April Issue

Friday, April 29, 2011 Volume 29 Issue 8

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2400 Lindbergh Drive Minnetonka, MN 55305

Are your Facebook friends really who you think they are?

Depot a no go for students during class Pg. 3

Student follows skating dreams and aspires to make career of it Pg. 6

Taking a new look at prom, where to go, what to do, and how to save Pg. 12

The history behind HURT Ultimate Pg. 15

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Teacher challenges GRAD scoring

Three students headed to DECA Nationals

Ms. Beth Ocar, Language Arts, is challenging the subjective scoring of the GRAD writing test, which are required to graduate.

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uniors Seth Gellman, Gary Barannikov, and Zach Mekler will represent HHS at this year’s DECA Nationals. The competition will be held in Orlando, Fla. on April 30.

Only three groups from each state are invited to the national competition. Last year, no Hopkins students made it past State.

Gellman and Barannikov placed second at State to earn their spot at Nationals. The two worked extensively on a project called “Your Money Your Life,” a financial literacy course that promoted education on financial studies to high school students.

They two viewed the project as a success.

“The judges really enjoyed the project…the hard work really paid off,” Gellman said. The two are planning on presenting the project again at nationals.

Mekler earned his spot at Nationals with an individual project in the “Service Management” section. This is where members are told a hypothetical situation that occurred in the work place and they have to explain how they would respond if they were the ones in charge.

“Service Management” prepares students for a career in entrepreneurship by placing them in different situations.

The three students have been busily prepping for the upcoming competition. They usually meet with Jesse Theirl, the director of Hopkins DECA. Gellman, Barranikov, and Mekler will be competing with 14,000 other members, and 180 from Minnesota at Nationals. “I feel we have a good chance but it is tough competition” said Gellman.

Time is running out to order a yearbook

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ewer than 40 copies of “The Regalia” yearbook remain for purchase by students. Students who would still like to buy a copy of “The Regalia” should go to jostensyearbook.com or bring a check made out to Hopkins High School to the yearbook room during lunch. Yearbooks are $80.

Quiz Bowl team qualifies for national event

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ed by Mr. John Sammler, Science, the HHS Quiz Bowl team has been competing in tournaments throughout the year.

Their performance in the Minnesota High School Quiz Bowl Tournament earned them a wild card berth in the national competition.

They followed this up with a fourth place finish at the Minnesota State Championships.

The national tournament will be held May 28-29 in Atlanta, Ga.

Visit royalpage.org for more coverage on DECA Nationals and Quiz Bowl along with photos of ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ and more.

Lissa Martinez Feature and Managing Editor

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here are many obstacles to overcome before tossing that graduation cap tassel to the left. One is the GRAD test, a proficiency test on the essential skills necessary to graduate from Minnesota public schools.

The GRAD tests are taken in three subjects: writing as freshmen, reading as sophomores, and mathematics as juniors.

While all students are required to take the tests, not everybody passes.

If a student at HHS does not pass the first time, they are required to take a class to prepare them for their retake.

One HHS student had prepared for their writing retake test with Ms. Beth Ocar, Language Arts, in her GRAD writing course, designed for students in ELL (English Language Learners) who had not passed the test their freshman year. Ocar’s class goes over grammar, vocabulary, and organization skills necessary to earn a three, the passing score. This student followed the procedure and took the test a second time, again failing to pass with a score of two.

However, Ocar took issue with the scoring of this test. “I took this student’s paper that didn’t pass and I looked at it and I understood why she got the score that she did. What I don’t understand is why three papers of other students similar in length and with the same number of grammatical kinds of errors passed,” Ocar said.

That’s when Ocar submitted the paper to be appealed and rescored. “On an appeal, the third person that looked at the paper said that the paper is perfunctory, which means it’s formulaic.. I take issue with that given the nature of most five-paragraph essays. So the grammar part I understood, but that [the organization] I didn’t understand,” Ocar said.

At this point, Ocar began questioning the Minnesota Department of Education (DOE) and Pearson, the company that writes the GRAD test.

After many emails and phone calls, Ocar held a phone conference with representatives from the DOE and Pearson to understand the basis for which the failing test had been scored.

“I learned that the rubric [and] domain do not contain all of the criteria.

If I want to know what all of the criteria is, I have to drive to Roseville and make an appointment and see their anchor papers. They don’t apparently have a list of all of the criteria,” Ocar said.

Ocar also added that representatives from the DOE and Pearson revealed that even the anchor papers do not hold all of the necessary criteria.

She argued that if there isn’t a set rubric or list of criteria necessary for passing the GRAD, “it makes it really difficult to know how to teach to make sure [the students understand] clearly what they need to accomplish in order to pass the test.”

Furthermore, Ocar learned that the people hired to score the writing tests are given two hours of instruction before grading real tests.

The scoring for the reading and math objective tests is relatively simple because the majority of the questions are multiple choice. However, the writing test is scored subjectively, generally meaning it’s open to interpretation. The way that it works is that two people score the same test and come up with an average, or score they can agree on.

However, according to a February 2011 article from the City Pages, the scorers don’t exactly take their time scoring the tests. Instead they are required to meet quotas and grade up to 200 essays a day.

In fact, in her conversation with representatives, Ocar asked if the scorers were trained English teachers. “Right away the DOE said yes, and Pearson jumped in and said no. They are college educated,” Ocar said.

In addition to attempting to grasp the skills required to past the test, Ocar’s students must also deal with a language barrier. “This particular student moved to this country and is very proficient verbally, but struggles a little with sentence construction,” Ocar said. “With students who don’t speak English as a first language, I have to make sure that they’re reading the question correctly so that they understand what the question is asking.”

For an ELL student to take a GRAD test would be similar to a student taking a foreign language who was asked to write a perfectly constructed five paragraph essay with no grammar or spelling errors, and it is mandatory to pass in order to graduate.

As customary, students who don’t pass their first GRAD writing exam must retake the test after remedial courses in English, such as Ocar’s GRAD writing course.

The student whose essay is in question is a senior, meaning that based on whether or not she passes the exam is the difference between a diploma or not. “The reason that really bothers me is that this is a high stakes test.

This is somebody’s life, whether or not they get a high school diploma,” Ocar said.

Ocar also urges students and parents to ask to see their score on the tests if they do not pass. “Ask to see it and ask for clarification. Not only will it help next time you take the exam, but you should know,” Ocar said.

In the mean time, Ocar has yet to hear back from the DOE on several more inquiries. As of April 13, it has been over two weeks since her email was sent.

New liaison officer coming next year Michael Newcomer Staff Reporter

The Minnetonka Police Department will choose a new officer to replace Dustin Stenglein following his three year tenure.

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very year students see many faculty members come and go. This year will mark the end of Minnetonka police liaison officer Dustin Stenglein’s three years with the school.

Liaison officers stay with the school for three years. This gives them the chance to build a strong relationship with the incoming sophomores.

“The best part of staying for three years is being able to watch students progress in to young adults or turn their lives around,” Stenglein said.

Safety for staff and students is of the utmost importance and the liaison officer has a large role in ensuring this. He helps the administration create a more positive environment. “He is very visible to students,” said Anne Campbell, assistant principal. “He is out in the hall every passing time and eats lunch in the lunch room.”

Now that Stenglein’s time at HHS is coming to end, a new liaison officer will be policing the halls next year. An officer from the Minnetonka Police Department is assigned to the school after they have been interviewed and selected by the police. The school gets to sit in on the interviews and make a recommendation but the decision lies with the Police Department.

Sgt. Dennis Warosh is in charge of the liaison program. “We aim for a balance between who we want and who the school wants, but it is ultimately our decision,” Warosh said.

When selecting the officer, many things factor into the police department’s decision. Some things that they look for are good judgment, someone who can work independently, and someone who can handle a lot. “[The school] is like a little city that comes together everyday and the liaison is the sheriff,” Warosh said.

Long before being the sheriff of HHS, Stenglein worked the streets just like any other cop. He worked traffic patrols and responded to emergency calls that came through.

While he enjoyed the exciting, fast-paced work as a street cop, when the liaison job opened up, Stenglein jumped on it. Stenglein said his first day as liaison officer was as daunting as his first day on the force. “It was something that was completely different from what I have done prior,” Stenglein said. “They can teach you how to put on hand cuffs but they can’t teach how to interact with students or deal with angry parents.”

He was excited and scared but eager to start something completely different. One thing that caught Stenglein off guard was how many missing property reports come in.

During his time here, Stenglein has learned many useful skills such as how to interact with the students in their environment. Dealings on the street are not always positive, but after being at HHS he has learned how to talk to young adults in a more positive manner.

His advice for the next liaison is to be willing to open up to the students and staff. Also he says to stay flexible and learn to accept new things. He will be able to bring all the ties he has made to the community with him when he returns to the force this summer.

“I will miss being able to work so closely with students and staff,” Stenglein said. “I have enjoyed working here a lot.”

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Depot Too a no go for students during class Sawyer Franklin Staff Reporter

The rule, which leaves the Depot Too open for business but forbids teachers from signing passes for students during class, has been met with resistance from students.

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n the beginning of fourth quarter, a new rule was put in place regarding the Depot Too. It states that teachers are no longer allowed to send their students down to the Depot Too during class. The rule was created to keep students in their classrooms during class.

“The students need to stay in class. That’s what parents want. That’s what the District wants,” said Ms. Anne Campbell, assistant principal.

