Free Press Issue 5 2010-2011

A FRIENDLY BEGINNING

HANGING WITH HERCULES Student shows his lively personality at school and in acting

5

GETTING BIG BEND AND SNAP Junior Joyce dedicated to working out

What is it like to teach math all day long? Find out on page...

6-7

4700 Overland Drive, Lawrence, Kansas, 66049

8 edition 14 issue 5 december 14, 2010

Free Press

the

fsfreepressonline.com

SPECTACULAR STAFF

Bulgarian student transfers to play basketball

11

Special Edition

2

December 14, 2010

Special Edition

Abishai Guenther’s day was a blast. While I followed around this charismatic redhead, it became clear she was not the average person. From the To Abishai Guenther, smallest details to school is a party largest aspects of by chris allmon her personality, Guenther has an inviting uniqueness to her that makes it nearly impossible not to think she’s cool.

With a quick stop to chat with some friends, we were off to first hour orchestra.

Everyone began to take their seats and set up their instruments and stands while I awkwardly took a seat with Junior Kale Joyce works out in the weights a perfect view of the back of room. See his story on page 11. most everyone's head. While Special Edition: Each newspaper my seating was not amazing, staff member selected one student to shadow for a day, then wrote about their I enjoyed listening to the experiences. holiday-themed song being

Red-headed Wonder Cover

played. Around the middle of class, Guenther pulled out the coolest little thing: a pop-tart carrying case. It was a small brown plastic box shaped like a pop-tart. This carrying case was brought out every now and then throughout the day.

I met her for third hour geometry class. All the people who missed a test were immediately sent to the hall at the beginning of class. Guenther, myself and a few other people sat in the hall for awhile talking and laughing until they were called back in. In class, Michael Colvin began teaching about systems and a new way to solve them.

After the lesson, the class was given a worksheet which everyone around me seemed B:10.13” to finish pretty quickly.

FifthT:10.13” hour: US history S:10.13” with Phillip Mitchell. I’d like

to tell you how cool Mitchell is, but somebody else already wrote that story. Fifth hour was all about the "Roaring '20s" and Guenther was on top of it. History was her favorite class.

After school, we went to Anime Club. I'm still not totally sure what we watched. It was something about World War I and every country was portrayed by a person. All I could understand was that Canada was a ghost, Italy kept surrendering, and I think Russia was indestructible.

Everyone there was very lively, except for Guenther who, while funny and the life of conversations throughout the day, actually seemed kind of quiet. There were laughs, there were tears; mostly laughs though. After about an hour, we got our things together and went out

to the parking lot. Guenther got into her red Ford Edge Ranger, and our day was over.

While spending the day in her shadow, I came to know Guenther as one of the nicest, individuals in the school. Most people try to be the center of attention and push their opinion into conversations every second.

Guenther is the refreshing opposite. This makes her stand out above others.

She can put the life into a conversation without saying hardly anything at all. Guenther seemed to always know exactly what to say when talking to people. From what I saw and heard throughout the day, Guenther had friends galore and enemies nonexistent.

Anyone around her throughout the day probably spent time laughing with her.

ART

A UNIVERSE OF KNOWLEDGE IN A CITY OF OPPORTUNITY. SOCIOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES

MUSIC THEORY

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

PRE-DENTAL

URBAN STUDIES ECONOMICS

CIVIL ENGINEERING GEOGRAPHY

DANCE

A universe of knowledge in a city of opportunity.

BIOLOGY

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

UMKC has hundreds of ways to get a life. Find yours at

umkc.edu/getalife

GET A LIFE

Rhodes Show the

December 14, 2010

3

Special Edition

SMH teacher Robert Rhodes does it all by allison harwood

Severely Multiply Handicapped teacher Robert Rhodes spends his days teaching about fractions, baking pies and playing dominoes; or at least that is what he was doing on November 21.

Rhodes works with three paras to accommodate the four full time students in his room, all seniors.

Three students are in wheelchairs and are not able to speak. A fourth student can walk on his own and communicate limitedly with short, simple words, but his eyesight is inhibited.

Other students sometimes come and spend time in the room as well.

Rhodes says what he likes best about his job is the variety he experiences day-to-day.

“There is no day like the next day; they are all different. No matter how hard you plan, it is always changing, and that is the fun part.”

Morning:

At 8:20 a.m., most of the students are finishing breakfast. Down the hallway in Music Therapy, others, including a student from a different special ed room, are with two of the Music Therapists. They use songs to talk about days of the week, months and Thanksgiving food. Clapping is used during these songs and it seems to help in understanding the song better. At 9 a.m. Music Therapy is over, meaning it's time to return to Rhodes’s room.

