Issue 10 April 26, 2011

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Wildcat Tales Issue Ten

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10 11 12 - 13 14 - 15 16

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

DumbleDuck’s Army Wild Fires Across North Texas

By Meaghan Pulliam With temperatures rising, so are the annual natural disasters in North Texas and Oklahoma. Every year wildfires break out in the driest areas of the country and this year it is closer to home than students have seen in the past.

“I have family that lives in Oklahoma,” junior Katharina Moller said. “They said it was pretty scary because of all the smoke everywhere. They felt like they were in danger all the time.

I was pretty scared for them when I heard about it.”

Students without relatives in Oklahoma or other affected areas are taking head of the situation. Many are becoming aware that threats of wildfires are becoming more imminent to the Dallas area.

“I was concerned that the fire might spread to Dallas,” junior Lanie Robinson said.

“We don’t really do anything to prevent it from happening in Plano.”

Some students are skeptical of the readiness that Plano may or may not have in the case of a wildfire, and some are even thinking of ways to prevent the wildfires from spreading.

“If we had a wildfire here, I don’t think we would be prepared,” Robinson said. “I think we should do something before its too late; easy stuff like watering dry fields close to where the fires are.”

Duck Week makes a QUACK around campus

By Claire Minor For all the kids who never got their Hogwarts letter, this week is for you. And the ducks, of course. Duck Week has become a tradition and new themes are introduced each year so it never gets boring. This year, to honor the ducks Student Congress chairmen senior Taylor Thompson and junior Carl Wu have organized a week full of Harry Potter themed festivities.

There have always been rumors of its beginnings, but Student Congress sponser Marci Roe recalls the brilliant student behind the famous week.

“It was a totally random project that started in 1999,” Roe said.

“One of the Student Congress officers, Mackenzie Boyd, thought it would be a fun project to do in the spring.

“I thought she was crazy and that the project would be a flop. I was totally wrong. Everyone loved the week--it was a great morale booster for the students and staff.”

Duck Week is a legend, and being so it is something lowerclassmen have looked forward to for a long time.

“I’m pumped,” junior Amalia Dongo said. “The T-shirt is awesome; I like the Harry Potter duck. It’s my first Duck Week and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Seniors have a reason to be excited as well. The theme has been intensified in every aspect so that students will truly feel the magic. The first bit of magic was the t-shirt available for pre-order only. It was designed by

Photo by Jamie Denison

senior Kelli Manning and depicts some of the main characters from J.K. Rowling’s series as ducks. Among other things, buildings have turned into House common rooms and the cafeteria transformed into the Great Hall. The biggest feat yet could be creating a Hogsmeade out of Stay Day. “We’re going to be decorating the whole school in Harry Potter theme,” Wu said. “We’re trying to get more ducks but we’re not sure that’s going to happen. There’s a different theme

every day for people to follow. We have an opportunity for people to quack for candy. People will dress up as Harry Potter and we’ll have Quidditch and a bunch of Harry Potter stuff.”

Over the years, the students in charge of Duck Week have tried to implement themes that excite the student body. The themes have had their highs and lows, this year, though, Wu is hoping for a success.

“I think its going to be really cool,” Wu said. “There haven’t been

many good themes. Most people remember the Star Wars one, but all the other ones they don’t remember that well. I think this Harry Potter one is going to be pretty big.”

Many ducks have called the pond home, and though they many keep changing, they will always be honored. Librarian Sally Ray is a Duck Week veteran who is excited for the Harry Potter theme.

“It’s fun for the students and staff,” Ray said. “It’s a beautiful time of year to be thinking of our ducks and spring.

When I bought a Duck Week shirt and wore it some place outside of Plano, a student recognized the shirt and said something to me about it, that’s kind of a fun thing, too. I love this year’s shirt design and I’m definitely going to buy one. I think it’s really relevant in the time frame and a cute use of a well known theme to bring a focus on something special at school.”

Students all over campus have been gearing up for this event for weeks ahead of time, ready to show their appreciation for the ducks.

“I’m so psyched for duck week,” junior Jordan Baird said. “I love our ducks with all my heart and I’m so excited.”

The themes are great at getting students involved, but it is important to acknowledge the reason for this fun week. At the end of the day, it’s all about the ducks.

As Ray said, “Quack, quack.”

School Board members discuss budget cuts

Teacher layoffs announced

By Daniel Hinson

At the school board meeting on April 5, 2011, the board unanimously voted to cut about 330 positions, which includes teachers, and teaching assistants in the district. That was the day when the board officially laid off the pink slipped teachers.

Because of cuts from Austin, the district will have a $50 million deficit. The cuts are part of a plan to cut around $25 million dollars in the budget to keep the district operational.

“If we cut half of what we need to cut now to reach a balanced budget then sometime in the next two years we will have to repeat that process,” board

Other District Reductions

president Lloyd Jenkins said. “We only have so much fund balance and this assumes that the public is willing to vote for a tax increase.

To cut it all now would cripple the district.”

Cutting money and teachers from the classroom was the last thing the board wanted to do.

“Staff has worked very diligently to cut from administration first and that took place back in January and February and that was 10 million dollars,” board secretary Missy Bender said. “Fifteen million dollars must come from other places.

Staff has attempted to do everything possible

to protect the classroom because that is our priority. The reality is there are no good choices. So there is not a win or a lose situation.”

At the beginning of the meeting vice president Brad Shanklin gave a benediction where he expressed some feelings of sorrow towards the teachers and administrators let go during last week’s lay offs. Some parents expressed concerns about cutting teachers.

Audrey Woods does not have any kids to attend local schools, but her concern is that the district decision to lay off first year students is misguided

Other Program Reductions 9% 3%

20%

Teacher Reductions

51%

12%

Counseling, Administration & Library Staff

Teacher Reductions District Services

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

District Services

5%

Development & Leadership Development & Leadership Other Program Reductions

Counseling, Administration & Other District Reductions

News Issue Ten

Wildcat Tales Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Taylor Thompson

PRINT EDITORS Aleah Pushaw Julie Boyer

Page Two

April 26, 2011

By Daniel Hinson

CONTINUED FROM COVER

Sarah Rosselet

COPY EDITOR

Jamie Denison

BUSINESS MANAGER Abby Rener

CARTOONISTS Kelli Manning Ericka Lindsey

STAFF WRITERS Meital Boim Haley Bunnell Paul Burnham Whitney Fein Dayna Gettel Alex Gonzalez Laurel Guild Diva Gulati AJ Hill Daniel Hinson Lindsey Kehlmann Madison McDaniel Claire Minor Elena Nelson Michael Nicholson Meaghan Pulliam Clarissa Reeves Amber Robinson Maelyn Schramm Sapna Sharma Eilie Strecker Sofia Toohey Jessica Yee

ADVISER

Terry Quinn MISSION STATEMENT The Wildcats Tales is a student produced publication that serves to educate, inform and entertain the student body in a professional manner that will provoke thought while upholding the principles of a free press. This publication is a forum for the student of Plano Senior High School. Any opinions expressed in Wildcat Tales is the opinion of the writer and of the writer only.