It is a controversial rule among students as well as staff. Mr. Daniel “Champ” Nelson, Math, said, “I don’t like the rule. Depending upon the circumstances, I believe that students should be able to go to the Depot during class. Yet, I will abide by the rules that the administration puts forth.”

Dana Anderson, senior, also dislikes the rule.

“The Depot is less convenient now. Why do they even have it open during classes [If we are not allowed to go]? It doesn’t make sense.” If the Depot Too was closed during classes, students wouldn’t go down there at all, thus eliminating the problem altogether.

Anne Ferreira, Extended Services Manager

and manager of the Depot Too explains, “We keep the Depot open during classes so staff and visitors can come and get a snack if they so choose. Although we make most of our money before and after school and during lunch, we still do make some money during classes.” Ferreira adds “No matter what, students seem to find a way down here.”

In the week of April 18-21, the Depot made $6,200. This figure is not entirely accurate because it includes ‘A La Cart’ options, which are also available in the normal cafeteria lines.

Originally, the Depot Too wasn’t even meant for use by students. “It was going to be a shop for our community, like an alternative to Starbucks,” adds Campbell.

The Depot was originally created as a partnership with the student run Depot in Hopkins and the HHS Depot was created using that business model.

However, that partnership no longer exists, so the HHS Depot was asked to change its name to avoid further confusion between the two. The new name will be The Royal Rock Cafe.

Photo by Sawyer Franklin

Students wait in line at the Depot Too right after school. The new rule means that even though the Depot Too is open, teachers are not allowed to send students down during class.

Social studies department takes a look in the mirror Sarah Benton Staff Reporter

Curriculum review involved student, staff and community input and focused on higher rigor and 21st skills.

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hile HHS students nonchalantly took the social studies survey in January, they did not realize what an impact they were making for the Social Studies Curriculum Review, which will be impacting future HHS social studies experiences.

That survey was one piece of many tasks done for the review this year. Other key tasks included doing research on curriculum, technology integration, identifying focus areas, reporting to the school board, and more.

The process was spearheaded by Kathryn Anderson, the curriculum coordinator.

As HHS prepares for the future, the Social Studies Department is eager to make their own changes.

Anderson identified that a priority of her department is to move into teaching 21st century social studies skills. “I often ask myself, ‘What are the best and innovative ways to teach social studies?’” she said.

Technology is a key piece of preparing for the future. “It’s a very vital role,” Anderson said. She believes that podcasts, news resources, and ActiVotes, among others, are all relevant technologies for the classroom.

Alongside technology, but global awareness is also an aspect of the future social studies vision. Anderson said, “[Students] are going to have to understand how to be a citizen of the world. You’re not just competing with American graduates. There are graduates from China and India who are willing to work for less money.”

Anderson believes that by having a great social studies education, American students will be able to offer something unique that their foreign competitors do not have.

Hopkins parents agree that their children should understand what it means to be American. In the January parent survey, 83

percent of the parents agreed that it is important to have U.S. Rights and Citizenship education in the social studies curriculum.

HHS parent Lisa Zelickson realizes the importance of social studies education. She believes the purpose of social studies education to be “opening our students’ eyes to the world.” By learning history and understanding the world, she knows that any student can become a better citizen.

Students and teachers recognize a gap between the rigor in mainstream classes and the AP classes. Anderson said that the curriculum of non-AP classes like Modern United States History will be revised to become more rigorous.

The same problem occurs in the junior-year World Studies course. World Studies will be piloting new curriculum next year in the hopes of making it more difficult.

A different problem occurs in the sophomore course Faces of Conflict (FOC). In the HHS course manual, FOC is listed as an intermediate course, above the difficulty of Modern U.S. History, but it is listed as below the difficulty of AP U.S. History. Some students who chose to take FOC instead of AP U.S. History said the class lacked the rigor they were looking for.

Sophie Stillman, sophomore, was one of the upset FOC students. She said, “I would have liked to have been challenged more.

FOC is not intermediate.” Looking back, Stillman wishes she would have taken the AP course instead.

Hoping to fix the FOC situation, Anderson said the department did “up the rigor” this past year. They did so by creating a Document Based Question, along with other projects, that helped to build students’ writing and analytical skill sets. Also, the curriculum has been changed to encompass a more modern history sequence instead of a broad survey of United States history.

Every senior social studies elective course was also extensively reviewed. Some courses were revised, and unpopular courses were eliminated.

The Social Studies Department, along with every other department, undergoes this review process every seven to eight years.

During the most recent review, completed in 2002, the most significant change to secondary curriculum was in its sequence and

scope. This time, the focus has been set on rigor and 21st century skills.

Zelickson is confident in the review. She said, “They’ve put a lot of thought and effort into analyzing the situation.”

In her report to the school board, Anderson wrote, “Results of each survey clearly confirmed what we already knew: our Hopkins Social Studies program is strong; and our district’s Social Studies program has the respect of the school district community.”

It’s not over yet. In the next two years, piloting material will be made concrete, more reports will be given to the School Board, and results of curriculum development and review will be fully implemented.

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Inside the survey As part of the curriculum review of the Social Studies Department, the District put out a short survey to parents and students. Here are some of the results from the secondary student survey:

Students’ favorite part of the social studies program are the teachers 80 percent of students agree that their social studies classes gave them a better awareness of global events 1,300 students reported taking advanced social studies classes for the challenge

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The Royal Page 2010-2011

Editor in Chief Danielle Fink

Managing Editor Lissa Martinez

News Editor Ryan Levi

Opinion Editor Bill Gregg

Feature Editor Lissa Martinez

Variety Editor

Jasmine Geschwind

Sports Editors Saxon Dorshow Michael Frey

Business Manager Sonja Muus

Back Page Editor Marlee Gotlieb

Web Czar

Michael Fields Michael Larson

Photographer Mike Newcomer

Staff Reporters

Rachel Alter Quinn Anderson Sarah Benton Katie Cera Eli Fhima Sawyer Franklin Tarina Gartner Stefanie Gedan Dan George Corbin Gyswyt Meredith Halpern Dan Larson Chandler Luhowskyj Naimo Mohamud Mona Omar Joel Ratner Dani Segelbaum Jason Showers Sarah Ungerman Michael White Lydia Wilson Caroline Womack

Adviser

Mr. Kocur The editorial represtents the opinion of the newspaper staff. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the administration, the student body or the advisor. Signed viewpoints represent the view of the writer. The Royal Page operates as an open forum student publication, and student editors make editorial decisions regarding content.

Advertising information available by mail, fax and phone Annual Subscriptions are available for $20.

The Royal Page encourages letters to the editor. Letters are not guaranteed publication, are subject to editing for content and length, must be signed and meet deadlines. Compliments and suggestions are also welcome.

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Community in the classroom and beyond Jason Showers Staff Reporter

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P European History students hugged their farewells to Mr. Rick Rexroth, Social Studies, at the end of quarter three with heavy hearts.

One could see the sadness clearly etched on the faces of Rexroth and his students as they parted ways after spending every day of the school year together from Sept. through Mar. Over the years, some teachers, such as Rexroth, have become accomplished at building strong communities within their classroom, which makes for a bittersweet goodbye at the end of the term.

While teachers agree that school should be first and foremost focused on learning, some educators promote an environment that not only provides for individual learning but in addition includes activities that build teamwork skills and encourage students to be outgoing.

Hard work and group projects can be extremely useful for building bonds between classmates, in and out of school.

Two major projects in AP Euro, the movie project and the final review project, involved heavy group work outside of class. “The movie project was hard work, but being with friends made it a lot easier.

It was a fun way to learn the history. The final project was a truckload of work, but we became a big family and we all learned to work well with each other,” said Nick Dale, junior.

Games and “get-to-know” activities can also improve the classroom environment. Students in the classroom of Mr. Champ Nelson, Math, has come to know and love a game called the “hot seat” which provides 15 minutes every day after the lesson for one student to sit on a chair in front of the class and answer questions posed by fellow classmates. These inquiries can range from “What’s your favorite movie?” to “What is your biggest regret in life?”

While students are not required to answer a question they feel uncomfortable with, the class is always supportive and encouraging. It is a chance for students to learn unique things about their peers and for people to promote their individuality in a group setting.

“Students are amazing and they each have something special to share about themselves; I like finding out those things,” Nelson said. “A passion I have always had is for appreciating the differences people have.”

Some personal facts that students talk about in the “hot seat” are news to Nelson as well as other students.

“A couple years ago I had a national dance champion in class that I didn’t know about until the hot seat, and another example would be the time that a girl talked about how she was an extremely accomplished pianist, yet nobody in the class, including myself, knew that,” Nelson said.

Jonatan Hoegstroem, senior, had such an experience in Nelson’s class. In the welcoming community of his calculus class,

Photo by Jason Showers

In Mr. Champ Nelson’s calculus class, students eagerly await the chance to ask Alex Mastbaum, senior, some interesting questions. he felt like he could openly share about his special skill: making origami cranes out of paper.

“I didn’t mind sharing the information with the class, I mean the class already knew I was crocheting hats, so they just laughed along when I showed them the cranes,” Hoegstroem said.

Students have felt compelled to take these welcoming values beyond the classroom and into extra-curricular activities, reaping the benefits of those special teachers that brought a class together in a way much more than forcing everyone to sit in the same classroom for 88 minutes.

