Griffin Rites Vol. 47 Issue 4 by Griffin Rites

Vol. 47 Issue 4

December 21, 2016

GRIFFIN RITES Winnetonka High School | Kansas City, Missouri

griffin

rites ISSUE 04 TABLE OF CONTENTS

HONORING A BELOVED WOMAN Rose Bowl parade honors organ donor Heather Reed-Flynn in Donate Life float

SAVING SUPERMAN Luis Rodriguez battles brain cancer with the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support

GOING FOR GOLD Exhibition students face the panel

SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER Students and staff help to give back this holiday season

SHORTS SEASON IS BACK Actors become directors as they cast their own Short

HOLIDAY MOVIES Movies to watch over winter break

WHERE THE FUNDRAISING MONEY GOES Winter sports teams fundraise money to make improvements

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Copy Editor Photo Editor News Editor Features Editor A&E Editor

Rachel Adamson Alyssa Magrone Hayden Weathermen Kaitlyn Minet Katie Bullock Alyssa Magrone

Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Adviser

Clayre Barkema Asmaret Fissehaye Caroline Foster Shelby Hilburn Jessica Glaszczak Laura Williams

On the cover: painting of a present by Alyssa Magrone.

The Griffin Rites staff strongly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Freedom of expression and press are fundamental values in a democratic society. The mission of any institution committed to preparing productive citizens must include teaching students these values, both by example and lesson. We welcome letters to the editor and reserve the right to edit them for grammar and length, but we will not change ideas. Letters may attack policies but not people. They must be signed and submitted to F6 or mailed to Mrs. Laura Williams attention at 5815 NE 48th St., Kansas City, Mo. 64119. Advertising space is also available. Please e-mail laura.williams@nkcschools.org or call 816-321-6527 for information. Our organization is a member of the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City, Journalism Educators Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Spreading cheer only once a year People need to learn to donate and spread love year round

| AlyssaMagrone

| editorial voice of the Griffin Rites staff

he holiday season should not be the only time of the year for spreading cheer for all to hear. The amount of money charities receive during the Christmas season increases compared to the rest of the year. Blackbaud Index tracks the amount of billions of dollars in U.S. charitable organizations. According to their CEO, Steve MacLaughlin, 34 percent of all charitable giving is donated in the last three months of the year and 18 percent is in December alone. A prime example of this is the Salvation Army Bell Ringers. The organization places people ringing bells outside several store locations, which in turn causes an increase in donations because the average person is prompted to donate since they are asked. However, they only do this in November and December. If charitable organizations executed this form of donation prompting 12 months out of the year instead of just two, the impact could be much more beneficial to charity causes, because even donating a small amount has shown to have a dramatic increase in donations. There are those who believe there is no problem with the increase in giving as they believe there should be a special time of the year for dedicating extra expressions of love. This cause is pure of heart, but the root problem is the extraneous amount of people that only feel the need to do so once a year to simply feel good about oneself in the season of giving. People need to donate out of pocket period-

ically throughout the year, because homelessness and other tragedies are not a once-a-year problem. If people feel their finances do allow room for giving multiple times a year, they can set aside a set amount of money at the beginning of the year, and then time donations for different periods of the year. If they still want to get into the giving spirit of Christmas they can set a larger portion of money to donate for that time. Another way people can actively donate more than once a year is through participating in other charitable events such as Relay For Life and Dig For The Cure. Charity donations are not the only ways in which people neglect the non-holiday portion of the year. With Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, along with other celebratory gatherings that take place in the winter months, families and friends are brought together. While this concept is of good intentions, it can lead to only getting in touch with distant relatives when it is convenient. Giving is not only measured in monetary amounts but also in time. Simply taking ten minutes out of the day to talk with a loved one will increase the bonding between family members more than one crowded and loud Christmas dinner. There is nothing wrong with wanting to donate money to charity during the holiday season or spending time with family, but people should make a conscious effort to spread joy 365 days of the year and not only during the remaining 91 days of the year. Imagine the impact.

