Volume 83: Issue 5

The

STUDENT

Sylvania Northview Volume 83 Issue #5 December 16, 2008

Prints TOP NEWS STORIES PEEK INSIDE

Earth Club spreads holiday spirit >> page 2

Do you love Twilight or hate? Check in with our pro/con >> page 6

Blood drive collects 168 units Staff Writer The “Circle of Life” continued on December 5 with the blood of Northview students and staff. The NV National Honor Society held their annual blood drive, allowing each donor to save up to three lives.

The goal of the blood drive committee was to receive 135 useable units of blood from donors. The goal was exceeded by 33 units of blood, with a total of 168 units, including 42 double red units. This number was more than the amount received last year, which was 142 units of blood.

“This was the most successful blood drive we’ve had in the past several years,” said NHS advisor Mrs. Fran Borchers.

The blood drive was held in the main gym from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Most donors signed up before the drive, but walkins were also accepted. Those who signed up in advance received a donation card with their scheduled time to donate, according to senior NHS member Ali Sayre.

Donors then received a packet to read and answered a questionnaire before getting a finger prick to have their blood checked for iron, along with white and red blood cell counts. If the blood was healthy and able to be used, the donor was sent to a donation station and was set up to donate.

After a pint of blood filled the person’s donation bag, they were taken off of the I.V. and their insertion site was bandaged and wrapped to prevent further bleeding.

NHS members then escorted donors to the cantina, where they were to rest and get

Halie Langhals SENIOR ZACH POWELL sits patiently while he gives blood in Northview’s blood drive. The blood drive took place on December 5 and 168 units of blood were collected. some food and drink before returning to class.

For those donors who were feeling a little woozy or light-headed during or after giving blood, there was a resting site separate from other donors. Several physicians, including Doctor Mary Lou Barmann, were also available all day in case of emergency.

Those donors who felt ill were to rest on small cots and looked after by the physicians until they were feeling better, then were sent back to class.

The cantina for donors was well stocked,

according to Sayre. A total of 52 pizzas were donated from multiple companies including CiCi’s, Jojo’s, Marco’s, Little Caesar’s, Gino’s and Papa John’s. Other foods were donated as well, such as hummus and pita bread, breakfast rolls, donuts, bagels, and loaves of bread. Fruits and other food items and drinks were brought in by NHS members to supply the cantina with enough for all donors for the day.

“Since my blood type is so rare, I was encouraged to donate, and I got to give a double-red,” said senior Grace Ramsdell.

Concerts spread holiday spirit Seniors shine in Cat’s Meow ‘09: SNL >> page 8

Staff Writer Performing their annual winter concert tonight in the Little Theater at 7:30 pm will be the Northview Jazz Band and Jazz Kats.

The Jazz Band, the ensemble with more experienced players, will be playing songs such as La Suerte de los Tonos, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, and Jingle Bells. Jazz Kats will play Jingle Bell Rock, The Herald Angel Swing, and Light My Fire, according to NV Band Director Mr. Gene Bohland.

“We have been working on this music since the beginning of the school year and I am glad to finally perform our music,” said

junior Charles Easton.

The Orchestras will put on their winter concert tomorrow night in the Little Theater at 7:30 PM. The Chamber and Concert Orchestras combine with select members of the Wind Ensemble and Concert Bands annually to put on this concert.

The Chamber Orchestra and Wind Ensemble will be performing Russian Sailors Dance, Waltz of the Flowers, Sleighride with the Concert Orchestra, and The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, according to senior Lauren Oberle.

The Concert Orchestra and Concert Band will play Air and March from French Baroque Suite, Selections from the Grinch, and

Quiet Music.

“This concert is always so much fun because we add in members of the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band,” said Orchestra Director, Mrs. Pam Thiel. “We will be performing a mixture of classical and pop favorites.”

The A Capella and Harmony Road Show will host a concert on December 18 for the last concert of the winter season. The A Capella choir will be performing pieces from their Madrigal Feaste, according to junior Sia Dufour.

“We have been working really hard on our Madrigal pieces and I’m excited to perform them,” said Dufour.

Foreign languages carol tonight Wrestling W li season begins strong >> page 11

SECTIONS News >> 1 Opinions >> 4 Features >> 7 Sports >> 10 WEATHER today high 39, low 27 tomorrow high 37, low 27 Thursday high 44 low 27

News Editor Hola, bonjour, hallo! Tonight, the world language clubs of Northview are celebrating the holidays early with an assortment of favorite Christmas carols.

The Spanish and German Clubs will be caroling at the Toledo Zoo at 6:30pm. The Spanish Club has been holding caroling practices for the past two weeks in order to prepare for this extravaganza, according to Spanish Club secretary Leah Smith. In order to be able to participate in caroling with the Spanish Club, students must have attended at least two practices, according to Smith.

The last one will be held today after school in Mrs. Chris Monday’s room. The Spanish Club is planning to sing a few holiday favorites such as; Rodolfo era una reino (Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer), Cascables (Jingle Bells), and Los Doce Dias de Navidad (The Twelve days of Christmas).

“I think caroling is going to be a blast,” said junior Stephanie Yarnell, “I’m really pumped to sing in Spanish and drink hot chocolate.”

The Spanish Club is keeping the caroling tradition alive and has gone caroling for the past three years.

The German Club is also planning to sing a few Christmas classics including Stille Nacht (Silent Night), Jingle Bells, and Oh Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree). The German Club had five practices and students had to attend at least two of those practices to carol tonight, according to Ms. Christina Forster.

The German Club is planning to have senior Dan Liber play the acoustic guitar to provide some nice background music for

Haley Hofbauer PRACTICING THEIR CAROLS are juniors Stephanie Yarnell and Baily Managhan, sophomore Margot Jacobs, freshman Hannah Quin, and Spanish Club advisor Mrs. Chris Monday. The Spanish Club has been holding practices to prepare for caroling for the past two weeks. the singers.

“I’m really excited to play my guitar,” said Liber, “I think it’ll add a very nice touch to the already amazing carols.”

The German Club has been caroling at the zoo for the past two years.

Along with the German and Spanish Clubs, the French Club has also been preparing to celebrate the holidays with a few Christmas tunes. The French Club plans to carol at the Kingston Retirement Home today at 3:30pm. The French club held five practices after school so the club members could know the music well, according Ms. Kim Gogel. In order to perform the carols with the club, students had to attend at least

two practices and the mandatory meeting, which was on December 12, according to Ms. Gogel.

La Petit Renne Au Nez Rouge (Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer), Sainte Nuit (Silent Night), Mon Beu Sapin (O Christmas Tree) are a few of the carols the French club will be performing. To add a new flare, sophomore Elliot Greive will be playing the guitar as background music for the carolers. The French Club has been going caroling for the past three years.

“I like that the French Club is getting out in the community to share French Christmas carols,” said Ms. Gogel, “The Kingston Residents always love it.”

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News

December 16, 2008 world news

Walmart worker killed by shoppers Walmart employee Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death by eager shoppers on November 28 in Long Island, New York. A crowd of almost 2,000 shoppers waited at the Walmart doors at 5 am and nearly took off the hinges of the doors according to police officers reviewing the surveillance tapes. Damour worked to control the crowd and was pushed down by the impatient shoppers. He was sent to the hospital after a few shoppers found his unconscious body and was pronounced dead an hour later. Investigations are still underway in order to identify the one responsible for stepping on Damour.

$108 million in jewelry stolen Male armed robbers dressed as women stole $108 million worth of diamonds and jewelry from the Harry Winston boutique on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on December 4. Four armed robbers, two of which were dressed as women, threatened 15 employees with handguns and took all the jewelry in the store’s display case. The robbers seemed to know some of the employee’s first names raising suspicion of possible employee involvement, according to the Wall Street Journal. Investigations by the Paris police are still underway to find the cross-dressing gang.

Automakers bailout announced

SPADE season starts strong

Tipton takes fi rst place at Princeton Staff Writer Speech and Debate continued their strong year with impressive performances at the Princeton High School Tournament over the weekend of November 22.

Junior Elizabeth Schwartz and senior Paul Broer reached the semifinals out of 40 teams in the public forum debate, which is an event dealing with current topics.

Junior Courtney Tipton came in first at the tournament in Dramatic Interpretation, a speech category.

Senior Sam Gross won a $500 scholarship in a drawing through the Princeton

Tournament. “I was very surprised to win the scholarship,” said Gross. “There were so many people entered into it that my chances were pretty small of winning.”

Over the weekend of December 6, SPADE traveled to Youngstown, Ohio to compete in the Boardman High School

speech competition.

“We have a really strong team this year. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season” said Tipton.

Many new participants competed in the tournament such as sophomore Victor Barricklow, junior Haley Armstrong, and senior Adam Cesarz.

“It was fun to finally compete in a tournament and I am looking to improve in the future,” said Armstrong.

Speech and Debate will have one final tournament at Perrysburg High School on December 20 before winter break.

“I think we will have a pretty good year this year,” said advisor Mr. Joe Drouillard.

“We have some very good talent with strong leadership from our seniors.”

“We have a really strong team this year. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season”

-junior Courtney Tipton tournament.

It was a tough tournament for Northview as the best schools in the state competed, but the highlight for the team was Courtney Tipton placing in the top 12 out of 60 in the

Earth Club creates ecofriendly gingerbread houses

Auto makers General Motors, Ford Motors, and Chrysler LLC, also known as the Big Three, traveled to Washington D.C. December 2 to ask Congress for a $34 billion bailout. The three CEOs arrived by private jet to beg Congress for billions of dollars worth of loans in order to save their company. GM and Chrysler LLC face collapse unless at least billions of dollars of government bank loans are allotted to them. Wall Street specialists say that the actual amount of money needed to bail these companies out of bankruptcy is estimated to be almost $200 billion.

Greek teens riot Gangs of young people smashed their way through Athens and surrounding Greek cities during the first week of December in response to the deadly shooting of a teenager by police days earlier. Rioters armed with crossbows, knives, and swords attacked shops, banks, and hotels throughout the cities. Among the riots, about 10,000 protesters from the Communist Party of Greece marched through the center of Athens to protest the teenager’s death. To date, 89 people have been arrested for attacking police and 79 more have been questioned regarding possible involvement in rioting, according to the Wallstreet Journal.

“Call in gay” day Same-sex marriage supporters urged people to “Call in gay” on December 10 in order to show how much the country relies on gays and lesbians. This day, created by a West Hollywood comedian and his boyfriend, was scheduled to correspond with International Human Rights Day. The two conjured up the idea after reading about a few angry gay rights activists who were calling for a daylong strike to protest California voters’ passage of a proposition that reversed this year’s Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage. For those who worried about being absent from the office, advocates recommended that people take part in a community service on their day off work.

590 guns given up in California The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department held its annual “Gift for Guns” event on December 7, where a record number of gun owners gave up their weapons in return for gift cards to buy food and other goods in time for the holidays. Residents anonymously released their guns to receive $100 worth of gift cards that were valid at stores such as Target and Best Buy. People were awarded double for turning in assault rifles. This annual drive, which began in 2005 after a spike in violence, brought in 590 guns and two grenades in the last few days of November, when the program began its operation for this season. ~Sarah Squillante and Katherine Chang

Elizabeth Strick SENIORS MARK HALTER AND KYLE BABCOCK work on their gingerbread houses. Halter was mixing the powdered sugar paste used to glue the candy to his gingerbread house while Babcock was attaching candy to his house.

Co-Editor in Chief What do you get when you combine used milk cartons, graham crackers, candy and a group of earth-friendly students?

Earth Club’s holiday celebration.

Earth Club celebrated the holiday season with a gingerbread house making contest on December 11. The prize, however, did not go to the best house but to the house that resembled an eco-friendly home the most, according to Earth Club Events Coordinator Kelly Strick.

Earth Club members viewed a presentation about eco-friendly homes to get inspiration made by Strick.

