October Issuu

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theROYAL

Friday, October 7, 2011 Volume 30 Issue 1

inside the RP Wicklund excels, leads three sports - Sports Students learn, have fun in Peru - Feature The good and the bad of technology - Opinion HHS switches over to new network - News

NJH gets a makeover

HOMECOMING 2011

Last year’s referendum funded security, infrastructure changes

By Lisa Soumekh Staff Reporter

Photo by Bridget Bennett Above: HHS seniors, dressed in their class colors, cheer loudly for the Royals on the field.

Right: An unidentified student receives medical attention after running into the bleachers.

The majority of HHS students enjoyed a fun and responsible homecoming football game and dance, but. . .

Photo by Mike Newcomer

Some made ‘poor’ choices

By Ryan Levi

Editor-in-Chief The Royals’ 39-21 victory over the Irondale Knights in the 2011 homecoming football game was overshadowed by several off-field incidents.

“Some students made some poor choices,” said Ms. Patty Johnson, Principal.

During the game, police broke up an escalating situation between a group of students. The situation stemmed from an earlier disagreement between the parties. Some of the students involved were under the influence of chemicals, and racial and anti-Semetic slurs were exchanged between students.

Eventually, the verbal disagreement turned violent at which point officers from the Minnetonka Police Department intervened. According to Officer Jason Tait, police liaison, the police cited seven students for minor consumption

and disorderly conduct.

“It’s very hurtful and disappointing to see kids disrespecting each other,” Johnson said.

Three students were suspended for consumption of alcohol, one was suspended for disorderly conduct, and several others were asked to leave the game based on their behavior, according to Ms. Anne Campbell, assistant principal.

Three additional students were suspended for consumption and one more was suspended for disorderly conduct at the dance later that evening.

According to Johnson, school and legal consequences are administered separately and do not affect one another. “Our police liaison and the Minnetonka Police Department work in conjunction with us, but they work separately,” Johnson said. “They do their piece, and we do our piece.”

- HOMECOMING continued on page 2

With a brand new entrance, updated security, and new programming, Hopkins NJH experienced major renovations this past summer.

“The renovations were done for the safety and security of the students. Now we have entrances that are supervised,” said Charlie Kusch, Associate Principal of NJH. Prior to the renovations, NJH had very few security cameras, a poor air conditioning and heating system, and was behind technologically. Planning began about a year ago when the Hopkins district conducted a referendum asking voters for a capital projects levy for new curriculum and technology and for a capital bond to improve safety and security in their schools.

When the referendum passed, Hopkins was then able to make the necessary improvements.

The most significant change that was made this past summer was the relocation of the main offices to the front of the building. Before, the offices were located in the middle of the school, making it difficult for visitors to check in and easy for unwanted individuals to enter.

The renovations also included a technology update. NJH now has digital phones, energy-efficient air conditioning, and almost all classrooms have Smart Boards. With these changes, the district hopes that the school will not need any major technology updates for at least another decade.

There have been some difficulties with the renovations. Most importantly, the current seventh graders never had the opportunity to see the inside of the school before their first day. During their seventh grade orientation, known as WEB day, the school was still under construction.

“As a WEB leader it was really hard to show the seventh graders around. We had to walk them outside the building and could only talk about how the school runs. They were clueless,” said Alex Felemovicious, freshman.

This summer was also difficult. All of the teachers had to move their supplies out in June and then back in for the new school year.

“If you walked into the school in the middle of the summer, it looked like the warehouse in Indiana Jones. Fortunately, everyone was awesome and helped each other. We were able to have a smooth - NJH continued on page 3

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RPFriday, October 7, 2011

Free and reduced lunch at an all time high

By Caleb Hausman Staff Reporter

T

he recent economic difficulties have taken a toll on many across the state and the country. At HHS, the tough times have resulted in an increase in students qualifying for the District’s free and reduced price meals program.

In the 2007-08 school year, 19.7 percent of HHS students were eligible for free or reduced price meals. By the 2010-11 school year, this percentage has risen to 28.7 percent of the student body.

The District as a whole is trying to make a program that caters to all of these new students. “[One goal is] maintaining a program that doesn’t feel like a free reduced program,” Ms. Barb Mechura, Director of Food and Nutrition Services for the Hopkins School District, said. In reaching this goal, Mechura described how students in the program have the same meal options as any other student at HHS. Costs processed in the cashiers’ lines are the same way the rest of the HHS student body does.

At the same time as more students are in need of the free and reduced price meals program, Minnesota’s new budget has made many worried about funding for education and students. However, the program receives most of its funding federally. “[The state] legislature is generous, [but] we’re struggling to find the money to buy the high-quality fruits, vegetable, and proteins that we need,” Me-

chura said.

The whole US program to provide free and reduced lunches, according to the USDA, costs $9.8 billion to operate. Students are in the “free meals” category if they live at less than or equal to 130 percent of the poverty level. This level is stated as $29,055 per year for a four-person household for 2011-12.

Even with the fight to aid those eligible for the program, there are still other students in need who cannot get into the program.

“A struggle is the ‘in-between’ group,” Mechura said, which she describes as the students whose households have income higher than the eligibility level, but who still have difficulties paying for school meals.

The students in the free and reduced price lunch program, as well as the ‘in-between group,’ oftentimes must deal with myriad other issues associated with lower-income families. Thus, the District aids these families in many ways, primarily through social workers. “School social workers help families find community supports and overcome obstacles in securing basic necessities,” Ms. Madeline Conrad, Alice Smith Elementary School Social Worker, said.

“We do some reduced rates for things like graduation fees and [the] senior party,” Ms. Lisa Ashley, HHS Social Worker, said.

The Random Acts of Kindness grant courtesy of the Kopp Family Foundation, aids “families with essential personal care items-glasses,

medicine, dental care, clothing,” Ashley said.

Mechura sees her responsibility of district nutrition as the basic foundation of aid for all students, not just those in the free or reduced price meal program. “Food impacts performance, thinking, concentration, having memory‒how much food matters‒when we get this right, we can focus on other things.”

Lunch time facts 31.3- Millions of kids getting free or reduced price meals across the U.S. 19.7- Percent of HHS students eligible for free or reduced price meals, 2007-08 28.7- Percent of HHS students eligible for free or reduced price meals, 2010-11

Tech issues cause Homecoming: some made ‘poor’ choices schedule problems

By Josh Gallop Staff Reporter When students receive their class schedules at the end of August, it marks the unofficial end of summer and beginning of a new school year. While there are always some students who require tweaking to their schedules, this year took more time and effort to make these switches.

“There seem to be more people coming in this year with schedule problems,” said Ms. Jan Jodock, Guidance Counselor. “We’re doing our best but we can’t solve every problem.”

“Many of the scheduling troubles we dealt with were caused by the technological problems that were occurring the first two weeks of school,” Jodock said, such as inconsistent Internet connections and phone service.

Mr. David Williams, Language Arts, used to be in charge of all scheduling for HHS. This year, after working on scheduling over the summer, Williams is back in the classroom and the job of scheduling has fallen to Mr. Adam McDonald, the new Associate Principal. As a result, some of the things Williams could accomplish, have been left to other people.

“There are still a lot of issues that haven’t been resolved yet,” Jodock said.

Counselors and administrators are making some adjustments where they can. Another section of biology was added when a large number of students were missing the class.

According to the counselors, the start of the year has always been the busiest time for the counselors. With the even more technology troubles than usual, it made it extremely difficult for students to get appointments with their counselors.

Sam Niedorf, sophomore, did not get the classes he wanted and instead was put into two study halls during the second semester.

“We tried contacting my counselor a few different times, and they never got back to us,” Niedorf said. This is because counselors are dealing with first semeseter problems first.

Administrators are hopeful that by second semester, classes will open up and they will be able to give the students the classes that they want. “There have been a lot of kids wanting to make changes to their schedules so we are dealing with the immediate problems first,” Jodock said.

Continued from page 1 Fueling rumors, a student left the game via an ambulance after they ran into the bleachers and cut their head open. This was not related to the disagreement between students in any way.

Several rumors also circulated about the presence of weapons at the homecoming game. This has been flatly denied by the administration. “There were no weapons or gang violence at the game,” Johnson said in an email sent out to parents following the game.

On Monday morning following the game, school administration officials met with Dr. John Schulz, superintendent, Dr. Nik Lightfoot, assistant superintendent, and Mr. Joe Perkl, assistant activities director, to discuss the incident and how to prevent similar events from happening in the future.

The athletic office plans on implementing several changes to how home football games are run and secured. One change will be a requirement that non-high school students (ninth grade and below) must be accompanied by a parent at games.

Other changes include ending ticket sales at halftime as opposed to the end of the third quarter, increasing the number of staff supervising students at games, and making the area under the bleachers off limits to students. According to Mr. Dan Johnson, activities director, the main goal of the new rules is to limit the amount of loitering in the mezzanine area and under the bleachers. “Right now, we have too many people standing around not doing a lot,” he said.

“We need to have less milling around and loitering.”

He said that stadium staff will work to keep students moving between the seating and concessions area and stop them from loitering under the bleachers. Perkl said that new “no loitering” signs will be posted around the stadium as well.

