The Northmen’s LogFriday, August 28, 2009 Oak Park High School Issue 1, Volume 45

Blue in Review runs live daily

Starting a new year, “Blue in Review” has changed things up.

Last year the broadcast was shown at the beginning of second block. Now BIR plays the last 10 minutes of advisory, more than an hour later in the day.

BIR also changed to live format, which can be more of a challenge for the staff. In addition, there are 14 staff members, four mem-bers short of last year.

“The biggest challenge that we have is there are so many new staff members,” said junior Kyle Quatrochi. “We all had to learn how ev-erything worked so quickly.”

In addition to going live and the staff decrease, BIR will have weekly segments including a weekly weather forecast, clubs reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, special interviews and a weekend sports update.

“This staff has gelled su-per quickly, and stepped up to a huge challenge,” said adviser Christina Geabhart. “I’m so impressed by their professionalism and ability to work as a team.”

News Briefs

by Courtney Lightwriter

As the lights went on the fields lit up, they real-ized this was their new sta-dium. The navy blue and white that once stained the jersey they wore was now coated with a dark green and black. As they looked out into the crowd they saw all their friends painted in blue, but cheering for them, the green. This fall, they re-turned to the blue.

When the district an-nounced Staley High School the newest high school would be operational for the school year of 2008-2009, there were many mixed emotions.

“I know for a lot of stu-dents it was a tough thing. And for a lot it was an ex-citing thing,” said principal Fred Skretta.

The opening of Staley included students who want-ed to be at one school or the other even though they re-sided in the opposite’s atten-

dance area. “I think there was an ef-

fort by the district to make the move easier, but at some point you have to have a limit somewhere with some-one,” Skretta said.

After giving Staley a full school year, some students still weren’t happy.

”They set impossible and unreachable goals for us,” senior Lauren Phillips said.

She attended Oak Park her freshman and sopho-more years, was moved to Staley, then transfered back for this year.

She was not alone, sev-eral students have switched colors in the last few weeks.

When the students here heard how some of the Sta-ley kids were returning, they had reactions as well.

“I think having these kids here shows how excep-tional Oak Park is and how we are willing to accept them regardless of where they came from,” sophomore Alex Stompoly said.

by Gabrielle Youngeditorial editor

On Monday, Aug. 17 -- freshmen day

-- Peer Helpers performed a skit called “A Day in the Life of an Oak Park Freshman.” As the title states the skit took the audi-ence through a freshman’s first day. Top-ics within included dressing appropriatley for school, finding classes and respecting the teacher.

“I loved all of it,” said Peer Helper senior Dede Colen. “I liked the comedic parts.”

The skit was only a demonstration of what the Peer Helpers do.

To prepare for the skit, members went to a retreat in July at a Missouri camp called “Camp Hope.” They com-pleted Peer Helpers training and worked in groups; each group received an assign-ment to see what issue they would act out. Members then pooled their assigned is-sues together into one skit.

The students edited their skit multiple times in order to perfect it before fresh-men day.

“We met again on freshmen day at 6:30, and we rehearsed again another half-hour,” coordinator Kathleen Poehl-man said. “Everyone was a little nervous; it was a good day to show some serious

points.” Freshmen day isn’t the only time Peer

Helpers help out around the school. They also help out with new students; giving them tours and having lunch with them.

“They’re a helping resource.” Poehl-man said.

For one, the decision to become a Peer Helper was simple.

“I wanted to get more involved in school,” said senior Justin McAfee.

The Peer Helpers are looking to ex-pand their help around the school.

“We’re going to have a meeting dis-cussing how to go forward.” Poehlman said.

by Jessica Nicholsfeatures editor

As last year drew to a close, students began to hear about a new class called advisory. They heard it started this year, and would take the place of seminar. Now the new year has begun and students find themselves asking what advi-sory means.

A 20-minute class between second and third block, advisory provides a time where students meet with teachers, senior mentors and other stu-dents in their grade to sort through parts of their lives and high school careers. Students will have the same advisory class and teacher throughout their four years of school.

“Advisory, in terms of curriculum, is open-ended,” said principal Fred Skretta.

Though students do not receive grades in the

class, advisory helps them gain a strong under-standing of the high school environment.

“Think relationships,” Skretta said.Three advisory goals deal with the bonds stu-

dents make during their high school experience. The class’ design helps students learn how to de-velop positive relationships with their peers and advisor, while gaining a sense of belonging at OP.

Students can get the support they need to succeed in academics, attendance and citizenship through the fourth advisory goal. Teachers will check the grades and attendance records of their advisory students every Monday.

Students have the opportunity to travel through the school on Tuesdays and Fridays. They may use this time to see their teachers for additional assistance they need or to make up work. Teachers will hand out advisory passes for students in need of assistance on advisory “travel

days”. “All students and teachers have advisory at

the same time, guaranteeing teacher availability,” Skretta said.