EDITORIAL | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON

Honoring a beloved woman Rose Parade honors organ donor Heather Reed-Flynn in Donate By Shelby Hilburn

he wife of social studies teacher David Flynn will have her memory depicted in flowers at the annual Rose Parade Jan. 2 in Pasadena, Calif. At age 43, Heather Reed-Flynn passed away unexpectedly last year due to a stroke and became an organ donor. The Rose Parade is a celebration of the New Year which includes flower-covered floats, marching bands and groups of horses. Flynn and his daughter, Hannah, will travel to California to participate in the activities. “The Donate Life float is just one of the many floats that’s actually in the Rose Bowl Parade and it represents all of the organ donors both living and deceased who have actually given the gift of life,” Flynn said. According to Flynn, the Midwest Transplant Network asked if he would be okay with his wife being a representative in the Rose Parade.

“It’s exciting,” Flynn said. “Going out there and actually being able to see it and participate in building the float and doing all those things is something that is a unique experience that I’m sure I will never forget and certainly my daughter will never forget.” Junior Rana Ekilah said she was almost in tears when she found out the news. “Knowing coach Flynn personally, he was my AP psychology teacher and my soccer coach,” Ekilah said. “He’s such an amazing person and I feel like this is the proper way to recognize his wife and celebrate her organ donation.” Junior Skylar Seitz said that hearing a real-life story about an organ donation can convince someone to become an organ donor themselves. “It is really moving to see how your family can still know a piece of you is out there after you’re gone,” Seitz said. According to an online news article at Fox 4 KC, the family gathered to finish

the final touches of an image of Reed-Flynn. Since Reed-Flynn was an ecologist, the image was done in organic materials. Her floragraph will be one of 96 on the Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses. Ekilah believes that Flynn and his daughter deserve to go to the parade since they have been through so much and they are both wonderful people. “I just really hope for the best for them and that they can have fun and to remember that experience forever,” Ekilah said. Flynn thinks it is great that his wife is being honored and recognized for her generous donation, although he never thought the donations would ever go this far. “Knowing that she was an organ donor, I knew that someday her organs would help somebody and that mine will help somebody,” Flynn said.

1. An image of the florograph of Heather Reed-Flynn that will be on the Donate Life float in the Rose Parade on Jan. 2. 2. The informative card about the Rose Parade that social studies teacher David Flynn distributed to staff members on Dec. 13.

NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY SHELBY HILBURN

News produced by the journalism students of WHS.

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Saving Superman

Luis Rodriguez battles brain cancer with the community’s support By Katie Bullock

1. Luis Rodriguez feeds newborn Rosie in 2001. 2. The Rodriguez family (Maddie Fields, Bella, Luis, Mary and Rosie Rodriguez,) after Luis’s first surgery. 3. Luis gives two thumbs up while recovering in the hospital. 4. Luis and his wife Mary Rodriguez sporting superman attire. 5. The family after Luis’s most recent surgery. Photos courtesy RosieRodriguez

uis Rodriguez, father of two Winnetonka students, is fighting to overcome his fifth brain tumor. Since he was diagnosed with his first brain tumor four years ago, the community has come together to show their support for a person they call ‘Superman.’ “They gave him six months, six months,” Luis’s daughter, sophomore Rosie Rodriguez said. “It was heartbreaking. Knowing him, having looked up to him my whole entire life and then knowing that he could be gone so soon. I just remember losing my breath, asking ‘What do you mean?’ I didn’t understand.” Rosie was in sixth grade when her father was first diagnosed with cancer. Her sister, senior Maddie Fields, was in eighth grade. “It’s been hard, especially at school,” Fields said. “Rosie and I don’t like to show that we’re upset when we’re here [school], but when someone comes up to us and asks, ‘Hey, are you okay?,’ we just break down. They just give us a sense that we can be notokay, that we have people here for us, that we can always go to someone.” Involved in many different activities, Fields said that balancing busy and different schedules makes supporting their father hard during these times. “It’s very draining sometimes. After school, doing our activities, then going home to eat, then driving up to the hospital and not knowing when we’re going to get home, it takes a toll,” Fields said. “But the support of all the people, it helps. Our neighbors across the street bring us dinner almost every night while my mom is busy being my dad’s caretaker.” Over the last year, many student groups have come together to help support Fields and Rosie as their father battles cancer. One such group is the choir under the direction of Jason Elam. “Elam got this whole group together from the vocal music department where

NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY KATIE BULLOCK

everybody wears blue on Mondays,” Fields said. “They call it, ‘Wear blue for Lou.’ The theater department had a day [last year] where everybody got together and passed out ribbons for brain cancer awareness. It’s a sense of coming together. The little things like that, they give me hope.” Senior Maegan Foster has known the family for seven years. During that time she has seen firsthand the emotional toll that the cancer has taken on the sisters. “I’m really glad we’ve been able to build a support system for them,” Foster said. “I’m really glad that they have people’s shoulders to cry on, that they can have someone to talk to when things are hard or someone to celebrate with when things get better. [We wear the Superman shirts] sometimes as a visual reminder for them that they’re not alone in this fight, and that they have people who really care about them and what their family is going through.” For Rosie, seeing students like Foster wear Superman shirts means a lot. “It gives me hope, and makes me feel very loved,” Rosie said. “The community has come together to form a huge support group for our family. I mean, people don’t think they have a huge impact on others’ lives, but this is a situation that proves you do.” With the help of this support system, Luis and the rest of of the Rodriguez family are battling to make it through another year. “Time, in the last couple of years, has become very precious to me,” Rosie said. “It’s something that you can never get back. They gave him six months, so I didn’t expect to have him my seventh grade year, let alone my sophomore year. That’s why I’m so proud to see the people he has impacted, because [he is] honestly one of the best people I’ve ever met. He leaves marks on people, and he’s saved me in a way. He’s shown me how strong a person can be, no matter how hard things get. He is my superhero, my Superman.”

JUMPING

into the

NEW YEAR

Students and staff post goals for New Year

ETC. | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY ASMARET FISSEHAYE AND RACHEL ADAMSON

Cayla Adamson Rachel Adamson Michael Armendirez

Kamryn Cain

Vince Costanza Susan Engstrom

Emma Evans Maegan Foster Daulton Freeman Zoe Goss 8

Exhibition students face the panel By JessicaGlaszczak

xhibition season tested the willpower of candidates for the Gold Medallion honors diploma. From preparing a 45-minute presentation to balancing exhibition work with other classes, seniors battled sleepless nights, intensive research, and procrastination. “There are parts of me that wonder, is it worth it, all of this work that I’ve been putting in for the past two years on this one presentation?” senior Taylor Smith said. Gold Medallion keeps students on their toes with its list of requirements. “Gold Medallion is an honors diploma that students can try to choose to earn,” gifted methods and exhibition teacher Carrie Marcantonio said. “It’s a four-year commitment with all different kinds of requirements and it culminates into a research project their senior year.” The capstone project consists of a research exhibition in which students present to a panel of judges for 45 minutes and discuss a topic that they researched extensively. To many exhibition students, this process was stressful. “Right now it doesn’t seem like it’s worth the stress, but later I think that it will be worth it,” Smith said. Smith is a candidate for the honors diploma and says that it has affected much of her life, including her friendships. “It’s hard on all of the friendships that I’ve made prior to exhibition,” Smith said. “I have a really good friend and we hung out every day.” Smith said that she and her friend no longer hang out like they used to because they never got homework done working together. “It’s [hanging out with friends] productive for our friendship, but isn’t productive for my school work and my grades and sometimes you have to prioritize yourself over others,” Smith said. “It’s not like we’re not friends, but

it’s not like we are the same best friends like we were.” However, according to Smith, when it comes to friendships and exhibition, abandoning ship does not have to happen. “I think that Gold Medallion is hard and friendships are great and true friendships will last through Gold Medallion,” Smith said. “This is just a few months. If a friendship doesn’t last through that, then it’s not a true friendship to me.” One part of the research that Marcantonio said may be stressful for students are the university research papers that the students read. “That’s just part of the grind,” Marcantonio said. “I try to teach them techniques to get through it, like put an M&M at the end of every paragraph or set a timer and when it goes off you get to stand up and do something else. They don’t want to do it, but that’s part of life.” Similar to other exhibition students, Smith is involved in many extracurricular activities, along with a majority of other exhibition students. “ I’m involved in a lot of things,” Smith said. “I have a musical going on that I have to stay at school until 6:30 every night and I go home and I either have dance class or church. I have all of these things that take so much time.” Marcantonio explained how commitment to many different things while being in exhibition can be an added weight of stress. “If you only did one thing then it’s different, then exhibition is a breeze,” Marcantonio

FEATURE | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY JESSICA GLASZCZAK