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Elementary Elementary PE Secondary ESL Elementary Bilingual Regular Education Elementary ESL Elementary PACE Secondary Regular Education

LAYOUT EDITOR

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

School Board members discuss budget cuts

ONLINE EDITOR

Anna Vicars

Plano Senior High School

$2B

and does not help the students and the district.

“I feel that the district decision to lay off first year teachers to be misguided,” Woods said. “It seems to be a disservice to the students today and an ultimate destructive to the district goals.”

Woods believes the district should make its decision based on how passionate the teachers are on teaching, and how his or her performance rate is, not based on a numbers game.

“I hate to see any teacher in the district lose his or her job but I think teachers should be chosen to stay or go based on the effectiveness in the classroom, not tenure,” Woods said.

The school board didn’t want to affect the classroom in the

beginning, so they chose to cut administrative duties first. Board Secretary Missy Bender describes the cuts as “no easy decision”. She will lose friends as well at the end of the school year.

“We don’t take this lightly,” Bender said. “We [and the Legislature] are working as hard as possible in Austin to minimize the depths of the cuts. We are doing everything we can to protect the education of our children and protect our staff members and protect the future of our state.”

Bender urges staff members, parents, and students to make their voices heard in Austin because that is where it all matters.

Austin will continue its practice of taking money away from wealthy districts even

Projected Staff Reductions

5% Reduced

per year reduction to the Foundation School Program -Senate Budget Proposal

$3.9B

per year reduction to the Foundation School Program -House Budget Proposal

though all districts are loosing money across the board.

“Our deficit would not be as great if Plano did not have to send as much money as it does to other poorer districts,” AVID coordinator and teacher Aimée Ratliff said.

“When the legislature finishes it looks like it will take more money from the rich district before they tap the poor ones,” Jenkins said. “We again after spending 1.3 billion dollars to help public education across the state of Texas for the last 15, we will be called on yet again to give more than our fair share at the cost of local control, at the cost of local enrichment, and at the cost of an unbelievable school district that ranked nationally for what we do. Nobody does what we do in the size of a

district that we do.”

Because the district is very affluent, it has the ability to fund programs beyond what other districts in the state have the ability to do so.

Shanklin and the rest of the board want to be able to provide the same quality education that they have for the past number of years. They believe the classroom is the most import asset and any cut to it would be devastating “We started with a 6 percent cut across the board,” Shanklin said. “That was our goal. When 80 percent of more of a half a billion budget in the school district then when you are trying to cut the budget you have to cut people. It is not easy. We don’t like it but as stewards of your tax dollars we have to make decisions that are fiscally responsible.”

$35M approximate district reduction for year one

Projected Teacher Reductions 2010-2011

$5M

approximate additional district reduction for year two

Issue Ten

Page Three

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

News

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

So Long, TAKS

By Maelyn Schramm Each year, third through eleventh grade students groan as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests comes around.

These tests evaluate students’ skill levels, and sometimes decide whether they are able to move on to the next grade. While some kids find these exams challenging, others find them incredibly easy.

“I think TAKS is more or less useless because most of us students are intelligent people, and it doesn’t really apply to us because it’s so easy, it’s almost insulting,” junior Andrew Miculka said.

TAKS questions are over on-level material, so sometimes higher-level students find the questions to be unbelievably effortless.

However, studying can only help students know the material better.

“Usually I take practice tests on the internet to prepare for TAKS,” junior Amber Lakhani said.

Most students find it beneficial to prepare for these tests, just in case any harder questions appear.

“I don’t think TAKS is needed if you pass all your classes, because if you already know what you need to know that school year, then you’ll pass the test,” junior Megan Gill said.

Some students argue that yearly tests like TAKS are unnecessary if it is obvious that material is already understood by the students.

These tests are found to be similar to semester exams, so testing over the same ideas seems repetitive to students.

“They’re probably changing the tests next year so it is a better gage for what you know, they’re raising standards for other schools not as nice as Plano,” junior Sarah Rund said.

Next year, a new test, STARS, will be replacing the TAKS tests. Many

believe the education board recognized the need for more challenging tests for students.

“I hope they’re making the new test a little more difficult, if they’re trying to judge the kids on their onlevel skills,” Miculka said.

As it is now, seniors come in later during the day after juniors are finished taking their TAKS tests.

“I’m studying for AP exams, relaxing with my senior friends, and getting ready for prom,” senior Alice Wang said.

This year, TAKS falls during the same week as prom, so seniors have extra time to beautify themselves.

Unfortunately, seniors who do not pass must re-take the TAKS during their senior year in order to graduate.

“The worst part about failing TAKS is not being able to have extra time to just chill during your senior year,” senior Laura Kruse said.

Summer Job Hunt Begins

Students take initiative to find summer jobs Every summer, high school students are faced with the difficult choice of finding the perfect summer job. However, the first step toward acquiring that perfect summer job is to find somewhere that would be entertaining. And more importantly, somewhere that is hiring.

“I applied at Amazing Jake’s before Spring Break last year,” senior Molly Reed said. “I wanted to be sure I was working a lot that summer.”

While some students apply at certain stores because they truly wanted to work there, some applied for different reasons.

“I applied to be a lifeguard at the pool by my house,” junior Jeff Doucette said. “I had always wanted to be one, and it seemed like it would be a lot of fun.”

Most students who already had a summer job agree that the best time to start looking is right now.

“I recommend people start looking [for a job] at the beginning of March, but they should be applying by May, at the latest,” Reed said. “That way you’re guaranteed to have a job.”

Although now may be the best time to start applying for most jobs, a few places do not begin hiring until right before summer vacation starts.

“Some pools don’t start interviewing people for lifeguarding positions until late May,” Doucette said. “It may seem like while from now, but it’s best to go ahead and start filling out the application.”

Some jobs require special training before you can begin working there.

“For the past two years, I’ve been

lifeguarding, and each year I’ve had to renew my certification” Doucette said.

“Before I could apply, I had to take classes and become lifeguard/first aid, blood born pathogens, oxygen administration, and CPR/AED certified before I could even apply.”

Since Spring Break of last year, Reed has continued to work at Amazing Jake’s.

“I plan to keep working there at least until the end of the summer,” Reed said.

“After that I’m going off to college, so I can’t stay.”

Some of the jobs that students acquire not only last throughout the summer, but they can last throughout the school year too.

“I believe Amazing Jake’s is a good place for a high school student to work,” Reed said. “They’re extremely flexible when it comes to school work and other school related activities, so it’s not like I have to stress myself out over trying to juggle my work schedule and my school schedule.”

With a new job, even if it is just for the summer, students can learn a lot.

“One thing that I’ve gained from working there [Amazing Jake’s] is learning how to handle responsibility,” Reed said. “Working as a cashier has made me deal with the general public, and cope with extremely stressful situations.”

