The Northmen’s LogFriday, September 24, 2010 Oak Park High School Issue 2, Volume 46

Renaissance Festival pg. 7

By: Kayla SmithLifestyles Editor

There are many fall traditions students look forward to when begin-ning a new school year, from Friday night foot-ball games to the home-coming dance. Along with these commodities comes the fall musical.

Every year, a mass of students audition for a part in the school musi-cal. This year, however, students weren’t the only ones facing the pressure of an audition. For this year’s musical “Hair-spray,” two roles will be played by members of the teaching staff, sci-ence teacher Bill Dennis and debate and forensics teacher Arianne Fortune.

When the names were posted for the roles in the musical, several students were angry with the decisions.

“We didn’t have stu-

dents to play those roles,” said choir director Chris Droegemueller. “Those two roles were a little more controversial than some of the students can handle.”

Students under-stood.

“Upon hearing the explanation as to why there are teachers in the show, I think it’s the saf-est and most viable op-tion for us to perform this show in a high school setting,” said senior Der-ek Byrne.

Byrne, as a cast member, understands why it’s happening and favors the concept. He aslo said he believes it will make the show more interesting.

“Their parts are hi-larious,” Byrne said, “and having them played by teachers will only add to the comic affect.”

Some students were not so thrilled. Giving

these roles to teachers led many to say it takes away parts that could be given to students who re-ally want them.

“I understand the student concern and the fact that there was one less student part,” Den-nis said, “but at the same time it’s something I wanted to do.”

Dennis knows the

entire situation can be a touchy subject, but he said the cast has been supportive and every-thing about the musical is great.

“It gets a little weird, because I’m just not wearing my teacher hat when I’m there.” Dennis said.

Despite the weird feelings and the teachers

interacting with students in a different setting, both Fortune and Den-nis were stepping up to the plate.

“At first I was very upset, but as time’s gone on, those teachers are very dedicated and de-termined to the show and the rehearsal pro-cess,” said junior Alex Stompoly.

With dedicated teachers and accept-ing students like cast member Stompoly, high hopes were forming for this year’s fall musical.

“I think it has the po-tential to make the show better,” Stompoly said, “I just hope the prob-lems get worked out, so we can come together as a cast.”

Teachers share spotlight

By: James ColemanWriter

Three students and an alumnus recently ex-perienced their house burning, including Oli-ver, Kelsey and Dylan Drambour, and Ashlee Wells.

WellsSunday, June 6, at

7:02 a.m, Wells was in her bedroom when her mom woke her up. As she was running in the hallway all she could see was black smoke.

“I didn’t really have one first thought. I had a million things going through my head,” Wells said. “I was scared, wor-ried and nervous.”

Once she had a chance to finally stop, and think, she really just cared about her mom, dad, two sisters, sister’s friends and brother. They all got out safe.

“I still have flash-backs of my house literal-ly being eaten by flames, but I know everything happens for a reason,” Wells said.

The worst part for her was everything she

and her family lost. They lived in their home for eight years and all the memories they have, were unforgettable.

“This was one of the most horrible things that have ever happened to my family and I,” Wells said. “Never would I ever wish this upon anyone.”

DrambourThe Drambours re-

turned to their regular routine, getting ready for sleep on a Monday night.

“I was ready to be in a deep sleep,” Kelsey said.

They were woken at about 2 a.m. by their old-er brother, Oli-ver. Kelsey woke up to flames in her window and had no reaction.

“Didn’t even grab glasses, two to three min-utes would’ve grabbed more,” Kelsey said.

The fire started in the back porch and was right by Kelsey’s room.

“First dramatic thing, Dad had cancer but noth-ing like this,” Kelsey said.

The family and two dogs escaped safely.

Fire destroys possessions

By: Aggie RiegerEditorial Editor

In the west parking lot by the soccer field, three bald cypress trees blow in the breeze. One donated by the soccer team, the other two in memory of past team members killed in a car accident. The class of 2010 and the 2010 Booster Club purchased a tree recently.

On the other side of the school along the drive, an autumn blaze maple grows. Trees like these are planted all around the 62 acres of school campus.

“I think it’s cool that [the tree plan is] turn-ing out to be a living his-tory of the school,” said science teacher Connie Beeck, who is in charge of the tree plan. “When I

look at it, all that history is there.”

The tree plan started three years ago under the direction of Beeck.

“When we split from Staley, we started doing improvements to the in-side of the school, but no one really looked out-side,” she said.

Beeck teamed up with Paradise Nursery and the Missouri Conser-vation Department to get the project going.

“It’s basically just a campus beautification plan to aesthetically and environmentally im-prove campus,” Beeck said.

With the tree plan, students and staff can purchase a variety of trees for $225 with a five-year warranty. The tree can be donated for orga-nizations, or in honor or

memory of someone.“It’s a wide variety

of groups that have par-ticipated,” Beeck said. “I think we’re around 50-60 and another 40 or so in the plan.”

Students were sup-portive.

“It’s good to plant trees,” said freshman Teona Daviscannon. “I guess it’ll make it look better ‘cause it’s good to see new plants grow.”