“We don’t want it to be a militant thing,” Dan Johnson said about the new rules. “We want [students] to have fun, but we have to protect the people who come to the games. It’s a student event.

We don’t want to keep students away.”

Following the game, several parents contacted the administration regarding the incident. “[They were] just concerned,” Patty Johnson said. “[They] really wanted to make sure that this is a safe place for their students.”

Patty Johnson thinks that HHS is still a safe place. She believes that students and staff have built a trust where students feel comfortable going to staff members when they feel unsafe or feel that something maybe wrong, which allows the school to avoid incidents like those that occurred at Homecoming.

“I really believe 99 percent of the time we do respect each other,” she said. “I think sometimes miscommunication or emotions get the best of us and we make decisions that [we would change] if we were given the choice to do it over.”

In addition to consequences, the administration works with students and their families to help students learn from their actions and make sure the school is a good environment for all once they return. They offer mediation between students and lay down ground rules for all students involved. According to Campbell, none of the students from this incident accepted the offer of mediation.

news 3 NJH gets makeover

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RPFriday, October 7, 2011

Photo courtesy of North Jr. High

Top: NJH classroom under construction.Construction included new ventilation in the rooms. Bottom: New NJH main office.

Along with the new look of the office, security also improved. Ligher hallways and a new cafeteria accompany these changes.

Continued from page 1 start to school,” Kusch said.

With only a few difficulties, the renovations have not had much of an effect on the whole school district. The district petitioned the state to start the 2010-2011 school year one week early.

This let the District get out earlier this past summer and as a result, have an extra week to finish construction before school started.

Although plans for renovations have been going on for a few years, phase two is just beginning. In the next few years, NJH will also be remodeling the gymnasium, locker rooms, and music area.

Students at NJH have been critical of the renovations. “The SSC is now in a really inconvenient spot, the rooms get really cold with the new air conditioning, and without a stage in the cafeteria, we can’t really hear any announcements,” said Danielle Fogelson, freshman, but Kusch remains positive.

“Even the lighter halls and the new cafeteria are a morality boost for the students. Overall, I’m just so thankful that our community is looking out for us and wants what’s best,” Kusch said.

Photo by Lisa Soumekh

Hopkins’ infrastructure sees a new overhaul

By Mike Newcomer Staff Reporter Each year, HHS sees a major influx of new technology. This year continues the cycle with a new network being the most prominent feature. With an overwhelming need for more technology in the classrooms, it was clear that the infrastructure within the Hopkins district needed an overhaul.

In 2007, a strategic technology plan was presented to the school board and approved. The plan covered the upgrade of a ten-year-old infrastructure. Without the upgrade, new technology in the classroom would not be possible.

The new network was tested for three weeks, with few users, and was found to be stable. The problems arose when all the students and teachers attempted to connect. The crash was a combination of the hardware and software not working together.

The malfunctioning network has had a profound effect on classrooms that use technology to learn. “I had a computer lab reserved for my class, and when we went to use it, the Internet was down”, said Mr. John Sammler, Science. He was then forced to return to his classroom and create a lesson plan from scratch.

The first problem that needed to be tackled was re-wiring.

Throughout the building, all existing cables were replaced as well as connection points in classrooms and computer labs. This was done so new computers would now be able to take full advantage of the new high-speed network.

Prior to the update some spots in the building had low or no wireless signal. “Getting a strong connection everywhere was an important part of the upgrade,” said Mr. Sid Voss, director of technology. Total saturation was achieved by increasing the number of wireless access points by four times. Now, everywhere in the building there is a strong, reliable connection.

To improve security and reliability, the wireless network has been split into two parts. With the way the old network was set up almost anyone in range of the wireless signal had full access to all data on the district servers.

Now, instead of one completely open network, there are two networks. One network is open and one is encrypted; HopkinsNet and Guest-Hopkins. Hopkins-Net is an encrypted network intended for the use of teachers and students in classrooms and computer labs. 90 percent of all available bandwidth is channeled to

this part of the network to provide this network with optimal speed.

The latest encryption keys are in use to keep data on the district servers secure.

Guest-Hopkins is an open network for anyone in range to use.

It only leads to the Internet, meaning there is no way for someone on Guest-Hopkins to access student information. The network has a limited amount of bandwidth because the Hopkins-Net is the priority network, ensuring students and staff have fast reliable connections for in class use.

The existing phone system was also overhauled over the summer. 1,500 new phones were installed all of which connect using the Internet. Each teacher now has their own phone as well as a phone in every classroom.

These phones are referred to as voice over Internet protocol or VOIP. Some major advantages include the fact that teachers can now have their own phone and voicemail which they can access on the Internet. “I like the added convenience of being able to check my voicemail online, and I think it is a very useful tool for teachers across the District,” said Mr. Tim Amlie, Technology Education.

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RP Friday, Oct 7, 2011

Technology marks a deep imprint at HHS Tech-wreck is always inevitable Not a day goes by without my parents telling me about how hard their lives were back in the day. How they had to walk uphill through two feet of snow to school and back and how the modern generations lives are so much easier with all of the technology we have.

And for the most part I agree with my parents. The technologies we have today let us accomplish remarkable things and have revolutionized the school system. But if there is one thing I have learned through my 17 years, it is that technology is a fickle creature.

One moment it’s your best friend, the next moment you want nothing more than to take your printer out back and beat it with a baseball bat.

All summer, state of the art pieces of technology were being installed at HHS to improve and keep the internet working. Technology was also being installed that relies on the Internet, like the new phones in every classroom that are now Internet based. And what happened during the first week of school?

All that glorious machinery inexplicably failed us and we were left without Internet or even working telephones in the classrooms now that they we’re tied to the Internet.

Due to the entire network being down for a few days, teachers lesson plans that required computers or more specifically that golden lifeline at HHS known as the Internet were doomed and they had to look to “alternative programming”.

This progression towards more technology at HHS does not seem to be winding down any time soon. In fact it seems that teachers are integrating technology even more into lesson plans and homework at school.

Mr. John Unruh-Friesen, Social Studies, is one of those teachers.

His AP Government and Politics classes is very heavily integrated with technology. Whether it’s putting the class calendar on www. apgov.org or presenting current events via pictures and videos that are placed on Google Docs.

While this is very hip and snazzy, if my Internet is out for a day, as it happens to turn on and off quite whimsically, I am then not able to do my current event or even check what the reading assignment was because that is also on the website.

Mr. Brent Hering, Math, is another teacher that chooses to empower the tech world in his AP Calculus class. In that class there have been murmurs of flipping the entire order and known purpose of that class by making the homework to watch the lesson plan on Moodle, and make class time for doing homework and question time.

With this comes a bevy of problems. Most notably, that if you don’t have Internet you can’t watch the lesson plan and then the next day in class is a complete waste of time. Even more than that though, if someone doesn’t have the access to a computer or Internet, it keeps them from taking a very enriching course which isn’t fair.

Although I come off as a caveman that wishes to beat technology over the head with a wooden club, I am quite the opposite. I believe that technology is fantastic and has untold potential if applied correctly.

The AP Calculus video walk-throughs of homework problems on Moodle have become a necessary tool for me and so has the AP Government and Politics website. The Promethean boards and ELMOs are another great example of properly applied technology, and now I couldn’t imagine a classroom without these groovy gadgets.

The problem is finding a way to apply these technologies accurately and not becoming so dependent on them that we are unable to function when they fail.

Charles Isaac Bank is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

Our school is pushing electronics further and further into the classroom. This is making learning easier and faster.

Teachers have made themselves more technologically savvy this year. Each class has to have a web presence. This is a place where students can figure out what they may have missed during class or what homework they have for the night.

Many classrooms have also turned completely away from the old style of note taking. Especially within the Math department some teachers use solely their smart boards for note taking. This makes note taking more interactive and easier to follow.

A few days ago I ended up watching a movie on a classroom TV instead of the projectors the school has; I couldn’t believe how old and out of dated this felt. Just to think in grade school we used to watch all our movies on tube televisions.

There are still many things that the school could use to heighten our learning experience. The school should broaden their horizons to things such as Twitter and Facebook.

Classes should have private Facebook groups. This would work better than just some sort of web presence because of the amount of time teenagers spend on Facebook.

Teachers would use these groups to give students reminders on due dates and links to extra learning materials. Students could use this as a way to plan group projects together. Students could also use this to ask the teacher or their peers for help on their homework.

This would be helpful for me because when I am having trouble sometimes it is hard to find someone to help me. With these groups, help would be available at almost anytime.

Mr. Dave Stahl, Social Studies, already has a twitter and allows his students to follow, but not the other way around for his

student’s privacy. He does not use it for classroom discussions yet though. He mostly uses it to tweet links to interesting article pertinent to the topics in class or sometimes whimsical tidbits.

Mr. Stahl only got his twitter after his last year students nearly forced him to, but I think he has turned it into a good tool for his classroom. I do wish that Stahl would use his twitter for more direct classroom learning though.

Twitter is used this way by Stahl effectively. There are many more ways in which he could use this effectively.

A more interesting way twitter could be used is through having live discussions during class. There would be a private group where during the reading of some material students could tweet comments and have a simultaneous conversation about the material.

