LEND A HELPING HAND
Hi Life Magazine January 31, 2012 Issue 5, Vol.93
What You Need To Know. Now.
HMH Autosport SALES & SERVICE ALL MAKES & MODELS
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Contact Us at (816) 525-0930 713 SE 291 HWY, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 www.hmhautosport.com
CALLING ALL GRADUATING SENIORS! Graduating Senior Scrapbook Class January-April
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HI.LIFE 2011
1232 S.E. 11th St. Lee’s Summit, MO 64081 (816)616-3283 (816)525-1514
TABLE OF CONTENTS
January Vol. 93 No. 5
5 Things You’ll Know After Reading This Issue: - Cute ways to ask someone to Courtwarming -The hottest fashion trends -How Tiger Broadcast is put together -Whether or not seatbelts are safe to be worn -What the 2012 presidential candidates believe in.
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Table of Contents 7) Candidates 2012: Find out what the president candidates think.
20) Personality Profile- Twin Edition: See what the Jones twins are up to.
8) Court Warming Preview: What all is going to be at the dance?
23) Make it a date: Great ways to ask someone to a dance.
9) Behind the Scenes: How does Tiger Broadcast get put together?
27) Earth Club: See what all Earth Club does and what their main purpose is.
10) Native Nation: All of the hottest looks for this month.
12) All About Neon: Check out the ‘To die for’ neon styles.
30) Special Olympics: Check out the Olympian’s successes.
31) Interview With an Athlete: Who knows Alex the best?
On The Cover:
Community service has so many benefits for both others and yourself. Lend a helping hand. See more on Pg.16. Picture by Nicole Kelleher
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HI.LIFE 2011
LETTER
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Pick ‘em Quick Year after year, students are faced with some very big decisions and one of the biggest decisions in the year is deciding on the classes you are going to take for the next school year. Students normally start the enrollment process at the end of December and continue the very drawn out process till early March. That is a good three months for students to decide what classes they are going to want to take, but do we really need that much time? I think not. Most students already know what the classes they are wanting to take and they just have to finalize them with all of the teachers. The school has students going through a process that could easily be completed in two weeks. Students should be given their enrollment books and papers two weeks before they need to be completed. The teens could take all of the forms that they need filled out home, complete them there, talk to their parents about it, and then bring it all back to school. If students still have questions over that two week period, they could ask their questions in their advisory all of the problems would be solved then and there. While the younger students may get confused, there are plenty of teachers and mentors that are around to help them out and get their decisions made. There really is not that many papers to fill out and the majority of kids already know what they want to do. So, why then does the school do what could be accomplished in two weeks take at least three months to get classes finalized. Enrollment could happen in a much more timely manner.
MIKAYLA FROMMER MAKING IT HAPPEN
Editor in Chief: Mikayla Frommer Web Editor in Chief: Kevin Adams Photo Editor: Timmy Snook, Nicole Kelleher, & Zac Harris News Editor: Mary Jo Roccaro and Michelle Hurley Features Editor: Tyler Robertson Entertainment Editor: Haley Gillilan and Shelby McNealy Fashion Editor: Tori Carlile and Jordan Julian Opinions Editor: Jacob Valentine Sports Editor: Nick Rellihan Copy Editor: Paige Seymour Ads Manager: Sierra Lewis Advisor: Marc Russell
Writers and Photographers: Paige Allin, Kaelyn Bailey, Jonathon Barr, Darby Beatty, Taylor Berg, Morgan Bruce, Marissa Corcoran, Samuel Eames, Chelsea Englis,Victoria Gardner, Daniel Graham, Aaron Hagan, Joshua Harris, Andy Jarnevic, Courtney Jeffries, Harlee Kelley, Chloe Maberry, Carly McCarthy, Anna Myers, Ian Nickens, Hannan Nickles, Sydney Nyquist, Taelor Oller, Logan Phillips, Andrew Potter, Matthew Rellihan, Jessica Rhoades, James Ross, Jared Shepherd, Kailyn Smith, Jude Spaulding, Arna Steinarsdottir, Sean Stevens, Megan Terry, Tierney VanMeter, Shelby Wagner, Tristan White, Ashley Hagan, Kimberly Tabe, Aaron Wood, Ashley Burrison, Jacob DePeralta, Timothy Snook, Jesse Butler, Wendy Hayworth, John Wood, Victoria Fangrow JLABMAG.COM
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NEWS
Transfer Students
Kansas City schools losing accreditation not as big a problem as initially expected.
O
n the first
day, students wander the halls trying to find classes and avoiding collisions in the hall way. The students in Kansas Crowded Campus. Although KC schools lost accreditation, we should not expect a largeslowly influx of students to transfer City schools are learning the to our school. ropes of a new school. At the end of 2011, the state took away the accreditation of the Kansas City school district which affected all the Kansas City schools and surrounding districts. Students can still graduate and get their diplomas, but the diplomas will be virtually useless. “We haven’t had much contact from students in Kansas City. Also, the rules aren’t defined as to how many students we can take,” principal John Faulkenberry said. A normal school day for a KC student would be very different if they came to Lee’s Summit High School. The students would arrive by bus to our school like any other student. “The Kansas City school district will provide and pay for the buses that bring the students to Lee’s Summit.” Faulkenberry said. Students and teachers alike always stress about our EOC scores. This is also something that could change as a result of new students. But because we have not had an influx of students, the administration will not know how our future test scores will turn out. The local news and media have made it seem like the kids in Kansas City have nowhere to go. But in reality, they have many schools to choose from. “Other districts are affected by the loss. The students have the choice to go anywhere in the county or any surrounding counties that touch ours,” Faulkenberry said. Students might choose Lee’s Summit because it is such a highly rated school. People wonder why they cannot just go to school in Kansas City. The truth is, they can. They can still continue their education, get their diploma, and get into college. The school has just lost their stamp of approval from the state. Students are worried about how the Kansas City kids will affect our schools. In the long run, the school district’s loss has not affected us much at all. “They are welcome to stay as long as they need to,” Faulkenberry said. Story by Kailyn Smith Photos by Marissa Corcoran
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HI.LIFE 2011
Choosing the Right Class
Picking the right classes make the high school experience a lot more fun.
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igh school is an important time in people’s lives; meeting new people, being introduced to a new environment, and most importantly, choosing classes to help bring success in the future. “You start by thinking about what your goals are after high school and then take those classes that help you meet your goals,” counselor Chris Homan said. Deciding how to go about this can be difficult, but there are steps available to make the decision easier. “To me, the most important question to ask yourself is, “How will this class help me after high school?” All of our courses that we offer will benefit our students after high school, but they key is finding what will benefit you the most. That is why we encourage students to use all of their resources when making these decisions: parent input, teacher input, EXPLORE results, PLAN results, freshmen career unit, WorkKeys results from Personal Finance, and various web resources,” Little said. Many try to challenge themselves in high school in order to show their parents, teachers, future educators, and themselves they can accomplish the challenge. “Try to take as many advanced courses as you think you can handle. Getting a lower grade in a challenging course will benefit you more than getting a high grade in a course that was too easy for you,” Homan said. “For underclassmen, an Advanced Studies course will provide a good challenge. For upperclassmen, there are more options. Juniors and seniors can take honors courses, IB courses, AP courses, and college-credit courses. Our most challenging courses are Its Up 2 U! It is easy to choose classes if you know what you are interested in. “If the kid knows what they want to do, it’s easy, typically but if they don’t, that’s when it gets hard,” advisory teacher weighted. If Bradley Scherer said. you want to find out which classes are those, flip through the Career & Educational Planning Guide and talk with your teachers,” Little said. With this information in mind, choosing classes may be easier than ever before. Story by Kaelyn Bailey Photos by Harlee Kelley
NEWS
Candidates of 2012
As the election draws closer, the candidates are taking action to win over potential voters.
