LHS Newspaper April Edition

SCAN & VISIT

LHSNEWS Volume 88, Issue 9

THE BELL April 27, 2012

Liberty High School

FEATURES

Feeling depressed, lost or scared? You are not alone.

Find out where you can turn for help.

11

A&E

Crown Center gets fishy!

Molly Meeks gives you a first-hand look at Kansas City’s new aquarium.

17

SPORTS

NEWS: The votes are in! Meet your new Student Council officers.

Serving a surprise: see how Ethan Hannah and his teammates have continued to rally with only two seniors. see page 5

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ON THE COVER Sophomore Jakoby Swanson gives his speech to the registered student voters at the Student Council elections on April 4th. He was elected junior class president for the 2012-2013 school year. photo by Lauren Pouliot Also featured on the cover (from top to bottom): photos by Lauren Pouliot, Molly Meeks, and Sammi Novak

THE BELL STAFF Editor In Chief Ashley McGee Managing /Opinion Editor Amanda Fisher Features/Design Editor Chris Mohr Sports Editor Mat George News Editor Nathan Hunt Copy Editor Haley Sheriff Ads Manager Shelby Curtis Online News Manager MacKenzie Sackett Twitter Convergence Cody Clawson Website Technical Support Cody Kesler Adviser Lori Oyler Reporters: Jacob Boese Ben DeHart Madison Denton

Michaela Lamb Molly Meeks Diana Timmermans Kayla Hammer

Photography Staff: Rachel Bower Lucas Carrel Emily Houck Breann Koch Samantha Novak

Clarissa Parker Lauren Pouliot Kelley Rowe Kyle Rutliff Mackenzie Spencer

OUR MISSION Our mission for the 2011-2012 school year is to bring together a variety of people and ideas to produce one collective body composed of articles, photographs and commercial messages. In this manner, we strive to provide a reliable, first-hand news sources that not only represents the Liberty High School community, but is created for them, by them, and about them. The Bell is a public forum for student expression.

CONTACT US 200 Blue Jay Drive Liberty, MO 64068 thebell@liberty.k12.mo.us (816) 736-5353

Liberty High School has taken the time to freshen up its hallways with greenery. This also helps the school look more modern, since it was built in the 1970s. The plants were placed in October, 2011. photo by Clarissa Parker

A GREENER PLACE FOR EVERYONE

by MacKenzie Sackett

LHS has taken a step towards becoming a greener school.

The concept of “going green” has been a huge topic over the last few years. It is time for schools to start doing what they can to be environmentally friendly. Liberty High is leading the pack in the metro area.

“I have tasked Joey Wheelhouse, who is our Student Council Executive President to research green schools, because I would like to infuse as many elements as we can with the green school initiative into our school,” Dr. April Adams said. “And that’s really looking at, what elements of our environment can we bring from the outdoors, indoors to help stimulate learning and enhance the school, not only esthetically but also looking at the air conditions and those kinds of things.

We also want to see what are some things we can do... to incorporate projects that are more recycle-oriented.”

According to The Center For Green Schools, schools that take on the “green initiative” can actually help preserve the environment. Schools that go green not only conserve energy and water but they also lessen the overall environmental impacts through responsible approaches to the building site and local ecosystems.

“I did some research on how schools can become more green and I found some benefits of putting plants up in the school and using food scraps as compost for healthier gardens,” senior Joey Wheelhouse said.

Schools that go green can actually help the planet by reducing energy use, water use and solid waste. They also help save taxpayers money by conserving energy.

“Plants reduce oxygen into the air and clean the school’s air. Putting scraps on soil in gardens help keep bugs off of them so that way you don’t have to use chemicals instead,” Wheelhouse said.

LHS has been very involved with recycling for the past few years. Recycling programs that involve students directly teach responsible environmental habits they can apply at home. Diverting solid waste from landfills reduces impacts on municipal services.

Having a greener school not only helps the environment it also helps students learn better.

“I had read a study by NASA that talked about how bringing in greenery can have a high impact on your air quality because through the photosynthesis process, plants clean the air. So if you have more oxygenated cleaner air, what happens to the learning environment?

You have a higher degree of learning environment because you have cleaner air, there’s more oxygen flowing into the air,” Adams said.

Also, according to The Center For Green Schools, healthy indoor air quality and classroom acoustics are just two elements of green schools that can contribute directly to enhanced student and teacher performance.

Fewer sick days for teachers and students makes for an even better education for students.

Graduation is soon approaching! As the seniors of The Bell staff are all anxiously awaiting their moment to walk across the stage and acquire their diploma, reporter Ben DeHart brought his cap and gown to school to show it off to all the underclassmen. Unfortunately, he lost his cap while parading it around and thinks it fell into this issue of The Bell! The first person to find and bring back Ben’s cap to the room 101 at the beginning of sixth hour will receive a prize courtesy of The Bell Staff.

VIVE LA FRANCE!

by Nathan Hunt French students journey to a whole new world.

In June, students who have been enrolled in French classes have the chance of a lifetime to travel to France with their teachers.

“This will be our third trip to France; we go every other year,” French teacher Jessica Lumetta said. “Before I came here, they used to also do it every other year but there was a break in between.”

Lumetta has a passion for anything and everything French. “My first time to France was the summer after my senior year of high school; that would have been in 1998,” Lumetta said, “That is what helped inspire me to become a French teacher.” Students tend not to realize that the rest of the world is not the same as America and Europe is no exception.

In order for students to travel to France and have fun with it, they needed to go through a bit of training in order to prepare for the experience. “We have meetings every couple of weeks in Mme. Sneade’s and Mme. Lumetta’s rooms. They talk with us about what is different about Europe. Also about how we ought to conduct ourselves; some of the things we have to think about,” sophomore Haley Ferguson said.

“For example, the ‘American smile’; we tend to smile at everyone and wave at everyone even if you do not know them here in the Midwest,” Ferguson said. “But that would be totally bizarre in France, things like that.”

The teachers taking these students will help the young adults know the ropes of French culture. “French people care a lot about being polite,” Lumetta said, “It is really important to them. Sometimes Americans have this misconception that they do not like Americans, which is not true. They do like Americans, but it is important that they approach them in a polite way, saying ‘ma’am’

and ‘sir’ and ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. The French are a little bit more reserved with strangers than Americans are.”

While this may sound like a little work, it is one thing the students look forward to. “The food is very different. It is so incredibly fantastic: my favorite thing is the ice cream,” Lumetta said. “It is so much better than American ice cream, there is no other way to explain it.

It is delicious and wonderful and I love it,” Lumetta said.

If the students do not find the food to be a nice enough reason to go, maybe it is the fact that their teachers will be traveling with them.

“I love Mme. Lumetta, spending any time with her would be great, especially since she is so against hanging out with me outside of school. I’m not bitter or anything,” senior Leah Rutliff said.

There are many other reasons students want to go to France; some want to see the museums and the monuments.

“Je vais aller au Louvre. [I am going to the Louvre.]

