The Bell
December 18, 2015 Volume 92, Issue 4 Visit us at LHSNEWS.NET
Table of Contents
Stirring Up Success...............................................................06 Blue Jays Fly the Coop..........................................................07 Numbers Game................................................................08-09 Je Suis Paris, “I am Paris”....................................................10-11 The Key to Happiness.............................................................12 Liberty Design Club...............................................................13 A Bundle of Celebrations...................................................14-15 Senior Kasey Smith................................................................16 Junior Jackson Sterling...........................................................17 Sophomore Allison Myers......................................................18 Freshman Jacob Marquis.......................................................19 Teacher Kimberly Sanderford...............................................20 Support Staff Jacob Smith......................................................21 Testing for Stress...............................................................22-23 Holiday Cookies................................................................24-25 Niki’s Corner...........................................................................26 Staff Editorial..........................................................................27 Games......................................................................................28 Columns..............................................................................30-31 Athlete of the Month..........................................................32-33 Potential Champions..............................................................34 Seven-Time State Champs.....................................................35
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Photo by: Malissa Pennington
Photo by: Katie Lamb
Page: 35
Page: 34 Photo by: Maddison Clark
Page: 13 Photo by: Hanna Davidson
Page: 16
Page: 12
Photo courtesy PhotoJ
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On the cover: Mikayla Hill, pastry chef of the culinary team, makes her dish for the team’s menu. Photo by Hayley Johnston
Need a Great Mani-Pedi Guy?
John Tran from Gel Nails and Spa in Shoal Creek donated $2,150 and more to LHS. The money will fund art design panels for The Nest Coffee Shop. Tran mentioned his gratefulness to the community and LHS students for their support of his business. “As I grew over time it was one of those things where I always give back to my clients directly because without my clients I would never grow,” Tran said. “But the clients come from the community, so without the community, without Liberty, I would not be here where I am at today. To me it’s a large number, but to the school I hope I made a difference. You guys can utilize that money one way or another. That’s why I decided to give back to LHS.” Gel Nails and Spa supports LHS...let’s support them BACK!
Staff
Mission
Adviser --> Lori Oyler Editor-in-Chief --> Tara Prindle Design Editor --> Alex Wilson Opinion and A&E Editor --> Emily Johannes InDepth Editor --> Teresa Parra Features Editor --> Lacy Williams News Editor --> Hannah Leonard Sports Editor --> Kati Benhardt Ads Manager and Cartoonist --> Daryl Gichui Online Manager --> Erica Schmitz Reporters --> Alec Augustine Sol Kim Niki Benhardt Kamden Bernard Jackson Peña Hope Scobee Teegan Saunders Jenna Spence McKenzie Greenwood Riley Kelley Caleb Lautenschlager Katie Moon Joey O’Kelly Tommy Roseman Haley Stephenson Delaney Tarpley Paige Twenter Meg Whipple
Our mission for the 2015-2016 school year is to unite a diverse group of people and ideas to compose an informative and entertaining magazine using articles, photographs, and commercial messages. As journalists in training we endeavor to give the best representation of the community of Liberty High School. The Bell student newspaper is a public forum for student expression.
Contact
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Address --> 200 Blue Jay Drive Liberty, MO Phone --> (816)-736-5353 Email --> loyler@liberty.k12.mo.us Twitter --> @TheLHSBell
“GPA before Bae GPA before Bae GPA before Bae GPA before Bae” -@TheOfficialAmos
Jabber
@kendylbeatty Ready to take on our final season as blue jays with these girls!
Netflix and chi....potle. -@Hannah_Berry17
““I’ve been listening to the polar express album lately” “Oh yeah, that sounds pretty lit”” -@hnbury
@sydney_roffield Everyone come out to the new fieldhouse tonight to support your girls and boys basketball team at the Jamboree starting at 6!
“I think I am scared for 2015 to end bc it’s gone surprisingly well for me so far *aggressively knockes on wood*” -@tallyhill
Jabber 05
Stirring Up Success Liberty’s ProStart cooking club now has new members. Story by Delaney Tarpley
Photos by Hayley Johnston
ProStart, a national cooking program, is teaching over 118,000 students real-life experience in the cooking field. Liberty is one of the 1,700 high schools spread out across the nation that have this program. Recently, LHS had their ProStart tryouts. “There are two steps to tryouts,” teacher Emily Bryant said. “First of all, students had to submit a letter of intent or a letter of commitment saying why you want to be on the team, what your strengths and weaknesses are in the kitchen and the position that you want. Then they had 45 minutes to prepare an entree, an appetizer or dessert. We had three chef mentors come and help judge as well as myself. Then after the 45 minutes, the judges came in and judged their dish and we called them in one at a time to give some feedback.” Several of the members had varying opinions on how they thought the tryout process went. “Tryouts were kind of rough this year because my dish (white chocolate mousse) didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but I think overall the tryout process was pretty good,” senior Mikayla Hill said. Junior Sammy Borchardt had a different opinion. “Tryouts for me were fun, but it was kind of hectic because everyone was in there cooking at once. I actually went over the time limit, but I still finished well and I had good plating, which means my plate
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looked nice,” she said. Only the culinary team had to tryout, but few people realize there is another side to the ProStart Team. “The management team doesn’t have to tryout. We are chosen,” junior Paige McDaniel said. This team has a special job that doesn’t involve cooking at all. “The management team comes up with a restaurant concept and then they present it to the judges at the ProStart competition,” Bryant said. The culinary part of the ProStart team has to use lots of their previous cooking experience for the competitions. To be on the team, members have to at least have taken Culinary ProStart 1. However, most of the members have had a love for cooking for a long time. “I’ve taken all of the culinary arts classes here, but I first started to fall in love with cooking in sixth grade when I was in my first FACs class. I just realized it was something I wanted to do,” Hill said. Borchardt agreed. “I’ve been cooking for a long time,” Borchardt said. “I remember being little and helping out in my kitchen at home with breakfast and other meals. I’m definitely planning on taking ProStart II next year so I can tryout for the team again.” The State competition is coming up in
February. It will be held in Springfield. Until then, the team will continue to meet every Monday after school to practice and perfect their menu for the competition. “For the competition, the culinary team does an appetizer, entree and dessert. The entree has to consist of a protein, a starch and a vegetable and they have an hour to prepare that,” Bryant said. Hill, who was a part of the team last year, recalled what competitions felt like. “We were in this huge ballroom with all these different tables and we just cooked on the tables. We had an hour to do that and 15 minutes to set up, and it was kind of intimidating seeing everybody else around, but at the same time we had our own little kitchen and I could kind of breathe a little bit. It’s a lot of fun though. I enjoy going to competitions,” she said. After getting fourth place at State last year, the members look forward to the upcoming competition. “I think the competition process will be difficult, but fun,” McDaniel said. Only after a few practices is already taking a liking to each other. “Everyone has their own different hobbies and personalities,” McDaniel said. Hill acknowledged that she felt the same. “By the end of the season, we’re going to be a tight family that just supports one another. Going to competition is going to be so fun with them,” she said.
Left: ProStart cooking team prepares their dish. Right:Senior Geonna Alexander, senior Jadin Taylor, junior Sammy Borchardt, senior Joe Miranda and senior Mikayla Hill are members of the ProStart team.