Newt Gin grich Barack Obama B irthdate: 61 19 4, st gu Au : ate J Birthd Schoolin une 17, 1943 School w La rd rva Ha g : ng : oli Scho audio Fun Fac Tulane Univers ammy in 2006 for the ity t: In 199 Fun Fact: He won a Gr r. 5, Time the “Man of ms From My Fa ea Dr , M ok bo a th his gazine n of e on Year.” versi amed him but s, P ion un o il li civ ti for is c a al Vie Political Views: Obam from been foc ws: Much of G . He wants to withdraw ge rria ma ing y us ga to d se oppo He policies. ed around crea rich’s campaign ainst all military action. ag t no is t ti H bu has ng so , tan e nis believes Afgha torture should b many en und financial not Guantanamo Bay, t bu t, Ac t e trio Pa re ti the fo tlemen is for rmed ded in Gingrich pping. He has succee believes or, in some cas t programs of prisoners, or wireta n’t Do es, elim g in th lin e upper tax cuts reform bill, repea inated. class. H for corp passing a health care e ag ck d is orations pa iffers fro stance o a stimulus ing ss pa d and an m ll, Te n n’t o Do il ther rep Ask can amnesty ublicans legal immigratio yment and spur Ameri plo em un e fo uc r red n in to t il legal im mean jobs. migrants that he support s. s se w es ith famil busin ies or
icine Med f o 5 l , 193 4000 choo aul ugust 20 ersity S red over P n e Ro date: A ke Univ deliv Birth ling: Du Paul has s o elf a Scho act: Ron hims ent of s F e Fun s scrib shm of ul de he aboli artment e i a b P a t b n p r o u e o a f D P l :R s iews st, and i cies (i.e. nergy.) nd V l a li n ic fE aq a Polit stitutiona eral age tment o m the Ir action r d o n a co major fe the Depa drawal fr o military port t y h p d t n i d n a w a se m o su ation mediate is oppo didate t c u d E im nd an orts ar, a nly c supp nistan w so the o . l s a Afgh . He is a n of drug n o a i in Ir regulat e the d
Mitt Romney 12, 1947 Birthdate: March ol rd Business Scho Schooling: Harva high priest on m or ney is a M om R itt M : ct Fa n Fu ti-gay marriage itt Romney is an M s: ew Vi al ic lit Po d anti-drug anti-abortion, an , ns io un l vi ci d an n in Iran. king military actio ta r fo is e H . rm refo it comes to nservative when co ry ve is y ne Rom e Patriot Act, y; he supports th rit cu se d an el m ho ers, and Torture of Prison y, Ba o am an nt Gua the Health y wants to repeal ne om R g. in pp ta wire ma passed, and at President Oba th ll bi rm fo re e Car t spending, cuts to governmen ep de e ak m ld ou w services. ing some social ct fe ef lly ia nt te po Story by Sam Eames Photos from AP Images
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NEWS
CUT LOOSE LEE’S SUMMIT HIGH SCHOOL
Courtwarming 2012
February 11, 2012 • 8:00 to 11:00 pm
The 411 WHEN: Feb. 11th, 8 p.m.- 11 p.m. WHERE: The Fieldhouse FOR MORE INFORMATION: Talk to Dan Schnell in the Activities Office.
Courtwarming Preview
KICK OFF YOUR SUNDAY SHOES NEXT SATURDAY!
Caught in between the hype of Homecoming in the fall and prom towards the end of the year, Courtwarming has been put on the back burner and has been given a bad reputation as the least important dance. This year, however, the Courtwarming spirit days, assembly, basketball game, and dance are going to be events that students will not want to miss. This year’s Courtwarming theme is Footloose; this theme will play a part in many of the events throughout the Courtwarming week. The Courtwarming week is from February 7th to February 11th, starting with wearing pajamas to kick off the spirit week and ending with the dance. Students can expect to crank their school spirit up by dressing up like an 80s guy or gal, wearing their favorite pair of kicks, wearing black and gold, and more throughout the course of the Courtwarming spirit days. “The Courtwarming assembly is going to be jam-packed with
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performances and a new assembly game,” Student Senate President Christina Jones said. During the assembly, there will be a kick-off to a new campaign called ‘Spread the Word to End the Word’, a project working towards ending the use of words that are offensive to classmates and other people around us. The guys’ varsity basketball team is playing Blue Springs South on Friday, February 10th at 7 pm for the Courtwarming game. The student body is encouraged to come and show their school spirit by cheering on their Tigers. “For the dance, we’re going to have an awesome DJ who will be bringing flat screens to show the music videos for the music he plays,” Jones said. It is rare that schools are able to get a professional DJ from Los Angeles, so LSHS is fortunate to be able to bring one in for the dance. He will not disappoint when it comes to keeping the crowd entertained. “Everyone can expect to have a great time. We need to take advantage of the opportunities of the activities in high school while we can,” Jones said. The dance will be filled with balloons and strings of lights, mimicking the way the dance was in the movie Footloose. Whether this is a student’s first Courtwarming experience, their last, or some order in between, they are encouraged to push aside the bad reputation that Courtwarming gets or any bad experience they have had in the past so that they can “cut loose” at this upcoming dance. Story by Sydney Nyquist Photos by Courtney Jefferies
Behind The Scenes: Tiger Broadcast
BEHIND THE SCENES
What it takes to create Tiger Broadcast. Story by: Jude Spaulding Photos by: Tristan White
Tiger Broadcast is produced by the Advanced Broadcasting Class taught by Elaine McDonald. “It can get really stressful working with teens; they can be very difficult, but seeing them put everything together is really cool. They are doing Professional level work and are showing it to the whole school,” McDonald said. The reporters go through a fairly simple process in order to get the stories that are aired once a month. They first use a ‘Pitch Sheet’ to pitch ideas. Then the News Director picks out which ones will be used. After that the students then pick their stories, pair up, and go at it. “After we choose our stories we research the subject and then decide who we need to talk to. After that we set up interviews with the people we choose to talk to through e-mail or phone call in order to arrange seeing them in person. Once
we have gotten our footage we write a script. Once that is done we voice over what we’ve written onto our videos,” news director Allison Derks said. The programs used for creating Tiger Broadcast are the exact same programs used in professional broadcasts. The programs used are Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects, and Photoshop. “Part of the challenge with making Tiger Broadcast is the technology. Sometimes computers quit or memory cards are lost. What is really difficult is putting together scripts, like folks in the business, they get to work with Professional software,” Mcdonald said. After everything that they go through the students of Tiger Broadcast can look at their final product and feel proud of their work.
Open a Watevr Account & get
$50
to use for whatever you like. You’ll also get a VISA Debit Card & access to your account online. Offer good thru 5-31-2012
A parent/guardian is required as a joint owner for students under 18 years. A $25 membership share account is required to open a Watevr Account.
825 NE Deerbrook Lee’s Summit MO
(next to the Fairfield Inn on 291 Hwy)
www.mocentral.org 816.246.0002
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FASHION
Fashion/Native
Native Nation
Today’s fashion is always changing, recently there has been various styles from the past making a come back. This month, Native clothing is dominating the fashion world.
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By: Tori Carlile Photos by: Morgan Bruce 1. clip in feather piece, DayTrip, $9.95 2. Orange patterned dress, DayTrip, $29.95 3. Boots with tassels, Report, $89.95 4. green long sleeve, BKE, $29.95 5. Blue patterned scarf, Buckle Brand, $19.95 6. Big purse, Nicole Lee, $69.95 Orange Sachel (seen on model), Buckle Brand, $29.95 10
HI.LIFE 2011
FASHION
Fashion/Native
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By: Tori Carlile Photos by: Morgan Bruce 1. Brown and orange feather earrings, DayTrip, &10 2. Green and yellow long earrings, DayTrip, $10 3. Dark faded jeans, BKE Stella, $86.95 4. patterned vest, DayTrip, $25 5. Jeweled bracelet, BKE, $15 6. Wedge shoe with feathers, Bucco, $49.95 7 & 8. Wedges with patterns, BKE Sole, $49.95 Orange shirt (on model, top left), BKE, $28 JLABMAG.COM
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FASHION
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bold bright earrings
Style and Co. $20
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M. Haskell $15
play up the neon
Turn heads in a crowd and bring attention to your face with a pair of unique, bright earrings.
Macy’s Brand $22
M. Haskell $15
Mix an understated accessory with something neon to make a bold fashion statement without overdoing it.
3 colored
Style and Co. $7
tights Bring attention to your legs with an unexpected color. Neon tights Hue $7
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HI.LIFE 2011
Even more neon Step into the world of crazy colors and out-there designs
Bright patent leather purse Nine West $69
Hot pink pumps Jessica Simpson $79
New
The Battle for the Best Burrito
VS
Old
Chipotle is becoming more and more popular and, because there are now two, people get to choose.