The presentation included pictures of a house with solar panels, insulation, Energy Star products, Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design homes and wind turbines. Having these eco-friendly additions to your home will save on energy bills and reduce carbon emissons thus reducing your carbon footprint. The presentation also explained that smaller houses use less energy than large houses.

The members were then set loose with the used milk cartons from Northview’s Preschool, graham crackers, frosting, and various types of candy including M&Ms, mini Hershey bars and pretzels.

Some of the eco-friendly gingerbread houses included wind turbines, solar panels and other eco-friendly additions.

«It was interesting to see how creative people were in making eco-friendly additions to their houses using candy. My favorites were the wind turbines made out of pretzel sticks and Mark Halter’s candy cane roof,» said Strick.

The judge, Earth Club Recycling Coordinator senior Jordan Fleitz, closely

examined each house and a winner was declared. The winner was senior Ella Chiantis.

Her gingerbread house was picked because it exhibited the most eco-friendly and creative aspects of gingerbread house making, according to Strick. Chiantis won a plate of brownies and candy made by Strick’s mother.

Earth Club members made their houses to be donated to Lott Industries. Senior Sam Weisman delivered the gingerbread houses tonight to spread holiday cheer.

«It made me feel good knowing that my gingerbread house would make someone happy. They were fun to make and celebrate the holidays with my friends and fellow Earth Club members,» said junior Katie Roemer.

Earth Club’s next meeting will be held in January. They hope to have a speaker form the Sierra Club or another local environmentally friendly organization.

Mrs. Sanford becomes eSIS coordinator for school district Staff Writer Northview’s Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Ms. Julie Sanford, will be the new eSIS Coordinator for the District of Sylvania for the remainder of the year.

Since getting a new student database the school system has decided to appoint someone to deal specifically with eSis problems.

Mrs. Sanford will be the official troubleshooter to oversee the eSIS system

and make sure that it is always accurate.

She will be in charge of training and making sure each student’s grades and grade point average (GPA) are entered into the system correctly, according to Principal Stewart Jesse.

Sylvania is one of the largest school districts to switch over to eSIS at this time, according to High Schools That Work.

She has to make sure students’ transcripts are accurate and that there are no problems interfering with students’ grades, according Mr. Jesse.

Her office will be located at the Port Service Facility near Southview and the bus

garage on Cougar Lane.

Mr. Jesse chose an Interim Assistant Principal of Curriculum to finish the year for Mrs. Sanford. Sue Pedro, a retired educator, filled the position.

Mrs. Pedro retired from Washington Local schools last year where she was the Curriculum Director.

Her other educational experiences include being an elementary school principal for Washington Local and she taught kindergarten for 25 years in Oregon.

“Coming here and spending time with kids in high school is a new experience but it’s a lot fun,” she said.

NEWS

3

December 16, 2008

Med Tech Art students attend career sells candy day at Toledo Museum of Art canes at NV, SV Staff Writer Throughout this holiday season, many students are in the predicament of what to get their friends for holiday gifts.

There was one simple solution that many students in the school utilized. Med Tech II classes sold reindeer candy canes to students and teachers for $1.

Students made candy canes into friendly reindeer attached to a holiday card that students and teachers could send to any friend, from either Northview or Southview.

“I think the reindeer are a really good idea,” said sophomore Katelynn McCoy, “I definitely bought a few for my friends.”

Med Tech students sat on the stage in the cafeteria to sell candy canes for one week. Buyers needed to know the person they were sending to and that person’s first and second period classes. Candy canes and cards are going to be delivered to the recipient this Friday, before winter break begins.

The candy cane reindeer are a fundraiser for the senior Med Tech classes. They are raising money for Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) competitions, as well as for different service projects that they wish to do in the community.

Drama chooses Spring play The wait is over for the Northview Drama department because the 2009 spring play has been announced as The Diary of Anne Frank.

The NV Drama department plans to use the newly adapted edition by Wendy Kesselman from the old play that was originally written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

The play is about a 13-year old Jewish girl, Anne, who is forced into hiding with her family by the Nazis during World War II. They hide in an attic with the Van Daan family, who has a son around Anne’s age, named Peter. Though he and Anne have struggles at first, they learn to become good friends. The story has to do with the two families interactions and what they struggle with in order to stay hidden from the Nazis.

“I chose it because it came down to me wanting to alternate having a comedy one year, then a drama the next.

That way the actors get to experience a wide range of plays when they graduate from NV,” said Drama Director Mr. Don Wachoviak, “Also, Beauty and the Beast was popular within the community so I wanted to pick a play that was well known to follow it up.”

The Diary of Anne Frank has a wellbalanced cast between male and female roles. The main characters are Anne, her sister, her mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and their son Peter, according to Mr. Wachoviak.

“I’m looking forward to the spring play. I think a lot of new people will try out because of what a huge success the musical was,” said junior Paige Luther, “I’m not sure what part I want to audition for yet, but I hope to be apart of it.”

Tryouts are planned to be on January 26 and 27 and will be held in the NV Little Theatre. The performance will take place at the end of April and tickets will be sold the week before.

- Nicole Mangas

Elizabeth Strick LOOKING AT AN OLD CHEST that at one time belonged to Napoleon are juniors Marisa Mercurio, Allison Kalos, Cassandra Rousos and art teacher Ryan Creech. The chest contained secret keyholes and hidden drawers to protect the contents it held.

Staff Writer Many career opportunities were discovered by the Northview art department at the Toledo Museum of Art. Accompanied by art teachers Mr. Ryan Creech and Mrs. Terri Seal-Roth, 23 NV students and 15 Southview students went to the museum for a career day on December 2.

At first, the department was only going to take a few interested students and go on a specific day set up by the museum where there would be many other schools attending.

Eager students quickly snatched up the few spots available and left many wishing they had turned in their permission slips sooner. Luckily, Mr. Creech and Mrs. SealRoth were able to contact the museum and set up a separate day just for NV and SV students to go. This allowed many interested students the opportunity to explore the multiple career opportunities the museum has to offer.

“Most people are less supportive of the arts because they don’t think that artists can make a sufficient amount money. The Art Museum fieldtrip shows students that there is an alternative to ‘starving artist’,” said Mr. Creech.

Of the many careers that the art students learned about one is art conservationist. The conservationists are in charge of taking care of the many priceless pieces in the museum and making sure they’re in top shape. To learn about conservation, students watched an informational video and then were allowed to handle damaged art including a page from the bible which dated back to the 1500’s, according to junior Kelly Strick.

“It was really interesting to see the numerous amounts of careers available and the different backgrounds of those who have these careers,” said Strick.

Then, students went on a behind the scenes tour of the museum. They were able to tour the delivery room and some students got to ride on a large freight elevator, according to Strick. Many people don’t ever get the opportunity to go behind the scenes

at the art museum, so the art students are very lucky.

“Going in the back doors was really cool because no one else really gets the opportunity to do that. We don’t realize that our museum is one of the top 10 in the country and that’s rare,” said Mr. Creech.

Next, students learned about the exhibition designing career. They even got the privilege of talking to the curator of modern art at the museum. Students learned how to set up art exhibits and then were able to set up their own, according to Strick.

They were given a mini gallery with little pieces to display and students had to design the exhibition themselves.

Other careers that the students learned about were curators, installers, conservation specialists and children’s art service directors according to Mr. Creech and Mrs. Seal-Roth.

“A main point that we wanted to prove to students was that there is an art career our there for everyone. Even if you aren’t good at art but you love it, there is a job for you,” said Mr. Creech.

Students write, audition for drama’s Winter One Acts “I really like to explore human nature and Smoke is a commentary on the longing Features Editor for success and fame,” said Cohen. “It looks at what you have to compromise in life.”

Northview’s Little Theatre will soon be Some One Acts will be taken to the in use once again.

Northwest Area Thespian Conference at With seven shows, NV’s Winter One Start High school on January 17.

Act Festival cast has been determined Theistic Therapy, a One Act and rehearsals have finally begun. written and directed by sophomore The One Acts are all 10 to 20 Yianni Papadimos, will be taken to minute one act plays, written, directed conference due to its high quality and performed solely by high school script, according to Mr. Wachowiak. students. Drama Club sponsors the “My play is about group therapy two-day festival. for the Greek Gods,” said Papadimos.

“It was created to give more “The idea just came to me.” students the opportunity to work Students can elect to either onstage and behind the scenes,” said direct or write their own production advisor Mr. Don Wachowiak. “We’ve - Advisor Mr. Don Wachowiak and then they select actors after the also created an outlet for student play audition process. writers and directors.”

“I hope the students learn and There are even shows dealing with old men The One Act Festival will be performed attempting to escape from their confinement appreciate all it takes to create a show,” said on February 6 through the 7, with just $5 in a nursing home and high school students Mr. Wachowiak. “They get to feel what it’s general admission. working to put on Romeo and Juliet. As long like to be completely in charge.”

Auditions were held on December 8 and as Mr. Wachowiak approves the script, the The One Act Festival will be put on 9 between 3 and 6p.m.

February 6 and 7 at NV’s Little Theatre. writers can create a play about any topic.

“I had people auditioning read a cutting from my One Act, Smoke,” said sophomore Estar Cohen. “This is my first time directing and I was looking for two strong leads.”

This year, the One Acts range from crime dramas and humorous soap opera pieces to therapy sessions with the Greek Gods.

“It was created to give more students the opportunity to work onstage and behind the scenes.

We’ve also created an outlet for student play writers and directors.”

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4

December 16, 2008

OPINIONS

Are there higher expectations for teens?

Sports, clubs, volunteering, afterr school jobs, maintaining hese are all what colleges excellent grades, and homework. These nd as most students will expect students to be involved in and tell you, at times it is hard to keep up.

The pressure of college is felt ass soon as students step peatedly told into high school. Students are repeatedly y should that grades should be kept up; they vities become involved in as many activities as possible; and after school jobs are encouraged to start earning money for college.

When many freshmen came to Northview in late August, they felt the hem. “I pressure of college reigning over them. feel like I need to get really good grades cular now and do a lot of extracurricular ege,” activities to get into a good college,” said freshman Moe Dean. ul.

Senior year is especially stressful. me College applications are time consuming and tedious. Filling out JB Bowens, form after form with the various Varsity Basketball activities from high school and thinking of what to write for each essay is repetitive and stressful.

In addition to doing the collegee applications, h there is schoolwork, clubs, or sports practice every night.

Maintaining grades and participating in many activities all of the way through senior year can be very hard at times,

but one has to keep it up to t show colleges that they are a good applicant for college.

“Colleges put a lot of pressure p on so many aspects cts of high school life llike volunteering, athletics,, and academics that iit is hard to balance all of these things,” said senior sen Ali Sayre. “Writing essays ssays and filling out all a of the college applications ons is stressful. Colleg Colleges expect so much out of each applicant that it is really hard trying to o get scholarship money. Students spend more time particip participating in activities they think colleges wan want to see instead of doing things hings they actually are interested in.”

Students become involved in Studen many activities to help obtain man tain scholarships. Unfortunately sc y it is becoming harder to be a unique b nique candidate for a scholarship because many fo o t h e r candidates are just as involved ca olved and have gre great grades.

The ACT and SAT are u useless. They count for nothing thing in the future. The tests may be a good way to compare how but they do not measure how people standardized test, b high school. much one has learned in hig Colleges use the ACT or SAT as a way to compare other candidates. As years pass, the standard of what a college ollege expects from the to receive on the ACT or SAT f h student d continues to increase. The added pressure to do well on the ACT or SAT can be stressful, especially when scholarship

money and acceptance into colleges may depend on how one does on the test.

Next year in college, no one is going to judge student students based on how they did on the AC ACT or SAT. The test will not accurately tell tel someone what classes they should be pla placed in. One may do well on standardize tests, but receive poor grades, or test poorly but receive excellent grades. excellen High school students of today Hig have to deal with far too much pressure.

