December issue

The

Liberty High School

Volume 93, Issue 4

Visit us at lhsnews.net

Bell

December 20, 2016

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Ben Tervort (bass), Zoe Moody (viola), Natalie Juno (violin) and Abigail Bavuso (clarinet). They were selected from the All State orchestra and band auditions to attend the annual Music Educators Conference in January. The conference will be held at the Tan Ta-ra resort, Lake of the Ozarks. They will be performing with some of the best high school orchestra and band musicians in Missouri.

Top, clockwise: Juniors Ben Tervort, Zoe Moody, Abigail Bavuso and Natalie Juno were chosen to perform at the annual

Music Educators Conference.

Photo by McKenna Hegger

Staff

Mission

Editor-in-Chief --> Hannah Leonard Our mission for the 2016-2017 school year is to unite a diverse Managing Editor --> Emily Johannes group of people and ideas to compose an informative and Copy/Opinion Editor --> Lacy Williams entertaining magazine using articles, photographs, and commercial Spotlight Editor --> Katie Moon messages. As journalists in training we endeavor to give the best A&E Editor --> Annika Fuller representation of the community of Liberty High School. The Bell News Editor --> Riley Kelley student newspaper is a public forum for student expression.

Features Editor --> Joey O’Kelly InDepth Editors --> Delaney Tarpley Paige Twenter Sports Editor --> Caleb Lautenschlager Ads Manager and Cartoonist --> Daryl Gichui Jabber Editor --> Teegan Saunders Liberty High School Online Manager --> Kamden Bernard Address --> 200 Blue Jay Drive Liberty, MO 64068 Reporters --> Alex Rogers Phone --> (816)-736-2827 Madeline Hensley Email --> loyler@student.lps53.org Jenna Spence Twitter --> @TheLHSBell Haley Stephenson Caroline Parry Daisy Smith Liz Gammon The articles featured do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Marcus Myvett entire Bell staff. Please feel free to comment, compliment or critize anything Zahra Khan Adviser --> Lori Oyler you see in this issue in a Letter to the Editor at lwil1524@student.lps53.org

Contact

On the cover top to bottom, left to right: Senior Kailyn Peterson, juniors Kate Turnage, Alyson Oldham, senior Gabe Maddex and junior Amos Mwaura play “The Growing Shrinking Machine” during the Exit 16 improv show on Tuesday, November 22.

Photo by Chrystian Noble

02 TOC December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Table of

Contents

06 Inventing the Future

08 Paint-Ballers Photo courtesy of NCAPS

Photo by Mercedes Peck

TOC November 22, 2016

Photo by Connor Callahan

10 What’s Cookin’?

03

lhsnews.net

12 Janai Simpson 13 Josiah Schmedding 14 Priscilla Ahumaraeze 15 Jaden Stevens 16 Zach Werner

18 Big-Hearted Blue Jays

17 Maria Arroyo

Photo by Chrystian Noble

28 Athletes of the Month

30 Pin or Be Pinned

Photo by Jenna Axsom

22 Columns 24 Staff Editorial 25 Exit Stage Laugh 26 Style

Photo by Caitlyn Pearson

04

Photo by Grace Buehler

TOC November 22, 2016

lhsnews.net

Jabber

@taylorpilsl blew a speaker in my car while playing Christmas Trap music so that’s how my life’s going -@kcmocarly Every time I hear “Baby It’s Cold Outside” it gets creepier. Like bro, take a hint...

-@CameronHora

UCA KC Regional---1st Place JV! 1st Place Varsity and Bid to Nationals! So proud of these teams!

-@LHSJaysCheer KANSAS CITY CHIEFS I LOVE U PEOPLE WOW SO MUCH HEART ON THAT FIELD AND CAIRO SANTOSIS MY DUDE WOW IM IN UTTER SHOCK I LOVE THE CHIEFS GO KC -@tayy_alexiss

I wanna bake Christmas cookies -JesiiMaschino

I thought my high school experience would be “Mean Girls”but it’s looking like it’s headed towards “Napoleon Dyamite” -@MakanaBrooks

05 TOC December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Inventing the Future NCAPS students get creative during the annual Make48 competition.

Story by Annika Fuller

Photos by Kaitlyn Heishman

It’s not every day that students can say an event they competed in is going to be made into a Netflix documentary.

However, on October 17, seniors Mason Armstrong and Hayden Allee were part of a team in an annual invention competition called Make48, which will premier on PBS and Netflix in the summer of 2017.

Four students from the Northland CAPS program were nominated to spend 48 hours developing a solution to this year’s problem, the inconvenience of loading and unloading laundry.

“We had a wide range of skills.

Everyone had their own part in creating it,” Allee said.

The first 24 hours, the problem was presented and the teams began to develop their ideas.

“We started brainstorming on how to fix it, while doing research on why it is a problem,” Armstrong said.

The next 24 hours were spent preparing for the judges presentation.

“I thought I was going to be super

06

nervous because they had a big production with people recording you, but it wasn’t too bad and it turned out to be pretty good,” Allee said.

The judges then decided which prototype should be brought to the market.

Three team’s inventions were selected for that next step.

The NCAPS team’s invention did not qualify, but the team still learned valuable lessons from the event. From spending nearly 48 hours straight working with each other to develop a solution, which teaches endurance, to learning what it takes to present an idea to a group of potential investors, Make48 gave students a look into what life is really like after high school.

“It taught me to be able to fight through what senior year brings,”Allee said. “I am in two college classes, so having to go through a lot of homework taught me how to get through it.”

For Armstrong, he feels he now has a better understanding of what it takes for

product development and what it takes to develop a solution to a problem.

