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November edition of the Clear Falls Post
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knightsnewsonline.com ClearFallsHighSchool November2012•Vol.2Num.24380VillageWay•LeagueCity,TX77573
Opinion: Parents on FacebookThe embarassing things parents do on Facebook and why they shouldn’t be allowed to have one.
Clear Falls Gallery
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Photo by Sarah Holden
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Photo by Kylee Reid
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Photo by Sarah Holden
By MEGHAN MISTRY
It’severykid’sworstnightmare:no,notthemonstersunderthebedorfail-ingtograduate.It’sworsemuch,muchworse. That horrible, terrifying, jaw-dropping,gnaw-your-skin-rawmomentwhen your parents your 50-year-oldmom or dad, friend requests you onFacebook.Facebook,whichofficiallyovertook
Myspace in2008fornumberofusers,hasbeena socialnetworking sight forteenagersandcollegestudents.CreatedbyMarkZuckerburgforcol-
lege students in 2004, Facebook hasalwaysbeengearedtowardayoungau-dience. Sowhy are parents interferingnow?I’m not saying they’re logging on
to relive their glory days and pretendthey’re young and arthritis-less again,buttheirpresenceonFacebookdefinite-lyhas anegative impact. I understandthattheymayhavejoinedtoreconnectwitholdhighschoolandcollegefriendsthatliveacrossthenationnowadays.Orevenjusttocreepandcheckoutthelivesof the once pretty and popular formerhead cheerleader who’s now divorcedandsingle.That’sallfine.Parents,likeresponsibleteenagers,haveeveryrighttohaveaFacebookaccount.
But when they friend request theirkid,ortheypostembarrassingthings,orevenposttoomuch?Nowthat’scross-ing the line.Some parentsmay join just to keep
aneyeontheirchild,wholikeasmartkid, has his or her profile on private.Thiswouldmeanthattheparenthastofriendrequesttheirkid.Inthisscenario,it’sOK.Theparentisjustkeepingtabsonhisorherchild,makingsurethere’snothing inappropriate or no cyber-bul-lyinggoingdown.But when this hypothetical parent
starts posting on a child’s wall: No.That’s just a flat out no. There’s onlyonescenariowherethatcouldbealright,andthat’swhenaparentwhoistravel-ling,outof thecountry,orhaslittle tonorelationshippoststokeepincontact.However, even this communicationshouldbedoneonaprivate,directmes-sage,suchasanemail,not inapublicforumsuchasFacebook.
No teenager wants to log onto Face-book,seethattheyhave59notificationsandrealizethey’reallwallpostsbytheirparents. It’s extremely discouraging tosee that you’re only popular on Face-book because your mom shared/likedall44oftheprompicturesthatyouup-loaded.I’m not speaking as an ungrateful
teenager.I’mveryblessedtohavepar-entswhoaresoinvolvedinmylifeandsofullofencouragement.I’mjustgiv-ing others some quick advice on howNOT to strain their relationship withtheir children. Frankly, parent’s pres-ence,(andallthe10year-olds)onFace-book, iswhat’s causing teens tomovetheirsocialnetworkingfromFacebooktoTwitter.Soifyou’reaparentwhoisplanning
onjoiningFacebook,besuretofollowthe ten commandments of parents onsocial networking sites (according tome,ofcourse):1)Don’tembarrassus.2)Don’tshareourphotos.3)Don’tpostonourwall.4) Don’t creep on our profile every
day.5)Don’ttellusyoumissus.6)Don’tpostaboutourpersonallives
onyourprofile.7)Don’tlikeallthosegoofy“likethis
photoifyouwantchocolatecake”pho-tos.8)Don’tpostabunchof‘inspiration-
al’quotes.9)Don’tfriendrequestourfriends.10) Make sure you’re friends with
more than just your three kids, yournieces and nephews, and your sistersandbrothers.
Sandy Devastates East CoastBy MIRANDA CHANG
OnTuesdayOct.30,2012,HurricaneSandytookitsfirstdevastatingshotatAtlanticCity,N.J.Thenjustdayslater,this “Frankenstorm,” the nicknameSandy has acquired by themedia, hitNewYork,mostlyaffecting the lowerhalf of Manhattan, as well as Con-neticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, andvariousotherstatesaroundtheAtlanticCoast. Although this storm has dis-sipated, it most definitely left behindsome memorable tracks.“HurricaneSandywasnotlikemost
storms,” said Clear Falls governmentteacherSeanPalmer.“Thisstormisnotsmallandquick.Itishugeandslow.”This storm indeed isquite remark-
able;thiskindofstormcomesaroundevery200years.Bothgovernors,ChrisChristie of New Jersey and AndrewCuomoofNewYork,havebeenwork-ing hard and alongside governors ofsurroundingstatestohelpsearch,res-cue,saveandrebuildallthecitiesthatwhere heavily affected by HurricaneSandy.AccordingtoavideoclipfromABC
News,GovernorCuomosaid,“Wearenow having storms that we are sup-posed tohave every200years, every2years.”ThepeopleoftheNortheasthavelet
outasmall,shortbreathofreliefnowthat theHurricanehasclearedup.Al-though gone, Sandy has left quite anincrediblereminder.PeopleallaroundtheEastCoasthavehadnopowerfordays.Nottomentionextremedestruc-tion due to the enormous floods, notonly tohomesbutalso to thesubwaysystem.Manypeopleare relyingon theun-
expectedheroismofgasstationownersnot only to fuel their cars but to fueltheir generators, the biggest factor inkeepingmanyofthesefamiliesalive.Another extreme tragedy that has
been an effect of Sandy is thelossoflife.AccordingtotheLosAngeles Times, as of Nov. 3,HurricaneSandyhastakenmorethan110livessofar.Thesearchandrescue teamsarestillwork-ing hard and have not finishedsearching.This certainly qualifies as a
horrific time for all of the EastCoast.With thedeath toll risingandtheaftermathbecomingmoreof a problem, the governors,mayorsandmostimportantly,thepeople,havetoworktogethertorestore stability to thesehistoricstates.Surely many people here in
Texashavemuch empathy to those
upnorthafterexperiencingIkeandKa-trina.“I understand how they feel. I lost
my house andmy family was home-lessforawhileafterHurricaneIke,somyheartgoesouttothem,”saidClearFalls senior Caroline Ash.Thebestthingtodointhesehorrific,
grim times is tocry for thedeceased,hopeandprayforthelost,andforthosewhohavesurvived,keepsurviving.If you are interested in helping the
victimsofHurricaneSandy,visitweb-sites of nonprofit agencies and localcommunityorganizationsinyourarea.
