The Squall

T h i s i s s u e c o m e s o u t o n Fr i d a y, Fr i d a y, g o t t a r e a d i t o n Fr i d a y ( Ye a h ! ) Dexter High School 2200 N. Parker Road Dexter, MI 48130

Student radio show, Page 4

April 1, 2011 Volume XVI Issue 7

Health and Safety, North Point The Spread closes, Page 3

Photostory, Page 8

‘Trust’ opens today, Page 4

Student teachers, Page 3

Womens tennis, Page 5

AD fires football coach, then AD is dismissed, then football coach fights to get his old job back

Football coach

Tom Barbieri

Connor Thompson Physical education teacher Tom Barbieri is contesting his dismissal as head football coach.

This controversy comes in the wake of the dismissal of Athletic Director Scott Lucas, who was responsible for firing Barbieri.

It is not clear whether Lucas’s firing was a response to Barbieri’s dismissal, and Barbieri’s position as a P. E. teacher is not in question.

At first glance, the situation concerning Barbieri’s termination appears related to the former athletic director’s dismissal.

Lucas was immediately responsible for Barbieri’s termination as head football coach.

Lucas, however, did not respond to interview requests and neither did Barbieri.

A Freedom of Information Act request for Lucas’ and Barbieri’s personnel files was filed by The Squall to which the district responded by invoking their right to a 10-day extension to respond to the request.

The response was not received by The Squall by press time, despite the fact that the 10-day extension has expired.

The Squall has confirmed from multiple sources that Barbieri has filed a grievance to get his coaching

and Athletic Director

Scott Lucas

dismissals create controversy, confusion

managing editor job back, however.

A member of the Dexter Education Association, the teachers’ union, has the right to appeal his or her dismissal and has a series of options to do so including: lodging a verbal complaint, submitting a written grievance and making an appeal to the superintendent.

Finally, if all previous attempts have been denied, one can submit an appeal to the school board or an independent arbitrator provided by the American Arbitration Association and agreed upon by both parties.

The judgment by an arbitrator cannot be overruled except by a court.

Superintendent Mary Marshall has currently denied Barbieri’s grievance, making it unlikely that Barbieri’s firing as head football coach had anything to do with Lucas’ dismissal.

However, it is more likely that Lucas’s termination had nothing to do with Barbieri according to DEA president and computer teacher Joe Romeo.

“If the Superintendent said not to fire Barbieri, then (Superintendent Mary) Marshall wouldn’t have denied the grievance Romeo said.

The situation regarding Barbieri’s coaching dismissal, however, is different from a typical grievance involving a teacher’s termination. “It’s unusual to have extra-duty coaching problems,” Romeo said. “Generally, a coach accepts a firing or resigns on their own if they don’t get along with the AD. Having a bad relationship with the athletic director can make the job too hard.”

Please check The Squall website, www.thesquall.com, for updates regarding this situation once the personnel files of Lucas and Barbieri are received.

illustration by Claire Berger, photos by Nick Byma

Maciag resigns as technology director Kevin Skiver

news editor

In this age of technology, schools have become progressively more dependent on it. Since the sudden departure of Technology Director Matt Maciag, however, servers and computers have been running haywire throughout the district.

But why did Maciag leave so quickly? It seems difficult to say.

Maciag declined to comment for this article, but his letter of resignation stated that personal issues made it so he could no longer remain in the district.

An examination of Maciag’s personnel file obtained by The Squall through a Freedom of Information request did not mention specific reasons for his resignation.

According to Superintendent Mary Marshall, this resignation was unanticipated and even she isn’t sure why he resigned. “Prior to his departure, I would not have anticipated Mr. Maciag’s departure,” she said.

The circumstances under which Maciag left were the most mysterious part for many. There was a period of about six days where no one could contact him. Then, on Feb. 16, his resignation was announced.

“I have had limited contact with Mr. Maciag,” Marshall said. “I have not inquired into where he has been or what he is doing. I have tried to respect his desire for privacy regarding his personal life.”

However, there have been many problems with school servers in

Corrections from last issue •Math teacher Brian Baird isn’t in charge of the robotics club, Jon and Ben Coffer are.

•Baird registered the group and started it.

•Six main students work on a robot, which is done.

•Events were March 25 and 26 for the Ann Arbor District Competition at Skyline, and April 1 and 2 for the Livonia District at Churchill High School.

the absence of a technology director, with some teachers affected more than others, including technology teacher Joe Romeo, whose classes are entirely dependent on computers.

“What I’ve had the biggest problems with is the students not being able to work on the server,” Romeo said. “The server has a limit of how many students it can handle at a time, and it’s been overloading lately.

At about 200 students it starts to struggle, and at 300 it completely crashes. So between (newspaper teacher Rodney) Satterthwaite, (yearbook teacher Barry) Mergler and myself we could be going over the limit.

“Students can’t save their work and some don’t realize that until 45 minutes in when they’ve put in 45 minutes of work,” Romeo said.

“I don’t think you should have to expect or anticipate that being a problem. The problems have been daily when they should be monthly at the most. Technology now exists where we can avoid that being a problem.”

According to Marshall, though, Maciag has been helpful repairing the servers.

“Mr. Maciag has been very helpful during this period of transition and has assured we have the information needed to continue our work developing technology in the district,” she said.

Others steps have been taken in the technology department as well. Saline Technology Director Ken Lupo has been brought on as a consultant in order to help with the student servers and Power School, the district’s attendance and grading program.

Baby Satt has arrived Micah Robert Satterthwaite born March 22 at 9:55 p.m.

8 lbs. 4 oz. 20 in.

The Squall congratulates Mr. and Mrs. Satterthwaite on their beautiful baby boy

“Lupo has been hired to maintain our systems,” Romeo said.

“Another problem we face is that PowerSchool will no longer help Macintosh servers. Lupo has brought us a few PCs to make sure that if PowerSchool were to go down, we wouldn’t lose all of our student’s info.

“As for finding a new Technology Director, I think that we really need to examine our needs as a district,” Romeo said. “Mr. Maciag did a lot of training, which is very helpful, but the needs are more immediate than training. We may need someone whose job is exclusively to make sure our equipment runs properly.”

Romeo also recognizes the evolution of technology and its major impact on the district.

“Mergler, Satterthwaite, (video teacher Matt) Martello and I probably use computers more than most people in the school, if not the district,” he said. “It’s essential that the server works. My big problem has been that I can’t grade work if it’s not on the server. I can have students print it out, but if I do that, then they may not use the formulas I require for the project. Mergler needs the server for the yearbook and Satterthwaite needs the server for newspaper. And, of course, Martello has his large video files that he has to upload.”

