Issue 6 - 12.7.12

NORTH GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

SINCE 1968

POINTE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2012

WINTER SPORTS EXTRA INSIDE Twenty years of Detroit theater inspires young artists Freshman and junior Norsemen prepare for Mosiac Youth Theatre of Detroit’s 20th anniversary performance.

INFOGRAPHIC

Checking your newsfeed while playing splat in Team Sports is a bad idea for obvious reasons, but there’s another: Wi-Fi coverage in the gym is poor. See a topograhical map of the rest of the building’s coverage inside.

Page 5

ACT TESTING

By Dayle Maas & Jacob Barry Editor & Staff Reporter

Freshman Kynadi Echols was 7 years old when she attended Detroit’s Annual Noel Night and watched the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit perform. That night’s performance sparked an interest, and in three years, she was on stage alongside other young artists like herself.

“I saw the performance there, and it looked like they were having so much fun. I was, like ‘Whoa, I wanna do that.’ So that just inspired me to be in their summer camp because I wasn’t old enough to join their actual company,” Echols said.

When Echols was 10 years old, she

Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8 a.m.

HANUKKAH BEGINS

Sundown on Dec. 8

GPN HOLIDAY CONCERT

Dec. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. at First English Lutheran Church across the street

GIRLS BASKETBALL GAME

Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.

GIRLS HOCKEY GAME

Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at City Rink against South

BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at South High

“

IDEAS

Neither of

my parents or older siblings ever told me anything that was going on, so we played like little kids did - without worries.

“

Page 7

© 2012 North Pointe Volume 45, Issue 6

Courtesy of the ECHOLs Family

Freshman Kynadi Echols sings in a Mosaic performance, Now That I Can Dance Motown 1962.

For some teens, job search yields disappointment

By Patricia Bajis Staff reporter

Da Edoa rdo, Sa lvatore Sca llopini, Breadsmit h, Beach Grill, Jef ferson Beach Ma rina, lifeg ua rding at Grosse Pointe Woods pool: t he extensive job sea rch ended unsuccessf ully for junior Ca it Ga it ley.

“It’s a disappointment t hat I applied for so ma ny jobs a nd ended up w it h none.

Most of t hem told me t hat I didn’t have enough time to do it and that they wanted someone for the school year,” Gaitley said.

Wit h a teen unemploy ment rate of nea rly 24% , according Bureau of Labor Statistics, pa rt time work is becoming increasingly ha rder to f ind. It a lso reports t hat 8.3 million adults have ta ken pa rt time jobs due to cutbacks or inabilit y to f ind f ull time work. Pa rt-time jobs a re now being ta ken by t he newly unemployed, ma king it ha rder for a nyone ages 16 to 19 to f ind or keep a job.

Senior Lauren McLeod worked w it h a boy her age at Burger Works in East la nd Ma ll until he was replaced by a n older woma n. Needing to keep her job, McLeod works long hours a nd night shif ts to secure her place.

“This last pay check, I worked 29 hours in t wo weeks. I work about t hree to four days a week. I work a ny day t hey ca ll me.

They tell me ever y Sunday what day I work and for how long, but if they call me in, I go in – so it might be extra days,” McLeod said.

For McLeod, her job helps prov ide for her fa m i ly a nd t a kes equa l i mpor t a nce

auditioned for Mosaic and made it into the mainstage singing company. A year later, junior Cydni Newman also started the program – thanks to Echols.

“I auditioned in the sixth grade, and I was 12 then. I didn’t make it then,” Newman said.

“A couple years later, in the ninth grade, I auditioned again. I made it into the ensemble group, which is like the main stage, the highest ranking, and I’ve been in ensemble for three years now.”

Mosaic is an internationally acclaimed nonprofit theater that trains and develops young artists in singing, acting and performing. It was founded in 1992 by Rick Sperling with hopes to give an opportunity to Detroit students without performing arts program at school or for those who just wanted to further their abilities.

“While working as artist-in-residence in the Detroit Public Schools, I saw great need, and I also saw a great opportunity,” Sperling said in a letter. “The need I observed was for advancedlevel theatre and music training at a time when budget cuts had led to the elimination of most school-based arts programs. The opportunity I saw was to create a world-class youth arts organization based on the incredible talent of young people throughout Detroit.”

Over the past 20 years, Mosaic’s young artists have performed at the White House for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

They also performed for Mayor Dave Bing and at the Kennedy Center. This year, Mosaic’s 20th anniversary, the group is performing a compilation of their best scenes and songs of past shows.

Echols describes it like a mosaic of Mosaic.

Some of the “best of the best” shows include Now That I Can Dance, Everybody’s Talking, Magnificat, What Fools These Mortals Be and a Mosaic original, Crossing 8 Mile.

Crossing 8 Mile is about twins; one grows up in the city and the other in the suburbs.

“Their paths intertwine and, you know, (it shows) the stereotypes about the suburbs and the city kids, and when you actually saw and looked at it, you saw people are people,” Echols said.

Courtesy of The Newman family

Junior Cydni Newman performs in a Mosaic original, Northern Lights 1966.

Do they ever get nervous on stage?

“Oh my gosh, yes,” Newman said.

“I am getting excited because all of the alumni that have been in the shows over the 20 years will be there, so I guess (there’s) a little bit of pressure because you gotta ... be better than them?” Echols said of the 20th anniversary show. “And some of these shows were excellent.

It’s some pressure, but it’s exciting.”

Mosaic does more than prepare young artists for a life of performing. In order for young artists to remain in Mosaic, they must maintain required grades. Mosaic also provides young artists with a professional work environment.

Both Newman and Echols would like to pursue a career in the performing arts. Newman would like to perform on Broadway, and Echols aspires to be a recording artist.

“Mosaic alumni have also become successful lawyers, teachers, bankers and social workers,” Newman said. “So it’s not like you come there to just be actors, you could be whatever you want to be. You come there to do what you love. It shapes you for the future.”

While the girls may take a path in life other than performing arts, both say it has played an important role in their lives.

“I’m just doing something that I love for me,” Newman said. “You would never imagine it’s touching someone else, too.”

20 HOURS A WEEK

Sports survey provides opportunity for parent, athlete feedback

ON AVERAGE FOR A

By Sara Villani & Natalie Skorupski

tHE WORKING tEEN 51% drop in summer employment of teens from 2000

to 2010

TEEN TO WORK

2/3 OF TEENS HAVE WORKED SINCE AGE 15

14.2% INCREASE IN TEEN SUMMER EMPLOYMENT IN 2012 to school.

“I like to have my ow n money so my pa rents don’t have to ta ke it out of t heir pocket. I don’t wa nt to work, a nd my pa rents say I don’t have to, but I have seen t hem str uggle, so I feel like I need to,” she sa id. “I live in a single-pa rent home, so if my mom doesn’t get pa id, I’ll give her money to use however she wa nts or I’ll keep gas in her ca r or sometimes I’ll put food in t he refrigerator. I tr y to help out.”

McLeod has to sacrif ice time for school work to put in her hours at Burger Works.

She spend s about a n hou r on homework a n ig ht.

continued on page 2

Staff Reporters

GPPSS recently made an addition to the plethora of forms students and parents can fill out at their leisure – an athletic survey that can now be found on North’s website.

This survey prompts athletes, their parents and coaches to summarize the most recent season, allowing the district to ref lect on and change the way a program is run.

“The purpose of the survey is to get feedback from our stakeholders in their athletic experience. We hope that the responses will help us make improvements to provide the best experience for our student athletes,” Ben Bandfield, athletic director, said.

The student survey opens by asking basic questions, such as gender and sport competed in, before it delves into the experience in the student’s season, as well as a coach evaluation.

“I think any time you can gather information about any topic there is always a benefit,” Bandfield said. “We are always striving for improvement in all facets of the athletic department and if the information produced by this survey can assist us in that goal, it will be a success.”

There has been no mention of making the survey mandatory, but it has already received positive reception from fall coaches.

continued on page 2

news FIVE MINUTES WITH Lifeskills teacher Cynthia Kyriakoza Sports survey

2A – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

continued from page 1

By Gabby Burchett & Izzy Ellery Editor & Assistant editor

The Behavioral Analysis Unit in the crime show Criminal Minds searches rural Oklahoma.

Women are found dead after having been robbed of one of their five senses.

Lifeskills teacher Cynthia Kyriakoza has a thirst for this type of entertainment. Anything from Criminal Minds to mystery novels, it’s a self-described obsession that dates back to her middle school years.

“When I was in middle school, I read the Nancy Drew series. I’ll never forget that,” she said. “But when I was younger, the television shows that attracted me were all the police shows. I was one of those weird kids. I watched police shows all the time.”

One of seven children, she found that watching and reading the genre was the one hobby she could do alone.

“I was always a very curious person, and I think that’s really what it came down to, just the curiosity. I don’t like gore and blood, it was more the suspense, the mystery of it,” she said. “It was one thing you could do by yourself, and you could figure something out. I was the only one in the family that liked it, and it was something that was my own.”

Now, after her day of teaching at South High School in the morning and North in the afternoon, she fits in time to read mystery novels by Sidney Sheldon and watch Criminal Minds.

“I love cop shows. Criminal Minds is one of my favorite shows,” Kyriakoza said. “It’s all about behavior analysis – why people do what they do. I watch them, then rewatch them and record them. My husband thinks I’ll have nightmares. But it’s so cool. I could sit and watch a Criminal Minds marathon, and I

gabby burchett

“The survey helps better the athletic program where we are strong, where we are weak, and the program as a whole.