The expectations and pressur standards of colleges are becoming standa high. Students may not be able too hig to handle the pressure of going han to college colleg if standards continue to like they are. increase lik Colleges should take on a realistic Colleg view of w what students can take on during high hig school and yet maintain sanity. To rreverse the problem that the colleges ha have set upon high school students, colleges should consider taking away the ACT or SAT, lessening expectations of the students, and expectatio Kelly King, realize that students cannot do Speech and Debate everything. ~Katie Koffman

Do teachers give unnecessary homework?

It had almost grown to be too much.

Three hours had already passed and I still was not finished with my math homework. It was not that the work was too difficult; it was just that there was an excess of problems, 70 to be exact.

Yet, I was puzzled; not being in an honors class I wondered why I had so much work; I was not behind with my class work either. There were about 20 problems of the exact same format, the concept had been concreted in my brain about 16 problems ago and this pattern continually repeated all the way towards number 70.

This personal experience truly caused me to wonder: What workload is considered too much regarding homework? Moreover, when does work transition from meaningful and important, to excessive and in the same category as “busy work”?

At Northview, many students are plagued with a grave problem: Students want to finish all their homework and do it correctly; however, the workload of a class schedule of moderate difficulty is too much to finish in the form many desire.

“It’s so hard nowadays to finish all the homework with everyone putting pressure on students to be in so many activities and clubs,” said an anonymous junior. “We get so many problems or assignments to work on that finishing is not possible and teachers are thus very hypocritical.”

Math problems never seem to end,

science definitions are lengthy and lack remembered. Copying definitions is “busy and the San Francisco Chronicle. “Learning meaning and reading selections take endless work” and I have spent countless hours becomes a mind-numbing grind rather than hours to finish. scribbling down meaning-less definitions, an engaging adventure.”

It seems to be a consensus that work with not much to show for it.

If I am not mistaken, the main reason for is given in extreme excess around NV Homework needs to be cut down. The school itself is to teach young people and to and when completed, very few points are cycle of overworking students is vicious. get them ready for a successful life. rewarded to the student for putting forth For one, students do not retain the But with all these above detrimental such a vast effort to learn. More often than information they are given to learn if such effects in mind, it seems that teachers often not, the material is never reviewed in class. mass amounts of homework come their move their focus. A shift from wanting their Studies show that when homework is way. This is a proven fact. students to learn as much as possible and given, it is only effective if it is extremely “…It appears than more than two hours stay healthy, to simply cramming in as much significant of high school homework as possible seems to occur. a n d homework….

Do not misunderstand; homework important to have no is vital to learning. In no way at all am I a student’s a c a d e m i c saying that it should be abolished. Without learning. benefit and homework, education would suffer.

Homework may produce Plus, not all teachers assign unimportant must have n e g a t i v e or excessive work. I have teachers who give specific r e s u l t s , ” the right amount of homework every night - Duke University professor meaning and a c c o r d i n g and I honestly do better in these classes.

Harris Cooper importance to Duke These teachers and classes are the kind NV to a concept if the teacher wishes the University professor Harris Cooper who needs because they truly exemplify the ideal information to stick, according to studies conducted a study on homework levels. of what an education is. This is apparent conducted by various universities like the “The research base showed no correlation when students actually want to go to these University of Maryland. between academic achievement and classes. They want to learn and understand “The work-load just needs to be more homework.” and do their best, because they can see reasonable,” said the anonymous student.

Second, in the attempt to finish all work through the piles of work to their potential.

“I often have to do homework that teachers and stay involved in extracurriculars, which This is what learning is. say we will never be tested on. Cut this stuff students are told to do if they want to get Unfortunately, the classes that do overout because, honestly, what’s the point?” into college, we all simply get worn out. work students unnecessarily ruin all other After talking to various students, Stress levels grow higher and higher, teachers attempts to simply teach. I find it copying down definitions for endless hours sleep quickly falls on the priority list, this extremely devastating that most NV teachers appears to be a form of homework that is unhealthy. And again, if one is sleep instruct their students with a perfect balance wastes time. This form of learning is rarely deprived how can they participate in school of work and activities, but their admirable activities, extracurriculars and how can they efforts are ruined by some who have less learn? Studies have shown that students than commendable ideas about work. learn in their sleep; during this time the Thus, extreme amounts of unnecessary brain reviews the events of the day. homework need to be abolished. We must “Vigorous scrutiny of the research… commend teachers who do teach the right fails to demonstrate tangible benefits of way, because we are lucky to have them. homework...What it does instead…is rob They understand that homework is about children of childhood, play havoc with quality not quantity and never confuse family life and asphyxiate their natural high expectations with sheer amount of curiosity,” according to recent research homework. Cut the unnecessary; personalize informed her that her unborn child would completed by educators and researchers lessons and reward students for hard work. luckily be okay, according to the New York Sylvania Northview High School Times Magazine.

5403 Silica Drive The holidays are suppose to be about Sylvania, Ohio 43560 coming together as a family and enjoying 2008-2009 your time with one another.

People have become so obsessed over Co-Editors-In-Chief: what they own. Sadly, some people don’t Max Filby & Elizabeth Strick care how rude and vulgar they are to others Advisor: Sarah Huey as long as they get the new toy or gadget News Editor: Haley Hofbauer Photo Editor: Sam Weisman they want.

Features Editors: Haley Nelson & Yelena Zhernovskiy We have seen it in holiday movies: Sports Editors: Alexx Klein & Joe Mehling Opinions Editor: Sarah Squillante parents embarrassing themselves while Business Editor: Jackie Walz fighting over a toy in the local Toys R-US Staff Writers: Katherine Chang, Taylor Dreps, Sarah Fatemi, Mary Grace Fitzgerald, with another couple. Sure it’s funny in Nicole Hobbs, Adam Jurski, Katie Koffman, Kristi Kopaniasz, Nicole Mangas, movies, but it’s hard to believe that people Kelsey McCoy, Andrew Miller, Yianni Papadimos, Cody Ramm, actually become that crazy during the Abbey Strick, Jordan Tomase, Brian Wadsworth, Nick Wineland, Ally Yocom holidays.

Photographer: Halie Langhals I’m sure your child won’t care if they The Student Prints is the official student-produced newspaper of Sylvania Northview don’t unwrap the latest Hannah Montana High School. It is distributed monthly at no charge to serve the purpose of informing movie or Jonas Brothers CD. They should students, faculty, staff, administration and the Sylvania community of current issues. be thankful for what they receive and The main goal of The Prints is to present coverage of events in an unbiased and accurate appreciate what they already have. The manner. The paper also respects the opinions and ideas of the entire NV community. Signed holidays are supposed to be cheery and letters to the editors are encouraged and should be no longer than 300 words. All letters can delightful. be turned into the publications room, E-6. The Prints reserves the right to edit letters that The season should be spent counting contain grammatical errors, accuracy and profane or libelous comments. our blessings and helping the less fortunate.

The newspaper staff is entirely responsible for the content of the paper and supports Before the holidays, donate toys to children the First Amendment to the Constitution. Unsigned editorials published in The Prints are that are less fortunate, that way they have written by staff members, and agreed upon by a majority vote of the editorial board. The something to look forward to during the Prints is carefully examined by its staff and adviser prior to publication to prevent incorrect holidays. Or on Christmas day you can or libelous information. serve at a local soup kitchen, even an hour The newspaper staff does not endorse advertisements published in The Prints. Advertising of your time would help make the day of specifications may be obtained by calling (419) 824-8708. others.

The newspaper follows the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook guidelines for punctuation I’m not saying presents aren’t important and grammar. The Prints is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, the because they do make the holidays festive; Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll and the Great Lakes Interscholastic just try to remember what’s important this Press Association. season other than the gifts. ~ Jordan Tomase

“…It appears that more than two hours of high school homework… have no academic benefit and may produce negative results,”

True meaning of the season It’s 5a.m. as you slowly crawl out of bed and turn off your alarm. You go out to your car in the crisp morning air still in your pajamas. The roads are calm and quiet as you slowly sip your coffee while trying to stay somewhat focused on the road.

You circle the parking lot trying to find a close spot to park. As you approach the mall entrance, little by little you prepare yourself for what you’re about to embark on: Black Friday.

Black Friday is basically a national holiday for shopping fanatics all over.

Nothing against the shopping holiday, I was also one of the many insane people that went out looking to find great bargains, but not at five in the morning.

When Black Friday rolls around it usually sets off the financial tone for the upcoming holidays. But is getting gifts the most important thing about the holidays?

I mean sure, getting deals on presents are great and I love receiving gifts as much as the next person, but is that what we should really remember the holidays as?

On Black Friday, a Long Island Wal-Mart worker was trampled down by hundreds of bargain shoppers. An on looker of the accident said that the doors were broken off the hinges. Is it really that important that you get your 10% discount? Whatever happened to common courtesy?

It shocks me that people could be so selfish over material items that they could physically harm someone.

In the same Wal-Mart, another lady who was pregnant was knocked over. After paramedics had examined her they had

OPINIONS Column

A Perspective On Politics

By Max Filby

Making gingerbread cookies, decking the halls and decorating the Christmas tree. These are all Christian traditions that can be found in several Sylvania households and others across the country.

But what about those who practice Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, or another less recognized religion? It seems in today’s world people of one of these religions are out of luck when it comes to recognition.

Every year in Washington D.C., the president lights a National Christmas Tree. Although this Christian symbol is meant to bring people together during the cold winter months, it has done the exact opposite.

The National Christmas tree belittles other religions by giving them virtually no national recognition. In a country where there is an established separation between church and state, it is wrong for the government to endorse any religion in particular, including Christianity.

The government’s endorsement of Christianity by way of a National Christmas Tree has created a snowball effect in smaller more local areas of government.

As several public school calendars do, Sylvania’s school doors close every year for Christmas, but never for a Jewish holiday, in spite of the fact that a large portion of the Sylvania Community is Jewish.

“It would be nice if I didn’t have a ton of homework to make up after being gone for a Jewish holiday,” said senior Sara Federman.

No matter what anyone tries to call the two cold weeks we have off every school year, it will forever be a Christmas Break because of the time period it focuses on.

The government’s endorsement of Christmas causes non-Christians to feel left out during the holiday season, making the National Christmas Tree a moral issue. When the government endorses a religious holiday, it oppresses those who might not be of that particular religion.

The government’s endorsement of Christmas has funneled down into public facilities and services all over. The day after Halloween Christmas decorations go up and the good holiday feelings of nonChristians goes down.

“I definitely feel left out around Christmas every year,” said senior Amit Goyal, “all my friends are preoccupied with buying presents and you can’t go anywhere without seeing annoying decorations.”

Also, when was the last time anyone turned on the radio and heard, “dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay, and when you’re dry and ready, a dreidel I will play.”

Christmas music is on the radio nonstop on station 101.5 starting the day after Halloween. It wouldn’t kill the radio stations to support other religions and play songs pertaining to another religion’s holiday.

Therefore, the religious endorsement and oppression must be stopped as soon as possible with the elimination of the national Christmas tree or the implication of several other national holiday symbols.

December 16, 2008

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Holiday decorations Good spread season cheer, students not controversy deserve Christmas, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah; the month of December is filled to the brim with different holidays. Families come together, parties are thrown, huge amounts of food are devoured, and that embarrassing relative inevitably corners you and tells you to pull their finger.

Winter holidays are always the most widely anticipated and celebrated, so why are decorations banned in so many public places? Personally, I don’t understand it. People should be able to express their beliefs and no one should have the right to rain on their parade.

Putting up Christmas decorations is in no way insulting people who celebrate something different, and vice versa. Just because someone puts a menorah in their office doesn’t mean someone else can’t put up a Christmas tree in theirs. Unless someone posts a huge sign with flashing lights and a giant arrow pointing to it that says “HANNUKAH DECORATIONS ONLY!” or something similar, I don’t think the possibility of one type of decorations should even be considered.

People need to stop being so touchy and realize that the world is full of different tra-

ditions and everyone should be encouraged to show some holiday spirit. I’m 99.9% positive that if you actually asked someone, they wouldn’t even care if someone goes a little holiday-happy with the decorations.