Atmosphere: BThe workers at the new Chipotle are very friendly, and make any person feel welcome. There isn’t very much room to eat though, since the new chipotle only has a maximum capacity of 58, prepare to eat next to a stranger if it’s a busy day.
Food: AThe new and the old Chipotle both offer the same options. The food is always being prepared fresh. Time: C Even when there is only one or two people in the building the new Chipotle still takes quite awhile to get a burrito stuffed, wrapped, and to the costumer. The wait time to get a burrito is usually between 10-35 minutes. This means, the new Chipotle is not a quick and get it and go restaurant. Location: A The new Chipotle is located at 900 NE Columbus St, Unit A, Lee’s Summit, MO 64086 This is good for a lot of students at LSHS because then no one has to drive all the way to the West side of town to get their Chipotle burrito.
Overall: B
ENTERTAINMENT
Atmosphere: AThe old Chipotle’s maximum capacity is 115, seating much more people than the new Chipotle. The workers at the old Chipotle are there to get a person’s burrito done good and quick, loosing the intimate feeling someone would get a the new Chipotle. Food: A The old Chipotle is quick, and always in abundance of every food they offer. Time: A The old Chipotle has mastered getting everyone their burrito as quick as possible. Anyone could be in and out with a burrito in about 10-15 minutes, even at it’s busiest time. Location: AChipotle is located at 1716 Northwest Chipman Road Lees Summit, MO 64081. Chipotle is in the Chipman shopping center, so it’s very convenient to stop and get a burrito while you’re shopping.
Overall: A There are a myriad of new shows that are being released this winter, but not all of them are instant hits.
By Tierney VanMeter Photos by John Wood
Winter Watch
Alcatraz- This yet another show from the creator of Lost and Fringe, J.J. Abrams. The story goes that in 1963, every single prisoner and guard from Alcatraz Island vanished. Now, in present day San Fransisco, they are reappearing and look as if they have not aged a day. Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) and her partner Diego “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia) are forced into a secret branch of the FBI that tracks down these criminals and detains them in a new Alcatraz. This show is worth watching because in a sea of remakes and knock-offs, this is a fresh and interesting idea that has a fast plot and charismatic cast. Alcatraz comes on Mondays at 7:00pm on FOX. Napoleon Dynamite- Normally, when a show is created based off of a movie, or a good show is drastically changed, the quality goes down the toilet. This is not the case with Napoleon Dynamite, the entire original cast is back as voice actors, and the slapstick comedy is still there. In a Fox Sunday night lineup monopolized by Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin, Napoleon Dynamite fits right in. Napoleon Dynamite come on Sundays at 7:30pm on on FOX. Rob- One wonders who got the idea that Rob Schneider is a good actor. Rob (Rob Schneider) marries Maggie (Claudia Bassols) and is thrust into a large Mexican family. When first breaking the news to Maggie’s family, Rob gets off on the wrong foot with Fernando (Cheech Marin) and Rosa (Diana Maria Riva), Maggie’s parents, by showing how little he knows about Mexican culture, setting up for a series of jokes about his stupidity that just goes downhill from there. The laugh track in this show can be quite obnoxious, laughing at jokes that half the time are not funny. Cheech Marin adds some redemptive quality to Rob, so while this is not a great show, watch at your own discretion. Rob comes on Thursdays at 7:30pm on CBS. By Jared Shepherd, picutres by Associated Prressw
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ENTERTAINMENT
Valentines day:Who should be your valentine?
<3
By Megan Terry and Chelsea Englis Photo by Paige Allin
What is the best gift you can give?
Your heart
Do you like homeade cards or store bought cards? Store bought
Homeade Something you should never do... Spend it alone
Break up with someone
Casey Slaughter
Boyfriend: Cupcakes Girlfriend: Chocolates
Boyfriend: Colone Grlfriend: Teddy bear What are your favorite color of roses to get/give? Red
Cartland Allen
At the end of the year of 2011, the music game genre started waning. The Guitar Hero franchise has ended due to low sales and Rockband is starting to become a little repetitive. Ubisoft has produced a game that shows a new aspect to the music game genre. This game is called Rocksmith (Xbox360/PS3/PC) and the largest feature that sets this game apart from the other music games is that people are able to use real guitars to play this game instead of using plastic controllers in the shape of a guitar with colorful buttons on it. Rocksmith contains 49 songs, and most of the songs have different variations of it that vary from just single notes only, chords only, and different variations of mixed. Some of the more iconic songs that can be played are ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ by Cream, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd, ‘In Bloom’ by Nirvana, and ‘Slither’ by Velvet Revolver. Something that is both helpful and annoying is that the difficulty cannot be manually changed because the difficulty for a song increases or decreases in proportion to how well that song is played. Rocksmith has a campaign, which was named ‘Journey.’ In Journey, the gamer has to practice entire songs once and then play the same songs at different difficulties in the event, which is a virtual concert. Play all the songs in the event well enough and the gamer will have to perform an encore song which can be any song in the game. If Journey is too bland, then the gamer can try Guitarcade.
HI.LIFE 2011
Photo provided by SPED Teacher Susan Mosier.
What is a good gift for a boyfriend/ girlfriend?
Red and white
Callie Hall
Rocking with Rocksmith
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Roses and chocolate
Pink
Sydnee Pointer By Jesse Butler
In Guitarcade, there are mini-games that helps the gamer improve different guitar skills. One such mini-game is called Night of the Chordead, which is zombie based and the gamer has to play a certain guitar chord correctly to kill the zombies and earn points. The last mode that this game has that can be useful to any guitarist is the Amp Mode. Amp Mode gives the guitarist the chance to customize the tone of the guitar and try different clean, distortion, post and pre-effects; these effects can make any person’s TV a fully customizable pedal/ amplifier combo. With this, any guitarist can create some guitar style that is unique and new, a feature that Rock Band 3 did not offer. The new, unique innovation of using an actual instrument to play a game is an amazing idea that Rocksmith brought life to. When the game was made, it was specifically designed to teach someone how to play the guitar. This one fact is the kicker and the downfall to this game, because Rocksmith is a guitar teaching tool first and a video game second. Sure this game can maybe teach someone how to play the guitar, but it mainly teaches the basics of guitar playing and does not have any songs that are too difficult. For those reasons, this game deserves 3 stars out of 5, but this game does have potential and has new songs that people can buy and play every two weeks. Even though this game was not as good as it could have been, Rocksmith was still a great first step towards a new take on the dying music game genre.
