September 2011

Journal

le

A Publication of Notre Dame de Sion* 10631 Wornall Road*Kansas City, MO 64114 Volume 30, Issue 1 September 2011

The Pain & Recovery of...

Injured Student Athletes

New Citywide Curfew Affects the Plaza

A Look at the Feather Hair Trend

Senior Jasmine Noory studies abroad in Mexico

What’s Inside 10 A Peek Into the Lives of Injured Sion Athletes

A look into the damage of Hurricane Irene

IN EACH ISSUE THE EDITOR’S INK

4

STAFF EDITORIAL

8

Now playing

9

MY LIFE IS AWKWARD

20

A LAST LOOK

LAYOUT BY: EMMA GROJEAN

7 Students and faculty share their 9/11 experience

15

3

ON THE COVER

WHAT’S INSIDE PHOTOS FROM THE TOP: MAURA EVELD, MCT CAMPUS, MCT CAMPUS, EMILY DECOURSEY, KATHERINE BAKER COVER PHOTOS BY: ALI SWEE, LUCY GASAL, COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA, JASMINE NOORY

16

A close up on the new college counselor

17

Joplin, Missouri and its slow recovery

2

what’s inside

BY ALI SWEE Editor-in-Chief

Long gone are the days of the beanie topped heads, that infamously awkward freshman mixer (boys on one side, girls on the other, anyone?), and new teachers, faces and hallways. This is our senior year, class of 2012. For myself and 98 other girls, it’s the beginning of endless trips to US Toy to perfect our beanies, our senior prom, and saying goodbye to our beloved teachers, friends and everything we’ve come to know and love about Sion.

Hold up. For those of you who aren’t graduating on May 24th, 2012 (yes, already marked on my calendar), for those of you who have no clue what a socratic seminar or radical egalitarian peasant community is, for those of you who just started this amazingly incredible, exhausting, rewarding, crazy, fun, memorable journey: welcome!

As a freshman, everyone tells you how quickly your four years go. And I solemnly swear, as an official senior, it goes fast. Way too fast. Savor every awkward moment of freshman year, because it’s the only year you can get away with wearing makeup to school, straightening your ponytail (guilty as charged), searching for weebeasties in Mrs. Norberg’s class, spending Friday nights

FEBRUARY 2009 The Evolution of a Student: A Reflection on Four Years at Town Center, and bringing a date to fall dance while going stag to winter formal (for more awkward freshman year mixer stories, check out page 9).

Then, there’s Sophomore year. The year you actually invite a boy who’s NOT ‘the younger brother of your best friend’s older brother who goes to KU’ aka someone you’ve never spoken too. The year of barely passing your driver’s test and driving to your friend’s house for the first time. The year of cramming for theorem quizzes in Commons and those awful 12-step proofs.

The year of venturing all the way to the outskirts of Kansas City, to recycle in freezing 10 degree weather for 5 points of extra credit for Miss Amy’s Environmental Science class.

Junior year brings stress, tons of memories, traditions, milestones, and more stress. A year

Seniors rock the house. Flash mobbing blue and white. That dreaded ‘Second Time around’ paper.

Bookmarking the Common App website. Hanging around (stalking, what?) Mrs. Stein’s office, way too much. (get to know more about Mrs. Stein on page 16 ). STA vs. Sion powderpuff game. Storming the hallways on your last day of classes. Graduating in floor-length white dresses, crown atop your head, surrounded by your 98 Sion sisters.

A slow progression of becoming comfortable in your own skin. From the days of spending hours to get ready for your appearance at the Rockhurst game, to wearing a dress to blue white, your four years at Sion will teach more than just Avagardo’s number and the effects of Justinian and Theodora’s rule. One day, you’ll look around, and realize you’re surrounded by the people who truly inspire you. Looking back as a senior, you see the evolution you’ve made.

It seems like only yesterday, I was that (extremely) awkward freshman, complete with a bob hair cut and braces.

It seems like only yesterday, we were ‘crossing the threshold’ (the first time). It seems like only yesterday, I carried my Vera Bradley lunchbox to my peer minister circle, every Friday, occupied by exactly 48 minutes of awkward silence as our poor peer ministers begged us, just one of us, to talk. And now, four years later, we’ve crossed the threshold (four times now, but who’s counting?). We are the peer ministers, we are the leaders, and we are the seniors..

Four years of laughter, shared secrets, friendships, fear, motivation and determination, you’ll find yourself wishing you could have every awkward moment of freshman year back. Soon enough, years become months, the HSPT becomes the ACT, freshmen become seniors, mixers become prom, convocation becomes graduation and suddenly, years of wishing becomes those few moments of living.

“One day, you’ll look around, and realize you’re surrounded by the people who truly inspire you.”

-Ali Swee full of tears after seeing the first page of the science section of the ACT, hours studying for your double Mid tests, speeding tickets and first fender benders, your first R-rated movie, commonplace journal entries, duck and cover in APUSH, stressing over prom committee, learning that REPC isn’t just a school district, the coming of age ring ceremony, and experiences of new cultures while traveling across the world to France, Chile and Australia (for more on the Sion exchange program, see page 6).

And that quickly, you’re a senior. Suddenly, everything which was once in slow motion, seems to fast forward. Everything becomes your first “last.” A rite of passage into the senior parking lot. Your long-awaited senior-ity. The secrets of KAIROS. Two hours of AP English homework combined with three hours of Euro.

Letters to the Editor

Le Journal welcomes letters submitted by readers. The staff reserves the right to edit length and minor grammatical errors, but the letter’s message will not be altered. The staff reserves the right to review letters and edit material that is inappropriate. Libelous, slanderous, or obscene letters will not be printed. Letters must be signed.

leJournal Le Journal

is the official publication of Notre Dame de Sion High School 10631 Wornall Rd., Kansas City, MO 64114.

Member Missouri Interscholastic Press Assoc.

National Scholastic Press Assoc.

Columbia Scholastic Press Assoc.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ali Swee FEATURES EDITOR Maura Eveld A&E EDITOR Delaney Bates

MANAGING EDITOR Taylor Escher

LAYOUT/DESIGN EDITOR EDITORIAL/NEWS EDITOR Emma Eveld Elizabeth Gianino SPORTS EDITOR Audrey Saracini

PHOTO EDITOR Lucy Gasal

PUBLICATIONS BOARD Michelle Olson Kay Walkup

ADVISER Alison Long

WEB-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Katie Mahoney

Ali Swee Taylor Escher

Melissa Wilcox Penny Selle

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Emily DeCoursey REPORTERS Emma Grojean, Laura Travis, Victoria Kenner, Sarah Holland, Meg Cowan , Shannon Laird

Jane McCormack Carole Wall-Simmons

International Quill and Scroll

editorials

3

Questioning the Kansas City Curfew

New Citywide Curfew May Compromise Teenagers’ Freedom This staff editorial represents the views of the Le Journal staff. tendance already declining, the implementation of the curfew gives teenTwelve out of sixteen staffers voted in support of this view. agers another reason to skip the cinemas, which causes local businesses to suffer, leading to the decline of the entertainment districts that once It’s 9:03 p.m. The deep orange sun has barely disappeared and darkness thrived, such as the Plaza, Westport and Zona Rosa. has begun to creep in. An early autumn breeze catches the air. Across from Finally, we can’t help but question the city’s way of enforcing and monJ.Crew and situated next to Urban Outfitters, sits the Cinemark Palace at itoring the new curfew. A press release issued on August 18, 2011 includes the Plaza. The illuminated sign advertises the latest movies. A few stop. a list, a-g, of the different “exemptions” for the curfew. Some include an Some to escape chilly wind, others to avoid the wandering eyes of a home“emergency errand” or “returning home from lawful employment.” less man. An eerie silence sets in, occasionally broken by a seemingly inau And this is where the fine print seems to blur. Exactly, what constitutes dible chatter. A few blocks away, the clock ticks. 9:08 p.m. Where are you? a “emergency errand?” A late night run to HyVee? A movie with a friend This is the Country Club Plaza, circa September 2011. In accordance who’s only in town for a few days? And while with city ordinance, if you’re under the age we’re at it, what about a trip to your best friend’s of 18, you shouldn’t be here. Or four other house to phone charger you left last week?

Kansas City entertainment districts. After a And how about that “lawful employment” bit? violent night leaving three dead, Kansas City If you’re driving home from babysitting on a Mayor Sly James, along with the Kansas City Saturday night at midnight, do you run the risk Council, unanimously elected for the impleof possibly being stopped and punished with mentation of a citywide curfew for teenagers. a potential $500 fine for your parents to pay?

Will it be effective? Sure. Will it comYes, you read that right, your parents. At age bat potentially violent teenagers? Possibly.

17, if you’re caught violating the curfew, you However, is it fair to punish every Kansas will not pay the fine, your parents will. How, City teenager for the wrongdoings of a select at all, does this hold our youth responsible for group of juveniles? their actions?