“Maybe in the future or in college, I may decide to make something or sell something to a company,” Armstrong said.

Senior Barrett Paul, an NCAPS student and part of the business strand, was a volunteer for the event and helped develop a social media marketing plan to go into effect after the event. The plan utilizes social media platforms and will be presented to Make48. Now, Paul has a better idea of what he wants to do after college.

“I got a better understanding of social media marketing, but I probably don’t want to do that one day,” Paul said.

“I probably want to do other types of marketing other than social media because it’s hard to get that out there.”

The television series will show this year’s Make48 and the three chosen products’ road to development.

Left: Northland CAPS students discuss ideas for their solution to this year’s proposed Make48 problem. Right: Organizers of the Make48 competition stand next to the 48 hour timer in anticipation of the beginning of the competition.

News December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

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Paint-Ballers

Students play paintball and create friendships.

Story by Joey O’Kelly

Paintball Club is shooting their way to colorful friendships. They have a tight bond – a brotherhood, of sorts.

“I enjoyed paintball and wanted to try to get into it more,” freshman Camden Hutchison said. “I barely went, then I found a group of people to go with me and hang out with at school.”

The club meets to play the game once or twice a month at Jaegers Paintball Park in Kansas City. At Jaegers, students can rent anything they need. All they need to compete is an attitude ready to make friends and play paintball.

“It is my hope that the paintball club continues to grow in a positive what at LHS both in numbers and in the scale of activity,” Liberty Middle School teacher and club sponsor Wiley Meade said. “I would like to see more students participate in competitive level paintball.”

Photos by Connor Callahan

Many students in the club have had a love for paintball for some time now. The club at school has helped them further their enjoyment of paintball, play it more often and get their peers into the sport as well.

“It gets a lot of students who don’t have hobbies outside of school into it,” freshman Michael Westrich said. “This is introducing them to a new hobby and also gets them very active because paintball is definitely a very active and physical thing to do.”

Along with playing with students at school, some students even venture outside of LHS. “Some students also participate in tournaments in the Kansas City area and even at Oklahoma D-Day which is one of the largest paintball scenario games in the United States,” Meade said.

Top: Sophomore Tristan Voyles-Hackett gets ready to fire a shot. Bottom: Freshman Michael Westrich demonstrates a slingshot.

8 Features December 20, 2016

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Photos by Connor Callahan

Top: Paintball Club members rush the castle in a team elimination round. Below: Two paintballers hide behind a bunker.

As with many games, there is more than one type. There’s a regular game as well as capture the flag.

“If we’re playing a regular game, you can go in there and just go at it,” freshman Tristan Nitsch said. “There’s yellow and blue teams at Jaegers. You go in and you go at the other team and the other team goes at you until either time goes out or the other team falls out.”

With so many clubs at LHS, Paintball Club helps pull the trigger on a new hobby and new friendships come along with it.

“It gives us the opportunity to learn more about different clubs that give us the opportunities to go check it out and see how it is,” Nitsch said. “If you’ve never played it before, then it’s an opportunity to learn.”

The club was started several years ago by a student who was passionate about

paintball and has only flourished since then. Meade, a competitive paintball player himself, volunteered to sponsor the club because of his love for the sport and the students at LHS. “My favorite part of the club is definitely getting to see kids who know nothing about paintball from the start and then they get super into it and want to know more about it,” Westrich said. “It shows that you’re introducing them to it and getting people involved.”

The club meets every Monday during Liberty Hour in room 608 and is definitely an opportunity to make some new friends and discover a new hobby.

“For everybody who doesn’t have a lot of friends, you go in not having a lot of friends and we’re all nice,” sophomore Jayce Baldwin said. “It’s a loving community.”

The average round of paintball “is just fun.

It’s a headrush in a way.”

- sophomore Jayce Baldwin

9 Features December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

What’s Cookin’?

Nutritionl service helps create a better lunch for students.

Story by Delaney Tarpley Students see them when they are serving them food and ringing them up at the register. However, LHS students never pause to wonder what’s going on back in the kitchen, behind the scenes as the nutritional service assistants are working to ensure a nice quality meal for each individual student.

“It can definitely be challenging sometimes getting everything prepared, out, hot and ready for you guys when you all come in,” nutritional service assistant Diana Goodwin said.

The day starts for them when many students are still sleeping.

“I get here at 5:30 in the morning,” cafeteria manager Judy Kerekes said.

“Usually I’m putting an order in for what we’re planning to make for the following week or we’re getting ready and prepping all morning for what we’re going to be serving for breakfast and lunch. It’s all busy work. There is no down time for us.”

To add to the workload, the nutritional service assistants make everything from scratch, but they can’t make it the way

Photo by Mercedes Peck

they would for their families.

“We make everything from scratch, from dinner rolls to muffins,” Goodwin said. “The only thing we don’t make from scratch are the cookies, but we still have to bake the dough that is sent to us. All of the hot foods are made from scratch, however we can’t make them like the way we would make food at home. The health

department and the nutritional services give us certain criteria. We can’t put a lot of sugar in food. That’s why we can’t give students unlimited amounts of butter, salt and pepper.”

There are also other challenges that the manager and nutritional service assistants have to deal with, especially when it comes to the students.

“We’re trying to solve the problem of the cluster we have in the french fries line, so we’re open to any ideas at all and we would very much appreciate suggestions from the students,” Kerekes said. “Along with that, we have a few kids stealing.

Because there are so many students in the area, it can be very hard to control.”

It’s been a busy past month for the team.

They implemented their new breakfast menu on November 28.

“The new menu is up to my supervisor.

They create the menu and figure out the nutritional balance, but the new menu has definitely been a change that’s taken some getting used to,” Kerekes said.