JAKE’S JAMZ
ENTERTAINMENT
Designed and written by Jacob DePeralta
ALBUM OF THE MONTH The album of the month hands down has to be ‘Bangarang’ by Skrillex. This album just shows more of his talent with sick drops and shredding sounds affects. Key Track: ‘Kyoto’ TYLER THE CREATOR GOBLIN GOLF WANG WOLF HALEY. Tyler the Creator blew up on YouTube with his underground music that he’s been mixing up with his gang ‘Odd Future’ in L.A. Tyler has a style of rap that nobody else can copy or even compare too. Ever since his first album came out he has blown up the rap game.If you get a ticket for his concert I suggest you come prepared because it will get crazy. Key Track: ‘She’
Black Keys EL CAMINO The Black Keys are finally back on track after struggling for a little bit with their other albums. Their music brings a new sound to rock with a combination of funk. They bring a new attitude and a strong vocal background. They will be a force to reckon with in the future and you will see more of the Black Keys. Key Track: ‘Lonely Boy’ FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE Ceremonials Florence and the Machine can be recgonized for their song ‘Dog Days’ that was looked at as different but brought a new oldy sound to the music industry.. Their new album contains tribal drums, new used sound effects, and strong lyrics from the lead singer, Florence Welsh. Their music is like a combination of Kings of Leon and the Metric. Lend her your ears. Key Track: ‘Shake it iOut’
LIL B IM HAPPY Based God Lil B has been cooking up beats since his first album, Six Kiss, hit the charts. His beats go hard and his lyrics are definitely one of a kind. This album brings more of Lil B’s charisma and talent for all the world to hear. The album has a lot of good things on it that can not be missed. Stay Based. Key Track: ‘Trapped in prison’
PACDIV THE DIV Hailing from Southern California, PacDiv. This group has been around for awhile but was just recognized with this top chart album. You can tell that they brought 100% on this album because every song goes on this album goes hard. If you have some subs in your car i suggest you play their songs ‘Top Down’ or ‘Anti Freeze.’ Key Track: ‘Useless’
YOUNG THE GIANT YOUNG THE GIANT You might remember Young the Giant from their performance at the VMA awards. They blew the rood of the place with their popular song ‘ My Body.’ The only problem that they face is that the rest of their songs are less than medicore or less than medicore. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just became a one hit wonder but this album will give them some credit. Key Track: ‘My Body’
ENTER SHIKARI A FLASH FLOOD OF COLAR If you haven’t listened to this underground British band than i suggest that you invest your time into searching them on YouTube. They might not have had the best first couple of albums but they redeemed themselves with this one. They aren’t your stereotypical Devil Wears Prada band because their breakdowns would thrash most poplular metal bands. Key Track: ‘...Meltdown’
Bands you wouldn’t know about THE POLICE EVERY BREATHE YOU TAKE The Police have been aroundsubce the mid 80’s and have blown up even more in the early 90’s. Lead singer, Sting, can make a connection with his fans that most artits cannot. Thats what makes them different from other 80’s bands, but look up all of their album as soon as you can. Key Track: ‘Magic’
HALL AND OATES THE ESSENTIAL The Kings of the 70’s and 80’s, good ole’ Hall and Oates. You have to give this duo so much respect for starting the revolution of love songs. You can hear their songs in most romance movies and even still on the radio! Valentines Day is coming up and you can learn from these guys. Key Track: ‘Rich Girl’
THE BEATLES ABBEY ROAD A blast from the past, The Beatles. The one and only band that everyone in the world knows. They are the pioneers of rock and started a new sound that nobody else could even make. They are hands down the best band that has ever made music and that cannot even be agrued. Key Track: ‘Come Together’
ALBUM TO GET
ATTACK ATTACK! THIS MEANS WAR Key Track: ‘The Abduction’
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REQUIREMENTS
HEL FRIEN P DLY N IC E K IN D N E S S
GRADUATION
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COMMUNITY SERVICE MORE THA
CENTERSPREAD
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AUTHORS
SEAN STEVENS & ANNA MYERS
PICS BY
JOSHUA HARRIS & NICOLE KELLEHER
T
he morning begins with thousands of teens waking up and going to school for another normal day. But imagine if every one of them spent just one hour at a soup kitchen, or volunteering at an animal shelter. That could mean tens of thousands of people helped, and that is just with one hour a piece. With graduation requiring ten hours of community service, it seems boring or forced, but here are just a few ideas of fun places to go serve that can get you a lot of serious experience. Groups like the ROTC program, and LS In Action are very dedicated towards helping out the community in any way they can, whether it is cleaning a street, or investing in a small business entrepreneur. When it comes to ROTC, most of what they do is cleaning the highway that they adopted right outside LSHS. “We try to clean it 4 times a quarter, which makes it about 8 times a semester,” sophomore Rachel Wurtz said. Like every other community service project, it looks good on school transcripts, and helps people gain hours towards graduation. “We’re usually out there for about an hour or so,” Wurtz said. Some other benefits from this are a bit
more tangible. “There are plenty of times where people will find cash, anywhere from $5, to $20,” Wurtz said. As well as helping students out, they also get the knowledge that they are assisting the community, because they are cleaning up. “You get to see how bad pollution really is when you go out there and think, ‘Wow. I cleaned this up just a few weeks ago, and it’s already dirty again.’ That, and you’d be surprised the weird things people find,” Wurtz said. Unfortunately for most, only people in ROTC can do this clean up, but there are still many more places to volunteer. Coldwater can be one of these places. Coldwater, a non-profit organization run by Cornerstone Baptist Church, is partnered with Harvesters. Coldwater does many different community service activities such as a Food Pantry, a Clothes Closet, and BackSnack. The Food Pantry is a place where people who can not always afford food come every two weeks and receive two bags of food. (Continued on page 18....)
AT G N I P L HE ENT R E F F I D ES PLAC There are so many different opportunities to help the community and every time someone completes community service, they gain a lot more than a few volunteer hours. 1&3) Saving Animals. The Lees Summit animal shelter is a great place to volunteer. Volunteers get to work with animals such as these. “I love working at the animal shelter, they have the cutest dogs and cats. I really enjoy working with them” senior Elaine Fouchia said.
CENTERSPREAD
1 2 3 4
2&4) Get Active. Volunteering at places like Coldwater are also great opportunities. People are greatly rewarded in more ways than one, they get the satisfaction of knowing they have done a good thing.
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CENTERSPREAD
Community Service
(Continued)
SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY OFFERS MORE THAN A FEW SERVICE HOURS. THERE ARE SO MANY VALUES THAT CAN BE GAINED AND SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS TO LEARN. HERE ARE BUT A FEW PLACES TO GET COMMUNITY SERVICE. The Back-Snack is where on weekends, mostly in elementary schools, an extra backpack is sent home with kids, who sign up and qualify for it. This backpack is full of foods that the kids can make themselves. Both the Back-Snack and the Food Pantry are partnered with Harvesters. The Clothes Closet is where people go and donate clothes and volunteers sort through them and hang them up on racks. Every two weeks other people can come and take the clothes they need. Different ways to volunteer with Coldwater would be on the weeks that they hold the Food Pantry. For Food Pantry volunteers would pack bags of food and giving them out to people. “For Food Pantry, volunteers would pack bags of food and give them out to people,” Head of Coldwater Jackie Knabe explained. In the Clothes Closet volunteers can come on volunteer days as well as Clothes Closet/Food Pantry days. On the volunteer days, volunteers would be
sorting through clothes and hanging them on the appropriate clothing racks. On Clothes Closet days volunteers would help people find the clothes they needed or count the amount of clothes people got and put them into bags for them. Another good community service option, that would greatly help others, would be to just go and talk to the people that come to these Food Pantry/Clothes Closet days. Coldwater needs more people who just want to be social with the people who come and the other volunteers. Another volunteer option would be to watch kids. A lot of kids come that need supervision. It is a job that needs to be done. Clothes Closet and Food Pantry run on the second and fourth Saturday of every month. If anyone wants to help, volunteers need to be at 501 NE Missouri Rd. Lee’s Summit, MO 64081 and ready to work at 11:30 A.M. and it ends at 2:00 P.M. “At the moment, ten or fifteen more people are needed to volunteer for
things to run smoothly,”Knabe said. Coldwater needs at least forty volunteers every time a Clothes Closet/ Food Pantry is held for it to run smoothly. If interested in volunteering contact Coldwater from 816-786-0758. There are still more places to volunteer though. For those who want something closer to home, there is a great club at our school called LS In Action. “We let anyone join that just wants to help out someone and make a difference in their life. Just stop by B102 to look into joining us, and to see when the next meeting will be,” physical education teacher Jamie Voelker said. LS In Action raises money to assist small business owners so they can get an edge, sand do better. Once the business is on its feet, that is when they start paying money back. “We usually donate $500 as a noninterest loan, and we try to find someone outside of North America, with an entrepreneurial need so that they’ll eventually pay it back. It helps people become more self reliant and sufficient, rather than having to rely on others to help, or charities. They get the money, and when they earn back some, they pay back what they’re lent. We’ve only ever had one person default, out of the thirteen or so we’ve helped, which, in this economy, is pretty good,” Voelker said. LS In Action has not been too active this year, though. “We try, but after administration set us all with six hours of class, I now only get one hour to do anything, making it pretty hard to set anything up, and we have low volunteers,” Voelker said. Like most other opportunities, this one will help you graduate, but it also has << Keeping Cute. This little puppy is taken on walks everyday by volunteers who know that it is very important to keep the dogs happy and healthy so they can get adopted. This dog knows that he is cute and he works it to his advantage.
