometime in January,” commented Efstathiu. The days will not be taken out of Winter Break, but it is possible that they will be taken out Spring Break. There is also an allotted day on the district calendar on June 4, the Friday after spring-term finals and the Saturday before graduation. This day is supposed to be a teacher inservice day, but the district calendar states that this day can become a make-up day if necessary. Students are not thrilled with the aspect of having to make up the snow days, but regardless of this news, the general consensus of Placer High students is still that the snow days were enjoyable. “I hate that we might have to make up the days In the spring especially since it happened this term, but I think

Modesto Chris- Students debate over tian end Placer’s getting the swine vaccine dream season By Shannon Harcus Messenger Staff Writer

By JD Avila Messenger Staff Writer

The Placer Hillmen lost 61-40 against the Modesto Christian Crusaders Friday night in the SanJoaquin Section Division IV Title game. Although the loss was tough, the Hillmen left everything they had on the field, making the Crusaders fight for their victory. In the first quarter, the Crusaders started the game with two touchdown runs, followed by two completed extra points making the score 14-0 early in the quarter. After seeing this, Placer responded by scoring two back-to-back touchdowns making the score 28-14 with minutes left in the second quarter. Scoring another touchdown the Hillmen would run up the score 2828 with the ending of the first half. But the tables would turn towards the Crusaders in the third quarter. Placer’s turnovers in the third quarter gave Modesto Christian the chance to score three straight touchdowns, running up the score

to 46-28 with the Crusaders in the lead. But Placer’s fans, players and coaches refused to give up. In the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, Placer’s offense scored two more touchdowns, leaving the Hillmen trailing the Crusaders by just six points. But with minutes left in the fourth quarter, Placer found themselves down by another two touchdowns. Ending the game, the Modesto Christian Crusaders, now 14-0, kept the score at 61-40, making it a tough loss for the Placer Hillmen. Although heads were down, Placer’s head coach Joey Montoya gave a heart-filled speech in the final huddle, reminding the team of the heart and passion they play with, and reminding them that you don’t need a ring to be a champion. Although the Hillmen lost their championship game, Placer fans and coaches see their 12 win, 2 loss season as a great success, and cannot wait to see them on the gridiron next year.

Students will have the opportunity to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu here at Placer High on Wednesday December 16th. The Placer County Department of Health in partnership with the Placer Union School District is providing the vaccinations for Placer students as well as for students from Chana and Maidu. The vaccines are completely voluntary and a parent permission slip is required for anyone who wants to be vaccinated. Permission slips were handed out to students on Tuesday December 1st, and contained all the information about the vaccine, including side-affects. Students are encouraged to turn their permission slips in early so that a master clinic schedule can be made. Because the clinic will take place during school hours, students who are getting the vaccine will be called out of class and sent to the lower gym where the clinic will be set up.

Students who get the vaccine will be able to choose between an injection and a nasal spray. The major difference between these two methods is that in the nasal spray the virus is still slightly active, whereas in the injection the virus is inactive. Senior Sahmed Aceves has already gotten the nasal spray vaccine, and explained the experience. “It felt weird…you just breath in and afterwards you feel fine.” It has been said that because the virus is still alive in the nasal spray vaccine, there is a higher likelihood of developing a mild fever after being vaccinated, but Aceves stated that she felt fine after being vaccinated. Even though the vaccine is recommended by doctors to prevent the swine flu, some Placer students aren’t planning on getting the vaccine. Junior Wei-Lung Ho explained that “I’ll take my chances [when it comes to the swine flu].” Senior Conner McKenzie ex plained “I’ve never gotten a flu

shot before and I’ve never gotten the flu, so why should this be any different?” Other students are also concerned about the side affects of the vaccine, especially going into finals week. The administration explained that the Placer County Department of Health is responsible for scheduling the vaccine clinic dates, so the scheduling conflict with finals was not the school’s fault. The side effects are fairly rare, so nobody should be discouraged from getting the vaccine because of the side affects. Many students plan on taking advantage of this free chance to protect themselves from the pandemic of 2009. “I’m getting the vaccine so I don’t get sick, so I don’t end up as a ‘swiney,’” senior Taylor Rick explained. No one likes getting sick, so don’t miss the vaccinations, so you won’t be left out of the fun!


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