Issue 8 March 7, 2012

www.wildcattales.com

The Wildcat Tales volume lxvi

March 7, 2012

Issue Eight

Plano Senior High School

One ball at a time, one

Swimmers return from

pitch at a time

state

Page 4

Page 5

Plano, TX, USA

Jumping off the canvas Page 7

Senior class selects Prom theme

By Stephanie Jabri Even though Enchanted Forest won this year’s Prom theme, it didn’t win the majority of the votes. Three hundred out of 1200 students voted during their lunch period on Feb. 29 and March 1, and only 40 percent of votes were for Enchanted Forest. Senior Alex Gonzalez, who voted for NYC 1920’s (25 percent), said he thinks this year’s Prom theme is odd.

“It’s like a Disney movie, but I don’t think the theme will change how much fun we are going to have,” Gonzalez said.

Although the Prom committee has not yet started buying decorations, some seniors, like Chris Huggins, have already started their planning. He has reserved his tuxedo and organized a group, and is now looking for a limousine and a restaurant.

Even though there have been budget cuts and this will be his second year to attend Prom, Huggins said it will be more special than last year’s Moulin Rouge theme.

“I don’t think seniors should be disappointed with Prom,” Huggins said.

“It’s their senior year and they can make it special however they want.”

Prom will be held at South Fork Ranch and around 800 people are expected, although Prom committee leader and senior class president senior Eric Kim hopes to reach 1000 in attendance.

“I believe that we can make Prom outstanding with the committee we have,” Kim said. “Everyone is willing to think and act outside of the box to make Prom spectacular.”

Photo by Jennifer Pastrana

After hitting the ball, senior Katie Hart runs to first base. Read more about the girls’ season and their preparations for upcoming games on page 4.

A helping hand and a warm heart Students work with special needs kids and adults

By Haley Bunnell

It is five minutes until the performance starts. Her knees shake and she grips senior Kelly McCarthy’s hand tightly. Maya, the small nine-year-old girl who has Down Syndrome, repeatedly asks, “Are you going to be there on stage with me?” Kelly responds, “Of course. I will be by your side the whole time.” After the performance, the whole arena stands up cheering the team on.

It isn’t just a competition to Maya, it is more than that.

“After Maya was done with the performance, I was walking off, and she just Monte Carlo ran up to me, and hugged me,” McCarthy said. “Just seeing her face after competing NYC 1920's and how happy she is, is the best thing. It is Enchanted really rewarding to see howForest much it means to her and to all of the others to do something like this.”

This is McCarthy’s second year volunteering as an assistant coach at Free Spirit, a competitive cheer camp in McKinney. The team has over 25 special needs members with ages that range from 6 to 30 and it has been an ongoing program for five years. She and four other older girls assist them while they perform.

Prom theme vote

Prom theme votes

Enchanted Forest 40% Monte Carlo 35% NYC 1920’s 20%

“We wanted to get special needs kids involved because they don’t get a lot of opportunities like this,” McCarthy said. “A lot of cheer camps across the nation started programs like this where they compete with each other. Kids across the area will come, and we make the routine for them, and help them at the competitions.

The competitions for the special needs cheerleaders are something new and McCarthy has had a great experience with them.

“They are just so funny and make me smile when I see them so happy as they perform,” McCarthy said. “It has taught me to not take anything for granted. A lot of situations you just take too seriously, but they help you to just laugh. When I go there and it has been a stressful day, they will make me laugh and I will just forget about the worries of the day.”

Similar to McCarthy, who ends every Monday with a smile and laugh, senior Taylor Newroth begins each school day teaching special education students English through the program Helping Our Peers Excel (H.O.P.E.). She joined the class this spring semester after hearing how great it was from

her friend senior Presley Hernandez.

“I have always wanted to help, but didn’t have the opportunity to until now,” Newroth said. “I love it and it brightens my day. It is the first thing I do every day and is very satisfying. I feel like they don’t get enough recognition for how awesome they really are.

It amazes me to hear all of the things they say because people don’t think about that kind of stuff. I have the best conversations with them.”

According to Newroth, the best moments are when the student’s figure out that they are smart and capable.

“It’s sad to hear them say ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘Can somebody help me?’” Newroth said.

“They feel like someone needs to hold their hand every step of the way. But I like to help them figure it out on their own and to be able to see them react.”

This is Hernandez’s second year in this program and would like to major in special education.

“I love helping these kids because they are all really nice, and I connect really well with them,” Hernandez said. “I am really patient.

And you have to be really patient in order to

Continued on page 8

News

March 7, 2012

All-state choir performs in San Antonio

By Stephanie Jabri

Photo submitted by Kathryn Ligon

From left to right: Directors Derrick Brookins and Doug Council, seniors Kami Noyce, Kathryn Ligon, Reid McDuff and junior Paul Hainey

Six choir students attending this year’s All-State is a new record: Two sopranos, One alto and Two tenors made the cut.

Choir director Derrick Brookins said most schools are lucky to have one student attend All-State, so he was especially thrilled when half of the six students that were selected were also able to make first chair in their vocal section.

On Feb. 8, seniors Reid McDuff, Nicole Dyson, Kami Noyce and Kathryn Ligon and juniors Paul Hainey and Josh Tolibas joined other high school students in San Antonio at the Texas Music Educators Association.

There, they attended a clinic and then performed a concert for a crowd estimated at 3,000 people.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Ligon, the first chair in the Soprano I section said. “I didn’t even

Photo submitted by Kathryn Ligon

2012 All-State Choir

Photo submitted by Kathryn Ligon

Seniors Kami Noyce, left, and Kathryn Ligon, right, pose with smiles on their faces.

realize the people were there because I was make All-State, which recognized them as some of the top high school vocalists so into the performance.”

Noyce, who was expecting cut throat in Texas. However, in order to reach that accomplishment, competition, the girls agreed said she felt it took a lot of intimidated by hard work. The the other girls, beginning stages even though of preparation she made first began before the chair in the school year even Soprano II did.

Then they section had to audition “I felt -Senior Kathryn Ligon through the mediocre district, region, compared to them,” Noyce said. “They sounded so good, area, and ultimately the state round.

“Pretty much my entire winter break like 40-year-old opera singers, like they had was dedicated to preparing this music,” done it for years.”

Ligon said.

“It was an insane amount of This year was both girls’ first time to

“I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t even realize the people were there because I was so into the performance.”

preparation. Per day, I would try to get two to four hours of practice in.”

Noyce, who wants to pursue a career in music either directing choir or singing opera said she thinks that her All-State experience helps put her on the right track to her dream career.

“Singing is my passion,” Noyce said.

“Since the eighth or ninth grade I have known I wanted to be a choir director. When I sing, I am happy.”

Ligon, who has also played the flute in the marching band throughout high school, similarly dreams to turn her passion for music into a career by either becoming a composer or a performance musician.

“I’m really obsessed with music,” Ligon said. “It’s just my life.”

Texas primary rescheduled for May 29

By Meital Boim After redistricting disputes were settled last week, three federal judges finalized the Texas primary date for May 29, previously April 3. Forty-seven states and territories will have held a caucus or primary by this date.

“Front-loading is bad, so having these elections not spread out and jammed into the front of the primary season could cause a real detrimental effect on our system,” government teacher Jennifer Morbitt said.

