May 18, 2016

Volume 11, Issue 4

It’s that time of year again.

Graduation. Seniors are excit-

ed, scared, or both. They are

ready to take on the world and

make a difference. They will

always remember their time at

North Star. I asked what they

remembered from their school

career, from kindergarten re-

cess to senior skip day and

everything in between. I didn’t

get as many as I wanted but I

think they are pretty good

memories.

“Eli Fleegle would always chase us

in elementary.” - Miranda Pastuch

“The best days in elementary was

when we played with Big Bertha in

Mr. Jones’ class.” - Jessica Moyer

“Spontaneous John Cena Theme

Song at band camp.” - Evan Gerney

“I remember when Mr. Berkebile

had hair.” - Morgan Lehman

“Ms. Liska told me that I could pick

up chicks with my scar.” - John D.

Beese

ConGRADulations Seniors By Ashley Kelly Continued on p. 2

Archery Outdoorsman Club By Taylor Miller

The Archery Outdoorsman club is a

new club here at North Star High

School. The club was actually

founded by one of our students

here. Sophomore Colton Buchanan

allied with Mr. Szczur to start this

club, which was created out of stu-

dent interest. The club has eleven

members, ten boys and one girl. So

far, they took a morning trip to the

Quemahoning and stocked it with

fish for the first day of trout. With

the latest technology, they were

able to video the new fish under

water. Their future plans are to do

some 3D shoots at the Shade

sportsman's club, and help out for

Youth days. They also

would like to get as-

sociated with some-

one who could help

them possibly stock

pheasants for when

pheasant season

comes in. In order to

be in the club, you

have to own a bow

and have some expe-

rience with it. The

club doesn’t officially

start until next year.

“In band class, we always break

out into random songs like Thriller

and Seven Nation Army.” - Lucas

Deist

“At Camp Sequanota, we never got

any water and had PB&J sandwich-

es (minus the J).” - Michael Sabo

“Mr. Risch used to catch on fire

when we spun on the computer

chairs.” - Miranda Pastuch

“My memory is making a family

though this year’s musical.” - Lind-

say Walker

“I have fallen up the stairs. All of

the stairs.” - Megan Friedline

“I remember walking through the

halls in sixth grade and seeing

Evan Gerney and thinking, ‘I really

hate that kid’.” - Sierra Mafield

“Going to the dance with Taylor.” -

Javan Lucas

“My favorite memory was when I

got to be a part of Godspell.” - Ben-

jamin Volk

The seniors will be greatly missed

but they have a whole new journey

to start. During their next journey,

they will make new memories that

they will carry with them through-

out life, like they did throughout

school. Congratulations Class of

2016!

ConGRADulations Seniors Continued from p. 1

middle distance (800m)

(1600m+3200m), long distance,

hurdles (110/100m, 300m), relays

(4x100m, 4x800m), Long Jump,

High Jump, Triple Jump, Pole Vault,

Discus, Shot Put, and Javelin.

The members of this year’s track

team from North Star are, from ninth

grade, Caleb Ashbrook, Trinity

Romesberg, Hunter Tremain,

Krysten Joseph, and Destiny Farkas.

From tenth and eleventh grade,

Rockel Eutin, Ian Pollock, Emilee

Griffith, Hattie Mostoller, Austin

Ray, Vincent Sheehan, and Alyssa

Thomas. The seniors are Kylee Jo-

seph, and Nina Pollock.

Track team By Casey Ray

“Feet behind the line! When I see

everyone is still I will shoot the gun!”

As he looks throughout the partici-

pants, he sees everyone is still.

BANG! And there they go! This year

North Star had the ultimate oppor-

tunity of joining Shade’s Track

team. Even though they have to

ride a bus to Shade for practices

this was not a bad offer. So of

course we had a lot of people join

the team. They all practiced hard

for all their meets so they could

qualify for Districts. They had 8

meets but I couldn’t attend all of

them. Wednesday, May 18 is Dis-

tricts for anyone who made it. Good

luck!

In track there are several different

events you can participate, includ-

ing, sprints (100m, 200m, 400m),

Page 2

Photos courtesy of Casey Ray.

For many of today’s youth, it can

seem next to impossible to find a

career path that one has a passion

for. Many people find themselves

dreading waking up for work in the

morning, facing another day of

drudgery. North Star chemistry stu-

dents, however, have the daily

privilege of experiencing the op-

posite end of that spectrum. Mr.

Matthew Statler is the perfect ex-

ample of a man who has a passion

for his career, and shares that en-

thusiasm on a daily basis with his

students.

A graduate of Saint Francis Univer-

sity, Mr. Statler has been employed

at North Star High School since

2004. Originally deciding to go into

the chemistry field due to it being

his favorite class in high school, he

realized his true passion for teach-

ing and chemistry once he gained

experience in his own classroom.

That passion and enthusiasm has

not dulled since then. Five days a

week, he faces the task of not only

educating his students on the diffi-

cult subject of chemistry, but going

above and beyond that with his

positive attitude that brightens

many students’ days. After person-

ally greeting each student that

comes into his classroom, Mr. Stat-

ler proceeds to delve into the sub-

jects of mass and matter, not just

simply teaching his students, but

going the extra mile to ensure that

they can fully understand and ap-

ply the topics. Whether this is ac-

complished simply by working

through any problem with seem-

ingly unending patience and dili-

gence, or by standing on his desk

to physically illustrate the shapes of

an electron’s orbitals, Mr. Statler

not only teaches his students chem-

istry, but how to share one’s pas-

sion with others. Inspired by his

students and their successes and

commitment to learning, Mr. Statler

himself is truly an inspiration and

example to many, if not all of his

students. In a day and age where it

is difficult to find someone who en-

joys their job so much that they

share their enthusiasm with others,

the students at North Star are very

fortunate to have a role model such

as Mr. Statler.