There is now a committee in place that has been set up to address the needs in the technology department and provide guidance in finding a new technology director. According to Mergler, “The point of this committee is not to replace Maciag but make sure that all of the technology needs of the district are addressed.”

Spring Break to-do: • Sleep for at least 108 of the 216 hours you have off • Make a new friend • Don’t get lost in a foreign country • Make sure to leave time for GTL • Don’t end up looking like a tomato • Obtain five new pairs of sunglasses • Listen to plenty of Justin Bieber

2

NEWS

Friday, April 1, 2011

Study shows Dexter students ready for college Kaitlin Gotcher

standards for a student’s ACT scores to be college-ready are a minimum 18 in English, 22 in math, 21 in reading and 24 in Dexter High School is number 24 out of 823 schools in science.

Moran said that there are more than just test scores that Michigan in terms of college readiness based on the ACT scores for the class of 2011. According to these scores complied by the determine how ready a student is for college including parental College Board which administers the ACT tests, 37.5 percent of support of education, teachers teaching what they are supposed to and a student’s hard work. the class of 2011 is ready to succeed in college.

However, according to the results of this study, not all “I’m very pleased,” said Principal Kit Moran. “It tells us we schools prepare their students for college adequately. are doing something right.”

Over half of the schools in Michigan have less than 10 Moran also said Dexter High School test scores reflects well on the school and reflects well on the students and their hard percent college-ready students, and some schools have no students ready for college based on the above numbers. work.

Moran said it concerns him that so many students at so But Curriculum Consultant Jeff Dagg said ACT scores are just a snapshot of college readiness in terms of basic academic many schools are not considered college ready and said in order to get a job, a student has to have some sort of secondary skills. training.

According to a press release from Moran said that someone cannot, the ACT, “More than 40 years of for example, get a job as a car research has shown that performance salesman anymore with just a high on the ACT is directly related to firstyear college grade point average.”

I wouldn’t blame the schools, but school degree.

And if schools are failing to The College Board did not respond to I would hold them accountable.” provide the training necessary to be interview requests. college ready, then the school needs However, there is more to college readiness than test scores such as the

Kit Moran, to make that shift to make the kid ready, according to Moran. ability to handle large-scale projects, Principal college “I wouldn’t blame the schools,” the ability to work in teams, the Moran said. “But I would hold them ability to manage time and money and accountable.” the ability to socialize responsibly, According to both Moran and according to Dagg.

Dagg test scores results such as “Colleges recognize this by incorporating these factors into the application process,” Dagg these can help a local community’s growth since schools factor said. “The value of EXPLORE and PLAN test scores is that into many buyers’ moving decision. But it’s not just test scores they give students, parents and teachers feedback on nationally that people consider when deciding where to move, according recognized indicators of college readiness early enough that to Dagg.

He said a variety of other factors such as commuting some adjustments can be made.”

Though some may argue ACT test scores are not a good distance, the atmosphere of the community, taxes,and so forth indicator of how ready students are for college, Moran disagrees also contribute to a prospective home buyer’s decision. “Dexter is fortunate that it has a lot of features that people are looking to an extent.

“ACT scores are a good prediction in measuring college for,” Dagg said. “That is why I choose to live in Dexter.”

Regardless of what these scores mean to people, Moran said success,” he said. “It’s a good prediction, but it’s not the only DHS’ top mission will always remain helping students succeed. thing.”

According to Moran, those who determine student college “Our goal is to have all kids college and career ready,” Moran -readiness take the ACT test scores of those who were successful said. “I want every kid in Dexter High School to leave ready for in college and set the averages as goals for high schools. The the next step.”

Staff Writer

Washtenaw County at a glance

“

Information courtesy of freep.com

NEWS

briefs

Marne Little

editor-in-chief

Administration considers semesters with zero hour After a long debate over trimesters and semesters, administrators have decided to implement trimesters for the 2011-2012 school year. Semesters with the option of a “zero hour” is under consideration for the 2012-2013 school year.

Zero hour would work as an optional class period that could be held before first hour starting at 7 a.m. under the current proposal.

“Right now we are proposing a 6-0 concept schedule with a six-period day with an optional zero hour at 7,” Principal Kit Moran said. “We’re really looking at the pros and cons. It should be good for the staff because it’s everything they want and nothing they don’t want.”

According to Moran, the zero hour would be either three or four courses per semester. “It should help students to fit everything in and be friendlier than trimesters and slightly more efficient,” Moran said. “About 100 (students) out of 1200 should be able to take advantage of this.” Moran said he would like students’ feedback about switching to semesters with an optional zero hour. E-mail him at moranw@dexterschools.org

Gov. Snyder’s budget cuts to affect school district

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11b-3367

© 2011 The College Board

On Feb. 17 Gov. Rick Snyder proposed cuts for the state’s education budget that, if approved, will take effect on July 1 for the new school year. If these cuts pass, the district will be taking a $2.5 million budget cut, losing about $300 per student.

According to Superintendent Mary Marshall, the biggest effects will be in the staff. “Eighty percent of our revenue goes towards staff salaries,” Marshall said. “We’re going to do our best to keep cuts out of the classrooms, but it’s looking impossible, and unfortunately there could be staff layoffs. The budget cuts are horrible and devastating, and it impacts the kids and the staff.”

Adviser says prom theme rumors are false This past fall, the senior and junior class voted for a masquerade theme for the 2011 prom.

However, this left some students wondering if they would be allowed to wear masks at prom since school rules prohibit them.

“We used a ballot to decide the theme,” math teacher and student council adviser Al Snider said. “There were nine choices, which was probably too many, but I’m fine with the theme, and it really doesn’t matter to me.”

After the decision of the theme, though, rumors about not being able to wear a mask at the masquerade prom spread. But according to Snider, masks will be allowed. “It doesn’t make much sense to me to have a masquerade and not be able to wear masks,” he said. “If it’s creating a problem or we don’t know who you are, we’ll just ask you to please remove your mask.”

Snider said the parent prom committee started to plan for the May 14 event in October. He said,“I expect the parents to do a great job with the theme this year like they always do.”

Wylie Pool opens after overdue renovations The Dexter Community Pool at Wylie Elementary School held its grand opening after a year’s worth of construction and renovations.

Not only did the renovations affect the swim and dive team and the water polo team, they also affected pool employees such as lifeguard, diver and water polo captain Cecilia Burke.