I like art museums,” Ferguson said. “Getting to see the Mona Lisa would be nice, I have heard it is actually pretty tiny. I think we might be going to the Louvre; at least I hope we are. Also, just getting to see the ancient Roman ruins in Provence, which is Southern France, is going to be pretty cool.”

Others want the opportunity to shop until they drop.

“I would love to shop. I want to go everywhere and just shop and buy everything I can,” Rutliff said. With the possibility of going to the Louvre, shopping and seeing ruins, these Frenchies are anxious to say au revoir to America and bonjour to France!

The Frenchies are leaving in June of 2012 to go visit France. They will be traveling all over the country to see different historical sites. photos by Mackenzie Spencer

THE BELL

Lumetta has many maps of France and Paris hanging around her room, showing her love of France.

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The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. This is an attraction the students will be seeing while visiting.

NEWS

IT’S ALL IN YOUR GENES

by Michaela Lamb Students study cancer cells in Principles of Biomedical Sciences.

Almost everyone knows someone whose life has been affected by cancer, but they may not understand how cancer actually works. All of that is changing and it starts in a high school classroom.

Every year, students in Principles of BioMedical Sciences get an opportunity that most high school students could never imagine having. They are given the chance to work with cancer.

The cells that high school students are able to work with are, of course, sterile. Living cancer cells pose a danger to anyone working with them or in an area that may be contaminated with them. The cells come from a woman named Henrietta Lacks, who died in the 50s of cervical cancer.

“HeLa cells are cancerous cells from a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She was the first person that scientists were able to cultivate cells from and those are the cells that people look at when they are doing research on

cancer,” junior Sania Lohdi said.

For reasons unknown to scientists, Lacks’ cancerous cells never fully died, even after they had been removed from her body and cultivated in a lab. They have been called immortal cells, but they are more commonly known as HeLa cells.

Because the secret of the cancerous cells rests in the DNA, students are taught the actual procedure that scientists use in extracting the DNA from the nucleus of the cell. And it is not as high-tech as it sounds.

“It was a really exciting process,” junior Macayla Witt said. “We drop the HeLa cells from several feet up, onto a slide so that the nucleus of the cell bursts and we can see the chromosomes. Seeing the difference between normal cells and cancer cells was really interesting.

Cancer cells have an extra chromosome and you can see it when you look at the slides under a microscope.”

This lab is one of the favorites of both students and

teachers in the BioMedical program.

“I really like doing the HeLa cell lab. It teaches you how to separate cells and group them according to different characteristics. I think it’s taught me about how science has grown over the years and everything we are learning someone discovered doing what we are doing now,” senior Andrew Reith said.

With such a relatable topic, it is easy to keep students on task and interested in what they are learning. Labs like this one further a student’s understanding of the disease.

“I like this lab for a lot of reasons. I think that this type of thing is where students really start to learn,” Principles of Biomed teacher Tim Block said. “It’s a great history lesson and it illustrates how science works in the real world.”

Juniors Marissa Valencia and Arfa Anam work on their project for Bio Med, in which they are studying of cancer cells. photos by Clarissa Parker

Principles of BioMeidical teacher Tim Block demonstrates cell work on the board for his students so they can better understand cancer cells.

THE BELL

Junior Madison Cook researches the different cell types of cancer to prepare for the lab.

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NEWS

DECISION 2012

by Diana Timmernmans

The StuCo class officers of 2012 have been elected.

In the storm of political campaigns and ads this year at the national level, Liberty High School had their own elections on April 4, 2012. During advisory, registered student voters listened to the speeches from the candidates and voted at lunch on who they think would best fit the criteria of each position. Positions that were contested were for the senior class president, vice president, and secretary and for the junior class president and vice president; all other positions had only one candidate running but nevertheless the candidates still had to give a speech.

Executive council is higher up than class presidents and other jobs in StuCo. Class presidents and others are sort of like representatives for the student body.

Junior Jimmy Sitzman won the election for next senior class president.

“We definitely need to integrate ideas from the student body along with the student council in order to have the best ideas come forth,” Sitzman said. He and other next year StuCo members believe that making our high school a safe environment for everyone is a main goal.

Members of StuCo are all excited for next year.

“I am looking forward to being a leader in Student Council because I really like

StuCo,” junior Jessyka Verickas said.

Verickas was elected to be next year’s executive council treasurer, where she will be planning fundraisers for Special Olympics.

“I am really looking forward to state, because I heard it’s really fun,” sophomore Serena Baker said. “State” Sophomore Serena Baker speaks to her is the Missouri Student Council Junior Jimmy Sitzman was elected thr senior class about why she should be elected Association’s convention, where student class president for the 2012-2013 school year. junior class vice president. councils from around Missouri meet and talk about how to make their schools a better place. Baker was elected to be junior class president.

“I am excited how the student council will be upholding our new traditions, like the homecoming carnival,” junior Alex Zaborac said.

“Next year’s executive council members are some experienced kids in student council and I’m excited for them. I think next year’s student council will be in good hands with Alex Zaborac in charge and she is going to do a great job,” senior Joey Wheelhouse said.

“I am excited because I got to know them a little bit better this year and I’m excited because we are doing a leadership class next year and I will get to know them even better,” student council adviser Marla Badalucco said.

Junior Marie Taylor, elected senior class vice president next year, gives her motivational speech for why she should be elected.

In Memory of Tim Reppy SEPTEMBER, 16, 1993APRIL 16, 2012

Juniors Jessyka Vernickas, Nathan Hunt, Tyler Hannsz, Alex Zaborac, Hannah Scholes, Sarah Hassan, Re Girvin, Marie Taylor, Audrie Estrada, Jimmy Sitzman and Sami Cintron listen to the underclassmen speeches. photos by Lauren Pouliot

THE BELL

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NEWS

SPOTLIGHT TIM LEONZON

by Madi Denton

TL LD

“Tim’s dancing skills are great, he picks up choreography so fast. He’s been dancing for five years and has already caught up to me. He puts so much emotion and passion into dance,” senior Shaunika Leonzon said.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

How did you get started in dance?

I started when I was in sixth grade. A lot of my friends and my dance teacher convinced me to dance. The first time I said no, but my sister pushed me into it. After thinking about it, I thought it was time to try it.

Where are some of the places you have gotten to go dance?

For Nationals last year, we went to Sandusky, Ohio and now this year we get to go to Branson.

What did you have to do to join the national dance team, CODE? After Nationals you have to audition for it.

First you’re interviewed, then the director calls you up and then you have to dance.

Leonzon keeps his grades up while dancing and being involved in his community. photo by Clarissa Parker

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

What are your favorite dance styles?

Lyrical and Contemporary, because you get to express your feelings on the dance floor. I also like the splits.

How would you describe the atmosphere of your dance studio?

We are all like a family. I dance at CODE, which stands for the Conservatory of Dance Education.

We are always welcoming new dancers.

What do you think about people who say dancing isn’t a sport?

People can say whatever they want, but try to do half of the stuff we do and try not calling that a sport.

“We had free time in 7th hour before Spring Break and I decided to put on a couple of songs. Tim told us he had a routine to The Wop, so we talked him into dancing. He was incredible! The students ask him to dance for us on a regular basis now, whether there is music involved or not!” Communication Arts teacher Kelsie Blakley said.