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some other benefits towards volunteers. “You learn micro lending, which is less than $500 usually,” Voelker said. LS In Action is good on transcripts for college, and usually grants you about five hours per year towards graduating, and helps out people trying to build up a small business. People can gain a lot of respect for other volunteers in difficult fields. They can also gain a lot of perspective on how easy and comfortable their life is. The Lee’s Summit Animal Shelter, where animals are rescued and cared for till they are adopted, also takes volunteers. If the shelter is full to its complete capacity, there would be 72 dogs and 71 cats. Also there is a designated area for nine other small animals and twelve cages for wild animals. Lee’s Summit Animal Shelter has six shelter attendants, three part-time and three full time. To make the work run smoothly, and get extra stuff done, the shelter appreciates having about four volunteers com in the time slots of 8:00 to 11:00 AM and 3:00 to 5:00 PM on
weekdays, then 12:00 to 2:00 PM on weekends. During the morning shift, volunteers will feed and then walk the dogs. Then the kennels will be cleaned and the floor dried from the water of cleaning the cages. After that is done, volunteers will clean the cats cages, wash the animals food bowls, and take the trash out. Finally the floors will need to be swept and mopped. If these jobs are finished early then volunteers and attendants can finish out their shifts by playing with the cats and/or the dogs. During the evening shift the dogs will need to be walked. Any food bowls in the sink will need to be washed, trash cans emptied, and the floor swept and mopped again. The shelter attendants and animals are always very grateful of those who volunteer. It helps to make the jobs easier and more fun overall. Helping at the animal shelter can give people more than a couple volunteer hours. It can also give people a relationship with animals that was never expected. Being able to work with animals and interacting with them, people soon realize that animals have personalities of their own. Also it gives people a chance to see what it is like to have a pet. Learning how to train and treat the animals and helps them know what is good and bad for them. There is much more to working at the animal shelter than fulfilling volunteer hours. Helping at the shelter could also help when filing out college applications, as any extra curricular activity would. If one has hopes of having any sort of job that involves animals, and having a college education that goes along with that, helping at animals shelters will help in getting into a college of this specific area. If interested in volunteering contact the Lee’s Summit Animal Shelter and plan, in advance, to volunteer at 816-969-1640. Other ways to find place to volunteer would be talking to the teachers in the A+ office. The A+ office is there to help find places to volunteer. Even possibly helping find the right place to volunteer for a specific person. The school website is also a great resource to use when looking for places
CENTERSPREAD
to volunteer. Just go to the website, go to the Academics button and click on where it says Community Service and there is a whole list of different places to volunteer. Volunteering through Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts or any other extracurricular places, such as through sports or churches. would be a great way to volunteer. At the end of the day, teens everywhere crawl into bed to sleep in preparation for another day of the same old thing, but some teens spent their days helping out those less fortunate, and for them, the next day is just another good opportunity.
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FEATURES
The Jones Sisters
Q A
There is one question that many people ponder at least once, and that question is “What is it like to be a twin?” Well, now the readers get to know.
Twins are very unique. Identical twins are even more so. Many wonder what exactly it is like to be an identical twin, so who better to ask than sophomores Emma and Katie Jones?
&
Question: How would you describe being a twin? Emma: It is really fun, you have a best friend for life, and we love each other. Katie: It is pretty awesome. Emma is my best friend and she is always there for me. Q: How are you both similar? E: Katie and I hang out with the same people, we have the same interests, and we enjoy the same food. K: We have the same interests, we like the same music. Some people say that we sound alike. Q: How are you two different? E: Katie is more organized, I am a procrastinator, and I am half-an-inch taller. K: Emma is taller, she plays the sax and I am on drum-line. Q: What activities do you two do together? E: We like to do homework together and watch movies. We do a lot of stuff together. K: Emma and I watch movies, we hang out, and do homework. We have a lot of the same friends, too. Q: Why do you enjoy having a twin? E: Katie is always there for me and it is cool having your best friend living with you. It is also fun to trick people. K: Emma is my sister and best friend. I always have a friend at the house and I can trust her. Q: What are the negatives of being a twin? E: People will ask us ‘Are you twins?’ plus, people are always mistaking you. K: Nothing is really yours. We share pretty much everything. Q: What is something that you would like readers to know about being a twin? E: We cannot use telepathy. K: Extrasensory Perception does not exist. Q: Do you have any funny stories relating to being a twin? E: Last year it was April 1, and I pretended to be Katie, went to her percussion class, and tricked Mr. McBain. K: One time we went to the grocery store and a man saw us and came over and gave Emma, my mom, and me fist-bumps. Q: What is something that you want readers to know so that they can tell you two apart? E: I am half-an-inch taller and I have a scar and a freckle on my nose. K: Emma is taller and people say I have a longer face. Twins may not have telekinesis or telepathy, but one thing that they do have is a permanent best friend who will always stand by their side. by Ian Nickens photo by Andrew Potter
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s n e e T r o F b u : A Cl
Orlando’s
Orlando’s Night Club goes from being a 18 and up club Monday through Saturday, to being a teen club on Sundays that admits all high schoolers looking to have a great time. Dancing the night away and hanging out with friends is what teens love to do at this club. From finger snapping to head nodding to feet stomping, the music played at this club is music that is popular among the youth generation. Many teens love to go here to be with their friends and listen to the music that they all love to move their bodies to. Students around LSHS share their experience and opinion about this club, and why they feel that other teens should go if they have not already. Senior Jordan Kendrick enjoys going to Orlando’s every Sunday to show off her dance moves on the dance floor, “I like going there to dance with my friends and just have a great time. I think that Orlando’s is the place to go to if you are looking to have a great time.” Another student that has gone to Orlando’s is senior Jasmine Elston, “The first time I went it was okay. I danced and talked to a lot of people. I even met some new friends. Some of the music that they played I liked,and some I did not like, but I still had fun there.After all, it is better than sitting on your couch watching T.V. on a Sunday night.”
Horoscopes
FEATURES
Orlando’s is the hot teen hang- out spot in KC.
While some enjoy the dance floor, others like the club for the social connections. “I mainly like going to Orlando’s to hang out with my friends, I do not really dance. I like to go there to meet new people and socialize with my friends. It is a good hang out spot.” Senior Austin Aleteno. Orlando’s is located on 126 S. Claiborne Rd. in Kansas City, Kansas. Looking for place that has a safe environment and a fun place to go to on Sunday? Then this is the place to go. Rock it out on the dance floor, meet new people, chill with friends, and so much more. This ‘hot spot’ has attracted many and still is. So take the drive to Kansas and visit the place that is popular for its entertainment...Orlando’s.
by Kim Tabe photos by Taylor Berg
by Taelor Oller photo by Logan Phillips
WHAT CAN HOROSCOPES DO FOR AN INDIVIDUAL?
Let us start out with explaining exactly what a horoscope is. A horoscope is a forecast of a person’s future typically including a delineation of character and circumstances. Many students do not check their horoscopes because they believe that they are false. More people than one might think believe and wish for their horoscopes to come true. Many only want to believe in the good in life, and many times horoscopes can bring positivity into a person’s mind. “I don’t typically believe in horoscopes, I only believe if they’re good ones.” freshman Elizabeth Roccaro said. In a sense horoscopes can give people hope and something
AQUARIUS
Jan. 20- Feb. 18
LIBRA
Sep. 23- Oct. 22
AIRES
CANCER
Mar. 21- April 19
June 21- July 22
PISCES
SAGITTARIUS
Feb. 19- Mar. 20
Nov. 22-Dec 21
to look forward to if their horoscope is a good one. Some have had instances where they have checked their horoscope back to recent days and their horoscope was actually correct. That must have been a bit of an eye opener to see that some horoscopes are true. Although sometimes horoscopes are right, they can also be wrong and trusting them completely can be the wrong choice. Horoscopes can also be misleading. Based on this information, you can decide whether or not to check horoscopes.
CAPRICORN
Dec. 22- Jan 19
SCORPIO
Oct. 23- Nov. 21
GEMINI
May 21- June 20
TAURUS
April 20- May 20
LEO
July 23- Aug. 22
VIRGO
Aug. 23- Sep. 22
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FEATURES
Anna Khoperia: The Interview The foreign exchange student discusses her cultural experiences.