The normal advisory schedule will begin next week, following the guidelines laid out in the “Ad-visory Program Overview” by the teacher team and Principal’s Advisory Council.

Helpers deliver laughs

Falcons come home to roost

Daily advisory replaces seminar

Freshmen show excitement from first

The end of freshmen day came with an assembly featuring cheerleaders, Pom-mies, color guard and the Marching North-men. Freshmen, in-cluding freshman Asher Fairbrain, were eager to show their school spirit. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

* For more photos, see page 6.

Peer Helpers seniors Brittany Cara-vella and DeDe Colen lead the Peer Helpers in teaching freshmen the color shout during freshmen day Monday, Aug. 17. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

After their skit, Peer Helpers se-niors Lucas Favreau and Mathew Badami rock out the color shout for the freshman. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

*For more photos, see page 6.

Junior Kyle Quatrochi and senior Autumn Daugherty anchor the first two weeks of live Blue in Re-view shows. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

Advisory schedule:* Monday - grade and attendance checks* Tuesday - travel day* Wednesday - advisory time with advisor* Thursday - no advisory time due to early

release for collaboration* Friday - travel day

Freshmen have their day,

see pages 3 and 8.

Sports Home Calendar

State champion brings knowledge

to quarterbacks, defensive teams

by Courtney Lightwriter

The blue-on-blue crowd roared as the Northmen took the field in 1996 at the Missouri State Championships. The team went into this game as a 12-2 team.

Lead by head quarterback, junior Kyle Sharp, the team was ready to play its hardest knowing the opposing team was the best of the best.

The scene at Hazelwood Central High School made one of the biggest games in these young men’s high school football careers.

This night they would win a trophy proudly displayed in the OP hallway for years to come.

But not many thought they’d come back to be a coach in the halls filled with those memories, including Sharp.

“I honestly never expected to,” Sharp said.

After, Sharp played for three more years in college at Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville he was re-

moved from quarterback due to an in-jury, and put in as a running back.

“That really sucked, but I handled it,” Sharp said.

As a new quarterback and defense coach he is very excited to pass his teach-ings and what he has learned down to the football players here at Oak Park.

“He’s doing a good job so far,” head coach Keith Ross said. “He was a great player, but sometimes great play-ers don’t make good coaches. But he’s a great player, and he’s doing a great job coaching.”

An embedded journalist’s

opinion after his attempt to be

a football player by Alex Mallin

sports editor

As I finished the final knot on my Nike cleats, I began to dig the platform of my foot in the turf and scrape it across forcefully to get a feel of the loaned out shoes. 7:30 a.m. on Thurs-day, Aug. 13, and only a year before this point I had read-ied myself for eight hours of marching band camp. This was a different setting.

Rather than a musi-cal instrument with me, I had a No. 45 jersey cover-ing medium-sized wide re-ceiver pads to protect my upper body, one large-sized Schutt football helmet and the cleats. The cleats which would follow my feet as I participated in my first day of practice with the North-men football team.

If one were to ask most of the student body, they would likely say the words “Alex Mallin” and “football” don’t fit together in a sen-tence with the exception of a punch line in a joke. I have participated in a variety of activities in the last three years including marching band, theatre, tennis and, of course, journalism. In short, I found myself less than surprised when my father asked me to call him when I got out of practice to make sure I was still breath-ing.

I walked in to the prac-tice expecting the worst: that the team would treat me as a member of a typi-cal opposing team on a Fri-day night. I came out with a completely different view and a new appreciation of what it truly means to play football as a member of a team preparing year round for only a guaranteed 10

games.After warm ups, the

team divided up into the different positions to run drills the coaching staff feels will improve players’ ability in their specific position.

Senior Chase Clay-tor told me I would follow him around with the rest of the receivers on the team. With the receivers, he told me, I would have a more likely chance of walking out of practice in one piece; I didn’t ask questions.

The wide receivers and I went through drills of field route running and vari-ous speed drills to improve strength and awareness in game play situations. I made sure to set myself near the back of the line, so I could get a good interpretation of the routes before I had to go. Various coaches provid-ed me with several helpful critiques as I attempted to imitate the seasoned players including:

“Why are you lined up on the wrong foot?”

“45, don’t go out there if you don’t know what you’re doing!”

And my favorite:“Who is this kid?”After running several

more types of drill in which I did my best not to embar-rass myself any further, the team huddled up around head coach Keith Ross for a mid-practice meeting.

Ross spoke of the diffi-culties facing the team, the most prominent one being the size of the class 5A team which has decreased from 110 students coming out last year to 85 coming out this year, with 15 returning lettermen and only three returning starters.

Still out of breath, the team listened with an ur-gency in them which grew as Ross told them they have only six practices left until they took the field as a team at the Jamboree Friday, Aug. 21.

In the huddle and throughout the practice there remained a weight of

last year’s winning season and the pressure of creating a team with only eight se-niors having to step up and lead the rest as opposed to last year’s 24.