“At the beginning I didn’t get very much work because there was a lot of guards but only one pool,” Burke said. “Then a lot of the guards quit, so now there’s not as many with two pools. It sucked especially for diving because we had no pool. We had to drive out to Whitmore Lake High School, and we couldn’t have home meets.”

But now that it finally happen Burke said the opening of the pool was successful. She said, “The pool looks really nice and there were many people that attended.”

3

Feature

Friday, April 1, 2011

North Point closes doors Unpaid taxes lead to closing of popular downtown destination for families; some workers don't receive their last paychecks Serena Bidwell

staff writer

North Point in downtown Dexter recently closed without much notice, and Scio Township and the Village of Dexter seized North Point’s equipment because of $17,178 in unpaid taxes.

A sign was posted on the front of the Monument Building on Main Street, which houses North Point, that stated the unpaid fines date all the way back to 2008.

The restaurant was run by Mark Perry and Bob Heebner, though a previous contributor to the restaurant, Cindy MacNeil, said she believed those partners were looking for a buyer for North Point.

MacNeil helped to operate the restaurant when it first opened in April 2007, but became less involved after about a year.

She told annarbor.com that she did not think Perry and Heebner would actually close the restaurant. “I heard about it through the grapevine,” MacNeil said.

John Evans represented the owners of the Monument Building where North Point was located and works with Swisher Commercial.

He said legal documents were filed to evict North Point, but he said he thought the restaurant was still operating until questioned about it.

Junior Micaela Conter worked at North Point as a busser and hostess for seven months.

She said workers knew the restaurant wasn’t doing well, but the closing was still quicker than she expected.

“I knew the restaurant was going to close but thought it was going to be in early March,” she said.

She also said some days North Point would not open because the water, phone or gas bills were unpaid. According to Conter, some employees did not receive their last checks.

Junior Lynn Metz spent nine months working at North Point as a busser, hostess and runner. She agreed with Conter that the closing was much more sudden than expected. “(The restaurant) always seemed to somehow get it together at the last second,” Metz said.

Metz also said she is a lot better off than others

because she was paid for nearly all of the hours she worked.

She said some people, especially those who worked near the last few weeks of the restaurant being open, lost a lot of money by not receiving their final paychecks.

Despite all the negative attention this closing has brought to the restaurant, both Conter and Metz said they enjoyed working at North Point.

“Other workers were really nice and a lot of fun,” Conter said.

Metz said working there was kind of like a big, dysfunctional family. “Everyone was really close at the restaurant, but sometimes poor management led to disasters,” she said.

Donna Palmer, the treasurer for Scio Township, said the total amount due to the Township is $11,032.30, which includes the filing for the estimated 2011 amount of $2,877.09.

Palmer said she knew the owners were struggling but did not expect the closing as it occurred.

Marie Sherry, the treasurer for the Village of Dexter, said the restaurant owes the Village a total of $4,208.57.

Palmer and Sherry posted a seizure notice on Jan. 18, but one of the owners, Perry, asked to have a meeting in which a payment plan was agreed upon with the two treasurers.

However, Palmer said only the first payment was made.

Palmer and Sherry then re-posted the seizure notice after they heard the restaurant closed on Feb. 16. Palmer said if the taxes are not paid, all of the equipment will be sold at an auction.

Sherry said, “My philosophy when dealing with delinquent personal property taxpayers is to try to work with them as much as possible, and I have had plenty of good success. Unfortunately, sometimes there comes a time when I am no longer able to do so and must take the legal steps available to make sure that the village’s taxes are paid.”

Palmer and Sherry both said they hope somebody will open another restaurant in the same location.

Many local families who regularly ate at North Point are also hoping for a replacement.

The restaurant provided downtown Dexter with an upscale place to eat within the community.

Senior Zaryn Jennings said she and her parents ate there regularly, especially with other families after sporting events.

“We will definitely miss North Point,” Zaryn’s mom, Kathleen Lake Jennings, said. “It was our favorite spot after basketball games, for family dinners, after Encore performances and for community social events. Good food and good staff

Photo by Michelle Stone

Learning from students: Student teacher Scott Opfermann helps a student with a problem. Opfermann said he’s always known that he wanted to be a teacher.

Student teachers get hands-on practice Taylor Schmidt

staff writer

Student teacher Scott Opfermann said he always knew he would have a career as a teacher.

“I first got into teaching when I was a kid,” Opfermann said. “My dad taught and still teaches in Dearborn, so he really got me into teaching at a young age. Also, my mom used to run a daycare from our house, so growing up, there were always kids at my house sparking my love for kids.”

So while Opfermann always knew he wanted to be a teacher, it was his 8th grade history teacher who started his love for history.

“When I was in eighth grade, I had a teacher who really sparked my interest in teaching and in history,” he said. “She was a very dynamic teacher; she was a constructivist teacher. She built on what the students already knew, rather then teaching straight off the textbook, which inspired my current teaching style of such.”

But one thing he has noticed about being a good teacher is the heavy workload such as creating lesson plans and grading papers. Regardless, he says this extra work will be worth it. “As much as it is hard work, it does pay off in the long run,” he said. “Student teaching has given me the chance to experience teaching and find a way to connect with my students. It’s a great opportunity to have been given, and I’m thankful every minute for it.”

History teacher Angela Chea, Opfermann’s cooperating teacher said having a student teacher

brings both advantages and disadvantages. “The main advantage to having a student teacher is that it allows you to be more aware of your teaching styles and gives you the chance to improve your activities that you wouldn’t normally have time to while teaching.

“The disadvantages, however, are that it’s hard to give up control of the classroom that you have been teaching in for so long,” she said. “It’s also hard to lose contact with the students. Because especially in AP classes, you have been teaching them for most of the year, building a bond with them. It’s almost hard to come to class and not having daily contact with your students.”

Even though he’s only been student teaching for a short months, however, Chea said she has received many comments from students requesting Opfermann’s return next year as a full time teacher. “Mr. O has been, by far, my best student teacher,” she said. “Since day one he has been comfortable in front of the class. Like I said before, I have students come up to me periodically saying that they’ll miss him when he has to leave, and that they hope he’ll come back.”

And since he started in January, Chea said Opfermann has come a long way. “He’s shown what it takes to be a real teacher,” she said. “He’s worked hard nonstop taking full advantage of the opportunity he’s been given to teach here. Since the beginning, he’s gotten off to a great start and I see him getting better day by day.”