With summer quickly approaching, there is not much time left to start looking and applying for those perfect summer jobs.

“Do it,” Doucette said. “It’s not that hard, it’s fun, and the paychecks aren’t half bad either.”

Photo by Autoosa Abadi

By Amber Robinson

Senior Nico Talley scoops popcorn at PSA 2.

Wildcats Senior Class President

Issue Ten

Page Four

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

Eric Kim Leaves His Paw Print on Another Year

By Diva Gulati

Junior Eric Kim and current Junior Class President (JCP) was re-elected to serve another term, though this time as the Senior Class President (SCP) for the class of 2012. Having had a year of experience as JCP, Kim has a good idea of what to expect in the coming school year.

He is equipped with many ideas for the school.

“I wanted to actually assist my class as JCP this year, but I believe that I did not have a great opportunity to,” Kim said.

“Therefore, I [wanted] to run for SCP this year and not only bring changes but also keep some tradition for our last year as high schoolers.

I’m really looking forward to doing what Alex Rubin did this year and I really want to continue the tradition.”

One major aspect of Kim’s platform during the election involved the cleaning of the pond. This is an issue that has been discussed often in the past, but Kim

wants to put a plan into action.

“Truly, keeping the pond in pristine condition is about teamwork from everyone in Plano Senior High School,” Kim said. “I want to spread the word by making videos, posters, and events to inform the students about the importance of our pond.”

Kim feels that it is extremely important for students at school to be aware and involved in what is going on around the campus.

“This year, I thought that many students were not involved in school activities,” Kim said.

“Excluding students from NHS and Student Congress, many students do not feel the necessity to include their opinions and beliefs for our school.

When I was walking around the school to influence people to vote, I realized many students did have thoughts about PSHS but never presented the problems. I believe that if I actually talk to

my classmates, they will actually explain what their beliefs are about the school.”

As SCP, Kim will have to organize the senior prom. When the time comes, he plans to get more students involved with the planning

process.

“I want to give opportunities to all of the seniors,” Kim said. “I want to organize [the prom] not just with the student council members, but also with students who are not involved in many school activities.”

Even throughout the election, Kim focused on student involvement.

“My goal for the election was to influence as many juniors as I possibly

could and to create a sense of need for them to vote for a candidate,” Kim said. “Many students neglect the elections, but I want to create Plano Senior High School where all students are involved in many school activities.”

One of his campaign strategies was to personally talk to people and to get them to vote for him. “[The m o s t important part of my campaign was] getting to talk to people who were interested in the school and persuading them to vote,” Kim said. “I walked around and talked to random people who don’t really care about school. I just spoke to them and got them to vote. The supporters that I had actually went around and told people to support me and to vote for me and I think that was the key.”

For Kim, being Senior Class President is not a job that starts at the

FBLA Makes it Rain Awards

Students from this academically savvy club competed in April in San Antonio.

Some lost and some won, but overall it was a growing experience for all. Future Business Leaders of America is not only about learning business related topics, but learning advanced social skills. The first round of competition took place at Plano East at the end of January. Students that took the first three spots in each event advanced to the second round in San Antonio.

“We competed in business type issues that required answers to ethical questions,” senior Salman Ausaf said.

FBLA is all about competition. It’s a club that revolves around business and helps students get prepared for how the real business world works. Different students participated in numerous events in the competition. Only a few members advanced to nationals which will be in Orlando, Florida at the end of June.

“We had an ethical statement and topic and created this awesome presentation,” Ausaf said. “Because of that, we won first place.”

Different teams went about preparing for their events in different manners. The events ranged from individual tests to group events. Some even required a test that needed to be taken beforehand and others required reports that needed to be done. The diversity in which this club attacks business

helps show students the different ways they can go about getting into business. Different events required differing preparation.

“We competed in entrepreneurship and got second place at state,” senior Nuzhat Kabir said. “We got a book from the entrepreneurship teacher and studied that and we also printed out case studies and looked over those.”

A case study is an in-depth analysis on a certain group or type of person. These help to learn more about that specific area that the team might be studying. At the end of the competition, plaques, smiles, and congratulations were handed out to all of the winners.

“It was one of the most memorable and awesome experiences, although I knew first place was what I was going walk away with no matter what,” Ausaf said.

Clubs, such as FBLA, are aimed at keeping students interacting with the school in positive ways.

“It has helped me grow stronger bonds with people I wasn’t as close to before and learn new things,” Kabir said.

FBLA is a character creating club that also helps students grow intellectually.

“My favorite part of FBLA is the togetherness and brotherhood because we are the future business leaders of America,” Kondrakunta said.

beginning of his senior year. There is a lot of preparation that must be made beforehand.

“I’ll probably start this summer because STUCO has workshops over summer,” Kim said. “In two weeks we’ll know who the STUCO officers are and I can work with them to get some jobs done right before school starts.”

In addition to being this year’s Junior Class President, Kim was involved in band and football. Although he was busy this year, he is confident that in the coming year, he will be able to dedicate more time to student council.

“I think I’ll have more time off next year than this year,” Kim said. “I’ll be able to be more involved in STUCO and I’m going to make sure STUCO is my number one priority next year.”

By Sapna Sharma

Salman Ausaf and Manoj Kondrakunta, 12

Passing the Torch

By Sofia Toohey The NHS officers have already been chosen and the time for change has begun. After the grueling process of elections, the officers now have obtained their positions and are ready to start planning for their senior year. The twelve officers for next year are Ann Cai, Antonio San Pedro, Bryna Herskowitz, Darien Lee, Deanna Sessions, Janice Im, Jessica Jan, Justin Ying, Kayla Bu, Lawrence Liu, Ted Kim, and Waverly Wang.

“It’s a really dynamic group and a great mix of people,” junior Kayla Bu said. “To be able to work with such outstanding classmates that demonstrate scholarship, leadership, service, and character is an amazing and fun experience.”

The officers do not know what position they have yet. All they know is that they will be part of next year’s staff.

“Right now we’re officer-elects,” Bu said. “This trial period gives us a chance to get a better idea about the responsibilities of the different positions.”

Next year the officers plan on making several changes. They plan to further unite the program and focus on the roots of NHS. “I plan on changing the small

things to benefit the members because they’re the ones doing the work and gradually get big and try to make NHS better,” junior Ted Kim said. “Our plans for next year are making NHS more welcoming and inspiring because when people volunteer now they lack motivation.”

Kayla Bu agrees with changes needing to be made.

“We are proud to be a part of such a large organization, the largest on Plano Campus in fact, but at the same time we all agree that this group could be more united as the Plano NHS,” Bu said.

Other officers just plan on making sure the year goes well.

“For next year, we all plan on making NHS move as smoothly as we possibly can,” junior Deanna Sessions said.

As 2012 grows nearer and nearer, some might think the tension for NHS grows as well for the new team. However, the officers never forget the true meaning behind their job, despite all the stress.

