Decemberhawk2017

State absence policy impacts budget, grades,exemptions Pages 9-12 Should you stay or should you go?

In the fall students can miss 4 A and 4 B days, but must be present for the 70 other days of school

In the spring

students can miss 5 A and 5 B days, but must be present for the 96 other days of school

34.4%

How hard is it to make up a missed day? of students in On-

23.5%

Level Classes said they got

1 behind

65.46%

of students in AP

17.2%

on a scale of 1-10

Classes said they got

8 behind on

a scale of 1-10

Based on a poll of over 200 HHS students.

Volume 11, Issue 4

December 15, 2017

INSIDE: College Costs...Page 3

Heathers...Page 8 Star Wars...Page 17

Sound Cloud Artists...Page 20

2

News Volume 11, Issue 4

state of the

UNION

the DATES Ileana Perez | Co-Editor

Oct. 11

Actor Ben Affleck apologizes for inappropriate behavior towards MTV presenter Hilarie Burton in 2013. Having previously condemned Weinstein, Ben Affleck received criticism and backlash for his actions.

Oct. 5

The New York Times publishes a story detailing decades of sexual assault allegations against film producer, Harvey Weinstein. Later that day, Weinstein issues an apology but ultimately disputes the allegations. Then, Weinstein announced he is taking a leave of absence from The Weinstein Company.

Oct. 25 Oct. 30

Actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making a sexual advance towards him when Rapp was 14 years old.

In the following days, a number of other allegations towards Spacey were made, causing Netflix and Sony to stop production on his projects.

Nov. 9

The Washington Post publishes a story detailing Leigh Corfman’s sexual assault allegations against federal judge Roy Moore. In the story, Corfman, now 52, accused of Roy Moore sexually harassing and assaulting her at the age of 14.

Dec. 7 Senator Al Franken, accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment, announced his upcoming resignation from Congress.

Lind accuses former President George H.W. Bush of sexual harassment. According to Lind, Bush touched her from behind and told her a dirty joke.

Influx of sexual harassment, assault allegations spurs debate

the FACTS Megan Fletcher | Copy Editor

In recent months, many people have come forward to accuse powerful men, prominent actors, comedians, journalists, and politicians of sexual misconduct and assault. After allegations against comedian Bill Cosby came to light in 2000 and 2014, there has been a surge of allegations.

These accusations even prompted Time magazine to name the “Silence Breakers” as the Time Person of the Year.

But the allegations have caused heated

the VIEWPOINTS Anna Schulze | Reporter

Oct. 30

NBC fires senior political analyst Mark Halperin after he was accused of sexual harassment by 12 women. He apologized in a statement three days later, after his suspension from NBC.

1 2

Nov. 9

The New York Times reports five women who accuse comedian Louis C.K of sexual misconduct. He admits the allegations were true and since then has been dropped from many streaming services and movie projects.

debate. Federal judge and Republican Congressional candidate Roy Moore, accused of sexual misconduct with girls as young as 14, has yet to stop his campaign for the Alabama senate. In his home state, some rally around him, calling the allegations false, while others protest his campaign’s very existence.

As the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments struggle with the influx of cold cases, some from 20 years ago, other allegations remain uninvestigated.

3

Carolina Yanez | Photographer

“In society, it seems that even though times are changing, the standards for masculinity aren’t. Showing [that] people are taking a stance is a really good uprising against typical patriarchy.”

- Jared Williams, 10

“I think it’s a really important thing that we are finally addressing and that people are finally being able to see. I think it’s a good thing that Time has covered it bringing it to it all this attention, especially for women who have gone through this, because it shows them they can come forward about it, and be less afraid.”

- Andrea Huynh, 12

“Sexual assault is a big problem in the world that people don’t talk about. It’s sad that this has to be cover of Time, but it’s a good thing because finally, it’s not being covered up.”

- Christopher Velasquez, 12

Features December 15, 2017

3

Statistics reveal true college costs, scores

BY THE NUMBERS Megan Fletcher | Copy Editor

$30,100 in debt

Anna Schulze | Reporter

from a bachelor’s

College can be overwhelming for today’s teens. From the SAT to AP tests to the FAFSA, the amount of acronyms and numbers involved is enough for anyone to tear their hair out. Below is a compilation of statistical averages regarding today’s university and admissions environment. All data comes from the College Board, PrepScholar, PBS, Politifact, and USA Today.

degree

The average college graduate with a bachelor’s degree has about $30,100 in debt. It takes an average of 21 years after college to pay off the debt, making the age of a newly debt-free person 45 years old.

Students that do take AP tests (20%)

By 2020, 65% of jobs will require education beyond high school.

Americans with a college degree (40%)

Americans without a college degree (60%)

Students that do not take AP tests (80%)

Average SAT Scores 1400-1600

Tuition and Costs

PUBLIC OUT OF STATE

$24,930

PUBLIC IN STATE

05

10

15

20

25

30

35

4

News Volume 11, Issue 4

NEWS BRIEFS

Football journeys through playoffs

Holiday performances light up month Abigail Hill | Asst. Editor

Tonight, band is holding a Christmas concert in the PAC and each section of band will be playing their own set of classic Christmas songs.

Leading up to the concert, the band practiced to perfect their group songs and focus on dynamics and articulation. Sophomore Paul Benton, a percussionist, feels ecstatic to be playing along with his friends.

“The performance is always pretty awesome,” Benton said.

“The Band practices pretty much every single day [for

the concert] and we all work really hard.”

On Dec. 18, Choir will also be holding a Christmas concert singing a variety of holiday music. Likewise, the dance team showcased their group routines on Dec. 12, dancing to different songs with their fellow dance team members.

The organizations will also spread holiday cheer through a variety of performances around the community such as the choir performing for the Chamber of Commerce.

Club teaches importance of self-image positivity to middle school girls Anna Schulze | Reporter Girl Advocates attempts to combat self-doubt and negative thoughts through the mentoring of middle school girls in the district Monday through Thursday morning during talon.

“Mentoring has a positive impact on the girls because so many of them are looking for someone to tell them things are going to work out and get better,” senior and president of the club Megan Pound said.

“Mentoring also provides them with people to look up to, and impacts their daily lives, their education, and their re-

lationship with their peers.”

A typical mentoring session begins with communication and bonding activities, then ends with a lesson meant to instore self-confidence and positivity, all meant to teach young girls their own importance and to show the mentors the importance of being a leader.

“I know these girls want and need a good role model,” Pound said. “I personally decided to mentor because I wanted to have a positive impact on somebody else’s life.”

Interested in joining Girl Advocates?

See Ms. Haude in B102

Varsity football players celebrate after their win against the Sachse Mustangs in Round 3 of playoffs by lifting up the Regional Semi-Final trophy they received.

After years of not making it past the first round of playoffs, the varsity football team made it all the way to the fourth round.

Play Off Scoreboard Bowie Bulldogs: 44-21 (W) Klein Bearkats: 14-7 (W) Sachse Mustangs: 42-35 (W) Cedar Ridge Raiders: 2-30 (L)

BPA president prepares team for upcoming season McKenzie Quiroz | Reporter

When 2018 arrives, the competition begins for Business Professionals of America (BPA). In order to do well in competitions, BPA members prepare during the first semester at meetings, or outside of school.

“I compete in both an individual and team event for computer modeling and basic office systems and procedures,” BPA President Grace Cramer said.

“Everyone, including me, prepares for their specific event by doing past tests, practicing presentations, and studying concepts within their contest.”

Cramer, a senior, has been in BPA throughout her four years of high school and has noticed a decrease in club size from last school year, to this school year.

“Being a small club hasn’t affected me personally

but I believe it has held some back,” Cramer said. “If we had more experienced members readily available to help the newbies, they might do better competition wise.”

All members of BPA first compete at the Regional Leadership Conference on Jan. 13. Members who are among the top four in their individual event or top two in their team event will then proceed to the State Leadership Conference. If those who are competing at state place in the top five they will go on the national competition in Dallas.