Then the teacher, after the reading, could shape her lesson plan on how students reacted to the material.

This would really fit well with my learning style well because when something comes to me during discussion, if I don’t say it soon enough, I lose it. Discussions run this way would be so helpful because they would allow a constant forum for stream of thought.

Social media is a part of my life, so why should it not be a part of my school?

Samuel Jacob Bumsted is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

At a Glance

-The reliance on the network hurts HHS as a whole

October’s cartoon feature

- Twitter and Facebook could be used as effective learning tools

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RPFriday, Oct 7, 2011

Poetry from land of poets Many of us spend more time brainstorming how to begin an essay than actually writing the essay itself. We’re so used to formulating our thoughts in one hundred and forty words or less that we’ve lost the value and meaning each word holds. As a child, the places I grew up in intrigued me.

From the mountain peaks of Pakistan through the villages of Somalia, my previous location is the reason why I choose my words carefully. Till this day I could feel myself stirring in the pot of the world. I come from the land of the poets and so words bend for me in ways they otherwise wouldn’t.

They do tricks and flips for me to enhance their meaning.

Words fight for my attention

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because I do great things to them. They all want to be in my everyday masterpieces, but I can only choose a select few.

The few I choose are not any more special than the ones not chosen, they just happen to stand out more than the others.

Like people, all words are created equal and therefore all have the potential for success. To be honest, some words have it a lot harder than their peers.

For instance, words like ipsedixit and sylph are not as common as vague and beautiful, so it’s harder for them to make it into my poetry. Uncommon words give my writing an edge and flow, not seen in others.

So, if it takes me hours to find just the right word, I will.

After searching for what seems

like forever, my poetry is complete. Alone, each word is just another word, but together they are a masterpiece.

Each one of these words is unlike the other, yet they complement each other so well.

The words come from a variety of origins, highlighting their diversity. To the average reader, my work, is just a collection of words that tell a story, when, in fact, they are more than that.

Mona Abdulle Omar is the Opinion Editor of the Royal Page

Ways to have an

exciting homecoming

Politely request the flag from the opposing team Dance without leaving room for the Holy Spirit Alert the other team of their failures with the use of slightly offensive chants Crowd surf. Nuff said.

Ignore every Minnesota state law regarding fan conduct Get as close to a dress code violation as you can Earn disapproving stares from adults whenever possible Give new meaning to the words ‘loud’ and ‘obnoxious‘ Frequent thrift stores looking for several ridiculous articles of clothing in your respective class color Take a halftime stroll across the field... sans clothing

From the Desk of the Editors Dear HHS students, faculty, and community, Welcome to another year at HHS and the 30th year of the Royal Page. We are extremely excited to be producing the Royal Page for you this year.

While honoring the long tradition of the Royal Page, we have made some changes this year which we hope will make for a better reading and viewing experience for you all.

First, we have redisigned our front page. For the past several years, the Royal Page has operated as a news magazine with a main piece of artwork on the front cover leading to our center spread story. This year, we have chosen to go back to a standard newspaper format with stories gracing our front cover. We believe that this will allow us to put more content in the newspaper while focusing on impactful stories.

Another change is our greater emphasis on photography. We will be making photos bigger and giving more space to good photography to both enhance our stories and give you a more

complete reading experience.

We have once again redesigned our web page, royalpage.org. We wish to be able to use our web presence to provide you with updates on current events around the community in between print issues.

We want the paper to have influence and relevance to our local Hopkins community, so we encourage and hope that our readers will be a part of the Royal Page this year. Whether it is through feedback or letters to the editors, we want to hear what you all have to say.

We look forward to covering the events that will take place in our community and the year ahead.

Sincerely,

Marlee Gotlieb Ryan Levi 2011-2012 Editors-in-Chief

A trip worth remembering A Jew, an Indian, and a black guy meet up in Washington, D.C. No, that’s not the beginning of a joke. It’s the beginning of the story of my sojourn to our nation’s capital this summer.

Last spring I was selected to go to Washington, D.C. as part of the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Journalism Conference along with 50 other rising high school seniors from each state and the District of Columbia.

I could go on and on about the amazing experiences and speakers at the conference, but what will stick with me most about the trip are the wide variety of amazing kids who I spent the week with.

We were incredibly racially, religiously, ethnically, and culturally diverse. Among us we had a 6’4” Indian from Wisconsin who could speak five languages, a Muslim from Chicago, and a Jew from Alabama who played a mean harmonica and was a complete doppelganger for Sunshine from Remember the Titans.

We are fairly diverse here but there is nowhere near the cultural diversity I experienced in Washington. In D.C., we learned about our quirky cultural differences, like the fact that water fountains in Wisconsin are called bubblers or that a noob or someone who does something stupid is considered a “scarub” in Oregon, along with grander differences we have in the ways we think across the country.

One of my best friends from the trip was Jacob from Tennessee. One night while we stood in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, Jacob and I discussed Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

It was incredibly interesting to hear about Lincoln and Civil War from a Southerner who openly admitted that he sometimes wishes that the South had won the war. We discussed Lincoln’s image and the different ways he is remembered through-

out the country. Discussing and at times debating Lincoln and his presidency with Jacob was incredibly stimulating and forced me to look at the discussion from a different point of view.

This not only gave me a better view of the Civil War, but also a better appreciation for my fellow Americans. Before the trip, I saw the South as more of a caricature than anything else; a backwards region full of rednecks and fundamentalist Christians. An ignorant and provincial view indeed, but it was all I knew.

My time in D.C. showed me how wrong I was and how we place ourselves at a disadvantage when we don’t surround ourselves with people who have a different world view than our own.

I’ve read plenty about the Civil War and President Lincoln, but my discussions with Jacob offered me more insight to the totality of the war than any lecture from Mr. Swenson.

Aside from all that, the 50 other high school seniors I met in DC were just really cool kids. In the week we spent together, we learned so much both as a group and from each other. Along the way, we developed friendships that will last for years to come.

As we stood on the Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace on the sixth floor of the Newseum preparing to take our group photo with the Capitol Dome serving as a backdrop, my friend Karn looked around. In the back row of the picture he saw himself, an Indian from Wisconsin, a black kid from Mississippi, a half-Spanish kid from Oregon, and a red-headed Jew from Minnesota.

He looked around and said, “Look at all this diversity. Thank you, Al Neuharth.”

Ryan Benjamin Levi is the Editor-in-Chief for the Royal Page

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RPFriday, October 7, 2011

Bad Waitress offers new twist on dining

By Sonja Muus Web Czar

Photo by Sonja Muus

Customers at The Bad Waitress place their own menus and hands it into the counter of the restaurant.

With many types of cuisine, varying prices, and different atmospheres, Minneapolis has a wide variety of restaurants to offer. From five star to fast and cheap, the Twin Cities have plenty of choices. However, there is one restaurant, The Bad Waitress, in particular that is taking a new approach to dining.

Instead of the traditional way of running a restaurant, with waitresses running around scrambling to take orders, The Bad Waitress leaves it up to the customer. Right next to the normal array of ketchup, napkins, salt, and pepper on each table is a stack of customized notepads provided by the restaurant so that the costimers can take their own orders.

Each customer writes down the number of each menu item they are ordering as well as a short description. Then, the customers bring it up to the counter to pay and place their order.

“Doing [the ordering process] this way allows the customers to easily split their checks and takes a lot of pressure off of our wait staff,” said the manager on duty, “Plus it adds a twist to our dining experience. Customers love it.”

The atmosphere at The Bad Waitress is very inviting. The natural lighting, bright red walls, and artwork makes it a relaxed place to eat.

On top of serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, The Bad Waitress doubles also as a coffee shop. The breakfast menu offers everything from classic yogurt and granola to scrambled eggs made with basil, tomato, and goat cheese. The combined dinner and lunch menu features burgers, sandwiches, soups, and salads, but many of them have a unique twist such as a turkey, apple, and gruyére

cheese sandwich.

Each section of the menu has vegetarian and vegan options. Many of their burgers are made with “vegannaise” instead of mayonnaise, and the restaurant offers faux meat in entrees such as sloppy joes. The Bad Waitress even offers a vegan vanilla shake made with vegan ice cream and vegan milk.

Sometimes restaurants offering specialized meals, such as vegan sloppy joes, can be expensive, however, the pricing is reasonable at the Bad Waitress. Prices on the entrees range from $5.25 to $9.25 for all meals.

Another aspect of The Bad Waitress that makes it unique is its mission to support its community by being ecologically friendly and buying its food from local suppliers. Its local distributors include The Wedge, Trio Paper Supply, and Fischer Family Farms among many others. They are purchasing food and supplies from eight Minnesota cities including the Twin Cities, Glenwood, Crookston, Waseca, Owatanna, and Cannon Falls.

The Bad Waitress also supports its community by providing jobs to locals.

36 members of its staff live right in Uptown and South Minneapolis.

The restaurant is taking a greener approach to food service by recycling, conserving energy, and using less water. 80 percent of the staff bike or walk to work, as an attempt to save energy.

The Bad Waitress is open Monday through Friday 7 am to 11:30 pm, Saturday 7:30 am to 11:30 pm, and Sunday 8 am to 11 pm.

