voice the
midterm grads page 6
coaching methods page 7
editorials page 3
netflix anonymous page 3
gretna talents page 4/5
nsaa rule change
the indie scene page 8
The Voice
Volume XI, Issue VI
February 2014
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High Schools Draw Back Dramatic Content New Restrictions Further Inforce Theater Review By School Administrators in Nebraska Cudly / Reporter The Nebraska School Activities Association have called new attention to an already existing rule that involves lewd, vulgar and profane acts in the state’s drama and speech activities. This rule is on the ballots, the form that judges use to score performances, to address such materials, but some of these performances have started to push the rule. The NSAA has seen several problems like these arise, and decided they needed a quick solution to the problem. “At first, the NSAA wanted anything that had to do with violence, drug and alcohol use, and sexual conduct/ profanity deemed inappropriate for high school performances,” said Ms. Carole Carraher, GHS councelor and One Act director. Performers and coaches across Nebraska were full of confusion and chaos. The scripts used in speech and drama activities need to have a conflict, which may include adult content, to make the story line interesting, but with the
new restrictions, many of these conflicts would have to be scratched from the scripts. Most of the literature taught at GHS, including the Scarlet Letter, a Tale of Two Cities, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, 1984, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, would be unfit to be read, according to this newly appointed rule. “The topics taught in these books are too important to ignore,” said Carraher. “It would be like ignoring the Holocaust which is a step away from forgetting that it happened.” The NSAA, with the help of many coaches including Carraher, finally decided on a compromise. Instead of making every conflict unusable, the NSAA has decided to make the school’s administration more aware of what their school is performing. Every administration of competing schools must sign a compliance form. This form states that each speech and drama activity has been carefully examined. “These topics are not normally an issue, but the horror stories passed
around by judges need to stop,” said Debra Velder, the associate director of the NSAA. “Lewd, profane, and vulgar acts and sexual body language have, in the past, been used for shock value, but have gotten to the point that it is uncomfortable.” So, what do all of these changes mean for GHS? The GHS administration knows most of the goings on in their school. “I do not believe that the new attention to the rule will change Gretna,” said Carraher. “The administration is aware of the heartbeats and workings of this school.” Last year, the GHS One Act performed a play called “Bondagers”. In this play, a mentally handicapped character is attacked and raped, which falls under the category of adult content. However, the GHS administration had seen the play and agreed to let it be performed. “We push the envelope a little more than other schools,” said John Heckenlively, activities director. “GHS
submitted photo During a show choir performance at Ralston High School, senior Cody Jackson’s rebellious character gets killed during an attack by the futuristic controllers. Jackson has won best male soloist at multiple competitions so far this season.
embraces and has more support for the arts, mostly because a large amount of students are in these programs. We walk a fine line between what is appropriate and what is a learning opportunity for students and the community.” This year, the show choir is performing a show the also includes conflict and adult content. In the show, performers are suppressed by a higher power, and one of these performers, senior Cody Jackson is brutally murdered on stage. The show choir has been seen by the Gretna community and members of the administration and there seems to be no problem with the content the performance holds. The administration has also okayed the performance of “Sweeney Todd”, a musical that includes slaughter, rape and cannibalism. This school seems to have a good grasp on what is appropriate and what is important to keep in the education of the students. The new compliance the administration is now required to give is really nothing new at all, but a standard procedure at GHS.
submitted photo Alumnus, Gabriella Montemorano’s character in the One Act “Bondagers” accidentally stabs Kello, played by alumnus Drew Debolt. Both were nominated for best acting in the state and Montemorano won best actress for the second year.