Freshman Fletcher Hoke also likes the idea of planting trees around campus.

“They’ll look good,” Hoke said.

The 13 different types of trees available are spread out around campus.

“Certain trees have certain spots. That’s be-cause you don’t want too many of one type because

if there’s a virus it could wipe out all of our trees,” Beeck said.

Those who purchase trees as part of the tree plan get to choose the location of the new tree. Information regarding placement was provided by the Missouri Conser-vation Department. All of the trees used are from Paradise Nursery.

Some organizations choose their locations to be meaningful for their members; for example, the Marching North-men and its parents as-sociation purchased trees near the football field.

“We try to plant in the fall, they tend to do best then,” Beeck said.

If interested in do-nating a tree, see Beeck for a form and brochure.

Classes help students ace

the testBy: Kayla SmithLifestyles Editor

No. 2 pencil in hand, brain stuffed full of information and forehead sweating, student after student will sit down at a desk and proceed to take many tests in their high school career. Among these important tests was the ACT.

To prepare for such a crucial test, many students take part in ACT prepara-tion classes. This can be a semester-long class or weekly night courses.

“It’s really helpful to be able to study with others to help motivate yourself,” said senior Stephanie Mora, “in-stead of not studying at all.”

Mora was among many students taking part in night courses to gear up for this test. These night courses meet twice a week dur-ing the month of the test date at Faubion Methodist Church at N. Troost and Vivion. They cover every sec-tion of the ACT: math, science, reading, Eng-lish and writing.

“I really think that the class is important.” Mora said. “If you’re really serious about getting score on the ACT.”

Another option is to enroll in the se-mester-long class. This class takes place only in fourth block on B days and was taught by com-munication arts teacher Callie Smothers.

“So far all we have done is take a practice ACT to see what sub-jects we need to im-prove in more and to

see where our starting point is,” said junior Rachel Stewart.

This class teaches all the same things the night courses do but does not require the same amount of per-sonal time. In this class, Smothers teaches a lot of test preparation, and helps students learn strategies and apply them.

“A lot of the strate-gies I have found use-ful I didn’t even know about when I took the test,” Smothers said.

Smothers said her goal was every kid that comes into her class room learns strategies

and increases their ACT score.

“We just set a goal on how many points we want to improve our score by and we are learning different test strategies for the dif-ferent sections of the ACT,” Stewart said.

This class isn’t of-fered at many schools in the district. Schools offer after- or before-school help.

“We have the op-portunity to impact kids during [the] school [day] that some of the other schools don’t have and I hope we take advantage of it,” Smothers said.

“

Preparation for the ACT

Tree plan provides ‘living history’

Studying hard during class, students in communication arts Cal-lie Smothers ACT prep class prepare for the up-coming Saturday, Dec. 11 test. Photo By: Dylan Kinder, Photographer

Senior Sterling Robbins and debate and forensics teacher Arianne Fortune read lines during musical rehearsal on Thursday, Sept. 16. “I am enjoying working with the students.” Fortune said. Fortune was cast as Velma Von Tussle, the mean, rude mother of Amber Von Tussle, played by Rachel Perkins. Photo By: Kim Green, Photographer

Junior Abbey Robinson steps up to the plate on Monday, Sept. 20. Rob-inson said her favorite part of being on the softball team was, “just in-teracting with all new people, having new friends, and people to look up to.” Photo By: Kaylan Bal-lard, Cartoonist

Softball bonds Oakies

sportspage2 Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

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New coach helps

swimmersBy: Jessica Nichols

Sports Editor

Boys swim went through a big change at the beginning of its season. The 2009 coach Matthew Duffy stepped down after completing his master’s degree. Now the boys practice under the instruction of coach Kelly Rule.

“I’d been coaching for six years,” Duffy said. “I decided it was time to move on.”

Rule has previous coaching experience. She coached the Ray-town boys and girls swim teams for seven years. After that she started coaching the Northtown swimmers.

“I already coach the NKCHS swim and dive team,” Rule said. “We practice at the same time; and I already know most of the team so it was an easy fit to coach both teams.”

Coaching two teams does not pose a problem when meets take place because the two schools compete at different con-ference levels.

“It helps that we are in different conferences so while there is compe-tition between the teams the main swim of the season is separate,” Rule said.

On top of the new coach, the swim team has

four members. Original-ly the team consisted of five members, but other activities caused a team member to stop swim-ming. They do not have a diver.

“Without divers we score fewer points so it’s a lot harder to win a meet,” said captain se-nior Kyle Quatrochi.

The boys swim team practices vary from week to week. The team has to share the pool with Win-netonka and Staley.

“Some weeks we are from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and others we are 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with morning practices Tuesday and Thursday,” Rule said.

Rule instructs the swimmers to practice a certain set as they warm-up and prepare for the meets.

“A set is like a work-out,” Quatrochi said. “She tells us what stroke to do and what pace to do it at.”

The boys work on swimming short and long distances. They also con-centrate on individual stroke work.

“We work a lot on the little things that can win or lose a meet,” Rule said.