North Star chemistry teacher is definitely in his “element” By Lindsay Walker

Page 3

On April 21, 22, and 23, the North

Star Musical cast put on their pro-

duction of Godspell. Through hard

work, dedication, and love, the

show (figuratively) brought the

house down. With the combined

talents of the cast the show exceed-

ed expectations, while conveying

the message of God, community,

and, above all, love. As someone

who was in the cast and got to see

the incredible transformation of a

diverse group of teenagers turn

into a family, I can honestly say it

was something I’ve never seen or

experienced before.

Through his own hard work and

dedication, plus the magic of thea-

ter, Case Tretter was transformed

from a baseball-playing teenager

into a loving, compassionate martyr

who touched the audiences’ hearts.

The rest of the cast was trans-

formed into a family who not only

acted out the loss of their teacher

and friend, but truly learned to feel

every emotion that went into the

performance, whether that be the

joy of playing a game of Pictionary,

or the immeasurable grief at losing

someone you’ve truly come to con-

sider family.

I can truly say that Godspell ex-

ceeded any and all expectations

that were set for it, and as a mem-

ber of what will continue to be the

Group One Family, I can say that

the show has set the standard for

future performances higher than it

has ever been. The amount of pride

the students involved should take

in their work is incredible. To those

involved, remember to take the

message of the show with you

wherever you may go. “Long live

God.”

Godspell changes hearts By Lindsay Walker

more exciting than last year’s festi-

val, especially with a small hotel

fire!” All jokes aside, Evan had a

great time while at this event, and

even took a very valuable life les-

son from it. “Working with other

people’s styles help me improve

my own, which is very valuable

since I plan on pursuing music as a

career.”

Since this was his last festival as a

high school student, Evan took a

second to pick a favorite out of all

of the concerts from the past. Af-

ter a moment, Evan declared that

BandFest 2010 was his favorite.

Unfortunately for Evan, the Nation-

al Association for Music Education

only hosts National events once

every other year, meaning there

will not be a national event for him

to attend. Nevertheless, making it

to the All-State event is still a huge

honor, and shows how hard he has

worked in the field of music.

All-State spectacular By Lucas Deist

Page 4

Last March, North Star’s Evan Ger-

ney departed the school to attend

the Pennsylvania Music Educator

Association All-State festival. This

festival is seen as a huge honor,

and only the most talented high

school musicians have even a

chance to participate.

As is tradition, the All-State festival

took place in Hershey Park, where

the students had the opportunity to

stay in Hershey Lodge, and even

explore some of the other attrac-

tions. After the first day of fun,

Evan and nearly one hundred other

students started practicing from the

early hours of the morning to late

hours of the night. Despite all of

the hard work, Evan still expressed

that he had fun.

“It was a very enjoyable experi-

ence,” he said. “It was definitely

Maxwell Volk graduated from

North Star High School with the

class of 2014. After high school,

some go to college, some go to the

military, and some go straight into

the workforce. After graduation,

Max decided to move away and

attend college in Pittsburgh. I in-

quired him on his current life, his

future, and his advice for those of

us facing ours. Here is the conver-

sation that ensued…

-Where are you attending cur-

rently, and what is your major? I am attending the University of

Pittsburgh - Oakland Campus and

I'm studying Finance, with a minor

in Economics. I'm considering add-

ing another major on to these, like

Marketing.

-What do you plan on doing with

your degree after college?

I plan on becoming either a level I

Financial Analyst or moving into

some other related field that

doesn't have to be specifically in

finance. Like I mentioned before,

adding another major would in-

crease my employability tremen-

dously.

-What has changed since you

graduated from NS? A lot has changed. College is sig-

nificantly different from high school

and requires a lot more work ethic

and dedication. This isn't to say that

only a few people can do it, be-

cause a lot of people are very able

(especially in less difficult majors).

-You recently studied abroad in

Sydney, Australia, what was most

memorable part about that expe-

rience? And what did you learn

while you were there? What was most memorable about

the experience was the fact that I

assimilated better into both their

culture and others, such as the UK's,

than I did my own. Our program

was spent in an American bubble

for a lot of the class time and in the

context of living quarters, so I came

to realize that the nuances and tem-

peraments of these two cultures

were so much less intense and

more accepting than we are (which

is what I fit in with most). The most

important thing I learned while I

was there was also that the Australi-

an people maintain the philosophy

of "working to live" and not "living

solely to work." They try to break

their days down into three sets of 8

hours: the first for sleep, the sec-

ond for work, and the third for

play/spending time with family.

-What advice do you have for the

graduating class this year, and

the future graduating classes?

My advice would be to question

everything and to wonder what

makes everyday life so set in stone.

Everything is arbitrary and there's

no reason that things should go ex-

actly as they've gone for continuous

generations. Falling into a rut is the

most dangerous thing you can do

and this remains independent from

establishing solid morals and a

powerful work ethic. Most of the

time falling into this rut pits you

against life and your perceived tra-

ditions will ultimately recede your

ambitions or even diminish them.

Try your best to get some form of

education and you will see a drastic

increase in your quality of life/

happiness over time.

Max is currently living in

Shadyside, in Pittsburgh, and work-

ing at the Starbucks on Walnut

Street for the summer. Max is an

inspiring example of how everyone

has the opportunity to do incredible

things! It does not matter that we

come from a small town in rural

Pennsylvania; every single person

has the opportunity to travel the

world and change it along the way!

