Log
The Northmen’s
Friday, October 22, 2010
Halloween traditions, calories, events, movies and more, pages 4-5
Oak Park High School
Issue 3, Volume 46
Art learns scare tactics By: Jessica Nichols Sports and Feature Editor
Walking through the dark, fog-filled walkways monsters greet one at every corner. Standing in line, one feels the suspense build as the line draws nearer to the front doors of the “Doll House.” Awaiting the scares before them, Worlds of Fun attendees hold their breath. But does one know what happens behind the scenes or where the spooky costuming and makeup comes from? The Art Club received a chance to experience the life of a ‘scarester’ and participate in the ghoulish haunted houses in order to find out. “I work there part time and I’m one of the make-up artists for the Halloween Haunt,” said Art Club sponsor Lindsey Doolittle. “I looked into for the Art Club… get to see the behind the scenes of make-up and costumes. I thought it was a good fund raiser.” Sixteen members of the club split into two groups and traveled to the amusement park on Friday, Oct. 8 and Friday, Oct. 15 to learn the scaring trade. Wearing masks and costumes, they entered the Worlds of Fun haunted houses.
“It’s a good experience,” said senior Shannon Tinkey. “We get to see how they paint faces and get behind the scenes.” Not only were the students able to learn more about the art that interested them, but they made money for their club while becoming makeup artists and characters in the Worlds of Fun haunted houses. The students raised $600 for the Art Club. “We’re trying to afford T-shirts and other fun stuff this year,” said senior Kelsey Scott. Doolittle ran into a few problems as she tried to schedule the fund raiser for the students. Originally, all 16 students had planned on attending on the same day and a few important documents didn’t arrive. “Worlds of Fun double booked so we had to go two separate days,” Doolittle said. “They also didn’t send enough parking passes and contracts.” However, everyone who wanted to go was able to and the problems became cracks in the road towards the fund raising activity. The students absorbed the new art techniques and some enjoyed the experience. Sophomore Cody Rasmussen wears a witch doctor’s assistant attire for Art Club’s fund rais“I think that Art Club should definitely er Friday, Oct. 15. “ [It was fun] just walking around and hearing random people scream at do it again,” Tinkey said. you,” Rasmussen said. Photo By: Tatyana Pekarsky, entertainment editor
Singers learn quickly, thrill choir director By: Aggie Rieger Opinion Editor “We are thrilled that your kids sing. Absolutely thrilled,” said choir director Chris Droegemuller on the half lit stage of the theatre on Thursday, Oct 7, and the first choir concert of the school year began. “To take a choir who has never sung together in eight weeks and get them to perform together is quite a task,” said Droegemueller after the concert. The concert featured seven choirs, two of them show choirs that danced as they sang. “The kids had fun, they all did a great job for their level, as long as they enjoy the music, who cares if they make mistakes,” Droegemueller said. The women’s show choir Treble FX took the stage first. The stage was half lit due to technical difficulties. “If you can figure it out then great, if not, we’ll keep singing,” Droegemuller said up to the lights booth. Junior Shelbi Arndt said her favorite choir is Treble FX. “Because there’s a wider variety of songs we sing,” Arndt said. Treble FX sang “Don’t Rain On My Parade” and “Come In With The Rain.” “They’re better than last year,” said 2010 graduate Drew Blanton, who while a student performed in many of the choirs. As the girls in the shiny blue dresses exited the stage, the light began working and illuminated the stage, just in time for Oak Street. “They’re the premier choir, they always do good,” said sophomore Clayton Edmisten of Oak Street’s performance. They nationally recognized show choir sang “96,000,” “Since First I Saw Your Face,” “Beautiful” and “Puttin’ On the Ritz.” After the two show choirs performed, there was a break as new risers were brought on stage for the concert choir portion of the evening. “[The first portion was] awesome, it makes me miss them even more than I already do,” said Blue Valley West High School choir director Kimberly Scott, who worked as assistant choir director here last year. “There’s been a lot of changes [since Scott left. Droegemueller] had to take over classes and drop the class Solid Oak,” Arndt said. “It’s changed how we warm up for concerts. Before she would warm up the others, now he has to do both. It’s more hectic and stressful.” Students jumped past each other and
“We work really hard on all of our music, and we have such a great time when we perform, it’s amazing,” said senior Jeri Porter, dancing with partner senior Derek Byrne. this year’s Oak Street theme is Rags to Riches. Senior Sterling Robbins performs during the choir concert, Thursday, Oct. 7. Photos by Johnna Hensley, photo editor For more photos, see page 8.