James Connelly, 70, surveys the damage of Hurricane Sandy in Bayville, N.J. Photo Courtesy MCT Campus
2•knightsnewsonline.com SCHOOL SCOOP ClearFallsPost•November2012
CCISD Silent Dinner Clear Falls Knight Finally An American
Clear Falls Debate Starts Year Strong
By ZOE GAETJEN
OnthenightofTuesday,Oct.9,2012a silentdinnerwasheld atFuddruck-ers. A “Silent Dinner” isn’t a mealwhereyoueatinsilence.Itisasocialevent in the deaf community wherepeople get together and communicatewith the use of sign language. Thesedinners are held primarily for peoplewithinthedeafcommunity.Theobjec-tiveisforthemtointeractandsocializesincetheirhearinglossprevents themfrompickingupthephoneandcallingeach other. Cynthia Hazzard, an ASL teacher
hereatFalls,wasoneoftheadultswhoattendedtheevent.Hazzardexplained thata silentdin-
ner isn’t only for people who havea hearing loss but anyonewho is in-volved within the community itself.The use of ASL is the only criterianeededtoparticipate in thedinner,sostudentsatClearFallsaswellasotherCCISD high schoolswere able to at-tend.Hazzardaddedthatstudentswhoattendthedinnerhaveanobjectiveofusingtheappliedlanguagetomeetnewpeopleandmakenewfriends. Some of theASL I students took
time to explain their first experiencedealingwith sign languageoutsideofclass.AstudentofHazzard,KaymenCo-
lon, said she, like some of the otherASLIstudentsthere, shewasalittleoverwhelmed.“Itwassortofawkward,”Colonsaid
asshedescribedherfirstimpressionofthedinner.Sheusedcontextcluesandwasable
todecipherthegistofwhattheotherswere signing.Studentseventuallygotthehangof
things and became more comfortableas the night went on. If they didn’tknowexactlywhattheyweresigning,they would use indexing and contextclues.TheASLteachers,HazzardandAmandaMason,keptthestudentswhoattendedentertainedwithintricatesto-
ries, which in turn taught them newsignswithinthelanguage.Thisdinnerinparticularwasmainly
for students and chaperoned byASLteachersandotheradultswhoweren’thearingimpaired.Therewere,howev-er,twodeafpeoplepresent,alittlegirlinelementaryschoolandagraduateofClearCreekHighSchool.Thestudents,however,couldn’ttellwhocouldhearandwho couldn’t.This goes to showthatitdoesn’tmatterwhetheryoucanhearornotaslongasyou’vegotgoodpeopleandgoodconversation.
By ERICA BERNAL
OnOct.7,ClearFall’sdebate teamcompetedatDobeHighSchool.Theybattled 18 other schools at their thirdcompetitionoftheyear. There are many misconceptions
that people have about debate. Theythink it’s just sessionswith bickeringarguments.Debateismorethanpeoplebashing each other with insults. De-bate competitions consist of multipleevents,dealingwithdifferentsubjectsandcategories.Witheacheventpartic-ipantsmustcomprehendasetofrules,thatmust be followed accordingly ordisqualificationfromthecompetition.The debate team is required to do
extensiveresearchovervarioustopics,such as politics and court cases. Thestudentsthoroughlystudyatacollegelevel. The debate division undergoesa preparation process that consists ofgetting evidence together andwriting
papers. The debater doesn’t alwaysknow what the debate will be over.TheCFHSdebate classroom is locat-ed in Coach Michael Leyva’s room.His room is available every day afterschool for students to rehearse andstudyfortheirevent.“No coach in Houston is going to
outworkme.”saidLeyva.Intheatreacts,studentscanperform
either a dramatic or comedic scene.The acting division requires learningand memorizing a script, and some-timesincludesblockingalongwiththescene.Studentscaneitherperformin-dependently or in a partnership. Fallsstudents, ElizabethGuillot andAliciaBeard were awarded fourth Place inDuetActing. “Days before the competition are
very hectic with getting everythingtogether” said,DebateVice PresidentElizabethGuillot.
Anothereventthatstudentscanpar-ticipate in is poetry. In this categoryyouhavetolearnapoemandreciteitagainststudentsfromtheotherschoolandthepoemmustbememorized.Thestudentswho advancedwere BraxtonFeemsterandValeriaChavez.Thefirstplace winner in Novice Poetry wasBraxton.Valeriaplaced fourthalso inNovicePoetry.Novice Lincoln Debate is a very
complex division.When the studentswalk in the room, they bring theirstatementoftheirconcerns.Theypicka position to represent on the saidtopic.The issues can be on a school,stateorcommunityscale.Thestudentmustcomposetheirarguments,defendandprovethem.MarcusAbatewastheSemiFinalistfromourschoolinNov-ice Lincoln Douglas. Chane Sladekwastheotherstudentwhoexcelledinthisevent,becomingQuarterFinalist.