Improv Club works to expand the imagination Dan Edwards

staff writer

Drama club director Erin Palmer said she noticed something big was missing from her program when she started teaching in 2007.

As she evaluated the program she said she found out what this missing item was and concluded the drama club was suffering from a lack of improv comedy.

“I saw a need in the school and drama program that we needed an improv group,” Palmer said.

And just like that, Palmer and members of the drama club started their first improv troop which consists of about 20-30 kids.”

Palmer said improv is different from the other forms of traditional theater.

In improv, people improvise their thoughts and movements, creating completely random acts of comedy.

Most forms of improv are indeed comedy, but some forms of improv, like Playback Theater, are not necessarily

comedy.

But sometimes the laughing and crying go hand-in-hand according to junior and co-captain Paige Driscoll.

“We’ve even made a couple people cry because they were laughing so hard (since our improv is comedy based),” Driscoll said.

But the most popular forms of improv are comedic, like the kind of improv that most people are familiar with from the TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway?”

Improv can be difficult at first, but the group members are very supportive and help each other out to become better at it, according to Driscoll.

“During meetings, we start with warm-up games to build energy and focus,” she said. “Then we practice the games that we perform in shows.

Everyone learns something during each meeting, but it’s also always a fun time.”

There are four main types of games that the team does during their meetings, including an energy warm-up,

focus game called “Bird Talk”.

In Bird Talk the actors pass a noise around the circle by making it, then they point at someone and shout, “Talk!”

“When you get going fast enough, it sounds like everyone is saying ‘Bird talk’ over and over again,” Driscoll said.

“These types of games are just to build up the energy of the group after a long day of school.”

After the actors get warmed up and comfortable, they jump into the actual short-form improv. “Short-Form is the most popular form of improv,” Palmer said, “It’s what the audience see’s on stage. It’s like ‘Who’s Line is it Anyway’ where people create characters on the spot with help from the audience.”

In improv the actors participate in two different types of performance games, which the captains of the group run and host.

“We perform in the CPA and the shows last about an hour and a half and we play ten games a show,” Improv

captain and senior Alex Sloan said. “The shows are very funny and the people that come love them. Doing improv feels amazing, and it’s fun to just let go and be different characters,” Sloan said.

“Even if you’re just performing it in front of your friends in the club it feels amazing.”

But it’s not just the audience that gets something for improv. Those participating have just as much fun according to Driscoll. “A lot of people say that they feel less nervous than when you have lines memorized for a play,” Driscoll said.

In fact, Palmer said the club is so much fun that she’d like to see more participation. “The club is open to anyone and everyone in the high school,” she said. “We’d love to see new people come and see what improv is all about.”

The club meets every Friday in room 400 from 3:15 to 4:15 and their next show is May 27.

Photo by Bethany Martini

Staged Emotion: Sammi Watkins comforts a distraught Alex Sloan in “Genres” at an improv show. The Off Q improv troupe’s next performance is May 27,

Entertainment

Students aspire to be on the air

4

Friday, April 1, 2010 Photo by Christina Field

Senior Derek Fead and former Dexter student Evan Luoma express their ideas through radio Nicole Minzey

entertainment editor

Wanting their thoughts heard means getting prime radio hours, and opinions voiced to but for Fead and Luoma the station gave the public, senior Derek them the time slot of 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.

This makes it difficult to be heard Fead and former Dexter student Evan Luoma because this is the time that most people use for sleeping. have The show taken it upon is free form, themselves to get Some people are born meaning they their own radio show on Ann Arbor’s WCBN. with brains. Evan and I plan any kind of music they want, They both joke that were born with a radio and the pair no one gave them the show.” guarantees it idea, they were simply will be different born with it. “Some

people are born with Derek Fead, that the typical shows on the brains.

Evan senior radio. and I were “Free form is born with almost a way of a radio life; it’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard show,” Fead said.

G e t t i n g before,” Luoma said.

The pair say they don’t plan to do much prime time slots for radio talking on the show. Instead they say they shows is a will use music to get their points across.

“Music can conform to any emotion, challenge.

B e i n g thought or feeling. (The music we will

“

Photos by Carl Schimmel

play will be) music that normal people don’t listen to,” Luoma said.

According to Fead, the music won’t be any of that stuff would hear on Detroit radio station 95.5, for example, but they won’t favor any one type of genre or artist.

Students who would like to let these budding DJs know what they think, can call them during the show at 763-3500.

They welcome all suggestions comments and concerns.

Pursuing a passion: Senior Derek Fead and Evan Luoma practice their radio skills at WCBN in Ann Arbor. Luoma said they will play music that many people wouldn’t like.

Students prepair to see themselves on the big screen after seeing themselves in trailer Jennifer Stirling

staff writer

With “Trust”, the David Schwimmer-directed movie which filmed for a week at the high school last year, coming to theaters soon, many students say they are getting excited about seeing themselves on the big screen, including sophomore Brian Lim. “It was weird seeing myself in the trailer. It will be cool to see me on screen though,” he said.

“We would repeat the same scene a lot. It was very repetitive. It took a couple of hours until we finally got it.”

“Trust” stars a 14-year-old girl, Annie (played by new actress Liana Liberato) who meets a boy online. They agree to meet in person, and the boy doesn’t turn out to be who he says he is.

Assistant Director Glenn Trotiner said, “The result changes the lives of her and her family forever.”

The movie also stars three past Academy Award nominees: Clive Owen and Catherine Keener as the parents and Viola Davis.

According to Trotiner, the movie is one of his greatest prides. He said he really enjoyed working with Schwimmer on the film.

“David takes such great care of his crew and is a true collaborator, he said. “Usually, I take jobs based upon timing, the script, where the movie is being shot and who the director is. In this case, all four of those considerations were taken into account.”

Junior Cara Taylor was one of the girls on the volleyball team that Annie played on. The days of filming, she said, were long. “The only difficult thing was when they told us not to look at the

camera. You had to fight your automatic response to stare at it,” she said.

However, for her, the best part of the movie experience was meeting Brandon Molale, who plays Blazer in the movie “Dodgeball”.

“He was awesome,” Taylor said. “(The movie) was a lot of fun. We got to skip school for a day and sit in the CPA playing games until they needed us for the volleyball scene.”

She also said she will forever remember the experience of being in a movie. “I can also cross ‘be in a movie’ off my list of things to do before I die.”

Trotiner said that even he is getting excited for the film. “I haven’t seen the movie yet, and often the fun of making movies is seeing them with a real audience,” he said.