“I’ve advanced to state and been 14th out of 64 competitors,” Cramer said. “This year I am determined to make it all the way to Nationals.”

5

News December 15, 2017

NHS inducts new members

On Nov. 12, a variety of juniors and seniors were inducted in National Honor Society.

Below are the inductees: Mackenzie Abbitt Marc Abdallah Thomas Alexander Elizabeth Anderson Kenzie Arrington Irish Avorque Marianne Ayad Taylor Bachmeyer Oluwatomisin Bello Brady Bowers Adrian Carbajal Sebastian Carzola Alejandro Castaneda Zuniga Soomin Cho Alex Coronado Sarah Davis Dylan Disu Keerthana Duvvuri Kimberly Ehler Jerry Emmanuel Mahnoor Faheem Reem Fashho Megan Fletcher Michael Fortanely Atilano Garcia

Giselle German Kiera Gerner Jazmin Gonzalez Trey Gutierrez Mackenzi Haub Peter Heinisch Andrea Hernandez Shailyn Hernandez Tan Allen HuynhDuong Evan Jewett Zoe Jones Noah Kablaitis Zoe Kincaid Jason Kluge Katherine La Doanh Lam Bonnie Lee Britnie Lee Dylan Leerssen Dustin Lindgren Alison Link Harrison Lloyd Madeline Lloyd Anisa Luangaphay McKenna Lucas

Blaze Lundin Brady Maas Gage Mahoney Erica Masi Loren Mathews Bennett McCullough Kendall McCurley Erin Minnich Brandi Nguyen Holly Nguyen Pho Nguyen Michael Nwokocha Matthew Obermier Karlyn Ohlinger Rene Otero Audrey Owen Natalie Owings Samuel Perales Danielle Platt McKenzie Quiroz David Raggio Isaac Ramos Alyssa Randazzo Emily Rebne Alejandra Renfro Meadow Reyes

Jacob Rigdon Karista Ritchie Rebecca Rivera Jeremy Ryan Lauren Rzepniewski Amanda Sarmiento Matos Daniel Schulze Dylan Scott Ahad Shabbir Rachel Sill Zachary Smith Sydney Stogel Drew Talbot Bryant Thai Simon Thai Rebecca Tobias Nghia Tran Emily Utley Muskanben Vahora Sofia Valdespino Ngoc Vuong Tavaura Wardlow Ashley Whitmire Sandra Zurga

TAFE participate in Regional Competition

Seven members of the local branch of Texas Association of Future Educators competed in 8 different events at the regional TAFE competition held at Huston

Tillotson University on Nov. 11.

The following students placed and will move on to compete at the state level Feb. 15-17.

Kendall Rowe, Portfolio Kyliee Chandler, Portfolio Bryanne Wiess, Portfolio Gabrielle Reames, Elementary Bulletin Board Kendall Rowe and Gabrielle Reames, Teacher Created Materials

Newspaper staff members compete in Cen-Tex UIL On Dec. 9, the UIL Journalism team competed in the Cen-Tex UIL meet hosted by TAJE and UIL. They competed against other 6A journalism students from across the state and earned the following results: News Writing: Megan Fletcher, 3rd; Ileana Perez, 6th; McKenna Lucas, 9th Feature Writing: Alex Fulton, 1st; McKen-

na Lucas, 6th; Megan Fletcher, 8th Editorial: Ileana Perez, 3rd; Holly Hambleton, 4th Headline Writing: Megan Fletcher, 3rd; Holly Hambleton, 5th; Ileana Perez, 8th; McKenna Lucas, 9th; Alex Fulton, 10th Copy Editing: Megan Fletcher, 2nd; Ileana Perez, 6th; Holly Hambleton, 8th

AWARDS &

accolades

Science Olympiad competes at UT Invitational Kyla White | Reporter

The Science Olympiad team competed on Nov. 11 at the UT Invitational Tournament.

The A team finished ninth and the B team finished eleventh out of 25 teams. The top three schools in the state competed in the tournament.

Senior Sam Perales, freshman Josh Manigsaca, and junior Emily Utley all got second place in Code Busters.

“Code Busters is basically cryptology, and cracking different codes which were developed in the past,” Manigsaca said. “I definitely should’ve studied more code techniques if I wanted to get first place instead of second. The codes were fairly hard, a few of them were easy but they were all amped up in difficulty. I usually figure out what type of code it is first,

then do the regular process of breaking each type.”

The participants get fifty minutes to complete all the codes.

“I was quite nervous before the tournament, but when I won second place, ‘wow that’s cool’ was all I thought of,” Manigsaca said.

In Code Busters, Perales, Manigsaca, and Utley placed 2nd. In We Got Your Number, Perales and Christian Douglas placed 3rd. In WiFi Lab, Christian Boswell and Elijah Kuehl placed 4th while Perales placed 5th. In Write It Do It, Nathan Pound and Jeremiah Gorman placed 4th. Finally, in Remote Sensing, Vivianne Schaffer and Abeer Amro placed 4th.

Journalism staff members attend, compete at National Fall Conference in Dallas On Nov. 16-19, several members of the journalism staffs attended the Journalism Educators Association and National Scholastic Press Association’s Fall National Conference along with nearly 5000 student journalists from across the country.

While there, the 2017 Hendrickson yearbook earned a tenth place Best of Show award in its size category.

Additionally, the students in attendance participated in individual Write-off competitions with the following success: Portrait Photography: Abigail Hill, Supe-

rior First Year Photo: Ian Falkenbury, Honorable Mention Student Life Copy Writing: Leah Habtamu, Honorable Mention Clubs and Organization Copy Writing: Mackinley Coe, Excellent Academic Copy Writing: McKenzie Quiroz, Excellent Feature Writing: Alex Fulton, Honorable Mention News Writing: Brisa Espinoza, Honorable Mention

Hawk Golf participates in multiple tournaments Hawk Golf recently competed in multiple tournaments locally.

Junior Natalie Owings placed first at the Anderson Tournament at Lions Mu-

nicipal. Meanwhile, Junior Madison Silva placed 1st place at the Lake Travis HS Tournament at Lakecliff Golf Course, with 3 under the par score of 68.

6

Opinions Volume 11, Issue 4

Staff Editorial

your TURN

Absences impact student life in, out of school As midterms approach, it’s inescapably on the minds of students that finals are also just around the corner. Pflugerville ISD is kind enough to offer an exemption policy based on student attendance history, but the confusing rules and technicalities surrounding the state regulations of absence are beyond frustrating.

According to national legislation commonly known as “The 90% Rule,” students are allowed just nine absences a year. There are also rules about what kind of absences “count” and which are exempt. Exempt absences include healthcare visits, appearances in court, and religious holidays with “proper documentation” from the attendance office, and are the only absence that don’t disqualify a student from exempting from final exams.

In cases of a funeral, a principal must approve the absence. One absence is allowed for “local” funerals, and three for “out of town” funerals. This kind of policy governing the mourning of families, and especially youth, encourages a type of suppression of emotion that can lead to poor mental health, and further absences. The invasive nature of requiring a school’s permission to grieve is unsettling in the least.

Health wise, families without the means to see a doctor in every case of illness are penalized for the healthy practice of staying home. Doctor’s notes only cover the day of the visit, unless explicitly indicated by the doctor on the note. The policy motivates guard-

ians to force their children to attend school anyway, as well as implanting the idea in students’ minds that to those around them, grades are more important than their health.

After nine absences, credit may be lost for the course, regardless of grades. Insinuating that attendance equates to course success is rigidly archaic. In conjunction with the pattern of coming to school sick to avoid truancy court, the trend of putting grades over health perpetuates. Fortunately, there is an equally aggravating Make Up Hours system.