Creighton Prep Students Are Drug Tested
New Policies Require Random Testing Done Through Hair Analysis Perina / Reporter
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Random drug and alcohol testing. Those five words could cause stress for a teenager that enjoys partying and having fun. Creighton Prep has announced that during the 2014-15 school year, the school will obtain a piece of the students hair and randomly check the hair folicle for drug and alcohol residue. Creighton Prep’s administration has taken the drug and alcohol issue into their own hands to stop the youth of today from doing drugs and drinking alcohol. Random drug and alcohol testing is aimed to teach students about the use of these items at a young age and to provide early intervention to the students whose drug tests come up positive. Having the fear of being caught by the administration with a positive test can give a student enough courage to say no to the substances. “It comes down to the care of our students and their health,” says Creighton Prep principal John Naatz to WOWT News. “We believe this policy can positively influence the culture of our students in a way that complements the efforts of parents to dissuade their
February 2014
children from drug and alcohol use.” said Naatz. Rumors are going around saying that Gretna High School may start randomly testing students to see if they have been under the influence. This practice will not be coming to GHS in anytime soon. GHS is a public school, random drug and alcohol testing cannot be allowed unless the school has parental consent. “Random drug and alcohol testing will not be done at Gretna because it’s not the schools place to randomly drug test the students, its all about the parents and how they will handle the students behavior,” said Principal Roger Miller. “Students have the right to a public education, but we do not have the right to drug test,” said Miller. The new Resource Officer Deputy Dale believes having this new practice would be a good idea because it could save the youth for future. When a teen is trying to get a job, 9 out of 10 times there will be a drug test that the person applying for the job will have to take. “Great deterrence happens to students who want to experiment with drugs and alcohol,” said Dale. “They rob themselves of opportunities.”
News
Editorial Cartoon Annie Sullivan
s u o m nony
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A Dangerous Addiction LaMountain/News Editor “Hi, I’m Lindsey and I have been clean for three weeks.” “Hi Lindsey.” All over media and face-to-face conversations, it is unlikely to not hear the word “Netflix” mentioned at least once. This instant screening phenomenon has taken the world by storm. Netflix addictions have become like a disease with no cure and there are numerous stages and symptoms of this new epidemic. There, of course, is a pre-stage where one becomes bored with the entertainment offered by cable. They may simply have such a short attention span, or ADHD, so waiting a week or more for each new episode is unthinkable. This is when the exposure begins. The infamous red screen pops up, usernames and passwords are created, and the $7.99 investment is taken out of the bank. Now, the journey begins. After browsing different movies to put on the instant queue to ideally watch some other time, the victim passes the “recommended shows” category. Once that moment hits consider yourself hooked. Now, the selection process can be quite extensive; complete with research and soul searching to find the best fit. Whether it be Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Breaking Bad, Lost, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, or New Girl, by pressing on Season one Episode one there is no going back. The ease of allowing the instant streaming to take the show from episode to episode with no commercials also leads to no self-control. When the message comes on asking if the viewer is “still there” it seems like a sign that even Netflix is judging the addiction. The symptoms of this disease includes decreasing time spent with friends, family, and even significant others due to dates with Netflix on Saturday nights. Another is a lack of sleep and productivity from late night, 12 episode binge watching because there no such thing as just one more episode. After devoting countless hours and one’s whole social and academic life to the disease, the epic moment finally comes. The series finale is always one of bittersweet emotions. Having to bid adieu to the characters that have become as familiar as family only requires slight therapy, however, actually being able to have time to be around more than pixels is refreshing. Then, once a week or so pass the withdrawal kicks in. Seeing that beautiful red screen is all that the body yearns for. Scrolling through the seemingly endless array of new shows, the addict clicks that fateful button and the process begins all over again.
February 2014
The Voice
Good Month:
Editors: Jeff Glassburner/Editor in Chief Liz Schmidt/Copy Editor Lindsey LaMountain/News Editor Samantha Hannigan/Sports Editor Kylie Holman/OpEd Editor Charlie Ames/A&E Editor Jade Naber/Features Editor Amanda Nelson/InDepth Editor Staff Writers: Haley Booze Jacob Dart Becca Human Nicholas Mefford Amanda Minckler Angel Perina Olivia Kahler-Gilloon Layne Staley Brenna Zollman Advisor:
The Gretna Speech Team received first and second place for their OID’s at the Fremont competition.
Bad Month: Joey Vice, senior, got in a car accident and broke her arm and other various bones.