Regardless, both Lim and Taylor both agreed that being paid was the cherry on top for this movie.

“Yeah, I would have probably done the movie with no payment,” Lim said. “My favorite part of the movie experience was talking to David Schwimmer. He knows my Aunt, who lives in New York.”

“It was cool just to be in a movie,” Taylor said.

“Well, I doubt I’ll actually see myself out of the sea of faces, but if I do happen to see myself, I expect it to be weird and awesome at the same time.”

Even if students don’t have a role in the film, Trotiner said he thinks it will be worth seeing.

“Everyone should go see the movie,” he said. “I had a tremendous time shooting at the high school, and the contribution of the students was beyond my wildest expectations.”

“Trust” opens April 1, and is only in theaters.

The movie is rated R for disturbing material, language, content and violence.

Photos by Candice Wiesner

The movie “Trust” was filmed at Dexter High School in the fall of 2009. It will be in theaters on April 1. Students were able to participate in the film by being extras, and these file photos show various aspects of the production of the film.

5

Sports

Friday April 1, 2011

Spring Sports Preview Baseball The Dexter baseball team has many returning seniors and a supporting cast of juniors as they strive to have a successful season.

The past few years the team hasn’t done too well, but with the talent level of the team and under the direction of second-year head coach Don Little and assistant Coach Mike Schmidt, the team looks to return to winning ways.

“We want to win SECs and advance in districts,” said junior Michael Mioduszewski. “We want to have a successful season.”

The team played their first game on Mar. 28 at Eastern Michigan, a double header against Gabriel Richard.

Softball

Last season, the softball team had high expectations going into the year. They didn’t meet those expectations accoording to senior Karley Crawford. “We didn’t do as well as we hoped, but towards the end we started to come together as a team,” she said.

Team chemistry is a big part of any sport, and the team knows that coming into this year. “A goal we have is to come together as one and not give up on each other,” Crawford said.

They also have higher expectations than last year, they want to win districts to compliment their teamwork.

“We have some new players that can help out a lot and that will be big, we’re expecting a lot.”

Tennis helps students get involved Natalie Collins

staff writer

Senior Amy Appel hadn’t always planned to play tennis in high school. In fact, she hadn’t even ever considered playing the sport until her sophomore year.

“My parents really wanted to to play a sport and get more involved,” Appel said. “So I decided that I would join tennis.”

But now Appel loves the sport and can not imagine a life without tennis. She also plays the game year-round at sports clubs and other recreational facilities. “I play the most over the summer,” she said. “I play about three or four times a week then.”

As a sophomore Appel was paired with then-freshmen Kayla Harris. These two girls have now become best friends on and off the court.

“I don’t think I would have ever met Kayla without tennis,” Appel said. “We have a lot of fun together! I am happy that she is my doubles partner.”

Harris had a different start to her tennis career, however.

“I have been playing tennis my whole life just about,” Harris said. “My mom played in high school and was some sort of all-star. So she got me into playing. I’ve been playing as long as I can remember” As a doubles pair, Appel and Harris have made it to regionals, districts and states, doing well at all three.

“This year we won all of our games at SECs and

regionals,” Appel said. “We even won our first round at states. We are hoping to do the same, if not better this coming season.”

Both girls made varsity their first year playing, but neither was shocked.

“I knew there wasn’t that much competition,” Harris said. “I was only really shocked I made it because I was a freshmen, but I was very excited. I didn’t think that I was good enough to make varsity.”

As a senior, Appel has been able to watch the development of the team and she said she is pleased with the improvements the team has made.

“As a team, we always seem to win SECs,” Appel said.

“But last year we were able to win regionals and place 11th in the state.”

This year, girls are hopefully for success again. “We have a very strong singles team,” Appel said.

However, this year isn’t going to be easy. “Nine seniors last year graduated, which was half of our varsity team,” Appel said. “Even with losing all of these people, we are hoping for the same amount of success as the last few years. There seems to be a good amount of freshmen and underclassmen interest. The girls are all really supportive. Because of this, we have been able to do a lot of fun things that have also helped out the tennis program.”

Some of the fun activities that the tennis team has done is a car wash and secret buddy gifts. Appel said, “Both of these have provided some really fun memories.”

Toliver Rogers

staff writer

Mens Lacrosse Last year was the inaugural season of lacrosse being offered as a varsity sport.

In their first season, the team advanced to the state group semifinals.

“It was phenomenal,” said head coach Brian Callanan.

“We would like to continue that success.”

Despite the success of their first season, Callanan thinks his team can improve.

“We can still improve on fundamentals and gain more experience,” Callanan said. “Experience is key when building a foundation and that is what we want to do here.

We want to play at a higher level.”

Womens Lacrosse

One year after the mens team became a varsity sport, the women have started playing too. Although it is not yet considered a varsity sport, it is a club team.

In just its first year, there is already a junior varsity and varsity team.

Being a first year team changes the focus as a coach.

“I really want the girls to learn the game and learn to love it too,” said coach Hannah Stocker. “It’s not just about winning or losing, it’s about becoming a team, creating trust between the girls and learning to function as a member of the team, not just as individuals.”

Photo and photo illustration by Claire Berger

Womens Soccer The womens soccer team is coming off a sub-par season compared to past years.

“Last season was the first that we have lost a SEC and district championship since I have been here,” head coach Scott Forrester said. “We will have a very young team this year so our challenge will be to use the training sessions and matches to learn as much in a very short amount of time.”

The team returns 11 players from last year’s team: seven sophomores, six juniors and four seniors. Forrester said his team is looking to regain dominance in soccer and make another run at the state championship.

Rugby The team finished third in the state last year. “There were a lot of seniors on that team that obviously aren’t back this year,” senior Trevor Kearns said. “We still have the ability and talent to win, so our goal is to win states.”

Rugby is not a varsity sport, therefore there are more than just Dexter students on the team. “There is one player from Milan and one from Brighton on our team,” Kearns said.

The number of kids playing is up as well, allowing there to be a “B” team. Kearns said, “B team would be like the equivalent of a JV team.”

Mens Golf Last season the golf team made it to states and placed 8th. There were a lot of seniors last season and that was a part of their success. “A lot of key seniors graduated,” junior Andrew Gibson said. “We do have a lot of kids back though.”

The team goal is to win SEC’s, regionals, then go on to place in the top 10 in states Gibson said.

To make this goal junior Brennan Conter said his team will need a talented group of golfers because nothing comes easily. He said, “We have one of our best teams in a very long time. We have potential and want to have a strong season and make our goals.”