Blue Jays Fly The Coop Some seniors get a head start on their future by graduating at semester. Story by Hannah Leonard
Photo by Lacy Williams
As the end of first semester comes to an end, it is time for LHS to say farewell to a few Blue Jays. The seniors are looking ahead to the future with ambition as they end their high school careers. “I am graduating early so I can work full time to save up as much money as I can before I go to college in the Fall of 2016,” senior Leslie McCaulley said. Like McCaulley, many of the early graduates have college in mind. “I’m graduating early because I want to start preparing for college earlier and more seriously during the spring,” senior Joe Guarino said. Deciding to graduate early can be a big decision to make. “A lot of thought went into graduating early,” senior Emily Klinke said. “It wasn’t really something I considered before going into my senior year, but when I found out I had enough credits to do it, it felt right. There are so many advantages to graduating early. I can now work and volunteer during the day while saving money for school, get into college a semester earlier than the rest of my graduating class and then graduate college and begin my future career sooner than I ever thought I would.”
However, graduating early isn’t for everyone. “I am happy to graduate second semester,” senior Joe Kinder said. “I am an athlete, I play baseball in the spring and also take classes then. I also feel more comfortable graduating with my classmates in the spring graduation than being at the end of first semester.” Still, there can be an advantage for some by leaving early. “Yes [there is an advantage] because I can mentally prepare myself longer than a summer to get ready for college,” McCaulley said. However, sometimes continuing on to second semester can give an advantage as well. “I see the advantage of graduating in the spring with school traditions, being a part of a senior class, maturing and being prepared for the next step after high school,” teacher Melissa Jones said. There will always be a bitter-sweetness to saying goodbye though. “I enjoyed most of high school,” senior Savannah Morgan said. “I’ve made lasting friendships, learned hard lessons and most importantly, prepared myself for college and what lies ahead. I will miss my friends
the most, they are the reason for all the good memories I have at LHS.” Coming back from winter break will feel different with the absence of some seniors. “There will always be a change in atmosphere when someone leaves the classroom. They will be missed by peers and teachers alike,” teacher Matt Kiser said. The students that continue second semester may find it strange to adapt. “I will miss the extra smiles in the hallway that you get to see everyday and some of the kids you went to school with all these years will be gone after one semester,” Kinder said. Luckily LHS has prepared these Blue Jays for their future. “I loved being able to find my talents through the classes offered, and have enjoyed getting to know the staff and creating so many friendships,” Klinke said. “I have had so many opportunities through choir, EIP, theatre productions, broadcasting and many clubs. Although high school’s academic side wasn’t always fun, it was something I would never change.”
Seniors Jessica Mease, Savannah Morgan and Matt Crawford will graduate at semester.
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Numbers Game
These numbers show LHS’s achievements and some fun facts. by Caleb Lautenschlager
34
in Chamber Orchestra
71
33
in Symphonic Orchestra
30
in Men’s Chorale
33
in Concert Orchestra
26
in Women’s Honor Choir
48
32
in Chamber Choir
in Women’s Chorale
in Freshmen Orchestra
Predicted inches of snow in Kansas City (courtesy of NBC weather)
Inches of snow last year in Kansas City
14
.
23
Fine Arts All-District members total Choir 36 Honorable mention band 4 All District Orchestra 18 band 8 News 08 All district Jazz band 2
.
Coldest December day in history
-23 degrees (1989)
1,299 cans and $270
collected for Operation Christmas Tree by Gifted Comm Arts classes
Warmest December day in history
74 degrees (2012,2001)
soup
1
78 in Concert Band 62 in Symphonic Band 21 in Jazz Band New Year’s is celebrated
Blue snowday this year
24
13.4
average inches of snow per year
times around the world
288 hours of winter break
4 winter sports
women’s swim
men’s wrestling
men’s & women’s basketball News 09
Je Suis Paris, “I am Paris” French teachers use their Paris connections to help students understand, support victims. Story by Lacy Williams
Photos by Lacy Williams and Joe Miranda
It seemed to be an ordinary Friday night, but that Friday night was one that the whole world now mourns. That evening gunmen and suicide bombers attacked multiple locations in Paris, France, including cafes, restaurants, a sports stadium and a concert venue. Tragically, 130 people lost their lives along with many more who were injured. Not only was support shown from the citizens of France, but the rest of the world reached out to help Paris. Major landmarks around the world portrayed France’s flag on the buildings including the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, the Empire State Building in New York City and our very own Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. These were not the only form of support. French Club is selling t-shirts and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Red Cross. Social media also played a major role in spreading the news and prayers. #PrayforParis and the symbol of a peace sign with the Eiffel Tower inside the circle were two trending symbols shown. The French classes also created a memorial wall in the foreign language hall, in honor of the tragedy. “I offered each student a chance to create a show of support for the French to
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create a Wall of Peace,” French teacher Canda King said. “We looked at various trending social media and tributes that people had made and students created their own. I would love to invite anyone down to view the “Wall of Peace” that is in the 400’s Flex Space, and anyone is welcome to add to it about any of these unfortunate recent attacks that have been occurring in places worldwide.” The French teachers have a strong connection with Paris, which is why the tragedy hit them harder than most. “I was living and studying in France when the 9/11 attacks happened,” French teacher Jessica Lumetta said. “The French people were incredibly kind and supportive of me and other American students studying in France at the time. I love Paris and all of France for that matter. It is hard to see such senseless violence anywhere in the world, but especially in a place where there is such joie de vivre. These kinds of things simply didn’t happen when I was growing up.” King agreed. “I was really nervous to cancel our normal class and just have a discussion over something that is so frightening and emotional for me, as I have French friends and have been to Paris,” King said. “The students’ level of respect and compassion
really impressed me and I am very proud with how they have handled it.” As many students heard the tragedy that happened, French classes, Current Events Club and French Club talked about the attacks in more detail. “We talked about how France is culturally most everything that the attackers hate; there are political freedoms and it is just a very free culture in general,” junior Jackson Ferguson said. “The culture of ISIS is very repressive and it would make sense to target such a free and liberated place as Paris, in a country like France.” Students also discussed reasons for the attack. “They [ISIS] want to attack life and culture and things that people enjoy, that’s why they attacked cafés and concert venues, rather than government buildings,” Senior Sadie Jess said. “They also want non-Muslims to turn against Muslims; that division of Islam verses. The world would do nothing but work in their favor and drive up their numbers. That’s why it’s so important not to turn against Islam right now.” The tragedy caused students to try to decipher how they believe the situations should be handled.
Left and right: A light up Eiffel Tower and artwork displayed for the Wall of Peace.