The team has per-formed well during its meets despite the lack of divers.

“So far the meets have been great,” Rule said. “We had a 100 per-cent time drop.”

The boys clenched their first victory against William Chrisman on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

Small team defeats odds

A Month in SportsCross CountryConference-Saturday, Oct. 9

FootballFriday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m. vs Platte County at DACHomecoming - Friday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. vs Winnetonka at DACFriday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. vs St. Joe Central at DAC

Girls GolfConference-Monday, Sept. 26 Boys SoccerMonday, Sept. 27, 5 p.m. vs Winnetonka at DACThursday, Sept. 30, 5 p.m. vs Liberty North at DAC Wednesday, Oct. 6, 5 p.m. vs NKC at DACThursday, Oct. 7, 5 p.m. Oak Park Tournament at DACSaturday, Oct. 9, Oak Park Tournament at DACMonday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m. vs Kearney at DACThursday, Oct. 21, 5 p.m. vs Grandview at Northgate

SoftballFriday, Sept. 24, 4 p.m. vs Staley at Oak Park

Boys SwimFriday, Sept. 24, 4 p.m. NKCSD Invitational at NKCSD NatatoriumSaturday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m. NKCSD Invitational at NKCSD Natato-riumWednesday, Oct. 6, 4 p.m. vs LSW/Pembroke Hill at NKCSD Na-tatoriumWednesday, Oct. 13, 4 p.m. vs Staley/Winnetonka at NKCSD Na-tatoriumWednesday, Oct. 20, 4 p.m. vs Sedalia/Liberty North at NKCSD Natatorium

Girls TennisSaturday, Sept. 25, 8 a.m. Sub North Tournament at Oak ParkTuesday, Sept. 28, 3:30 p.m. vs Platte County at Oak ParkThursday, Sept. 30, 3:30 p.m. vs Liberty at Oak Park

VolleyballDig for the Cure - Monday, Sept. 27, vs Winnetonka at the DFSTuesday, Sept. 28, 5:30 p.m. vs Kearney at Oak ParkTuesday, Oct. 5, 5:30 p.m. vs Platte County at Oak ParkTuesday, Oct. 12, 5:30 p.m. vs Grandview at Oak Park

During practice, the girls tennis team drills, plays challenge matches and conditions on the track or hills. “[The best part about tennis is] spending time with the team,” said second-year varsity member Jenna McDaniel. The team also plays multiple games such as Around the World and Wipeout. Dur-ing Around the World, the girls are separated into two equal teams, and the beginning girl serves the ball to the other teams. Once she has hit the ball, she runs to the end of the opposite line. This continues until a girl has either missed the ball twice, or is the last one standing.

After losing a doubles match at practice, juniors Abbey Stockard and Kelcie Thomas do push-ups as their losing punishment. The girls coaches Tana Stock and Bryan Edinger help the girls get prepared for matches, run drills and learn new and helpful games. “I love our coaches,” Stockard said. “I think they are so fun.”

By: Caleb EisslerWriter

Q: What gave you the idea to join the Hudl website?

A: “Some of us in the coaching commu-nity have become close friends. When we run across something that is worthwhile, we share it. Then when we go to clinics, we try and get in contact with the vendors of those products and see if it could help us, and if it is financially capable for us to get. Hudl is rap-idly spreading across the coaching world.

Q: Has using Hudl been successful so far?

A: “It’s been very successful. We can get more video looked at, broken down, and watched by our athletes than ever before. And in our sport, watching film over and over again is a part of the business. Plus it allows us to send the film to our guys so they can watch it at home as well as at school and after practice.”

Q: Do you think the team benefits from Hudl?

A: “We have ben-efitted. In watching film, the key is to get used to how teams react in cer-tain situations. It also helps us in trading film with other teams. We no longer have to make copies, put them on the computer, then make DVD’s then meet with an opposing coach on Saturday morning so we can have film to watch. It goes directly into the cyber-world and we have it readily available when-ever and wherever we need it. We as coaches can watch it at our homes and don’t have to spend 20-30 hours a weekend at the school. We can spend time with our fam-

ilies and get work done later at home. Our play-ers can get more film and tendency work at home as well by us sending the film to their account, not just for 40 minutes on Saturday. Plus they are accountable. I can get on and see what players have watched film and how long they watched it. “

Q: Explain exactly how Hudl works.

A: “Hudl works by allowing all of our film and data we have on the previous Friday nights game and more impor-tantly the upcoming opponents to be read-ily available anytime, anywhere online. Each coach and player has an account that they can log on to, pull up game film and tendencies. The soft-ware lets us as coaches enter data as far as what formation they line up in and what plays they run according to what per-sonnel is in the game. That may sound like a bunch of hogwash but every coach has a certain amount of tendency of how they call a game. It’s kind of like performing a psychology experiment.Most coaches fall back on what they know and do best in times of need. For example, if you come down to a critical third and 8 in a game, most coaches are comfort-able with certain type of play. If you compare that situation with what they have done in the past, even year after year in the past, you can have a decent percent chance of getting their play ten-dencies.