In many student-run clubs, this closeness plays a large role. Rachel Sadowsky, junior and member of the Spanish club, is very active in the group activities such as fund-raisers that the club is involved in.

“We hold fundraisers and do different activities that encourage all people to join.

We made t-shirts and got Chipotle as a group, and people can see what is going on each week in our Facebook group. The club is a great opportunity to meet new people and become involved in new ways,” Sadowsky said.

Dan Clemens, junior and member of the Junior Varsity baseball team, has also noticed a very strong sense of community and closeness in the Hopkins baseball program, and feels it bears a resemblance to Rexroth’s AP Euro class.

“The strongest sense of community at Hopkins that I have been a part of would be in my AP Euro class and on my baseball team,” Clemens said. “The team works toward the same goal, similar to how the students all worked together cooperatively on projects and homework. During the

season the players get to know, respect, and trust their coach just as we all did with Rexroth. The players and students also bond with each other in an environment

like that; creating friendships and inside jokes that will last much longer than any class or sports season.”

feature Burke tries out for elite team 6 page

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Liz Burke, junior, has skated across the country and now hopes to make an elite team. In the future, she plans to pursue a career in skating on a cruise ship.

Sonja Muus Business Manager

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rabesque. Axel Jump. Besti Squat. Biellman Spin. For Liz Burke, junior, these words describe the jumps, spins, figures, and twirls that make up an activity that is a major part of her life: figure skating.

Burke has been figure skating for ten years, and is currently working toward becoming of a member of a world elite team: Team Braemar Junior Line. Team Braemar is a synchro skating team who placed third in the world competition last year. Tryouts are on Mon, April 18 at their home rink, the Braemar Ice Arena in Edina.

Team Braemar is considered “Team USA” at world competitions, but does not participate in the Olympics because there is no team skating event.

“Trying out for this team is a great opprutunity,” Burke said.

“Its a really cool team. They traveled to France and Switzerland last year.”

Although she has been skating her entire life, synchronized skating is fairly new to her. She did, however, have a synchro skating competition last month. With competitions about seven times

per year, performing has become one of her favorite aspects of figure skating.

“I’ve done about forty competitions in my life, plus shows because performing is my favorite part [of skating],” Burke said.

“When I’m skating in front of an audience, I love to watch the peoples’ reactions.”

Currently, Burke skates at her home rink Monday through Friday for two to three hours after school. A typical day at the rink for Burke consists of off ice warm ups, on ice warm ups, working on her current routine, and practicing specific jumps and turns. She also teaches Skate School in Maple Grove and Plymouth on both days of the weekend.

This is all the training Burke is participating in currently, however, in the past she has trained much more intensely. In seventh grade (2006 to 2007 school year), she attended school for two blocks and took online classes for her remaining credits. Then, in eighth grade (2007 to 2008 school year), she took online classes at the rink full time and did not attend school at all.

“I didn’t like participating in online school at the rink at all,” Burke said. “I had to make too many sacrifices like not getting to

Photos provided by Liz Burke

see my friends.”

The following school year, Burke returned to school and attended two blocks once again. Then, in her sophomore year (2009 to 2010 school year) she began to attend school full time once again while skating on the side.

Burke has skated for three different clubs and currently skates for SportQuest Skating Academy (SQSA) at the Parade Ice Rink downtown. She has also traveled around the country for training with different coaches in order to gain new perspectives on how she is skating.

“I’ve been to Virg, Utah, Mich, Illi, and Canada for training, but with Team Braemar, I would be able to travel around the world,” Burke said.

As far as the future goes, Burke is planning to take a year off of school and skate in shows on a cruise ship after she graduates.

“I would have to get accepted, but skating on a cruise ship before attending college would be a great way to earn money and get experience,” Burke said. “After that, I would like to continue skating for fun even if I don’t compete because it is a passion of mine, I love it and want to continue the rest of my life.”

Newest after school club jams out Tarina Gartner

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Staff Reporter

here are hundreds of students who play instruments for band, orchestra, or as an extra curricular activity outside of school. This year, several students have added another option for the musically inclined.

It all started when Ed Koleski, sophomore, pitched the idea to Mr. William Bell, Music Director, to form a club where kids can play music after school with more of a garage band atmosphere than school music groups. The club is called Jam Session.

The group differs from band and orchestra because there is no formal instruction as it is led by the members.

Group members Billy Lewis, Roy Grossmann, Will Burnton, and Sam Marshall, sophomores, Cayle Wendorf, junior, and Koleski all have a history in music and decided to put their abilities together to form a casual band.

The group takes advantage of meeting as much as possible because they’re the only instru-

mental club in school and also aspires to book a gig sometime in the future.

Jam Session usually meets Wednesdays and Thursdays, alternating weekly, for about an hour.

They group plays music inspired by their favorites such as Led Zeppelin and other popular music from the 60s through the 80s. But they also take time to listen to music.

Koleski, who plays guitar, has played for many years. “I play to live,” Koleski said.

Meanwhile, Grossman, who plays drums, has only played for six months, as he was filling a position for the group. “It was the only spot available in my neighborhood band,” Grossmann said.

Outside of school and Jam Session, members also practice their talents in another group.

Burnton, Marshall, and Grossman are a part of the same neighborhood band with Koleski and Wendorf.

Jam Session is planning on finishing out this year, and hopes to start again next year, with more members.

Photo by Tarina Gartner

While most members of Jam Session play in band or orchestra, they also take time to play guitar after school.

feature Sailing through spring Quinn Anderson Staff Reporter

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en years ago, Jackson Dunitz, junior, fell in love with sailing.

He was only seven years old when he realized that sailing was the sport for him.

Dunitz began sailing when he saw how much his sister, Madison Dunitz, who sailed with Hopkins her junior year on Lake Calhoun, loved it. “It looked like a lot of fun, so I wanted to start,” Dunitz said. Sailing has now become one of the most important parts of his life.

Although his sister never participated in any racing, he became interested in the competitive aspect of the sport. Dunitz knew racing was something he was going to want to pursue.

He now sails with Lake Calhoun Sailing School (LCSS). LCSS is for kids in eighth to twelfth grade.

Dunitz wastes no time when it comes to sailing. He takes part in many different races every week, especially on weekends and during the summer. “In the summer there are a lot more races because we don’t have school, so we can race anytime,” Dunitz said.

Dunitz has sailed on many different lakes. One lake he particularally likes sailing on and goes to quite often in the summertime is Lake Michigan. On Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, Dunitz finds himself sailing a few miles off the shore line, where he loves to sail.

Sailing closer to home, Dunitz sails mostly on Lake Calhoun and Lake Minnetonka; occasionally he might find himself on other lakes. He practices during the week on Mondays to Thursdays.

There are local races that take place on Fridays, and sometimes races are held out of town on the weekends.

The races take anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour, and other times there are more than one race in a day. Dunitz once participated in an event two days long with five to six races a day.

The pulley system is a very important part in sailing, it usually controls the main sail, it makes handling the boat easier to maintain for Dunitz and the rest of his crew.

There are many techniques used when it comes to sailing. “You have to be very solid with your movenment, jerking will cause the boat to slow down, or worse; you also need to know how to stop the boat, that’s extremly important,” Dunitz said. Turning the sail

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s the school year is in its last quarter, the HHS band department is sending off their students with a trip to one of the country’s largest cities.

Apr. 21 through 23 juniors and seniors in the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble went on a trip to Chicago. The band trip takes place every other year and is only for the juniors and seniors in either of the two bands.

“What I hear from parents a lot is [that] they like trips, but they don’t like pulling their kids out of school,” said Mr. William Bell, music.

This year the three buses departed on Thursday morning, Apr. 21, and came back on Saturday night, Apr. 23. Although the students missed one day of school this year, in past trips the participants would miss two days of school.

Only missing one day of school did come with some troubles. The trip took place over Easter weekend and Passover.

Bell and the parent booster board talked

Spotlight on: Trap Club Stefanie Gedan Staff Reporter

NEED PICTURE!!!!!!

Photo provided by Hugh Harris

Dunitz, junior, has sailed for ten years. He uses his experience to sail in Chicago out of Columbia yacht. boat will help get back up to speed during races.

There are many important factors to help make a more successful trip, such as time. Timing everything right, and being able to know how long everything will take, will make races more successful. Communication is another, “being able to communicate well with your partner or others is extremely important,” Dunitz said.

Dunitz intends on pursuing sailing throughout his life. Dunitz plans on attending a college that will allow him to continue on sailing, where he can be part of a sailing team. Although, he is unsure of what college to attend, Dunitz claims, “there are lots of different places with great sailing opportunities.”

Band students spend holiday weekend in Chicago with band family Katie Cera Staff Reporter

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about the date and unanimously decided that it was a good decision to have the trip over Apr. 21 through 23 because of the benefits of only having to miss one day of school instead of two.

The holiday weekend did not affect the number of students who went on the trip, which in fact grew to around 60 more teens than in years past. There were 131 students total who went to Chicago with the band this year.

With the Passover conflict, some students had limited types of food that they could eat. “Mr. Bell called the hotel and got a refrigerator for our hotel so we could bring whatever food we wanted,” said Allie Rosen, junior.

The students celebrating Easter were home before Sunday Apr 23. “I am missing the Good Friday stuff at my church, but I am glad I am getting back before Easter breakfast,” said Jenny Banyard, junior.

Even though the students were not with their family during the holidays, the students were with their band family. During the trip, there were multiple all group

meals. “It is a great bonding experience for our kids… and allows them to work with a college band director,” Bell said.