LYDIA DAVIS

by Michaela Lamb

“I know Lydia started playing cello in 5th grade like most other people, but she stuck with it when other people quit. That determination is what’s made her so good now,” junior Sean Moore said.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

How long have you played cello?

I got started in 5th grade when we were old enough to start in the school orchestra. It really stuck with me and I’ve been doing it ever since.

How much time do you devote to cello?

Well, I have orchestra every day at school and I usually spend about an hour or so practicing every night. I also teach cello lessons to younger kids, so between all that, I would say that it’s one of my largest time commitments.

What is it like teaching students?

I really enjoy it. They really want to learn so its fun for both me and the student. It’s a fun job, not a chore.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

Do you plan to continue with cello after high school?

Next year as a senior, I’ll definitely look into colleges that have a good orchestra program. I can’t really imagine not doing cello, it’s such a big part of my life.

How do you manage your time while you devote so much of it to cello?

I make time for my friends. It’s just like any other kid who has a job. I always make sure I’m not working too hard and have time for fun.

Would you encourage other people to get involved with a musical instrument?

I definitely would. It’s such a good thing to do, it looks great on resumes and applications and it teaches discipline and hard work. For people who are serious about learning an instrument it isn’t too much like work.

“Lydia Davis is an outstanding student and musician in every way. She is in a leadership position because she works so well with the others and is an excellent role model for them,” Orchestra teacher Mary Lou Jones said.

THE BELL

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Davis devotes hours out of her life to master the art of cello. photo by Sammi Novak

FEATURES

SPOTLIGHT BRADLEY DICE

by Kayla Hammer

BD LL

“Bradley Dice is a good man. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. Every time I have a conversation with him I discover something either about the world or myself. He’s really an enlightened guy,” senior Scott Prewitt said.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

What are your achievements in Scholar Bowl?

We have had a successful season overall this year. We’ve won 4-6 tournaments, which is really good. This year we’ve gained a lot of talent and it’s going well.

What is your greatest achievement?

I’m proud to not only be a captain but am proud to represent Liberty High School by my academic achievements.

What is your role on Scholar Bowl?

Q: A: Q: A:

Where has Scholar Bowl taken you?

I’ve had the opportunities to meet other students that are very intellectual who have become my friends. I’ve been to nationals twice and this year our team qualifies.

Why did you join?

I was invited my freshmen year, found success with it. It is my source of enjoyment.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m going to William Jewel where I will study in Physics, Math and Chemistry. This summer I will be doing research in Fluid Dynamics.

“Bradley Dice is one of the most remarkable students I have been privileged to work with in my 17 years of teaching. His tremendous intellect never overshadows his humanity for others. His dedication to Scholar Bowl is second-to-none and that has allowed our program to be among the top teams in the state this season,” Chemistry teacher Rosemary Camp said.

I’m the captain and a statistician, which tallies up the winnings and points.

Dice has set his mind on triple majoring at William Jewell College in math, chemistry and physics. photo by Mackenzie Spencer

Q: A:

LEE LEDDY

by Shelby Curtis

“He’s a great teacher and tells some very interesting stories,” junior Victor Bissonnette said.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

When was the plane crash you were in?

It was 1971; in early August when I was right out of high school. I was in Texas at a friend’s dad’s airport that he bought from the military. He let me work there and in return I got free flying lessons.

Were you flying the plane when it crashed, or were you a passenger?

It was one of the last flights of my training, coming back from Padre Island and I stopped in Cuero, Texas to fuel up and have them sign my logbook. I only got about 1,700 feet off the ground, then it started coming down tail first.

Do you remember the whole crash?

Q: A:

How badly were you injured?

I had a pretty bad head injury, but there was a neurosurgeon convention in town, and a Canadian doctor there was asked to operate on me. He stopped them from putting a metal plate in my head because he said it could rust and be dangerous. I guess I was pretty lucky.

Q: A:

Have you flown since then?

I actually flew a couple weeks after that back to Illinois. My friend owns three planes so I get to fly them occasionally. I actually got my permit for flying before a permit for driving.

After the plane hit a few trees and spun into a nose dive, I blacked out. The Cuero airport saw the crash and radioed for help. They said I must have crawled out because there were bloody handprints along the side of the plane.

“Mr. Leddy has a unique personality and a lot of interesting life experiences. There is definetely more than meets the eye with him, and he’s great to work with,” Mathematics teacher Joyce Boike said.

THE BELL

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Mr. Leddy tells his students about his great adventures. photo by Kelley Rowe

FEATURES

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Get Ready For Prom Bluejays!

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Ryan R. Snyder, M.D

816-792-9911 1917 Star Dr. Suite A

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DORM ROOM ESSENTIALS

by Chris Mohr

The ultimate guide on packing for your first year of college.

The following four people are either freshmen or sophomores in college at the University of Missouri - Columbia or Missouri State University. All four were members of The Liberty Bell newspaper staff. Olivia Palmarine and Lindsey Wilson graduated in 2010 and Jason Shaw and Jamila St. Ann graduated in 2011. They give their advice and present their experiences with packing for college and they determine what items are necessary.

Olivia Palmarine

Lindsey Wilson

Missouri State University Sophomore

University of Missouri Sophomore

Q: A:

Q: A:

What items should all college students have?

Lots of snacks and Gatorade, a coffee pot for their room and lots of places to store stuff because there is absolutely nowhere with the furniture they give you.

Q: A:

What items can you not live without?

I was addicted to my coffee pot and I know I said that was an essential item but you seriously have no idea how nice it is to be able to make your own coffee.

What items should all college students have?

Every student has to have bed risers from Bed Bath and Beyond! Your room will be so small that the under bed storage will be your lifesaver. Every student also needs tons of post it notes and highlighters for reminder notes.

You also can’t forget a rain jacket. Weather is the enemy in college and rain is the worst kind! That rain jacket will keep you dry. You also need a bath robe and shower shoes. Walking down the hall of your dorm in just a towel is as awkward as it sounds. Bring tons of pictures too!

You don’t even need frames! Putting pictures on white walls makes your room seem so much more homey and reminds you who to call when you’re lonely that first month.

Jason Shaw

Jamila St. Ann

University of Missouri Freshman

University of Missouri Freshman

Q: A:

Q: A:

Q: A:

What items should all college students have?

Some essentials a student must have in their room are a TV, microwave and fridge, some loud speakers, a calendar, medicine, tons of snacks or little food, cleaning materials, personal toiletries is a must of course, and patience with your roommate.

What are some tips to avoid over packing?

To avoid over packing, students should make a list of what they really need instead of just throwing things in a suitcase and going. With every trip you take home as the semester comes to an end, start taking things back. That way you have space in your dorm room.

THE BELL

Q: A: 9

What items should all college students have?

Every college student needs extra storage containers.

Store snacks, sheets, extra toiletries, all that jazz.

What are some tips to avoid over packing?