First of all, as teenagers, we have rights But, as the Mayor said, “Enough is enough.” too. Armed with a valid driver’s license and We all agree the violence in the city has gotten a friend, any teenager should have the right out of hand. Who wants to go to the Plaza on to venture into the Plaza or Zona Rosa at a Friday night only to experience mobs and night. It’s a right of passage. A coming of Hundreds of people flock to the Plaza Art Fair. The Plaza is a famous age. At age 16 and 17, our parents shouldn’t image of Kansas City, now one of the five entertanment districts af- gunshots?

We need a solution, one that rewards those have to escort us to go see Never Say Never fected by the citywide curfew. (Photo from Plaza Association ) who have behaved correctly and punishes in 3D. In fact, in1925, a little place deemed Deciphering the Fine Print those who have not. Instead of implementing as the Supreme Court held that the First such a citywide restriction, why not set aside Amendment applies to all states, including Curfew for minors under 16 is now 10:00 p.m. from the Friday proceeding Memorial Day through the last Sunday in September money in the city budget to hire more police local government. What does this mean for officers to patrol the effected areas? This simple us? If I remember Mrs. Brown-Howerton’s For minors ages 16 and 17 the new curfew is 11:00 p.m. solution would allow for a safer, more enjoyable APUSH Bill of Rights pop quiz correctly, city, while still granting teenagers the freedoms the first amendment grants “the right to The Plaza, Westport, Downtown/Central Business District, 18th and Vine and Zona Rosa will have a 9:00 p.m. curfew for anyone we deserve. peacefully assemble.” However, if a group under 18.

The clock continues to tick. Across from of responsible, respectful, law abiding J.Crew and situated next to Urban Outfitters, teenagers wanted to assemble at the plaza In October the curfew will revert for all minors under 18 to 11:00 p.m. on weekdays and midnight Friday and Saturday sits the Cinemark Palace at the Plaza. It’s 9:15 Friday at 10:00 p.m., we would be denied evenings. p.m. By now, every streetlight has ignited a that right. small, yet bright light. A chill runs through the Then, comes the debate of the affected *Information from the Mayor’s August 18 Press Release air, foreshadowing the dark winter still ahead. businesses. For the five affected districts, The silence blankets the night sky, setting the teenagers make up a large part of their revworld at ease. Shoppers rush by, barely glancing at the flickering theatre. enue. With the paying customers of Brio, Coldstone and Cinemark now There’s not a 17-year-old in sight. Exactly how they wanted it. And so jusnonexistent after 9 p.m., revenues will drop, further hurting already strugtice, seemingly, prevails. gling businesses in a such a bleak economic state. With movie theatre at-

Kansas City Curfew: Agree or Disagree?

AGREE

“If this is what it takes to protect people, so be it. I mean all the shops and stuff are closed then anyway so its not like we’re missing much.”

-Broghan McEnerney, Senior

4

editorials

IN THE MIDDLE

“I don’t really know how I feel about curfew, mostly because it doesn’t affect me any more. I do understand why it has been implemented but I don’t know that it will do anything about the problem.”

-Devon Sweeting, Senior

DISAGREE

“Not all people under 18 are going up there to cause trouble, but just want to go there to see a movie in a theater that’s close and accessable.

Plus there seems to be an underlying racism in it.”

-Abby McDowell, Senior

Our Economic Blunder

Yes, the United States is in a recession, but we need a change of heart

BY EMMA EVELD

News/Editorial Editor

You click on the television and the 10 p.m. news is just starting. Just for kicks, you stay tuned for a couple minutes to see what’s new. A headline scrolls ominously across the page, stating, yet again, the latest on the United States economic turmoil.

You will most likely have one of the two reactions: sigh and turn to another channel such as Dance Moms or the Real Housewives of New Jersey, or sit and watch the news rambling on about our country’s debt and unemployment. Honestly, most of us know which route we’d take. We have heard so much about our country being in trouble that most of us don’t even take notice anymore.

Well, we need to start noticing.

The United States is in an economic crisis, and if we don’t try to fix it, our generation can say good-bye to chances at great jobs and comfortable lives.

Mary Murphy, who teaches history at Sion, had advised her daughter to take all the right steps to become a lawyer: Go to a respectable college and law school. However, she still can’t find a job as an attorney.

“We need to get the economy ready for

your generation,” Murphy said.

An astonishing 14 million people in the United States are out of work. In fact, according to recent governmental job statistics, absolutely no jobs were created in the month of August.

Zero. Zip. Nada. We need to act fast.

President Obama made a speech about the economy on Sept. 8. He urged Congress to act quickly to help create more jobs and to

“We need to get the economy ready for your generation.”

-Mary Murphy, History Teacher reduce the $3 trillion deficit that is looming over the country like a dark, mischievous storm cloud. His plan is called the American Jobs Act, which aims to create more jobs for unemployed Americans. Many, including me, anticipated more of the same seemingly unchanging and unhelpful ideas, but I soon realized such an attitude will help no one. We need a change of heart.

In 2008, the unemployment rate was

How do you feel about the economy?

Junior

“I feel like teenagers in general don’t realize that this recession is a big deal and we need to try to fix it.”

Sept 13, 2011: istress Debt D

Michaela Bukaty,

7.8 percent. The rate now stands at 9.1 percent. Something needs to change. While many are reacting with anger, we need to act with support. At this moment, finger-pointing won’t help. Congress and Obama need to work together for the good of the people.

Our focus must be to support officials who have new and effective ideas to whip our economy back into shape.

“I think everyone wants him (Obama) to succeed in doing this,” said sophomore Sarah Allen. “no matter whether you are a Democrat or Republican.” This is true.

In his recent jobs speech, Obama said, “...the question is whether in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”

Many have heard heartbreaking stories about fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters either losing jobs or just not being able to find any. To take on this monster of an economy, we must not emphasize our differences but rather work together, or else nothing will get accomplished.

We should not despair over this economic crisis. Instead, we need to watch those news segments, learn about what’s happening, and get involved, so that one day the headline scrolling across the television screen will be praising our economic turnaround.

$14.72

trillion in debt

Jan 20, 2006: $8.18 trillion in debt

Grace Keane, Junior

1

“I feel that the economy is affecting everyone. We have to remember that this isn’t the great depression and recovery is at hand.”

-Statistics from the National Treasury (Drawing by Ally Ungashick)

Jan 20, 2001:

$5.73 trillion in debt

editorials

5

Seniors Travel the World

Sion’s Exchange Program Offers Cultural Education

BY VICTORIA KENNER Reporter

Looking Back 100 years in honor of Sion’s 100th Birthday

31 May 1911

The Hull of the Titanic was put in water for the first time

28 June 1911

Nakhla, a Mars meteorite, hit Alexandria, Egypt causing a large explosion

6 August 1911

“I Love Lucy’s” Lucille Ball was born

21 August 1911

The Mona Lisa was stolen from The Louvre Museum in Paris, France

4 October 1911

First public elevator put in London’s Earl’s Court Metro Station in London, England

As most Sion students relaxed during the summer, 12 seniors traveled to Australia and Chile, experiencing vast culture shocks.

“It freaked me out! Everything was so different. I loved it! My host family constantly wanted to spoil me,” senior Anna Reintjes said.

Along with four other seniors: Laura Hense, Taylor Escher, Aubrey Okenfuss and Tricia White, Reintjes ventured to South America visiting Saint George’s college, in Santiago, Chile.

The girls tasted the sugary and salty foods and visited the beach with their host families.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and said if given the opportunity they would return in a heart beat.

Traveling to another time zone, seniors Jessica Benninghoff, Ali Swee, Caitlin Allen, Meryl Vannoy, Jessica Bauer, and Caitlin Busch took a trip down under to Our Lady of Sion College in Melbourne, Australia. Unlike Chile, Allen said Australia’s culture was pretty similar to ours.

It all began in 1981 when a Sion graduate, who had married a Swedish man and was teaching at a catholic school in Germany, contacted

New Faculty Find Home

Kay Walkup, academic dean, wanting to set up an exchange program between Notre dame de Sion and Canisiusschule Ahaus. Walkup quickly agreed, and the program has grown from there. Sion students can now travel to France, Chile, Germany, and Australia, giving the girls opportunities to experience a culture first hand, independently solving problems, and creating lifelong bonds Walkup said.

“I ended up staying with two girls while I was there. I love them both! I don’t have any sisters so they are the closest things I have to one now,” Reintjes said.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience and I got so much more out of it than I had imagined I would have. I learned so much about a new culture and about myself,” Allen said. “If anyone is considering doing this exchange, or any exchange in general, I would say go for it. Don’t be shy and I promise you: you will not regret such an amazing trip.”

Experiencing another culture not as a tourist is what Walkup said is the main goal. She wants the students to experience different cultures and to experience how families live.

“It’s an irreplaceable experience that every junior should apply for,” Walkup said.

New Staff Members Reveal Paths To Joining The Community

BY EMMA GROJEAN Reporter

A father, a friend, and a colleague were the three people that lead new faculty members, Jennifer Campbell, Erin Stein, and Nancy Stevens to join our community.

Campbell, our new librarian and volleyball coach, said her father showed her an ad in the paper. She went to the interview and immediately loved Sion. After receiving the librarian position, Campbell applied for the volleyball coach opening.

“Taking the volleyball position was unexpected. I knew I was going to be the librarian,” Campbell said, “but then I saw the opening for volleyball coach and decided to apply for the second position.”