After dismissing them to continue their practice, the team prepared to set the field to run different plays it would run in actual game play.

Players aren’t allowed to wear full pads without three days of practice in, so I wasn’t able to practice for this portion.

On the sidelines, un-derclassmen and others watched their team run play after play until they satisfied the coaches with consisten-cy. Many of the players dis-cussed what the team would have to improve and others talked over the new jerseys the team would receive that day. One player, out with a dislocated shoulder; felt it wouldn’t be right for him to accept a jersey.

“I just feel like I don’t deserve it,” he said. “Like I’m not worthy of wearing it.”

In many sports, espe-cially football, every player puts his or her body on the line and risks injury to im-prove the team. When the injured player said this, I developed a respect and pride I never before held for the team.

Injured in a practice while out giving his best to improve the team and then stuck on the sidelines, he felt he couldn’t accept a jer-sey symbolizing the team he had fought for.

The day I went to foot-ball camp I hoped to leave with a story, instead I left with a completely altered outlook on the team.

Football for this team remains not just a sport, but a tool used to bring a collec-tive group of boys together to turn them in to young men. If one person on the team doesn’t do their job properly, the plays fall apart. Each player has the other player’s trust to do

their job to a point where it reaches a perfect balance in the team to make a winning play.

That pressure shapes the students to become part of something bigger than themselves.

The expectation to give every ounce of energy in their body to get that extra yard may not be apparent from the team people watch at the football stadium, but getting to know the people under the helmet gives one an outlook on the team few spectators can ever appreci-ate.

Being the new sports editor this year, this experi-ence was more valuable to me than any I could ask for. I will never say after two days of practice with the team that I can ever fully appreciate the true gravity of what being on the football team means. I can say after getting a taste of what the team goes through and the emotions that run through

a typical day of practice that I have a better understand-ing and appreciation of it than I could expect from just standing on the side-lines with a pen and a pad.

I walked off the field at 11:45 am on Friday, Aug.14, dead tired, mildly embar-rassed, sore in places I had no idea existed, and proud. Not of myself for making it through, but of my peers and my school.

When the Northmen come out tonight at District Activities Center near Staley to play against Lee’s Sum-mit, they all come out not only deserving of the school colors they wear, but they come out representing the blue on blue of Oak Park with a distinction that de-serves respect regardless of the outcome.

sportspage

Deserving their jerseys

Sports editor senior Alex Mallin jumps on one leg during his two days “on the football team.” photo by Derek Byrne, special to The Log

Mallin sets off to run his assigned route in 7-on-7 play, during the Thursday, Aug. 13, practice. photo by Derek Byrne, special to The Log

Sports Briefs Former star returns to field

From an all-conference player as a junior in 1996 to the new quarterback and defensive coach, Kyle Sharp works on and off the field to make Northmen football a success.

2

8/25 - 9/25

Girls Tennis

4 p.m. Sept. 2 at OPvs. St Joe Central

4 p.m. Sept. 9 at OPvs. Ray-Pec

4 p.m. Sept. 15 at OPvs. Park Hill

4 p.m. Sept. 17 at OPvs. NKC

4 p.m. Sept. 22 at OPvs. Tonka

Football

7 p.m. Aug. 28 at DACvs. Lee’s Summit

7 p.m. Sept. 18 at DACvs. William Chrisman

7 p.m. Sept. 25 at DACvs. Tonka

Volleyball

5:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at OPvs. Kearney

5:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at OPvs. St. Theresa’s

5:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at OPvs. Truman

Boys Soccer

6:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at DACvs. Lee’s Summit

6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at DAC vs. Truman

Softball

4 p.m. Sept. 2 at OPvs. Park Hill

4 p.m. Sept. 9 at OPvs. Tonka

4 p.m. Sept. 10 at OP vs. Liberty

4 p.m. Sept. 17 at OPvs. William Chrisman

4 p.m. Sept. 23 at OPvs. Belton

Girls Golf

9/3 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at Hodge Parkvs. NKC

2:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Hodge Parkvs. St. Joe Central

Cheer paves the road to State

State remains a thought in many cheerleaders’ minds since Friday, Aug. 7.

“We have to work really hard towards it,” said co-captain senior Kelsey Merrigan said.

They took third place in their regional competition at Lee’s Summit North sending them to University of Missouri-Columbia for state competitions this fall.

Junior Heather Offield and senior Caitlin Strohm made All-American this year as well.

“We are super psyched,” Merrigan said.Before this competition they had to be at the school ev-

ery Monday through Thursday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Coach Leslie Martin with co-captains Merrigan and senior Kelsey Kaelin led the practices.

Girls golf looks to a year of learningCoach Seth DeRose said this year’s mostly inexperienced

girls golf team has potential, with only three experienced players returning this year.

Seniors Anna Hyneman and Kate Brock will make this their first and last season on the team.

“It’s gonna be challenging, we are learning the game of golf,” DeRose said.