The best way to limit yourself to avoid over packing is to avoid packing boxes. I used a military sized suitcase and a duffle bag, my storage containers and one small recycling grocery bag. If you have boxes, it feels like once you’ve filled one, you need more and you don’t.

FEATURES

OFF THE CLOCK

by Mat George

Students gets jobs during the summer for many reasons, whether it be parents telling them they need to learn responsibility and get some real world experience or because they want or need to make their own money.

Tim Hannah

Allie Holyfield

Casey Clawson

Junior

Junior

Junior

“I work at Worlds of Fun. [My friends] said it was really easy and fun and that I would be good at it. So I thought, “why not?” I work in games, so I’m the guy on the microphones that yells really loud to try and get the people to come over and play the games I run. My favorite part is getting to meet and interact with people every day from all around the world. Also I can get in for free at any amusement park in Missouri. The hours are really long, and until summer starts its only on the weekends. It’s especially bad because kids who are under 16 can’t work the night shifts and I have to work them.”

“I work for a company called MSP. I started this job a long time ago, like when I was in sixth grade. My friend, Savana Morrison’s dad owns the company and the workers have always been either friends of ours or students of her dad and brother. I make shirts; it’s really easy. We have this machine that’s like a giant iron and it presses the heat transfer onto the shirt. My favorite part is that we have a lot of down time that is supposed to be used for organizing and other things, but I use it for napping. My least favorite part of the job is when the softball moms try to find mistakes on their shirts so they can get discounts. It gets to the point where I see the moms make the mistake and then bring it back, then I have to be mean and it’s horrible. I work every weekend, usually all day. Then when the World Series comes along I work all week from seven to 12. It’s miserable.”

Juniors Allie Holyfield, Tim Hannah and Casey Clawson explain their how they spend their summers. photos by Mat George

“I lifeguard and clean neighborhood pools.

I have to get up every morning at 7:30 and go to my three pools and clean them. It gets faster throughout the summer but it usually takes one to one and a half hours.

My least favorite part of the job is not being able to sleep in during the summer. My job starts after Memorial Day.”

IT GETS BETTER

by MacKenzie Sackett

Help is right around the corner.

For some students, getting up for school in hard to ask for help. I didn’t want anyone to think I the morning can be difficult, yet they still find it was being selfish or had a weird disorder. It took me manageable. For students that suffer with depression, until I was over the edge, literally having nightmares however, it can take about everything for them to get and shaking spells before I asked my mom to help,” the motivation to get out of bed and make it through Emma* said. the day. According to a survey sent out by The Bell Even though some teenagers are able to recognize staff, 83% of the 108 students at Liberty High School the signs that they are suffering from depression that participated have experienced some type of completely by themselves, others are not able to depression as a teenager. The stress of school can recognize the symptoms until suicide becomes an make it even harder to fight this disorder. issue.

“Depression has very much affected my life. There “It was so hard to get motivated. When you have no are days where I would wake up before school and support from the people closest to you, it can become seriously debate hurting myself so I wouldn’t have to a huge struggle to try to overcome a monster that is go. Of course I never did. Even now, all I want to do growing out of control,” Corey* said. is sleep the day away, but that’s no way to live, so I get Although teens suffering from depression may feel up,” Emma* said. like there is no hope One of the biggest for them to recover If a student is suffering from depression or from depression, there struggles that teenagers wants to get help or information regarding is. Depression can with depression have is fighting the lack of depression they can talk to their school be an ongoing battle motivation that comes counselor or social worker first of all. They for years and years to along with depression. can call one of the hotlines like Synergy, come but a physiatrist A lack of motivation or psychologist can that’s available. There is also a national help. can make it extremely depression hotline; those phone number hard for teenagers to be “Going and seeing successful in school. It are in the counseling office. They can also a therapist was one of also makes it hard for contact their family physician and go talk the best decisions I’ve them to get motivated to them and they can make a referral or ever made. I literally to fight the disorder or had no one to talk to assess the situation. get help as well. about my problems - social worker Kathy Mendes and having a therapist “When my depression was really bad, it made me feel was hard for me to important. She helped concentrate in class because I had so many issues me realize some things about myself that I hadn’t outside of school that were on my mind. I would thought about. It really helped me start to move on come home from school and either watch TV or sleep from the things that were bothering me,” Katy* said. instead of doing homework because it was my way of Depression may take years to overcome certain coping with my problems. I didn’t want to not do well aspects of one’s depression but it is possible with a little in school but I just felt so lost that I didn’t feel good hope, help from loved one’s and most importantly, enough to even try and get good grades,” Katy* said. belief in one’s self.

Depression can also lead teens to abuse drugs or “For anyone who has depression, I want him or her alcohol, surround themselves with bad influences, to look for their ultimate goal in life: a job, money, a hurt themselves and even suicide. It is best to spouse, seriously, anything! Instead of working to get recognize the symptoms of depression early to get the your bed made or to finish your homework, work as help necessary to cope with the disorder. These signs if everything you do gets you one step closer to that include: a poor performance in school, withdrawal goal. As long as you dream, you can live, but if you from friends and activities, sadness and hopelessness, don’t live, you won’t dream, and everything you’ve lack of enthusiasm, energy or motivation, anger and done would be in vain,” Emma* said. rage, poor self-esteem or guilt and changes in eating or sleeping patterns.

“I didn’t know I was suffering from depression until the end of 8th grade when I would come home and realize I haven’t spoken to anyone for days and just ** names have been changed to protect the privacy of want to sleep away any free time I had. It was very the individuals.

“

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FEATURES

WHERE IN THE WORLD...

by Ben Dehart and Nathan Hunt, design by Chris Mohr

...are these seniors going?

Senior year is, for many kids, the one year of high school to cut loose and have fun. Most students have already chosen their college and planned out their course schedules for easy classes that are more enjoyable rather than serious. The summers before and after senior year are vital times to be able to experience a trip to a fascinating new place to create memorable moments with friends. These seniors share some of the details of the trips they are planning this summer. photos by Cody Clawson, Ben DeHart and Chris Mohr

“I went to Spain this past summer. My parents were like, ‘This is part of your graduation present.’ It was really cool because it was before senior year so it was a great way to start it all off and to get ready for it. It was the Spanish class trip; so many of the Spanish students went. They were a bunch of really fun and cool people. If I could take anyone though, I would take Enrique Iglesias because he speaks Spanish and he is really cute. I feel like he would be able to make some really good connections and help me out with the culture. I expected it to be super touristy and really fake; and for the people to not like us at all. But it was almost the exact opposite; it was so real and we got to see how they live. Everyone was super nice; it was awesome and so fun. We traveled to a couple different cities, like Madrid, Barcelona and Cavil. We were there for two weeks. It was a really long time and we just spent a few days in four or five different cities. We got to site see and learn about all the history. We also got to go to the beach and eat really good food. It was a lot of fun. One day we just got to lay out all day; we got chairs and on the white, sandy beaches; it was beautiful. I loved it,” senior Kristin Filardo said.

“I am going to Barbados. We will be swimming with dolphins and playing with baby tigers; I have been googling it. This is basically my graduation present. I am going with a bunch of my friends.