Although life in the country of Georgia might be somewhat different from life here in America, the people are mostly the same. Many people around the world share the same traits in hospitality and friendliness. Foreign exchange student Anna Khoperia shares some interesting things about her home in Georgia. “I came here August 10, 2011, and I am staying for the school year,” foreign exchange student Anna Khoperia said. Anna Khoperia is a foreign exchange student from Georgia, Russia who has come to our school for her junior year. She does not get any credit for the classes that she takes while she is here, but that is the only downside that she sees. “I like learning about other countries, and I wanted to visit different places,” Khoperia said. The reason why she came to America was to experience a different lifestyle in another country that she had not seen before. Khoperia thought America was a good choice because she already knew how to speak English, so she would not have to learn another language. “This school is very different from my school,” Khoperia said. One main difference between the schools is Khoperia’s school has elementary through high school in one building. The school also has more required courses and fewer electives to choose from. The school has 12 core classes and only two electives that students take. “I have not been a foreign exchange student before, so this is new for me,” Khoperia said. Khoperia had to pass many exams to be eligible for her study
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here in America. The tests were mostly to see if she would have enough credits at her regular school if she took a year off to come here. Khoperia also had to prove that she could do well and live here. “I started learning English when I was in second grade,” Khoperia said. Since Anna learned another language at a very early age she had a very good shot at being in the foreign exchange program. “Always try your best and never give up because you never know what will happen. I never thought I would be a foreign exchange student, but now I am,” Khoperia said. All countries have differences and things that make them unique, but good people are easy to find just about everywhere in the world. Now that Khoperia has shared about her life people know a little more about Georgia and the people that live there. by Ashley Hagan photo by Darby Beatty
FEATURES
How To... Ask someone to Courtwarming “One time someone left me a ticket in my locker. Even though I didn’t find it until way later it was still the coolest thing ever,” Sophomore Connor Laurine said.
“To me, being asked out shouldn’t be something that happens at school. If a guy wants to ask me out, he should call me and ask me if I want to hang out. After spending the whole day with me he should pull me to the side and THEN ask me out. When he does it, he should be sincere and look me in the eyes. I guarantee that would make me speechless,” Sophomore Sydney Cusimano said.
“I would ask a girl to go to Courtwarming by taking her to a special spot. Maybe a park or a concert hall and then I would just ask her,” Sophomore Andrew Wright said.
I once forged a fortune cookie asking my girlfriend to prom. I even resealed the plastic wrapping. It was awkward giving her a fortune cookie at Olive Garden though,” Senior Ian Baltz said.
“I know about this guy who put a ton of songs onto a CD with a secret message asking her to the dance about 40 minutes in. She had to listen to 40 minutes of the world’s most annoying music ever to find it,” Junior Becca Stevick said.
“One cute way that happened to my friend was a guy gave her a bouquet of balloons and he said, ‘I’m kinda shy so guess you’ll have to burst my bubble.’ She then popped all of the balloons to find notes in all of them that came together to spell ‘Will you go to Courtwarming with me?’ Cutest thing ever!” Senior Jozianne Black-Brennan said. “I want a guy to come up to me and say, ‘My Wonderful Madam, would you do me the favor of being my company to Courtwarming this evening?’’ freshmen Maddy Jones said.
“I would ask them by saying, ‘You seem like a really good dancer. You should prove it to me by going to Courtwarming with me,’” freshmen Cole Reinhardt said.
Pick Up Artist Need a little help getting started? Use these to break the ice!
By Wendy Hayworth
I lost my phone number may I have yours?
Is your daddy a terrorist, because you’re the bomb!
I was so enchanted by your beauty that I ran into that wall over there. So I am going to need your name and number for insurance purposes.
If I were a nucleobase, I’d be Adenine so I could pair up with U.
Hey babe, if you were a Facebook status I’d like you.
Hand them a pack of sugar. “You dropped your name-tag.”
I don’t have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?
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Making Things Happen by Opinions Editor Jacob Valentine
Are teachers becoming increasingly lenient toward certain group of students? Students at LSHS may be noticing that not all teachers teach each and every student equally. Almost every class you are in you always have a kid that is the teacher’s pet or the teacher’s favorite. These are the students that suck up to the teachers and always are willing to help the teachers with something such as grading or something. I’m not saying that helping the teachers and always being the first one to answer their question is a bad thing, however I think it should be toned down a bit. In some classes there is a huge leniency on the tardy policy. There are students that are tardy all the time and never get a tardy, but the one time another student is tardy the teacher decides that they will give the student a tardy just because they can. Teachers are obviously going to favor these students most
Christina’s Column, This past weekend was the start of an amazing process. Something that I feel, will be remembered through the halls of Lee’s Summit High School for many years to come…Mr. Tiger 2012. The class of 2012 is awesome, and has a great group of boys. After a great deal of anticipation, 26 senior boys have decided to make the commitment to continue on with the Mr. Tiger:Back in Action performance. Not only is this the largest group of candidates in the 13-year history of Mr. Tiger, but it is also one of the most spirited groups I have ever seen. After a single practice, the boys learned almost half of their performance for their two minute Courtwarming assembly. The excitement that the candidates have already shown is a clear indicator that this will be an unforgettable night. Senate has been hard at work to make March 30th a great night for not only the candidates, but the audience as well. Based on the anticipation and excitement, we are expecting that the limited number of tickets will go quickly, so be sure to buy your tickets in lunch prior to the event. There are several surprises that Senate is currently working on to make this year one of the best Mr. Tiger performances yet. You won’t want to miss it!
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of the time because if the teachers favor them they get help with their grading and tasks. Students continue helping the teacher do stuff because they hope they will receive special treatment when they need it. The students in class that are not the outgoing “teacher’s pets” get effected negatively by the teacher’s pets. The other students are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to leniency in grading and how nice the teacher is with you. These kids are not rude they just might not have the same outgoing personality at school as some of the other kids. I do not believe there really is a solution to this problem. It’s inevitable that teachers will favor some students and be bias towards others, I truly think no matter how uniform you could make the class that their will always be a teachers pet or a student that connects with the teacher and the teacher will favor that student. All we can do is hope that teachers will try and be fair with all of their students and not be bias towards their favorite students.
“
It’s inevitable that teachers will favor some students and be biased toward others...
“
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
Staff Editorial
People wonder what it would be like if students from LSHS were allowed to use cell phones during lunch time. However, the administration does not see it that way and have a strict policy against students using their cell phones at any time during the day. Although, it seems like the lunch supervisors do not enforce this policy very well, everyone still feels guilty about using their phones because they know that is against the rules. If students were able to use their cell phones during lunch, then they would be able to contact their parents if need be and they would be able to use it in case an emergency were to happen. Also, there is no teaching going on during lunch, so it is technically a free time for a student to enjoy themselves and eat food while talking to their friends. The administration would be against this change in policy because students might try to expand their cell phone usage to passing periods or even during class. Also, they would think that many people would not be mature enough to handle this change. The lunch supervisors would also be against this change because it would be going against guidelines that have been set for years. “No, I don’t think that students should be able to use their cell phones at lunch because I support the administration’s policy and I also think that it is important to follow their guidelines,” lunch supervisor Keith Miller said. However, there would be good things that result from this policy changing. Students would be more likely to follow the cell phone policy if they were able to use them at lunch, so there would be less people pulling out their phones in the hallway. Also, disruptions in the classroom by cell phones would decrease because students would have that free time to use them. Students would also feel better because they could use their phones at lunch without feeling guilty and lunch by Jonn Barr supervisors would have one less thing to worry about enforcing. A student should be allowed to use their phone during lunch because there is no learning to be done and many students illustration by Jillian Moore would appreciate being able to use their phones during lunch; this would make them feel happier, thus, making school a much more positive environment for everyone.
Man on the Street “Yes it would be good because it’s a free time to socialize so why not socialize with phones as well.” said senior Je’sus Moreno
“Good thing because you can use the internet to check up on grades and check in on things going on around the school.” said sophomore Joey Piatczyc
Question: Do you think it would a good idea to be able to use your phone at lunch? Why or why not? “I do not think it would be a good idea. students would forget to turn off their phones when they go back to class.” said S.T.A.D Administrative Assistant Judy Sprouse
“Yes, it would be a good thing because we are not able to use it at any other time, using our phones during our free time wouldn’t be a big deal.” said senior Kendal Mecurio
“I would say a good thing because it is not distracting, since we are at lunch.” said junior Morgan Mahanes
“Honestly yes because we are not learning anything, and it is our free time out of the day.” said freshman Nicole Garcia
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OPINIONS
Editorials
Should sports count as gym credit?