The season started Tuesday, Aug. 25 and ends Sunday, Oct. 10. The girls worked on techniques during the sum-mer for their three-day camp in July at their home course of Hodge Park.

DeRose said he believes at least two of the players have the potential to go to state -- junior Kassie Vargas and soph-omore Valeria Espadas.

“We have some girls that can put up some low num-bers.” DeRose said.

Two years ago, Oak Park experienced a split in underclass sizes with the arrival of a new addition to the district. Staley’s ap-peal sent many opting for a chance to trans-fer, while there were those who would have rather not moved at all.

Housing locations determined who would transfer and who wouldn’t. Few ex-tenuating circumstances existed where one could find themselves exempt from involun-tary placement into or out of one school or the other.

Classes split -- no matter the frustrations-when Staley opened. Life-long friends had to say goodbye-to some extent-to their long-time classmates. School-time lives changed for everyone involved. Despite what anyone felt, these changes happened.

Lately students seem to think they can switch between the two schools easily with-

out consequence. Without situations like an address change, students make requests to transfer. For some reason, these recent re-quests seem to be granted more often.

The Log feels some reasons for these re-quests have no merit at all.

Students who change schools in order

to improve academic or athletic standing do nothing but cheapen their accomplish-ments while making life harder for those who don’t.

What do these transfers mean for Oak Park? These transfer kids come into coun-seling potentially scrambling class sizes. The

spot left in one class could be taken, leav-ing someone else with fewer choices in their schedule. Transfers happen outside of the district, but excessive amounts within make things more hectic for scheduling.

But what else are these students doing to others when transferring between schools just to make life easier for them? They’re set-ting an example for fellow students. Watch-ing classmates disregard transfer rules, stu-dents lose respect for the district’s system. If those students could skate through the system, why can’t they?

We made the borders for a reason -- to follow them. No one should be exempt from these rules for any reason.

We as a school and a district need to stop such behavior.

opinionpage3

How do you feel about the HP Mini Note laptops?

The Northmen’s Log StaffEditor-in-Chief & Photo EditorGina Drapela

Opinion EditorGabrielle Young

Sports EditorAlex Mallin

Entertainment EditorMandy Nichols

Lifestyles EditorCourtney Kelly

Feature EditorJessica Nichols

Copy EditorSamantha Colhour

CartoonistJohnna Hensley

WritersCourtney LightKim ShieldsKayla Smith

PhotographerAlly Sansone

AdviserChristina Geabhart

“The Northmen’s Log” is published 10 times during the school year. “The Log” is a student forum for expres-sion; it is produced by stu-dents for students.

“The Log” accepts letters to the editor in rooms E133 or E134 or geabhart@nkc-sd.k12.mo.us. Letters can-not exceed a length of 350 words. We will not run letters that are libelous, obscene, or that may cause a verifiable disruption of the education process of Oak Park. Letters must be signed.

Advertisers may con-

tact the business manager at 413-5352, or 825 N.E. 79th Terrace, Kansas City, MO, 64118.

Opinions expressed in “The Log” do not reflect staff endorsements of that product or service.

“The Log” is a member of NSPA, MIPA and Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists. “The Log” is affili-ated with JEA and JEMKC.

Log’s View: Staley transfers

Freshmen start new year right

Gabrielle Young

editorial editor Nothing could be worse

than a Monday morning, un-less it’s pouring down rain, and experiencing the joy of getting up at 6 a.m. just to catch the bus. Better yet the first day of school, high school. That’s what hap-pened to all the freshmen Monday, Aug.17.

Students started arriving at about 7 a.m. decked out in school gear and herded into the gym. Each student picked up a name tag and sat according to his advisory teacher.

Afterward students re-

united with their friends from middle school. They made introductions, and then took a ‘class of 2013’ group picture with faculty.

All the joy of starting high school included a little anxiety.

“I’m really nervous,” said freshman Donna Jacks. “It’s a new school and a lot of my friends went to Staley.”

The transition created optimism for others.

“I’m really excited about all the new classes, theatre, choir and French,” said freshman Emily Kitelinger.

Advisory teachers took students on a tour of the building before they watched a peer helpers skit. Students ended their day with a mo-tivational pep talk for a suc-cessful graduation.

I had the opportunity of shadowing Doug Montague, teacher of architecture and civil engineering on com-puters. During the tour stu-dents became excited for the gumball machine, vending machines and the pizza line.

Teachers also warned

freshmen to never use the main stairs, telling them they’d be late and the seniors would push them around.

Montague said he felt pretty good about the new freshmen

“I think it’s going to be a great group of kids; we had a great turn out today con-sidering the weather,” Mon-tague said.

As tours continued, stu-dents clustered in the Little Theater to become familiar with the Oak Park Way.

Later, freshmen viewed a mini skit performed by peer helpers called “The Day in the Life of an Oak Park Freshman.” The mood was light as students and teachers filled the air with laughter.

