April 2016
Est. 2006
Candles for Change
StuCo: MacNeill Idol
Page 2
Vol. 10 No. 5
Connect With Us Volunteer Opportunities Page 4
Page 2
Dancing Their Way to Gold
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Say Farewell
To the Yearbook
MacNeill’s 2013 Yearbook
Josh Ralla
E Yuiki Shirohana
MacNeill’s Dance Team poses with their 1st place medals at High School High. Photo: Miguel P.
"I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder." Askari Sayed
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ell, I for one, am not wondering about the play, because I was in it. If you didn’t get a chance to see this production, here’s a quick run-down. An 18year old girl just on a picnic blanket in the deep woods, wondering. The same Alice? Yes, the very same. The very same one who traveled to a magical place called Wonderland several years ago. Or to be precise: when she was only 9. 9 years later, she’s dealing with the fact that no one believes her story of a trip to Wonderland -not even her best friend, Dinah. (No , not her cat Dinah. Her
In its eighth year, MacNeill was contending for the coveted gold medals, against five other Metro Vancouver teams. Featuring new members and coaches, the team went into their first competition of the year with mixed emotions. “Our whole team had a mixed feeling of being both nervous and excited,” Dance team member Angel Wu (10) says. “The first thing
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ver wonder why loud music echoes down the athletic wing afterschool almost every day? It’s probably the dance team. Small, but enthusiastic, the MacNeill Dance Team is a club well-known for their ability to choreograph amazing dances for many to enjoy every year. Not all their hard work is for entertainment purposes, of course. Every year, the dance team joins multiple dance competitions in hopes of bringing back an award. MacNeill’s Dance Team is off to a great start, following a brilliant 1st place finish in High School High’s junior division - an annual dance competition featuring dozens of up and coming dance teams in the lower mainland.
The first thing on our agenda was to have fun no matter what happens during the competition - Angel Wu
on our agenda was to have fun no matter what happens during the competition”. The team hasn’t always been successful in the hip hop competition, placing second out of two teams in last year’s showcase. “We hope and always try to improve for the next competition,” Miguel Peralta (11) wishes. He strives for his team to place in the topthree again in future competitions. “I just hope that dance will always stay first priority for every single one of us…and that it is something that makes us happy, to say the least. I am proud of my team,” Wu tells us. “With this team, we have been through thick and thin, and have made our supporters proud of us”.
high school friend Dinah). When she’s on the brink of thinking that she was just crazy, the white rabbit comes out of nowhere with his shaky attitude of always being late. (The guy has problems, if you ask me). Alice and Dinah soon find themselves returning for another journey to Wonderland. But oh, how we wish it was still Wonderland! The duo soon find out the magical place that Alice always loved isn’t so… magical, anymore. Now called Zombieland, Alice and Dinah have to figure out who’s behind the zombie business, and to put a stop to it. Get ready for laughs, horror, croquet, and the constant assumption of Dinah being a cat! This is ‘Alice in Zombieland’. Alice in Zombieland was, by far, a complete success. Not only did everyone fit perfectly into their roles, but everyone had a great time rehearsing, practicing, and finally, putting on a great show. Like the story itself, there were ups and downs, tears and laughs, and constant screw-ups. But everyone managed to pull it off in the end. There were the matinees, the night shows, and afternoon rehearsals. It was quite a lot of work and many compromises were put into the play. Overall, the play was lovely and amazing and everyone enjoyed it in the end. I guess that’s what mattered the most.
The cast and crew of Alice in Zombieland Photo: MacNeill Yearbook
AR MacNeill Student Council Meetings every monday at lunch in room b222! New Members Always welcome.
arlier this month, MacNeill Yearbook announced that there would likely be no yearbook for the 2016-2017 school year. Enrollment in Yearbook Journalism has steadily declined in the past few years, falling to an all time low for the 2016 school year. So much so that Yearbook was cut as a class and was demoted to a club. As a club, Yearbook has suffered greatly due to the resignation of several key members. The club currently runs with only ten active members working on a project designed for a class of thirty. The group has missed many deadlines, and is currently scrambling to meet the final April 11th deadline to submit to the publishing company. The club reports that for the 2017 school year, only nine students have signed up. Administration created a prior agreement that Yearbook will run either as a class or not at all. With the current numbers, it looks very likely there will be no 2017 yearbook. However Yearbook sponsor teacher Ms. Carpenter tells us that if numbers rise enough, there is a chance Yearbook can run as a club. However, a very slim chance. We’re told that the issue with yearbook as a club and not a class is that there is zero accountability for students. Last June, at meetings in preparation for this year’s yearbook, there were about forty students present promising to work hard for the next year. Judging by the fact that only ten students remain, there’s nothing stopping this from potentially happening next year. This also is not something that can be cancelled mid-year. The club tells us the school puts out $17,000 for a yearbook, which could potentially be lost if the club must shut down partway through the year. Students, especially grads of 2017, are desperately looking for other students to join Yearbook as a club, in a bid to save the yearbook and their most cherished memories. If you wish to have a yearbook next year, and are willing to fully commit to yearbook as a club, please speak to Dominic S. (11), or Ms. Carpenter as soon as possible. Responsiblilities on Yearbook include: photography, marketing/advertising and page design.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.