“If everyone else has done that, does that put Texas at a disadvantage? Yes. It makes us irrelevant. Almost assuredly, we’ll know

by May 29 who the candidate is for the Republican Party.”

However, Morbitt said that while the primary may be insignificant in choosing a presidential candidate, there are other positions on the ballot that still need attention. She also said that since more of her students will be 18 by then, more of them will be able to vote.

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“Students are still going to be here, so hopefully their parents will encourage them, and it’ll be easier to vote because they’ll be right here in their own precincts,” Morbitt said. “When you guys go off to university in the fall, I’m not sure many people will take advantage of voting because of having the absentee ballot or having to return back here.”

Senior Sheena Chokshi, who turns 18 on May 24, said that while she wasn’t planning on voting before, she may do so now because government has helped her understand the voting process.

“It just depends on whether I have time and whether I’ve done voter registration by then,” Chokshi said. “They’re usually on Tuesdays, and we have school.”

Chokshi said that even though she must be able to argue on both sides of an issue for debate, it hasn’t made her neutral on those issues – she still maintains her own opinion, as do others. However, she said debate has

taught her how to evaluate presidential debates.

“Sometimes we watch a debate and see how outrageous a candidate’s views are and how outrageous their solutions are to fix things,” Chokshi said. “We watched some of the debates that were online, and we talk about how some candidates have a really good chance because of the things they say, and some candidates say really extremist things that most people disagree with or they don’t focus on the main issues but just on degrading other candidates.”

There are several stereotypes associated with young people and voting in general elections that Chokshi said do not apply to her.

“Everyone always talks about how young people never vote, and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to be like one of those young people who don’t vote,’” Chokshi said. “People think that nothing affects them, but I’m in debate, and we always talk about things, and

see how things that happen around the world and in our own country do affect us. It gives people a chance to reflect on how much of an impact everything has on the outcome.”

Morbitt said that because many people want to have an impact on who is elected, not everyone who votes in the Republican primary is Republican.

“Especially in North Texas and in West Texas, there aren’t any candidates in the Democratic primary,” Morbitt said. “A lot of the positions that are up will just be blank because there’s nobody running to challenge the Republican because they know they’d lose. They think, ‘If I don’t vote in the Republican primary then I won’t have a choice at all. At least if I vote in the Republican primary, there will be four or five Republicans listed for a position, and at least I could choose someone from there that I most agree with.’”

Features

March 7, 2012

Heroes incognito

Four Plano seniors have been selected to attend the Military Academies next year.

To find out who they are and to read the rest of the stories visit us online at www.wildcattales.com

By Alyssa Matesic

By Dani Sureck

The letter arrived on the last day of fall exams. Her grandpa, who was enlisted himself when he first came to America from Germany, and her dad were ecstatic. Her mom wasn’t physically there to share the moment, but she had helped inspire it all.

“I hope to be a little bit more disciplined and more of a team player with this because it’s really a group effort through the whole academy”

By Kathy Santiago

Soon to be a second generation attendee of West Point, she will train to become a military officer on the same campus as her father.

“The students at West Point were not only more mature, but I could feel that they all lived with a purpose.”

Left to right: Seniors Zach Nail, Parker Volpe and Jon Pattie perform at a show.

Being a Navy Seal is known to be physically and mentally demanding training in the military and he is up for a challenge.

“It drives me to do something special and be an important part of our country. Sitting in an office for a few years makes me feel like I’, just doing stuff for myself instead of helping others. Once I’m a Navy Seal, Ill be helping everybody and not just myself.”

By Jessica Allman She said she didn’t always have dreams of entering the Coast Guard post-graduation.

“As a kid I expected to grow up and go to UT like all of my friends,” she said. “But I’ve always wanted to give back, and once I looked into the Coast Guard Academy I knew it was a good opportunity for me. I figured I’d be crazy not to go.”

Photos submitted by Zach Nail

Student band to battle at The Door

By Meital Boim Hero Appeal, a student band, will play at The Door Metroplex Battle of the Bands on Saturday, March 10 for a cash prize. The band, which plays pop, punk and alternative cover and original songs, will compete for the $700 first-place prize. The secondplace prize is $200, and the third-place prize is $100. The doors open at 6 p.m., and the band is scheduled to go on at 7:50 p.m.

“It’s supposed to be a really awesome show,” lead vocalist senior Zach Nail said. “We’re working on our

choreography. Jon Pattie and the rest of the guitarists are figuring out cool flips that they can do with their guitars.

We really try to do anything to get the crowd pumped up.”

Nail said that some of their fans have started taking pictures of their performances.

“There’s this one guy Chris who was at one of our last shows, and he just came in and took free pictures of us and edited them and put them on his website,” Nail said. “Now we have a bunch of people who are saying

they’re going to take pictures of us.”

While Nail, lead guitarist senior Jon Pattie and bassist senior Parker Volpe know each other from school, Nail knows guitarist and keyboardist senior Adam Dodson, who goes to Plano East, from tennis, and the band found drummer senior Allen Torres, who goes to Frisco High School, listed on Craigslist.

“We jammed together once, and we totally clicked,” Nail said.

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Sports

March 7, 2012

One ball at a time, one pitch at a time Softball seniors hope to claw to victory

By Danielle Deraleau

T

he medal h a n g s on the whiteboard in coach Chad Faith’s classroom, suspended by its red, white and blue ribbon, and twisting slightly in the air to display the words “University Interscholastic League: State” etched on its shiny bronze surface.

To others, a medal such as this one might simply be a sign of an accomplishment or a Photo by Jennifer Pastrana source of pride. But Senior MacKenzie Velasquez runs to to Faith and the softball home plate. team, it represents a reminder of a common goal: to win gold this season.

“I have it in my phone, in my calendar, that we’re going to state,” Faith said. “Whenever I open up my calendar and look at June, I’m booked that first week because we’re going down to Austin to play softball. In my mind that’s where we’re going, and it has been that way since June of last year, when we left Austin. That’s when I put it in my calendar that we were going back.”

Senior Jill Holub plays third base and said she is looking forward to the new season and wants a repeat of the previous one.

“We had a really good run last year,” Holub said. “You’re always hopeful, but you don’t want to say too much because of the whole karma thing. But we’re all hoping for the best.”

At the beginning of last year’s season the team had a rough time getting their footing. But once they did, they started winning.

“We used to think we didn’t work very well together at the start of the season, but then we all started to click right in the middle of the season and that’s what we needed,” first baseman senior Ashley McDowell said. “This year it’s pretty much the same team.”

The team has nine returning seniors, and has already played a few games. The games usually take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In a recent game, the team beat Rockwall 11-2.

Pitcher senior Katherine Batey hit a two run home run when Rockwall was closing the gap.

“She showed up and cranked one over the fence,” Faith said. “That gave us a little bit of a cushion that everyone just jumped on. Once they got it going, they just kept going. It was nice as a coach to be able to kick back and coach and not be on the edge of my seat.”

The team meets every day except Sunday for around three hours to practice. Some of the players have played together since they were in sixth grade on various PSA and select teams.

McDowell has even known head coach Cynthia Zea since she was 5 years old. McDowell said after spending so much time together and going to state last year, the team has grown incredibly close.