For every tardy and absence, sixty minutes of extra time with a teacher is required. This policy disregards families in situations where strong attendance is impossible to maintain to begin with. Older siblings responsible for the younger, for grandparents, for bringing an income from a job with its own time table, have to return to campus to spend with a teacher who of course has their own schedule. Layers upon layers of stress are put on students who are then forced to uphold a zero-tolerance policy that makes no consideration for hardship.

Through Texas Public Schools’ “Attendance: It Counts” program, campuses are funded based on absence rates. As with many questionable policies, this is a case of following the money. It’s important for students to attend on time and often, but regulations in place encourage unhealthy behaviors on and off campus. These rules just set students up to fail when they can’t meet requirements.

The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100 Student Population: 2750 Staff: 269

Advisor: Kari Riemer Principal: Daniel Garcia

www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211 Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Granite Printing in Taylor, Texas. 1,500 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body through Talon and newsstands throughout the building.

Editorial Staff Co-Editors: Alex Fulton & Ileana Perez Copy Editor: Megan Fletcher Assistant Editors: Holly Hambleton, Abigail Hill, McKenna Lucas, Kaitlin Mackey

What is your opinion on the absence policy?

“I think parent notes should be taken into more consideration when applied to excused absences, because sometimes you can’t get a doctor’s note for a serious emergency.”

-Lorena Fraga, 11

“I have a problem with the fact that if you miss school for a cold that doesn’t require a doctor, the absence is unexcused. This leads to the spread of colds because everyone goes to school with them.”

-Sebastian Carzola, 11 “When it was time for finals, I had the grades to be exempt but the policy almost made me not exempt. I would suggest to allow more absences when it comes to finals exemption.”

-Michael Ike, 10 “I miss school days often due to medical reasons and when they are excused, they don’t affect me from what the school offers such as exemption from finals. Therefore, I am in favor of the absence policies within the district.”

-Connor Stevens, 12 “I feel like the absence policy is too strict.

It has not affected me personally, but I’m afraid to miss school from small illnesses or mental health days in fear of getting too behind or failing.”

-Ashleigh Grace Fleener, 10 Associations Interscholastic Press League, Texas Association of Journalism Educators, Journalism Educators Association, Columbia Scholastic Press League

State absence policy impacts budget, grades,exemptions Pages 9-12 Should you stay or should you go?

In the fall students can miss 4 A and 4 B days, but must be present for the 70 other days of school

Brisa Espinoza Virginia Gaffney Taylor Hawthorne Taylor Hedlund

Reporters

Paul Le McKenzie Quiroz Camryn Sadlier Anna Schulze

Samuel Perales | Cartoonist

In the spring

students can miss 5 A and 5 B days, but must be present for the 96 other days of school

Maria Torres Zachary Valdez Kyla White Carolina Yanez

Honors ILPC Bronze Star, 2014 & 2015, 2017 Columbia Scholastic Press League, Gold Medalist 2016 Silver Crown, 2017 Crown Finalist, 2018

34.4%

65.46%

How hard is it to make up a missed day? of students in On-

23.5%

Level Classes said they got

1 behind

of students in AP

17.2%

on a scale of 1-10

Classes said they got

8 behind on

a scale of 1-10

Based on a poll of over 200 HHS students.

Volume 11, Issue 4

December 15, 2017

INSIDE: College Costs...Page 3

Heathers...Page 8 Star Wars...Page 17

Sound Cloud Artists...Page 20

Design by Alex Fulton

5

HIT or

Opinions December 15, 2017

MISS

7

my STORY Editor reflects on a sentimental event to show support Kaitlin Mackey | Asst. Editor

This year’s Christmas break is scheduled a week later than the previous years, leaving only the weekend to travel until the Christmas holiday. With the stress of midterms close to the day of break, students have less time and excitement prepare for the vacation. The time crunch leaving students a limited time for preparation and travel is a miss.

With the shaving policy which required the removal of any chin hair abolished, students who possess pride in taking care of their complexion now have the breathing room to do so. Giving the skin a break allows it the opportunity to properly heal or fully develop, especially at a young adolescent age. Allowing students to tend to the needs of their own vanity can help to give confidence to students when socializing amongst peers, making the long debated policy to become an evolving hit.

With the new Anonymous Alerts app, it will be easier to communicate with school officials and authorities in the case of an emergency. Founder of K12 Alerts Gregory Bender created Anonymous Alerts after the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School and the Pflugerville Independent School District has recently adopted the app to allow students to contact an authority in times of need. The app enables students to report bullying and unsafe actions, making this a hit. *To download Anonymous Alerts, use username: pfisd and password: pfisd

In honor of both Adopt-A-Child and the upcoming holiday season, teachers have decorated the outsides of their doors with butcher paper, garland and other supplies. Designs range from elves to brick chimneys with stockings. Both the children coming for Adopt-A-Child today and students will appreciate the extra mile teachers are taking to ensure the holiday spirit is represented. The creativity of the teachers helps distract students from the stresses of the upcoming midterms next week, therefore the door decorating is a hit.

I remember my dad telling me her story.

She complained about her legs constantly and she was told she was probably sore from cheerleading.

The pain got worse and 15-year-old Savannah Lewis was later diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, called “Ewings Sarcoma.” With multiple radiations and chemotherapy, the doctors did all they could, but unfortunately cancer took over her body.

Over a year later, and she can barely move and isn’t expected to live much longer. Savannah’s wish was to see her home decorated for the holidays one last time. My dad told me that Savannah has always had a passion for Jeeps, and because of her love for Jeeps, a few Jeep clubs were coming together to parade through Savannah’s hometown, Copperas Cove. I knew as soon as he told me her story, I wanted to go with him.

On Dec 3, my dad and I left early in the morning to meet with our Jeep club, Austin Jeep People (AJP), in Cedar Park. From Cedar Park, we traveled to Copperas Cove, TX. We stopped at an H-E-B in Copperas Cove where all the Jeep clubs met up. Seeing all of those Jeeps that had “Savannah Strong” written on the windows was jaw-dropping to me.

I was walking around looking at all the different types of Jeeps, when I heard a man with a megaphone yell “drivers meeting.” Everyone gathered around in the corner of the parking lot. The man speaking, Jason Koch, was the brains behind the event. Koch said he was blown away with the number of Jeeps that showed up. Originally, he believed only local Jeep clubs would show up. Little did he know, Jeep clubs from all over Texas and some from Mis-

souri would come as well. 388 Jeeps. More than 580 people. The two numbers warmed my heart, knowing all these people came together to make Lewis’ wish come true.

Around town, the sheriff’s office stopped traffic. All 388 Jeeps formed a line and made their way around town and through Savannah’s neighborhood. Citizens of Copperas Cove stopped what they were doing, to watch us drive by. I will never forget when we passed by her house. Her entire neighborhood was outside of her house. News stations were everywhere. Savannah was outside underneath a tent in her wheelchair. Her mother and her father were crying.

The entire trip was heartwarming to me. The thought of all of these “Jeepers” coming together for something they’re passionate about moved me.

It wasn’t until we passed by her house that the trip also became very emotional for me.

A week later, a Jeep group in Alaska heard about Savannah Lewis and was inspired. The club posted a video on Facebook of all the Jeeps in the mountains decorated exactly like the ones that participated in the parade. They wanted to give Savannah what she wanted but since they were across the country, they couldn’t come to the event, but still managed to grant her wish.

The thought of a girl who is my age that is experiencing such trauma, proves to me that life is short and we need to live it to the fullest. I can’t imagine what she’s going through and I can’t imagine what her family is going through. However, my prayers go out to them.

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Features Volume 11, Issue 4

Kill Em’with Kindness

Theatre partners with community organizations for upcoming musical McKenna Lucas | Asst. Editor

In January, hundreds of people will slowly file into the school’s auditorium, sink into their seats, and watch the theatre department’s production of Heathers: The Musical. The critically acclaimed musical, that revolves around Veronica Sawyer, as she tries to survive her high school and the cruel kids in it. The musical has common themes of toxic relationships, bullying, and suicide.

