Volume XIII, Issue 2December 5, 2012

This shot:This shot: A table is all set for Christmas dinner.

Skyfall Review Skyfall Review Page 3

Gingerbread Gingerbread PernÍkPernÍk Page 5,6

Want to be a Want to be a Chef?Chef? Check out page 7

Staff Editorials:Staff Editorials:inside this issue ...

2 our opinionsDecember 5, 2012

The VCHS Talon, the student newspaper of Vacaville Christian High School, is a public forum for student expression and is published regularly by the Newspaper Production Class and Journalism Class. Opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily refl ect the position of the administration, student body or advertisers. The Talon staff welcomes and encourages submitted letters, stories, cartoons, and/or any other student feedback. See guidelines listed below.

Please deliver all submissions to the Talon box in Room 102 by posted deadline.The following policies apply:1. Unsolicited articles and suggestions for story ideas are welcomed, but no guarantee is made as to whether they will be printed in the Talon.2. Letters to the Editor are to be signed when submitted to the Staff. Namesmay be withheld from publication only with the approval of the Editorial Board and Adviser. The Board will select the letters to be published.3. The paper reserves the right to edit submissions for length, repetition, and suitability of content.

Vacaville Christian High School821 Marshall Road • Vacaville, CA 95687

(707) 446-1776 journalism@go-vcs.com

Volume 13 Issue 2 December 5, 2012

Editorial Board:Emre Basaran, Editor-in-Chief

Ali Howard & Raquel Tucker, Content EditorsNick Russell, Copy Editor

Andrew Grabowski, Graphics Editor & Senior Reporter

Adviser: Mrs. Jeri McFadden

Principal: Mrs. Janet Fogh

Visit us at www.vchstalon.com

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness

and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 7:17

inside this issue ...Opinion 2, 3 Unity of the Nation 2 Living in Thanksgiving 2 Squeeze Inn 3 Skyfall 3 Umi Sushi 3 Cooking shows 3

Featured Content Recipe: Perník 4,5 Comfortable foods 6 Our sustenance 6 Dessert or Desert 6News 2012 elections 7 Christmas Boutique 7 Winter spirit/rally 7Sports Cross Country 8 Boys Varsity Soccer 8 Wrestling 9 Boy’s Basketball 9 Girl’s Volleyball 9Student Entertainment Flow Chart 10

The word Thanksgiving can mean a various amount of ideas. But the main idea of the word is to give thanks. Yes Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday full of family and food but is more than that. It’s being thankful that you made it through another year despite all your hardship. We as Americans have gotten so hung up on what we want. Now dont get us wrong wanting things is fi ne but we cant let that override what we already have. What we may consider just a normal thing others may view it as the best thing in the world.

During the Civil War, one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, announced thanksgiving as a national holiday. He didn’t do this to honor the Indians or the pilgrims, but instead to recognize all that God has done for the country; even in times of serious crisis. With that said, thanksgiving should not be a day to be thankful just for what you have, but rather a wake-up call to constantly remember to be thankful throughout the year; to meditate on our blessings. However it is crucial that we remember to thank God, even in times of hardship.

Here at Vacaville Christian we try to give back whenever we can and during the month of November we went above and beyond with a canned food drive, a clothes drive for foster kids led by the new Interact Club, and Spanish Club members making the boxes for Opera-tion Christmas Child. Sometimes giving back is the best way to give thanks; it shows appre-ciation of what we have and caring for people that do not have.

Unity in the Nation

Living in Thanksgiving

Election time seems to split the country in two, always divided between Republicans and Democrats: this group of people and that group of people who want this or that done for them. The two candidates had their own intended methods of bringing back America.

Although our country is divided by political parties, once the votes are turned in, we all want our country to prosper. Internal confl ict will only stunt the success of the recovery. After the dust has cleard from the fi ght one fact remains: we are one nation and should be united. It shouldn’t matter who is president; it is the people that make a nation, not a leader. Regardless of our leader, this is still our country; the land of the free, the home of the brave. Our fl ag is the symbol for our nation around the world; the fi fty stars not only are a repre-sentation of the fi fty states, but could also represent all the different parties and people with different ideas. It is our duty as United States citizens to support our fellow Americans.