I encourage everybody to strive to

do what they love, and take ad-

vantage of incredible opportunities

that are put in front of you, like go-

ing to Sydney for three months. Try

new things; do things that scare

you, but most importantly, experi-

ence and attempt to understand the

lives lived outside of the ones that

we know. You can do great things;

do not let anyone tell you anything

different!

Graduate corner By Ben Volk

Page 5

During March 8th and 9th of this

school year you might have noticed

a few kids missing from our student

body. That is because they were at

Susquehanna University competing

at the state competition!!! Speakers

Sydney Trout, David Miller, Lind-

say Walker, Cooper Tretter, and

Michael Sabo spent two days com-

peting in the competition in See-

lands Grove Pennsylvania.

Sydney Trout participated in radio

announcing during the first day of

the competition in the quarter final

round. Radio announcing is a cate-

gory in which one gives news

broadcasts as a radio announcer

would in real life. This was Syd-

ney's first time officially doing ra-

dio announcing but did a fantastic

job and made the team proud.

David Miller participated in the

quarter final round of impromptu.

In this category, David was given a

topic of any form and gave a

speech on that topic in any way he

interpreted it. He was fantastic in

this category and practiced long

and hard to do his best at states.

The team could not have asked for

more.

Lindsay Walker attended the quar-

ter final round doing her piece in

dramatic interpretation. She takes

prompts from published pieces and

acts them out solo in front of her

competitors. In this cutthroat cate-

gory, she did an excerpt from

Mommy Dearest. It was terrifyingly

great and she did an amazing job.

She was team captain and kept

moral boosted to levels unseen.

We could not have done it without

her.

Cooper Tretter made it the whole

way to the final round and ended

up placing fourth in his category of

informative. With his piece defin-

ing the concept of time and how to

manage time accordingly, he man-

aged to work his way up to fourth in

the state in informative speaking.

We are all very proud of his accom-

plishment.

Michael Sabo managed to make it

to the semi-final round in extempo-

raneous speaking. This category of

answering a political question with

30 minutes of research and made

up on the spot. He placed top 12 in

the state and is very thankful for his

teams support through a great

speech season

Overall, the forensics team had one

of the best seasons it has had in the

past four years. We are all so thank-

ful for the efforts of Mr. Lohr, our

head coach, and Mr. Ogline, our

assistant coach, for making this a

very memorable speech season.

We all cannot wait to see what the

future holds for this great sport at

our school, and are anxious for an-

other great year.

North Star Forensics By Michael Sabo

Last Thursday, May 5, our high

school worked with the Jenner Art

Gallery to put on the 10th annual

Art Exhibit. Showcasing the work of

twenty-two of your fellow peers,

half of which were from senior

class, the gallery was flowing with

students, teachers, the young art-

ists and proud parents all support-

ing the work of their friends, ac-

quaintances, and loved ones. Held

at the Mountain Playhouse, the ex-

hibit was open to the public for an

hour and a half to look at the array

of photographs, paintings, sculp-

tures, and drawings from the up-

and-coming artists of your

school. One exhibit-attendee

quotes, “I was very impressed

by the level of quality of the

artwork, especially from high

school students”. Ask around

and those who attended would

most likely agree with that

statement, the general consensus

being that these young artists, and

your fellow students, put a lot of

hard work into their pieces; This is

especially impressive considering

that the seniors who participated,

had to contribute 4 pieces, and to

the credit and of these 11 students,

Art exhibit By Mattison Lyons

kept a high and consistent level of

excellence in the pieces they gave

to the show. The underclassmen,

contributing 2 pieces of their own,

were equally amazing in the pieces

they brought, and are sure to con-

tinue to provide quality art in their

following years at high school for

the next annual art exhibits.

Page 6

I’m sure many have heard of SeaWorld’s new decision to end the kill-

er whale exhibits, and that the generation of orcas in SeaWorld now

will be the last generation. To protesters, even this isn’t enough. Sea-

World had lost their old CEO and hired a new one, who believed giv-

ing into protesters was better than standing his ground. Well, once

you give an inch they take a mile. So, the protesters are now saying

the whales should be released, regardless of the “sea pens” being

proven to lead to death. The protesters state they would prefer them

to be in the ocean and die rather than in SeaWorld and live a few more

years. This takes you into the mindset of the protesters. Before Sea-

World was founded, orcas were one of the most feared animals of the ocean. Now, thanks to the close interactions

people may have with the whales, they are one of the most beloved. To enhance the experience with the whales,

SeaWorld was planning to build a large habitat with many realistic and natural settings with a large underwater

viewing area, keeping the whales to interact and behave naturally with no more shows. This can be seen in the pic-

ture provided. The plan was spectacular; it would’ve been such a huge step for SeaWorld. But, as all good things

must come to an end, the protesters demanded this plan cancelled as well. SeaWorld’s decision to hire a new CEO

has proven to be their downfall. Regardless of their state of the art vet care and rescue programs associated with

SeaWorld, it has been the target of all animal rights activists. Many of the activists are from PETA; if any of you

know anything about PETA... you’ll see why SeaWorld has taken them as a joke for so long. PETA preaches of the

negative things happening to animals, PETA itself offers a shelter to take pets to when owners don’t want them or

simply would like to give them a chance to be adopted out to a new home. Many believe simply because PETA

preaches the safety of animals, that they practice it too. Wrong, PETA euthanizes animals that are not adopted out

within a grace period of them being taken to the shelters. They justify it as a “kindness” to euthanize the homeless

animals, so they do at a very high rate. That’s only one of the things PETA contradicts when they attack places with

false “evidence” and news stories only to be hypocrites when their own organization is exposed for worse than

they report about. If you would like to learn more information about PETA, take the time to research them I’m sure

you’ll be surprised what you find. Now, we may take the time to address another popular argument, the movie

blackfish. Taken straight from SeaWorldCares.com is a list of facts going against blackfish to further that it is propa-

ganda, not a documentary. Here's the truth:

1.Blackfish employs false and emotionally manipulative sequences concerning the collection and separation of kill-

er whales.