“I participate in NHS because I genuinely enjoy helping people,” Sessions said. “It gives me a sense of accomplishment and the feeling that the small things we do really impact the community.”

Issue Ten

By Dayna Gettel The Texas heat, the peanuts, the excitement, all the things involved being a baseball fan. In 2010, for the first time in history, the Texas Rangers made it to the point where they had a shot to make it to the World Series, and they did it. All over the nation Rangers fans went crazy for their favorite team, the underdog, who beat their American League rival, the New York Yankees.

“I was actually in the stands when they defeated the Yankees to advance to the World Series,” senior Tyler Adams said. “It was great that they made the World Series, but

Page Five

April 26, 2011

the best part was that the person Neftali Feliz struck out for the Rangers to record the final out for the victory was the person who ruined their franchise for almost 10 years, Alex Rodriguez.”

The ongoing competition between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees brings out the best in the Rangers fans, especially when it involves beating the Yankees in a game.

“I would choose for the Rangers to beat the New York Yankees,” senior Katie Rainwater said. “I hate the Yankees with a passion, so I would love to see the Rangers

sweep them and, even though they are both in the American League, it would be cool if the Rangers beat them in the end in the World Series.”

Along with the rivalry, the Texas Ranger’s celebrations are a strong part of every game attended by fans.

“My favorite thing about the Rangers is the claw and antler hand motions they do when they do something good,” junior Kristen Miles said.

While the energy from the fans escalates more and more throughout the game, the players also join in and keep the crowd excited.

Plano Senior High School

“The Rangers players have positive attitudes and fun personalities,” Rainwater said. “They always have a good time while playing.”

With a 7-1 record so far for the new season, fans are showing Rangers support with Rangers shirts on game day, and by keeping up with every game.

“The Rangers will no doubt make it to the World Series again this new season,” Rainwater said. “I have been watching the games and I’ve already been to one so far I was really happy when they beat the Red Sox on opening day because opening day is

To the Finish Line

By Meital Boim Graduation is not the only race students are participating in at this time of the year. With the regional meet on May 2 and 3 in Lubbock, the track season is coming to a close. As the season got going, senior Alex Ratliff stepped it up in order to finish well.

“I’ve had a pretty good season,” Ratliff said. “I’ve gotten at least one medal at every meet this year. I haven’t been injured.

I won third place [at the district meet], so I will be going to region.”

Others, however, have not been so lucky. Knee injuries are infamous among runners, and junior Michael Bain knows them all too well.

“I had hernia surgery, and when I got over that, I hurt my knee, so now I’m out the rest of the season,” Bain said. “It’s most

Mackenzie Davis, 12

likely just inflamed tissue under the knee cap. It only hurts when I run.”

Competition is not the only part of track that injured athletes are missing. Being hurt means that runners are also limited in their areas of training.

“I’m riding the bike and cross training right now, but I can’t run,” Bain said. “It’s going to help keep me in shape. Hopefully I won’t lose too much.”­ For some, running has been a lifelong passion. Others have only just begun. Ratliff remembers how he started running and got into the sport. Although he was already in football, he took on track as a new challenge.

“I started running at the end of sophomore year,” Ratliff said. “I used to be in football, [and] one day the coach asked me why I wasn’t in track. I didn’t

Photo by Sarah Varnau

really have an answer for him, so I joined the track team.”

Sometimes called a natural runner, Ratliff began his running career with a good record.

“I ended up being JV district champion,” Ratliff said. “I decided I should stick with running over football.”

For Ratliff, track has been a different experience than football in many ways, from stress relief to physical training.

“In football, you go as hard as you can for maybe a few seconds,” Ratliff said. “There’s also a lot more lateral movement involved. Running track or cross country, which I did in the fall, you just go straight the whole time, and there’s a lot more endurance involved. Endurance has always been something I’ve just naturally had. Running cross country only improved it. In track though, you have to mix endurance with speed.”

This season, Ratliff is running the 400 and 800 meter races.

Although injured students are not running, even they have found their spot on the team.

While Bain is cheering on the team from the sidelines, he is looking to the future with hope.

“I will have a full recovery probably in the next month or so,” Bain said. “I will be back for cross country, so I’m excited about that.”

Ratliff is also looking forward to more running in his future.

Although he will be in college, he plans to continue running.

“If I can get my time down a little further, I might try to walk on in college,” Ratliff said. “If I can’t, I’ll definitely do some intramural stuff and run get in a few runs on my own each week.”

a big deal and all, and who doesn’t love when your favorite team wins?”

Although winning the opening games is an exciting way to start the season, fans also keep reality in check in regards to the World Series.

“They play 162 games, so the first game isn’t particularly important,” senior Joey Kaufman said. “But the excitement level is

Sports

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075 a little higher compared to a win midway through the year.”

From the dedication of the players to the enthusiasm of the fans in the stands, the results of the team this season depends on two things, the hitting and pitching.

“I expect them to win around 85-90 games depending on how their pitching performs,” Adams said.

“The baseball season is a marathon, not a

sprint and they have the hitting to win at least 75 games, but pitching will decide if they win the American League West or win the division.”

Win or lose, the many of the fans of the Texas Rangers have been supportive their whole lives, and aren’t planning on going anywhere.

“I am a Rangers fan because ever since I was young, my dad has always taken me to all the Rangers g a m e s,” Rainwater said. “So, I automatically turned to a Rangers fan from the beginning.”

MENS SOCCER HEADS TO REGIONALS

By Elena Nelson It’s a hard pill to swallow not doing too hot in the beginning rounds of the playoffs, but the soccer team is still standing strong with good attitudes in tow.

“I thought we did better than most of the other team members did, “senior Travis Phifer said. “When we were JV we had an awesome team, and now that we’re Varsity we made it farther than last year,” Like any sports team there’s always room for improvement. Sometimes mistakes are made, but that doesn’t mean you’re best wasn’t shown when it counted.

“We did very well this season, we could’ve worked harder in certain areas and we made stupid mistakes that cost us,” junior Brandon Wodka said. “We put all out effort into the practices and games and we gave it our all.”

Sometimes looking at the things you do accomplish can get your spirits back up. Looking on the bright side in this case is getting players back into the swing of things.

“Our preseason was awesome, we won all our tournaments,” Phifer said.

“Once we got to District the competition got harder but we all did our part and ended up winning district.”

For players who are juniors this year they now know what it takes to get to playoffs and they can now practice their faults.

“I’ll be trying our next season and I’m going to train a lot harder,” Wodka said.

Fine Arts Issue Ten

Page eight

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

There’s No Business Like Show Business Advanced Theater III/IV Performs Korzack’s Children

By Madison McDaniel Center stage, center line, forestage, hot spot, off stage, and on stage. Whew! With so many theater terms to follow, it’s no wonder so many actors are applauded for their dedication and understanding of the world with its own language. The realms of theater are endless, although when it comes to acting, the Advanced Theatre III/IV class knows how to get down to business and produce a show stopping performance, bringing more than laughter to the stage but memories to last.