We displayed this unity during and after Superstorm Sandy: we were able to relieve its victims and support them. In any situation which demands unity, we need to be able to set our differences aside and focus on getting things done, and so far, so good.

Too often we wait for a tragedy to strike America for us Americans to come together and unite. Why can we not always be in unity as we were to respond to Superstorm Sandy?

Even in high school, everyone is so concerned with what’s going on in their life or their group of friends that it’s diffi cult to really care for another group. The same perspective is true of Democrats and Republicans: it’s so hard sometimes for the people to see beyond that title and to compromise with one another. Instead they fi ght and nothing gets done.

As a nation we need to come together. Of course people will always have their main people that they hang out with, but that does not mean that one cannot be friendly with an-other. We as a nation should be willing to help our fellow Americans in a situation. Not only when tragedy strikes. Come together and be one.

Have you checked out www.vchstalon.com recently? New content -- photos, stories, polls -- is added daily!

our opinions 3December 5, 2012

Squeeze Inn provides a neat twist on the original view on the cheeseburger with their classic burger joint feel.

At Squeeze Inn, their service is kind and ready to help, their food is delicious, but the prices could be a little lower. This is an unusual place in Vacaville, with mostly non-original food stops, this stop is out of the ordinary. It is a great place to enjoy a great burger, in an unusual setting.

Hidden behind a mechanic shop, Squeeze Inn is hard to spot near the Post Offi ce. This secretive restaurant sports a ceiling fi lled with toothpicks that gives it a sparkly look. The walls are covered with Squeeze Inn based pictures giving the place an old school hamburger joint feel. Although it isn’t a huge restaurant, it gives customers a bar to watch the cook make your burger.

The most unusual thing is the huge amount of cheese put on the burger. They put it on in a fl ying

saucer type shape, letting the cheese hang off the sides. The staff will tell you the correct way to eat it is to wait for it to cool a little, fold it under the bun and then you can eat the greasy burger like a pro. They also have deli-cious hamburgers and fries, which are also extremely greasy. Kendra Rowland said, “I think it’s good, but it’s really greasy and I am a fat monkey after I eat there.”

The service at the Squeeze Inn understands your anxiety about undertaking their monstrous burger, and they are always friendly. They allow you to watch them make your burger, and they appreciate your business. Their lack of large crowds allows them to focus on their individuals customers.

Squeeze Inn was an overall great experience with great food, service and secluded feel from the rest of Vacaville. I recommend everyone to go here once or twice, but making it a habit would not be healthy.

Squeeze Inn Your Burger

Photo and Story by Andrew Grabowski

Skyfall is the 23rd installment of the James Bond series. The movie is directed by Sam Mendes: an Oscar winner. Actor Daniel Craig played the role of James Bond. Other big names that appear are Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Berenice Marlohe. The movie was shot in London in England, Shanghai in China, Istanbul in Turkey, and Scotland; giving it a broad range of scenery.

There are appearances of sexual promiscuity in the movie, holding true to typical James Bond install-ments. Drug and alcohol references are made during the movie. There is also offensive language.

Now is this movie worth your time? The answer is, if you’re a fan of the James Bond installments, you will not be disappointed. The movie is action-packed from start to fi nish. For those who are new to the franchise, it will not disappoint.

Skyfall is in fact not connected with Quantum of Solace, to the dismay of James Bond fans. There is an upside however; the 24th installment to the 007 series is guaranteed.

007 Returns

By Emre Basaran

If you are looking for a great, Asian restaurant, I would recommend Umi sushi. This delicious, non-ex-pensive diner is amazing and a place for everyone! My family and I come here at least once every two weeks. They hold reservations and distribute take-outs.

If you are not into seafood, they have chicken and other dishes without it. Many people, like myself, are entertained by the names of the sushi rolls. The Sexy Sexy roll and the Crunchy California are two of the most popular rolls.

If you are one to worry about the price, you don’t have to worry now! This is a low budget restaurant with a price range for everyone.

Cali Rolls are undeniable

There are many different cooking shows that are available to watch. Here are some that I would recommend: Diner’s, Drive In’s and Dives, Paula’s Best Dishes, and Chopped.