Along the eight hour drive the band stopped in Eau Clair. There they met with a college band director at the University of Wisconsin Eau Clair and participated in a master clinic.

While in Chicago, which was where the group’s hotel was located, the band also performed at the Field Museum of Natural History after they had their chance to view it. Additionally, the group saw the Blue Men Group and visited the Shedd Aquarium.

On the way home from the trip, the group went to Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells. There the team could go to the indoor water park and/or the indoor theme park.

Even if the students were celebrating a holiday, Apr. 21 through 23 allowed the band students to participate in an action packed trip and were able to come back to school and not stress as much about the makeup work needed to be completed.

A

clay pellet soars through the air. A shot is fired, and the pellet now lays shattered on the ground. A perfect shot for a member of the HHS trap club.

Noah Johnson,sophomore and Jon Zierden, sophomore, are both two-year veterans of the trap club. Zierden had been hunting many times before he joined the club, while Johnson had only shot once before. Despite the differences in experiences, they have both been successful in the club.

Last year Zierden made it to novice state. Zierden said referring to winning first place at state, “It was good, it was fun.” Johnson said that his favorite part of trap was when he achieved one of the greatest accomplishments a trap shooter can succeed in, hitting 20 out of the 25 pellets for the first time.

Johnson said, “It’s fun and teaches discipline.” Trap takes the safety of everyone very seriously. If people cannot take the sport seriously, people could get hurt.

Before students are allowed to participate in trap, they must be licensed or have a hunter’s permit through the state of Minnesota. No guns are ever brought on campus, and a strict two-strike policy keeps the participants safe.

Certain rules regarding how a student holds and carries the gun must be followed; violation of these rules will result in an immediate termination from the club for the rest of the season.

Mr. Mark Czech, music and trap coach this year, said that there hasn’t been an accident at any gun range for many years now according to national statistics. “Safety is the number one issue for us, always.” Czech said.

With safety guidelines for students to follow and adult safety officers in place to watch out for the participants, trap club keeps its students safe.

Trap shooters of the HHS’s trap club do more than just shooting. They gain a sense of community and build their self-confidence to a point where they can do better in all aspects of life.

Czech believes that by finding ways to succeed in trap, kids can use those skills and apply them to their other classes. Trap club has pushed its participants to the brink of their abilities, both on the shooting range and in everyday life.

Seven years ago, HHS became the first high school in the state to have a trap club. When the idea was proposed, the principal and superintendent agreed to it as long as it was safe for students.

Students head out to the gun range and stow their gun in a gun rack. When actually going out to shoot, they’ll remove their weapon and load it on the range.

Then a series of 25 clay pellets will be shot in the air and the trap members will try to hit as many as they can.

Five is common for beginners and the most experienced shooters range from the low to mid 20s. After their round they take their gun back and put it on the gun rack. “A kid in the trap club shot a four and said ‘That was terrible.’ We said, ‘Dude just relax and try again.’ He came back and he shot a 20,” Johnson said.

There is a common idea that trap club is violent, but in reality it isn’t. Students are shooting at inanimate objects.

This is one view point that Czech believes in.

“It’s a very easy thing to judge from the outside; unless you’ve done it and experienced it and understand kind of what it means and what it can do for you. I would encourage more people to try it,” Czech said.

Angela Dowry has 70 new Facebo

As more people around the world use Facebook, it has become easier to use a false identity. The Royal Page conducted an experiment to see if students really know who they are accepting as friends on Facebook by creating a profile under the name Angela Dowry.

A

The Royal Page has deleted Angela Dowry’s Facebook account. All of her friends were deleted individually.

Like the real Royal Page on Facebook to find out about events in Hopkins.

Also, follow the Royal Page on Twitter, theroyalpage, to get sports updates.

Visit www.royalpage.org for more stories, pictures, and videos.

ngela Dowry seems like a normal teenager. She listed her languages as English and Spanish. She likes the television shows Modern Family and Glee. Her favorite movies are Avatar and Harry Potter. Angela also updated her education information as a junior at Hopkins High School.

Facebook was originally created to keep in contact with people at the same college. Now, it has transformed into communication method with friends, family, old friends, and new friends.

It is easy to find people to communicate with. Facebook has a button labeled “Find Friends”. The Royal Page added friends within five minutes. When adding one person, more people came up in the box titled, “People you may know.”

By adding 59 people within a short span of time, Facebook noticed a problem. This notification came up, “You have been blocked from adding friends because you repeatedly misused this feature. This block will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. When you are allowed to reuse this feature, please proceed with caution. Further misuse may result in your account being permanently disabled. For further information, please visit our FAQ page.”

After two days of being blocked, the Royal Page was allowed access again. The 59 friend requests did not go through. Slowly, the Royal Page started to add friends each day. A warning notification came up after every time a friend request was sent. “If you send a request to a stranger, it will be considered spam and your friend request will be blocked temporarily. Please only send this request if you know this person.” The options are ‘“cancel” or “I know this person.”

Many students were accepting Angela Dowry as a friend, but some Romar Daniel, junior

Royal Page: Why did you inbox Angela after she friend requested you?

Romar Daniel: It said that she went to Hopkins and I didn’t believe her.

Romar Daniel

Spencer Jones, senior

Royal Page: Why did you friend request Angela Dowry?

Spencer Jones: I saw this girl on Facebook, I thought I knew, her, and she had many Hopkins friends.

Spencer Jones

heeded caution. She received two inbox messages questioning if they knew her, while others denied her request. “I do not accept people I have never met, like Angela,” said Colin Wieberdink, junior, who denied Angela as a friend.

On the other hand, within 10 days, she received two friend requests from HHS students, a graduation invitation, two inbox messages, and 70 out of 92 people accepted her friend request.

People may have interacted with her because they assumed they had seen her in the halls at school or thought they knew her. Many people saw she was listed under Hopkins High School and decided to add her. “I saw other HHS people were friends with her and she only had 23 friends. I was trying to figure out if she was in my grade or not,” said Cydney Froehlich, sophomore, who accepted the friend request from Dowry.

Once people are friends on Facebook, they have access to each others’ profiles. Many profiles contain cell phone numbers and what current city they are living in. Facebook users also update their statuses with information about their whereabouts. “I don’t add people I don’t know because they don’t need to know where I am going or other information about me,” Wieberdink said.

Students also do not add people they don’t know because there is often speculation that a high school or college creates a fake person to search students, but that isn’t the case.

Many colleges have their own page to promote their school, but not to spy on students. If a student likes a college’s page, the college then has access to the student’s profile. “Colleges tell us they aren’t looking for disturbances on Facebook just because the student liked their page,” said Mr. Nick Abel, Guidance Counselor.

Although colleges may not be looking for disturbances, there is still a risk. If the college receives a phone call or e-mail about a certain student, they could look through the student’s profile. “Colleges have rejected students before because of what they saw on Facebook, but it does not happen very often,” said Mr. Brad Burnham, Guidance Counselor.

Even though colleges may not see everything that happens on Facebook, businesses may look at profiles of future employers.

Burnham’s advice to Facebook users is that if they wouldn’t show their grandma what they put on Facebook, then they shouldn’t post it.

Danielle Fink is the Editor-in-Chief for the Royal Page Zac Merie, sophomore

Royal Page: Why did you accept Angela Dowry as a friend?

Zac Merie: I want as many friends as I can get.

Zac Merie

ook friends. Are you one of them?

Day 1- April 10 Angela Dowry joined Facebook!

Angela Dowry updated her profile.

Angela Dowry added 11 photos to her album ME! Angela Dowry added 59 friends.

Angela Dowry was blocked from Facebook for two days.

The 59 friend requests did not go through.

Day 2- April 11 Blocked from Facebook for adding too many friends.

Day 3- April 13

By the numbers Angela Dowry has

70

Angela Dowry added

friends

92

friends

22 people denied Angela Dowry Angela Dowry got 2 inbox messages Angela Dowry got 2 friend requests

(70)

1 HHS senior added Angela Dowry as a friend.

Angela Dowry adds 11 HHS students as friends.

4 HHS students accept Angela Dowry as a friend.

Angela Dowry got a reminder from Facebook to only add people she knows personally.

Day 4- April 14 Angela Dowry adds 11 HHS students as friends.

7 HHS students accept Angela Dowry as a friend.

HHS junior sent Angela Dowry a message.

Angela Dowry now has 12 HHS friends.

Day 5- April 15 Angela Dowry adds 11 HHS students as friends.

5 HHS students accept Angela Dowry as a friend.

HHS junior sent Angela Dowry a message questioning if they know each other.

Angela Dowry now has 17 friends.

Day 6- April 16 Angela Dowry adds 29 HHS students as friends.

14 HHS students accept Angela Dowry as a friend.

Angela Dowry now has 31 friends.

Day 7- April 17 Angela Dowry adds 30 HHS students as friends.

37 HHS students accept Angela Dowry as a friend.

1 HHS senior added Angela Dowry as a friend.

Angela Dowry now has 70 friends.

opinion

10page the ROYAL

Teachers are not exactly what they appear to be

W

e have been lied to. We have been the victims of a massive plot to cover up the true nature of one of the most subversive groups in the country.

I am talking, of course, about teachers.

For decades we have been taught that teachers are hardworking, selfless, and underpaid. We have been taught that they provide an invaluable service to our society: preparing our children for the future. But these are nothing but lies and fallacies.