The field shines in track and field Tucker Whitley

sports editor

They’re part of the track team but they don’t run. They’re in the weight room, and still they don’t run. They’re called the field athletes and they have high goals this year.

“I’m making it to states,” said junior shot putter David Velez.

A bold statement, yes, but for an athlete of this caliber, a realistic one, according to throwing captain Richelle Coffey. Velez, who has thrown for only three years has claimed a varsity spot at Dexter,

Track & Field Last season was the track and field team’s first year as a Division one team. In their first year, it produced a state champion in jumper Nyki Caldwell.

Jane Thompson, the high jump coach hopes a repeat is in the making. “We hope to have a repeat state champ and have another new state champ.”

There are various team goals, one of which veers away from the “winning is everything” mantra. “We would like to develop healthy athletes for the rest of their lives and give them love for track and field,” pole vaulting coach Janell Gerstner said.

Thompson said increased performance is another thing the coaches are looking for. She said, “We would like to increase performance as well.”

Womens Tennis Following a year in which the womens tennis team won district and regional titles and made an appearance at states, they are striving to repeat this season.

Despite losing a majority of the team from last season, junior Carly Glahn said she thinks her team can have the same success this season. “We lost the majority of our team because we had a lot of seniors,” Glahn said. “So we are a pretty young team, but we have a lot of talent.

Last season with a majority of the team filled up with seniors, there are currently two seniors although no cuts have been made yet and the varsity team is not yet official.

just like he did his freshman year while living in Southgate.

“It’s not my first sport, but it’s probably my best,” he said. “Plus the practices are fun.”

Natural talent must account for a lot of the team’s success according to senior sprinter Zeeshaun Moulvi who said the field athletes have laid-back practices.

“They hardly warm up,” Moulvi said with a grin. “They just do their own thing. And believe it or not, they prove themselves every year.”

Though throwing may be a strong point for the team, pole vaulters as well as high jumpers don’t want to be discarded, according to junior pole vaulter Micaela Conter and senior high jumper Nyki Caldwell, who both competed in the indoor track state competition last year.

“We were good enough that three of us pole vaulters qualified for nationals,” Conter said. “We’re extremely crazy for what we do.”

At the national competition, Conter placed 20th, senior Jeremy Horner placed fifth, and junior Clair Tewksburry placed 17th.

Conter also said the field athletes have a lot to look forward to.

“I look forward to a meet called the Milford relay meet because it seems like every year we break the pole vault record,” she said. “We look to do it again, but overall the team looks forward to seeing a lot of people on the state podium.”

As for Caldwell, indoor track season ended a little early. Though she was a state champion in indoor and outdoor track, and she did qualify for nationals, she was unable to attend.

“I qualified, but I figured I didn’t really need to go,” Caldwell said. "Plus it saved the family a lot of money.”

Womens Water Polo Experience is what made last season’s loss in districts, tough, accoording to head coach Brian Semple.

“Last season we had a lot of experienced players and that’s what made the loss to Skyline disapointing,” he said.

Semple’s team returns seven starters to the pool. “I feel like we have the potential to be a top five state team.

Everyone gets along and is more experienced,” he said.

“Only time will tell.”

This season the team has already beaten Skyline 11 - 7.

A team goal for the Dreads is to win districts and move on to states and try to win a championship, according to Semple.

6

Get Involved

Friday, April 1, 2011

Students from England visit for a chance to have the real American high school student experience Emily Darrow

web editor

With funding from the British government, last year four educators from Rivington and Blackrod High School in Manchester, England came to the states to visit Dexter High School in an attempt to explore the way American high schools function.

This year, following Presidents’ Day weekend, 21 English high school students followed up on their instructors’ visit and stayed with families of DHS students for what they called a chance t o have t h e real Illustration By Nina Smith

American high school student experience.

Both they and their host families called this exchange an unforgettable experience.

Principal Kit Moran said after last year’s instructor visit, he was able to form a substantial personal relationship with administrator Nava Velupillai from the Rivington and Blackrod school.

Over the summer Moran received an e-mail from Velupillai requesting to send some of his students to Dexter to observe what it’s like to be a teenager in the United States.

They agreed to make it a home visit where the students from England would have the opportunity to stay with other students and host families, instead of in a hotel.

“Organizing host families got a little complicated,” Moran said. “There was the issue of putting boys with boys and girls with girls. Some students decided last minute that they wanted to double up and stay with a friend, so some families that had been told that they would be hosting had to be told otherwise last minute and some feelings got a little hurt.”

Senior Nyki Caldwell’s family hosted two of the English students, Mariyam Kadva and Arifa Patel, who have known each other since they were toddlers. “It was so much fun hosting the girls,” Caldwell said. “At first, I

was kind of unenthusiastic about the idea of having to entertain two more people during my free time, but as soon as I met them, I was so happy to have their company. I ended up wishing they could stay longer. We joke around now that they’re coming back this summer, and then they’ll take me back to England with them.”

Other students who participated in hosting felt similar connections with their students.

Junior Kate Fitzsimons said she was happy with her opportunity to participate.

“I loved my experience with Francesca (the British student she hosted), and the first that I met of her, I wish everyone could have stayed longer than a few days.”

According to Moran, though, it will probably be quite some time before there are any school-sponsored reunions.

“Nava asked if we’d bring some of our students to their school next year, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to plan and pull off a trip as big as that in only a year,” he said.

Even though the trip can’t be brought together by the 2011-2012 school year, Moran said he hopes to have something organized for the following year.

Nava also told Moran that he’ll possibly be returning to the states with his students next year.

Students participate in Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Lisa Crompton

Get involved Editor

Junior Joel Gowen and his basketball teammates leaped into a pool filled with 400 pounds of ice in honor of Gowen’s disabled brother, senior Nathan Gowen on Feb. 19. Joel said, “Seeing everyone jump into the pool to support the cause was really fun to see.”

In order to raise money for the Special Olympics, Joel and his brother created a team for the Polar Plunge, which helps raise funds for the Special Olympics.

“We did the plunge last year too and kept it going as a tradition,” Joel said.

The Special Olympics has been a great experience for Nate and also other students in the Special Education program according to teacher Megan LaBarre.

“It promotes lifelong fitness, which is important for everyone,” LaBarre said. “It is also important for everyone to feel included and involved in something meaningful.”

Nathan is one of the 657 athletes in the Washtenaw Country area who participate in Special Olympics which has 12 different sports for the Special Olympians to choose from including: aquatics, track and field, basketball, golf, speed skating and volleyball.