Photos by Connor Callahan.

10

Top: Tess Schwarz washes apples for a healthy addition to LHS’ lunch. Bottom Left: Glenda Martin helps sophomore Tierra Williams check out. Bottom Right: Satnam Kaur and Diana Goodwin enjoy their job preparing lunch for the students.

Features December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Each meal comes with its own set of challenges to prepare the food many students enjoy so much.

“The nachos take a lot of time to make,” nutritional service assistant Tess Schwarz said. “You would not believe the amount of dicing it takes to make the salsa. We have to dice the tomatoes, the onion, the cilantro, the jalapeños and the red bell peppers. Luckily, we still have all of our fingers!”

The nutritional service assistants agree it’s a challenging and rushed job, but it’s

also a job like no other.

“I like my job period,” Goodwin said. “I enjoy working the register to interact with all of the students and I also enjoy talking with all of the other nutritional service assistants here.”

Schwarz agreed.

“A couple years ago, we used to be able to chat with the kids in line all the time,” she said. “Nowadays we barely have time to put food on their plate and send them on their way. Most of the kids are very friendly though, so that’s a big plus side to

What’s your favorite school lunch? 217 students responded.

Other 33.6%

What is your least favorite lunch? 212 students responded.

Nachos, obviously 14.3% Chicken nuggets are the bomb 10.1%

I couldn’t live without the pizza 17.6% Stick with the twisted cheese sticks 8.3%

the job.”

For everything the nutritional service assistants do for LHS, students in the Leadership class will be returning the favor.

“It’s called cooking with the cooks,” senior Katie Parrott said. “It’s one of our five projects we’re doing for the holidays.

My quad and I are going to be cooking a meal for the cafeteria workers on December 20. They put in so much work for our school and we feel like we should reciprocate.”

General Tso’s Chicken is my life 16.1%

Chicken NO-ggets 15.1%

Nachos? Not those 15.6%

Other 12.7%

General Tso’s Chicken?

Generally, no 22.6% Twisted Cheese Stick.

Makes me sick 21.7%

Pizz-nah 12.3%

New Breakfast Menu Items

Scrambled eggs and Liberty bar (chocolate) Scrambled eggs and Liberty bar (glazed) Wholesome holes Scrambled eggs and mini cinnis Eggs & O’s Eggs and mini strawberry cream cheese bagel Pancake, mini blueberry blast, Aunt Jemima Pancake, mini cinnamon roll, Aunt Jemima

Features December 20, 2016

11 lhsnews.net

What are you involved in?

“Inside of school I am in Leadership class, FCCLA and Link Crew. Outside of school I am a softball player and that takes up most of my time. I haven’t been doing it recently because I broke my foot but I’m getting back into the swing of that since I’m playing in college.”

What are your passions?

“Life always throws something different in my face. I am one of those people where I like challenges, which sounds kind of weird but I feel very good about myself when I overcome them.”

What was softball initiation like?

“When I first got in there to see if I made the team, they told me I didn’t make the team.

They said ‘there’s no room for that, I’m sorry,’ all that stuff and I was heartbroken.

So I got up to walk out and they all busted out laughing and were like ‘we’re joking, you’re on the team’ and I was like ‘this is going to be a long four years.’”

Vince Armilio’s thoughts...

“She is very determined. She is somebody that usually goes the extra mile when doing assignments and participating in class.

She’s very energetic and responsible. I like the fact that she is somebody that is very demonstrative when she talks. She gets very into what she’s saying, which can make her stories very entertaining.”

12

Senior Janai Simpson Interview by Paige Twenter

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Photo by Grace Buehler

lhsnews.net

Why do you enjoy Link Crew?

“We go into freshman advisories and work with them to help build skills that will help them throughout high school and make things easier.

I like how we can build relationships with the freshmen and be able to connect with them and see what their viewpoints of high school are and how it can be better.”

What are your hobbies?

“I love to hang out with friends, play video games and I work a lot. I also love to do things like go on drives, eat at new places or go see a movie with my friends. My friends all have the same messed up sense of humor as me.”

What are your future goals?

“I want to go to college for either law, political science or engineering. I’ve always been good at math so engineering seems like an easy transition for me. I also think law is very interesting because there’s a lot of intricacies to it. I like political science just because I want to be able to do something for the people around me.”

Astrid Ruiz’s thoughts...

“Josiah is a very sincere person, he will tell you what he thinks and is always willing to help if you ask. He also thinks outside the box which is a good skill to have. He is a very dedicated student who is very intelligent and will share his knowledge with others.”

Junior

Josiah Schmedding Interview by Caleb Lautenschlager

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Photo by Jack Barreca

13

lhsnews.net

What are you involved in?

“I’m involved in theatre and orchestra. It’s very fun because everybody in there is very open and caring. They welcomed me in with open arms. Since I’m new here they helped me adjust to a new school.”

What means a lot to you?

“My family. Friends matter but your family is always going to be there for you. They’ll always have your back and they’re never going to give up on you. My dad is always giving me advice here and there. He’ll call me out when he knows that I’m not telling him something, but he doesn’t realize how much that has an impact on my life.”

What is your life motto?

“Probably that life goes on even through the bad times. It’s something that I like to think about. If something bad happens I don’t like to sit around and dwell on it. I try to remember that I can’t go back and change the past.”

Mick Turpin’s thoughts...

“She was probably the first student to come and ask me about the theatre productions.

She’s been very inquisitive. Then, I got to know her in my first hour theatre class and I can tell that she definitely has a passion for performing and she loves the arts, which is really nice to see in someone as young as her.