You should not feel bad about believing in teachers. I am ashamed to admit that I too had been taken in by their lies. They are very convincing in their deceits.

But I have now come to see the error of our ways.

It began, as many revolutions do, with a single man having the courage to stand up. That man was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Gov. Walker was faced with the task of balancing his state’s budget. To do so, he came up with a very reasonable plan: take from those who give the least back to society by cutting teachers’ salary and benefits as well as taking away their collective bargaining rights.

But the teachers refused to accept the governor’s generous offer.

Instead, they abandoned their schools and spent weeks protesting and stinking up the Wisconsin Capitol in the process.

The teachers even craftily said they would they would accept

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op 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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the salary and benefit cuts but wouldn’t give up their collective bargaining rights. Such greed is almost too tough to stomach.

To make sense of the whole ordeal, I turned, as I always do for my objective news, to cable news. It was these journalists who showed me the truth about teachers.

They dispelled for me the myth of the hardworking teacher.

They told me that true Americans work nine to five jobs. Teachers, on the other hand, work a measly seven to three day leaving them hours to while away.

You may ask, what about the hundreds of students who claim to receive invaluable help from teachers either before or after school?

The students who make these claims are in fact moles planted and paid by the teachers’ unions to further their deceptions.

And why should teachers work hard? Thanks to teacher tenure, once teachers in Minnesota teach for three years, they have a job for life. They can never teach a productive class period in their life and still continue to collect pay checks until they die.

It all makes sense really.

Think about all the times that your teachers have ditched class during work time to go down to Lindbergh Center and play basketball with their friends. Or how about all the times when your teacher has spent an entire class period sitting at his or her desk doing Sporcle quizzes while your class begs them to teach you.

Ways to ask your date to Prom

Instead of her car, decorate her. But don’t tell her, it should be a secret.

Get that one sub who sings opera to ask her in the form of a song.

Get Sensei Jack Deutsch to give your date a flower a day for a week.

Take a bullet for her...in Assassins Dig a “Prom?” shaped trench in her front yard. Call her electric company first.

Have your date write, in 500 words, why they want to go to Prom with you.

Egg her house spelling out “Prom?”

Have your friends dance to the Mexican Hat Dance for the girl you met in Mexico Copy an 80’s movie by standing in her yard with a stereo playing “In Your Eyes”

“Will you go to Prom with me?”

And how many times has your third block teacher lined up at the door five minutes before the lunch bell while your class pleads for them to continue teaching right up to the bell?

Tenure is not only an abomination, but also a practice that is completely unfair to teachers’ private sector counterparts. If a Wall Street executive ran his company into the ground and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, he would certainly be fired immediately.

But if a teacher was found guilty of a similar offense, thanks to tenure, they would not only keep their job, but they would probably receive a generous raise and a two-week paid vacation to Cancún.

And what about those late start mornings which are supposedly for “staff development?” Why would they wake up early to become better teachers if they don’t need to work at all?

Obviously these development mornings are a cover for something far more plausible. Students who have mistakenly come to school at the normal time on late start days have found to their horror that their teachers aren’t participating in continuing education but are instead feasting on a gourmet breakfast spread prepared by Wolfgang Puck, all at the tax-payers’ expense.

Teachers have been lying to us for far too long. But now, armed with the truth, we can begin to see teachers for what they really are.

Ryan Benjamin Levi is the News editor for the Royal Page.

Prom stress not worth it

P

rom. It’s supposed to be the best night of your life, right? But, it’s not.

With such a pretty exterior featuring flashy dresses and gelled up faux hawks, it seems like the perfect fairy tale ending to senior year. Underneath those false smiles lie problems that take over the spotlight of the night.

Money: Initially, $35 per person tickets seem reasonable, but many times the guy must shell out $70 for his date and himself. Renting a tux may cost anywhere from $60 to $120, and dresses can be up to $1000 for designer purchases. Let’s not even get into limo services and dinner...

Peer Pressure: Prom isn’t necessarily so great because of the dance itself but because of the after-party that follows. At some after-parties, it’s the norm to get drunk, hook up with your date, and party hard. Because of this cliché, students often feel they need to do drugs and have sex to fit in.

Social Drama: I would hate to be a guy; rejection is always in sight. On the other hand, if your date is clingy, you may be sucked into a relationship post-prom that you never wanted.

When your date is not in your close friend group, you also have to decide whose friend group to take pictures with.

So why do we put up with prom, considering all these stresses? I believe that prom needs to be brought down a notch.

No one should feel that it is necessary to glam up for their date. I mean, your date most likely asked you to prom when you were wearing normal clothes. Didn’t they like you then, too?

Peer pressure in any situation is bad. No one should have to do what their friends are doing simply because it’s prom night.

I understand that guys and girls like each other and want to go to dances with their special someone, but if you can’t go with “the one,” don’t let it ruin your night.

And the pictures? You can take them on any day of your life. Your face is not going anywhere anytime soon.

I suggest that we get rid of the whole tuxedo deal. Scratch the floor length dresses. Wouldn’t the money be better spent on your looming college tuition?

Chivalry is fine if you have a desire to purchase your date’s ticket, but you shouldn’t be bound to it.

If you were already planning on acting crazy wild the night of May 7, go for it! If not, telling a police officer that it’s prom night is not going to get you off the hook.

Don’t let the fact that you had to take group pictures with strangers ruin your night. Instead, compromise. Take pictures with your date’s friends and have dinner with your own.

Instead of stressing over the fact that your date is not as cute as you had always dreamed, realize that when your kids are looking back on your prom pictures even Zac Efron would not look cute to them.

Number one rule: have fun. It’s up to you whether or not that will happen.

Sarah Briggs Benton is a Staff Reporter for the Royal Page

At a glance...

-Prom is outrageously expensive -Some students feel pressured to drink or smoke to have fun -The prospect of rejection or the possibility of a budding relationship can be stressful

opinion

1 1 page the ROYAL

Try something new, have open mind Vikings can pay People often have a hard time trying new things that differ from the status quo, or trying things and looking like bandwagon fans. They may be missing out on things they could truly enjoy and appreciate but might be outside of their comfort zone.

I

never thought I’d say this, but I’m on the blogosphere.

During my third block Creative Writing class, we were told to make a blog for an assignment. I thought that I would start writing about our baseball team and have that fulfill the requirement for the assignment. My teacher told me that this wouldn’t suffice for the assignment, but I still stuck with the baseball blog.

I used to scoff at blogs. I saw them as uninformed outlets for crazies to get their often cult-ish ideas out there. But I’ve fallen in love.

I’ve decided that I’m going to blog after every game or after anything important that happens on a day-to-day basis. I never would have guessed it could be this fun.

My newly found affection for blogging got me thinking: this sort of thing happens a lot to me. I form preconceived notions about things, for whatever reason, and I don’t let myself deviate from my inner convictions. But sometimes, those notions aren’t correct.

At first, I thought Twitter was really dumb. Who cares about what I have to say in 140 characters or less? But then I tried it and ended up liking it not because of what I can say, but because of the fact that I can follow my friends and news outlets so I can stay informed.

The same thing happened with Guitar Hero a long time ago. I thought it was stupid that people played this because they couldn’t play the guitar. But then I tried playing it at a friend’s, and I house realized that not only was I pretty good at it, but it definitely filled the void in my heart where my acoustic guitar skills should be.

When I got to thinking about my changed perspective on blogging, I figured out that, too often, I write things off because right off the bat, I, or my group of friends, formulates a dissenting opinion on the matter at

Cartoon by Daniel Raskin

hand. I end up not wanting to challenge the negative feelings by trying out whatever it is. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t only have opinions that are the same as my friends, but when I find myself complaining about the same things as my friends, misery loves company.

I knew that this tendency could be over come. I used to be an extremely picky eater. I used to not even try foods that I thought I didn’t like.

But then, for whatever reason, I grew out of it. Now I love most foods and I’ll at the very least try whatever is put in front me.

I started to think about how I could change this. Trying everything is easier said than done. How could I realistically stop myself from writing things off before I try them?

I started to take a passive look at the problem. Maybe I just have to wait this out and, with age, I will learn to be more accepting of new things.

But with college looming, I don’t want to miss out on new things because I’m unwilling to try.

I’d rather be proactive in fixing my problem. I’ve decided that instead of trying everything on a whim or pledging myself against things from the start, I will take more care to analyze the new idea or fad and decide whether or not to try it out. It may take more of my time and my energy to figure out what to try, but in the end I think it’s for the best.

It’s funny how something as little and unimportant as a blog for fun can make you change your perspective on trying new things.

William Foley Gregg is the Opinion editor for the Royal Page

for their own new home

A

h, springtime in Minnesota. The birds are chirping, the pothole crews are busy, and, of course, the politicians are arguing.

Yes, with the new legislative session come the inevitable squabbles and fights of Minnesota politics. Among these, like every year, is the debate over the proposed bill for public financing of a new Vikings’ stadium.

The lease on the Vikings’ current home, the Metrodome, is set to expire in 2011. The Vikings want a new stadium, largely financed with tax dollars, much like the ones awarded to the Gophers and Twins.

The Vikings claim that their current stadium is insufficient and outdated. They have strongly hinted that they will leave Minnesota if a new stadium is not built.

On top of this, proponents of a stadium cite the alleged economic boom that a team and a new stadium brings to a community and the civic pride associated with professional sports.