“I love them,” McDowell said. “They’re awesome. You can’t have tension in your team, so you just have to like them. Going really far in the state tournament last year brought us even closer together because we realized how good we could be.”

Holub said her teammates are her best friends at school and that they do a lot of things together outside of the games. She said the reason they have done well and are continuing to perform well in the games is that they are close.

“There’s a chemistry,” Faith said. “You hear coaches talk about chemistry a lot with teams.

I’ve coached for over ten years now and it’s a rare thing to see an entire team come together with such a chemistry that every single kid, every single athlete, truly cares about everyone else on the team. Basically they meet the three fundamental requirements of perfect chemistry. The first fundamental thing is the players love each other,

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they really truly love each other. They’ve got each other’s back, and they’ll do anything. The players also love the coach or coaches. And then the last part is that their coaches love them. So if you have all three of those things set up, then in my mind, you have what we would call perfect chemistry, or the set up for magic. Things happen that shouldn’t happen because of that genuine stance with one another.”

Faith said he has always enjoyed softball and that he jumped at the chance to coach the team.

“I played football and baseball in high school, and when I moved back home and became a teacher and a high school football coach my uncle, who was the athletic director, actually came to me and said ‘Hey, what do you think about softball?’” Faith said. “It’s a great game. It’s on the diamond, and I love the diamond. So when we just happened to have an opening here, and it was varsity level, they said ‘Do you want it?’ and I said ‘Sure.’ That’s when I met one of my best friends in the world, Coach Kenner. I worked with him for five years coaching varsity softball and varsity football and just fell in love with the game. I’ve always been in love with the game. I mean, you want to be outside on the diamond.

That’s where I live, is on the diamond. To me it didn’t matter if it was baseball or softball, I just wanted to be on that diamond.”

Faith plans to stay with the team as long as the coaches and the players will have him. He said many things about this team inspire him, but one in particular stands out.

“Our girls are awesome at never giving up,” Faith said.

“That’s what they don’t do. They never quit. They don’t know what it means to quit. They won’t quit.”

With that in mind the team is entering its season with one clear goal: win. They look forward to taking on their rival teams, Plano East and Hebron. The team knows East will be out to get them after they knocked them out of the playoffs last year, and then drove the rivalry deeper by beating them in the pre-season tournament.

“They’ve got big division one signees playing ball for them,” Faith said. “We have division one signees too, but we’re not being interviewed by ESPN all the time. We just go out there and put it to them whenever we get the chance.

It was nice to watch them leave the day before we did. They got to go home early.”

Faith said last year’s season was like magic. He said he can clearly remember his favorite moment of watching this team, and got chill bumps while talking about it.

“When we were in the playoffs against Keller we got down to the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs,” Faith said. “That means we have one out left, and then our playoff hopes die. We’re down seven runs. I’m coaching first base, so I’m near our dugout, and I turn around and look at the dugout expecting to see a team of very disappointed young ladies ready to pack their stuff and go home. And what I saw was discussions, almost in anger. Not at each

other, but because of the situation. ‘Okay guys, we got to score eight runs now to win.’ We have three strikes to be out.

And we came back and scored eight runs and beat them, and it was the greatest thing. It was the greatest win that I as a coach have ever been a part of. Ever. And it was that magic. It was that chemistry. Our season was magic. These kids are magic. We were coaching as hard as we could, they were playing as hard as they could, and it all came together.”

The eventual ending of what is hoped to be a good season is being dreaded by some of the girls. Holub said that she and the other seniors are looking forward to moving on and creating their own life, but it’s still difficult to know the season will have to end.

“It’s really sad, heartbreaking almost,” Holub said.

“I started playing when I was in first grade. It was just a community thing at PSA, and all your friends are doing it and you want to join the team too. After PSA you start getting into select and it starts getting more serious, and when you fall in love with the game you want to support your high school for it.”

Both seniors said they want the big win, and they are willing to work hard to get it.

“It’s very time consuming, but our athletes are very committed to going back and changing that medal that’s hanging up there in the front of the room,” Faith said. “We got third in state last year, and our goal is to change that to gold. We want first, and it will take commitment from everyone to get that done.”

Photo by Jennifer Pastrana

Senior Ashley McDowell prepares for the play.

Fri. March 9 JV 5 p.m.

Varsity 7 p.m.

Tues. March 13 JV 5 p.m.

Varsity 7 p.m.

Fri. March 16 JV 5 p.m.

Varsity 7 p.m.

@ Hebron @Hebron

vs. Flower Mound @ Plano

vs. Marcus @ Plano

SPORTS

March 7, 2012

Athletes compete in state competitions Soccer Recap Swimming

By Daniel Hinson Kyle Whieldon Melissa Leonhardt Shannon Rogers

8th 200-yard Freestyle

1:43.00

14th 100-yard Freestyle

48:04

4th 200-yard IM

2:05.36

8th 100-yard Backstroke

57.83

6th 100-yard Butterfly

56.72

11th 500-yard Freestyle

5:01.43

9th 400-yard Freestyle Relay

Boys soccer

3:33.98

Melissa Leonhardt Ashley Ezell Photo by Terry Quinn

From left to right: junior Molly Zhang, seniors Shannon Rogers, Melissa Leonhardt, sophomore Kyle Whieldon, junior Maureen Hunt, seniors Ashley Ezell and Rhylie Hoyt.

The swim team took ninth place in this year’s state competition Feb. 24-25.

“I feel like we accomplished what we wanted this season,” senior Ashley Ezell said. “We had someone who had never made it out of districts make it to state this year. That was exciting.

And Molly Zhang, a newcomer to the team as a junior, made it to state on the relay, so that was

good.”

Overall the team said they did well and gave it all they could.

“Individually I did well in preliminary rounds,” senior Shannon Rogers said. “I was a little disappointed in my swims in finals but they were still successes because I gave it all that I could. We all came together at the end for our relay.

That was our last event, and our

Molly Zhang

Shannon Rogers

last swim together as a team, so we gave it all we had, and it was an incredible swim by all of us.”

A swimmer cannot place higher in the final rounds than he or she did in the preliminary rounds. Even though the girl’s 400-yard freestyle relay had a faster time than two other teams qualifying the team for seventh place, the team came in ninth.

However, for the third year in

a row, the girls’ 200-medley relay was disqualified for a false start.

“Its nobody’s fault but it was really disappointing,” Rogers said. “It was a huge blow because that would have earned us a lot of points. And it was one of our best relays. It was upsetting but they didn’t tell me until the end of the meet.”

Wrestling said. “We both went to state and then I ended up placing fifth.”

This year’s team has a new coach, Clay Goodloe, who led them to the first winning season in years.

“He did a great job and I’m sure our winning meant a lot to him,” McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey said that all his hard work over these four years have been worth it.

“It was my life going through

As of March 5, 2012 the boys soccer team is in second place behind Flower Mound Marcus.

Overall

By Eilie Strecker

As the wrestling team’s season comes to a close, the year ends with victory, placing at regionals and having players place for the first time in years.

They took second at districts and they placed in the top 10 at regionals which hasn’t happened in a long time.

“That was a really big deal and we had two people make it to state, me and Michael Kubik, a junior,” senior Danny McCaffrey

Photo by Daniel Hinson

Keeping in stride with West player #7, team captain senior Ramon Gallegos fights for the ball.