We will be flying; it is an 11 hour plane ride. I am so excited. We will be there for five days. I expect Barbados to be really different from the United States,” senior Ashlyn Mansil said.

Senior Alex Hubbs is going to Fripp Island, South Carolina with his girlfriend over the summer.

“We are just going to celebrate graduating and being together throughout most of high school,” Hubbs said.

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Senior Victoria Malicoat is going to the Bahamas with her cousins to celebrate graduating high school. Malicoat’s parents told her that they would be going to the Bahamas on Christmas. “It was definitely the best present I have ever received,” Malicoat said.

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Seniors Troy Blasé and Wes Jones are taking a roadtrip all over the state of Texas. “We’re really excited to go to Arlingotn to see Cowboys Stadium,” Blasé said.

INDEPTH

Senior Drew Dempsey says that his friends and him will take their raft to a random river and set sail.

“We just want to experience a real adventure and live out in the wild for a few days,” Dempsey said.

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Senior Megan Asbury is going to Cancun with her parents.

“My parents surprised me on my birthday by telling me that we were going to Cancun.”

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“I am going on a cruise. We leave from Miami and go to a place in the Bahamas and then another place in the Bahamas. Then we have one day at sea and it is back to Miami. I will be gone, in all, for a week. My mom, dad, sister, it is her senior trip as well but for college, my cousin and his parents and then my other cousin and his dad are all going with me. I am very excited. I have always wanted to go to the Bahamas so I am so excited to finally be able to go. It is going to be hot there; I hope I get a tan but I do not tan very easily. But if I could go anywhere, I would go to Italy, because all the pictures I see and scenes from movies I see are really pretty and just the beaches. It would be fun,” senior Mackenzie Soencer said.

INDEPTH

COLLEGE ROOMMATES:

SHOULD YOU KNOW YOUR FUTURE ROOMIE OR NOT?

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CON

IT’S NICE TO SEE A FAMILIAR FACE Amanda Fisher

STRANGER DANGER NO MO’ Ben DeHart

They always say college is the best time of your life.

It’s supposed to be the time when you go and meet new people, where you try new things and plan your future.

Now, wouldn’t all of this be so much fun if you lived with someone you knew?

I’ve never been the shy kid. I make friends easily, I’m very talkative and love meeting new people. However, I think it’s a great idea to know your roommate before you go to college.

I see no harm in rooming with a friend you currently have. I would hate to have to live with a stranger and get to know them by sleeping in the same room with them. Talk about awkward. For me, my best friend, Jackie, and I are rooming together this fall.

A huge perk about knowing your roommate is having someone there that reminds you of home. Though I will have so much fun this fall, I will definitely get homesick and by being able to live with a friend, you have a little piece of home there with you that gives you that homey feeling a blanket can’t give you.

Most of my college friends have warned me about knowing your roommate before school. They claim they usually end very badly and sometimes, even switch dorms by the end of the semester. None of that worries me the slightest bit.

Not to sound ignorant or just plain stupid, I don’t think anything like that will happen to us.

The best part of knowing your roommate is planning your dorm out. Jackie and I know exactly what color scheme we want, how clean we want to keep it and our ground rules.

For Christmas, we asked for gift cards. We had over $300 in gift cards and we have already bought everything for our dorm. If you don’t know your roommate, you may not be able to do that!

It has been so much fun starting the college journey together, even taking the tests, paying the fees and meeting the deadlines. Obviously, I could have done all of this on my own and I would have been okay with that. I’m not anti-socialization, I think there’s nothing wrong with not knowing your roommate until you meet them in college.

And, don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on locking myself in our dorm and not meeting other people. I plan on going out, getting to know new people and seeing what college has to offer. But I have to admit, it’s so nice to have a friend sleep in the bed next to you, not a stranger.

Look to your left, now look to your right. Chances are you’ve known one of those students for a majority of your life. If you’re one of the students who proves my point wrong, kudos to you. Here’s the deal though, even if you’re a new student, you will help prove my point. Whether you’re attending college near or far, you will be meeting new people. Some people consider that fact to be a scary thought, but you know what? You have to grow up sometime. No one is going to hold your hand for the rest of your life. College is a place where you can totally re-invent yourself, a new look on life, new hairstyle, or you could totally alter your personality. No one is going to know any different.

I will be attending Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri in the fall. One of the main reasons I chose to accept the offer was I only knew one other person going to Lindenwood. I will be living in the dorms on campus, which brings me to my point: there will be nothing better than being a complete stranger with my roommate. The only thing we will know about each other is what we are majoring in.

For all you college-bound seniors who have who you’re rooming with figured out: shame on you. Where is your sense of adventure and courage? People go to college to branch out and start anew. I applaud those of you who will be attempting to reach into the bag of life and take whatever it gives you.

Don’t get me wrong. Keeping contact with friends while in college is important, but when you pass up an opportunity to gain more friends, I feel as if you are passing up an opportunity to gain more life experience. I advise everyone to branch out and embrace the mystery of life. I’m looking forward to opening my dorm door and saying, “Hi, I’m Ben DeHart, who are you?”

In conclusion, the college “journey” can take you down many paths, knowing who your roommate is will narrow your path choices. I’m not bashing you if you already have your rooming situation figured out, but I am disappointed in your sense of adventure (or lack thereof). When you show up to your dorm room, and open it for the first time, it doesn’t matter if you know your roommate or not, you are starting on a brand new path in life.

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photo by Shelby Curtis

photo by Nathan Hunt

PRO

OPINION

photo courtesy of Kayt Carpenter

“It’s not all about Kony. There are “invisib children” all over the world. And it’s not ju another country having a problem. We a live in the same world, and that’s just on of the world’s problems that we should a work together to solve. As far as Kon being a trend, I think it’s great people ar trying to get the message across, but I thin it needs to focus more on invisible childre as a whole and less on Kony, because he just one of many leaders all over the world senior Kayt Carpenter said.

STAFF EDITORIAL

A few weeks ago, most of the staff logged on to Facebook, only to notice that the majority of their newsfeed was covered with the “Stop Kony” video. Almost all of us are guilty of watching it, and some of us even jumped on the bandwagon. Lately, though, like most of the school, the saving the world hype has died out. Even the club that was started at LHS to help students get involved is basically nonexistent now.

Joseph Kony is the head of an army called Lord’s Resistance Army, which is a Ugandan guerilla group. These cult-like people kidnap children from their homes in the middle of the night and give them a choice: join the rebel army or die.

They hand them weapons and force them to do unthinkable things to their family and people they do not even know.

The US government said there was nothing that they could do, so a group called Invisible Children decided to do something about it instead. They created a video that has gone viral, informing everyone of what they can do to get the government to help.

The US has sent troops over to help, but in order to keep

troops there, the government needs to know Americans still care to have someone there. To make sure they know the people want them there, the “Stop Kony Movement” has set an event on April 20, 2012.

Those involved are supposed to stay up and when the rest of the world goes to sleep, hanging posters of Kony’s face up and down streets, on walls and building and every other public place they can find. They want him to become a household name, so there is nowhere he could hide.