Campbell works in the library during the school day and heads to the gym right after.

Campbell hopes to encourage the use of online resources.

Stevens, accommodations counselor, wasn’t looking for a job. While working at University Academy, Stevens learned about Sion’s mission through a friend, and applied right away.

“My husband and I believe that God was calling me to Sion,” Stevens said.

She earned her counselor certification because she loves the feeling of bettering people’s lives and tha’s what she hopes to achieve.

Stevens plans to organize the accommodations department and make it more defined .

As for Stein, she applied at Sion due to a graduate named Elizabeth Bonney.

“She spoke highly of her experience at Sion and I knew I wanted to work at a school that prepared students, like Elizabeth, to go out into the world and make a positive difference,” Stein

( From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Jennifer Campbell, Nancy Stevens, and Erin Stein)

said.

Stein, formerly in the admissions department at William Jewell College, plans to have lunch with students to give them the opportunity to ask her questions about college.

A Look Back On A Summer of Violence

6

news

25 May: Tensions increase at Choucha camp in Tunisia (near Libyan border). Four die in a fire in the camp which destroys 21 tents; further unrest damages 3,000 tents.

June

c

16 May: International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Muammar Abu Minya Gaddafi, Saif Al Islam Gaddafi and Head of Intelligence Abdullah Al Sanousi from crimes against humanity.

c

c

May

22 June: Obama announces the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year and another 23,000 by the end of September 2012.

Mean Irene Sweeps East Coast

BY EMMA EVELD

News/Editorial Editor

Dean. Felix. Noel. Carol. Katrina. Edna.

All these names have one thing in common – names of past hurricanes. Another hurricane came to life during the last week of August, when the entire East Coast felt the destructive force of Hurricane Irene as it swept in from the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Irene was an uncommon storm. Rarely does so much of the East Coast feel the effects of a full-blown hurricane. The last time a hurricane slammed the East Coast was 2003 when Isabel made landfall in North Carolina.

Although Irene was a Category One hurricane, it caused a huge amount of damage. Irene took at least 21 lives, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Five million people were without power for days, and 10 to 13 inches of rain fell in certain areas, which resulted in record flooding, particularly in New Jersey and Vermont. Sunday, August 28, two days after landfall, Irene’s wind diminished to about 50 miles per hour, and the hurricane was demoted to the title “tropical storm.”

Jim Long was in awe. Long works for PAR Electrical Contractors, Inc. who sent surveyors to the East Coast to help. He is

Journalism teacher Alison Long’s father-in-law.

“I had been on the job for ice storms and things like that but never a hurricane before,” Long said. “It was overwhelming and devastating. When I was in Vermont, whole towns didn’t have power, and the bridges and roads were messed up so they had no way out. They were basically stuck.”

The Red Cross was prepared for the stinging results of Irene. The relief agency operated about 500 shelters and served more than 27,000 residents from North Carolina to New England.

Even popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with excitement and fear about Hurricane Irene.

Bridget Lincoln, friend of senior Ali Swee, lives in Long Island, N.Y. and was amazed with all the online attention the hurricane was getting.

“Facebook and Twitter were blowing up… people would hashtag #MeanIrene and update their status as, ‘Get outta here, Irene!’” Lincoln said. “It kind of made light out of a serious situation, which was good.”

The destruction Irene caused will take months, in some cases years, to be fixed. The hurricane has left its mark.

“Sometimes you just have to see the destruction in person,” Long said. “Pictures never do it justice.”

Roads all across the East Coast were destroyed due to Hurricane Irene. Two workmen attempt to find the telephone line along the storm battered road on highway 12 in Rodanthe, N.C. Two parts of the highway are now gone altogether, with two new inlets in their place. (Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)

28 July: The commander of Libya’s rebel army is killed in Benghazi along with two senior officers on Thursday, rebel leaders announced just hours after claiming big successes on the battlefield.

Time of Change

BY AUDREY SARACINI Sports Editor

Sion students are adaptable to change.

Throughout the years we have reconstructed the freshman hallway, shut down north campus and built a chapel. This year’s change affects the school’s schedule. Although they are packed with the additions of maisons and activity periods, this hectic new schedule is worth the extra ten minutes according to Fran Koehler, Dean of Students.

“When Mrs. King and I went to a conference in North Carolina, Sion was one of 18 schools to not have [an] advisory program,” Koehler said. “I think that Sion and schedules are synonymous, so I knew the students could handle it.”

One of the main reasons why the maisons are so beneficial is that they provide each student with mentors. Along with creating a strong bond with a staff member, students can create relationships with girls from other grades and social circles.

“As a senior I want to get to know the underclassmen before I graduate, and I think maisons are a great way to do that,” Craigin Wilson, senior, said.

The new schedule provides the opportunity for students to become involved in clubs that they never could before.

“Afterschool activities and sports are no longer an excuse not to join clubs,” Wilson said.

“Now our clubs can become more developed and important at Sion.”

August

c

22 July: A 32- year old man, Anders Behring Breivik, in Norway open fires on scores of teens at the ruling Labour Party’s youth camp on Utoya Island, leaving at least 93 dead.

c

c

July

“

Maisons are the perfect opportunity to form bonds between upper and underclassmen.

-Lucy Curfman, Junior

“

The Hurricane and its Record Rains Wreak Havoc on the Northeast

6 August: the Navy SEALs suffer a devastating loss when 30 Americans, including 22 of the elite troops, die when their helicopter is shot down in Afghanistan. This is the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in the 10year Afghanistan war.

news

7

What’s Happening in

Kansas City?

Renaissance Festival Bonner Springs

9/3-10/16

Foo Fighters Sprint Center Movie Premieres: “Drive” “I Don’t Know How She Does It” 9/16

American Royal Parade

9/16

Grand Opening Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

9/16-9/18

9/17

World’s of Fun Halloween Haunt Dance Team and Cheer Perform at Rockhurst

9/23

Uproar Music Festival at Sandstone

9/24

Sporting KC vs.

Columbus Crew

9/17-10/30

Plaza Art Fair

9/23-9/25

Taylor Swift at Arrowhead Stadium

9/24

American Royal Barbeque 9/29-10/2

10/14

8

entertainment

An Uncommon View on Race Relations in the 60s

Insipring. Beautiful.

Gut-wrenching. These are only a few words I could use to describe the movie I went to on a stale, 100-plus degree Friday night.

I thought I was going to see a movie with good reviews that made a lot of money opening week. I had seen plenty

BY TAYLOR ESCHER of those and this was just another. Well, there Managing Editor I was at AMC with a surprisingly full theater. I settled into my scratchy, maroon seat and took a deep breath as the introduction music played...The Help was just beginning.

The Help follows the story of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, played by Emma Stone; Aibileen Clark, played by Viola Davis; and Minny Jackson, played

by Octavia Spencer. Skeeter is an aspiring journalist who moves back home after college to Jackson, Miss. in the 1960s. She gets a job working for the Jackson Journal and reunites with her “friends” from the Junior League. Skeeter seeks out advice from her friends’ black maids to help her write a column about home maintenance.

Little does she know that these women will change her life. After observing how the maids are treated by the Junior Leaguers, Skeeter wants the maids’ point of view to be heard and sets out to write a book of their stories.

Stories are told and lives are unraveled. We discover the prejudices and hatred hidden behind the smiling, powdered faces of the popular women of Jackson. Many of the so-called “brightest” in society have the darkest hearts.

The story focuses the most on Aibileen and Minny. Both get shifted around from house to house trying to fulfill their duties, but are pun-

ished unfairly for crimes they did not commit and forced to endure what the Jacksonians considered, “separate but equal.” They defy society by telling their stories and put themselves and their families in danger for a noble cause.

The director, Tate Taylor, did an incredible job of placing the audience into 1960s Mississippi.

He contrasted the southern plantations’ floral couches and black and white televisions to the maid’s modest cottages with sparse decorations also paralleling the character’s lives. The costumes were perfect for the time period and everyone had big hair and fancy, bright dresses. The Help has grossed over $124,000,000 since September 4, 2011. This story has started a new conversation and gained interest from people all around the world.

This story inspired me and raised my consciousness. The Help shows us that we must continue to monitor our words and actions. This movie reminded me of what Sion teaches us: to be accepting of others despite their skin color, race, or religious beliefs. A favorite quote of mine was,“Courage sometimes skips a generation.”

However, because of movies like The Help and places like Sion, it’s not skipping ours.

As The Help shows, standing up for what is right isn’t always easy. It’s painful and can lead to loss and heartbreak. The actors in this movie pull you into the story. You are rooting for the main characters in all of their endeavors. This story makes you want to stand up and shout (as a few people did in the movie theater).

As I looked around before leaving the theater, I was struck by the variety of ages and ethnicities of the audience. While it appeared we all came from different perspectives, everyone seemed moved by the power the film. I threw away my large Coke Zero and headed toward my car in silence. I too was struck by the power of the film.

The Help is a must see for the Sion community.

Anything Goes for this Musical Fall Musical Features First Tap Performance

BY VICTORIA KENNER Reporter

9/28

Movie Premieres: “The Thing” “Footloose” “The Skin I Live In” “Trespass”

Now Playing: the Help

On November 18-20, seats will be filled with excited spectators for Sion’s first tap show ever.