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high school,” McCaffrey said.

“I would be practicing two times a day during season and I just got really close with my team and that group of guys so it sucks that it’s all over now.

It feels great though because basically all that work paid off eventually and it was just great to see it with them.”

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Upcoming Games

Photo submitted by Michael Kubik

Senior Danny McCaffrey, far left, placed fifth at the state competition Feb. 24-25 with a 3-2 finish.

Fri. March 9 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

Tues. March 20 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

Fri. March 23 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

@ Marcus

vs. Lewisville @Kimbrough

@ PESH @ Kimbrough

Girls Soccer Golf team comes out swinging

By Maelyn Schramm With the golf season in full swing, the players have been working to get off to a good start during their first group of tournaments.

“We won our first tournament that started the spring by eleven strokes,” senior Connor Pond said.

The golfers said they wanted to start strong, and they did just that after winning their first tournament. Junior Frank Cai said he has witnessed several developments within the program.

“Our program has improved quite a bit since ninth grade,” Cai said. “We’ve been continuing to grow and get better.”

As the team continues to place at tournaments, players

said they have seen a change for the better. They contribute their progress to Coach Coursey, who helps prepare them with words of advice.

“Coach tells us the day before a tournament to work on range and putting, and not to play around,” Pond said. “He says we need to get mentally prepared and just take it easy.”

The players said they have high hopes for their upcoming tournaments, as they feel their practices have been paying off.

“Our district preview is coming up, so I think we’ll do well if the weather is nice and we have a solid top five,” Pond said. “We’ll do well if everyone works hard.”

Softball team hopes to continue last year’s winning streak

By Danielle Deraleau The new softball season started during the last week of January.

The team has already performed well, winning the pre-season tournament, held in Roundrock, for the first time in history.

The JV team also went to the championship, and came back in second place.

“Since we were third in state last year, people do expect us to go back to state,” assistant

coach Chad Faith said. “We hear that every day. But our focus is one ball at a time. One pitch at a time. And then that translates to one game at a time. And then that’ll be one district game at a time. And then one playoff game at a time. But our goal, and our stance as a coaching staff, is that we’re going to win state.”

Photo by Kelsey Young

Senior Alli Murphy leaves competitors in the dust as she runs after the ball.

As of March 5, 2012 the girls soccer team is in seventh place.

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Upcoming Events

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Upcoming Games

Varsity Girls March 21 PISD Tournament

JV Boys March 21 PISD JV Tournament

Varsity Boys March 23-24 Vernon Newsome Invitational

Firewheel GC-Lakes

Firewheel GC-Lakes

Walnut Creek CC Junior Ashlee Begis gets set for the next play.

Photo by Jennifer Pastrana

Fri. March 9 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

Tues. March 20 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

Fri. March 23 JV 6 p.m.

V 7:45 p.m.

vs. Marcus @ Clark

@ Lewisville @Lewisville

vs. PESH @ Clark

Page Five

Features A

March 7, 2012

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D

By Stefanie Jabri

Junior Amanda Kravitz competes in elite equestrian sport

Photo submission by Amanda Kravitz

Junior Amanda Kravitz with her horse, Vindaris II out for a ride in the sun all day long.

Photo submission by Amanda Kravitz

manda Kravitz was that little girl who was horse crazy, but despite having some people think that it was just a childhood phase, she has dedicated herself to the passion that brings her happiness. After riding the horses at an Indian Princesses camp, a YMCA based organization in which dads and daughters camp together, junior Amanda Kravitz was hooked. When she got home from that trip, she started taking horse-back riding lessons, and has continued to ride for nine years. But she doesn’t just ride; her room is covered in ribbons from the success she has had in competitions on her Latvian Warm blood.

“His official name is Vindaris II,” Amanda said.

“He was born in Latvia, and when he got his passport and traveled over to Germany and then to the U.S., the registration had to add a II on his name because apparently there was another Vindaris. I like his name; it’s part of his history.”

Before she owned Vindaris, Amanda had owned a horse that she jumped. However, she later outgrew him due to her blooming interest in riding dressage.

Then one day, when she went out to the barn as usual, she was surprised to find Vindaris in the stall with a big bow on him, instead.

“I was a little concerned that she wouldn’t like Vindaris as much, because she loved her first horse so much,” her mom Lisa Kravitz said. “But when we gave Vindaris to her, he started to lick her and nuzzle her, and immediately, it was love.”

Dressage is defined as the sport where the horse responds smoothly to a rider’s commands with minimal effort, which develops the horse to its peak athletic ability. Riders perform a series of specific moves that vary from level to level, in front of a judge who scores based on the performance of the rider and the performance of the horse.

“It’s more challenging, and there’s a lot more to do with it,” Amanda said. “I got bored with jumping because it was just like point and shoot, and mainly just don’t fall off. But with dressage you can never be perfect and there is always something to work on.”

more to do with it,” Amanda said. “I got bored with jumping because it was just like point and shoot, and mainly just don’t fall off. But with dressage you can never be perfect and there is always something to work on.”

Amanda competes several times a year in dressage and enjoys the show community and hanging out with other young riders. Although she loves riding, Amanda has missed several social events because of her dedication.

“There will be times that someone is having a birthday party, and she’s like, ‘I can’t go. I have a horse show,’” junior Gloria Markov said. “She does miss a lot of stuff, but she can also choose when she rides, so it is not too bad. There is some flexibility.”

Amanda also said she finds it difficult to maintain school and riding at the same time because she goes out to ride her horse every day so she often stays up late to complete schoolwork.

“Riding takes a lot of dedication and patience,” Lisa said. “In order to maintain a good relationship with your horse and keep your horse in shape, you have to ride just about every day and ride consistently. You also have to be able to adjust to your horse’s needs and moods, which is where patience comes in handy.”

However, in her dedication to becoming a better rider, she will be competing in fourth level dressage shows this upcoming year. These shows work on more advanced moves such as half passes, pirouettes, and extending or collecting the horse’s stride. Last year Amanda only competed in one fourth level show and qualified shows work on more advanced moves such as half passes, pirouettes, and extending or collecting the horse’s stride. Last year Amanda only competed in one fourth level show and qualified for championships.

“Vindaris teaches me things I don’t know,” Amanda said. “Sometimes I feel bad because I don’t know all the stuff that he does, so I mess up and he gets confused. But he’s really understanding for a horse; he doesn’t get mad at all.”

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Photo submission by Amanda Kravitz

Kravitz looking cheerful atop Vindars after winning a ribbon.

Page Six

Features

By JP Salazar

March 7, 2012

Creating character(s)

A

Photo by JP Salazar

Senior Jessica Esobedo poses with one of her original characters. Her name is Shinako and is based off the fictional world of Kingdom Hearts.

fictional world opened up to senior Jessica Escobedo after her friends introduced her to Naruto and Bleach. Once Escobedo started reading more mangas and animes, she was hooked.

She took a stab at creating her own characters and has decided to apply to the Dallas Art Institute to become an animator.

Escobedo’s love of animals led her to put her first original character into the Inuzuka clan, the clans are based off ideas in Naruto where the characters have dog-like attributions. Inuzuka’s mother died and she left her home to live in a sand village “I chose a sad back story because it’s a common thing for most of the characters in the manga to have one,” Escobedo said. “It provides the reader with a possibility to connect and feel sympathy towards the characters and builds a foundation for the character to grow.”