Lilian Juma

said. “It can be tough Marcantonio helped her prepare for it. when you’re a really tal- "Each individual kid, she helped them ented kid like Taylor individually,” Smith said. “She wants them and you’ve got a lot each to grow themselves rather than say, 'Oh of opportunities yeah I did that, I helped all of them.'" and a lot of things There are many perks to being in Gold Medalgoing for you.” lion according to Smith. Despite the long "It [Gold Medallion] directly prepared list of components me for college," Smith said. "I’ve read studies to exhibition that whereas other students in high school that hamake life stressful, ven’t taken any research classes, they’ve never hope remains, according read a study and so to go into college and have to both Smith and Mar- to research things, it’s going to be more difcantonio. ficult for them to get through the 60-page “Stress is really important, study that’s seriously boring." and dealing with stress is really important,” Smith did not do Gold Medallion just Marcantonio said. “Having each other there to talk about it, bringing food to class, going for a run, all those things will help, but in the end, the only way to eat a whale is one bite at a time, so you can’t talk about how stressed you are, you just got to sit down and start nibbling.” Smith said that one of the positives of exhibition is gaining knowledge. “There are so many topics that will educate people on a lot of things, so I think exhibition will make the Gold Medallion students smarter, not just with their own pre- Senior Taylor Smith poses in relief of finishing her exhibition on Dec. 13. Photo by JessicaGlaszczak. sentations, but also with watching other people’s presentations and hearing about their research that they’ve come across,” Smith said. for college. “That’s making the Gold Medallion students "You have to do it for yourself, not just less ignorant of what’s going on in the world.” for the money or for scholarships," Smith After Smith presented, she explained her said. many emotions. Marcantonio views exhibition as a learn "Before the presentation, I actually felt ing process and a challenge for students. like I was going to throw up," Smith said. "I “I hope that they take away that they can asked Marcantonio what I do if I throw up do what some would deem impossible, that mid-presentation and she said, 'Just don’t some would deem not appropriate for a high think about it, seriously.' But then afterwards school kid,” Marcantonio said. “If anything, I whenever she gave me the thumbs up which would want them to learn about themselves, said I passed I couldn’t help it, I started crying. how tough they are and smart they are, and I had literal tears in my eyes." how brave they are.” Smith was overjoyed to pass and said that

Austin Kleinmeyer Ruweida Kulane Alyssa Magrone Lejla Skender Charity Smith Francesca Valente

Eldridge Villegas Luke Whistler All of the senior Gold Medallion students passed their exhibition presentations. Photos by Rachel Adamson, Ruman Ahamed, Susan Engstrom and Alyssa Magrone.

FEATURE | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY PAGE BY JESSICA GLASZCZAK

SPREADING HOLIDAY

Students and staff help By Rachel Adamson

CHEER

Strings for smiles

n Dec. 11, orchestra students took the opportunity to perform for a different type of audience than what they are used to, children with leukemia and lymphoma. “They [the kids] seemed really happy,” sophomore Maggie Williams said. “I know they probably don’t get to have that feeling a lot because of what is

happening in their lives, so it was nice to be able to see them like that.” Williams was one of about two dozen orchestra students who played at the event, a holiday party sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that gives children and their families the opportunity to enjoy the holidays in a safe, controlled environment. “We danced with them a lot, and 1 made gingerbread houses,” said Williams. “They wouldn’t stop smiling when we did that.” For sophomore Savannah Brown, the experience was made even more bittersweet by a previous personal experience. “When I was younger, my mom had this friend named Kelly,” Brown said. “I don’t really remember her [Kelly]

having hair, because she had leukemia for as long as I’d known her. A few months before she died she gave me this bandana that said ‘Love’ all over it. When she died, I started using it to wipe off the strings on my violin. Now every time that I play I always think of her.” Both Brown and Williams have been playing the violin since fifth grade, but this was the first time either had used her talents to perform at a service event. “I never thought about being able to do things like this,” Williams said. “I only thought about playing concerts. When I see them [the kids] it makes me really glad because I never expected to be able to make someone smile just by playing a simple song.”

FOCUS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON

1. One of the children with cancer builds a gingerbread house with the orchestra students on Dec. 11. Photo by KatieBullock. 2. Sophomores Ana-Le Lund, Ashley Johnson, Maggie Williams, and junior Kashe Turner lead the children in the Macarena on Dec. 11. Photo by KatieBullock.