And it tells coaches what they did right and wrong, and the players’ opinion and the parents’ opinion,” Skip Mukhtar, boys soccer coach, said. “That’s important as a coach, just to develop every single day. You want to get better, and you want to hear from your players and parents.

There might be things you did off the field that were very good and you want to hear praises and also what you messed up doing.”

This is Mukhtar’s first year coaching at North. Schools he coached at before took surveys but did not share the information with coaches. North is different; Bandfield has already issued that the results will be known and shared.

“The original survey was taken from

a peer district and tailored to meet our needs in GPPSS by our athletic directors,” Jon Dean, Superintendent for Educational Services, said. “As a district we are always engaged in regularly review of our programs and offerings. By obtaining stakeholder feedback we should better be able to validate our programming and make future programming decisions.”

Though adopted from districts like Rochester and Birmingham, the decision to adjust the survey to Grosse Pointe’s needs was determined by the athletic directors, principals, and central office administrators.

Being the first season in which the survey has been available, many student athletes have not yet been informed of this new performance review.

“At the end of the day, the athletes are the most important part of high school sports,” Matt Giacona, a senior on the boys soccer team, said. “And the survey allows them to highlight the good and bad aspects of their sport season/program.”

Lifeskills teacher Cynthia Kyriakoza enjoys mystery and crime shows and books.

Did you play any sports in high school?

I tried to go out for the boys football team when I was a freshman, but they told me I had to leave. I was a huge tomboy. I played baseball, not softball. Flag football, not powderpuff.

What is your favorite thing about Grosse Pointe?

To me, you guys have frozen in time, in a good way.

The sense of community and the cuteness of downtown is great, or the drive down Lakeshore – you can’t beat that. You’re really keeping the sense of family.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

I don’t have a specific place, but I would want to live close enough to a city, but still in a rural atmosphere.

I love the outside. Anytime I’m outside, on my back porch or something.

These are some example questions from the sports survey that athletes and parents can answer online at the North website to better their sports experience.

What was the best vacation you took?

I went to Cancun for my son’s senior trip, and I loved it. It was so relaxing. But anything with (my) kids. I remember we went to Disney World and went parasailing. Any trip is a blessing.

What is your favorite season?

It’s between spring and fall. I love when the trees are just blooming or turning color. The fall reminds me of growing up when I was in high school, like the football games. And the spring is when my birthday is.

Teenage employment continued from page 1

“I do try to study for tests and do homework assignments, but sometimes I’m at work too late. I talked to one of my teachers and he (said) something like, ‘You could have gotten up and did it.’ I get four hours of sleep sometimes; I can’t get up and do homework.”

As for senior Kyleigh Mathewson, her job at the restaurant Cleopatra’s isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.

“I have my job to support myself. I don’t live with my parents. I live with my boyfriend and his family,” Mathewson said. “I pay for my own phone bill, I pay for my own medical bills, I’ll be paying for a car myself, housing myself, (and) food. I get by with the bare minimum of what you can buy and support yourself with. Since I don’t pay for my house right now, that kind of helps.”

Holding a job for almost a year, Mathewson finds herself missing out on things because of her commitment to work.

“I can’t go on field trips because I have to go work or I can’t participate in after school activities at all. I don’t ever go to games or anything. You just miss out on like certain stuff that might be going on.”

Though the dedication to work inflicts on time for other activities, it has taught her valuable lessons.

“You have to be able to manage your time well and do things on impulse. You have to prioritize everything you do and

you can’t really call out of work,” she said. “You can’t miss work. So it’s just something you have to get over and learn to accept. You kind of get over it and realize that you’re going to be working probably until you’re like 50 or 60.”

Determined not to give up her extracurricular, senior Bre Reveley balances four jobs and her passion for volleyball.

“I work at the library, where I shelve books. I coach a 13-(year-old) state level team for volleyball, ref volleyball games at the Neighborhood Club and babysit on the weekends,” Reveley said.

Practicing with her own team three to four days a week for two and a half hours, Reveley needed her jobs to be flexible.

“I work at least four hours at the library. I have my volleyball practices, and then I coach right after that for two hours, so it’s four hours for that. And then reffing takes about three hours, and babysitting just depends.”

Though demanding, not all jobs are easily available. Senior Alison Alexsy applied to Little Caesars, Jets, Starbucks, Caribou and Big Boy until getting her job at Jimmy Johns. She is one of few high school students, working alongside coworkers of 25 and above.

“It was kind of a risk for them to hire me because I can’t work the slicer or anything because you have to be 18 to do it.

The only reason I got it was because I had a really good interview and they liked how I looked,” Alexsy said. “They told me there were going to call me back and they didn’t so I took it upon myself to call them back and it basically showed them that I was serious about the job.”

Pregnancy Aid Feeling confused?

Pregnancy Aid offers free pregnancy tests and confidential counseling to anyone in need 17325 Mack Ave.

Across from Staples, on the Detroit side

882-1000

Grosse Pointe Athletic Club Get Fit, Stay Fit! General Fitness Training Sport-Specific Performance Programs Individual & Group Training 335 Fisher Road, Grosse Pointe (313) 886-8590 info@thegpac.org Student Rate: $35/mo.

on campus Students volunteer for holiday dinner National Honors Society (NHS) students signed up to attend Ferry Elementary School’s annual Santa Dinner on Friday, Dec. 7. These students will serve food, clean, help with Christmas games and wrap gifts that people will buy at the event.

“We really rely on North students to help run games and activities for the kids at Ferry. Many of them are former Ferry students, and they really enjoy their time going back to roam their old hallways and remember some of their favorite memories,” Karen Villegas, media specialist, said.

“I used to go to Ferry, and I loved going to the Santa Dinner, so I’m excited to go help all the younger people this year,” junior Mariah Herfi said. “Plus, it’s my first NHS volunteer experience, so I’m excited.”

Counselor Milissa Pierce recommends these volunteering experiences to all students, not just NHS members.

“We will post events whenever someone contacts me about needing volunteers. But any student can sign up to do those activities even if they aren’t an NHS member,” Pierce said.

“We are lost without our volunteer students,” Villegas said. “They really make the event successful.”

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 3A

Norsemen empowered by annual Challenge Day experience

Faces in the crowd Rhys Williams

Junior Rhys Williams is a self-taught musician. Besides playing string bass, he taught himself how to play the guitar, electric bass and how to sing.

He isn’t a part of an official band. He considers it more of a hobby, playing with friends for fun.

“In high school, there’s just too much with grades and everything to worry about and to be able to focus on music exclusively,” Williams said.

Although he enjoys playing the bass, the guitar is his favorite because it allows him to be a more active participant.

“I found that it’s better for me to play guitar and sing than to just sit there and play bass,” Williams said.

Even though it is a dream of his to major in music, Williams says that the amount of money and time the music industry demands to become famous would make it hard to support himself in the future.

“Music will just stay the same as it is now,” Williams said, “as a hobby and something fun to do: a way to express myself.”

By Sean O’Melia & Natalie Skorupski Staff reporters

ABOVE: Students using the sign language symbol for “I love you” to support their classmates.

Students to speak as role models at bullying assembly

LEFT: For junior John Kusch, Challenge Day was a learning experience.

“You learn that everyone has problems and hardships in their lives, no matter who they are,” Kusch said.

About 20 North students will act as role models on Dec. 11 for a No Bullying Allowed (NBA) assembly at Parcells Middle School.

Parcells counselors Jennifer Sherman and Barbara Palffy and North activities director Pat Gast organized the event. North teachers recommended students who would make good speakers and mentors. For three years, NBA has been tackling topics from cyberbullying to making good choices.

“What the North students say tends to stick with them longer then when we talk about the same thing,” Sherman said. “It’s not because there’s a problem at Parcells, but because it’s important to be proactive and educate students about bullying and teasing and how to respond.”

The program will split students into groups by gender. There will be roughly 100 middle schoolers for every three to four high schoolers. The middle schoolers will receive advice about handling obstacles they might experience in high school.

Sophomore David Gerlach, a newcomer to the NBA program, is hoping to have an impact on the middle school students.

“I like to deal with kids, so this whole experience will be fun and unique,” Gerlach said.

“I feel like I can show them how to be a good person in public and show them how to treat people right and also with respect.”

With the guidance of Norsemen mentors, Parcells is hoping to create unity among its students.

Michael Lemanske

Freshman Michael Lemanske spends two to five hours daily at his family’s restaurant, Village Grille.

However, his time isn’t spent on the clock.

“My family and I eat dinner together at the restaurant, and then I usually talk to the other employees,” Lemanske said.

Despite eating at the Village Grille practically every day, he still enjoys the food.

“I never get sick of it. There are so many choices. I like to order different things,” Lemanske said. “The only problem is that I can’t cook myself.”

Even though Lemanske loves being around his family’s restaurant, he doesn’t want to pursue the restaurant business.

“If I had to, I would, but it’s really time consuming,” Lemanske said. “It would be really hard to take it over.”

MIDDLE RIGHT: Senior Jackie Snyder talks to the crowd. “I realize how many people I go to school with are like me and go through the same things as me, so when I go to school, I’m not alone,” Snyder said.

MIDDLE LEFT: Senior Anna Giordano and sophomore Trevor Joy write stereotypes down to open the eyes of others.

BOTTOM: Challenge Day leader Jon, pumps up the students. “It’s no doubt it was special. It was super, and the courage in this place was amazing,” Jon said.