Whether a consumer is looking for a relaxed morning cup of coffee or a turkey sandwich with a twist, The Bad Waitress is an ideal place to eat.

Novak gets a taste of Hollywood with wedding of the century

By Sarah Ungerman Sports Editor “Every detail was over the top exquisite, and it was overall an unforgettable experience,” said Mr. Ken Novak, Social Studies, and head varsity basketball coach who attended the Kardashian/ Humphries wedding.

The ten million dollar extravaganza took place in Montecito, California at a 29.5 million dollar mansion. “I didn’t know where the wedding was going to take place because on the invitation it gave only directions to a nearby country club in which we were to have our cars valet and go through heavy security before being shuttled over to the wedding venue,” said Novak.

Many stars attended the wedding as well, but Mr. Novak would describe the feeling of being surrounded by celebrities as more of a normal situation than one would think. “I wasn’t worried, I was fine, but it was fun to watch the stars enter the wedding during the hour we were waiting for the wedding to start after being seated.”

Some of the stars surrounding Novak included George Lopez,

who sat directly in front of him during the wedding, and Ryan Seacrest, who sat behind him at dinner. “There were three different sections of seating in the wedding, and my wife and I were in the middle section where most of the celebrities were sitting, it was a really good seat,” said Novak.

The security at the wedding was also a very large expense because there was so much of it. “I was amazed by the amount of security and workers, there were tons of helicopters over head at all times,” Novak said.

The little details were what made the wedding itself so magnificent. “Earth, Wind, and Fire performed, the cake was six feet tall, everything was crystal and the flower arrangements were outstanding,” said Novak.

It was no surprise that the wedding was going to be as over the top as it was, considering Novak explained the wedding invitation as being an exquisite 8x11 thick box that had many things inside such as directions, hotel information, etc.

“Even after the wedding we were receiving things. When we got

back to our car there was a box of krispy kreme doughnuts in the shape of hearts. We then received different articles of clothing when we returned home and my wife even received a pair of shoes,” said Novak.

“I’d say my favorite part of the wedding was being able to sit with a bunch of coaches I knew that have also coached Kris. Some of his college coaches and professional coaches sat at my table, but I also knew many of the players who came as well, it was really nice seeing all of them”, said Novak.

Of all of the hundreds of wedding gifts Kim and Kris were to receive, probably one of the more original gifts was the new sonic care electric toothbrushes that Novak and his wife gave them. The toothbrushes aren’t even being sold yet. “My wife is a dentist so we were able to get our hands on these unbelievable things, we think it was a really awesome idea.”

After being Humphries’ coach during is HHS career, Novak has maintained a really good relationship with him since. “He’s a really great kid, I’m really happy for him, and I’m very excited for him.”

variety 7

the

RPFriday, October 7, 2011

Heroes transformed to the big screen

By Pat Gallagher Staff Reporter With five comic book-based films earning a combined $1.2 billion at the box office this past summer, it is fair to dub the recent theme in Hollywood “comic book cinema.”

Stories of comic book heroes and villains, like baseball legends of old, have thrilled American boys for decades, making them as much a part of America’s pastime as Babe Ruth and Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum. “I guess I grew up liking comic books because of the great story lines and all the fascinating characters,” said Mr. Erik Swenson, Social Studies.

While comic books were originally intended for a far younger audience, the genre has matured and now provides a content range for readers of every age to choose from. “As comic books have become more adult they have dealt with deeper issues, whether it be racism, child abuse, sexual preference, death, sacrifice, etc....and they reach a whole different audience that might not normally get to see such issues,” Swenson said.

Still, many fans remain uneasy with the recent comic book boom in American cinema, fearing that their favorite heroes and villains may fall short in their transition to the screen. “It is a shame,” Ben Calvert, senior, said “but more often than not, the film adaptation fails to parallel the original story especially those concerning comic books.”

The comic book “Watchmen”, considered by Time magazine as one of the 100 best novels in the English language, was recently adapted into a major motion picture. Despite a solid cast, a capable director, and a story

line that accurately traced the original, the film had mediocre reception among critics. According to Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews, 70 percent of all films based on comic books fall on the lower half of the four star rating spectrum.

“A movie is not always an appropriate format for story telling,” Calvert said.

Yet despite poor ratings, the comic book film consistently manages to bring in major revenue with 13 movies, including blockbusters such as “Iron Man 2” and “Captain America”, making a combined $3.2 billion in the past two years. “The movie industry is about making money,” said Dan Kearney, local comic book collector.

“Since comic books have such a large fan-base, a movie adaptation such as ‘The Green Lantern’ can get away with casting an incapable actor such as Ryan Reynolds, who is also the opposite race of the main character, and still have a good opening night,” Kearney said.

Fortunately, there are exceptions. “The Dark Knight,” “V for Vendetta,” and “300” all received praise from critics and fans alike. “What made ‘The Dark Knight’ a good movie was that the director was capable of taking characters, like the Joker, and bring his own creative twist without sacrificing the character fans love,” said Chad, comic expert and employee at The Source Comics and Games.

More comic book films are on their way to theaters in the near future. “The Avengers” movie featuring classic heroes such as The Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor as well as several other comic book legends, is set to be released May 4 of next year and stands to be the holy grail of comic book films and the highest grossing film in history.

Photo by Pat Gallagher

Comic book classics such as Fantastic Four and Spider Man, shown above, have been made into popular featured films.

Filling the ‘whole’ in Minnetonka artificial ever.” Grocers such as Whole Foods have had an impact on their community’s eating habits and lifestyle, and they’re working to further educate and promote healthy living.

“We’ve got some other fun things planned,” Brokl said In about one week, a new Whole Foods Market is opening in Minnetonka. Not far from a local Trader Joe’s, this organic, about the grand opening and other events. Whole Foods is “good eats” grocer is looking to provide for middle-class sub- planning on having a Harvest Festival with local vendors and urbia. This could be considered a major threat to Trader Joe’s, many samples. They’ll also offer a Ladies Night, along with especially because Whole Foods is involved in its community. store tours focused on specific diet restrictions or habits, such The grand opening takes place on Oct. 12. According to as gluten free diets. “[We’re] focused on the kids,” Brokl said. Whole Foods the Whole Foods website, “We’ll kick the day off with a traditional bread-baking ceremony at 8:45 a.m. with doors open- wants to host a kids’ club that is directed to children 12 years ing immediately after 9 a.m.” Whole Foods wants to give of age and under where they can have litter pick ups, offer free back to the community as well as promote its new location, bananas and apples, and even simply play in the park.

The Minnetonka Whole Foods is located near HHS, and so the site says the first 200 customers will be given free reusRachel Alter and Nate Ellis, juniors, are looking forward to able bags.

About a month before its opening, the Minnetonka loca- shopping there. “My mom usually buys the groceries at Trader tion appeared ready for business. Some shelves were stocked, Joe’s, but there can be a lot of other options at Whole Foods,” buffet tables and checkouts were set up, and there were em- Alter said. Ellis, also a member of the HHS Earth Club said, ployees scattered throughout the store. There were even signs “This Whole Foods is an awesome opportunity for [Earth posted around the store describing its “organic” and “field Club] because they work with the community, and are even willing to work with us.” fresh” foods.

“You have to start somewhere,” said Susannah Brokl, Marketing & Community Relations, as she also explained that Whole Foods is very invested in expanding in Minnesota.

Whole Foods hasn’t expanded in Minnesota for 11 years, and the Ridgedale Shopping Center is a prime area to branch out, with so much traffic already coming through.

The Minnetonka location is even more dedicated to serving complete natural, organic foods. Above the salad, hot bars and taqueria, there’s a noticeable sign that reads, “Nothing A survey of 100 HHS students polled on Sept. 26 and 27.

By Ursie Arhart Staff Reporter

19%

76%

N/A

5%

Together on and off the field

HHS is in the midst of a unique phenomenon. There are currently six coaches who are coac athletics. The Royal Page looked into the complex nature of parent-coaches.

All coaches must deal with the occasional strongly worded email or angry phone call from a parent asking why their “star athlete” didn’t play enough in a contest, but these things are dealt with behind the scenes in a respectful manner. However, when it is the coach’s own child who is on the field in place of others, the controversy vaults into the spotlight.

“Hopkins is experiencing something special right now, with six pairs of parent-coaches and their children currently involved in high school sports,” said Mr. Dan Johnson, activities director. “We haven’t ever had anything quite like we have now.”

Regarding parent-coaches, the American Youth Soccer Association says, “One idea [the organization] recommends is to employ the ‘coaching hat.’ Explain to your child that when you’re donning the cap, you’re coach.

When the hat’s off, you’re back to parent.”

The AYS is an organization designated specifically for kids in elementary school. When dealing with high school athletes, the higher stakes may make it tougher for parent-coaches to determine when to wear the “coaching hat” and distinguishing the responsibility that comes with it.

Johnson believes that parent-coaches will always be under more pressure. “There is no way around it,” he said. “A parent-coach will definitely receive some criticism or scrutiny involving playing his or her child.”

Some parent-coaches in current HHS programs may face more public scrutiny than others, but even in those visible cases, there are sides to these unique relationships that many do not get to see.