2.The film relies on former SeaWorld employees, most of whom have little experience with killer whales, and oth-

ers who haven’t worked at SeaWorld in nearly 20 years.

3.The film also relies on animal rights activists masquerading as scientists.

4.The film spins an entirely fictitious account of Dawn Brancheau’s death in order to advance its ant captivity narra-

tive.

5.To advance both its ant captivity narrative and its false theories surrounding Ms. Brancheau’s death, the film

falsely suggests that Tilikum had become psychotic and aggressive.

6.The film falsely suggests that important facts about Tilikum were concealed from his trainers and that SeaWorld is

indifferent to trainer safety.

With the information opposing the popular arguments of the protesters, I believe it is clear that SeaWorld’s new

CEO could've been more professional and done some research on the job he was going into before jumping to

pleasing the public. But, what's done is done and though the future generations will not have the contact with the

whales as our generation was so privileged to have, we have gained a lot of information on killer whales and how

to further the conservation acts to protect their species in the wild. SeaWorld has had a good run, and will continue

until the last orca dies. The last SeaWorld park predicted to have orcas is SeaWorld San Antonio due to the baby

orca Kamaya being born at the park 4 years ago. What are your thoughts on the decision?

SeaWorld discontinuing orca habitats in their parks? By Kira Heider

Page 7

Seniors who are usually featured

are athletic or talented in some

way. I feel like there are other

things that are just as important.

They are friendliness, a sense of

humor and being social. Javan Lu-

cas is exemplary in all these com-

ponents.

Javan is seen all around school. He

socializes all the time with every-

one he can.

According to Mr. Peruso, he is

very social and enjoys entertain-

ing the secretaries. He is also very

respectful towards adults. He en-

joys helping the office ladies and

making them smile.

“He is very helpful and he always

cheers us up. He even calls us by

name.” commented Betty.

He also is friends with much of the

student body.

“He makes me laugh,” says Kayla

Berkebile.

“He’s friends with almost every-

one,” says Morgan Lehman.

According to Ms. C. Lohr, Javan

loves to joke and play tricks on

people as well.

I asked Javan about how everyone

says he is a prankster and he said,

“I like to scare John. I like April

Fool’s Day.”

Morgan says “he always sneaks

up on people at lunch.”

Sadly, Javan was absent on April

Fool’s Day, but he treats every day

as April Fool’s Day. The most re-

cent joke I saw him pull was put-

ting on a scary mask and trying to

scare Justin, a fellow classmate of

his.

In class, he is an excellent student.

He enjoys math and reading. He

loves to work with money. He also

likes the science experiments they

do every month. Last month was

how beans grow with different

amounts of sunlight.

Javan is in the third period gym

class as well. He loves to play

gym.

“My favorite games are football

and frisbee.”

As the upperclassmen know, Javan

went to prom this year. He thor-

oughly enjoyed prom. He loved

the food and said his favorite part

was dancing.

Since Javan is graduating, he will

miss the people here at North Star,

especially Mr. Peruso, Ms. C.

Lohr, Ms. Bittner, and Ms. Hille-

gas. He is excited though and

ready to graduate. He even said

that when he graduates, he will

still recycle, just like he does in

the life skills room now. He will

also continue his helping others

by helping his parents as well and

his uncle and grandmother.

Javan has had a great school ca-

reer here at North Star, making

many friends and memories. He

will truly be missed by the staff

and students here. Thank you, Ja-

van, for making us laugh and be-

ing a great friend to everyone you

saw.

Javan Lucas By Ashley Kelly

Page 8

We made bags with grewing beans.

First we got a bag. Next we hung

beans. Last we check the beans. It

was fun.

Life skills get creative By Ashley Kelly

The Life Skills room have started a

new teaching program. In this pro-

gram, the students can write about

their monthly topic. For April, that

was their science experiment on

how beans grow and what they

need. Here is one small essay from

one of the students.

What do beans need to grow By

Anonymous

It was the time of the year again to

zip up those gorgeous dresses,

lace up those dancing shoes, and

cross your fingers in hopes to win

the title of King and Queen. North

Star held its annual Prom at the

John Bracken Hall on May 7, 2016.

This year’s Prom started at seven

o’clock and there was great food

with dancing to follow! The theme

was Diamonds are Forever. It was a

beautiful day for Prom! There was a

great attendance this year also.

As you know, every year there is a

King and a Queen chosen for the

year. Congratulations to North Star

High School’s King and Queen, Ri-

ley Hemminger and Kylee Joseph!

Following them getting the award

was the King and Queen’s dance to

“A Moment like This,” by Kelly

Clarkson. After they won I asked a

couple questions to hear what they

had to say about it. This year was

Kylee’s favorite year for Prom, can

you blame her? Also it was the most

memorable for her as was her sen-

ior year Prom and receiving the

title of being Queen. They both

were much honored to be selected

as King and Queen! Kylee and Riley

went to every school dance togeth-

er so this was a great way to top off

their last school dance. What they

enjoyed most was dressing up and

getting pictures.

The only constructive criticism I

received on Prom is maybe having

a better taste in music for next

year. For juniors, there is a Prince

and Princess chosen every year.

Congratulations to Alex Daniels

and Jackie Stanko who received the

title this year. After being selected

they also danced to “A Moment like

This,” by Kelly Clarkson.