Tom Vismara

Although it has been junior Tom Vismara’s first time golfing for the North team this past fall season, he is by no means new to the sport.

“I played my whole life,” Vismara said, “Since I was like three.”

Vismara was a newcomer and the team was very welcoming. Vismara’s favorite part of the season was going to tournaments, especially the one in Traverse City.

“It’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve improved a lot,” Vismara said.

Vismara, awarded “most-improved player” by his coach,occasionally struggled on courses he’d never seen, and when he did, he had a trick to help himself play better.

“You play courses you’ve never played before, and you have to learn them,” Vismara said. “If I’m playing bad, sometimes I’ll take off my hat because I get superstitious.”

The season is over, but Vismara’s love for golf keeps him playing in the offseason.

“I love golf and I like playing competitively,” he said. “I like a challenge.”

Classes tour Chicago’s business centers Business teacher Michelle Davis took her classes on a day-long trip to Chicago on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Students had a chance to explore the city. The trip allowed students to get outside experience with business.

Classes were assigned different activities to do based on their subject of focus. Accounting and finance classes went to the Federal Trade Reserve while other classes like Business Management took a trip of Macy’s to get a feel for how they prepare for Christmas.

Senior Kyndall Echolls said she enjoyed the trip because she hopes to pursue business in the fashion industry. Having that knowledge is useful in the future no matter what field you go into, Echolls says.

“It always helps to know the background about your career goal as much as possible. It never hurts to start early.”

Gabrielle Feeny

Girls hockey competes in Chicago

By Caroline Schulte, Haley Reid, Jenna Belote & Melissa Healy

May the odds be ever in your favor

Winning numbers for the largest Powerball jackpot ever recorded were pulled Nov. 28. Here are some numbers about the lottery.

18

82

Age of youngest ever lottery winner

Age of oldest ever lottery winner

1 in

1 in

$666 million

Highest ever Mega Millions jackpot 1 in

88,000

354,319

10,000,000

Chances of dating a supermodel

Chances of being involved in a plane crash

Chances of becoming the U.S. President

1 in

22,000 Chances of becoming a pro-athlete

1 in

195,249,054

Chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot

Rachel Cullen & Caroline Schulte

The girls varsity hockey team spent Thanksgiving break in Chicago. The team played a three-game tournament to prepare them for the upcoming season.

When it came to game time, things didn’t go as expected. The opposing teams were fully double-rostered with AAA teams.

“As a team, that weekend wasn’t about wins or losses,” assistant captain Catherine McCarthy said. “It was more about getting game experience for our two brand-new goalies and for all our new lines.”

“We are planning on doing a lot of things differently,” assistant captain Julia Henderson said. “One (is) working better as a team and encouraging each other.”

Although the weekend ended with losses, the girls plan to learn from them and turn them around in their season.

“This weekend was a really big eye-opener for all of us, and as far as improving goes,” McCarthy said. “We all have a lot to work on.”

Sophomore Gabrielle Feeny explores her interests in astronomy through the RATz club. Presiding as communications officer, the youngest one to hold such a position this year, Feeny is inspired by the depths science has to offer.

“If you think about our existence,” she said, “It doesn’t really make sense, and that bothers me.”

With her initial interest in science sparked by her seventh-grade science teacher, Feeny wishes to continue with astronomy after high school as an astrophysicist.

“They’re responsible for theories and equations. I like to know how things work. There’s a whole other world out there beyond Earth,” she said. “How could you not want to know about that?”

Hoping to advance to president of RATz, Feeny participates in all club activities, including their yearly trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory where members explore space through high-tech equipment.

By Brigitte Smith, Anu Subramanium, Colleen Reveley & Patricia Bajis

poor

adequate

excellent

-88 dBm to -95 dBm

-80 dBm to -88 dBm

-72 dBm to -80 dBm

-64 dBm to -72 dBm

-56 dBm to -64 dBm

-56 dBm or better

st

1 floor

Cove r a g e

From the planetarium to the trophy cases in A-building, here is your Wi-Fi – mapped. The coverage is measured in dBm, which measures the power ratio of whatever is being measured to a one milliwatt (an arbitrarily chosen standard). The unit is used to measure things like radio and phone networks. Wi-Fi strength typically falls between 0 dBm and -100 dBm. The scale is logarithmic, so negative readings just mean very small numbers, close to zero.

By Jordan Radke Editor

WIRELESS

4A – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

2 floor

nd

infographic

3 floor rd

Life

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 5A

Denmark to Detroit: Sophomore’s Americanizing Sophomore Simone Bendix (center left) is originally from Denmark, but she’s here for 10 months to experience the American life and bond with her new host family.

By Brigitte Smith INTERN

She didn’t want the credit. She didn’t want the fame. She just wanted the firsthand experience. That’s why sophomore Simone Bendix traveled 4,080 miles from her home in Denmark to study at North.

Even though this school year will not count toward her school credits back home, Bendix wanted to experience what the real American life was like.

“You see all these American movies and have all these ideas about how it is, and I just wanted to go and see how the American culture really was,” Bendix said. “It’s not always like in movies. It’s a big country, and I wanted to experience what it really was.“ Even though it’s difficult for her family, they’re ecstatic that Simone has this opportunity to discover the ‘real’ America.

“It will do a lot of good for Simone. We have been travelling a lot in Europe and by that learning a lot about other cultures, but America is different from Europe, and by living with an American family and going to school, Simone will learn quite a lot about America and American culture,” Simone’s mother Tina Bendix, said.

With her family’s support, Bendix submitted her name, photo and essay with her interests to the website of the foreign exchange program, Youth for Understanding. After that, all she could do was anxiously wait for a family to choose her.

“I was excited to know, but we were told that we could end up with a single mom or single dad, or we could end up

with somebody that could be grandparents, that don’t have any children, or you could end up in a family with many children, so I was kinda prepared for everything or anything,” Bendix said.

She was selected fairly early by the Meyers family who has a daughter, Shayna Meyers, who is in the same grade as Simone.

Also, because of the extra time they had, the two families were able to Skype to familiarize themselves and to see what they were getting themselves into. Both Simone and the Meyers agree that Skype definitely helped the transition.

“It just gave us a good base of what she was interested in and just to know the sound of her voice and just to know her personally,” Christy Meyers, Bendix’s host mother, said.

Bendix’s host father, Todd Meyers, agrees. He feels that it allowed them to understand the life Bendix was coming from, which soothed everyone’s nerves.

“I would say we kind of had a feel for her culture she grew up in, and I think it put everyone more at ease,” Todd said. “(It helped) her parents too. I think if we were sending our daughter to Europe for 10 months, it helps to see and hear from the people that are going to be hosting your daughter, to give you some degree of comfort.”

When Todd Meyers was in eighth grade, his family hosted a foreign exchange student from France. He said that this time, with Skype, it was much different. All the connection his family had to the student before he arrived was a couple of phone

calls, and then next thing they knew, this stranger was living at their house.

“You kind of picked a person blindly,” Todd said. “The first time you really had a conversation with the person was when you picked them up at the airport.”

Once Todd had kids of his own, he was eager for them to have the same experience.

After giving it great thought as to whom they would choose, the Meyers selected Simone because she seemed to fit into their family the best. They wanted a European girl who had siblings and a similar lifestyle to make the transition easier.

After reading her profile and noticing all the similar activities that she enjoyed, the Meyers knew that Simone was the one.

“She’s a great kid, and I think when you’re going into it, you don’t know, I mean you Skype with them, and you email with them but you don’t really know until they’re living in your house for a month if it’s gonna work,” Todd said.

According to Youth for Understanding, about 25% of the exchange students end up switching to another host family for various reasons.

“We got really lucky because she fits in our family really well, and she likes being here, so I think she got lucky in that respect,” Todd said. “So far, it’s been a blast.”

The eldest child of the Meyers, Shayna, has had to give up her personal space and share a room with Bendix. She says that at first she was nervous that they wouldn’t get along, but this hasn’t been a problem

SHOWDOWN: ANDROID VS. iPHONE

at all. After getting over her initial anxiety, she has enjoyed her time with Bendix.

“She’s really easy to talk to, and I feel like she’s my sister,” Shayna said.

Bendix has also enjoyed sharing a room with Shayna. Even though it’s different for her as well, coming from a family with two younger brothers, she sees a reflection of her family back home in her host family, which has been comforting.

“I don’t feel like I have changed because the family here reminds me a lot of my family in Denmark, so it was easy to come here,” Bendix said. “I talk to this family every day about the same stuff I would talk to my family in Denmark about.”

Todd has cherished this, too. When Simone has to leave in June, he said this is what he will miss the most. “(I’ll miss) just having her around and hearing about her at the end of the day, or dropping her off at sports. It’s not so much the extraordinary stuff, it’s just the everyday things.”

It’s those everyday things that Bendix wanted to experience. It is for that reason that she was willing to gamble her normal life and sacrifice a year’s worth of credit to gain a true American family experience.

If Bendix hadn’t taken that risk, she and the Meyers family would never have met.

“I hope that she has the sense that she has an extended family now because I want her to feel that she can always come to our home and that there is always a place for her,” Christy said. “She’s part of our family now. I hope that she misses us like crazy and wants to come back.”

Brig

itte

Smith

300 words: A series

Halfway across the Earth:

Yena Berhane

Emily H

uguenin

k

Kristen Kaled

Freshman Yena Berhane proudly holds the flag of her native country, Eritrea which she moved from in 2000.