Diner’s, Drive in’s, and Dives is hosted by Guy Fi-eri. This show is about Fieri going around the country reviewing restaurants worthy of being on TV.

If you want to cook your own food then I would recommend Paula’s Best Dishes, hosted by Paula Deen. She takes viewers recipes, improves them and then shares them with her viewers.

The last show that I would recommend is Chopped. If you are looking for a competitive show to watch about food, this is the show for you. There are four contestants and three judges. The chefs have 30 minutes to make any dish they want from the ingredi-ents from a basket that they are given. Each round a chef will get eliminated. The last one remaining is given

Yumm, Food

By Kayla Burnett

Photo and story by Heather Johnson

Squeeze Inn211 Peabody Road,Vacaville

707-447-4000Burgers and Fries

$$****

Umi Sushi501 Davis Street

707-469-7480Sushi,Japoanese

$$*****

The dishes are very well presented with perfect portion size and “looks as good as it tastes,” says Miura Lograsso. The service is wonderful and the waiters are very attentive. Umi has a sushi bar if you prefer that rather than a table or booth. The walls are decorated with paintings and plants that represent the Asian culture.

Umi is close in town so it is very convenient. It is located right across from the Brendan movie theatres and the Vacaville ice-skating rink so you can have a fun fi lled evening.

I would recommend this wonderful, Asian restau-rant for lunch or dinner and day of the week.

a cash prize.If you have an interest in cooking I would check

out these shows.

Paula Deen stirs a dish in her show Paula’s Best dishes

Reviews in Brief

4 our featured contentDecember 5, 2012 5December 5, 2012

Step 1: Assemble all equipment and ingredients. Measure 3 ½ cups of sifted fl our into a large mixing bowl along with 1 teaspoon of baking soda and baking powder; then whisk the raising agents into the fl our. Next, sift all the aromatic spices into the mix: The fi rst spice added is 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, then you need to add 1 teaspoon of cardamom, ½ teaspoon of cloves, ½ teaspoon of ground anise seed (anise seed is diffi cult to fi nd already ground so a mortar and pestle can be used to easily grind it), ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Once you’ve added all of those spices, you then need to start whisking all the spices into the fl our.

Step 2: Set aside the fl our and spice mixture and grab a medium sized saucepan to begin melting a whole stick of butter (or 4 ounces if you buy butter in bulk), then measure ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of honey* and add that to the pot. Add one 1 cup of sugar to the mix, and on a gentle heat, melt the butter, sugar and honey mixture until it is all combined. Then when the mixture is uniform and there are no sugar crystals

take the pot off the heat but keep stirring it for a couple of minutes so the butter espe-cially doesn’t burn. When it is slightly cooled, pour the contents of the pot into the dry mixture bowl. After you have combined both the wet and dry ingredients and the result begins to resemble dough, add two beaten eggs and incorporate everything.

Step 3: Once your dough is even you can then begin preparing your pastry board with a thin layer of fl our. The more fl our you add the tougher the dough will get, so less is more in this case. Knead the dough until it is smooth and is not sticking to the board or your hands. Then allow the dough to rest for a few minutes so it can completely cool down. While the dough is resting, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep the baking sheets with parchment paper if you want. Once the dough is cooled down you can begin rolling it out and cutting the cookies. You want to fi rst work with roughly half of the dough at a time and make sure you again apply a thin layer of fl our so the dough doesn’t stick to the board. Then press out your shapes. After you have cut all the dough, get your desired jam or fi lling and two spoons. Carefully make a small ball

of fi lling into the center of half of the shapes then start sealing up the fi lling to make sure it is all contained. After all the shapes are sealed and the right shape, carefully place the fi nished cookies onto the baking sheet; make sure you work quickly otherwise the dough will become too relaxed and it will stick to the board. Now you just repeat the rolling process.Every time you re-roll your dough it becomes a little bit tougher, so be sure to never add the dough you’ve already worked with to the other half you sectioned off earlier. Try to use less and less fl our every time you roll the dough so that it doesn’t become full of fl our.