According to Joel, out of those 12 events, Nathan participates in track and is thinking about participating in the aquatics event in the summer.

Joel said, “I’m happy that he gets a chance to go out there and compete, especially since he goes to the majority of my sporting events. It’s good to see him get out there and play with other kids at his skill level. “Sometimes he’ll be a little hesitant to go, but once he’s there he’ll enjoy every second of it.”

Rosanne Crompton, PT Physical Therapist 4220 Sunderland Way, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103 734-426-3599 Rocrompton@comcast.net

LaBarre said at least 10 Dexter students participated in a variety of events at the Special Olympics last year. “Many students look forward to having something to do outside of school,” she said.

This year, the 10 special education students raised money through the Community Fundraising Team and last year LaBarre said the Community Fundraising Team, students from her classes who help plan events to raise money for Special Olympics, made over $200 for the cause with various fundraisers.

The program works by having each student raise money by asking other people in the community to sponsor them by donating money for the students to be able to participate.

All the money raised by either sponsors or a fundraising event such as the Polar Plunge, goes to the Special Olympics and promotes their goal of providing year-round athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, LaBarre said.

Joel and his teammates think this is a valuable goal and said a portion of the money raised was from selling ice cream at lunch. “Betty Mioduszewski set us up to be on 102.9 W4 Country, and she arranged the Coffee House Creamery ice cream fundraiser.

She helped out a lot this year,” Joel said. “The fundraiser worked by selling the donated ice cream for profit at lunch.”

According to Joel, his group made over $2,000 total including donations from relatives and people in the community.

And LaBarre said she’d like to see more students such as Joel help her students out.

She said, “I think everyone should be involved in the Special Olympics in some capacity whether it is as a volunteer or an athlete.”

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Taking the plunge: At the Polar Plunge on Feb. 19, Special Education teacher Amy Raus (in the green wig)gets herself ready for the freezing temperature of the pool she’s about to jump in to. Eleven students plunged for Team Nathan Gowan at the event.

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7

Opinion

Friday, April 1, 2011

Squall The

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Marne Little

MANAGING EDITOR: Connor Thompson

EDITORS NEWS: Kevin Skiver DESIGN: Claire Berger FEATURES: Steven Miller ENTERTAINMENT: Nicole Minzey PHOTO: Kristie Duve SPORTS: Tucker Whitley TRENDS: Sirah Camara uPAGE: Marshall Kellenberger GET INVOLVED: Lisa Crompton COPY: Ray Carpenter WEB: Emily Darrow, WEB DESIGN: Rachel Lomax

DESIGNERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Travis Chaffee, Bethany Martini, Drew Richardson, Caroline Rossini, Carl Schimmel, Nina Smith, Michelle Stone, Bryce Walls

MANAGERS ADVERTISEMENT: Kelsey Heilman

STAFF WRITERS Serena Bidwell, Benjamin Bruetsch, Natalie Collins, Dan Edwards, Kaitlin Gotcher, Murphy Hansen, Brent Kellenberger, Charlotte Knoerl-Morrill, Michael McGonigle, Colin Northrup, Brandon Otto, Toliver Rogers, Taylor Schmidt, Jennifer Stirling

TWEETER Carl Schimmel

CARTOONIST Carly Cash

ADVISER Rod Satterthwaite

POLICY:

The Squall is distributed monthly to 1,300 students and is estimated to reach 4,786 people with each issue.

The Squall is printed by Owosso Argus Press in Owosso, MI and produced by the first hour newspaper class.

TALK BACK:

The Squall is an open forum for student expression. It accepts letters to the editor from any and all concerned parties. The Squall reserves the right to screen and/ or edit any and all letters for inappropriate content and length. All letters must be signed. Requests to remain anonymous will be considered by the editorial board.

Steve Miller

Lisa Crompton

Standardized tests suck

Live your life your own way

For some students standardized tests are an excuse to miss class and have a day off. For others they are a stress-inducing, anger-producing activity. Taking the ACT or SAT can be one of the most difficult things to endure in high school as these tests can help or hurt a student’s collegiate future.

The ACT takes around three and a half hours and the SAT clocks in around four and a half hours. Unfortunately the length of time isn’t even the worst part of these tests. The worst part is the emphasis put on these tests and how much they mean to colleges.

Students such as myself go in to the tests stressed out so much they tend to do worse on them than if they took it in a relaxed environment.

Also students such as junior Haden Quinn complain the time limits are not long enough for the average student. It is possibly to apply for longer time limits, but being a bad test taker isn’t a good enough reason. “Just trying to finish each section was hard enough, let alone getting the answers right,” Quinn said.

One of the main problems with standardized tests is the proctors. Although they are just doing their job, they seem to do it in the most irritating, aggravating fashion. It could just be they drag out the whole thing or maybe that they walk around suspecting everyone is cheating.

Or maybe it is the simple fact they are given the power to omit a student’s hard work just because a student might be were flipping through pages. There is already enough stress attached to these tests without obnoxious proctors.

The final beef I have with standardized testing is the questions themselves. Some questions are designed to give a false sense of security, while others feel as if they were designed using Jedi mind tricks. Most serious test-takers end up over thinking questions and getting them wrong.

Classes such as The Princeton Review offer help to students who want to learn how to better take the tests. The problem with these classes, though, is they cost upwards of $300 and most guarantee less than a three point advantage. One hundred dollars per point seems a little excessive.

I think anyone who has ever taken standardized tests will agree they are not only a hassle but wasteful. When you break it down, most students in the junior class around the nation get a booklet of around 50 pages and a Scantron. I’m no mathematician, but that’s a ton of trees we’re wasting.

I think we could digitize these tests by now, or at least give some schools the option to. Just like the students before me, I only wish for standardized test to be more efficient, less timeconsuming and a little more enjoyable for all those future test takees.

One way or another, we are told throughout our lives that it takes good grades, a good college, and a high paying job to live a happy life. Some of us have ignored this statement, some of us have let this statement guide us through high school, and others have completely lived their life by this premise.

The answer to whether or not this statement is true is widely debatable, and there actually isn’t one right or one wrong way to live by the statement presented, since everyone is unique and different.

Although, there are times where we lose sight of what can really make us happy because of what we are told will make us happy, which is when we get caught up in societal statuses.

For example, some may interpret a “good college” as an Ivy League school, or the hardest school they could possibly get in to. Sure, some people find their niche in a hardworking school and there they will find their passion. However, not everyone has to think they need to live up to these standards.