“Anything goes for putting on a great show,” Gary Adams, musical director, said.

Students auditioned from September 7-9.

Penny Selle, musical director, and Adams have chosen the cast, who will work with Suzanne Norberg’s daughter, Kathy, the show’s choreographer.

“It’s hard to be sad when watching a tap show” Adams said.

Adams, Selle, Shawn Watts, co-director, and Mary Lu Johnston, costume director, are excited to direct Anything Goes, originally written by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, this fall.

Senior, Mary Tutera sings “So in Love” for her Anything Goes audition. (Photo by Victoria Kenner)

MyLifeIs Awkward...

Awkward Phrase of the Day: Freshman Dances

“At Blue and White, I thought I saw my guy friend, so I went up and hugged him from behind. He turned around. It wasn’t my friend. I yelled, ‘Sorry, wrong person!’ then ran away”- Isabel Grojean, freshman “I found my date outside the gym watching TV at Winter Formal. K.” -Kitty Tankard, sophomore “I didn’t take anyone to Winter Formal frosh year so when my group was taking pictures, I stood off to the side with the parents. Awk.” -Mary Kate Kelly, junior “My combination of lace leggings, a frayed denim skirt, and an American Eagle polo.” -Anna Reintjes, senior SME 1991, “I was a Freshman going to Homecoming- awesome dress with big jewels, poofy skirt, honey comb bangs- went with two other couples. We picked up my date. I rang the doorbell, dad answers, ‘Uh oh, Cameron is at the mall. Can I have him call you?’ I had to enter the gym (each couple got announced) ALONE. Nightmare.” -Casey McCabe, English Teacher

Feather Frenzy

Recent, Colorful Hair Trend Sweeps Sion

BY SARAH HOLLAND Reporter

A recent epidemic has hit the artsy scene: the feather. It is a hair extension that gets clipped or woven into a strand of people’s hair. Who would have thought American Idol Judge and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s signature look would have caught on worldwide? However, the reaction over the feather trend has not been taken lightly by some.

So why have these feathers caught on besides people going for the artsy look? Many celebrities, such as Selena Gomez, Ke$ha, and Hilary Duff have all rocked the look. Junior Bailey Easton has one.

“I think they are really awesome. They make a statement and are unique,” Easton said. “I feel like a bird with my feather, like I could fly away and be my own person in this sea of confusion and pressure the teenage world puts upon us.”

A brown, striped feather is also being sported by freshman Drew Hemeyer, who appreciates it for its originality.

“I wanted to try something new,” Hemeyer said.

Others take a neutral stance on the feather trend.

Meyer Freeman, Rockhurst junior said, “It’s not something that is annoying to look at like some things girls put in their hair, but it won’t make your hair look any better than it did before the feather.”

However, not everyone appreciates this new trend and feels strongly about the issue.

Junior Danielle Hogerty, who had a blue feather over the summer, said, “Brushing my hair was so annoying because the feather would get caught in the brush and now the feather trend is more for seventh graders. It used to be cool.”

The feather has been banned in some schools for being a distraction, as well as in the workplace for being unprofessional. They are also frowned upon for use as an accessory by fishermen Tom Geiger, a Cabela’s employee. The feathers people are putting in their hair, fisherman use as bait.

With the decreasing number of feathers, they are running low on stock.

“We substitute the feather when we can, but fishing is difficult without the feather,” Geiger said.

In addition to this fishing crisis, acquiring feathers is dangerous to roosters. Rooster genocide is occurring. These feathers, used as hair accessories, come from roosters genetically bred and raised for plumage.

“The roosters are being skinned and don’t survive,” Geiger said.

Will the feather trend die, or will it be the roosters that are first to go?

Above, junior, Emily Chu shows off her new striped feather. In Kansas City, feathers average between $5-$7. Below left sophomore, Claire Stofer and below right freshman, Drew Hemeyer. (All photos by Lucy Gasal)

What does your feather say about you?

Bright Feather

You are outgoing. You want the attention and your bright personality shines through. Your feather is bold and traffic stopping.

Subtle Feather

Striped Feather

You are spontaneous.

You are calm. You usuYou don’t like to plan ally go with the flow in things out, and love life and enjoy the simple things. Your feather is surprises. Your feather is noticable but still down subtle yet still sassy. to earth.

entertainment

9

Inside the Medical F iles Of:

An (Injured)

Athlete

Crutches, casts and Ibuprofen are common sights in Sion’s hallways. Why? Two words: sports injuries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2 million high school sports-related injuries each year in the United States, responsible for 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations.

On the smaller Sion scale, there are generally about three severe sports injuries a year and many more less-severe injuries, Sion trainer Dr. Kyle Jensen said. So far this school year, Jensen has had an average of 15 to 18 students line up after school every Thursday for an injury exam.

The question looms: Are sports injuries an increasing problem? Should student athletes be more concerned than ever?

Le Journal followed four Sion students : Rachel Fenimore, Angela Wood, Lauren Tyson, and Jane Crook, who epitomize the term

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“severe sports injury.”

STORY AND LAYOUT BY: ELIZABETH GIANINO AND MAURA EVELD

Concussion Catastrophe: Rachel Fenimore Count backward from 100 by sevens. Spell “world” backward aloud. Name the Vice President of the United States. Not so easy, eh?

Now: Try answering these problems with a severe concussion. Such tests were common for senior Rachel Fenimore only a few months ago. A headto-head collision during last winter’s basketball season sent Fenimore down a not-so-typical path her junior year.

Fenimore received the blow on Jan. 15, 2011. A stereotypical athlete, she played the rest of the game and two more of the tournament. But the headaches wouldn’t stop.

Her dad thought that a sinus infection might be the cause of the searing pain that permeated her left temple, just beside her eye. So, they visited a walk-in clinic in hopes of alleviating the headaches.

No sinus infection. No allergies. Instead, the nurse diagnosed the concussion, the second of her life, which pulled Fenimore from the basketball court for two weeks.

Fenimore was not alone. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. emergency departments treat 135,000 sports- and recreation- related traumatic brain injuries in children ages five to 18 each year.

According to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, younger athletes take longer to recover than adults, and multiple concussions heighten the severity of the effects.

And Fenimore’s headaches persisted.

“When I had a headache it was the most painful thing I had ever experienced,” Fenimore said. “On a scale of one to ten it was about an eleven. I had headaches from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed.”

Taking the suggestion of classmate Meryl Vannoy, who suffered a concussion during the 2010 soccer season, Fenimore went to the Center for Concussion Management for the imPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) test, a computerized concussion evaluation.

An A to B student without concussion on average scores in the 87th percentile, Fenimore said. Her score? Below the first percentile.

“I could barely stand upright,” she said. “Whenever I closed my eyes, I would tip over.”

Fenimore said she recommends that everyone take the imPACT test before playing a contact sport. Sion’s trainer Dr. Kyle Jensen agreed with the legitimacy and effectiveness of the testing system.

Sometimes athletes can’t be trusted because they want to return to their sport so badly, Jensen said. Reviewing the post- and pre- injury imPACT test scores takes some of the guesswork out and allows more reliable feedback as to whether the athlete is ready to return. Many states have already required the imPACT test among high schoolers, and Jensen predicts that Kansas and Missouri will follow within the next couple years.

This pre-injury score wasn’t necessary for Fenimore, however, because her score was unquestionably below average.

And so the treatment began. The first week of rehab, she couldn’t attend school. Texting, reading, studying, watching TV, and using the computer occupied the long list of activities Fenimore could not do.

Gradually she started attending school again, half days at a time. Her doctor advised that every time one of her headaches started up she should

leave class and go to the sick room. Often, only five minutes would go by before the piercing pain intruded.

“This sounds really bad, but it was like every time I tried to learn I was hit with a headache,” Fenimore said.

Because the headaches were not subsiding, Fenimore went to the emergency room in February for a CAT scan to make sure there was nothing more serious going on such as internal bleeding. Luckily, the results were negative, but Fenimore did receive a hard piece of advice from the doctor: She should stop playing contact sports – forever.

“And I was like ‘no,’” Fenimore said. “It freaked me out.”

Fenimore said that her doctor did offer a valid reason: If she had such serious headaches for more than nine months after her second concussion, what will happen after her third?

Despite this warning, she continued her sporting career. In fact, she was a varsity soccer player last spring. That is, until the third game of the season - she tore her anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. But that’s a whole new story…

By this point it was nearing the end of the school year – for most Sion students. Fenimore, however, had missed more than 90 class periods. In some classes, she was able to complete the year on time by making up missing assignments and taking the final.

She was so far behind in both honors chemistry and honors algebra II, though, that she couldn’t take the final with the rest of her classmates. So, come summer, Fenimore was studying for 11 tests and two finals. She completed chemistry before her ACL surgery. Then, starting June 15, she took one algebra II test every Thursday until August 1 – exam day.

“I literally finished my junior year 17 days before senior year started,” Fenimore said.

While she won’t play basketball this season as her ACL is still healing, Fenimore said she hopes to return to soccer in the spring.