After creating her first original character in an already established world, Escobedo decided to create her own fictional setting and variety of original characters. She created her own comic and based the story in a modern town setting with the protagonists and side characters mainly being from a high school in that town. The high school setting has allowed her to base some characters on friends and people she knows in real life.

The pragmatic approach

T

Photo by JP Salazar

Senior Chelsea Chang shows off one her first pieces of digital art. Chang created this piece from scratch.

he excitement of being accepted to Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) also brought uncertainty to senior Chelsea Chang’s life.

She must now decide how to incorporate art into her future. Chang applied to the MICA after attending an event known as national portfolio day. There, she showed her work to various colleges and received feedback. Chang liked the quality of the work of other students and the freedom MICA would offer her.

“I went to the MICA presentation and it was amazing,” Chang said. “They talked about how you can paint on your dorm wall, which sounded exciting and unique. The art they showed was spectacular and the alumni seemed very successful.”

After being accepted to the MICA undergraduate program, Chang is trying to determine if she will go to there or to a normal university.

Chang said that having a practical career is important to her so she is able to make a living.

“I want to major in art wherever I go,” Chang said. “If I went to the art college I could major in design and create or edit things like advertisements.

“The main character reminds me of my friend Megan,” Escobedo said. “We both like karate and that’s how I chose that the protagonist would be involved in it.”

Escobedo said students who take art don’t have as much freedom in deciding their projects or assignments and are often left working on independent projects without much guidance. She has decided to invest a lot of her time into her comic series it’s difficult to get feedback beyond showing it to friends with similar interests in manga or anime. In art school a student can not only focus on a specific type of artistic medium or style and get educated criticism on their works, but also prioritize art over other courses.

“At art school a student can focus a lot more on their art and put less focus in learning about subjects like history or math,” Escobedo said. “I always knew I wanted to go to an art school and work on creating characters and fictional worlds. Unlike what most people would think, my parents were okay with that.”

Besides the advantages that an art college provides for students interested in a particular branch or section of the art world, the Dallas Art Institute may provide Escobedo the chance to work for a famous animation company without traveling overseas.

“I think it’ll be cool to actually work at the university I want to attend,” Escobedo said.

I just think it’d be a good major where I could have a job that would be on par with present demands.”

As a child, Chang was interested in animation, but slowly she has been considering other possibilities in the field.

“I wanted to be an animator, but then I read about their harsh deadlines and difficulties they face,” Chang said. “I think becoming an animator is a little too ambitious for me. Now I think I just want to be an art teacher. It would be nice to teach kids about art and watch them hone their abilities.”

Chang said teaching will allow her to continue her love of art and do independent projects while her students are working. Chang’s painting and digital design allow her to get out her feeling and express her emotions despite her practical stance.

“I like realism and digital art, I feel like I can use it as my outlet,” Chang said. “I think that generally people of Asian backgrounds, like myself, don’t express too much emotion because of our culture but art has will always be, a way for me to express myself and my emotions.”

Adding Italian flare to American classrooms

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Photo by JP Salazar

Foreign excahnge student junior Eleonara Canal holds her latest AP art project.

talian foreign exchange student junior Eleonara Canal created a memoir of her past, but she didn’t use any words. She chose three objects, the scene of a woman and man on the beach, a pair of keys and dancing shoes, which represented the stories of her life and painted them in a technique that makes each object appear like it is on a different dimension.

“The scene on the beach is supposed to be romantic and sad,” Canal said. “There is a somber mood because time is ending. The sun is setting, so these lovers are about to part ways. In Italy I sort of left a ‘friend’ who wasn’t really my ‘boyfriend’ but the connection was there. The scene on the beach represented the people who leave, and that you have to leave people in your life.”

While the scene with the man and the woman deals with the consequences of moving to a foreign country, the keys are a symbol for Canal’s struggle in making the decision to leave Italy.

“The keys represented the opportunity that people have in their lives to open doors and the possibilities we are presented with,” Canal said. “In Italy, there are a lot of people who never think about the chance to become a foreign exchange student, but I knew that I had to come and see a different culture. I lived my whole life in the same place and I didn’t want to give up a chance for change, even if it meant leaving my home.”

Canal said that the dance shoes – symbolic of her changing aspirations – were supposed to be things that the majority of people could relate to and reminisce on.

“I wanted to learn how to dance, but as I grew up I realized how much I loved art,” Canal said. “It shows how much things can change in someone’s life. I think that everyone has, at one point in their life, wanted to be something but has been introduced to something new and better.”

To read more about Eleonara visit us online at www.wildcattales.com

Page Seven

Features

March 7, 2012

A helping hand and a warm heart

By Haley Bunnell

Photo by Eilie Strecker

“They are just so funny and make me smile when I see them so happy as they perform. It has taught me to not take anything for granted.”

and asked that because someone called him that in the hallway. It made me really sad because he is really smart, and just because he is in special education, doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of really good things.”

Hernandez had another bullying encounter when she was helping a girl to the water fountain.

“She is blind so she couldn’t see where the water is coming out. So I had to help her move her body, and there was a kid at the water fountain laughing at her. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I was just really upset.”

The three girls said that helping those

Photo by Erin Ball

“I love helping these kids because they are all really nice, and I connect really well with them.”

TaylorNewroth

language, so it is difficult not being able to communicate with them.” Hernandez said.

“Some of them speak sign language, and can speak, but they will come up to me and speak sign language, but I don’t understand so I will have to ask them to say it instead of signing it.”

Hernandez said that she loves the students and it has taught her to not judge because a lot of people will pick on the special education students.

“If they actually knew how sweet they were, they wouldn’t get made fun of,” Hernandez said. “One boy that I was helping asked me what the word retard was,

PresleyHernandez

KellyMcCarthy

work with special education kids. And you can’t be too serious, you have to be fun.”

The students sometimes make her cards saying that they love her and that she is their best friend and hero. When Hernandez goes to the cafeteria during lunch, some of the kids will run up to her, give her a hug, and tell her about their day and achievements.

Hernandez said she is always in a great mood after seeing them, and she loves being a part of their life. Hernandez believes the communication barrier is the only difficult thing between her and the kids.

“There are some kids in my class that are in deaf education, and I don’t know sign

continued from cover

with special needs has taught them patience, and has positively affected their life.

“Sometimes people think they are not normal human beings, but they do have feelings,” McCarthy said. “ In all honesty you really shouldn’t treat them much differently than how you treat your friends. They have emotions, and yeah it might be altered. But they are just like us. I know a lot of people are scared to approach them. If you do have an opportunity, you should do something like this, it is really rewarding.”

Photo by Erin Ball

“I love H.O.P.E (Helping Our Peers Excel) and it brightens my day. It is the first thing I do every day and is very satisfying.”

Around the world and back again

By Eilie Strecker

Every year this campus hosts students from around the world. These students have the opportunity to learn the American language and customs. Two of these, juniors, arrived at the start of the year, French native Geoffroy Teissonniere and German native Christin Dober.

Having been here for a semester and a half so far, their fluency has progressed substantially.

“I adjusted pretty well, I was more of a wreck when I got here like with the food, which I didn’t like, and the hot weather and the people,” Teissonniere said. “Now I am just really used to it all and my English has gotten much much better.”