They say that a new stadium would be a wonderful asset to the community and the Vikings’ leaving would be a tragedy.

On the last two points, I am inclined to agree. I love the Vikings. I bleed purple.

Frankly, you would be hard-pressed to find a bigger Vikings fan roaming the halls of HHS. If the Vikings left, I may not leave my room for weeks. Heck, I might even become a Packers fan. (Ha! My fingers were crossed!

I’d sooner die!)

I love the idea of a new stadium. Target Field, the new home of the Twins, is easily the best sporting venue that I have ever been to, and I would love to have a similar experience when watching my beloved Vikings.

It is impossible to deny that ever since Target Field opened, the downtown area is absolutely buzzing on game nights. Bars and restaurants are full, and times are good for local businesses.

All of that being said, I cannot, in good conscience, support public funding of a new stadium for the Vikings.

Why should we, the taxpayers, pay for a stadium that will primarily serve to make the rich owners even richer.

Zygi Wilf, the principal owner of the Vikings, is worth over a billion dollars. Are we really supposed to believe, as he says we should, that his team needs a new stadium because he is not making enough money to remain competitive in the current one?

If only we could all have Zygi’s problems.

If we pay for the stadium, will we have a stake in controlling it? Nope. It will be a private facility, and the very people that paid to build it will have to buy tickets to get in.

What would we really gain from a new stadium? The economic boom provided by Target field would not be duplicated, as there are only eight Vikings’ home games all year. Yes, it would be a great place to watch football, but a very slim amount of the taxpayers would ever witness a game at the proposed facility.

What’s more, we are in a budget crisis. With this in mind, how can we justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this venture when we can hardly afford to finance education or pay state workers?

Simply put, we can’t.

I want a new stadium as much as the next fan, but the burden of financing it cannot be allowed to fall to the citizens of Minnesota.

Saxon Dorshow is the Sports editor for the Royal Page

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the ROYAL

Theater ends year with Shakespeare classic Lydia Wilson Staff Reporter

M

r. Mark Hauck, theater director, tells the cast to be quiet and with that, rehearsal begins. Moments ago, the students who were laughing, telling jokes, and managing scheduling conflicts, now launch into a charming tale of love, loss, and friendship, with that signature Shakespeare humor.

For five years, Mr. Hauck and HHS students have been enlightening audiences with an annual spring Shakespeare production. This year, the team has taken on “The Two Gentleman of Verona”.

Cody Bursch, senior, and Mattan Comay, senior, play the two gentlemen. One ventures to Verona in pursuit of a broader worldview, and the other is forced there by his father. Once there, viewers will encounter clever schemes, hilarious outlaws, and vivid drama.

While a few familiar faces grace the stage, audiences will be pleasantly surprised to discover some of this year’s new talent.

Anna Crandall, sophomore, has landed a lead role. Though Shakespeare can be intimidating, HHS actors have found that it can often be relatable. “You just need to figure out what you’re saying and then tap into the emotion.” said Crandall.

Tapping into that emotion came easy for Crandall when she followed Hauck’s advice.

“Mark (Hauck) tells us, ‘What are the stakes?’

You know, what is the reality about what your character is going to do?”

“The Two Gentlemen of Verona” is an early Shakespeare play with the smallest cast of any of his scripts. This was challenging due to the huge

ensemble and all-inclusive nature of this year’s earlier productions, “The Dinosaur Musical” and “The In Between”.

Limited parts posed a challenge, but actor Lakeisha Bady, senior, remained optimistic and was able to secure a role. “You just come in and hope you get a part, whether it’s main or supporting. You have to be happy for the main actors, they work so hard; it’s a support system.”

Sticking together is important for this group of young actors. This being the final play for many seniors will take its toll on the team.

“The seniors are all fantastic and talented, they hold the group together. We have great juniors, and it will be great to have new sophomores coming in at a time of chaos.” Crandall said.

As the rehearsal continued, it became obvious that this production is full of moments that will resonate with teens.

“The drama and themes in the play relate to high school students. We all think that everything happening right now is the most important thing, and maybe it is. It has all that drama in friend groups- like betraying friends. Young Shakespeare is really easy to relate to, and it’s fun!” Crandall said.

Shakespeare may be known for his heartbreaking tragedies, but viewers afraid of tearjerkers shouldn’t hesitate to attend this production.

“People should come to get a chance to see their peers in action. It’s not a tragedy, it’s a comedy.

And there’s a big beautiful set!” Bady said.

Though an early rehearsal, it is obvious that these student actors will embrace another Shakespeare work and, using their talent, will leave audiences able to relate to a play written over 400 years ago.

Prom: what to do, where to go Meme Halpern Staff Reporter

F

rom perfectly planned outfits, with matching corsages and boutineers, to tricked out limos, the expenses of prom can be extremely overwhelming. Many HHS students are trying to find inexpensive alternatives on May 7 to make the night a time to remember, yet easy on the wallet. One simple way to save a little cash on prom night is to choose a low-cost restaurant.

If you’re looking for an upscale destination that won’t break the bank, Bacio is the place to go. Despite its dressed-up look, this Minnetonka restaurant is authentic, laidback, and focused on exceptional food and hospitality. Most main courses are under $12, and ambiance of the decor is impressive.

Briana Lavintman, senior, was planning on saving some cash by going with her prom group to Trattoria Michelangelo, an Italian restaurant on Mainstreet in Downtown Hopkins. Lavintman said, “I’ve been there once before, and I absolutely loved it! I can’t wait to go back in a huge group.”

However, much to Lavintman’s surprise,

the restaurant closed over a year ago, leaving her unsure about where to go for dinner on prom night. Remember, you might want to check, and recheck, your prom schedule to avoid any possible embarrassing mix ups.

If you’re someone who wants to skip the prom scene all together, there are alternate events going on that night. Sugarland is coming to the Target Center as a stop on their 42 city national tour. Members Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles have recently announced that they will be joining country music legend Keith Urban for 30 of his 2010 summer concert tour dates and it is rumored that Urban might be appearing at some of Sugarland’s concerts as well.

You never know, you might see three country superstars if you choose this concert over prom.

If country music isn’t really your thing, check out the Walker Art Center on the final day of the Spectacular of Vernacular exhibit. This exhibit includes 40 works by more than two dozen contemporary artists.

The pieces all have a 1970’s feel and range from photography to handmade sculptures.

Year of fairytale remakes Naimo Mohamud Staff Reporter

M

any people have their favorite fairytales from their childhood. Whether it’s Little Red Riding Hood or Beauty And The Beast, they forever have that one memorable character in their hearts. Great news, 2011 is officially the year of fairytale remakes but are they a hit or a miss?

Famous A listers such as Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kristen Stewart have all jumped on the fairytale bandwagon in the remakes of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Beauty and The Beast. So say good-bye to the Disney darlings and hello superstars.

These classic characters are truly coming back, in a new light.

For instance, Alice in Wonderland on their opening day made over forty millions dollars ranking number one at the box office and setting a new opening-day record in March. Undoubtedly, this was the movie that started this fairytale craze.

Through the classical fairytale stories and reproduced films, Hollywood has taken what we remem-

ber as childhood favorites to new levels. Here at HHS, students have opinions both favoring or opposing Hollywood’s attempt to revive the old tales.

There has been a range of different opinions on these new fairytale remakes at HHS. Najma Yusuf, junior, said, “The remakes sometimes attract older kids but the originals are things we loved as children.” On the contrary, “Nothing can beat the classics and the new ones are just copies. You have to stick to with the originals,” said Liena Hamza, sophomore.

Right here at the local Hopkins Mann’s Theater, many of these fairytale remakes are being played. Also many new films based on fairy tales are coming out this summer.

Whether or not the remakes beat the originals, it all comes down to which audience the movie is being presented to.

With all the new movie commercials playing on TV, it attracts those who like change.

variety

13 page the ROYAL

Samba serves up Brazilian cuisine Corbin Gyswyt Staff Reporter

S

amba, the Taste of Brazil brings the unique flavor to Minnesota. It is located in Downtown Hopkins on 922 Main Street Hopkins.

The restaurant is a small, modernized unique Brazilian restaurant with a bright color scheme and natural lighting. It appeared to have seating for 40 to 60 people adding to the cozy atmosphere. Samba has a great view of Downtown Hopkins from inside, and is in a convenient location that is close to many other shopping centers.

Samba is walking distance for anyone who lives in the Hopkins area; it is also convenient for driving. There is a free parking ramp right across the street from Samba and other parking spots on the street.

“The restaurant makes me feel really comfortable and relaxed,

it’s super casual,” Said Becca Frankel, junior.

They have a friendly staff that is very nice and attentive. They will gladly explain the unique delicious menu to any of the dining guests. Samba offers a large variety of dishes that are sure to please the simply curious in search of new tastes from Brazil.

“The service was really good, they were really on top of things and never crowded over you,” said Marisa Shulz, junior.

Samba is a fit to eat restaurant for lunch, dinner and drinks.

The lunch menu ranges from four to ten dollars with different types of foods such as soups, salads, Espeto’s [kebabs] and Arroz Feijão [rice feijao], Bife e batata frita [fried steak and sweet potato]. The dinner menu ranges from four to 20 dollars with many unique foods such as Shrimp Bruschetta, Escondidinhos, Pappardelle - (Large Fettuccini) and Chocolate Cake.