She’s very pleasant to be around.”

14

Sophomore Priscilla Ahumaraeze Interview by Daisy Smith

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Photo by Mercedes Peck

lhsnews.net

What was your favorite memory as a kid?

“Going to the lake. Everything about the lake is fun. My grandparents used to take all the grandkids down to the lake and that was a lot of fun. We go to the lake every weekend in the summer. We go swimming, tubing and have bonfires at night.”

What are you involved in?

“I am outgoing and social. I am outgoing because I like hanging out with people. I’m involved in sports, basketball and Key Club. I joined basketball and Key Club because it gave me things to do in my free time. When I wasn’t doing anything I would just go outside and play basketball. These are things that I just enjoy to do.”

Who inspires you?

“My father because he is a hard worker and makes the best out of his life. My dad has been a dentist his whole career. I started thinking about being a dentist in 7th or 8th grade. I want to be a dentist like him because he is very successful in life. I think he would be proud of me if I was able to do the same thing.”

Jason Malm’s thoughts...

“This is my first year with Jaden. He always comes in with a positive attitude and a smile on his face to class. He always works hard and makes sure he understands everything completely.”

Freshman

Jaden Stevens Interview by Caroline Parry

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Photo by McKenna Hegger

15 lhsnews.net

How long have you been teaching?

“This is my 11th year teaching. I’ve always taught World History and I’ve always taught here. I even student-taught here. My favorite thing about LHS is the wonderful staff and students that I have the privilege to work with. Working with great kids is what makes this job the greatest job in the world.”

Why teach World History?

“I do prefer world history. I took world history in college, so I was always interested, especially in western civilization, so I’m really glad I get to teach AP Euro now too.

World History was always broader and led to American History which is why I’ve got a liking for World History.”

What is your family like?

“My wife’s name is Sarah and we’ve been married for 12 and a half years. I have a four-year-old son named Hudson and we just moved to Liberty a couple months ago. He will be going to Schumacher next year so we’re excited about that too. I love spending time with them.”

Kayel Newland’s thoughts...

“He’s hilarious because he is so witty and sarcastic at times but he’s also probably the nicest person you’ll meet. He’s a lighthearted guy who I’ve been blessed to be coached by and have as a teacher. There’s never a dull moment with him and that’s awesome. I’m lucky to be around him every day.”

16

Teacher Zachary Werner

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Interview by Alex Rogers

Photo by Jack Barreca

lhsnews.net

Where are you from?

“I’m from Mexico. It’s a little town in Guerrero.

I came to America a long time ago. I came first to California. We came to America because the people in Guerrero don’t have very much money, so all of the people come here. I liked to live over there too, but they do not have very many opportunities.”

What do you do in your free time?

“I’m with my family all the time. I love sports. My favorites are soccer, football, baseball, volleyball, I like everything. I try to understand something and it becomes my favorite. I don’t have a favorite soccer team, but I like Sporting KC.”

What is your job like?

“I keep my area clean because I like to keep everybody happy. The students and everybody use the bathrooms, the classrooms and the tables everywhere. I like working. I like the people. In my position, I see the teachers a lot and other people like that. I like the students, they are nice. I love everybody.”

Melissa Jones’ thoughts...

“She is amazing. She is always cheerful, she does a great job and she thinks of everybody.

She’s awesome and she makes fabulous tamales that she shares with the English Department.”

Custodian

Maria Arroyo Interview by Riley Kelley

Spotlight December 20, 2016

Photo by Hannah Leonard

17 lhsnews.net

Big Hearted BlueJays Clubs give back this holiday season.

18

Story By:Madeline Hensley, Zahra Khan, Marcus Myvett

InDepth December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

The holidays are in full swing here at LHS and many clubs are getting into the holiday spirit by giving back to the community. No matter how a student is involved there are many different ways to give back to the community.

everyone and make them feel great,” Continued sophomore Lauren Bahr said.

on pages 20 and 21

Breakfast Club Silver clubs, silver clubs. It’s Christmas time in Liberty! Breakfast Club is giving a lot, to not only the German Club student body, but also to people in Liberty. Breakfast “Frohe Festtage!” Or happy holidays as the Germans Club sponsor Melissa Allshouse has big plans for the would say. The holidays by festive time of planning to “I think giving back is the year is upon spread holiday important. It makes us and clubs are cheer among everyone happy.” in full swing with the school.

-Lauren Bahr several projects “We have aimed to help had great the community. feedback from German club is the little feelopen to all students good things we who want to do for students share their love of and staff,” German culture Allshouse said. and language.

“It does take According to some time to German teacher prepare, and and club sponsor even though Cynthia Biermann, the actual students do not event is shorthave to be enrolled lived, we like in German class to to think it has a join the club. lasting effect.”

German club Breakfast is a student led club where everyone gets together Club is planning to hand out candy canes the week to sing German songs and watch movies. One main before finals, and they might be having a surprise for the project German club does all year round is caroling at student body. retirement homes, singing songs in German and English Breakfast Club members are also excited for the “The students love caroling,” Biermann said. “The holiday plans in store. residents of the retirement homes really enjoy having “Breakfast Club has made a positive impact on my young people with them and talking to them.” life because I have learned to accept everyone and They sing Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer, Oh include others in everything,” senior Kaylee Hoeflicker Christmas Tree, Silent Night and Jingle Bells. said. “It has helped me grow closer with my peers that German club also does another project for the season are different from me and has given me an opportunity where the club members would bring in old clothing or to be a leader and a follower at the same time. Having other items, as Biermann stated. These items go to the this place to grow relationally with other students has store for families to buy as presents. This project assists been a gift.” those who need a little help when it comes to holiday shopping or from just supporting themselves or their Background: LHS collects food to donate during the family. holidays. Above: Sophomores Lauren Rankin and Lauren “I think giving back is important, it makes Bahr volunteer time for German and Key Club. everyone happy and it can spread across Photos by Chrystian Noble, Mara Fryer and McKenna Hegger

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19 InDepth December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Leadership

Border photos by McKenna Hegger and Chrystian Noble

Leadership class is known for running the assemblies but StuCo and Leadership member, Hannah Berry, makes sure to they also serve the community behind the scenes. The class participate in charitable activities during the holiday season. is split up into different quads that consist of two to five Photo by Riley Kelley people. Each quad is responsible for completing at least one community service project.