JT DenHartog, junior, and son of varsity football head coach John DenHartog, is the starting quarterback on his father’s team. Coach DenHartog made the decision to name JT the starting quarterback over senior Andy Wicklund.

Wicklund was the second string quarterback last year and played late in blowout games, while also playing extensively at cornerback. This year, Wicklund has played mostly at quarterback, but only every third series, with JT seeing most of the time. At Monday’s practice, Wicklund said he was told by Coach Den Hartog that he will no longer be playing quarterback and should focus on defense and wide receiver.

“It’s not what I expected to happen prior to the season,” Wicklund said. “At times I feel like it may be a little subjective, but I can’t let it affect

Kenny, Andy, & Ken Novak

how I play. That wouldn’t be fair to the team.”

Coach DenHartog remains confident in his decisions. “I don’t mind others’ perceptions about me. There will always be positive and negative feelings towards the coach, but I don’t want JT to have a bad experience,” he said. “I rely heavily on my assistant coaches, and believe their feedback and honest input, positive or negative, provides a solid base for decisions involving our football team and specifically JT.” Coach DenHartog focuses on the positives football adds to his relationship with his son. “Seeing JT play on the field only makes me feel real proud of him, and I’m hoping to make fun memories to talk about with him down the road,” he said. “I knew, at least I hoped, years ago that this time would come, so I can honestly say it is what I expected it to be.”

Coach DenHartog said he tries to treat JT like any other player on the field, but added, “I may push JT a little harder or be a bit more critical, but I try not to overdo it.”

“I get intimidated by my dad sometimes,” JT said. “If he’s in a good mood, I call him dad in practice. If he’s not, I call him coach.”

Coach DenHartog knows that football has been a great part of his and JT’s relationship. “We have the advantage of being able to talk football at home as well as practice, something I think we both enjoy,” he said. “I love sharing those times with my son.”

Alan Price, P.E. and assistant varsity wrestling coach, and his son Jake, senior, also enjoy the time they share dedicated to athletics. “It’s good because we are with each other all the time, and I am able to work with him as well as have fun with him. He’s really good at helping me with the little things I can improve on,” he said.

The Price’s old house had a specific “wrestling room” put together with a padded floor and standard wrestling circle on it. The two spent many evenings honing skills and perfecting technique in their sanctuary.

“It is an advantage that I can be with him mat side, but also that we can talk any time about wrestling,” Coach Price said. “I can show him little tricks that we can work on at home that others don’t see. I can also help him a lot with his diet and nutrition.”

Coach Price does feel that being a parent-coach adds stress for him when watching Jake out on the mat during competition. For Jake, Coach Price said with good humor, “He may consider it a disadvantage to be around me so much.”

Mr. Dale Stahl, Social Studies, coaches his son Zach Stahl an assistant varsity basketball coach. Zach was a starter for the won the state championship for the third straight year last seas “Whenever a dad is a coach, it’s a little harder for the play it’s not just coach, it’s dad,” Coach Stahl said. “The hardest par to make sure he understands as a dad, you love your son even criticizing him.”

There are few things that Coach Stahl enjoys more than be floor, watching his son play their beloved game of basketball. part is being able to be near Zach when he is really enjoying so he said. “I’m able to be close to him and watch him do great th “By having your dad as a coach, you have a really good bond You know him really well and you always get to hang out,” Zac

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Samantha and Vicki Seliger-Swenson, & Taylor Lee

Vicki Seliger-Swenson coaches her daughters Samantha, captain, and Taylor Lee, senior as head volleyball coach.

Lee said that while it can be tough, there is a silver lining. “I - sometimes it is hard to divide the coach and parent line; it her and it’s hard for me. However, I can honestly say she’s one o coaches I’ve ever had,” she said.

For Samantha, it can be hard to separate the two worlds. “S [Coach Swenson] can get really mad at me. It feels like I can’t volleyball world,” Samantha said.

While there are definitely harder days, there are times tha for it, she explained. “It’s good, too, because she corrects me an me a better player.”

“My coach is my mom, but it really isn’t any different than h other coach,” Samantha said. “She has been my coach my wh have learned to live with it and I am very used to it.”

After the 2010 season ended, the players voted on a capta upcoming 2011 season. “We voted for Becca Woodstra (senio she was the only clear cut captain at the time,” Lee said. At the of the 2011 season, the coaches named two other captains.

One was Taylor Lockett, senior, and the other was Samanth started on the varsity team since seventh grade. She now capta with seven seniors on the roster.

Coach Swenson was not avilable for comment for this story

Jo

By Jason Showers Sports Editor

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Another baketball duo is Gary Westman and his daughter Sarah, junior. Coach Westman coached Sarah her sophomore year in basketball and will remain involved in her basketball experience as a junior. “[I enjoy] being able to spend that extra time with her,” Coach Westman said. “With our hectic schedules, time together is hard to come by.

It has always been fun to watch her grow as a person as well as an athlete and to be there to help in that process.”

“It made us closer,” Sarah said. “We were able to bond on and off the court.” While conversations at home frequently turn to basketball, Coach Westman stresses the importance of separating the role of coach and parent. “You have to wear two hats, one of a dad and the other of a coach. If you separate the two and approach the sport with the coaching hat everything goes well.”

Mr. Ken Novak, Social Studies, and coach of the boys’ varsity basketball and tennis teams, also works hard to keep his roles as a father and as a coach separate. His sons Andy, junior, and Kenny Jr., sophomore, participate in both the tennis and basketball programs, but outside of practice, the Novaks don’t focus on their athletics.

“When we’re at home, I try to be dad and not coach,” Coach Novak said. “I haven’t pushed [sports] too hard on them. I want them to enjoy the sports they are playing.”

“If we do talk about the sports [at home], we don’t discuss [Andy and Kenny] directly. We’ll talk about what is going on with the team and how other players are doing which probably helps them. They have an advantage because they can learn from everyone else and their situations,” Coach Novak said.

He feels that it is hard enough as a player already to be the child of a coach, so his kids shouldn’t have to deal with the pressure off the courts as well. “I imagine there is a little more pressure on them having me as a coach. The expectations are different for them and they might feel a higher standard,” Coach Novak said. “Also, criticism: they take it more personally. It’s harder to be the coach’s kid, no doubt about it.”

Mr. Ken Novak -1974-

Mr. John DenHartog -1988Photo provided by Mr. John DenHartog

Photo from 1974 Contrails Yearbook

Mr. Al Price -1973-

Lucy Orenstein, Madeline Rauma, Marlee Gotlieb, and Ryan Levi also contributed to this story.

Photo provided by Mr. Al Price

Zach & Dale Stahl

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Photo provided by the Westman Family

10feature The Royal Page 2011-2012

Editors in Chief Marlee Gotlieb Ryan Levi

Managing Editor Madeline Rauma

News Editor

Madeline Rauma

Opinion Editor Mona Omar

Feature Editors Maddy Braverman Lucy Orenstein

Variety Editor Katie Cera

Sports Editors Jason Showers Sarah Ungurman

Back Page Editor Lydia Wilson

Photo Editor

Mike Newcomer

the

RP Friday, October 7, 2011

A Peruvian summer adventure

By Naomi Borowsky Staff Reporter

By day, the 16 HHS students who went to Peru attended school with their new Peruvian families. By night, they explored the city, sampling Peruvian cuisine and searching for Salsa clubs.

The group, chaperoned by Mr. Erik Thompson and Mrs. Andrea Sebenaler, World Language, spent time in different Peruvian cities, including Lima, Cusco, and Puno. They visited many archaeological sights, the most famous being Machu Picchu. “We hiked at tons of sites everyday, all day,” said Tess Stender, senior.

In Cusco, the group stayed in a central area called Plaza de Armas, where they became immersed in Peruvian culture. The week they spent in Cusco happened to be the week of the celebration of its creation. “We witnessed countless parades and dances and music in the plaza. It was an incredible time to experience the spirit of the city,” said Rachel Sadowsky, senior.

The group spent time going to restaurants and trying

new foods like cuy (guinea pig), searching for Salsa clubs, and just exploring the city together. “The great part of the trip was that we would get back from the sights at about one in the afternoon and the teachers would say, ‘Okay, be back at the hotel by 10 pm,’ and we could go explore the city of Cusco on our own,” said Stender.

Each student stayed alone with a host family for almost a week. Sadowsky stayed with a family with an eight-year-old boy, Fabrizio, and a 16 year old girl, Andrea. Sadowsky attended the all girls’ school Andrea went to each day. “The teachers were very welcoming and had us talk in Spanish about our lives back home. Every girl was extremely curious about life in the U.S. and would ask tons of questions,” Sadowsky said.

After school, Sadowsky would walk around the city with Andrea and join her family for dinner. “It was hard at times to be so immersed in the culture, but at the same time it was so amazing,” Sadowsky said.

Stender stayed with a family that included a 13-yearold boy, Victor, and a 15-year-old girl, Angela. “My mother, Maricarman, gave me the biggest hug the very

first time she met me, and instantly, I was part of their family,” Stender said.