Although fictional, Heathers is based around real experiences teens face all over the world. The Theatre department’s goal is to not only give the audience a show, but bring awareness to detrimental struggles students feel all the time, by partnering with organizations who work with people closely linked to the problems seen in the musical.

“I’m always wanting opportunities to educate students on very important topics,” school social worker Lori Carl said.

“This seems like the perfect venue to do that, because you are going to have a lot of students going to see a musical that is going to talk about a lot of different topics that need attention. It’s our responsibility to then provide information for the students to prevent such things from happening.”

Organizations such as Kindness Matters, SAFE, Hope Alliances, and Victim Services through the Pflugerville Police Department will have representatives present before and after the musical to educate and train viewers on the appropriate ways to handle certain consequential moments.

“I’m really excited [about Heathers], but also nervous,” junior Lorena Fraga said. “I think that it’s an opportunity to grow, not only as an actor, but as a person, as well.

Theatre classes and lead actors researched other organizations and created bulletin boards with the organization’s services explained and their contact information. Fraga will play the female lead and main protagonist,

Veronica Sawyer, while junior Daniel Cherry will portray the male lead, JD. Juniors Kira Connally , Lauren Bishop, and sophomore Francene Bayola have been cast as the three infamous Heathers.

“My character is JD. He is a very complex character, because his intentions are right throughout the play, but his actions do cause grief in people’s lives,” Cherry said. “But at the same time, you can’t really blame him for the things he does because his whole life he was taught to react to things violently.

I feel like the audience is supposed to fall in love with JD in the first act, but by the second act you realize that what he is doing is wrong, and then the audience begins to veer away from him.”

The lack of healthy relationship between parents and their kids is a recurring theme of Heathers. The parents of Heathers are either depicted as oblivious to their children’s problems or the root

of them. Senior Tim Benton, plays Big Bud Dean, JD’s father.

“As a mom of an impressionable 8 year old and 5 year old, I make it my number one job to build them up every day,” theatre director Nicole Malone said. “They need to know how incredible they are and they need to hear it from me. To all parents out there, spend time building those positive labels to surround your child with. Talk with them about the tough subjects; teach them to have a healthy voice about themselves and others.”

Heathers doesn’t only portray toxic interactions between parents, but also couples. JD heavily influences his girlfriend Veronica’s viewpoint on society and their classmates.

The musical reveals cracks in typical high school stereotypes, ultimately showcasing the effects of bullying among classmates.

“Everything in the play seems very superficial, the jocks are just big tough

Lorena Fraga, 11

guys and are kind of dumb,” Benton said.

“That theme subtly undertones the entire play, where you can basically determine how a person is by the way they look. I get judged all the time by how I dress, we need to look beyond outer appearances and realize everyone has some internal aspect of themselves worth giving to the world.”

Heathers isn’t going to be performed just to entertain students, but to teach students on how their choices impact other people.

“We do want to talk about issues that are important to students, that can affect students,” Carl said. “I’m going to use the musical as starting point for my teen dating violence awareness, and we are going to get some student volunteers to really educate students on healthy dating relationships. We want to really keep students informed, because knowledge is power.”

Fraga (left) and Bishop (above) practice their lines during a rehearsal. “We work with people from band, dance, just a lot of departments I’ve never worked with before,” Fraga said. “It’s just really nice to make new friends.”

9

Features December 15, 2017

I

P L Y

State absence policies explained in depth through infographic

The state absence policy can be confusing for students and faculty. Here we break down the number of classes missed for test exemptions, before truancy and requirements after missing classes. Virginia Gaffney | Reporter

What’s considered exempt?

attendance is required to earn credit, or no more than nine absences per six months, per class Warning letters are sent home after the

*In order to be considered excused, absences must be provided proper documentation within three days of returning to campus

and

*Upon a tenth absence, students will be filed for truancy court, and parents will have to appear before a judge to explain excessive absence.

What’s considered excused?

For every absence,

minutes after class starts, students are considered absent, if they are not present. *For college visits, in order to be excused, these students must pick up a pre-approved letter from the attendance office, and secure a form of documentation, such as an official letterhead from the college, to verify the visit. Both must be turned in to the attendance office within two days of returning.

3rd 7th 1 HOUR

is owed no matter how many minutes of the class were missed. *Only students with at least four absences in the first semester, and five in the second semester. are required to complete the supervised time on campus. Without making up hours, credit for courses will not be awarded, regardless of grades.

To recover hours, pick up a signature log from Frances Contreras in C200 for teachers to date and sign.

10

Features Volume 11, Issue 4

Sisters deal with missed days due to club soccer practices, tournaments Holly Hambleton | Asst. Editor

Waking up at six and going to sleep at midnight or later landed sophomore Olivia Fish in the emergency room with unexplainable stomach pains and a 103 degree fever. After missing just two days of school for an out of state soccer tournament, she overworked herself trying to make up the mountain of work missed.

Sisters Olivia Fish and senior Dalton Fish both play for Sting Soccer Club, requiring frequent out of school time for practices and tournaments throughout the year.

Both miss school for tournaments and have felt the stress of dealing with makeup work while learning new material. Along with the workload, their absences are unexcused under rules set by the Texas Education Code.

“When you miss school for the club sport you’re playing, you are trying to figure out your future. For club soccer, I missed two days a couple weeks ago

and I was supposed to miss two days this “Before my senior year, I’ve had to week and another two days later but I’m sacrifice not going to tournaments for not going to either tournament because school. The thing is we have to go to I don’t want to miss these tournaments and on top of that we that much school,” only have two days Olivia said. “You go to showcases but if “I think these absences for college visits,” said. “How you can’t go to the should be excused, be- Dalton are you supposed showcases because of school, no colleges cause you’re not just to figure out what college you want will see you.” going on vacation, and to go to when you Along with club sports being you usually aren’t giv- only have enough time to visit one? I unexcused, seniors en the option not to go.” had to make sure only get two excused I visited a school official college over Thanksgiving visits which hinders break which took athletes who receive away from my time offers from multiple schools. Many seniors, including Dalton, with my family, because I couldn’t go use their weekends and breaks to try to during the school week without getting an unexcused absence.” manage the amount of absences.

Dalton Fish, 12

How behind do you get when you’re absent?

23.5%

of students in On-Level Classes said they got 1 behind on a scale of 1-10

17.2%

of students in AP Classes said they got 8 behind on a scale of 1-10

On top of playing club soccer, they both play for the school soccer team which adds to the amount school missed. While club soccer doesn’t get an excused absence, school soccer does. Both athletes go into tutorials to learn missed lessons and do makeup work, but sometimes the severity of stress and lack of time becomes frustrating, along with the pile of unexcused absences they think should be excused.

“Some teachers say stuff about us missing school but none of them really help us catch up. They just give you the papers you missed and then you’re on your own,” Dalton said. “Sometimes it’s kind of uncomfortable because they expect me to know it but I missed the work.

I think these absences should be excused because you’re not just going on vacation, and you usually aren’t given the option to not go.”

Features December 15, 2017

Q

Seniors provide their opinions on state absence policies

&A Abigail Hill | Asst. Editor Mark Gonzalez, 12 Spencer Larm, 12

11

Do you think the policy of only ten unexcused absences before going to truancy court is fair?

Juniors and seniors are only limited to two

“Some of it is fair and some of it isn’t. If you’re skipping class and missing a lot, then yes, and I do think people should still go to school, even if you’ve had a bad morning or day.”

excused college visits a year. Do you think that is reasonable?

cused absence. Do you think that is fair?

“I feel like we should have more than two excused college visits because I feel like two is super limited and if you are interested in five schools the you should be excused for those five schools.”

“I think it’s good to get documentation for fuerals that says you were there on this day becuase some kids could lie about that even though it isn’t good to lie about.”