Warming the holidays

he Christmas tree in the main office serves as more than just a decoration. During the month of November, the tree was used for a service project called “the Tree of Warmth; Sock it to Me.” The idea stemmed from a project that advisory classes used to participate in five years ago and has continued ever since. “We had what we called the possibilites project, so every advisory class did a project to help the school, help the community, help the world. As secretaries, we don’t have an advisory class so we came up with the Tree of Warmth,” data coordinator Pamela Wiltfong said. “We just put up the Christmas tree in the month of November and we asked for hats, scarves, socks and gloves.” “Sock it to Me,” was the first time a theme was incorporated with the Tree of Warmth and was done to put a focus on a need for socks. “This year, we still had plenty of hats and gloves from previous years so I said ‘what about socks?’ because we don’t always get a lot of socks so this time we did the theme ‘Sock it to Me,’” Wiltfong said. With help from students and

staff, according to Wiltfong, the Tree of Warmth was successful. “One of our teachers works part time at Dick’s [Sporting Goods], every weekend he got out of the clearance bin a bundle of socks and brought them in,” Wiltfong said. The Tree of Warmth collected 27 hats, 54 pairs of socks for boys, 38 pairs of socks for girls, 10 pairs of gloves and three scarves. These items will then go back to students who are in need at Tonka and the items that are leftover will go to feeder schools. “I’ve always had a roof over my head. I’ve always had food in my belly,” Wiltfong said. “I hope the impact lets the kids know that we love them and their own school cares about them.” The children in the nursery have already received a couple of items from the Tree of Warmth. “April, the clerk in the nurse's office, her aunt likes to crochet and she has been crocheting beautiful hats and scarves for little babies,” Wiltfong said. “Each year our nursery gets to come up and each of those kids get a new hat and scarf that she has made.” Wiltfong hopes the Tree of Warmth

Christmas through new eyes

oreign exchange students in International club experienced an American Christmas festival for the first time. On Nov. 18, they volunteered to assist with elementary and middle school choirs for the Christmas on the River in Parkville festival. “We helped direct students around and tried to help them get to where they needed to be and not get with a stranger because they bring in 14 bus loads of students,” Jackson said. “We have to make sure that there are no adults that try to take them out of the crowd.” When helping the choir students get

where they needed to go safely, the foreign exchange students learned something themselves. "They learned how to socialize with people that they didn't know because we

"You guys really love Christmas." didn’t know any of the other volunteers and we had to communicate with each other so they used their communication skills," Jackson said.

will promote a positive attitude and more acts of kindness in an effort to let students know that the school cares about them. “We’re a family, we may or may not like each other everyday, but we care about each other,” Wiltfong said. “We care about you, we are going to get you fed, we are going to get you clean socks.”

The Tree of Warmth located in the main office on Dec. 9. Photo by RachelAdamson.

According to Jackson, the students were under-dressed for the weather despite being told to bundle up. “They found out that they loved hot chocolate when it’s cold outside and they couldn’t wait to get in the car and get their feet warm," Jackson said. According to foreign exchange student Zoe Vandooren, she had never seen anything like the Christmas on the River festival in her home country. “You guys really love Christmas,” Vandooren said. “It is a really positive thing, everybody has this Christmas spirit and they join together.”

FOCUS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON

SHORTS SEASON IS BACK Actors become directors as they cast their own By Kaitlyn Minet

very year the theater department produces Shorts, one-act plays written and directed by Theater IV class seniors and performed by auditioning students. The seniors wrote their plays last year in their Theater III class and now get to take on directing and see their work come to life. Stepping out of her typical role of acting, senior Kali Holman views the ability to direct as beneficial because it allows the opportunity to dive into the other elements involved in producing a theater production. “I feel like this [directing] benefits us a lot because we get to see the other side of theater since a lot of us have only performed and have never directed before,” Holman said. “It gives us a chance to experience it and see if we would like that side instead of performing.” Senior Zachary Chargois believes the key to writing a Short is imagination and knowledge. “You have to be creative, first of all,” Chargois said. “You have to have an idea that you have in mind 1.