Every morning, the Advanced Theatre III/IV class, directed by Mr. Arp, starts off their day focusing on children’s theater, improvisation and acting exercises in order to prepare students for their next and final performance of the year, Korzack’s Children.

“We did a performance last semester for all the third graders in the Central Cluster,” junior Samantha Meyer said.

“We’re doing a show this semester called Korzack’s Children and we’re doing a performance at Plano open to everyone.

Then we’re probably traveling to one of the middle schools to perform it there.

This show has some more mature themes, so the audience will be a little older than it was for our show first semester.”

Although the class performs for a variety of ages, it seems that this year their plays are aimed towards children audiences ranging from elementary school to middle school.

“Korzack’s Children has a much more mature subject matter than our last show,”

Meyer said. “Beanie and the Bamboozling Book Machine was very lighthearted and didn’t deal with any serious issues.

Korzack’s Children deals with the horrifying events in the Holocaust, so obviously it’s more intense than your typical children’s show.”

Having grown close throughout the year, the Advanced Theater class bans together to choose the perfect piece to perform from young children in elementary school to older kids.

“We searched for a while until we found Beanie,” Meyer said. “Korzak’s Children kind of found us though. Mr. Arp went to a convention for directors and the play was recommended to him. When I read the script I totally fell in love with it. It’s a really moving story, and I’m so excited to perform it!”

Meyer said that while the students really enjoyed performing Beanie and the Bamboozling Machine, Korack’s Children touches on much more mature themes that challenge these actors in a different way, but they enjoy it nonetheless.

“It’s a really touching story that is based on true events, which is pretty amazing,” Meyer said. “Also, most of the characters are children, so from an actor’s perspective it’s always fun to play a little kid. The play is a different side of the events of World War II that not many people have heard before, and it’s always great when you get to perform a unique story.”

Before the opening night of the Korzack’s Children, the Advanced

Theater III/IV class will carry out their pre-show rituals to loosen them up and prepare them for the big night.

“We stretch and warm up our voices,” junior Katherine Imwalle said. “After that we do some exercises to get focused.

Right before the show starts we stand in a circle and we talk about the show: what we need to do, how much fun we have had and so on. Then we have a tradition on reciting our little motto right before we start the show.”

For other cast mates involved in Korzack’s Children, the opening night traditions touch everyone in their own way.

“We all hold hands and people say a few words about what the show means to them and we wish everyone good luck,” Meyer said. “It’s really great because it reminds me that the whole cast and crew is in this together.”

Imwalle said that after the long road to the first performance, for the

Advanced Theater III/IV students, there is nothing like the feeling on stage with cast mates and close friends to make the show a success and remind them just why they enjoy being part of this class.

“I really love being able to perform for kids,” Meyer said. “It’s one of the most rewarding kinds of theater. I also love the people in that class. We’ve all become friends and we have so much fun together.”

At the end of a Korzack’s Children, the cast will reflect back on the reason they are involved in Advanced Theater III/IV. “I love the class because I love the people,” Imwalle said. “They are my theater family. We have so much fun and it’s incredible to be around a group of people that have the same passions that you do. We have grown so close and I’m sad that the year is coming to a close.”

Advanced Fashion Design

Ecofashion Show

Feelings surge before their biggest presentation of the year

Young designers go green as they hit the runway

By Amber Robinson Anxiety, excitement, and clothes. At least one of these things, if not all of them, filled the minds of each girl in Advanced Fashion Design. When their annual spring show was fast approaching, it was crunch time.

“I was unbelievably nervous,” senior Ashlyn Gaytan said.

“Not everything I had been working on was perfect, and I was starting to run out of time.”

Gaytan was not the only one who was worried about running out of time to complete their wardrobes.

“Finishing everything was my main priority,” senior Elle Sanders said.

“After I finished with that, then I was able to allow myself to worry about other things.”

Unlike previous years, the fashion show this year did not have a central theme.

“We’ve got such an advanced group of designers this year that

By Julie Boyer we were actually given the opportunity to choose our own theme,” Sanders said. “We got to use our ‘signature look’ and define ourselves as designers.”

For some, this meant showing off their preference for natural looks, while others are a little more flamboyant, with their taste in vintage styles.

Each designer was in charge of putting together pieces they had both designed, and then sewn.

“We were all trying to put together six outfits,” Gaytan said. “We didn’t have to, but the idea of having an entire outfit made by you, excluding shoes and accessories of course, was extremely exciting.”

For a few of the girls, not only were they getting the chance to show off what they have been working on all semester, but they were also competing for a spot in a local magazine.

“The top three designers from the show are going to be featured in a spread

for the Plano Profile,” Sanders said. “So that just made everyone a little more excited than they already were.”

One thing that made the fashion show a little more realistic for the designers and the models were the benefits compared to first semester’s show.

“Unlike last semester’s show in the cafeteria, this semester’s show was up on the theater stage,” Sanders said. “And if that wasn’t already a huge upgrade, our models were having their make-up professionally done by the Tint School of Cosmetology. It just made everything seem so much more legitimate.”

The show took place on April 19 at 7 p.m., and the girls were more than ready to show off their designs.

“This was the big one,” Gaytan said. “We had been working towards seeing it through all semester.

And more than anything, I couldn’t wait to see everything put together.”

Grandma’s old dress, thrift store finds, and other recycled garments made up last Saturday’s Eco-fashion show. Students from across the city participated.

“I started with an ugly grandma-like dress with draw-strings hanging down the collar,” junior Alexa Novoa said. “I cut the sleeves and collar off to make the dress strapless.

Then I hemmed the bottom to make it shorter. Lastly, I put my own drawstring through the hem at the top and it ties at the front.

I basically made it into a beach cover-up”.

Novoa entered the fashion show under the contemporary category.

There were three categories for the students to enter under: casual, contemporary, and after five.

“I designed a dress for after five,” senior Mitzi Barajas said. “It was really long, and I shortened it. I sewed sequins and added ruffles for cuteness.”

Other students entered garments that weren’t dresses.

“I started with an old dress my nana gave me,” junior Mary Walton said. “I took the red lining of the dress to make a skirt and added black lace to it.”

The show was a stepping stone for some of the students who hope to further their fashion education.

“I wanted to enter for the experience,” junior Carolyn Hartung said. “I wanted experience for next year; I will be taking advanced fashion design.”

Others never planned on being this involved.

“At first fashion didn’t appeal to me,” Barajas said.

“I’m more into creativity. I didn’t think that this class would be like that. It’s been really hands on and creative, and that’s perfect for me.”

Some of the students had been waiting for this show all year.

“I thought it would be a fun class to take,” Novoa said. “I wanted to learn to take old clothes and make them new and fun.”