waited in line to see Scott. “I’m looking forward to seeing my old students sing,” she said. Others were excited as well. “I’m excited because I want to see my daughter in high school for the first time,” said parent Audie Jackson. “It’s great to see the kids,” said grandmother Virginia Cruz. “I’ve been looking forward to it.” The concert picked back up with Mixed Chorus. “About eight weeks ago I met this class, and they wouldn’t stand still. I told them to watch it because if they didn’t stand still they’d have choreography for the concert,” Droegemueller said to the audience of
Mixed Chorus, who usually does not perform with choreography. This year, the choir threw in some movement to “It Takes Two,” they sang “Let It Be” in place on risers. Mixed Chorus was different from the other choirs because no audition was required for enrollment. “Mixed Chorus isn’t very good,” Blanton said. Next was Freshman Choir, who sang “Minoi, Minoi,” “Haven’t Met You Yet” and “I Gotta Feeling,” which Droegemueller dedicated to his son Cooper. “They come rambling in and we have a ball in the morning,” Droegemueller said in his introduction to the choir. “[The best part] having a great teacher, [the worst part is] staying on pitch with everyone else,” said Freshman Choir member Angelica Ahumada. Sophomore Choir took the stage next. “Sophomore choir got small. This is really small compared to last year,” Blanton said. The choir sang “Sing We Alleluia,” “Gone Too Soon” and “Higher Ground.” Two of the girls on stage wore dresses who did not match those of their peers. “We had a few costumes that got backordered; it’s a risk you take. It’s one of those gambles you take when you order from certain companies,” Droegemueller said after the concert. The students were optimistic. “Some of the costumes aren’t in yet, but they’ll be in tomorrow,” said freshman Eliza Maloney, who is in Treble FX and Treble Choir, she took the stage with the rest of Treble next. Treble Choir sang “Dies Itae,” “Can You Hear,” “I Dreamed a Dream” and “Chain of Fools.” “This is the choir with the most diverse program,” Droegemueller said in his introduction to the choir. Technical difficulties arose when microphones ceased to work, the ladies of Treble Choir just sang louder. The concert’s final performance was A cappella Choir. “It’s been crazy because we have a lot of people and have to coordinate a lot of stuff,” Edmisten said of his choir. A cappella sang “Exultate,” “Justi,” “Come Live With Me” and “Be My Love, Linus and Lucy and Chindia;” bringing the evening to a close. “Thank you so much for sharing your kids, have a wonderful evening, take care,” Droegemueller said and exited stage left, ending the show.
News Brief Musical to run next month Branching from the history of racial segregation in the ‘60s, the widely renowned 1988 film “Hairspray” has been made into a musical and also remade. This year, for the fall musical, the theater department tackled this show with high hopes. “It’s the time when all the bits and pieces come together and it starts looking like a show,” said musical cast member junior Lauren Collingsworth. “Hairspray” follows a young teenager in Baltimore, Tracy Turnblad, during the 1960s, who just wants to be one of the dancers on a local daytime teenage television show. One major obstacle standing in the way of Tracy’s dream is her weight. However despite this obstacle, Tracy pursues her dream and in the process teaches people a lesson in judging others by their appearance, helps a television station become the first desegregate and wins the man of her dreams. “It’s going to come together really nicely,” said musical cast member junior Claire Carreon. About three-fourths of the way through putting the show together as a whole, the cast rehearses every day after school, and crews meet once to twice a week to work on everything from set pieces to costumes. Performances are at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13 in the main auditorium. Cost is $7 in advance, $8 at the door.
Preparing for college starts in middle school, not as a senior By: Tatyana Pekarsky Entertainment Editor There’s a long path for students after high school, whether it’s entering the workforce, joining the military, or going to college. Many students expect to go to college, but may not have the preparation or knowledge to do so. This is a great obstacle in the next step of life after high school. Preparing for college wasn’t what most would call easy. Students have to write a resume, fill out applications, take the ACT or SAT and so on. However, preparation is something that truly begins in middle school. “You really begin preparing in middle school by some of the course selections you make which affect and ap-
ply to high school,” counselor Kathleen Mahan said. Students need to read and get informed about the different career choices they are interested in. Counselor Judith Wake stressed the importance of taking classes to better prepare oneself for those careers. “Either you choose, or you get what’s left over,” Wake said. Different colleges offer different courses and programs for those careers, and it helps to know which are the most interesting. “You want to be able to make your choice for your life,” Wake said. For seniors, the troubles arise when applying to colleges. Filling out resumes or applications, maintaining GPA and
attendance are factors that come in to play when it comes to choosing a college as well as getting into it. Wake noted many seniors forget about their resumes, or what to add. “Brag about yourself,” Wake said. “Come to your counselor and we’ll help.” Deadlines tend to be detrimental for seniors as well. “I have had seniors crushed because they put all their eggs in one basket and then they did not get into that school,” Mahan said. “By that time it was past deadlines to apply for other schools and financial aid.” Many college applications are due near the beginning of the school year, which means seniors need to be on top
of their resumes this month. “[Colleges] want to see leadership responsibility, they want to see community service,” Wake said. However, the physical and academic factors are not the only considerations seniors need to think about. “Be realistic but don’t lose sight of your dreams,” Mahan said. “Have a dream school that has your major, your preferred location and size, your favorite activities and talent areas but always have a plan B, in case you can’t get the funding or don’t get accepted.” College many be another form of school, but it is also the first step into new lives. “Everybody has a life after high school,” Wake said.