Stender went to school with Angela and her mom, a teacher at the all girls’ school, every day and became close with many students. “It’s amazing how quickly talking about pop culture, English slang, and ‘novios’ (boyfriends) breaks the ice,” Stender said.

Outside of school, Stender helped Angela get ready for a traditional dance in Cusco and played basketball with Victor. “I taught them how to play Frisbee and to make American pancakes, too,” Stender said. She said that she misses her family and is still in touch with Angela.

Students on the trip had countless opportunities to practice their Spanish. They practiced with each other, their host families, in restaurants, and at stores. “Even if we didn’t know how to say something exactly, we became confident enough to attempt to it anyways,” Stender said.

Both Stender and Sadowsky would recommend taking this type of trip with the HHS Spanish department.

“Machu Picchu will take your breath away, and the people of Peru will steal your hearts,” Stender said.

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Web Czars Jack Deutsch Sonja Muus

Staff Reporters Quinn Anderson Ursie Arhart Eli Badower Charlie Bank Sam Bumsted Will Burnton Naomi Borowsky Pat Gallagher Josh Gallop Zach Gunby Andrew Hall Meme Halpern Caleb Hausman Harry Orenstein Lisa Soumekh Casey Pasko Joel Ratner Lauren Reutler

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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.

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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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Photos provided by Tess Stender

Left: Rachel Sadowsky, Tess Stender, and Paris Ebersviller, seniors, take a brief pause to pose for a picture on Machu Picchu. Top right: Paris Ebersviller, senior, shares a laugh with her host sisters at their public school in Cusco. Bottom right: The Plaza de Armas in Cusco during the week-long Festival of Cusco, celebrating the founding of the city.

DECA succeeds in the business world

By Will Burnton Staff Reporter DECA is one club at HHS that is making a difference in kids lives and futures. DECA, or Distributive Education Clubs of America, is an international organization dedicated to helping students understand business and finance.

HHS students have embraced DECA, making it one of the most popular after school activities. The group’s membership has doubled since last year, with 40 kids coming to the latest meeting.

DECA was successful last year, with 27 members going to nationals, and three of its members going to internationals in Or-

lando, Florida. Seth Gellman, senior, and Gary Barannikov, senior, had a team that got second at state.

DECA helps prepare students for careers in business. “DECA builds learning capacity and leadership skills,” said Mr. Jesse Theirl, Business Education. Theirl has been the DECA advisor for several years.

DECA also helps kids to get their name into the business world. Students go into businesses such as Target, and help solve real world problems. “This helps kids really integrate into real life jobs,” said Theirl. Students can put this on their application while applying for jobs too.

Gellman, the club’s president, puts

DECA as a top priority in his life. “Seth lives for DECA. He really helps push other kids into it,” said Dan Schmid, senior.

Gellman, who also got second at state, looks to improve even more this year.

“Winning state this year would be great, but placing at internationals is our real goal this year,” said Gellman. The International DECA Conference this year takes place at Salt Lake City, Utah. Winning at internationals could lead to scholarships.

DECA competitions last all day, and with each category a student is assigned a presentation. They are graded on this and must give another presentation, either in a large setting, or a one on one situation.

They are expected to present themselves as real business people during these presentations.

Gellman and DECA member Chandler Luhowskyj, junior, can be seen walking the halls of HHS wearing full business suits. “We’re trying to look professional, because at competitions we’re expected to look good and presentable,” said Gellman.

“People will take us more serious if we show that we’re serious.”

Some DECA alumni have gone on to great careers. Ashley Bailey, who graduated in 2008, went on to pre-med and then law.

“DECA opens so many more options for kids that would never have otherwise.” said Theirl.

feature 11

RP Friday, October 7, 2011

the

Haggarty defies gravity on hoops

By Casey Pasko Staff Reporter Maia Haggarty, junior, drives an hour and a half after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays to participate in Circus Juventas in St. Paul where she trains for three hours perfecting crazy skills.

“It’s hard, Haggarty said. “The training is strenuous, but it’s a ton of fun and it feels good to push myself.”

Haggarty started performing in the circus when she was 10, and has been training consistently ever since. “My mom took me to a show and I loved it. I was intrigued so we looked into circus and I started taking classes,” Haggarty said.

Haggarty’s area of expertise is aerial acrobatics. She can often be found suspended from the ceiling by hoops or ropes, spinning and twisting her limbs, and contorting her body into what most people think would be impossible.

Haggarty takes circus classes taught by her coach, Chimgee Haltarhuu. “Maia is a very hard worker and is very consistent with her practicing. She has made steady improvement every year,”

said Haltarhuu., who has been Haggarty’s coach for six years.

Haltarhuu was in a circus college in Mongolia from 1980-1984, touring the world professionally.

She came to America with the Ringling Brothers circus in 1991.

“The first time seeing small children in the air while teaching was very memorable; I love watching my students grow and become better performers.

It makes me very proud,” Halarhuu said, who has been coaching circus since 1995.

When Haggarty is not swinging from the ceiling of the huge white dome, she takes other training classes to keep her in shape, such as jump rope.

“One of the new classes I’m trying is Wall Trampoline,” Haggarty said. “It’s something brand new for me, so it’s kind of scary and I am pretty nervous, but lots of kids try new things at circus every day so I know it’ll be worthwhile and fun.”

Haggarty has participated in four shows in her circus career, which Haltarhuu has helped her rigorously prepare for. “There is an unbelieveable amount of hard work by many peo-

Photo by Casey Pasko

Maia Haggarty, junior, performs a difficult skill while being suspended from the ceiling of the Circus Juventas training facility. ple, from the performers to the coaches,” said Haltarhuu.

Founded in 1994, Circus Juventas began as about 30 students training on hand-made equipment, instructed by former circus

performers Dan and Betty Butler. After the circus’s first performance at St. Paul’s Highland Fest in 1995, popularity increased greatly, resulting in a waiting list of over 300 people.

There are many student

coaches who have elected to share their knowledge with beginning students and less experienced kids.

It is clear the performers respect their coaches, listening to their instruction and giving 100 percent ef-

fort from the time they enter the circus to when they leave.

“I love every part of it.

Circus has become an important part of my life. It would be werid without it,” Haggarty said.

Haggarty has been performing with kids from the circus since she started, and they’ve become close.

“I look forward to coming to Juventas to see my friends and have a good time,” Haggarty said.

2011-2012 Editors

Ryan Levi and Marlee Gotlieb Editors-in-Chief

Katie Cera Variety Editor

Madeline Rauma News Editor

Jason Showers and Sarah Ungerman Sports Editors

Mona Omar Opinion Editor

Lydia Wilson Back Page Editor

Mike Newcomer Photo Editor

Lucy Orenstein and Maddy Braverman Feature Editors

Sonja Muus and Jack Deutsch Web Czars

12 feature

the

RPFriday, October 7, 2011

PSEO gives students a head start Students leave HHS for college credits during school

By Maddy Braverman Feature Editor

PUT DOWN THE BOOKS AND HIT THE WALKER FOR A STUDY BREAK! CHEAP SEATS!

Flash your student ID for discounts at movies, concerts, and dance and theater performances.

WALKER ART CENTER

also attended homecoming at HHS. He feels like neither a college student nor a high school student.

For Menzies, PSEO seemed like a no-brainer. “It’s free college, why not?” Menzies said.

There are many reasons, however, students would decide against PSEO. “[Take PSEO] only if you’re willing to give up being around your friends everyday and up to do a lot more work than in high school,” said Nguyen.

Many colleges and universities do not take PSEO credits. Students are also not allowed to “double-dip” credits, meaning, the PSEO credits they use toward graduating from HHS cannot be used toward college credits.

“Students take the risk of maybe not being able to graduate high school when they attend PSEO,” said Mrs. Jean Davidson, Guidance Counselor. “They must maintain their college grades to get high school credit for their classes.”

Nguyen plans on going to the University of Minnesota next year after she graduates from HHS in June.

“I’m ready to leave home and go socialize with a lot of new people,” Nguyen said. “I’m ecstatic.”

Et e Td Df F l Lm Mo Oe Et Td Df Fl L m Mm Me Et T d DF fl Lm Mo O

While most students are anxiously waiting for the bell to ring at 2:35 pm, Vuong Nguyen, senior, has just started her school day. Every Tuesday, Nguyen leaves her house at noon and takes two separate buses to end up at the University of Minnesota campus for her 2:30 p.m. class.

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is an option for all juniors and seniors at HHS. Students can attend classes at any Minnesota college of their choice, as long as they meet all the requirements laid down by the college. Students then fill out an application by the deadline and the college dictates the rest.

Nguyen studies full-time at the University of Minnesota. “Descriptions of college weren’t enough for me; I really just wanted to experience college life myself. And in the end, I have no regrets

about it,” Nguyen said.

At HHS this semester, there are anywhere from 30-40 students enrolled in PSEO. Bridget Bennett, senior, spends two blocks at the high school, and takes the rest of her classes at the University of Minnesota.

“It is an awesome experience; I’m so happy I did it,” Bennett said.

Bennett hopes to go into communications and journalism and felt that the University of Minnesota would give her more freedom to pursue these interests.

Most PSEO students live at home and have to find their own transportation to the college they attend. Bennett gets to the University of Minnesota by carpooling with other students, and Nguyen takes the bus.