Reviews Issue Ten

Page Nine

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

Kosher Foods

By Lindsey Kehlmann

Ingredients:

P

assover is the hungriest holiday of the year for Jews. There are nine major holidays on the calendar each year, nine occasions for a Jewish mother to open her cookbook to Bubbe Fanny’s recipe for hamantaschen or traditional latkes, nine times when we eat ourselves sick. Even Yom Kippur, when you have to fast all day, there is a break the fast at the end with plates as big as your head and trays of food to match. A Jewish mother knows how to cook, and a Jewish kid knows how to eat, that’s all I’m saying.

But one of these nine times is not all about what you can fit on your plate; it’s about what you can’t.

Every year around Easter, while the Christian kids are painting eggs and eating chocolate rabbits,

the Jewish kids are cleaning the hametz from their cupboards. What is hametz you ask? Basically it’s the stuff you can’t eat on Passover. For example, wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, and for most Jews, rice, corn, soy, peanuts and other legumes, beans, or other vegetable in the pea family, and no grains flours or oils made from any of these products. To give you an idea of how catastrophically limiting these rules are, that means no soda, no pasta, no normal chocolate, no yogurt, no peanut butter, no bread, no cereal, no chicken nuggets, and... no Easter eggs. No nothing.

Oy vey, that’s a lot of restrictions. But they don’t come from 3,000 years ago when the Israelites were escaping from enslavement by the Egyptian Pharaoh, they had no time to prepare

Popovers

1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for baking sheet 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup matzah meal 1 tablespoon sugar 4 eggs Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Brush a baking sheet with oil; set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan, bring oil, 1 cup water, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat.

4. Stir in matzah meal until sticky, Popovers are the closest thing to real remove from heat and let cool bread that you can get to on Passcompletely. over, which is probably why they 5. Add sugar and eggs, one at are so popular. But guess what the a time, beating well after each main ingredient is? Matzah! Mix up addition. some matzah meal, vegetable oil, salt, 6. Fill a large bowl with water. and eggs and let it bake, and you’ll 7. Dip your hands in the water get small rolls that taste like buttery, and then form dough into a ball spongy bread. There never seems to about the size of a tennis ball. be enough of them at the dinner table.

8. Place on prepared baking sheet.

9. Repeat process until all dough has been used.

10. Transfer to oven and bake until popovers are puffy, about 15 to 20 minutes.

11. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

12. Serve immediately.

Matzah Pizza Matzah Pizza Ingredients: 1 matzos 2 -3 tablespoons tomato sauce 3 tablespoons low fat mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons red peppers 2 tablespoons green peppers 2 mushrooms, sliced Matzah pizza is often the staple food 4 slices tomatoes over Passover because it is so quick 1 teaspoon salt and easy. It’s exactly what it sounds 1 teaspoon pepper like. Spread some tomato sauce across 1 teaspoon basil a piece of matzah, sprinkle it with cheese and whatever toppings you’d like, stick it in the oven at 350 degrees Directions: until the cheese is good and melty and Prep Time: 5 mins you’ve got a delicious treat.

Total Time: 15 mins 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. Line a baking sheet with foil.

3. Spread sauce on matzah.

4. Sprinkle with cheese, peppers and mushrooms.

5. Top with tomato slices and seasonings.

6. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

food or bake bread for their journey. Instead, they threw the dough on their backs to bake in the sun. It cooked so rapidly it had no time to rise like normal bread does. Instead, it turns into a flat, cracker like bread called Matzah. In commemoration of this time in history and in celebration of the Israelites, Exodus from Egypt, Jews today follow these dietary restrictions for eight days.

So what can we eat? There is only one answer to this question: Matzah. Lots and latzah matzah.

You can boil it, you can bake it, you can scramble it, you can butter it. It doesn’t matter, it still tastes like matzah. But there are some dishes that I can and do eat all year long, even when I don’t have to.

And it is my privilege to share them with you.

Matzah Ball Soup Matzah ball soup is commonly known among Jewish mothers as the cure for the common cold. It is the original Jewish comfort food, and once you taste it you’ll understand why. The soup consists of matzah balls, which are two fluffy balls of matzah meal (crumbs of matzah and seasoning) that taste like soft, moist crackers, served with carrots, celery, and chicken in a steaming chicken broth base.

Ingredients 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine 1/2 cup matzo meal 1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 dash white pepper 1 tablespoon water 6 cups chicken broth 1 medium carrot, cut into 2 inch julienne strips Directions 1. In a small bowl, mix eggs with the melted butter or margarine. Stir in matzo meal, parsley, salt, pepper, and water to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Bring chicken broth and carrots to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to a simmer. Shape the matzo dough into 12 balls. (For easier shaping, dip hands in cold water from time to time). Drop the matzo balls into the simmering broth.

Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Matzah Brei

Ingredients: 1 piece of matzah 1 egg Salt and pepper to taste Vegetable oil

Matzah Brei is the Passover version of French toast. Soak some pieces of matzah in egg until they are nice and soft, throw them on the skillet, and top them with fruit, nuts, powdered sugar, or maple syrup and you have what is possibly even better than its non-kosher counterpart. It can also be served savory style by breaking it up into smaller pieces and substituting toppings with sautéed mushrooms and celery.

Directions: 1. Break matzah into small pieces and soak in hot water until soft. Then squeeze out water.

2. Beat the egg into a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover matzah crumbs with egg mixture and mix well.

3. Heat a skillet with vegetable oil and then pour the mixture onto the pan. Brown on 1 side, then flip over and brown on the other.

4. Top with fruit, nuts, powdered sugar, or maple syrup and serve hot.

Opinion Issue Ten

Page Ten

April 26, 2011

Chowing Down

Top 5 reasons you should stay on campus for lunch

By Paul Burnham While the luxury of an open campus allows us to enjoy a wide selection of local restaurants, many students overlook, nearly every day while scrambling to their cars for their 50 minutes of their own convenience, our cafeteria. Sure, the

word “cafeteria” in itself is likely to send most of us running for the hills, so I have decided to compose a list of reasons why staying on campus for lunch every so often isn’t really that bad.

Fresh. A word that is nearly unheard of

in the cafeteria world these days. Say goodbye to your misconceptions regarding frozen mystery meats, soggy vegetables and overcooked lumps of casserole. Say hello to fresh produce, a wide variety of foods ranging from a different hot

Plano Senior High School meal every day, a salad bar that changes daily and offers an endless amount of toppings and mix-ins.

For those of us watching our waist line, fear not. You CAN eat healthy food in the cafeteria that doesn’t taste like cardboard, and is guaranteed to fill you up. While the salad bar is appetizing, the hot lunch line will certainly fill you up without filling you out.

While many schools are provided with specific foods, our cafeteria has the privilege of carefully planning our meals out so that they taste great, while complying with the nutrition requirements that are suggested to them from the state. Not looking for a big meal? Try the soup of the day and a cold cut sandwich from Cat Corner.

There is something about the atmosphere

What do Seniors do During TAKS?

By Jessica Yee As juniors drag themselves to classrooms with pencils and a calculator, seniors can celebrate being seniors for all the free time they will have for a TAKS free week. With plenty of time to kick back and take a small break from school, there are plenty of questions as to what to do during that free time.