Novice Policy Debate is a form ofteam debate. It’s known as the mostprestigioustypeandalsothemostdif-ficult. The student must be preparedwithanextensiveamountofevidence.Thereisanaffirmativesideandanega-tive side. Affirmative side states itsplanandwhatshouldbedonetomakethe topic work. The negative lists allthe disadvantages of the affirmativeactions and stateswhy theywouldn’twork.TylerRuckstuhlandEmilyXiawerefinalistsinNovicePolicyDebate.AlsoAnnMarie Carver and DouglasFletcherweresemifinalists inVarsityPolicyDebate.The debate competition was a suc-
cessandtheteamcamehomewithvic-tory.BringinghomeawardsinmultipleeventsandrepresentingCFHS.“Mygoalsforthiscompetitionwas
foreveryonetohavefunandwantingtoreturn,”saidLevya.
By SANDA CAVALLARO
On Friday, Sept. 21 Clear Fallsexperienced a shake up in the mid-morning routine. Clear Falls seniorC h i n o n y e r e a y iAkuechiama an-nouncedthePledgeof Allegiance in-steadofseniorMaxVeras,theusualan-nouncer ever sincethe school openedin 2010.Akuechia-ma introduced her-self over the loudspeakerandhadtheprivilege of sayingthe Pledge ofAlle-giance to honor her for receiving herAmerican citizen-ship.The Akuechiama
family moved toAmerica from Lon-don, England forbusinesspurposes in1995.Theentirefamily applied for American citizen-ship in February 2011.Akuechiama’sfather and sister were awarded citi-zenshipbeforeher, andhermother isstill waiting for her paperwork to beprocessed. The family is hoping andexpecting everything to be finalizedwithin the next couple of months.AkuechiamawassworninonSept.21
andnowhasdualcitizenshipwiththeUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.Earning American citizenship is a
monumental feat. A perspective citi-zen must pay fees, speak, read and
write in English and study exten-sivelytopassthecitizenship testfor rights andfreedoms mostAmericans take forgranted. For a natural-
ized citizen, theprivilege of say-ing,“Iamproudto be an Ameri-can,” comesat ahigh cost. Manynaturalized citi-zens are willingto leave behindeverything theyknew as well as sacrifice theirmoney and time
towork, live in and be a part of thiscountry. Anyonewhoaseverfeltjaded
aboutwhat itmeans to be anAmeri-canshould takeagood lookatAkue-chiama.Despitealltheeffortrequiredofherinthecitizenshipposses,asshesaid,“It’sgreat tobeanAmericanfi-nally.”Hersmilecouldhavelituparoom.
2012-2013Clear Falls Post
StaffMeghanMistry-Editor-in-Chief
MaxVeras-Online News Producer
PhotographerSarahHoldenStaff Writers MarissaAdams
Erica BernalMirandaChangSandaCavallaroZoeGaetjenSierra Ham
Hannah SimsDesign Team
Ann Marie CarverBriOllre
AllisonGriest-AdviserKarenEngle-PrincipalJoeyThomas-Associate
Principal TerrieRowe-Assistant Prinsipal
PublishedbyMirrorPublishinginTexasCity
FindmorestoriesandphotosatKnightsnewsonline.com
Forinformationandadvertisingrates,email
knightsnewsonline@gmail.com
Clear Falls senior Chinonyereayi Akuechia-ma became an American citizen on Sept. 21. Photo by Sarah Holden
Clear Falls Achievements Add UpCompiled by SIERRA HAM
ClearFallsstudentshavebeenbusythisschoolyearwithallthewins(andlosses), activities and new traditionssofarintheyear.For orchestra’s region competition,
seven students qualified to advance,whilechoirhad26advanceattheirRe-gionwith13ofthoseadvancingtopre-
areaonDecember1.Both boys and girls cross country
teams havemetwith success in theircompetitionsaswell.Thegirlscameinfirst place at district and the boys insecond.The golf teams have also done re-
markably well in their season as theboys golf team tied for first place intheirMoodyGardenstournament.
November2012•ClearFallsPost SPORTS knightsnewsonline.com•3
Falls Varsity Football Ends First Season
Volleyball Spikes into Fourth Playoff Round
XC Ends Lake’s 17-year Winning Streak
By MEGHAN MISTRY
Clear Falls VarsityVolleyball teamfinished off their season and movedintoplayoffs,endingtheir2012districtplaywitharecordof33-9.TheLadyKnightshadastrongsea-
sondespitethefactthatthiswastheirfirstyeartoplay5A.Intheirfirstdis-trict round, the team crushed oppo-nentsClear Springs,Brazoswood, LaMarqueandTexasCity.Theirfirstroundofdistrict,however,
camewithtwotoughlosses.TheLadyKnightshadadevastatinglosstoClearCreek in afive setmatch.More than100Clear Falls students came out tosupport the team, especially as theywontheirfirstset21-25.Unfortunately, as the game contin-
uedon,theKnightsfellslightlyshort.After giving up the second set, andkillingCreekinthethird,theKnightsbarelylostinthefifthset.Following the game against Creek,
thegirlstravelledtoClearLakewheretheyenduredanothergruelingfivesetmatch,butultimatelylosttotheunde-featedteam.InthesecondroundtheLadyKnights
playedwithincredibleresilience.Theywonagainstalltheteamsthey’dbeatinthefirstroundandtookCreekbystormathome,winninginthethreesets.TheteamonlygaveuponelossthesecondtimearounddistricttoClearLake,whoremainedundefeatedtheentireseason.Aftera longseasonfromAugust to
October, the varsity volleyball teamcontinuedontoplay-offs.TheteamfacedFortBendTravisin
thefirstroundofplay-offsatDawsonHighSchool.SupportedbyaplethoraofClearFallsstudentswhotravelledinthefanbus,theteamwoninfoursets,onlybarelylosingthefirst.AfterbeatingeliminatingFortBend
Travis from the play-offs, the teamplayedDeerParkatDeerPark in thesecond round. Falls shut down Deer
Park, blowing them away in a shortthree sets. For the third round of play-offs,
Falls matched up against the DullesHighSchoolteam.Thegame,heldinPearland,commencedinfoursets.TheLadyKnightstookDullesdowninthefirst two sets before barely letting upandlosingthethird.Theydidhowever,comeback towin the fourthandendthe game. WithonlytworoundsleftuntilState,
the volleyball girls hope to beat Cy-WoodsonFriday,Nov.9at anunde-cided, neutral location, for the fourthroundofplay-offs.Ifthegirlswinthisandthefifthround,they’llheadtothestatecompetition.BeingClearFalls’firstyear toplay
varsity volleyball in district 24-5A,the team has done remarkably well.Theteamhasbattledhardandplayedwellandwillcontinuetoworktoreachtheirgoalofheadingtostate.