Another group of stu-dents filed into the Main Auditorium for their motiva-tional pep talk for a success-ful graduation. Jostens rep-resentative Jeff Enger lead the discussion.

Enger wanted the stu-dents to be hyped about high school and what it all entails.

He encouraged them to in-volve themselves in school , to apply themselves, to ask for help and to have a good GPA.

He showed the students statistics proving that fresh-men have the lowest GPA and the highest discipline referral rates. If freshmen showed the lowest discipline referral rates at the end of the year, Enger agreed to buy them all doughnuts and to draw one of their names out of a hat to receive a free class ring.

“They didn’t seem excit-ed; it’s off the cuff, it was an incentive, if it works then I’ll be happy,” Enger said.

At the end of the day, freshmen signed a banner commiting themselves to graduating on time.

The half-day rounded out with cheers by Cheer-leaders, Color Guard, Pom-mies and the band. This event probably forced fresh-men to realize that they are the new generation of Oak Park.

“I think its gonna be awesome, because we won’t have as much to take home.” freshman Christian Upschulte

“I love it; I think it’s a great idea.”

sophomore Alex Stompoly

“In some ways I think that it will be really helpful, but a giant liability.” senior Taylor Weatherly

“I think its gonna help me be a better teacher, because I’m gonna have to reflect on my current practices and adjust them to meet the needs of the students at Oak Park.” history teacher Jacob Sirna

“They are pointless, we don’t need them.” junior Maria Curiale

Your ViewsDrummer tackles out of zone

* for the story, see page 2

We want your opinions!Write your letter to the editor.

Sign it. Bring it to E133 or E134.

by Samantha Colhourcopy editor

It started with Xanga. Through Xanga, people could post their lives through long monologues or short snippets without saying who they were. From Xanga came mys-pace, a place where kids could design a page about themselves; adding pic-tures and facts and chang-ing the backgrounds. In a short time, myspace be-came a thing of the past, left in the dust by face-book.

M o s t s t u d e n t s re c o g n i ze the word f a c e b o o k . They might not know that college stu-dents orig-inally used f a c e b o o k to stay up on as-signments and to make new friends in a new environment. Fa-cebook is now a place for adults and teenagers to write all about their days and private lives.

Many sport groups like soccer and activities such as Color Guard and Oak Street realized the influence of facebook and created their own groups to bring school pride to more students. “The Northmen’s Log” started a group as well.

“I think the guard facebook group is a good idea because everyone can find out what’s going on in advance,” said co-cap-

tain senior Anna Bradley. “Anyone can look at it and join, so it’s great.”

Facebook provides an open portal of connection. Some groups get started and forgotten about. This led to a new fad -- twit-ter. Twitter users can post small updates only 140 characters. This provides a short route for many clubs and sports.

Club coordinators and coaches can post scores and meeting times. Band and volleyball became the first two groups at OPHS

to tweet.“ I t

was re-ally Coach [Ken] Co-rum’s idea to get the stats [of volleyball] out in a q u i c k e r way and get more people in-v o l v e d , ” said varsity senior Su-san Leim-

kuehler. Seeing the new trend,

the district also decided to open both a facebook and twitter account. Sites such as twitter and face-book have recently shown promise outside the social scene, providing effective communication tools for educational purposes.

“What we were look-ing for was another avenue to connect with our differ-ent audiences. Instead of just talking at you, now we can get feedback. That was our main goal,” said district communications officer Michelle Cronk.

Clubs participate in blogging

featurespage4

Eight tips to Internet safety

by Jessica Nicholsfeature editor

Never give out per-sonal information about

yourself or your family. Make sure your screen name doesn’t give out too much about yourself. Never use

your name, home town, or age.

Refrain from giv-ing out passwords you

use to get on chat sites including facebook and mys-pace. Also, don’t use the

same password more than once.

If you use free Wi-Fi access remember to

wipe out your Web site memory. This can prevent people who are trying to hack your computer from

gaining the information they need to do so.

Be aware of what you post about yourself.

Make sure the pictures from your best friend’s party are appropriate. Watch the

comments that you make; everyone can see them.

Watch what your friends and family are

posting about you. You may end up with an embar-rassing photo or comment on your page that you may

not want people to see.Avoid down-

loading items off the internet or pur-

chasing from online ads before talking to your

parents.Never agree

to meet a new on-line friend in person.

You may think that skat-erdude360 and cowgirl25 are typical teens like you, but you could end up put-ting yourself in jeopardy if they’re not.

School prepares for paperless environment

by Courtney Kelleylifestyle editor

The neon scene grows in the dark classroom as the teach-ers prepare for one of the many training sessions for the latest idea to enter the district -- HP mini-laptops, one for every stu-dent. As the first school in the district to try out the new Mini Notes, students and teachers will test their technology skills.

In the next three years, teachers will participate in les-sons that will help them learn the skills they need to turn their classrooms into technology sav-vy environments. Ninety teach-ers, district wide, will take part in the courses this year.