Step 4: When you have a baking sheet full of cookies put them in the oven until the gingerbread is lightly golden and slightly fl uffed (approximately 15-20 minutes).

* A trick to melting honey which is very hard to get out of measuring cups, is to take fl avorless oil such as canola oil and lightly coat the measuring cup with it so the honey can come out easily.

How to Bake Czech Gingerbread: Perník

First and Foremost, collect your supplies Next, mix the ingredients. The end result of mixing should look something like this.

Next, mix the honey, butter, and sugar. After you’ve boiled your liquid ingredients, mix the end result with your ingredients in the bowl

Using a spatulla, mix the ingredients. After you’ve mixed the ingredients, add the beaten eggs.

Prepare your cutting board with fl our. Empty the mix-ture onto your cutting board.

Knead the dough Let the dough rest until it cools down

Begin rolling the dough. Cut out cookies with a cookie-cutter. Apply a fi lling to the top of half of your cookie cutouts. Finally, cover the sides fi lled with jam with the none-covered cookies to seal in the fi lling.

After you’re done baking your cookies, the end result should look something like this. Enjoy!

by Ali Howard

Photos by Ali Howard

6 our featuresDecember 5, 2012

Many people have different preferences on comfort food. Some like food that is sweet, some people like salty, and some people like a hearty meal. Comfort foods usu-ally consist of many fl avors, have a soft constancy and most always affect your mood. Seong Hyeon Hwang said that her favorite comfort food was mashed potatoes because, “They are so soft and taste so good.” Why do these delicious meals leave you feeling happier or even cozy? Comfort foods trick you into feeling safe and can even bring back memories from when you were a kid.

Full of carbs, high on sugar, but still utterly delicious, comfort food has been fi lling the stomachs of many of our students. Taylor Schubert said, “Well it depends on the weather. If it’s cold outside I like to stuff my face with some senorita bread, but if

Comfortable Eating

By Mia DeTomasi

Our Sustenence

Chicken Soup 8%

Mashed Potatoes 10%

Pizza 9%

Hot Chocolate 10% Grilled Cheese

6%

Mac n’ Cheese 25%

Have you ever had a plain dessert that you just wanted to make more exciting but did not know how?

There are endless amount of ways you can jazz up any dessert: You could add chocolate chips into brownies, any fl avor frosting that is appealing to you on a vanilla cupcake or you could add ice cream in the middle of the two of your favorite cookies and you have a homemade ice cream sandwich.

Here are couple ways that your fellow piers have recommended how to make a plain brownie taste better: Brittney Hockersmith said, "Put sprinkles on it and chunks of chocolate in it, and Carmel on top." Tessa Moore said, "In the words of Kayla Duffy 'Nutella'."

Other desserts include: any sort of pie that you like, Crème Brulee, Tiramisu, and you can also buy or make pound cake. There are endless amount of options for decorating a pound cake. There are many different desserts to choose from and a lot of different ways to make them your own. These are a few to try out.

Dessert or Desert

By Kayla Burnett

Amongst the numerous career paths that are open to students, one manages to stand out in particular –to our stomachs that is– and is defi ned like so in the Oxford Dictionary: a chef is a professional cook, typically the chief cook in a restaurant or hotel. With that said, many cooks claim that in order to be a chef, you must have the qualifi cation or have cooked in a restaurant kitchen. Ultimately though, it boils down to what you want, and what your passion is in.

So you want to be a chef? Before you plan on dedicating your future to a profession that just sounds appealing to you, do some background research. Is there a particular area of the culinary arts that you are interested in? Some of the most popular cuisine groups in the world include French, Mexican, Italian, and Indian Cuisine. Look-ing through the various cuisine styles out there is a good start. Many career cooks and chefs also recommend shadowing a cook for a week, to really begin to understand and get a feel for what the profession is all about.

If you’re still on board, fi nding a school that specializes in the culinary art is key. Some of the top schools in our nation are the Institute of Culinary Education (NYC), Texas Culinary Academy, and California Culinary Academy (San Francisco). For a more extensive list of top schools, visit www.edinformatics.com.