I will admit the idea behind the movement is great, but I don’t think it should matter what everyone else is doing.

Someone should try to make a difference because it’s right, not because it would make you cool. Most people just posted the video because everyone else was doing it. While I am sure most of them watched it, I know for a fact that most of the people that shared that video did it because their friends did it, too.

The Bell was in 100% agreement that the “Stop Kony” video and support was just a trend. If people support a cause, they should take action rather than just repost a video.

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believe the majority students treated Kony as a trend.

of

0

do not believe the majority of students treated Kony as a trend.

The articles on these pages do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the entire Bell staff. Please feel free to comment in a Letter to the Editor at thebell@liberty.k12.mo.us photo by Shelby Curtis

Jake Boese Reporter

North>Liberty THE BELL

STAFF COLUMN It’s only the second year of North’s existence and their perks have already become evident. My question is why? I understand they’re the new school so they have more advanced facilities, but why do they get so many other advantages?

For example, they have sponsorships so there’s a constant flow of free stuff into the school, from t-shirts for every three pointer made at basketball games to food at sporting events. I am perfectly fine with the fact that they get these things, but in the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder, “why?”

And then there’s the chants. The “if you’re winning and you know it” chant was immediately stopped at a Liberty basketball game but I’m sure the North student section has chanted it almost every victory.

When Courtwarming week came around, the proposed toga idea once again showed the stark differences between our two schools. We all associate togas with certain things and I understand why the idea was rejected here at Liberty, but why did North’s

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administration have no problems with it then?

And then there’s the biggest advantage of all: the freedoms they get. They get to hold up signs at sporting events as long as they’re not inappropriate whereas we are not allowed to hold up any signs whatsoever. For example, students at LHS took their own time to make big head signs, but they were not allowed. At North, a teacher made big head signs of seniors on both the boys and girls basketball teams, which was allowed.

These are just a few examples that have sparked comments from LNHS students about how much better they are than us.

While some of these things seem like bad things for Liberty, they help add fuel to the fire of the LHS-LNHS rivalry, which I am glad I get to see.

So, even though us LHS students may not have the most high-tech school, we get to experience something no Liberty District students have gotten to see: a crosstown rivalry.

OPINION

EDITOR COLUMNS

photo by Abby Bland

ASHLEY MCGEE EDITOR IN CHIEF

A Call For Action As I sat in Advisory, stuck in a state between half-asleep and half-asleep, a word caught my attention: proactive.

I knew I had heard that word before and, no, I’m not talking about the commercials for acne medication. No, my teacher, Vikki Jones, had said it. I tried to think of what she had been saying and then it hit me: it was one of the many skills she said we’d need for college.

But why is everyone making such a big deal about such a

photo by Nathan Hunt

AMANDA FISHER MANAGING EDITOR

Just Friends Before you call Katherine Heigl and demand to see a script, let me just start out by saying girls and guys can JUST be friends. Yes, I said it. This is no lie that is covering up a fake, Taylor Swift perfect relationship. I have a friendship that is strictly a friendship where the two of us watch Friends together, see movies and go out to eat all the time. And yeah, my friend happens to be

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little word? Well, that all comes down to the definition: it means taking initiative, taking responsibility for your own success and not just talking, but taking action.

I can’t help but wonder then, why all the lectures?

Why are we constantly being told how to act, rather than actually being proactive and taking the steps to improve our school and ourselves?

Take safety, for example. Yes, the administration brought in a team to train teachers on how to act in an intruder situation and, yes, they did hold a forty-five minute self-defense session for students a week ago. I give them a huge kudos for all that, but I can’t t help but think there’s more we could be doing.

I mean, why shouldn’t students be trained to act in case there’s an intruder, as well? The five minutes before an intruder walks through the door is not the time to tell students how to protect themselves.

And if we’re going to learn self-defense, why not offer it as a class at our school? Forty-five minutes isn’t enough to learn something we may need our entire life.

It just doesn’t make sense to me. We as students are constantly told to take action, but we’re not offered the resources to do so. Most students don’t have the time or the money to find a self-defense class after school or read up on how to handle an intrusion situation. We believe it will never happen in our school or to us. But if I had the option, I’d rather learn to defend myself from real dangers rather than a small foam ball. a dude.

On a daily basis, I’m asked how my relationship with Chris Mohr is going or why we’re not together. We can’t make it more clear. Chris Mohr and I are not in a relationship, nor will we ever be in one.

Chris is one of my best friends and honestly, one of the few males in my life that I can trust. We make each other laugh and hang out all the time. I tell you this not as a way to share my story, but to show that it is possible for a girl and a guy to be friends and nothing else.

When we get asked if we’re dating, we cannot keep a straight face. We have such a brother and sister relationship that the mere thought of dating is just hilarious…and just gross.

A girl and a guy friendship is obviously completely different than a friendship between two girls. Quite honestly, it’s less complicated and it’s completely different views of many topics. Whenever I have boy drama, I talk to Chris about it just as much as I would talk to my other girl friends. Chris has different things to say because he’s able to see a situation in a completely different way and give great advice.

So yes, for April Fool’s day, we put ourselves as “in a relationship” on Facebook and got a lot of “finally!” comments and texts asking why no one was told until now, but I promise, this is not a cover up, or a nasty break up. Like I can’t say it enough, we’re just friends.

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photo by Nathan Hunt

CHRIS MOHR DESIGN EDITOR

“I’ll be there for you...”

In the past two months, my friend, Amanda Fisher almost had a stroke because I told her I have never seen Friends before. I did not know that the sitcom was that big of a deal. Apparently it is because Amanda has all the ten seasons and two trivia games.

As a result, I spend almost everyday after school watching the 90s hit sitcom Friends. We watch a disc a day which consist of five or six episodes. We have made it to the point where Ross and Rachel finally kiss in the rain at Central Perk.

What ever happens next, please do not tell me.

Amanda, not I, will be thoroughly upset that you ruined the rest of the show for me.

As I sit there watching the show, I realize how reallife the sitcom actually as. There is nothing about this show that comes off fake. It is just about a group of friends that are “always there for eachother.”

Everyone has that high maintenance and dramatic friend like Rachel and everyone has that strange friend like Phoebe.

When I look even closer into the cast, I come to realize that the relationship between Ross and Monica is a lot like Amanda and I’s. Although Amanda and I are not brother and sister, our relationship is a lot like that.

If you have already read Amanda’s column, “Just Friends” then you know what I mean. If not, then read it.

A friendship between a guy and a girl is probably one of the most beneficial relationships anyone can have. Yes we have our moments where we hate eachother, but in the end, it’s what draws us together.

So remember: “I’ll be there for you, when the rain starts to fall. I’ll be there for you, like I’ve been there before. I’ll be there for you, cause you’re there for me too.”

OPINION

SEA LIFE DIFFERENTLY

by Molly Meeks

Crown Center’s aquarium: a whale of a tale.