“One quad is adopting a family, one is working at the soup kitchen downtown, and one is ringing the bell for Salvation Army,” senior Elizabeth Elder said. “My group is sending letters and cookies to police officers.”

The motivation to give back to the community comes in many different forms, the holiday season is a time to be thankful and give back to others.

“I like helping others. There’s this thing called your core fear, which is what drives you in your everyday life. My core fear is seeing other people hurt,” junior Hannah Berry said. “I could care less what I think or feel but whenever people are hurting it hurts me, so I want to help them in any way I can.”

What is your favorite charitable act to participate in at LHS? 163 students responded.

Continued from pages 18 and 19

4.3% Other 5.5% Coat Drive 10.4% United Way 34.4% Canned Food Drive 45.4% Adopt a Family

Key Club

Key Club is unlocking a whole bunch of projects this year. Key Club is a club that meets every first Friday in the Little Theatre and is open to all students who are interested in community service.

“We do a lot of community service projects with food drives and we do Harvesters and snack packs,” freshman Caleb Ezzell said.

Currently, they have seven projects going. One big project they are doing is the Adopt-a-Family project through Hillcrest Ministries.

The club is also taking part in the Martha Lafayette event where volunteers dress up as elves and do holiday activities with children. Volunteers also help kids wrap presents.

On top of that, they work year round with Harvesters.

Harvesters is a regional food bank that serves people who need food and can’t afford it. Volunteers package donations and sort them. After packaging, the food is distributed to emergency food pantries, homeless shelters and children’s homes. This month Key Club and StuCo joined for the Harvesters collection.

Key Club sponsor Erin Garvey mentioned how people don’t realize how much they have until they see the other side of that, that even people in Liberty are in need of help.

Sophomore Lauren Rankin agreed.

“I think giving back is important because there is a place in life where you have what you have and other people might not have that,” she said. “So if you can give a little time out of your day/week/month to go help someone who isn’t as fortunate as you, you can bring happiness to them.”

20 InDepth December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

“¡Felices fiestas!” is what they say during the holidays in Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries. Spanish Club is also doing things for charity this holiday season by adopting a family.

“We will provide Christmas gifts to a family in need for this holiday season. We believe by sponsoring a family, we can make the holidays a truly blessed time and spread cheer to the Liberty community,” Spanish Club sponsor Abra House said.

Spanish club members are also looking forward to adopting a family.

“The holidays are a time for giving back to the community, and by adopting a family, we will be helping a population of people out this holiday season,” sophomore Makana Brooks said.

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StuCo

StuCo organizes and participates in a week of community service projects called BIONIC week.

BIONIC Week started the week of December 5. BIONIC Week stands for “Believe It Or Not I Care” and the students in StuCo are able to choose five different activities to participate in.

“Last year during BIONIC Week I visited Cedars of Liberty,” Berry said. “We got to go for about three hours and spend time with the residents. We played board games and talked with them. We also painted the women’s nails, they really like that,” she said.

According to senior Sarah Parrott, BIONIC Week featured a different activity every day. On Monday, they went to the Liberty Place to decorate with the residents. Tuesday was card, letter and cookie making day, which were given to people in assisted-living homes.

Volunteering at Harvesters was Wednesday.

“The holidays are a time for giving back to the community, and by adopting a family, we will be helping a population of people out this holiday season.” -sophomore Makana Brooks

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Spanish Club

Thursday, a group worked with the women at Synergy.

Finally, on Friday, StuCo visited Hillcrest.

The students in Stuco want to make BIONIC Week more of a school-wide event.

“Next year we are going to relook at BIONIC week and try to make it a school wide event because now it is more just club exclusive and we want more students to get involved,” Parrot said.

Projects specifically focus on the Liberty community, which gives some students even more motivation to get involved.

“I like helping people and specifically my community so I can see the impact it has,” senior Boone Evans said. “It also helps me grow as a person and it’s the morally right thing to do.”

Above: Senior Sarah Parrott helps out with BIONIC week Photo by McKenna Hegger Border photos by McKenna Hegger and Mara Fryer

21 InDepth December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Finally Editorial by Editor in Chief Hannah Leonard

It’s the end of the semester and we students may feel more excitement than usual as winter break is getting closer.

But before we can bask in the joys of the holidays, there may be a heavier amount

Photo by Lacy Williams

of stress weighing on us as we prepare to take tests accumulated from all the other previous ones taken. They are called finals and if it were up to students, we would do away with them and go on winter break a week early.

Then again, what leads people to believe final tests are so difficult to pass in the first place? Finals week isn’t all bad. After all, everyone has been tested over the same information already. A majority of teachers tend to give a few days of review in class and they are split up into three days so prioritizing is helpful. When it comes down to it, two of the days before winter break are early release. Plus, for finals there are no assignments to turn in.

The anxiety, stress and loss of sleep during finals week can easily be avoided with early preparation to study, going to

bed at a reasonable time and a positive attitude. All it takes is seven more tests (at most) and then we FINALLY take a break to start again fresh for the new year.