By Audrey Kam & Gabby Burchett

illustration by Lauren Semack

Staff Reporter & Editor

By Lauren Semack editor

IN THIS CORNER: ANDROID

STATISTICS: • Android came out Oct. 22, 2008 originally for $179 with 1GB default but users can purchase 8GB • No Android Market until March 2009 • 2,300 apps originally on Market, currently over 700,000 “Android is better than Apple because you have more freedom with an Android device than with an Apple device and for a lot cheaper.

They do essentially the same thing for a fraction of the price, and they don’t break nearly as easily,” senior Ryan Sparks said.

IN THIS CORNER: iPHONE

STATISTICS: • iPhone came out June 29, 2007 originally for $599 for 8GB and $499 for 4GB • No App Store until July 2008 • Started originally with 900 apps available, currently 700,000 “Android is upping their game because they have to if they want to survive! It’s unfortunate that there’s such a huge Apple market because it doesn’t seem like Android will be surpassing them anytime soon. On a very superficial level, I just prefer the layout and design of Apple products,” senior Cameron Day said.

Ryan’s app of choice: “My favorite app for Android is definitely Gamboid. It’s an emulator. I can download full video games to play on my phone, wherever, whenever I want, at the press of a button, aboslutely free. Does Apple have an app for that?”

Cameron’s app of choice: “My favorite app is the Fab.com app. Fab. com has the coolest, most random products on sale at prices that are reduced for a couple days or so, and then they have new sales!”

It’s been 12 years since freshman Yena Berhane was deported from Ethiopia, immigrated to America and came close to death.

During wartime between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000, the Berhane family got deported from Ethiopia because her family was from Eritrea. During deportation, Berhane’s family was forced to take a long, cramped bus ride into Eritrea, where Berhane skirted death as the temperature rose, causing dehydration.

After the horror of deportation, the Berhanes decided to immigrate to America.

Berhane’s father, Dr. Berhane Seyoum, grew up in extreme poverty and was attending a medical conference in America when the Berhanes were deported. As soon as he heard of the family’s deportation, he got the necessary paperwork allowing him to stay in America; then got a house and prepared for his family when they immigrated.

“I feel extremely blessed. To know that my mom was able to take her three kids back to our

country by herself, makes me so grateful,” Berhane said.

Berhane’s father worked his way to becoming an endocrinologist at Detroit Medical Center and hopes that his children will take advantage of the resources America provides them.

“Although I was born in a different country, I grew up in America. So I know what goes on,” Berhane said. “My parents have high expectations for me regarding my future. They want me to take advantage of all the opportunities I’m given here.”

But, her parents don’t want her to forget her roots. At home, Berhane speaks Tigrinya, the official language of Eritrea. Her goal is to be able to be literate in Tigrinya as well. She also connects with her homeland by visiting family that still lives in Eritrea.

“It’s like nothing else to be reunited with them since I only see them every two or three years,” Berhane said.

Editor’s note: 300 Words presents glimpses of everyday life that often go unnoticed. There are exactly 300 words. You can count them if you want.

LIFE

6A – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

The Jingle Ball rocked the night away photo editor

When I bought tickets for Channel 955’s Jingle Ball, I expected overpriced T-shirts, screaming girls and handmade posters.

What made this concert stand out from any other screaming, teen-infested concert were the myriad of performers and, along with them, the myriad of age groups that attended.

The Jingle Ball hosted DJ Beatboy, Megan and Liz, Sammy Adams, Bridgit Mendler, Austin Mahone, The Wanted and Flo Rida. The event attracted 5-yearolds who obsess over Bridgit Mendler, 65-year-olds reminiscing in their teen years, attempting to dance to our generation’s music, and everything in between.

The first act to take the stage was DJ Beatboy, a 10-year-old boy from Ohio. Although I don’t imagine DJ-ing could possibly be that difficult, I was surprised at his talent for his age. His dance moves captivated the hearts of younger girls and the music he played, from the latest Justin Bieber to the most popular Drake songs, had everyone dancing and pumped up the crowd for the rest of the concert.

Following the DJ-wonder was Sammy Adams. Many older and younger folk resided in their seats during his performance – his music isn’t the most familyfriendly. But, the teenage population, myself included, danced to his music. Adams interacted with most of the people in the front row, holding their hands and singing to them – well, if you can call it singing.

His lip syncing was pitifully obvious. But let’s be real: Sammy Adams’ lip synching didn’t stop the teen girls, or me for that

Breaking dawn

A-

matter, from loving the energy in his performance.

Finally, the artists everyone was waiting to see – not. Most people who attended the Jingle Ball weren’t there to see twin duet Megan and Liz. These Michiganders got their start singing covers on YouTube and sang one of their covers, “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes at the concert. They’re both talented and are pretty enough to make any teen girl jealous. however, their annoying aura overtook their talent. Their outfits were obnoxious, including a velvet shirt and enormous red pants. Still, the excitement level at the Fox Theatre was analogous to a high school play. Barely anyone knew their lyrics.

After Megan and Liz, I hoped Disneybred Bridgit Mendler, from the show Good Luck Charlie, would pick the show back up. She excited the young Disney fans; but she couldn’t save the performance.

Her raspy voice was washed out by the band. Her songs had no choreography and nothing exciting to look at. She interacted with the audience – maybe too much - by saying things like, “I can’t hear you when you everyone talks at once.” It’s a concert.

It’s not a time to try and have a conversation with your fans. Although (I must admit) when she responded to me screaming, “I LOVE YOU BRIDGIT!” it probably made my night.

Austin Mahone – a wannabee Justin Bieber – walked on, his entrance punctuated by the shrill screams of teenyboppers and the majority of the girls at the concert were on their feet. “Mrs. Austin Mahone” and “All I Want For Christmas is Austin” posters were held in the air and “AUSTIN! I LOVE YOU!”s rang through the theater.

Austin Mahone is comparable to Justin Bieber, complete with YouTube stardom, backup dancers and his “Mahomie” fan base. He knows how to get the girls to love him, winking flirtatiously at the screaming girls, as if they have a chance with the oh-so-cool Austin Mahone. I must admit, he has talent.

Austin finished and the girls calmed down a bit, but the calm disappeared as The Wanted took the stage. The Wanted probably put on the best performance of the night, although I may have been a tad distracted by their flirty smiles and flawless features. Four lucky girls got to sit on stage and hug the band’s sweaty bodies after the performance.

Finishing the night was Flo-Rida. He was extremely entertaining, bringing 25 girls on stage as he performed “Low” and going into the crowd to sing in mob of fans – sustained injuries (or some awkward grabbing) were probably the fruit of that risk for the hip-hop singer. I probably could have touched him if I had any interest in touching a middle-aged man with no shirt on, who is more sculpted than Michelangelo’s David. He came onto the stage with a tank top, a collared shirt, a scarf and a huge chain on, all of which he gave away to overjoyed fans. But by the time he walked into the crowd, his pants were falling off and his sweaty, tattooed muscles were showing – a little too much.

To finish his engaging performance, he threw about 30 roses into the audience.

The worst part of Channel 955’s Jingle Ball (ironically) was probably Channel 955. Between every artist, the radio disc jockeys came onto the stage for five minutes, promoting their station. I under-

stand why, but it was irritating. What’s more, between each performance, on went the house lights, draining the energy from the room. Occasionally, DJ Beatboy’s upbeat song choices kept me (and a few other cool people) dancing in the aisle ways with complete strangers.

So, the Jingle Ball wasn’t the best concert I’ve ever been to (after all, I’ve seen One Direction). But, it was definitely worth the price of a ticket, with tickets ranging from $35 to $200, because it was basically six concerts for the price of one.

There were many empty seats, which surprised me because I would recommend investing $40 of your money in a ticket to this concert. I enjoyed the variety of artists, but because of the abnormally large amount of people performing, it caused me to be completely worn out and extremely thirsty from my four hours of dancing and screaming – but I guess that’s when you know you had a good time.

Caroline Schulte

By Caroline Schulte

Singer Austin Mahone

REVIEWS the graphing Calculator App

B+

Breaking Dawn – Part 2, the final installment of the Twilight saga, was no letdown for breakingdawn-themovie.com die-hard fans.

A flaw with prior movies was the plots didn’t align with the books. Good news: director Bill Codon made sure this one did.

The movie begins where Part 1 left off, as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) explores her newfound talents that come with being a vampire. Swan’s upgraded, sparkly self is much more mature, as is Stewart’s acting. The movie captures the life span of the fast-growing, part-vampire child, Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy). The precious addition to the Cullen family is soon in danger from the wrath of the Volturi, the dominant cult of vampires, who see the child as a threat. In attempts to protect Renesmee and themselves, the Cullens go on a widespread expedition to find any vampires willing to help them stand against the Volturi.

If you’re a fan of the books, Breaking Dawn Part 2 will not disappoint. To those who haven’t seen the earlier movies or read the books, don’t expect much of a re-cap. However, team Edward and Jacob fans alike will be highly satisfied with the conclusion of the Twilight series.

The world needs to intercept more with technology. Especially with math. amazon.com For math, students are required to bring a scientific or graphing calculator. A class-required calculator can cost over $100. But similar to other classes, personal electronics are prohibited.

An alternative to the high-priced calculators, Apple’s App Store and the Kindle Fire’s App Store have many calculator options to choose from. A calculator app is a very convenient alternative because they are often free. One choice, Graphing Calculator available in the Kindle Fire App Store, is excellent.