I walked through the doors of Crown Center’s new aquarium, Sea Life, and was instantly surrounded by beautiful fish. After paying $19 for the adult ticket (a child’s ticket would have only been $15 and children under 2 years old get in free), I was a little worried when I saw the line to get in that the time inside was going to be spent in a never ending line elbowing our way to see the fish. But surprisingly once we made it inside everyone stayed spread out. I could hardly tell there were more than a couple other people there.

One of the first exhibits we saw was the touch pool where we got the chance to pet some of the more tolerant sea creatures, like sea stars. Sea Life had something new to offer around every corner.

We would walk through a shipwreck one second and then be in the middle of a seahorse castle the next.

All the fish we saw were young, but throughout the next year they will be growing. I talked to one of the staff members and he said that their sharks would grow eight feet in the next year! A sea turtle should also be coming soon, to keep the exhibits new and exciting. The staff there was incredibly helpful. Each exhibit had several staff members around to answer any questions, or share juicy facts about the sea creatures. I learned that a seahorse’s little flippers flap almost 95 times per second!

I would definitely recommend the aquarium to everyone. There are several special kids attractions scattered across the aquarium from a cave that goes underwater at the stingray bay, to domes that go inside the tanks to get a close up look at the fish and even a playground at the end. Whether they’re six, nine or a short 16 year old like me

they are sure to have a good time. But don’t be fooled, there are attractions for more than just the little ones. Even the grown ups can have a good time walking through the underwater tunnel or watching the jellyfish.

I am not a patient person and did not want to waste my time waiting for my turn to get up close to the glass with nothing to do. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that along the walls there are “fin facts” and “quiz trails”, where I could learn new interesting facts, or test myself on my Sea Life knowledge. I discovered that jellyfish don’t have blood or a brain and then tested myself on the texture of a shark’s skin. In case you were wondering the answer is rough like sandpaper.

There was also a wide variety of fish. There were freshwater fish, seahorses, jellyfish, clown fish, stingray, or my personal favorite, sharks, and so many more breeds to see.

Once I was finished inside the aquarium I obviously could not wait to find the perfect souvenir in the gift shop. There were so many to choose from; I could get a stuffed version of my favorite sea creature, or a sharklopedia (shark encyclopedia), or maybe even a necklace. But before I made a decision the first thing to look at was the price. The merchendise is actually pretty fairly priced, it is much cheaper than what someone would find at most amusement parks.

So instead of settling for the smallest magnet I could buy a stuffed animal and a keychain, and it was still under $10. I can’t wait to go back very soon!

Sea Life is the new aquarium at Crown Center. It divided into various environments, each featuring different fish and sea creatures. Its neighboring attraction, Lego Land, will be opening soon. However, their gift shop is already opened and features a bunch of cool toys. photos by Molly Meeks

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NEWS

THE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL BONNER SPRINGS, KANSAS FALL 2011

TRICK-OR-TREATING LIBERTY/KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 2008-2009

HOPPING FOR IHOP LIBERTY, MISSOURI FALL 2011

2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS STADIUM BEIJING, CHINA 2009-2010

STALK PIERCING & TATTOOS KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 2007-2008

THE SPACE NEEDLE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON SPRING 2012

PINEAPPLE EXPRESSED To think that what was originally a wedding gift would become a world-travelling phenomenon. written and designed by Haley Sheriff, photos courtesy of Zach Werner Given the nature of the social studies department, it should be no surprise that Liberty’s worldly pineapple began as a joke. During a shopping trip to register guests for an upcoming wedding shower at Linens & Things in 2004, newly engaged social studies teacher Zach Werner decided to break the monotony of towels and dishes and steal the register gun away from his to-be wife. Coming across a crate of fancy pillows, he found a random pineapple pillow piled among them—and loving how goofy it was, he zapped it without considering that one of his guests may actually buy it. Sure enough, it was Werner’s own mother who purchased the pineapple.

“As it was the only item I had registered, I wanted to display it in our living room, but my wife never liked it in the house. So two years later when I got my first teaching job here at the high school, she decided it was best to take the pineapple to school with me, as it was the international sign of welcome,” Werner said. “But I had never planned on actually mentioning it—it was the students who noticed and

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started asking about it. Then one day, it was gone.”

A few days after its disappearance, an unidentified person threw a package postmarked from Jamaica in Werner’s doorway. Enclosed was the pineapple along with a letter written by 2009 graduate Christina Adams, entailing the pineapple’s tropical journey through Bob Marley song lyrics. Adams is credited for not only naming the pineapple—Bob, after Marley—but also for beginning was has now been a six-year tradition.

“Though there’s really no telling if the pineapple actually went to Jamaica, from that point forward it became my students’ tradition. It gives them the right to be as funny and creative as they’d like,” Werner said.

“But if they take it, they should not just keep it and give it back empty-handed—the standard has been set high.”

The pineapple has travelled many miles, many times from the comfort of the 900s basement. Locally, the pineapple had been seen trick-or-treating, cheering among a sea of green at a St. Patrick’s Day parade, riding the Studio 10 float at a Liberty Fall Festival and getting

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one of its stalks pierced at a tattoo parlor. But it has also managed to escape the state boundaries, sneaking its way into Disney World, Jamestown, Virginia, the Omaha Zoo and Communist China. Unfortunately, its furthest journeys would become the last it would ever take.

“My fourth year of teaching, the pineapple was taken and never brought back. As that was the year Liberty North opened, there were many rumors circulating around that a North student had stolen it. But in the pineapple’s absence, my students instead stole the other stuffed animals on my desk—the koala, the sock monkey and Tigger—and continued the tradition.

Of course, it wasn’t the same, and knowing how saddened I was, my wife and my mother made a new pineapple, which made its debut this past school year.”

The new pineapple has ventured to quite a few places within the last eight months, including the Homecoming dance, the Renaissance Festival, a college visit to a historic African-American college and most recently, Seattle, Washington.

A&E

Seeing where the pineapple has already gone, Werner has high hopes of its future destinations.

“I think it’d be fun for the softball team to take it somewhere—actually, in 2010, it went to prom with one of the sophomore players and her senior date.

But it has yet to attend a basketball or football game, or really any high school sporting event,” Werner said. “There are so many possibilities of where it can

go—the students are so creative and are driven to be even more creative each time the pineapple gets stolen. There’s only one rule I have, the rule meant to be broken: the pineapple never leaves the classroom.”

DISNEY WORLD & EPCOT CENTER ORLANDO, FLORIDA 2009-2010

WHERE’S BOB? PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE PINEAPPLE: SENIOR PAUL TASETANO “I took the pineapple two years ago to China Skype’s trip to Beijing. It rode on trains, went to the Great Wall, local high schools and lots of restaurants—it went everywhere we did.

The Chinese found it to be very entertaining, especially after I told them its backstory— they even decorated it.”

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“SOME STUDENTS LIKE TO TO KEEP THEIR IDENTITIES A SECRET, WHILE OTHERS LIKE TO REVEAL THEMSELVES. ANONYMITY ISN’T REQUIRED, BUT IT DOES MAKE IT MORE FUN,” WERNER SAID.