The biggest reason why finals can be stressful is because final tests are worth a larger percent of students’ grades.

Weighted finals can make or break a letter grade but if a student already has a great report card, final tests aren’t as threatening to academic success as they appear. If students make an effort to study, they will probably be surprised at how much they actually know. We don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we have learned.

But even after finals, if your grades aren’t the best, it is never too late or too early to turn things around. Regardless of how you finish, promise to start the new semester with optimism.

How stressed are you during finals?

3.3% 4.2%

47.4% more stressed than normal

10.9%

34.1%

47.4%

34.1% the most stressed 10.9% just a normal week 4.2% less stress than normal 3.3% literally zero stress in my life

332 students responded

How do you cope with stress?

33.5% don’t cope with stress at all 21% take a nap 21% study

15.9% 8.5%

15.9% an alternative way of coping 8.5% not even stressed

22 Opinion December 20, 2016

21%

33.5%

21%

332 students responded

lhsnews.net

Hoping for a Christmas Miracle Editorial by Copy/Opinion Editor Lacy Williams

This Christmas, my mother has cut me off on the abundance of fuzzy socks I’m allowed. I’m never sure what to ask for other than those cute socks. However, this year is a bit different. I’m going off to college so of course all of the dorm necessities come to mind. But even that

Photo by Mara Fryer

isn’t something I truly want.

There are bigger things I want. Earlier this year, my family found out my grandfather has a severe case of cancer in his jaw. He had a massive surgery in June to rebuild his jaw and remove the cancer. For a while he couldn’t even talk, but he’s now speaking just fine. The doctors have done everything they can to stop it, including radiation. The treatments have discontinued within the last month and we are hoping it got rid of the cancer.

My Popi is one of the strongest people I know. Two weeks after surgery he was back out on the golf course! He stopped doing that about a month ago but holy moly, that’s impressive to me. Lately, he’s supported me through the college application process by editing papers and providing moral support.

I’m not going to lie and say I’m not scared because I still am. I’m more scared than I have ever been. I’ve been fortunate enough

to have all of my grandparents around.

In fact, they all live within 15 minutes.

They’ve come to every choir concert, volleyball game and birthday dinner I’ve ever had. I could not imagine life without one of them by my side. Of course, one day I will have to, but right now that’s not something I’m ready for. I want to have all of my grandparents watch me walk across the stage at graduation. I want them at my wedding one day (assuming I won’t be forever alone). I want to share big moments with them, which is why this is such a difficult situation for me.

The doctors only gave him two months, which was back in August. He beat that one. He’s been given until Christmas now.

So yeah, I’m praying for a Christmas miracle. The only gift I want for Christmas is my Popi to get better and to cherish those moments I have with all of my grandparents.

Present in the Present Editorial by Ads Manager Daryl Gichui

Need to talk to a friend? Why wait until class to see them? Just send them a direct message. Can’t wait for the Ugg boots you ordered to come in? Use same day delivery. Need a good cake? Use instant

Opinion December 20, 2016

Photo by Lacy Williams

mix and skip the hassle of making batter.

We love getting things we want at the instant we want them, to the point where being patient is merely a suggestion. Our everyday world urges us to avoid waiting, which is why retail stores start packing in Halloween and Christmas decorations by mid-July. It is also why Jimmy John’s can wrap up a sandwich in 30 seconds or less and Google brags about how quickly it generates 20 million results. We’re impatient.

Getting what you want, when you want it, feels great, but it’s not great all the time.

Imagine celebrating your birthday all 365 days of the year. It’d be fun for maybe a few weeks, but not after getting a stomach ache from the constant cake, ice cream and overwhelming amounts of presents.

The enjoyment of the whole day would go stale like a rotten batch of cookies left out

for Santa.

Being patient and waiting to enjoy things has its rewards. Of course we wish Winter Break was tomorrow or that Christmas was starting in five minutes. Yet the anticipation of how special a day like Christmas is keeps us moving to make the holiday more special and exciting when it finally does arrive.

So as the holidays are upon us, I’m glad I held off on eating all the Topsy’s caramel popcorn I bought weeks ago because it tastes so much better. I’m also glad I haven’t opened up the Christmas gift from my parents or I would already know it was a new pair of running shoes. Oops, I mean I’m patiently waiting to see what that gift is...

23 lhsnews.net

Does LHS Give Back Enough During the Holidays?

Editoral by Zahra Khan The holidays are in full swing and with them comes the traditional groups of students coming together to help others.

This helping season forces the question, does LHS give back to the community enough during the holidays?

Only two members of the Bell Staff voted “yes” while 20 said “no.” There is no doubt that LHS does do community service. Clubs such as Key Club, StuCo, Breakfast Club and many others help out during the holidays. But the success of projects like Adopt-a-Family, canned food drives and clothing drives depend on the entire student body. Most of the staff agreed we need more participation to get better results.

People in our community are in need.

Sometimes, it’s even the person sitting

Staff Vote: Yes: 2 No: 20 24

next to you in class who needs the most.

One teacher feels LHS does give back, but the students do not give back enough.

Lower participation sometimes leads to friendly competition. For the canned food drive the winning class received a pizza party. The staff discussed that the money used for the pizza party could have been added to the drive. Would students bring anything for the drive if there weren’t competitions? Do the competitions turn our giving into selfishness?

Another teacher mentioned that they aren’t very aware of our school giving back to our community. With this in mind, it also shows that projects such as the canned food drive should be promoted more to students and teachers. Clothing drives seem rushed and there isn’t enough

time to bring in as many items. Groups in charge of the giving need to communicate better and longer.