Unlike a graphing calculator, this app can graph a myriad of lines in different, more easily visible colors. It’s a great feature, especially for those who would rather see a blue parabola light up their screen than just a plain gray line.

It has easy-to-access features for basic, scientific, and graphing calculator functions. From simple arithmetic to advanced algorithms, Graphing Calculator is the app to use.

This app is easy-to-use, no instructions needed, compared to the expensive ones required for math.

By Kristen Kaled

By Anna Hopkins

REd dawn

reddawnfilm.COM

one direction: Take me home

B-

B+

I knew Red Dawn would be an actionpacked movie, but all of the twists and turns

were a surprise.

Many know about the original Red Dawn, which came out in 1984 and involved a Soviet invasion, causing “World War III” The updated version is similar.

The beginning confused audiences with historical information about the North Koreans and their plan to take over the United States.

Although the movie was full of action, there was also the “real-life” aspect with Josh Peck and his girlfriend, played

by Isabel Lucas, after a football game.

But then it delved right into fighting scenes that literally made me jump out of my seat.

The intensity kept me wondering what would happen next; a bomb could be set off, someone could be shot, or a new fight would begin.

What really bothered me about the whole movie – and somewhat ruined the effect after the lights were turned on in the theater – was the end. For all of the built-up action and suspense, there was no final sense of closure.

I still recommend it though; I loved the movie for its thrill, sadness and even happiness, but after leaving the theater, the ending left me upset.

By Marie Bourke

Millions of tweens across the globe screamed with hysteria when onedirectionmusic.com Harry, Zayn, Liam, Niall and Louis returned with their sophomore album “Take Me Home.”

The album, filled with catchy, upbeat songs, has been a huge success and went No. 1 in the US, selling 540,000 copies in its first week.

With more evenly distributed solos than the first album, One Direction breaks the boy band stereotype of only having select members of the band with talent.

The boys prove they’re sensitive with “Last First Kiss,” but show their edgier side in “Rock Me,” which is reminiscent of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Song variety greatly improved from their last album, but it is still lacking in quality lyrics. The songs that have meaningful lyrics were written by Ed Sheeran, a fellow UK artist, and sound like a cover of Sheeran and are out of place on the album.

Despite their lack of original lyrics, it’s worth a listen. It’s more about feel good music, which is accomplished on the album. Whether it makes you cringe or scream with excitement, One Direction has proved they are here to stay with their second album.

By Amanda Berry

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IDEAS

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 7A

The time to appreciate is now “Grosse Pointe Public School administrators and teachers are responsible for encouraging and ensuring freedom of expression and freedom of the press for all students, regardless of whether the ideas expressed may be considered unpopular, critical, controversial, tasteless or offensive.”

Board of Education Policy

Maria Liddane Editor-in-Chief

Dayle Maas NEws editor

Jordan Radke Editor

Emma Ockerman Managing EDITOR

Our editorial represents the opinion of the North Pointe Editorial Board consisting of the editors above and staff members Melina Glusac, Audrey Kam and Jacob Barry.

OUR EDITORIAl

Part-time jobs provide learning experience To work or not to work?

It could be nannying, busing tables or hostessing at a restaurant. It could be for putting food on the table, a new pair of Lulu Lemon yoga pants, or college tuition.

Teenagers want, and sometimes absolutely need, jobs.

But with 8.3 million adults taking cuts, part-time work is being gobbled up. And for the teenage population, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find part–time work.

Unemployment for teens is 24%. (“Unemployed” counts those actively looking for work. Evidently many are, but to no avail.)

But the debate of teenage employment surfaces: should teenagers work? After all, there’s always an almighty economics assignment awaiting completion.

Statistics point to grade drops for student–workers and the correlation is not hard to spot – a student goes to work after school, gets off late and doesn’t study. If a student is working 20-plus hours a week in addition to school, the report card may not look so hot.

Yet the benefits of teenage employment are evident.

Responsibility, time management, independence and commitment are some obvious traits of partaking in formal work. Having 15 –18 year– olds dipping their feet in the “real world” is a bright spot and something to encourage.

The experiences a student acquires by stacking meats and cheeses on a foot of Italian bread or saucing frozen crust to serve $5 pizzas to customers cannot be simulated. And while we may not want to admit that such work instills appreciation in the average teen – it does.

Teen employment is actually best understood case by case, as each student has different motivation and desires for holding a job. While the situation is not ideal, financially, some high school students need to work.

So while it’s easy to say more attention should be put toward schoolwork, often times, immediate needs must be met.

And if those immediate needs don’t need to be met?

The average Joe still shouldn’t mooch off of his parents until thrust into the real world. He should work for what he’s worth.

Rebuttal

Focus on education while you have the chance For students who aren’t in dire need of supporting themselves or their family, the time to work will come soon enough.

Focusing on your education ultimately counts when it comes to getting a job that allows you to live comfortably in the future.

Being optimistic may suit you well in your day–to – day life, but don’t count on barely graduating high school to land you a worthwhile job.

There will be plenty of time to work your butt off pleasing your boss in the future, and that’s when it will really count. At this very moment, LuLu Lemon pants don’t quite matter as much as passing Algebra II. If you disagree, you clearly aren’t benefiting from the valuable learning experience that is a part-time job.

Yes, we all like jobs. Jobs are good, respsonsiblity is good. But so is suceeding in an academic environment and getting a report card that’s worth hanging on the fridge for the world to see.

As for now, hold off on that waitressing job if you can.

Hit the books instead. The difference of being a CEO and, well, a waitress may lie in that decision.

In my 16 years of life, the worst loss I’ve experienced was when the family cat died.

I was three, and I was a wreck. I was so unfamiliar with just the idea of losing someone I knew. Let’s just say that it wasn’t adequate preparation for when my parents decided to sit my brother and me down to discuss a family predicament.

I remember that talk vividly.

My parents, Carrie and George (as I refer to them), called My turn my 7–year– old Libby sumnik brother Nik and my fourth–grade self into their room. As we walked in, my older sister Alex walked out with a tear–streaked face.

We sat on their king–sized bed and my mom put her arms around us. Then he laid it on us. George started by saying, “Your daddy has to have a little bit of surgery. I have a tumor in my throat.”

I now know that really translated to cancer, but as an immature 9 –year– old, I had no idea.

My parents tried to explain it to us, but what can you tell two young children about cancer without scaring them half to death?

They weren’t able to say much more, and I hadn’t a clue what was going on. The main point was that it was “going to be okay,” and we “shouldn’t worry.”

I thanked God when that talk was finally over because I had that feeling in my throat you get when you feel like you’re going to cry, but don’t want to. I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me to my room, belly flopped on the bed, shoved my face into my pile of stuffed animals and cried the same way I had when the cat died.

My brother, sister and I would hang out

in the lobby of an Ann Arbor hospital while my dad, chipper as he always was, got a checkup done. Neither my parents or older siblings ever told me anything that was going on, so we played like little kids did – without worries. I’ll never know if everything was okay or if they just said that.

After a few months, multiple doctors appointments and treatments, life in the Sumnik house resumed as normal. All George had left were checkups to make sure everything was going smoothly, and from what I heard, it was.

But fast forward three years. I’m in that same place in my parent’s room, only this time, a little smarter. They used the word “cancer” this time, but they also told us that they had caught it early, which meant for an “easy surgery.”

The day of the surgery came, and I didn’t even get to see him in the morning; I was told to go to school and I would come to the hospital with my sister later.

It was the longest day of my life.

Don’t worry. That’s what they always kept pushing, even to this day, when something isn’t right.

We got to the Intensive Care Unit, and everything had gone smoothly. Even though he was lying right in front of me and was clearly fine, I still didn’t believe it.

He was able to come home within a short period of time, and get back on track with his life and my family could do the same.

He was better than ever.

Sure, I wasn’t losing him, but it felt like it.

Now, four years later, I still get scared at the sound of him cringing in pain even at something small, but he always reassures me by telling me that everything is okay.

The saying goes, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” Well, I hadn’t even lost anything, but the experience was enough to make me feel like I had.

“I babysit. I like it because I get money and I like kids.”

“I was looking for a job but I’m not old enough to have one because I’m only 15.”

“I work as staff at a banquet hall called Barrister Gardens.”

Meghan Mitchell

Sara Fresard

Chris Solomon

Freshman

Junior

Sophomore

YOUR TURN: Do you have a job? Did you have a job in highschool?

By Danae DiCicco & Kaylee Dall

“I start today at Gamestop on Gratiot and 8 Mile.”

“I had two jobs. I worked in the boys department at Sears for a little while and then I worked at fast food but I only lasted in fast food for like three weeks.”

“I officiated in the summertime. I did baseball, basketball in the winter, football in the fall so when I was even playing high school sports I was still officiating.”

Meldon Lewis

Diane Montgomery

Tom Tobe

senior

English teacher

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Maria Liddane SECTION EDITORS: Dayle Maas, Kim Cusmano, Lauren Semack, Gabby Burchett ASSISTANT EDITORS: Kristen Kaled, Andrea Scapini, Amanda Berry, Marie Bourke, Izzy Ellery STAFF REPORTERS: Patricia Bajis, Colleen Reveley, Melissa Healy, Natalie Skorupski, Sara Villani, Libby Sumnik, Rachel Cullen, Jacob Barry, Danae DiCicco, Sydney Thompson, Taylor White PHOTOGRAPHERS: Caroline Schulte (Photo Editor), Emily Huguenin (Assistant Photo Editor), Sean O’Melia, Kaylee Dall INTERNS: Ashley Brown, Haley Reid, Sarah Schade, Audrey Kam, Anna Hopkins, Jenna Belote EDITOR: Jordan Radke MANAGING EDITOR: Emma Ockerman ILLUSTRATOR: Jordan Jackson

Interim principal

The North Pointe is edited and produced

by Advanced Journalism students at Grosse Pointe North High School and is published every two weeks. It is in practice a designated public forum without prior review. Comments should be directed to the student editors, who make all final content decisions.