“I’m all for people decorating for their own holiday,” sophomore Alex Carter, “I mean, who really cares what holiday people celebrate?” This season is all about coming together and being happy.

What’s important is not what holiday they celebrate, but the fact that they are celebrating. Everyone should embrace this time of year and celebrate it how they want to.

I mean, really, who doesn’t love the holidays? I’m pretty sure everyone has that neighbor that goes crazy with the decorations every year. You know, the light up reindeer, the nativity scenes, Santa’s back end hanging out of the chimney, and the ridiculous inflatables that are so cheesy it hurts to look at them.

So go ahead, light that menorah, throw on that Santa hat and enjoy this holiday season, because as they say, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. ~Ally Yocom

People should be able to express their beliefs and no one should have the right to rain on their parade.

Exams before break, better for everyone Christmas-tree decorating, sledding, gift-exchanges, holiday parties, last-minute shopping, eggnog sipping…exam studying?

The beloved staples of winter break have an added companion, thanks to exams being scheduled in the first few weeks when we return in January.

From an aesthetic standpoint, most students would agree that the looming thoughts of exams can put a damper on the holiday season. But a pre-break exam schedule would probably have even greater benefits than just pleasing students, in the form of increased test scores and overall student morale.

Because of the way the tests have been scheduled, many students just decide to postpone their studying until after school restarts. I hate to admit it, but I have succumbed to this detrimental practice.

Given the choice of relaxing or reviewing, students are sure to choose the former.

If we had exams before we left for break, student would be more likely to review because they are still in school and are in the midst of working hard. I can speak from experience when I say that exams turn out much better when one has studied than if they just rely on their knowledge of the

material throughout the semester. It would also eliminate the possibility of forgetting material during those frigid, but fantastic weeks that are winter break.

“Having exams before break would be a good idea because students wouldn’t have to stress out about exams during break,” said senior Dima Mazloum, “and they could then enjoy themselves more.”

For those students who have worked hard all semester, winter break provides a couple weeks when they can relax and rejuvenate themselves for the second semester while celebrating the holidays.

Students deserve this time off and should not be consumed with stressful thoughts of studying for anything, let alone something as important as semester exams. Completing these tests in the last days before break would leave students feeling accomplished and deserving of such a break.

Our return from break marks the start of a new year. It seems more fitting that we finish first semester and its exams at the commencement of the year; students could then refresh themselves and return after break with a positive outlook and a few new year’s resolutions. ~Sarah Squillante

privileges Imagine a high school where students are treated as adults and given more privileges. High school can be really stressful at times and some teens find ways to relax and still get their work done. Being in high school, students are on the verge of becoming adults, so they should get privileges to prove themselves to the administration.

There are a few privileges that NV students should have to make school much more productive and less chaotic: Students should be able to use their cell phones in-between class periods and lunches. This would reduce the number of students texting in the middle of class and causing a disruption. Students do have the privilege of using the office phone in case of an emergency, but would be much more convenient to have the privilege of using their own phones.

Students should also have the privilege of listening to their iPods during commons. Commons is a privilege that students get when they have a certain grade point average. Students who prove that they are capable of reaching a high academic level should be able to listen to their iPod. Some find that it is easier to concentrate while listening to music and they tend to work harder. It would also be a way for some students to block out the loud, annoying conversations around them. If students don’t follow the guidelines for using iPods, such as sharing or turning the volume up too loud so that others can hear their music, the privilege would be taken away from each individual.

The “no water bottle policy” is ridiculous and students should be able to have a water bottle in class.

The winter months are especially bad when it comes to students getting sick and germs being spread around.

If water bottles were allowed in class, there would be fewer disruptions from kids getting up and having to be excused in the middle of class to get a drink of water. If students act immature and they prove that they cannot handle the privilege of having a water bottle, then they would lose it.

Students should also get the choice of going out to the track during lunch periods when the weather is warm.

This would prevent less chaos in the cafeteria and give more time for students to exercise, preventing the rising issue of obesity. There would be a teacher assigned to administer the students that choose to walk the track.

Privileges are something students look forward to. It would be students making promises to the administration, showing that they can be mature and responsible young adults.

If they don’t follow the rules and they break the promise, then they would lose their privileges. ~Taylor Dreps

Academics deserve more recognition Student athletes that are gifted and work hard enough to achieve their goal of competing at a higher level (presumably college) get plenty of recognition from newspapers and schools for their accomplishment, but how much do we hear about academic scholarships? Not enough.

It seems like such a big deal when someone form your school goes to college on a full ride scholarship for sports, but the academic scholarships were just as difficult to attain and will get students much further in life.

If your whole college experience is based on the sport one plays, there is a lot that he will be missing out on. There’s a chance that one’s studies will be the second priority to his sport, which is a bad decision because if one fails out of school, then he obviously won’t be able to play for that team anymore.

Also, if something unfortunate were to happen, like an injury, the rest of one’s life would be thrown off course. If someone had planned to go on with the sport, and had

blown off their academics, then he might be stuck living in his mom’s basement bussing tables at Taco Bell for the rest of his life.

“It sickens me when unnamed athletes get a full ride scholarship, and it gets plastered all over the local newspapers, when so many other students strive to get a perfect score on their SAT’s or an above average GPA. Not even 20% of those students get a full ride, and in the rare case that they do, they receive little to no recognition at all” says an anonymous, concerned student.

Student athletes should continue to work hard on both their academics and their sports for future careers in both fields. And every student should work hard to keep up their GPAs so that they can get into a good college and go somewhere in life.

These are the high school student that should be recognized in the newspapers and by the schools. Anyone that works hard enough to receive a full scholarship should be given their moments in the spot light. ~Mary Grace Fitzgerald

Sam Weisman STRESSING ABOUT THE COST OF COLLEGE is sophomore Mary Grace Fitzgerald. Academics are generally not thought of as important as sports when it comes to college scholarships.

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December 16, 2008

OPINIONS

Twilight: Bad writing or Passionate love story?

A suffocating wind has been blown from the mouths of the fiction gods. A despicable atmosphere has wrapped its slime-ridden fingers around the throats of the Northview student body.

Twilight. At first it was a beautiful time ime in which the sun sinks barely below the horizon; a time between a wonderful day and a glorious night. Now, thanks to Stephanie Meyer, her putrid novel, and thee horrible film that has sprung from its loins, the word twilight wilight represents something much darker. And stupid..

The novel itself is the same as any other mystical, harlequin pile of vampire dung. Isabella “Bella” Swan (quite frankly the stupidest name I have ever heard) moves to Forks, Washingngton to live with her father. At her new school ool Bella falls in love with—guess what—a vampire. ampire.

The infamous Edward Cullen. I’m sure every ery girl who just read that sentence thought to themselves, ves, “Gee. That Edward Cullen! He’s so brave and dreamy! y! He has got to struggle through life as a vampire and at the he same time try to cope with his undying love for a mortal.” l.” Boo—stupid— vampire—Hoo! Edward Cullen only infatuated more re girls when he flapped his little bat wings to the screen in n Twilight: The Movie. He was not the one who forced girls rls to slip on their own saliva puddles. Newsflash, ladies, you’re u’re not in love with Edward Cullen, you’re in love with Robert Pattinson, a 22 year old British screen actor. He also played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter films, based on the novels…real novels.

J.K. Rowling started Harry Potter and nd the Sorcerer’s Stone on a napkin in a café living on close to no money. By the sound of it, Stephanie Meyer wrote Twilight ht in her mother’s basement. The only thing that I can imagine the sonic ne being worse than boom that is the Twilight series, is the disturbing leaves in its urbing resonance it wake. The sickening scent of used Kleenex and too much estrogen has flooded NV’s halls.

Not a day passes without one wearing their NV Twilight t-shirt while preparing for their twilightical debates that will ensue at the club’s meeting.

The air has become stagnant with the overwhelming stench of bad writing and stupid plot. The story is undeniably a feminine Harry Potter with fangs and wings. Like a deformed protozoa, the series continues to multiply revealing more weeds in the garden of condemned writing. New Moon, Eclipse, and the final novel, Breaking Dawn each highlight more and more of Bella Swan’s simply laborious life and the hardships she and Edward face. Allow me to end on a positive note. Thank the paperback gods: its over. ~Yianni Papadimos

Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen. This irresistible vampire has stolen the hearts of many Northview students and staff members. Twilight has set a passionate, thril thrilling, and suspenseful tone throughout the halls at NV. From the new-found Twilight Clu Club ub to the constant gossip about how ho everyone is irrationally in love with Edward Cullen, Cullen n, author Stephanie Meyer has made ma an impact on teenagers.

The novel allows you to leave the regular annoyances of the real world and enter a fantasy land with your brand new immortal boyfriend. Most people b who sstart reading the book, get through the first ten pages and then can’t put the book down. “All p of m my friends were talking about how they were seriously in love with some guy named Edward, seri so I decided to read the book. After just the first chapter my cell phone was off and I finished the cha book boo that same day,” said senior Colleen Dean.

Although the main attraction to the novel is that the Cullen family is gorgeous, a bonus is that it’s really easy to relate to the main character, Isabella Swan. “Bella” goes through a traumatic life experience experienc by having to move to a new place, make new friends, and get used to living with her distant frien father. Anybody who says that these problems aren’t An hard is obviously not very sympathetic. (Yianni) obv As Bella eases into a new school, she notices a very beautiful man who is glaring at her (she’s so bea lucky) and a starts to get freaked out. Then, the hot vamp disappears from school and she can’t seem to get g him out of her mind. After being absent from fro school for a week, the amazing Edward Cullen returns and is now interested in Bella.

Cu Okay, Ok so this guy changes his feelings toward a girl repeatedly, iar? Of course it does, this situation happens in almost repeated sound familevery relationship, so it’s bound to get the attention of teenage girls going through similar relatio situations.

As the novel unfolds, Bella learns that Edward is a vampire, but loves him even though she is in great danger. I mean, the guy could kill her at any moment but she keeps going back to him. That suspense alone should be enough to lure anyone into the book.

To let all of the crazy fans know, Edward Cullen is not single. We’re getting married in February. He popped the question after I admitted this…

“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” - Sam Weisman

Christmas music 20 things that crumble our cookies way too early this year 1. Boys in skinny jeans.

2. People who show no care for their appearance.

3. Horizontal ‘Bill Cosby’ striped sweaters.

4. Toilet paper rolls ACROSS from the toilet.

5. People who sing all the time in an off key fashion.

6. Drivers with the IQ of a woodchuck.

7. Spider monkeys. We just think they’re ugly.

8. The Periodic Table of Elements.

9. Scratched iPods.

10. Mean customer service reps from overseas that don’t speak English.

11. Paper cuts.

12. Girls who wear jerseys over tights.

13. Windows between rooms. Honestly? Do you need to look from your kitchen to your living room?

14. Bad food at an expensive restaurant.

15. Anonymous gas. Just admit it.

16. When couples walk side by side in the hallway.

17. Alexx Klein.

18. When people pop zits in public.

19. When you turn on the faucet to wash your hands and the water is REALLY hot.

20. When a team playing a sport, let’s say basketball, is losing by 70 points and the student section decides to chant “Lets Play Football.” That just changes the subject.

- Joe Mehling & Yianni Papadimos

It’s early November and I’m pressing the scanner on my radio. The station switches over to 101.5 The River and what do I hear? Christmas Carols! It’s not even December yet, and Christmas on the radio has begun.

November is way too early to start singing about the birth of Jesus or “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon, but if it’s not at least past Thanksgiving then even the first two words in the title of the song are not appropriate. Hearing Christmas carols before December can make a person get sick of the holidays before they even begin.

Radio stations need to learn that when the weather gets freezing, or even snowing, and the time for winter songs is coming that also means paying attention to your calendar too, 101.5!

