KEEPI N G THE S TUDE NTS OF RHEA COU NTY HIGH SCH O OL I NFORMED SI N CE 1996
WINTER EDITION
The Eagle's Nest FENCING US IN PAGE 2
MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN ROMANTIC CINEMA PAGE 5
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 5
QUITE THE CATCH! PAGE 10
Lunch program a success By COURTNEY JORDAN COURTNEY@RHEACOUNTYEAGLESNEST.ORG
New lunch? Everyone loves it. Well, mostly everyone. 79% of students that submitted their vote to the Eagles’ Nest website poll said they did, 4% said they didn’t, and 17% said they were still undecided. Kids are finding several different ways to occupy their time during lunch. There’s DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) every day in the gym, knitting in Mrs. Guffey’s, board games, Guitar Café, walking at the track with Ms. Cannon, FCA, LIFE Club—the list just goes on and on! But the most popular thing (or things) yet has been the intramural activities in the gym. There is three-on-three basketball, dodgeball, and chicken dodgeball. Students are really starting to come out of their comfort zones and try new things. Coach Ruehling, one of the heads of the program said, “It’s great, kids get into it.” Tiffany Soyster of the Herald News reported in a recent article that “this new lunch program promotes exercise and activity, involving otherwise non-exercising students.” A new activity is also under development—Rhea County Idol! Kind of like American Idol, only we’re giving it our own RCHS twist. Students (and teachers!!) will be able to sing along with karaoke in the cafeteria. If anything, the lunch activities help to unify the school and the student body. Bob Lawson of Hillsboro High, another school that has moved to an “open lunch” program said, “We hardly ever have discipline problems because the students know their boundaries and know I could take their lunch away very easily and not lose any sleep from it. But we’re just a big happy
family. We’re always goofing off and doing something around here to keep everyone involved.” That is also the administration’s plan for RCHS. Less discipline, more fun. I’m sure everyone has noticed all the random trash cans scattered throughout the school. Teachers say the halls are kept extremely clean, and cleaner than before the hour lunch. Students are very proud to know that they can handle such a major responsibility. Thankfully, as everyone hoped, students are respecting the hallways and keeping them considerably clean, as they should have been kept all along. As quickly as our program has developed, its already attracting the attention of other area schools. According to Mr. Levengood, several principals have expressed an interest in visiting to see how our lunch program functions, just like we visited Hillsboro High School last year. Keep doing your part, RCHS students! Enjoy your lunchtime, and join an awesome club or activity while you’re at it!
PHOTOS BY EAGLE’S NEST STAFF
Students seem to like the freedom to eat just about wherever they want, and to participate in a variety of activities, as well.
To sleep, perchance to dream? Eh, maybe later... Staying up way too late at night and paying for it during the day? You’re not alone... By KAITY KOPESKI & KELLI FRENCH KAITY@RHEACOUNTYEAGLESNEST.ORG KELLI@RHEACOUNTYEAGLESNEST.ORG
PHOTO BY CORY SMITH
Some studies indicate that as many as 85% of high school students are sleep deprived. In our quick poll, 50% of RCHS students said they only sleep four to six hours a night.
If high school teachers had a nickel for every time they heard a student say “I’m so tired,” they would all be millionaires. Some people think that teenagers are just being lazy and over dramatic, but according to the experts, teenagers today are actually suffering from sleep deprivation. Daniel Lewin, PhD., says that teenagers’ need for sleep is greater than adults. The recommended amount is between 8.5 and 9.5 hours of sleep a night, compared to the recommended 7 to 9 hours for adults. But, according to a poll taken by the National Sleep Foundation, 85% of high school students are getting less than that amount. The Eagle’s Nest asked fifty Rhea County
High School students on average how much sleep they received a night. Forty-six percent of students said they got six to eight hours of sleep a night, while fifty percent said they received only four to six hours a night. When asked why they were not getting the advised amount, there was an array of answers. Some of the answers were obvious, like homework, sports, and jobs, but the majority of students answered “other.” Of these “others” many students said that they just couldn’t turn their minds off at night. This could be because of teenagers’ circadian rhythms, or internal clocks. During “tween” years, these clocks change so that teenagers feel more alert at night and tend to wake up later in the morning. This change makes it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 PM, making 6 AM wake up calls even tougher. see SLEEP page 3