A huge thank you to North Star for

hosting another fun night of Prom!

Congratulations to our King and

Queen also our Prince and Prin-

cess. Until next year! Sometimes

you will never know the value of a

moment until it becomes a

memory. ~Dr.Seuss

Diamonds are Forever, Prom 2016 By Trinity Romesberg

Student survey By Cooper Tretter

Page 9

Spring has sprung, and an extra

hour of daylight is exciting news for

many, but none so much as North

Star’s technical science class. Un-

der the instruction of science teach-

er Mr. Vincent Szczur, the class has

constructed solar panels that pro-

duce up to nineteen volts of renew-

able energy, which is enough to

power batteries, radios, and even a

standard computer.

Using storm windows, polycrystal-

line panels, and battery cells, the

technical science class equally dis-

tributed the workload of creating

these panels amongst themselves.

From the basic layout of the panels

to the test runs that were conduct-

ed, the class worked together once

a week since the start of the semes-

ter.

Inspired to create the panels by the

class’s premise of exploring me-

chanical, fluid, electrical, and ther-

mal energies, the project not only

creates clean, renewable energy,

but teaches the stu-

dents how to work to-

gether to produce re-

sources that can bene-

fit many.

The panels are estimat-

ed to last for roughly

thirty years, and at an

estimated cost of one

hundred dollars per

panel, it is an incredi-

ble investment that is

sure to reduce utility

bills.

Under the incredible

instruction of Szczur,

the technical science

class is getting a head

start on the technologies that are

becoming increasingly popular,

while helping those around them

with their diligence and ingenuity.

North Star Technical Science Class “Shines” with Solar Energy Project By Lindsay Walker

Many people in this world would

say that someone must have the

majority of their life figured out by

the time they graduate. Now, if you

personally have discovered what

you want to commit the rest of your

life to, congratulations. That’s a

huge step toward success and hap-

piness. Unfortunately, that’s not the

case for many people. I’ve recently

heard some seniors express con-

cerns that “they don’t know what

they want to do with their life.”

Again, some would say that you are

doomed and that you better get it

together soon, but I disagree with

that. It would be nice, yes, to be so

sure of your path of life – and even

if you are, please, heed this bit of

knowledge – but it’s okay if you

don’t. Life can change so quickly,

that you may be absolutely sure

you’re destined for marine biology,

when you find your calling in art.

You may dream one day of being a

chemical engineer, and then you

discover that your heart’s desire is

to pursue accounting. The point

that I’m trying to make is that it’s

okay if you change course.

Sure, it may take another year of

schooling, or you may realize that

you want to quit school and start

your own business right away. But

whatever you choose to do, do with

bold enthusiasm. Always be power-

fully radiant about your goal and

love the mistakes and lessons you

learn along the way. Trials and trib-

ulations you stumble upon may ulti-

mately point toward lifelong happi-

ness.

Seniors, it’s been a wonderful

twelve years. Be always enthusias-

tic, always radiant, and always a

North Star Cougar.

Enthusiasm: A Note to the Seniors By Cooper Tretter

Page 10

This year was the second for the

North Star Book Club. The book

club is under the advisor of Ms.

Griffith. The current officers are

President Sydney Trout, Vice Presi-

dent Draven Beener, Secretary Me-

gan Friedline, and Treasurer Sierra

Mayfield. The other members are

Cody Augustine and Ashley Fab-

rizi. Throughout the year, the book

club reads a different variety of

books chosen by the members.

North Star’s Book Club By Sydney Trout

The ocean is a vast and mysterious

place, filled with creatures big and

small. Even the darkness held

strange dwellers that didn't need

the light as those in the reefs and

shallows. It was peaceful as every-

thing had a place and everything, a

purpose.

One small grey clam found his

place right at the edge of the wa-

ters, where salty waters covered

muddy sand perfect for his home.

Other clams lived here too, all of

them different but a community

nonetheless.

One day he saw a clam beautiful

light pink with white near her beak.

All the others avoided her but he

didn't know why. So he approached

her and that's when he saw it. On

her smooth shell was a dent or ra-

ther a place where a piece used to

be. Yet that drew him all the more,

for you see, he was a curious clam

that loved a story. A story some-

times took exterior form and this

lovely pink calm had a story in-

deed.

She was rather embarrassed of her

dent. It was the one thing about her

that chased everyone else away.

She was deformed and that was not

acceptable to others. So imagine

her surprise when the grey clam

rushed up to greet her, to ask for

her name, and to ask her story. She

blushed asking why he didn't run

or turn away as all the others had.

He merely said it was interesting,

not ugly or disgraceful. The pink

clam said nothing. What could she

say besides that she liked him? So

one meeting became another, until

they met every day. They never

said “I love you”, because it hung

in the air whenever they were with

each other. It never needed said,

for they knew.

The grey clam was the first to have

a thought, an idea of showing his

love in a physical form. So he start-

ed growing for her, a pearl, being

the ultimate expression of a clam’s

love. He wanted to make it the gen-

tle pink that was the lovely clam

but no matter what he did it turned

out the same. A dull white, gleam-

ing, grey pearl. It sat carefully

tucked inside his shell growing

slowly but surely.

The pink clam had the thought just a

little after. She wanted to grow for

him a dazzling grey pearl that

would shine just like his personali-

ty. The only thing she could grow

however was a soft pink pearl that

had a shine like she wanted. So she

grew it waiting for the day it was

the proper size for him to receive.

The day came and the grey clam

rushed himself over to her section

of the sands, even skipping his dai-

ly algae eating. She was so sur-

prised when he gave her the gift

that she felt slightly embarrassed

when she gave him hers. Both

clams looked to each other and re-

alized they had given each other

exactly what the other had wished

to grow.