Playing jolly songs about Santa Claus or even “Feliz Navidad” is almost screaming to me that they have honestly nothing better to play. The entire music community has to scramble to find a good rock station. And what you want to listen to depends on your mood as well. Face it, when you’re angry in your car and driving fast, you probably don’t want a slow song like “Blue Moon” by Elvis playing.

Not to say that the music is bad. I love the holiday music and it puts me in a good mood with songs like “Hippopotamus For Christmas” or one of my personal favorites, “The Hat I Got For Christmas Is Too Beeg.” Songs like those can calm you down from whatever tantrum or calamity you are recovering from and make you laugh. But when you’re in a bad mood, sometimes you’d rather drive in silence than hear the radio playing happy songs.

If you like the holiday carols that is your choice. But even if you don’t, many people agree on one thing: NO CHRISTMAS CAROLS BEFORE THANKSGIVING! - Nicole Hobbs

“Every year for Christmas we decorate the tree together as a family,”

“Every year we bake cookies as a family and exchange gifts.”

-sophomore Victoria Northrup

-junior Lindsey Yost

What are your family’s holiday traditions?

FEATURES

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December 16, 2008

Cat’s Meow spoofs Saturday Night Live Co-Editor in Chief & Staff Writer “Live from the Little Theater,” yelled seniors Sam Pierson, Alison Judge, Martha Fitzgerald and Dean Wurzell, “it’s Sylvania Northview!”

The one and only NV senior talent and skit show finally found an advisor, Ms. Katherine Mattimoe, in early November.

“I’m pretty proud of it,” said Ms. Mattimoe, “it is what it is.”

Auditions were held shortly after an advisor was found. Luckily all seniors that tried out made the cut, according to senior Co-Director Amit Goyal.

Rehearsals then started when cast and crew members began forming their skits and preparing their talents.

Provided with a rehearsal schedule, the cast and chorus line rehearsed almost every day, in the commons and in various teachers’ rooms.

These last two weeks were straight dress rehearsal, making sure they worked out the kinks before opening night. On the first night of dress rehearsal the cast and crew stayed to run through the show twice, according to Goyal.

In final preparation for the show, tickets for both nights were sold in the cafeteria between December 8 through December 12. The theater box office also opened up at 6:30pm on the night of the show to sell tickets.

Altogether this year’s Cat’s Meow offered several different acts for the audience to enjoy.

The opening skit, comprised of several cast members and seniors Carolyn Hilbert and Dave Navarre, about two people who just couldn’t seem to have a good time at the movies. Following this were seniors Sam Weisman and Emily Moran acting out several hilarious Spartan cheerleading routines.

The first talent was an Indian dance

performed by senior Sweta Rao. The show also features senior talents such as senior Misha Muqaddam singing and playing the guitar, Allison DeWitt on the piano, David Navarre, Sarah Hammye and Noelle Romberger singing, and Max Filby singing with accompaniment from Amit Goyal on the violin and Misha Muqaddam on the guitar.

Other creative skits included; A night at the Roxbury, Survivorman, Infomercials gone Arye, If I Were Not A Wildcat, Weekend Update and Celebrity Jeopardy, all acted out by seniors Kayla Henderson, Navarre, Alison Judge, Erin Milner, Nick Ansara, Romberger, Joe Mehling, Ben Meyers, Filby, Fitzgerald, Weisman, Hammye, Hilbert, Dean Wurzell and Alison DeWitt.

Sylvania Northview Live ran approximately one hour and 45 minutes long including an intermission.

“I think the show was great, and everybody performed well,” said Goyal, “I couldn’t have been happier with how everything went.”

photos by Halie Langhals PRACTICING THEIR SKIT are seniors Sam Weisman and Emily Moran during one rehearsal. BELTING OUT A TUNE is senior Dave Navarre as part of his Cat’s Meow performance. ACTING AS CONTESTANTS OF JEOPARDY are seniors Sam Weisman, Alison DeWitt, and Nick Ansara.

School Switch: Features Editor Ever wonder what it’d be like to go to a live a different life for a day? Despite the fact that Toledo is a tiny speckle on the map, there is a lot of diversity within our community and going outside our own little world at Sylvania Northview can be a different world. I decided to take a vacation from the crazy halls of NV and travel into the jungle that is Ottawa Hills to become a St. Ursuline Arrow.

My day started nice and late because I was fortunate enough not to start school until 8:20am. While I didn’t actually wear a uniform, the all girl environment means less emphasis on finding the perfect outfit, and is a major time saver in the mornings.

Uniforms allow the girls to play up their accessories and seniors also get to wear sweatshirts and boots every Friday, a fair deal. I later learned and became slightly envious of other senior privileges such as the senior lunchroom and that seniors are also allowed to eat outside at picnic tables, weather permitting. Senior perks like these are definitely qualities that NV lacks.

As I entered the quaint St. Ursula school building that houses less than half the number of students as NV, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Much to my surprise the day started off with a morning prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Even with the presence of a chapel I did not find the school to be overly religious and I would assume that someone of a different faith would not have any problems with their religious perspective.

I shadowed senior Bridget Mallon, the Editor-in Chief of the Ursuline Arrow.

She was great to shadow because she had many of the same interests and took similar classes as me, such as Advanced Placement Psychology and Calculus.

Block scheduling was one of the major shocks of the day, can you imagine spending an hour and half in each class and only having four classes per semester? Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the block scheduling,

Two TSP staffers shadow catholic school students for a day. Find out about the similarities and differences

mainly because I enjoyed the classes, teachers, and students. It also allowed for teachers to actually get through lesson plans and provide students with adequate time to take tests, especially for AP classes who can provide tests similar to the format of the actual tests.

But on the other hand spending an hour and a half with a teacher that you hate would be unbearable. Not to mention I would only be in my favorite class, Newspaper, for half the year. Plus I felt the 25-minute lunch was a bit rushed, but it must be noted that the quality and variety of food was much better than NV, even the sugar cookies blow our chocolate chip cookies out of the water.

While St. Ursula lacked the career technology programs available at NV or Southview, it provided most of the Honors and AP classes as well as several unusual classes such as dance and sewing.

But above all, the most surprising aspect of St. Ursula was the trust the administration and teachers put in the students. Girls are able to listen to iPods and use cell phones in the library and can just get up, sign out and leave during class. In addition, none of the school lockers have locks on them, which shows how much faith is placed in the students.

While I understand that having a school of more than 1,300 students, it would be a mad house having people leave as they please, but the sheer fact that St. Ursula trusts their students instead of suspecting them of wrong doing, is quite refreshing.

One of the other differences was that students bypass the demerit system and have detention after school for about an hour. I’m not sure if this is the best policy in comparison to our three-strike system, but it seems to be effective.

While I am a Wildcat at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed my day and felt extremely welcomed by all the girls and admire how well they all get alone. I would also certainly recommend students to consider schools like St. Ursula, instead of listening to any preconceived stereotypes of private schools; you might be surprised.

Staff Writer A sensational campus met my eyes as I pulled into the Saint John’s Jesuit High School parking lot. The school’s building structure was awe-inspiring and seemed to exude certain boldness. However, with a motto along the lines of ‘building men for others’ I was slightly skeptical as I entered the building. I was completely unsure of what lay ahead as I put on the shoes of “a Titan for a day.”

The facility St. John’s has to offer is extraordinary. The student I shadowed, a junior named David Breininger, graciously showed me the whereabouts of his school, such as the newly finished student lounge and lunchroom.

Large armchairs sat in semicircles around a blazing fireplace with a flat screen television mounted above it. This was the right way to spend a free period.

As we walked the carpeted halls (the Titans have yet to experience the issues that come with fungal mold) and entered the classrooms David attended daily, I could not help but notice one thing. Yes, the lounge and landscape were impressive, but the classrooms themselves were alarmingly similar to that of Northview’s. Both in design and number of students.

I had assumed that for some reason because St. John’s is an all male high school, that the class sizes would be significantly smaller. This way, the educators would be able to pay closer attention to each student’s needs.

However, this was not the case.

According to David, he has a rough average of 25 students in each of his classes. Also, one of the largest variations between NV and St. John’s is the presence of a chapel.

Once a month, class schedules are shortened and the boys of the student body spend close to an hour in mass, due to the school’s Christian pillars of morality.

Another difference between the physical aspects of NV and St. John’s, is that the latter has an entire middle school called the

St. John’s Academy housed on its second floor. Here, students are able to obtain a big brother, who is a junior at the high school.

Luckily, David was one of these juniors. He and his little brother were each able to take a period off and enjoy pizza and soda while playing cards. This kind of mentor program is beneficial and well needed, providing consol for younger students.

The students of St. John’s also carry a different attitude than that of many NV students. In any public school, students are of course likely to hold an air of “forced academia.” At St. John’s, however, because the students not only pay, but choose to attend, the educational morality level seemed to be higher.

“I love coming to school everyday,” said Breininger, “because it doesn’t feel like school.”

In my experience at St. John’s, a surprisingly low level of weaknesses sprung out at me. One thing that was a weakness, however, (though it could be considered a strength to some) is the fact that the school is only for young men.

Not having members of the opposite sex present can possibly hinder one from socially maturing properly. This is not to say that the students of St. John’s are unable to develop social skills. However, it is still a notable concern.

The final thing that bothered me most about St. John’s Jesuit was their form of punishment. JUGs are given out and can be compared to a demerits. Yet, calling them demerits would most likely be less strange.

JUG is an acronym for Justice Under God. Students receive JUGs for a broad spectrum of actions such as something as trivial consistently forgetting something. It is one thing to be chided and reprimanded for such an action, but to be punished in the name of God seems slightly extreme.

These things aside, St. John’s, undoubtedly a phenomenal school, is different when compared to NV but in many ways similar. Having said this, I will gladly say I was a Titan for a day. However, I will proudly say I’ve been a Wildcat longer.

FEATURES

December 16, 2008

8

Who is the man behind the red suit?

Two staffers journeyed to the mall to find the truth News and Features Editors It was 11am on the dot when we sat down on Santa’s lap.

The whole experience was not exactly as we planned, it was let’s say, more awkward than we imagined.

We sat down on the plush, green arms of Santa’s chair, when Santa let out a highpitched yelp.

“Sit down on my knees ladies!” He told us with a hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!”

After some prodding, we slid down the chair a little further. Clearly, the largest elf helper in the corner was laughing at our uncomfortable actions.

Then Santa asked, “So girls, what do you want for Christmas?”

You may be wondering, what would possess two 16-year-old girls to visit a mall Santa Claus? Aren’t they a little old for that type of holiday fun?

However, when you think about it, we truly know very little about who mall Santa Clauses are and why they choose to impersonate “that big jolly old elf’. What does it take to be Santa? And more importantly, who are these impersonators, really?

Determined to crack this holiday conundrum, we set out to the Westfield Franklin Park Mall to find out.

It was about 10:30am when we arrived at “Santa Land,” just outside the Macy’s Department Store.

Bedecked in fake snow, ice skating reindeers and about a dozen Christmas trees, “Santa Land” was truly a believer’s paradise. There was even a perfectly built elf workshop in the middle of it all.

Once again, we began to feel quite out of place, being the oldest individuals there to sit on Santa’s lap by about a good decade.

So, we scoped the area, snapping pictures of the surroundings and preparing

ourselves to ask Kris Kringle some hardhitting questions.

When we finally made it to the last candy-covered gate before reaching Santa, a large elf asked, “So, uh, what are you two here for?”

Quickly, we flashed our Student Prints pullovers and the large elf began to laugh at our sheer ridiculousness.

Suddenly, another blonde elf escorted us over to see the man himself: Santa Claus, or at least the mall version.

After finally being seated, a woman behind a massive black camera asked quite seriously, “Do we need to use the bell to make you two smile?”

We looked at each other and then at the woman with a look of utter shock on our faces.

After smiling somewhat self-consciously, we quickly went in with the first question.

“Hello sir, we would like to ask you a few questions for our school paper. First, could you please tell us your real name?”