When he returns, the student works with Braille shapes. These shapes help him learn how to use his sense of touch rather than eyesight to work. In the corner of the room, there is a science experiment they are conducting.

There are nine special education rooms and they are broken down into levels of severity. Rhodes’s room is for students with the most severe handicaps.

One of the girls returns from physical therapy in the pool. Her three classmates continue to work with their paras. They use things like Braille blocks and other blocks that teach fractions.

When they have worked for awhile students get a break on the computer.

Rhodes's room is all about providing what his students need and structuring time. There is a refrigerator, microwave and stove. On the whiteboard there is a schedule for each student.

Hanging from the ceiling are models of

SMH teacher Robert Rhodes assists senior Owen Phariss in his lesson about liquid measurement. photo by allison harwood

the solar system and diagrams of cells that his students have made.

At the beginning of third hour the schedule is reversed, so that those students who haven't yet had music therapy get to leave for their session.

Three additional students come in to work with Rhodes. Today, they work on measuring liquids. At 10:55 a.m.

Rhodes' students return from Music Therapy. It is time for his class to begin lunch. One student is able to feed himself, but the other three require assistance.

Afternoon:

At the beginning of fifth hour, a student has left for the rest of the afternoon to work at Cottonwood Inc., a Douglas County organization that provides handicaped people with work experiences. Another leaves to go to one of the other special ed rooms to work with other IPS students.

Senior Kyanne Hall and Social Studies teacher Cris Hunt are in the room to help the two remaining students and Rhodes bake a sweet potato pie for their Thanksgiving feast the next day. Special tools allow them to dump ingredients into a bowl at the push of a button. One uses her hand to push the button; the other uses his head.

They finish and put the pie in the oven within the hour.

Hall and Hunt leave. Rhodes' student returns from the IPS room, and a competitive game of dominoes ensues.

The game is a lot of fun and there is a definite drive to win. The winner of the first game is determined fairly quickly.

However, the second game takes up the rest of the hour. With about five minutes left of sixth hour, Rhodes' students put on their coats and head out to the buses.

The main thing Rhodes wants people to know about his work is that he and the paras in room 118 are not babysitters. After spending a day in the room, this is extremely clear. The students are constantly working on things to help them learn. Not only do these students work during the day, they do it with a strong work ethic.

"

"

Not only do these students work during the day, they do it with a

strong work ethic.

4

December 14, 2010

Marching Band (10%)

Special Edition

Extra Extracurriculars Sophomore juggles activites and honor role

Homework/ School (40%)

by amani safadi

Although the typical Free State student is passionate about something, sophomore Katy Davis is passionate about many things. She is a member of sophomore women’s choir, varsity volleyball, marching band and key club, participating in all of this while maintaining a perfect grade point average.

Davis starts her day off with first hour Advanced Algebra II class. She walked in with a big smile on her face and excited to start her day. I am not usually that positive about entering my first hour.

She was completely alert in class, asking questions about anything she didn’t understand. To me, she was probably one of the most focused students in the entire class.

While Davis was writing notes, the others were either just listening to the teacher or dozing off. As the day went on, I noticed one common factor about most of her classes: they were all advanced.

“I like all the classes I chose," Davis said. "They seemed to be interesting."

Davis keeps a 4.0 GPA by managing her time wisely, and plans to keep it that way throughout her high school career. She believes that she made the right decision when choosing advanced classes because they’re challenging yet manageable.

“I didn’t take AP Euro knowing how busy I would be, but the other

classes, I have been able to manage wisely,” Davis said.

Classes and homework aren’t the only thing that keep Davis busy. She plays a big role in volleyball, softball, marching band, and other clubs she’s involved in.

“I think a lot of me playing sports has to do with how I grew up, because both my mom, dad and my brother played softball or baseball and then my mom and my sister both played volleyball. That’s just what I was around when I was little,” Davis said.

Davis started her high school career knowing that she wanted to get As in all her classes, and to be involved in multiple activities.

Undoubtedly, Many students coming into high school probably aren't as focused. Davis mapped out what she was going to participate in and what she wanted to accomplish. In her mind though, she sees everything she has done as normal and nothing special.

Davis has worked extremely hard and responsibly. Juggling nearly every activity Free State has to offer would be a challenge for anyone, but Katy Davis won’t settle for anything but her best.

Midwest Driving School "Drive to Arrive Alive"

Larry S. Krull Owner

Softball (20%)

Volleyball (30%)

Still haven't gotten your yearbook?