Staff Editorial: Drop and Add Dilemmas Winter Class Scheduling Should Extend Its Time Window Gretna High School has been criticized in the past for the lack of options in classes. It has been the view of The Voice staff in previous editions that this is a serious mishap in the education offered at GHS. However, even with our lack of selection, another serious problem arises. The category of dropping and adding classes has severe issues that affect the learning environment at GHS. The current system has repercussions that change the mood of students to the school and can ruin an otherwise excellent academic community. Drop and add has gone through some major changes. Just a few years ago, the school semester ended a week after the winter break. The week after break was used for drop and add, before the new term could begin. This is essentially the same setup that exists now, but with our semester ending before winter break, which was a change for the good. Although, there is still major change needed. Under the current system, even after only one day of a class, a student cannot change classes or change schedule. Even if there is a clash of personalities between a teacher and student, the student cannot transfer out to another teacher’s class even if it is the same subject. Now there are excellent rebuttals to both of
these circumstances, but both do not consider the mindset of the student. To the point concerning changing schedules after a day in class, the obvious counter-point is that you cannot have students changing classes at will and creating unneeded work for the counselors. Also, it might create issues with GPA and credit information if the student changes in the middle of the semester. However, there is a simple solution that our staff believes in that would work if implemented. Drop and add should occur exactly a week and a half into the semester. This way, the student has the opportunity to get a feel for the class and see whether or not the class is something they need. The student should understand this agreement; as if they do decide to change classes the responsibility is upon them to complete the work they have missed in the class they have switched into. While the counselors or administration may believe that the class is in the best interest of the student, that should not mean the student has no say in the matter, as it is their future that is being affected. This is a sound solution to a pertinent problem. The second point dealing with a teacher and a student who cannot work together is a much grayer area. For obvious reasons, some students would
take advantage of this just to get into a class with friends or a teacher who they are on better terms with. That is why the opinion of the staff is these cases should be considered on a case-to-case basis determined by the discretion of the administration/counselors. There could be times when simply a student cannot learn from a teacher. While ‘old-school’ educators might say the student needs to adapt, it also needs to be considered that the student might be able to reach a higher academic threshold if they are with a teacher that they are able to more readily accept their style. The environment for the student needs to be as comfortable as possible for the maximum learning level to be attained. Drop and add currently has many upsides at GHS. However, the whole educational system in place and the environment in which learning happens could be vastly improved by a few simple changes to the system. It could change the “school is a prison” mentality and allow for more openness in what students learn in their time in high school. With this adaptation, as the opinion of the staff of the The Voice, learning in our high school would improve and the environment would be a better place to learn. The staff voted unanimously
Opinion & Editorial
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Dragons Excel in Every Aspect Dart/Reporter Nelson/In-Depth Editor Schmidt/Copy Editor Staley/Reporter Sullivan/Artist Zollman/Reporter
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Boys Basketball first state title was in 1918
20 Number of state titles won by One-Act all the way from 1987 to 2013.
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The first time Speech team won state was 1994.
1 Boys Golf had victory with state in 2008.
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Boys Soccer has won two state title both occuring in the 21st century.
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Number of state titles won by Girls Soccer.
Girls Basketball won state in 2006.
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Boys Baseball took home the state title in 2011.
While walking down the halls, there are different types of students with all kinds of backgrounds. Some of these students have unique talents that may not be known by everyone in the school. At Gretna High School, there are gifted musicians, vocalists, athletes, actors and students with academic excellence that have shared their talents with the school. They have been bringing talent to others that can be greatly appreciated and enjoyed. The band and show choir have students extremely involved and have worked hard for many years to get to where they are in the world of music. Various gifted musicians have been striving to achieve excellence for as long as they can remember, and GHS is well-known for this accomplishment. “There are people involved in music that play multiple instruments, have quality music, and are rather extraordinary,” said Mr. Patrick Ribar, choir director. Ribar described the talents of some of these extraordinary students that he teaches. Shane Ernst, junior is a musician, songwriter and learned to play an entire musical on bass by hearing it a few times. Cody Jackson, senior has a broadway style with an incredible vocal range. Ribar says that he is a budding broadway star. These students are talented, but it takes them time and effort to acquire this. “Show choir practices 5-6 times a week not including weekends, before and after school,” said Amanda Purintun, freshman. The show choir is filled with students that are ready to work hard and share their love of music. They practice Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at seven in the morning. Practices also take place on some Tuesday nights and Saturdays. This goes to show that hard work and dedication is a factor that can help people become better at what they do. “I believe that you can enjoy music a lot more playing it than listening to it,” said Logan Langholdt, senior. Langholdt is one student who is dedicated to music, and his talent shows through his effort. Langholdt plays multiple instruments, is an All-State singer and enjoys band and show choir. He is considering pursuing a career in music. “It brightens your day to have music in your life,” said Langholdt. “It can be very peaceful.” Amelia Ashley, senior, is a member of the band that is said to be extremely gifted according to many students at GHS. She has been to All-State three times for playing the clarinet. Ashley is considering attending Dartmouth and becoming a member of the band there. She practices a fair amount, but said that she should be practicing more because there are always ways that someone can become better. “I like being in band, because there is an academic and creative aspect to it,” said Ashley. GHS has also been gifted with talent-