&with football coach Mark Faubion

about the Hudl program

Girls tennis hits the court Photos By: Kim Green, Photographer

By: Aggie RiegerEditorial Editor

Three years ago when Staley opened many changes took place at the school. Not only did we lose students and faculty, OP lost its athlet-ic classes in many sports.

“Well, being in a lower class, it’s not as difficult to win a State championship as before,” said wrestling coach Tim Rupp. “There are few-er great teams in lower classes.”

Wrestling went from a Class IV to a Class III this year.

“Classes are based on the number of students [at a school]. We lost a lot of boys [and girls] that could have played ball for us,” said athletic di-rector Keith Ross.

When the student population went down, so did the school’s ath-letic class. However, it

took a while for the class to change, meaning that for two years OP teams played against larger schools with equally larg-er teams.

“It’s a positive change for sure,” said tennis assistant coach Bryan Edinger. “We’re on an equal playing field, [for a while] it wasn’t fair.”

Many agree the change will benefit the school’s sports teams.

“I think they know our shot at winning con-ference is real,” Edinger

said.Students who par-

ticipate in school sports also believe the change in class will be beneficial.

“I think as a team we have a better chance of winning. Coaches are excited too . . . We’re a cocky team. Like, we ex-pect to win,” said junior football player Darrell Jones.

Others agreed. “I like it because

we win more and play against teams at the same level as us,” said sopho-more tennis player Emily

Juhl.The girls tennis team

remains undefeated as of Monday, Sept. 20, ac-cording to Juhl.

“We really need to encourage people to come out and play . . . they have more opportu-nities then when we had a lot of boys coming out for football,” Ross said.

The drop in classes does have disadvantages, however.

“If winning is the only criteria, then it’s a positive effect because it’s easier. If not, it’s a nega-tive effect because the level of competition goes down,” Rupp said.

Although, Rupp and other coaches agree there is still sufficient competi-tion at district, state and conference events.

“There’s no such thing as an easy win,” said coach Joel Pabon at the Friday, Sept. 10 foot-ball game.

Change in class, change in competition

Replacing the flags from last year, the five new pennants rep-resent the new district athletic placement. Photo By: Courtney Kelley, Editor-in-Chief

opinionpage3Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

Oakie OpinionsWhat is your biggest

pet peeve about the lunch periods?

Some think teachers ‘steal’ the spotlight

Students walk out of the cafeteria and suddenly they see other students throwing punches and shoving some-one into a wall. The news spreads around the school like wildfire, grow-ing in severity each time the story is retold. One student starts teasing an-other person in their classes about their looks or their personality. Others join in, bullying the student even more.

The school year has barely begun and, already, students have started fights and the bullies have started to make themselves known. A few stu-dents have gone to the counselors in tears because of hateful words their peers used towards them.

Classes have been in session for only six weeks. Only a few physical fights have taken place. Verbal fights have also happened already during the

school year.When students find themselves ha-

rassed or bullied, they become scared of the school environment. School should not become a negative word in the eyes of Ameri-can youth, but it has because of the way students treat one another in today’s society.

Sure, harassment happens every year. More than a few fights always take place in the halls, near the main stairs and around the cafeteria. You never know when to expect students to start screaming and throwing punches until you feel the tension in the air.

However, one may find it hard to recall when a fight occurred during the first six-week grading period. This year

the harassment has already started to spiral out of control, especially with the underclassmen.

A student should never have to deal with harass-ment. If one has a problem with an-other person they should learn to deal with the prob-

lems in a cool, collected adult manner. High school starts preparing students for their future in the outside world. If one learns to deal with confrontation and harassment by fighting back things only get worse.

The school provides resources in order to stop violence before it starts. The students who find themselves hav-ing problems with one another should agree to go to the Peer Helpers for

guidance in solving their problems or get together on their own and peace-fully solve the issue. Two wrongs never make a right and fighting never com-pletely solves a problem.

Students should look out for one another. Stand up for someone when you see them pushed around by one of your peers. Work together and try to get along with the people around you.

In helping others, one can find a strong peace of mind and may find oneself with an earned respect from other students. Everyone deals with similar emotions and struggles through some of the same problems.

We must learn that in order to stop the harassment and learn to get along with one another.

From the newsroom: Harassment terrorizes

Log’s View

“The Northmen’s Log” is pub-lished 10 times during the school year. “The Log” is a student forum for ex-pression; it is produced by students for students.

“The Log” accepts letters to the editor in rooms E133 or E134 or cge-abhar@nkcsd.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 contact the busi-

ness 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 Inter-national Honorary Society for High School Journalists. “The Log” is affili-ated with JEA and JEMKC.

The Northmen’s Log Staff &PoliciesEditor-in-Chief Courtney Kelley

Photo EditorJohnna Hensley

Editorial EditorAggie Rieger

Entertainment EditorTatyana Pekarsky

Sports Editor& Feature Editor, Business ManagerJessica Nichols

Lifestyles EditorKayla Smith

CartoonistKaylan Ballard

WritersJames ColemanCaleb EisslerLauren Grace

PhotographersLilla FoldiKim GreenDylan Kinder

AdviserChristina Geabhart

By: Kaylan BallardCartoonist

By: Kayla SmithLifestyles Editor

From the U.S. gov-ernment to a high school student government, the issue of the people having a strong voice in decision making has come up time and time again. In high schools throughout the country, students fight the constant battle to have their opinions heard and respected.