The views expressed are solely those of the authors or the student editorial board and do not reflect the opinions of the Grosse Pointe School System.

We are a member of the Michigan Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Student Press Law Center. We subscribe to McClatchy-Tribune Information Services and iStockphoto.com.

One copy is available free to all community members. Additional copies may be purchased. Our editorial policy and advertising rates are available online at myGPN.org.

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CONTACT US 707 Vernier Road Grosse Pointe Woods MI, 48236 Phone: 313.432.3248 Email: northpointe@gpschools.org Website: myGPN.org Twitter: myGPN FACULTY ADVISER: Shari Adwers, CJE

editor’s desk Lauren Semack

Free to pee In the middle of class in first grade, mechanics walked in poking at the red box next to the clock for hours. They took it out and replaced it with a bigger box, with a new light on it and some big white letters that I couldn’t read yet.

A week later, I figured out what they were for and experienced my first fire drill with the new boxes.

Instead of the high pitched “beep beep” I was shaken by the honking staccato of the newer box. My heart was racing, I could hear my blood pumping through my head and I didn’t know how to respond. I wasn’t prepared; I hadn’t known traumatization was about to erupt from the new red box.

By then, though, it was too late. I was out on the field. I had been so alarmed that I was shaking.

Thus started my fear of the red box in any situation but especially when using the bathroom.

I lived the rest of those 720 days of elementary school in fear of using the bathroom. I would only use it when the class would take snack time and do group bathroom breaks. I wouldn’t utilize the lavatory at lunch, scared that because half the student body was inside eating, they could pull the alarm.

I thought it was the social norm to sit in fear that the red box would explode with loud goose noises.

In middle school, though, my fear subsided for the 540 days I was there because the red box was no longer there to taunt me.

In high school, my phobia returned, focusing less on the red box, and more on the bathrooms.

I had conquered the fear of the fire alarms. I welcomed drill week with open arms, seeking a way to get out of class the second and third week of school, just to soak in some vitamin D and enjoy the last bits of summer. Even the science building alarms didn’t phase me like they did when I was 6 years old.

But one day I pushed through the flower-painted door of the first-floor girls bathroom, scuttled into a stall and realized I had to load the seat with ten layers of toilet paper. The ground was wet. The grout was dirty. The stall doors were covered with both negative (“*expletive*”) and positive (“*expletive* you da best!”) graffiti. Half the doors’ locks didn’t work, if they even had one. At that moment, I remembered my older sister’s words of advice upon starting high school: only use the science building bathrooms.

I now understood why.

The nicely–preserved, new, state– of–the–art, automatic–flush, dryers–so –fast– they–make –your– skin–ripple bathrooms called my name. It isn’t fair though.

All I want is to be free to pee where and when I want, without the fear that I will contract a disease if I don’t want to use a ton of toilet paper to cover the seat. This is not a fear I can just get over like an obnoxious fire alarm, I need more than just someone verifying my feelings; I need change. And when I say change, I mean new tile, Clorox Bleach and Ty Pennington to come and give the B –building restrooms an extreme makeover.

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 8A

For many Walsh grads, success is a way of life. Hundreds of Walsh grads own their own companies. Hundreds more are company presidents or VPs. Thousands hold other titles and have built great careers in great industries. Enroll now and start making business success part of your mantra.

WALSHCOLLEGE.EDU ®The yellow notebook design is a registered trademark of Walsh College. And the campaign is a creation of Perich Advertising + Design.

Thanks to the fine folks at Walsh for letting us say so.

NORTH

GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

SINCE 1968

POINTE

FRIDAY, DEC. 7 , 2012

“This season is going to be very competitive this year with our schedule.

We will be challenged.”

Emily Armbruster

Senior, Varsity Basketball

“If we work hard and compete the hardest elements possible for our levels, then I think we will be very successful and hopefully make it to states.”

Jessica Gabel

Junior, varsity figure skating

“We have a lot to improve on, but we have the strength and perseverance to end up in the state championship but end up victorious this time.”

Nikki Haggerty

Sophomore, varsity hockey

WINTER

SPORTS EXTRA

2B – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

Sports

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 3B

a FR ESH perspective Freshmen Erin Armbruster and Josh Fischer join upperclassmen on the court as the only two freshmen in the varsity basketball program.

By Kim Cusmano Editor

They share a love for the sport and tall stature, but the likeliness of the two lone freshmen in the varsity basketball program stops there.

Freshmen Erin Armbruster, newest inductee of the girls varsity basketball team, has been playing since third grade. Her first experience was on a Neighborhood Club team and was coerced by her father and friends to stick to it.

“My dad encouraged me to start playing because he was a coach for my Neighborhood Club team. And a lot of my friends played with me so it was something that we could all do together,” Armbruster said.

But as Armbruster sprouted in height and improved in skill, she was led away from the pack, and the very reason she started to play was diminished. Most of her friends made freshman or junior varsity.

“It’s really weird to watch them play. I really want to play with them because I feel like I should play with them. Then at the same time, I like being on varsity, too. It feels good to be the only freshman on the team because I feel like I kinda accomplished something. It was a goal. It was always in my mind,” she said.

Girls varsity basketball coach Gary Bennett also sees Armbruster’s potential and has for a few years.

“I knew about Erin before she got here. She has been coming to our summer basketball camp for several years,” Bennett said. “Erin has a great attitude and work ethic, and the older girls really like her. She is a quality young lady, and we want quality people in our program. She is very coachable and has a lot of potential as a basketball player.”

While Armbruster has been dreaming of varsity since her first steps on the court, basketball wasn’t even on the radar for fellow freshman Josh Fischer until two years ago. Instead, Fischer spent the past 10 years of his life dedicated to another sport: Taekwondo.

Fischer has attained a third-degree black belt, and he believes that this has aided his athleticism and basketball skills.

Emily Huguenin

“Martial arts helps me with balance. Obviously I’m tall, so I would be unathletic, but it has helped me be coordinated,” Fischer said.

Yet it was height that lead him to basketball.

Has his 6’3” height ever hindered him?

“Like, do I hit my head on stuff? Yes.” Boys varsity basketball coach Matt Lockhart wouldn’t have noticed the difference and recognizes Fischer as the skilled and dedicated player he has turned into.

“He’s a great kid who worked hard and earned the right to be on varsity,” Lockhart said.

While Armbruster may be the only freshman on the team, the Lady Norsemen have welcomed her with open arms into their “family.” And while her dad still isn’t her coach, the Armbruster clan has more than one member on this team. Her cousin, senior Emily Armbruster, is a four-year member of the varsity squad.

“It’s fun because I never really expected to be on a team with her because we are three years apart,” Erin said. “I really like having her out there, and I can talk to her and be with her.”

“Obviously, I love it,” Emily said. “It’s something we have been talking about for years, saying ‘What if we played on the same team?’”

Likewise, Josh has not felt intimidated by the older players on his team, but encouraged and supported as he enters the rough varsity level.

“It’s a lot more physical and really fastpaced, but I feel (like I) belong more with these older guys around,” Fischer said.

The level of play is also a concern for Armbruster.

“It’s really competitive and a different level of the game that I feel like I need to get used to, especially being a freshman,” she said. “Varsity is hard, and every game means more because the goal is to reach playoffs.”

Armbruster also feels the pressure of becoming a part of a successful program. With a state championship in 2008 and high expectations, she understands the gravity each season holds.

“I think about it sometimes, like ‘Oh I have to do good. We have to do good in this game because we don’t want the reputation of the team to go down,’” she said.

As a center forward, Fischer looks forward to getting in the game this year and helping the team in any way that he can. And while his motivation may have merely been his apparent altitude, he has truly taken to the sport.

“I really started to love it once I started playing,” Fischer said. “And Lockhart yells a lot, but it’s cool.”

Armbruster also hopes to be there for her team, especially her seniors, imagining herself in their position in four years.

“I will feel really accomplished surviving four years of varsity basketball,” Armbruster said. “They all say that when you’re a senior, you’ll feel the same way as I do ... you’ll feel accomplished.”

SPORTS

4B – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

Students sacrifice time for their craft

By Andrea Scapini Assistant Editor

dawn bloomfield

nina brownlee

While most 3 year olds were at home playing with barbies and watching Barney, senior Nadine Nahra was already in the studio. But not on her own accord.

“My mom put me into it and until I was about seven I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do it anymore,’ and she made me stay with it, but I’ve just loved it ever since,” Nahra said.

“When I was probably like 11 or 12, I was like, ‘I should probably stick with this.’”

Ever since she was officially bitten by the dance bug, Nahra has committed herself to an average of four hours of dance a day, six days every week.

Managing time is one aspect of dancing that stresses those highly devoted to it.

“It’s helped me stay organized with my timing because I know that I have to be at rehearsal at a certain time and I know I have to have time to get my homework done and time to hang out with my friends,” senior Carly Broman said. “It can be really, really stressful when you don’t finish all of your homework on time because I’m at dance all night.”