ed athletes. GHS has had years worth of bragging rights. They face the challenge head on and succeed with a title. Sports are more than just winning. The time and effort it takes to build successful teams, even if they do not win, is tremendous. It takes star athletes, a stupendous coaching staff, and amazing fans for a school to fully excel. “Strong, smart kids tend to do really good things,” said Mr. Jon Swanson, girls basketball reserve coach. “That creates very successful teams.” At Gretna, school is an excellent way of motivating students to excel on and off the field. The classroom helps athletes have a good work ethic. It creates an attitude that allows you to work with the team. Athletes and coaches alike also want to get better every day as the pressure drums inside them every practice and every game. “Our coaches do a really good job of teaching the kids,” said Heckenlively. “They are a passionate staff putting in the time and effort to train them.” GHS is proud to have experience on the coaching staff. Mr. Jerome Skrdla, girls basketball coach, has won three state championships from three different schools, which is something not many coaches in Nebraska can say. “Experience on the coaching staff means a more successful team,” said Heckenlively. “Which is exactly what we have.” As for drama students at GHS, they practice hard every week, eventually able to compete and earning awards for their performance. GHS has outstanding talent regarding drama activities, including One Act. “This year, I got an outstanding performance award,” said Trace Mannewitz, senior. “As a speaking part this year, it allows me to be a leader to the others. I also get to bring my own ideas to the table.” One Act won state this year, marking their 23rd victory. This year, Mannewitz, being an experienced performer, capitalized on the opportunity to be a leading role in his One Act audition. Gretna’s One Act is something no one should miss. Speech is another extracurricular activity listed under drama. Rachel Schollaert, junior, practices her speeches wherever she goes. “This is my third year in speech,” said Schollaert. “There are a lot of events for speech competition. Freshman year I won three or four competitions.” Such students who are casted in the spring musical perform on a daily basis to prepare. Training your voice and moving around gets tiring fast. Luke Beran, senior, and Alaina Kauffman, junior, work in the musical, Beran, a singer in the performance, whereas Kauffman works offstage. “I’ve been working backstage for two years” said Kauffman. “I move props, help with changing, and work the curtain. I work on all of that by myself.” This alone goes to show the hard work GHS and it’s students put in to their craft.
Beran has been involved with the musical for three years. He will be auditioning this upcoming February for his fourth year. Beran and other performers excel in One Act. Making a leading character shows that they want to excel, but wanting is half the distance. Being the best in the district is the next step. They have been there before, and they can do it again. (Knock on wood.) Even though GHS has been privileged with talented musicians, athletes and actors, it all starts from learning. School is not the most popular topic to the average teenager; however, Gretna still does extremely well in academics. In comparison to Millard, Omaha, and Waverly, Gretna High School had higher scores on the NeSA standardized test by at least four percent in every subject, according to the Nebraska Department of Education. The average composite score for a GHS student on the ACT is 22.7, which meets the ACT standards for traditional and selective colleges. Learning does not just end at 3:21, though. GHS offers a multitude of academic extracurriculars like Quiz Bowl, Academic Decathlon, Rocket Club, or even co-curriculars like the German Honors Society or the Journalism department. There is always some sense of learning running through GHS students’ lives. There is multiple reasons why Gretna usually excels in academics. With a no-fail policy and higher grading scale than most area schools, it is a given that we would have higher grades. One of the main factors that affects why Gretna has great grades is because of the high standards that Gretna holds for students. “The expectations are higher, by teachers, parents, and even students,” said Mrs. Anita O’Neill, GHS counselor. “Our administrators hold teachers and employees accountable for student learning.” A perfect example of someone who puts everything into school is Rachel Smith, senior. Smith not only attends GHS, but she attends classes at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, through their High School Alliance, every other day in place of regular afternoon classes. Not only does she balance these college courses with high school classes, but she is the only student from GHS to attend the program this year. “I’ve got a ton of medical knowledge from this experience,” says Smith. “We go really in depth in Pathology, a lot more than science classes do at GHS, because it’s all focused from a medical perspective.” From high standards to hardworking students, there is certainly a good reason to why Gretna schools are so successful. If there is anything that ties the students of GHS together, it is coming together to do what one loves. The one thing every student in Gretna has in common is getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning and giving it their all at practice and/or school. Gretna takes that aspect and uses it to their advantage, making an obviously effective, success. Talent will always run in GHS students’ lives, 3:21 or later.