YOU STILL CAN! Yearbooks are on sale for $55 until December 17th

Lawrence, Ks. 66046 785-841-7749 785-760-1879 website: midwestdrivingschool.com

See other stories at fsfreepressonline.com Also online: pictures, videos and web exclusives January 18, 2011

December 14, 2010

Acting Out

5

Special Edition

Junior's lively personality reflected in acting

In November's Greek Mythology Olympiaganza, junior Jack Garvin portrays Hercules alongside senior Elise Loney and junior Jevan Bremby. photos by taylor beals and danielle stringer by ryan loecker

“If I were to describe myself in one word, I would probably say that I’m lively,” junior Jack Garvin said.

Garvin spent the first half of the day with one of his good friends, junior Tim Rosenbloom. From their second hour independent study all the way until lunch, both were constantly cracking jokes.

After lunch Garvin proceeded to try and persuade juniors Adelle Loney and Regan Keasling to give him a free t-shirt and then decided he would show up late to his next class. Garvin’s teachers were unphased by the random student following him around for the day and acted like he had done stranger things in the past.

Although he liked to joke around during class, Garvin still respected his teachers and very seldom interrupted the class. The people in his classes and at his lunch table seemed to have one of two reactions to Garvin. After conversing with him, they were either laughing or were quite uncomfortable.

After the last bell rang, Garvin seemed to be even livelier than he was the rest of the day as he headed toward the theater area of Free State. Seeing Garvin running around backstage in

costume as Hercules for “The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza” made it clear that acting is his forte. All the chaos that goes on behind the curtain seemed to be the perfect environment for him.

The next day Garvin was especially lively during school for the opening night of the play. During both his seminar and advanced American Literature class, he attempted to talk students in to going to the play instead of seeing the new Harry Potter movie.

At the play, junior Stephen Bowman, a friend of Garvin, laughed at how extremely short his Hercules toga was. He brought a lot of humor to the play as he threatened to destroy almost every person on stage with him. Garvin even found a way to joke around during the play as he rolled up the shorts he was wearing under his toga during the intermission.

As he ran across the stage, someone in the crowd whispered “he forgot his pants.”After the play, he thanked us for going and made sure we recognized the prank he pulled.

Garvin’s energetic and outgoing personality make him an asset to the school plays and also an exciting student to follow around for a day.

   





  

 





        



6

December 14, 2010

special edition

Laura Rightmeier by emma machell

Geometry 9:35 - 11:05 a.m.

It’s geometry and the class is learning about solving systems. I find myself working out those systems without really thinking about it. Laura Rightmeier talks to them as though they were little kids, which might be taken as a bad thing but these students are listening to her.

In a quick moment between turning their homework in and beginning the lesson the students expertly move the conversation from solving equations to concerts they’ve been to.

“I went to a Beastie Boys concert in Canada,” Rightmeier said. “We had a road trip from New York.”

The students seemed excited about how easy it is for Rightmeier to relate to them. However, after a few moments in which the class shares their favorite concert experience Rightmeier leads them back to the math path and starts the lesson.

It’s their second lesson on solving equations and the students all groan. Rightmeier just smiles and repeats everything she is teaching about 20 times. It’s effective, after about the fifteenth time the kids start to repeat it back to her. Her teaching technique hasn’t changed since I was a student in her class and honestly I’m not surprised.

Math with Rightmeier always seemed easier than other teachers I’d had in the past.

She smiles at them again and then she delivers her final blow.

“Well, I’m glad you’re getting this because we’re going to have a pop quiz!” she said.

There is another chorus of groaning and Rightmeier continues with her lesson. The closer she gets to ending it the quieter the students get.

They all look a little worried about this upcoming pop quiz and some are consulting their notes.

Finally she tells them to split up their desks and we spend the rest of the hour in silence. I don’t get the chance to talk to Rightmeier about much, even while the tests are out, she’s too busy wandering amongst the classroom, offering help to those who need it.

Lunch 11:05 - 11:30 a.m.

As soon as students file out, Rightmeier takes out her giant teacher’s copy of the algebra book.

“I guess I should plan for the next class.” she said, flipping through the pages.

She skims the pages of the lesson the kids are learning and finally shuts the book and starts looking for the “Factoring Dominoes” in her drawers (something my class never got to play when I was in Algebra II).

We discuss the possibility of me eating lunch with the other math teachers but it is quickly decided that, since the math teachers like to gossip, it would be better for me to have lunch with my own friends.

HELLO my name is...

infiltrating the classroom to gain insight on Free State teachers

Algebra II 11:35-1:05

Algebra II is quiet, so much more than Rightmeier’s Geometry class. The sophomores are more outspoken than any of the juniors or seniors in the class. Some have blank looks on their faces as they look at their homework.

Rightmeier cheerfully takes out the bags of Factoring Dominoes. I have to admit, I always liked how no matter the energy level in any of her classes, she always seems to be cheerful.