Here at OP, student

voice is something we have plenty of. The first well known way students say their opinions loud and proud is through the Student Council. Not only do the students who get elected to the council get a say in decisions.

StuCo plans events among many other things and, with the exception of its advisor Bryan Edinger, is student run. Wouldn’t you like to be able to have a say on the theme of a

dance or make posters to get the school revved up for a Friday night game? Being on StuCo gives you that say.

Another way for a gung-ho student to get involved in inner work-ings is through the Prin-cipal’s Advisory Council, a group of students who volunteered to suggest changes with Principal Fred Skretta.

Who knew teenagers could be so involved?

Students heard loud, proud

“Sometimes there aren’t enough seats and I’m tired of the same food every day.”

- senior Kris Reed

“I just get really frus-trated and would rather have four lunches and empty spaces than no chairs.”

-junior Savannah Mesh

“Same food every day and I don’t have enough time to eat my lunch.”

- sophomore Nicole Poteat

“Nowhere to ever sit. I like having three lunches because I would be really hungry by the fourth lunch.”

-freshman Amber Ivey

Printer policy strikes outBy: Aggie Rieger

Editorial Editor

I love coming to school. Maybe it’s getting dressed up in the morn-ing, maybe it’s knowing I’m going to see some great friends and maybe I’m just a nerd. I take a lot of pride in our school, even if it has its blunders and annoyances. Our school is pretty cool - cool enough to be chosen as KCTV5’s very first “Cool School of the Week.”

The turn out for the “Cool School” assembly was pretty good, consid-ering the fact it was 4:30 in the gosh darn morning when it started. I’ll admit even I wasn’t too enthu-siastic about being there, especially being there in my marching band uni-form. But the cameras rolled anyways, capturing some of OP’s best parts.

Oak Street per-formed, as did the Pom-mies and band. Many of our school activities were featured as well. Of course, I can’t leave out the incident in which one blue-faced student in a cape obnoxiously ran be-hind an interview with se-nior Melanie Holmgren, only getting out of the camera frame when Prin-cipal Fred Skretta pulled him over. And who could

forget how the pancake truck meant to bring pancakes for students broke down and we all ate doughnuts instead. What? Yeah.

Props to the Boost-er Club, who got us all doughnuts last minute and even went as far as to griddle pancakes them-selves. Now that is cool.

A lot of great clubs were showcased on T.V., but let us not forget the smaller, less known stu-dent groups around OP. They make our school di-verse and a great place to be. It’s these extra-curric-ular activities and tired, but enthused students that make OP so great. They bleed blue, some-thing we all need to do a little more of.

There is always a lot going on and something for everyone here. That is just another reason why I love this school so much. Don’t know what some of those clubs are? Look them up and discover even more.

I hear all the time that students who partici-pate in athletics and other extra-curriculars do bet-ter socially and academi-cally, and that is clearly true. Just look at OP. We have a plethora of activi-ties and teams, and what

do we get? Some of the highest test scores in the district and state.

More than just good test scores are going on around school. Sports are doing really well; the mu-sical is in full swing and just look at this paper and all the stories that fill the pages. OP is something to be proud of, and a “cool school” to love.

We do have a cool school, clearly. But unfor-tunately, KCTV5 didn’t think so. From an an-chor that compared our a Cappella choir to his friends at a pub to a re-porter who cussed while interviewing one of our students and everything in between, including a cameraman giggling dur-ing choir performances, it seems that KCTV5 did not know how to conduct themselves in a profes-sional environment.

At the end of the day being able to take pride in your school is inspir-ing, even if some people are not mature enough to handle that. Still, we all get a free Junior Frosty every time we go to a Wendy’s til the end of 2011. That’s pretty cool if you ask me, it just would have been better if people had a little more self con-trol.

By: Johnna Hensley Photo Editor

After an entire week of strenuous auditions, Friday, Aug. 27, was the day that left many students hanging on the edge of their seats. That was the day the cast list of “Hairspray” posted. The students were stressed, and you could practically feel the electricity of excite-ment buzzing in the air. More than 90 students auditioned for this musical, and nearly 30 were turned away. As soon as the lights came on at 2:20 p.m., students sprinted down the main stair-case racing towards the call board.

I stood by patiently as the crowds developed, waiting to see the results.

The expressions appearing on the faces of my peers nearly stopped me dead in my tracks.

Judging by the “melting pot” of mixed reactions, I already knew what had occurred. Rumors had become a reality. Out of a cast of 60 total, 58 of them were high school students. The other two are none other than teachers; debate and forensics teacher Arianne Fortune and science teacher Bill Den-nis.