If you are a “stay at home” type of person, there is plenty to do without the worry of spending money, gas, or patience on going out. Most seniors would probably spend the majority of their time sleeping in to catch up on hours they lost in their typical busy school schedules.

With more time to sleep in, seniors can have a few more minutes dreaming of themselves in a normal college setting or with fictional and fantasy twists, like riding on purple unicorns to scale a mountain guarded by twin giants in ballerina outfits just to turn in a recommendation letter to the college of their choice. If you start to get hungry at home and have a large amount of frozen cookie dough

or other sweets, it may be a great time to fire up the oven and turn your kitchen into a sweets workshop.

When you are awake and on the computer, watching funny or shocking videos on YouTube, chatting about what you are doing on Facebook or Twitter, or if you need to get any school projects done may keep you busy enough.

Videogame players may spend their time on Wii, Xbox, or other game systems playing popular Nintendo games like Mario, Pokemon, or Legend of Zelda. There are also online games like World of Warcraft or Call of Duty.

Another way to have fun during TAKS week is to enjoy the spring weather. With all your senior friends off from TAKS, the week is a nice time to get together for a game of soccer, football, Frisbee, or even Ultimate Frisbee.

Excluding playgrounds on elementary school campuses, there are good laughs at students that try to fit into the baby swings or chase each other down the slides. Just do not try anything that could potentially cause severe

harm in any way. There is also enough time to have an outdoor picnic in the spring weather before the summer heat makes picnics obsolete.

Meeting at local fast food places or restaurants for early breakfasts or lunch or good ideas for getting together with friends and grabbing a bite to eat if you do not mind spending cash.

IHOP is popular for their open 24 hours and special menus that tend to change over the months. With the extra hours seniors can take their time eating at Sonic’s outdoor picnic tables. Starbucks would be open early enough to grab your favorite coffees, lattes, or other classic Starbucks drinks. If you are the type of person to taste new flavors, go out for foods like Italian, Mexican, Mongolian, or even traditional Texas barbecue restaurants.

Some seniors may be lucky enough with their free time to catch a movie in the early hours. If there are movies as early as nine in the morning, seniors will have plenty of time to make it back to the campus by noon. After a refill of popcorn,

there is plenty to munch on to wake up after the daze of watching anything and everything on the movie screens.

With seniors that are currently employed during the school year, these hours off from school could give them the chance to get them extra hours at work to add to a higher check.

A higher check would equal more money to spend at favorite shops.

Depending on the type of stores you go to, if they are open early enough, girls and maybe guys too, can head for the stores to satisfy their shopping needs if they do not want to deal with the weekend crowd.

Even if you do not want to spend money, window shopping can still be a fun option to plan ahead on what you want to buy.

So much to do, but still a good amount of time to do what you want outside of school. The choice is up to you depending on your preference and definition of relaxation.

Whether you prefer to save money at home or outdoors, or spare a little cash for lots of fun; it is your senior year in high school after all.

created by the crew that prepares our meals that just makes you feel like you’re in good hands.

By good hands, I mean downright delicious.

Starting in the wee hours of the morning, a crew of eleven people prepares enough food to feed over 1,000 students. The food, prepared by hand is so good that you can quite literally taste the love that they put into it. While my favorite dishes include chicken Parmesan, grilled chicken and veggies and dare I say, meatloaf, the wide variety of freshly made desserts always seal the deal.

While fresh fruit and yogurt are a light way to please your sweet tooth, I have not been able to stop myself from the cobblers, brownies, marbled cakes, and cookies that are made fresh daily.

If that doesn’t make

2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075 your mouth water, then maybe you should go see your doctor.

If the food itself hasn’t sold itself yet, maybe this will- a student meal with a beverage of your choice and a dessert can be all yours for a little less than five dollars. That’s your meal which comes with two sides, a soda and a piece of cake for less money than a gallon of gas. Also, the cafeteria offers a variety of specials which change regularly, my favorite being the $0.30 fountain drinks from the lunchrooms massive soda fountain.

So not only can you get fresh, tasty food in a synch, you can do so without putting a huge dent in your wallet.

Still not sold? Try the fresh baked pizza that literally rolls out of the oven right in front of you and fills even me up for about the cost of an

iTunes song.

Procrastinators rejoice, if you gauge your timing correctly, you can be in and out of the cafeteria in less than five minutes, which allows time for things that you put off the night before. The cafeteria offers many on-the-go items and never fails to serve you quickly. Have a seat in one of the niches on either side of the cafeteria, and knock out the rest of that essay outline due next period.

If procrastinating isn’t one of your specialties or you simply have nothing to do, grabbing a sandwich, chips and a drink from the café will give you the provisions necessary for a lovely picnic around campus with your friends, and what a good time of year to do so.

Pre-Empty Nest Syndrome Parents reacting to changes at home

By Meaghan Pulliam As semesters evaporate, grades are set, and deadlines approach, anxiety sets in amongst students. However, not only are students nervous about what the future may hold, but their parents are feeling it as well. Changes are being seen in attitudes of both juniors’ and seniors’ parents.

“Yesterday, I was talking about Planoettes and our Spring Show with my mom and she started crying,” junior Alicia Kralik said. “She realized that next year I’m going to be a senior and leave for college and that I’ll be an adult.”

As graduation draws near, parents start to realize that their babies aren’t babies anymore. This realization is affecting many students’ parents.

“The other day, I tried on my cap and gown,” senior Emily Matos said.

“My dad started getting all tearyeyed.”

Growing interests are not being shown only in academics by parents, but in social lives as well. Some students are able to understand where their parents’ new actions stem from, but many do not appreciate it.

“My dad gets in my business a lot,” Matos said. “Mostly he asks me about my friends and asks me like ‘what are you doing?’ ‘how are your friends?’ ‘what are they doing?’, just stuff like that. It’s definitely because I’m graduating. I kind of wish he was in my [social] life less.”

Many students have noticed changes in their parents’ behavior regarding, not only the future, but in their levels of interest in their dayto-day lives. Amounts of homework, scheduled tests, and college deadlines seem to be a reccurring theme in parents’ growing interests.

“My parents don’t really ask

me about my homework situation, because that’s never been a problem,” Matos said. “With college stuff they’re always asking me if I sent this in or if I sent that in. Also, they’ve been freaking out about scholarships.”

Many teenagers feel that they would be happier if their parents didn’t ask so many questions about their day or relax a bit about the future. However, some students have the opposite problem.

“My mom works full time,” junior Eric Pacheco said. “So she is basically leaving it up to me to get into college. I kind of wish my mom would ask me about my day and stuff like that; stuff that other kids find annoying.”

Many students are coming to terms with their parents’ stress as graduation and senior year are encroaching. Some can even feel the stress from their parents rubbing off on them.

“Because of their stress I’m scared to go to college now,” Kralik said. “I don’t want to leave everybody here like my parents and little brother.”

Though students are seeing changes in their parents, many are still unsure as to why they feel they need to change their attitudes.