“That’s basically your future, so every college visit should be excused. They shouldn’t be necessarily back to back, but there should be more than two excused college visits.

For funerals, students must email the principal to get an ex-

Homebound program provides opportunities for long periods of missed classes Megan Fletcher | Copy Editor

For 12 hours a week, anatomy and environmental science teacher Mary Plaisance works overtime. In that extra time, she meets with students that haven’t been to school in a while. The reason for the prolonged absence varies from major surgery to pregnancy to cancer treatment, but under the federal section 504 code of the Rehabilitation Act, a teacher must meet with them regardless of their affliction.

In order to qualify for this homebound program, students must plan to be absent for a medical reason for at least four weeks, with a doctor’s permission. The student then gets referred to Plaisance.

“I don’t remember why I decided to do it,” Plaisance said.

“The [former] teacher told me it was rewarding, and she liked it, and so forth. I’ve been doing this for 13 years now.

I absolutely love doing homebound. I get to know these kids really well on a one-to-one basis.”

Plaisance is responsible for three homebound students, and meets with each of them for four hours a week.

Depending on the student’s situation, she chooses to everything that they have.” either see them four hours in one day per week or in two When it comes to standardized state testing, such as the STAAR and TSI tests, Plaisance must two-hour chunks per week.

“It’s a challenge to find and have administer the test in the student’s a non-distracting environment,” “The kids are not in home.

“We sit in an area that’s quiet, Plaisance said. “The kids are not in class to hear the actual walled off, where we have an area class to hear the actual instruction.

That’s a real challenge, to try to get instruction. That’s a that’s quiet as possible to work in,” Plaisance said. “In some cases, that’s everything in the depth that they real challenge to try to not possible, just because of the need it.”

Even though Plaisance advises the get everything in the nature of their home. If they’ve got a students who are able to work for lot of family members, then it’s hard depth that they need it.” to have a really quiet place. two hours a day on schoolwork, the While she does do her best to amount of instruction they receive is still a fraction of a normal school teach the homebound students what they’re missing, Plaisance says the day. process is still difficult.

“One of my students is taking “I do try to tailor it to the child,” Plaisance said. “[Someeight classes,” Plaisance said. “He’s a freshman, he had surgery, and he can’t come to school. [He’s] been out for times], there’s just no feasible way to get them what the semester; they’ve never met their teachers. In four they’re missing in class.” hours a week, there’s no possible way for me to cover

Mary Plaisance

12

Feature Volume 11, Issue 4

O S

Average budget per public institution broken down by state New York This state offers the

Increase in current expenditures from the

most public

$$$$$$$$ $634orbillion $$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$ $8,712 per $12,509 per $$$$$$$$ student $$$$$$$$ student $$$$$$$$

2003-2004

school funding at $20,000 per student

This is the amount the state of New York allotes for teacher salaries per student.

In the 2013-2014 school year this was the total ex-

Texas

penditures for public elementary and secondary

By comparison, the state of Texas

schools in the United States

offers $8,600 per student.

school year to the 2013-2014 school year.

of the state determines the state’s public education budget.

$$$$$ $3,000 per student $$$$$ smaller states with fewer teach-

*Broken down these expenditures include various funding. Nationally, the $12,509 broken down is $11,222 towards salaries, employee benefits, purchased services and supplies, $939 towards property, buildings, and alterations completed by school staff, and $348 for interest on school debt.

ers offer as little salary funding as this.

Run by Relatives

13

Features December 15, 2017

Revamp of family restaurant leads to better reception Alex Fulton | Co-Editor

Back in kindergarten, senior Jennifer Su remembers watching her uncle flip stir fry and her aunt run around managing hostesses and waiters at her family’s T&S Seafood Restaurant.

In May 2015, however, the restaurant’s facilities became outdated, so Su’s family decided to take a different direction with the family’s business, with a new location and name: New Fortune Seafood Restaurant.

“A lot of our regulars from T&S followed us and supported our reopening, coming in every week,” Su said. “Since we’re located in Austin’s Chinatown Center, we do get a lot of new customers who just happen to be in the center and saw our business. Now after over two years of opening, our menu is larger and perfected, we do a lot of weddings, parties and catering, which all helps our growth and popularity.”

Previously, the restaurant did not house the event space for weddings and parties.

As soon as she turned 16 --the minimum age to work at the business--Su imme-

diately acquired a job as a hostess at New Fortune. Many of Su’s cousins work alongside her as hostesses and waiters to continue the legacy their family started years ago.

“My mom and the majority of her siblings have always worked in the food industry,” Su said. “I would consider us very picky and we like to be our own bosses, so of course owning our own business is the way to go. The work environment flows nice because we know and understand each other well and so when any problem arises, they are discussed and easily solved.”

New Fortune is a “Dim Sum” style restaurant, meaning the Chinese food is in small portions and served brunch style.

This year, the restaurant was ranked among the top 13 joints for Eaters’ Fall 2017 Brunch Spots. The growth the family business, specifically the positive reception New Fortune has received, resonates with Su because her relatives came together to contribute to its successes.

“The benefit with working with your family is that it always feels like home,”

Staffer reflects on experience working for mother Paul Le | Reporter

Working for a mother who owns a nail salon can be rather problematic at times.

Since we are of blood, we are prone to argue more often than not.

Despite the work environment being plagued with a divisive atmosphere, both my mother and I are able to find good times working in the salon. The fact we share a similar sense of humor which allows us to joke around a fair bit. On the slower days, when the streets are empty, we are able to find time to just talk and get to actually know one another.

Another benefit bestowed upon me would include leniency with my schedule, allowing me to take off whenever I

deem necessary. Working for her also provides leniency for my pay, granting me a full pay, even when I underperform.

I would be able to further benefit from the job due to where the salon is located.

The salon is surrounded by many eateries, being one who enjoys eating, and having so many eating options within a convenient distance, my mother buys me lunch everyday making it one of the best perks of working for her.

I like to think I am blessed with the kind of job I have. The flexibility of it allows me to serve in my church’s ministry, and go to school if I decide to attend college, I wouldn’t mind doing this for almost the rest of my life if it comes down to it.

Su said. “It’s less formal than working elsewhere, we will talk about how we need to order more business cards and then flip to planning my little cousin’s birthday party. I’m so accustomed to it that I’m scared to work at another place in the future, where I’ll be unassociated with other employees.”

Su prepares to open New Fortune for the night.

Photo provided by Jennifer Su

Family business develops sophomores’s integrity McKenna Lucas | Asst. Editor

The small restaurant is located in the oldest part of Pflugerville, surrounded by small businesses and historical landmarks, Mr. Pfranks fits nicely into the family friendly, close knit atmosphere of downtown Pflugerville.

Sophomore Hunter Pope’s family owns Mr. Pfranks, the restaurant specializing in hotdogs and other classic ballpark foods, since the restaurant’s opening in 2015. Mr. Pfranks is a family owned business and Pope can often be seen behind the counter.

“I work only weekends during the school year, but I work much more in the summer,” Pope said. “I do it all, make hot dogs, run the cash register, even wash the dishes from time to time.”

Mr. Pfranks is located at 200 E Pecan St, in downtown Pflugerville.

“I’ve learned a lot from Mr. Pfranks,” Pope said. “Mr. Pfranks has taught me to manage money, [to] never believe you’re entitled to anything, and always work for what you want.”

Mr. Pfranks additionally offers catering services, and delivers food through UberEats. Students can receive a free coupon if they state that they’re a student in the ‘Notes’ section of your order.

“The most impactful thing that I have learned is that quality matters above all, and customer service is the key to success,” Hunter’s Dad, Gregory Pope said.

“Working as a family business highlights the involvement we have in our community. Service starts at home.”

IK Enkapali, NY Jets player stands for a picture with Pope and his Dad. “He wanted us to cater to a football camp he was hosting that summer,” Pope said.