French students created LHS’s own Wall of Peace on which they displayed art in support of Paris. “I think that if the United States were to get involved in a violent manner, there would be challenging repercussions,” junior Halle Hewitt said. “I don’t think that going to war is the best option because too many innocent lives will be lost, but I also think that a more peaceful route is best, even if it may be more difficult.” There was one decision the students came to a consensus on. “Difficult though it may be with different ideas for solutions, I think something we all agreed upon is that we shouldn’t stop letting immigrants in from Syria,” Ferguson said. As the discussion continued, there were also posed solutions and ideas to help put
an end to these attackers. “I’m not sure I have the solution to ending terrorism, but I think the best approach for right now is to put up a united front, avoid being afraid and help support refugees and local forces, the Kurdish soldiers,” Jess said. The fear factor in this tragedy has started to become a reality. “A lot of people are afraid that the same thing that happened in Paris will happen here, and we’ve learned that ISIS is very capable of doing that and that incites a lot of fear in people,” Hewitt said. Most students believed that they should continue their everyday lives and not live in fear. “I think it’s very easy and very
reasonable to be afraid, but we should avoid panicking because ISIS does what it does to make us afraid because they don’t have the resources or the manpower to rage a real war,” Jess said. “They rely on fear, so fear is what we should avoid.” People should not stop doing every day things due to fear. “You can’t stop living and traveling, you just have to be more aware of your surroundings and responsible for your personal safety,” Lumetta said. “If we stop traveling, going to concerts or sitting outside on a café terrace, we let the terrorists win and I don’t think any of us want that.”
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The Key to Happiness
Key Club participated in an Adopt-A-Family program to help the community. Story by Joey O’Kelly
Photos by Hanna Davidson
There is one question that seems to be asked by people around the world – what is the key to happiness? This holiday season, Key Club believes that the key is giving. “Key Club wants to adopt a family just to help the community. It’s a great thing to be involved in,” freshman Shelby Erickson said. “It kind of opens your eyes to other families in the community; what you might take for granted, other people could barely have.” Students in Key Club are adopting a family. The club received a list of things that each member of the family needs, from clothes, to food and toys. Then, the students signed up for things to bring for these families. “This is for people who don’t have money to get Christmas gifts or any gifts at all, so basically we’re just trying to help the less fortunate,” senior Emily Szczuka said.
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Key Club members have been working on preparations for the Adopt-A-Family project since the beginning of November, when the project was announced. Their items for the families are due on December 11 and will be delivered on December 14. “We adopt a family so that they receive items they need for the holidays,” Key Club sponsor Erin Garvey said. “These families were recently homeless and need help getting back on their feet.” In Key Club, members earn service hours by doing community service projects like this. “We get hours depending on how much stuff we bring in and also depending on how much time we spend sorting [the items],” Szczuka said. To get these hours, members sometimes have to travel outside of the club projects and go out on their own.
“You can also get out in the community. There are many food banks that you can donate to,” junior Boone Evans said. The club is mainly based off of those community service projects and hours and this Adopt-A-Family is a fantastic example. “A good way to do nice things like this all year round is to be in clubs at LHS and to join clubs like Key Club that do community service projects,” sophomore Ayraka Bree Straws said. Giving a helping hand is not solely a holiday season event. These things can happen all year round, on a daily basis. “Helping someone out is just a really great feeling. I think in today and this day and age, we’re kind of losing sight of that,” Erickson said. “Doing this makes you feel happy and it makes you want to help out more, which I believe is very important.”
Right: Senior Joanne Moretina and fresman Cassidy Meyer pick up their t-shirts to wear for the Adopt-A-Family event. Top: Junior Kinsey Schroeder helps organize the t-shirts. Bottom: Key Club gathered supplies for their project.
Liberty Designers Students unite to creates artwork for clubs. Story by Haley Stephenson
Photo by Maddison Clark
With 56 clubs at LHS to get involved in ranging from politics to bass fishing, we can now welcome The Liberty Design Club. Senior Riley Evans had a very innovative goal when he created the club. “I had taken the design class in the past few years and it really inspired me,” Evans said. “I didn’t just want to follow some curriculum and do some random work, I wanted to actually try and help the school.” This group of designers create a professional looking atmosphere around the school. You may have seen their works displayed in the hallways, advertising different organizations. Every Thursday during Liberty Hour, the group gathers in room 110 to create banners, shirts, posters and other graphic designs for all of the clubs at LHS. During the meetings, the four members sign up for different tasks and specialized designs. “We look over anyone that needs a design and occasionally we split up the work to see which one looks better,” senior Oliver Mulcahy said.
Design courtesy of Riley Evans
Since the announcement of the club, they have been flooded with requests to create logos and shirts. “I’ve been designing since sophomore year,” senior Rachel Backs said. “We had the water bottle designing contest and I won, I guess that was kind of a launching point for me and design.” A school wide email advertised the help offered by these designers. With just a few clicks of a button, your club’s new design will be on its way to be approved by you in a matter of weeks. “Sometimes they’re really big designs that are really important, so you kind of have to work on those for a week or so, go through a couple of different designs to see what works out and what doesn’t,” Evans said. “Sometimes you can just get something that comes to you really fast and you can get it out in a day or two.” They are currently working on posters for The Nest and Technology Student Association (TSA), and soon you may see members of the Young Democrats Club
or Free Thinkers Alliance wearing shirts designed by the LDC. Members of the club have advice for those interested in joining. “In the design club, we all know how to use Illustrator and Photoshop pretty well,” Evans said. “Taking the introduction classes is also a big plus, Ms. Morris does a really good job with teaching the programs.” Backs agreed. “It might be helpful if you joined a design class and had Illustrator, but you can always just sketch things if you’re good at designing and help create a logo,” Backs said. As of now, the club is exclusively working for LHS, but that doesn’t stop the club members from keeping their eyes on goals. “Hopefully if businesses need a design we can work for them too,” Mulcahy said. “But right now we’re just focusing on the clubs with a school.”
Left: Liberty Design Club made Christmas sweaters, which are being sold for $15. Right: Junior Erica Schmitz, Oliver Mulcahy and Riley Evans design posters for clubs to be put up around LHS.
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A Bundle of Celebrations Students celebrate in a plethora of different ways over the holiday break. Story by Tommy Roseman
Photos by Lacy Williams
Even here in Liberty there are a variety of people with different backgrounds. In December, the first thing that springs to a lot of people’s mind is Christmas, but some people think of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or even Festivus. A survey was conducted to see who celebrates what holiday at LHS. There were 258 responses. “I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas because my father was raised Jewish and my mother was raised Christian so we celebrate both traditions,” senior Phoebe Alpern said. “I think I like Hanukkah more because it isn’t subject to that same sort of attention; it isn’t commercialized in the same way. It’s definitely about family and community and we don’t have any of that weird intersection between is this a religious holiday, is it a holiday about family, is it a holiday about commercialism.
It’s just about being with people.” Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday that celebrates the Jews’ recovery of the temple of Jerusalem. The Jews were restoring the temple after it had been desecrated, where they had a ceremonial lamp. There was only enough oil to keep the lamp burning for one night. The story says that God extended that oil so that it would last for eight nights. This is why Hanukkah cooking revolves around using oil. It is also why people who celebrate it light a candle each night for eight nights. Christmas and Hanukkah are holidays tied to religion. However, Kwanzaa is not. It is a celebration of African American heritage. The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” meaning “first fruits of the harvest.” It was created by Maulana Karenga, an African American professor of African studies. He
started it during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s and it became the first holiday celebrated by African Americans. The point of Kwanzaa is to embrace the “seven core principles of African heritage,” as Karenga puts it. Each principle is a Swahili word. The first principle, Umoja, translates to unity. The second is Kujichagulia, or self-determination. Then comes Ujima, collective work and responsibility, then Ujamaa, cooperative economics. The fifth is Nia, which means purpose. The sixth is Kuumba, which is creativity and lastly is Imani, which means faith. Kwanzaa revolves around using the Pan-African colors (red, black and green), reading literature, having an artistic performance, candle lighting and a feast. There were no survey responses detailing how LHS students celebrate this event.