Some kids have some troubles and I offer to help since Rightmeier is busy partnering up with another kid across the room. I notice about a third of her students are listening to their iPods or have their earbuds in their ears. There’s a secret texter in the back of her class that isn’t very good at hiding.

Student teacher Shawn Woods comes in telling Rightmeier of an email he shared with her. After telling the kids they were going to learn the quadratic formula she shows the link Woods emailed her.

It’s the quadratic equation Soldja Boy style. The students all look at each other and then back up at the screen and then they start to laugh. After the video ends Rightmeier sings it her own way.

“Ok guys, are you listening?” she says “Because I’m only going to sing this once.”

She brings out a box that belongs to her three year old. It’s got song titles on the side and she has ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ facing her. She pounds on it and the song begins.

“X equals negative b/plus or minus the square root/ of b squared minus four times a c/all over two a,” she sings.

The class cheers and claps for her and Rightmeier smiles. Then she starts her lesson.

“I am smarter than my calculator,” she says many times.

AP statistics 1:10-2:35

The AP statistics class is a lot more vocal than any of the other classes I’ve sat in on. Many of the students are talking across the room at each other and those who aren’t have congregated in the middle of the room.

When the bell rings Rightmeier tries to start class.

However there is so much other discussion that it makes it almost impossible for a few minutes. Finally she manages to calm the class down and begin her lesson on Discrete and Continuous Random Variables.

They end class by playing craps. A few of the class members yell out how good or bad their opponent is doing and there is a lot of laughter. It’s a very tight-knit group they’re constantly making jokes and talking to each other. They even start to bring me in on the fun by occasionally making faces at me.

Phil Mitchell by austin fisher

Teachers feed off the energy of their students, and vice versa. This symbiotic relationship between student and teacher is the basis of education. A common observation is that without teachers, there would be no students. While this is true, a more important one is that without students, there would be no teachers.

Hours of the day that teachers like Phil Mitchell perform the drudgery of grading assignments, lacking students in the classroom, are the most boring and uneventful parts of the day. Students have no idea how exciting they are.

Mitchell’s ambition for teaching is found in his belief that for some students, if you start strong with them, eventually they will want to learn.

“You try to plant a seed and hope it sticks,” Mitchell said.

Sitting in a comfortable chair overlooking the crowded classroom, I see dozens of eyes follow Mitchell. I try to capture the mood of his light, laidback teaching style by pressing the record button on the device next to me. A satisfying red light pings on as the mass of students in front of me share a round laughter.

Few teachers give off a sense of collectedness in the same way Mitchell does. A clean, organized room reflects Mitchell’s calm disposition. Chinese artwork, memorable quotations and pictures of musicians like John Lennon punctuate walls lined with maps, charts and instructions.

“When I got married and we got a house, I found out most of my stuff didn’t make the cut, as far as the decor,” Mitchell said. “I need some life and

some color in my room, so I brought a lot of that stuff with me.”

The relative tranquility of Mitchell’s classroom also applies to Mitchell’s approach to discipline. Any superfluous chatter in Mitchell’s classroom is rarely met with anything more than words of warning.

Extensive instructions cover the whiteboard, outlining a project to be completed during Mitchell’s absence at a conference of social studies teachers.

Mitchell and other teachers in the social studies department, like Bobby Nichols, use the relative down-time of passing periods for small-talk and coffee runs into Nichols’s room.

“I think we have a very healthy department,” Mitchell said. “We can communicate, we can disagree, we can discuss and reach a consensus about what we need to do. I’m pretty happy about the department.”

With each repeat of the day’s lesson, there are noticeable differences in the energy and attitude of Mitchell’s teaching style. While there is a constant feeling of laid-back humor and relaxed instruction, the structure and tempo of his lecture shifts as the day goes on. A slightly sluggish or fractured lecture becomes a succinct, clear message by day’s end.

“My favorite part is usually in between the bells, the actual instruction time,” Mitchell said. “I’ll come up with a lesson, think about how it’ll work, what it needs to look like, but the most exciting part is testing it out and seeing how kids respond to it.”

photos by zach hill

December 14, 2010

7

special edition

Hilary Morton by miranda davis

Like many Free State students, I’m quite involved in school activities. However, choir is not of them.

This makes me a minority at this school. When I chose to shadow choir director Hillary Morton all I knew about choir at Free State was that it was demanding but rewarding. After a day spent in the choir room, with Morton, as a complete outsider I can say this: This organization and its leader have a lot more to them than what meets the eye.

Men’s Choir 9:10 - 10:15 a.m.