Cooking for You

By Emre Basaran

Ice Cream 25%

Photos by Mia DeTomasi and Mrs. Jerri Mcfadden

it’s warm outside I generally stick towards things like watermelon or even enchiladas.” ,when she was asked about her favorite comfort food.

The salty foods include soups, sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, popcorn, or even pizza. Mark Bauhofer enjoys sweet foods like ice cream, “I like ice cream because it’s sugary. It’s sugar, spice, and everything nice.” Ice cream, cereal, and other desserts would fall under the category of sweet foods. Hearty meals would include anything made with potatoes. Drinks are also popular when craving a comfort food, such as hot chocolate, milk shakes, and tea. Although there are many comfort foods, and they aren’t always healthy, we all deserve a little bit of our favorite comfort food now and then.

our news 7December 5, 2012

The 2012 elections for all offi ces have gone down as one of the most memorable election in American history.

The main candidates were GOP nominee Mitt Romney and incumbent Barack Obama who were neck and neck for the major of the presidential campaign run. How-ever, after the votes of Ohio, which was one of the many major battleground states, were counted, Barack Obama was projected as the presidential winner for his second term as president of the United States. Throughout the night more and more electoral votes were being counted but in the end the fi nal count was Obama 303 and Romney 206.

The presidential election wasn’t the only election taking place on November 6th people could also vote for congress people for their respective states. At the end of the night, not much had changed. The Republicans still have control of the House of Rep-resentatives and the senate is still under the control of the Democratic party. Romney publically conceded to Obama after a well fought battle for the presidency, and says he hopes for the best for America in the years to come.

The popular votes for each presidential candidate were close in several states. Romney had a majority of popularity in the Central and Southern United States while Obama had defi nite popularity on the West coast and Northern East coast.

There were however complications during this election: the state of Florida, who like Ohio is a major battleground/swing state, was projected as a win for Obama but took several days after the election to throughly count their votes because they were “too close to call”according to Fox News.

2012 Elections

by Scott Gardner

This year’s Christmas rally and spirit week will defi nitely be one to prepare and get excited for. The spirit week will kick off on Monday, December 3, with Santa and elf day. Get a group together and dress as Santa and his elves, you can fi nd a Santa hat at just about any store this time of year.

Tuesday is going to be tacky sweater day. Try looking for a sweater at a thrift store. This season, the racks will be fi lled with old holiday sweaters that would be perfect for this day. Wednesday will be winter wonderland day. Wear all your snow gear, or anything that makes you think of winter. Classy Thursday will follow, so dress in a nice outfi t that you would wear to a fancy holiday dinner with your family.

Finally, Friday is spirit color day. Go all out in supporting your class by decorating and wearing your class designated color. Remember that dressing up during spirit week will keep your grade level in the running to win the rally on Friday, December 7.

During our dress up week, each class will also participate in Deck the Halls, which involves decorating a class room according to a given theme of Christmas. Who-ever executes their decorations and presents their room to judges the best, wins points to the rally. Stay involved this Christmas season and do everything you can to help your class win.

By: Mia DeTomasi

Jolly Holiday Spirit

Christmas BoutiqueOn November 24 Vacaville Christian Middle and High School hosted the newest

annual event that they call the “Christmas Boutique”. At the festival there were several vendors such as artisans/entrepreneurs, clubs and classes that could sell whatever goods they had created i.e. jewelry, holiday goods and artwork along with gourmet desserts or meals. Some of the vendors that were able to come were Gigi Hill, Mrs. Jacobs’s Mary Kay, Scentsy and more. VCS wanted to get around fi fty vendors and they got approximately 30 vendors who sold a variety of handcrafted goods. The Christmas Boutique is considered an alternative to Country Faire because only Elementary was able to participate in Country Faire. The booths were set up in the gym where people could look around the aisles of merchandise or stop by the snack shack to get a cup of hot chocolate.

“It was not enough people in there. There was a variety of the booths some were

really good” Helen He said. By: Ali Howard Photo Credit: Kristina Ryan

8 our sportsDecember 5, 2012

The Falcons had a winning season with an overall record of 20-8, allowing them to soar past Big Valley Christian and Forrest Lake Christian in the play-offs, but they came to halt against Le Grand. Girls’ varsity volleyball has 9-3 record in league, with the JV team fi nishing with an overall of 10-4, and 8-3 in league.