In-Depth
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Going the Distance to Achieve a Healthier Lifestyle Dance Coach and Math Teacher Reaches Her Personal Goal and Inspires Others AFTER
Schmidt / Copy Editor Fred Devito, founder of Exhale Spa’s Core Fusion program once said, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” Several people have tried everything to remain motivated, train, and keep a positive attitude with the mindset of losing weight and maintaining a healthy body. For Mrs. Kristy Schweitz, Gretna High School Dance coach and Math teacher, striving for a healthy body and lifestyle has changed her whole attitude on life and encourages everyone to give it a go. Schweitz has been dancing for several years and because of this, she started to have trouble with her knees. She thought losing some extra weight would be a great alternative to surgery. Not staying active and eating the way she had, was not healthy. She says she deserved to take care of herself better than she had been. Schweitz has always tried to stay fit and lose weight once she left college. She danced competitively in high school and college, so the exercise helped her stay in shape then. Last April, she made the conscious decision to go for it. She knew the best way to achieve this accomplishment was to track her progress. This helped her not to be stressed most of the time. “When I first started trying to lose weight, I took long walks because I knew I was out of shape,” said Schweitz. “Once I started getting into better shape, I did different forms of exercise that were fun to me.” Going on walks, jogging, using the machines in the weight room at GHS and attending Zumba and Hot Yoga classes were some of the activities Schweitz did to achieve her weight goal.
Submitted
photos
BEFORE
She also bought a cheap elliptical on Craigslist for rainy days and kept track of her calories and fitness on a free website called sparkpeople.com. “It [the website] helped me ‘budget’ my calories for the day and think about what I was eating,” said Schweitz. “I could have that giant piece of cake, but that would be one of the few things I could eat that day because it used up all of my calories, so it made me much more sense to me to have a filling amount of something healthy.” Schweitz started eating more vegetables and substituting frozen yogurt instead of ice cream to impede her occasional sweet tooth. Schweitz usually drank four to five glasses of milk a day. Although milk is good for you, it is about 200 calories per glass, so that would be about 1000 calories a day on milk alone. She limited to one glass per day. “I have never felt better in my life!” said Schweitz. “I love being able to walk up the stairs and not feel winded. I couldn’t have done this without the support of Mr. Schweitz. He was always telling me how proud he was of me for working so hard. He’d also come with me on walks or be willing to try out new crazy meals. I’m also thankful for all of the kind words from my family and GHS family.” When Schweitz’s family went to Alaska this summer, she was able to be adventurous and go mountain biking and hiking. She does not think she could have done that if she had not make this lifestyle change. “Go for it,” said Schweitz. “Stop telling yourself that you can’t embrace a healthier lifestyle. Get an accountability buddy and set up goals with a friend. Find some sort of app that will help you and come talk to me if you ever need motivation. If I could do it, anyone can.”
Finding Out How The Real World Really Works Midterm Graduates are Finding the Pros and Cons of Leaving Early Minckler / Reporter Five months. That is how early the mid term graduates were let out. That is five months that a certain graduate could feel completely alone like he or she does now during the day, because during those months everyone is still in school. Unless they had something to do, it could get boring, so did graduating at mid term turn out the way they thought it would? “No,” said Michael Minckler, GHS alumni. “Nothing really turned out the way I thought it would. It went differently.” Also, most graduates think five more months off is something exciting, but in reality, it means getting a job or going to classes even earlier. This could be a good or bad thing for the graduates. “Not yet,” said Nathan Tinderholdt, GHS alumni. “But I will be going to school in, like, 2 months.” Starting classes earlier could be good because it could leave more time in the future for something they want to do. It could also give the students more education. Minckler is continuing with education, his classes are just a little different from Tinderholdt’s.