On the other hand, the staff believes our school is doing a really good thing when it offers so many projects for students to be involved in. And the canned food drive still reached it’s goal, which will help so many families. This is a good thing! With many projects to do there will always be a positive outcome whether or not it was successful.

Overall, The Bell staff leaned toward the no side saying that our school doesn’t give back enough for charity events. Next time when there is an opportunity to give back, remember the outcome depends on your participation.

Illustration by Daryl Gichui

The articles in this section do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the entire Bell staff. Please feel free to comment, compliment or critize anything you see in this section in a Letter to the Editor at lwil1524@student.lps53.org

Opinion December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Exit Stage Laugh The improv troupe provides laughter for students.

Story by Katie Moon At every blackout, the crowd goes crazy for the school’s comedy improv troupe.

The name of the show may be confused with the exit you take from Comedy City downtown to Liberty, but for the students, Exit 16 is the place to go when looking for a laugh.

As soon as the last light goes out, the members are on the stage and the show has already started. Each show opens up with an introduction they create an hour before the curtain goes up.

“We all try to find a fun, creative and energetic way to start off the show,” senior Hope Lundgren said. “Usually it revolves around the theme of our shows, but sometimes they are just random ideas we come up with.”

Every show has a theme relating to what is going on that month. On November 22nd, they performed dressed in their pajamas and on December 22nd, the alumni show, they will be wearing their ugly sweaters. The audience is encouraged to participate.

“If people don’t know or like the theme of the show, why would they want to come

dressed up or see us dressed up? We try to get themes that everyone can do and are kind of vague,” Lundgren said.

The morning of the show, the troupe gathers in club sponsor Charles Zavos for breakfast. Then, on the night of the show, the members of the show do energy and warm up games to get their minds working.

“I love the risks these students take,” Zavos said. “It is amazing that these students can create a sense of ensemble when they only work together once a week.”

“All our different skills and hobbies come in handy and I think our differences are what unite us.” the show and all of their different skills -senior Hope Lundgren. that unite them.

The students are not the only ones working hard to make the show happen.

Zavos sells the tickets, makes sure the doors get closed and laughs a lot while coach Rene Boudreaux works as “the voice in the sky.”

“Rene, our coach, usually makes the run lists because he is the one who sees our progression and he chooses who does what games,” Lundgren said. “He bases them off what we were learning in that month’s practices and our strengths.”

To prepare for the show, they rehearse once a week to practice and learn new games to play. Their games vary from Beastie Rap to Freeze Tag and every show starts with a crowd favorite.

“My favorite part of the show was when Hope Lundgren had to dab and meow every time Kate Turnage took a step,” freshman Jake Islas said.

The audience members appreciate the effort that each troupe member puts into

“The most enjoyable member was Kailyn Peterson, she hosted the show and did a really amazing job,” Islas said.

“Gabe was the most enjoyable to watch because of his clever wittiness,” sophomore Kelvin Rodriguez said.

Exit 16 is not only for students, but is also family-friendly. They keep their show PG for the audience members who may be underage.

“Other people should definitely go,” Islas said. “I will be going to the next Exit 16 show, they’re really funny and entertaining.”

The next time you find yourself bored at home and looking for something to do, see when the next Exit 16 show is. For $3 at lunch or $5 at the door, you could be having a night full of laughter.

Photos by Grace Buehler

Above: Seniors Hope Lundgren and Kailyn Peterson hosted the show. Below: Sophomore Nathan Moon plays the game Gauntlet.

A&E December 20, 2016

25

lhsnews.net

Holiday Cheer What are YOU wearing?

Left page clockwise: Alex Soto, Ellen Meade, Alyssa Hamline, Gabe Maddox, Savannah Hamby.

Right Page clockwise: Titus Adkinson, Jessica Lumetta, Kyler Fullerton, Jessica Cordonier, Abra House.

Photos By; Grace Buehler, Emily Johannes, Kate Marshall, Morgan Clark

26 Style December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

27 Style December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

Athletes of

Alex Tison Interview by Jenna Spence

“I have been playing basketball since fifth grade. When I started to play in high school I got thrown in with the older guys really early because of my height so I had to develop really quickly. Now that it’s my senior year, I’m mostly focusing on fine tuning my skills and lifting a lot more. I am looking forward to districts the most this season.”

-Alex Tison .

“Alex is a hard worker and super talented. We have a lot of new players this year so he is going to have to make sure we are all in check and doing what we need to be doing on the court or at practice. He is also going to have to make some big plays for us down low because he is our tallest guy. So far he has had a very successful high school career.”

-Junior Jalen Lewis

Grade: Senior Height: 6’6” Position: Center - Fwd Favorite Food: Sushi

“Alex is a much improved athlete compared to when he began his high school career. Our team needs Alex to be a very effective defender and rebounder. So far, I’d describe Alex’s high school career as much improved. He’s gotten better at each level. He needs to continue to get better if we’re going to have a good season.

Hopefully, his best basketball has yet to be played.”

-Coach Roger Stirtz

Photo by Ashley Ritter

Shea Williams Interview by Jenna Spence

“I have been swimming since I was nine years old. My favorite memory so far has to be qualifying for state my freshman year just because I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. We as a team have never been able to swim at finals and we definitely will this year, which is exciting.”

-Shea Williams “Shea is a great girl with a strong worth ethic. She’s sweet and genuine and really lightens the mood of practices and with the team. All of the girls thoroughly enjoy having her around. Everyone gets along well with her and she is an awesome asset to our team. Not only is it fun winning meets and events by yourself, but with your best friend the experience is even better.”