How do you celebrate the holidays? 258 students responded. 95.7% Christmas
1.6% Other
1.2% Hanukkah
1.2% Don’t Celebrate 0.4% Kwanzaa
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Left: Senior Phoebe Alpern celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah. Right: LHS represents the holiday’s with Liberty colors.
The least familiar of this list is a holiday called Festivus. Festivus was popularized by the hit 80’s-90’s sitcom Seinfeld. One of the characters of the show, George Costanza’s father, celebrates this holiday. Contrary to popular belief however, the holiday existed before the show. Dan O’Keefe was a writer for Seinfeld and he said that his father celebrated it when he was a kid. His father was against the commercialism of Christmas and decided to create his own holiday. “Festivus is basically where your friends and family come together and you do a lot of activities,” sophomore Stefan Bramwell said. “You have the Festivus dinner and the airing of grievances where basically we just air out all of our problems throughout the whole year that we’ve had with everybody. There are the feats of strength, too. We all celebrate around a giant aluminum pole.” Festivus is mostly a spoof holiday, but it is celebrated both by fans of Seinfeld and people that are anti-commercialism.
Christmas is celebrated by billions of people across the world. The holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and is a time to be with family. More secular celebrations include decorating a Christmas tree or setting out cookies for Santa Claus, but some students at LHS have some interesting traditions. “Generally what we do is as a family we go to Olive Garden,” junior Connar McKillip said. “It started a few years ago when we used to go to other movies to watch the new blockbusters that were coming out. Recently, we decided there weren’t any movies we wanted to see and decided to go to Olive Garden instead. In late November or early December we go to the Longview Lake and they have a special light show that you can drive through,” McKillip said. “It’s like a safari instead only it’s for lights. So you slowly drive through it, there’s different displays like a snowman and when different lights flash it looks like it’s
taking off its hat.” Others have a longer way to travel. “My family has a really long drive down to Texas,” freshman Aubrey Peterson. “They always have great Christmas decorations up. My grandfather was a pastor and my grandmother played the organ for their church, so we always played little Christmas hymns with her and it’s really fun.” Regardless of what families celebrate during the holidays, what students need to remember is the meaning of family. With seniors going off to college and high schoolers growing up in general, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters most. “Our youngest is still in high school, but our oldest are in college,” teacher Brenda Parker said. “It’s different because you don’t have Santa Claus surprise moments where they’re so excited. It’s a time to be together as a family.”
Left: Sophomore Stefan Bramwell celebrates Festivus. Middle: Junior Connar McKillip celebrates Christmas. Right: Freshman Aubrey Peterson also celebrates Christmas.
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What are you involved in? “[I’m in] Theatre. I am in costumes, I got the fun of being able to be a manager this year, and this was my first year on costumes, it was super fun. I got to learn different aspects. I’m also in Leadership. There’s separate quads and also separate classrooms. There’s one classroom in Ms. King’s room and one classroom in Mrs. Badalucco’s room. Then we have quads, which means we work with about ten people in our class, so there’s ten groups of about ten people. We try to hit on academics, athletics and culture. There’s four aspects that we try to hit on; just to increase community and everything that we want to do in the school and outside of school.”
Are you in any clubs?
“I am in Be Kind and Unwind, it’s pretty awesome. I think one of the ideas that we had was putting up positive things around the school to brighten people’s day. We try and make school a happier place to be in and also what we do is we come together and we hang out, we have a lot of fun.”
What is special about you?
“I like to make people feel included and that I’m really paying attention to them and actually caring about them. Not just about school, but also about people individually and also custodians and staff and the librarians. I love my librarians and cafeteria ladies. So, just making everyone feel individual and special.”
Badalucco’s thoughts:
“What makes Kasey unique is she is always upbeat and comes into class with a smile on her face. She can take constructive criticism and then reflect on what was told to her and [she] tries to be her best self. I really enjoy having Kasey in class.”
Senior
Kasey Smith Spotlight 16
Story by McKenzie Greenwood
Photo courtesy of PhotoJ
What do you like to do?
“Mostly just band, I’m involved in the marching band pretty directly, I’m one of the drum majors, but that’s only during the fall. I play eight [instruments]. Clarinet is my favorite because that’s the first instrument I started out on, that’s my main instrument. [Outside of school] I like to play video games, practice my instruments, hang out with friends and I enjoy working on cars.”
What’s your favorite band memory?
“It was our final performance of our show, final home game performance of our show from this year. It sounded amazing, it looked amazing and everyone was just overall really proud of what the band did. We got a standing ovation at the game.”
What is one of your biggest goals? “To become a high school band director, because my current band director has inspired me to do that with his passion. In 15 years, I could see myself in Saint Louis being a band director.”
Owen‘s thoughts:
“Jackson has a great spirit about him. He is positive, a hard worker, and has a great sense of humor. The thing that makes Jackson special is his desire to do better in everything that he does - he’s not afraid to ask how.”
Junior
Jackson Sterling Story by McKenzie Greenwood
Photo by Natalie Griffin
Spotlight 17
Why did you join Key Club? “It looks good on college resumes, and it makes you feel good about yourself. My grandma was in Kiwanis, which is an adult version of Key Club. It helps kids through community service and charity. I saw the good that it could do for other people and I thought that I wanted to do something like that as well.”
What is Key Club like? “Key Club is filled with a very diverse group of people. We do community service and help others. I personally have worked in “A Fairytale Forest”, which is an event at Martha Lafite for Halloween. We ran little booths, gave children candy and dressed up. It was really fun. We have a lot of Christmas events coming up. There is a foster home dinner we are supposed to host. We are also doing Adopt-A-Family.”
What’s unique about you? “I was adopted on April 2, 2001 from Hubai, which is a province in China. I was in an orphanage that hosted about 30 other kids. Every night, I would go home with the caretakers of the orphanage. My adopted parents went through an organization. They selected from toddler to a five year old child. I then got paired with them and my adopted parents accepted me. They knew I was the one.”
Armilio’s thoughts: “I would describe Ali as very self motivated and intelligent. She has a very fun personality to be around. She is always laughing, involved in class and always keeps me on my toes in class. She is very enjoyable to have in class and very smart.”
Sophomore
Allison Myers Spotlight 18
Story by Jenna Spence
Photo courtesy of PhotoJ
What are you involved in?
“I am involved in Student Council and involved in Secondary Advisory Council to express my leadership skills I think it’s a great way to help out the school. My favorite thing to do outside of school is to practice my viola or my artistic abilities. I love to do that because it’s a different way of being able to express myself.”
What do you like about LHS?
“[It] probably would be the amazing people here. I think everybody or most everybody gets along and I think the teachers are really great. My favorite subject would have to be math because I’m pretty good at it and I like the basic structure. I would like to be an air traffic controller or have something to do with aviation engineering [after LHS].”
Who are your favorite people?