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“I’ve been in an apprenticeship,” said Minckler. “I’ve been watching the recording process happen. We subscribed to this Music marketing class, but no formal classes.” As far as classes go for Minckler, he has only been taking classes to contribute to his band and he has no intention of taking any formal classes in the fall. In addition to classes, graduating at mid term also means getting a job. “Godfather’s Pizza and guitar lessons,” said Minckler. “I work about twenty hours a week.” Being out of school, Minckler has also been starting to do the day shift at Godfather’s and accumulating more hours. Tinderholdt has also been working since he was out of school. “I work at The MSR Group. A call center,” said Tinderholdt. “I work Monday through Thursday from 5 P.M to 9 P.M.” Even though they have to get a job or go to classes, there is more time for what they like to do. The upsides of having more time is even with work they still have more than enough time for fun. “It’s been great,” said Minckler. “I have been hanging out with friends, sleeping
February 2014
late.” Both Tinderholdt and Minckler have been taking advantage of more time to sleep and do what they want. Tinderholdt’s schedule is just about the same as the other graduate’s. “[I have} been hanging with my friends and sleeping until 3,” said Tinderholdt. Sure, running around with some other people can be fun for Minckler, but there are some times where they cannot be like his school friends. So does Minckler ever wish he was back? “I do miss running around and stuff, but I don’t miss the classes,” said Minckler. “There were a couple days where there was nothing going on and I was like ‘man I wish I was with my buddies.’ But I wouldn’t go back.” Even though he misses his friends, that is not enough to make him go back to his old school. Minckler can still see his friends whenever he wants to because he has a free schedule, an upside to graduating early. Students in the future will be able to graduate at early. Even with the raised credit requirements, they will be able to get all the credits needed.
They will just need to double up on English classes. Minckler found that there were both upsides and downsides to graduating early. Who knows what the future early graduates will think.
Photo by Amanda Minckler
GHS alumni Michael Minckler works with Joey Petrigash on one of his shifts at Godfather’s Pizza to earn money for multiple things. He is planning on picking up more daytime shifts from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. since he is no longer in school.
Feature
Dance Right, Shine Bright, Team Ready For State GHS Dance Team works hard for State Title continuously throughout the year Booze/ Reporter Schmidt/ Copy Editor Early morning practices, bullets of sweat, sore backs, and the consistant screaming of counts is what a typical practice for the Gretna High School Dance Team looks like. This year, the team is determined to win state, which will be on February 22 in Grand Island, Nebraska. The girls have been working extremely hard and sincereley hope to accomplish first place. Last year, the girls lost by a hair against other schools within the area. There is always extremely tough competition each year, but every year, the team tends to work even harder for a state title. “I am really excited especially since it is my senior year to compete for the last time,” said Alexis Snell, senior. “I am also excited because it’s a blast for the whole team.” The girls will be competing with a Jazz and Pom routine. These routines were choreographed by dance professional Timaree Alt, which they learned at choreography camp this summer in a span of three days. The dancers know the routine well, and could possibly do Submitted Photo
Photo By: Shane Ernst Submitted photos Smiles For Miles: Hannah DeRouchey, senior, grins big at the Gretna vs. Plattsmoth basketball game, performing the team’s competition pom dance. This is DeRouchey’s fourth year on dance team and hopes for a state championship medal at State. She and senior, Jena Burns are both captains this year as well.