Photo provided by Hunter Pope

14

Features Volume 11, Issue 4

Putting Down Roots Holly Hambleton | Asst. Editor Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Years of seeing the courtyards collect trash, weeds, and improve campus. hearing people criticize their unavailability; two seniors “Other people have expressed an interest but no one decided to make a change in the seemingly endless pat- really made the club and now that it’s a thing, we have more and more people coming in and volunteering,” tern of complaint Viduya said. “It’s super inspiring to me seeing evand inaction.

Seniors Gabee “It’s super inspiring to eryone working and doing their part in something that they’re interested in and something they Viduya and Van me seeing everyone work- believe in can make a difference on campus. I’m Do got together with the idea of a ing and doing their part in excited to see what it looks like later because right now the volunteering is fun but thinking about the new club and the something that they’re in- future keeps us motivated.” intention to clean up the courtyards terested in and something Members of the club use donated tools from the agriculture department to remove weeds, turn soil through gardenthey believe in can make and will eventually start to fertilize and plant new ing and volunteer vegetation. The work done after school requires work. As seniors, a difference on campus.” strength and motivation, but also provides a time they debated on to focus on something other than school work while putting in the time still being productive. and effort it takes “Gardening [Club] is a good time to hang out with to start up a new my friends and de-stress but at the same time make club, which consists of finding a sponsor and a way to fund the subse- the campus look pretty,” senior Logan Seaton said. “The quent budget. Their ambition overruled their hesitation courtyards have always looked really gross, so it’s nice and they filled out the request form for Gardening Club, to make them more appealing because they’re a big part now a growing community of volunteers who work to of our school.”

Gabee Vidyua, 12

1.

2.

One worrisome factor for officers is the lack of underclassmen in the club who would help carry on the club’s status when seniors graduate in the upcoming year.

“The interest is there, it’s just hard because people don’t know about it, especially underclassmen,” Do said. “It’s also hard because we’re busy with other things since it’s our senior year. It’s difficult to make posters for the club while managing other priorities that are helping decide our futures.”

While time management and advertising are a challenge, like most up and coming clubs, the officers along with their sponsor, Monica Massey, have many goals for the future of Gardening Club. Along with the possibility of opening up the courtyards for constant use, the club hopes to get students more involved in the maintenance of campus to help cultivate pride.

“My main goal for the club is to establish something that is functional for the school,” Massey said. “We want students to take responsibility for their own school and the beautification of the campus because it shows a lot of pride. It’s very apparent, even now, work is being done on the courtyards to improve them.”

While gardening, seniors Gabee Viduya and Zuhayr Mirza turn the soil to stimulate new growth in the courtyard garden beds. “It’s a super inclusive club, laid back community where we understand when students have other commitments sometimes,” Viduya said. “It’s just volunteering for the improvement of of our school. If more people join, the school will get more use out of that courtyard compared to no one working on them.” By removing weeds with donated tools, the club members will eventually put in new soil next semester.

Senior Van Do jokes with fellow gardening club members, while tilling the soil. “We thought the courtyards were a waste of space because no one uses them and they’re really ugly,” Do said. “I want the courtyards to actually be accessible for the whole school so people can hang out there.” Do hopes to recruit more underclassmen to help the club.

Features December 15, 2017

15

Abroad View Foreign exchange students describe, compare experiences Ileana Perez | Co-Editor

Virginia Gaffney | Reporter

A

fter spending the last 12 hours on a plane, junior Anna Rahbek Rasmussen recalls a rush of feelings running through her mind.

She had just said goodbye to her family and friends, preparing herself to be away from them for almost a year. But despite all these emotions, she remained excited to see what events were in store for her.

Rasmussen, a foreign exchange student from Denmark, arrived to Pflugerville on Aug. 28 and will stay for around ten months. While she was able to choose the country she wanted to exchange to, her state was unknown.

“I saw [the exchange] as a really good opportunity to try to get away, stand on my own feet, and really try to experience a new culture in a whole other way that you wouldn’t do if you just went on a vacation in another country,” Rasmussen said. “It’s a really good opportunity to get to know a lot of new people and improve my English skills. I think after a year like this, you learn a lot about yourself.”

Coming from a small country in Europe, one of the biggest differences for Rasmussen includes the type

the FACTS

of social environment she experiences here. She believes everyone is much more open and easy to talk to than in Europe, as they’re all curious to learn more about her life in Denmark.

“I think I could speak for almost every exchange student when I say that you will experience quite a cultural shock when you get here,” Rasmussen said.

“It’s a lot different. The people, the way of acting, everything. I think people are really easy to talk to and people are really friendly and curious when they know that you’re an exchange student.”

While there are some challenges she faces, like the language barrier, she still desires to experience as much as she can, saying yes to every opportunity presented to her.

“I think doing an exchange year is quite a once in a lifetime experience and I don’t think it would be the same if you did it again,” Rasmussen said.

“So I think this would be my only full year away abroad but I’ve already been here three months and I already love it so much and I’ve already made so many friends. I will definitely be back.”

Host families select students that they feel would fit in or adapt well with their family. Exchange students can pay extra for a guaranteed placement in a state or region.

G This year the district of Pflugerville has 18 students. HHS has 5 students, all of which are girls.

Q: What inspired you to exchange?

A: My German teacher, Frau Saathoff, the best German teacher ever, has a poster in her room that advertises a government funded scholarship to stay in Germany a year, and when I asked about it, she was pretty enthusiastic, telling me that nobody at Hendrickson had managed to get it before. I applied and each time I got a step further it was pretty unreal. When I learned I was accepted, I was frantic.

Q: How did you choose your destination?

A: My grandma speaks German, and I’ve always considered Germany as somewhere I would want to go to or live in at some point.

Q: How did you prepare for your exchange?

A: I was assigned to speak to my congressional representative before I left, and of course, I had no idea what to pack.

Q: Describe your experience with travelling, knowing you’re staying long-term.

Anna Schulze | Reporter

Each high school has five openings per year. HHS, PHS, and WHS are full this year and typically fill their spots. CHS does not usually fill their five spots.

J

unior Tessa Remster is the very essence of the American teenager -adventurousness included. This very spirit to explore led her to enroll for junior year of high school in Germany.

Exchange students in high schools are here on a J-1 visa, allowing foreign students one year. They are only allowed one J-1 visa in their lifetime.

The CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) requires foreign exchange students in America to maintain a C plus average or higher in all classes, excluding English as a second language.

8 hours

Foreign exchange students are required to complete 8 hours of community service per semester.

A: The morning I left was chaotic, but I caught a flight to Newark, and met up with the other 49 recipients of the scholarship. We had multiple orientations preparing us for the first four weeks.

We stayed in a little monastery for language camp where we could at least a little better understand German before we were let out to our Host Families.

Q: Describe your first day abroad.

A: The first four weeks we were mainly just getting used to the language and visiting smaller cities all together and navigating public transport for practice. Three of us were in my city, and we took the trains together until we split for different parts of Aachen.

Q: Who have you met on your adventure?

A: I’ve made friends with other exchange students: a girl from Spain and a boy from California. My host family consists of a single mom, and a sister, plus a cute cat named Carolus. My host mom and sister speak very good English so they were helping me through that transition by correcting grammatical mistakes and translating words for me, but at this point it’s almost exclusively German.

16

Entertainment Volume 11, Issue 4

That’s a Wrap Alex Fulton | Co-Editor

On the stage lie two levels: the streets of London on the bottom, a bridge, a balcony and Scrooge’s bedroom on the upper. To fully complete the scene, snow drizzles on the set pieces to create the authentic Christmas environment.

Performing in the snow, senior Lexi Phillips and her castmates occupy the space, singing both traditional and original Christmas carols for the Georgetown Palace Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol, which runs Dec. 8-30.

“Michael Davis designed our set and it is absolutely beautiful,” Phillips said.