The rest of their days were spent in

the other’s company. The pearls

they had exchanged sat carefully in

their shells, placed close to their

hearts.

Happy as a clam By Megan Friedline

Page 11

This year, the club has read The

Maze Runner, Hitchhiker’s Guide to

the Galaxy, and Perks of Being a

Wallflower. The book club’s focus

is to get members interested in dif-

ferent books that they typically

wouldn’t read. It also allows the

chance for members to discuss the

book with other members while

reading it. Throughout the year, the

book club has had several different

parties where there would be book

circles. This is where each person

would bring a book of their choice

and describe it to the other mem-

bers. It’s a great way to get other

students interested in books you

have read. Although the book club

is small, it is a good group of stu-

dents that all have a love of books

and reading. This has allowed the

club to form and create many mem-

ories and experiences.

C

A

N

D

I

D

S

When an enforcer of the law hap-

pens to stop a robbery, she meets

the Emperor who is different than

all the ones before him. He encour-

ages peace between nations in-

stead of the wars that his predeces-

sors have been waging for hun-

dreds of years. Amaranthe Lockdon

decides to back up the Emperor

but a mysterious creature, conspir-

ing wizards, arson, and a traitorous

commander make it difficult.

The heroine is tossed from her fa-

miliar life as an enforcer and caught

in the middle of a scheme to kill the

Emperor. As a criminal she seeks

the aid of the man who was sup-

posed to kill her and manages to

get him to join her in taking down

the conspirators. Along the way,

Amaranthe recruits some unlikely

heroes who she seems to bring out

the best of.

I must say that I was quite satisfied

with this book. The ending didn’t

stretch out over several books but

finished in a way that made you ea-

ger to read the rest yet at the same

time feel as if you had read a great

story. The plot was paced and the

conflict enough to keep it lively be-

tween interactions. The setting was a

mix of steampunk and warrior caste

fantasy that gave the book a unique

background.

The characters brought out the best

in one another. Amaranthe is an hon-

est, good natured enforcer that

wants to serve her country even if

she is branded a criminal. She

acknowledges her faults overcoming

them in her own way. With her great

persuasion she wins over a band of

misfits who become her loyal follow-

ers.

The main male lead, Sicarius, is a

master of his trade and a bit distant

in his emotions. He is a world

known assassin and first meets Am-

aranthe when she is assigned to kill

him, not knowing that it was sup-

posed to be a suicide mission. She

returns after becoming a fugitive

seeking his aid in stopping the evil

threatening the Emperor. He

agrees and becomes the brawn to

her brains in the operation.

There are also several secondary

characters that each bring another

element to the story. There is no

love at first sight in this book, in-

stead there is a growing relation-

ship between two people from two

very different worlds. It sets up for

further chemistry in the next few

books which is a nice change to

see.

Overall, I can give it a four star rat-

ing and recommend it to all who

have an interest.

Emperor’s Edge By Megan Friedline

Useless information By Mattison Lyons

It takes about 142.18 licks to reach

the center of a Tootsie pop.

A normal raindrop falls at about 7

miles per hour. (Extra fun fact: the

speed of a raindrop would need to

be increased 127 times over, to

pierce the skin)

All 50 states are listed across the

top of the Lincoln Memorial on the

back of the $5 bill.

There are more plastic flamingos in

the U.S than there are real ones.

(Now, I don't know about you, but

I’d love to see a zoo exhibit solely

comprised of plastic flamingos. Bet-

ter yet, a petting zoo exhibit)

The “pound” key on your keyboard

(#) is called an octotroph.

Non-dairy creamer is flammable.

(Looks like we just found another

survival hack- when lost in the

woods pull out your trusty, Non-

dairy creamer and light that baby

up.)

A dime has 118 ridges around the

edge. (For the sake of science, I did

in fact, check this, and 15 minutes

later and about 3 restarts, there are

118 ridges.)

Now why exactly did you need to

know any of that? You don’t, that’s

the point - You know “Useless Infor-

mation”. So while you’re all taking

your finals and keystones this week,

you have this article to thank when

all that’s in your mind is how much

you want to visit the plastic flamingo

petting zoo.

Photo credit: http://

www.roadsideamerica.com/

tip/41524

Photo credit: http://

darkcreek.com/

united_states_currency/

united_states_five_dollar_bill/

Similar to other games in the Dark

Souls series, Dark Souls III is an

action role-playing game that is set

in third person. In the game, you

are set in a fantasy medieval world

where you coexist with knights,

dragons, and monsters. While Dark

Souls is an incredibly challenging

game, that doesn’t necessarily

make it awful to play. Once you get

a feel for how the gameplay works,

it starts to make a lot more sense

and becomes far more enjoyable.

One of the first things I want to

compliment Dark Souls on is the

story. Throughout the game, you

will see a lot of different lore. Some

will be shown in cut scenes while

others will be very small bits of

things, almost unnoticeable if

you’re not paying attention or

thinking about it. The series is well

known for it’s in depth lore and

Dark Souls III did not miss that. In

fact, the environment around you

and the creatures you see some-

times tell more of a story than how

they may first appear. Even with all

of these small things happening

mixed with the cinematic scenes,

there are still a lot of things that go

unexplained. Now, if you’re some-

body like me and you like answers

this can be annoying. But, it also

creates an entire new way to keep

you engaged. Since the lore is not

directly stated, there is a lot that

players can interpret and try to fig-

ure out for themselves. This has

created a lot of different ideas and

theories to be formed about a lot in

the game. The open ended feel of it

allows for the player to make it

their own in a sense. Although, as

much as there is about the story

itself, it doesn’t have to be the focus

of the game. Unlike some games,

I’m looking at you Beyond Two

Souls, Dark Souls III had wonderful-

ly captured story and gameplay.