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SENIOR EVANS RICHARDS “We [a few of the guys from AP European History] took the pineapple to the Renaissance Festival after taking it with us to our breakfast of champions at IHOP. I found it surprising that the people, while being at one of the weirdest places, thought the Pineapple to be incredibly strange.”

A&E

Juniors Erik Whiteford, Madi James, Heather Glenn and Melissa Cochran play together during Concert Orchestra. While the the main focus for many of these students is state competitions, they still must learn other music to perform as an entire class. photos by Clarissa Parker

Junior Michael Ruiz prepares his violin piece for the state competition in one of the practice rooms offered in the high school’s Music department.

MAKING MUSIC INTO MAGIC

by Molly Meeks

Orchestra students prove they have what it takes to make it at state.

Senior Moriah Jones plays the viola in class, while preparing on her own time to take her individual pieces to the state competition on April 27th.

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A chance at state is an extraordinary achievement for any orchestra student which many of Liberty’s own will recieve on April 27th. Students performed at the end of March at district contest and those who received a one get the opportunity to perform again for a rating at the state level.

Although students will be playing the same pieces they played at the district level, state is a whole new experience. Judges at districts were tough, but the state judges will be scoring even harder, which means pulling off a one will require that orchestra student to have played almost perfectly.

All the judges will be listening for a true talent.

Students will need to play perfect rhythms, dynamics and hit every note if they want a chance at success. Just as with district contest, the students will receive a rating one to five, one means they played perfectly, two is excellent, three is about average, and four and five means that the student needs a bit of work.

“The judges bring in their own personal ideas about what the pieces should sound like,” sophomore Brett Beebe said.

Students have been and will continue to practice hours daily. One practice session can be the difference between a perfect score and only an excellent. Sadly, unlike other state competitions,

20

orchestra students who receive a one will not move any further as the state level is the highest it goes.

Band, choir, and orchestra all go to the same contest, however there are differences between them. Orchestra members are allowed to play duets, whereas band members cannot. Also unlike band and choir, these strings players will not need to blow into their instrument, which of course means that short breathing should not make them miss notes. Also, since their arms are large part of their performance, an orchestra member will have to move their entire arm to move their bows and move their fingers across the strings to make the notes, while a band member will only be required to move their fingers over different keys.

However, though, their performances may differ, these young performers still anticipate this event greatly. Even without the reward of Regionals or even National competitions, many of the students remain commited to proving themselves in the musical realm.

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CLUB DOMINATION

by Cody Clawson

With competition levels growing stronger every year, club sports are becoming a necessity to playing in college sports.

As the goalie, junior Spencer Hurla makes many saves during games. “Club soccer is a great chance to get scholarship offers, especially because my team is out of town almost every weekend.

At the highest level of club soccer you can never have an “off game” because there are usually a good number of college coaches observing your team” Hurla said. photo courtesy of Spencer Hurla

To succeed at the highest level in a particular sport, playing year around is something the athlete has to do. Club sports are becoming very popular for high schoolers to better themselves and college coaches are noticing the competition level is higher than a lot of high school games.

“College’s just look more at club sports,” junior Kathrine Kuhlmann said. “Club practices are harder than high school. We do more yards and more meets. High school is just kind of a break from club. Colleges look more at the club stuff basically because the practices are just like they will be in college.”

For swimming, club is a huge part of off-season work-outs for high school. Coaches encourage the swimmers to do swim club.

“With swimming, the last 15 years since I’ve been a coach, club has grown a lot,” swim coach Chris Murphy said. “Since they now allow you to do both, to compete at a state level you have to do club and work year around. Very few people can

THE BELL

medal at state and not do club. To get scholarships it almost exclusively goes to kids on a club team.”

Taking part in club athletics is not only vital in swimming to get noticed by a college, it is important in other sports, also. Club soccer is becoming a large part of being able to play at the next level.

“Club is where most college coaches go to watch,” senior Troy Hart said. “Mostly because club teams set up College Showcase tournaments where coaches from all over sign up to watch. In club soccer, you can stack your team to make it as good as possible so it will get noticed by all coaches.”

Competing in club sports does not always guarantee a spot on a college team. The club team the athlete plays on has to be good enough to get recognized, just like in high school. If a team is winning they will have people watching them.

“Playing at the next level really just depends on the club team you are on,” senior Delaney Kiely said. “The better the team and the league you play on the more opportunities you will have. It’s all

22

about making it to the regional and national games.

If you can secure a spot in those games you will be recognized by a college.”

Individual sports, like tennis, also have competitions outside of high school that are more important than high school matches.

“USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournaments are where all the top high school tennis players go to compete,” senior Isaac Hamilton said. “If you do well in a tournament for USTA it is like beating the best tennis players at a lot of high schools. It shows a lot of individual talent when in high school it is more of a team sport.”

Club sports and off-season competitions are gaining importance for being able to play at the next level. In any sport, if you want to play in college, you have to play club.

SPORTS

NET LOSS

by Jake Boese

With fewer seniors than most varsity sports teams, the men’s tennis team faces many difficulties while staying on track.

On rare occasions in high school varsity sports, teams face the issue of few leaders.

It’s very hard for any team to be successful with this problem. The Liberty Men’s Tennis Team is working on dealing with it and while it may present difficulties for them, they seem to be fairing just fine.

Only two of the seven varsity players are seniors.

“There are two seniors, one freshman, three juniors and one sophomore on varsity. It’s a pretty diverse team,” junior Corey Oiler said.

Without a large group of senior leaders, it is sometimes difficult for the players to stay concentrated.

“There are over 30 kids so it’s hard for the coach to keep all of us on track,” sophomore Reece Frizzell said.

Although it may seem like something that could hurt the team, some players think it is a good thing.

“It’s a more free-for-all attitude. There’s less of a chain of respect. There is not a group of people who are leaders. It could also be a pro though because people have to fight for their spots,” Oiler said.

With the scarcity of senior leaders,

underclassmen have had to step into leadership positions.

“Other people on the team have to step up and fill leadership roles. I think [junior] Kade Crow does a good job of doing what he needs to do,” Frizzell said.

Even with a shortage of leadership, the team’s goals look like that of most tennis teams.

“Our goal this year is to win conference, and have more of a team atmosphere,” coach Andy Schneider said.

As a senior, it makes it difficult to keep the underclassmen up to par with other teams.

“It’s kind of tough. It’s just me and one other senior [Isaac Hamilton], senior Evan Richards said. “We have good talent but some lack motivation. We’re setting up a team atmosphere to make sure underclassmen can experience it like we have. Sometimes tennis a group of individuals but we want to have a team feel.”

With a 5-5 record on the season, the team hopes to improve their record and win the district tournament coming up in May.

Non-Conference

Junior Cody Winters prepares to serve the ball. photo by Sammi Novak

THE BELL

Junior Corey Oiler positions himself to return the ball. photo

by Sammi Novak

Record Wins 5

Losses 5

Conference Varsity

2

1

1. Isaac Hamilton 2. Jake Stansbury 3. TJ Stansbury 4. Reece Frizzell 5. Corey Oiler 6. Cody Winters

5 0 3 6 2 9

5 9 7 7 5 4

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