Photo By Eilie Strecker

Junior Geoffroy Teissonniere

Page Eight

Though they both had some adjustments to make, they are both optimistic about their experiences as a whole.

“The people here are really really nice,” Teissonniere said. “They are friendly and accepting, and I never had to worry about making friends.”

Dober agrees and feels very close to the friends she has made here but she also appreciates America’s customs and day to day life.

“I really don’t want to go back,” Dober said. “I really miss my family and friends and stuff but I don’t really miss my country at all. School and stuff is way better here.

The teachers are better and the students at this school are much more motivated.”

However, Teissonniere said he doesn’t like the restrictions of American society.

“My least favorite thing is how strict people are in general,” Teissonniere said.

“Everyone really abides by the rules and there are not many exceptions and everything is really hardcore. People do more but are just not as laidback. So much is prohibited like curfew and going out, unlike my country which is really laidback.

And here if you don’t have a car you can’t

go anywhere. But in France you can just get around easier. In Paris I would just walk everywhere or take buses.”

During their time in the United States, they have also made many friendships they intend to keep despite the distance.

“I am planning to keep in touch with everyone through Facebook and I am planning to come back when I graduate in two years or next year to visit,” Dober said.

“I would definitely consider moving back here one day, maybe not to Texas but to this country.”

They both said their foreign experiences have changed them in an irreversible ways that they will always remember.

“I think this experience has made me more mature,” Teissonniere said. “I feel like I can take care of myself more because I have become more independent because it’s just me here. It’s going to be cool because when I go to the university I will be used to being away from my family so I will adjust faster. This entire experience is something I will never forget. Ever.”

Dober said the experience has changed her entire perspective on what she expected out of life.

Junior Christin Dober

Photo By Eilie Strecker

“I think this has totally changed me permanently,” Dober said. “The way I look at things is different. It’s like when I left I was raised a certain way and then I came here and I saw all the possibilities this country has and what I can do with my life.”

March 7, 2012

One cast, one dream

Features

Actors rehearse for UIL competition

By Daniel Hinson

Every day at 4:30 p.m. junior Ryan Barrett’s alarm goes effects for the entire show. off for one-act rehearsal. For the next two hours the “In normal shows we can have intelligent lighting that cast of this year’s one-act “The Cripple of Inishmaan” moves and that kind of thing,” Heike said. “In this show can only speak in Irish accents. Since the entire show is we only get nine standard areas which are little boxes on done in an Irish accent, the cast has been perfecting their the stage that pools of light hit. We are only allowed to accents by listening to CDs. manipulate those nine areas. We get two color washes, “At our first rehearsal we had to go through and red and blue, so we can cover the stage in red or blue attempt to use Irish accents and they were disastrous to light if we wanted to.” say the least,” Barrett said. “We’ve come a really long As the cast rehearses, theater director Greg Arp way. Other than that we are doing a lot of character allows the cast to make decisions about their character development trying to make each character our own.” development and stage movements. He steps in only to One of the differences between the one-act and the adjust their choices. other plays the theater department puts on is the size of The one-act will have to squeeze in about 20 more the cast and crew. The cast rehearsals and multiple clinics consists of nine people, five before the competition on March crew technicians and three 24. alternates.

“We have already had our first “I think when you are clinic and we are getting ready able to work with just nine for our next one in two weeks,” people you get a little more Barrett said. “We’ve progressed close-knit and you have the a lot in the couple of weeks of ability to feed off of each rehearsal that we have had. The other’s energy,” Barrett said. show is going pretty well right -Junior Ryan Barrett “You have the ability to get now.” to know everybody and their The cast, however, has to deal characters. It’s not just ‘I’m a with a few roadblocks during the chorus member’ or ‘I am in this section of the cast.’ The rehearsal period. whole cast is really together.”

“It’s pretty difficult when you have multiple cast The size of the cast and crew also translates to the size members out at a time,” Barrett said. “With our cast, of the set of the show. Each one act is limited to a basic we have two people in speech, and a couple of our cast UIL-provided set, which consists of a few platforms. members are going out on college visits pretty regularly.

“The set is gray and boring,” stage manager senior Joe It throws us off a little bit. We have alternates, and they Heike said. “We try not to use a lot of it and try to fill it are able to step in and take over that character. They with other interesting things.” have been studying all of the characters, they know that Each school is allowed to bring as many props as they this character is doing this in this scene, so we don’t have want, as long as they fit inside of a 6-by-6 square. They to worry about not having someone there in one of our are also given minimal lighting and ten minutes of sound scenes.”

Babbybobby Bennett (senior Rob Mora) rehearses a scene.

Photo by Daniel Hinson

“I think when you are able to work with just nine people you get a little more close-knit.”

Photo by Daniel Hinson

Theater director Greg Arp gives direction to senior Dennis Ryazanov and junior Ryan Barrett during a rehearsal.

The One-act cast will perform the The Cripple of Inishmaan on March 21, 2012 in the Doyle Dean Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. The One-act will perform for a judge on March 24, 2012 in Flower Mound.

Photo by Daniel Hinson

Eileen (senior Emma Barishman) scolds her nephew Cripple Billy (senior Dennis Ryazanov)

Photo by Daniel Hinson

Sisters Kate (junior Courtney Moreland) and Eileen (senior Emma Barishman) talk over tea.

Page Nine

Opinion

March 7, 2012

Finishing the Race

By Maelyn Schramm

By Alyssa Matesic

By Paul Burnham

I don’t think I ever really knew my grandma. And I don’t think that she wanted to be known. During her lifetime, all I could say about her certainly was that she was pessimistic, extremely worried and heartbreakingly miserable. I did, however, catch a glimpse into her soul eventually – but only after she had crossed worlds.

I knew she had been sick the day I made my last trip to visit her, but I’m not sure I was fully prepared for seeing someone so close to death. It was one of the slow ones, where life is slowly filtered out of the body until existence becomes impossible. Where the bed is surrounded by loved ones not knowing whether to cry or stay strong. Where the person in the bed can hardly speak, can barely breathe, can only communicate with their eyes – and even then only until they shut forever.

She always communicated that way, with her eyes. Of course, she would speak, but the things she would say never meant much. She would ask me to talk about myself a lot – I suppose to allow her to escape from her own reality. She would smile faintly sometimes, but she wasn’t happy. For my entire life I had seen in those eyes only one emotion – sorrow.

I can’t recall the last words I said to her, or the last words she said to me.

I can’t even remember if I kissed her goodbye or held her hand as I left that day. I think I was the first one out of the room and down the hallway.

Throughout the entire process of her death, I never cried. I wanted to, though. I tried. I tried to be sad. I

Page Ten

tried thinking about it over and over, hoping that some part of it would upset me. It didn’t. I wasn’t happy, but I was definitely not as touched as I should’ve been. My only explanation of this is that I never truly knew her. I was almost at a stranger’s funeral.

An old bracelet led me back to my grandma’s story years after her death.

It was a true work of art – carefully sculpted strands of silver intertwined to create almost a braid. I had seen my mom wear it often, but never knew of its origin.

My grandma never cared much for my mom, her daughter-in-law, but she did give her one gift: the bracelet. It happened before my time, back when my grandma lived in her own house.