By ZOE GAETJEN
OnFriday,Oct.26theClearFallsgirlscross country team conquered ClearLake High School and ended Lake’s17-year-winningstreak. The girls
cross countrycoach, LaurenMartens, hasbeen coaching at Falls since the schoolsopening.This year is herfirstyearasheadcoachofgirlscrosscountry.Martenssaidthat
at thebeginningofthe season, she would have been ap-prehensivetopredictthisshinningmo-
ment. In fact, the girls even lost theirfirstfewmeetstoClearLake.Shortly after though, they began to
improve and advance, pushing themcloser to their goal ofbeatingLake.Theywerelater able to pull aheadbefore district wherethey acquired their winandendedLake’sreign. Martens shared her
own excitement for hergirls.Shewasexpectingthemtowinevenbeforedistrictbecauseshewasconfident in their skills.
She explained that eventherunners’parentswereapartoftheaction
“They would try and calculate thescore beforewe even got it,”Martenssaidabouttheparents.
Martenssaidthegirlsweredeterminedandtheyalwaysstrivedtobebetter.Inthe
endtheirhardworkpaidoffandthevic-torybelongedtoClearFalls.
By MARISSA ADAMS
On Friday, Nov. 2, the Clear Fallsvarsityfootballplayers tookonClearLakeHighSchoolatVeteransMemo-rialStadium.Althoughthegameendedinaloss,
theentireteamplayedtheirheartsout.It was the final game in the seniors’high school football careers and theyare all proudmembers of theKnightKnation.TheKnightsbeganthegamewitha
touchdownbysophomoreJohnHum-phrey,1,inthefirstfiveminutesofthefirstquarter,making thescore6 to0.In response, Clear Lake scored theirowntouchdownandanextrapointtotaketheleadat6to7.Inthesecondquarter,seniorJPLow-
ery,32,rantheballinforatouchdownthattheKnightsmonopolizedonforatwo-pointconversion.Lakeanswered
withatouchdowntotiethescoreat14to14. TheFalconsscored twomoretouchdowns to totaltheir score at 28 forthehalf.Justbeforehalftime, Humphreyscored his secondtouchdown for thegame. The Knightsweredown21 to28athalftime.At the start of the
third quarter, ju-nior Nik Kelly, 22,caughtuptoaClearLake receiver andimpededhisprogressdownfield.In thefourthquar-
ter,Humphreyscoredthefinaltouch-downofthegameforClearFalls.TheFalcons scored two additional touch-downs,makingtheclosingscore28to
42. “Wewerewellpreparedandplayed
as a family,” said sophomoreHunterKinzie,48.This year’s team has had to over-
come multiple injuries through the
courseofthisseason,andtheplayershavetrulysteppeditupandplayedto
the best of their abilities. JuniorChaseLowman,14,cameupfromjuniorvarsitytobethequarterbackforthevarsityteam. “Atfirst,wewerenervousbutafterafewpracticeshegotintotheswingofthings,”saidHumphrey.“ThefirstgameIwassoscared
butastheseasonprogressedIgotused to the speed of the game,”saidSamDraper,8,theonlyfresh-manonvarsitysaysthatheisin-credibly proud of his team andcannotwaitforhisnextthreesea-sons.Althoughthisseasondidnotgo
aswellastheplayerswouldhaveliked, they overcame amazing obsta-clesandcametogetherandplayedasa team.
The varsity cross country girls hold their first place plaque after dethron-ing Clear Lake. Photo by Will Blalock.
Coach Zierlein talks to the varsity football team after they end their first season on Nov. 2. Even with a tough loss to Clear Lake, the team, Falls’ first with seniors and its first as varsity, made great strides this season. Photo by Kendra Dix
Katie Bludau, a junior, practices serving before a volleyball game. Bludau has been an important part of the varsity volleyball team’s success this season. Photo by Jenna Khakoo
4•knightsnewsonline.com CLEAR FALLS POST ClearFallsPost•November2012
ClearFallsPost•November2012 CLEAR FALLS POST knightsnewsonline.com•5
Vaccine ControversyBy SANDA CAVALLARO
If you go to a Texas public highschool you probably had to get yourtetanusshotsandafewotherimmuni-zationsrenewedbeforestartingsopho-moreyear.Havingup-to-datevaccinationsfora
numberofcontagiousviruses,includ-ingpolio,measlesandhepatitisAandB, is one of the requirements of theStateofTexasmakesforcitizenswhowanttoenrollinpubliceducation.Thereareanumberofothervaccines
recommended for parents to help im-munizetheirchildren.Theprogressionofmodernmedicineallowsbabiesandyoung children to be protected frommanypotentiallylifethreatingoralter-ing diseases. More and more viruseshave effective, relatively cheap vac-cinations that, along with potentiallysavingachild’slife,cancontributetotheeradicationofsaidvirus.Ifthevi-ruscannotfindahost,eventuallyitwilldie.Thishappenedwiththeneareradi-cationofpoliointheUnitedStatesandtheglobaleradicationofsmallpox.Despite vaccines’ effectiveness in
preventing fatal illnesses before theyhaveachancetotakeholdandspread,a loud anti-vaccine movement hasstarted.People participating in the Anti-
Vaccine Movement believe that theirchildren should not be subjected tovaccinations because the ‘excessive’amountsofvaccinesrecommendedbydoctorsandrequiredbypubliceduca-tion institutions are not effective inpreventing diseases, expose childrento the unnecessary risk of dangeroussideeffectsandareresponsiblefortheincreaseinautismcases.All of these beliefs have been de-
bunkedbycredibleinstitutions.