“We play as a team and we’re close as friends and that’s a big thing as a team and we communicate well,” said Melissa Fitzgerald.

In Varsity’s game against Highlands, Hailey Kenyon led her team with six kills, with Cassi Diaz and Lindsey Munar with fi ve kills each. Tea Scott conquered Highlands with a nine aces and Haley Kenyon blocked 4 spikes. The Falcons beat Highlands in three games, with a high of 14 for Highlands in the games.

Cassi Diaz, one of the team captains as a sophomore, is the teams outside hitter and the setter. She has 134 kills, 48 aces, 9 blocks, and 113 digs over a span of 28 games.

“Just being a captain this year and learning to lead a team that was a fair amount older than me,” said Cassi Diaz about her accomplishments this year.

Having a young team isn’t a bad thing, while celebrating Senior night our two se-niors Lauren DeCarlo and Hannah Stadnick were recognized for their athletic achieve-ments. Considering how far the team has gone in the playoffs with a relatively young team, the school is looking forward to our next year’s team. Before the Golden Sierra

Volleyball girls a smashing success

A new year calls for a new season. Wrestling has just started up with 14 wres-tlers on the team, 4 seniors, 2 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 2 freshmen.

The captains for the 2012-2013 wrestling season are Danny Ewing and Gary Nguyen. When asked about the new comers to the sport Nguyen said it would be dif-fi cult for them because “it is a sport that requires a lot of effort.”

Although the team’s fi rst tournament is on December fi rst, the season does not actually commence until January. For those of you who decide to attend the team’s meets and are confused on how the wrestlers receive points, one can understand the subject more by reviewing the rules below.

There are fi ve different ways for one to score points: 1.) Take down• worth two points • is when one takes opponent down to the mat and controlling

him/her; 2.) Escape• worth one point • rewarded when one gets away or gets into a neutral position

when opponent has one down on the mat; 3.) Reversal

• worth two points• rewarded when ones opponent has one down on the mat

and one comes from underneath and gain control of opponent; 4.) Near Fall• Worth back points, two or three points • Rewarded near fall points when one almost but not quite

get your opponent pinned. Near fall is when both shoulders are held for two seconds with four inches of the

mat, one shoulder touches the mat and the other shoulder is at a 45 degree angle coming down to the mat, or the

wrestler is held in a high bridge or back on the both elbows.5.) Penalty Points• Worth one or two points• Rewarded when either one or the opponent commit either

illegal holds, technical violations, unnecessary roughness, un sportsmanlike conduct, fl agrant misconduct, stalling,

incorrect starting positions or false start.

game the team realized they needed another block, so they brought up freshman Hailey Kenyon. The team also brought freshmen Olivia Petnicki and Brittney Hockersmith, to help the team for the long playoffs.

Diaz said, “This season we have a youthful team and tonight (Nov. 13) if we win we will be setting a playoff record for varsity volleyball.”

Wrestling grabs hold

By: Raquel Tucker

By Andrew Grabowski

Photo by Laura HavensCassie Diaz spikes the ball during a game against Golden Sierra

Summer Richardson runs to the fi nish line

After hundreds of miles, the 2012 fall season has fi nally come to a close. However this season, was one for the books. The girls’ varsity cross-country team ran its way into VCHS history by placing fi rst in sections, and continued on to State-wide competitions. The girls placed 21st out of 22, an impressive accomplishment. The girls’ varsity team is composed primarily of freshmen and sophomore runners, competing against seasoned junior and senior runners. The team is optimistic for future seasons.

The boys’ varsity cross-country team placed seventh out of the eight teams running. Again with a majority of the team consisting of freshmen and sophomore runners, their performance was impressive.

For the runners, cross-country provides for more than just increased endurance. “It’s a really good endurance sport, it doesn’t just build running skills, it helps to

be more driven,” said Vinchenzo Vecchiola. For freshmen Hannah Stine, it’s the opportunity to meet new faces. “I like meet-

ing new people and the fellowship,” said Hannah Stine. While the sport is an extremely physically-demanding sport, it takes more than

just being in shape.“Cross country is all about your metal strength. If you tell yourself you can do it,

you will,” Summer Richardson said.