and you have to know how to portray that in a screenplay.” Students are allowed to work in partners, giving them more freedom. Holman feels her collaboration with fellow senior director Marilyn Couture is advantageous when it comes to rehearsals. “The benefits are for scheduling days," Holman said. "If anything ever came up on one of our rehearsal days where I couldn’t be there or Mary couldn’t be there, one of us could take over and we’d be fine. That way we could still have rehearsal." The casting process begins with auditions that are open to students and staff. Those auditioning must present a monologue to the senior directors in the Little Theater. “We do a round one audition which is everyone who wants to be in Shorts comes and they have a prepared monologue and all of the directors listen to them and they rate them according to the 4-star system,” theater director Sheri Coffman said. After everyone auditions, the callback process starts which means coming back and performing material to help the directors 2. narrow down their choices for casting. “They come in and do a cold reading, which is where they’ve had no practice or knowledge prior to it, and you see if you like them for the role that you called 3.

them back for,” Chargois said. The last part of casting occurs when all of the directors gather around and sort out the auditionees into their casts. “It is completely student-driven. After call-backs, the Theater IV students come together and they negotiate for the different students who auditioned,” Coffman said. According to Holman, one concern when casting is sharing actors because people can be cast into multiple Shorts but the directors have to keep in mind that their grade is also on the line. “I share people [actors] with other directors and so we go over our schedules and see how many Shorts they can really take on because if we know someone can’t really take on three Shorts, we’ll give them one or two because we want them to do their best but this is also a grade for us,” Holman said. Holman advises next year’s seniors to be open-minded to everyone because she feels it is the director’s job to expose the actor’s talents to lead them down a successful path. “Don’t be too hard on people. We’re still learning how to direct. The underclassmen are still growing in their acting skill so we need to give them a chance,” Holman said. “This is the chance for us to help them out and help them grow as actors that we’re leaving in this school to perform next year. We need to help them bring out their potential and show off what they actually have to offer the department.”

1. Senior Maegan Foster leading sophomore Madison Mayes through Foster’s Short script on Dec. 12. Photo by KaitlynMinet. 2. Senior Maegan Foster directing her cast to the right positions during Shorts rehearsals on Dec. 12. Photo by KaitlynMinet. 3. Juniors Kevin Griese and Vinny Taylor going through senior Maegan Foster’s Short during rehearsal on Dec. 12. Photo by KaitlynMinet.

ENTERTAINMENT | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY KAITLYN MINET

Holiday movies By Clayre Barkema

inter break is 13 days long and these family-friendly movies are perfect to see over the holidays to avoid cabin fever while

Doctor Strange Doctor Strange presents mind-bending magic for the first time to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it was no surprise when many flocked to the theaters to get a taste. The movie follows Doctor Stephen Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, on his journey into the world of the mystic arts. Likewise, Cumberbatch’s superb acting adds to the ambiance. With the many genius-like roles Cumberbatch has played over the years, Strange was no feat for him. As viewers watch, they are able to see Cumberbatch’s dedication shine through in his acting. With the movie shaping reality, the scenes are elegantly put together allowing the audience to immerse themselves in Strange’s world. There is not a moment in the movie where viewers cannot believe everything they see. With whole cities turning on themselves to astro-dimensional battles, “Doctor Strange” introduces a whole new realm of possibilities for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Doctor Strange” deserves an A.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Five years after the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two,” J.K. Rowling creates yet another fantastic movie. Steve Kloves wrote the scripts for the “Harry Potter” movies, but Rowling decided she wanted to tackle the script of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” on her own. She did not disappoint. While watching “Fantastic Beasts,” one will be transported to the wizarding world of Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne. The cinematography is visually invigorating and the set design makes the audience feel like they are actually in 1920s New York City. Exciting, action packed scenes will have audience members on the edge of their seats the entire time. With references to Albus Dumbledore, Quidditch and Hogwarts, Harry Potter fans can believe that this is the world they love, but in a completely new and enticing fashion. Audience members see magic from the American perspective with its own respective wizarding government. Harry Potter fans and muggles alike can expect much more riveting content in the years to come. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” deserves an A.