The Center for Disease Control(CDC)hasdonenumerousstudiesthatprovevaccinesareeffectiveinprevent-ing the diseases they are engineeredtostop.IfyoudonottrusttheCDC’sstudies, just look at the numbers: asvaccinationratesgoup,theratesofthevirusestheyworkagainstgodown.Veryfewchildrenwhoreceivevac-
cination suffer severe and dangerousside effects (such as an allergic reac-tion or accidental infection from thedead virus in the vaccine) or autism.The Anti-Vaccine Movement ignoresthefactthatlessthanonechildinonemillion will have a severe reaction to receivedvaccines.AccordingtotheCDC,achildis100
timesmorelikelytobestruckbylight-ningthansufferadangeroussideeffectduetoavaccination.The belief that the increase in vac-
cinationsgiventochildrenhasleadtotheincreaseinautismrateshasturnedout to be a false correlation. Twentydifferentstudiesfromreputablesourc-eshaveproventhattheincreaseinvac-cinesgivenandrecommendedhasnotleadtothespikeinautismcases.The increase in children diagnosed
withautismcanbeexplainedbecauseoftheimprovementincareformentalillnesses: doctors now are diagnos-ingmoresymptomsasautisticsoonersimplybecausetheyhavemoreknowl-edgeavailable to themon thesubjectfromalloftherecentresearch.Notgettingachildordependentvac-
cinatedcancausewide-spreadmedicalemergencies.Without the vaccine thechildordependentisvulnerabletoanyvirusesinhisorherenvironment.Fur-thermore,unvaccinatedpeopleprovideperfectbreedinggroundsforvirusestolive, mutate and become resistant tocurrentvaccines.
Herdimmunity(thecommunity-wideimmunity and eventual eradication ofavirusthatcomesfrom80percentormoreof thepeople in the communitybeingimmunetosaidvirus)isonlyef-fectivewhenalmosteverybody in thecommunity has had vaccinations. Bynotgettingachildvaccinated,acare-taker puts every person in his or hercommunityatriskofcontractingharm-fulviruses.Flu season 2012 is already off to a
badstart.Thedeathtollfromahighlypresentable meningitis outbreak hasrisento30peopleintheUSasofNov.
7.And, just likeeveryfallfluseason,thenewsispepperedwithheartbreak-ingstoriesaboutthedeathsofchildren,senior citizens and pregnant womenwith immune systems that were notstrongenoughtofightofftheflu.Thesepeople died from a virus the flu shotcouldhavehelpedprevent.If you are in the public education
system,youalmostcertainlymeettheminimumvaccinationrequirements.Ifyouwanttogetaflushot,oranyothergenericvaccination,mostarecoveredbymedicalinsuranceandareavailableatmostwalkinpharmacies.
DoyouhaveastoryideaoraphotothatyouwouldliketoseeintheClear Falls Post?
Sendyourphotosandstoryideastoknightsnewsonline@gmail.com.
CheckouttheonlinenewspaperatKnightsNewsOnline.com
forcurrentstoriesandslideshows.
It’sagreatdaytobeaKnight!
HOSA Blood Drive is Highly SuccesfulBy ERICA BERNAL/MIRANDA CHANG
There is one thing inlife that should appearoneveryone’sbucketlistfor thosewho are capa-ble:donatingblood.OnOct.30,ClearFalls
High School’s HOSAprogram hosted its bi-mestrialblooddrive.The MD Anderson
Foundation broughttrailers to the school parking lot in order forstudentstobeginthedo-natingprocess.To donate blood there
arevariousrequirementsthatyoumustmeet:-Mustbe17yearsorolder-Mustweigh110poundsormore-Ironlevelsmustmeetstandards-EataheartybreakfastThe donors helped make the MD
Andersonblooddriveasuccess.Therewere 312 donors registered and they
collected enough blood to help 794cancerpatients. The turnout at Falls’ blood drive
broketherecordpreviouslyheldsinceCCISDbeganhostingblooddrives.Clear Falls is now the new blood
drive leader in CCISD and also theleadingblooddrivehighschoolforallofHoustonsouthofTheWoodlands.