Diverse Coaching Methods
it in their sleep, but they have changed it up to make it better and cleaned each movement to perfect the routine. “We have a very talented team,” said Mrs. Schweitz, GHS dance coach. “I have a feeling we will perform very well at the State Dance Competition.” The dance team practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday mornings from 6:20 to 7:30 in the commons. The first three Wednesdays of February will also be set aside for practicing, focusing specifically on technique in the dance and running the routines over and over for stamina. Before every practice, the girls stretch and warm up to start out their practice. It is also beneficial to converse what is upcoming for the team. “Perfecting our routine has been a lot of hard work.” said Shannon Sudrla, sophomore. The dance team attends about two competitions a year, including one at UNO. The team won first place in the pom category and second in jazz. “There’s always a struggle coming back from the winter break and getting back into the flow of practices, but we’re starting to work really hard.” said Mrs. Schweitz. This has a big effect on the team because on winter break there are no practices, so the girls do not have the routine fresh in their mind. After all the hard work, the team has gone through,, hopefully they can rock the floor at state this year. With the passion, work ethic and perserverence of the girls, there is nothing holding the team back this year. “I love bonding with the team,” said Shannan Slattery, sophomore. “State is such an unforgettable experience.”
Huddle It Up: As a tradition, the GHS dance team circles up and says a prayer together before each performance. This is a great way to calm performing nerves and bring energy and enthusiasm to the dance.
Providing Insight to Athletic Competition Ames/ A&E editor Being able to yell, motivate, and practice for success are attributes of a successful coach...or so it is stereotyped. The old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is simply not true. Using different coaching methods is just one of the ways athletes can be moved towards greatness. According to former Olympic athletic trainer Brian Grasso’s blog, there are three main types of coaching that are simply not effective: mirroring (“reflecting actions”), empty buckets (“filling heads with knowledge”), and sponges (“soaking up information”). All three methods have one common problem: they do not recognize the individual learner. Grasso makes the point that coaches must pay attention to each athlete, and that one cannot assume that a specific method of coaching will work. Much like teachers, coaches work with their “students” (athletes) in order to improve their skills in specific areas. Because of his specific occupation, varsity girls volleyball coach, Mike Brandon is able to give a perspective on both being a high school coach, and teacher. “I think teaching and coaching are the same,” said Coach Mike Brandon. “Obviously the repercussions are different, but the concept doesn’t change. I don’t agree that “mirroring” isn’t effective; demoing and showing how something is done is an effective
February 2014
method of learning.” Regardless of a specific method of practice, it is important for coaches to provide helpful insight towards the competition itself. This is where motivation comes in. “I teach them to love the game,” said Coach Brandon. “and how to deal with the competition in success and failure.” Teachers and coaches alike face challenges, in competition or not. Using different methods of coaching can really make or break a team, and communication is key in order for this to happen. “I think one of the biggest challenges as a coach is communication.” said varsity girls basketball coach, Jeff Haun. “Expectations need to be clear; sometimes athletes are not sure what they are supposed to be doing.” Another challenge of sports coaches is individualizing teaching. Just as Grasso pointed out methods that do not focus on the individual are ineffective. “It’s hard to individualize with an entire team- that’s the challenge,” said Coach Haun. “The entire team is just as important as one athlete.” Coaches must be open to finding new coaching methods in today’s sporting world; the same stereotypical teachings have been proven to not be effective. Through proper technique and new coaching, athletes can focus their talents. Change is a necessary asset to life- coaching a sport is not an exception.
Photo taken by Shane Ernst Head Boy’s Basketball coach, Brad Feeken, uses various coaching techniques to encourage his players to strive to their fullest potential. This is coach Bill Heard’s first year at GHS as a coach along side Feeken.
Photos by Shane Ernst and Hope Cudly Matt Bruggeman, head wrestling coach, and coach Dan Radik work together, however use different coaching methods to help each wrestler with their personal goal.
Sports
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Independent Art: Music & Movies Make Their Mark Photo supplied by As Dreamers Do
The Big Screen: Popular YouTuber Olan Rogers landed the lead role of Walt Disney in the indie film “As Dreamers Do”. He helped the independent production gain a larger fanbase through his thousands of online followers.
Human/Reporter
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he entertainment industry allows for a lot of freedom. Teenagers rock out to their favorite bands daily; from country to rock to pop, the amount of genres available in the music industry abound, allowing for many different tastes in music. Different genres of movies, from action to romantic comedies, mean that there is lots of material for whatever people are into. What many might not know about is an underground style of entertainment, one that is becoming more and more prominent in recent years - the making of art through independent labels. “The origin of the word indie comes from “independent”, meaning either an unsigned artist or an artist signed to a label that doesn’t do the major corporate thing,” said Liza McQueney, junior. “So that definition of indie isn’t a genre as much as a state of the popularity or success of the band at the time.”