Is it safe to wear your seat belt?
g Shelby Wagner Books slam down on the locker room benches. Boots and sandals are slipped off and replaced by old tennis shoes, fingers flying to tie the laces. Audible sighs echo throughout the gym. It must be time for gym class. While some students enjoy this break from regular learning, many do not look forward to this time of the day. Students have to change clothes and may even sweat; some even worry about ruining their hair. Everyone must survive a year, or one credit, of gym to graduate, even those who participate in sports. However, it should not be this way. Sports should count as a gym credit. Just by participating in one gym class, one should know that each 53 minutes spent in P.E. does not always equal ‘exercise’. Conversely, sports always require much physical exertion and activity. Student athletes spend two or more hours each day during their sport seasons exercising and learning new aspects to get better. Sports also take up more of students’ free time and cost money to play; therefore they should count for something. If athletes are good enough, sometimes sports can even lead to college scholarships. When has a gym class ever so drastically benefitted a student’s future? Along with that, there are little careers that require knowledge learned from gym. Most of the muscles, bones, and fitness attributes gained from gym can easily be taught in health, another class all students must pass to graduate. Many of the benefits gym offers can be gained through sports, and oftentimes come with more rewards and higher pay-offs. Some individuals may argue that gym is necessary for all students, regardless of whether or not they play sports. Students can get their energy out in a productive way through gym, which in turn can lead to better learning. Gym also allows kids to meet new people and make new friends, all the while learning fitness that can be utilized for the rest of their lives. Participating in physical education classes also helps combat the growing obesity problem in America and inspires individuals to get active. Regardless, sports include all of these aspects and should still be allowed to count as a gym credit. With the time commitment student athletes put in each season every year, there should be a little recognition or reward available. Each sports season-fall, winter, and spring--should count as a half credit towards the full credit needed to graduate. That means students would have to participate in at least two different sports or participate at least two years to earn a full credit. This would allow students who do not have room in their schedules, like IB diploma candidates or those taking specialized electives geared toward their career choice, to participate in sports outside of school in order to not interfere with their academics. If student athletes want to take a gym class, they should be able to choose to rather than it being a requirement. Students who do not play sports should still be required to take a full credit of gym. Sports and gym classes both offer the same general rewards. They allow kids to learn valuable life lessons, such as teamwork, cooperation, and winning and losing gracefully, all the while exercising and having fun. Since sports and gym classes are so similar, there is no harm in allowing sports to count as a gym credit.
POL ICY 26
g Hannah Nickles As students start driving during their sophomore year, some question wearing their seat belt. While statistics show wearing a seat belt is safe, there are some situations where it is safer to not be wearing one. In the year 2010, the percentage of people that wear their seat belts went up one percent from the year 2009. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, lap-shoulder seat belts reduce the risk of fatality by 50 percent when used by drivers and passengers correctly. One out of five drivers will be in a car accident this year and these accidents usually occur about twenty-five miles away from home. Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for Americans ages 5-34. A common cause of death and injury to children in motor vehicles is being crushed by adults who are not wearing their seat belts. One out of four serious injuries caused to passengers is because of drivers being thrown from impact into the passenger seat. Seat belt laws are divided up into two categories, primary and secondary. Primary seat belt laws allow police officers to ticket drivers who are not wearing their seat belt without any other traffic offense taking place. Secondary seat belt laws state that police officers can issue a ticket for not wearing a seat belt only when there is another citable traffic infraction. The state of Missouri requires all drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts. If the driver has an intermediate drivers license, all passengers must wear seat belts. In my opinion I think it is safer to be wearing your seat belt. I think this because of statistics you are more likely to survive a motor vehicle accident if you are wearing a seat belt other than not. Most deaths to people 21 and under are because of motor vehicle accidents. Seat belts have saved and estimated 9,500 lives every year. If 90 percent of American citizens were to buckle up more than 5,500 deaths and 132,000 injuries would be prevented annually. While states have laws saying wearing a seat belt is mandatory, there are some situations where it is safer to not be wearing one. Every time you get in a car to drive you make the decision to wear a seat belt. The choice is yours.
The Hi.Life is an open forum to provide up to date and pertinent information compiled by high trusted publication that raises the bar of high school journalism. The Hi.Life newsmagazine is a readers is to provide credible, reliable, and unbiased information to the student body. None of the of the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District. We strive to create a professional newsmagazine that
HI.LIFE 2011
school journalists. We will be a bold and student led publication. Our obligation to opinions in our publication reflect the views provides accurate insights and entertainment.
CLUB PAGE
Earth Club is Coming Around Again MAKING A DIFFERENCE ONE PAPER AT A TIME Story by Daniel Graham Photos by Victoria Fangrow and Timmy Snook
Some students would like to try to help the environment, but do not necessarily know how to do that or where they could volunteer. Luckily, the school gives them a way to do this with Earth Club. “Earth Club is a service club that supports environmental causes like animal shelters with events at the school,” chemistry teacher Kristen Jackson said. Jackson was not the person to start Earth Club, but took it over when the previous club runner left. “I decided to take over Earth Club because I think it is important to keep kids aware of environmental causes and issues. I like that it promotes environmental awareness, and a sense of community in the club as well. It represents some of our kids in service to others and teaches some organization and planning,” Jackson said. The members of Earth Club always have fun at their meetings. “The club is mostly girls because the guys who showed up in the fall informational meeting were also fall athletes who could not stay as dedicated to the club and just let it fall to the side,” Jackson said. The members had a variety of reasons for joining. Some of them joined because they wanted a way to hang out with their friends, and others joined because they like to do volunteer work. “I joined because I’m very eco-conscious and I was looking for a way to do more work like that at school. I also volunteer at the Lakeside Nature Center,” sophomore Jessie Stephenson said. The time spent working for the club does not count for a student’s community service hours, but the club is still a very rewarding experience. “It is a fun way to connect with people as well as the extra opportunities to volunteer. I really like to help the community,” Stephenson said. Earth Club not only benefits the causes it helps support, but also the school in general by providing fun events for kids to go to. One of the Earth Club’s big fundraising events this school year was a movie night in the PAC. “Right before Halloween we watched Insidious. We took two dollars for tickets and one dollar per slice of pizza, and all the money will go to a local animal shelter, but we have not decided on which one to donate to yet. We are trying to get one with a no kill policy,” Jackson said. They also made a Homecoming float this year. “We had a lot of fun making the float, and I remember driving it with some of the girls walking behind getting really into shouting things about how great Earth Club is,” Jackson said They are working on another fundraiser right now, but they are not totally sure of what to do yet. “We are wanting to do something around Valentine’s Day, and we think it will be about getting materials to donate more than money, but we are still trying to figure out what exactly to do,” Stephenson said. In addition to more money and supplies to donate, the club is open to any students who want to join. Earth Club meets on the first and fourth Thursdays of every month in room A13 and tries to come up with ways to help raise money and organize the events they do. “We are always looking for new members, so if you JLABMAG.COM
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SPORTS
Mind & Body
Story By: Sam Eames Photo By: Carly McCarthy
Yoga’s Popularity Rising at LSHS
To survive in life, one needs to be flexible. Yoga can help provide that flexibility, both figuratively and literally. “Yoga is a way of balancing the mind, body, and spirit through physical poses and meditation,” said Senior Rebecca Foley, a Yoga enthusiast. Many students – both male and female - at LSHS are involved in Yoga. They participate for the benefits associated with yoga. “It helps you achieve a clear mind and strong, relaxed, muscles. It also helps rehabilitate muscle injuries,” said Foley. The name Yoga comes from the meditative practices associated with Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It comes as no surprise, then, that many people who do Yoga find a spiritual element in it. “There are many Buddhists who practice yoga as part of their religion,” said Foley. Even those who are not a part of an eastern religion can appreciate the spiritual connection that Yoga helps them achieve. Yoga’s growth in popularity has been largely attributed to the increased focus on fitness in America. Some may be intimidated by the prospect, but Foley maintains that there are plenty of beginner courses. “Yoga 1 on 1 and gentle Yoga are not difficult, focusing on stretching and mental relaxation,” Foley said. There are harder courses available for those who want a bigger challenge. “The more difficult classes require a lot of practice and strength,” said Foley. Whatever the difficultly level, Yoga is an increasingly popular way to become more healthy in both mind and body.