HOSA students encourage peers to donate blood at the blood drive on Oct. 30. Photo by Sarah Holden
6•knightsnewsonline.com ARTS ClearFallsPost•November2012
Theatre Gets Smart With Fall Play
Behind the Curtains of Falls Theatre
Band Ends Season With ‘Tranquility’
By ERICA BERNAL
Thursday,Oct. 18, at 7:00P.M. theClear Falls’ theater department hadtheir first showing of their play Get Smart.This show has action, romance, de-
ception and good old-fashioned kid-napping.Theplaywasonceatelevisionseries and has even beenmade into amovie.Noonehasseen itdoneClearFalls’style.Itkickedoffwithhype,be-ingtheirfirstplayoftheseason.The star-studded cast brought per-
fectportrayaltotheircharacters.JacobKnightplayedtheclumsy,cleverlead,MaxwellSmart.Hisleadinglady,Ka-tarina Brown, played Agent 99. Thecommander and chief of CONTROLwasplayedbyFernValdez.JoelKuma-hataplayedProfessorDante.Thebadguyoftheshow,Mr.Big,wasplayedbythewickedlyfunnyCalebGonzales.The actor’s talents were well show-casedandmadethenightanunforget-tableperformance.Who wants to see the new James
Bond movie? When you can see
ChristopherSergel’s adaptionof “GetSmart”.BlunderingMaxSmart,secretagent86, isputonahighlyclassified
case. When Professor Dante’s inven-tion,theinthermoisstolen.Theinther-mo isused as adeath rayby the evilgeniusMr.Big.Max,accompaniedbyhislovelyassistantAgent99,stumble
through mission, bringing laughs totheaudience.ThechiefofCONTROLregretshisappointmentwhenMr.Big
threatenstoblowuptheStatueofLib-ertywiththeinthermo.The play required a lot of prepara-
tion. The thespians began their re-hearsals in September The cast and
crew worked hard with memorizinglinesandpracticingblocking.Theac-torsearnedtheirHollywoodpremiere.Onopeningnighttheauditoriumseatswerefilledwithexcitedviewers.Whenthecurtainswentup,theaudiencewasdazzled.The costumeswereflattering to the
actors and portrayed the characterswell. Mr. Big’s attire resembled theBatmanvillain theJoker.Hehaddra-maticmakeup.Intheateractorshavetoexaggeratethemakeupsotheaudiencecanseeitfromthestage.Alltheactorshadtocakeontheirmakeup.Offstagetheylookedlikeclowns,onstagewiththe lighting theactors lookednormal.ThechiefofCONTROLhad tosprayhis hair white to appear older. Thecostumeswerequitemodern.Thetwomain characters were spies, and theywereblack,businesssuittypeclothing.The theater department’s fall show
wasasuccess.Withgreatacting,fan-tastic costuming and an interestingplot,theplayhasitall.Itwasdefinitelyamustsee.
By MARISSA ADAMS/MIRANDA CHANG
Everyonewhohasever seenaplayis always amazed the first time theygo.Withthecolorfullights,impressivescenery, andi m p e c c a b l etrance the ac-tors cast uponthe audience,who wouldn’tbeimpressed?The reality
of what goeson back-stage is much morehectic. The audi-
ence tends tobe blinded by the spectacular end re-sult.Theydon’t,andsometimesneverwill, understand how much planningand preparation goes into the pro-ductionof theplay:all thesweat thatgoes intobuilding thescenery,all thefingersburntwhileadjustinglightfix-turesandoperatingthehotglueguns,not tomentionbeing inchargeofev-eryone’s position at the specific time.Theamountofformationanddevelop-mentthatgoesintoactuallymakingtheshowismassiveandtimelycomparedto the one or two hours of entertain-mentthatistheendproduct.Technicians an perceive amore re-
alistic setting as the play progresses.They feel like they are a part of theplay.There are extensive rehearsals ev-
erydaythatstartthreeweeksormorebeforetheshowisduetoopen.Tech-nicians, who build the set and scen-ery,organize themovementofall theprops,controllightingandaudio,andmeet after school every day, utill al-most 7:00 P.M. or later to work outscene changes. All of the actors arealways busy learning their lines and
movements on stage and figuring outhowtogoaboutgettingintocharacter.Thetechniciansandactorsseeavery
differentsidetotheperformancesthanthose in the audience. They tend to
work together quite well butof course clashon some issues.Without actorsthere would beno character to relate to andwith out tech-nicians there wouldbenosetfor the actorsto perform on.And without
eachothertherewouldbenoshow.Therearemanycomplicatedaspects
torunningashow.Thescenechanges,alongwith the actors getting into po-sition, have to be executed quickly,quietlyandoncue.Theaudienceseesthecompletedshowasitismeanttobeappreciated.Theirinterpretationoftheshowisrelaxedandfunwhilethetech-niciansandactorsare runningaroundandsettingupforthenextscene.Alloftheactorsandtechniciansfind
theshowscompletelyworthitdespitethelongrehearsalsandbusyschedules.There is somuchput into each showandeveryonecanagreethattheyhaveput their best effort into each perfor-mance.Thethingthatkeepsthetechnicians
comingbackformore,isbeingabletosay that you have created somethingout of nothing. And when they hearthat applause at the end of the show,evenifitisn’talwaysdirectedatthem,theyalsoappreciateit.Itsnicethatintheendoftheshowawaveofaccom-plishmentandsuccesssweeps theen-tirestage,actorsandtechnicians.
By MAX VERAS
Titled, “The Edge of Tranquility,”the 2012-2013 band marching showconsistsofupbeatrhythms,abrassen-sembleandanoboesoloist.ThebandstartedtheiryearoffinAu-
gust,practicingfrom7:30a.m.to3:00pmandreturningbackfora twohourrehearsal from6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m.Duringthattime,thebandpracticedthefundamentals ofmarching, their showmusic,andacombinationofboth.OnAug.24,thefirstperformanceof
“The Edge ofTranquility” took placein thebandparking lot forfamilyandfriends. The whole first movement,“Oppression” was performed and inconclusion to their performance, thebandreceivedapplaudsfromtheaudi-ence. Theperformingdidn’tstopthere.On
Sept.1,theClearFallsKnightshadtheirfirstgameagainstTerryHighSchool.Inhalftime,thebandperformedtheEm-eraldsongoftheweek,“RescueMe,”followingrightafterwiththeirshow.