Several weeks before auditions, there were rumors floating around the Fine Arts department speculating that auditions for “Hairspray” were going to be open to faculty members as well. When asked why, theater director Jef-

frey Baldwin stated, “I cast based on tal-ent, and the success of the show.”

As a theatre student, I can honest-ly say that I wasn’t thrilled about this change to say the least.

However, with change comes an opportunity to grow, not only as a per-former, but as an individual. It’s all about new experiences, professional-ism, and adaptations. In professional theatre, you literally work with people of all ages and backgrounds.

“If you continuously work with like peers, how will you ever learn?” Bald-win said. “Now, for those individuals who think or say ‘it’s not fair, this is high school theatre, well then, that’s all we’ll ever be, just high school theatre. People

use that term to denote poor quality theatre, and I don’t agree with that. My mission is to create professional theatre at an educational level.”

Essentially, if we want to set the bar high, we’re going to have to go in with the right mind set. It’s a change that, in the end, could definitely be for the bet-ter.

The show is only as good as it’s weakest member, and I have faith that this is going to be a performance the au-dience will not soon forget. Despite only being into the third week of rehearsal, the show is progressing beautifully and is well underway.

‘Cool School’ recognizes

lifestylespage4 Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

By: Jessica NicholsSports Editor

Have you ever wondered who puts posters around the school for spirit weeks? Who plans Relay 4 Life and the powder puff games? What about what the students do in leadership class?

“We do a lot more for the school than people think,” said senior Taylor White.

The Leadership class offers StuCo members and other students a chance to effectively hone their leadership skills.

“Leadership offers students who are involved with Student Council the chance to meet together and plan, or-ganize and delegate Student Council activities,” said leadership teacher Bry-an Edinger. “It is also designed to give students the tools they need to lead their school.”

The leadership class promotes school spirit and plans important events around the school. Every class period, the students work on the up-coming events and activities that affect their peers. They set up and design the school dances, pep rallies and assem-

blies. “We organize school activities. It

can be stressful, hourly class work,” said junior Adel Abu-Omar.

They also help groups and busi-nesses outside the school by planning fund raisers the entire school can par-ticipate in.

“We do the fund raisers for chari-

ties,” Abu-Omar said. “In the past we’ve done the food drives and blood drives. We also plan Relay 4 Life.”

Students split into small commit-tees which work on different activities happening during different parts of the school year.

Each group has certain responsi-bilities they have to fulfill in order for projects to get completed.

“Each person in class belongs to a committee; each committee is headed by one of the student body officers,” Edinger said. “The members of the committee are responsible for creat-ing and implementing Student Coun-cil projects throughout the year. Once the students have completed major projects, they will write reflections for the leadership students next year to review. There are also other small as-signments associated with the content portion of the class.”

Currently, students have started planning the events that lead up to Homecoming. They decide on every-thing from the pep-rally to the dance decorations. They have also started de-

signing T-shirts.“They’re black,” White said. “And

they say ‘We love OP,’ with a heart.”The students also study leadership

qualities and attributes that will help them become strong leaders.

“We are currently reading ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcom Gladwell,” Edinger said. “It is about the study of ideas and how they spread; How can we make a message infectious? How do we take an idea like Relay 4 Life or Adopt-a-Family and make that en-deavor infectious; something everyone at OP wants to be a part of?”

The students take the leadership class seriously. To them, it does not equal an easy A.

“It’s not a joke,” Abu-Omar said. “It’s not just a blow-off class.”

The concepts students learn in leadership will also prepare them for their future, whether they go to college or join the work force.

“Having leadership qualities is natu-ral, using them effectively is learned,” Ed-inger said.

Leadership goes unnoticed

Why we chose to

visitBy: Lilla Foldi

Writer

The USA has always represented, and repre-sents still today, a won-derful and free world to the Europeans. The wars are over, Europe is quiet. People are not forced to flee from their country. However, still up until to-day a lot of people choose this “unknown” but won-derful world. Hundreds of people try their luck, since the USA is the homeland of opportuni-ties.

Everybody has a dif-ferent reason to come here. Some come to work, some only to see the world and some come to study. I belong to the lat-ter group just like those

hundreds of European students who participate in the AIFS organiza-tion’s student exchange program.

“I choose it because I wanted to feel the Ameri-can spirit,” said German exchange student Lara Kuhnt, “and in America, the host families don’t get money for hosting, so they do it just because they are nice.”

I believe I can state it on behalf of my mates as well, that it feels like be-ing in “Alice in Wonder-land.” America is really as we have seen it in the movies. Here everything is bigger and more de-veloped. By this I do not mean to criticize Europe because of course I love my home.

The educational sys-tem is very different from the European educational system even on the basic level. I love that here, stu-dents like going to school and they participate in ev-ery kind of event. Ameri-cans are lucky to live here and we are also lucky to have this great opportu-nity to stay here for a few months.

“I choose it because people are very friendly and hospitable. I like to travel and I really like American culture,” said Moldova exchange stu-dent Anastasia Colosovs-chi.