“My family, they’re a really great thing to have and I love them. My role model would have to be my dad mainly because he has fought for so much throughout his lifetime and he’s a really great example to look up to. My friends impact me in a lot of ways, I feel like they impact me in a pretty good way because I’m expressing myself towards them and I’m putting myself around people that are really nice and good.”
Ragan’s thoughts:
“Jacob is an awesome young man. He’s a true leader not only as a responsible student but he’s friendly and he greets everyone, treats everyone wonderfully and that’s something we should all admire.”
Freshman
Jacob Marquis Story by Kamden Bernard
Photo by Mikayla Hill
Spotlight 19
Why did you start teaching? “Becoming a teacher was my second career. I gave up a career in the legal field to stay home with my children. As my children entered school, I started volunteering in their classrooms and I loved it. I had always enjoyed going to school myself and when I was exposed to the learning environment, I knew that teaching was my calling. I have always loved to read. I also believe the more you read, the smarter you get.”
Why do you like LHS? “I am a Liberty High School graduate. I cherish the traditions and the culture. I feel fortunate that I have the opportunity to contribute to the legacy of LHS. All students are different. I appreciate those students who are willing to give their best effort, but effort does not necessarily equal a letter grade.“
What is important in your life? “I don’t have a most important “object,” but my family is the most important aspect of my life. [I love] spending time with my husband, four children and three dogs. I also enjoy spending time with friends. Friends are priceless.”
Burnett’s thoughts: “Mrs. Sanderford is a wonderful teacher. She is a really caring person who works really hard. She’s a great team player so I really enjoy working with her on the freshman team.”
Teacher
Kimberly Sanderford Spotlight 20
Story by Kamden Bernard
Photo by Joe Miranda
What did you do before LHS?
“I played college football for the Air Force Academy and I then spent 14 years in the Air Force, four of which was spending time at the academy in Colorado Springs. I graduated and ended up doing pilot training and flew for the Air Force for nine years flying C-130’s. I then decided that it was time for me to move on when they were getting ready to retire the type of plane I was flying. I moved on and was looking for something to do. I have always been interested in hands-on repair. Computer technology gave me the power to do that.”
What got you into technology?
“I’ve always liked a puzzle and I’ve always liked working with my hands. What I like about technology is that it is a mixture of both. It gives me a different problem to solve all the time.”
How would you describe your job?
“No two days are always the same, I come in first thing in the morning and clean up whatever I have from the day before. I then wait for students with problems to come in. I usually get a wave of them in the morning with problems that happened over night. I have one computer that I literally replaced every component on and it still kept repeating the same fault; it shorted out the charger and then did not work. It came down to a crimp in a wire.”
Oliver Mulcahy‘s thoughts:
“From the appearance he seems pretty scary, but he’s actually a really nice guy. I think he has a soft heart. He is a really smart tech guy. If you respect him, he’ll probably respect you with your computer. He is a really hard worker; he worked really hard to get our laptops ready over the summer. Respect him like you would want somebody to respect you.”
Support Staff
Jacob Smith Story by Jenna Spence
Photo courtesy of Bell Staff
Spotlight 21
Testing For Stress
Story by Sol Kim and Paige Twenter
Photos by Teresa Parra
“Plan some extra study time but don’t get away from the things that you know are healthy; eating well, getting enough sleep, getting some exercise, all those things help you handle the stress,” American History teacher Doug Winkler said. “I think learning how to handle stress and how to study appropriately would reduce that stress but still give them the performance [students] want on the final.”
Tips “If you truly take the time and effort to learn the material and work on skills along the way in the semester, then you should be confident going into the finals because you’re not just trying to get stuff done,” English teacher Karla Schaeffer said. “You are taking the attitude of really trying to take that information and absorb it, you’ll do fine on the finals.”
Tips “Don’t completely change what you do, if you exercise, and hopefully you do, continue doing that because that helps you handle stress,” Winkler said. “Staying up and only getting four to five hours of sleep a night for several nights in a row does not help you in the finals, it hurts you because lack of sleep will affect your memory and your ability to think in a rational way, which will affect your performance on the finals.”
Indepth 22
“Quizlet is a great study tool, especially for foreign language classes and vocab,” sophomore Hannah Schrag said. “I also like to find practice problems to do or go back over worksheets and other materials we did in class.”
Photo by Paige Twenter
“Stress can cause headaches, stomach aches and anxiety. [To prevent this,] take a break about every hour and spend about seven to ten minutes doing jumping jacks or activities.” Nurse Becky Kovac said.
“I like preparing definitely because if you don’t prepare then you are going to be really stressed out. The sooner you start preparing, the more you’ll be ready for the final,” sophomore Gary Davisson said.
“Make sure you get sleep, don’t try and study too long that you don’t get good sleep because then you won’t be able to be aware when you take the finals,” junior Lilly Holt said. “Also ask your teachers questions like a week or two before finals.”
“Put your phone in a different room when you are trying to get serious about studying,” senior Soliana Kahassai said. “Otherwise it becomes very tempting to get distracted by your phone.”
It’s that time of the year when the phrase “finals are coming” feels like the floor is about to drop from underneath you. As the semester draws to a close, students feel pressured to improve their grades before they become set in stone. During finals week, the cramming, testing jitters and coffee consumption leaves students sleep deprived. People around the high school explain what’s causing their lack of sleep at night, but not all hope is lost—students have also shared their favorite study habits to help prevent others from the unfortunate cost of falling into the deep, dark hole of despair that is finals week. Y UD ST T EA EEP SL
What TO do:
- Engage in physical activity
- Remember to laugh - Slow down - Get enough sleep - Get organized - Try not to worry too much - Study beforehand - Form a study group - Avoid using electronics while studying
How Sleep Affects Academics
A student agreed that high school students are not getting the right amount of sleep they need each night. “I think some students aren’t getting enough sleep because they procrastinate or get distracted when they do homework,” freshman Jane Sundell said. “So by the time they get their homework done it’s late at night. I think it’s also hard to get enough sleep when people are really involved with sports and clubs because then sometimes they won’t get home till later and then they still have to do their homework.” There are a number of contributing factors to the lack of sleep students are receiving. “Well one, I don’t think we value sleep very well,” psychology teacher David Fulkerson said. “Two, It seems like a waste of time when we have so many things to do. I think most of us live extremely busy lives and so there are a lot of activities that you become involved in that take a lot of time.” Receiving the proper amount of sleep affects academic performance. “[Sleep] is beneficial in almost any regard,” Fulkerson said. ”It affects your mood, energy, cognition, your ability to problem solve, it affects the growth hormones you receive, even if you’re not growing, it affects muscle mass. There isn’t any part of your body that isn’t impacted by a good night’s rest.” Electronics also affect the amount of sleep students get each night. “The blue light that is emitted from electronic screens, whether it be a television, computer, cellphone, can trick the brain into thinking that it is daylight outside,” Fulkerson said. “As a result, you’re not getting the proper sleep hormones that you would normally get in the evening. So as a result, this makes our bodies artificially stay up longer and interrupts the sleep cycle.”