“Everything I ate there was delicious, it was a little taste of Brazil,” Frankel said.

The food is very nicely presented in fairly large portions. Everything looks clean, fresh and is very tasteful. The Brazilian food has been prepared with tasteful spices but not hot spices.

Samba also has a reliable grocery store on the side of the restaurant right next to the open bar that has excellent Brazilian food that can be brought home to be cooked at any household. They are also into the holidays at Samba; they have chocolate for Easter that is being brought to their grocery store at Samba.

For someone looking for unique cuisine in Downtown Hopkins, Samba is a great place to go.

Samba’s Hours: Mon.-Thur. 10am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am-10pm, Sun. 12am-8pm

Finding food, art, entertainment on a budget The Royal Page provides students with a guide (map included) to various events happening around the Twin Cities over the next few months. These events are fun to attend with friends or family.

Dani Segelbaum Staff Reporter

A

s spring is well on its way, art fairs and farmers markets are beginning to start.

Some opening as early as May are taking place locally. At the art fairs and markets students can find new and fun ways to spend their summer days without breaking the bank.

Farmers markets and art fairs give local residents fresh grown foods from Minnesota farms, art and clothes as well as music. The farmers markets show products grown or made in Minnesota locally.

Farmers markets such as the Hopkins or Plymouth market allow shoppers to pick out fruits, vegetables and other food products directly from the farmers or growers. Art fairs such as the Edina art fair, also allow shoppers to handpick art and meet with the artists in person.

Art fairs and farmers markets are not just for your parents. Students at HHS can participate in a variety of activities geared towards teenagers. Watching artists paint or listening to musical performances are often free of charge and you can find cheap eats for as little as two dollars for a bag of kettle corn.

The Hopkins farmers market is conveniently located on 9th Avenue, half a block from Main Street and goes from June to October. Here you will find plenty of fruits and vegetables organically grown as well as local specialties. On June 18th, opening day, vendors will supply complimentary coffee and cookies for market shoppers.

At the Plymouth farmers market, Holly Hei-

nrich, junior, is bringing musical entertainment to local shoppers. She says “ I am excited because I haven’t had a ton of gigs and to get music out in the open and be able to share it with more people”.

The Plymouth Farmers Market doesn’t just offer music. “It’s an outside mall with jewelry and food,” Heinrich said.

Free admission, the Edina art fair features 340 artists from Minnesota and around the country.

At the art fair you can eat your way through corn dogs, kettle corn, and gyros for very little cost.

Sponsor KS95 plays music for fairgoers as they walk up and down 50th and France.

For good food and arts and crafts, Hopkins Mainstreet Days on May 21 provides just that.

Located between 8th and 11th avenue on Mainstreet, the fair has over 70 vendors with arts and crafts and food. Cheap carnival rides as well will include trains, balloon twisters and more for a low cost.

Brenda Sadowski from Hopkins Mainstreet Days says, “ There will be a variety of craft vendors during Mainstreet Day. People will be able to find anything from jewelry to handmade bedsheets and outdoor sculptures to homemade chips and dips.”

Mainstreet day also features a variety of unique things. Foods like Turkey legs, criss-cross fries and ice cream are a small fraction of what food vendors will be supplying. As well as face paint, fire truck rides, and train rides will also be at the event.

This summer’s events features plenty of food and fun. The festivities start in May.

A. Mainstreet

Days: Located onHopkins Mainstreet between 8th-11th ave

B. Plymouth

Farmers Market: Located at- Lifetime Fitness parking lot, on 3600 Plymouth Blvd

C. Hopkins

Farmers Market: Located in parking lot on corner of 9th and Mainstreet

D. Edina Art

Fair: Located on- Edina W. 50th street, 50th and France

sports

14page the

ROYAL

Boys tennis looking for success this season, years to come Michael Frey Sports Editor

A

fter a state victory in doubles last season alongside Mac Gyswyt, graduate, Ryan Erickson, senior, in his sixth and final season on the tennis team is ready to help lead his team to a section championship. Erickson and Michael Fields, senior, are both captains and have been on the team since they were in seventh grade. Since then they have had the same coach, but this year Mr. Ken Novak,Social Studies, is their new coach.

“I think he gives a us a different perspective on the game and makes it more mental,” Erickson said about Novak. Along with having a new coach, the team has a few new young players and Erickson and Fields think they have great potential. Manfred Barrios, freshman, has been successful in winning his first two matches vs. Breck and Blake.

“We need to be positive, show good strategies and practice hard,” Erickson said. Erickson has the same goal this year, and that’s to get to team state, which they failed to do last year, coming up short to Edina in section play. Every year, for the last five seasons, HHS has never beaten Edina, and that’s the goal for both captains, beat Edina.

Luckily for the tennis team, Novak has picked up a certain swagger from his time with the highly successful basketball team, something Erickson and Fields hope can be instilled into each player to give them confidence.

Erickson and Fields, having played for so long together, have developed a similar sense of play and just want to end each match as quickly and efficiently as possible. “I like to come into the net and attack the net to close out points quicker,” Fields said. This is the type of play both captains, along with all seniors, Brandon Rabinowitz, Andy Harris, and Duncan McConnell use, and try to teach younger players, in order to ensure they win the point and reduce the amount of long rallies.

When Erickson and Fields graduate, they

Photos courtesy of Ryan Erickson and Michael Fields

Seniors Ryan Erickson, left, and Andy Harris, above, are two of only a few seniors on a young but experienced tennis team. want the program to be successful still and that’s why they try to be positive and helpful role models to the younger players. “Andy and Kenny Novak are good players, they’ve been around the game a while and know the right way to play,” Erickson said. Andy Novak, sophomore, and Kenny Novak, Freshman, are Coach Novak’s kids

and have been taught the game by their dad as well as other players and Erickson feels they have been taught well and have strong potential.

As far as this season goes, Erickson and Fields are positive about it and feel they have a good chance at beating Edina and making it to state.

They will most likely have to beat Edina in sec-

tion play if they want to advance. “After winning state, and this being my sixth season, I feel a lot more relaxed playing each match than I have before, I can just have fun and play my best,” Erickson said.

The athletic funding puzzle: complicated, unbiased, and controversial Michael Fields Staff Reporter

T

he basketball season has ended this year, culminating in welldeserved state championships for the HHS boys and girls teams.

Last year, boys basketball generated $123,000 in revenue from ticket sales. This, in addition to football’s ticket sales, makes up a large portion of the $180,000 that was brought in from all activity sales last year.

Students’ activity fees bring in about $300,000 for the district, making the total revenue of the activities program just under $500,000. This money does not get turned directly back to activities. Instead, it goes into the district’s general fund.

About $1.3 million from the district’s main fund is set aside for student activities, which include arts and athletics. This allocation is responsible for paying the district’s activities employees, such as Mr. Dan Johnson, athletic and activities director, in addition to activity directors and athletic coaches. This money also goes into the activities themselves.

Despite basketball’s recent state championships and their Nike sponsorship, the program receives less funding than the volleyball program.

“There is no secret formula where certain teams get more money…It costs around $300 to suit up a football player, but not nearly that much money is necessary for a cross-country [running] uni-

form,” said Johnson.

So, why do some sports receive more funding than others? The answer lies in the number of teams, coaches, and participants, as well as the transportation and equipment costs.

Why is more money put into a softball player than a crosscountry skier, when both are paying the same amount to participate?

For the ninety-six boys and girls that participate in Nordic skiing, two head coaches and three assistants are employed, while one head coach and five assistants are paid to coach the fifty-four volleyball players. Factor in the four different volleyball teams’ transportation expenses and the officials for their matches, and the costs continue to rise.

As early as next year, gymnasts at Lakeville North and South High Schools will most likely have to find a new winter activity if they would like to play a varsity sport. Their program accounts for about $27,000 of Lakeville’s budget, with the district attempting to cut $15.8 million.

A counter-proposal was offered, and eventually passed, that will keep gymnastics and the five other proposed activities to be cut. This comes at a price: Lakeville activity fees will skyrocket.

Gymnasts are going to be asked to pay $540 to participate, hockey players are now required to pay $815, and intramural sports will cost $290.

“In my twelve years, we’ve had to cut the budget nine times…

[In that time] we’ve added boys and girls lacrosse and kept everything else,” Johnson said. “We’ve found a way for everyone to participate, and that’s important to us.”

Mr. Mike Harris, science, agrees. “It’s really the best bargain in sports,” Harris is the head coach of the HHS cross-country and track and field teams.

Both of these sports do not cut any participants, meaning that teams are typically very large. There were 231 boys and girls on the track and field team last spring. Harris’ team has not been greatly affected by the recent economic downturn. “We have eight coaches that are paid…the coaching staff hasn’t changed from the time I got here, [twelve years ago].”

The track was recently outfitted with a new timing system, which cost around $20,000. This did not affect the yearly funding for the track and field team, but may help to bring in revenue in the future.

“The timing system allows us to host some of the big meets,” Harris said. This spring, HHS is hosting the Lake Conference and Section 6 track and field meets.

Our district is one of the few that does not offer bonuses to coaches for post-season success. “If we measured success by state championship banners, we wouldn’t have many successful teams,” Johnson said.

sports

14page the

ROYAL

Boys tennis looking for success this season, years to come Michael Frey Sports Editor

A

fter a state victory in doubles last season alongside Mac Gyswyt, graduate, Ryan Erickson, senior, in his sixth and final season on the tennis team is ready to help lead his team to a section championship. Erickson and Michael Fields, senior, are both captains and have been on the team since they were in seventh grade. Since then they have had the same coach, but this year Mr. Ken Novak,Social Studies, is their new coach.