Many teachers are going to go paper and book free, doing all work and activities on the Mini Notes. This means some assignments will be turned in online, either through Black-board or e-mail.

“It won’t affect my class-rooms too much; I am just wor-ried security wise in the locker rooms,” said gym teacher Can-dace McCall.

On the other hand, some teachers like to use paper and books. Using the old-fashioned tools works best for them.

“My studying ways won’t change. They will just be a lot faster and I can get a lot more accomplished,” said junior Kel-ly Meek. “

”

“Instead of just talking at you,now we can get feedback. That was our main goal.”

district communications officer Michelle Cronk

by Alex Mallinsports editor

Each day, people find difficulties escaping the in-fluence of technology on their lives. From computers at home, cell phones with Wi-Fi to the digital alarm clock which may wake a stu-dent for school, technology consumes and has become a crucial tool to rely on for daily life.

In mid- to late-Septem-ber, Oak Park will be the first out of the four schools in the district to send each student out of the building with their own “mini” laptop for use in their academic studies.

Principal Fred Skretta said he believes the further immersion of the school into modern technology will have a positive effect not only on the school but the students as well.

“We know how the stu-dents have all probably grown up with technology,” Skretta said. “So knowing how engaged kids are with it and that it is a big part of the world, we wanted to bring more of that part of the world into the school learn-ing environment.”

Skretta, along with sev-eral other teachers, attended a national technology con-ference in Seattle, Wash., last year where they learned more about the effective-ness of loaning out personal computers to students. This has only been done in a few schools around the country.

“There was a school out-side of Seattle that we visited and toured,” Skretta said. “They had done it with reg-ular laptops and it wasn’t to the scale that we plan to do it. They did it in waves with one or two grade levels only, but that gave you a chance to compare the groups that had them to the groups who didn’t and it was a huge dif-ference. In that the ones who had them, they were showing that they were more success-ful, that their grades were better, and their scores on their state tests were better.”

In order for the stu-dents to recieve the laptops, faculty members needed to take four classes on how to incorporate the laptops into academic studies.

“We are going to kind of pave the way and work through the many speed bumps to see how it goes so that the other schools can do a great job too,” Skretta said. “It’s really a team effort. What we are going to do is have all the tech coordina-tors from each high school help out here then all four at the next school and the next school and the next school, so ideally the last school that goes should be the quickest and smoothest.”

According to Skretta, every student within the dis-trict should have a laptop within two months of OP getting them.

Skretta said he believes there has mostly been over-whelming support for the

use of laptops by the stu-dents, though he recognizes there are many obstacles of skepticism in between from students and teachers.

Science teacher Randy Glinn has taught for 25 years through many evolutions in the classrooms, and has an undecided outlook on what the future holds with the laptops.

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Glinn said. “I’m not sure how it’s all going to work out. I will say its going to be good for the kids to have everyone to have that ability.”

Glinn said he feels for his particular area of teaching the laptops won’t be an es-sential part of the classroom.

“I am probably not going to change much at this point because much of what we do is lab work,” Glinn said. “Personally I think it is much better to work on an actual cat than a virtual dissection on the computer.”

Senior Justin Schultz feels the use of laptops will be a good addition to his school studies.

“In my German lan-guage class last year we were always in the computer lab,” Schultz said. “I think if they can manage it right it will be good for the school.”

During registration for this year, the school held mandatory meetings in the auditorium for parents to get more information on the laptops their children would be bringing home.

“There were some legiti-

mate concerns,” Skretta said. “Overwhelmingly, I think parents were excited about it. One of the main con-cerns were of parents who didn’t have Internet access at their homes, and that is a big obstacle we plan to work through. We have several ways to handle students with that limitation and we should be able to work through it with cooperation.”

Some have concerns about students’ capability to use the laptops responsibly.

“I have been using an analogy when addressed with the responsibility con-cern,” Skretta said. “If you think about it as a textbook, we entrust several hundred dollars worth of text books to students. We entrust about around four text books to each student and that could easily add up to $400 which is around the cost of one of our laptops.”

Whether or not the lap-tops will be healthy or un-timely for the school, only time will tell. Skretta believes the speed bumps will be a good learning example for students.

“We know that we are anticipating several chal-lenges with it,” Skretta said. “That’s partly the main idea. We are trying to make the school learning environ-ment more oriented towards the way students live and breathe and do things in life and technology is one of the most important parts now.”

Digitalization invades school

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entertainmentpage5

Taste barely trumps ‘Pizza Hut’

by Mandy Nicholsentertainment editor

A new addition to the

Northland eating scene, “Tony V’s Pizzeria” opened late this summer by the “Family Video” on 72nd Street.

The menu boasts few flavors that stray from what one usually finds at “Little Caesar’s.”

Calzones, average wings, unappetizing salads, simple pasta and somewhat typical “special” pizzas such as the “Hawaiian” and “chicken alfredo” flavors grace the pages almost as a courtesy to those who want something “different.”