Balancing school and dance also proves strenuous for sophomore Paige Abdella who dances up to 34 hours a week.

“Sometimes everything interferes with school and it’s hard for me to fit everything in and manage my time,” Abdella said.

“It will help later but right now it’s still kind of stressful. I have to usually do my homework at lunch or in tutorial or before I go to school because I usually get home really late.”

With such late dance rehearsals, their routines are fixed.

“I mostly go to school, go to dance, do homework, go to sleep,” sophomore Katie Lucchese said. “That’s like my day, every day.”

Finding the balance between dance rehearsals, maintaining their grades, sleeping and having a social life is difficult.

“I keep having to remind myself that this is my choice and I still try to keep some kind of balance,” junior Irish dancer Colleen Maher said. “I recognize that when I focus only on dance and I have nothing else going on in my life, that’s when I end up doing the worst in dance because that’s when it stops being fun. I make sure that about once a week and once every two weeks I make time for friends because that way I don’t lose important social relationships and so that I don’t go insane.”

Although it means occasionally missing out on hanging

out with friends, the bonds formed between the die-hard dancers make up for the loss.

“It’s not that bad because lots of the friends that I do have are from dance and it’s good that I get to see them a lot,” Broman said.

By spending so much time with each other, the dancers build a familial bond.

“Everyone knows everyone’s parents and everyone’s grandparents and everyone’s uncles and so it’s just really a big family,” Maher said. “When you’re in that much of a highstress environment with people, you kind of just naturally bond. And we do squabble sometimes and we have our little petty arguments, but you’re all there to support each other and it’s such an amazing thing.”

These dancers share a sense of accomplishment on stage.

“I like dancing because it gives me another way to express myself. I love music, I love expressing myself through music and I just love it,” senior Kyndall Echols said. “When I’m just practicing in a rehearsal I’m just working on technique, but when we’re getting ready to do a recital or even a half-time show it’s sort of a nervous energy but it’s a good nervous energy.”

The love for the stage won’t end soon for those who have the drive to continue dancing.

“I have considered dance as a career. One of my options is moving to Los Angeles when I graduate from high school so I can audition for many different things to try and get a permanent job,” Abdella said. “If that doesn’t end up happening I will double major in college.”

Similarly, Lucchese plans aren’t set, but she is considering the University of Michigan as a college and dance option.

“I got accepted into a Michigan dance camp over the summer. It was really interesting because I got to see how all of the college classes with dance would work,” Lucchese said. “It’s just something that I’ve done for so long that I can’t imagine giving it up.”

Even though she doesn’t plan on continuing her personal dance career after college, Nahra will always keep dance in her life.

“I plan on taking a few classes in college and having my kids dance,” Nahra said. “My dance teacher says, ‘Once a Casali dancer, always a Casali dancer.’”

Clockwise from bottom right to top left: Nadine Nahra, Colleen Maher, Carly Broman, Paige Abdella, Kyndall Echols and Katie Lucchese.

ed westwood

Starbound national talent competition

Courtesy of mary maher

john martin photography

goFIGURE SPORTS

DA L

L

“In eighth grade, I had a competition that I worked really hard to prepare for, and I felt rea l ly good about it. But t here wa s heav y t ra f f ic get t i ng t here, a nd I m issed my wa r mups. So I had to just go a nd do it, a nd I f rea ked out a nd fel l l i ke t h ree t i mes. It wa s hor r ible.”

Sometimes, Butler even considered quitting.

“There was a time freshman year where I was just kind of in a funk with it, and I wasn’t doing as well as I had been. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it anymore, but I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did,” Butler said.

Ultimately, skating has proved a more than worthwhile undertaking in Butler’s life.

“I got out of that funk. And thinking about the experiences I’ve had since freshman year, it’s definitely been a good thing that I stayed with it,” Butler said.

Undoubtedly, skating has had its upsides in ButEE

Eight pairs of broken-in skates, two teams, 12 to 15 hours a week, 5 days, for the past 10 years.

All of this for roughly 10 competitions a year, 20 medals and one MVP trophy on North’s team her sophomore year.

These are numbers senior Katie Butler, figure skater, defines herself by.

But Butler says the definition itself certainly has its highs and lows.

“One day you can be landing everything, be skating awesome, and your coach will be really happy with you,” Butler said. “And the next, you’re completely off your game and falling all over the place and getting screamed at.”

Making skating a priority sometimes means Butler has to push her social life to the side.

“A lot of my friends are at skating, so I do see most of my friends every day. But I mean, I don’t get to go parties on Friday nights,” Butler said. “I do skate Fridays after school, and then most Saturdays at 6 a.m.

I have practice.”

This reality isn’t always easy for Butler’s friends.

“We see each other on the weekends when she doesn’t have competitions or anything, but we don’t really get to hang out much other than that. It’s mostly at night that we get to see each other, or on Sundays,” senior Kirsten Schoensee said.

Butler said figure skating can spell trouble for academic success.

“I have to miss school a lot for competitions and testing, and it makes getting all my homework done harder because I don’t get home until six or seven, and I’m exhausted after skating for three hours,” Butler said. “I just have to remind myself that if I get bad grades, my mom probably won’t let me skate as much, so I have to work hard to get good grades to keep skating.”

For Kay Butler, seeing her daughter balance so many priorities breeds anxiety.

“It can be very stressful, she can have a lot on her plate. But she has done a good job accomplishing her goals,” Kay said. “There are times where I am concerned that she’s not getting enough sleep

because she’s up late studying and has early morning practices, but she manages well.”

Figure skating can mean Butler misses out on other passions, such as school musicals.

“I have to choose between, ‘Do I do the musical?’ or ‘Do I keep skating?’ and they both take up so much time.

You can’t do both, and I pretty much always choose skating.”

Butler said keeping an upbeat attitude can be difficult.

KA YL

By Emma Ockerman MANAGING EDITOR

Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe – 5B

senior skater reminisces about her career on the ice

ler’s life. Butler says the friends she’s made are for a lifetime, and the feeling of competing is incomparable.

“The feeling when you know that you’ve done well, and your coach just is so proud of you, that’s a good feeling,” Butler said.

Butler’s positive attitude has helped her persevere through cold mornings on the ice and practices that at times test her limits.

“I just love her demeanor, her sense of her humor.

Katie never gives up. She’s got a great attitude with skating. She’s always happy and never gives me a hard time,” Butler’s coach, Laura Delbarbra, said. “One year in our competition, at the Shores Autumn Classic, she skated her absolute best and ran off the ice and gave me the biggest hug, and it meant the world to me. It just goes to show that hard work pays off.”

According to Delbarbra, attitude can be everything in figure skating.

“The kids practice these things over and over, and sometimes are consistent with jumps, and sometimes they aren’t, and sometimes it’s just because they aren’t believing in themselves. If you believe in yourself, you can make it happen, and if you don’t, you can totally sabotage yourself.

The cockiest people in any sport can be the best athletes.”

Butler said she has pushed herself to be the best she’s capable of.

“I just wanted to be good at it so badly that I just didn’t stop. I’ve definitely come a long way, but I still have a long way that I could go,” Butler said.

“For skating, I actually started pretty late. Most people start at three or four years old. But I have come a long way. I went from not competing at all, to winning gold, and that’s the best feeling ever, just to know that you were better than everyone else.”

Butler said although skating has had a large impact on her life, she isn’t sure about pursuing it in college.

“College is starting a new chapter of my life, so it’d be more of a fresh start if I didn’t skate, but I’m not sure I can just let it go that easily,” Butler said.

“I’d feel really empty. What would I do with all my time?”

And if she doesn’t continue at a university level, Butler said she will use the lessons learned from skating throughout her life.

But the one thing she won’t miss?

“Those two days a week when I wake up at 5 a.m. to skate.”

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 6B

SPORTS

Gymnastics team flexes a complex relationship

By Libby Sumnik & Sarah Schade Staff Reporter & intern

The varsity girls gymnastics team doesn’t see any point in petty rivalry.

The team is a combination of North and South girls, placing normally feuding students on the same team.

“It’s nice to have such a close team because there’s a great atmosphere at practice, and it helps us to improve on our skills,” North senior Emma Abessinio said. “Girls from North and South are both close with everyone, so it’s nice that there are no rivalries.”

The team said without a rival school to look towards, it doesn’t have any real competitors.

“I wouldn’t say we have any really close competition, but we’re always pushing to do the best we can,” Kelsey Newa, a South junior, said. “We definitely try to compete well against Farmington because they’re in our league. Other than that, our team has been generally one of t he best i n ou r reg ion.”

Team chemistry allows the girls to support each other during practice as all the girls strive to improve, both as a team and as individuals.

“We all work together and encourage each other,” Aubryn Samaroo,

South senior, said. “We’re all pushing each other, so we’re all happy for each other when we get a new skill or when anyone gets a new skill.

“If someone is down on themselves, we all work together to bring them back up and make them feel better.”

Newa says that being close with her teammates makes it easier to help one another because they all know what they’re capable of.

“It helps with the actual sport itself because with such closeness comes a lot of team encouragement, and it’s easy to get motivated by all the girls on the team because we’re all so close and always pushing each other to do more and do better,” Newa said.

The season has just started, and North junior Caitlin Gaitley said most of the upperclassmen and underclassmen haven’t had the chance to bond with each other yet. Others are feeling the camaraderie already.