Rogue One: A Star Wars “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” set between Episode III and Episode IV, follows a group of Rebel Alliance members as they embark on a life threatening mission to steal the plans of the Empire’s ultimate killing machine, the Death Star. “Rogue One” was released on Dec. 16. ENTERTAINMENT | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY CLAYRE BARKEMA AND CAROLINE FOSTER

WHERE THE

FUNDRAISING MONEY GOES Winter sports teams fundraise money to make improvements

By Hayden Weathermen

ach winter sport team has come up with different methods to fundraise in order to provide money for improvements. The girls swim team raises the majority of its money by hosting an invitational swim meet. This year, the swim meet was held on Dec. 10 at the Gladstone Community Center. “We host the Winnetonka Holiday Invite, which 28 schools come to, and that is how the team makes money,” head swim coach Luke Young said. The swim team uses the money for

numerous team-bonding activities outside of the pool. “In January we take the girls out to a hockey game, the Missouri Mavericks,” Young said. “I have to rent a school bus and all their tickets, so I kind of spend all that money on the girls.” Young believes that the money should go back to the girls for team bonding field trips. “A big portion of our swim team is the comradery, the sorority of being on the team,” Young said. “So those extra things that we do I’m able to pay for so they can do them and bond.”

The girls basketball team raises money by hosting the annual craft fair. This year, the craft fair was on Dec. 3. “It’s [the fundraising money] from our concession sales and our vendors that we bring in because they pay for their booth rental,” senior Alyshia Davis said. With the money that the team receives from the craft fair, they are able to get new gear for the season. “That fee helps contribute to the girls basketball program to cover expenses such as travel, team gear, etc,” head basketball coach Brock Tiefenbrunn said. According to Tiefenbrunn, the

What the fundraising money goes to:

BOYS BASKETBALL

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GIR New uniforms New gear New basketballs

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Traveling games Team gear Experience

Maveric k's hockey gam

Ozark's swim meet New equipm en

SPORTS WEATHERMEN SPORTS | TONKANEWS.COM || PAGE BY HAYDEN RACHEL ADAMSON

WRESTLING Personal gear New uniforms

ISERS

UNDRA F F O S E P TY NAL SWIM

INVITATIO

MEET

FREE

W THRO

HON

A-T

OOKS

TB MEN

TAIN

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CRAFT FAIR

girls gained more than just money from participating in the fundraiser. “The girls enjoy working the event because they enjoy seeing people in the community and they learn the importance of hard work,” Tiefenbrunn said. The wrestling team raises money by selling entertainment books in November. “It was a fundraiser for team gear and every time we sold a book it would be for $25 and that would go towards our own personal team gear,” senior Gordon Hicks said. The money that the players do not use for gear goes to the senior’s moms who

save the money for other activities. “It goes to our Takedown club, which is the moms of the seniors, and they take care of the money for tournaments and everything else,” Hicks said. In late January the boys basketball team will host a free throw a-thon to raise money. So each player sends out 10+ envelopes asking people to donate money to the basketball team. They can either donate by the free throw or they can just donate a flat number,” senior Daulton Freeman said. “Then at the end of the year we shoot free throws to see how much

money the people who donated per free throw owe us.” The money that the team earns will provided necessities for the team. “It goes directly to us for things like uniforms and traveling gear and basketballs,” Freeman said. The winter sports teams use the fundraisers in order to keep programs alive and able to compete week in and out. | graphics by RachelAdamson

1. A Christmas tree exhibit at the Craft Fair hosted by the girls basketball team on Dec. 3. Photo by PaytonStephenson. 2. Junior Dara Fitzmaurice before a race during the Holiday Invite swim meet, a swim team fundraiser on Dec. 10. Phtoto by AshlynBunch.

SPORTS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY HAYDEN WEATHERMEN SPORTS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON

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GRIFFINS IN ACTION 1

1. Wrestling coach Ryan Lowry talks to senior Dakota Taylor at a wrestling tournament on Nov. 26. Photo by MakenzieJackson. 2. Junior Kaitlyn Presko swims the 50 free at the Winnetonka Holiday Invite on Dec. 10. Photo by AshlynBunch. 3. Sophomore Nate Triplett plays defense at a basketball game on Dec. 9. Photo by KaitlynMinet. 4. Sophomore Marquis Owens plays offense at a basketball game on Nov. 29. Photo by AnnaRockers. 5. Seniors Cara Flesche and Agnes Zhao cheer on their dodgeball team on Dec. 5. Photo RachelAdamson. 6. Juniors Amber Orr, Destiny Cooper, Lindsey Langdon, and Ciara Arena root for their dodgeball team on Dec. 5. Photo by RachelAdamson. 7. Junior dodgeball coaches Michael Small and Ryan Woods support their team on the sidelines on Dec. 5. Photo by RachelAdamson.

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