If you’ve played any of the other

Dark Souls games, you’ll know that

the fun has always been in the

gameplay. Dark Souls III hasn’t

missed that at all. In my opinion, it

has the best gameplay of the three

games. For anybody just picking

up the game, you might complain

about the gameplay. It’s not the

easiest after all. But, once you get a

feel for it then you can really start

experiencing the game. Unlike the

former Dark Souls games, Dark

Souls III has had a new take on

combat. In the former games, you

could hide behind your shield and

wait to attack. Although in this

game, while you still have a shield,

you also need to learn to dodge a

lot more. Most of the bosses in the

game are strong, able to kill you in

just a few hits. Which, isn’t uncom-

mon for Dark Souls. Although, in

the past, enemies have been rather

sluggish. In Dark Souls III, the ene-

mies are more similar to those

found in Bloodbourne. Still very

strong, but also much quicker. This

adds a lot of challenge to the al-

ready hard game.

To top it all off, the game itself was

visually stunning. In the spin-off

game Bloodbourne, the graphics

were very similar. Although the

darkness of the game, while match-

ing the game, made it hard to see

at times. I have found Dark Souls III

has this issue a lot less. While the

game is brighter, it’s not so much

that it takes away from the eerie

feeling the game can bring.

Throughout the game, you will trav-

el through different areas. Some-

times you will be in a castle, other

times a swamp. Each area is filled

with graphical details that bring it

to life. Mixed with the detailed and

always creepy things, you fight it,

all comes together to bring to life

everything that the game is.

Overall, the game is phenomenal,

by far, the best in the franchise. It

has the perfect balance of story,

gameplay, and visuals that bring it

all together. Even if there are boss-

es that have made me want to rip

my hair out, I can very easily say

this game is one of the best games I

have played in a very long time.

Game Review– Dark Souls III 9.7/10 By Sydney Trout

Page 14

Summer vacation is inching its way

ever closer, and with that comes

new beginnings for a lot of our stu-

dents. New places, new friends, a

new school; it’s a completely new

start for all of our seniors. But of

course, where would we be if we

didn’t look back on all of the years

that we had here, with all of our

current friends? To help us remi-

nisce (and maybe give a case of

Senioritis), here’s a poem called

“As you Graduate” by Judy, origi-

nally written for her son Josh.

“It is impossible to live without fail-

ing at something, unless you live so

cautiously that you might as well

not have lived at all - in which case,

you fail by default.” – J.K Rowling

Memories flash before us

As we stop and think of you

If we could turn back the hands of

time

That's the first thing we would do

We'd take ourselves back to the

day

We first laid eyes on you

Your mouth (of course) wide open

Your eyes - so big and blue

It was at that very moment

As you lay there - oh so small

We knew within an instant

We were in for one long haul

Our instincts were right on the

mark

You've kept us on the go

Always such a busy child

With a charismatic glow

A fanatic - full of questions

Inquisitive, keen and daring

Fearless, kind and loving

So sensitive and caring

Willful and determined

You've marched to your own beat

True to your convictions

In victory or defeat

You're confident, devoted

You're handsome, dignified

You're a strapping, strong, tall

leader

You've filled our hearts with pride

How we miss your tiny footsteps

Dancing wildly on the floor

Oh, how we miss our little boy

More than we ever have before

Greatness lies within you, Josh

In time, sweet son, you'll

see

And if you ever need us

You know that there we'll

be.

Poetry By Austin Lyons

Page 15

The summer movie season has truly

started with a bang with the arrival

of Captain America: Civil War in

theaters. With superhero movies

seemingly coming out every

month, it could be easy for anyone

to tire of the genre, but Civil War

offers up one of the best superhero

movies ever.

Civil War, taking place one year

after The Avengers: Age of Ultron,

pits hero against hero after the de-

struction caused in the previous

movie. The plot of Civil War is fair-

ly simple enough to follow. The

United Nations believes the

Avengers operate uncontrolled

with too much power and want to

oversee and keep them in

check. Tony Stark/Iron Man

(Robert Downey Jr.) is in support of

this while Steve Rogers/Captain

America (Chris Evans) oppos-

es. This leads to a split in the

Avengers team as heroes side with

either Iron Man or Captain Ameri-

ca, culminating in some of the best

action sequences to ever grace the

big screen!

Captain America: Civil War boasts

a cast of Marvel’s best superheroes

and is essentially another Avengers

movie, minus Hulk and Thor. To

make up for the absence of those

two characters, Civil War brings in

Ant-Man and two new characters,

Black Panther and Spider-Man, to

join the ranks of the Avengers. All

of these characters have a chance

to shine and each of them (Ant-Man

in particular) attempt to steal the

show.

With a movie that has superheroes

fighting other superheroes, you can

expect this to be a dark and heavy

movie. However, Civil War is not

completely bleak and humorless

(looking at you, Batman v. Super-

man). Iron Man, like always, is full

of snarky remarks, and the addition

of Ant-Man and Spider-Man leads to

hilarious moments, even amidst all

of the fighting going on.

Captain America: Civil War is a

grand superhero movie and an

amazing movie in general. Its take

on hero versus hero was something

unique, putting it among one of the

best superhero movies of the sum-

mer and of all time.

Captain America: Civil War By David Miller

The North Star Baseball team won

eight games, lost eight games and

tied three games. With five mem-

bers of the North Star baseball

team graduating, there is no doubt

they will be missed by the whole

team. I had the chance to interview

one Senior Von Yoder and Sopho-

more Case Tretter.