A Break to Homeplate: Angela Wood

As the sand radiates from the edge of home plate to the tip of her cleats, sophomore, Angela Wood hears the claps and cheers from the now, more exuberant crowd. Though it isn’t happiness that radiates through her mind.

After sliding into home plate, she lies there long enough to feel the pain running, in a mad dash, from her pelvis to the rest of her body. As if speaking telepathically, she turns to her coach and signals for assistance. She limps back to the dugout, with the fear of knowing what may lie in the near future.

(Continued on page 12)

QA &

With Dr. Kyle Jensen

Q •

Q •

•

Q •

Q •

When are you available to Sion students?

All home games and after school every Thursday

How do you typically handle injuries? nonsurgical - manages injury at Sion or suggests appointment at his Inside Sports Clinic office surgical - suggests an orthopedic surgeon and facilitates appointments

What procedure do you follow for concussions?

concussion patients will be referred to Chilren’s Mercy to have tests done, then he will handle return-to-play managment

What is the most common injury you see at Sion?

lower extremity injuries, most commonly in the knee or ankle

do you suggest Q What for injury prevention?

•

generally for females he suggests strengthening and stretching lower extremities such as hips, quads, and hamstrings

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She inhales the mixture of dust and the dry, August air. Not knowing whether She inhales the mixture of dust and the dry, August air. Not knowing whether to sit, stand, kneel, or lie down for that matter, Wood feels the recurring pain in a more vibrant stance. Little does she know she suffers from a moderate to severe stress fracture in her right pelvis.

“I had started feeling signs of minor pain since July,” Wood said. “It was always when I ran, but even sitting and lying down caused it to become agitated.”

Assuming her pain was the cause of growth hormone, a treatment used to stimulate growth pattern, Wood decided to wait it out. It wasn’t until late August when she reached the climax of her injury.

“During an early, season game, I slid into home plate and felt a sharper pain than before,” she said. “It was so brutal that I couldn’t walk back to the dugout.”

If it hadn’t been for her coach’s nagging and constant demand to see a doctor or sports physician, Wood would have never found out that she suffered from a pelvis stress fracture.

According to Sports Medicine Doctor, Dr. Randy Goldstein, stress fractures are extremely common injuries, that usually happen over an extended period of time. Eventually, there is enough impact that triggers the inside of the bone to bleed.

So how common are these injuries? As stated by a high school sports injury study by medical researcher, Mike Szostak, the number of softball injuries reported in the 2010-2011 year was 67,862 issues, up from 63,313 that have been accounted through the previous years. Of those 67,862 injuries, 49% were considered moderate to severe stress fractures.

“When hearing what the recovery consisted of, I was immediately shocked and surprised it would take so long,” Wood said.

But to Wood, those seemingly endless four months of absolutely no exercise wasn’t found to be the worst of things.

“I think what affected me most was knowing what the season could have been like,” Wood said. “Coming from competitive softball, I was determined to contribute success to the team.”

As her recovery process drew to its conclusion, Wood became more cautious about her previous fracture. She at first took it slowly, worried that her injury would occur a second time. But as her current season progressed at an exceeding rate, she tended to role the past away.

“Now, I try not to think about it,” Wood said as one of her final remarks. “So much has occurred since then, that I seemingly think it never happened.”

Just Keep Running: Lauren Tyson

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1Cheerleading 2 Horseback Riding 3 Lacrosse 4 Gymnastics 5Soccer Football 6 7Hockey 8Rugby Information from The Top Tens

trainer when Tyson was a freshman, he did say that cross country typically produces more injuries than other sports because running is so difficult on the body.

Overuse injuries account for almost half of all sports injuries for middle and high school students, according to the Safe Kids-USA Campaign.

After enduring an air cast for three weeks, Tyson attended physical therapy, in which she worked on strength training for both legs – to regain strength in one and prevent injury in the other.

“Running is my way of getting stress out so during the time I was in a boot I was highly stressed because I had no way of running my stress out,” Tyson said. “It made me want to try even harder at recovering and preventing injuries from happening in the future.”

While she was cleared to run track in the spring, a few days into the season her leg began to hurt again. This time she knew what decision to make: no more competitive running for the school year. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

During track season and over the summer, Tyson followed a lengthy recovery process. She used the elliptical machine for several weeks, then upgraded to running on the treadmill about three miles a day. She gradually increased her mileage about three miles each week, ultimately reaching her pre-injury goal: 30 miles a week.

Cross country was a go for her sophomore year.

Proper training is key to preventing injury, local physical therapist Cari Asjes said. This entails individualizing the training to a particular sport. For example, a soccer player and a softball player should not be on the same workout regimen. Different sports use different muscle systems (upper body versus lower body) and varying techniques (planting versus turning), she said.

“And I haven’t had an injury since,” Tyson said, attributing this out-

“Don’t pull a Lauren Tyson and think you can play through the pain. Listen to your body.”

Turns out running 25 to 30 miles a week can be pretty hard on your body. What’s the proof? Just ask senior Lauren Tyson.

About halfway into cross country season her freshmen year, senior Lauren Tyson experienced the adverse effect of not respecting that she was indeed injured -- a broken leg.

“I just kept telling myself ‘no, you’re fine, you can run through this,’” Tyson said.

She had developed tibial stress syndrome, commonly known as shin splints. Instead of taking a few days off, Tyson ran through the pain. Shin splints gave way to a stress fracture in her left tibia. But she still didn’t stop.

The finished product? A broken left shin bone, which put an end to her cross country season for good. There’s no running through a broken leg.

“You feel like your shin bone is cracking in half every time you take a step until it is so unbearable that you have to stop running,” she said.

Although Jensen wasn’t yet Sion’s

- Lauren Tyson, senior

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Most Dangerous Sports

come to her training routine.

A final word from the wise: “Don’t pull a Lauren Tyson and think you can play through the pain,” Tyson said. “Listen to your body.”

ACL ABC’s: Jane Crook

As the salty mixture of sweat and tears tumbled down her cheekbone in a sideways trail, junior, Jane Crook opens her watery eyes to the horizontal crowd in front of her. That prolonged second felt forever long as her nerves rushed to the cerebral cortex of the brain, determining whether to scream. It wasn’t just pain. It was agony.

Transitioning from the spongy, worn out soccer field to the leatherback seat of a four-wheeler, Crook only wished she knew what was happening. Entering the weight room with the help of her coach, she raises her eyes to the sight of the sports trainer, Jensen.

He pulls and gently moves her knee, inspecting for meniscus and other knee related problems. The sports trainer thinks of only one solution, that Crook suffers from a severe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

“My ACL was eighty percent torn,” Crook said. “I was told that surgery was the more beneficial option.”

An estimated 200,000 ACL injuries consistantly occur annually in the United States. Of those injuries, approximately 60,000-75,000 choose to partake in surgery.

“Not everyone chooses surgery,” Goldstein said. “However, the problem with that, is with an ACL injury, your knee is under greater risk for more severe injuries.”

Crook had remembered that the surgical process was more complicated than expected. Making incisions in her left knee and using a camera to view parts of the damaged joints, the surgeon began what is medically referred to as Arthroscopy. He reconstructed her knee using cadaver tissue as a replacement for the torn ACL. “I try not to think of parts of my knee coming from a ‘dead person’s body’,” Crook said. “At this point, there were other issues circulating my mind.”

To Crook, the most important battle had yet to come. And some of it, she was not entirely prepared for.

“When the doctor, along with my physical therapist, told me how long I had to be out of soccer for recovery purposes, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the end of my career,” she said. “I remember I used to go the extra mile when running cross-country and practicing soccer drills with my dad. Now I’m kicking myself thinking if I hadn’t have done that, maybe my knee would have lasted a little longer.”

According to physical therapist, Doug Wiesner, Crook has to be in recovery for nine months. With the help of a few exercises such as: stair steps, balancing techniques, and weight bearing activity, Crook was on her way to improvement.

“Being four months post-operation, I do feel confident about my progression. I have been working out with a sports trainer at Overland Park Soccer Complex and can tell I’m getting physically stronger. Surprisingly the little things, such as increasing my resistance on the elliptical machine and choosing a heavier weight each time, can help improve my range of motion,” Crook said.

As does every great athlete, Crook not only has to strengthen her physical mobility, but her mentality as well.

“I am worried about this upcoming soccer season. What if I am not fully up to par?”

Crook asked. “But, I think there is something to be said about becoming stronger through your mistakes.”

With time to tell, Crook is a little less than halfway done with her recovery. But for this inspired athlete, everyday is a day closer to soccer.

“I’ve already decided I’m going 110% in, even if it means I have to train harder than everyone else,” she said. “I want to get as strong as I was before my injury.”

Periodically, Crook listened to a particular song over the summer, which was meant to get her through the tough times when embracing her injury. Her rousing song was called “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N” by Noah and the Whale. Crook defined the purpose of this song to getting where you want to be in life.

As the saying goes in her inspiring song, ‘What you don’t have now, will come back again.” And for Crook, those spongy blades of grass, beneath the black and white checkered ball, will soon, re-enter her life again.

“Now I’m kicking myself thinking if I hadn’t have done that, maybe my knee would have lasted a little longer.”