Crossing the Finish

By Emre BasaranPhoto by Cayla Gutierrez

our sports 9December 5, 2012

The VCHS boys varsity soccer team had a strong season this year. The Falcons had an overall record of 9-7-2 and a league record of 7-3-2. The boys went on to the playoffs and lost in the semifi nals. The Falcons starters were: Mathew Burnett, Andrew Bleak, Stephen Gloudeman and Andrew Grabowski, Anakin Ueng, Brent Williams, Jeremy Rico, Sean Patton, Brad Baum, Conner James and Taito Sakurai. They lost the fi rst three games and came out with a win against Encina Prep at home. The Falcons soccer team went on to the playoffs. The fi rst playoff game was against Faith Christian, and came out with the win 2-0. Then they went on to play Victory Christian and played hard but falling short 3-1.

When Nathan Castile was asked how the season went he said, "It was good, we had an okay start but in the second half of the season we pulled through." Will DiFanc-esco said, "Very well because we bonded as a team, which caused us to perform at the best of our abilities."

This year there were many new players. There were new freshmen such as Nathan Castile. As the Falcons fi nished off the season, they will be losing eleven seniors: Andrew Bleak, Jeremy Rico, Will DiFrancesco, Ricky Torres, Michael Gloudeman, Brent Williams, Anakin Ueng, John Field, Raj Pandher, AJ Hearn, Nitin Saukhla.

All teams have their obstacles. There could be new players that need to adjust to the team; a new coach the team need to also adjust to. When Cedric Turner, a new freshman to the team, was asked what obstacles the team faced this year he said, “We had a lot of people leave because of academic probation. We had to overcome this by working hard in training and practice and we had to play positions that we not normally play.”

The Falcons hosted Bradshaw Christian for the Falcons senior night. The boys came out with a win for their last home game. All eleven seniors had their parents or guardian with them. They each got a rose and a picture of themselves on action on the fi eld.

Falcons End Strong

Basketball begins Basketball season has begun again for both boys and girls, with coach Tracy McLaughlin heading up the boys and Tyrone Ruff leading the girls. Last season the boys just missed the playoffs and lost some key players. The girls had a great season making it to the second round of playoffs but they also lost many key players as well. The boys lead off with a foundation game against the Vanden Vikings which ended in an 85-31 loss. The girls played Armijo and lost 55-10. Both teams have added many new faces with only two girls players returning to play. After a stellar season for the boys two years ago and the girls last year the programs have begun to rebuild. Although there weren’t enough players for a JV team much interest has been shown for future teams. Both teams start their offi cial seasons on January 4.

By.Kayla Burnett

By: Nick Russell

Photo by: Lauren Gotschall

Photo by Kayla Burnett

Johny Barum dribblies in a game against Vandon High School

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Shawn Patton and Brent Williams control the ball.

Have you ever cooked dinner for your family before?

How did it turn out?

Why not?!

Yes No

Great! Terrible

That’s great! Do you have the recipe to

share with us?

Awe! I’m sorry. Do you have a funny story to

share with us?

If you do, please share it with us on our website.

Because, I don’t even know how to boil

water.

I’m too lazy!

Maybe you should take some cooking classes…?

Get up and do it! Do you need help or a good

recipe?

Yes

Or watch a cooking show on TV!

www.vchstalon.com

Here

10 the back pagethe back pageDecember 5, 2012

By: Taylor Figueira

freedom?

What’s

favoriteYOURTweet about your favorite First Amendment

freedom between Dec. 1 and 15 and competeTO WIN A $5,000 SCHOLARSHIP.

Learn more at 1forall.us and follow us at @FREETOTWEET2012.

TWEET TO WIN!

freedom?

What’s

favoriteYOURTweet about your favorite First Amendment

freedom between Dec. 1 and 15 and competeTO WIN A $5,000 SCHOLARSHIP.

Learn more at 1forall.us and follow us at @FREETOTWEET2012.

TWEET TO WIN!