When Case was asked what he will

miss about the seniors, he replied,

“The energy and friendships that I

share with some of the seniors on

the team.” The second question

asked was do you think that the

seniors showed good leadership?

Case’s answer was, “Absolutely,

the seniors were great leaders in

the classroom and on the field.”

The last question that Case was

asked was if he was ready for next

season. Now this answer I liked the

best. He said “No, not at all, actual-

ly I never want this season to end,

and I will forever cherish the mem-

ories I made this season.”

The next member I interviewed

was Senior Von Yoder. When

asked how was his last season as a

North Star Cougar, he replied, “My

last year as a Cougar was memora-

ble, exciting, and filled with good

times and good friends.” He was

also asked what his plans were for

after high school and he said that

he is planning to attend UPJ as un-

declared. Lastly he was asked what

he will miss about the team. He

said, “I will miss the good times we

had as a team.”

GOOD LUCK NEXT SEASON!

Cougar Baseball By Kaylee Deist

Page 16

Photo courtesy of Huffington Post.

The latest single by funk rock giant

Red Hot Chili Peppers came after a

five-year studio album break. The

up and coming album, which is to

be released on June 17 of this year,

is entitled The Getaway. The highly

anticipated album was recorded

over the past two years, similar to

the conception of almost every Red

Hot Chili Peppers album. The band

has had at least three years be-

tween albums continuously since

the release of the album Blood Sug-

ar Sex Magik, which brought the

band to the masses, containing

smash singles such as “Under the

Bridge”, “Give it Away”, and

“Breaking the Girl”. The longer

breaks between their studio efforts

have proven to work, extending

their career, and giving more time

to write material worth listening to.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are ba-

sically the pioneer of funk rock,

drawing influence equally from

bands of incredibly different gen-

res to create their signature sound.

These bands include Parliament

Funkadelic, The Misfits, Led Zeppe-

lin, Bob Marley, and even The Bee

Gees, of the funk, punk, rock, reg-

gae, and pop/soul genres respec-

tively. It's this type of genre mixing

that really creates signature

sounds, and the Chili Peppers have

done that in a way that allows them

to dominate an entire sub-genre of

music, funk rock.

The song starts as a build up from

silence to the signature slap bass

and drum rhythm that shows the

listener that the Chilis still have not

lost their funk. Seemingly drawing

from their funk predecessors, the

song takes a different turn and in-

troduces a piano instead of a guitar

as the filler of the rhythm. The ad-

dition of a piano seems odd be-

cause of the band’s history of guitar

-based songs, but not new for their

catalogue. On the band’s previous

album I’m With You, fans saw the

band start to change their ap-

proach to songwriting. Songs from

the album such as “Happiness

Loves Company” and “Even You

Brutus” were led by piano instead

of guitar. It gave a refreshing new

view into the song-

writing minds of the

band.

The album seems to

come at a time of

continued change

for the band. After

being together for

thirty plus years, it

is inevitable that a

band will want to

change their sound.

The Chili Peppers’

career started with

three aggressive

funk-rap albums

that gave no fore-

shadowing to the

band's current

state. After the first

three albums, the

band decided to

change their sound,

and it was met by unanimous joy

from the music industry. The band

is no stranger to change, and this

song certainly falls in line with their

past. The band’s fan base has been

loyal for decades, and I have no

doubt that the album will overall be

more listenable than most if not all

of what is being broadcasted on the

top 40s stations.

With that in mind I give the song

five full stars because it falls direct-

ly in line with the current curvature

of their career, and while it changes

their sound slightly, they did not fail

to deliver an impressively catchy

song. The layered song, complete

with a soaring guitar solo and

catchy chorus, will certainly be

enough to hold over all of the fans

that will be “patiently” waiting for

the album due mid-June.

“Dark Necessities” - Red Hot Chili Peppers - ★★★★★ By Ben Volk

Page 18

The Getaway, due out June 17.

there are tens of billions of

habitable planets out there.

In the future, NASA plans to

increase its understanding

of habitable zones and en-

vironments aside from the

ones found on Earth.

"With this discovery, we're

going to change the way

we see the universe," Ba-

talha said. "You'll look up at

the sky and see pinpoints

of light and think of them as

planetary systems, not just

stars. We're going to know

how life manifests itself in the gal-

axy.

Seeing space through the Kepler Telescope By Sydney Trout

Recently, the Kepler space tele-

scope has discovered 1,284 ex-

oplanets. This is the largest number

of exoplanets that have been an-

nounced at one time. If you don’t

know what an exoplanet it, it’s a

planet outside of our solar system.

There have been thousands discov-

ered, some of them believed to be

similar to Earth. The Kepler tele-

scope launched in 2009 and has

been watching over 150,000 stars

in only a part of the sky. The goal of

the Kepler telescope is to discover

more Earth-like planets that would

be located in what is known as a

“goldilocks” zone, meaning it

would be habitable for humans. As

of right now, there is an estimated

amount of around 4,302 potential

habitable planets currently discov-

ered. Although Natalie Balthala,

scientists at NASA, believes that

Newspaper Staff

Editor: Lindsay Walker

Co-editors: Andrew Revello, Kira Heider, and Megan Friedline

Design: Ashley Kelly, Izabella Walters and Mattison Lyons

Austin Lyons Cooper Tretter Michael Sabo

Ben Volk David Miller Sydney Trout

Caleb Hildbold Kaylee Deist Taylor Miller

Casey Ray Kylie Kelly Trinity Romesberg

Lucas Deist

Credit for picture: http://www.popsci.com.