Although we had previously asked if it would be okay to ask Santa a few questions, this query seemed to catch him off guard.

All the while, he looked at us with a perplexed expression.

“Kris Kringle, of course!” he shouted abruptly, not wanting to desert his “Santa” personality.

“Well then, why did you choose a job like this?” we asked, hoping for a legitimate answer.

“This job was just given to me; it was chosen for me,” he said, as if offended. He paused shortly and added, “I am Santa Claus, you know.”

Haley Hofbauer let out a chuckle, in spite of herself, due to his most preposterous reply yet, but “Kris Kringle” didn’t seem to notice.

Haley Nelson, playing along with Santa’s shenanigans, asked, “Alright, then... what is your favorite part of the job?”

“Definitely, bringing joy to little kids and to adults is my favorite aspect of the job,” he said. “It’s so rewarding.”

Surprised with his emotional response, we asked quickly, “What is the greatest

TRYING TO GET AN INTERVIEW with the man behind the Santa suit are juniors Haley Hofbauer and Haley Nelson. While their attempted interview didn’t reveal any real facts behind being a Mall Santa, it did reveal some universal truths.

benefit of asking kids what they want for Christmas?”

“Seeing the joy on the kids faces really is incredible,” he said.

Unfortunately, we will never know what else Santa likes about his job because suddenly, the aggressive photographer pushed her way over.

Ultimately, we were asked to leave; she was quite persistent.

After leaving “Santa Land” we simply could not stop laughing about our failed indepth report of real mall Santas.

However, this mall Santa did teach us a lot about the holiday spirit.

It is incredible that there are some people who will go to such lengths to make the holidays joyful for others, no matter how ridiculous they themselves may have to act.

The holidays are about spreading happiness and friendship to others. This mall Santa and many others like him, accomplish just this.

The experience was very fun and eventful. At the end of the day though, we still felt quite ridiculous about traveling to “Santa Land”.

Because, it’s not everyday you see two 16-year-olds sitting on Santa’s lap conducting an interview.

TSP holiday guide: How to have an eco-friendly, fun holiday season THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS CARDS can be hung on a door or in an archway in your home to spread holiday cheer and display all of the fun pictures that are found on Christmas cards.

Also to keep your home eco-friendly during the holiday season, try solar powered lights in your yard or LED lights which use 90% less energy than regular lights.

Staff Writer In a world that’s rapidly trying to “go green” recyclables, solar power, and objects made out of plastic bottles are abundant. Amidst your holiday festivities don’t forget about the ozone layer. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be the most enviro-savvy person on your block.

First, before getting your Christmas tree consider a few things. Every year 34 to 36 million trees are produced and 95% are shipped and sold according to pickyourownchristmastree.org. Thirty-six million isn’t just a little patch of trees, it’s an entire forest. While many are replanted there is no way to replace all of the trees that are lost.

Instead, buy a plastic tree and reuse it year after year. Of course, a plastic tree just isn’t the same as going out to pick your own with your family, but there are plenty of other family traditions that you can keep alive. Families can still decorate the tree together.

Another way to remain environmentally friendly during this holiday season is to use Christmas cards from last year as decorations. Hang them on a banister, a wall, or an archway.

Plus, once you get more this year you can add them to the decorations. It’s a great way to show off the cards your friends and family have sent you, while saving money on decorations. You’re even saving paper, because most of those cards would have just been thrown away instead of recycled and less decorations will be printed if consumers are not buying them.

You can also reuse last years Christmas cards as gift tags. Cut off the part with writing and recycle it. The picture part makes a great gift tag for family and

Elizabeth Strick USING LAST YEAR’S cards as gift tags can save money and trees. Cut off the side with writing, recycle it and then use the picture side as a gift tag. friends. You will save money on gift tags and everyone will get a unique one.

Now, for the mother of all decorations: Christmas lights. Every year many homes in America are decorated with lights in all shapes and sizes. A smart alternative for these bright decorations is LED lights, which can be found in most stores such as Target. LED lights use 90% less energy than regular lights and have a 50,000 watt bulb life, according to holidayleds.com. They’re even Energy Star approved and are safer than regular bulbs because they are cool to the touch.

photo by: Elizabeth Strick

Finally, a common word in this environmentally aware world is solar powered.

Of course, the Christmas decorating world isn’t far behind.

You can find regular strings of lights, or any wintery shape you can imagine such as santas, snowflakes, and snowmen lit by the sun.

Solar powered lights are wireless which brings a sigh of relief to anyone who gets the

tedious job of untangling and hanging the lights every year. Another major bonus to these sun powered decorations is that they save tons of money on your electric bill, considering they do not use any of it.

This holiday season consider helping the environment while helping yourself. Even during the holiday season ecofriendly is the way of the future and it’s up to us to start the trend now.

FEATURES

December 16, 2008

9

Black Friday Did Chelsea and Elizabeth’s day of shopping predictions come true?

Elizabeth’s Shopping Experience Still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I climbed into the car at 5am to start my day of Black Friday shopping. My group, consisting of junior Kelly Strick and sophomore Abbey Strick and I, drove a short way to our first stop, Tim Hortons, for coffee. After attaining a sufficient amount of caffeine for the day, we started toward the first store.

Plans had changed since the last issue of TSP. After the ads came out on Thanksgiving, senior Nick Ansara, part of our shopping group, requested that we go to Best Buy first to buy movies for his family. Chelsea Ulmer, Nick and Chelsea’s sister, Hayley, went to Best Buy and my group was to meet them there.

As we began the freezing trek to the store from our parking spot, approximately a mile away, Chelsea texted me and told me that Best Buy was too busy and that they were leaving. We were going to meet at Target now.

So my group arrived at Target at 5:30am and joined the ridiculously long line outside.

I immediately began regretting my decision to not wear a winter coat and my once warm coffee was quickly cold.

The Target workers passed out maps of the store to help you find your way around the store. We began joking around with a father and daughter in front of us about how it was a good thing we had these maps because we had never been to Target before (the whole joke was very sarcastic).

Soon Chelsea’s group arrived and joined us in our wait. The half hour passed rather slowly. Finally, the line began to move and we were on our way in with our maps in hand.

Once inside, the chaos ensued. First, we went towards the DVDs to find that the Christmas Classics DVD I really wanted was not on sale so we moved on.

As we walked through the electronics department, we heard one excited shopper yell “We got it! We got it!” I still have no idea what they got, but apparently it was very exciting.

It was one of the most entertaining parts of the day.

We then headed toward the toy department where we were able to get Apples to Apples for my cousin. My group and I then were just wandering around when we found, in my opinion, the best deal of the day. Three dollar DVDs. So we grabbed all of the ones we

Elizabeth Strick TAKING A BREAK from shopping by sitting in the Westfield Food Court are sophomore Abbey Strick, senior Elizabeth Strick and junior Kelly Strick. wanted including Wedding Crashers, Batman Begins, and The Holiday. With that fantastic deal found, we went to pay and found that we only had to wait for one person.

With our quick check out, we were able to beat Chelsea and Nick out of Target. So my group and I drove down the street to Kohl’s.

We were lucky enough to get one of the last parking spots at Kohl’s. As we rushed inside we could see how crazy it was. Tons of people we streaming in and out of the store.

My mom had given me an item to shop for (which I can’t mention because the gift is for someone who will probably read this article) so we began our hunt for it. After searching practically the entire store, we found where said item once was, but there were none left.

After a disappointed sigh, we continued on towards the jewelry where Kelly and Abbey wanted to browse. I continued looking around the store and when I got back to the jewelry, I found Kelly and Abbey sitting on the ground trying on rings. Apparently the caffeine had worn off.

After convincing them to get up, we looked around the clothes where Kelly found some stuff she wanted. We went to the back of the line and from our spot we couldn’t even see the check outs.

We began to joke around in line and once again made a friend (the Strick’s make friends everywhere). Abbey found a ShamWow, the tiny towel that holds an immense amount of water. This ShamWow entertained us for hours as it is very amusing to yell “ShamWow!” at random times. However, I didn’t buy it.

After about a half hour in line, we made it up to the check out and left. Now, on to the mall.

We parked at JCPenney and went inside. After quickly browsing the store we decided to move on.

We bounced from store to store, stopping where the deals looked interesting. We bought a few gifts but soon found ourselves out of stores to go into. Finally we decided to sit down in the food court for a break.

As I looked around, I was amused to see so many people eating lunch at 9:30 in the morning.

My group and I decided on one more store before leaving the mall area. We quickly walked to Old Navy. Inside it was crowded, but not too bad.

Abbey and I found a few deals and the three of us got in line. As we stood in a long line, Kelly noticed something odd.

“There was a guy about two or three people away from checking out in our line that had been waiting since we got into the store,” said Kelly.

After seeing this poor guy, we realized how slow this line was moving. So we switched over to another. This line was much quicker and we still checked out before that unfortunate guy.

My group and I went back to the mall to walk to our car inside. As we walked by the food court, we saw none other than Chelsea and her group eating lunch.

We sat down with them for a little while and chatted about our shopping adventure so far.

After a few minutes, we left for my car. Once inside, we collapsed with exhaustion. We had shopped for five hours and were now ready for lunch and a nap.

THE LARGE MASS OF PEOPLE at Target. As we were checking out, people continued to stream into the store to search for the best deals.

Photo by Abbey Strick

Chelsea’s Shopping Experience

Abbey Strick A VIEW FROM THE BACK of the line. This is where Elizabeth, Kelly, and Abbey were when the got in line at Kohl’s. The checkouts aren’t even within sight.

Black Friday turned out to be all that I thought it would, plus more. Although some arrangements had changed due to the Thanksgiving advertisements coming out and some stores opening at different times, I still had an amazing day.

Senior Nick Ansara was all gung-ho about our first stop being Best Buy, which was to open at 5am, to get a lot of cheap DVD’s for gifts. So I decided I would change my plans a little bit for him. He said he would pick me up at 4am so we could be at Best Buy in line by 4:20. The other half of our group, consisting of senior Elizabeth Strick, junior Kelly Strick, and sophomore Abbey Strick, would meet us there.

I had set my alarm for 3:50am because all I planned on doing was brushing my teeth and walking out the door. However, Nick decided to begin absurdly early, calling and texting me starting at 3:20am, which really began to make me mad. So, I turned my phone on silent and ignored his calls for about ten minutes until I decided to get up.

My sister, Hayley, then decided to go shopping with us so we were ready by 4. Nick arrived at my house after an attempt to drive through a still closed McDonald’s, we began our drive to Best Buy. When we arrived, there was already a huge line, so we walked to the back and waited. When the doors opened, we fast walked to the DVD’s, got what we wanted and hurried to the checkout line. We were out of there by 5:10.

I then called the other half of our group to tell them that we were already leaving Best Buy. They were pulling in the parking lot as we were pulling out. It was decided that we would meet at our next destination - Target.

On our way to Target, Nick decided to make a stop at Circuit City to try to get a few more DVD’s. Unfortunately, when he decided to turn we were already passing the store, thus it was very abrupt and we received some whiplash from the event. We hurried in; backs still hurting from the abrupt change in direction, grabbed a few DVD’s, paid and left again.

We finally made it to Target to meet up with the rest of our group, which was already waiting in the huge line. We waited for a long time, then finally got in the store and began to browse. We went to basically every section in the store, including electronics, DVD’s, CD’s, clothes, jewelry, and even the children’s games. Target was definitely crazy, with people running everywhere and crazy long lines.

“Target was a mad house. But I am a bit mad myself so I enjoyed it,” said Ansara.

We then went to the checkout line, which we found to be almost as long as the line we waited in to get in the store. We waited forever, talking to each other as well as other customers to pass the time, then finally left the store.

We continued on our journey to Kohl’s, which we were nervous would have the biggest lines and most people. We walked in and saw a large amount of people hustling about the store. My sister and I were in search of a gift for someone in our family, so we went there first. We did not find the thing we really wanted, so we settled for the second gift on the list. We looked at a few other sections in the store, then decided to get in line. We then found that the line wrapped all the way around the store and began in the very back.