Thin crusts depicted on the menu’s food glamour shots allude to a crunchier, flakier eating experience

than what customers can expect at this pizzeria. This pizza dough provides the diner with a greasier, chew-ier journey to the crust which does provide a heavier, but some-what satisfying crunch.

T h e wings prove the most dis-a p p o i n t i n g of the items sampled. One might as well take a trip to the gro-cery store and buy a big bag of frozen wings with bottled buffalo or BBQ sauce. The too-chewy, almost rubbery consistency of the not-so abundant meat closely re-sembles something out of a freezer aisle.

“Tony V’s” priced-well above chain stores like “Pizza Hut” and “Little Caesar’s”-might have the customer expecting that a higher price

must mean better quality. Though this proves true, the quality at “Tony V’s” doesn’t deserve that much of a price

spike.While noth-

ing seems to taste awful, or even bad, n o t h i n g tastes great.

No sin-gle menu

item will make a hun-

gry customer’s taste buds pop.

The place isn’t known for its seasonings, crust or service. People probably won’t go out of their way to visit this place just to have their par-ticular wings.

Even so, it remains a de-cent enough little pizza shop where one can find a rela-tively good deal on a Friday night when they don’t feel like cooking or eating out.

2 and a half logs out of 5

Tarantino delivers

a re-write of World War II

history

by Alex Mallinsports editor

Long, inaccurate and filled with conversation, the summer movie season has been brought to an end with what will likely be the most talked about movie of the year.

“Inglourious Basterds” follows the story of Melanie Laurent (Shoshanna Drey-fus) a cinema owner in Paris and disguised Jew whose family was brutally mur-dered by SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz).

Meanwhile, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the “Basterds” re-cruited by Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) will drop in to France on assignment to kill and scalp every Nazi they come across.

Events find the two groups intercrossed when the “Basterds” discover that a movie premiere at Lau-rent’s cinema will hold an audience containing much of the Nazi high command; including Hitler himself, and both groups will do anything in their power to make sure no one walks out of the the-

atre alive.Since 1992, when Taran-

tino released “Reservoir Dogs,” he has made movies which have raised the bar in originality and created time-less characters which leave viewers with a refined defi-nition of “cool.” From Jules Windfield and Vincent Vega in “Pulp Fiction,” to Bill in the “Kill Bill” series, Taran-tino knows how to write “cool.”

Tarantino does not fal-ter away from that precedent with “Basterds,” giving us not only Aldo Raine, the south-erner from Tennessee who gives his soldiers a fee of 100 “Naht-see” scalps in order to be in his command, but also the villain Hans Landa, who hunts out his victims like a hawk and puts a human fear into viewers that comes from something other than the Nazi uniform he wears.

The best scenes in the

movie include the “Basterds.” With Pitt at the frontlines us-ing his “Sling Blade-esque” southern accent to crack jokes, while around him lie dead Nazi soldiers brought to an end by his group of revenge-hungry recruits. Though the movie’s setting refers to one of despair, there remains an undertone of comedic relief throughout the film.

Parts of the movie may drag some viewers down with the excess of dialogue, though most will remain at the edge of their seat as ev-ery scene with conversation always has the anticipation of danger looming. Also the inclusion of Mike Myers as a cameo remains impossible to take seriously, with echoes of “Austin Powers” in his por-trayal of British general Ed Fenech.

Viewers should not go in to “Basterds” expecting a typical World War II film. One doesn’t see Omaha Beach, large combat scenes between the “Allies” and the “Axis,” or even an American flag hoisted up to declare victory. “Basterds” delivers a fantasy, a ‘what-if’ of sorts and leaves the audience with dropped jaws. It demands viewers forget everything they know about real history and imagine it with cooler characters, one explosive ending and an overall glori-ous cinematic experience.

4 and a half out of 5 logs

Fine-tuned suspense elements

overshadow science fiction

clichesby Mandy Nichols

entertainment editor

“District 9” centers around Wikus Van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) who finds himself in charge of relocating the stranded group of aliens in District 9 to the new District 10. These raptor-like aliens, dubbed “Prawns,” arrived in South Africa 20 years before when their mother ship broke down.

Following their landing, the Prawns were rounded up into a government con-trolled slum away from the public. The film’s main cor-rupt organization called Mul-tinational United, or MNU, holds secret experimenta-tion on both the aliens and their technology, with the ultimate goal of using their weapons for its own use. While on assignment evict-ing aliens from their homes, something affects Wikus on the biological scale, turning

his company, and his planet against him.

Like any science fiction worth watching, “District 9” makes one think-but not about paradoxes or gadget-ry. Fake news clips, docu-mentary interviews, home-movies and “real-time” footage bring creative angles to the storytelling, while giv-ing viewers background in-formation essential to the continuous plot in small helpings. This unique plot development method does take up half the movie, so those looking for pure action from the start might not find what they’re looking for.

That doesn’t mean it lacks in violence.