Morton’s first class of the day, the combined men’s choir (made up of sophomore, junior and senior men who are not in chamber choir) This class had the most energy by far out of all of the choirs. What impressed me the about this hour wasn’t the singing (though it was good), it was the fact that one person could control that many teenage boys, without breaking a sweat.

Morton was friendly with them, making jokes and having a good time during warm ups.Yet, when it came down to singing, she was a strong leader that didn’t take misbehaving. She wasn’t overly harsh (I did see her take the same kid’s iPod and cell phone, but he had it coming).

If someone was doing something wrong, she pointed it out and moved on.

Soph. Women’s Choir 10:20 - 11:20 a.m.

I noticed a difference between this atmosphere and the last, which is due to the obvious gender difference between the choirs. This class is very relaxed as well, yet interesting. Working on the same song as Men’s Choir, they get a lot farther (less misbehaving). The piece, Gloria by John Rutter, is a work the entire choir will be performing together. Both this class and Men’s Choir, have older choir students that help lead class and do extra work for Morton. Despite the difference in Men and Women’s choirs I noticed the same teamwork and genuine effort by everyone in the room.

Chamber Choir 11:25 - 12:55 a.m.

This is the smallest choir, the strongest, and the most serious atmosphere. Chamber choir is where every junior and senior in choir want to be. The day of my visit they worked on part tests, where one person from each section sings in a small group to see how well they perform the piece. This choir was impressive, and had the highest expectations from everyone in the room, including and especially Morton.

Jr/ Sr Women’s Choir 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

While Chamber Choir was the smallest, this choir was the biggest. The women’s choirs are better behaved, they also had a lot of energy. This class had more discipline then the younger sophomore women’s choir, yet it was also after lunch, so everyone was alert. The separation between Sophomore and Junior/Senior Women’s choir happened last year. I saw the same themes I had seen all day in the other choirs, but at the same time each hour had a different personality.

Morton grew up musically, as most of the kids in her choir have.

“I don’t think I had a choice in the matter. Music has been a huge part of my life,” Morton said. “There was a weird moment in high school when my choir director

asked, ‘How many of you are going to be music education majors?’ and I just saw my hand go up.”

Morton's observations:

“[Music curriculum] gives students something else to do,” Morton said. “It really varies what [the students] do and gives them a different form of discipline.” Music has a different set of rules, how the students have to behave to make a choir work are different than a normal classroom,“ Morton said.

“The bonds that form in the class and throughout the program outweigh the intelligence it gives students.

They feel like a family, like this is home.”

While this day was different than my normal routine for a lot of reasons, what I learned about the benefits of choir was most important. In a culture where nearly every student is focused on personal efforts to move forward beyond high school, this class that is a break.

It’s learning in a different way.

Teamwork is not only important, its crucial. A great choir only becomes a reality when every person in the room is on the same page. This is a class that also happens to be a family, which is rare in most other rooms in this school.

Morton’s been directing Encore since 2003, but has been the choir director since 2006. I gained a lot of respect for her after spending one day in her room, watching her power through four straight classes with no break. I have rarely seen an educator so focused and passionate about her students and classes in my education career.

Choir at Free State would not be the same without her, anyone in that room can see this is her choir and she works just as hard as every student so they can grow as a choir.

“At the end of the day, I’m exhausted, “ Morton said. “But I love feeling accomplished, that's what I love most about my job, that we work hard and we do get better every single day,”

8

December 14, 2010

Special Edition

George Funtarov's

Fresh Start

Bulgarian junior makes most of school days by bailey schaumburg

Junior George Funtarov is one of those people who is hard to miss; he towers over most students at six feet six inches tall and attracts attention by being a foreign face at school.

After following him around for a day, I realized how little I actually know about him. I also realized what a narrow view I have of the school. It was kind of like the first day of high school all over again: everything was a little awkward but also fresh and interesting at the same time.

We started in Chuck Law’s first hour History class where they were taking a test. After doodling for an hour, I followed George to his second hour Marketing class. He made conversation easy; he told me about his life in Bulgaria and what it was like to move to Lawrence.

“School is much different here,” he said. “The teachers are a lot meaner in Bulgaria.”

Marketing class was a diverse group of students from all three grades. It was a relaxed and fun environment. The class checked their stocks then we watched ‘the best commercials of the ‘50s and ‘60s. It gave me a chance to interact with students I’ve never met and learn more about George.

I could tell automatically how friendly and easygoing he is. One of the other students asked him if it was strange to “have a stalker for a day,” but

he just laughed it off.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I like things like this. It makes my day more interesting.”

We looked at this year’s basketball schedule and he pointed out the first game he will be allowed to play in.

“It’s a rule,” he said. “Since I did not move here with my parents, I have to sit out the first few games.”

I thought this was unfair, but he just shook it off. He simply seemed happy to be here and get the chance to play basketball.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.