Football games are the closest thing thebandhastoperformingforanaudi-ence.Theyuseeachperformanceasifitwerebeingjudgedinacompetition.Since“success”iswhattheystrivefor,assaidbydrummajor,BriannaOllre.The band practices everyday afterschool from3:30p.m. to5:30p.m. inordertoachievetheirgoal.Five more football games passed,
which meant that they had five moreopportunitiestocleantheirdrillbeforetheir first competition, The Friend-swoodMarchingCompetition.Forthepast twoyears, thebandhasmanagedtoplaceintofinalsorthetoptenbandsandthisyearwasn’ttheexception.Theweatherseemedasifwasgoing
torain,butitjustsprinkledthroughout
theday.Thebandperformedinprelimsandadvancedintofinals.Infinals,theywere the first to perform. Once theyfinishedperforming,theskyopenedupand the rain poured down. The com-petition ended up being canceled, butat least theband reached theirgoalofmakingittofinalsforthethirdconsecu-tiveyear.BandsofAmericaHoustonRegional
MarchingContest(BOA)wasthenextthingontheirmind.Lastyear,thebandwent toBOA inSanAntonio, so theyhadsomeexperiencewiththis typeofcompetition.Thisyear, thebandman-agedtoplacefourthintheirclassifica-tion. ThenextcompetitionfortheKnights
bandwastheLoneStarPreviewintheWoodlands. In this competition, therewere22bandsfromaroundtheareain-cludingPearlandHighSchool, SpringHigh School and Clear Brook HighSchool. Thebandmanagedtopulloffagood
enough performance, breaking thetie between them and Clements HighSchool and managed to make it intofinals.There, thebandplaced tenth inprelims and tenth in finals,which ledthemtoreceivingaplaque.Competitions didn’t end there. The
KnightsbandstillhastheGatorMarch-ingContest,whichtheyplacedsecondinthe5Acategory.TheyalsohadU.I.L.competition. If theband received su-perior at UIL, meaning a score of aone from the judges, then they couldadvancetothestatemarchingcompeti-tion.Theyendedupreceivingstraightones and advanced, but placed thir-teenthoutofthirty-eightbands.The band ended a great marching
seasonwith an abundance of trophiesandaccomplishments.
Castmembers Katarina Brown, Jacob Knight, Fern Velez, and Carly Spangler on stage during the-atres first play of the year, Get Smart. Photo By Kendra Dix
Paintbrushes in the tech theatre workshop are among the countless pieces of equipment used in producing sets. Photo by Will Blalock
November2012•ClearFallsPost POP CULTURE knightsnewsonline.com•7
Swift’s Red shifts from Country to PopMusic Review: Why Swift should stick to her country roots
By SIERRA HAM
After an initial premiere at theCannesFilmFestivalearlyinthesum-merandareleaseinselecttheatresonSept.21,themuch-awaitedfilmPerks of Being a WallflowerhasfinallycomeouteverywhereonOct.12.Formoviesnobs all over the world, Perks has createdaspark.Thefilm,whichreceived86percent
onRottenTomatoes,made over $9.1million on its openingweekend.Thedirector,StephenChboskyalsowroteboth the screenplay and the criticallyacclaimednovel.Thoughthestoryisabeautifulcom-
ingofagedramaset in theearly90sit has really resonated with troubledteens. The raw themes are handledverywellandthecharactersdealwiththeiremotionalandpersonaljourneys
in away thatmakes them believableandrelatable.Thebookandmovieareaboutnew
friendship,outcastkidsandanawak-eningwithoutbeingclichéd.AsEmmaWatson’s character, Sam, says to theantagonist, Charlie, “Welcome to theislandofmisfittoys.”TheleadingactorsinPerks include
Harry Potter’sEmmaWatsonasSam,Percy JacksonsLoganLermanasleadCharlie and Indie sweetheart EzraMillerastheopenlygayPatrick.Theirperformances are truly remarkable astheactorsreallyopenupandbecomethe characters.
Perks of being a Wallflower is an earnest indie movie in the best waypossible.Itisquitedarkbothemotion-allyandliterally.Thelightingthrough-outmuch of the film gave it amuchmorepersonalandrealfeel.
It really isn’t necessary to read thebooktounderstandthemovie;insteadtheymakegreatcompanionpieces toeachother.Chboskydidagreatjobinmakingthefilmnotfeelwellbalancedandoverdone.Among other great things about
Perks of Being a Wallflower is the ter-rificsoundtrack.Someofthefeaturedsongsinclude,“Asleep”byTheSmiths,“DearGod”byXTC,and“Tugboat”byGalaxie500.
Perks of Being a Wallflowerisreallya refreshing indie break from all theaction packed blockbusters 2012 hasseen.Thismoviewillalmostcertainlybecomeacultclassicandthenowfa-mousendingquotewillliveon,“Andinthatmoment,Iswearwewereinfi-nite.” Overall itscoredanA+for itsdaringandoverallemotionaleffect.