The film presents some disturbing ideas within the storyline, which may leave some viewers on the quea-sy side. However, between these nearly gruesome mo-ments, some may enjoy a dark chuckle at the clever political satire and analogies sprinkled throughout.

Despite its obvious far-fetched notions, “District 9” presents some refresh-ing realism to its characters and scenery. It shows not only extraordinary circum-stances, but the social retali-ation that might come with it as well. One won’t find any superheroes or evil geniuses

within the almost two-hour show time. Wikus, the main “good guy” doesn’t hold any obvious heroic qualities; in fact he’s kind of pathetic most of the time. These traits not only make him more re-latable, but somehow more likeable.

Skeptics of science fic-tion plots might find them-selves pleasantly surprised by the character-centered drama drowning out any de-tailed explanations of certain subatomic particles and their use towards the harvesting of corn on Mars. There may be advanced alien technology, but no one stands around for an hour trying to figure out how to turn it on without ripping a hole in the space-time continuum.

If it weren’t for the ob-vious alien encounters, one might forget that they were watching a science fiction movie. Memorable story de-velopment builds suspense effectively, while leaving intellectuals satisfied. Rela-tively new director Neill Blomkamp seems to have created a new genre that should please action and sci-ence fans equally.

3 and a half out of 5 logs

Pitt leads mixed cast; releases “glourious” flick

‘District 9’ balances genres

“Tony V’s Pizzeria,” located 1918 NE 72nd St., Gladstone, MO 64118, opened this summer, attracting various pizza-hungry customers.

‘Tony V’s’ cuisine not quite supreme

Marching Northmen take positive steps

forward review by Gabrielle Young

editorial editor

The band roars into the new school year with a great start. This year they’ll be performing pieces from the classic Disney movie and Broadway play “The Lion King.”

On Thursday, Aug. 13, parents and families at-tended a band performance at Happy Rock Park. The atmosphere of the park was serene and peaceful, to top it off the band gave a beautiful show. With only seven and a half days of practice and 73 members, the synchro-nization and performance of “Can you feel the love to-night,” was well done.

Not only did the band spend time practicing, they also used the time to throw a couple of surprises up their sleeves. Toward the middle of the evening, band and col-or guard members snatched

out a family member to show them the routine and how hard they’d been working. They then cut loose said fam-ily members to do the band routine; the message seemed to come across clear that the

band has been putting in a lot of hard work.

The downsize in the stu-dent population didn’t cre-ate a drastic change for the band, but seems to have af-fected it for the better.

“We are about the same size as last year,” said band director Adam Farley. “Ev-ery person wants to be there. They’re hard workers and we already have more ready to perform.”

Last year, the band per-formed “American in Paris,” which carried more classical tones. This year, other songs from the Disney film include “I Just Can’t wait to be King” and “The Circle of Life.”

This year hopes and ex-pectations run high.

“We are working on making a bigger sound. The first week of band camp we became more connected, a tight family,” Farley said. “We want to be a strong example of a family at Oak Park.”

As the evening came to a close, students put away their instruments, received their ice cream and over-flowed with joy. The students seemed ready for the excite-ment of a new year and a new family. Even as the new bright blue band shirts say “Bringing Back the Pride,” it appears as if pride never left.

“Lion King” recaptures pride

Northmen band members attend camp July 27-31 and Aug. 10-13 to prepare for a new season of marching shows. This year’s show features hits from Disney’s “The Lion King.” photo courtesy of Mara Wills

photo essaypage6

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Fresh startto the year

Performing their skit full of helpful hints, the Peer Helper team of senior Lucas Favreau, junior Samuel Jacks and soph-omores Katie Retschulte and Kayla Smith are able to keep the attention of all the freshman. “We were trying to teach the freshman the right thing to do in school,” Smith said. “It was a lot of fun to plan it, even though we didn’t have much time to plan it.” photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

Business teacher Tom Svhela commands the attention of the freshmen. Each advisory teacher led his or her freshmen on a school tour. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

Jostens class rings provided an ‘Oak Park High School Class of 2013’ banner for the freshmen to sign on Monday, August 17. Freshman Rachel Mallin was one of the many to sign it. “[Freshmen day] prepped me really well for the whole year,” Mallin said. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chiefIn addition to hearing an introduction and welcome from principal Fred Skretta, the students participated in tours and watched a Peer Helpers skit. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

Each school year Peer Helpers try to come up with new ways to help students with their new surroundings and any problems they may have. Seniors Maren Hansen and Sarah Donnici, and ju-niors Matthew Carson and Kalliope Ashton help to prepare skits displaying funny moments and seri-ous tones. “We had a lot of fun putting them to-gether. It showed our funny side, while also send-ing a really serious message,” Hansen said. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief

Performing the fight song, experienced band members brought in freshman Christian Upschulte to play the saxo-phone with them. “[It was a good experience] because I was a part of something that really showed school spirit,” Up-schulte said. photo by Gina Drapela, editor-in-chief