Lucas Menzies, senior, doesn’t have to worry about transportation to his college. Menzies lives on campus, in a dorm, at North Central University in Minneapolis. The university offered Menzies a room on campus after they realized they had an extra room for another student.

“It feels kind of like summer camp,” Menzies said. Menzies attends Patio Parties and Swing Dancing Thursdays at college, but

Free Art! Teens get free gallery admission thanks to ongoing support from Wells Fargo (and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is always free).

Cheap Seats!

Flash your student ID for discounts at movies, concerts, and dance and theater performances.

Student Open House: Get Scrappy Thursday, October 27, 5–9 pm Get in the DIY spirit at the Walker’s annual celebration for students. Join a bookmaking workshop, exchange mix tapes, then join the dance party with the Latin-infused hip-hop of La Villa Rosa, one of the Twin Cities’ hottest duos.

Student Open House is presented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC)—find us on Facebook!

Walker Art Center walkerart.org

Walker Teen Programs sponsored by Sponsor

Program support

Walker Teen Programs are also supported by the Surdna Foundation and a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

RPFriday, Oct. 7, 2011

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sports13

Wicklund achieves leadership trifecta

By Harry Orenstein Staff Reporter

Photo by Harry Orenstein

As one season concludes, many athletes at HHS finish competing in their sport and begin training for next year. Andy Wicklund, senior, not only anticipates his next seasonal sport, but also prepares for his leadership role as captain of the football, hockey, and baseball teams.

Time management will be difficult for Wicklund this year. “Andy is very deserving of all the accolades that he has received, including being named captain in three sports. He is a natural leader, and he is committed to working hard in whatever he does – whether it’s in the classroom or on the athletic field,” said Mr. Neil Lerner, varsity baseball coach.

Wicklund prioritizes his schoolwork first and athletics second, exemplifying the life of a student-athlete. “School just comes natural to Andy.

He doesn’t really stress out about grades because he’s a smart kid,” said Joey Brettingen, senior, friend and long time teammate.

During the summer, Wicklund takes part in all three sports which is not always easy. “It’s very stressful for Wick during summer because football, baseball, and hockey overlap,” said Andrew Glover, senior, who has played hockey and baseball with Wicklund for nine years.

Wicklund’s daily summer schedule consisted of football camp in the morning, hockey workouts in the afternoon, and a baseball practice or game at night. “This summer was a lot of fun because I was with all of my friends, but I don’t think I would do it again,” Wicklund said.

Wicklund thinks about playing college baseball constantly, as he feels it is his strongest sport.

During his recent visit to Duke, Wicklund met with the school’s baseball coaching staff. They told him that if he wanted to commit to baseball, they strongly advised him to stop playing hockey and football.

Position: Favorite Athlete:

Best Memory:

Photo by Mike Newcomer Wicklund showcases his athletic ability on the baseball field. He hopes to play college baseball.

Baseball Shortstop

Josh Hamiltom, Texas Rangers

“The 2011 Legion State Tournament, where we took 5th place.”

“To end my career in football and hockey to play division one baseball at Duke would be one of the hardest decisions of my life. It’s my dream to play college baseball, but I couldn’t quit on all of my teammates,” Wicklund said.

Wicklund’s title as captain has allowed him to further embrace his natural leadership qualities.

Although he might not be the most vocal leader the a team, Wicklund has a demeanor and drive that others rally behind. “Andy has always lead by example which is a very rare quality at this level,” Brettingen said.

While other captains of the football team may use their role to give motivational speeches to get the team psyched, Wicklund takes a different approach. “In football, I try to act calm when necessary to reflect a positive attitude among the team if a bad call is made or if we are losing,” Wicklund said.

Wicklund’s family is very supportive and has been since his youth. His family members are proud of his awards and achievements as an athlete and do not regret Andy’s participation in three sports. “As long as Andy’s having fun, we support him, but I understand why most kids/ families choose to play one to two sports,” Mrs. Linda Wicklund said.

Andy’s parents were hesitant at first to have him play three sports because they thought Andy would miss out on parts of his childhood. “We were very tied down with structured sports and schedules. We gave up a lot of cabin and vacation time. On the other hand, all of Andy’s friends played sports so he was with his friends,” said Mrs. Wicklund.

Wicklund isn’t always confident he made the right choice playing three sports. “Sometimes it’s frustrating to think how much better I could be if I could put all of my effort into one particular sport, however I always try to finish what I start,” said Wicklund.

Football Quartback/Cornerback/ Punter Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

“First varsity game junior year, playing quarterback, I rushed for 130 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.”

Hockey Forward

Cal Clutterbuck, Minnesota Wild “Hockey Day Minnesota, sophomore year, I played in an outdoor game televised on FSN. We beat Duluth Marshall 6-0.”

RP Friday, October 7, 2011

Spotlight Athletes

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14 sports

No ordinary freshman

Name: Rachel Sadowsky Grade: 12 Sport: Tennis Athletic Idol: Roger Federer Quote: “I love the team spirit we have, and I just love being a part of this group of girls.”

Rachel Sadowsky, senior, prepares to return a volley.

She won the point.

Harry Momoh, freshman, stares down the offense. He has switched to defense this year.

Name: John Klecker Grade: 12 Sport: Cross Country Athletic Idol: Steve Prefontaine Quote: “I really enjoy training hard and then physically seeing my hard work pay off through improved times.

John Klecker. senior, grits it out during a race. He was named top runner on the cross country team.

By Eli Badower Staff Reporter Harry Momoh, freshman, is doing something that is very rare. This year, Momoh is one of the first freshman to start on the varsity football team at HHS. “When I first heard the news, I was excited but also nervous, no other freshman has done this before, what if I screw up and my teammates get mad at me?” Momoh said.

The thought of putting the freshman on varsity occurred to Coach Kirby Dorothy, the team’s defensive coordinator, when he first saw Momoh.

“It was at the summer football camp in 2010 and I thought he was a junior, so I asked Coach DenHartog, ‘who is that’, and he smiled and said, ‘that’s Harry Momoh, he’s in eighth grade,’” Dorothy said.

While knowing that Momoh was not ready for varsity at the time, Dorothy could not help but look to the future. He was impressed by Momoh’s athleticism when he saw him play for the freshman team last season. Dorothy sent a letter to Momoh this summer, saying that he should report to him at camp so he could teach him the defensive plays.

The transition from freshman to varsity football was a big one, and Momoh also had to switch positions. He is starting at safety this year after playing running back on the freshman football

team last year. “We had a lot of depth at running back this year, but I knew I could use his athleticism on defense. His natural athletic ability has helped him overcome the learning curve of learning how to play a new position,” Dorothy said.

“He has made the transition to safety quickly because he is a quick learner and he is very mature for his age,” said Tavaughn Blair, senior captain and starting safety.

While changing positions and transitioning to varsity this year did not come without challenges, Momoh said that Blair has helped to make everything easier. “I have been working hard, listening to the coaches, and taking the advice of T (Tavaughn) Blair,” Momoh said.

“I tried to help Harry by teaching him everything I know and keeping his confidence up,” Blair said.

“He can make mistakes, he just needs to try to learn from them, be loose, and have fun with it.”

According to his teammates, in the first three games this season, Momoh has done well. “If he continues what he is doing, with his size, strength, and work ethic, by senior year, he is going to be a beast,” Blair said.

“His athletic ability sure makes him a play maker,” Dorothy said.

Momoh has impressed teammates and coaches alike, and he hopes to add college scouts to that list. “I hope that one day I can end up getting a scholarship. That is the dream and I am going to work hard to reach it,” Momoh said.

Photo by Eli Badower

Photo by Mike Newcomer Momoh at safety, preparing for the snap.

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Sportmanship video highlights HHS athletes

By Joel Ratner Staff Reporter It’s common for students to clap after a visiting player gets up from an on-field injury. Unfortunately, it’s also common to see students singling out opposing players to verbally attack them.

Bad sportsmanship can cause hateful school rivalries, and this year, the conference has decided to take action.

Alex Walker, AV production specialist from Minnetonka, as well as the Lake conference secretary, Judy Trombley, are currently producing a sportsmanship video. The video includes a male and a female athlete from the five member schools of the Lake Conference, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Edina, and Eden Prairie, and the mascots.

Joe Perkl, assistant athletic director, chose Becca Woodstra, senior volleyball captain, as well as Tavaughn Blair, senior, football captain, to represent HHS. “They’re two students that I know really well and respect as people in our community. I think they’ll do a great job representing Hopkins,” Perkl said.

The video will be shown sometime before the winter sports season. The video will hopefully be played at every school.

“I think it makes students at other schools real.

You will see T (Tavaughn) and Becca interacting

with other students just like you, and hopefully you will realize they aren’t just a hated Hornet, Trojan, Eagle, or Skipper, they are a student athlete trying to compete just like our friends competing for Hopkins,” Perkl said.

“The conference wanted the video because sportsmanship has not been the best in the past, and there has been bad rivalries and taunting.

They also wanted things to change and to have better spirit”, Woodstra said.

The students have been planning the video since the summer. They have met with eachother four times already.