-Jane Crook, junior

o doubt sports injuries are an issue – four Sion athletes offer adequate proof.

Asjes said sports injuries are increasing for younger people nationally. As more and more athletes begin club or premiere sports at a younger age, overuse types of injuries become more common.

Goldstein said there are more sports injuries being diagnosed within the last five years due to year-round club sports, emphasis on college opportunities, starting competitive sports at a younger age, and the availability of sports-interested doctors.

At Sion, athletic director Dennis Conaghan said the injury rate is mainly “status quo.” He added that there may be a slight increase but atInjuries Under the Microscope: Attributed Information by Dr. Randy Goldstein tributes it to the increasing number of available sports at Sion.

Stress Fracture Injury Concussion Shin Splints Torn ACL Not all injuries can be preventIrritation of fat Lower leg gets Alteration of the Incomplete fracture, Physical ed. A lot depends on a person’s natconnection of muscle brain due to collision pushed forward casued from Occurance ural bone and ligament structure, abnormally and whiplash repeated impact to bone in the mid-shin Asjes said. But all agreed that proper Pain in the front of Headache, dizziness, Unstable joints, training can decrease an athlete’s risk Swelling, pain, Symptoms the outer leg below nausea, lack of motor limited knee of injury. Asjes and Jensen stressed tenderness the knee coordination movement, swelling sport-specific training as the key to minimizing that risk.

Optional surgery, Relative rest, Rest, rehabilitation, Physical and mental Treatment ice, rest, tape rest, staged return improving stability, cast or waling boot restoring motion 1week to several 4-8 weeks depending Recovery Time months depending 2-4 weeks 6-9 months on severity on severity

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13

A Semester in the City of Angels

Senior Jasmine Noory Spends Second Semester Junior Year in Puebla, Mexico

BY DELANEY BATES

Entertainment Editor

Puebla, Mexico. A city of rich traditions and conservative people. The wealthiest of people in the country excel and others struggle to live everyday in this beat down, third-world country. The safest city you can find by day, extremely dangerous by night. The city thriving through misconceptions, and as senior Jasmine Noory would say, “Enchanting.” The home to Noory, the second semester of her junior year, her home away from home.

The vast contrast between Kansas City and Puebla establishes itself from even the sight of the two places, but the vast contrast between Noory before and after her Mexican get-away lies beneath the surface.

Puebla is an hour and a half south-east of Mexico City and very touristic. The old architecture and historical significance makes Puebla highly respected as well as an important city in Mexico “Mexico has a lot to offer, but unfortunately the news we get here only covers the dark side of the drug trafficking. In reality, there are certain locations, cities, and some states where Jasmine and her cousin, Haydee shopping with family on the street “la 6 sur” in the center of the city on the circumstances are extreme, but that doesn’t a Sunday afternoon. (Photo Courtesy of Jasmine Noory) happen in the whole country,” Maria Alvarez, Noory’s mom, said. nication was through Internet, via Facebook. portation. But the downside to public transpor As Noory experienced the city-life of But, she only talked to her best friend, senior tation. Noory has already adjusted well to being Puebla, she also attended a private school Paige Larsen twice on the phone. back in the states and re-adapting to the once for the six months. The

“Having Jasmine familiar culture. extensive differences “It was perspective altering, gone was a different expe “No, going to Mexico wasn’t a culture shock, between Sion and El rience for me,” Larsen said. but coming back to the states was,” Noory said.

Instituto Oriente have just wanting to serve others “She was a person I spent Traveling through Kansas City, there’s eximpacted her outlook on a majority of my time with pensive houses, specialized food, and air coninstead of myself.” education. El Instituto and she was a person that I ditioning. But on a walk through the streets of Oriente is one of the most shared inside joke with. So Puebla, there’s a different culture. The sense of -Jasmine Noory, Senior prestigious co-ed high when she was gone no one “family” and “unity” stuck with Noory on her schools in Mexico, but understood all the jokes.” return. even the uniforms show the apparent differ As soon as Noory arrived home, Larsen was When looking back on those six months, ences. Noory sported a school polo with jeans eager to see her best friend.

Noory’s relationship with her mother has grown everyday, and saw a different type of behavior “One of the great things about our friendship tremendously through time spent together. Her in the classroom. is that things just fall back into place. She was dad was in and out of Puebla because of work, “Nobody would listen, it was just ridicugone for an entire semester yet when she got while her older brother was studying in school lous,” said Noory “It was out of control and back it felt as if it hardly any time had passed,” there. rowdy, but the classes were much easier than Larsen said.

“It was perspective altering, just wanting to here.”

Transportation was much different, and serve others instead of myself,” Noory said.

School days at El Instituto Oriente are contrasted with the freedom of the car she Noory’s half Mexican, half Iranian heritage from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Noory said she’d go to drives in Kansas City. Noory had to learn to use has grown because of her excursion to Mexico. bed around midnight and wake up at nine each public transportation in a big city to go to variWith the help of her native Spanish tongue, she morning, saving her homework until then to ous places such as friends’ houses. High school connects with her family in Mexico in a special complete. students her age do not own cars yet. way, learning about herself while learning about “Yes we’re in Mexico, but don’t get me “She didn’t travel alone in Mexico, but her culture. Her Spanish vastly improved over wrong, my school had a lot of wealthy kids. definitely learned how teenagers behave and to her stay, and now she considers herself fluent.

Some were somewhat narrow-minded, only take care of herself,” Alvarez said. “I hope that Her trip has impacted her life, and she has because that was the kind of families they were the experience has taught her adaptability, restarted to realize how lucky we are to have what raised with,” Noory said. sourcefulness, and tolerance.” we have. Noory feels as though her family is Noory had some communication with her Noory admitted that driving a car in now closer. friends in the states while she was in Puebla. She Mexico was much scarier than driving in the Noory said, “I definitely have a sense of didn’t have texting on her phone, but she could United States. But it was much easier for her to appreciation, look at all of the great things we call a few friends. Her main source of commuget around on her own through public transhave.”

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features

The Day Time Froze

BY LAURA TRAVIS Reporter

Time froze. Everything stopped. The rush of people scrambling down the street suddenly became still. An object was zooming across the sky with no chance of stopping. It kept coming until it hit. An explosion filled the clear blue sky with fire, ash, and smoke.

People stared at the sight not knowing that it was just the beginning of a day that would change history forever.

September 11, 2001. A day that altered America and the world. A day that everyone remembers, and that affected everyone especially those who were there to see the epitome of hatred unfold before their very eyes. People forever changed by the sight of people dying in the street, strong towering skyscrapers crumbling down into nothingness, and the sky being darkened by a cloud of charcoal smoke.

Everything happened so quickly leaving the almost 19 million people in New York in a state of chaos. Many people had no idea what was going including senior, Alyssa Carrubba.

Carrubba, who lived in New York City during 9/11, was in school at the time and recalls not being told until later in the day when everyone had to leave school, but she does remember the signs that something was wrong.

“We saw smoke in the sky. We didn’t know what was happening until late in day,” Carrubba said.

In another part of the city, Dr. Peter Chu, father of junior Emily Chu, was at a meeting when someone came in and told everyone there that the twin towers had been hit.

“The first thing we realized was there were a lot of sirens. Sirens are pretty common in New York, but there were just a lot more.

Then, the meeting was interrupted, and someone came in and said planes had hit the World Trade Center,” Dr. Chu said.

Dr. Chu and other surgeons at the conference were then transported to a makeshift hospital to try to help anyone they could from the attacks. There were not many people who came though. 2,016 people died in just the two towers alone with only a few people getting out. These survivors include Carrubba’s aunt.

“She got up and just started running to get out of there,” Carrubba said.

At first, Carrubba and her family did not know if she was safe or not. When Carrubba got home from school, her mother explained what had happened and was trying to get ahold of their aunt. They finally did discover her aunt was okay, but Carrubba found many people who did not get the same answer she did.

“I know a ton of people who lost someone,” Carrubba said.

The 9/11 attacks changed the lives of people in New York and the city itself.

Buildings collapsed. Everything around it was

covered in ash and dust, engulfed in a monster of smoke. Dr. Chu remembers everything well as he and his fellow surgeons made their way towards the scene to try to help out.

“We got on two buses and went down to the trade center which was south of where we were. We got so far, and then we could not go any further,”Dr. Chu said. “Then, we saw the emergency cars. They were all covered with more than an inch of soot and dust.”

Dr. Chu and the other surgeons from the conference went to the makeshift hospital at the sports center close by. They waited there for a long time, but no one came until night when firefighters and other emergency workers stumbled in due to exhaustion. They were looked over and given oxygen by the surgeons.

These were the only people that they helped.

“We did not see any victims. They went to different places closer to the World Trade Center,” Dr. Chu said.

As night fell, things were quiet.

The streets of the normally lively and bustling city were vacant and silent.

“People that are familiar with New York said that they were just amazed at how quiet it was,” Dr. Chu said. “No one was our on the street.”

Carrubba noticed this as well. She

remembered everything staying that way for days after the attacks. No one went anywhere unless they absolutely had to. Although people did go out again and things seemed to go back to normal, Carrubba recalls New York never being quite the same after 9/11.