Although we were saddened by this news, we decided to stick it out and got in line.

As we were almost to the front of the line, and I was totally zoned out from being so tired, I heard Nick screaming, “Oh my gosh! There it is! Grab it quick, it’s what you wanted!”

Having no clue what he was talking about, I came back to earth and saw that the one gift that Hayley and I were looking for was randomly sitting on the shelf in front of us. We grabbed it and decided to just get both items for the time being and decide what we would do with them later. So we got to the counter, paid for our items and left the store.

The next place on our list was Old Navy, which we expected to have a lot of great deals.

I found a few shirts that I wanted, along with a new scarf and yes, a shirt for Nick. Nick also found a few things that he wanted so we made our way to the line. The line ended up going quicker than I thought it would and we also got some free mints while waiting. We left the store, discussing where we would get some food next, because we were all starving.

We decided to go into the food court at the mall so we could get food from any place we wanted. We got what we wanted, then collapsed into chairs at the table.

A few minutes later we saw Elizabeth, Kelly and Abbey again. I thought we had lost them for the day. They were walking through the mall to their car to head to lunch then home for the day.

After lunch, Nick took me home and I had to get ready for basketball practice. I was totally exhausted and ready for a nap on a nice cozy couch, which I would end up doing after practice.

Overall, I think that Friday was a very productive day. I fortunately got some clothes and things that I had wanted. I also got a few Christmas presents bought, so I won’t have to worry about them any more. Thank God for great deals on Black Friday. =]

10 Student receives all American honors Senior soccer stand out Kyle Scharfenberg received the honor of being an All-American. Scharfenberg knew he was being considered but was not sure if he would receive the award.

“I was really excited to be an AllAmerican, I mean to be considered one of the top 75 players in the country, it’s a great honor,” said Scharfenberg. “I am very grateful for everything that happened the way it did.”

Scharfenberg has played soccer for over 12 years and is going to play at the University of LaFayette on a scholarship next year.

Scharfenberg was also looking at Dartmouth University, Ohio State University and Penn State University. He chose LaFayette because of its great academic history and it is emerging soccer powerhouse, according to Scharfenberg.

“They have a lot of young talented players. We have another All-American from New Jersey joining the team next year too,” said Scharfenberg.

Scharfenberg is also playing for an international team out of Cleveland to stay in shape for his college debut in the fall.

- Joe Mehling

SV football wins State The Southview Cougars brought fame to Sylvania when they won the Division Two State Championship Thanksgiving weekend.

The Cougars defeated reigning champions Anderson High School 25-29 in style.

The Cougars were down late in the first half, 13-9, with one last shot at the end zone senior quaterback Alex Pidcock launched a “Hail Mary” pass to the back of the end zone, the pass was tipped several times before ending up in the hands of freshman stand out receiver Allen Gant for the touchdown.

However, the Cougars let momentum slip away with just 2:33 left on the clock, when Anderson running back Kyle Slater diced his way for a 20 yard touchdown run.

The Cougars could not be denied, Pidcock led a game winning seven plays 80 yard drive, ending it with a 16 yard touchdown pass to senior Paul Murphey.

Pidcock led the Cougars with 66 yards on the ground and 333 yards passing, including three touchdowns. Senior Shaun Joplin led the team in receiving, gaining 166 yards including one acrobatic touchdown catch.

Head coach Jim Maizes is in his fifteenth season at SV and said that he is planning to be there again next season.

- Joe Mehling

GymKats lose 10 girls The Northview Girls Gymnastics team will have a lot of hard work ahead of them, as they are in a rebuilding year.

“Our underclassmen will have a lot of pressure to perform and put up high scores,” said junior Lindsay Yost. “If we come together as a team, overcoming challenges should be easy.”

The Gym Kats are led by coach Heather Tussing. They have most of their competitions and practices at Sunrise Gymnastics Academy. They also have some practices in the auxiliary gym, according to Yost.

After warming up, the girls work on their routines. Practices usually last about two hours.

With only 10 girls on the team it is a big drop from the 20 team members they had last year. They lost almost half the athletes from last season and some girls simply didn’t return, according to Yost.

“Our senior last year was such a big part of the team, she was a mentor to the younger gymnasts,” said Yost.

GymKat captains are seniors Sarah Snider and Carey Gray and juniors Hailey Nowak and Meaghan Mick.

- Kristi Kopaniasz

December 16, 2008

SPORTS

Boys basketball begins Sports Editor The Northview Boys Basketball team has tipped off their 2008-09 basketball season. Leading this year’s team are seniors Tripper Northrup, Devin Simon and Ryan Yockey.

“It feels good to be back and have an opportunity to reunite with my friends and teammates,” said Simon, who played out of the state this past year.

The team started the Northern Lakes League season against cross-town rival Southview. Despite sticking with the Cougars in the first half of play, the Wildcats came out flat in the second half, only scoring six points in the third quarter and paid for it on the scoreboard. The Wildcats lost the game 71-46. Simon led NV scorers with 12 points.

The Wildcats returned to NV to play NLL foe Perrysburg. The Wildcats played well in the first half but failed to keep the momentum in the second half once again.

Despite a two point lead at halftime the Cats found themselves in a deep hole late in the fourth quarter losing by a score of 61-46. The team was led in scoring by Northrup with 12 points.

“I can guarantee that no one will play

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Young NORTHVIEW’S JACOB ZUREICH drives through the lane by his opponent. The Wildcats opened up the 2008-09 season with a game against their rival, the Southview Cougars. harder than us for the rest of the year and that the second half collapses will stop immediately, ” said Northrup.

The Cats will have to back up

Northrup’s guarantee tonight against an improved Springfield Blue Devil team. After Springfield the Cats look for revenge as play they Southview on Saturday December 20.

Girls basketball beats AW for first time in two years

Grace Ramsdell NORTHVIEW LADYKAT BASKETBALL PLAYERS senior Chelsea Ulmer and sophomores Valerie Sohasky and Tori Busby stretch before their practice. The LadyKats started their season off on the right foot going 2-1, with wins over the Libbey Cowboys and the Anthony Wayne Generals.

Staff Writer While others were sleeping in and hanging out over Thanksgiving break, the Northview LadyKat Basketball team was hard at work. They were preparing for their opening night at home November 28 against the Libbey Cowboys.

“It wasn’t easy getting up at 7am on Thanksgiving morning,” said junior Olivia Fouty. “But we came in and worked hard. It is going to pay off.”

The LadyKats return veteran players seniors Paige Maroney, Kelsey McCoy, Chelsea Ulmer, Katelyn Dobson, Stephanie Rentschler; juniors Hannah Small and Fouty.

The LadyKats also added a few newcomers to the Varsity roster this year.

New players include sophomores Valerie Sohasky, Katelynn McCoy and Tori Busby.

“It’s so cool to be on varsity with my older sister this year. We always goof around on the court in our backyard, so we tend to play well together,” said McCoy. “This is going to be a fun season.”

The Kats opened up with an easy win over Libbey 80-34, despite the fact that three year starting point guard, Maroney, would be kept on the bench for the beginning of the season with a back injury suffered during the soccer season.

“I feel very confident with Hannah taking over the point position for us. With

Paige out, her and the other guards are from beginning to end, as neither team could doing the team a huge favor by stepping pull past more than a six point differential. up to handle the ball,” said Ulmer. “We just Going into the half, NV led 18- 16 and were all hope Paige heals and starts to feel better. determined to beat AW for the first time in She will come back when she feels ready.” two years.

NV had four players scoring in the In the third quarter both teams traded double digits against Libbey. Small led baskets back and forth until, a NV turnover all scoring with 20 points, including four led to a last second AW lay up, tying the 3-pointers, Sohasky added 16, Fouty and game 29-29 going into the fourth and final Kelsey McCoy scored 15 and 10 respectively. period play.

The next opponent would not fall so limply In the final 30 seconds of the game, to the Kats.

Dobson was fouled and faced a one and one The following night, a Northern Lakes bonus situation. Knocking both free throws League favorite: the Perrysburg Yellow down with ease, she helped the Kats gain a Jackets came to four point lead. play NV. Once As the last the Jackets took few seconds a 4-0 lead in the ticked away, first quarter, they the Generals’ never looked desperate back and would attempt to score hold that lead -SENIOR CHELSEA ULMEr failed.

The despite the NV bench and fighting effort of crowded erupted the Lady Kats. in excitement as the LadyKats defeated the Three times NV would cut the Jacket’s Generals 42-38. lead to a point or two, but after a long night “I was super-pumped when the final of poor shooting for both teams, the Jackets buzzer went off. Everyone was jumping up would manage to hold off the Kats 38-29. and down yelling in a circle at half court,” Dobson led the Kats with 11 points. said Ulmer. “Even the coaches got a little air “The ball just wouldn’t go in for us beneath their feet.” that night. We only made five of 34 shots Leading all scoring for the night was and had 19 points off of free throws,” said Fouty who poured in 22 points for a season Rentchsler. “But that night is over. Time to high. get them next time.”

The Kats played home against Bowling Last Friday the LadyKats took a roadtrip Green on Friday and away at Central south. They took on the NLL defending Catholic on Saturday this past weekend. champion and season favorite, the Anthony However they return to action Friday, Wayne Generals. away at Maumee High School to play the The game would prove to be a battle Panthers.

“Everyone was jumping up and down. Even the coaches got a little air under their feet.”

SPORTS

11

December 16, 2008

Wrestling season starts off strong Staff Writer Northview wrestled itself into sixth place in the Northwood Invitational, placing six out of 16 teams.

NV Wrestling is currently in a rebuilding phase, yet they still expect to do well in matches. Luke McKinley is the new Head Coach this year and is bringing a new feel to the team.

They have some experience this season, with five seniors returning. Among them are Rudy Severhoff, Eric Brown, Nathan Wisniewski, and Kyle Kunar. The other members of the team look up to these seniors, especially Brown, Kunar, and junior Bobby Callejas, who are all team captains.

The youth of the team contributes to the outcome of their matches. Among the younger wrestlers, junior Tony Shepler, sophomores Tanner Newland, and Jake Martinez, as well as Callejas are expected to make a large contribution to the team.

“With only five seniors, the younger members of the team will have to step up this year to make our team a success,” said Brown.

At the Northwood Invitational, Brown came in first in the 160 pound weight class, winning all his matches, dominating the competition. Kunar came in fourth in the 189 weight class. Severhoff came in third in the Big Daddy (losers) bracket and Martinez came in fifth in the losers bracket.

“My first wrestling matches were a great experience, and I’m glad to take third place,” said Severhoff.

Halie Langhals

PREPARING FOR HIS MATCH against Southview is Victor Bariclow. Although Northview is in a rebuilding season with a new coach, the team placed 6th in the Northwood Invitational. Several of NV’s wrestlers performed well, and the season is starting to have a better outlook.

NV students take soccer indoors Sports Editor “The Rainbow Runners are the equivalent of the Brazilian National team times 11.7,” said senior Paul Broer.

The Indoor Recreational Soccer team, known as the Rainbow Runners (RR), have kicked their way up onto the soccer scene at Northview.

The players created the team to hang out with friends and to have a good time, according to senior Shane Connolly.

The team plays 25 minute halves and the games are at Tam-O-Shanter. The Rainbow Runners have team jerseys made by senior Haley Lancaster. There are 12 members on the team, 11 of which go to NV. In the league, there are four teams. The Rainbow Runners, FC 419, SV, and the Rec Team. There are nine games total for the season.

Many fans attend the games, including junior John Holler, who has previously painted his stomach for the games to show his team spirit. Junior Melissa Rondinelli and sophomore Madeline Rossler have made posters to support their friends on the team.

The Rainbow Runners are currently 7-0

after a dominating performance December 11 against a Southview team.

