the
TOWER
Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 Volume 90 Issue 10 @thetowerpulse thetowerpulse.net
A weekly tradition since 1928
Grosse Pointe South High School 11 Grosse Pointe Blvd. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236
TEACHERS: 40 STUDENTS: 30
GOBBLE GOBBLE Runners line up at the start line during the 2016 Detroit Turkey Trot. PHOTO BY ADRIAN DOAN ’19
Return of the Trot
This year marks the 35th annual Turkey Trot held in downtown Detroit on Thanksgiving day. Races include a 5k, 10k and 1 mile race.
ISABELLA CRAPAROTTA ’19 Staff Writer
FOOTBALL FUN Dennis Pascoe runs with the football during the staff-student flag football game. Grace Foster ’18 goes up against Pascoe in an attempt to take the ball. PHOTO BY HARPER MCCLELLAN’18
The 35th annual Turkey Trot is back Nov. 23. and the Thanksgiving event will feature three races and provide entertainment, food and more. According to Doug Kurtis, the parade director, the popular race, with over 16,000 registered runners, will begin Thanksgiving morning with many fun festivities before and after the race. One of the festivities is a costume contest, which runners can compete in and win prizes such as gift certificates from Detroit retailers, according to Kurtis. “A lot of people dress up in costumes and it was really cool and funny seeing a chicken leg and other Thanksgiving themed costumes while running in the race,” running participant Sarah Bellovich ’19, said. Bellovich participated in the race two years ago with her sister and father. “I’ve never ran in any big races before, so it was really fun coming downtown to Detroit and being able
to run with all ages, and I was glad to participate in an event that got a lot of people out and running,” Bellovich said. Along with Bellovich, Lilly Carlyle ’18 said she has run in the Turkey Trot for five consecutive years with her whole family. Carlyle said she enjoys all the families and friends who come to participate in the race with good holiday spirits. According to Kurtis, the event is appealing to families of all ages. “The mile will have (runners) as young as three years old and the 10K might have kids as young as five years old, but the 5K is more appealing to ages five and up,” Kurtis said. ”We’ll also have people as old as 80 running in the 5K.” The 5K Turkey Trot begins at 8:30 a.m. and consists of a 3.1 mile race on the same parade route as the Thanksgiving parade in downtown Detroit. The 10K S3 Turkey Trot is sponsored by Strategic Staffing Solutions, and this race, along with the Mashed Potato Mile, which is sponsored by
Blue Cross Blue Shield, will begin at 7:30 a.m. on the parade route. According to Kurtis, the 5K Turkey Trot is the most popular of the three races with 11,000 registered runners. “The Turkey Trot is just before the Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving Day, so we call it the parade before the parade,” Kurtis said. “It runs on the parade route, so the runners get to race in front of a thousand people.” According to Kurtis, in addition to the audience, the course has a candy cane station with cookies and candy canes, as well as giant inflatables and live entertainment on the course, such as a mariachi band and paper mache big heads that are at the cheer stations at the start and the finish. “It’s really fun having the race on a holiday,” Bellovich said. “We can participate in the run, and everybody’s excited because it’s Thanksgiving and we will get to go home and eat a bunch of food and feel very accomplished.”
Science teacher elected Teachers take the ‘W’ in student president of MESTA vs. staff flag football game HENRY AYRAULT ’19 Pulse Editor in Chief On Saturday, some of South’s seniors faced off against members of the teaching staff in a flag-football game, organized by Link Crew. The players had to endure 34 degree weather at game time. The teachers started with the ball and on the third play, Chris Booth, World History teacher, threw an interception to Sam Sklarski ’18, who returned it for a touchdown. On the staff ’s second drive, Dennis Pascoe, AP Government and U.S. History teacher, ran it in for a short touchdown after completing a long pass to Scott Peltier, who teaches Spanish. The students tried to score later in the first half, but counselor Nicholas Bernbeck intercepted a pass, preventing the students from taking the lead. “Bernbeck is tall; we’re in the game from all the 6’3 that he has.” Peltier said. “We’re just lucky to be
in it.” Peltier also said a few lucky drops by students helped the staff out a bit. Even with the early scoring, the score at halftime was only 13-12, in favor of the staff. “We held our own against the students,” Kendra Caralis, Economics and World History teacher, said. The students formed a game plan for the second half, based on their first-half play. “We’re going too slow; our pace is too slow. We have to really work on our flat routes and we have to really work on our dump-down routes so we don’t take big sacks or big losses,” Cal Nardone ’18 said. “We’re going to use our speed against them.” The students started off strong in the second half, with Matthew Koueiter ’18 throwing a long throw to Andreas Marinescu ’18 for a touchdown on the first play. However, the staff came roaring back with another rushing touchdown from Pascoe, who was playing quarterback. Pascoe had three rush-
IMPORTANT DATES nov.
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South’s fall play, “You Can’t Take it With You,” opens at 7:30 p.m. in South’s auditorium.
ing touchdowns in the game. The score went back and forth between both teams for the majority of the second half, as Cameron Zak ’18 scored two touchdowns and both Pascoe and Peltier got into the end zone for the staff. Following another interception by Bernback, the staff scored once again, this time on a pass to Bernbeck that would seal the win. The final score: Staff, 40. Students, 30. Both teams enjoyed their day on the field and Caralis didn’t think the cold temperatures affected the play. “I think once we got out here and started running around, we warmed up,” Caralis said. Caralis also noted everybody was having fun, but she wished there were more fans present to cheer both sides on. “I love seeing this,” Caralis said. “I just wish we could’ve publicized it a little better, so people knew about it.”
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ALYSSA COLE ’19 Staff Writer
Lisa Bouda, an Earth science and geology teacher as well as the department chair of science at South, was elected president of Michigan Earth Science Teacher Association (MESTA) this October. Bouda will hold her position for two years, as she leads the meetings and events associated with the program. “We have four major conferences every year at various places in the state where we offer workshops and activities,” Bouda said. “We also have four to five board meetings every year I have to be in charge of.” According to Bouda, MESTA is in charge of organizing Earth science, geology, astronomy and meteorology teachers in all levels of the courses. The organization offers “Evenings of Earth Science” as well as field trips for teachers to partake in. This year was the 50th anniversary of MESTA, and in October there was a conference held at South during the day, organized by Bouda. “We collected pictures and videos from the last 50 years, and then tried to figure out where we are headed in the next 50 years,” Bouda said. “Attendance and membership are low, so we are trying to come up with
Thanksgiving break starts for GPPSS students.
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ways to attract more active members.” When it comes to her teaching methods, Bouda said she is trying to make her classes more student based instead of lecturing as much. “Mrs. Bouda explains things really well, and she is more of a hands-on teacher, so we do lots of labs, which helps me learn more than just taking notes,” Earth science student Megan Rabaut ’21 said. According to Bouda, it is important for students to take charge of their learning so they don’t have to be directed on what to do constantly. Maria Lianos ’21, Earth science student, describes Bouda as being energetic and fun in class, while still managing to get her point across. “She is enthusiastic and passionate about what she does, and knows a lot about what she is teaching,” Lianos said. Earth science, Bouda believes, is a subject everyone should take because it is a huge part of everyday life. “I wish Earth science had a better reputation in the science community because it is in the news every day. We have hurricanes, earthquakes and global climate change,” Bouda said.“I think the general public needs to be more aware of Earth science.”
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The Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place in Detroit at 8:50 a.m.