“There was a really different mood for the rest of that year. It took about two years for them to clean everything up,” Carrubba said.

The remains of the attack were cleaned up, but there was never really any way to clean up the impact left on the hearts of all Americans, especially those directly affected like Carrubba and Dr. Chu. They were there to face the horror, the pain, the sorrow, the confusion, the loss, the suffering, the silence. They were there to face 9/11 with their own eyes.

The stories of everyone who was there are all different. Yet, they are all connected somehow by that one common experience.

They all share the memories of the smoke.

The smell of burning gas and fire. Hearing screams of terror and confusion. The echo of police sirens throughout the city. They all remember the sight of the two planes crashing into the World Trade Center. Destroying it into nothingness. They all remember the day that time froze.

Teacher Memories of 9/11 “Driving through the community where I taught, I soon realized from the yellow buses letting off children in the middle of that sunshine warm morning that school was canceled and that our lives in the worldwide community would never be the same.”

-Sally Frederick, English Teacher

“I remember how shaken they were and the fear that was invoked in them, not so much about their own lives but of their parents and other friends and family. Some had parents who were congress men and women, some parents who were pilots, many whose parents were on a flight that day. ” -Amy Vandenbrul, Science Teacher “It affected everybody from ages five on. Everyone who remembers 9/11 will remember where they were and what they were doing.”

-Dennis Conaghan, Social Studies Teacher

“I remember trying to answer all of the questions that my freshman Algebra I students had about the tragedy. Most of them had never heard of the World Trade Center and Osama Bin Laden. Reflecting back on it now, I never paid too much attention to global events. I am now much more aware of the global community and current events.”

-Bob Lampen, Physical Education and Math Teacher (Photos by Laura Travis)

features

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Stein Goes From Admitting to Submitting

Stein Moves from One Side of the Desk to the Other With Admissions

BY TAYLOR ESCHER Managing Editor

Early in the morning, before the sun rose over the horizon, the banging sound of the feed bins resonated through the countryside. The day was just beginning for the hog farmers and for one young girl who grew up in the middle of it all.

Living on a hog farm in Odessa, Mo., Erin Stein, college counselor, would never have guessed she would become a high school counselor at Notre Dame de Sion. All she knew, was that she would never be a hog farmer. During her childhood she constantly played school and was always pretending to be the teacher, but she never truly knew what she wanted to be.

“I was never the person that knew forever that they wanted to be one thing,” Stein said. “I was really good at encouraging people and being a helper. My passion for counseling evolved through education and practical experience.”

Stein attended William Jewell College, majoring in organizational communications and psychology. She joined the school’s faculty as an admissions counselor. She began meeting with prospective students and families and sharing her love of William Jewell with them. On a daily basis, Stein answered students’ questions and traveled to schools to discuss William Jewell and the college admissions process.

Stein soon became the Kansas City recruiter.

During a typical fall, Stein read over 400 applications for prospective students, making many admission decisions.

“I was in college admissions for six years and each year we broke records on the number of applications we received,” Stein said.

For three to four years Stein was looking at coming to Sion before a position opened up.

She wants to develop relationships with stu-

dents over a longer period of time and help individuals make positive, healthy life choices including college planning.

“I was ready to move to the other side of the desk,” Stein said. “The challenge [of coming to Sion] is not only learning a new job and get-

During a meeting, Stein talks about future college plans with junior Laura Klover, and senior Bridget Fowler (Photo by Emily Decoursey).

ting my feet under me, but getting to know the girls right at the beginning when admissions are right around the corner.”

Stein brings many new qualities to the table including knowledge of the college selection timeline and experience of the application process from the right perspective. Stein’s experience allows her to show students what is truly important to colleges. Stein will teach students how to advocate for themselves, prepare for interviews, build strong resumes, write powerful application essays, and apply to the right schools for them.

“Ivies aren’t the only good schools out there.

It’s easy to miss really great schools because

they don’t get as much recognition,” Stein said.

“The campus visit is the most important step in getting to know if the school is right for you.”

Stein has some great advice to share with the students. For seniors, she suggests taking a deep breath and doing your research.

“It’s important to really take an honest look at yourself and what works for you. Find the school that fits for you and will make you happy, regardless of others,” Stein said. “Dream big and apply to a couple of reach schools. Be hopeful but realistic.”

Also for underclassmen, Stein stresses the importance of getting involved.

“Involvement develops passion and passion gives focus and direction,” Stein said.

As the semester begins, students are getting to know Stein. Many students and faculty share rave reviews about her knowledge of the admissions process and engaging personality. “[Stein] brings a fresh, new perspective to the counseling department,” Anna Cheek, senior, said. “She was really welcoming and was excited to get to know me.”

Other students give similar opinions “[Stein] has been very helpful in my college process already and I’ve only met with her once,” senior Kimmie Bolton said. “She seems really excited which makes me more enthusiastic.”

Stein bringings new ideas, such as Stein’s College Chat Fridays for seniors, and intuitive insight to the college admissions process.

“Some people think a college decision all hinges on one thing, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Stein said. “Just take one day at a time.”

The young girl dreaming of leaving the hog farm has definitely moved on. Now, she really gets to “play school” every day. Stein has found her passion in life and found a new school to call home.

What can you do with a Sion Diploma? These alums can show you...

1. What performances have you been featured in?

1. What was your greatest Sion memory?

2. If you could say anything to the girls working hard to be on theater, what would it be?

2. What obstacles did you face?

The beautiful song. The male teachers at the High School who braved an all female environment to teach us more science and math.

I couldn’t name them all, there are so many.

I made my Broadway debut in Ragtime, and that was probably my biggest accomplishment to date.

Stay with it! Never stop polishing your craft and go to a college that will futher your growth as an artist.

Bryonha Parham 3.Have you always had the dream of be2003 Graduate Broadway Performer ing on Broadway?

I said that I would be on Broadway within 4 years after graduating college. It only took me 2.

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features

Being a woman. Yes, gender prejudice still exists.

Diane Harper 1976 Graduate Professor at UMKC School of Medicine

3. If you went back to high school what would you change?

Work at being proficient in more languages.

While my French is passable, it is not as fluent as I would like it to be, and I would like to have been fluent in at least two more languages than English.

From the Ground Up

The People of Joplin are Rebuilding One Day at a Time

BY SHANNON LAIRD

Reporter

Joplin Street one week after the tornado hit. The homes on this street were completely devasted.

(Photograph by Katherine Baker)

May 22, 2011 1:40 p.m.:

Unstable air masses reported with extremely strong super cells.

3:58 p.m.: For 90 minutes, tornado warnings are issued all over Kansas and Missouri and funnel clouds are spotted.

5:36 p.m.:

confirmed reports of funnel clouds just west of Joplin, Missouri

5:41 p.m.:

The National Weather Service confirms that an EF-5 tornado touched ground in southwest Joplin.

5:41 p.m. The sirens wail over the whole town. Dark gray funnel clouds darken the sky. Nothing stirs. Not a person in sight.

This is the scene that surrounded Joplin, Missouri on May 22 just before the EF-5 multivortex tornado devastated the entire city. Killing 160 people, and making it the deadliest tornado in over sixty years, according to federal records, it not only destroyed the town, but families too, yet Joplin still is making it one day at a time.

“Everyone was thankful to be alive, they realized how close they were to death,” sophomore Katherine Baker, who went to Joplin this summer to help restore and recover anything still left, said. “You could just see the faith in their eyes.”

Three and a half months after the disaster, rebuilding is slow. Most businesses relocated to areas of town that are still standing.

Families moved out of town. They painted their new addresses on the sides of houses so people will know where to reach them. Few people have stayed in town to face the hard times ahead, said English teacher, Shawn Watts.

“The people of Joplin are resilient,” Watts, who was born and raised in Joplin, said. “They don’t want to leave, but some are just forced to. They need work.”

July 4. Shawn Watts traveled to Joplin to see her family and help out where she could. Her eyes grew wide as she drove further and further into the absolute destruction of the town she grew up in. No camera in hand, she refrained from taking pictures to respect the residents of Joplin.

“I had seen pictures,” Watts said. “but you can’t imagine the absolute destruction until you’ve been there.”

Six of the 18 schools in Joplin were com-

pletely destroyed and another three needed serious repairs, but they have still been able to reopen on August 17, 2011 by sheer strength of will.

According to A.G. Sulzberger of the New York Times, the new Joplin High School was built in just 55 days out of the back end of a department store. It signified moving on, starting new.

And these are not the only signs of the town moving forward. The frames of houses have sprung up around town and businesses are replacing the “relocated” signs with “reopening soon.”

But there are still road blocks to reconstruction. According to Watts, Joplin is a not an affluent city. They do not have the ability to just stop working and rebuild everything. Continuing work means surviving to the next week. There is absolutely no financial security in Joplin, but they are struggling to return to the way things were they only way they know how. Elbow-grease.

Of course, the swarms of volunteers from all over Missouri don’t hurt either. Girls like junior, Stephanie Reynolds and Baker went to volunteer despite having no family or friend connections in Joplin.

These girls met people such as a man who evacuated from town before the storm and came back to find his entire home demolished, and Baker who met 89-year-old Virginia. Virginia hid in her bathtub under couch cushions during the entire tornado because her storm shelter wouldn’t open. These are the people who made it through the hard times with their faith and who claim that these girls change their lives by taking the time to help in such small ways.