“It completely immerses the audience in the environment of the 19th century Lon-

don. On the lower part, we also have walls that open up to create Scrooge’s office and another wall that opens to create the Cratchit’s home.”

Not long after she auditioned, Phillips received a callback and was cast a week after her second tryout. Phillips is a member of the ensemble and in several large group numbers, such as “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Deck the Halls.”

“A Christmas Carol is a new musical

by Keith Ferguson and Bruce Greer and is based on Charles Dickens 1843 novel of the same name,” Phillips said. “It is friendly for all ages, so anyone from young children to adults can enjoy it.”

Rehearsals began in October, which typically consist of either blocking, choreography or songs. On any given week, Phillips typically rehearses all days, except Fridays, with occasional 10 hour long rehearsals on weekends. After Phillips was given a featured role in the song “Better Off Dead,” she trained to develop the characterization necessary for her solo.

“Performing is very fun for me, but it’s also a challenge,” Phillips said. “I love to show people who I am through performance because I am not a very open person in real life, but on the other hand it is very challenging to not get my own feelings in the way of the character. I need to

keep it separate and perform a character how they are meant to be performed.”

This is Phillips’ eighth year acting and sixth production at the Georgetown Palace Theatre. In A Christmas Carol Phillips has three costume changes and two different pairs of shoes, which helped to create the holiday theme back in October when rehearsals started.

“Starting rehearsals months before Christmas didn’t actually feel very weird, because I didn’t think about the Christmas aspect of the show more than just the story behind it,” Phillips said. “It is a very universal story that could take place at any time and in any setting.”

Taylor Hedlund | Reporter

Brisa Espinoza | Reporter

Frosty the Snowman originally came out in 1969 as a 25 minute film. The story revolves around a group of children who build a snowman and magically brings him to life. The children realize that he can’t be anywhere else other than the North Pole, because of that Frosty and the children go on journey to get the snowman there. The snowman ultimately ends up melting because he was not able to make it to the North Pole. Santa Claus comes and brings him back to life with the promise that for every Christmas to come he will come back to life.

It’s a great family movie that has the perfect amount of suspense and sadness.

The movie increases imagination especially when watching this as a child, because it makes kids believe that when building a snowman there’s a possibility he could come to life.

“I love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer because I have fond memories of it tied to my childhood. I used to live in Idaho where it snowed so I think of a white Christmas, hot chocolate and getting cozy while watching that movie.” - Emma Deaton, 12

The Christmas classic, The Polar Express, was brought to life from the original book, in the 2004 animated feature. The movie provided delightful music and a light hearted message on childhood dreams. “The Polar Express.” Starring Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen, and Peter Scolari; the film forever changed the perspective of believing in an idea.

A boy who stopped believing in Santa is given the chance to ride a train called the Polar Express to the North Pole to possibly receive the first gift of Christmas. Along the way the boy and other children on the train become friends and encounter challenges, such as frozen over railroad tracks and getting lost in Santa’s workshop.

When the boy is alone, he encounters various challenges to his beliefs, such as when he goes after the conductor and witnesses a hobo ghost on top of the train. These events mirror to life when beliefs are challenged by a new experience or event. However, the message speaks by saying to stay strong and stick to your beliefs.

“I like The Year Without A Santa Claus because it’s unconventional because of the clay animation. It’s not just about Christmas, because it has the heat miser and the snow miser and really nice songs.” - Kiera Gerner, 11

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a good Christmas movie because it’s funny. It’s a cool holiday movie because I don’t really like Christmas that much.” - Gihvon Bilal, 11

17

Entertainment December 15, 2017

the

Last Jedi

Fans expect answers from Star Wars: The Last Jedi Kaitlin Mackey | Asst. Editor

Latest Star Wars installment opens Brisa Espinoza | Reporter

Ileana Perez | Photographer

W

ith the Star Wars Anthology series’ second movie hitting the box office today, events that are occurring in The Last Jedi that viewers have been anticipating to see. This action,adventure and fantasy movie has viewers comparing Rogue One to the new upcoming release.

Rogue One is about the journey of Jyn Erso on a mission to find her father Galen who was separated from her. Galen holds the information of the “most powerful weapon in the galaxy” also known as the Death Star. Jyn teams up with the Rebels Alliance to try and steal the plans of the Death Star.

“My favorite part of Rogue One was when the rebel troops raided the beaches of Scarif and Jyn and Cassian Andor sacrificed their lives to get the Death Star plans to the Rebels, they could’ve made the film better if they added K-2SO more in the film. He had a small role even though he was a fan favorite.”

-Cade Kokes, 10

The Last Jedi is about Rey, who learns to work with her newly discovered abilities with the help of Luke Skywalker. The movie will show the story of the war between General Leia’s resistance and the First Order.

“I’m really excited to see The Last Jedi, I can’t wait to see everything that’ll go down between the Resistance and the First Order. I think this movie will be good and super suspenseful, hopefully it’ll live up to Rogue One.” - Bria Bowers, 9

The Star Wars Anthology collection showcases films on their own. Both Rogue One and The Last Jedi are a part of the anthology series and are the first 2 films to be included in the anthology. The Last Jedi will be the 8th Episode of the series. The final movie of the anthology series will be Episode 9, which is set to be released on Dec. 20, 2019.

“It’s really cool that Star Wars is making more movies and is expanding on the universe, to show more within.”

- Drew Herdman, 12

O

n Dec. 18 2015, Lucasfilm released Star Wars: The Force Awakens, leaving the audience with questions regarding the next movie. Nearly two years later, Lucasfilm has given Star Wars fans what could be, the final movie in the Star Wars series.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, characters Finn, Rey, BB-8, Han Solo, and Chewbacca go on an adventure to give the Resistance the final piece of a map to find the location of Luke Skywalker before the First Order found him. During their journey, they experience conflicts with the First Order and with each other.

In the final few minutes of the movie, Rey travels to the top of a mountain to meet Luke Skywalker and give him his lost lightsaber she found on the journey, leaving the crowd hanging.

Since the release of The Force Awakens, the biggest argument between fans is whether Rey was the daughter of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, or neither. Fans have made multiple theories based off of what is known of Rey’s childhood and family, but no one involved in the movie has confirmed who Rey is related to. Due to the multiple theories and arguments, fans are hoping the new movie will reveal who Rey’s family is.

Due to the passing of Carrie Fisher on Dec. 27, 2016, fans are also wondering how Lucasfilm kills off Princess Leia since Fisher passed away in the middle of filming. Some fans believe that Kylo Ren

will assassinate her like he did Han Solo, some believe that she will die in a battle or explosion of some sort, but everyone is anxious to know how she dies.

Throughout the Star Wars series, there has always been many wonders; some still undiscovered. Who is Snoke and what is he trying to accomplish? Will Kylo Ren join the Light Side? Who is the “Last Jedi?” Does Rey go to the dark side? Hopefully all the questions fans currently have will be answered with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Photo courtesy of www.movietavern.com

Paul Le | Reporter

Continuing in Disney’s series of Star Wars anthology films, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is to serve as the latest addition and will center on a well-renowned character of the franchise, Han Solo.

The plot is set to explore Han Solo and Chewbacca’s adventure leading up to their allegiance towards the rebellion

as well as their engagements with Lando Calrissian, an old friend of Solo. Prizing the role of the iconic figure, Han Solo will be portrayed by American actor, Alden Ehrenreich. The standalone film is set to release May 25, 2018, and fans can expect for a teaser in the near future.

18

Sports Volume 11, Issue 4

Kaitlin Mackey | Photographer

Kaitlin Mackey | Photographer

After winning the State Championship on April 15, then-junior April Castellanos slaps the student sections’ hands. This year, the team will play their first game after the Championship on Jan. 4, 2018.

Then-junior Bryana Hunter races for the ball at the UIL State Semi-finals on April 14 against Keller as her leg bleeds. The team won the State Championship, the first time in school history.