By MEGHAN MISTRY Taylor Swift’s newest album, Red,
wasreleasedthispastweekonOct.22.LikeSwift’sthreepreviousalbums,herfansareinacraze.ButRedhasmanyspeechless and Swift seems to have,well, swiftly abandoned her countrypersonaandjumpedintothenowover-donepopindustry.While the album guarantees Swift
aspoton theBillboardTop100forafewsongs,theoverallalbumlackstheuniqueness that brought her into themusic world. Swift’s country roots,heart-wrenchinglyricsandteenagein-nocenceare lost. Infact, thealbumisaboutasflatashernewhairstyle.Swift opens the album with “State
ofGrace,”asongmoregearedtowardtherockgenre.“StateofGrace”isdefi-nitely limited to being aCD stunner:nota radiohit.Swift iscatchyas shefadesoffattheendofeverywordandpicksuptofastlyrics.Whiletheacous-tic version (an addition to the deluxeversionofthealbum)takesthecakeas
thebetterone,Swiftshowsherlyricalabilities,appealingtogirlswith“AndIneversawyoucoming/andI’llneverbethesame.”The album then follows
withitscoversong,“Red.”The song, which easilygetsstuckinalistener’shead, is catchy, quirkyand pretty unique, butitdoesseemasifSwiftisjustnowlearninghercolors at 22. Her next song,
“Treacherous,” re-treats more to the style of the songson her Speak Nowalbum. Swift iscalm and sooth-ing, returning toher sweet façade.Howeverthelyricsshow that evenSwift, a(six timeGrammywin-ner), is a bit rebellious,“This slope is treacher-
ous/I,I,Ilikeit.”Swifts next few songs are prob-ably thebiggesthitsof thealbum.
“I knew you were trouble,” isSwift’s only soul-ful pop track. Theheavy bass back-
ground is catchy andrelatable. She continues
with“Alltoowell,”whichfo-cusesmore on her famous lovestory lyrics. However, just asSwift gets on a roll, she losesherselfwithalameAvrilLavigneimitationin“22.”Thesong,whichmatchesherage,isatrainwreck.
Luckily, she follows with “Ialmost do,” a refreshing, old-styledsongwiththeclichésadandsweetTaylorSwift.Her two duets, “The last
time,” with Snow Patrol leadsinger Gary Lightbody and“Everythinghaschanged,withEd Sheeran, complete the al-bum.In fact,Swiftwouldhavebeen
better leaving off “22,” “Stay StayStay,”“HolyGround”(aterribleKatyPerrysoundalike),and“SadBeautifulTragic,” justbecause these twoduets,paired with her slow songs and fewupbeatones,wouldhavebeenamuchbetter combination. Her duet withGaryLightbodyissoulfulandthemostchemistry-filled song we’ve heardfromSwiftyet.She ends the album with the sassy
“The Lucky One” and the realistic“BeginAgain.”WhileSwifthadquiteafewmishaps
on the album and definitely made amistakesteppingawayfromhercoun-try style, the album overall is not asbadasitcouldhavebeen. She was right to experiment with
music genres at a young age, but sheshoulddefinitelyreturntohercountrystyleandquirky,curlyhair.Red is sim-plyaB+album.
Perks of Being a Wallflower Sure to Become a Classic
By MAX VERAS
Receiving $5 million on openingnight, Sinister left some of the audi-ence terrified of the dark and otherslaughing at the recapped scenes inwhich“Mr.Boogie”appears.Directed by Scott Dericksen, who
alsoproducedtheParanormal Activity filmsandThe Exorcism of Emily Rose, this goosebumpgivinghorrormoviehasmanagedtomakenearly$4millionsince its debut. Does that mean this
thrillerisnotjustanyotherHalloweenmoviedesignedtoscareus?In this chilling film actor Ethan
Hawke,whoplaysatruecrimeauthor,EllisonOswald, is insearchofabestselling novel and to do this he goesas far as to live in the samehome inwhichthemurderhappened.Nottellinghiswifeorfamilyofthe
situation he has put them in,Oswaldbegins his investigation during thenight. He finds a mysterious box intheatticfilledwithvideosandamovie
projector.Hewatcheseachofthevid-eos,beginningwith“HangingoutwiththeFamily,”whichhappens tobe themurderthathappenedathisnewhome.What Oswald did not planwas for
his family to get involved with “Mr.Boogie.”“Mr.Boogie”isademonicmonster
whomakessmallchildrenmurdertheirfamily members and then takes theirsouls.IneverymoviefilmthatOswaldwatched,therewasahappyfamilyandayoungchild,thatquicklyturnedinto
Movie Sinister Proves to be Suspenseful
Ethan Hawke, who played Ellison Os-wald, at the premiere of his movie Sinister. Photo Courtesy of MTC CAMPUS
Photo Courtesy of MTC CAMPUS
a panicking family yelling for theirliveswhiletheyoungchilddidas“Mr.Boogie”toldthemtodoso.Thestorycontinuesonwithcreaking
in thefloor and footsteps in the attic.Everyonceinawhile,thereisasceneinthemoviethatmakesyoujumpoutof your seat and even scream if youcan’thandlesuspensefulfilms.Ifyouenjoybeing frightenedevery
once in a while, then Sinister is the movieforyou.
November2012•ClearFallsPost knightsnewsonline.com•8FUN @ FALLSSeniorZachFattig,50,sacks Clear Creek’s quarterbackJarrettHil-drethattheClearFallsvs. Clear Creek game onOctober6.Photo by Sarah Holden
Thevarsityvol-leyballteamgetspumpedrightbe-foretheydefeatClear Creek on October5,threematchestozero.Photo by Sarah Holden
JuniorCalebGonzalesdelivershislineswhileacting in Get Smart. Photo by Kendra Dix
OnHalloween,ClearFallsteacherDebbieBaconandherclasstakethepreschool-ersofCamelotKidstrick-or-treating aroundtheschooltocollectcandyfromteachersandstudents.Photo by Sarah Holden
TroyMorin,JakePowersandJackBlythesupporttheschool’sswimmersbyrepresentingthemwithaposterthatreads“WeLoveOurSwimmers.” Photo by Ann Carver
HoldingherHOBYcertificate,winner,ElenaKramarzacceptsherawardfromPrincipalKarenEngle.Photo by Sarah Holden
JessicaHembree,SarahAllen,SydneyReaganandLaurenO’DonelstandattheirFrightNightMeethostedbytheClearFallsswim team. Photo by Ann Carver
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