In the game, senior Sam Arnsby scored the first goal and senior Brandon Jacoby added two consecutive goals for the RR. After each goal scored, senior Nick Messinger played a pirate song to pump up the crowd. Although a few fans were initially skeptical of the song selection, they soon warmed up to it and joined in the excitement.

“We really enjoy the support from our fans. Especially Nick Messinger, he brings out the inner pirate in all of us,” said senior Bryan Ulrich.

Connolly was the goalie for the first half of the game and dribbled the length of the field to score. Senior Sam Gross added a goal as well, making the halftime score 5-1.

During halftime, Messinger ran along the fans sitting down in an attempt to get the crowd to do the wave.

“Watching the Rainbow Runners makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside,” said Messinger.

Opening the second half, Arnsby scored his second goal of the game. Senior John Boudouris scored his first goal and Connolly scored the team’s last goal.

With two minutes left, Broer got a free kick because the goalie collided into him,

Sam Weisman WAITING EAGERLY TO GET IN are seniors Bryan Ulrich, Justin Marquardt and Brandon Jacoby. The Rainbow Runners are undefeated with just two games to go. but failed to capitalize.

“Watching my brother play is really fun.,” said freshman Johnny Broer.

The final score of the game was 8-1 and the goalie for the second half, senior Jimmy Dow, blocked everything that came his way.

“We play for fun, everyone else takes it too seriously and that’s why we have been so successful this season,” said Dow. The RR’s next game is on December 18 against rival FC 419.

“The Rainbow Runners run over everyone,” said Sam Gross.

Guest Column

Why do we still watch the Browns?

Sunday after Sunday we tune in to watch the Cleveland Browns hopefully pull out a win. That is all the Browns’ fans have is hope and then they kick off.

The Browns have been in the league now for 10 years and using the whole expansion excuse is just plain old. They have a coach in his fourth year and should have some clue into what he is doing, so that is not an excuse. The Browns are just plain bad and have to undergo severe changes to become a consistent team.

Here are ten reasons whey the Browns do not win consistently and have only been to the playoffs once in a ten-year existence: 10. The Browns coaching woes have been in full force since 1999. They have had three coaches in 10 years, giving no consistent system through the clubhouse.

No coaches the Browns have hired have been proven. Chris Palmer was an offensive coordinator for a lowly Jacksonville Jaguars offense. When he got fired they brought in Butch Davis, who had no NFL experience prior to being hired. And finally Romeo Crennel, the defensive mastermind who had five super bowl rings as a DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR. No proven head coaches came in to Cleveland, instead we deal with guys trying to prove themselves and all of them just do not have what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL. 9. As long as this ridiculous 3-4 defense

is around the Browns will have a very poor defense. A 3-4 defense is with three defensive lineman and four linebackers. The linebackers have to be fast and able to tackle to fit the defense. The Browns’ linebacking core is slow and soft. But Coach Crennel is too stubborn to change to a 4-3 defense which is more custom to the talent they defense possesses.

8. Wasted draft pick after wasted draft pick haunts the Browns year after year.

Tim Couch, William Green, Courtney Brown, Gerrard Warren, Charlie Frye, Luke McCown, all are out of the NFL or third string on some losing team. Those players listed were all suppose to be the answer… if they are the answer I sure want to know what the question was.

7. Al Lerner was a very dedicated owner, his only wrong doing was giving the team to his son Randy when he died. Randy Lerner, the owner of the Cleveland Browns, is more concerned with his soccer team in Europe than the Browns. He cannot help the team win when his focus is overseas. The best owners in the league, like Jerry Jones for the Cowboys, are at every home games.

Lerner is pulling a Bin Laden act, as he is nowhere to be found.

6. The most fearful aspect of the old Browns was the grueling fans in the “Dawg Pound.” Not to rib the new “Pound,” but it is not the same as the old. The old “Pound” had bleachers and non-working urinals. The

fans did not care, they would throw bones and harass the opposing team at every opportunity. Today the “Pound” is nicer and more of a family place. The fans are still cruel, but they are missing the fuel and brutality of the fans in the old stadium.

5. Art Modell. I do not want to get into too much detail about “Darth Vader” because my blood pressure would go way up. He sold the team that everybody loved to Baltimore (of course Baltimore goes on to win a Super Bowl in 2001). Cleveland was demoralized. It was a ghost town. Sure, we still have the Indians, and the Cavaliers, but Cleveland is a football town and that is what we need. We were set up to fail when we came back in 1999.

4. The Browns may be one of the softest teams in the NFL. Year after year they continue to have weak defense that refuse to hit hard. Every team usually has that one “tough” man in the locker room, but the Browns do not have one. The closest they got is K2 known as Kellen Winslow Jr. who just talks but does not walk the walk.

3. The Browns have always found ways to lose games. This does just not apply to the “new” Browns, but even the best Browns teams found a way to lose. Whether it is last second field goals by the opposing team, or penalties (Dwayne Rudd), or even turnovers when it is the most crucial part in the game, the Browns always find ways to lose. It is not that they are trying to lose, they just do not

believe they can win when it comes down to the wire. That has to do with coaching.

2. The Browns have lost 15 straight games to arch rival the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Browns will never be good until they can beat the Steelers. The Steelers are a division opponent and if the Browns ever want to overtake them they have to start by ending this horrendous skid and take what was once theirs.

1. 11 quarter backs in 10 years. You cannot have a consistent team when the leader changes every year, sometimes during the year. From Tim Couch, to Jeff Garcia, to Derek Anderson, no quarterback has worked out thus far. Maybe Brady Quinn (so called the savior of Cleveland) is the real deal, maybe he is not. Time will tell and until then we will just have to assume the Browns will be drafting another quarterback in the draft, who probably never pan out as a pro.

Even with those reasons, we still watch the games every Sunday. It is easy to be Patriots or Colts fan, but NO we are dedicated. Browns fans are one of the best in the business, through thick and thin (mostly thin) we have been their to back this team up. Every year, every week, the Browns give us hope. Hope is why we watch the games every Sunday, and when they finally do win, it is going to feel that much better. ~ Guest Columnist, Jake Amstel

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December 16, 2008

SPORTS

NV starts season with tournament win Sports Editor & Staff Writer The Northview Hockey team opened up the regular season with the Cold Turkey Tournament hosted by Tam-O-Shanter. The Wildcats took on Maryland powerhouse DeMatha on November 28 and defeated them 4-2.

Senior co-captain Matt Duvall tallied his first two career goals for the Wildcats.

Senior captains Bobby Napierala and Kyle Hymore also added two goals apiece.

Freshman goaltender Austin Gryca picked up his first career win.

“The team was excited to finally get out there and start the season off right,” said Napierala. “we have been training for that moment for over three months.”

In the second game of tournament play on November 29, NV crushed Trinity 5-0.

Scoring for the team was junior Mark Hall with a pair of goals and sophomore Aaron Booth with a career first. Senior captains Nile Culver and Hymore added one goal each.

“There were some things we could have done better but we came together and got the job done,” said Hall.

In a nail biter on November 29, NV managed to tie St. Francis 2-2 with a clutch first career goal from sophomore Josh Cole, and a late game-tying goal from Hymore.

In the championship game on November 30, NV defeated the Knights 3-2. Duvall scored two goals and sophomore Tyler Harding contributed with his first career goal.

“It felt really good to beat them and win the tourney, especially after what happened last year,” said Napierala.

The Knights ended NV’s hopes at a state championship last season, defeating them in the district championship game.

Halie Langhals SKATING THROUGH THE U-SCHOOL DEFENSE is senior captain Kyle Hymore. Hymore is a four year varsity member and has played a big role in the team’s success the past four years. The Northview Hockey team played in a tournament in Pittsburg this past weekend.

The Wildcats opened league play on December 6 against Bowling Green at Tam-O. The teams were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation and NV put up a good fight in overtime, but lost 4-3.

With their first win in league competition, the Wildcats beat rival Southview 3-2. The goals were scored by Culver, Napierala and junior Jordan Jones.

On December 10, the team traveled to the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio to take

on Gilmour Academy who defeated the Wildcats in the preseason 4-2.

The team was down 4-1 going into the third period, with a goal from Duvall. Head Coach Mike Jones decided to pull the goalie, sophomore Matt Stevenson, making it a six on four power play midway through the third period.

Jones netted the puck, making the score 4-2. The goal started a surge from the Wildcats with another pulled-goalie

powerplay score by Duvall.

Despite the surge and the strong play by the Wildcats, the team couldn’t put the puck past the Gilmour goaltender, losing the game 5-3.

“I still don’t think we’re playing to our potential,” said Assistant Coach Doug Carter. “But I think we’re improving.”

The Wildcats made a trip across state boarders for a tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 13.

Swimming, diving off to good start

Halie Langhals PULLING AHEAD ON THE BREASTSROKE in a double dual meet with Southview and Sandusky is sophomore Victoria Pietrykowski. She took third place in the 100 meter breastsoke with a time of 1:35.77. Both the Girls and Boys swimming and diving teams beat SV but lost to Sandusky.

Staff Writer Northview Swimming and Diving began their season strong with the girls and boys performing well at the North Western Ohio Aquatic Club Relay Invitational on December 8.

Swimmers and divers traveled an hour away to Perkins high school and took on over ten different teams. The NWOAC Relay Meet consisted of all relays except for one individual event, the 500 yard freestyle.

“The goal of the NWOAC Relays was to get everyone on the team in as many events as possible and to get the new swimmers comfortable with a swim meet,” said Head Girls Swim Coach Sarah Huey.

Strong finishes included the girls 300 yard butterfly relay consisting of freshmen Taylor Weis, juniors Laura Guinness and Megan Foster, and senior Kayla Kimmet.

The boys 400 yard medley relay, consisting of seniors Mico Cordero and Zach McClurg, junior Daniel Rhollans, and sophomore Ben McClurg, dominated and placed well.

This meet was also a new experience for the new swimmers this year.

“I was excited to participate in my first swim meet,” said junior swimmer Cody Brant. “I was nervous to race but performed well for my first swim meet.”

On December 9, NV took on Fremont Ross and Oak Harbor in a double dual meet at Fremont Ross. The boys lost to Fremont Ross but ended with a close win against Oak Harbor with outstanding performances from senior captains Michael Ward and Zach McClurg.

Zach McClurg took first in the 100 yard breastroke with an impressive time of 1:09.

Ward racked up more points taking second in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.90 seconds and first in the 100 yard butterfly

with a time of 1:02 .

The girls faced defeat at both their dual meets against Fremont Ross and Oak Harbor but managed to pull through some impressive races. Star performances included Guinness with a first place finish in both the 500 yard freestyle and the 200 yard individual medley and Foster with two second place finishes in the 200 yard freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke.

“With all of the hard practices we have had lately, I’m happy that I was able to get a personal best time in the 500 freestyle,” said Guinness. “It gives me confidence for the rest of the season.”

NV divers performed well at their first double dual meet led by freshmen Jacob Mikolajczyk with a second place finish overall. Sophomore divers Emily Due and senior Sarah Federman also contributed to NV’s overall score.

On December 11, NV hosted their first home double dual meet against Southview

and Sandusky. Both teams made good efforts but lost to Sandusky.

The boys gained a narrow victory against SV with an ending score of 52-50.

The girls demolished SV with a final score of 63 to 38. First place individual races included senior captain Danielle Hrovat in the 100 meter butterfly, Foster in the 200 meter freestyle, and Guinness in the 100 meter backstroke and 400 meter freestyle. Guinness earned a personal record in her 400 meter freestyle breaking the school record for that event with a time of 4:44.

The girls 400 freestyle really consisting of seniors Katie Koffman and Jessica Willard, Foster, and Guinness finished first by a longshot with a time of 4:29. The girls 200 meter medley relay also finished first led by Guinness, sophomore Victoria Pietrykowski, Kimmet, Hrovat.

Both teams race again December 19 in a tri-meet against Notre Dame, St. Johns, and SV at the University of Toledo.