Photo by Lacy Williams
What NOT to do:
- Working on homework for too long - Not having a consistent schedule - Staying up too late - Overeating/stress eating - Cramming - Reading text without comprehending it - Memorizing things without understanding them
Indepth 23
Holiday Cookies Story and Photos by Teegan Saunders and Meg Whipple
Students submitted their best cookie recipes to the Bell to be featured.
Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Submitted by Santana Garcia
A great way to get in the holiday spirit is by baking! The Bell staff wanted to share some great cookie recipes submitted to us by students. We had five submissions and here are a couple of our favorites. The rest can all be found at LHSNews.net as of today under A&E.
“These cookies make me think of the holidays because they are what my family makes every year. It makes me think of home around the holiday season,” sophomore culinary arts student Santana Garcia said. INGREDIENTS: 1 c. all-purpose flour ½ c. whole-wheat flour 1 tsp. coarse salt ½ tsp. baking soda ¾ c. unsalted butter ½ c. granulated sugar ½ c. packed light-brown sugar 1 large egg 1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract ½ c. mashed ripe banana 1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats 8 oz. semisweet chocolate ½ c. coarsely chopped walnuts
A&E 24
Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookie DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2. Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. 3. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. 4. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. 5. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts. 6. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. 7. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. 8. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.
Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies Submitted by Cassia Noah
“This recipe makes me think about the holidays because when the holidays come around, I always start getting minty things all the time and a ton of desserts my family makes are chocolatey. This recipe has its share of chocolatey and minty flavors, so that’s why I like it. I chose this recipe because it’s one of my all time favorite things to make and I usually make these all the time during the holidays,” freshman Cassia Noah said.
INGREDIENTS: ½ cup softened butter ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 (10 ounce) package Andes mint baking chips 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Blend butter, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until ingredients are mixed. 3. Add Andes baking chips and mix. 4. Add flour and continue to mix until all ingredients are well blended together. 5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes. 6. Spoon out approximately 1 ounce of dough per cookie. 7. Form a ball and then slightly flatten. 8. Place on non-stick baking pans and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. 9. Cool on pans for 2 minutes, then remove.
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Niki’s Corner Photos by Niki Benhardt
A&E 26
Christmas is almost here! Middle left: Josh Munden gets in the Christmas spirit. Top right: Tierra Williams is excited about the blue trees! Breakfast Club had a lockdown, Bottom left to right, on November 24.
Should we let fear control our lives? Just when we thought we were safe, Paris slapped us all in the face. The news about the attacks spread like lightning across the globe and with it spread a fresh punch of terror. There are some who have this fear confronting them right outside their front door while there are others who experience this fear through television screens, newspapers and social media. However, all of these people have one commonality in their situation, and this is the decision of how to cope with fear. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. No matter how different one individual is from another, every person has experienced some kind of fear. When circumstances force fear into our minds we are presented with an important choice. Will Smith once said, “fear is not real. It is a product of the thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice.� There is not one student at LHS who is unaware of the horrific and tragic events that took place in Paris. Terrorism holds the very word terror and causes panic and chaos to ensue in the places it occurs. In
a city like Paris where terrorism is rare, the attacks caused many people to feel an intense shock and unease in their wake. Members of the staff felt that terrorist attacks like these tend to give new strength to the feelings of anxiety and suspicion already present after the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers or the Boston Marathon bombing. Staff members unanimously agreed that although this nagging fear and anxiety is perfectly normal, it should not control the lives of students at LHS. Many teachers agreed with the staff, one teacher pointed out that fear can be paralyzing and living a life of constant paranoia means one isn’t living much of a life at all. Another Bell staffer pointed out there are many different ways that a person could deal with fear the wrong way, one of these being to turn a blind eye to what is occurring. People should recognize what is going on around them, but keep the emotions surrounding these situations from taking over their lives. A teacher also mentioned that this kind of paralyzing fear can also occur in the everyday life of a student. When a student allows fear of failure to become paralyzing
at school, it can have a harsh impact on their GPA. Another teacher added to this perspective, mentioning there are many things outside of our control, but if we constantly try to fight back against the things we cannot control rather than focusing on the things we can control, we begin to allow fear to rule our lives. While fear is a commonly felt emotion, there are many methods of coping with it and keep it from controlling our lives. One staff member suggested that it is incredibly important to continue doing the things we love and enjoy even in the face of our worry and uneasiness. Several staff members recalled instances where citizens of Paris pledged to fight against terrorism with kindness, setting their fear to the side in place of the effort to make the world a better place. The staff admired that despite having this tragic situation at their doorstep that many citizens of Paris are still finding a way to keep fear from consuming them. The staff concluded that even in the wake of tragic events, it is incredibly important to keep anxiety and concern out of the center of our lives.
Staff Vote Yes: 0 No: 25
Illustration by Staff Cartoonist Daryl Gichui
Opinion 27
Winter Word Search
N A M W O N S E E C H H H S D X B I N F
D A E R B R E G N I G D W R R K R L N G
L B H C E B F N S D T J M F E Q R I U T
L I N G L Y N A U L J P I M I I A L W V
X H G C F P C D A U W V O F D W T M Y D
CHRISTMAS COOKIES RED DECEMBER DREIDEL ELF
Games 28
P A D H V A F A O Z C N S U E E N G A Z
M N A I T K T P Q U N I C N L V A P R W
M U B J T S E A P X G A Z O E T S E J C
H K Y E Z F Q Q U O M T W P G E E Z B I
M K R M J M I K E J H R J K O D R D P H
J A C A I Z H G C D Y K F Q N C R G K O
P H Y L B N H H L I D A Y I O W O N S L
Q R K A W D R B Y X A C E O I U I S I I
GINGERBREAD GREEN HANUKKAH HOLIDAY KINARA KWANZAA LIGHTS
P I E H Q I C P X R I R K D T A K I H D
L V K S S J V P A L C I Q N N R E X A A
W I N T E R H N J N E H Z Y N G E O H Y
W W M A Q N I R C S T L T A H L A J N V
A A M B C K T G S Y Q X P E I B D X M Z
S R P B P M O S W D V I B F J Z Z R M E
D E C E M B E R C R H I O O J G E R E D
MILK PRESENTS REINDEER SANTA SNOW SNOWMAN WINTER
Stocking Maze
Happiest Adult on Earth Editorial by Editor in Chief Tara Prindle
As a 17-year-old, I am at that place where I’m still a child, but I also feel like an adult. I know how to speak the language of other adults. I know how to ask for what I want or ask for help from attendants at shops or restaurants. I am confident and reassured that I’m an adult, despite some contradicting childish features I still have. Recently, I went on a trip to Disney World
with the journalism classes and I was struck with the realization that I was on the happiest place on earth as a young adult. That means I was tall enough to ride all the rides and I could eat ice cream for dinner without chastisement. It was during this trip that I bought souvenirs for my parents and family members and a few items for myself. But this led to a predicament. I took my adult-y, adult-self and went up to a Disney World attendant and asked very grownup-like, “Excuse me, ma’am. I was hoping you could help me locate a Simba Pillow Pet. You don’t seem to have any on the floor, perhaps they are in the back or in another store?” Sure I’m an adult, but this was a huge dilemma. It’s Christmas time at Disney and how can I not buy myself my childhood idol: Simba, the lion king? I was directed to Fantasyland, Frontierland and finally to Tomorrowland to find my treasured plush item of happiness.