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hen it comes to music, it’s difficult to distinguish an indie band from a mainstream band. While separated into different genres, the “indie” label is not necessarily a connotation of a particular sound. Instead, indie music - short for independent music - consists of artists who chose to maintain and produce their own music instead of signing with a major label because of the freedom and choices it may offer. “Under that definition there’s all sorts of variations,” McQueney explained. “There’s indie folk, indie rap/hip hop, indie pop, and basically anything indie, the most recognizable being indie rock.” However, the term “indie” does have a connotation to a certain kind of
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sound. In general, indie music tends to be associated more with alternative music, and even bands who have signed with labels can be called indie because of their sound. This difference in approach means that mainstream artists like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, or Justin Bieber generally have more popularity and exposure than indie bands such as alt-J, Rachel & the Kings, or The Joy Formidable. However, indie bands can provide a different style of music because they are not held to a label’s expectations and can experiment with their sound freely. “A lot of the reason I like indie music is the idea of giving people a chance,” said McQueney. “You never know, maybe they’re putting out something totally cool and unique that no one has ever done before.” Being an indie band does not mean being kept underground forever. Some independent bands, such as the Londonbased group Bastille, have reached high heights of popularity through their original melodies. They have toured all over the U.K. and America, and even visited Omaha in December. “It’s cool to follow the progression of an indie band,” said McQueney. “For example, Bastille. I downloaded their free mixtape and now they’re selling albums and getting radio play and doing gigs, and it kind of makes you feel good.” Not every indie artist comes from across the ocean. Saddle Creek Records is an independent label that is based right here in Omaha. They have twentyfive active artists that they are producing right now, and work to “release music by bands we like”, as their website says, instead of releasing music by bands that will make them the most profit.
February 2014
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usicians are not the only ones who can choose alternative ways to produce entertainment. Indie movies produce and put out movies without being affiliated with large-scale corporations such as Lionsgate or Universal. Almost everyone has heard of Disney’s “Frozen”, but what about the independent film about Disney being produced right now in Tennessee? This movie, titled “As Dreamers Do”, is an independent production directed by Logan Sekulow, a Walt Disney fan who set out to make a film about Disney’s early years. Its cast includes the YouTuber Olan Rogers as the lead, as well as many other lesser-known actors in key roles. Indie movies provide a much better outlet for relatively unknown actors to get themselves exposed to the world of acting. It’s incredibly hard for beginning actors to land a lead role in a major production, but working up the ladder of indie films can give them a much better chance at making it big in the end. Since “As Dreamers Do” is a smaller, independent film, it has a much smaller following then those made by large corporations with the funds to commercialize and market the film. However, the smaller fan base means the directors can communicate more directly with their audience. There is much more open dialogue between the creators and the fans, which creates a sense of community rather than a sense of being advertised to constantly. Anyone who shows up to their filming site is put in as an extra. Incentives are given out to those who recruit the most “likes” on their Facebook page. A role was completely recast because of a suggestion by the fans to have two actors
in a scene together, something unheard of in larger-scale corporations. There are such things as large-scale independent movies, as well, that many people would not have considered to be anything but corporate-produced movies. The movies “Juno” and “The Hurt Locker” - yes, that Hurt Locker - are also considered to be independent films. However, the majority of indie films are small-scale, localized films that get little press attention. That doesn’t mean they’re any less rewarding to get involved with, but it does create a certain lack of accessibility that comes with larger-scale movies.
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hen it comes down to indie movies and music, a good product is a good product, no matter the label associated with it. Unlike many believe, there is no “best” way to listen to music, and there are not superior genres of movies. Indie is not superior to mainstream, and the mainstream route is not the only way to go about producing entertainment. An indie movie can rock the world just as much as Disney’s newest cartoon, and any kind of music can add substance to someone’s daily soundtrack. “Being a fan of indie doesn’t mean one exclusively likes indie,” said McQueney. “I definitely have a jam that’s super mainstream pop music.” Nobody should be confined to only one genre or style of music. That limits people from finding great new sounds and artists every day. Everyone’s music taste is different, and the indie label just gives another outlet for people to find something they really enjoy.
Arts & Entertainment