Getting the Ball Rolling

Girls’ soccer kicks off new season after State Championship The girls’ soccer team won the State Championship last year against Katy Tompkins. The team, who is currently ranked 8th in the region, took an early lead in the state game to ultimately give them the 2-0 win. This win brought home the first state title for the girls’ soccer program. The team hopes to advance as far as they did last year and bring back another state title.

“I for sure think there is some pressure for us this year,” junior Kenzie Arrington said. “We have a target on our backs and teams will be more motivated to beat us.”

As the new season begins, along with their increased pressure and new members, many of the girls still have high expectations for this season.

“This season I am expecting that we will play to the best of our abilities,” senior Jenna Hartle said. “Hopefully with all of our hard work, we will return to the state

“I have prepared by making sure the intournament.”

To go as deep in playoffs as they did last tensity is always up, so our team is ready year, the girls started preparing right be- for the high level teams we will be playfore Thanksgiving break to ensure they ing this year,” Arrington said. “We have to play well in diswill be prepared. trict before we can “We run a lot and we are trying to “I for sure think there put our full attenon playoffs.” perfect our trainis some pressure for tion The team, whose ing so we can play us this year. We have a mindset is in full the best we can this year,” senior Kayla target on our backs and drive towards district play, also takes Geren said. “We’re teams will be more mo- time to enjoy themjust looking to enselves during trainhance our style of tivated to beat us.” ing for the upcomplay so we can be in ing season. top shape for sea“Watching the new son.” girls on varsity deAlthough to the velop into better team, state is the ultimate goal, the girls plan to focus on get- players has been so cool to watch,” junior ting through district play first and place Olivia Draguicevich said. “We have had a lot of laughs preparing for our season well in hopes to advance to playoffs.

Kenzie Arrington, 11

and I’m excited to start playing with the girls this year.”

As district approaches, the girls feel they have to be prepared for anything that could come at them this season, especially in district.

“I’m mostly excited to play Cedar Ridge this season,” Geren said. “They have been a really solid team the past couple of years, so I think they will be great competition.”

The girls’ soccer team kicks off district play at Cedar Ridge on Jan. 30. The girls expressed their excitement for their upcoming season and to start on their road to state.

“I am most excited to play alongside my lifelong friends for the last time,” Hartle said. “I can’t wait to watch as this new varsity team grows and connects on and off the field.”

Sports December 15, 2017

19

Commitment to the Game

Perrin signs to play for prestigious Ivy League university Taylor Hawthorne | Reporter

S

enior Clayton Perrin recently committed to Division 1 Brown University. Brown, located in Rhode Island, recruited Perrin as a Safety for their upcoming 2018 season. Perrin has been rewarded second team all-district two years in a row starting in 2015 for the 136A district. In addition to his scholarship from Brown, Perrin received three other scholarships from Liberty University, Cornell University, and the Air Force.

Brown University is an Ivy League school known for their academics. However, many people, including Perrin, find Brown to be a school they want to pursue for the beginning of their athletic career.

“I chose Brown because of the high academics,” Perrin said. “I also have the opportunity to play the sport I love at a Division 1 school.”

Perrin will be moving from Pflugerville, Texas to Providence, Rhode Island which is known to have completely different environmental aspects than Texas.

“I leave in August and I am not too sure

how I will adjust to a new state,” Perrin said. “But I know I will. I’m super excited to play in the snow.”

Deciding where one wants to pursue their academic and athletic career is considered a big step to athletes. Perrin mentions he plans to take this move head on, but has some reservations.

“I don’t think I’m scared of anything,” Perrin said. “The biggest challenge will be being by myself. There have been some tears shed knowing I won’t be around as much as I am now.”

When being recruited for football, communication between players and coaches from Brown University is important when nearing towards signing day.

“I talk to my coaches two or three times a week,” Perrin said. “They call and checkup to ensure I am comfortable with all the changes which will take place in the future. Just recently, I had a home visit with my coaches.”

Besides the athletic aspect, Perrin loves the school for their academic standards

Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

and believe this school is the right place for him.

“Brown is a very prestigious school with a beautiful campus and atmosphere,”

Perrin said. “I think Brown will set me up very well for life after football.”

Players receive invitations to compete in selective bowls Alex Fulton | Co-Editor

ith the upcoming football bowl season, several football players were invited to compete in various high school level bowls. On Jan. 12, senior Thomas Williams (TW) will play against Mexico at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in hopes of advancing to Australia for the final round of the International Bowl. In addition to Williams, junior Cliffton Styles was selected for the Offense-Defense AllAmerican Bowl in New Orleans, however, he declined the offer due to scheduling conflicts with the UIL State Game.

Q: How were you invited to the bowl?

Q: What costs are involved?

Q: How do you practice?

TW: I got invited through the school and through other camps. They invited me to a regional and then I did well in that, then they invited me to a full contact tryouts then I got invited to be in it.

TW: You have to pay to be added to the roster officially then I think they transport the players, but not your parents.

TW: The games are hosted back to back right now for three weeks straight. Since I’m playing in January we’ll practice for four days then we’ll play team Mexico.

Q: What other schools play for the bowl?

Q: Where do you get together and play?

TW: It’s kids from all across the country who get invited.

TW: We’re playing at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

W

Q: Are other people from Hendrickson involved with the bowl?

TW: Tobias Harris got invited to one, but he wasn’t able to make it, so currently it’s just me.

Q: How many players are on the team?

TW: With the team I’m playing on I think there’s about 60 or 70.

Q: What different teams are there?

Depending on the age, they have a 17U through 19U and I think they also have middle school teams.

Q: What team are you on?

TW: I’m on the 18U team, so I only play against other 18 year olds.

Q: How did you find out you got accepted?

TW: They sent me an email last week.

Q: What was your reaction?

TW: I wasn’t shocked, because they said they were supposed to send it out in September and I found out in November. I thought I didn’t make it and I was pretty mad about it.

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Humans of HHS Volume 11, Issue 4

Cloud Nine

Creative minds find expression through music making Ileana Perez | Co-Editor

A new age of music approaches, one where ordinary people have the power to create and share their own songs. Diving into their inspirations and personalized sounds, various types of artists share their reasons for publishing music.

“I really try not to label my music or myself.

I think labeling it is limiting it, if that makes sense. If I had to explain it though, I would say it’s confessional. I tend to use it as an opportunity to open up about situations in my life or the world around me, even if it’s in an abstract way that not everyone is going to understand. I make music the way I like it, and I think that’s the most important thing. I write and record everything myself.

The actual music comes from independent producers who have similar goals as I do.

It’s kind of a mutual relationship, they help me with the music, I help them by spreading their names. It’s an art form, and I hope whoever listens to it can appreciate it as so.”

Jonny Selvera, Rapper, 11 “My cousin inspired me to create music because he started rapping randomly when we would play games and all the sudden I started doing it as well. I write my own lyrics and I rap about stories, or research I do. I got influenced by Three 6 Mafia and I rap about dark stuff. [When people listen to my music I hope they] do more research or have the that thought he can do rapping as well.”

Luis Salinas, Rapper, 11

“Personally, my family has always been musically inclined. My dad always sang and played guitar before I went to sleep, and my mom taught me a lot of vocal technique because she is also a singer. I usually choose my cover songs through other people but through of course my vocal range and personal preferences. I hope to reach out to those who have their internal struggles. I’m working on writing music that will not only inspire people but to give willing hearts reasons to keep being positive even through times of difficulty. It’s corny but society today has to rid of all the negativity before it can provide better futures for new generations to come.”

Francene Bayola, Cover Artist, 10

“I was inspired to make music because of my older brother Jose. In fact, he was the one who showed me how to match beats. To match them, I have to listen by ear, but at the same time use both hands to handle one song each. Every time I make a smooth transition in a song, I feel as if I was cutting a slice of cheesecake and that’s a pretty good feeling.”

Michael Garcia, DJ, 12