The group of yearbook girls I was with went to get a drink while the lines of tourists stood by to watch the fireworks show that was coming up. I was singing in my head the tune from Disney’s Rapunzel, “I have a dream! I have a dream! I just wanna purchase the lion king!” It was in this dramatic moment, with fireworks shooting off at Cinderella’s castle, that I found and purchased my Simba Pillow Pet and at this point you’re probably judging me hardcore, but I don’t care. This is my last year to be a kid and I’m going to enjoy it. Soon enough, I’ll have to worry about paying for student loans and an apartment instead of Pillow Pets and ice cream dinners. I love being a kid-adult, I can enjoy the last fruits of the no obligations chapter in my book of life and look forward to my future adventures whether it’s at a university or Disney World.
Corporate Christmas Editorial by Design Editor Alex Wilson
It’s that time of year again, time for snow, hot chocolate and 25% off deals. That’s right it’s the holidays and everyone knows what the holidays mean: giving, joy and door buster sales for all. It seems in America we don’t celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or any other important holiday.
Opinion 30
We celebrate commercialism. I do love December and all, but for every snowflake that falls on the ground there is a corporation slowly securing an iron grasp on their target demographic. They lure you in with coupons and catchy jingles and once you take the bait they try their best to make you forget the true meaning of the holidays and make you only think of their products. It sounds ridiculous, but every year it seems I see more and more people waiting for December because they want to take advantage of the sales and completely forgetting the spirit of the holidays. It’s not wrong to shop during the holidays, especially when you are looking for gifts, but only caring about the shopping is too much. I feel like most people don’t care about giving and being jolly and only care about filling their shopping carts. When people
give out presents it’s usually something they just picked off the shelf and wrapped it up without giving it any thought. I would rather get a bunch of rags and bones for Christmas, than something on sale at Rag and Bone if even the littlest bit of thought was put in the gift. Not everyone is like this, of course, and I’m not giving enough credit to the people who commit to the holidays. The people who put lights on their homes, make snowmen and drink hot chocolate by an open fire are my heroes and I admit are way more jolly than I am. Even though I do not agree with this new way of “celebrating” the holidays, I still love December and I still look forward to it every year. No matter what other people do, I know I will still be following my family’s traditions and watching snow hit the ground like many other jolly fellows around the country.
Turn Up the Heat! Editorial by Opinion Editor Emily Johannes
I am a naturally cold person. I own a multitude of sweaters and scarves to ward off the chill. My friends are frequently subjected to my complaints about the temperature. It is not uncommon to see me walking down the hall bundled in sweaters, scarves and occasionally, a coat on over all of that. People give me
incredulous looks for my bulky outerwear as I ask for the heat to be turned up or shiver at my desk. For this reason, living in Missouri can be difficult for me. Missouri weather is unpredictable, leaving me to be prepared for every outcome. For the cold, I wear jackets. For the rain, I wear a rain jacket. And when it’s cold and rainy, I wear both. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love winter and snow is one of my favorite things that falls from the sky. I love the snow on the ground, watching my dog go crazy jumping through the snow, and building snow forts with my siblings. However, the huge, major downside to it all is the cold. Freezing temperatures are and forever will be my downfall. You know how Superman has his kryptonite? Below freezing temperatures are mine. Even as I sit here writing this, I am bundled up with fuzzy socks, a sweater and blankets. I am also considering getting
up and putting on a hat maybe or even gloves. Surely there are other people out there who suffer this same problem of tingly fingers, cold toes, and general shivering, right? If there are, I haven’t met them, but I would like to give a shout out to them. So, shout out to those who shiver for no obvious outward reason. Shout out to those who own a multitude of clothing garments meant for layering. Shout out to those wrapping themselves in blankets on the daily. I feel your pain.
Celebrate and Meditate Editorial by Ads Manager Daryl Gichui
It’s the morning after Thanksgiving, my eyes are blurry, my stomach is still heavy from pie and sweet potatoes, as I raced down to the basement to search for Christmas lights. As a kid, I always liked watching my dad put up lights around the house and set
up a tree in the living room. Eventually, he let me help him more and more with the process by fixing bulbs or untangling the lines, but this year I finally got to put them up all by myself. I tackled the journey like a holiday Indiana Jones moving room to room adjusting light after light. When I was finally done, I stood back to look at my masterpiece and started thinking back to my childhood holiday times. No music or TV going in the background. Just me, myself and my thoughts. I imagined myself as a seven year old waking up early during winter break to watch GMA’s winter storm watch while nestling on the couch wrapped in a comforter like a burrito, eating a bowl of frosted flakes and deep inside I promised myself to do it again this year. I remember the Christmas when I was nine and got a new Nintendo DSi and
bounced around the living room, showing my parents all the awesome things it could do with it, promising them that I wouldn’t spill soda on it like the last time. One of my favorite memories is winter break my freshman year at a celebratory finals survival party with my best friends where we devoured pizza, guzzled soda and played Smash Bros. from sun-down to sun-up. Doing the work of putting up Christmas lights really shined a light on the amazing times and people that I have be thankful for and I’m glad I had time in between all the hustle and bustle of the holiday just to think about it.
Opinion 31
Hal Tyson Story by Jackson Pena
Photo by Brieann Wynn
Athletes of -Hal Tyson
“My favorite thing about basketball is playing with my friends. I’m hard worker, I love the game a lot. If I have nothing else to do I’ll just go play basketball.”
-Joe Kinder
“Hal always brings a lot of energy. He’s a lot of fun and he knows how to make people laugh. He’s always up spirited, keeps the team going. He’s a hard worker, aggressive, and likes to attack. He’s a good guy. Like I said he knows how to make you laugh. He’s easy to get along with.”
-Coach Stirtz
“Hal is a very good competitor. He’s very athletic and brings excellent intensity. Hal plays harder than anyone else we have on our team. He plays with a lot of courage and a lot of heart and that is evident in his hustle and his determination. He really helps our team out. He’s easy to coach because he’s self motivated and a hard worker. His parents raised him the right way by teaching him those strong work ethics and those important skills. He’s just been a delight for me to coach. His teammates love having him on the team.”
Grade: Senior Height: 5’9” Position: Point Guard Favorite Food: Orange Chicken
-McKenzie Hull
Mckenzie Hull
“My favorite part about basketball is how I've met so many people and made so many new friends. It's a great opportunity to meet people and to understand how to work as a team. I'm really lucky to have such amazing teammates and coaches who push me to be a better player and person. Basketball also teaches you a lot of life skills, like how to persevere and fight through adversity.”
Story by Staff
Photo by Emilee Moody
-Morgan Fleming
“McKenzie is someone who has worked really hard to get where she is at right now and worked on her individual game and also is just fun to be around. McKenzie is always able to make me laugh. She gets along with everyone and is able to talk to everyone.”
-Coach Simpson
“She is one of the best players that we have, one of the best players in the Kansas City Metro. She is a guard/forward that can play outside, play inside, just very versatile and does a great job. Her personality, her hard work, her ability to play multiple positions and that fact she is a great player and a great kid. She has the ability to play basketball at a high level, but also has the ability to approach her academics at a high level.”