“The people are friendly, and hospi-table, Oak Park is dif-ferent but I like it” – Anastasia Colosovschi

“We had a meet-ing with the ex-change club, we met American students, and had pizza, and it was a lot of fun” – Lara Kuhnt

“All the clubs and meetings, and you can do so many things in school” – Gennifer Engle-hardt

“The football games, because it is different”- Emilie Hardy

“The peo-ple are friendly and help you with things very different but I like it, and the school spirit, after school I play ten-nis every day.”- Lea Schmidt

“The musical, it’s fun and differ-ent”- Friederike Kruger

“I like the stu-dents, and the school is very dif-ferent, Everyone is friendly and helpful, I like the football games because ive never been before”- Lilla Foldi

America brings new opportunitiesHow is America different from home?

The members of the commitee are responsible for creating and implementing Student Council projects throughout the year.

leadership teacherBryan Edinger

“

”

I choose it because people are very friendly and hospitable. senior

Anastasia Colosovschi

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”

entertainmentpage5Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

By: Tatyana PekarskyEntertainment Editor

On Sunday, Sept. 12, the MTV Video Music Awards were held in Los Angeles, Calif., with 11 perfor-mances from artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Usher.

“Overall, they were good,” senior Zach Lancaster said. “But the performances could have been bet-ter.”

Lancaster noted how the awards were predictable, such as Bieber winning Best New Artist and Lady Gaga winning Best Fe-male Video with her hit “Bad Romance.”

Gaga also won Best Collaboration, Editing, Direction, Dance Music Video, Choreography, Pop Video and Video of the Year.

“I knew Lady Gaga was gonna win every-thing,” senior Laurel Bartholomew said.

However, Gaga was not the only one awarded, though the pop star certainly took home the most awards. Eminem recieved Best Male Video and Hip Hop Video.

30 Seconds to Mars was awarded Best Rock Video for their song “Kings and Queens” and Muse won Best Special Effects for “Up-rising.” Best Art Direc-tion went to Florence + The Machine and Best Cinematography went to Jay-Z and Ali-cia Keys for “Empire State of Mind.”

While some felt the awards were predict-able, there were those just glad to see the win-ners awarded.

By: Tatyana PekarskyEntertainment Editor

Last year, James Cameron’s “Avatar” hit the theaters hard and became a nation-wide phenomena. The use of new cameras to create the world of Pandora stunned fans.

On Friday, Aug. 27, the movie returned to theaters with nine extra minutes of movie, mak-ing it 172 minutes long.

“Avatar” was hyped to be great and aston-ishing, receiving three Oscars. It earned high praise and many fans who love the blue crea-tures that wander Pan-dora.

“I thought it was a

great movie,” senior Me-gan Krone said. “It was different from what I’ve seen lately.”

Krone was unable to see the movie in theaters and was disappointed at the loss of the experi-ence. With the re-release,

however, she plans to finally see it on the big screen.

“I liked the action,” sophomore Molly Green-er said. “And the graph-ics were awesome.”

Greener plans to go see the movie once more while still in theaters. While she states the ex-tended scenes should have been put in the first time, that won’t stop her from seeing it again.

“Avatar” will be in theaters once more for only a short time, allow-ing fans to experience the extended version of the film on the big screen or even in 3-D.

“If it’s nine minutes longer,” Krone said, “it better be epic.”

‘Avatar’ makes way back to theaters

Home-grown comedians entertainBy: Tatyana PekarskyEntertainment Editor

While there aren’t

many things that con-nect nearly all people together, laughter is one of the positive things that does just that. Everyone laughs for different rea-sons and because of dif-ferent things. The peo-ple who seek to create laughter are held high by many, and looked down upon by others.

Every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., students meet in science teacher Bill Dennis’ class to share their humor with each other, preparing them-selves to perform in front of others.

For some, being the “funny guy” in class af-fects their typical behav-

ior and outlook on life.“[Comedy] makes

things easier,” junior Cody Fisk said. “When I’m in a stressful situa-tion, I can laugh about it.”

Fisk and junior Mitch Miller helped bring the club up together. Fisk, with Dennis as his inspi-ration, helped produce the club and spread the funny

“Comedy is how I deal with stress,” Dennis said. “Crying and laugh-ing are basically the same thing.”

For Dennis, inspira-tion comes from his daily life and interactions with others.

“Comedy allows me to enjoy even the most painful staff meetings by looking for absurd

phrasings or manner-isms,” Dennis said.

The Comedy Club was designed to allow kids to get together and have fun being humor-ous and clever. However, Dennis has advice for all wannabe comics.

“Comedy is in the brain of the beholder,” Dennis said. “Not every-one thinks you’re fun-ny.”

He also makes a point to let others know that being funny and be-ing a jerk are two differ-ent things, and always be ready to apologize. The biggest piece of advice one could get would be to just keep trying and never give up.

“You’re not gonna be famous at first,” Fisk said, “or at all.”

MTV announces award winners

By: Lauren GraceWriter

With Homecoming right around the corner, students have a lot of planning to do. Whether trying to impress some-one special or having fun with a group, it costs some money for an out-fit, tickets and food.

Luckily, restaurants try to make it easy for people to enjoy their eve-ning with out loan sharks involved.