College is supposed to be a place to thrive, not a place to drown in a curriculum that is way beyond your level.

Every college has the same opportunities; whether its making new friends, taking interesting classes, or being away from home. To be honest, there isn’t anywhere to go wrong in making a decision in where to go. The biggest factor should be what makes you happy, because shouldn’t that be the whole point?

Today, succeeding in life is all about hard work and dedication. If you are passionate about something, and work hard for it, you are most likely to succeed.

As a high school student, I have realized it’s easy to go through the motions without understanding what the point of it is. As I come closer to the end of my senior year, I have realized that now it’s all about finding what I love to do, which seems like the hardest part.

I’ve not only realized that the most important thing in making a decision about college is what makes you happy, I have also realized that it’s important to have fun and live life while you still can.

Grades seem to be a huge burden on a typical average high school students’ life. From what I’ve experienced in high school, I came up with a theory.

Good grades are all a game. Sure, some people are much more capable of getting good grades than others because of level of skill just like any other game.

However, most of the time, it comes down to who wants to be competitive and get recognition for being “the best” at something.

If we look at school as a game instead, shouldn’t we agree that having fun should be one of the main considerations of the game? Sometimes we forget about that part, much like people who become really competitive and pressured into a sport.

Therefore, good grades shouldn’t be something that’s expected or pressured.

We should let them be a way to show that you are open to opportunities so you can do anything in life that makes you happy.

Every person is different and takes their own path to find happiness in life.

Some take the premise more seriously, which works out in the end because they are happy. Although, others are different; and they may fall for the idea that they must be perfect in order to be happy, when really, happiness derives from contentment within themselves and the decisions they make.

feature editor

THE

all

get involved editor

Squall

Call

Technology problems should have been fixed more quickly

As the newspaper staff, we use computers and district servers every day.

Writers use word processing programs to type their articles, photographers use Photoshop to upload and edit photos and designers use InDesign to design and lay out our pages. We also use the server to save our work and send it to our printer in order to provide our readers with the best publication we can create.

But problems with the servers and the network, such as not being able to save to it, desktop files missing and not being able to log in, have changed the way The Squall has to operate and have also affected yearbook, video production and computer science classes.

In a district that claims to be so technologically advanced, we think there is no excuse for the technology problems we have been experiencing this year.

Many technology classes have deadlines to meet and server problems make it harder to do so. In our case, for example, meeting the deadline to send out the newspaper doesn’t just affect our class. It affects the rest of the school too because our readers won’t be able to receive our paper if we can’t use the technology we need to.

On our Feb. 16 layout night, for example, we had to save all of our articles, photos and pages on to flash drive wristbands, which the district no longer officially uses. We managed to send out the paper, but this lack of server functionality created problems such as some of our pictures appearing pixilated.

Without computers we’re going back to the ‘90s in order to publish The Squall. We do not want to have to cut and paste each of our article and pictures to a page and then make photo copies of each page.

We realize former Tech. Director Matt Maciag’s sudden resignation added to the district-wide problems with technology, but he shouldn’t be the only one who is able to fix the technology. And even when he was present, we shouldn’t have been running in to as many problems as we did.

All tech. associates in the district should have the same access to the servers amd network passwords as the tech. director, and the district shouldn’t spend the tech. budget on items that make the classrooms look nice but aren’t actually used by teachers.

In our experience most teachers do not use the eno smart boards, for example, because the pen tends to not work the majority of the time. And teachers aren’t using the new projection system for anything that couldn’t have been used with the old projection systems.

Instead of this window dressing, we should focus on tech. resources to

make sure we have a server and a network that isn’t going to crash every other hour. And when the district hires a new tech. director, that person should be hired based on their ability to fix the problems we already have, keep them from coming back, and provide teachers with technology they will actually use.

8

Photostory

Friday, April 1, 2011

A look at the daily life of the

lunch staff Food storage: Food and Nutrition has a large storage space for food to be served during the week.

Wearin’ of the green: Food and Nutrition workers Doreen Reardon and Karen Franson prepare green food for St. Patrick’s Day lunch, including salad and sugar cookies decorated with green sugar. F and N workers begin preparing for lunch the day before they serve it.

Ready to eat: A bowl of cucumber slices sits ready to be topped on salads.

Brent Kellenberger

staff writer

As the onslaught of hungry students pile into the cafeteria, Lorraine Bienko and her colleagues in the Food and Nutrition department are prepared with their scoopers and spatulas in hand.

They prepare for lunch the day before and begin cooking food at 6 a.m. for the students who rely on the school for their breakfast and lunch needs. On an average day in the cafeteria, about 600 complete meals are purchased, and more than 800 additional items are bought as well.

“The nutrition of our meals is very important to us because good nutrition now is an investment in your future health,” Bienko, who is the manager of The Harbor at DHS and has been working in Food and Nutrition for 15 years, said. “We attend conferences that encourage locally-grown, organic and vegetarian ingredients.”

In comparison to the stereotypical school lunch, the lunches provided by the Food and Nutrition department can be very healthy, Bienko said.

In fact, Food and Nutrition’s website says that all of the menu items that are served are

oven-baked, which reduces the fat content and fat retention of the food. And options at lunch include choosing from a salad bar or fresh fruit in addition to the main meal. There are also vegetarian meal alternatives available in addition to the normal food.

The Harbor has catered many occasions, including events social clubs, alumni dinners, the athletic department and drama.

Bienko and another chef on the staff also catered an event that helped to raise money for a garden at Creekside. There are seven chefs on the staff that help with the cooking and the overall creation of the food.

“There are many benefits of buying lunch at school rather than bringing a lunch from home,” Food and Nutrition worker Don Mast said. “We give students more of an option for what they want to eat, and we have healthy foods and fresh fruit available.”

Bienko also agrees that buying a lunch from the school can be a better choice than bringing one from home.

“All the food we cook is made with care, using fresh ingredients and good seasoning,” Bienko said. “We have a very educated staff that is committed to working hard to provide the very best we can.”

Preparation: F and N worker Karen Franson prepares stromboli for serving at all lunches. Franson has been working in the Food and Nutrition department for seven years.

Ready to bake: F and N worker Don Mast shows the pizza and breadsticks before they go in the oven.

The lunchroom serves pizza every day.

The big cheese : F and N worker Kathy Johnson prepares grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Tomato soup is usually served as a side for this popular meal.

Photos by Kristie Duve and Caroline Rossini