We listened to Huckleberry Finn on tape in Bryan Duncan’s American Literature class, ate delicious rice dishes in Cris Hunt’s English as a Second Language class, and reviewed for a test in Thomas Lipp’s Algebra II class.

For the most part, my day with George was laid back and entertaining.

I realized that he’s the type of person who does not take much for granted and enjoys life as much as he can.

Still, I could not help wondering how difficult it must be for him to live somewhere entirely new. He moved here without his parents in order to play basketball and is not even allowed to play during the first semester. However, he makes the most out of his situation, which we could all learn to do.

Photos by Trevor Bird and Bailey Schaumburg.

Far left: Funtarov cheers his teammates on from the bench. Left: Funtarov blocks a shot by sophomore Logan Bannister. Above: Soaring about the rest, Funtarov shoots a basket.

Above: Funtarov is focused as he plays defense.

See other stories at fsfreepressonline.com Also online: pictures, videos and web exclusives

Moore does

December 14, 2010

More

9

Special Edition

Senior Reilly Moore rides down Wakarusa during the homecoming parade. photo by danielle stringer

Reilly Moore excels at many activities through constant hard work When I asked Reilly Moore if I could shadow her for a day, I had only a slight idea of what I was getting myself into.

I knew she was our student body president, a member of Chamber Choir, Chamber Singers and really into athletics as well. When I asked her about her typical day, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I get up at four thirty in the morning and make myself breakfast, then head to swim practice out at Haskell at five,” said Moore. “I carpool with my friend Kara Mishler, and we rush over to zero hour after that.”

The thought of waking up that early made me cringe, but I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. and prepared for the worst.

It wasn’t so hard getting up and getting ready, but once swim practice was over and school started, I was feeling the lack of sleep. Usually I get about nine hours, but getting up at 4:30 a.m. cut that down to six and a half.

Moore’s zero hour is Student Council, where she works as student body president. I’ve never participated in our school’s student council, but I was surprised at what actually went on during the class. Multiple decisions regarding the school were made, new improvements and opportunities, like teacher of the month, and not to mention details regarding the recent Winter Formal were addressed.

After zero hour we headed to Humanities, and this is where the exhaustion kicked in. Sitting near the back of the class, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I looked up at Moore and was astounded to see her taking color coordinated notes, answering questions, and actively participating in the class. All I wanted to do was pass out for a solid eight hours, and we were only into the second class of the day. My respect for her grew in light of her work ethic.

As the day went on I slowly regained some energy, but I

still couldn’t believe Moore did this every day. It was obvious that she was tired, but she kept trucking through it. After Humanities Moore had Spanish IV, where she and the class played an intense game of scrabble versus the teacher. Then came Film Media, which entailed a project due at the end of the hour. Choir came next, then a lunch made by Moore herself. After lunch was Moore’s last class of the day, AP Politics, where Moore worked on writing an essay.

“I think it’s fair to say that I’m probably busier than a lot of people, but I still try to be happy-go-lucky and upbeat about it.”

As school ended, Moore still had work to do.

“Usually I go home, take a nap or do my homework, then go to swimming again.”

I asked why she cared so much about swimming. Her response was simple: “I just really like swimming a lot. I’m pretty sure I’m going to college for swimming, so I might as well get used to it now.”

Moore’s dedication to her after school activities, her classes, and her school work is awe-inspiring. During the fall Moore played volleyball, and when the season ended her focus switched to swimming. Her life revolves around the few activities she involves herself in, and she gives her all to each of them. By the end of the week, it isn’t surprising that Moore is exhausted. Because of this, Moore rarely has time for staying out and hanging with friends into the wee morning hours of the weekend. The weekend is her only chance to relax and catch up on sleep.

“I’m pretty well-rounded as a person, but being so busy keeps me out of trouble on the weekends because all I want to do is sleep, so that’s what I do.”

After spending an entire day with Moore, I’ve gained a lot of respect for her. She gives up so much of her free time, not to mention sleep, to work towards bettering herself and every activity she is involved in. She has goals, and no matter how difficult they may be to reach, she will stop at nothing to achieve them.

photo by mary cairns

by kim carter

(Above) Moore and her parents stand on the basketball court on senior night during a volleyball game.

(Left) Moore stands proudly against a wall waiting to get her picture taken. photo by megan engleman

10

December 14, 2010

Special Edition

serving service Junior lives life for others

by katherine corliss

Most people live their lives for themselves, but after spending a half day shadowing junior Cailtyn Tilden, it’s clear that she does not.

“It’s important for me to try and inspire others,” Tilden said.

She recently joined the Service Learning class to accomplish this.