“There are many Buddhists who practice yoga as part of their religion,” Foley said.
Meghan Rothschild didn’t think indoor tanning would hurt her. She was wrong. UV light from indoor tanning, especially when exposed at an early age, can increase your risk of melanoma... the deadliest form of skin cancer. That’s what Meghan developed when she was 20 after being a frequent indoor tanner since she was 17. Current estimates show that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer. Do you want to be the one... like Meghan? Indoor tanning is out. To read Meghan’s skin cancer story or to learn more about protecting your skin go to www.aad.org/media/psa
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HI.LIFE 2011
SPORTS
Concussion Culture Concussions continue to ravage NFL
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when we started pretending to loves. That kind care about concussions in football, but a good guess was the of thing doesn’t death and ensuing lawsuit from the family of Mike Webster. go unnoticed. We “Iron Mike” Webster was the greatest center in NFL history, watched while he stretching out his pro career over 17 seasons. And each year, slowly killed himself, he received 16 full-force beatings as 21 of the biggest and and cheered. baddest men on the planet engaged each other head on all The nationwide outrage--or semblance of outrage--was gaining around him. traction as other players were found to have brutal head injuries. Webster could take several blows to the head on any given Even today, six years later, stories like this one still persist. In Sunday.Eventually when his playing career ended in 1990 with 2010, Sports Illustrated ran a cover piece on “The hits that are the Chiefs, Mike Webster retired from Football and was pretty changing football,” and only a month ago three former players much forgotten, save for the occasional passing mention in a filed suit against the NFL, claiming the League hid the potential Sunday Night Football graphic on ESPN. damages that football could do to them. (Although the League Iron Mike turned up in the news again--albeit briefly--in likely didn‘t know any more than they did at the time, since 2002, when he died at age 50, cause of death unknown and concussion damage is only a recent phenomenon. And really, did undisclosed by the hospital, his family, or the Steelers. they think they would be walking away from weekly car crashes It wasn’t until three years later that Mike Webster was again without a scratch?) noticed by not just the football world, but the general populace. The concussion pandemonium continues to this day. We His family had decided to sue the National Football League for all act upset when a high school kid goes from star athlete to over a million dollars on the grounds that he suffered disabling permanently brain-damaged, yet we still put up the gate fee every injuries during his playing career. Friday night or Sunday afternoon. We still watch on TV in droves. While it’s up for debate as to whether or not his family, who We still buy NFL merchandise. We say we’re outraged about how were never around for him in his last days after his wife Pamela football players’ health is blatantly neglected, but do we care? divorced him, really cared at all about their deceased father/ If we’re excitedly cheering in the stands at the Coliseum, do we husband at all, the suit made public the extent of the damages really care about the guy fighting for his life amongst gladiators Webster sustained playing what was by then considered and lions?Unlike the hundreds of similar articles that have been America’s game.Details surfaced about how Webster’s last cultured in the post-Webster years, there are no proposed years were lived. solutions here. It is impossible to initiate a boycott of any kind He was homeless, living out of his truck and taking God against the biggest sport in the nation, and bringing down a knows how many medications for pain, depression and successful American institution is not of interest to me anyway. memory loss; having to tase himself over and over to get any New helmets could be put in place, although one has to wonder sleep. Towards the very end, he would call friends and family how big they would need to be if the ones used now are about as desperate for help because he had forgotten where he was; useless as the leather ones used a century ago as a Cleveland and in 2002, the greatest center in football history died of Clinic study determined. There have been attempts to soften up injuries sustained to his brain and humanity. the rules a bit so players can’t hit each other as hard, but every This was about the time when we started pretending to level of the game high school and up Story By: Sam Eames care about concussions in football. After all a great star knows that road leads to a soft game. Photo By: Jessica Rhoades that everyone knew had died playing the game everyone Nobody wants to watch soft football.
Rugby Arrives
This time the rumors of rugby coming to Lee’s Summit High School are true. Beginning on January 23rd, the Lee’s Summit Rugby team will hold it’s first practice ever. Students who are looking for an alternative spring sport that’s highly competitive and fun need look no more for a great time. My father, Daniel Rellihan, played rugby in college at the University of Kansas, and provided some insight on the new, unusual sport. “The common misconception of rugby is that it’s football without pads. This is not true, actually the two sports are very different. One major difference is that you cannot pass the ball forwards, only backwards” Mr. Rellihan said. Along with no passing the ball forward, there is a lot of strategy that goes into a rugby game. With 15 players for each team on the field, teamwork is a must if you want to score. In order to do so, the team must move the ball down the field by passing the ball either backwards, or sideways, to a teammate. If you can get the ball into the end zone, and touch the ball on the ground, you score a try, which is worth 5 points. Anyone is free to join the rugby team, so even if it’s a new experience, try it out and see what happens. It could become a new favorite sport at LSHS. “I would encourage all athletes to play rugby. It’s quick to learn, and really fun. If you can play it Nick, pretty sure anyone can.” Thanks Dad.
Rugby Arrives: Local athletes relish the chance to play this new sport to LSHS
Story By: Nick Rellihan Photo By: Victoria Gardner
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SPORTS
Special Olympics LSHS STUDENTS HELP OUT ANNUAL EVENT
As the buzzer sounds, the kids in the special education program begin their game of basketball. They move about the court scoring points for their team. In addition to having fun, they are learning life lessons. “A lot of times for special needs people, it’s like a really short kid going up against a really tall kid,” Special Olympics Coach Kelly Twenter said.President John F. Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Shriver, started the Special Olympics program in the United States. The program was brought to Lee’s Summit High School by Patty McWilliams.“It takes dedicated parents and dedicated community members to make the Special Olympics happen,” Twenter said.There are many different sports for the athletes to participate in. “I have done basketball, bowling, and bocce. Bocce is like bowling but you use a different ball,” Olympian Faye Holt said. The athletes all have to work hard at playing the game and learning the skills to win at competitions.“I worked hard and learned basketball. I wanted to try my best at basketball.” Olympian Collin Jarrett said. The students spend a lot of time practicing for their events.“I coach the five-on-five basketball team. I teach them skills and get them ready for competitions, just like any other coach,” Twenter said.Working hard at training is important to the team and the participants in the Special Olympics.“You have to be kind of fit and really fast because you have to go back and forth to get the ball,” Holt said. 30
HI.LIFE 2011
Helping Out: Senior Baliee Woods has a fun day helping Seth Dujakovich and driving around in golf carts.
The hard work of learning sports pays off for the students.“I like medals,” basketball player Abbey Kornis said. The Special Olympics is an opportunity for the students involved to learn new skills.“I get to meet new people, usually around the state. I enjoy doing new sports,” Holt said.It is an important event to the athletes. “It’s an additional social outlet, and they get to have fun,” Twenter said.The Special Olympics is a great program and an important opportunity that helps special needs students.“The Special Olympics evens the playing field so the students don’t have to keep taking losses,” Twenter said. The Special Olympics gives people who would not normally be able to play competitively in athletics, a chance to participate in sporting events where they can compete.
Story By: Andy Jarnevic Photo By: Bailee Woods
Interview With An Athlete: Alex Swartz
Favorite Wrestling Move?
Single Leg
Josh Aguliar
Half Nelson
0 Cartland Allen
Double Leg
0 Cullen Duke Interview By: Matt Rellihan Photo By: Josh Harris
Half Nelson
0
Favorite Saying?
SPORTS
Super Bowl Selection
Eat less, Work Harder
Packers
Good things happen to good people
Packers
0 Pro Power 0 Eat less, Work Harder
1
1 Saints 0 Patriots 0
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PHOTO ESSAY
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2 3 4 Culverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shootout LSN vs. LSHS play their second game of the tournament
1. The team hypes up in a huddle preparing for the upcoming game. 2. Elijah King goes up for the opening tip off. 3.Going up for a shot Northâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defense tries to shut out Smith as he shoots. 4. Faking out another player Tyler Smith gains control. 5. Mathew Crance goes for a jump shot just outside the three. 6. Drew Lock dribbles around two north defenders toward the basket.
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HI.LIFE 2011