My parents had been visiting her when my mom saw the bracelet lying on my grandma’s dresser. She complimented it, and my grandma was quick to give it up to her – she claimed she never wore it and had no use for it.

My mom wore the thing constantly, and still does today. She was fascinated by it, not only for its beauty but also for the fact that it never tarnished, as pure silver should. She investigated and found that the bracelet was not actually made of silver, but of a combination of metals, and thus it withstood wear.

The metals came from bullet casings from the South Pacific.

During the war there, natives melted down the debris and created jewelry from it. They’d sell the pieces to the soldiers to send back to their girls on the mainland. My grandma was one of those girls.

Several weeks ago, I was faced with one of the most difficult decisions of my life. My dog Ripley, who has been at my side for the past seven years of my life, became sick with cancer and was unable to eat properly, and even sipping water became a challenge. Before me, I saw my partner in crime and my right hand man slowly disintegrate and become so weak that standing up became close to impossible. My crutch, my motivation to keep living through my darkest hours, was no longer able to keep doing what he was doing. When faced with the crippling decision on whether or not to preserve his dignity or allow him to slowly become less and less, I stepped up to the plate and became his best friend, helping him to cross over the bridge to the backyard that has no fences and has enough chew toys and hickory smoked cow hides for everyone.

My mom and sister brought home Ripley from the pound a couple months after my dad passed away.

He was thin, losing his hair and had no concept of a collar and leash or how the two function together for walk time. This was no condition for a four year old doggie to be in, and I made every effort to naturalize him into what humans refer to as a domesticated house pet. Luckily for me, he became much more than just a pet.

His desire to hike his leg on my dining room furniture quickly demoted him from the family pet to mine, which meant every time he went potty on the floor it was my fault. He was outcast from his first family, outcast from the one that adopted him and now he was mine. In a sense, we were outcasts together and while I struggled to find my own identity, I had Ripley to show me the way. Through every step of my adolescence, he was there to remind me that being insecure is

In her old photograph collection, my grandma has a picture of a young man in uniform. The picture isn’t of my grandpa, though. The man is unidentifiable; there was a caption written on the back of the photograph that was erased some time ago. It is presumed that he died fighting in the war.

Though the story is based partially in speculation, my grandma undoubtedly had more to tell than she let on. She had recollections that she didn’t want to hold onto, but she couldn’t escape them – perhaps it was that sense of imprisonment that led to her downfall.

Learning this about her made my grandma seem infinitely more real to me, more human. She had a life, a life that I never knew about and never really will. There was something behind her sad eyes – memories, experiences, trials and triumphs. Maybe if I had known her story we could’ve had a relationship.

Now, I can only hope that she’s found happiness somewhere because she never had it on Earth as long as I knew her. I hope that whatever plagued her life and tinted it with misery has been resolved.

My grandma died as a mystery to me, a woman that I cannot say I understood. Every time my mom wears that bracelet, though, a little sliver of her life makes more sense to me. I know she lived, and she loved at one point.

And that’s enough to bring tears to my eyes.

senseless and that giving up on things gets nothing accomplished. Through his big droopy eyes and ears that only a hound dog could possess, he let me know that in the end, everything would be okay.

I gave Ripley a sense of belonging, I loved him and no matter what mood I was in when I came home from my long, long days, he still was there for me, waiting to love me unconditionally.

This is single handedly the most important lesson I ever learned from that dog. No matter how many times it took him to learn that peeing on the carpet was a no-no, or how many times he tore up my mother’s rose bushes, that dog still loved me even as I pointed out his flaws and mistakes. Ripley never judged me, and even at my sloppiest he was there to lick my face and make me feel beautiful. He did not care if I was wearing sweatpants, my head covered with a bandana, or if I was all dolled up to go out on the weekend, he still thought I was perfect.

They say that dogs are a man’s best friend, but I think that my dogs are so much more. Ripley was my dog, yes, but more importantly, he was my confidant. Ripley believed in me, he loved me no matter how mad at him I was and regardless of what life threw at us, he stood strong and used that hound dog nose to nudge me in the right direction.

In a sense, my dog was my hero. He has saved me on more than one occasion and has taught me lessons that I probably wouldn’t have learned had I not had him by my side. While I was only blessed to share a small part of my life with him, his legacy will continue with me for many years to come, and for that I am grateful. In life, and after it, he is still here right by my side, loving me unconditionally and being my best friend.

Freshman year- it was the easy year, the year that I was a young, bright-eyed girl ready to take on high school. I was determined to be a good student, make good grades, and get into a good college. I wanted to be involved, I wanted to make an impression.

Sophomore year- things got a bit harder.

I was no longer a baby of high school; the expectations my teachers had for me and my peers were raised. They expected us to turn in homework and projects on time, to study hard for tests and excel.

Junior year­- also known as the drowning year.

This was the year I was treading water, trying to balance time between activities and classes (mostly physics), and trying to find the energy to lift my head above water and take a deep breath.

Between quizzes, tests, homework, essays, NHS, Wildcat Tales, SAT classes, youth group, coaching a basketball team and piano lessons, I was overwhelmed. I still felt the pressure of needing to impress colleges, my parents and myself.

Senior year- whoops. Somewhere in between getting accepted into Baylor and winter break, I stopped caring. In my mind I could already see the finish line – also known as graduation – and was so weary from the years of school before, I started taking a break… A long break.

The waters used to be choppy during previous years of hard work, but with graduation in sight, it was all smooth sailing from there, as if I did not have to try. I thought that after 11 years of staying up late studying, spending hours in the library researching and sprawling out on my floor working on my piles of homework, I deserve a breather. I’m allowed to shift my brain into neutral.

This careless mindset has taken over me more as time passes by. My grades are starting to slip, my motivation is lacking, and my homework and study hours are growing shorter and shorter each day. My brain has officially been fried from years of wear and tear, and now it is in a vegetative state.

I know I am not the only one who suffers from a severely bad case of senioritis. I have daily conversations with my friends that go something like this: “Hey, [insert name of struggling senior here], did you study for our test today?”

“Ha…no…I was going to, I got my notes out and everything. Then I just didn’t feel like studying, so I didn’t.”

“No way, me too! I’ll probably fail…oh well, it’s senior year.”

And so on and so forth. I realize this is the wrong attitude toward school, the motivation I have had all three previous years should carry over into the very last one. During middle school track meets, I remember the coaches repeatedly yelling, “Finish strong!” to my fellow runners during their last meters. They emphasized the importance of completing each race with the same strength and endurance as the beginning of the race, no matter how tired or exhausted you became.

The other day, I had an epiphany. I’m walking into my first class as a college freshman.

I’m excited, anxious, a little scared. Then, the professor assigns this 25-page essay, or five chapters to read from the textbook by the next day, or maybe a pop quiz. And my head practically explodes because my brain hasn’t been working for the past twelve months.

Slacking my senior year will only harm how I start out freshman year. It will cause me to believe I do not have to try when I am worn out, which is false. Five years from now, when I am working in the real world, I can’t stop trying when the going gets tough, or when I am tired or just not feeling it. I should start stepping up my game and finish the race strong until the moment comes when I walk across that stage in front of friends and family, shake Principal Watkins’ hand, and hold that coveted diploma I deserve.