“Service Learning is a really fun class that I thought kind of embodied what I try to live for, which is serving others.”

Tilden is currently working with several students in the Special Education department as her main service project.

“You have to have a lot of patience, but it’s definitely worth it,” Tilden said about her

experience.

She accompanies two students to Lifetime Sports and participates in all the activities with them. Her genuine kindness easily shines as she played ping-pong and giggled along with the jokes of paraeducator Jamie Lisher.

“It’s really rewarding, it’s definitely the best part of my day.”

This is not the first time Tilden has worked with people with special needs. She volunteered one week this summer at Camp Barnabas, a camp for kids with disabilities.

Tilden believes her kindness is evident to others.

“I think other people would

describe me as pretty shy, but also nice,” Tilden said. “I feel like I convey what I want people to know about me pretty well.”

She’s a star member of the tennis team, but is too humble to admit it. Tilden made an appearance at this year’s state tennis championship placing 10th in singles.

Tilden is also a member of Junior/ Senior Women’s Choir and is planning to try out for soccer in the fall. However these are the details she hopes will define her.

“I hope to leave a legacy of being a tolerant and accepting society here at Free State.”

How YOU can serve your community IPS Toy Drive

The Service Learning class is taking coffee donations until the last day of the semester.

The homeless shelter is always low on coffee.

Through the local "Family Promise" social service, the IPS class has organized a toy drive.

They are also money to the program for a Wii.

What YOU can do: donate any type of coffee in any container to one of the donation boxes around the school, in the library and room 248.

What YOU can do: Bring new toys and games to Andrew Nussbaum's room and give someone a wonderful holiday season.

H20 Project

A family of 4 in the U.S. uses approximately 250 gallons of water a day, while a family in Africa uses only 5.

What YOU can do: Save to save, and bring leftover change to room 254. Proceeds go towards building wells for clean drinking water.

photos by amani safadi

Coffee Project

Silliness at School Junior has sense of humor others might not get by allison morte

December 14, 2010

Getting Big

11

special edition

Junior doesn't just workout to be fit. It's a habit

Junior Rachel Harkin’s sense of humor often gets her into trouble. This became immediately apparent upon walking into her American Literature class. “[Sam] Rabiola put me in the front of the classroom. Everybody in my class talks but I seem to be the one who gets to sit up front every single time,” Harkin said.

Most people know Rachel Harkin by her outrageous and sometimes shocking sense of humor. She feels that those who appreciate her sense of humor will like her, while those who don’t have the same sense of humor will not.

“Rachel Harkin is a pusher,” junior Devon Lohrenz said. “I feel personally violated by her on a daily basis.”

Harkin believes the biggest misconception about her is that she is mean.

“But I’m not mean,” Harkin said. “I just like having a good joke. C’mon people, laugh a little.”

She attributes her sense of humor to God. “I came out of the womb telling jokes,” Harkin said.

In addition to her distinctive sense of humor, Harkin’s obsession for cats sets her apart. Throughout the day she frequently drew cats on her assignments and notes.

“I think I’m more obsessed with cats than the average person,” Harkin said. “I love cats. I get made fun of for drawing cats.

[Junior] Nathan Hermann for example says I kick my cats and shove them in closets, neither of which is true.”

The school day was far more interesting than usual with Rachel as a constant source of entertainment. Throughout the day she was always providing comedic relief in the classroom.

And Rachel is not easily ignored. During an interview in the hallway we were hushed by a classmate who could hear the loud conversation and laughter through the door. The teacher also came out in the hall to figure out the cause of the noise.

In zero hour AP U.S. History Rachel prepared us for the rest of the day by scratching her typical “I heart Jesus” emblem on both of our hands.

Rachel also looked forward to learning Chinese words from Meixi Wang during her American Literature class. So far she has learned to say “Ni hao,” a greeting in Chinese.

Although she doesn’t like the structured environment of school, Harkin enjoys conversing with her peers and meeting new people. This is apparent as she conversed with a wide variety of people throughout the day.

“At least you can talk to people and meet creative people like Meixi Wang,” Harkin said. “You’re not just sitting there alone all day being homeschooled.”

Following Rachel for a day showed me just how fun a day in the life of Rachel Harkin really is. Having a joke for every situation helps her and her peers laugh and enjoy themselves during school. Her distinct and constant humor is truly unique.

Random Acts of Kindness: "When me and Madison [Brumley] were in fifth grade, we were in the Kohl's changing room and me and her were talking about how we were poor and didn’t have any money to buy clothes at all, even though we did, we were just exaggerating to each other and this lady went and bought me a hundred dollar gift card to Kohl's and gave it to my mom. My mom was so mad because we’re not poor, we can afford clothes, but the lady thought I was so poor and couldn’t afford anything. I had never even met her but she gave me a hundred dollars. That’s the nicest thing probably anybody’s ever done for me. It was a stranger too.”

by megan engleman

I walked into first hour marketing class at 8:05 a.m. not knowing what to expect while shadowing junior Kale Joyce. I turned the corner and there he was sitting there front row right next to the door.