So although Joplin may not be progressing at the speed everyone hoped for, they are finding the strength to move on and start new lives, one day at a time.

6:03 p.m.:

Golf ball sized hail reported. First official reports of the damage begin to come in: power poles down, trees down, homes destroyed.

6:16 p.m.: the tornado has lifted and is now a funnel cloud

7:30 p.m.: first report of confirmed dead comes in-24. Troubles with communications after phone lines fell.

Joplin High School severely damaged.

11:45 p.m.: Mayor Mike Woolston declared this tornado a local disaster.

Emergency Operations Center has been activated and is working with the American Red Cross to assist the injured.

A second Joplin street one week after the storm. The tree destroyed what was left of the home underneath it. The families on this street were left completely homeless. (Photograph by Katherine Baker)

features

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A Year to Rebuild

Golf Team Pushes Forward after Losing State-Winning Seniors

BY AUDREY SARACINI Sports Editor

A year to rebuild. After losing the top five, state-winning seniors from the golf team last year, rebuilding seemed like the only option.

What they didn’t realize is that the foundation for the team was already in place. This season, the young team stepped out of the shadow of the graduated seniors and continues to take the golf course by storm. With winning each tournament, they grow stronger and more confident as a team and as individuals.

“At the start of the season, I honestly thought we weren’t going to go nearly as far as our team went last year with all the seniors, to say the least,” junior Grace Keane said. “But, we won our first two tournaments, so my hesitations have been minimized.”

Without these hesitations, members of the team who may not have felt like a crucial player last year can step up this year. Comparing themselves with the caliber of play from the seniors last year only made their skills seem minimal.

“The seniors last year all together on the

same team were unstoppable,” Keane said.

“They all had the ability to go play in college, and playing with them made you personally feel like you were a bad golfer, not going to lie.”

With these negative feelings in the past, each player can focus on the building of skills, both individually and as a team.

Assistant coach Mary Welsh is proud of the varsity team for winning their first three tournaments. She is excited about the rebuilding year and has high expectations for the season.

“The team is comprised of such dedicated girls that their standards are set very high. They have definitely exceeded others expectations this season especially with the lose of the seniors,” Welsh said.

Keane thinks positively about the rest of the season with a storm reference.

“I think that our team has some amazing talent and we can only build on that. People I have played with have told me to my face that we are going nowhere this year with our team, which just gets me motivated. What they don’t know is that there is a storm coming that the weatherman couldn’t predict.”

Junior Hannah Malvey takes aim at Blue Hills tournament September 13th. (Photo by Meg Cowan.)

Golf for Dummies

5 terms you should know before hitting the course!

1. Hole-in-one - When the ball goes into the hole on the first shot.

2. Eagle- a hole played in two strokes under par.

3. Birdie- The player sinks their ball in one less shot than the par for a specific hole.

4. Par- the number of strokes a golfer is expected to need to complete an individual hole.

5. Bogey- a hole played in one stroke over par.

Mascot Makeover

The New, Improved and Stylish Stormy Makes Debut

BY KATIE MAHONEY Web Editor-In-Chief

Sporting the new mascot, DeCoursey pumps up the crowd even with limited arm movements. (Photo by Lucy Gasal)

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sports

A boisterous crowd roared in approval of the highly anticipated Stormy mascot introduced to the students and faculty at the Fall Sports pep assembly Friday, August 26. Thanks to Marian Tutera and the Booster Club, Stormy will be able to make her debut at volleyball and basketball games.

The people inside this new and improved mascot are none other than senior Emily Decoursey and sophomore Sophie Snider.

Emily is excited to break out some new cheers, perhaps a tornado move, she said. While Decoursey is most commonly known for her signature “flailing”, the costume, she said, is a little awkward to move in and may prevent her from being able to move normally.

“The flail might have been defeated,” she said.

While Stormy hopes to make her mark on these fair-weather fans, Scream Team Leaders Broghan McEnerney and Madison Cowherd plan on making this year one of the best our half empty gym has ever seen.

“We hope to raise the level of spirit so we get more people at the games,” McEnerney said.

They hope to inject excitement into the games. Scream Team will encourage people who normally wouldn’t go to games by making announcements on Facebook and Twitter. This way a majority of the student body will become aware of upcoming games, events, and pep assemblies.

“We want people to be loud and proud when they scream ‘All we do is win, win, win,’” McEnerney said.

“Stormy definitely pumps up the volume in the crowd.”

- Laura Klover, junior “Stormy is very edgy.

Pun intended.”

-Mallory Elder, junior “Stormy really embodies school spirit.”

- Lucy Miller, freshman

Dynamic Duo

Brothers Share Coaching Responsibilities

BY LUCY GASAL Photo Editor

Sophomore Katie Eilert defends the field against Pembroke Hill, at Pembroke on Thursday, September 8. The varsity and junior varsity suffered losses but the C team pulled out a 1-0 win. (Photo by Shannon Laird)

“Watch out for the soggy bits!” Huw Savage yelled as he watched the field hockey team run through the wet field. Huw may seem like an ordinary coach, however, he is the assistant coach to his younger brother, Gwyn Savage.

This is Huw and Gwyn’s first year coaching this field hockey team together, but they have coached club field hockey programs for KC Styx and USA Field Hockey Development.

“We work together in the same office during the day, so we can discuss what to do during practice,” Gwyn said. “We have different styles of coaching, but the same coaching principles.”

According to sophomore Sophie Snider, the two brothers joke around and laugh with each other throughout the practices every day.

When Huw or Gwyn catches a player spacing out they’ll shout “space cadet!”

in order to get their attention again, according to Sinder.

“Whenever I miss a shot, they’ll yell, Taxi!”Sophomore, Katie Eilert said.

Although Huw and Gwyn can be caught laughing and joking around, they both have years of experience not only coaching field hockey but also playing in Wales, where they are originally from.

Huw and Gwyn take advantage of being brothers and coaches of the same team. They work together in order to get the most out of practices.

“I know I can leave it to him. We discuss, during the day, what our focus will be on at practice,” Gwyn said. “Be it defending, set pieces, or a specific skill and i don’t have to worry, it takes some weight off my shoulders.”

Being in charge of 40 girls on a field hockey team may seem like a difficult task. However, with his brother at his side Gwyn brings it all together.

New Beginnings

Teams recovers from the loss of seniors with freshmanPhotos by Katie Mahoney

BY EMILY DECOURSEY Multimedia Editor

Every game, six players assemble on the court, nothing extraordinary about it. It’s how its been for years. This year, something is new, on the court you’ll find three new freshmen eager and ready to get the opportunity to be on the varsity squad.

After the loss of six seniors last year, the team needed some new members to breathe life into the team. With only three returning varsity players, the freshmen are a welcome addition. But they haven’t blended perfectly.

“On the surface, it looks like we’re falling short but with such a young team we have already done some things well such as serving and back row defense,” Couch said.

Anticipating the surge of new players, Couch offered many summer programs and opportunities to make the transition so that the underclassmen would not have to spend time adapting.

“I can definitely relate because I know being a freshman in itself is extremely intimidating and awkward, I know that they’re nervous and maybe overwhelmed by the fast pace but that’s their job as a member of varsity to adapt.” senior captain Katie Mahoney said

Freshman Mary B. Freeman said it was intimidating at first to be on varsity but was supported by the upperclassmen and feels comfortable now.

The label “freshmen” leaves them as soon as they step on the court.

“They are playing huge roles and I expect them to contribute just as much as Katie Mahoney, senior.

Being a freshman is not an excuse. I expect them to be just as good. They are on varsity for a reason,” Couch said.

In the coming years, Couch hopes to see the freshmen take on leadership roles explaining all the of them have amazing worth ethic.

They are a very, very talented group of girls.

They just need to step it up and show what they got, they just need to bring it during the game.”

Mahoney said.

Freeman said she is ready to take on the challenge and support next years freshmen making sure they are welcomed and feel comfortable.

So next time the six girls gather on the court to play it’s not three returning and three new players.

It’s a team.

Junior captain, Megan Bohannon, prepares for a serve at the St. James Tri-Tournament September 1. The Storm was defeated. (Photo by Robyn Mahoney)

FRESHMAN FAST FACTS Mary B. Freeman

Height: 5’ 8” Years played: 4 years Position: right side

Laura Willsey

Height: 5’ 10”

Years played: 5 years Position: middle hitter

Elizabeth Shay Height: 5’ 8”

Years played: 4 years Position: outside/ middle hitter sports

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Gary Adams, Music Teacher

Jennifer Brown-Howerton, History Teacher

Marilyn Drease, Math Teacher

Casey McCabe, English Teacher

Planking A new trend called planking started over the last year. According to Urban Dictionary, planking occurs when someone lays horizontally in a strange or unusual place, making people that pass by feel extremely awkward. Over the past month, teachers and faculty have been caught planking...

Bob Lampen, P.E. Teacher

Erika Ellwanger, Counselor

Stephanie Pino-Dressman, Theology Teacher

Karen Phillips, Counselor

last look

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