Parents are feeling more irrelevant in their children’s day-to-day lives as they become more mature and responsible. However, the majority of teens going off to college know that they will always need their parents though they are approaching adulthood.

“My mom thinks I won’t need her anymore once I move out,” Kralik said. “Which is absolutely not true. I will always need my mom.”

Issue Ten

Page Eleven

Working for the Weekend

By Madison McDaniel

Black slacks, check. Nice dress top, check. Name tag, check. I walk downstairs, grab the car keys and try to slip through the back door unnoticed, but I’m just not quick enough. I hear the scampering of feet and turn around just in time to see my mom practically sliding in on the hardwood floors about to run into me.

“Don’t leave yet! I want to see you before you leave for your first day of work!” My mom squeals and starts to pull out her phone to take a picture like it’s my first day of kindergarten all over again.

“Mom, please!” I take a few steps backward and grab onto the door, ready to dart out of the house as soon as possible.

“Okay, fine. Good luck sweetie!” I dart out the door and head for work.

Once I finally find a parking spot, my nerves begin to set in, but nevertheless I walk into the store and stare aimlessly around, being hit with the sudden realization that I was never told where to go.

“Great,” I think. “It’s been less than a minute and I already don’t know what’s going on.” Luckily, I’m saved by a girl behind the cash register and I get to working.

After being referred to as “new girl” for the entire afternoon, I finally get the hang of using the cash register until all at once a massive flood of customers come barreling into the store. Behind the register stands an elderly woman and mother is holding a handful of education books while trying to wrangle her two kids who seem to have never heard the word “no.”

“Okay, I can handle this.” I say the steps to working the cash register over and over in my head like a song on repeat. Scan, payment, receipt, and bag. Scan, payment, receipt- All of a sudden I hear the tinkling of several dozen pencils being rolled onto the counter and then start to punch in each barcode number for the pencils one by one.

Later, taking my break, I start to head back to the register, but before I could get completely behind the counter an older woman, Mary, who works in the gift department, calls me over.

“McKenzie sweetheart, we are going to need you to help us decorate an alcove.” She takes in my tentative face and tries to reassure me. “Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long and it’s very easy! You just need to strip everything off of these three walls and then add all of this to the items on display.” She points to a large cart piled with wall hangings and picture frames.

“Oh, okay. No problem!” I try to slap on my “cheerful” smile and take a glance at the work I have ahead of me.

“I’ll be over here stocking gifts if you need my help!” Her kindness leaves me with a feeling of hope but with one look at everything I have to do, I begin to lose confidence. I turn to take in every item stocked on each wall and then back at the loaded cart. Oh boy. Following an hour of rearranging, I’ve probably moved everything from one wall to the other and back again. I end up squeezing wall hangings only inches from each other.

When I finally manage to fit every item in the alcove, I step back to admire my work. As soon as I notice what is about to happen, it’s too late. The glass shelves come crashing down carrying with it the sound of a million china plates being thrown to the ground and I look up. Mary, along with the entire store, is avidly watching me.

“Oh McKenzie! Are you okay?” She starts to walk over and help me. I feel like a ton of bricks have just been dropped on my stomach and I feel tears beginning to well up in my eyes. All of my hard work smashed to pieces. I heave a great sigh and stare at the mess soundlessly.

“It’s okay honey. After all, it is only your first day.” Mary pats me on the shoulder. Right, it’s only my first day.

April 26, 2011

Plano Senior High School

Cat Quips

By Anna Vicars

1. Joe Jonas and Chris Brown record a song not yet released: Good. Let’s keep it that way.

Disney bopper versus ex-con… this can’t end well.

2. Evan Rachel Wood dates both sexes: DUH. Your last “boyfriend” was Marilyn Manson…

3. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart take their relationship public: …for the umpteenth time.

4. Nicolas Cage arrested earlier this week: c’mon, you’ve tanked your career; now top it off with domestic violence. Wow, Charlie Sheen really IS rubbing off.

5. Simon Cowell thinks Rebecca Black has the “X Factor”: Yes, the Xtremely annoyingly horrendous factor that makes you want to vomit (or just go Van Gogh on your ears).

Opinion 2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075

By Lindsey Kehlmann

When I tell you this you will wish I was lying.

Yesterday I was walking down the hall, minding my own business when I overheard two girls talking.

“Hey, do you know what I just thought of ?”

“What?”

“If we borrowed $5 from like 20 people, we’d have like $80.”

“Yeah! Wait… Yeah, like $80!”

For a moment, I was dumbstruck. How do you get to senior high without being able to multiply five by 20?

Dear God, I mean these girls had to have taken Algebra by this point.

And then I had another thought. These kids go to Plano Senior High School, a school ranked in the top 1,300 high schools in the nation, a school recognized for its academics by the Texas Education Association. No more than seven percent drop out, at least 85 percent graduate on time or receive a GED, and at least 75 percent of kids pass TAKS. It makes you wonder what’s on that TAKS test, doesn’t it?

Across Texas, Plano is ranked one of the best districts. Across the US, Texas is ranked about 27th out of 50 states. Across the world, the US 18th of 38

industrialized nations in overall education. Our scores fall significantly behind those of Asian countries such as Japan and parts of China, especially in math and science.

In order to improve our school system so that the rest of the world doesn’t keep thinking Americans are as dumb as a stump, there are a lot of things people have proposed doing.

Implement longer school days, lengthen the school year, increase the number of teachers to improve the teacher to student ratio, raise expectations for regulars classes, etc, etc.

But there is one thing that all of these things require: money.

When I tell you this you will wish I was lying.

The state government recently approved cuts in the Texas education budget of around $6.6 billion dollars.

In order to make up for these slashes in spending, districts have been forced to cut arts programs completely from their schools, lay off hundreds of faculty, and pull money from after school programs such as tutoring. In PISD $26 million will be cut from the operating budget by turning away 344 employees, 223 of which will be teachers.

When I tell you this

Cartoon Corner

By Kelli Manning

By Ericka Lindsay

you will wish I was lying.

In 2009 the US military budget comprised about 40 percent of the total global arms spending.

This year, $663.8 billion will be spent on defense.

The budget cuts just approved show a $5 billion dollar increase in the budget for the Pentagon.

It seems to me that some of that money we are spending on the military should be spared for those kids who can’t multiply five by 20, but I could be wrong. If we don’t step up our education, pretty soon we will be at about a Ms. Teen South Carolina level of academic excellence.

But hey, at least we’ll be well-armed idiots.

We can’t sit idly by and watch our teachers lose their jobs and our educations are flushed down the toilet. So come on, Plano. Write a letter to your senator or the Dallas Morning News, rally a protest at the capitol, organize a fundraiser for charity organizations such as Teach for America or the Knowledge is Power Program. Force the lawmakers to listen to you. Maybe next time I have something to say about US education you’ll be glad to know that I am telling the truth.

Issue Ten

Page Twelve

April 26, 2011

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Plano Senior High School

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