Olive Garden: The first restaurant that comes to mind for stu-dents will clearly be busy Homecoming night. Right now for $8.95, you can have a never-ending pasta bowl of any combi-nation, spin as much pas-ta on the fork as one will do on the dance floor.

Bravos: An Italian

cuisine with the atmo-sphere of an ancient coliseum. The aura car-ries a type of date with romance and casual es-sence. Located in Zona Rosa, it does not carry any specials but has a price range within $20 and less.

Lone Star: For the girl who dreams of a cowboy to take her out at night, Lone Star has a two for $20 deal where a couple could get two entrees and an appetizer on Barry Road near the AMC. Fun, but can also be messy with barbecue sauce piled on the tasty ribs, in a dress or tux.

The Melting Pot: A sweet and laid back feel at the Plaza, “The Melt-ing Pot” caters to special events with a four-course meal. This is great for groups and friends to re-

lax on a fun night. Also, for dessert, people may have eloquent fondues or cake.

Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse: Impress your girl with a chef throwing knives and blowing vegetables up in front of them. They do not have any specials but the price at the Plaza is fair under $20. They also serve sushi, which can be eccentric for a night of major dance-offs.

Minsky’s Pizza: Only a few blocks away from the school, Minsky’s serves pizza and Ital-ian food. The restau-rant is well-priced, fancy and fun in any size of a group. That and save gas money!

Cheesecake Factory: A place that no doubt has good food and has awesome cheesecake.

There’s a Middle-East-ern extravaganza on the Plaza. Though their pric-es are a little high, above $30, one should surely have no regrets.

Bo Ling’s: Chinese please? Bo Ling’s in Zona Rosa is the place for you. Romantic and fancy at a fair price to show off one’s chopstick skills. Great for just the two, the feng shui is peaceful and not nerve racking to make things awkward. Groups are just as wel-come.

Cascone’s Italian Restaurant: A popular homecoming location, Cascone’s has romance like eating spaghetti to meet in the middle of a noodle, “Lady and the Tramp” style. Though prices are high, they do have specials for the sea-son.

Dance the night away with a full belly

By: Lauren GraceWriter

Once upon a time, thou fellow youth trav-eled back in an older epoch, a time when dragons, sorcerers and knights in shining armor took forth in culture. This may be an act, but a lesson learned in litera-ture brings example of its merry times in life before thy English made sense.

Saturday, Sept. 18, students in mythology and British literature took a trip back in time to the Renaissance Fes-tival. The group met at school at 7 a.m. or joined up at the fest in Bonner Springs, Kan., with Stal-ey’s mythology class. The trip was not actually a field trip but an optional opportunity to get a per-spective on what they will learn in the books throughout the semester.

“To be honest, the Renaissance is not the

same time period my-thology was a religious practice,” said communi-cation arts teacher Sara Hantzis. “But lets stu-dents see life when it was a primitive newer age. A good experience to see a younger life.”

When entering the gates, the ambience of magic fills the air.

“The class will come, and just have somebody to know at the festival,”

Hantzis said. The British literature

class will find it more ac-cessible to Shakespeare or John Webster.

“Right now in class, they are reading ‘Fran-kenstein’, but later on it will be handy,” said British literature teacher Natalie Hunter.

Every year there is a theme to keep the event fresh for those who never miss a season.

Usually based on Shake-spearean plays, this year was “Once Upon a Time There Was You,” captur-ing the spirit of the child-hood tale, Cinderella.

“Everyone knows the story of Cinderella. We’ve all seen the movie. It’s also a story that has been used as inspira-tion,” said performer Fran Kapono.

For many, the best part about the festival was being a part of it. Visitors sometimes dress up in the flamboyant clothes. Others may not and still support it just as much.

“[My favorite part] was musical, singing pi-rates and fighting as a Persian warrior in the battle of 300,” said junior Jake Strickland. “All I ate was a turkey leg [and] that was all I wanted to eat. It was as big as my forearm.”

For some, the joust-

ing is the highlight of the festival, even if the same guy wins every year. Most shop owners are just people who do some regular jobs, but sell fun handmade crafts for the season every weekend until Sunday Oct. 17.

“I think the best part of the Renaissance festi-val is getting to meet all different kinds of people. People from all different walks of life with all dif-ferent kinds of interests come out and get to es-cape from their lives for

a while and be a part of something from a fairy tale,” Kapono said.

The students took the Living History tour since the festival was not all Grimm brothers and fairies. Performers keep it realistic, which means the ruler is not King Ar-thur, but instead Henry VIII.

“I was excited. I haven’t been on a field trip since fifth grade, and got to be with friends from school,” Strickland said.

Step back in time

Two entertainers play the flute and the harp at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday Sept. 4. Many freelance musicians come to-gether in costumes and play for all the passer-bys. Photo By: Kim Green, Photographer

At the Renaissance Festival, jousting is a popular attraction for many families. A large production includes a king, queen and several jousters who battle to be the last one standing. Photo By: Kim Green, Photographer

advertisingpage6 Friday, Sept. 24, 2010