-Junior Madeline Pittman “Shea is a very talented swimmer and is a very hard worker. I’m hopeful she will qualify for state individually and be a big part of our state relays. She has competed at state both years and has done very well at our conference championships. One of our team goals this year is to swim finals at state. If she swims in the state finals in relays, she would have a great chance of being on a school record relay as well.”

-Coach Chris Murphy

28 Sports December 20, 2016

Photo by Grace Buehler

Grade: Junior Height: 5’7’’ Best Stroke: 100 Fly Favorite Food: Pizza lhsnews.net

the Month

Zach Ervie

Interview by Haley Stephenson

“I have been wrestling for about five or six years. We just had our first meet against Fort Osage and we’ve been putting in the work since June so it’s hard but we should be in good shape. Practice is rough. We go in there and kick each others’ butts everyday. I like wrestling because not everybody can wrestle. I think it takes a certain breed of person to do it. Building friendships, going to tournaments and just bonding with my teammates is my favorite part of the sport. I just go in there and improve every single day, so I’m just proud to get better.”

-Zach Ervie “I met Zach two years ago. When I first saw him wrestle he was only a freshman and I was pretty impressed with how well he did. When we started working with his dad we became really close. He’s an aggressive wrestler. He has really good shots.

My favorite memory with Zach was the Christmas bash. It is a huge tournament for us and it was really great.”

-Junior Jack Snyder “Zach is a great kid that works really hard. We are depending on him to have a great year and be a leader for our underclassmen. Zach has a lot of potential and we are excited to see how far he can get.”

-Coach Scott Howard

Photo by Kate Marshall

Grade: Sophomore Height: 5’9’’ Weight Class: 129 Favorite Food: Pasta

Kate Towns Interview by Haley Stephenson

“The season has been really good so far. On our first meet I got a state cut, so that’s really good. Practice is kind of stressful, but at the same time it isn’t because Murphy is always pushing us to go harder and everyone is always there for each other to push each other to get through the day. I definitely like just being able to swim on your own and not having to rely on anyone else because it’s more of an individual sport. I love traveling whenever I swim for my club team.”

-Kate Towns .

“I met Kate this year. She’s on my club team and the high school team, so since she’s a freshman I just wanted to start talking to her and include her in everything.

She’s really cool. She goes to all of the practices and does all of the extra conditioning outside of practice. She’s super talented. I would say that Kate is very hardworking because she always gives her best at practice and meets.”

-Junior Shea Williams .

Photo by Mara Fryer

.

Grade: Freshman Height: 5’4’’ Best Stroke: 50 Free Favorite Food: Pasta Sports December 20, 2016

“It is early and we have only had one meet, but Kate won both her events at her first meet. She almost got a state time at time trials during practice. I look forward to seeing her get her first state cut and I’m excited to see her on our state relays.” .

-Coach Chris Murphy

29 lhsnews.net

Pin Or Be Pinned The wrestling team has high hopes for the season.

Story by Elizabeth Gammon Blood, sweat and tears prepare for this moment. Everything they’ve trained for comes down to the first step they take on the mat. The wrestling season started on October 31 and the record so far is 1-0 for duels. The next duel is today against Blue Springs South.

Like most sports there are different styles of wrestling that have different rules and regulations.

“There is greco, freestyle and folkstyle,” freshman Kamryn Laubaugh said.

“Greco you can’t touch the legs, folkstyle is basically school appropriate stuff and freestyle is just whatever you can do.

Right now the type of wrestling we do is folkstyle.”

The wrestlers train for a total of 10 hours a week, two hours after school every day.

How long are the matches they train for?

“A match can last up to six minutes but if there’s over time it can last an extra two minutes,” senior Michael Combs said.

“It all depends on how fast you pin or get pinned.”

The wrestlers are constantly learning new tactics that have different rankings for scores. Just like any regular competition, there are judges that watch and score the wrestlers on their skill.

“If you pin, you automatically win,” freshman Robert Hayden said. “You can get takedowns for two points. I don’t really worry too much about the scoring. I mostly focus on the wrestling.”

Though the wrestlers are the ones on the mat, the people behind the scenes deserve some credit too.

“All the coaches we have are really focused on making us better and improving skills that we’re lacking in,” freshman Trenton Vanarsdall said.

The wrestlers main coach this year is Dustin Brewer.

Photo by Jenna Axsom

“The brand new one, Coach Brewer, I have major respect for him and all the coaches,” sophomore Payton Christensen said.

Brewer has high hopes for his team.

“I think our goal is to continue to get better every week,” wrestling coach Dustin Brewer said. “Some of my guys have individual goals so we try to beat those individual goals as well.”

Though wrestling looks surprisingly easy for the boys, it has its challenges.

Some relate to the physical fitness aspect of the sport.

“Maintaining weight and getting better at the same time is a big challenge,” junior Parker Houck said.

Though keeping in shape is a big part of wrestling, another challenge can be something that’s harder to prepare for: the competitor.

“You don’t know how experienced your competitor is if you haven’t wrestled them before,” Vanarsdall said. “You don’t know their wrestling style so you don’t know if they’re aggressive or defensive. You don’t really know anything about them until you’re on the mat.”

Brewer has seen his team work hard to improve this year.

“I have absolutely seen growth in the student’s skills so far,” wrestling coach Dustin Brewer said. “We’ve gotten a lot done in just a short time of a month and some of these guys have been working through the summer too, so we’re definitely making progress and we just want to keep rolling.”

Photo by Jenna Axsom

30

Top: Senior Michael Combs takes down senior Jordan Prokosch. Below: Sophomore Phillip Carson and freshman Ross Manion face off against eachother.

Sports December 20, 2016

lhsnews.net

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