“When I first came in as a freshman, I didn’t know anybody from North. Honestly, the girls on the team have become my best friends,” Newa said. “I really enjoy hanging out with people from North after spending all

day with people from my own school at South. We like to do things outside of the actual gym, like we try to do sleepovers and lots of pasta parties as much as possible.”

The mix of both North and South students allow the girls to bond with people they normally wouldn’t.

“I really enjoy being close because I think it just makes the sport more enjoyable, and you’re more excited to go to practice every day if you like the people that you’re practicing with,” North junior Cait Gaitley said. “I like (working with South gymnasts) because we kind of balance each other out, and then you bond. You’re not caught up in gossip because you go to two different schools, so you become better friends.”

Even for new gymnast Camilla Rodriguez, sophomore at South, the divide of North and South doesn’t exist. She says she looks up to the older gymnasts for help and doesn’t feel intimidated by them whatsoever.

“I’ve always liked gymnastics, but I’ve never done it before, so I decided to try it. Everyone on my team is so nice, and they were so welcoming, even (to)

a sophomore that they had never met before. They feel like they’re going to be really close friends, and it’s only been a month,” Rodriguez said.

“Usually when you join a team and you’re brand new and you don’t know anything, you feel intimidated by all the girls who are good, but the girls on the team teach you more than the coaches do. They’re not snobby, like, ‘Oh, I’m so much better than you.’

They’re really great leaders.”

While winning is an important goal for the team, the girls say one of the most enjoyable parts of any sport is the friendships made during the season, and that their willingness to become friends has improved their team’s atmosphere. Their friendship both in and out of the gym has become valuable experiences for the girls.

“I like being so close with everyone because you always feel comfortable and can be yourself,” North junior Angela Tibaudo said. “No matter what, everyone’s there for you, whether ... about gymnastics or just everyday life.”

Photos from left: Junior Cait Gaitley, South freshman Emily Fleming, junior Meagan Curran & South senior Aubryn Samaroo Photos by: sydney Thompson, taylor white & kaylee Dall

sports

North Pointe – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – 7B

Q&As WITH PLAYERS WHO

DEFEND Senior Sarah Richardson and sophomore Lauren Hartt, girls varsity hockey goalies.

By Maria Liddane & Dayle Maas Editor-in-Chief & Editor

Sophomore Lauren Hartt North Pointe: Are the goalie pads annoying to wear?

Number one, I just feel like I’m really fat. It literally makes you, like, obese. It’s harder to skate, too. And you can’t do crossovers.

One time, I was walking in the locker room, and my pads got caught, and I fell on the floor. It was really embarrassing – people got pictures.

NP: What’s your favorite part? Least favorite?

During the games, I don’t know if this sounds weird, but it’s almost like an adrenaline rush. I wasn’t really scared the first game. I was more like, “I need to focus.”

NP: How do you feel after a save?

When you save it it’s like, “Oh my God, thank God!” You’re just sitting there like “Yes!” I feel really good about it. And then when it goes in you’re just kind of like, “That didn’t just happen. Don’t think about it.”

I caught one in one of our games in Chicago and I’m like, “I can’t believe that just happened.” I thought I was gonna miss it.

NP: Do your teammates put the blame on the goalie?

Not really. We both (she and Richardson) started this year so they’re not expecting much.

They are really supporting and all that. They’re all like, “Well I should have done that to save it.”

You can’t expect everyone else on the floor to ... keep all the shots off you. Like, you wouldn’t be needed in the game.

NP: What’s your goal for this season?

I really want to improve so next year people aren’t nervous about me being goalie, especially since we’re losing nine people off our team who are seniors. So everybody else is just going to have to step up, if you know what I mean.

I want to be able to make that step no problem.

Senior Sarah Richardson North Pointe: What’s your goal this year?

My goal is to not let the team down. They went really far last year with their goalie, and I feel like I have big shoes to fill.

NP: Are you superstitious?

I’m not really superstitious.

The only thing that’s kinda like that is I make sure I don’t look up into the stands and see all the people and psych myself out.

NP: Do you like your position?

I actually really like goalie, and I wish I played the years before. Not just because I love playing goalie, but because I love my team.

NP: Do you feel responsible for wins and losses?

Of course I feel responsible for wins and losses because that’s my job – to stop the puck and to not let them score.

Even as much as my team reminds me that it’s not my fault, it still gets to me.

NET.

Sophomore Ben Borland North Pointe: What do you like about being goalie?

If you make good saves, your team will have momentum then they’ll go score a goal, so that’s what I like. You could pretty much win the whole game for your team.

NP: What do you dislike about being goalie?

I mean, you’re getting pucks shot at you.

NP: Do you get down on yourself when you miss a shot?

It really depends what kind of game it is. If it’s like a big game, you try to shake it off, but sometimes it gets to you. It sucks, but you have to get over it, or you’re gonna do worse.

NP: What’s your personal goal for this season?

I want to start next year. But I just want to work hard a lot this year, just get better.

NP: How has the season been so far?

We beat South 2-1, and we lost to Cranbrook 3-2, so we’ve only won one game and played four. It’s a slow start, but we’ll get there. That’s what they did last year. They weren’t very good all year, and then they just caught fire in the playoffs.

Senior Tanner Colborg North Pointe: Are you superstitious?

I can’t hear the word “shutout” before a game. Whenever someone says it, I always get scored on. I’ll have like 25 seconds left in the game and someone will say it and I’ll get scored on. I don’t know,

SEAN O’MELIA

Sophomore Ben Borland, senior Tanner Colborg and junior Josh Champney, boys varsity hockey goalies. it’s just something weird I do.

Some people say it, and I try to ignore it. I get really weird about things. I talk to myself before. I just get myself hype.

I’ll hit my post a lot. I just get myself mentally ready for the next shot that comes. It’s just really weird to think about it now. I just feel like a really weird kid.

NP: Do you handle pressure well?

Yeah, I have to. When the team in front of me isn’t playing so well, it’s all pretty much my game. I have to control everything.

NP: Do you feel responsible for wins and losses?

Yeah, it’s pretty much if the team gets a goal it’s all them, but if we get scored on, it’s all me. That’s sort of what it seems like. Everyone feels that way. You’ll get some kids that are like, “Oh, that was my fault.” But most the time, it’s always my fault.

I kind of have to deal with everyone’s negative feedback.

You kind of just have to block it out and continue with what you’re doing and stay focused on the game.

NP: What’s the best thing about being a goalie?

I’m the only one out there that gets to play that position.

There are some times where I wish I could go out and screw around with everyone. Being a goalie, instead of worrying about what other people are doing, you can worry about yourself.

So it’s kind of, like, I guess a self-centered sort of position compared to what other people are playing.

Junior Josh Champney North Pointe: Do you wish you could play with the defensive and offensive players?

Yeah. I think just to see how they feel during practice. And I would want them to see how a goalie feels. Sometimes, people blame the goalie for every goal, so I’d want them to feel how it feels to be my position.

NP: How do you feel when you miss a shot?

If it’s a bad goal, I feel bad. If it’s one that I know I couldn’t stop, I just get over it. You have to have short-term memory.

You can’t just dwell on something that happened in the past. You gotta keep moving forward.

NP: How do you feel when you save one?

Of course I feel good, but gotta be modest. You can’t cheer after saving every puck.

You’ve got to feel good because you saved the puck, but you can’t overdo it.

NP: What’s your personal goal for the season?

My personal goal is just to work hard and improve and hopefully get some playing time and just become a starter for next year.

NP: Do you like this team better than travel?

Yeah. We still have our cliques and stuff. On a team there always will be. We’re not really a complete team yet, but we’re working towards it.

NP: Do you like goalie?

Goalie has its ups and downs. You can be blamed for losing the whole game, or you can be the reason your team won.

8B – Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 – North Pointe

fan section

Photo by Breann Reveley

By Sean O’Melia & Andrea Scapini Staff Reporter & Asstistant Editor

NORSEMEN NATION

North’s athletes have been supported by many for decades of athletic events. Since its very beginning, our our fan section has grown from a gathering of students and parents to a community full of tradition and pride that comes together during an event to show our Norsemen Spirit and become the Norsemen Nation.

“The way that the shirts work is, if you purchase one ... you get free entrance to any of the events that are listed on the shirt,” Brotherhood adviser Jonathan Bryne said. “We wanted to try and encourage students to go to the games and feel like they were part of something bigger than themselves.”

THOR The Student Association originally purchased our school mascot costume, Thor, under the guidance of former adivser Barry Mulso. “Simply to get the crowd to cheer for something. College teams have mascots, so why not us?” Mulso said.

“When I was watching college football, with the cheerleadings coming out of the tunnel, with a flag, I knew we had to have it,” student activities director Pat Gast said, regarding the origins of the more than 15-year-old flag.

Norsemen Flag

THE VOICES of the section

“

I like the fan section because you’re with all of the other students and it just gets really hype. I am going to be going to whatever I can when I don’t have sports of my own to do. It’s really fun to be there when everybody’s pumped up. When volleyball was playing, whenever we had a lot of fans, we always did better because it gives the teams motivation.

Junior cait Gaitley

I think the presence of the student section brings a different atmosphere to the game. To support the squad. I bleed green and gold.

Senior Steve Elliott

A student section is much louder. Parents are more sedate except for the occasional zealous parent who yells on every play. The students also appear to have more fun. But both are important. The consistency of the parents to show up for their players and, just like the boys on the team, the parents bond in the stands. We need the students, the players’ peers, to keep the game lively and show spirit.

Cheryl cusmano, Booster club treasurer & Parent

“

Norsemen Nation Shirts