“I feel like a sportsmanship video would benefit contact sports greatly,” said Sarah Mekler, student parent and viewer of HHS sports. “Games like hockey and football seem to have much more unsportsmanlike ways because they are full contact,” Mekler said.

Every student in the conference will see the sportsmanship video.“I feel it is very important for every student to see this video. It will strengthen the attitude of not only the players, but the fans too,” Perkl said.

Sportsmanship is not only directed to the athletes on the field, but the parents too. “Some parents get into the game a little too much and it takes away from game. It distracts players and spectators by taking attention away from the game

Schaefer suffers collapsed lung

By Andrew Hall Staff Reporter At a time that should have been one of the most memorable moments of her life, Allison Schaefer, senior, went through one of the scariest experiences instead. Schaefer was in Chattanooga, Ten., for the National ASA Softball Tournament in early August this past summer.

It was the sixth inning of the team’s second game when Schaefer dove for a ball that was laced down the left field line. Later that evening, she began to notice a bad pain in her side. Her dad told her she was probably just exhausted and needed to get some rest.

During that night, Schaefer could hardly breathe and she had no chance of getting any sleep.

The following morning, her team had a game at 10 o’clock. Schaefer could not participate in warm-ups due to the pain.

Someone told her where the nearest ER was and when she got there, it was actually a family practice.

Although it was not an ER, they still agreed to see Schaefer due to the seriousness of her pain. She told the doctor about the chest pains she had been having, and she was given an Electrocardiogam test.

An Electrocardiogram or EKG test, is a test that checks problems with the electrical activity of the heart. The EKG came back and everything looked fine. After the EKG test, they x-rayed Schaefer’s chest. Shortly afterwards the doctor entered the room, “I just called 911, you have a collapsed lung”.

Once she was in the ambulance, the paramedics inserted a Flutter Valve into Schaefer near her collarbone. The doctor described the valve to her as a

one-way device used to prevent air from traveling back along a chest tube. When air is sucked back in, the sleeve closes off and no air is allowed in.

This design enables the valve to act as a oneway valve, which allows air or fluid to flow only one way. Schaefer said “You could hear the air in the flutter valve because my lung was hitting my heart”.

Once Schaefer reached the hospital, the doctor inserted a bigger tube through her ribs and into her lungs. Once fully inserted, the tube was 7.5 inches deep inside of her. The machine that the tube was hooked up to sucked the air, gunk, liquid, and blood out of her lung. At 4:30 AM the next day, the tube was clamped and Schaefer received a chest x-ray. Things had not gotten better. They tried this process again but nothing happened.

The next morning, the doctor announced that she would be having surgery within a couple of hours. What the doctor’s did was cut and burn the spot on Schaefer’s lung. She had to spend the next 3 days in the hospital and lost close to ten pounds.

Being an upcoming senior, these would be Schaefer’s last traveling softball games. “It was very unfortunate that this great season had come to such an abrupt halt” she said. Schaefer had played softball since 2003 so it was very emotional to have it end this way.

Following the surgery, she had fairly bad lung pain and was on oxycodon for three weeks. She recently got cleared by her doctor to start running Cross Country, for the girls team here at HHS. Being that was the longest period of time inactive, Schaefer said, “I don’t remember being this out of shape”.

.It also embarrasses the child,” Woodstra said.

When students view this video, the hope is that it will be impactful and make a difference in how they act on and off the field. The thought is that a more sportsmanlike, mature attitude from players and students will also carry over to adults.

In general, sportsmanship can never be stressed

enough. The sportsmanship video will effect and improve the overall demeanor of those participating and watching sporting events, everyone involved will benefit, and HHS and the rest of the Lake Conference will have the privilege to serve as role models for other sports programs.

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RP Friday, Oct. 7, 2011

Life through the lens of an HHS photographer Lisa Persson Lisa Persson, junior, has a love for photography that was inspired by people and progresses through her connections made with others.

Her start in photography was due to her aunt. “I looked up to her, and admired her artistic side,” Persson said. Her father helped by teaching her some basics and providing the resources she needed to pursue her hobby.

From the beginning of experimenting and posting pictures online, Persson noticed others with the same creative passion she had.

One connection she has made is with Bridget Bennett, senior. “She’s a role model and older sister. She’s an inspiration, she’s so driven to pursue photography,” Persson said.

Persson has also been able to advance in photography during school by taking Media Arts classes and becoming involved with people in Photo Club. “It’s fun to shoot with them while also learning about the technical side of photography and being able to develop your own pictures,” Persson said.

Another connection photography has given Persson is the satisfaction of taking portraits for others. “I love taking them. It makes other people feel good, and now they have their new favorite picture of themselves, and I’m like ‘Yes!’” Persson said.

For Persson, one of the best parts of photography is the experience of locations. “Exploring for shot location is half the fun,” Persson said. “This sum-

mer I want to go urban exploring; break into abandon buildings and steam tunnels, you know, unconventional places.”

Persson’s future with photography is not something she has planned, but for now she’s just enjoying the happiness it brings her. “It’s a hobby right now, but I always like to try new things,” Persson said.

Though photography has its challenges and frustrations, it’s a passion that Persson has found gratifying. “You go out, and you take about 200 pictures of the same thing. You get that one good shot and you’re so happy. Like you found the perfect composition.”

Type of Camera: Nikon D-7000

Favorite Subjects:

Life styles & Portraits

Bridget Bennett

Type of Camera: Canon Rebel XS

Favorite subjects: Isolated outdoor places with a lot

of color, the city, wildlife

Skyler Dorr, senior, and a group of friends visited the Walker Art Museum about a year ago, where the art of Alec Soth was on display. Dorr was inspired by Soth’s works. “He was such an interesting photographer, very simple, but yet really expressive,” Dorr said.

Expression and simplicity, which Dorr admired in Soth’s art, are both qualities found in Dorr’s photography. They’re also underlying reasons why Dorr enjoys photography.

“It’s an art which doesn’t take months, which is great,” Dorr said.

Skyler Dorr

Though it doesn’t take a lot of time, photography has been an interest of Dorr’s since elementary school. It wasn’t until his experience at HHS that he was really able to develop his talent. “I always liked it, enjoyed it, but never really did it,” Dorr said.

Throughout his years at HHS, Dorr has taken Media Arts 1 and 2. He enjoyed both Media Arts courses, and said that 1 helps kids to learn the basics of photoshop, while 2 challenges students.

In his Media Arts classes, along with many other projects, students are required to take 20 pictures per theme. “It really helped to give me

a feel for what I’m good and bad at,” Dorr said.

Dorr recommends taking Media Arts because students may not even realize some of the things they’re good at. “Once you learn the rules and concepts, you can start to develop your talent. You may have a talent you’re unaware of,” Dorr said.

Along with progress in school, Dorr has found that his passion for photography has affected many other aspects of his life. “You look at things differently. When I’m out there, I always have moments where I wish I had a camera,” Dorr said.

Dorr is unsure of where photography may lead him, but he is fairly positive he won’t be making a career out of it. The benefit of photography he enjoys most is the feeling. “I like saying I made something. It’s nice to be able to say you took this picture.”

Three years ago Bridget Bennett, senior, purchased her first camera from her older sister. Her sister had attempted to sell it to a store, and, after only being offered $100, she decided she’d just sell it to Bennett.

Bennett turned to her mother and sister, who both have a love for photography, for advice.

Taking her first pictures, she was unaware that this developing hobby would define her high school career.

She would use that camera for most of her first two years at HHS, until she won an award recognizing her photo of the HHS dance team (above) as the best of 5,000 others.

The events leading up to this award were similar to the fateful way she received her first camera.

Sophomore year, Bennett sat in her counselors office and made a last minute decision to switch into Yearbook and drop a study hall. “I kinda ended up in Yearbook, but it was fate I think,” Bennett said.

Bennett fell in love with Yearbook and taking photos at HHS. She took Yearbook four terms that year and every year since.

At just about any major HHS event, Bennett can be seen snapping pictures. “I docu-

ment things more than I experience them, but I kinda like it that way,” Bennett said.

Her dedication to photography paid off last year when she won the grand prize in a photo contest held by Jostens. “There’s no right and wrong in photography, but the award felt amazing because it meant that I was doing something right,” Bennett said.

With that award, Bennett received funds to upgrade her equipment and expand her talent outside the walls of HHS. She has found success in taking senior pictures for people such as Emily Costa, junior (above, right). “She really knows how to capture a person or anything really well. She knows some really great places where to shoot and ideas that turn out great,” Costa said.

As far as Bennett’s future in photography, she’s looking into photo journalism, communication, or advertising, though she’s wary of photography with the changing times. “Now they’ll just have someone twitpic instead of sending out photographers,” Bennett said.

Bennett’s raw talent combined with years of skill building at HHS have left her with great potential for a successful future in photography wherever it leads. “I’m looking forward to being able to look back on these high school pictures.”

Mr. Fuhr

Technology education staff Teaches: Media Arts & Tech Ed.

Type of Camera: Nikon D-3000

Favorite Subjects: Macrophotography

“It’s amazing to see them emerge from snapshots to artistic statements in their photos.”

Photos courtesy of each respective artist

By Lydia Wilson Back Page Editor