“I think he gives a us a different perspective on the game and makes it more mental,” Erickson said about Novak. Along with having a new coach, the team has a few new young players and Erickson and Fields think they have great potential. Manfred Barrios, freshman, has been successful in winning his first two matches vs. Breck and Blake.

“We need to be positive, show good strategies and practice hard,” Erickson said. Erickson has the same goal this year, and that’s to get to team state, which they failed to do last year, coming up short to Edina in section play. Every year, for the last five seasons, HHS has never beaten Edina, and that’s the goal for both captains, beat Edina.

Luckily for the tennis team, Novak has picked up a certain swagger from his time with the highly successful basketball team, something Erickson and Fields hope can be instilled into each player to give them confidence.

Erickson and Fields, having played for so long together, have developed a similar sense of play and just want to end each match as quickly and efficiently as possible. “I like to come into the net and attack the net to close out points quicker,” Fields said. This is the type of play both captains, along with all seniors, Brandon Rabinowitz, Andy Harris, and Duncan McConnell use, and try to teach younger players, in order to ensure they win the point and reduce the amount of long rallies.

When Erickson and Fields graduate, they

Photos courtesy of Ryan Erickson and Michael Fields

Seniors Ryan Erickson, left, and Andy Harris, above, are two of only a few seniors on a young but experienced tennis team. want the program to be successful still and that’s why they try to be positive and helpful role models to the younger players. “Andy and Kenny Novak are good players, they’ve been around the game a while and know the right way to play,” Erickson said. Andy Novak, sophomore, and Kenny Novak, Freshman, are Coach Novak’s kids

and have been taught the game by their dad as well as other players and Erickson feels they have been taught well and have strong potential.

As far as this season goes, Erickson and Fields are positive about it and feel they have a good chance at beating Edina and making it to state.

They will most likely have to beat Edina in sec-

tion play if they want to advance. “After winning state, and this being my sixth season, I feel a lot more relaxed playing each match than I have before, I can just have fun and play my best,” Erickson said.

The athletic funding puzzle: complex and complicated, but unbiased Michael Fields Staff Reporter

T

he basketball season has ended this year, culminating in welldeserved state championships for the HHS boys and girls teams.

Last year, boys basketball generated $123,000 in revenue from ticket sales. This, in addition to football’s ticket sales, makes up a large portion of the $180,000 that was brought in from all activity sales last year.

Students’ activity fees bring in about $300,000 for the district, making the total revenue of the activities program just under $500,000. This money does not get turned directly back to activities. Instead, it goes into the district’s general fund.

About $1.3 million from the district’s main fund is set aside for student activities, which include arts and athletics. This allocation is responsible for paying the district’s activities employees, such as Mr. Dan Johnson, athletic and activities director, in addition to activity directors and athletic coaches. This money also goes into the activities themselves.

Despite basketball’s recent state championships and their Nike sponsorship, the program receives less funding than the volleyball program.

“There is no secret formula where certain teams get more money…It costs around $300 to suit up a football player, but not nearly that much money is necessary for a cross-country [running] uni-

form,” said Johnson.

So, why do some sports receive more funding than others? The answer lies in the number of teams, coaches, and participants, as well as the transportation and equipment costs.

Why is more money put into a softball player than a crosscountry skier, when both are paying the same amount to participate?

For the ninety-six boys and girls that participate in Nordic skiing, two head coaches and three assistants are employed, while one head coach and five assistants are paid to coach the fifty-four volleyball players. Factor in the four different volleyball teams’ transportation expenses and the officials for their matches, and the costs continue to rise.

As early as next year, gymnasts at Lakeville North and South High Schools will most likely have to find a new winter activity if they would like to play a varsity sport. Their program accounts for about $27,000 of Lakeville’s budget, with the district attempting to cut $15.8 million.

A counter-proposal was offered, and eventually passed, that will keep gymnastics and the five other proposed activities to be cut. This comes at a price: Lakeville activity fees will skyrocket.

Gymnasts are going to be asked to pay $540 to participate, hockey players are now required to pay $815, and intramural sports will cost $290.

“In my twelve years, we’ve had to cut the budget nine times…

[In that time] we’ve added boys and girls lacrosse and kept everything else,” Johnson said. “We’ve found a way for everyone to participate, and that’s important to us.”

Mr. Mike Harris, science, agrees. “It’s really the best bargain in sports,” Harris is the head coach of the HHS cross-country and track and field teams.

Both of these sports do not cut any participants, meaning that teams are typically very large. There were 231 boys and girls on the track and field team last spring. Harris’ team has not been greatly affected by the recent economic downturn. “We have eight coaches that are paid…the coaching staff hasn’t changed from the time I got here, [twelve years ago].”

The track was recently outfitted with a new timing system, which cost around $20,000. This did not affect the yearly funding for the track and field team, but may help to bring in revenue in the future.

“The timing system allows us to host some of the big meets,” Harris said. This spring, HHS is hosting the Lake Conference and Section 6 track and field meets.

Our district is one of the few that does not offer bonuses to coaches for post-season success. “If we measured success by state championship banners, we wouldn’t have many successful teams,” Johnson said.

Students bringing the lessons home:

Homeschooled

R

yan Davis, junior, hasn’t always been a part of the traditional school setting. From fifth to eighth grade, Davis woke up around 10 a.m. everyday only to study for an hour or two, as he was among the approximately 15000 Minnesota students that are schooled at home by their parents.

“My parents believed that middle school years were the worst ones all-around, and they kind of just decided to opt out of the public system. The way I see it, they were just trying to protect my best interests,” Davis said.

Similarly to Davis’ parents, Mr. Douglas Dart, Language Arts, has chosen to home school his four daughters, ages five, nine, 11, and 15. “We started homeschooling our oldest child, Arianna, about nine years ago. My wife was pregnant with our third child so it was a good time for her to stop running her business.

“Life felt too busy and our oldest daughter was getting lost a little bit; it felt like we didn’t know her anymore. My brother homeschooled his kids and one day my daughter actually suggested being homeschooled. It was partly because we were only living on one income and partly because of educational reasons,” Dart said.

Although Dart’s wife is primarily responsible for teaching their kids, Dart works on writing, Spanish, and literature with “It really is easy to lose Arianna. He also does reading with motivation and fall behind his second daughter, Theresa. when you get lazy, which Homeschooling has allowed happen a lot when you a the Dart family to travel more schedule like I did.” easily than if the girls had been -Ryan Davis, junior part of the public school system.

“Six years ago, I went “Some of the disadvantages are not on sabbatical and took my being able to see some of my public family for a year to Slovaschooled friends every day and kia. Europe became our being terrible at waking up early. I classroom. The opportuget to see friends enough through nity to do that was easier as a homeschool family. sports, parties, and just chilling [Homeschooling] allows though.” lots of flexibility for op-Eric Hedstrom, sophomore portunities like this,” Dart said.

tages and Disa n a v dva Ad c s h e oo nta m of Ho at a gl an c e ling ge s

+

“You definitely have more time to independently get stuff done and to complete a school year in 7 months or less (2 hours a day!).”

-Ryan Davis, junior “I think there are more advantages than disadvantages. Some being: extra time for extra curricular activities, it’s a better prep for the college schedule by forcing me to be more constructive and disciplined with my free time, I get to eat and sleep more which is really nice, and I get through the same amount of curriculum as public school kids do in a smaller amount of time.”

-Eric Hedstrom, sophomore “Kids get to pursue their passions. They don’t get bullied or are part of gossip.”

-Mr. Dart, Language Arts

_

In addition to making traveling easier, homeschooling has allowed Dart’s daughters to pursue their individual passions more freely and thoroughly.

“If one of the girls gets excited about a project, she can go with that. Sometimes, [one of the girls] will get started on a project and will work on it for five or six hours. My oldest daughter recently made an aqueduct,” Dart said.

Similar to Dart’s daughters, homeschooling has allowed Eric Hedstrom, sophomore, to pursue his individual interests. Hedstrom has always been homeschooled as his parents thought it would be more efficient and prepare him for the college schedule more adequately. “[Some advantages are] extra time for extra curricular activities, it’s a better prep for the college schedule by forcing me to be more constructive and disciplined with my free time, I get to eat and sleep more which is really nice, and I get through the same amount of curriculum as public school kids do in a smaller amount of time,” Hedstrom said.

Contrary to the name, not all students that are homeschooled are taught purely from their home. Many of these students, including Hedstrom and Arianna, take PSEO classes or classes at a homeschool co-op. “[A homeschool co-op] is a place where tutors teach classes to a small group of kids. Biggest class size is like 20-ish. There are 400 kids in all who go to the co-op,” Hedstrom said.

“Homeschooling has come a long, long way since I was a kid,” Dart said. “Then, it was uncommon. Now, you can easily find co-ops or tutors.”

Unlike Hedstrom, who loves being homeschooled and sees his friends through sports, Davis did not enjoy the experience as much.

“I lost touch with my friends from elementary [school] and developed socially a little slower.

That was a bummer because I love people. In retrospect, homeschooling allowed me to be true to myself and has shaped me to be who I am today and who I will be in the future,” Davis said.

Marlee Gotlieb is the Back page editor for the Royal Page