Review

March 7, 2012

CAT

QUIPS

1. Zac Efron and Taylor Swift talk about their animated co-star experience on the Ellen DeGeneres show, and repeatedly denied any kind of relationship.

Apparently speaking lines in a recording studio doesn’t really make sparks fly between these two superstars.

6. Snookie’s ex-boyfriend says she is pregnant while she has moved on to a new man who she is apparently engaged to. Soon she won’t even need Jersey Shore anymore. She could start her own reality TV show.

By Eilie Strecker

A modern twist on an old-fashioned film

Rating A+

By Meital Boim

T

he first silent movie to win the Best Picture Oscar in 83 years, The Artist brings a fresh interpretation of yet another romantic comedy-drama to the screen. Ironically, the French black-andwhite movie stars Jean Dujardin as washedup silent film actor George Valentin, whose inflexibility in adapting to the popular new talkies leads to his inevitable demise. Even more paradoxically, Valentin is replaced by

Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), the young woman who catches his eye during the premiere of one of his films.

Although the characters’ overly animated acting is an unusual and silly technique in modern times, it’s an interesting way to pick up on the emotions, and while the movie has no spoken lines until the last scene, the soundtrack helps communicate the plot, as well. But when words are absolutely necessary, the dialogue or onomatopoeia is written across the screen in huge letters.

Also unlike other movies, The Artist doesn’t have an obvious hero. Valentin, on whom the movie focuses, is the protagonist, but throughout the movie, Miller takes care of him, even secretly buying his personal belongings at auctions to finance him through the Great Depression. The role reversal gives the old-time movie a modern twist and lightens the occasionally dark mood.

The movie’s talented actors, including a Jack Russell Terrier, interpreted the script creatively, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design on Feb. 26. The movie has won 90 other awards internationally, the most of any French film in history, and has been nominated for over 100 more.

2. Oprah’s new network (OWN) is finally getting a little more attention.

I guess the middle aged housewives in America have finally caved in to watching a huge assortment of talk shows to ‘better their lives’ while sitting on the couch for hours.

3. J.K. Rowling is set to release a new book meant for an adult audience. Is she Sirius? All true Potter fans will have their eyes glued to that book like a permanent sticking charm.

4. When Akon didn’t pay lawyers for their services they turned around and sued him. Alright you walked into that one buddy.

5. Kim Kardashian recently decided to put all her wedding gifts to good use by donating double the amount they were worth (200k) to the Dream Foundation.

As much as I hate to say something good about the Kardashians and their money, this was a good way to use it.

7. After hosting SNL, Lindsay Lohan threw an after party to celebrate. It’s always nice to see real change and development in celebrities.

8. The Avengers will be coming out next month. Regardless if you are a super-nerd or not, this is awesome.

9. Katy Perry has been asked to put down the microphone and act in a movie. One can only hope that her acting has a little more variety and clothing than her music does.

10. Favorite Facebook Quote: So last night I was watching One Tree Hill reruns for hours and hours ;) and I thought how fun it would be to have that kind of high school…then I realized one of us would end up married as a junior, pregnant, parentless, over dramatic, and stuck in the same little town forever.

I found a new appreciation for Plano :)

Letters to the Editor “Inhale. Exhale” by Alyssa Matesic was incredibly written. The column was highly dramatic without going overboard. I feel that this piece was able to have a deep connection with multiple types of readers. I really liked the intro to the story: “I contemplate if those people are satisfied. If they are living by their hearts, not solely by their heads. If they ever truly lived.” When the column starts that way, it automatically makes me reflect on myself before I even continued to read. I like how Matesic was able to balance her insight on what is currently going on, along with being at the golf course and the memories that came with it. It shows how at some point schoolwork or GPA doesn’t matter, but you were able to live happily. The column shows how easily we lose connection with our desires because we get so caught up

with things we have to complete just because we need them to be checked off our todo list. When one obsesses over a grade, a person misses out on so much happiness and joyful life experiences. One of my favorite lines in the story is “When excessive work and mandatory responsibilities completely clog a mind a machine is created – efficient, but cold and monotonous. What separates human beings is their ability to feel and deeply feel.” This column is very accurate to how people live and as we grow older, life’s pleasures slowly fade away because we got so caught up in what is needed to get done.

Overall I think the column was well written and that she conveyed her message clearly, making the story so relatable.

Junior Myiah Jones

The Wildcat Tales March 7, 2011

Copy Editor

Daniel Hinson Eilie Strecker

Meital Boim Editorial Editor

Online Editors-in-Chief

Maelyn Schramm

Diva Gulati Madison McDaniel

Business Manager

Layout Editor

Adviser

Meaghan Pulliam

Terry Quinn

Amber Robinson

The Wildcat Tales is a student produced publication that serves to educate, inform and entertain the

Staff Writers

Jessica Allman Erin Ball Emma Barishman Haley Bunnell Paul Burnham Danielle Deraleau Miles Hutson Stephanie Jabri Yeesoo Lee Alyssa Matesic

like a gigantic jumble of vocabulary words if the article was not written properly.

Fortunately this was not the case. This story was interesting because the topic is so well known to us. Everyone knows what cancer is and a lot of people have lost loved ones to some form of cancer. Here’s hoping that Sant makes more discoveries like this one.

I have a feeling that he will be the subject of scientific news in the future. The story kept me interested since it was not only a great story, but because of the way it was written made me want to read more. As for the newspaper staff, keep up the good work.

Junior Hunter Hale

Mission Statement:

Volume LXVI Issue Eight

Editors-in-Chief

As usual your latest issue was excellent.

It was well written and organized effectively.

All of the articles were great and enjoyable.

None of them were boring. The story I was most interested in as the article on Siddharth Sant “A new way to treat cancer.”

It was an interesting story because the way the article was written made the subject simple. Not a lot of people know what a carbon nanoparticle is. This story was also interesting to me personally because I lost a loved one to cancer. One of my aunts died of cancer when I was 7 years old. I just wish that this new idea of treatment had been available to help my aunt. As I said, the way the story was written made it easier to understand the complexity of the treatment. NIR radiation, bio compatibility, heat sensitive bubbles all would have seemed

Kimberly Mei Shezal Padani Maddie Patton Kathy Santiago JP Salazar Cristina Seanez Kathleen Shaffer Josh Spruchman Dani Sureck Matt Wood

student body in a professional manner which will provoke thought while upholding the principles of a free press. The publication is a forum for the students of Plano Senior High School. Any opinions expressed in The Wildcat Tales is the opinion of the writer and of the writer only.

Policy: Students and faculty are encouraged to send in any questions, comments, concerns or criticisms to be published. Letters to the editors can be put in the envelope in room B208 or emailed to The Wildcat Tales at pshs.pub@pisd.edu. The staff reserves the right to edit a letter for grammatical errors and space issues. Any errors found in the publication will be rescinded in the following issue. Additional and daily updates can be found at our website www.wildcattales.com. Past issues can be viewed at www.issuu.com/wildcattalesonline. Businesses wishing to advertise in The Wildcat Tales can email us at pshs.pub@pisd.edu. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisements deemed to be inappropriate.

The Wildcat Tales is the official student publication of Plano Senior High School 2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

469.752.9300

Page Eleven

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March 7, 2012

Issue Eight

Plano Senior High School

Plano, TX, USA