Sports 32
Grade: Junior Height: 6’1” Position: Forward Favorite Food: Tacos
the Month Parker Houck Story by Jackson Pena
Photo by Adam Pouliot
-Parker Houck
“My favorite part about wrestling is competing against others. The hardest part is just the grind. My favorite school season memory would probably be being one of the two freshmen on the team last year on a varsity level.”
-Cooper Kariker
“He’s a hard worker at everything that he does. Parker is dedicated and a great teammate.”
-Coach Hammer
“As a wrestler, he has a very strong desire to win. Parker works extremely hard and the one thing I notice about Parker is that he really wants to do his best.”
Grade: Sophomore Height: 5’8” Weight: 132 Favorite food: Chipotle
Mitchelle Rader
Story by Staff
Photo by Hanna Davidson
-Mitchelle Rader
“My favorite part about cheerleading is definitely competing and knowing you did your absolute best at every competition you go to. If there was one thing that I would want people to know about me as a cheerleader is that no matter how hard it can be I absolutely love what I do.
-Grace Buehler
“I like to cheer with Mitchelle because not only is she a great friend but she is also a great athlete she always gives her 100% and is always bringing up the mood at practice and never fails to make me laugh. She doesn’t only push herself, but pushes everyone to do their best.”
- Coach Moats
“She’s a great athlete, hard worker and takes time to truly be “coached” to be an even better athlete. Mitchelle has a magnetic personality. She’s fun to be around, makes others feel at ease and I cannot imagine this team without her!”
Grade: Freshman Height: 5’2” Position: Flyer Favorite Food: Macaroni Pizza
Sports 33
Potential Champions Wrestlers dual their teamates to practice what real meets will look like. Story by Kati Benhardt
Photo by Malissa Pennington
The wrestling team kicked off the new season with an inter squad meet. An inter squad meet consists of matches preformed only by LHS wrestlers and the team wrestles each other based on each other’s certification. “Certification is where you weigh in and you have to be around a certain weight and then they do a body fat test and hydration test, to let us know what weight we could go to safely,” senior Cole Ritche said. Wrestlers have to certify before they are allowed to wrestle, so no harm is caused to anyone while wrestling. “They have to make sure they are weighed in and not too heavy for their weight class, so it doesn’t hurt the other person they are wrestling or themselves,” team manager senior Riley Shelton said. Certification includes a variety of tests. “You have to pass a hydration test, you have to get a body fat measurement and a weight,” head wrestling coach Mike Hammer said. “They put this into a calculator computer program and it tells every kid their minimum weight class that
Sports 34
they can wrestle. It also tells them when they can wrestle the minimum weight class. Certification is something that is relatively new in high school wrestling, it’s been around for a few years and kids have to certify before they can even wrestle.” Junior Michael Shelton thought the inter squad meet would have a beneficial outcome. He compared it to the football team’s midnight scrimmage. “I think it’s going to be pretty good, were all going to learn a little something, The freshmen are going to learn how we handle our duals and how everything is ran here at Liberty. And I think it will be pretty good and we’ll see what everyone has,” Shelton said. “Basically what it is, is just basically like a practice match or dual, as we’d call it. It’s almost like a scrimmage, like the whole football team does a midnight scrimmage against each other and it’s basically like our midnight scrimmage.” The LHS inter squad meet was used to determine which team the wrestlers make.
“We pair up the wrestlers near the weight classes that they want to wrestle and then they usually wrestle two matches. We evaluate them, based on what they do for the depth chart. We decide whom originally is on varsity or JV, by how they preform at the inter squad meet and then after that, the kids get to challenge off,” Hammer said. The LHS wrestling team has been working hard to prepare for this year’s wrestling season. “It’s been a lot of fun, we’ve done a lot of hard workouts. We’ve put a lot of hard work in, so it will be fun to see how hard and far we go this year,” freshman Zach Ervie said. The inter squad meet showed the coaches the skills of this year’s team. “We’re very young and what we saw as a coaching staff is what we expected, a lot of raw potential in our squad, so hopefully we can just build on that,” Hammer said. “Our goal is to get better. Our goal this year is to be as good as we would be next year and get there before next year.”
Freshman Zachary Ervie wrestles at the Blue Springs South match.
Seven-Time State Champs
Cheerleaders went to Columbia for State and won for the seventh time. Story by Katie Moon
Photo by Katie Lamb
B-L-U-E! J-A-Y-S! The LHS cheerleaders are now known as seventime State winners. Last month, the girls went to State competition in Columbia and came back with a win. However, their dedication and hard work does not end here. They will be competing at regionals on December 13th to qualify for Nationals. While some people are watching Netflix or hanging out with their friends, the cheerleaders are putting their hard work and time to the test. “We normally practice on the weekends and after school until 6:30 or 7:00. There are probably about four hours of practice a day,” senior Desirae Leeson said. These long hours are used to clean and perfect their routine. Junior Maddy Kudrna expands on this. “Practice before State was very stressful. Practices were long and everyone got worn out,” she said. “However, we all put in a lot of hard work with all of the hours. We picked up the minor things in the routine that needed work on.” Practice was not the only thing that was stressful for the girls, getting ready for state was also. Competitions are different for everybody and each individual had their own way to prepare. For sophomore Molly Filger, she and her teammates have some superstitions before they go out to perform. “We always go out to eat at Godfathers and get kicked out of practice at least once before the competition,” Filger said. “My shoes have to be tied really tight before performing and I can’t eat the day of the competition or I feel like I won’t do as well and will mess up.” The competition was filled with many things, especially girls. The bathrooms were filled with make-up, hairspray and bobby pins. The audience was filled with
family and friends as they took the mat to perform. The team members were full of nerves because they only had one shot to do their best. “For regionals, it’s a more relaxed environment because you aren’t as worried,” Filger said. “For state, it’s more intense because you have to do it right or you’re out. We’ve won state seven times now and that’s really hard to keep up. It is really nerve racking compared to all of the other competitions.”
Not only is it stressful for the girls, but also for their coach, Brenda Moats. She prepares them to do their best and when it’s time for them to perform, she still had some anxiety. “I was nervous, anxious and excited. It’s a very high pressure situation when you go in as the defending state champions, especially after defending it for the past six times you’ve gone to State,” Moats said. “I don’t want to disappoint the team or the community and having that type of pressure to “win” is stressful.” Their hard work paid off at State. The girls achieved what they went to do and were ecstatic about their win. They had different opinions on what they liked most about winning state. For Kudrna, she liked seeing her mom afterwards, but for Leeson, it was the accomplishment. “After winning State, I headed over to my family,” Kudrna said. “My mom ran up to me, gave me a hug and whispered in my ear that she guessed that meant I would be getting another ring. That was a really good moment for me and it was just surreal.” “My favorite part of winning is knowing that we hit a pretty good routine,” Leeson said. “There were a few bobbles and falls here and there, but it definitely is going to give us more confidence for the next competition. We can make it ten times better.” Winning state is not only good for the girls individually, but it also helps bring them together as a team. “I think that every year after state, it gets us all motivated and excited,” Kudrna said. “It brings us a lot closer and gets us ready to take on nationals.”
Varsity cheerleaders practice after school, perfecting their skills in order to be ready for their State competition.
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