We greeted each other and then I took a seat next to him while class started. I started to think that it was going to be a long day as I sat in class observing. We moved into the library because the class was working on an assignment.

On the computer Joyce played some computer games, but yet got his work done and printed.

Talking to Joyce, I realized that he had a pretty funny sense of humor. He was joking around showing everybody his skills on tap tap revolution on the computer.

As we moved on in the day we went to first lunch where we sat with a group of Joyce’s friends, which included Cody Kukuk, Justin Walthall, Zach Saunders and others. There was a lot of laughing and joking going on at the table that Joyce took a large part in.

In math class there where the same group of people, so you can imagine how that class went. Surprisingly, Joyce was pretty quiet. He zoned out in his music focusing on his work.

After math we headed to his fifth hour class, weights. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Joyce works out every day. Not just in his weights class, but outside of school too.

He works out at

Lawrence Athletic Center six out of the seven days of the week for an average of one to two hours.

I asked Joyce the reason he worked out so much, and he couldn’t stop naming off reasons.

He named off the usual reasons to work out; to be healthier and to stay in shape for sports and looks. But, also he said he works out to relieve stress, to have something to do every day, to stay out of trouble, to get big and just to be happier.

That afternon Joyce worked out with a friend, senior Zach Pence. An iPod is essential to Joyce for a good workout session. Music motivates him and pumps up his workout. After his workout he drinks proteins to recover to replenish his vitamins.

I found out Joyce has a pretty funny sense of humor and is focused on working out. If you ever thought about working out on a regular basis, Kale’s your man.

zach hill

ryan loecker

reporter

allison morte

The Free Press is an open forum that encourages letters to the editor and guest writings.

emma machell

chris allmon

They must include the writer's name and telephone numbers. Submissions may be edited due to space limitations, libel or inappropriate content.

Submissions may be turned to Room 115, sent in care of Free Press to Free State High School, 4700 Overland Drive, Lawrence, KS, 66049 or submitted online at fsfreepressonline.com.

reporter

webmaster

ad editor

reporter

allison harwood miranda davis

reporter

austin fisher

business editor

copy editor

managing editor

megan engleman

katherine corliss

designer

trevor bird

kim carter

reporter

designer

bailey schaumburg

photographer

editor in chief

2010-2011 Free Press Staff

amani safadi

The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Free Press staff, the high school administration, nor that of the USD 497 Board of Education.

N O I T C A 12

December 14, 2010

Special Edition

(Below) An original storyboard illustration by Nathan Paul.

H E L L O M y N a m e I s. . .

fe of a young li e th n o e k ta a brief

film maker

by zach hill

All students have their thing, their interest or focus, and it is what makes them unique. Spend the day with any Free State student and one has the opportunity to uncover such uniqueness.

Senior Nathan Paul is new to Free State this year, but not to Lawrence. He moved from Lawrence to Eagleville, TN at the age of nine, where he continued his education up to the eleventh grade in a school that had a higher population than the town itself. He moved back to live with his father, a local composer, and to complete his senior year.

Paul sees the move in a good light.

Since his youth, Nathan Paul has been intrigued by movies and film making.

“My grandma still fondly remembers when I tried to make a Spiderman movie out of a flip book when I was four,” Paul said. He began actively producing and creating films around the age of twelve.

There was a lot for him to learn, “I

wasn’t getting anything done, so, eventually I just wrote a script and amazingly that was all I needed. Suddenly I could [make a movie].” Paul said.

The more involved he became the more sophisticated his minor productions grew. He taught himself to use editing software and each movie progressed in quality as he improved his techniques.

Paul participates in film media class, but simply thinks of it as a fun hour in the day.

He manufactures the majority of his movies outside of school, giving him much more creative room to breathe. Some directors that inspire his work include Stanley Cooper and Quentin Tarentino. Last summer he nearly completed his first full length picture before he made the move back to Lawrence.

Eventually, Paul would like to work on sets or in the production of films, but his ultimate aspiration is to one day be a successful director.

Does advertising in a high school newspaper work?

It just did.

FSFreePressAds@gmail.com

Nathan Paul, Robert Stacey, and Chris Stogsdill.

Stacey and Stogsdill act as cameos for Paul's newest film media project.

Nathan Paul and Chris Stogsdill.

Stogsdill films Paul who takes on a roll in his own film.